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Part Number WE4X881 replaces: 2420, AP2042901, WE04X0881, WE04X10033, WE4M408, WE4X10033.
PartSelect Number PS268305
Manufacturer Part Number WE4X881
Manufactured by GE
This part is used to start the dryer once you have selected a setting on the timer.
This part works with the following brands: General Electric, Hotpoint.
This part works with the following products: Dryer.
This part fixes the following symptoms:
Part Number WE4X881 replaces: 2420, AP2042901, WE04X0881, WE04X10033, WE4M408, WE4X10033.
Does the start switch go out at once.Or does it act up?
Hello Joan, that is a great question. The shaft on that switch can wear out and cause the knob to slip. If you determine that is not the case then the switch is bad and will need to be replaced. Hope this helps!
First I unplugged the dryer, then I removed the access panel on the back of the control panel. I removed the wires from the back of the switch...Here is where I messed up. I removed the switch prior to ordering the part, the bad part is the way I removed the part. When you get the new part in you will be able to see how it will be mounted to the control panel. I had no idea, so I did what was necessary to remove it. Needless to say, I bent the hell out of the hole that the switch mounts in. In turn, the installation of the new switch did not go as easily as I would have liked. After straightening out some metal and drowning the thing in epoxy, the new switch is installed. I hooked the wires back up on the back of the switch, plug in the dryer, and dry some clothes. Standing victorious over the dryer with beer in hand, not only did I accomplish the mission but I learned my lesson... destructive removal = BAD!
Help other customers find the most helpful instructions.
Were these instructions helpful?
One of the easiest repair jobs I've ever done. First I turned off the power. After removing 4 screws and lowering the cover of the control board, I disconnected the two wires attached to the switch. I rotated the switch counterclockwise and removed it. Just reverse this process and I was done. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes.
The switch made a humming sound when I turned it so I thought that might be the problem. Using the instructions on this Web site I took the top panel of the dryer off (after unplugging it), unplugged two wires leading from the switch (needed pliers for this), and removed the switch unit by rotating it counterclockwise (when behind it). The replacement part came in two days. The installation went a lot quicker-maybe ten minutes.
Unplugged dryer. Removed screws from top of operating panel. Removed wires from switch. Turned switch 1/4 turn to left and removed. Replaced switch. Turned 1/4 to the right. Re-attached wires. Replaced operating panel and screws. Replaced knob. Plugged in dryer. DONE!!!!!!Easiest repair ever! Thank you.
Removed 6 screws from the back panel and lifted/pushed the metal back panel up. Removed/sliced out the start switch by hand. Replace the new start switch and tightened all screws. Replaced the new selector Knob and it worked like charm.
Just followed the installation video. The only issue with the video was that a phillips screwdriver was specified and I actually needed a torx screwdriver.
unscrewed the back plate off of the dryer. Disconnected the the wires off of the switch. Remember to to unplug your dryer from the wall first!!!. Reconnect the wires to the new switch and twist back into place. Be careful not to bend the metal tabs. Put the back plate back on and plug in. Put on new knob and the wife was smiling. Took about 8 minutes to repair.
replace both,in less than 5 minutes.save 80dollars in labor
First of all I am NOT a do-it-yourself handyman. I unscrewed the panel where the start knob was diagnosed I needed an electrical switch that went behind the panel and a new start knob. PartSelect was great. just plugged in my model number, found the drawings of the model. I selected and ordered both parts for $40. Shipped normal delivery and they arrived in 5 days. I had the parts replaced, the panel screwed back on and the dryer working in 10 minutes. I highly recommend PartSelect for honesty, speed and helpful drawings that allow you to select the correct part. 110% satisfied.
a. researched internet to find how to access rotary starter switchb. isolated all electrical input at breaker boxc. removed 4 torx screws on top of dryer headd. lowered dryer head (swivels toward front)e. pulled electrical connections from back of switchf. turned and pulled thus releasing rotary switchg. reversed procedure aboveh. reconnected electrical i. started dryer - it worked first timej. watched football until wife came homek. told wife dryer was fixed and what a bear it was to get it done :o)l. that night accepted my reward for working so hard at fixing the dryer and saving us a bundle. :o)m. now we are both smiling
T-10 driver to remove panel/expose switches. Screwdriver to lift metal tab and hand rotate switch 45 degrees ccw. Switch comes out. Pull connectors off switch one at at time and put on new switch. Install new switch snap in place. Install panel with t-10.
My husband replaced the rotary start switch that we bought. However, the dryer still would not start. He then tested each remaining switch/dial (before we spent more money on parts) to see if the dryer would start if the electrical connection by-passed that part. None of the top panel switches was the culprit. Then he pulled the door switch. The dryer worked with the switch out, but still connected. He reset each wire, put the door switch back in place, and it failed again. He pulled the switch, added electrical tape to all the connections, and put it back. The dryer works fine now.
On arrival at rental in Florida, knob & half of shaft are on top of the dryer. Thanks! It's fixed
Opened panel, bent retainer tab, took off wires. Took out switch, put in new switch, replaced wires and knob and plugged it in. Off she goes. PS, how the hell did you get that part to me in less than 24 hours??? Thanks guys.
thank you to customer service for the prompt and kind handling of my order. when i first tried to do the repair, i couldn't open the front cover of the dryer because the screws needed a special screwdriver that looked like a flower. after i bought one, i was able to open the front cover, take out the old switch(took me some time to figure it out),replace it with the new one, return the front cover, and replace the old know with the new. turned it on and VOILA -- it worked!!
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I thought of another topic! The last two topics were a bit more substantial than I anticipated so this will be the last one.
Anyway, my first Game of the Year 2011 contender has emerged, and it's... a game that wasn't on my incredibly comprehensive Top 20 Most Anticipated Games of 2011 list... and one I hadn't heard of until about 2 weeks after it's January 11th release date. It's a game I came across by fluke while trying to find a copy of 999 which I believe came out about this time last yea--wait, hold it, hold it... 999 came out mid-November? And it's already this hard to find? Fuck!
Okay, anyway, I think I saw Ghost Trick for the DS in the "Customers who bought this item also bought" section on Amazon and I saw some people mention that they're already having difficulty finding the game, and anyway, it caught my eye, and since the reviews were so universally great and it looked cool, I decided to pick it up before it was gone.
And wow! First of all: The style. It's like a film noir, but the game also has a cool, unique colour scheme with a lot of deep reds and, combined with the great supernatural ghost story... it's literally the coolest game ever. And it's gorgeous, the animations are top-notch.
It's also hilarious. The characters are wonderfully quirky, and the dialogue is just genuinely funny and smart with no hint of irony.
And the gameplay is totally unique and thoroughly enjoyable. You're a ghost and basically you have to haunt and manipulate inanimate objects with your "ghost tricks" to try and alter peoples fates and solve puzzles and stuff. It's really damn clever.
It's from the dude who created Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, which I just bought for my Dad's iPod Touch that he doesn't use, and that game's also clever and full of quirky characters and funny dialogue. But Ghost Trick trumps it in every way.
Did I mention it also has the best dog ever?
"WELCOME!" - Missile the Pomeranian

subset: commoncrawl


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Escape the Dead: Craig Mabbitt's 'Walking Dead' Recap – Season 4, Episode 4
In addition to being Escape the Fate's lead singer, Craig Mabbitt is a diehard viewer of 'The Walking Dead.' For Season 4 of the hit AMC show, Mabbitt has signed on to write an exclusive recap of each episode for Loudwire. Check out his rundown of Episode 4 below:
Well, not much happened in this episode as far as gore/action-wise, nor did we see most of the main cast. But this was a definite set up episode and I cannot wait until next week!! Now, maybe I'm being biased here considering the fact that @davemorrisey67 tweeted for the U.S. fans of 'The Walking Dead' that he couldn't "say much" about the episode but be sure to tune in, which of course kept me on the edge of my seat guessing at every moment that "holy s–t the governor!!" — sadly this still has yet to happen.
Episode 4 starts us off with Carol and Rick headed off on a run of there own for food and s–t, while Darryl's group makes their way to a school where they apparently get all they need (including a bottle of liquor for Bob Stookey, who almost got is ass beat by Darryl).
But the biggest turn of event's this episode had, after Rick asks two new survivors the 3 questions ( remember what they are? How many walkers have you killed? How many people have you killed? and Why?) These 2 kids who apparently could not batman and robin the f–kin' single zombie that was in that house they instead seemed to have pulled a "can't hardly wait" for 2 days in the bathroom (c'mon right? that dude was just as much of an airhead as seth green in that movie) passed rick's "test" and they head off to help collect supplies. This ends in Rick and Carol discovering the girl's gimp leg about 15 feet away from where her body was being devoured and the disappearance of, i don't know, let's call him Seth.
Carol continues to try and explain her reasoning behind the killings at the prison (which I still firmly believe she's covering for someone). Rick is not having it and the biggest shocker of the season happens … Carol is sent packing … so here we are now, what is Tyreese gonna do when he finds out it was Carol? What his he gonna do to Rick for letting her go? What's Darryl gonna think about it all? Is Herschel sick? Is Glenn gonna live? Where's the governor? What's to become of Carol? And who the f–k was feeding those rats to the zombies! (or as this episode revealed yet another name…skin-eaters)? SO many questions left unanswered. We can only hope at least that one answer comes next week. Until then, go get Bob wasted.
Our thanks to Craig Mabbitt for his recap of Episode 2 of Season 4 of 'The Walking Dead.' Please note that Craig's opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Loudwire. You can enter to win a deluxe box set copy of Season 3 in the contest below.


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South Africa may have to apply for special dispensation from the Confederation of African Football to drastically alter their squad for the African Nations Championship (Chan), after players from Kaizer Chiefs failed to turn up yesterday for the first day of camp.
Chiefs seem adamant they will not release their players until after they face Mamelodi Sundowns on the 23rd of this month. That is likely to be too late for Bafana coach Gordon Igesund, whose side play three group matches before that.
Wits also seemed likely to refuse to release their three members of Bafana's squad to Igesund, but Safa claimed yesterday that a late intervention from president Danny Jordaan had secured goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs, defender Kwanda Mngonyama and midfielder Sibisiso Vilakazi.
As it was, only 15 of the 23 players named by Igesund to play in Chan, which takes place in South Africa from next Saturday, had arrived at the Southern Sun OR Tambo hotel by early yesterday afternoon, the notable absentees the five Chiefs call-ups, and the three from Wits.
Chiefs' stand-off with the South African Football Association has been well-documented since Igesund announced his squad last Monday. Amakhosi initially refused to release their players at all, and are now saying they will only do so after they have played Mamelodi Sundowns in an Absa Premiership match.
True to their promise, goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, defenders Tefu Mashamaite and Tsepo Masilela, winger Siphiwe Tshabalala and striker Bernard Parker did not report timeously for duty yesterday.
Wits' reluctance to hand their players over was more surprising, as their next domestic game is only on the fourth of next month, three days after the Chan final. Wits CEO José Ferreira and coach Gavin Hunt could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Igesund's problem is compounded by the fact that the deadline to supply a final squad list to CAF has now come and gone.
Article 65 of CAF's rules for the tournament clearly states that an association must send them a squad of a maximum of 40 players 60 days before a tournament, which must be whittled down to 23 players by 10 days before the start of the tournament.
"No change can be introduced in the list of the twenty-three (23) players except in cases of force majeure recognised as such by the organising committee," continues the CAF article.
If they cannot get their original players, Safa will have to hope the current chaos is seen as force majeure by CAF.
Safa were adamant yesterday that they expected all players selected by Igesund to attend camp, stressing that that was the agreement reached between Safa and the Premier Soccer League at a meeting on Christmas eve.
"We have written to the league and said that we expect the players to be released today," said Safa CEO Dennis Mumble.
"We have not changed our position, we have an agreement, it is a matter of national interest and we are hosting a competition. If people are saying we are not supposed to have their players, having known about this competition for more than two years, to come up with reasons now is a bit disingenuous. We expect the players to report, and if we don't we will see what happens."
Safa may find that any recourse to punish Chiefs is stifled by the fact that as this tournament does not fall on an official Fifa date, no club is obliged to release their players. - The Star


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A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
|We Were Liars
|Edition Language
|Format Type
|Number of Pages
|242 pages
Once upon a time there were three bears who lived in a wee house in the woods.Once upon a time there were three billy goats who lived near a bridge.Once upon a time there were three soldiers, trampin...
This is the kind of book that, when I finish reading it, I?m like FINALLY and then throw the book out of the window (in this case not applicable because of digital copy so I'm doing it through a gi...
This was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful and well-crafted books I have read in a really long time. Elements that made this book outstanding:1) It started with a map and a family tree. Talk ...
We were tedious. ...
sobbing. sobbing. sobbing. so much love for this book, and its perfect, perfect ending. i can't even capitalize right now. i don't even want to capitalize right now. in fetal position.sob. my souuuuul...
It's true what they're saying: you're better off if I tell you nothing about this book.So I will just say two things.1) It is worth reading. Even though I only gave it 3 stars.2) I gave it 3 stars bec...
It's been awhile since I have so totally hated a book. I'm surprised at how varied the feelings on here about this book are...some of my friends hated it. Some of them liked/loved it. I still love the...
I went into We Were Liars one cocky son of a biscuit eater, feeling above it all right from page one. I'd seen this book talked about so heavily by other bloggers and how some never saw the twist comi...
so, just like Little Bee, this book begs you "NOOO, DON'T TELL ITS SEEEEKRITS!!" and if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.so part of me is tempted to write this whole long review about how this bo...
Tragic, yet hauntingly beautiful story. ...


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Eggs & Issues To Tackle Local Issues This Saturday
Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt is announcing a change in Eggs and Issues this coming Saturday, March 8.
Originally scheduled to feature State Senator Ken Rozenboom and State Representatives Larry Sheets and Guy Vander Linden, they are all unable to attend due to various county convention responsibilities.
In their place the emphasis will be on local issues and health care. This weekend's Eggs and Issues will feature County Supervisor Mike Vander Molen, Mahaska Health Partnership CEO Jay Christenson, and Oskaloosa City Manager Michael Schrock Jr.
The time remains the same, 8:30 AM on March 8 at Smokey Row.
Posted by Press Release on Mar 6 2014. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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Almost perfect.....: Marina Cruise Review by Lundboat
Overall Member Rating
Almost perfect.....
Destination: Europe - Eastern Mediterranean
Embarkation: Istanbul
Most of the specialty restaurants were excellent. Our only exception was Toscana, which I am certain we caught a bad night. Nothing bad, just not up to par with the rest. Terrace Cafe became the hang out for most other meals, and they do a terrific job!
Barista's was a perfect way to start each morning and the string quartet was an excellent way to end each evening. We did not attend any of the shows as we turn in rather early.
Due to Sandy hitting the east coast, Oceania decided to spend an extra day in Istanbul to let the 700 passengers that were delayed catch up. Good call on their part to allow More those delayed to get there. We missed out on Vollos, which was one destination we were very much looking forward to, but stuff happens.
Only negatives were some of the other passengers not understanding that baseball caps on backwards or Cabela's gear at the specialty restaurants were not really country club casual, and our butler couldn't seem to get it that we really were not going to drink that bottle of champagne (took till mid week to get it out of the room....).
Our cabin steward was fantastic and most of the staff we met were outstanding. The culinary center was a hoot! I made 3 of the classes and had a ball at each one. We missed out on the final one, which was a full day culinary excursion as DW was not feeling well.
The 2 excursions we went on with Oceania were just fine for a group tour. I have no negatives on either one, and felt the cost was in line with how easy everything was.
Overall we were very happy with everything. Less
Published 11/14/12
Cabin review: OC12014 Oceania SuiteOceania Suite (OC) Reviews >>
Port and Shore Excursions
Read Cruise Critic's Marina Review >>
Value for Money
Locations good, Ship experienc...
An enjoyable first time cruise
Very nice cruise, but not sure...
Norway fjords
Highly disappointed
Best cruise for us!
Trip of a lifetime
Surrounded by senior citizens ...
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+ Author affiliations
Sequence-based typing (SBT) for Legionella pneumophila (Lp) has dramatically improved Legionnaires' disease (LD) cluster investigation. Microbial whole genome sequencing (WGS) is a promising modality for investigation but sequence analysis methods are neither standardised, nor agreed. We sought to develop a WGS-based typing scheme for Lp using de novo assembly and a genome-wide gene-by-gene approach (core genome multilocus sequence typing, cgMLST). We analysed 17 publicly available Lp genomes covering the whole species variation to define a core genome (1,521 gene targets) which was validated using 21 additional published genomes. The genomes of 12 Lp strains implicated in three independent cases of paediatric humidifier-associated LD were subject to cgMLST together with three 'outgroup' strains. cgMLST was able to resolve clustered strains and clearly identify related and unrelated strains. Thus, a cgMLST scheme was readily achievable and provided high-resolution analysis of Lp strains. cgMLST appears to have satisfactory discriminatory power for LD cluster analysis and is advantageous over mapping followed by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) calling as it is portable and easier to standardise. cgMLST thus has the potential for becoming a gold standard tool for LD investigation. Humidifiers pose an ongoing risk as vehicles for LD and should be considered in cluster investigation and control efforts.
Legionellae are Gram-negative rods found in aqueous environments [1]. Humans become infected through exposure to contaminated aerosols originating from man-made water systems, such as spa pools, cooling towers or showering facilities in various settings such as healthcare, public and domestic facilities as well as occupational and travel-related settings. Clinical manifestation varies from a mild illness (Pontiac fever) to potentially fatal pneumonia known as Legionnaires' disease (LD) [2]. Among nearly 70 Legionella species described, Legionella pneumophila (Lp) causes the vast majority of LD and of 16 known serogroups, Lp serogroup 1 accounts for over 80% of LD cases and almost all clusters and outbreaks [3,4].
LD is a notifiable disease in all European Union and European Economic Area countries. Surveillance coordinated by the European Legionnaires' Disease Surveillance Network (ELDSNet) of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) demonstrates a mild increase in incidence of LD since 2001 [5,6]. The standardised sequence-based typing (SBT) scheme for Lp developed by the European Working Group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI, now European Society for Clinical Microbiology Study Group on Legionella Infections, ESGLI) marked an important advancement in the study of the molecular epidemiology of LD [7,8]. Implementation of this typing scheme, similar to multilocus sequence typing (MLST) has yielded useful and comparable data worldwide [9] and has been shown to be applicable in the investigation of unusual LD cases such as humidifier-associated LD [10] and legionellosis outbreaks [11].
The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionised microbiology by making whole genome sequencing (WGS) of pathogens of public health importance, readily available [12]. The currently most significant role for NGS in microbiology is communicable disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. Many studies have demonstrated that whole genome comparisons provide far greater resolution for outbreak detection and microbial strain tracking than gold standard typing methods of different bacteria [13-15]. While most studies using WGS-based molecular epidemiology have relied on mapping of read data against a reference followed by analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), a de novo assembly and genome-wide gene-by-gene approach looking at allelic differences in core genome (cg) genes (cgMLST, or MLST+ as called in the SeqSphere+ software used for analysis) has been suggested as an alternative to SNP mapping [16,17].
There are limited data regarding the application of WGS for investigation of LD. Moreover, current experience is limited to analyses of SNPs and thus there is an unmet need for a cgMLST typing scheme for Lp that would enable a portable global nomenclature. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to set up, validate and apply a cgMLST scheme for Lp.
Standard laboratory work up of Legionella pneumophila strains
Isolates were cultured on BCYEα plates (Oxoid, Basingstoke, United Kingdom) for 48–72h at 35 °C before phenotypic and molecular tests were performed. Presumptive identification as Lp was confirmed using MonoFluo Legionella pneumophila indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) Test (Biorad, Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom). Lp serogroups and immunological subgroups (for selected serogroup 1 isolates) were determined using the Dresden panel of monoclonal antibodies [18]. Strains not readily confirmed as Lp were identified to species level by sequencing the mip gene as described by Ratcliff et al. [19] and comparing the sequence to the mip database [20].
Between two to three single colonies per Lp strain were selected and DNA extracted using the InstaGene Matrix (Biorad, Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom). The genotype of each strain was determined using the M13 modification of the ESGLI SBT method by Sanger sequencing [21]. All alleles and sequence types (ST) were determined using the Legionella Sequence Quality Tool [22,23]. SBT was attempted on sputum in culture-negative cases using the direct or nested-SBT approach [21].
Whole genome sequencing and assembly
Whole genome shotgun sequencing was performed on 15 strains recovered from clinical and environmental samples in Israel. High molecular weight and quality DNA was extracted using the Wizard DNA purification kit (Promega, Madison, WI, United States). Sequencing libraries were prepared using the Nextera chemistry (Illumina Inc., San Diego, California, United States) for a 250 bp paired-end sequencing run on an Illumina MiSeq sequencer. Samples were sequenced to aim for a minimum coverage of 75-fold using Illumina's recommended standard protocols. All generated raw reads were submitted to the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/) of the European Bioinformatics Institute under the study accession number PRJEB7140. After sequencing, the reads were quality-trimmed using the CLC Genomics Workbench software version 6.0 (CLC bio, Aarhus, Denmark) and then assembled de novo using CLC Genomics Workbench with default settings. The resulting assembly files were exported as ACE files and imported into SeqSphere+ software version 2.1 (Ridom GmbH, Germany).
Core genome multilocus sequene typing scheme definition and validation
For determining a cgMLST or MLST+ target set we aimed to cover the whole Lp species variation. By Bayesian Analysis of Population Structure (BAPS) based on more than 800 SBT STs, Underwood et al. recently reported 15 such Lp BAPS SBT clusters [24]. Therefore, we used for the cgMLST scheme definition, six finished genomes available from GenBank and 11 raw read datasets from the ENA archive that cover all BAPS SBT clusters (Table 1). ENA raw read data were again de novo assembled into draft genomes with CLC Genomics Workbench. The genome of strain Philadelphia (NC_002942.5) was used as a reference. To determine the cgMLST target gene set, a genome-wide gene-by-gene comparison was performed using the MLST+ target definer function of SeqSphere+ with default parameters. These parameters comprised the following filters to exclude certain genes of the Philadelphia reference genome from the MLST+ scheme: a 'Minimum length filter' that discards all genes shorter than 50 bp; a 'Start codon filter' that discards all genes that contain no start codon at the beginning of the gene; a 'Stop codon filter' that discards all genes that contain no stop codon, more than one stop codon or if the stop codon is not at the end of the gene; a 'Homologous gene filter' that discards all genes with fragments that occur in multiple copies within a genome (with identity 90% and > 100 bp overlap); and a 'Gene overlap filter' that discards the shorter gene from the MLST+ scheme if the affected two genes overlap > 4 bp. The remaining genes were then used in a pairwise comparison using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) version 2.2.12 (parameters used were: 'Word size: 11', 'Mismatch penalty: -1', 'Match reward: 1', 'Gap open costs: 5', and 'Gap extension costs: 2') with the 16 query Lp chromosomes [25]. All genes of the reference genome that were common in all query genomes with a sequence identity ≥ 90% and 100% overlap, and with the default parameter 'Stop codon percentage filter' turned on (this discards all genes that have internal stop codons in more than 20% of the query genomes) formed the final MLST+ scheme (downloadable from SeqSphere+ software).
Table 1. Finished genomesa and assembled raw readsb used for Legionella pneumophila core genome definition (n=17)
To validate the applicability and representativeness of the Lp MLST+ target gene set, a total of 21 published high-quality genomes [24,26] – four finished genomes and 17 raw read ENA datasets that were first de novo assembled – representing 12 of the 15 BAPS SBT clusters were chosen for SeqSphere+ cgMLST analysis (Table 2) performed as below. It was assumed that a well-defined cgMLST scheme should reach at least 95% of the MLST+ genes present in each of the 21 validation genomes.
Table 2. Finished genomesa and assembled raw readsb used for Legionella pneumophila core genome validation (n=21)
Core genome multilocus sequence typing analysis of humidifier related cases
To calibrate the cgMLST scheme for micro-evolutionary change, 15 newly generated Lp genomes (Table 3) representing three epidemiologically unrelated humidifier-associated paediatric LD clusters from Israel were analysed together with the finished Philadelphia and Paris strain genomes.
Thus SeqSphere+ extracted the defined MLST+ core genome genes from each assembly with default parameters, mainly consisting of the following settings: (i) processing options: 'Ignore contigs shorter than 200 bases'; (ii) scanning options: 'Matching scanning thresholds for creating targets from assembled genomes' with 'required identity to reference sequence of 90%' and 'required aligned to reference sequence with 100%'; (iii) BLAST options: 'Word size: 11', 'Mismatch penalty: -1', 'Match reward: 1', 'Gap open costs: 5', and 'Gap extension costs: 2'. In addition, the MLST+ scheme genes were assessed for quality, i.e. the absence of premature stop codons, ambiguous nucleotides, and support of variants to reference sequence by 75% or more read nucleotide.
A core genome gene was considered a 'good target' only if all of the above criteria were met, in which case complete sequence was analysed in comparison to the Philadelphia reference and SeqSphere+ assigned a numerical allele type. The combination of all core genome alleles in each strain formed an allelic profile per the proposed new scheme. From these allelic profiles a minimum spanning tree was calculated and drawn using SeqSphere+. In order to maintain backwards compatibility with Lp SBT, sequences of the seven genes comprising the allelic profile of the SBT schemes were separately extracted from finished genomes and WGS data and then queried against the SBT database in order to assign classic STs in silico.
Table 3. Whole genome sequencing data of Legionella pneumophila strains included in the studya
Setting up and validation of core genome multilocus sequence typing for Legionella pneumophila
Six finished genomes available from GenBank and 11 raw read datasets from ENA that cover all BAPS SBT clusters (Table 1) were used for cgMLST definition. ENA raw read data were de novo assembled into draft genomes. The Philadelphia strain (NC_002942.5) served as reference for core genome gene definition. The resulting cgMLST scheme consisted of 1,521 genes (ca 47.2% of the complete Philadelphia strain chromosome nucleotide; list of core genes available upon request from the authors). The SBT alleles were extracted from the genomes and generated correct ST designations for nine strains. In eight strains, six of seven alleles were called correctly but the allele number for the mompS gene could not be determined due to presence of more than one copy of mompS in the genome (Table 1).
The cgMLST scheme was validated using 21 additional genomes derived from recent publications (Table 2). All 21 strains showed > 96% good MLST+ targets and resulted on average in 98.4% MLST+ targets. Of 20 strains for which the ST designation was available, 14 were fully extracted from the WGS data, whereas in the six remaining strains, only six of seven alleles were called correctly due to multiple mompS gene copies (Table 2).
Investigation of humidifier-associated Legionnaires' disease
To calibrate the cgMLST scheme for micro-evolutionary change and to define a cluster type (CT) threshold, 15 newly generated Lp genomes representing three epidemiologically unrelated humidifier-associated paediatric LD clusters from Israel were analysed together with the finished Philadelphia and Paris strain genomes. Characteristics of sequenced strains are summarised in Table 3. Analysis involved 11 ST1 strains from the three incidents, a concurrent ST40 strain and three 'outgroup' strains including unrelated ST1, ST40 and ST23 strains. The median coverage was 55.9 (range: 34.6–131.5) and on average 98.6% of the MLST+ targets could be called. The SBT ST was called complete and correct for 14 of the 15 draft genomes.
The three incidents are described in Table 4. All three cases involved children below one year of age exposed to domestic free-standing cold-water humidifiers. In case 1 the humidifier was filled with tap water whereas in cases 2 and 3 humidifiers were filled with water dispensed through domestic filtrating machines (water bars) that used charcoal filters and ultraviolet light. In case 1 Lp ST1 was detected by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the patient's sputum and Lp ST1 was also recovered from humidifier residual water. Notably, environmental sampling revealed a ST40 strain which was not present in clinical samples. In case 2, diagnosis was made using urinary antigen testing and no sputum was available for analysis. Multiple environmental samples obtained from the water system, water filtrating machine, and humidifier were all positive for Lp ST1. In case 3, sputum was culture negative but PCR was positive for Lp. Direct SBT performed on sputum revealed a co-infection with Lp serogroup 1 ST1 and Lp serogroup 3 ST93. Environmental samples obtained from the water system, water filtrating machine and humidifier were all positive for Lp ST1 and some were also ST93 positive.
Table 4. Characteristics of paediatric humidifier-associated Legionnaires' disease cases included in the study
All 17 analysed genomes (including the 15 from Israel as well as the Philadelphia and Paris strain) shared in total 1,446 of the 1,521 defined core genome genes (data not shown – allelic profiles available upon request). From these allelic profiles SeqSphere+ calculated and drew a minimum spanning tree where the number of differing alleles is given along the branches (Figure). For case 1, identical clinical and environmental ST1 strains (Lp-2002694p8 and Lp-56207) were found (no differing alleles) and a concurrent ST40 (Lp-2002694 p7), which as expected, did not cluster with implicated ST1 strains. This ST40 strain exhibited a difference of six alleles (of the 1,521 core genome genes) from an unrelated ST40 strain serving as an 'outgroup' for ST40. Of the four environmental strains representing the chain of transmission in case 2, three were identical ST1 strains (Lp-119, Lp-121 and Lp-122) and one had only one differing allele (Lp-120). Case 3 demonstrated more complex clustering of environmental strains into two pairs (one identical pair formed by Lp-282-1 and Lp-284, and one pair with three differing alleles formed by Lp-285 and Lp-283) and a fifth distinct strain (Lp-286-1) which on epidemiological grounds was considered the most likely cause of infection (Lp strain recovered from humidifier residual water and therefore most likely to have been aerosolised during humidifier use). A subsequent cloning experiment performed on the patient's sputum extract, revealed sequences unique to at least two of the environmental strains (Lp-286–1 and Lp-285), suggesting co-infection (data not shown).
Figure. Use of a minimum spanning tree generated from allelic profiles of 1,446 core genome genes shared by 17 Legionella pneumophila strains analysed, to investigate paediatric humidifier-associated Legionnaires' disease cases
WGS-analysis is emerging as the optimal molecular epidemiology tool for microbial genotyping but its application and implementation are limited by challenges in timely analysis of data and standardised integration into scalable classification schemes. While most WGS-based epidemiological investigations published to date have relied on mapping of SNPs, extension of the classical MLST approach [27] to a gene-by-gene typing scheme based on the entire core genome [16] is a promising approach for a standardised, portable and expandable typing method. The current study presents a novel core-genome allele-based typing scheme for Lp based on a standardised analysis of WGS of an internationally representative and biologically diverse Lp collection of genomes. The proposed scheme follows several recently proposed cgMLST schemes for pathogens of public health importance including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Neisseria meningitidis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis [13-15,28,29].
Only a few clusters of LD have been investigated to date using a WGS-based approach. One study provided a retrospective analysis of a community-acquired LD cluster in which WGS yielded comparable results to that of conventional SBT [26]. Notably, WGS could not identify the most likely source of infection. The two clinical and three environmental isolates analysed in that study were not more than 15 SNPs apart [26]. Another study provided a real time investigation of a nosocomial LD cluster involving two patients [30] in which WGS had a greater resolution as compared with conventional typing and was able to link the two cases with an environmental strain and possibly to a past case. Related strains in that study were 17 SNPs apart. The reliance on SNP mapping makes those two reports difficult to reproduce and to compare, especially given the differences in reference genomes and bioinformatics pipelines used, as well as software parameter selections. Nevertheless, both papers contribute to the proof of concept of harnessing WGS for Lp investigation.
In our report, WGS of Lp strains related to three independent LD incidents was successful in demonstrating the phylogeny of implicated clinical and environmental strains. We chose to focus on Lp ST1 which is one of the most abundant ST globally and by far the most common cause of LD in Israel [31] and thus conventional tools such as SBT are not always powerful enough for epidemiological purposes. Moreover, it has recently been shown that Lp ST1 could be further characterised using additional typing methods such as spoligotyping [32]. Using the 'Paris' ST1 type strain and an 'outgroup' ST1 strain our analysis shows that the cgMLST scheme of ca 1,500 genes has an adequate discriminatory power and could resolve clustering of multiple strains in the ST1 complex. Discriminatory power in concordance with epidemiological data are among the most important performance criteria set to evaluate proposed typing methods [33]. In that respect, the observed clustering pattern of our study isolates suggests that a difference of up to four alleles between strains may serve as a preliminary threshold value for defining a WGS cluster. Nevertheless, this should be further evaluated and fine-tuned as additional genomic epidemiology data on Lp accumulates.
We included in our analysis LD cases diagnosed by three accepted laboratory modalities, being sputum culture, urinary antigen and sputum PCR in order to demonstrate the usefulness of WGS-based typing in all typical epidemiological scenarios. Of note is that case 3 was more difficult to resolve as strain clustering yielded three unrelated ST1 groups. While spontaneous mutations could provide a possible explanation, we believe that this is the result of infection with multiple ST1 strains. This reflects the inherent limitation of culture-based methods used in water testing for Lp, where picking out a single colony from similar morphotypes may overlook the presence of multiple strains. This limitation could be resolved by liberal use of SBT target screening before colony picking and in the future via metagenomic approaches.
One notable hindrance to routine application of WGS for Lp genotyping is the failure to determine the mompS allele number (and as a result determine the ST) for some strains, regardless of whether SNP mapping or cgMLST is being used. This phenomenon results from the presence of multiple copies of the mompS gene in many Lp strains, which are commonly non-identical, a fact not known when the SBT scheme was initially designed [7]. Current SBT primers used for Sanger sequencing amplify only a single copy of the gene due to sequence variation in the noncoding flanking region and thus generate consistent ST designations [7]. Therefore, in the future, tools for extraction of the correct mompS allele from finished genomes harbouring multiple gene copies must take synteny information, e.g. the primer sequences, into consideration to choose the correct gene copy for allele calling. Remediation of the problem for draft genomes is more difficult to achieve as the rather short second generation sequencing reads from both copies are assembled or mapped into a single contig. Notably, resolution of this limitation would be highly desirable for routine WGS application for Lp as backwards compatibility would be maintained.
Our report also highlights humidifier-associated paediatric LD as a continuously emerging risk for LD. After the first paediatric case was acknowledged and reported in Eurosurveillance [10], additional cases have been reported in Europe including Spain [34] and Cyprus [35], the latter involving a nosocomial outbreak in a nursery. The public health response to the first case in Israel was coordinated by the National Programme for Legionellosis Prevention. As part of this response, the Israeli Ministry of Health released specific guidance to professionals and members of the public. Thereafter, scheduled press releases occur every winter. As mandated, cold water humidifiers sold in the country are also labelled with a safety hazard warning through the National Standards Institute of Israel. Moreover, the Israeli Paediatrics Association has released a position paper regarding domestic humidifier use highlighting the benefits and risks. Nevertheless, paediatric humidifier-associated LD is still a public health challenge and deserves more attention.
In conclusion, we devised a WGS-based cgMLST scheme for typing of Lp, which provided high-resolution analysis of Lp strains within the same clonal complex. cgMLST appears to have satisfactory discriminatory power for LD cluster analysis and is advantageous over mapping followed by SNP calling as it is easier for standardisation and dissemination. cgMLST thus has the potential for becoming a gold standard tool for LD investigation. Humidifiers pose an ongoing risk as vehicles for LD and should be considered in cluster investigation and control efforts.
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Sure, Robert Griffin III and Bryce Harper both helped their long-suffering franchises reach the playoffs in 2012, and both won Rookie of the Year awards, and both tweeted a lot about socks.
But now they're joined in a different, more important way: they've both been featured on Jeopardy. In a two-week span, no less.
RGIII's moment came this week, though I'm not quite sure what the category was, or why the "answer" was written in the first person plural. Via @Lizzs_Lockeroom and @chrisschmitt.
Harper's much-discussed moment — which I somehow forgot to mention at the time — came in late January, when he inspired an entire category on the show. Via @brenl87.
See? You'd definitely choose Clown Questions over "Name The Poet," right? Via @ben_jammin09.
Of course, Griffin and Harper now join other D.C. sports legends like Gilbert Arenas in being so honored. Via the Nexus.
Also, Art Monk.
I'm not sure if Alex Ovechkin ever made it on Jeopardy, but he was an answer on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" way back when.


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Rob Ford apologized Thursday for losing his cool in a conversation with a 9-1-1 dispatcher, acknowledging that in his frustration he used profanities that he now regrets.
The story of the Toronto mayor's 9-1-1 call has gone viral this week, making headlines across the country. Mr. Ford called emergency after being confronted in his driveway by well-known comedian Mary Walsh dressed as a warrior princess as part of a gag for the show This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Mr. Ford said he has never watched the show, and did not recognize Ms. Walsh's character, and that's why he retreated inside his Etobicoke home and called 9-1-1.
"I was frustrated. If I offended someone, I apologize," he told reporters. "Maybe I shouldn't have used the F-word. I apologize."
While acknowledging he used the F-word, Mr. Ford denied a CBC story that he called the dispatchers "bitches."
"It was inaccurate," Mr. Ford said of the story when speaking to reporters following an afternoon football game featuring the Don Bosco Eagles, the team he coaches. "I didn't use the 'bitch' word or whatever they said."
Political observers have called on Mr. Ford to release a copy of the 9-1-1 call. Under a precedent-setting ruling by the province's privacy commissioner, anyone who makes 9-1-1 calls is entitled to a copy of the recording.
Asked by reporters if he planned to release the tape, the mayor said he was not aware that he had that option. He said he would have to talk to police about the matter.
With reports from Elizabeth Church and Timothy ApplebyReport Typo/Error
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QC Industries' Flextrac plastic chain belt conveyors have the ability to quickly move heavy loads over long distances. With load capacities of 500 lbs and speeds as fast as 375 fpm, the conveyors offer a standard length of 30 ft. as well as optional sizes as long as 100 ft. With 2.41" profile (3.03" at the drive end), the conveyors can fit in tight quarters.
Widths range from 4" to 24" with various side-profile options for product containment. Each conveyor features wear strips and center supports for long belt life and quiet operation. Featuring a permanent, micro-poly lubricant that eliminates the need for periodic lubrication, the company's lube-for-life bearings are said to make the conveyors virtually maintenance free.
More than 100 styles of 1" pitch belting are offered, including flush-grid or flat-top styles in various materials ranging from polypropylene with an anti-microbial additive to a high-temperature composite. Available specialty belts include roller-top belts for accumulation, high-friction belts and nub-top belts for easy product release. Various accessories, including sides, guides, mounts, stands, drive packages and controls, allow the conveyors to be adapted to virtually any application, the company says.
Editor PickAutomation Events Highlight Deburring
This tedious, costly and complex operation was one focus of two complementary, same-day events that covered virtually every aspect of industrial robotic automation.


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Mad Horse Theatre Continues BY LOCAL Play Reading Series, Now thru 2/9
Mad Horse Theatre Company continues its new play reading series, BY LOCAL, with two new works by Maine playwrights: Sin Don't Enter Into It by Cullen McGough, and Ghosts of Ocean House by Michael Kimball. Both plays will receive two performances; all are held at All performances are held at the Mad Horse Theater in the Hutchins School, 24 Mosher Street, South Portland. Sin Don't Enter Into It, directed by Christine Louise Marshall, will be performed today, February 6 and Saturday February 8 at 7:30 pm. Ghosts of Ocean House, directed by Kat Moraros, will be performed Friday 2/7, 7:30 pm and Sunday February 9 at 2:00 pm. Pay-what-you-can tickets (a suggested $10 donation) are available at the door, cash and check only.
Cullen McGough's Sin Don't Enter Into It takes place in 1936 when Owensboro, Kentucky was rocked by the brutal murder of Lischia Edwards by a young illiterate black man, Rainey Bathea. Despite confessing to the murder, what happened to Rainey next sparked one of the strangest trials in American history. Caught up in election-year politics, the young man found himself accused of rape by a prosecutor eager to exploit a loophole in Kentucky law. If convicted of rape instead of murder, Rainey would face a blood-thirsty mob at a public hanging rather than a private execution. Hampered with a divided defense team, damning evidence and no chance of acquittal, Rainey was presented with a terrible choice: confess to a rape he didn't commit and hang, or confess to murder and become one of the first men to sit in the newly-invented electric chair.
Cullen McGough is a playwright from Portland Maine. His work has been performed at the Maine Playwright's Festival, the D.C. Source Festival, the Freeport Players theater, the N.H. Player's Ring and the King of Crows Theatre festival. Cullen's full-length play BERNARD was a finalist for the 2012 O'Neil National Playwrights Conference and also performed locally at Mayo St. Arts in Portland. Cullen is a founding member and regular contributor to the Crowbait Club, a new work showcase performed monthly in Portland. Cullen recently joined the 2014 Maine Playwright's Festival as the Executive Producer.
Michael Kimball's Ghosts of Ocean House concerns estranged remnants of a once aristocratic New England family, who must spend one week for each of ten years living together harmoniously-or else lose the house to charity. This is their final week. But the newest family member, a flighty, fragile young bride named Darlene, harbors a dark, mysterious past-as does the quiet old house-and when they come together, ghosts begin awakening.
Michael Kimball is a playwright, novelist, and screenwriter who teaches popular fiction and scriptwriting at Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing program (USM). He's written four novels, including the London Times' bestseller UNDONE, and several screenplays for movie and television production companies. His most recent play, DUCK AND COVER, was staged in Portsmouth, NH, and Westbrook, ME, in 2013 and was named "Best Play" at the Northern Writes Play Festival in Bangor, Maine. GHOSTS OF OCEAN HOUSE won the 2006 Gary Newton Playwriting Award (Players Ring, Portsmouth, NH) and was nominated for the Mystery Writers of America's 2007 Edgar Award.
For more information visit www.madhorse.com or call 207.747.4148.
Pictured: The History Boys, directed by Peter Brown in 2009.


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Archives for October 6, 2009
Because they won 6 to 5 in the 12th inning, and are thus the American League Central Division Champions.
You read about it here … now you can see the music video version:
Do these look similar to you? According to Apple corp, th e one on the left may be too similar to the one on the right.
Early Friday Morning, plus/minus one half a day depending on where in the world you are, two alien space craft are going to crash into the moon. It will be visible from earth with a small telescope. Read about it here!
The Carnival of Muse on Everything is HERE. The Carnival of the Vanities is HERE. The Current Blogger Bio Blitz is HERE.
I've always had a fondness in my heart for cycads. Encephalartos princeps Years ago, while working in the Ituri Forest (in what is now the Congo), I kept hearing of a particular place in the forest, where the Efe Pygmies would occasionally but not often go for various reasons. Over time I asked about this…
The course of the biotic recovery after the impact-related disruption of photosynthesis and mass extinction event at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary has been intensely debated. The resurgence of marine primary production in the aftermath remains poorly constrained because of the paucity of fossil records tracing primary producers that lack skeletons. Here we present a high-resolution record…
Welcome to Bizzaro Land, computer users. Since June 26, retailers and computer manufacturers have urged shoppers to buy computers already on store shelves loaded with the much-maligned Windows Vista operating system because they would qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it was released in October. As it turns out, Mouse Print* has…
If you get paid to write a review for your blog, that fact … that you were paid … should be disclosed on said blog.
This is a site I pointed out to you about a year ago, but it is worth another visit.


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There are some extraordinary circus playbills on this website - The Leeds Playbill Archive. If you're a typography junky then you will love the collection. Here are a few of my faves. Sorry the sizes are not very good - they are much larger at the source. (Please take the time to read them through - they are very funny!)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Inspiration - type
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Ask Experts & Get Answers to Your Questions - ASAP
Have you noticed any droppings in the pantry?
Have you seen anything in the boxes of grain or foods?
If you check the corners of you pantry do you see anything?
Don't see droppings, no bugs in the boxes or the food. Most food is in plastic bags. The eaten boxes are specialty coffee boxes with foil pouches inside (foil is untouched), cracker boxes, nothing in the crackers, cereal boxes with closed plastic inside, no bugs noticed.
On my counter I just found some almonds in a plastic container that something had gotten in an nibbled..it had slits that gave access.
Still no droppings evident.
Saw some very small dead blackish bugs that looked like gnats in the far corner when I started cleaning and spraying.
Thanks for any help.
There are quite a few little insects that can come in grains, flour and foods that we eat or buy that will eat cardboard. One of the most common is a little flour beetle or another is a weevil (there are quite a few types). Many of these bugs are very small and have come in with something that was purchased at the store. It could be from cereal, pet foods, bird seed and many other products. This is a link from a University that gives information and may help identify the bugs doing the damage and how care for the panty to help get rid of the bugs: http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/pantrypests304.shtml
For now I suggest going through the cabinet and getting rid of any grains or items that the bugs can come in. Make sure that anything that you feel can be salvaged can be frozen for at least 3-4 days. Using glass and plastic to store items will remove the food source of cardboard. Vacuuming can help and make sure you get rid of the bugs, but get rid of the vacuum bag when done. You will also want to check other rooms for things being chewed. If you cannot get this under control you may have to have an exterminator out to identify the insect causing the damage and have them help you eradicate them. Mice are also prime candidates for chewing cardboard, you would see droppings in the house if it was mice. Please let me know if I can further assist you. Joan


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Previous Fragment Next Fragment
- Start of Business
- Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010
- Income Tax Rates Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010
- Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011
- Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010
- Income Tax Rates Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010
- Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011, Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Bill 2011
- Child Care
- Gyari, Mr Lodi Gyaltsen
- Logan City: House Fire
- Kingston Electorate: Noarlunga Hospital Parking
- Education
- Petition: Asylum Seekers
- Small Business
- Volunteers
- Hicks, Mr David
- Australian Industry
- Convoy of No Confidence
Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011, Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Bill 2011
- Second Reading
- Consideration in Detail
- Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011, Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Bill 2011
- Roxon, Nicola, MP
- Petition: Halal Food
- Newcastle Electorate: Community Arts
- Food Security
- National Disability Insurance Scheme
- Healesville Football and Netball Club
- Throsby Electorate: BlueScope Steel
- Dunkley Electorate
- Parramatta Electorate: Parramatta City Brass Band
- White Balloon Day
Main Committee
- Start of Business
- Hume Electorate: Wollondilly Shire
- Petrie Electorate: 2011 Petrie Future Leaders Essay and Public Speaking Competition
- Stirling Electorate: Balcatta Soccer Club
- Child Care
- Manufacturing, Walk for Autism
- Lyne Electorate: Roads and Timber Bridges
- Private Health Insurance
- Australian Volunteers Overseas
- Live Animal Exports
- Electorate of Chifley: No School No Play Program
Same-Sex Relationships
- Slipper, Peter, MP
- Bandt, Adam, MP
- Neville, Paul, MP
- Hayes, Chris, MP
- Christensen, George, MP
- Wilkie, Andrew, MP
- O'Dwyer, Kelly, MP
- Perrett, Graham, MP
- Hawke, Alex, MP
- Leigh, Andrew, MP
- Chester, Darren, MP
- Neumann, Shayne, MP
- Simpkins, Luke, MP
- Symon, Mike, MP
- Schultz, Alby, MP
- Grierson, Sharon, MP
- Robert, Stuart, MP
- King, Catherine, MP
- Morrison, Scott, MP
- Albanese, Anthony, MP
- Turnbull, Malcolm, MP
- Hall, Jill, MP
- Frydenberg, Josh, MP
- O'Neill, Deb, MP
- Crook, Tony, MP
- Oakeshott, Robert, MP
- Billson, Bruce, MP
- Murphy, John, MP
- Andrews, Kevin, MP
- Coulton, Mark, MP
- Fletcher, Paul, MP
Vietnam Veterans Day
- Griffin, Alan, MP
- Billson, Bruce, MP
- Clare, Jason, MP
- Alexander, John, MP
- Hall, Jill, MP
- Kelly, Craig, MP
- Brodtmann, Gai, MP
- Simpkins, Luke, MP
- Georganas, Steve, MP
- Coulton, Mark, MP
- Husic, Ed, MP
- Jones, Ewen, MP
- McCormack, Michael, MP
- Robert, Stuart, MP
- Prentice, Jane, MP
- Markus, Louise, MP
- Hartsuyker, Luke, MP
- Andrews, Karen, MP
- Slipper, Peter, MP
- Scott, Bruce, MP
- Stone, Dr Sharman, MP
- O'Dwyer, Kelly, MP
- Vietnam Veterans Day
Page: 9275
Ms ROXON (Gellibrand—Minister for Health and Ageing) (18:39): I am sure that, for such a young person doing work in an area interested in other countries, witnessing this world first will be a good experience.
I am pleased to be summing up on the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 and the Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Bill 2011. These are very important pieces of legislation. I think over 30 members of the House have spoken in this debate. I want to use this summing up to address a range of issues that have been raised by members in this House, and I hope that we will be able to vote on this important legislation tonight before the House adjourns.
It is of course a landmark day for tobacco control in Australia. Those members who have spoken in favour of this legislation have demonstrated that they are prepared to put the public health of their constituents absolutely at the top of the list of their priorities and certainly above the partisan party politics that we have seen from some speakers. They join with 260 professors of health and medicine, including four former Australians of the Year, who have written to all federal MPs seeking unanimous support for legislation to mandate plain packaging of tobacco products sold in Australia.
When I introduced these bills some six weeks ago, I detailed the toll of death and disease felt by our community each year from tobacco related diseases, and I will not repeat that in the House again today. But of course the purpose of this legislation is to reduce that toll that is felt within our community.
Tobacco is a product not like other products. When it is used as intended it kills people. The pack is not opened and then thrown away; it is carried around by the smoker, continually brought in and out of their pocket, put on their desk, held in the public arena and shown to friends—reinforcing the brand and personal identity and exposing the marketing to many social groups that it may not have been intended for and to children. Plain packaging joins the range of direct actions that we are taking to tackle tobacco, including the 25 per cent tobacco excise introduced in April 2010, record investments in anti-smoking social-marketing campaigns and legislation to prohibit the advertising of cigarette products on the internet.
The first piece of legislation will mandate that packaging can only appear in a standard, drab, dark brown colour and the only thing to distinguish one brand from another will be the brand and variant name in a standard colour, standard position and standard font size and style. Let me assure the member for New England that the name will appear on the top and bottom of the pack to accommodate concerns that have been raised by retailers who pack and sell their products stacked horizontally—and I will come to the other issue in terms of those who might stack vertically. That was a suggested change that came through our consultation process and one that we have taken on board.
I understand that the coalition have made clear that they will support this first piece of legislation that mandates plain packaging. However, they have flagged that they will move an amendment in the consideration in detail stage to allow branding to remain on cigarette cartons. We are very concerned that this will undermine the policy intent of the legislation. The coalition amendment creates a series of loopholes in the legislation that will enable tobacco companies to continue to brand and therefore market their products—the very thing we are trying to restrict. Though cartons are used in some cases to deliver wholesale product to retailers, they can also be sold at the retail level, particularly in duty-free settings but also in shops. There are also cases where individual packets can be bundled together—for example, two small packs of cigarettes bundled together in transparent wrapping—that would fit the definition of 'carton' in the opposition's amendment.
The opposition claim that the amendment is designed to help retailers in the handling of the product, but the legislation already does this because the legislation allows for the brand name and variant to appear prominently and legibly on the front and two small end surfaces of cartons for retail sale. The legislation does not affect wholesale packaging of tobacco products. Under the legislation, it is open to the industry to fully brand cartons delivered to retailers—with colours, logos et cetera—as long as the retailers are not on-selling the branded cartons to consumers. So, for the purposes of handling stock in the back of an office, in a warehouse and elsewhere—legitimate concerns that industry have—this legislation does not affect that.
The amendment, however, would open a loophole which would mean that products that are branded are called 'cartons' and are not only used for wholesale and would be made available to retailers. This amendment could also have the perverse impact that retailers stock and sell more cigarettes in bulk packaging such as cartons rather than in individual packets, potentially increasing the consumption of cigarettes. Clearly this would dramatically undermine the policy intent of the legislation. Let me make clear, if it has not been apparent, that the government will not be supporting that amendment. The opposition have already said that they will also oppose an important part of the legislation package—the second bill, the Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Bill—and now they are moving this amendment which will water down the legislation and potentially create a loophole for tobacco companies to continue to market their products.
In regard to that second piece of legislation, there has been a lot of debate in this House about the Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Bill. It will allow the government to act quickly to protect trademarks owners' rights if there are unintended consequences from the practical operations of the plain packaging legislation. Contrary to what the coalition have been spruiking today about the trademarks amendment bill, any regulation made under new section 231A will not have any effect on the operation of the Trade Marks Act in relation to goods or services that are not covered by the plain packaging bill. So suggestions that this can affect broader trademark legislation for products other than tobacco products is simply not correct. It does seem a little strange to us that the opposition is going to oppose this second bill which actually provides additional assurance to tobacco companies that, if someone were seeking to deregister a trademark for lack of use as a result of the plain packaging legislation, we would be able to take action which would protect the existence of that trademark.
The member for New England also raised some concerns about what sort of coloured stickers or promotional or marketing material will be able to be displayed at the point of sale, particularly where cigarettes might be sold and stacked vertically rather than horizontally. I need to advise the House and the member for New England that this is something that is covered by state legislation. I have been able to identify and provide that to the member, but am happy to also put on the record that the New South Wales fact sheets that cover the specific requirements for price tickets make it clear that tobacco retailers can use price tickets. They can use two colours, one for the ticket and one for the price. There are a number of restrictions on how they can be used, how distinctive they can or cannot be, and what sort of lighting and lettering can be used for them. This is consistent with legislation in each state and territory that restricts very tightly the sort of display that is allowed in any retail shop but makes sure that there is identification available for those who sell the product and need to be able to know which brand they are choosing. A number of members on this side of the House have met with retailers, and when they have said to them, 'If you stack your products alphabetically, won't that actually be quite easy for your sales assistants?' that has been received quite enthusiastically. People do have concerns, but we believe that the combined protections of this act and the restrictions will still allow retailers to identify where products are, which brand they are being asked for and which brand they are selling.
I said that today was a watershed day for tobacco control. It is also a day where we have seen the best and, unfortunately, the worst of this parliament. Listening to the speeches by the majority of members of the opposition, it is obvious that they are not voting for this legislation because they believe in doing everything possible to lower the smoking rate. It is clear from the comments made by many opposition members that they were shamed into this position but when they vote it is with every fibre of their being saying they should oppose it. I think it is not an exaggeration to say that today we scratched the skin of the opposition and the extreme right has come oozing out of the wound. The member who— (Quorum formed) I understand why the member for Dawson, who called attention to the state of the House, is sensitive about that, because he gave one of the most appalling speeches, where he told this parliament that smoking was fun. He, as a member of parliament and a leader in the community, was prepared to stand up here and say to his constituents that a product that is going to kill people who use it as intended is fun.
Honourable members interjecting—
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Hon. Peter Slipper ): I apologise to the minister, but would honourable members on my right please resume their seats or leave the chamber. I cannot hear the minister, and if I cannot hear the minister I suspect others cannot.
Ms ROXON: The member for Dawson I think may have been bettered by the member for Mitchell who, in his speech, made it absolutely clear that he does not support this legislation, and told us that 'life kills'—that we might as well not worry about doing anything on smoking because life kills anyway. What a silly statement to make in this House. It is something that the Liberal Party and the Liberal leadership should be embarrassed about. He also made the claim, which was made by many others opposite, that we enjoyed the revenue that big tobacco raised for the government. Let us correct the record here: the revenue that is raised by the excise on tobacco is five or six times less than the amount that we spend in dealing with the social, health and economic costs of smoking. This financial year it is projected that the revenue raised from tobacco excise will be $5.8 billion. The latest report indicates that the estimated health and social costs of tobacco in Australia a number of years ago was $31.5 billion annually. Therefore, the costs to our system are far greater than any benefit that the coalition says the government or taxpayers receive from this product.
The party room compromise to support plain packaging was obviously that it would oppose the trademarks amendment bill, and we are very sure that the coalition is just playing politics on this issue. In response to those opposite who claim that the trademarks amendment bill would avoid parliamentary scrutiny, I remind them that any regulations made under this act would be able to be disallowed by the parliament and they should stop playing politics on this. I also remind the House that the Howard government introduced a similar regulation making power in 2000 to implement the obligations of the Madrid protocol. The enactment of these bills will give effect to Australia's commitment under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The fact that we will be the first country to introduce these measures is very exciting and I am aware that a number of countries around the globe are supportive of our legislation.
One of the shadow ministers opposite raised the issue of track and trace. There are not any international agreed standards for that yet, but we are happy to continue to work on those and to do ongoing work with those opposite. The passing of this legislation will be another nail in the coffin of tobacco marketing and I commend the legislation to the House. (Time expired)
Question agreed to.
Bill read a second time.


text: Dynamic satin and contrast eyelash lace corset with sweetheart neckline, slimming princess line boning, hook and eye side closure and waist slimming cleavage enhancing lace back. Comes with adjustable/detachable garters and G-string. Style: clothing-corset-soh-29094tealblack This item is FINAL SALE and is not eligible for return or exchanges. NOTE: This item is an Expanded Assortment*. Please allow 3-4 business days for item to leave the warehouse. NOTE: This item is exluded from discounts and promotions, if eligable may be subject to a restocking. See our store policy.


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I'd like to welcome Madison Reese Designs as a new sponsor here at All Things Thrifty. Holy cow does Melissa have some DARLING stuff over there!!
You should hop on over to the Madison Reese Shop and check out her cute line of jewelry!
I thought I'd give you a little preview! Love it, love it!
A Note from Melissa:
"I am a T-shirt & Jeans kind of girl, this is why I created this line. I know there are many other moms out there just like me. My designs can be casual or dressy. You will find in my silver clay designs that they are not perfect – they are meant to look very rustic and far from perfect. They have fine lines or marks in them that I think add character and uniqueness to each piece."
Give Melissa a little love and go over and check out here SHOP and her BLOG! Welcome Madison Reese Designs!


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(CBS/AP) MANTON, Calif. - More than 1,900 firefighters are already battling a blaze in Northern California that threatens some 3,500 homes, but the state's governor said Tuesday the National Guard will join the fight, and that he has secured permission from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for additional help.
Now, the state can mobilize military troops and aircraft to fight fires under a single commander within the National Guard, reports CBS affiliate KHSL-TV.
"Too often the response to fires is wrapped up in red tape, with each military branch reporting to a different commander," said Governor Jerry Brown, according to KHSL. "When fires are burning, every second counts. By unifying the command, this agreement will allow us to fight fires, not bureaucracy."
The fire had been moving quickly, but the tide turned Tuesday thanks to a change in the winds and the small air force assembled that's making run after run over the treetops.
Fire Battalion Chief Mike Carr told CBS News' Tammy Leitner: "We've stopped the fire from spreading and are focusing on hot spots."
The blaze, which has destroyed seven homes, has fearful residents seeking safety miles away at an emergency shelter. After igniting on Saturday, the fire has grown to more than 30 square miles and was 35 percent contained Tuesday morning.
Firefighters are battling the blaze in rugged, densely forested terrain as it threatens 3,500 homes in the towns of Manton, Shingletown and Viola, about 170 miles north of Sacramento.
The blaze has left some of the thousands of evacuees frustrated as they wait to hear the latest information. (Watch a report above by CBS News' Bigad Shaban on evacuees in Northern California.)
"Yeah, but what can you do? Everything is in God's hands and the firefighters," said evacuee Lynn Rodgers, 47, of Shingletown, who along with her husband and two teenage sons sought shelter at a sports complex in nearby Redding, Calif.Huge fire burns to edge of 3 small Calif. towns
Future uncertain for Northwest wildfire victims
Some progress battling wildfires in West
Shifting winds that arrived on Monday were helping to keep the blaze away from homes, state fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said Tuesday. The winds are allowing fire crews to go after the blaze from multiple angles and to improve their containment lines around the wildfire.
However, Berlant said there is concern that expected gusts between 25 to 35 miles per hour on Tuesday could hamper efforts, especially along the southern edge
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it's offering federal funds to help fight the blaze.
The fast-moving Ponderosa Fire was one of many burning across the West, where lightning, dry temperatures and gusting winds sparking up aging grass, brush and timber have brought an earlier start to fire season.
Melted satellite dishes, the remains of burned furniture and charred refrigerators could be seen in some homes in the rural, remote area. As the wildfire burned, massive amounts of smoke poured up from the forest.
The fire forced the closure of Highway 44 and other roads, and prompted the declaration of an emergency in Shasta County. The Red Cross set up an evacuation center at a sports complex in Redding, where dozens of people, from the elderly to infants, as well as about a dozen dogs, were given shelter.
One evacuee, Bonnie Maloy, who escaped her home in Shingletown, along with her husband Bill, described the scene as they fled the flames.
"Frantic at first, then I said, `Let's calm down,' and we got everything that's important, things we couldn't replace: animals, kids, photo albums," she said.
Rodgers, another evacuee from Shingletown, said Tuesday that her family employed a similar strategy prior to getting the call on Saturday to leave their home of barely a year.
Along with her husband, Derek, and their two sons, Rodgers said they loaded up their belongings and two dogs and two cats. The family stayed at a motel on Saturday before joining other evacuees at the sports complex on Sunday.
Since then, Rodgers said she's staying busy by volunteering and cleaning up around the complex.
"It's our home right now, so for the time being, we should all be appreciative and take care of it," Rodgers said.
Meanwhile, crews handling a massive wildfire burning to the south in Plumas National Forest since July 29 that grew larger over the weekend due to strong winds are trying to re-establish containment lines. The blaze, about 120 miles north of Sacramento, has consumed 79 square miles and threatens about 900 homes. It remains 37 percent contained.
Also in California, a wildfire in Lassen Volcanic National Park remains at 79 percent containment. Officials expect the fire to be contained by Wednesday.
In Washington state, firefighters hope to fully contain a week-old wildfire that burned dozens of homes in Cle Elum, about 75 miles east of Seattle.
The Taylor Bridge Fire was 57 percent contained Tuesday morning. The blaze has caused an estimated $8.3 million in property damage.
Smaller fires are burning in Colorado, Idaho and Utah after being sparked by lightning over the weekend.


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Vintage Saarinen Style White Tulip Swivel by thevintagesupplyco
Cool modern chair!
Tea-Rex?! What's not to love!?
fun console!
Added to my Shopping Guide Pillow Fight! Battle of the Top Throw PillowsAdded 6 Years Ago from Blisslivinghome
It's almost the old collection but I love this dress so much. White silk satin with a black leather tassel on the shoulder.
Animal cute design Hanger Hook wall hooks white steel hangers
Book case/room divider Product dimensions Width: 58 5/8 " Depth: 15 3/8 " Height: 58 5/8 " Max load/shelf: 29 lb Width: 149 cm Depth: 39 cm Height: 149 cm Max load/shelf: 13 kg $129
Lovely linen table runner in linen-red or linen-white colors, obviously from 100% linen material. Great design that also comes as wool blanket, hot water bottle in wool cover, and kitchen towelTags: scandinavian, red, linen, white, design, Finnish, table runner, linen table runner, misteliAdded 6 Years Ago from Lapuan
Love This!
How can you go wrong with something called egg pants?
Looks like a flower and you can pick your colours. The geometric shapes have a touch or retro, but are really comfortable and would suit any modern home.Added 7 Years Ago from Viewfurniture
Going with the red and white or white and silver. These little bird cages will look great on the table.Tags: entertaining, home decor, white, design, Christmas, decorations, bird cages, centre piece.Added 7 Years Ago from Balimystique
A simple pendant in silver with a central simple blue anchor. The perfect to finish off your sailor outfit.
Love this look. It is a ruby-hued picturesque floral centerpiece enclosed in a silver scallop-edged setting, this ring features an adjustable, silver metal band to give you the flexibility to it wear on any finger you choose.
So mine!
Gorgeous outside lamps!
Yup a super clever design and now we have place for the wet dripping tea bag.
THIS IS A JEWEL--A SCULPTURE THAT GIVES THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LIGHTTags: lamps, decor, white, design, tomdelavanAdded 7 Years Ago from Moss Online
Great screen, nice keyboard, fast processor, not plastic, great battery life, can run Windows if you need to do so, GREAT customer service. No Blu-Ray. Lets face it, you do not need it and it is buggy and a dying technology.Tags: audio, fashion, books, gifts, computers, electronics, music, technology, gadgetsAdded 7 Years Ago from CNet
modern meet retro. retro meet modern. the world just feels (and sounds) so much better now that that's out of the way.Tags: mp3 players, decor, white, design, retro furniture, phonofone, erin falconer, minimalissimoAdded 7 Years Ago from Minimalissimo
It's so much fun to see all the new products inspired by the Alice In Wonderland revival and here's yet another. Ceramic S&P shakers made by IMM living. Love them!Added 7 Years Ago from Whotelsthestore
Now, if you must tote a water bottle around with you, at least make it a beautiful one like one of these stunning hydration vessels (isn't that like calling a janitor a Sanitation Engineer?). Regrardless of the product name, t... Now, if you must tote a water bottle around with you, at least make it a beautiful one like one of these stunning hydration vessels (isn't that like calling a janitor a Sanitation Engineer?). Regrardless of the product name, these bottles are made of a specially formulated compund so no toxins leach into the water. So, good-looking and good for you!
so cute, so fun, so slip-onable and so converse! I want them..Tags: fashion, shoes, animals, white, design, converse libertine, fox and mouse, women'ssAdded 7 Years Ago from Colette
I love this beautiful piggy bank / money box. A porcelain skull with a filigree cut out. Just stunning looking even as a simple objet d'art.
I can't believe it took this long for someone to come up with this. A simple modern design, the base of this lamp has a built in dish so it's a catchall for things like keys, earrings, glasses and all those little things you stick... I can't believe it took this long for someone to come up with this. A simple modern design, the base of this lamp has a built in dish so it's a catchall for things like keys, earrings, glasses and all those little things you stick on your nightstand.Tags: lighting, light, modern, home decor, table lamps, minimalist, white, design, Naoto FukasawaAdded 7 Years Ago from Gnr8
Designed by Alberto Frias, this modern illuminated sleeping pod uses led lights by Color Kinetics. Will be available at the CA Boom show in Santa Monica for a mere 10,000$Tags: fashion, technology, unusual, sleep, Beds, design, lounge chairs, white, purpleAdded 7 Years Ago from Albertofrias


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Cinnamon Graham Cracker Cake
Recipe by Ashbow
Unlike the others! A cream cheese icing... YUM! Omit the walnuts if you want. I have not made this yet; please rate and review. :) From the back of a graham cracker box.
Top Review by Vseward Chef-V
This is an awesome cake! So easy to make and had a wonderful cinnamon flavor. The cake came out really moist and the icing was rich and sweet. This reminded me of a carrot cake. Next time I make this, and I will ;) .... add some carrots for a shortcut carrot cake. Thanks for posting! My family enjoyed this so much it didn't last long in my house.
See Discussion:1 Review
Ingredients Nutrition
- cake
- 32 cinnamon graham crackers, crumbled
- 1 cup sugar
- 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- icing
- 1⁄3 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1⁄4 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Directions See How It's Made
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Mix graham cracker crumbs with flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add yolks, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternatively with milk.
- Stir in nuts, if using.
- Spread into prepared pan.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool completely.
- To make icing: Cream together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Add vanilla then spread evenly over cooled cake.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.


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The University of Arizona's Student Recreation Center Expansion. It makes Globo Gym look like a Soviet-era sweat box. All of the hugest of the huge congregate and worship the gods of Bench Press and Bicep Curls. It is a life changing experience. Sleeves are not encouraged. If you aren't cracked out on NO-EXPLODE when you are there, you aren't doing it right.
by Mike "Poofy" Anderson February 28, 2010
The Urban Dictionary Mug
One side has the word, one side has the definition. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Lotsa space for your liquids.Buy the mug


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Silsden will be under the guidance of former centre back Michael Rosser when they travel to high-flying Runcorn Linnets in the North West Counties Premier Division on Saturday.
Rosser, who also played up front for the Cobbydalers when they first made their way onto the non-league ladder, is filling in for two men who managed the club throughout his playing days.
Current manager Andy Geary is away, while his assistant Paul Schofield has a prior engagement with Blackburn Rovers, where he coaches in the youth set-up at the Lancashire Championship outfit.
Cobbydalers' spokesman Jim Rosser, who is Michael's father, said: "We have just turned to two ex-players because of the circumstances. Michael and another one of the old stagers will be in charge on a one-off basis and let's hope their experience helps.
"We have lost James Nettleton and Andy Lee, two of our older heads, to Barnoldswick Town. We have missed 'Nets' at the back because the young lads used to take guidance from him. Scott Hanson has come in and he looks to have potential.
"It will be difficult against a side like Runcorn, though, we could do with a run of games against clubs near to us in the table but we still have a chance of climbing up the table before the end of the season."


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Three Wise Guys: Babies in Bars, Guys Chatting Up Girls, Papal Shot Glass?
Dear Wise Guys:
Is it true that restaurants and bars in the District require a license to allow babies in? Our office visited a Dupont Circle establishment that serves food and alcoholic drinks. When one of our number entered with his wife and 8-month-old baby, they were stopped by the manager and told that the establishment lacked the necessary license to let the baby in. Is this legit? It sounds like the story was messier than the baby's diapers.
Joey (an avid reader who spent his childhood in north-central Pennsylvania bars)
Joe: When I read your letter to my 1-year-old, he responded with a string of gurgly epithets. I share his outrage. Grown-ups can drink and burp and throw up in D.C. bars, but babies can't? What kind of city is this?
To get the answer, we called Maria Delaney, director of the city's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration. Delaney spent a few minutes calming us down and reassuring us that there is "no statute or regulation that prohibits babies from bars or restaurants" and that no special license is required to allow babies in.
Wait, so it's just a bar trying to put the blame on the city for its own policy? "Oh yeah, but we get that all the time," Delaney says. "We even had an establishment that told customers the District didn't allow you to wear hats in bars."
Bottom line: Bars can ban babies, but that would be the bar's policy, not the District's.
Dan: Joe answered this question because he recently took his son to a bar for his first birthday. (His son was also a Beer Madness judge. We've already called child protective services.)
Joe: He wasn't judging taste. He just picks his favorite shiny labels.
Dear Wise Guys:
Love your column. Unfortunately, you didn't give Stymied in Springfield [April 13] a complete answer. While it is true that it is advisable to wear pants when talking to women -- you would be amazed how many don't know that -- Stymied also needs to remember that men and women communicate for different reasons: Women communicate to make human connections; men communicate, almost solely, to get sex.
Think about it: If a man strikes up a conversation with his female seatmate on the Metro, do you think she is going to give him the cold shoulder and say nothing? Most wouldn't. But out of kindness or consideration -- not sexual interest.