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The Philadelphia School District has at least 20,000 evaluated special-needs students.
Each year, the district pays millions in legal fees and lawsuit settlements based on its failure, both proven and alleged, to meet their needs.
This year, due to budget cuts, the district shed close to 3,000 staff members.
With a skeletal support staff serving the city's traditional public schools, many worry that the district has opened itself up to an onslaught of legal claims from families struggling to ensure that their children get the education that they deserve.
This is the story of one such family.
[Oct. 23 Update: District comes closer to meeting needs of North Philly school; 'not enough' say some]
Christina Lee shyly grips a pillow on the living-room couch of her Feltonville rowhome, hiding her dark-brown eyes behind the upholstered fray of her foam-filled shield.
Her mother, LaTonia, with patient, steady elocution asks the seventh-grader to judge how this school year compares to last.
A foggy look of concentration sets into the long, still-forming features of the 13-year-old's face.
Christina hears the words, but something goes awry as she tries to decipher the question. You can almost see the electricity surging between the neurons in her brain, but it never quite fixes itself to a cohesive line of thought.
She stammers the beginning of a response. Her tone suggests the air of someone hoping to stumble upon the "right" answer to a question which they've already forgotten.
The words drip haltingly from her tongue. Christina says there's less kids in her classroom this year.
Her mother's eyes quickly widen – clearly, the "wrong" answer.
LaTonia repeats the question again, this time even more slowly. A light seems to click on in Christina's head, and all of a sudden she speaks lucidly – detailing the challenges she's faced this year in the Philadelphia School District, including larger class sizes.
Before long, though, her neurons fire in a different direction and her mind ambles down another path entirely. How her mind built the bridge between this train of thought and the last, only Christina knows.
"It's almost as if her wheels skip a beat," said LaTonia of her daughter, "like she'll understand what you're saying, but she's already either two steps ahead of you or a half a step behind."
Her mother says Christina is a "slow learner." The document that defines her as a special needs student, her Individualized Education Plan, says she has "processing deficits," as well as "receptive/expressive deficits."
To help her learn despite these deficits, the IEP dictates that Christina, whose English teacher says reads "far below grade level," should receive one period per week of "speech and language service."
This would typically be performed by a speech therapist who — in one-on-one consultation — would help Christina better understand the rules and rhythms of syntax and language.
"Like, if I don't say the words right, she'll help me say the words again," Christina said. "And I'll be like, 'OK, now I know this word, now I know what it means so if I ever see this word in another story, I can tell myself: I know I learned this word in speech.'"
But Christina's school, Feltonville School of Arts and Science, doesn't have a speech therapist and, thus far, the service has gone completely unfulfilled.
It's a reality that's not only damaging to Christina's academic progress, but in violation of the law.
Without the legally-required attention, LaTonia fears that her daughter's academics will suffer through the seventh grade, the year that counts in high school selection.
"I need her to get everything that she's supposed to get so that when we go to apply to high school we can say, 'Hey, look this is our best effort,'" LaTonia said.
Now, the mother says she's on a David versus Goliath mission to make sure the school district provides Christina the education she deserves.
"My kid is not going to get shuffled somewhere," she said, "because they didn't want to accommodate her in middle school."
What's the Big IDEA?
School districts across the country face an immense challenge trying to comply with federally mandated special education law.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), passed in the 1970s, holds school districts responsible for providing all special-needs students with a "free, appropriate, public education," protecting 13 specified categories of disability — including kids with autism, serious emotional disturbance, and vision/hearing/speech impairments.
For each special-needs student, districts must devise a specific education plan that allows the student to learn and grow in the "least restrictive" environment.
Once the IEP is written it becomes a legally binding document. If a district fails to implement the plan properly, the contract is broken, and parents may exercise their right to sue.
(The same can be said for "504 plans." These cover students with physical or emotional disabilities who haven't been deemed to need differentiated instruction. For instance, a district may need to accommodate students in wheelchairs by scheduling their classes on a school's first floor.)
Schools must not only serve students with existing IEPs, but they also have the legal responsibility to seek out and discover special-needs students who have yet to be diagnosed.
In IDEA's quest to right the wrongs of a not-too-distant past ― where special-needs students were either barely served or flatly rejected from the system ― the law tolerates zero excuses. A district can't argue that staff shortages or budgetary woes impede its ability to meet students' needs.
In this way, every IEP is a potential lawsuit, every special-needs parent a potential plaintiff.
Even absent fiscal crises, districts across the country struggle to live up to the strict demands of IDEA. This has been especially true lately in Pennsylvania, where state funding for special-ed has flatlined for the past six years.
In Philadelphia, the problem is even worse.
Budget cuts have wreaked havoc on almost every aspect of life in the city's traditional public schools. In the past few months, the school district has shed about 3,000 employees – depriving or understaffing almost all schools of critical staff positions.
These include guidance counselors, assistant principals (and, in recent years, nurses). Although these positions aren't technically "special education staff," they're the very staff that children with special needs often rely upon most.
On Wednesday, after the state announced it would release an additonal $45 million to the school district, Superintendent Hite said he'd immediately recall 400 staffers, including 80 guidance counselors and additional special-ed teachers and support staff.
Still, not every district school will have a full time counselor.
"Those are people who play a critical role in identifying [special needs] children and ensuring their needs are met on a prompt basis," said Maura McInerney, senior attorney with the Education Law Center, a statewide legal advocacy organization.
Without the full complement of this support staff in place, many special-education experts interviewed for this story said that it will be kids with special needs who end up suffering most.
Top priority
The district maintains that, even through massive downsizing, special education has remained a top priority.
"That's one of the things we paid particular attention to this year," said superintendent William Hite, who stressed that the district did not cut the special-education budget, nor layoff any special education teachers, therapists or psychologists.
He did acknowledge, though, that some of these positions have remained vacant for a number of years. "Not filling a position is different from making cuts," Hite said. "These aren't new problems."
New or not, the problems still exist.
And increasingly, like many other issues this year, they fall on the hamstrung staff that happens to be left in the building – namely, the teachers.
"They expect the teachers to do everything," said Adrienne Bomboy, Christina Lee's special-ed reading and writing teacher at Feltonville. "By the time you handle all those other needs, you can't even get a chance to really teach the children, because you're worried about putting a band-aid on someone or handling a bullying situation."
Bomboy estimates that there's at least another 20 students in Feltonville School of Arts and Science whose IEPs have been violated because the school hasn't provided speech therapy.
"I definitely think there's a lot that's not going to be met this year," Bomboy said of Feltonville's ability to live up to IDEA.
Now, more than a month into the school year, the district-wide proof of this has already begun to pile up.
The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia has gathered between 700 and 800 parent complaints (and counting) from at least 50 schools, and sent them to acting Pennsylvania State Education Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq. PILCOP estimates that 30 percent of the complaints are special-education related.
PILCOP director of disability rights Sonja Kerr says the onus here ultimately lies on the state. Over the summer, in exchange for federal funding, Pennsylvania signed an "assurance" that it would provide special-ed services to every deserving student in the commonwealth.
"And they didn't say, 'except for Philadelphia,'" said Kerr. "They have a responsibility to the federal law. They have to live up to it, and we're going to hold them accountable."
Officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Education did not respond to numerous requests for comment for this story.
Looming questions
Even as the school district recalls an additional 400 employees, a few questions loom large in the minds of those who closely watch special education in the Philadelphia School District:
- Will the district's attempt to save money by reducing staff cause it to spend more money defending itself in special education litigation?
- Does that make the increased violation of special-education law an unavoidable by-product of this budget crisis?
In an email, the Philadelphia School District said that "every effort has been made to insure that needs of students are being addressed," while saying it would participate "in the important statewide conversation about special education funding reform and the effects of the federal sequestration on the IDEA grant which resulted in an over $2 million reduction this school year."
As far as the cost of special-education legal complaints, last year the district budgeted $6.2 million for losses and judgments in special education, and that contributed to an overall $8.7 million overrun in all losses in judgments for that year.
This year they are again projecting they will spend the same $6.2 million in losses and judgments related to special education.
The year before, the district spent $3.4 million on all losses and judgments.
It's important to note that these figures do not include legal fees or the cost of paying some students' private-school tuition — figures the district declined to release.
As the district downsized its school-based staff, it also hired three additional in-house special-education attorneys and, in recent years, has contracted with two of the Philadelphia area's premiere private law-firms ― Fox Rothschild, Levin Legal Group ― to handle additional special-ed complaints.
"I do wonder what their priorities are," said PILCOP's Sonja Kerr.
The district says it hired the three additional attorneys to replace the three that it laid-off in 2011. Spokesman Fernando Gallard says the district contracted with the private law-firms at "discounted rates," but would not provide specifics. He said the district would "move away" from using these law-firms, but couldn't give a firm end-date.
Welcome to Feltonville
LaTonia Lee has two daughters, each with special needs. Christina, the older one, now 13, was born premature, and has struggled with language. LaTonia's younger daughter, almost four-year-old Camille, has autism, and to this point has been completely non-verbal.
After a 17-year stint away from her hometown, LaTonia relocated the family from Georgia to Philadelphia this spring because she felt Pennsylvania offered better autism-support options for Camille.
The trio moved into LaTonia's mother's house in Feltonville in May. Now, it seems, she's hurdled out of one fire and into another.
As LaTonia attempted to ensure that Christina's IEP would be met in her new neighborhood public school, her bureaucratic nightmare began, and still continues.
Christina's IEP was last authored in April by Fulton County Schools, a district in suburban Atlanta. On top of the speech and language requirement, it dictates that Christina should be taught in a "special education setting," and receive "small resource" instruction for reading, math, language arts, science and social studies.
She forwarded this information to the district in May, but received no reply.
When a student like Christina moves from one district to another, the receiving district retains the right to re-evaluate a student's IEP. The district has 60 days – not including summer break – to perform its evaluation, but, until it does, it's legally required to serve the student's existing IEP.
LaTonia attempted to speak in person with someone from the school, but because budget cuts slashed summer staff, she didn't see someone face-to-face until the actual school year began.
When she eventually did speak with staff, first Feltonville told her that Christina would have a speech and language therapist, but later she learned that the therapist was on sick leave indefinitely.
Meanwhile, the position remains vacant, and LaTonia's head keeps spinning.
When she tried to engage with Feltonville's special-education district liaison, she learned that post was also abandoned.
At this point, Christina has small-resource special-education classes in reading, language arts and math. The rest of the IEP remains unmet.
In the mean time, Christina – the shy 'new-girl' among middle-school girls – suffers not just academically, but emotionally.
"I'm always getting like bullied, picked on, messed with," Christina said, "always getting name called."
LaTonia wonders if the bullying would be lessened "if she were in the appropriate classes surrounded by the appropriate instruction," but until she convinces the district otherwise, the status quo will remain.
"I've never been in a situation where they've just said, 'There's nothing: deal with it.'" LaTonia said. "I mean that's kind of what I feel like is going on here."
Help wanted
Believe it or not, despite shedding 15-percent of its staff this year, the Philadelphia School District says it's hiring.
Turns out, though, it's only for positions that nobody wants — at least for the money offered and qualifications required.
Asked specifically about the struggles LaTonia and Christina have been facing without a speech therapist, Superintendent Hite said, "We're actively recruiting for speech and language, and for occupational [therapists] and for everybody else that we need in order to [meet IEPs]."
Philadelphia School District Chief Financial Officer Matt Stanski said certified speech therapists are "difficult to hire, tough to find," and that the district would have a speech therapist in Feltonville "if we could find somebody."
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the annual mean-wage for elementary and secondary school speech therapists is $66,440.
No matter staffing difficulties, IDEA holds districts legally accountable for failing to providing services to children with special needs.
Squeaky Wheel
To her credit, LaTonia Lee is the quintessential squeaky-wheel parent. She understands exactly what IDEA entitles her child and she's not afraid to fight for it. With a law degree and an MBA, she steps to the district empowered with the social capital that many Philadelphia parents lack.
Since the beginning of the school year, LaTonia has devoted much of her waking life to Christina's education, momentarily forgoing her own job hunt and often relying on her mother to babysit her three-year-old.
She's filed complaints with the state, spent fruitless hours waiting in vain to speak to administrators at school district headquarters, and vanquished afternoons pouring through tomes of literature on the complexities of special-education law.
Although the process has already been long and arduous, LaTonia knows it's only the beginning. No matter, she's willing to do whatever it takes, including filing a lawsuit, to put Christina in a better position — be that in another district school or a private school paid at district expense.
"[My children] will not be anyone's victims. They are going to college," LaTonia said. "Just because you learn differently, just because you don't process the same way someone else processes, it doesn't mean that you get shut out of education."
To Kenneth Cooper, who spent eight years as an attorney representing the Philadelphia School District, LaTonia is exactly the type of person who typically succeeds in a complaint against the district.
"Essentially what happens is the squeaky wheel is the one that gets the oil," said Cooper, who left the district in 2010 to become a private-practice attorney representing students and parents.
The scary thing, he says, is what happens to students whose parents don't understand their rights under the law.
"The other parent, the homeless parent, the immigrant parent, the parent from a country where education is not a priority, [their] kid is going to slip through the cracks — or the chasms: They're not cracks, they're chasms," said Cooper.
Inside man
From 2002 to 2010–under superintendents Paul Vallas and Arlene Ackerman–Ken Cooper served the Philadelphia school district as assistant general counsel in the district's in-house special-education law department.
When a parent filed a due-process complaint against the district for its alleged failure to meet their child's IEP, Cooper was one of as few as four lawyers to get the case.
At any one time, he said his personal workload consisted of 100 open cases. Office-wide, that number would be more than quadrupled.
Although the workload overwhelmed him, the thing that really got to Copper – and ultimately made him quit – was working for a system that he perceived as a uncaring, bloated bureaucracy.
"I spent probably the greater part of my time each day fighting with and trying to contact my client [the school district] — not fighting with parent attorneys or parents," said Cooper.
"People [in the district] were more interested sometimes in 'fighting the fight,' which was ridiculous because you don't fight a fight where a kid's involved," he said. "You try to fix the problem."
Even when his investigations clearly found evidence of district wrong-doing, Cooper said it was "very difficult...to get somebody to respond to the problem."
And when the district did respond to issues, Cooper said all too often it would develop a whole new IEP "with all the bells and whistles," but then, a few months later, he'd find that school faculty weren't aware of the changes, and kids needs were still being unmet.
The district did not reply to Cooper's accusations in time for publication, despite requests made earlier in the week.
Underfunded Mandate
These problems are far from unique to the Philadelphia School District.
Almost all districts have long struggled to live up to the strict standard set by IDEA, which many special education attorneys interviewed for this story called "an underfunded mandate."
Montgomery County-based special-ed attorney Josh Kershenbaum put it this way: "The federal government imposes these requirements, but doesn't follow up or match those obligations with a commensurate level of financial commitment to public schools."
Kershenbaum says the law is written is such an inclusive way, that "if every student who was legally eligible to receive special education services was actually offered those services, the system would collapse very quickly."
To some extent, he says, "the only reason why the system works as well as it does is because it is vastly underutilized."
Dirty little secret
And here's where special-education law takes a turn that often leaves parents like LaTonia Lee feeling like they've been sucked down the rabbit-hole.
Even when the law is utilized, and even when parents prove that a school district has failed to meet their child's needs, the district's punishment is doled out not in cash, but in compensatory education hours — a bank of district-controlled money that only can be used for educational expenses such as private tutoring.
If, hypothetically, LaTonia files a legal claim against the district and wins, the district will have to provide Christina the programming that she needs (either at Feltonville, another public school in the district or a private one at district expense).
On top of this, depending on the exact agreement, the district would have to provide Christina with the same amount of hours of compensatory education that it failed to provide in the first place.
In an extreme example, if a student has an IEP that's unmet (or undiagnosed) for every hour of every school day for two years, the district would be responsible for roughly 2,000 hours of compensatory education, which, at $60 a hour, equals $120,000.
But here's the dirty little secret that Ken Cooper says districts know full well: kids don't often use the hours.
"The big joke in the school district was well: 'we can give these kids a ton of compensatory education. We don't care,'" said Cooper of the rationale inside the Philadelphia School District's headquarters during his tenure there.
"The reality is that compensatory education is rarely, if ever, used to its fullest extent," he said, "and they know that."
He said there's a simple reason.
"You and I were kids once, and if mom said, 'You know, after school you're going to go to the tutor for an hour. You can't go out and play basketball, you can't do this, you can't go here, you can't go there. And, special treat, over the summer: more tutoring.' So the kids rebel," Cooper said. "They won't do it."
What often ends up happening, Cooper says, is the kids use a little bit of the money, the district and the state come out relatively unscathed and the lawyers on either side make lots of money. The district did not respond to this claim either.
"Bottom line, this whole thing," Cooper said, "the kids lose."
The fight continues
Despite the uphill battle against her, LaTonia Lee continues to, as she wrote in an email this week, "complain and wait."
At this point, Christina has been evaluated by Feltonville's school psychologist, but the Philadelphia School District's assessment remains incomplete, and her IEP remains unmet.
The district has now assigned a new special-ed district liaison to look into Christina's case, but LaTonia says the liaison wanted to schedule an IEP meeting based on the incomplete report.
LaTonia wrote the liaison that she was "disinclined" to have the meeting until the district completed Christina's evaluation.
But LaTonia knew this was her legal right only because of the massive amount of time she's spent researching special-education law since the school year began.
What's happening right now to students lacking parents with LaTonia's time and education, one can only assume.
Special-education attorney Josh Kershenbaum knows this for sure: the more special-ed students the district passes over now, the more it will cost society in the long run.
"If we fail those students young, then we will come back and pay for it later," he said. "It may come out of a different budget. It may come out of a different pocket, but we will pay."
Although this rationale makes sense to LaTonia, to her, the stakes are much more personal.
While some may meet Christina and see only a "slow learner," LaTonia sees that elusive sparkle in her eyes and believes that–if she keeps on fighting for her daughter's educational rights –Christina's potential truly can be made to shine.
"Some kids are super swift and they 'get it,' and they're gifted and they're amazing, and 'hallelujah' for them," the mother said, "but my kid will not be crushed because she's not."
Whether that's the fate for other special-needs students in Philadelphia this year, only time will tell.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Philadelphia School District contracted special-education legal services with Schnader.
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Jets fans showed up at training camp recently and proceeded to boo players. Square in their sights was quarterback Mark Sanchez.
The criticism of Sanchez, who will start for the Jets against the Detroit Lions in the preseason game, has come from all angles.
Sanchez received a pretty gutless tweet on Wednesday, but to his credit, stayed above the garbage.
Thanks for your support man! #classy RT @YOUNGSTOWN4LI4E .@Mark_Sanchez F*** YOU HOPE YOU TEAR YOUR ACL ON FRIDAY— Mark Sanchez (@Mark_Sanchez) August 8, 2013
Still, it doesn't make the social media attack any easier to accept—even from the most passionate of fans.

subset: commoncrawl


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NEW ORLEANS — Cashmere, Wash.-based Crunch Pak showed off its new Apple-tizers Party Trays and superhero themed packaging at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit 2013. The packs feature about 20 ounces of products, highlighted by fresh-cut apples and accompaniments, says Gary Zych, who works in Midwest sales for the company.
"Our Marvel stacker item film is another change," Zych said.
Crunch Pak's new licensing agreement with Marvel allows them to put superheroes like Spiderman and the Avengers on packaging.
Crunch Pak's booth featured a cooking station with Orlando, Fla., chef Amanda Magadan, who on Oct. 19 served pulled pork and apple slaw sliders, spinach and apple salad (using FlavorZ peach/mango slices) with candied pecans and gouda. Her Sunday sample lineup consisted of apple fritters and potato pancakes with chunky apple sauce and sour cream.
The Crunch Pak booth displayed Disney co-branded products and samples of the new products in development with new licensing agreement partner Marvel Worldwide.
The company sells more than 1 billion apple slices a year, according to a news release.


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Individual wrote:A skeptic might ask, "So, where is this merit collected?"
If it's a materialist conception of kamma (like that of the Jains) that the skeptic is interrogating, then she's justified in asking such a question. But if it's the Buddhist conception then she's simply making a category mistake.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but puñña is also distinguished from ordinary currency in that it is not a limited commodity.
Not necessarily. Only a finite amount of merit can be accumulated in a single lifetime. Of course when multiple lives are taken into account then merit-currency does become potentially unlimited, but then so does ordinary currency when other factors are introduced (e.g. when a nation is subjected to the fiscal profligacy of a Robert Mugabe or a 1970's Labour government).
In any case, let's not push the simile too far.
How, though, can something real thus impermanent be limitlessly produced?
How couldn't it? If the round of saṃsāra is without discernible beginning then there's no limit to the number of puñña-generating wholesome cittas that might have arisen in any given continuum, nor to the number that might arise in the future.
If puñña could be limitlessly produced and puñña brings happiness, how could one even say that life is dukkha?
1. In addition to the mental factors that generate puñña, there are those that generate its opposite, pāpa, which ripens in pain.
2. Puñña can't be generated just because one wants it to be, or wants the fruits that it brings, for the conditions responsible for it are anattā, hence out of one's control.
3. Even if there were only puñña, and no pāpa, there would still be dukkha, for puñña ripens as pleasurable feeling, but even pleasurable feeling is included in the dukkha of formations.
Best wishes,
Dhammanando Bhikkhu


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Book a flight to Bergen with Qatar Airways and you'll encounter that rarest of things: a busy, modern city with that 'small town feel.' Bergen is instantly-recognisable thanks to the rows of colourful houses lining its harbour. This is where the city began and is still one of the most popular places to visit.
However, while it may have its origins by the sea, Bergen has expanded, climbing the picturesque mountains behind and is littered with remnants from its medieval origins, such as Haakon's Hall, which now serves as the Bergen City Museum. Flights to Bergen can be bought through most international airports, giving you the opportunity to explore an old city with a young attitude.
Bergen's historic harbour, known as Bryggen, is a must-see for anyone making a trip to Bergen. Bryggen is now an UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its outstanding international importance. The first thing you'll notice is the colourful seaside buildings, but investigate the winding alleys and twisting passages and you'll find shops, restaurants and a growing number of artists' studios.
If you're looking for a taste of unspoilt scenery, then book yourself a tour of the fjords – which is one of the world's most popular attractions. You can take in a number of sights, such as the spellbinding mountains and waterfalls of Hardangerfjord, the impressive Sognefjord, Norway's longest and deepest, and the Bøyabreen Glacier.
Given the picturesque nature of the city and the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding scenery, you'll be hard pushed to decide which deserves your attention first. If you've decided to travel to Bergen to soak up some of the local culture then be sure to set some time aside to visit The National Stage Bergen. This fantastic Art Nouveau building plays host to theatrical productions and award-winning musicals.
With so much to see, one of the best ways to take in as much as possible is to hop aboard one of the sightseeing tours. From the comfort of a sightseeing train, a bus or even a boat, you can stop off at local attractions such as the famous Fish Market, Old Bergen Museum and even find yourself travelling up nearby Mount Fløien, to enjoy a spectacular view.
The local cuisine is typified by its freshness. With the sea literally on its doorstep, there are plenty of fish dishes to enjoy and the lush, green hills offer perfect grazing for livestock and good conditions for crops. As a result, the food is often simple, but bursting with flavour.
Lamb is a popular meat and your trip to Bergen wouldn't be complete without sampling Farikal, Norway's national dish. Farikal is lamb, boiled with cabbage and whole peppercorns to create a hearty, autumnal dish. Kjøttkaker is another popular meal, consisting of minced beef meatballs, fried ad served with gravy and peas. Salmon is one of the most popular fish dishes and has to be tasted to be fully appreciated.
The city of Bergen was founded on trading and that tradition has transformed a humble town into a thriving, modern city. Visitors who travel to Bergen with shopping in mind won't be disappointed; there are large department stores rubbing shoulders with small, specialised shops. You'll find plenty of shopping centres in the heart of the city and many more on the outskirts.
Given the artistic nature of the local community, you'll find plenty of places selling handmade jewellery and unique arts and crafts.
When you book a flight to Bergen with Qatar Airways you will travel on a Qatar Airways operated flight to Oslo (OSL) or Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) and connect to Bergen with our partner airlines.
Flights to Bergen land at Bergen Airport, Flesland, situated about half an hour from the city centre. It is well served by taxis, the airport bus service and car-hire facilities, should you feel like driving yourself.
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 Bergen please check the visa and passport requirements.
Currency: Norwegian Krone (NOK)
Voltage: 230 V 50 Hz
Plugs: Type C / F
Language: Norwegian
International dialing code: +47
Our Business Class cabin combines thoughtful amenities, sublime comfort and superb service centred around your needs.
Join Privilege Club and make travelling with Qatar Airways even more rewarding
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.


text: If anything, Danny's effectiveness only goes up if PG can keep up his confident level of play. With a balky knee, Danny will be perfect spotting up on the wing or in the corner. He could easily get 6-9 ppg just from open spot up opportunities. Those same open shots that Green nd Young are struggling with, Danny can knock down at a more consistent rate.


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Topic: Sensitive - A goodbye in photos
"At first, it may not seem unusual that photography student Briony Campbell decided to point her lens at her father for a series of personal portraits.
However her father, David Campbell - a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist - agreed to be photographed in the last six months of his life as he was dying from bile duct cancer.
In the photo series, which she called The Dad Project, Briony unflinchingly photographed his physical deterioration, his surroundings, his treatment, and her own reaction in pictures - pictures which are sometimes bleak, sometimes uplifting, and often deeply moving."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/progr … bell.shtml
I debated whether or not to post this, but I decided that if it helped even one person then it was worth doing so. The above link has an interview with the photographer talking about her experiences with her dad during this time, and one thing that really stood out for me was when she talks about having discussions with her dad during his last days. This struck a chord with me, as it is coming up on 6 months since I was having these same conversations with my dad under the same circumstances.
Here's is a link to Briony's photos. Again, it strikes the same chord with me as I was here with my dad last December.
I hope I haven't upset or offended anyone by posting this.


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Treatment of Acute HIV Infection to Preserve Immune Function
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|HIV Infections
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Defined Population
Observational Model: Natural History
Time Perspective: Longitudinal
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|Immune Control of HIV Replication
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|July 1999
Studies have identified a potent CD4 T helper (Th) cell response in some infected people, and have shown a correlation between virus-specific Th cells and low levels of viremia. Early institution of potent antiviral therapy in the earliest stages of acute HIV infection have led to strong Th cell responses, analogous to those seen in people who are able to control viremia in the absence of antiviral therapy. This may be because potent antiviral therapy is able to protect virus-specific Th cells as they become activated, and thus these cells are not lost in the earliest stages of infection. This study will characterize the immune response of patients with acute HIV infection who receive antiretroviral therapy and will determine the effects of interruption of therapy in those people who have immune responses to HIV that are similar to patients with long-term non-progressing infection.
Participants in this study will be followed through June 2004. Study visits vary from only once to every month and are scheduled at the discretion of the study officials. Study visits include an interview and blood tests.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria
- Acute HIV infection
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00055094
|United States, Massachusetts
|Massachusetts General Hospital
|Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02116
|Principal Investigator:
|Bruce Walker, MD
|Massachusetts General Hospital
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00055094 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
1R01AI044656-01 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
5R01AI044656-04 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|Study First Received:
|February 19, 2003
|Last Updated:
|June 23, 2005
Keywords provided by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):
Immune system
Helper T-Cells
Acute Infection
Treatment naive
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Communicable Diseases
HIV Infections
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
Lentivirus Infections
Retroviridae Infections
RNA Virus Infections
Virus Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Immune System Diseases
Slow Virus Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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BimmerWorld Homeward Bound for Round Four After three rounds of impressive results for the rookie Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge team, BimmerWorld looks forward to racing at home at Virginia International Raceway. ...
BimmerWorld Homeward Bound for Round Four
After three rounds of impressive results for the rookie Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge team, BimmerWorld looks forward to racing at home at Virginia International Raceway.
#80 BimmerWorld/GearWrench ready for Barber Motorsports Park BimmerWorld's two-car BMW E90 program will hit the track with nothing less than a win as its goal.
Just as stick-and-ball sports teams look to their own stadiums and arenas for home field advantages, racing teams are no different. As Dublin, Va.-based BimmerWorld visits their home track at Virginia International Raceway this weekend for Round 4 of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the team hopes to enjoy a similar advantage.
With too many laps to count around the picturesque track, the team would like nothing more than to visit Victory Circle during Saturday's race. Based just three hours away, the BMW specialists at BimmerWorld have used the challenging VIR circuit as a regular proving ground to develop and improve their range of BMW street and racing cars.
But this weekend will have little to do with R&D - BimmerWorld's two-car BMW E90 program will hit the track with nothing less than a win as its goal. James Clay, owner/driver of the #80 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW, says that while racing on one's home track is no guarantee of success, his team is drawing from all their past experience to start the weekend off quickly.
"We have only been to VIR once in our previous E90 Touring Cars, but as we have seen so far this year, there is a surprising amount of knowledge transfer to the new Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge-spec cars. More importantly, our experience allows us to cut the track up in segments and apply setup knowledge based on those traits. For example, we know that VIR is made up of hopping some curbs like the Barber esses and kink and hard braking into low-speed turns like Homestead - and we know what worked there and we should be able to hit the setup out of the box."
Clay's teammate, series rookie David White, is coming off of his first career ST-class pole position. White is intimately familiar with the VIR circuit, but like Clay, knows that nothing will come easy when it comes time to go racing.
More Photos Team Gear BimmerWorld TV
"My track knowledge of VIR will help, but it will not affect my approach to our race this weekend. I am feeling confident about racing at my home track, for sure, but I know better than to think this race will be any easier than the other races on our schedule. The series is full of competitive teams and drivers and the entire BimmerWorld/GearWrench organization will have to work just as hard as they always do in order to be successful at VIR."
Bill Heumann, driver of the #81 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW alongside Seth Thomas, is proving that with equal measures of talent, determination, and a solid work ethic, a new driver to the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series can have an immediate impact on the track. As Heumann explains, the time required to prepare for a race weekend far outweighs the time spent inside the race car.
"I am a very big believer in practice but in this sport, good practice can be hard to come by. The very best practice is when we are able to drive the BimmerWorld Racing E90 itself, which usually doesn't happen until the race weekend itself! So what is left is a variety of substitute training techniques that, while they aren't as good as actual seat time in our cars, I feel help me quite a bit.
"I make sure to keep myself in shape physically by running and weight training several times a week. A race weekend is surprisingly more demanding physically than what I expected. It takes a fair amount of mental and physical stamina to peak by race time on the long weekends."
In addition to his fitness regimen, Heumann also keeps himself sharp with on-track activity in both the real and virtual worlds.
"I do a fair amount of karting. Up until this month it has been indoors, but now that the weather is nice I spend a lot of time at an outdoor karting club that has a very demanding 0.7 mile course. And for the actual circuits we race on in the series, most of the tracks we drive are available in iRacing.com, so I'll practice on the simulator to get familiar with tracks I don't know. It's almost a full-time job outside of the car to properly compete in a professional racing series, and it all pays off with the kind of results the BimmerWorld/GearWrench team keeps delivering."
Seth Thomas, known as one of the fastest drivers in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series, says that of all the tracks they've race at this year, VIR compliments the handling, braking and power characteristics of the BMW E90 better than anywhere else on the 2010 calendar.
"VIR has some fast sweeping turns where the longer wheelbase of our BMW E90s really should excel. A good example is Turn 10, South Bend. This turn is at the top of the Uphill Esses where the BimmerWorld/GearWrench E90 will be accelerating full throttle up to the brake zone. South Bend then turns left where we slightly tap the brakes and go over a blind downhill turn. The speed through there is where our cars should really distinguish themselves. Then there is the back stretch where our six-cylinder engines can really stretch their legs and then brake and stop repeatedly at the last second thanks to our PFC brakes.
"The next section after the back stretch is another one where our cars really like with the combination of lefts and rights from roller coaster down to Hog Pen. When I think about it, our cars should be really great at almost the whole track as this track really has a rhythm our BMWs really love. I can't wait to put on a show for our fans, our families, and all of the BMW enthusiasts that come out to support us wherever we go. This should be a great race."
The green flag drops on Round 4 at VIR Saturday, April 24 at 3:30PM.
-source: www.BimmerworldRacing.com.


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Red-hot Gattis stays in lineup by playing first
WASHINGTON -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez wanted veteran catcher Gerald Laird behind the plate for Julio Teheran's start at Nationals Park on Friday night. But he also wanted to keep his primary catcher, Evan Gattis, in the middle of his lineup.
Gonzalez satisfied both desires by utilizing Gattis as his starting first baseman in Friday's 6-4, 10-inning win against the Nationals. The rookie catcher's only previous professional experience at the position came via seven games with Class A Rome in 2011.
"He's fine," Gonzalez said before the game. "He's played [the position] before. He looked good. We're not going to ask him to do anything crazy at first base. Really there is nothing crazy to do at first base but get the ball. He's comfortable with it and we're comfortable with it."
Before Gattis could truly get comfortable, Denard Span opened the bottom of the first with a swinging bunt. Third baseman Chris Johnson fielded the ball and made an errant throw that pulled Gattis off the bag.
After the game, Gattis said he could have made a better stretch if his footwork was better around the bag. But the only play that he wished he could have truly had back was the high Bryce Harper pop fly that he whiffed on while attempting to make a catch in front of the Nationals' dugout in the fifth inning.
"[The night] was as smooth as I could have asked for, I guess," Gattis said. "I just wish I would have stayed with that fly ball."
Gonzalez made this decision to put Gattis at first base after watching him take ground balls early Friday afternoon.
"It's that old adage that I know that he's going to get four at-bats," Gonzalez said. "We don't know if he's going to get four ground balls hit to him during the course of the game. He's a big part of our lineup right now, a big part of our offense."
With the Nationals starting left-hander Ross Detwiler on Friday, the Braves opted to utilize Johnson at third base instead of Juan Francisco, who has struggled in the past against southpaws. Johnson has been the primary first baseman in Freeman's absence.
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Multinational enterprises need to identity all of their intercompany policies, create systems to track their forecast to actual results and have ways to quickly update documentation.
This summer the G8 emerged from their summit with the Lough Erne Declaration, outlining several pain points for governments collecting corporate tax from multinational enterprises (MNEs). A few weeks later, the OECD released its Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which includes 15 proposed actions to reduce international tax avoidance. The G20 has blessed this plan. While the world's powers agree that BEPS needs to be addressed, the clarity seems to stop there.
What we do know is this: The OECD will establish a working party on aggressive tax planning and look at rules requiring taxpayers to disclose tax planning arrangements. The OECD wants to preserve certainty and predictability for multinationals that make available "timely, targeted and comprehensive information that is essential to enable governments to quickly identify risk areas." In the action plan, the OECD outlines three major areas of focus: hybrid mismatches, interest deductions and transfer pricing.
In general, this action plan makes clear that multinationals need to start considering the following:
• Transparency in the presentation of financial information, otherwise known as operational transfer pricing, to identify potential areas of conflict such as hybrid mismatches.
• Documentation and reporting capabilities to provide key factual information on intercompany transactions in order to address challenges to interest deductions.
• Clear policies that are managed throughout the organization to address transfer pricing inconsistencies.
Multinationals need to be prepared to prove their transfer pricing policies are arm's-length with clear, thorough documentation.
Navigating the layers of increased scrutiny and complexity will require a thorough documentation process that provides governments, auditors and the public with detailed information on tax strategies and operational-level execution. This will be a company's only defense against double taxation, penalties and reputational risk.
Some tips to keep in mind:
• Among the technical transfer pricing issues, the key concern was the suggestion that MNEs have applied transfer pricing rules in a way that separates income from economic activities. Documentation should clearly outline key items, such as identifying the various intangible assets that drive profits and who owns them, as well as the allocation of risks and how that drives the profitability of affiliates.
• A careful functional analysis should be prepared to ensure that the characterization of affiliates is consistent with actual functions and risks. For example, the OECD's discussion of permanent establishment rules appears to result from a concern that multinationals are treating related party distributors as commission agents.
• The OECD is also concerned about the possibility that income will go untaxed as multinationals structure hybrid financing structures that create interest expense deductions in nations where the financing is treated as debt while receiving equity treatment in the recipient jurisdiction. While the OECD recommends a more coordinated treatment of what intercompany debt should be recognized, its action plan also requires more scrutiny as to whether the interest rate on intercompany loans and intercompany guarantee fees are consistent with the arm's-length standard. To manage this, multinationals should make sure they properly document the arm's-length nature of their intercompany financing positions.
This increasingly aggressive environment means MNEs need to identity all of their intercompany policies, create systems to track their forecast to actual results and have ways to quickly update documentation. Companies also need to regularly confirm these policies with workflow tools and have a global repository of information in order to comply with government inquiries. Proving that pricing and strategies are indeed handled at arm's-length is essential to surviving the coming wave of change in global tax management.


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Grandal's hard work could earn him spot on roster
PEORIA, Ariz. -- Manager Bud Black hasn't revealed who will catch Andrew Cashner on Sunday night in the season opener, let alone settled on the two -- or possibly three -- catchers who will be on the 25-man roster.
But it appears that Yasmani Grandal -- maybe a long shot to make the roster when the team arrived in Arizona last month -- has put himself in prime position to make the cut.
Grandal -- who had surgery on Aug. 6 to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee -- has impressed the organization with how hard he's worked to get ready for the regular season, even as some figured he was a candidate for the disabled list.
"We talked in the early part of March whether this was a possibility, and I was being a little cautious for a couple of reasons," Black said. "But he's kept his nose to the grindstone and has done a really nice job staying on track through the schedule the medical staff has provided. He hasn't missed any markers and he's played well.
"He's caught extremely well. He's moved, he's blocked and he has thrown at a level of performance that indicates he could be ready by Opening Day."
In addition to Nick Hundley and Grandal, the Padres have Rene Rivera, who did a nice job calling games and handling the pitching staff after Grandal was injured last July. Rivera is out of Minor League options, so it could be tricky to keep him if another team has a need for a catcher in the big leagues.
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. Keep track of @FollowThePadres on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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'"I think everybody's shocked," Lever said. "I think that's what's happened to the team. It's easy to say it didn't effect them, but you just have to look at the way they're playing now. They started off strong. I think they just couldn't dig themselves out of reading all those negative reports."'
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Adopting and Demonstrating the Adaptation of Prevention Techniques (ADAPT), Harlem United Community AIDS Center
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|Sexually Transmitted Diseases HIV Infections
|Behavioral: Healthy Relationships
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Prevention
|Official Title:
|Adopting and Demonstrating the Adaptation of Prevention Techniques (ADAPT), Harlem United Community AIDS Center
- Document the resources and activities required to adapt and implement the Healthy Relationships intervention model for young sero-positive MSM of color [ Time Frame: 11/2005-9/2007 ]
- Measure the effectiveness of the newly-adapted intervention [ Time Frame: 11/2005-9/2009 ]
- Assess CDC's guidance for adapting effective behavioral interventions for new populations. [ Time Frame: 11/2005-11/2007 ]
- Optimize service delivery [ Time Frame: 11/2005-12/2009 ]
|Study Start Date:
|November 2005
|Study Completion Date:
|June 2009
|Primary Completion Date:
|April 2009 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
Behavioral: Healthy Relationships
The Adopting and Demonstrating the Adaptation of Prevention Techniques project (referred to as ADAPTATION throughout this protocol) responds to concerns from the field that existing interventions do not address the HIV prevention needs of diverse and often unstudied populations. This project will pilot test a step-by-step guide for community-based organizations to engage in evidence-based adaptation of interventions previously shown to be effective in research settings for use in real world applications. The main purpose of this program is to improve understanding of the processes needed for adapting evidence-based behavioral interventions to fit new conditions or populations and to pilot CDC-developed draft guidance for adaptation. The second purpose of the program is to increase the number of effective behavioral HIV prevention interventions for 18-24 year old sero-positive men of color who have sex with other men (MSM of color).
Harlem United Community AIDS Center is one of five sites originally funded through Program Announcement 04064 and selected to receive a supplement to conduct adaptation activities. Under Program Announcement 04064, Harlem United, a community-based organization with over 16 years of experience providing quality HIV services to the Harlem and South Bronx communities, was funded to implement a multi-faceted, HIV prevention program. The program combines rapid testing, access to care, and an evidenced-based, group-level behavioral intervention (i.e., Healthy Relationships) for sero-positive, heterosexual men and women of color. Healthy Relationships is a five-session, small group-level intervention for persons living with HIV/AIDS that promotes the development of decision-making and problem-solving skills that enable participants to make informed and safe decisions about disclosure and behaviors. Preliminary evaluation efforts suggest that this service model is effective in reducing risk behaviors among the general population, but its appropriateness and effectiveness for specific sub-populations has yet to be fully demonstrated. The original research for Healthy Relationships was conducted in Atlanta, Georgia. Approximately half of the participants identified as gay and the study population had a mean age of 40 years. Harlem United will adapt the Healthy Relationships intervention for young sero-positive MSM of color between the ages of 18-24 who reside in Harlem, New York. Further adaptation also may include adding decision-making for disclosure with needle sharing partners.
The goal of Harlem United's ADAPTATION project is to evaluate efforts to adapt and implement the Healthy Relationships intervention for young sero-positive MSM of color by: 1) documenting the resources and activities required to adapt and implement the Healthy Relationships intervention model for young sero-positive MSM of color; 2) optimizing service delivery; 3) measuring the effectiveness of the newly-adapted intervention; and 4) assessing CDC's guidance for adapting effective behavioral interventions for new populations.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 24 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- MSM, at least 18 years old;
- HIV-positive; and
- Self-identified African Americans, English speaking African-born individuals and Latinos.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Non-English speaking;
- Under 18 years of age;
- Serious mental illness which makes them unsuitable for interviewing (accommodation will be made for HIV-related cognitive deficits & related illnesses);
- Inebriated;
- Has been interviewed before; and
- Anyone who does not meet the inclusion criteria.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00267410
|United States, New York
|Harlem United Community AIDS Center
|New York, New York, United States, 10027
|Principal Investigator:
|Soraya Elcock
|Harlem United Community AIDS Center
|Responsible Party:
|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00267410 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|December 20, 2005
|Last Updated:
|September 10, 2012
Keywords provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Behavioral interventions
HIV Seronegativity
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
HIV Infections
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Lentivirus Infections
Retroviridae Infections
RNA Virus Infections
Virus Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Immune System Diseases
Genital Diseases, Male
Genital Diseases, Female
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


text: Winfield girls first to 5 state soccer titles By Tommy R. Atkinson November 9, 2013 Story Share Chris Dorst Winfield's Jayne Lawman (center) gets congratulations after scoring from teammates Braiden Maddox (left) and Whitney Humphreys. BECKLEY, W.Va. - Winfield was a marked team all season, but the Generals made their mark on the history books Saturday afternoon.Sophomore Jordan Pauley and junior Jayne Lawman each scored as Winfield won its second consecutive state championship, defeating Washington 2-0 in the Class AAA girls soccer state title game at the YMCA Youth Sports Complex.The Generals (23-1-1), who finished the regular season No. 1 in the final state coaches association rankings, captured the program's fifth title overall and now have the most in the state since girls soccer was sanctioned by the Secondary School Activities Commission in 1995. Wheeling Park took four straight from 1998-2001 under the one-class system, which split into two in 2008 (AAA and AA-A)."I always say we're here to play and that's what we did,'' said Winfield senior keeper Braiden Maddox, whose squad was ranked as high as No. 17 nationally this year. "There's a little bit of pressure, but before we get on the field we always pray and so the pressure eases."We've had a lot of mental preparation along with physical preparation. You have to play your game and not think about that big target on your back. With how small [our school is], this is definitely a big accomplishment.''Pauley gave Winfield the lead for good at 1-0 about 10 minutes into the opening half. The Generals didn't do much after that until Lawman put them up 2-0 with her team-high 23rd goal just after halftime. Maddox, a first-year goalie who was moved from the field, made four saves for the shutout."They're just well rounded,'' Washington coach Tim Michael said of the Generals. "I would put them up against some college teams. They did make us chase and after a while that takes its toll.''The Generals also earned redemption along the way, downing No. 2 Morgantown 3-1 in Friday's semifinals to avenge their only loss of the year. Winfield lost at Morgantown 1-0 during the regular season. "We were going to give everything we had,'' said Winfield 10th-year coach Marshall Hoff, whose team defeated Washington 4-0 during the regular season in Charles Town. "All the might we had, these young ladies were willing to do it. They knew what it was going to take. They knew we were going to have to give it that much more. Leave no doubts. Leave no what-ifs.''The Generals senior class has known nothing but state tournament berths, having qualified all four years and now with back-to-back titles."We always had this goal to be the last one standing,'' said Lawman, who has verbally committed to play at Marshall. "I think we always go out and give it all we have. We played really well as a team."It all paid off. We had a few bumps, but we always pick it back up. I think we were really determined this year as we were last year. We're going to do the same thing [next year], get ready and work to try to be the last one standing.''No. 12 Washington (16-7-2), which opened in 2008, put itself on the map this year, advancing to states for the first time in school history. Washington upset No. 4 GW 1-0 in Friday's semis."I think it's a good thing,'' Michael said of the added notoriety for his program. "I think we've got a lot to be proud of. It's a lot to build on.''Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-4811. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Books and Brews expanding to Charleston's West Side 2 Morgantown coal operator Laurita indicted in alleged campaign finance scheme 3 WVU notebook: Holgorsen says injured players 'close' 4 Gazette editorial: Is it time for health care for all yet? 5 City of Milton tries to revive Morris Memorial property Celebration time for Sissonville Previous Story Marshall-UAB statistics Next Story


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[Page 809-810 -bottom]
We have used in our work, both names, Mohilev and Mogilov, as the case was.
As we have previously mentioned, one convoy of the Yedinitz deportees managed to come to Mohilev. The family of Yoel Lieberman was amongst these. Another convoy also, in which Frieda Kuzimer found herself, also reached Mohilev. In the convoy of the Chernowitz Jews that arrived in Mohilev there were tens of Yedinitz families, amongst them the Premislov family, Chayim Hurwich and his family, Moishe Feurman, Yitzhak Borochin and others.
Movilov was a province capital and there the powers concentrated masses of Jews from various places. It was no pleasure to find oneself in a place where there were several thousand deported families.
[Page 811]
The memorial stone that stands on large brother-graves was erected in the winter of 1942, according to the Brichan Rov Reb Yechiel-Dov (Berl Yasser), who also wrote the epitaph that was engraved on it.
Translation of the epitaph:
For the eternal memory, for all times of
For the eternal memory, for all times of
Picture of memorial stone in the Jewish cemetery in Barshad lager (Transnistria). IT READS:
Here are buried thousands of deported Jews who perished from hunger, cold and epidemics and who were murdered by beastly humans. Amongst those who perished hundreds of Yedinitzers.
[Pages 811-812 - bottom]
With some of the convoys, as happened with the convoy of Frieda Kuzimer, only seven came from the city. They weren't allowed in lest it be 'too good for them' .
As a stop-station we were left near the Jewish cemetery. We were told: 'Rest a bit'.' We looked around. There were few of us left. We started to 'settle.' We found ourselves outdoors, beneath the sky. The autumn rain showed us no pity. We wanted to eat so we tried to make our way to the fields to search for food. Whoever got caught was shot. In a few days some Germans appeared. They thought it necessary to order us to lift stones, line up one opposite another, and in this pose they took pictures of us. In two weeks time we were taken to an abandoned military camp. There we found cases of ammunition. We threw away the bullets, and the cases, tins, etc. we put to use. Every day we were taken to Mogilov with the excuse that any day now we would be sent home. We were led to the brink of the Dniester and in the evening we were brought back to the lager. This went on for several days back and forth, a distance of some twenty kilometers. The aim was to vex us.
[Page 813]
Other deported groups, after spending time in the area of Mogilev, were transferred to the shtetl Skazinetz. Here they were put up in abandoned military structures that were already packed, when they arrived, with deportees from all kinds of places. The new arrivals were hungry, but they weren't given any food. They looked like shadows and were like crazy. Many ate the fallen leaves from the trees. In a few days time the new arrivals were gathered and returned to Mogilov. Then once again to Skazinetz and again back to Mogilov. There were many in these back-and-forth 'excursions'. Those few who survived this peaceful experience 'lived to' reach the stability lager -- Mogilov.
The large capital city Mogilov was destroyed by the German bombings, and the houses half ruined had practically no doors or windows, but even these wrecked houses were overcrowded . The deportees slowly made some order in the houses; cleaned out the filth, pasted paper on the window space, filled the holes with rags, so as to enable them to somehow withstand the winds that penetrated the homes. From the scrap metal, stoves were made, that were heated with anything that came to hand, in order to somewhat warm the exhausted ones a bit in that hard winter of 1942. People spread papers and rags on the floor and sat on them. There were no toilets so people eliminated wherever they could. They had already lost their sense of shame in front of one another, as though it had been like this since the first six days of Creation.
Neither was there any water. The filth and the lice ate away at us. Many who could no longer suffer the conditions took their own lives.
Here is what Matisyahu Karp recounts in the previously mentioned book:
January 26, 1942 - In Mohilev all the Jewish men were taken out to work, without differentiating between age or physical condition. Most were naked. In a dreadful frost they got sent to work ten kilometers away from the city where they are kept at night. Many of them were brought back frozen to death.
But all this was not enough in the eyes of those in charge of the fate of the unfortunate ones. Elders and lower ranking ones abused the bodies of the deported women and girls. In Karp's book he tells the following about this:
[Page 814]
May 1942 - In all Transnistria locations where there were Jews, particularly in Mohilev, the ones in power take advantage of their authority to abuse and indulge all their desires, even the sadistic ones. Innumerable women and girls were raped in spite of their opposition and outcries.
The Mohilev gendarmes even allowed themselves the pleasure of gathering a large group of lovely young women and girls, explaining that they had to conduct a medical inspection. All the women had to appear naked in front of the beasts.
The vile rulers never ceased their inhuman behavior even when, in 1944, their armies on the front lost one battle after another and they knew that the Red Army was approaching Transnistria. At that last moment, the Rumanian authorities tried to chase after young Jewish females, in order to abuse them, having an intuitive feeling of what would happen to them, just on the brink of liberation there was success in running away to the forests where they hid until they heard that the Rumanian military had completely withdrawn. Only then did they return to the lager in order to join their relatives, if such survived amongst the remnants.
We shall sin against the historical truth if we won't mention at least a few exceptional cases, as a tragic reminder of those turbulent times.
[Page 815]
Rochele Milner (Formerly: Fradis), who served as a medic (she had a diploma as a pharmacist) in this lager, wrote about this tragedy and it was published in Ilya Ehrenberg's Black Book:
In the Chukov lager there were our friends from Yedinitz, advocate David Lerner with his wife and 6-year-old daughter. In the month of September when the order was issued to murder all the Jewish children, the Lerner parents hid their child in a sack. The child behaved quietly and wisely and because of this she was saved. For three days the father hauled the little girl to work with him in a sack. In three weeks they got stopped by the famous Kroshkeh, the one responsible for the whole lager, a scoundrel. He approached the sack and kicked it with his foot; the child let out a scream. That's how she was discovered. The hangman, Kroshke, broke out in a brutal rage and started to beat the father and the child. He took everything away from them, whatever they owned, and left the family without anything with which to cover themselves. Still, he didn't kill the little girl, and she remained in the lager. She suffered through a terrible winter, and the little one awaited death every day.
On February 5, during the second 'Sonder-Action,' the child, together with her grandmother, was taken away. On the way something terrible happened to the unfortunate child. She let out a dreadful scream until her heart would no longer bear it. Her heart gave out. Then the screams ceased. The grandmother continued on her way to the pit, carrying the dead child in her arms. In this way the living grandmother and the dead child entered the prepared mass grave and were covered up.
When the unfortunate mother discovered the death of her child, she lost her mind and was shot to death. Not much time passed and the father met the same end: he too was shot.
[Page 816]
a heavy downpour accompanied us all the way. People got soaked to the bone. When the convoy entered the village Luchinetz, the rain stopped. The clouds vanished and the sun shone. Someone suggested bribing the accompanying soldiers to allow us to stop, if even for a few hours, in order to rest and perhaps to also dry our clothes so that it would be easier to continue. Everyone agreed to the suggestion and we started to gather the meager groshens. There were those, however, who didn't want to give money for this united effort. One Jew, from Chatin it seems, punished those who didn't want to part with their groshens. He threatened them: 'See how lowly you are .If you think that you're still somebody, you're mistaken'
The Burial in the MoonshineWho can tally the number of those who fell or died along the roads, in the lagers, whose bodies were eaten by the animals and birds, washed away in the rivers, covered by the snows and nobody knows what happened to their remains? Very few were privileged to get a Jewish burial with or without a marker.
The Gertzman sisters discovered that one of their brothers was in a kolkaz, so the mother and daughter Esther set out to find him. They found him sick with typhoid in a bad condition. He could only murmur: 'Save whoever you can.' In the evening he died. His body rested amongst all the other dead in the cellar of the building. Esther Gertzman took a sheet and wrapped up the body of her dead brother. She dug a hole and buried the body. The moon and the stars were the witnesses.
[Page 817]
Sara Litvak tells about one of the many characteristic cases:
Once I went through a street of Molochne when I suddenly heard someone calling me: 'Frau Gukovsky!'
I looked around, and to my amazement, I saw the younger daughter of Yerachmiel Donyanski lying on the ground unable to move. She was around 18-19 years old, a local beauty. She wanted me to come near to her. She was whiter than chalk. All shook up, I approached her. She took out from a belt that was keeping up the rags she was wearing, a gold coin, gave it to me and said: 'Take this. Buy me some tea and bring it to me, I beg you.' In Molochne they used to sell boiled murky water with all kinds of leaves that were gathered in the field. This was called 'tea.' I brought her a glass of tea and returned the 'change' to her. She didn't want to take the change and said: 'Keep the change. I'm going to die, anyhow. I just have one request of you promise to come to the same place tomorrow and make sure that those who bury me don't strip me naked
maybe you'll have to pay them for that.'
When I arrived the next day to see how the girl was faring I didn't find her. The girl had vanished. It turned out that somebody who was passing by when the two of us were talking noticed that the unfortunate girl had a few golden coins in her hand that she had put into her belt. She must have disappeared because of her belt.
[Page 818]
The Shattered PotAs a result of walking almost barefoot, Chana Gertzman's feet froze. This caused her unbearable pain. The only way to save her frozen toes was with hot water. Luckily, a can was found on the way. It was filled with water, but with what could the water be heated? Wood was nowhere to be found, so all kinds of paper scraps were gathered which could be burnt. The warm water was put into an earthenware pot that was also found somewhere. And such a pot retains the heat for some time, so it served as a hot water bottle. It helped somewhat. Once, though, the pot slid out of the hands, fell on the ground, and broke. The whole family mourned over the shattered pot all night.
[Page 819]
Mendl Lieberman recounts another incident related to bread: how hungry Jews fell upon a wagon that was transporting bread to be distributed amongst the Yedinitz Jews who had arrived in the Ukrainian village Kianovkeh.
With the leader of the local kolkaz it was pre-arranged that the new arrivals should work in the local shops. The kolkaz sent a wagon with bread and apples. The arrivals who hadn't seen bread for a number of days, and fearing that there would not be enough for everyone, threw themselves upon the wagon, and each one grabbed whatever and as much as possible.
Afterwards, the people worked in the local kolkazes.
The conditions were harsh. Here, Rochel, the wife of Hershel Fishberg, died. As wel as Gitl. Tendrich, the wife of Zysye Grolnik, Henye Gutman, and others from Yedinitz. They were buried not far from the village.
[Pages 819-820 - bottom]
According to the witnesses of the survivors themselves, some internal subjective reasons can be given as well as some external subjective reasons.
Dabbe Gruzman (Cohen) says firmly:
The greatest enemy of people, under such conditions which is also the cause of most of the deaths, was the apathy. Whoever succumbs to the terrible conditions, whoever accepts their lot, without any opposition of this fate, in whatever form it may be, whoever doesn't have the strength to endure, the survival instinct, under all conditions and to this category belonged, to our great sorrow, the majority of deported Jews, that one was destined to die. The zealous weak ones were the first to die.
Rochel and Yechiel Milner were also of the opinion that they remained alive above all because they didn't lose hope of remaining alive. Those people who made a decision in their hearts not to succumb to the fear of death, did all that was possible and impossible in order to survive the dangers. Those craftsmen who wanted to work for the peasants in the surroundings were particularly capable of overcoming everything. They earned enough for their survival and even a little more.
The case of those who became apathetic to life fared badly as they came to terms with the hunger and filth in which they found themselves because they believed that 'there's nothing left to lose.' Such people sat and awaited death.
There were, however, those who took courage, mustered all their will power, developed all kinds of ideas and initiatives, even when this was connected with various dangers, in order to save themselves,, and no only themselves. We have already included such a case with Mendl Lieberman.
[Page 821]
[Pages 821-822 - bottom]
And there were some according to witnesses as Y. Kafri, Chaya Mayanski, Roza Chockmavich, Clara Kalmanovich and others who went to work for the peasants from around the lager in order to get something to eat and to save a little of this food for their family. In a district where others were partisans some of the young people joined them.
There were those who went amongst the houses of the peasants and begged for a piece of bread. There were quite a few cases of good goyim who saved Jews from certain death. Yehuda Kafri and Chaya Mayanski tell that: We were saved from a certain death by the human kindness of goyim who gave the hungry ones a piece of bread, a few potatoes, beets or some other vegetables with which to ease their hunger somewhat.
I'll never forget Chayidin, this goy was very poor himself, but he always put aside a piece of his meager bread in order to quiet the hunger of my young daughter, Chayke Mayansky, amongst others, tells us.
[Page 823 - top]
[Page 824]
In Yedinitz some 70-80 families remained. They started to more or less settle down. Some opened stores; co-ops got organized according to the style of the 1940s. Hardly any youth returned.
It was told that during the German occupation only one Jewish soul remained in the shtetl Saskye, Schmuel Hersh's, the cobbler's, daughter. She lived with a Christian until the return of the Soviets.
The returning Soviet powers consisted of foreigners, not former shtetl dwellers. The local Jewish communists even tried to regain power, but without success.
The whole Jewish community life centered around the 'kloiz' (shul), but this didn't prevail for very long. In order to use a house as a shul it was required to pay a high tax and so the kloiz was closed.
Frieda Kuzminer adds:
We were several hundred souls. In comparison with the remnants of other shtetlach who returned home Yedinitz seemed less stricken than they. Though the streets were smashed up and the houses wrecked.
[Page 825]
The goyim had removed the doors and the rooms and the wrecked houses looked like broken skeletons. We visited the Jewish cemetery. It was also neglected and shattered. We looked around deploring what had become of us. For us the foremost question before us was: What now?
Most of the remnants left the shtetl, the land the continent. Only a handful of Jews remained in the shtetl.
Editorial note.
The gravestone in the burial ground of Avraham Yehuda,
son of Yisroel-Moishe Zaiv
Monuments in the Jewish Cemetery of Yedinitz, as found by the returnees.
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
Yedintsy, Moldova Yizkor Book Project JewishGen Home Page
Copyright © 1999-2017 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 6 May 2005 by LA


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Gang War?
The riots begin
Zoot Suit Riots: Remembering the WWII era Los Angeles race riots
(Story continues below)
During the summer the 1943, while the heat hit the streets in the form of fights and riots between the sailors and latino youth, newspapers headlines only fueled the fires of racism and fear. (Article originally published in the Long Beach Independent on June 15, 1943)Gallery: The Zoot Suit Riots, as covered by newspapers in the 1940s
(Story continues below)
Soldier, sailors and marines who roamed the street of Los Angeles, June 7, 1943, looking for hoodlums in zoot suits, stopped this streetcar during their search. Crowds jammed downtown streets to watch the service men tear clothing off the zoot suiters they caught. (AP Photo)
Deputy Sheriff Bartley Brown of East Los Angeles inspects the haircut of prisoner Alex "Largo" Rodriguez, who is wearing an $85.00 zoot suit June 7, 1943. (AP Photo)


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Hi all,
While reading discussion on ordination (or cross-ordination) of monks/nuns from different Vinayas, I have this question:
- As I know, a monk/nun in East Asia (China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan) after being ordained within the Dharmagupta Vinaya, s/he also receives/observes the Bodhisattva precepts as described in the (Mahayana) Brahma Net Sutra. One of the 48 minor precepts listed in this Sutra -- Precept no. 15 (I think) -- is that s/he is not allowed to teach/preach the sutras and moral codes of the Two-Vehicle tradition. The Two-vehicle tradition usually means the Sravaka/Savaka (Hearer - Arahant - Theravada?) vehicle and the Paccekabuddha vehicle.
If the monk/nun is not allowed to teach/preach the sutras and moral codes of the Sravaka, is s/he still qualified as a Dharmagupta bhikkhu/bhikkhuni?


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JERUSALEM (AP) -- Clashes erupted Saturday in the West Bank where Jewish settlers shot two Palestinian demonstrators in the northern village of Kusra, an Israeli military official and Palestinian residents said.
The clashes reflected mounting tensions in the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced off against Israeli troops in recent weeks in a series of large demonstrations protesting Israel's control of the territory.
Helmi Abdul-Aziz, 24, was shot in the stomach in the skirmish with Jewish settlers, Palestinian demonstrators said. They said Jewish settlers also shot 14-year-old Mustafa Hilal in the foot.
An Israeli military official confirmed two Palestinians were shot, but said the bullets appeared to have been fired by Jewish settlers because the Israeli forces were not using live ammunition. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with military policy.
A Palestinian hospital official said Abdul-Aziz was in serious condition. The medic requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Villagers said the clashes began when a group of Jewish settlers encroached on their village lands and fired guns. They said Jewish settlers chased a Palestinian farmer and his family off land, prompting the farmer to call on residents to confront the settlers, and men on both sides hurled rocks at each other.
The Israeli military official said about 200 Palestinians and 25 Jewish settlers took part in the clashes, and Israeli forces dispersed Palestinian protestors using "riot dispersal means."
Two Palestinian residents watching the clashes, Basem Nazal and Abdul-Azim Wadi, said Israeli forces fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets on demonstrators, and that a rubber bullet hit a 15-year-old Palestinian demonstrator in the eye. They also said the Israeli forces did not use live fire.
Nazal, a resident of Kusra, said groups of settlers were also uprooting their olive trees and vandalizing Palestinian homes close the wildcat Jewish outpost of Eish Kodesh.
Settler leaders were not immediately available for comment on the Jewish Sabbath.
There are some 300,000 Israeli Jewish settlers living in the West Bank, which the international community condemns. Palestinians seek the West Bank, a hilly territory which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, for part of their future state. A hardline minority of Jewish settlers frequently attack nearby Palestinian villagers and their property.
The clashes come a day after widespread demonstrations took place throughout the West Bank in support of four Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strikes in Israeli detention. Hundreds of Palestinians in Hebron and elsewhere in the West Bank Friday threw rocks at soldiers who responded with tear gas, and in Jerusalem, dozens of Palestinian worshippers threw rocks at Israeli officers at a key holy site.
Earlier in the week, Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers at a pair of West Bank rallies in support of the prisoners. And earlier this month, Israeli forces rounded up Palestinians who built encampments of tents and shacks in the West Bank, challenging Israel's control of the territory. The Palestinians' tactics were similar to those of Jewish settlers who have set up outposts on hills deep inside the West Bank territory that Palestinians want for their prospective state.


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One Ring To Rule Them All...
To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with Collectibles Insurance, the official insurance company of the Figures.com network. Say "Figures.com" to get 5% off your first term premiums.
To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, RedfordFilms.com, Toynk.com, PastGenerationToys.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and MonkeyDepot.com.
For action figures, statues and sculptures, go to CSMooreStudio.com.
One Ring to rule them all.
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.
Weta introduces a new item in their range of jewellery from The Lord of the Rings.
The One Ring from The Lord of the Rings trilogy was designed and created by Jens Hansen - Gold & Silversmith of Nelson, New Zealand (Middle-earth). Weta is pleased to be working with Jens Hansen to produce The One Ring in gold plated Tungsten Carbide. This ring is crafted to the exact shape, thickness and proportions of the original prop and manufactured under supervision by Jens Hansen's son, Halfdan Hansen, who continues his father's legacy.
The 18K gold plating and the significant weight of the Tungsten now ensures that you can own a One Ring that looks and feels absolutely right. The One Ring is available now through wetanz.com priced at $99.
Other available items of jewellery in this range include:
- Elven Leaf Brooch ($225.00)
- The One Ring - 18K Solid Gold ($3,300)
- Sterling Silver Chain of Frodo Baggins ($99)


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While the histories of many of our greatest classic cocktails are shrouded in mystery and legend (presumably due to the fact that seasoned drinkers often forget to write things down), none is quite as famously enigmatic as the origins of the iconic Martini cocktail. There are as many variations of this mixology classic as there are cocktail books to record them, however one of my favourite gentlemanly variations of the archetypal dry gin Martini is called the Tuxedo No. 2 or Turf Club Cocktail. My take on it was inspired by Mr Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book, which was published in 1930.
Things to remember...
Use a gin that has some body and texture but highlights the spirit's quintessential ingredient: juniper berries
Use a mixing glass and bar spoon to gently stir the drink for the purposes of mixing, chilling and diluting the ingredients, while keeping oxygen out. This will ensure you maintain the silky smooth texture inherent in the spirits
Many people shy away from adding vermouth to this classic, which is why the nouveau dry Martini has taken hold. However, for a beautifully fresh addition use Dolin or Noilly Prat vermouth and keep the bottle closed and chilled after opening
Use too little ice and under stir and the drink will not be cold enough, while over stirring will dilute the drink. We stir simply to get the drink cold, mix the ingredients, and to add some water to the final product
Booze: Exquisite Cocktails and Unsound Advice


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"The fact that this decision (to raise gas price) was taken in advance by the present government shows that it wanted to favour RIL for corrupt considerations which would then help with the expenditure for the upcoming national elections.
"This is also the reason why the main opposition party, the BJP, is silent on the issue as during election time, when huge slush of funds is required by the major parties, no one is willing to speak against this decision even though price rise is normally an important political issue," the FIR said.
The five-page FIR with which annexures have been attached was lodged by the ACB of Delhi Government on a complaint sent to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian, former Secretary E A S Sarma, former Navy Chief Admiral R H Tahiliani and advocate Kamini Jaiswal.
Besides Moily and RIL chairperson Ambani, former Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, ex-Director General of Hydrocarbons V K Sibal and other unknown persons have been named as accused in the case.
The FIR was lodged under sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The complaint, on the basis of which the FIR was lodged, alleged that impact of gas price rise would cost the country a minimum of Rs 54,500 crore per year at current dollar price.
However, Moily today said the government will not go back on its decision to hike rates from April 1 and came down heavily against Kejriwal for ordering an "unconstitutional" FIR against him and others for raising gas prices.
RIL too had termed the ordering of FIR against it as shocking and described the complaints that were used to base the action as baseless and devoid of merit or substance.
"A contract dated April 12, 2000 was entered into between the Union of India and RIL and Niko Resources Ltd called a production sharing contract (PSC) for the exploration for natural gas and in case of any commercial discoveries, the development and the production of natural gas in the contract area identified as block KG D6," it said.
In the complaint, they alleged RIL had signed a contract with NTPC in 2004 to supply gas for its power plants at 2.34 dollar per mmbtu for a period of 17 years and it also signed an agreement with RNRL of ADA Group to supply the gas at the same price for 17 years.
"However, RIL went back on its word and refused to supply the gas at that rate which was clearly profitable for RIL," it said.
"Under RIL's pressure, the government, with Murli Deora as minister, revised gas price in 2007 to $ 4.2/mmbtu which was clearly malafide and an act of corruption," it alleged.
It also said the Supreme Court in 2010 held that price fixed by the government would be binding on all the parties.
The complaint also said that cost of production of gas is much less than 2.34 dollar per mmbtu and also referred to a May 22, 2009 letter written by RIL to DG Hydrocarbons giving its cost calculations which shows that "the cost of production is less than 1$ per mmbtu."
"This shows that the demand for an increase in gas price is only an indication of RIL's greed and its malafide designs. Also BP (British Petroleum) must have seen high returns from a known discovery at the current price of $ 4.2/mmbtu and thus, it invested about Rs 33,000 crore for 30 per cent stake in RIL's KG basin block," the complaint said.


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Re: Doing well after 2 years!
I guess there are some problems in having a survivors site, but I sure am happy when I see postings like scargots who is 5 years post resection! Makes my day!
Marions, if you ever need volunteers to work at a symposium in Florida (in the winter) or MN (in the summer), I would be very interested in helping.


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Protesters glue themselves together at Westborough office of company building Keystone pipeline
WESTBOROUGH — Eight protesters were arrested at the TransCanada corporate offices here Monday afternoon after they SuperGlued their hands and chained their waists and ankles together to protest the company's Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Seven of the eight protesters arrested were still chained together when brought to the Westborough police station on Monday. They were expected to be released some time Monday night on $40 bail each.
Jacklyn Gil, a Brandeis University junior who helped coordinate the demonstration, said at the station that the protesters were brought in at about 5:40 p.m., though she had not seen them since their arrest.
"They were in good spirits all day, so I can't imagine it's different,'' she said.
In a statement, Westborough police identified those arrested as Emily Edgerly, 20, of Lexington; Devyn Weis Powell, 20, of Lake Oswego, Ore.; Lisa Rose Purdy, 20, of Waltham; Benjamin L. Thompson, 22, of Durham, N.H.; Benjamin J. Trolio, 22, of Burnt Hills, N.Y.; Allison J. Welton, 20, of Tonasket Wash.; Dorian S. Williams, 20, of Chicago; and Shea M. Riester, 22, of Brighton.
All eight will be charged with being a disorderly person, disturbing the peace, and trespassing, police said. They are scheduled to be arraigned in Westborough District Court on Tuesday morning.
Police said a locksmith unlocked protesters' ankle chains and the Westborough Fire Department assisted in removing the SuperGlue from their hands.
One protester was freed from the chain around his waist before being transported to police headquarters but the other seven remained bound until a key was delivered to the station at 6:05 p.m. The key was used to unlock the remaining waist padlocks.
Marla Marcum, a supporter of the protesters, said at the station that police threatened observers with trespassing charges if they did not leave the office park during the demonstration.
Gil said earlier on Monday that the protesters were not affiliated with any other group and were opposed to the pipeline because they believe it will cause serious damage to the environment.
TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard called the protest a "stunt'' and said the company's first priority is to ensure the safety of its employees.
"This publicity stunt is another example of protestors' attempts to stop a project that is currently providing thousands of jobs to American workers,'' he said in a statement.
The Keystone XL is a proposed 1,179-mile extension to an existing 2,150-mile pipeline system operated by TransCanada that transports crude oil from eastern Alberta, Canada, to the American Midwest.
The pipeline is a $7 billion project that would ultimately connect oil sands in Canada to refineries in Texas. It is not designed to pass through Massachusetts. Gil said the students are acting to show solidarity with protests scheduled to happen in Texas in coming days.
One of the protesters, Powell, a Tufts University junior, reiterated the group's environmental concerns in an email to supporters, which was forwarded to a reporter.
"As you read this email, I am locked down in a TransCanada office with seven other youth activists,'' she wrote. "We are engaged in a protest against construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, because building this pipeline to develop the tar sands will lock us irrevocably into the climate crisis.''
Powell added, "Chaining myself to my seven friends is a last resort after our government, heavily influenced by corporate fossil fuel interests, has proved unable to take action against this deadly project.''
As he begins his second term, President Obama faces increasing pressure to decide whether to approve the pipeline, which some say would create jobs and boost the economy and others criticize as harmful to the environment, the Associated Press reported last month.


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The high price of cotton figures in today's Geo Quiz. It's Friday, so there's a good chance you're wearing blue jeans to work today. Well, the casual look is getting more expensive now. Industry experts say the price of cotton is at its highest in 15 years and could go higher still.
That's putting clothing makers under pressure. Those blue jeans, bath towels and cotton socks will cost more. Not to mention coffee filters, some kinds of paper, and other products made with cotton.
So for our quiz we're wondering where does the world's supply of cotton come from. We'd like you to name the top three cotton producing nations. Together, they account for more than 65 million bales of the soft stuff�
Geo Answer:
The answer is China, India, and the United States. We find out what's going on in the world of cotton from author Stephen Yafa. He's written a book on the geo-politics of cotton called, �Big Cotton.�


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Jim Rice, chairman and CEO of VisionAire Jets, surfaced at ABACE 2013 this week in Shanghai to market the benefits of a single-engine jet and tell potential investors about the program. VisionAire Jets is developing the all-composite Vantage Jet, which will be powered by a single Williams International FJ33-3AP turbofan and fly up to 1,500 nm with a pilot and five passengers.
VisionAire built and flew a prototype of the composite Vantage in 1996, at the time powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D. The company had orders for 155 jets before it went bankrupt in 2007. Last year, Rice restarted the company as VisionAire Jets and repurchased the intellectual property, the prototype Vantage and other assets.
During the original program, Rice estimated a need for $100 million to $150 million. He is hoping that Chinese investors will be interested in helping bring the Vantage to market. He said it will take four years to complete the Vantage design, build and fly prototypes and get it into production. "I'm convinced there is a market," he said. "People would rather get in a jet than a turboprop."
Tim Dawson-Townsend (not verified)
April 22, 2013 - 3:05pm
How do you make a small fortune in aerospace?
Start with a large fortune!
Mike (not verified)
April 22, 2013 - 8:15pm
My sentiment exactly, why....
Don (not verified)
April 22, 2013 - 9:20pm
Because it's purrrrti!
larry clement (not verified)
April 23, 2013 - 12:55am
I agree that there is a market if the plane is priced right. Jim Rice is an honorable guy, but building a new plane is tough. I saw the prototype fly several times , and it was impressive. It has a large cabin for a single-engine jet, and with the other proposed singles being much smaller or enduring financial problems the visionaire should stand apart if they can get it funded. It looks like they have assembled a good staff.
Ken (not verified)
April 24, 2013 - 3:39pm
Its the rising cost of government that makes EVERYTHING cost so much...They don't call it a tornado until they inspect the damage and call it one..
TL (not verified)
April 28, 2013 - 4:13pm
Guess how much that will help US manufacturing.


text:
Wednesday Lazy Linking
Sustainable counter-media — Radix Media on Kickstarter. Shawn P. Wilbur, Out of the Libertarian Labyrinth (2010-11-14).
Radix Media, a Portland-based radical offset printing and design operation, has launched a modest $5000 Kickstarter campaign, to upgrade their presses and invest in booklet-making equipment. They describe the project as representing the difference between continuing the project, and making it sustainable. Sustainable operation is the goal that so few...(Linked Tuesday 2010-11-16.)
WillUsingThePrefixCyberMakeMeLookLikeAnIdiot.com. willusingtheprefixcybermakemelooklikeanidiot.com (2010-11-16). (Linked Tuesday 2010-11-16.)
The Robber Barons. Sheldon Richman, Free Association (2010-11-07).
I'm finally reading Matthew Josephson's The Robber Barons, a book I never felt I needed to read. That was a bad decision. I'm only a couple of chapters in, but I can tell this is a book worth reading because it will shed some needed light on the alleged golden...(Linked Tuesday 2010-11-16.)
Show Us on the Airline Passenger Where He Touched You. cherylcline, der Blaustrumpf (2010-11-16).
I've been meaning to write about the parallels between state violence and sexual violence for some time, but it's really something to see the two overlap so neatly as they do with the newly introduced TSA backscatter x-ray machines. In case you're unfamiliar with them, the machines are capable of...(Linked Wednesday 2010-11-17.)
Lifelong Welfare Case to Hold Lavish Wedding at Public Expense. Jesse Walker, Jesse Walker: Reason Magazine articles and blog posts. (2010-11-16).
Details here.(Linked Wednesday 2010-11-17.)