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Beginning today, you can purchase New Vegas' latest and greatest DLC, Old World Blues, on Xbox LIVE, Steam, and PSN. To get you ready for all the crazy fun, here's a short diary from Old World Blues' lead brain, Chris Avellone.
Take it away, Chris!
There is an expression in the wasteland called "Old World Blues." It refers to those obsessed with the past they can't see the present, much less the future for what it is. Their eyes are like pilot lights, guttering and spent, the realities of their world continuing on around them as they stare into the past.
Old World Blues is built around the history of Fallout games we've worked on. It's history-that's-created-history, with a dash of what might have been from past games, media, and design documents from Fallout 1, 2, and past Fallout projects given new life. From Lobotomites, DNA splicing, Cazadores, Night Stalkers, where-the-hell-did-those-plants-in-the-Mojave-come-from, the scientific enclave of Big MT itself, Proton weapons, and giant robotic scorpions, all of these things formed the nucleus of taking a trip into the past-is-present Fallout universe to see a slice of the Old World that's been fenced in and feeding on itself for far too long. We wanted you to see the context and homages to the Fallout universe in a scientific preserve, both from the distant Fallout past to more recent adventures in New Vegas and the DLCs. As you'll discover, Big MT (or the Big "Empty") is filled with what-might-have-been… and all that was lost that potentially could have made a better world for all. There's an undercurrent of the blues all around Big MT… but if you're strong enough, you can change it, and the whole meaning of Old World Blues forever.
Designing Old World Blues was an adventure in itself. It involved taking a trip down memory lane, both in terms of past games and also in terms of 1950s sci-fi cinema to get the exaggerated "Science!" feel, where a great many inventions were atomic and anything nuclear promised amazing things for the future. Usually with an exclamation mark. Over the course of Old World Blues, we watched and paid respect to some of the 50s science fiction films from Brain from the Planet Arous, Things to Come!, Forbidden Planet, When Worlds Collide, the Deadly Mantis, Tarantula, the Mole People (although we pushed some of that out for the next DLC), the Monolith Monsters, and more. There's also a little Wizard of Oz thrown in for good measure… although it's in the Fallout context.
Most of all, the goal of the design was to provide a scientific playground for players, giving them gear, characters, items, gadgets, and as a bonus, a new home. And it's not just a home – it's a base they can upgrade, outfit, build up, grow items, and easily travel back and forth to – and even better, it's a place filled with friends you can talk to when you're feeling down or just need to chat. Take whatever you want to the Big Empty from the outset (there's no gear restrictions, nor is your gear taken away), and once the adventure is complete, you can travel back and forth there whenever you want. So have fun, explore, and see a new slice of the Mojave wasteland that's been waiting for someone new to crack it open.
While you're there, however, you'll learn the Big Empty isn't solely about history. Inside are several nods to the future as well, and more on events to come. While the Big Empty's a great place to visit, there's still one more road for the Courier to walk.


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HEBRON ESTATES - The windstorm in Louisville a month ago played havoc with the high school football schedule and North Bullitt will find out just how much it hurt them on Friday when they square off with a powerful Doss team.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Hartford provides all 1-6 family properties blue recycling carts for free! The carts are to be set out by residents on their regular trash day alongside the trash cart.
As required by law, the gray cart is for trash and the blue cart is for acceptable recycling items that are listed under Acceptable Recyclables section of this webpage. The blue cart should not be used for anything but those clean recyclables. The items that are unacceptable include:
The NO items listed above can be disposed of in other proper ways by checking the Public Works website or calling 311 for additional information.
The blue recycling cart, when used for clean recyclables, means you will have less regular trash in the gray cart. You will not have an overflow of trash if you pick out recyclables and place them in your blue cart.
When you use your blue recycling cart, you also help the City save tax dollars! Instead of paying per ton to burn trash, Hartford will pay $0 to recycle all the items you put in your blue recycling cart!
Department of Public Works
50 Jennings Rd
Hartford, CT 06120
Office: (860) 757-9900
Fax: (860) 722-6215
Office Hours:
8:00am - 5:00pm


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Grafix - Clear Dura-Lar (.003) - Pad - 14x17 - Grafix Clear .003in Dura-Lar Pads are sheets of an oriented polyester film. It is ideally suited for a wide range of uses such as packaging, printing, die-cutting, electronics, protective overlay, barrier protection, apparel, and other industrial applications. Because of its inherent physical properties, Grafix Dura-Lar is your best choice for a high performance plastic film or sheet.
Product Features:


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Being A Rugby Player Is Not For Wimps Men T-Shirt
Product Color:
Product information
The Men T-Shirt Being A Rugby Player Is Not For Wimps is our old-school favorite. Perfect for use in sports where you are bound to sweat and need wide range of movement. Short sleeves to let cool air in on those hot and sunny days. Also great for every day use and to show everyone your love for Being A Rugby Player Is Not For Wimps.
This product is made of the finest combed jersey which feels soothing against your skin. Shoulder-to-shoulder taping guarantees long life and a good fit. Rugby Men T-Shirt is available in 10 different color options. Heather Grey: 80% Cotton/20% Polyester. Remaining Colors: 100% Cotton.
Sku: TC1GR0000027320202020473YGVR00000


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This game was classified by the community with the following category scores - Violence=3/3, Sex=3/3, Mature Content=3/3. Angry Barry is a sidescrolling, political parody, 1-2 player 2D beat 'em up in the tradition of many classic arcade games. Take control of Barry as he tries to take over the Presidency of the United States!
Buy Xbox content on Xbox.com. Your Xbox 360 console will automatically download the content next time you turn it on and connect to Xbox Live.Learn More


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Guess or Sit?
"And the most dangerous period is the aftermath. It is then, with all his resources spent and his guard down, that an individual must watch out for dulled reactions and faulty judgment." -- Richard M. Nixon
Market players realized on Wednesday that the presidential election hasn't changed a thing. We are still faced with the exact same problems we have been struggling with for years and the gridlock, which has hampered any real solutions, is as entrenched as ever....478 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There's no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
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Add Steven Soderbergh to the growing chorus of Hollywood types singing the praises of television as a superior creative outlet.
The acclaimed director, who last year famously announced that he wanted to free himself from the constraints of studio filmmaking, has embraced TV in a big way. He directed all 10 Season 1 episodes of "The Knick" (10 p.m. Friday, Cinemax), a riveting period drama. And he already has signed on to direct 10 more for a second season.
So much for that "retirement."
"I knew that if I said 'no,' the second person who read it would say 'yes,' " Soderbergh said of his initial reaction to the script. "My whole life, I've moved in any direction that I felt was going to excite me and engage me. It's unfortunate that people have to listen to me talk about continuing to work, but I'm glad I did."
"The Knick" is a medical melodrama, but it's about as far from "Grey's Anatomy" as you can get. Set in 1900 at a fictional New York City hospital called the Knickerbocker, it follows pioneering surgeons and nurses who push the boundaries of medicine in an era of relatively archaic conditions and stunningly high mortality rates.
Leading the way is Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen), a brilliant — and abusive and arrogant — chief of surgery whose weakness for cocaine has yet to impede his relentless quest for medical discovery.
"Thackery is forcing himself into the future," Jack Amiel, co-creator of "The Knick," told journalists at the recent TV critics press tour. "He's the bow of every boat he ever has been on. Cocaine allows him to not look back. It helps (him) to forget the body count … and have the courage to move forward."
Owen insists that he wasn't initially interested in making a long-term television commitment, but like Soderbergh, he found "The Knick" and its lead character too compelling to resist.
"The challenging and exciting thing about the character is that he's not (someone) who's going to take people by the hand and lead them gently through a medical drama set in 1900," Owen said. "He's a very complex, difficult character. He's kind of redeemed by the fact that he's brilliant and he's passionate.
"He's about trying to forward the whole world of medicine and trying to save people's lives, and ultimately, providing a huge service. But he's a very complicated, functioning addict at the same time. So I just love the challenge of that. It's not about being likable (or) making things easy."
Under Soderbergh's direction, "The Knick" is a dark and gritty saga that captures a time of major changes — not only on the medical front, but in industrialization and race relations.
It's also quite often harrowing in its depiction of primitive — and gory — surgical procedures. They definitely aren't for the squeamish, but watching them will make you thankful to be living in the era we do.
THE POWER OF THE KILT: Like Cinemax, the cable network Starz continues to search for a show that will bring it some buzz, prestige and ratings amid a TV landscape crowded with more original scripted programming than ever. They might have found it in "Outlander" (9 p.m. Saturday), an epic historical romance with a time-travel element.
The series comes with a built-in, and very passionate, fan base — the "Outlander" books by Diana Gabaldon have sold more than 25 million copies around the world — and rests in the capable hands of executive producer Ronald D. Moore of "Battlestar Galactica" fame.
"Outlander" is the story of Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), a former World War II army nurse who is trying to rebuild her relationship with her husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies), after an extended time apart. But during a trip to Scotland, she is inexplicably whisked back to the unrest of 18th-century Scotland, where she falls into the company of a kilt-clad Highland hottie by the name of Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
Claire finds herself in a strange world where her freedom — and her life — are threatened. And tensions rise when the war chieftain of Clan MacKenzie forces her to marry Jamie. Talk about an extremely complicated love triangle.
Saturday's opening episode has a frustratingly deliberate pace. But "Outlander" eventually gains traction and becomes good escapist fun with doses of intrigue, suspense and, of course, steamy romance.
It certainly doesn't hurt that the production is oh so easy on the eyes — from the sumptuous panoramas of the Scotland countryside to the attractive lead performers. Balfe is especially magnetic, infusing her witty character with both a streak of fiery defiance and a fragile vulnerability. Tall, slender and luminous, she has the look of a 1940s big-screen glamour queen.
Contact Chuck Barney at email@example.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.chuckbarney.


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Boxer Statement on Republicans Blocking Vote on California Judicial Nominees
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today expressed her disappointment about Senate Republicans blocking confirmation votes on four judicial nominees from California – Professor Goodwin Liu for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Edward Chen for the Northern District of California, Judge Edward Davila for the Northern District of California and Judge Anthony Battaglia for the Southern District of California.
Senator Boxer said, "Each of these nominees is highly qualified to serve on the federal bench, but Republican obstructionism has denied them an up-or-down vote on their nomination. Not only are these delays unprecedented, but the shortage of judges on the bench creates roadblocks for Californians who are seeking their day in court. We cannot rest until these nominees are confirmed."
The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved each of the four California nominees. Three of them – Professor Liu, Judge Chen and Judge Davila – have been nominated for seats that are designated a judicial emergency by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Obama's judicial nominees have waited significantly longer than President George W. Bush's nominees for confirmation after being reported out of the Judiciary Committee.
President Obama's district court nominees have waited an average of 86 days for confirmation after being voted out of the Judiciary Committee. During his first two years, President Bush's district court nominees waited an average of 25 days for confirmation following approval by the Judiciary Committee.
During the past two years, President Obama has sent 103 judicial nominees to the Senate for confirmation. As of today, only 60 of these nominations have been considered and confirmed – just over 58 percent.
President George W. Bush sent 130 judicial nominees to the Senate in his first two years. The Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported 100 judicial nominations, and all 100 nominees were confirmed by the end of 2002, including nominees who were reported during the lame duck session.


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Moderators: Timko, Fritz, Solty, Booter, Blake_T, Frank Delicious
NCSUphenom wrote:Oh wow... a 50 foot ace...
sleepy wrote:I sleepy, do hereby commit to use the Comet as my main midrange disc for a period of no less than one (1) year; commencing 11/24/09 and ending (if I so choose) on 11/24/10.
NCSUphenom wrote:first disc golf lesson, post it in ft, When I hear a number i think feet not yards.
Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 1 guest


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Colleen Costello's biotech startup VitalIV is focused on eliminating common bacterial contamination in intravenous lines.
Her company is targeting an $80.2 billion market in the U.S. with products designed to reduce the incidents of patient infection and death in hospitals.
Costello, a 21-year-old senior biomedical engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said the business idea was developed from a conversation with nurses at Albany Medical Center and Samaritan Hospital.
"I originally got very intrigued, passionate and interested in the medical/life sciences field when my brother was diagnosed at the age of 6 with Type 1 diabetes.


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Get Started!
To get your free plan, start by answering this quick question:
How often do you smoke?:
Just three steps to help you quit smoking and become an EX!
To get your free plan, start by answering this quick question:
How often do you smoke?:
The EX Plan combines expertise from the Mayo Clinic with practical advice from ex-smokers. You won't just quit smoking. You'll "re-learn life without cigarettes."
It doesn't matter if it's your first try or your tenth, EX can help you quit and stay quit. Research shows that the more times people come to the EX site, the more likely they are to quit smoking. The three steps in the EX Quit Plan can help you:
You know how certain things make you want to smoke, like stress at work, drinking a cup of coffee or even just watching the game with friends? EX shows you how to handle these triggers without lighting up.
Nicotine changes the chemistry in your brain, so it's harder to quit. If you've struggled with quitting, it's not you – it's the addictive nature of cigarettes. EX shows you how to fight back and double your chances for success.
Support from friends and family can increase your chances of quitting, but lots of smokers try to go it alone. EX shows you how to get the support you need, and connects you with a community of ex-smokers who can help you along the way.
There are many good reasons to quit. Keeping them in mind during your quit will keep you focused and help you succeed. Get started with your personalized plan by clicking on your biggest reason for quitting smoking below.
Spread the word about EX and help someone re-learn life without cigarettes.
Get some words of wisdom from someone who's been there. Check out our online community.
EX shows smokers a whole new way to think about quitting – it's a different kind of plan. And it works.
Get help to quit smoking with your free, personalized EX Quit Plan.
The BecomeAnEx quit smoking program can serve as a reasonable alternative standard under the Affordable Care Act.
Coffee, stress, driving. There's a lot of things that make you reach for a cigarette. And if you can't get past these triggers, quitting smoking can seem next to impossible.
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We'll help you learn how to do all of those things you do with a cigarette without one, so you can finally quit for good.
To get your free, personalized quit plan to re-learn life without cigarettes, start by answering this quick question:
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If you're ready to become an ex-smoker, we're ready to help you re-learn life without cigarettes.


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· E.A. Morse & Company,
· Hunt and Company,
· Pur-O-Zone,
· Ramrod Distributors, Wood
· Savoie Supply,
· Scoles Floorshine Industries,
· SouthEast LINK,
· Distributor of the Year Award went to Tom Hill, KSS Enterprises,
· Supplier of the Year Award to Steve Lewis, Golden Star,
· Distributor Link Award to Tom Morse, E.A. Morse & Company,
· Supplier Link Award to John Ruston of
· The Pro-Link Regional Manager of the Year Award went to Toby Dietzel, who was given the award for his outstanding performance in meeting sales goals and his support to Pro-Link members.
Pro-Link, which was founded in 1984, is a national full-service janitorial supply, marketing and buying organization. Based in


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Book a flight to London and you'll discover not just one, but a multitude of 'cities'. There's the London that's home to famous sights such as Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and the London Eye.
Then, there's the London full of museums and art galleries; the London with world-class dining and shopping opportunities, and the London with hidden attractions lurking in every one of its 32 boroughs. Book a flight to London with Qatar Airways to discover your London.
London is the largest city in Western Europe and most tourists use the London Underground ('the Tube') to get around. Many of the main attractions are located within Central London, and it is quite possible to walk between them or hire one of the increasingly ubiquitous 'Boris Bikes'. However, there are also the iconic London red buses and black cabs to help you get around this sprawling city, depending on your budget.
Must-see attractions during your trip to London range from major landmarks like the Royal Palaces, London Bridge and the London Eye, to world-famous museums like the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.
Head to Westminster to discover the UK's political centre, including Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.
During your trip to London, make sure you climb Primrose Hill for a great (and free) view of the London skyline, incorporating the Shard, the Gherkin and everything in between.
The recently re-opened Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford is not just a tourist attraction in its own right, but also a hub for leisure and sporting activities. You can swim in the Olympic Pool at the Aquatics Centre, wander through acres of parkland, and cycle in the Lee Valley VeloPark. Keep an eye out for upcoming events as the park builds up to full steam.
There are the eight Royal Parks in London, including Hyde Park, Richmond Park and Regent's Park. Each has plenty to offer besides many hectares of park land, such as boating on the Serpentine in Hyde Park. For a great Sunday morning's entertainment, head to Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, where anyone is allowed to speak in public on any topic – some lively debates are guaranteed!
Another essential experience during your trip to London is seeing a show in the West End. If you prefer something a little more rocky or poppy, there are numerous live music venues throughout the city, including the O2 Arena and Brixton Academy.
London can be a food lover's paradise whatever your budget. At the top end of the scale, there are world-famous restaurants run by celebrity chefs. There's an enormous amount of scope further down the food chain though, with all manner of international cuisine on offer in Central London and further afield.
If you want a traditional taste of cockney London, head to a pie and mash shop in the East End, or visit an independent gastro-pub outside of the tourist areas.
Harrods and Selfridges are the big names for budgetless department store shopping in London, and are worth a visit when you travel to London. Oxford Street is one of the main shopping streets and hosts all the big brand names of the British high street. For designer clothing and accessories take a walk down Bond Street and Covent Garden. If you're travelling to London with children, visit Regent Street for one of the world's largest toy stores.
London also has many markets you can lose yourself in, from the alternative stylings of Camden Market, to the fashion-conscious Old Spitalfields Market.
Qatar Airways flights land at Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4. Visa restrictions for entry into the country will depend on your country of origin, length of stay and whether your trip is for business or pleasure. So before you fly to London please check the visa and passport requirements.
These short videos will tell you all you need to know in order to have a pleasant border experience when you arrive to the U.K.
Currency: Pound Sterling (GBP)
Voltage: 230 V 50 Hz
Plugs: Type G
Language: English
International dialing code: +44
Join Privilege Club and make travelling with Qatar Airways even more rewarding
Great car booking rates and personalised service available from more than 40,000 locations worldwide.
Explore Discover Qatar's stopover packages offered by Qatar Airways Holidays. Book hotels, desert safaris, city and architectural tours including visits to Katara Cultural Village, Souq Waqif and The Pearl.


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To see Part 1 of this article, please click here.
Yesterday's column, "QE3 Isn't Working," struck a nerve with many subscribers, for various and sometimes conflicting reasons. So in this column, I am going to look at the issue from a different slant.
There are about 130 million residential dwellings in the U.S. Of these, 30 million are in multifamily structures clustered in urban centers. The other 100 million are the houses that are predominantly in the suburban areas around the cities.
The majority of the nonperforming residential mortgages are concentrated in the 100 million suburban properties. The equity position that homeowners have in these properties can be broken into three areas: all equity, no equity and negative equity.
About a third of these homes are unencumbered by a mortgage and are owned free and clear. About another third have between 0% and 10% equity. Because it costs about 10% to sell a home, for practical purposes this group has no equity. The last third consists of the homeowners who are in a negative equity situation -- they owe more than the property is worth.
Of the roughly 65 million homeowners who have no equity or negative equity, about 13 million are in default on their mortgages. That means that they are more than 90 days late, and their loans are no longer accruing interest. These loans are essentially in a holding pattern, awaiting either the mortgagor's (homeowner) request to be allowed to do a short sale or the mortgagee's (lender) decision to foreclose. The probability than any of these loans will be brought current and that the borrowers will be allowed to stay in their homes is essentially zero. These homes will be sold short or foreclosed on at some point.
Although the bank call reports for the fourth quarter of 2012 show that this issue is slowly being resolved, it is a massive problem overshadowing the banking industry, and promoting the acceleration of this resolution is one of the major goals of the Federal Reserve's third round of quantitative easing.
The idea is to drive down mortgage rates and hold them down in order to attract homebuyer demand. This would give banks the opportunity to accelerate the resolution of their nonperforming loans, either by granting short-sale approval for mortgagors who are in a negative equity position or by foreclosing on delinquent borrowers and sending the properties through the usual recovery process.
There has been some activity in this regard, as I discussed last week in the column "Excellent Fourth Quarter for Banks." Nonperforming loans declined from 9.87% of all mortgages in the third quarter, before QE3, to 9.50% in the fourth quarter, which was the first quarter after the Fed started buying $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed securities.
To put this in perspective, the value of nonperforming mortgages held by the banks and non-banks in the U.S. declined by about $40 billion during the fourth quarter, while the Fed purchased $120 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities.
The banks met the Fed's demand by selling their existing holdings of mortgaged-backed securities to the Fed and passing through their origination of new loans to the MBS market rather than retaining them.
The result has been that the demand by homebuyers has been greater than the number of existing properties made available to the market for sale.
Since two-thirds of homes are ineligible for sale unless their lender approves them for a short sale or forecloses on them, buyers have been forced to compete for the limited supply of housing being made available by the third of homeowners who have equity and can sell or by builders of new homes.
This manipulation of increasing demand for mortgages by the Fed and a not-commensurate increase in supply of homes by the banks is providing the illusion that housing is rebounding, as it forces up the price at which homes transfer.
From the perspective of gaming confidence into the market, that's great, but the banks still have to bring those 13 million properties with nonperforming mortgages to the market.
At the current rate of home sales, assuming no more mortgages become nonperforming and builders stop building and everyone who owns a home refuses to sell, and the only properties allowed to be sold are those encumbered by nonperforming loans or already foreclosed on, it would take three years for these properties to be sold.


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The eighth season of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' earned five Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Larry David). Michael J. Fox also received a nomination for his guest spot on the show.
In all, HBO received 81 nominations, the most for any network for the 12th year in a row. The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on September 23. The full list of nominees can be found at the link below.


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The Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, has just released the 2011 edition of the Annual Research Report which provides insight into a wide range of industry challenges and opportunities.
The Centre conducts research to meet the needs of the commercial pork value chain with new information that -- reduces the cost of production, improves product quality, speaks to worker health and safety, lowers emissions and environmental impact, and addresses practical behavior and welfare questions.
The edition includes 14 scientific articles, plus updates on activity in the group's pig production unit and technology transfer activities for the calendar year 2011.
Some of the highlights from this year's edition include:
- Using alternative water management practices that translate to a savings of $9.23 per pig,
- Higher weaning and nursery exit weights are seen with pigs that consume creep feed, however not all pigs consume creep feed,
- Farms with higher prod use at marketing experienced the longest loading times,
- Application rates of 3,000 to 4,000 gallons/acre of manure produced optimal crop yield.
Prairie Swine Centre is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of nutrition, engineering and applied animal behavior.
The report is available to download online .


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Rules of the Game: Use Caution With IPOs
The young year has already been a busy one for IPOs. That's understandable as companies seeking capital prefer to sell shares in bullish rather than bearish (or sideways) market conditions, whenever possible. This week, the successful debuts of Boise Cascade (BCC) and ExOne (XONE) were in the forefront.
But use caution with IPOs. In other words, don't get swept up in the hype and the hope of getting into something early. It's very typical for IPOs to show significant gains in their early days and weeks of trading, and then fall below the offer price....460 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There's no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
Already a Subscriber? Please login.


text:
After Elton John dedicated his concert to Ai Weiwei, Weibo users couldn't believe that a government spokesperson didn't know who the British singer was.
©2017 Asia Society | Privacy Statement | About AsiaSociety.org | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Contact
Asia Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with any government. All views expressed in its publications and on its website are the sole responsibility of the author or authors.


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Bozeman's New NTLs
From left, Debbie B., Dede T., and Kristin T. are now Neighborhood Team Leaders in Bozeman.
"I am so excited for the Bozeman team to have this fabulous group of very capable and experienced organizers to lead the Bozeman area into the General Election", Judith H., the Montana State Director for Obama for America said recently.
Debbie B., Dede T., and Kristin T., met Friday morning to discuss the roles each will play as the new Neighborhood Team Leaders in Bozeman. Debbie will primarily handle the office duties, while Dede will concentrate mostly on the Montana State University campus activities, and Kristin will head up events efforts.
The next big thing on their agenda is the Democratic National Convention Watch Party, on Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m., at the Bozeman campaign office at 234 E. Babcock and also for students at Colombo's Pizza at 1003 W. College.
Kristin says she has been an Obama fan since he was her law professor at the University of Chicago in the mid-1990s. "I was impressed with his ability to manage a diversity of opinions," she says. "As soon as he announced his candidacy in 2008, I slapped a sign in my window."
Kristin was very active in Bozeman and Gallatin County during the first campaign, organizing and hosting a variety of events that culminated in a very successful effort. "I had a story to tell then," she says. "Looking at what he's done in four years, there's a great potential to do even more the next four years," she says.
Dede was also active in the 2008 campaign. In 2008, she was the faculty advisor for MSU's Students for Obama and was thrilled to watch students become less apathetic, more excited, and more politicallyengaged.
"It felt like a brighter future is in store for everyone," she says. "I love to help students see what the possibilities are if they get involved. And four more years of Michelle Obama and her programs would be perfect for this country."
Debbie says she has been involved in democratic politics and social action issues "since forever." And just six weeks after arriving in Bozeman from Los Angeles, here she is stepping into a leadership role. "I'm at a transition time in my life," she says. "I don't know what's next."
But she does know she wants to see a continuation of the progress our country has seen over the past four years."I think people forget how far we've come in four years," she says. "It would be such a shame to give up on that."
Debbie notes progress on issues like health care, climate change, the economy and women's issues. She is also concernedabout the likely possibility that the next term will bring new Supreme Court appointments and wants to be sure access to funding for higher education continues to improve.
"We have so many privileges and opportunities in this country, and President Obama has worked so hard to make those privileges and opportunities accessible to everyone. That's the path Obama has us on. So whatever I can do to help stay on that path is what I want to do right now."
Come meet the new NTLs and volunteer with Montana for Obama.


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WASHINGTON -- For 13 years Rafael Cohen, an immigrant from Mexico, was eligible to become a citizen of the United States. But something held him back.
"I guess I felt I was maintaining more of a connection to my Mexican citizenship by remaining a green card holder than actually becoming a citizen," said Cohen, 36, a musician who moved to the District of Columbia when he was 9 and became a permanent resident in 1994.
Finally, the birth of his daughter last year persuaded him to apply. "Some of the immigration laws that are in place . . . there's these weird situations where you can be deported as a green card holder," he said.
As lawmakers wrangle over reforms that could offer a path to citizenship to many of the estimated 11 million immigrants who are here illegally, not all immigrants who become eligible actually go through with naturalization. Often, the immigrant journey simply ends with permanent legal residency.
In 2011, 61 percent of eligible immigrants became citizens, according to a recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center. But among Mexicans, who are by far the largest group of immigrants in the country, the citizenship rate was just 36 percent. Other Central Americans also had low rates; the highest rates were among Southeast Asians, Cubans and Russians, perhaps because many from these countries came as refugees. Refugees, who are generally unable to return to their home countries, naturalize at a higher-than-average rate.
Other factors include length of U.S. residency (immigrants who have lived here longer are more likely to naturalize) and income level (higher incomes correlate with higher naturalization rates). People from English-speaking countries are more likely to become citizens, as are those with immediate family members back home. Asians are more likely to become citizens than Latinos, while people from countries near the United States tend to naturalize at lower rates.
The "path to citizenship" currently being debated is more accurately a path to permanent residency, said Louis DeSipio, professor of political science in Chicano/Latino studies at the University of California at Irvine. After five years of permanent residency, immigrants are eligible to apply for citizenship.
If reforms were enacted, DeSipio predicted that the most engaged immigrants would start the process immediately. "We would see a big spike of up to one or two million new applications for citizenship five or six years after today's unauthorized immigrants achieve permanent legal status," he said, adding that thereafter there would probably be a steady flow of several hundred thousand a year.
Recent history shows that eligibility does not always lead to action. The last time a path to citizenship was offered to illegal immigrants, in 1986, only around 40 percent of those who obtained green cards through the legislation went on to become citizens during the 13 years that followed, according to a 2010 study by the Department of Homeland Security.
But application rates might be higher this time around, in part because of laws enacted in the 1990s that put permanent residents in a more precarious position. Their green cards can be revoked if they are convicted of a felony, and the U.S. government has also been monitoring green card holders more strictly to see whether they actually live in the United States.
"Permanent residents face a greater rate of deportation today than in the early 1990s," DeSipio said. "So incentive to naturalize has ratcheted up a little bit."
In addition, more countries now allow dual nationality, so more people can become Americans without giving up rights in their country of birth.
Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, an immigrant advocacy organization, said that practically everyone her organization works with hopes for citizenship rather than merely a green card.
"A lot has changed between 1986 and today," she said. "There used to be a view that the line was blurred . . . but I think the line has become brighter about whether you're a citizen or not and how you're viewed."
Many feel that only naturalization will allow them to feel fully engaged and accepted in their new country. "They don't want to be a second-class citizen," said Gustavo Torres, executive director at CASA de Maryland, an advocacy group. "They want to be people who make a full contribution to society -- people who can work in the federal government, people who can vote, people who can make sure their families can also become citizens."
But even for eligible immigrants, the process of naturalization can be daunting. Some are confused about how to apply. Some lack the required English proficiency. Some fear they will not pass the civics test, and some are daunted by the $680 application fee.
Rigbe Tesfaslase, 65, a District resident, moved to the United States from Eritrea 22 years ago and is eligible to become a citizen, which would allow her to sponsor her four children to move here. But she has applied before and was denied. "I didn't understand the test; I need translation," she said in halting English.
Amanda Sosa, 63, an undocumented Salvadoran cleaning woman who lives in the District, doesn't speak English and doubts she will ever be able to apply. But she sets a high value on the idea of citizenship.
"Many people say, 'No, it's OK to just be a legal resident,'" she said in Spanish as she cradled a friend's infant at the Mary's Center, an organization in the District that provides social services to low-income people. But to be a citizen, "psychologically, emotionally, it's a triumph," she said. "It's like going to college and getting a degree."
Applications for citizenship tend to spike around presidential elections -- particularly the most recent one, in which the president garnered nearly three-quarters of the Latino vote, said Anna Anderson, manager of immigrant integration programs at CASA. "It's a new energy," she said. "They can see that there's this power of their voices."
Edwin Ramirez, 26, a Salvadoran construction worker who lives in the District with his wife and two children, said citizenship gives immigrants a heightened sense of civic-mindedness.
"Because you can help the country and the country can help you," said Ramirez, who is a legal resident but hasn't had time to learn English to pursue citizenship. "Many people say: 'We're not from this country, we don't have to keep it clean, we're just surviving.' People who have papers say, 'No, we have to keep it clean, for a better tomorrow.' "
Leticia, a 31-year-old Salvadoran cleaning woman, has lived in the United States since 2001 but has been unable to get a work permit and works for a company that does not offer benefits, vacations or sick days. The single mother of two did not want her last name printed because she is undocumented.
"I feel like an American. I don't want to go back to my country," she said in rapid English, adding that she dreams of studying to become a medical assistant. She would take the citizenship test tomorrow, she said, if she were eligible. "My aunt got her citizenship last year; I studied with her the questions, I saw the DVD."
Cohen, who now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., finally got naturalized on Election Day this past November. "It did feel like I was tying up an important loose end, familywise," he said.
His daughter wore an American flag onesie for the occasion.


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Not all bills coursing through the legislature make it to the governor's desk. Some "die" because they are voted down in committee or on the floor. Some die because they do not move from the originating house to the other before deadlines occur.
The measures that do make it through the first house – either Assembly or Senate – and then to the second house before the legislature adjourns at the end of its first year of a two-year session earn the title "two-year" bills. Such measures can gain consideration in January of the second year.
One important "two-year" bill is CTA-backed SB 430, by Sen. Rod Wright (D-South Los Angeles). The measure would expand current law requiring school districts to examine students' ability to see. While the current exam focuses on students' visual acuity and color perception, SB 430 would require schools to look at students' "binocular vision," the ability of both eyes to coordinate effectively. Effective binocular vision is crucial to students' ability to read. When the eyes do not coordinate well, reading suffers. Happily, the condition responds readily to treatment – once the problem is revealed.
CTA has been urging state Assemblymembers to vote for the measure, which is awaiting January 2014 action in the Assembly Health Committee.
Educators know that ensuring students can see properly is a crucial step in helping them master the bedrock skill – reading – upon which they can construct a stairway to academic excellence.
Every child deserves a chance to learn and no child succeeds alone.
© 1999-


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Cirque Du Soleil
amazing from happyday, 11/11/13
What an amazing evening, it had it all, humour, music, acrobatics, expertise, talent beyond all realms, music I can go on for ages. the costumes were amazing too, beautifull to say the least. the director Franco Dragone has done an amazing job, also has everyone else from set design to composer and musical director and more. The show was absorbing from start to finish, kept you on your toes to the end. the tension filled the air when any of the artists where performing, keeping you on the edge of your seat, I was applauding all evening, as everything deemed applause. After each section had performed they came to take applause, they looked aloof as if to say come on I did well, but in a good way, and they got there just deserts applause never ending. And at the end of the evening when they all came out to receive our applause I will be honest and say it brought me to tears, I have no idea why, the lady beside me too cried, tears of pure happiness of sharing such a magical and brilliant show. many many thanks to all that contributed to making it a memorable event, I had only come out of hospital 2 days earlier with a serious lung infection, but would not miss the show for anything, it did my spirits the world of good. I once again say please go and see the show and thank you to one and all.
The Treatment & Slash @ nottingham ... from Antmagnet, 05/03/13
The Treatment did an admirable job in warming up the early attendees of former Guns n Roses / Velvet Revolver axeman Slash. A straight ahead no nonsense British Metal band from Cambridge whose debut album impressed a great deal in 2011. They filled their 30 mins plus with upbeat banging tunes that served as an ideal aperitif for the main Course.
A couple of minutes to nine the house lights went down and bang we were in to the main event. Kicking off with Halo from last years Apocalyptic Love album. Next up an old Slashs Snakepit and Guns N Roses tune showing that no matter how many solo albums Slash delivers and no matter how good they are are he will always have the albatross that is Appetite For Destruction around his neck. You can not be partly responisble for the most influential metal album of the last 25 years and not play tracks from it. In fact 50 of that album was played tonight. Lets not brush aside his solo carear though and The tracks off of both his solo albums were stupendous. Myles Kennedy made Ghost and Gotten his own and bass player Todd Kerns ripped up Dr Alibi. when it all boils down to it no body cared that 50 of the set was covers of GnR or Slashs Snakepit songs the fact was we witnessed possibly the coolest guitarist on the planet with one of the best singers on the planet put on just over 2 hours of ROCK N F$*ING ROLL .
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators
excellent show from Ash, 04/03/13
Ran approx. 30 mins late but not bothered. Warm up band The Treatment were really good. Crowd erupted when Slash came on stage and never stopped until the end. He gave a great show, very streamlined without any hiccups, which is what can only be expected from such a rock legend.
Donny & Marie
Great concert from gozzie, 05/02/13
had a great time at the Donny and Marie show they were brill non stop all the way they gave 100 and more cant wait for next time.


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Three Charts Worth Considering
Breakouts, breakdowns and potential. That is pretty much how technicians spend their days. Toss a bunch of charts against the wall and see which ones stick. I went through quite a few this weekend, although there is always one more I could have found, but you can't lose sleep over it. And when playoff football is on, I admit, my attention can become a bit diverted. Still, quite a few charts caught my eye, so here are three to start with today.
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Very low-carbohydrate diets have experienced a resurgence in popularity, perhaps due to their great weight-reducing potential. Recent clinical trials have shown greater weight loss with a very low-carbohydrate diet compared to a low-fat diet. This suggests a metabolic advantage and evidence opposed to the notion that "a calorie is a calorie."
Metabolic advantage is proclaimed to be a violation of the first law of thermodynamics and mistakenly used to support the notion "a calorie is a calorie." However, very low-carbohydrate diets enhance mobilization and utilization of fat while sparing carbohydrate fuel sources. These diets also utilize different chemical pathways and appear to decrease efficiency, which means that more of the food you eat is lost as heat, therefore not violating the first law of thermodynamics. Very low-carbohydrate diets also suppress appetite and energy intake, which is partially due to the inhibitory effects of ketones.
In summary, recent findings of several randomized clinical trials comparing very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets requires that this "non-conventional" diet approach must seriously be considered as a viable treatment for weight loss.


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It's a tale of government incompetence (or collusion), mendacious energy executives deluded by profit and indifferent to collateral damage and an ecological catastrophe of so-far unknowable proportions: Sound familiar? It's not what you think. This story doesn't swirl around the Gulf of Mexico. It inhabits a different threatened ecosystem entirely.
Josh Fox's complacency-jarring Gasland, follows the sulfurous trail of the natural gas rush currently raging across rural counties all over America, not the oily currents drifting toward Gulf beaches. But the parallels with the events leading up to BP's environmental apocalypse are unmistakable. "Gasland" debuts on HBO this week as the latest installment of a worthy tradition of American muckraking. The film harkens back to the original exposé of corporate malfeasance, Ida Tarbell's History of the Standard Oil Company, a text that similarly shocked the public back in 1904 when it disclosed the unseemly practices of the original Mr. Byrne, John D. Rockefeller.
This story of corporate shortsightedness and the steamrolling of mere citizens takes place on land as natural gas suppliers—enlivened by the Bush era's Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the loosening of federal controls it mandated—seek out thousands of locations for establishing natural gas wells using a technique called hydraulic fracturing, "fracking" for short. "Battlestar Gallactica" fans will recognize the word and its slightly different, unprintable connotation. It's etymological use in that fictional alternate universe would be quite apt for the offense "fracking" commits to Mother Earth in "Gasland." Hydraulic fracturing is a form of natural gas extraction deployed to reach deep or otherwise hard-to-reach gas deposits. Once a well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and a mixture of industrial solvents and other toxic chemicals—benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, even diesel fuel—are injected under high pressure into the well. The pressure fractures substrata which had entrapped natural gas deep underground and props open fissures that enable natural gas to flow more freely out of the well.
Fracking is an old drilling technique devised by our friends at Dick Cheney's corporate mothership Halliburton, but a recent innovation has been to frack at distance horizontally under a landscape, allowing energy companies to reach natural gas trapped in shale in vast deposits throughout the United States. There are more than 450,000 fracking sites out there already, tapping a "clean" energy reserve that promises to put off a U.S. reckoning with its fossil fuel problem for several more decades while offering an indecent ROI for natural gas wildcatters.
What worries Fox and what's the central focus of his film is what flows up after fracking. Not only is the emerging gas itself ruining well water sites across the nation, Fox alleges that industrial chemicals used by fracking wildcatters are likewise finding their way to surface water. Now gas companies have their eye on the Marcellus Shale Formation, a vast reserve of natural gas under the ground in eastern Pennsylvania and throughout a good chunk of New York. "Gasland" charges that tapping that shale gas threatens an interlink of lakes, streams and rivers in the Delaware River watershed and New York's pristine Catskills that comprises a water resource that currently sustains more than 17 million people throughout the region.
Fox knows of what he films. His odyssey began when he received a letter advising him of the potential of earning as much as $100,000 in royalties and bonuses were he to sign over his family's 19 acres in eastern Pennsylvania's Delaware River Basin, an area called the "Saudi Arabia of Natural Gas," to gas drilling. It wasn't long before he was on the road across America's vast Gasland seeking out farmers and ranchers and their displeased neighbors who were suffering serious buyer's remorse after cashing those checks. Well water that had been put to use for years, if not generations on some properties, was now hopelessly contaminated; livestock, pets and family members were falling ill; and kitchen faucets had become ignitable flares. Natural gas producers deny all culpability, while providing a lucky few who sign nondisclosure agreements water cisterns and filtration systems to replace their poisoned water sources, and government bureaucrats who should have been representing the people's interests were, and remain, missing in action.
Fox's film nods to a number of classic American film genres, most obviously it joins the emerging tradition of Michael-Moore-ian rebel documentaries like "Sicko," "Food, Inc.," and "King Corn," sustained as much by the documentarian's skillful polemics as they are by more debatable elements like facts and figures. But "Gasland" also channels classic American road movies. It's part industrial detective story and environmental agitprop, and if you live in the New York and Pennsylvania drilling fields of desire—or plan to drink water ever again—part horror film.
Fox comes across as a low-key Michael Moore. His outrage remains obvious but muted, maintaining a sort of bemused, drowsy despair rather than Moore's scoldy grimace. It should come as no surprise that Fox has become the target of wild swings from the energy industry and "grassroots" landowner advocacy groups that are vehemently enthusiastic about shale gas extraction and long-term lease arrangements. A website dedicated to trashing Fox makes much of his credentials as a an avant-garde director and "fringe" artist, insinuating, I guess, that he is unqualified to have an opinion about trading off the Northeast's water supply for a few more years of cheap energy. But in an era when CNN regularly features "iReporters" and rumors are considered acceptable fodder for TV "journalists" to toss about on the air, it's not clear what their point is about professionalism. Every shmoe with a digital camera is a potential documentarian these days and in truth for whatever purported professionalism he lacks, Fox seems more than measured in his dissection of this problem.
It's hard to discount first-person testimony from people in state after state who tell you that their water was fine before the gas company came but who can now hold up yellowy jars of chemically brackished water and demonstrate flame-spitting faucets. Watching the gas company executives line up before a Congressional hearing, a water-wellian murderer's row, and deny any connection between their twisting, blasting and chemical loading of the substrata with the unpleasant outcomes at the surface, it's hard not to be reminded of another corporate gang, perjuring themselves en masse a few years back in denials of the addictive quality of America's nicotine-enriched cigarettes.
If Fox has given gas company executives indigestion, then he has probably done the polemicist's job well. But his deeply troubling exposé will be the beginning of a movement if it gets the people of New York and Pennsylvania, so far mostly somnolent while the ground and the watershed beneath their feet has been readied for fracking, off their couches and into their Congress member's office. In "Gasland" Fox interviews a Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger who blithely dismisses Fox's concerns by speaking of social "tradeoffs" for reliable energy reserves—poisoned well water on one hand, a natural gas supply and short-term lucre on the other. Now we are on the precipice of endangering the drinking water for the entire city of New York and thousands of other communities in the Northeast. These days it is commonly understood that the nation's energy policy subjects us all to some extravagant costs, but the events in the Gulf, the ugliness perpetrated by coal extraction methods like Mountain Top Removal and the potential of permanently contaminating the nation's only unfiltered municipal water supply reminds us that some ask too high a price for cheap energy.
I think this was real, oderless natural gas that had got into their well without any help from gas drilling. Anyhow, it can go boom.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 7/5/2013 (1601 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight were found in a house on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland, Monday, May 6, 2013. The three women, who went missing about a decade ago, were found alive in a residential area just south of downtown. Authorities later arrested three brothers, ages 50 to 54.


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BP Comment Quick Links
|Strength of Schedule Report
June 27, 2011
Value Picks
First Base, Third Base, and DH
None of the Value Picks did anything this week to merit removal, which is both good and bad news. A monster game usually leads to an ownership spike, and nobody experienced that, but all of the VPs produced enough to keep their hold on a spot, even if that hold is becoming tenuous. Some should leave the list soon, however, so I'm adding another VP in anticipation of those changes.
Jim Thome (Yahoo! 4%, ESPN 11%, CBS 8%) was activated off the disabled list Friday, in time for Minnesota's return to Target (and the allowance of the designated hitter) this week. With Justin Morneau remaining out of action even longer than expected, the Twins can use some of the pop Thome brings to their lineup. I touted Thome plenty last season, too, and his 25 longballs kept fantasy owners happy, helping produce a 3.4 WARP that was his best since 2007. As BP pointed out:
[It was] one of the greatest performances of his distinguished career, launching 25 home runs in just 340 plate appearances, becoming just the fourth player 39 or older (after Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, and Hank Aaron) to slug .600 or higher. It would be asking the impossible to expect more of the same from Thome this season, but it's clear that he still has some thunder left in his lumber.
Thome's slugger-appropriate 24.4 percent career strikeout rate will hold his batting average down, and he's only showing about half the plate patience he showed last season with a walk rate that's fallen from 7.4 percent to 4.2 percent. The weakness of the aged hitter is apparent in both his diminished home run rate (13.8 percent against 20.4 percent career and 24.3 percent in 2010) and increased infield fly rate (his 19 percent is on pace to set a career high and is more than double last year's 9 percent).
Still, PECOTA sees Thome hitting .241/.361/.477 with 13 home runs for the rest of the season, not a bad line for a fella his age and a decent fantasy return. With Morneau out, Thome should hit higher than sixth in the order, boosting his counting stats. Keep in mind that Thome has neither been in a strict platoon yet this season (70 plate appearances vs. righties and 25 vs. lefties) nor suffered from hitting in Target Field, where he's batting .258/.410/.581 in a small sample of 39 plate appearances. He'll help you with homers and OBP, though he could sandbag your batting average, and suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous age could lead to more missed time. He'll still bring value, though, and should stick as a VP when others begin to fall off the list.
Sticking Around
Casey Kotchman (Yahoo! 4%, ESPN 4%, CBS 16%) continued to defy expectations last week, extending his hit streak to seven games with a three-hit performance on Saturday, his second straight night with an extra base hit. Normally, that's not much to crow about, but this is Kotchman we're talking about. About the only bad element of his performance—other than the absent power—is the fact that he didn't draw a walk all week. Regression is possible, but keep riding him while he's hot.
In the new Jack McKeon era, Jose Lopez (Yahoo! 2%, ESPN 18%, CBS 5%) got just one start at the hot corner, picking up his second hit as a Marlin. That's not a great showing for his first week on the VP list, but given the tumultuous Marlins situation right now, I'm giving him another week to show his stuff.
Brent Morel (Yahoo! 1%, ESPN 0.2%, CBS 8%) is also on the verge of a VP demotion, in his case to AL-only status. He started four of Chicago's five games last week and hit in three of them, including a three-hit night on Saturday. That's a decent but punchless .294/.278/.294 line from a player who has yet to draw a walk this month, a combination of skills that makes him best suited for AL-only and the deepest of mixed leagues.
As promised, Bob Melvin has played Hideki Matsui (Yahoo! 8%, ESPN 9%, CBS 15%) in the outfield, and Godzilla acquitted himself well enough to start four games in left field, hitting .286/.450/.357. Even after interleague ends, that flexibility could help a team that just lost Josh Willingham to the DL and demoted a struggling Daric Barton to find his stroke. Having an extra outfielder could also help Matsui—who prefers to play the field—as well as his fantasy owners, who could use the outfield qualification. A .290/.465/.516 slash line over the past two weeks hasn't budged Matsui's ownership numbers much yet, so he should still be on your waiver wire, though I don't expect him to be there much longer.
Juan Miranda (Yahoo! 2%, ESPN 0.6%, CBS 6%) seems to be past any lingering neck and wrist injuries as he picked up three hits in three starts last week, including a double and a 421-foot solo blast, his seventh of the season. Sharing time with an ineffective Xavier Nady diminishes Miranda's value, and a recent rash of strikeouts (8 in his last 21 plate appearances) has dropped his batting average, but he's still delivering that valuable power commodity.
AL-only VP
This should be the last week for Scott Sizemore (Yahoo! 3%, ESPN 1%, CBS 9%) on the list as it's going to be hard for AL-only owners to ignore a starter who's hitting .327/.400/.449 with his new club. His ownership numbers haven't moved that much since his VP addition last week, but I'm betting another week of solid production will push those numbers high enough to graduate him.
NL-only VP
The VP days are also numbered for Daniel Descalso (Yahoo! 1%, ESPN 0.4%, CBS 4%), who faces a two-headed threat now that both Nick Punto and David Freese are inching closer to rejoining the big club. Descalso has done his best to make a case to remain at the hot corner, hitting .308/.471/.385 and playing solid defense, but a .254 TAv from third base just isn't enough for a contending club. I don't want to jump the gun and cut him too quickly—and neither should NL-only owners—but this is likely Descalso's last week as a single-league pick, too.
Playing Pepper
Both Orlando Cabrera (Yahoo! 24%, ESPN 31%, CBS 32%) and Adam Kennedy (Yahoo! 12%, ESPN 7%, CBS 16%) will be their teams' primary third basemen going forward, although both offer better fantasy value as middle infielders.
Toronto promoted former VP Eric Thames (Yahoo! 1%, ESPN 0.2%, CBS 3%) as part of a plan to shift Jose Bautista to third base, but Thames will play mostly in the outfield, not at designated hitter.
As Casey Blake continues to suffer from an arthritic neck, Juan Uribe (Yahoo! 24%, ESPN 14%, CBS 33%) has been the Dodgers' third baseman. Uribe's all-or-nothing swing is typified by this week's line: four hits in nineteen plate appearances, including one home run and four strikeouts. He hits dingers in bunches, so he could be heating up.
Garrett Jones (Yahoo! 10%, ESPN 28%, CBS 21%) has been stealing at-bats from Lyle Overbay, supposedly to allow Overbay to work on his swing. This could be a sign of things to come as there isn't enough time in the season—or the decade, for that matter—to get Overbay's swing up to first base standards.
I'm reminded of a balky engine coughing to life when I watch Danny Valencia (Yahoo! 8%, ESPN 3%, CBS 24%), who had a two-hit night Tuesday then went 0-for-8 over his next two games before cranking a three-run dinger on Friday. He's figuring it out and should return to the VP list soon.
13 comments have been left for this article.
BP Comment Quick Links
Chris Johnson turning things around for a profitable 2nd half?
Jun 27, 2011 07:57 AM
I'm getting only batters, but at least they have names...
Jun 27, 2011 08:08 AM
Chris Johnson was a near-unanimous pick among BP writers for a deflating 2010 season, and he's definitely lived up to those low expectations, at least over the first two months of the season, with a .216/.255/.364 line.
Jun 27, 2011 11:52 AM
Hey good stuff Mike!
Jun 27, 2011 14:53 PM
Will do, Sarge!
Jun 27, 2011 15:10 PM
Here's one for y'all...this guy has 6 home runs in 98 plate appearances, a manager who said in the latest Yahoo update that he's going to find him more playing time, and a .280/.388/.598 line so far in 2011.
Jun 27, 2011 16:20 PM
Great comment, though the first part might be even better in Jason Collette's "Who Am I?" series. I had been looking at Matt Downs (the player you ID'd), both as a possible VP and as a response to Sarge's question about Chris Johnson. If he gets more PT, as Mills promises, he'd definitely be a guy to watch, for just the skills you outline.
Jun 27, 2011 16:45 PM
Thanks for replying! I just picked up Lonnie Chisenhall in both of my A.L. only leagues, so he may help at the hot corner too.
Jun 28, 2011 04:15 AM
I like all those names, too, and all may be VPs at some point too (if not in my column, then in one of my colleagues'). Chisenhall got promoted too late for this week's column, but he looked great in his debut, and I think Carter's got more of a chance to stick than you think because of his prospect status (and the modest competition). He should play more with the return of the DH this week. And Viciedo has improved both his strikeout and walk rates, so he's definitely one to watch, too--Juan Pierre shouldn't be too much of an obstacle.
Jun 28, 2011 09:34 AM
If I go on to win my A.L. only head-to-head league (I'm in 2nd now, 3 games back), I'll bet a lot of it will be the transaction I made today.
Jun 27, 2011 08:07 AM
I think that's a great gamble, changing for a guy hitting above his head to one hitting below it. I just finished watching yesterday's Twins-Brewers tilt, and Valencia crushed two pitches to the fence, one of them turning into a triple and the other missing a dinger By That Much. I hope it turns out well for your team--you've got my vote for a shrewd move!
Jun 27, 2011 11:55 AM
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Swimming Mermaids Photo Card: Birthday Pool Party
With school starting back up, now is the time to squeeze in that last pool party of the season. Kids who have late summer birthdays will savor their last days before the school year by wearing their shades and enjoying every second that they get playing in the pool. Mermaids will make for a unique party theme, and the photo on this invitation will make it an instant keepsake.


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This game was classified by the community with the following category scores - Violence=0/3, Sex=0/3, Mature Content=0/3. Welcome miner, start building your empire! Mine resources in a limitless world, dig and build structures to increase you production. M4E will update your resources production when you're offline! Miner4Ever is a Minecraft inspired game where the classic mining game meets the strategy and all the appeal of the most popular browser games. Dig deep miner, build your empire miner! LIVE multiplayer!
Buy Xbox content on Xbox.com. Your Xbox 360 console will automatically download the content next time you turn it on and connect to Xbox Live.Learn More


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Book a flight to Philadelphia with Qatar Airways and discover 'Philly', the fifth most-populous city in the USA. Visitors to the East Coast often bypass Philadelphia in favour of New York City, but it's well worth experiencing East Coast living, Philly style. A melting pot of music, art, culture and style, the city attracts visitors who come as much for the historic quarter as they do for South Philly's infamous cheesesteaks.
Once the nation's capital, today the 'birthplace of America' has plenty to offer visitors. Fly to Philadelphia with Qatar Airways to stopover on your tour of the East Coast, or enjoy a longer stay to explore the city's highlights for yourself.
Philadelphia is a huge city with many attractions to see so investing in a CityPass, which grants entrance to six of the main attractions, is a good idea. This includes entrance to the Adventure Aquarium, Philadelphia Zoo and the Franklin Institute, as well as 24 hours of on-off travel on the Phila Trolley and Big Bus Company. You can also add on entry to Eastern State Penitentiary or the Please Touch Museum.
Visit 'America's most historic square mile' at Independence National Historic Park, then stroll past City Hall, the city's tallest building until 1987. No trip to Philadelphia is complete without a tour of Eastern State Penitentiary, the oldest prison in the USA, which hosts special attractions for Halloween. Fans of the macabre can also visit the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, the author's former home.
If you have the energy left, climb the legendary steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which tourists and locals still do to this day following its appearance in the movie Rocky.
When you travel to Philadelphia, you'll find no shortage of leisure activities. Book lovers can enjoy a free tour of the Rare Book Department at the Philadelphia Free Library. Here you'll find medieval manuscripts alongside the stuffed body of Charles Dickens' pet raven, Grip.
On sunny days, head for Fairmount Park, a 9,200-acre green space. Relax at the Japanese Tea House, let the kids explore the Please Touch Museum or enjoy horseback riding or biking on the Forbidden Drive Trail.
Philly is known for its live music and theatre – Festival Pier is the city's main outdoor venue during the summer months, whilst the Theatre of Living Arts on South Street usually has a packed events schedule. The Ben Franklin Parkway has also hosted several large music festivals. Sports are big in Philadelphia, and all major professional sports teams play in close proximity to each other. Teams include the Phillies of Major League Baseball, the Eagles of the National Football League, the 76ers of the National Basketball Association, and the Flyers of the National Hockey League.
Philadelphia is famous for its food – most notably its cheesesteaks and soft salted pretzels, available from stores and street vendors. Cheesesteaks, a roll filled with shaved grilled beef, cheese and onions, are the local speciality. You'll normally be able to choose from provolone, American or whiz cheese (which is 'squirty' cheese in a can - a distinctly American invention!). Ask a local what their favourite cheesesteak place is and they will steer you in the right direction! Hoagies, Philadelphia's official sandwich, are also delicious and widely available.
Reading Terminal Market is a good place to stop off for lunch and try street food, but if it's fine dining you are looking for, you will find plenty of options in Philadelphia, from Japanese cuisine through to inventive dishes made with seasonal local produce. Don't miss out on the opportunity to dine on American comfort food at an authentic dinner.
From Reading Terminal market to designer boutiques, department stores and independent shopping districts, travel to Philadelphia and shopping can be whatever you want it to be. Spend a morning exploring Reading Terminal Market, an indoor market that is home to vendors selling local produce and handmade goods. It's also a great lunch spot.
For designer boutiques and branded fashion, head for Center City or Walnut Street, one of the city's biggest shopping districts. Here you'll find a wide selection of international and high-end brands. .
For a really authentic shopping experience, visit the city's shopping districts, each with their own distinct identity. The Italian Market in South Philly is perfect for fresh Italian produce, whilst 3rd Street Corridor in Old City is the home of independent fashion and design boutiques. For local arts, crafts and antiques, head for Antique Row in Center City.
Flights to Philadelphia with Qatar Airways arrive at Philadelphia International Airport, just a few minutes from the city.
Visa restrictions for entry into the country will depend on your country of origin, length of stay and whether your trip is for business or pleasure. So before you fly to Philadelphia please check the visa and passport requirements.
Currency: United States Dollar (USD)
Voltage: 120 V 60 Hz
Plugs: Type A / B
Language: English
International dialing code: +1
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text:
Encarnacion doubles his way out of hitting funk
DETROIT -- Edwin Encarnacion snapped an 0-for-19 streak with a pair of doubles in the Blue Jays' 8-6 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday afternoon.
Encarnacion entered the game with just two hits on the season as the Blue Jays' cleanup hitter, but he doubled that total versus Detroit.
The first double occurred in the fourth inning, but it was the double in the sixth that scored one and helped spark a three-run rally to get Toronto back into the game.
"I knew I had to just keep my head up, I knew things were going to change, it's not going to be like the beginning all year long," Encarnacion said. "I felt a lot better, more confident, especially when you get a hit, that's what you need, a blooper, something, then your mind changes."
The early-season struggles might have been a cause for concern, but the fact remains the Blue Jays are still only a week into their 162-game schedule. There's more than enough time to turn things around in April, but that's a month in which Encarnacion has experienced a lot of difficulty in the past.
Encarnacion did manage to hit .322 last April, but for his career he is just a .246 hitter with a .767 OPS during the month. The numbers haven't been any better in May as evidenced by a .230 average and .720 OPS, but from there things drastically turn around.
The Dominican native said he expects things to improve a lot faster than that this season, and Encarnacion insists the slow start doesn't have anything to do with a sprained right index finger which caused him issues during Spring Training.
The bigger culprit has been pitch selection, and that's something he improved upon versus the Tigers as he took a more patient approach to his at-bats.
"I feel great, my finger feels 100 percent ready to go," Encarnacion said. "Things have been working good, I just have to keep working hard, keep working on my routine, and I know things will change.
"I feel good. I just have to select my pitch. I've been swinging at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone, and that's how I've been making outs by myself, swinging at bad pitches. So, right now I'm going to try to focus on a pitch in the strike zone."
Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Pauley Pavilion now has two No. 31 jerseys hanging in the rafters.
The Bruins honored Hall of Famer Reggie Miller at halftime of Wednesday's 75-71 loss to USC by putting up a ninth jersey at the top of the new stadium. Ed O'Bannon, whose jersey was retired in 1996, wore the same number at UCLA. | PHOTOS
"I never thought that something like this would happen," Miller said. "You think of all the great players that have come through this building, I'm not even close on the radar to a lot of them.
"It's a little bit humbling."
Miller is second on the Bruins' all-time scoring list and the NBA's all-time 3-point field goals list. However, his NCAA career was highlighted by UCLA's lone NIT championship in 1985 while O'Bannon won an NCAA title in 1995.
Miller, 47, who now works as a commentator for TNT, opened for the crowd with a joke about wishing the short shorts he wore still were common in the game. After the ceremony, he reflected on the new facility and remarked it balanced history well with the bells and whistles of modern arenas.
"This is unbelievable," Miller said. "This is great. Obviously, you've got to keep up with the Joneses. It's long overdue. It's well worth it. ... I think they took their time, really paid close attention to detail."
He also had his nephew Darrell Miller Jr. at halfcourt with him. The younger Miller is a catcher for the baseball team.
Drew wants to "kill" USC
In the postgame press conference, UCLA point guard Larry Drew II was asked about the next USC game.
"I know how I'm going to approach the next game, go out there and kill them, for real," Drew said.
New USC uniforms
USC wore new black uniforms for the game, called Hyper Elite, which were first worn by Gonzaga on Jan. 19 against Butler and featured lightweight materials made from recycled products. The uniforms did not say USC on the front but featured the Trojan logo used on the football helmets.
UCLA wore blue uniforms for the game.
Mixed emotions?
Former USC basketball player Ron Holmes, the father of UCLA star Shabazz Muhammad, was all smiles after the game but said he felt for his son.
"Blood is thicker (than school ties)," Holmes said. "(UCLA) should have won that game."
Under the weather?
Lingering doubts about the health of UCLA's two ailing starters was extinguished quickly. Muhammad, who missed Tuesday's practice with a flu, scored five of the Bruins' first seven points, including a breakaway dunk that turned up the volume at Pauley Pavilion.
Forward Travis Wear, who missed Saturday's loss to Arizona State with a concussion, had 12 points by halftime to lead the Bruins.
USC forward Dewayne Dedmon also was ill with the flu this week. Like Muhammad, he tweeted out a picture of his IV drip before the game. Unlike Muhammad, Dedmon was largely ineffective early on.
He picked up his second foul at 16:36 and sat for the rest of the half, his lone contribution at that point a broken-up alley-oop attempt.
Shooters of the past
Former USC forward David Bluthenthal, who now goes by the name David Blu, worked the game as an analyst for the campus radio station. Blu said three of the crosstown rivals' best shooters were at the game.
"Tracy Murray, Reggie Miller and yours truly," he said.
No crosstown atmosphere
The game did not exactly have an electric atmosphere and there is little of the tradition of the football game because neither school allows the opposing band or cheerleaders to attend. That meant USC's song girls were barred from Wednesday's game.


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|June 4, 1999
Volume 1, Issue 23
|Midwifery Today E-News
"Induction of Labor"
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In This Week's Issue:
1) Quote of the Week
1) Quote of the Week:
""The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy."
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
2) The Art of Midwifery
Spleen 6 is an accupressure point
used to stimulate contractions. It is located about four finger breadths above
the inner ankle on the shin bone.
- Sharon Glass, Midwifery Today Issue 24, Winter 1992
In preparation for labor, have the mother begin eating extra servings of complex carbohydrates daily. This will build up her glycogen reserves for the work ahead and enhance the probability of the spontaneous onset of labor.
- Anne Frye, Understanding Diagnostic Tests in the Childbearing Year
Understanding Diagnostic Tests in the Childbearing Year, 6th edition, by Anne Frye is available from Midwifery Today
for just $43 plus shipping.
At Midwifery Today, we have lots of tricks up our sleeves! Purchase our two volumes of Tricks of the Trade and you'll see what we mean: Save $5 when you purchase both Tricks of The Trade. Volume I and Volume II. Only $40 plus shipping! Call today to order: 800-743-0974. Please mention Code 940. For more information, visit the links above.
3) News Flashes
Routine cesarean section for breech presentation has been recommended over the last forty years. As a consequence, the rate of vaginal breech delivery has decreased sharply. In the United States, the rate of cesarean section for breech presentation rose from just 10 percent to nearly 80 percent in 15 years (1970-1985). On closer examination, however, it is clear that the association between breech presentation and perinatal mortality is due principally to the confounding variables of prematurity and congenital malformation. Traumatic injury and complications giving rise to birth asphyxia in a vaginal breech delivery are uncommon. The recommendations for routine cesarean section have therefore been made on the basis of imperfect data. The issue of vaginal delivery compared with abdominal delivery of the term breech pregnancy is currently being addressed in a a worldwide multicenter randomized controlled trial ("The Term Breech Trial").
- MIDIRS 9:1, March 1999
4) Assessing Fetal Well Being
This may well be the midwife's most difficult job: walking the fine line of supporting a woman who is post dates within the political climate. In my community, there is no easy interaction with the medical community so I must use my hands and doppler, rather than a sonogram to ascertain the baby's well being. Beginning at 41 weeks, I feel for amniotic fluid amounts every three days. Postmature babies often have almost no fluid. Using the doppler, I listen for fetal heart tones for five to 15 minutes. My apprentice writes down the numbers while I do 5-second counts aloud. A flat baseline can be a sign the baby is not doing well, so I look for some variety in the 5-second counts. After wiggling the baby's head suprapubically, I watch for a rise. If there isn't much variability, the baby may be sleeping, so I wait awhile, then listen and wiggle again. A reactive pattern shows an elevation of 15 beats per one-minute count lasting 15-30 seconds. There should be two or more occurrences in 10 minutes. If there isn't appropriate reactivity, the mom should be checked by an obstetrician. If everything is fine and the cervix feels totally compliant, stretchy, yielding and will admit a finger, perhaps induction is in order, unless there is a family history of late babies.
- Alison Osborn,
5) Misoprostol Caution
The opinion of the best perinatal scientists is that misoprostol (cytotec) induction is still experimental and should only be done in a controlled research setting with the usual protection of research subjects including fully informed consent. This is because to date our scientific data are inadequate to tell us whether or not misoprostol induction is safe.
How to hold back the rapid spread of misoprostol induction, which heralds the return of all the convenience of daylight obstetrics? That the drug is not approved by the FDA for this purpose, not approved for this use by the drug manufacturer, not endorsed for this use by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or midwifery organizations and not recommended for routine use by scientists (who tell us we do not know if it is safe) has had no apparent effect on the enthusiasm with which clinicians, both doctors and midwives, are starting to use it.... Midwives need to make every effort to achieve evidence based practice, particularly when using drugs and invasive technologies, and the clear lack of data on serious risks of misoprostol induction should be sufficient to deter all midwives from this procedure, whether in hospital or out of hospital.
The issue here is consumer protection and quality assurance in maternity care. We need a system of rational pharmaceutical management which guarantees adequate evaluation of every use of a drug prior to its use for that purpose and drug protocols developed by an officially recognized group of scientists, clinicians (including midwives), policy makers and consumers and based on the best scientific evidence. Present consumer protection systems in some countries, for example in Scandinavia, include mandatory prior evaluation and officially endorsed consensus protocols, and there is no evidence that progress in maternity care is held back.
- Marsden Wagner, MD, "Misoprostol (Cytotec) for Labor Induction: A Cautionary Tale," Midwifery Today Issue No. 49, Spring 1999
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6) Question of the Week:
I would like feedback on the question, is breastfeeding a feminist issue? Lots of feminist tracts ignore it. When I asked some of my students, many saw it as limiting in the old feminist tradition--tied to breastfeeding, tied to the home. Others saw it as empowering and an integral part of motherhood, something men can't do, etc. By promoting breastfeeding are we working in the best interests of women?
I'd love some debate.
- Dawn Robinson-Walsh
Send your responses to email@example.com
If you would like to submit a Question of the Week, please write to the above address.
7) Question of the Week Responses
Q: How and why do you induce labor?
If and when the intrauterine environment becomes more hazardous for the baby than the outside, or to relieve maternal suffering--which on occasions can only be subjectively described by the mother.
- Phil Watters,
I feel odd responding to this question because I don't induce labor. I am a direct-entry midwife in Kentucky. I have only been practicing independently for a year; however, I was trained by Mary Ann Watson, CPM, QE, a direct-entry midwife with over 18 years experience in homebirth. Her philosophy/protocols regarding induction questions are:
1. What if I never go into labor?
Women were designed to give birth. Gestation for each mother with each baby will occur at its own pace, just as labor progresses at its own pace. Just because the baby inside feels large enough to survive, it may need more time inside to develop a crucial system. No woman has ever been pregnant forever. Mary Ann continues weekly prenatal visits until the birth. As long as no complications arise, she does not risk out or induce women just because they are overdue.
2. What if my baby is too big?
Normal, healthy women do not grow babies they cannot birth. The species would have destroyed itself if this were true. Induction may also contribute to malpresentation. If the baby is allowed time to find a good birthing position, it will adapt to the pelvic inlet. Arbitrary induction may cause labor to begin before the baby is in a good position.
3. Should VBACs be induced?
Mary Ann's practice prior to coming to Kentucky was primarily VBAC births. She has an excellent record of successful VBAC births. Her VBAC moms are not induced and do not have a greater complication or transport rate than her other clients.
4. What if the placenta stops functioning?
Normal, healthy placentas do not just stop functioning 14 days past the due date. I myself have had one client go either 3 or 5 weeks overdue (she was unsure of her dates). Mary Ann has had clients confirmed at 30 days or more overdue. Those babies were fine, and those placentas were healthy.
Some women do try to induce themselves with herbal preparations, castor oil, or some other home preparation. She firmly discourages this, for all the reasons above. Many of these induction attempts are not successful. One mother who was successful in inducing labor later regretted it. She had three productive, relatively short labors. This fourth, induced labor was long, slowly productive, and exhausting. She now discourages other women from trying to induce labor.
Our philosophy that birth is a natural process and our desire to allow it to progress with no intervention that is not absolutely necessary begins with good prenatal care and with accepting that labor will begin when it is time.
- Candy Hall, midwife
The OB/GYNs at a small community hospital
in Georgetown, Kentucky use Foley catheter cervical ripening. I am an RN with
almost 10 years labor and delivery experience and mostly have seen the use of
Cervidil and Pitocin.
Supplies needed: 16 French/30cc balloon silicone Foley catheter, 500-1000cc bag of warmed normal saline, IV tubing, 30cc syringe and needle The doctors usually use a speculum to visualize the cervix better, then place catheter with ring forcep, inflate balloon, and connect IV and tubing to infuse 60cc of normal saline/hour. Unfortunately, they also insist on "low dose Pitocin" (20u Pit in 1L Lactated Ringers-running at 5.0 mu through the night). The study they showed us also suggested use of catheter without Pitocin. Usually in 5-12 hours the catheter falls out and the cervical exam is 3-5cm. Pitocin is then increased until contractions are "adequate." I haven't seen the occasional hyperstim the Cervidil caused or the lengthy labors of Pitocin alone. Rarely the catheter doesn't work and after 12 hours it's removed and Pitocin increased.
Inductions of labor and Pitocin augmentation are done on more than 50 percent of the labors at our hospital. Labor here is still done in bed without walking, water use, eating, and drinking any liquids. And one of the worst things is an almost 95 percent epidural rate!!
Why is labor induced here? Well, our doctors fret when labor doesn't begin by 41 weeks, convenience for mom or doc, anticipated large baby (larger than 9 lbs), "small pelvis," the rare attempted VBAC and truly any other reason the docs can dream up.
I was wondering if anyone else uses this, especially anyone in a homebirth practice (without the Pitocin)? It would seem to me that use of this ripening procedure may be of some use in homebirth when postdates is becoming a real problem and nothing else has worked--albeit rare.
- Debi Savage RN, BSN, IBCLC (aspiring CNM)
Missouri Birth Center needs help! Looking for CNM willing to work part time working into full time. Rural practice, full scope, benefits available. Great schools, recreation includes lakes and outdoors to local music, crafts, and Branson entertainment. Call Diane Barnes, 417 272-8845 office, 417-338-5431 home.
8) Switchboard
I had the recent pleasure of working with a completely competent doula in a homebirth here in Mexico. This doula came all the way from New York to stay for over three weeks, to care for a dear friend of hers who was about to have her first birth. In my study, I have not seen many doulas in action except for a few videos. This is hard work ladies and I commend you for your skills, training, patience and grace. This doula taught me so many things, from acupressure points, her takes on good yoga positions for transition to innovative techniques for finding the perfect counter-pressure spot. She was innovative, creative and most of all respectful and conscious. It was a real pleasure to see good labor support.
- Evette Richards
In response to Kelli Lincoln's question about juggling motherhood and midwifery: I am the mother of nine children and also an aspiring midwife. I am involved in many ways with many moms and I think I have some sound ideas and maybe some answers to your questions about "juggling" many things. You can contact me at email@example.com'd love to correspond with anyone interested. My children are between the ages of 16 and 2. Five of them were homebirthed, all were nursed, attachment parented, homeschooled, the list goes on.
- Kelly Ordway, email@example.com
I, too, grapple with the same concerns as Kelli Lincoln does, and I would be interested in the replies to her question concerning attachment parenting and midwifery studies.
- Kathy Corzine
My experience is that there really are differences in anatomy, never mind differences in nutrition and parity, which affect my ability to help a woman deliver with an intact perineum. The way I learned what I do know is by going to Jamaica with Shari Daniels. The women there have strong perineums with tough skin. But they had no Lidocaine for repairs. So if a repair was required, believe me, it was far more painful for most women than giving birth! I even bent a needle once trying to get through the tough skin. The women's screams provided ample motivation to avoid the next tear. Shari taught head flexion and perineal support and patience, and pretty soon I could get almost all the babies out intact. I still do pretty well here (about 80 percent without stitches), but not as well as in Jamaica.
The other thing I do here is try to prepare women for controlled pushing at the end by describing the "ring of fire" and saying it is a good thing to have (because it means they haven't torn yet). I also say that in addition to their own body's natural anesthetics, I will apply some viscous Lidocaine that will not only dull the pain, but also provide a "slippery slope" for the baby to slide out more easily. I don't know that I believe my own rap, but I do know that it helps moms to be less afraid, to believe they can do it, and to cooperate at the critical time.
When I look back at the worst tears I have had, they seem to have been caused by one of two things: primips delivering in the squatting position and blasting the child out or women with hematocrits under 30. Is this anyone else's experience?
- Cynthia Flynn, CNM, PhD
Midwifery Today E-News is not staffed to handle requests from people who are trying to find a midwife. However, Online Birth Center News, a free birth activist newsletter, has a Looking for Midwife section. Send your request to firstname.lastname@example.com , with OBCNEWS ITEM in the subject. If you'd like to subscribe to the OBCNEWS, write to the same address and ask to be added to the subscription list.
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