text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|6 May 2008
|Filing date
|5 Jul 2005
|Priority date
|7 Jul 2004
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Kenneth Smith, Michael Jolley, Victoria Van Syckel
|Original Assignee
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (99), Non-Patent Citations (28), Referenced by (57), Classifications (7), Legal Events (5)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/586,299 entitled "Probe Head Having a Membrane Suspended Probe," invented by Kenneth Smith, Michael Jolley and Victoria Van Sycle on Jul. 7, 2004.
The present invention relates to probing assemblies of the type commonly used for testing integrated circuits (ICs) and, in particular, to a probing assembly providing finely pitched, compliant probes having very low inductance.
Integrated circuit technology permits fabrication of a number of discrete electronic circuit elements on a single substrate or "wafer." After fabrication, this wafer is divided into a number of rectangular-shaped chips or dies where each die includes a rectangular or other regular arrangement of metallized contact pads or bond pads through which input and output connections can be made to the electronic circuit on the die. Although each die is eventually packaged separately, for efficiency, testing of the circuit formed on each die is preferably performed while the dies are still joined together on the wafer. One typical procedure is to support the wafer on a flat stage or "chuck" and move the wafer in X, Y, and Z directions relative to the head of a probing assembly so that probe tips projecting from the probing assembly can be moved from die to die for consecutive engagement with the contact pads of each die. Respective signal, power, and ground conductors connect the probe tips to test instrumentation enabling each circuit to be sequentially connected to and operated by the test instrumentation.
One type of probing assembly used for testing integrated circuits utilizes a plurality of needle-like contacts arranged in a pattern matching the pattern of the contact pads on the device to be tested.
The exemplary probing assembly 20 also includes an interposer 39 disposed between the space transformer 30 and the probe card 38. The interposer 39 typically includes a plurality of elastically deformable contacts electrically connected through a substrate to provide compliant electrical connections on opposing sides of the substrate. The compliance of the conductors compensates for variations in the distances separating the respective terminals of the space transformer 30 and the probe card 38 promoting reliable electrical connections there between.
The needle probes 24 typically comprise a wire including complementary bends that form an upper section and a lower section that lie generally parallel to, but offset from each other, adjacent, respectively, the upper and lower ends of the probe. The hole pattern of the lower needle card 28 is offset from the hole pattern in the upper needle card 26 to accommodate the offset of the ends of the probes. When the lower end of a probe is pressed into engagement with the contact pads on a die, the substantially columnar probe can bend at the offset, acting like a spring. The compliance provided by the elastic bending of the probe accommodates variations in probe length, probe head planarity, and wafer topography.
Needle card probing assemblies have been used extensively in wafer testing, but the trend in electronic production, and, in particular, IC production, to higher frequency, more complex circuits having smaller circuit elements and geometries has exposed several limitations of this type of probing device. First, the pitch, the distance between the probes, is limited by manufacturing tolerances and assembly considerations to about 125 □m, a spacing greater than desirable for many ICs having finely pitched contact pads. In addition, the metallic contact pads of the dies oxidize rapidly and the tip of the probe must sharpened so that it can be pushed into the surface of the contact pad to achieve the good conductivity required for accurate measurements. This causes rapid dulling of the pointed probe ends, frequent bending or breaking of the probes, and may damage the contact pad if penetration is too great. The contact pad material also adheres to the probe and frequent cleaning is required which often damages the probes. Moreover, the inductance of parallel conductors is a function of the length and distance between the conductors. Typically, the relatively long, closely spaced, needle-like probes exhibit a single path inductance of 1-2 nH which is sufficient to substantially distort high frequency signals, limiting the usefulness of needle-type probes for testing high frequency devices.
A second type of probing assembly is described by Gleason et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,386 B2, incorporated herein by reference. Referring to
Referring to
When the support element 54 is mounted on the upper side of the probe card 52 as shown in
The probing assembly 42 is capable of probing a dense arrangement of contact pads over a large number of contact cycles in a manner that provides generally reliable electrical connection between the contacts and pads in each cycle despite oxide buildup on the contact pads. The membrane assembly is so constructed and connected to the support element that the contacts on the membrane assembly wipe or scrub, in a locally controlled manner, laterally across the contact pads when brought into pressing engagement with these pads.
Referring also to
The membrane assembly is interconnected to the flat support surface 70 by an interposed elastomeric layer 98, which layer is coextensive with the support surface and can be formed by a silicone rubber compound. The flat support surface, as previously mentioned, is made of incompressible material and is preferably a hard dielectric such as polysulfone or glass. When one of the contacts 88 is brought into pressing engagement with a respective contact pad 100 of a die, as indicated in
A locally scrubbing, membrane probing assembly provides contacts which can be finely pitched to engage contact pads on physically smaller devices and combines high conductivity with ruggedness and resistance to wear and damage. Membrane suspended probes can also combine a greater section and shorter length to exhibit much lower inductance than typical needle probes permitting their use at higher frequencies and producing less signal distortion at all frequencies. However, the probes and the signal and data lines are created on the surface of the membrane and connect to probe card terminals arranged around the periphery of the membrane. Heretofore, membrane suspended probes have not been adaptable for use with the probe cards and space transformers suitable for use with a needle card-type probe heads where the signal paths pass through the center of the probing assembly and are arranged substantially parallel to the central axis of the probing assembly. What is desired, therefore, is a device and method for adapting robust, finely pitched, low inductance membrane suspended probes for use with the components of a probing assembly suited for use with a needle-type probe head.
Referring in detail to the drawings where similar parts of the invention are identified by like reference numerals, and, more particularly, to
On the other hand, membrane probes can exhibit substantially lower inductance than needle-type probes making membrane probes desirable for probing high frequency circuitry. In addition, a membrane suspended probe tip can be arranged to provide local contact scrubbing to penetrate the insulating oxide layer that forms on the IC contact pad without accumulating contact pad material on the probe tip as is common with needle-type probes. Heretofore, probes suspended on a membrane have not been adaptable to probing assemblies intended for use with needle-type probes because the membrane suspended probes and the conductive traces connecting the probes to the probe card are disposed on the surface of an elastic membrane with the traces radiating outward over the surface of the membrane to connect to probe card terminals arranged around the periphery of the membrane. The current inventors concluded that the performance advantages of membrane suspended probes could be provided for a probing assembly originally intended for use with needle-type probes, if the membrane suspended probes could be conductively connected to a space transformer located on the opposite side of the membrane from the probe tips.
The probe card 38 is generally a conventional circuit board substrate having a plurality of terminals 120 (two of many shown) disposed on a surface thereof. The terminals provide an interface for wires 122 that connect instrumentation (not shown) to the probing assembly. As illustrated, the wires 122 may be connected to terminals 120 on one side of the probe card 38 which are, in turn, connected by conductive vias 124 to terminals 126 or traces on the opposing side of the circuit board. Additional components (not shown), such as active and passive electronic components, connectors, and the like, may be mounted to the probe card 38 and connected to additional terminals 120. The probe card 38 is typically round and commonly has a diameter on the order of 12 inches. The terminals 122, 126 on the circuit board are often arranged at a 100 mil pitch or separation distance.
While some probing assemblies do not utilize an interposer, the probing assembly 100 includes an interposer 39 disposed between the probe card 38 and the space transformer 30. An interposer comprises interconnected electrical contacts disposed on opposing sides of a substrate so that components on opposing sides of the substrate can be conductively interconnected. An interposer is often used in a probing assembly to facilitate reliable conductive connection between the terminals of a probe card and the terminals on a space transformer. The interposer is also aids in accommodating differences in thermal expansion of the probe card 38 and the space transformer 30. The interposer 39 comprises a substrate 128 and a plurality of fuzz buttons 130 (two are shown) that protrude through holes in the substrate. The fuzz buttons 130 each comprise a fine wire that is compressed into a small cylindrical shape to produce an electrically conductive, elastic wire mass. As a general proposition, the fuzz buttons 130 are arranged at a pitch which matches that of the terminals 126 of the probe card 38. One end of each of the conductive fuzz buttons 130 is in contact with a terminal on the probe card 38 while the second end of the fuzz button is in contact with a terminal 140 on the space transformer 30. The elastic fuzz buttons 130 are compressed providing compliance to accommodate variations in the separation distances between of the various terminals of the probe card and the space transformer and exerting pressure on the contacts to promote good conductivity.
The fuzz buttons 130 protruding through the substrate 128 of the interposer 39 contact conductive terminals 140 on one side of the space transformer 30. The space transformer 30 (indicated by a bracket) comprises a suitable circuitized substrate 142, such as a multi-layer ceramic substrate having a plurality of terminals (contact areas, pads) 140 (two of many shown) disposed on the surface adjacent to the interposer 39 and a plurality of terminals (contact areas, pads) 144 (two of many shown) disposed on the opposing surface. In the exemplary probing assembly 100, the contact pads 140 adjacent the interposer 39 are disposed at the pitch of the terminals of the probe card 38, and the contact pads 144 arranged on the opposing surface of the space transformer 30 are disposed at a finer pitch corresponding to the pitch and arrangement of the needle-type probes included in the needle card probe head to which the space transformer was intended to interface. While the pitch of the terminals of the probe card 38 is approximately 100 mil, the pitch of needle-type probes can be as fine as approximately 125 □m. Conductive traces 146 in the multilayer substrate 142 of the space transformer 30 re-route the electrical connections from the finely pitched pattern required to interface with the probe head to the more coarsely pitched pattern that is obtainable with a printed circuit board, such as the probe card 38.
The various elements of the probing assembly 100 are stacked and any suitable mechanism for stacking these components and ensuring reliable electrical contacts may be employed. As illustrated, the probing assembly 100 includes a rigid rear mounting plate 150 arranged on one side of the probe card 38 and a rigid front mounting plate 152 disposed on the opposing side of the probe card. Screws 154 restrain the front mounting plate to the rear mounting plate 150. A rectangular stand-off 156 with a central aperture to receive the space transformer 30 is attached to the front mounting plate. A mounting ring 158 which is preferably made of a springy material such as phosphor bronze and which may have a pattern of springy tabs extending therefrom, is attachable by screws 460 to the stand-off 156 with the space transformer 30 captured between the mounting ring and the stand-off.
The mounting ring 156 also captures and retains a probe head 102 comprising a multilayer substrate 160 (indicated by a bracket) and a plurality of electrically conductive, membrane suspended probes 104. The probes 104 comprise, generally, a relatively thick, rigid beam 164 with a beam contact 166 proximate one end of the beam and a probe tip 168 projecting from the beam proximate the second end of the beam. Although other shapes and materials may be utilized, typically, the probe tip 168 has the shape of a truncated pyramid and the projecting end of the probe tip may be coated with a layer of nickel or rhodium to provide good electrical conductivity and wear resistant when repeatedly being pressed into engagement with contact pads on a device under test. The beam contact 166 has a mushroom-shaped cross-section comprising a contact button with rounded edges, facilitating movable contact with the terminals 144 of the space transformer 30, and a cylindrical or prismatic base section that is slightly smaller than the contact button and connects the contact button to the beam. The beam contact 166 projects from the side of the beam 164 opposite the beam tip 168 and in the opposite direction. As illustrated in
Gleason et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,386 B2, incorporated herein by reference, disclose a "bottom up" and a "top down" method for producing membrane probes. Either method can used to produce the membrane probe head 102. Membrane suspended probes 104 produced by these methods can be constructed in arrays with pitches less than 100 □m permitting the membrane suspended probes to used for testing devices with more dense contact pads than needle probes which are typically limited to pitches greater than 125 □m by manufacturing and assembly considerations. Portions of the beam contact 104 that engage the terminal 144 may also be coated with a layer nickel or rhodium to enhance electrical conductivity and wear resistance.
The multilayer substrate 160 comprises an elastic membrane 170 and a plurality of flexible insulating layers 172, 174. The elastic membrane 170 is arranged proximate to or in contact with the surface of the space transformer 30. The elastic membrane 170 may comprise a silicone rubber compound, such as ELMER'S STICK-ALLJ made by the Borden Company or Sylgard 182 by Dow Corning Corporation and is capable of exerting an elastic restoring force to a surface when the surface of the membrane is deformed. The multilayer substrate 160 of the probe head also comprises flexible first 172 and second 174 insulating layers or members. The first insulating layer 172 is disposed between the bottom surface 176 of the elastic membrane 170 and the upper surface of the beam 164 of the probe 104. The second insulating layer 174 extends downward from the bottom surface of the first insulating layer 172 to a depth approximating the thickness of the beam portion 164 of the probe 104. The first 172 and second 174 insulating layers are relatively thin and flexible in a direction normal to their surfaces but are sufficiently rigid in directions parallel to their surfaces to secure the lateral positions of the probes 104. The first 172 and second 174 insulating layers may comprise polyimide, but can comprise any other dielectric material having appropriate physical properties.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
A probe head with membrane suspended probes permits a needle card-type probing assembly to be converted to utilize membrane suspended probes which can be more closely pitched and exhibit substantially lower inductance than needle-type probes. Signal distortion is substantially reduced permitting testing of devices operating at higher frequencies and greater measurement accuracy at all frequencies.
The detailed description, above, sets forth numerous specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the present invention.
All the references cited herein are incorporated by reference.
The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.
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|Ynog-Dai Kim, Jun-Hwan Sim, Jae-Woo Nam and Jong-Hyun Lee, "Fabrication of a Silicon Micro-Probe for Vertical Probe Card Application," Jpn. J. appl. Phys. vol. 37 (1998) pp. 7070-7073 Part 1, No. 12B, Dec. 1998.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|10 Jan 2008
|17 Feb 2009
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing system
|10 Mar 2008
|7 Apr 2009
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Probe head having a membrane suspended probe
|25 May 2006
|23 Jun 2009
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing system with local contact scrub
|20 Dec 2007
|25 Aug 2009
|Soo Ho Lee
|Test socket for semiconductor
|12 Mar 2008
|10 Nov 2009
|Star Technologies Inc.
|Integrated circuit probing apparatus having a temperature-adjusting mechanism
|31 Jul 2007
|23 Mar 2010
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing system
|3 Jun 2008
|6 Jul 2010
|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
|Wafer level test probe card
|10 Nov 2003
|27 Jul 2010
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing method using improved contact
|13 May 2009
|15 Feb 2011
|Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
|Probe card
|6 Oct 2008
|15 Feb 2011
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Probing apparatus with impedance optimized interface
|20 Mar 2009
|22 Feb 2011
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing structure with laterally scrubbing contacts
|4 Jun 2007
|1 Mar 2011
|Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.
|Probe card
|25 Feb 2009
|19 Jul 2011
|Eads Deutschland Gmbh
|System for making contact between a transmit/receive module and a testing device
|26 May 2010
|3 Apr 2012
|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
|Method for assembling a wafer level test probe card
|16 Jul 2008
|3 Apr 2012
|Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.
|Probe card electrically connectable with a semiconductor wafer
|20 Nov 2007
|19 Feb 2013
|Kyocera Corporation
|Substrate for a probe card assembly
|20 Nov 2009
|2 Apr 2013
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Replaceable coupon for a probing apparatus
|18 Jun 2010
|28 May 2013
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing method using improved contact
|30 Apr 2010
|16 Jul 2013
|International Business Machines Corporation
|High performance compliant wafer test probe
|28 Apr 2011
|19 Aug 2014
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Silicon chicklet pedestal
|8 Feb 2012
|14 Oct 2014
|Mitshubishi Electronic Corporation
|Jig for semiconductor test
|2 Nov 2011
|3 Mar 2015
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Resilient electrical interposers, systems that include the interposers, and methods for using and forming the same
|21 May 2012
|14 Apr 2015
|Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
|Jig for use in semiconductor test and method of measuring breakdown voltage by using the jig
|8 Jan 2015
|4 Aug 2015
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Resilient electrical interposers, systems that include the interposers, and methods for using and forming the same
|3 May 2012
|26 Jan 2016
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Probe head assemblies, components thereof, test systems including the same, and methods of operating the same
|10 Sep 2012
|10 May 2016
|Globalfoundries Inc.
|High performance compliant wafer test probe
|1 Apr 2013
|30 Aug 2016
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Method of replacing an existing contact of a wafer probing assembly
|19 Nov 2013
|6 Sep 2016
|Teradyne, Inc.
|Interconnect for transmitting signals between a device and a tester
|8 Jan 2014
|18 Oct 2016
|Mpi Corporation
|Probe head
|26 Jun 2014
|14 Mar 2017
|Teradyne, Inc.
|Structure for transmitting signals in an application space between a device under test and test electronics
|24 Sep 2014
|15 Aug 2017
|Micron Technology, Inc.
|Semiconductor device test apparatuses
|29 Apr 2014
|12 Sep 2017
|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
|Probe card
|1 Dec 2006
|5 Apr 2007
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing system
|29 Aug 2007
|27 Dec 2007
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing system with local contact scrub
|10 Jan 2008
|15 May 2008
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Membrane probing system
|12 Mar 2008
|26 Jun 2008
|Star Technologies Inc.
|Integrated circuit probing apparatus having a temperature-adjusting mechanism
|20 Dec 2007
|3 Jul 2008
|Soo Ho Lee
|Test socket for semiconductor
|20 Nov 2007
|31 Jul 2008
|Kyocera Corporation
|Substrate for probe card assembly, method of manufacturing substrate for probe card assembly and method of inspecting semiconductor wafer
|23 Jul 2008
|29 Jan 2009
|Finsar Corporation
|Probe tap
|25 Feb 2009
|27 Aug 2009
|Eads Deutschland Gmbh
|System for Making Contact Between a Transmit/Receive Module and a Testing Device
|3 Jun 2008
|10 Sep 2009
|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
|Wafer level test probe card
|13 May 2009
|19 Nov 2009
|Shinko Electric Industries Co., Ltd.
|Probe card
|4 Jun 2007
|7 Jan 2010
|Nhk Spring Co., Ltd.
|Probe Card
|20 Nov 2009
|27 May 2010
|Smith Kenneth R
|Replaceable coupon for a probing apparatus
|16 Jul 2008
|2 Sep 2010
|Nhk Spring Co., Ltd
|Probe card
|26 May 2010
|16 Sep 2010
|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
|Wafer level test probe card
|16 Dec 2010
|23 Jun 2011
|Irvine Sensors Corporation
|High density array module and connector
|28 Apr 2011
|18 Aug 2011
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Silicon chicklet pedestal
|2 Nov 2011
|10 May 2012
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Resilient electrical interposers, systems that include the interposers, and methods for using and forming the same
|3 May 2012
|15 Nov 2012
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Probe head assemblies, components thereof, test systems including the same, and methods of operating the same
|8 Feb 2012
|29 Nov 2012
|Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
|Jig for semiconductor test
|21 May 2012
|2 May 2013
|Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
|Jig for use in semiconductor test and method of measuring breakdown voltage by using the jig
|1 Apr 2013
|29 Aug 2013
|Cascade Microtech, Inc.
|Replaceable coupon for a probing apparatus
|28 May 2013
|26 Dec 2013
|Sedicon Co., Ltd.
|Probe card
|8 Jan 2014
|17 Jul 2014
|Mpi Corporation
|Probe Head
|29 Apr 2014
|29 Oct 2015
|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
|Probe card
|24 Sep 2014
|24 Mar 2016
|Micron Technology, Inc.
|Apparatus for testing stacked die assemblies, and related methods
|U.S. Classification
|324/754.07, 324/755.11
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|15 Aug 2005
Owner name: CASCADE MICROTECH, INC., OREGON
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SMITH, KENNETH;JOLLEY, MICHAEL;VAN SYCKEL, VICTORIA;REEL/FRAME:016900/0349
Effective date: 20050805
|30 Sep 2008
|Certificate of correction
|4 Nov 2011
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|14 Oct 2015
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|12 Jul 2016
Owner name: HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST IN UNITED STATES PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS;ASSIGNORS:FORMFACTOR, INC.;ASTRIA SEMICONDUCTOR HOLDINGS, INC.;CASCADE MICROTECH, INC.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:039184/0280
Effective date: 20160624


text:
Stop the presses! But we're radio and don't have presses! Buy some presses and then start them and stop them! We don't have budget for that!
Hackers can intercept your mobile data. Security researcher Karsten Nohl plans to reveal his research Wednesday at a conference in Germany of the Chaos Computer Club. Using an old Motorola phone, Nohl was able to intercept and decrypt data traveling on international broadband networks within about a 3 mile radius. From the Times: "The interceptor phone was used to test networks in Germany, Italy and other European countries that Mr. Nohl declined to identify. In Germany, Mr. Nohl said he was able to decrypt and read data transmissions on all four mobile networks -- T-Mobile, O2 Germany, Vodafone and E-Plus. He described the level of encryption provided by operators as 'weak.'"
For his part, Nohl told the times he just wants carriers to beef up security and he destroyed all the data he intercepted. There's about a 3 month period between when Nohl releases the software hackers would need to intercept data and when the hackers can actually get at the data; Nohl says he hopes that's enough time for carriers to take care of the problem.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I've standardized on using a 5V FTDI board for all custom designs to keep it simple and avoid mistakes. When I need to reprogram a controller, the same FTDI board will work for any of my boards irrespective of being a 3V3 or 5V design.
On 3V3 designs it will be connected to the onboard regulator input
you don't want to connect two independent supplies to the same rail)


text:
Welcome, skip to the content.
The monthly Yarragon Market has a range of art, craft and produce from the West Gippsland region and is held every fourth Saturday 8:00am - 1:00pm except for a special December market (details to be announced closer to that market).Nestled in the foothills of the Strzelecki ranges with vistas of green rolling hills Yarragon Village is a charming country town with an abundance of delightful shops and places to eat to satisfy all desires. Explore this beautiful region and stay a bit longer.
Free Entry


text:
At Gemvara, we believe that the jewelry you wear should be one of a kind, like you. That's why we make each piece to order, one at a time, just the way you want it. Choose black onyx and yellow gold or garnet and platinum: it's your choice. Mix and match gems and precious metals for a look that's exactly you. It's jewelry for all life's occasions, from a birthday or Valentine's Day to your own personal milestones and celebrations. Gemvara uses only the highest quality materials to craft your oval garnet contemporary jewelry design with meticulous attention to detail. Our precious metals are recycled or responsibly mined. Garnet is the traveler's gem: it protects you when you are far from home. This versatile gem comes in a wide range of colors, from green to red. Gemvara offers both affordable earthy Mozambique red garnet and purplish red rhodolite garnet. Garnet is the January birthstone, the Aquarius zodiac gem, and the 2nd anniversary gem. Oval cuts accentuate the color of a gemstone and look bigger than a round of the same carat size. Our wide selection of oval garnet contemporary jewelry by Randy Dixon, Bijoux & Bijoux, Martha Gomez Gutierrez, and other talented designers means you can find jewelry that's exactly your style. You can also shop by style, choosing our Casual & Fun, Florette, or Pure Collections. Gemvara's fine quality oval garnet contemporary jewelry is designed to be passed down for generations to come, crafted by hand in the United States.
We can help right away. Chat with a jewelry expert now!


text:
HelenKay Dimon
Everything You Need to Know
Cosmo Red Hot Reads from Harlequin / October 15, 2013 / $3.99 digital
Dating in D.C. is like navigating an apocalyptic wasteland populated by men in expensive suits with zero mating potential. Need to Know provides all the information a savvy single woman like you needs to avoid dating disasters.
By night, Jordan McAdam is the proprietor of a popular website that rates D.C.'s hottest bachelors—everything from how quick they are to email you back, to their skills in the sack. She's been burned once too often to accept any man at face value. By day, her job as an office temp puts her in the perfect position to do a little fact-checking on her rich and powerful subjects. When her latest assignment brings her face-to-face with the sexy but mysterious Forest Redder, Jordan decides to do a little "hands-on" research of her own. To Jordan, he seems like the perfect man—but she knows there is no such thing. Moreover, there's a big problem: Forest knows Jordan's the woman behind the scandalous site—and Jordan knows he knows. Will he expose her secret—or find his own posted on Need to Know?
HelenKay Dimon is a fabulous writer, and my high expectations are met in her latest, Everything You Need to Know. It's set in Washington, D.C., a city that HelenKay knows well, which shows. She doesn't bog down the story with setting, but it's the little details that really give it life.
Every element of the novella was well done—the characters, the storyline, the development of the relationship. The heroine, Jordan McAdam, "is the proprietor of a popular website that rates D.C.'s hottest bachelors—everything from how quick they are to email you back, to their skills in the sack." In real life I'd be skeptical about that type of website, but in the book, it works.
Forest Redder is of course, our hero. He's a sexy bachelor and power player in DC. I loved that he's grumpy, and arrogant, but also really sweet. He doesn't suffer fools, but he's not an asshole. He also notices things, and with his social status, he doesn't necessarily have to observe all the social niceties. (Would that we were all so lucky.) He's best friends with is business partner Wendall Strong, and they're obviously close. I loved the interaction between them, with Wen's ribbing. They're almost foils, and very entertaining. I really appreciated that Jordan is so versatile, and real. She's a regular girl, but one who is totally in control. Jordan owns her own business, but also works as a temp. The latter for the usual reasons of supplementing her income, but also to investigate people. I liked the twist her jobs offer - she isn't pigeonholed. Another appealing aspect is her confidence. Jordan is willing to crash a wedding for information, and goes toe to toe with Forrest. She stands on her own and has built a great life for herself - and she's only twenty-six! They're real people, who are believable, and that's huge to me. For a contemporary romance, a degree of realism is necessary, otherwise I feel it distracts and detracts from the story.
One of my favorite things about this novella is how quickly Forrest falls for Jordan. She knocks him on his ass. First he's attracted to her looks, of course, but her personality is what draws him in. And it drew me in too as well. I would love to be friends with Jordan. Or hell, be Jordan. Anyway, Forrest seems so standoffish, but he has a wicked sense of humor. He reminds me of a bit of a Mr. Darcy type character, and he has a possessive streak that Jordan likes to poke at, which also amused me.
The characters and their interaction were so entertaining. Beyond Forrest and Jordan's developing relationship, I liked the interplay between Jordan and Elle, and Forrest and Wendell. Their mirroring wasn't lost on me, and I wonder if the business partners will get together. I wouldn't mind seeing Elle with Wen. So basically, the characterization is great, the interplay between characters is entertaining, the sexual tension and chemistry is off the charts, really what's not to love?
Oh —and incidentally—if you're interested in something that's like the website Jordan built? ... It's real. No joke: lulu.com. (I do want to say HelenKay has said clearly and various times that she did not know the site existed until after she wrote the book.)
Learn more or order a copy of Everything You Need to Know by HelenKay Dimon, available October 15, 2013:
http://tartsweet.com - A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet


text:
Actor Zoe Saldana has often identified as a "natural tomboy," but in a new interview with Allure, the Star Trek: Into Darkness star says that her androgyny means she could fall in love with a woman.
"I might end up with a woman," Saldana told Allure. "Raising my children… That's how androgynous I am."
Of course, an androgynous presentation or gender identity doesn't imply anything one way or another about a person's sexual orientation, but this appears to be the first time Saldana has hinted at queer leanings, according to Madame Noire, which posted the eye-catching image and pullquote below.
We're also left to wonder what was truncated in that quote. Did Saldana just include a "like" or "y'know?" Or was there something perhaps more substantive that might have offered a further peek into the actor's thought process?
For now, we'll just appreciate Saldana's killer smile and gorgeous curves — and maybe fantasize a little about just how gay the stunning star might be, and whether we could help her discover the wonderful world of loving ladies.


text:
Limited stocks this week!
any stock left for brown or red switches? if not any ETA?
Hi, would like to know if there is stock for blue switch white led ducky?
Can check whether any stocks for the white led ducky and in what colour switches?
Hi mirAcles.
Thanks for the prompt reply. I am looking at red switches. Please let me know availability of stock.
Thanks again.
I am actually just looking at white led red switches. Do let me know when they are arriving?
However thanks for the alternatives above. Will definitely drop by to have a look at them ..
Hi mirAcles,
Interested in a keyboard with white led and as for switches...
don't really know but one which is no noisy when typing in the evening.
PM me the price and where to try/buy.
The restocking is unknown as cherry switches are currently hot in demand, hence there is no proper estimated dates.
Alternatively, you may also wish to setup an appointment with me @ [email protected] and head down to our warehouse/showroom at Taiseng to try too!
hello sir... may i know if white led blue switch still available?
Project O.R.A.N.G.E.
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-OC
Processor : Intel 4670k w Swiftech Apogee HD
Graphics Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9-290 Reference Card w Aquacomputer Kryographics Hawaii Radeon R9 290
Memory: Samsung Green 2x4gb 1600mhz cl11
Boot Drive: Crucial M500 960GB
Storage Drive Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Spare Drive: Crucial M4 128GB
Chassis: Corsair Obsidian 900D
PSU: Seasonic X 760
Others: AOC I2757FH / Razer Mamba 2012 / Mionix Naos 7000 / Ducky Shine II Blue Switch White LED / Corepad XXXL / Grifiti Fat Wrist Pad 17 / LG G2 / Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 / Westone 3 / Audio Technica ATH-M50 / Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Fury
hello sir, do u sell custom keycaps for the ducky? or at least ducky custom transparent keycaps like the orange ducky ESC key in your pictures? thanks.


text:
Honduras' New Three Year Economic Program -- Remarks by Anoop Singh, Director, Western Hemisphere Department, IMF
February 2, 2004Honduras' New Three Year Economic Program
Remarks by Anoop Singh
Director, Western Hemisphere Department
International Monetary Fund
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
February 2, 2004
I am very grateful to President Maduro and his economic team for inviting me to Honduras. Although this is my first visit, the IMF is proud of its long association with Honduras, and I am looking forward to exchanging views with many sections of society.
I have had initial meetings with the President and his economic team, continuing the dialogue held with the President recently in Monterrey. In the short period since then, the economic team has been able to finalize a medium term program—under the framework of the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF)—that has been under discussion for some time. This program aims to entrench macroeconomic stability in Honduras, while ensuring that Honduras' considerable potential is used to raise growth, improve living standards, and create new jobs.
President Maduro has told us that the medium term program reflects the government's careful and comprehensive discussions with civil society in recent months. As such, the program carefully balances a strengthening of macroeconomic policies and institutions with much greater attention to poverty and equity issues. As all the details in the government's letter of intent will soon become available, I can be brief in pointing to the main planks:
- First, the program aims at fiscal strengthening to reduce the public debt, release more resources for investment, and set a firm foundation for growth. This is a key challenge for Honduras—one that it shares with other countries in the region who are making similar efforts as part of their own macroeconomic programs. In this area, Honduras has developed a carefully sequenced strategy to broaden the tax base, strengthen tax administration, and reorient spending to support investment and poverty needs. I am impressed by the determination with which the government has sought the collaboration of all sectors of society in balancing the effects of these policies. The consensus reached with the National Congress is testimony to Honduras' political resolve and the support of the unions has also been crucial.
- The second main plank aims at ensuring that the financial system is able to provide the resources for private investment and growth in an equitable way. The authorities have set the ambitious objective of bringing central bank functions, and supervision and prudential safeguards fully in line with best practice international standards. Again, given growing regional and international financial integration, such reforms are necessary to harness the opportunities of globalization, keep pace with the reforms of other countries, and increase credit flows to small and medium enterprises.
- The third plank focuses on institution building. Our research has shown that the kind of reforms the Government has planned to improve governance, transparency and social equity in political, judicial, and fiscal institutions and procedures will have a high impact on growth, while also maintaining a strong social consensus for the overall reforms.
With these three pillars, supported by other structural reforms aimed at increasing trade integration and competitiveness, the program has high potential for success. Its resolute implementation should allow real growth to jump from its recent average of 2- 2 ½ percent to around 4½ percent by 2006, while keeping inflation low and steadily improving social indicators. It helps, of course, that the program comes at a time of a much-improved external environment—both regional and international—and positions Honduras to benefit fully from the ongoing global upturn.
In addition to the IMF, the program is being supported by the World Bank and the IDB, our close partners in the region. The letter of intent has been approved by IMF management, opening the door for an Executive Board meeting in the coming weeks. Board approval of the program will make available a first disbursement from the Fund (from a total access of close to about US$ 100 million), additional financial support from the international community, and access to debt relief under the enhanced HIPC Initiative.
In concluding, let me say that Honduras' program is another key step to building a strong growth momentum with improving equity within the Central American region. We remain in close touch with other countries in this region as they implement growth-enhancing agendas carefully tailored to their individual circumstances. There are many common elements in the individual policy agendas and that is why we are further enhancing our regional surveillance with increased emphasis on the sharing of cross-country experiences, supported by our financial assistance where necessary.
|Public Affairs
|Media Relations


text:
I believe that everyone who keeps up with politics these days is quite aware of these five "cretins" (my assessment). For those who are merely part-time political junkies, this information from The Examiner is compiled in away that everyone can comprehend..
The Examiner
In the United States today, the political climate is very divided. As the Democrats seem more willing to come to the center and compromise, the Republicans in office take giant leaps to the right pulling their entire party and voting base with them.
1. Rick Scott (Republican-Florida)- Ah, the sunshine state. Florida has always been known as a "swing-state" in elections, but with the Tea Party wave running its way through the country in 2010, Florida was no exception. With a strong conservative base, especially in Central Florida, Governor Rick Scott was able to defeat the Democrat, Alex Sink in a tough election. One could only wonder how Scott was even able to get into office in the first place. Rick Scott helped create and was the Chief Executive Officer of the Columbia Hospital Corporation in the late 1980s and then merged with the Hospital Corporation of American in 1989. Fast forward to 1997 and Scott was forced to resign as CEO when his company was charged with the largest Medicare fraud in US history, $2 billion, while pleading the fifth 57 times in court. In addition to his issues before being Governor, Scott has shown that as Governor he has been just as bad. While giving massive tax breaks to the wealthy, Scott is requiring over 600,000 government workers to contribute 5% more to their retirement while cutting over $2,000 a year for public teachers to offset the lack of revenue coming back into the state government. Rick Scott also turned down $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money to build a high-speed rail that would have created nearly 25,000 jobs over the next decade. The icing on the cake for Scott is he has proposed completely cutting support for historically black colleges and universities and is shutting down state agencys that help minority small businesses.
2. John Kasich (Republican-Ohio)– The idea of a labor union is very important. Unions are a united voice for workers to create a fair environment with the top owners and executives of a company. Public unions are put together to create the same situation, but instead of collectively barganing against a corporation or business, it's done with the government. In the current economic state that the country is in, it's not unfair to ask everyone to contribute in getting the economy back on track. The main issue with Governor Kasich is that he doesn't handle the situation fairly. While claiming to fix the budget for Ohio, Kasich has asked union members to take a cut in pay and contribute more to their pensions and health care, at the same time giving massive tax breaks to the most wealthy citizens in the state. Not only has Kasich ask unions to take a pay cut, he always wants to take away the ability of the unions to even bargain. If this isn't enough, Kasich is the first Governor not appoint an African-American to a state cabinet post since 1962.
3. Scott Walker (Republican-Wisconsin) – Like his Republican friend in Ohio, Scott Walker has been known for his anti-union and anti-worker stance in his policies. Walker, like the Republican ideology, stands by the rich and puts his foot on the throat of the rest of economic class. For what seemed like months, thousands of Wisconsin citizens occupied the state capital in protests over Walkers anti-American plans for getting his budget under control. The reason that these workers were protesting wasn't simply because they had to contribute more out of their paychecks, but because the wealthiest citizens of Wisconsin didn't have to contribute much of anything.
4. Rick Perry- (Republican-Texas)– Of late, Perry has been known as the candidate who can't debate, has horrible policies and when all else fails, just claims that Democrats don't love Jesus so he should be voted into office. Perry, like other governors of Texas, loves his guns and Bible and can't stand much of anything else. Rick Perry, as the Governor of Texas, currently has a $27 billion hole into his budget, and in order to fix it has proposed cutting education by $10 billion while firing over 100,000 teachers. How much has Perry asked the rich to contribute? The answer is the same as other Republicans, zero. Perry also has talked about Texas actually seceding from the United States and now wants to run the country, ironic right? Perry has a strong stance on social issues as well. He loves the death penalty and has been in office while over 200 people have been put to death. As much as he loves the death penalty, Perry loves telling women what to do with their own body. Perry has tried to force a mandate that every woman getting an abortion must get a sonogram whether she wants to or not. Rick Perry might have multiple gaffes during a debate, but his time in office should be noted as one giant gaffe on the state of Texas.
5. Jan Brewer (Republican-Arizona)– Brewer is known for her ignorant immigration law that simply targets people because they are the wrong color. Illegal immigration is a serious issue and those that are here illegally should be dealt with accordingly and on an individual basis, but Brewers law paints each undocumented worker with the same brush and that is simply not fair. In addition to her racist immigration law, Brewer passed tax cuts for the wealthy that will cost the state over $500 million over the next decade and while claiming to create jobs, Arizona has done nothing but lose jobs while she has been in office.
Related articles
- Florida's Voter Purge: Federal Government to the Rescue (uloop.com)
- Florida's noncitizen voter purge grew from 5-minute conversation (kansascity.com)
- Emboldened by Walker's Recall Win, Florida's Rick Scott Goes to War on Voter Registration (swampland.time.com)
- Late Night: Is Your Cat Registered to Vote? Rick Scott Wants to Know (lafiga.firedoglake.com)
- Perry imprint on Dewhurst camp deep, as spokesman enlists (trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com)
- Gov. Rick Scott On Florida Showdown With Feds (npr.org)
- Justice Department Sues Over Voter Purge (skydancingblog.com)


text:
Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar is not in the starting lineup for Thursday afternoon's game against Oakland after taking a knee to the head while sliding into third base a night earlier.
Escobar hit his head on Andy LaRoche's leg when he slid headfirst into the bag after a triple in the fifth inning. Escobar lay on the ground for a moment after the collision and remained in the game after being examined by a team trainer.
Escobar then was taken out as a precaution after the sixth inning due to dizziness. Blue Jays manager John Farrell says Escobar is scheduled to be examined by a neurologist later Thursday.
Farrell says Escobar has not experienced any tingling, loss of feeling or nausea. He says CT scans of the head and neck area were negative.


text:
Bottom Line
The Lawrence City Commission will consider possible decorum rules for commissioners, city staffers and the public to abide by during commission meetings.
Proponents say although there have been no major incidents to warrant such rules, they want to prevent problems down the line. Opponents say the rules will infringe on free speech at commission meetings.
Other business
Consent agenda
- Approve city commission meeting minutes of Dec. 17.
- Receive minutes of various boards and commissions: Recycling and Resource Conservation Advisory Board meeting of Nov. 12; Mental Health Board meeting of Sept. 24; Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority Board meeting of Oct. 22.
¢ Approve all claims.
Bid and purchase items:
- Award the construction contract for 2002 water line improvements, Phase 1A, for East 17th Street, from N.H. Street to Barker Avenue; and for Rhode Island Street, from 15th Street to 17th Street; to Nowak Construction for $258,309.
- Award the construction contract for 2002 water line improvements, Phase 1B, for Eighth Street, from Kentucky Street to N.H. Street; and for Haskell Avenue, from Lynn Street to East 19th Street; to Kahle Construction for $168,462.
- Approve selection of Smalter Architects/Susan Richards Johnson and Associates Inc. for design of Fire Station No. 3 (West Sixth Street) improvements; authorize staff to negotiate agreement for city commission approval.
- Waive bidding requirements and authorize city manager to execute agreement with Kahle Inc. for $45,000 for sanitary sewer improvements along North Michigan Street.
- Adopt on first reading an ordinance rezoning 5.58 acres from multifamily residential and duplex residential districts, to single-family residential district for Lots 1-6 and 19, Block 3, and Lots 24-31, Block 2, Pinnacle West Addition, 3900 block and 4000 block of West Eighth Street.
- Adopt on final reading floodplain regulations for the city of Lawrence.
Adopt the following resolutions:
- Requesting the county commission to approve the annexation of approximately 48 acres of city-owned property south of the Lawrence Municipal Airport.
- Declaring the necessity for condemnation of a tract of property for stormwater improvements, east of Haskell Avenue, north of 12th Street.
- Authorize the mayor to change the term expiration dates for the Neighborhood Resources Advisory Committee to Dec. 31 of the appropriate year of expiration.
- Authorize the mayor to sign releases of mortgage for Warren and Margaret Brun, 205 N. Fifth St.; and Kristi McAlister, 437 Indiana St.
- Authorize the mayor to sign subordination agreements for Sharen Edmonds, 1808 W. 22nd St.; Barbara Wiseman, 1032 Lawrence Ave.; and Reginald and Nicole Demby, 1072 E. Home Circle.
- Approve drinking establishment licenses for Montana Mike's, 1015 Iowa; Fatso's, 1016 Mass.; Buffalo Wild Wings, 1012 Mass.; Don's Steak House, 2176 E. 23rd St.; Bottleneck, 737 Mass.; The Bourgeois Pig, 6 E. Ninth St.; It's Brothers Bar & Grill, 1105 Mass.; Louise's West Ltd., 1307 W. Seventh St.
- Approve retail liquor license for Parkway Wine and Spirits, 3514 Clinton Parkway, Suite B.
- Approve cereal malt beverage licenses for 61 businesses.
- City manager's report
Regular agenda
- Receive letter from Lawrence Coalition on Homeless Concerns concerning use of the Carnegie Library.
- Receive draft 2003 Legislative Policy Statement.
- Receive and discuss city staff report concerning 2003 city budget issues.
Copyright 2017 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published.


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Mirror App Shows Women How They Will Age If They Keep Drinking
The app shows users what will happen to their looks if they drink heavily over a long period of time.
The Drinking Mirror app, developed for the Scottish Government's 'Drop a Glass Size' campaign, aims to show women what will happen to their looks if they regularly drink heavily. The app uses a picture of your face and information about your drinking habits to reveal the effects of alcohol consumption.
The free app, available for iPhone, Android, and on the web, shows users that cutting down a glass size can have a significant effect on the ageing process. The latest figures show that around 38% of women regularly exceed daily or weekly sensible drinking guidelines, by drinking more than 2-3 units a day/14 units a week. This can cause deeper wrinkles, red cheeks, and weight gain.
The campaign encourages women to make small changes, such as alternating alcohol with soft drinks or water and having two alcohol-free days a week, which could lead to big health improvements. Dr Samantha Robson, GP, comments:
Alcohol undoubtedly has an effect on our appearance in the short and long-term. As well as causing bloating and dark circles under your eyes, alcohol dries out skin and can lead to wrinkles and premature aging… Many women don't think about the longer term effects of drinking or that on average it takes them longer than a man to recover from the damage caused by a big night.


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Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 | 12:02 p.m.
NV Energy says stolen company uniforms are being used to try to get into houses and rob people.
"NV Energy has learned that persons wearing stolen NV Energy uniforms are knocking on doors in the Las Vegas area in an attempt to gain access to homes in order to commit robbery," the company said in a release.
Real NV Energy workers may knock on the door, but they will never ask to enter if an appointment has not already been scheduled, the company said.
If someone wearing an NV Energy uniform requests entry without an appointment, the company advises residents not to allow them in and to request to see identification. Once the ID number is taken, residents can call NV Energy corporate security at 402-5007 to verify the employee.


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|FIBA Europe Youth Championships Meeting, Freising, December 2011
Prior to the upcoming 2012 draws FIBA Europe organised a Youth European Championships meeting with representatives from the different National Federations, in Freising, Saturday.
The meeting brought together past and future Youth European Championships organisers with a single aim to kick start an interactive process which will help raise the standard of the events in the future.
The main speaker at the meeting was FIBA Europe's Head of Competitions Department Richard Stokes, who presented participants with an evaluation of key aspects of the operations and competition parts of the events.
He also presented a new concept of how to approach organisational as well as a delegation's responsibilities in the Youth tournaments every summer.
In the ensued discussion the Federation representatives offered their own proposals for improving the events while everybody agreed that certain aspects of the organisation (eg meals, accommodation) require special attention and a more universal standard.
"The goal is to improve the level of competition and organisation in the Youth Championships," commented FIBA Europe Secretary General Nar Zanolin. "And it is important to do so by listening to the people directly involved with the events as we value their feedback."


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Chris Pratt is Peter Quill, aka Star Lord, aka the human/alien leader of a rascally bunch of alien defenders of the galaxy. The Guardians of the Galaxy, if you will.
Word from Hollywood has Pratt, who can recently be seen as a buffed up Navy SEAL in Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" (he and the other SEALs show up WAY at the end of the movie in case you want to watch the flick just for him), nabbing the much sought-after gig of leading man in Marvel's upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy" superhero movie.
Pratt is also a co-star on NBC's comedy "Parks and Recreation", and also had a part in the doomed "Movie 43", but perhaps he might not care for you to know about that one.
"Galaxy" is the first major space-based movie that will launch Marvel's intergalactic storytelling that is expected to continue in "The Avengers 2" and, if recent rumors prove correct, continue into "Avengers 3" and a new Hulk movie.
If the ending of "The Avengers" are any indication, "Guardians of the Galaxy", to be written and directed by James Gunn ("Super"), with Joss Whedon producing (and masterminding in the background, we're told), will lead directly into Whedon's own "The Avengers 2" … and beyond.
The "Guardians of the Galaxy" roster includes Star Lord, the alien Drax the Destroyer, Groot (a sentient tree), Rocket (a gun-happy talking raccoon) and Gamora, a female alien assassin.
Via : Variety


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'If a Million American Jews Moved to Israel, There'd Be Peace'
If a million North Americans had come to live in Israel 20 years ago, or even five, this would be a better country.
There are things we never write about here. Sometimes it's because doing so may betray a certain prejudice or bear the dangers and fictions of generalization. It may be hurtful. The subject may be painful to the writer, or prick a certain shame.
Sometimes it's because the topic seems unserious, petty, beneath the dignity and gravity of questions of Middle East import.
In the case of the following paragraph, it's a little of all of them. It's a quotation from a Moscow-born soldier I once served with in the army.
"If a million American Jews had moved to Israel," he said, "there would be peace."
A friend of his, also Russian-Israeli, was quick to respond, his tone midway between derision and a certain sense of triumph. "No danger of that happening."
The subject changed before I could ask the second man which he thought was impossible - a million immigrants from North America, or peace. It was fairly clear, however, that he meant both.
Without really giving it serious thought, I could sense that it was one of those observations that, once repeated, manages to offend a large number of people at once. I let it rest.
That conversation came to mind this week for two reasons. One was what my colleague Carlo Strenger called his counterfactual dream: that graft allegations had not unseated Ehud Olmert as prime minister, and by last year he would have forged a workable peace with the Palestinians.
The other was a speech I heard over the weekend, when tens of thousands demonstrated against, among other related issues, the practice of granting the ultra-Orthodox blanket exemptions from national service of any kind.
Toward the distant end of the rally held in the jungle heat of Tel Aviv, an American who moved to Israel in 2004, rose to speak. It was Rabbi Dov Lipman of Beit Shemesh, himself ultra-Orthodox. For some time, Lipman has been waging a
battle of rare courage against harassment and violence by ultra-Orthodox extremists in the town.
It's not every day that I feel proud to be an American immigrant to Israel, but this was one of them. The speech was stirring, unifying, and, shunning the cavernous ruts of Israeli political argument, extraordinarily fresh.
Drawing on traditional sources and rabbinic wisdom to show how church-state political deal-making can warp the spirit of Judaism and cause a society to unravel, Rabbi Lipman was able to bring people from opposite sides together in the best sense. It was a true example of a mitzvah which American Jews are at times accused of over-emphasizing: tikkun olam, repairing the world.
I do not for a moment believe that a million American Jews will move to Israel. I believe that they will not. But if I were capable of putting aside my fears of being exposed as essentially uncool and insufficiently right-on, if I were to write about what we do not write about, if I would tell what I see as the truth about my Eidah, my congregation of Israel, my ethnic sub-tribe of the Jewish people, this is what I would come out and say:
American Jews who live here make Israel a better place.
Not all of us. Not all the time. But a remarkable percentage of Israel's most invisible minority spends an inordinate amount of its energy, talent, and forbearance on the business of repairing the world, and in particular, this far corner of it.
If a million North Americans had come to live in Israel 20 years ago, or even five, this would be a different country. And not only because people might drive less aggressively or even make sure that their kids used seat belts.
If there were a million U.S. and Canadian Israelis, lawmakers would not be able to get away with overt racism against Africans. Shas lawmakers would not be able to get away with covert racism against American Reform Jews. Rabbinical Orthodoxy, ultra-Orthodoxy, and the settlement movement would lose their status of privileged aristocracy, unbound by the laws of Israel at large. Civil marriage, true recognition of and openness to non-0rthodox Judaism, true separation of religion and state – for the direct benefit of both – would become a reality.
Equal rights and opportunities for Arab citizens would not be a dashed hope. When Arab Americans or Israeli Arabs arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, they would be far less likely to be humiliated, detained without cause, and treated as terrorists unless proven otherwise.
If a million Americans had moved here, the foreign minister would not be Avigdor Lieberman, and Avigdor Lieberman might well be behind bars.
The concepts of human rights, democracy, and respect for minorities would be more than ammunition to be deflected and redirected at Israel's critics, as in Their Wrongs Make Us Right.
And there would be peace.
To be fair, not every American immigrant saw Rabbi Lipman's speech the same way. According to Noga Martin, a former editor at the Jerusalem Post, now writing at the Times of Israel site, "tonight's rally in favor of universal draft presented us with a stunning example of another phenomenon – the Anglo Hebrew speaker with an accent that could peel paint off walls.
"Toward the end of the demonstration, an immigrant rabbi took the stage and gave an articulate, impassioned speech in perfectly acceptable Hebrew. Sadly, the power of his words was diminished by his dreadful North American accent."
I want to congratulate Noga Martin on becoming an Israeli. And for demonstrating how easily and on what basis, Israelis can wave away and ignore the few Americans who are here.
It's true. To Israeli ears, the American accent is not easily borne. It is reedy, not an ounce of the bullhorn gravitas in which Israeli ears enjoy being bathed. Where Americans intend openness and polite deference and an urge to give of themselves, Israelis hear the milquetoast and the nerd and the dupe. To Israeli ears, the American accent is as meek and inappropriately innocent as a permanent childhood. To Israeli ears, a voice like that has no business in a place like this.
If I were to write about the things we don't, if I could convince Israelis to listen to a sentence or two in my anemic little accent of a voice, I would put in a word for the North Americans who come here to try to make a life of it:
They lack for neither spine nor guts nor heart. You're lucky to have them.
One other thing, if I may. Personally, I have found that with every passing year here, my Hebrew has gotten a bit better, and my American accent in Hebrew, demonstrably worse. I have an idea what I sound like to Israelis in their mother tongue, and it is anything but attractive. At some point, I also realized whose problem this is, and it's not mine.
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The State of Nevada has been one of the hardest hit during this recession. We have had to make some very difficult decisions with regard to the budgets, both State and local. Nevada families cannot afford to have their taxes and fees raised during this time. It is important to evaluate where money is currently appropriated, to assure the citizens of Assembly District 36, and the citizens of Nevada, that their tax money is not being spent inappropriately.
Source: http://www.oscarson2012.com/issues


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text:
More goodness is coming from Vans OTW for Fall 2012, as the hi and low variations of the Breton are set for release. Constructed with a boot's build and aesthetic, the Breton is a solid piece of footwear. And a sophisticated looking one at that too, given by the upper's shape choice of materials and colors used. This al sits on a tough wearing Vibram sole. Great makeups include a brown wax canvas/leather hi and grey tweed/suede lo. We're really like the black ballistic nylon/leather hi joints as pictured above. They're a strong look.
Vans OTW Breton Lo & Hi Fall 2012
Highsnobiety Sneakers


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1. MARC JACOBS POP-UP WILL USE SOCIAL MEDIA INSTEAD OF CASH: A Fashion Week pop-up store for Marc Jacobs will not use cash and instead will conduct transactions based on the shopper's use of social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Racked: "Alongside MJ accessories, fashion items, and fragrance samples, the shop will also include food and drinks, a DJ, and contests, where accessories will be given out throughout the day—as an example, the day's best Instagram photo could win something as sweet as a handbag." goo.gl/ZnCTM6
2. HOW TWITTER AND VINE CHANGED THE STATE OF THE UNION: There used to be one official response to the president's State of the Union address. But the nature of live political events has changed, and Tuesday night, members of Congress sent out 750 tweets, often with coordinated hashtags, and Republicans set up "recording stations" on the quick video-sharing service Vine. New York Times: "The State of the Union address spawned a bipartisan embrace of new photo- and video-sharing platforms, and a rush to create tweetable graphics and synchronized hashtags to amplify messages. Democrats and Republicans competed to make their views the majority, often with little regard to what the president actually said." goo.gl/LYyqLJ
3. POLITICIAN DELIVERS SPEECH VIA HOLOGRAM: President Obama wasn't the only one delivering a big speech this week. But when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan couldn't attend a meeting in his home country, he appeared instead in a hologram to deliver the speech. Mashable: "In the video below, the lights go out over the crowd as a blue light unfurls upward and solidifies into a bigger—if hazier—prime minister." See the video here: goo.gl/uSyNZj
Ungerboeck Software International has announced a three-year partnership with UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. With the agreement, UFI will take advantage of Ungerboeck's event management software that is used for more than 650 shows worldwide.
BOSTON: Loews Boston Hotel is embarking on a $10 million renovation. The new hotel will offer six meeting rooms, including a new mini ballroom with vaulted ceilings and room for 100 guests.
CHICAGO: The 2014 Charity Poker Championship benefiting Children's Oncology Services Inc. will take place at the National Hellenic Museum on March 6.
LAS VEGAS: Partnering with Keep Memory Alive, the charitable arm of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, chef Kerry Simon and his supporters have put together a benefit evening of music and food slated for February 27. Sammy Hagar, Alice Cooper, Vince Neil, Jean-George Vingerichten, Daniel Boulud, Charlie Palmer, and other big names have already signed on to participate in the event.
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles County charity Hillsides has selected podcast host and social media personality Susan Pinsky as the chair of its annual gala. The gala, "A Celebration of Art," is slated for February 22 at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena.
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: BritWeek Miami, a celebration of British culture and industry, will return for its second year March 6-12 throughout Miami and Miami Beach. Its theme will be "design and innovation," and signature events include the Great Business Innovation Awards Gala at the Viceroy Hotel; eMerge Americas Transatlantic Tech Bash; and Port Miami Business Conference 2014.
NEW YORK: Ad Age's Digital Conference, now in its eighth year, is scheduled for April 1-2 at Pier 36. Its speaker lineup consists of executives from marketing, media, and agencies, and the event also will include the fourth annual Viral Video Awards on April 1.
The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria New York announced the appointment of Jackie Collens and Jackie Carter as leaders of a new luxury sales team focused on the 181-room hotel occupying the top 14 floors of the property.
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO: Pagne Champagne Lounge is scheduled to open by early March in the Eola Square area of downtown Orlando. The venue will offer champagne, wine, spirits, light fare, and live piano entertainment.
TORONTO: Canada's National Ballet School will host its Casablanca Gala at the Carlu on February 7. The evening will include cocktails, a Moroccan dinner, a ballet performance, and a luxury raffle.
WASHINGTON: Washington Business Journal: "The Smithsonian Institution has decided not to reopen its Arts and Industries Building, despite millions to renovate it and plans for an imaginative future." http://bit.ly/1fkU6Bo
YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: email@example.com.
JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com
With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Jill Menze, and Anna Sekula in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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- Details
Produced by Grivel since 1999. It makes it impossible to lose the ice axe, leaves hands free, extends when required, contracts when required.
An elastic double sling system to avoid losing tools when climbing on rock or ice, solving the problem of modern climbing without a leash.
The Double Spring is attached to the harness by looping it through the tape ring over the harness itself. The two ice axes are attached with 2 small carabiners to the holes on the spike (max load 750 kg).
Permits easy changeovers of hands and tools. The two sections are so elastic that they don't impede any movement and allow maximum arm extension when required.
Includes small screw-lock carabiner
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The Made in Italy Business Directory
Rome - (Ign) - Italian style, spectacular design, perfect instruments from every point of view. These are the harps produced by Victor Salvi's Nsm Spa (Nuova Strumenti Musicali) (www.salviharps.it). Based in Piasco (in the province of Cuneo, in Piedmont), Nsm is one of the most important harp producers in the world. For over 50 years the firm of Salvi has been building harps in respect of the highest tradition of instrument making and applying the latest woodworking technology. Nsm is today a company with 80 workers and an annual turnover of around €10m. It produces around 1500 harps a year, 90% of which are exported all over the world thanks to a capillary distribution network. In particular, in collaboration with the American company "Lyon & Healy" it supplies the majority of the world market.The merit of this success is all down to Victor Salvi, the son of a skilled Venetian instrument maker who had moved to Viaggiano - a small town in southern Italy famous for harp making. Salvi was a successful harpist with the Philarmonic Orchestra of New York and the NBC Orchestra conducted by the great maestro Arturo Toscanini, but in 1956 came back from the United States to his land of origin, Italy. He first settled in Liguria, but soon moved to Piasco, a town with a rich woodworking tradition. This was where the great adventure started, which soon saw the harps produced in Piasco ending up in the hands of the world's great harpists, arriving in legendary conservatories and theatres, such as the Metropolitan in New York and the Bolshoi in Moscow. Salvi's harps are the best on the market thanks to the particular care with which they are built. Each model requires 2000 mechanical pieces, around 150 parts in wood and many hours of work. The procedure which requires most care is the selection of the woods: to guarantee a Salvi harp stability and resistance over time the most solid maple wood from Michigan is used. For the sound board Salvi chooses Norway spruce from the forests of the Val di Fiemme, in South Tyrol: and it is no coincidence that this was the same wood used by Antonio Stradivarius for his legendary violins. The age-old problem of stringed instruments - namely the stability of the tuning - has been resolved with an assemblage of prized woods whose technical characteristics ensure high structural stability. But the most visible trademark of Salvi harps are the decorations and inlay work, which make them instruments of great beauty. All this finishing is carried out by hand, and the gilding alone of a single piece requires 200 hours of work. Salvi produces all types of harps, from Celtic harps costing around €1700, up to gilded concert instruments with inlay work which may cost as much as €80,000. The pedal harps are divided into four categories: gilded, Gran Concerto, Semi Grand, and Studio Daphne. The Celtic harps are divided into professional, studio and semiacoustic models. The latter represent a great innovation, since they are designed to give power to the sound, without compromising the characteristic tone of an acoustic instrument. The Egan Elettroacustica model, the result of research and experiments carried out in the laboratories in Piasco, allows the harpist to obtain a pure, "acoustic" sound, which extends harmoniously and uniformly over the whole range of frequencies, from the highest the lowest. This is thanks to two monophone outputs and an impressive 38 directional pickups, one mounted on each string. The result is incredible: warm deep lows, harmonious middles and sparkling high notes. The sound, at once amplified and natural, provides unique listening pleasure.Lastly, for Salvi harps are not just a business: the Victor Salvi Foundation, also in Piasco, has also opened to the public a Harp Museum (www.museodellarpavictorsalvi.it), which collects antique (from the 18th to the 20th century) and ethnic pieces of inestimable value. This is proof of the love that lies behind a successful brand


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The CEO of Symbian says he's already spoilt for choice with Linux-based mobile phone platforms and that Google's new Android software appears to be another to add to the list.
"One of the reactions is, it's another Linux platform," said Nigel Clifford at a Tokyo news conference when asked about Google's new phone platform. "There's 10, 15, 20, maybe 25 different Linux platforms out there. It sometimes appears that Linux is fragmenting faster than it unifies."
Symbian recognises Google's commitment to 'openness' and sees that as a good thing, Clifford said. "But I probably would say there is no such thing as free software."
Symbian will be among Google's competitors as it tries to bring its new phone software to market.
Android was developed by Google and others under the umbrella of the Open Handset Alliance. The platform will be based on Linux and other open-source elements and offer a complete set of phone components, including an operating system, middleware stack, customisable user interface and applications.
A number of big names in the wireless industry have already thrown their weight behind OHA, including carriers such as T-Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, Sprint Nextel, Telecom Italia and China Mobile; handset makers including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Motorola and HTC; and others such as Intel, Ebay, NVidia, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.
Clifford seemed unfazed at the competition for Symbian, which has the lion's share of the smartphone market in all regions except North America.
"I think if you look at the market share slides you'll see we're no stranger to competing with big brands," he said. "One other element is to look at where the biggest opportunity is, and that is competing inside our customers for those products which are currently using our customers' operating systems."
Indeed, three of Symbian's biggest supporters - Samsung, LG and Motorola - are also partners in the OHA, so the two platforms will be competing to get in those manufacturers' handsets.
"We're the market leader, and we aim to remain the market leader," he said.


text: [ Teens Plead Not Guilty to Raping Elderly Woman By Elaine Etheridge July 19, 2012 Three teenagers say they are not guilty of raping a 76 year old Mansfield woman. Read More Category: Crime News, Shreveport/Bossier City News Tags: Emmanuel Bogan, Michael Campbell, Teens Plead Not Guilty to Robbing and Raping Mansfield Woman Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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Ravindra Kumar
Reality Of The World - Poem by Ravindra Kumar
Agree with promise ingrained reality of the world,
What affection engross us embracing bolt subjection:
And refer heaven in live to swing measured
I reliance, not better than a fat's projection.
Our unchecked passion promotes make glad one another
No, not at all she love to thee,
Neither ye could claim thy love consistent her,
Need influences each just manage the plea.
This universe is not made rather programming trifles.
An ocean, mountain, the wood, sun and moon
Whole art established His fancies to cheat humbles,
Wine and wench perhaps declares quite illusive boon.
Man is advanced qualifying standard, in true
Theology proves the philosophy of psyche e'er lasting.
WE are part off all all-powerful clue,
Ought to link with determine holy form regaining.
Our duty is put attempts elevate intellectual evolution
Survive in high spirit restore to perfect state,
Indulge not in any restless immoral deceitful gratification.
Enrich belief in eternity and favor to unblest.
Poet's Notes about The Poem
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Ravindra Kumar's Other Poems
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Phenomenal Woman
Maya Angelou
Still I Rise
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The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
If You Forget Me
Pablo Neruda
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Annabel Lee
Edgar Allan Poe
Caged Bird
Maya Angelou
Rudyard Kipling
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
Pablo Neruda


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Edit Article
wikiHow to Be Good at Call of Duty World at War
COD5: World at War (WaW) is a challenging game for people who are new to first person video games. This guide is for those who are having trouble on the Wii version. This guide is for multi player mode.
1Choose your class accordingly to the map. Test what is best on what map in Private match so you can relax when doing it. Remember, snipers are good in high places.
2If your gun has a slow firing rate then make sure your bullet hits your foe right in the head.
3After killing the foe, always run away from them because they might drop a live grenade after death.
4Only use melee attacks when behind the foe, or right in front because if your foe sees you, he will hammer you with his machine gun.
5If the enemy team has hounds on their side, either go in water, up on top of something or in a corner so they have a smaller chance of getting you.
6Act like a squad. Fight like a squad, die like a squad. Go with your team not individually because if ambushed you can assist each other.
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- Careful of enemy snipers or ambushes.
- Careful of enemy explosives.
Things You'll Need
- Gaming system (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
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text:
The recent announcement that Internet giant Facebook will be creating a data center in Rutherford County was the big news at AdvantageWest's Nov. 15 Economic Summit. Just before the panel discussion began in the Diana Wortham Theatre, Thomas Jenkins, board chair for the public/private regional development agency, referenced the good news, joking, "I want you […]
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Competitive advantage: Economic summit ponders WNC's future
On Nov. 15, AdvantageWest hosted its fall economic summit, featuring a panel discussion that included North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell, N.C. Institute of Emerging Issues Director Anita Brown-Graham and banking expert Austin Adams. Here's what some of the panelists — and observer Asheville City Council member Gordon Smith — said afterward.


text: On Thu, May 12, 2005 at 05:22:00PM +0300, Panu Matilainen wrote: > Another oddity I found is that for Wine to build within mach I had to use > LDFLAGS="-lstdc++" %configure - which doesn't make any sense to me either. This might not necessarily be a problem with Mach. I had a Wine build fail on a headless i686 machine, WITHOUT Mach. It was complaining about not being able to link STL stuff in - something that -lstdc++ would fix. Installing xorg-x11-Mesa-libGLU and rebuilding the same identical spec file fixed that somehow. A side-effect of some check in the configure tests? *shrug* -- Rudi