text:
'Argentina is disgraceful and should be kicked out of the G20', Tory MP tells Commons
ARGENTINA should be thrown out of the prestigious G20 for harbouring drug dealers and lying about its economy to avoid paying debts, an Conservative MP has claimed.
Henry Smith, who last week called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "t*****" on Twitter, labelled Argentina's leader Cristina Kirchner as "disgraceful" for how she has treated residents of the Falkland Island.
During his Commons rant, Mr Smith also claimed Ms Kirchner stopped an Argentinian investigator testifying to the US Congress about the 1994 Buenos Aires bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in order to protect a growing alliance with Iran.
Mr Smith told the Commons: "Argentina has expropriated the property of European companies, provides a safe haven for drug dealers bringing methamphetamine to Europe, is developing a strategic relationship with Iran, it deliberately falsifies its economic statistics, it refuses to abide by international court judgments and refuses to pay its debts to other nations and institutions and even refuses to honour the most basic laws of contracts."
Mr Smith said the country's failure to pay back international loans could set a bad example for current financially-stricken eurozone nations.
He said: "Argentina's refusal to repay its debt obligations, even though it has billions of dollars in reserve, sets a terrible precedent for other nations such as Greece which may be tempted to follow this path of irresponsibility."
Mr Smith called on the Government to take a tough position on Argentina's G20 membership, just as it did with the Falkland Islands.
He said: "It is simply unacceptable that a country that is a member of the G20, one of the most important and prestigious international bodies, should behave in this manner.
"I believe that Argentina's membership of the G20 should be revoked.
"The country has been named and shamed by Transparency International as one of the worst in Latin America for corruption, even outstripping Venezuela, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has starkly stated that Argentina's government is lying about its economy and cannot be trusted.
"We cannot and should not allow Cristina Kirchner to be rewarded with a welcome at the world's top table.
"Argentina is an international outlier - no other country, including in Europe, is behaving so irresponsibly in relation to its debts, no other country is in receipt of an IMF censure for falsifying inflation figures.
"We should stand up for the rule of law, sanctity of contract, and respect for international legal and financial obligations.
"We should not stand with those who refuse to abide by court judgments and who steal private property.
We stood firm on the Falkland Islands and we now have strong stance on international loans. It is time now too to take a tough position on Argentina's membership of the G20.
"We certainly should not stand with those who ally themselves with drug traffickers and Iranian extremist groups.
"We stood firm on the Falkland Islands and we now have strong stance on international loans. It is time now too to take a tough position on Argentina's membership of the G20."
Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said Mr Smith had raised a number of serious issues. But he said the UK intended to develop its bilateral relations with Argentina through the G20.
He said: "This Government has always been clear that it would like a full, bilateral relationship with Argentina. As a country full of natural resources, Argentina has the potential to be a key trading partner with the United Kingdom in the future.
"But the Falkland Islands are British and will remain British, as clearly demonstrated by the referendum held in March.
"We remain disappointed that, over 30 years after its unjustified and illegal act of aggression against the Falklands, the government of Argentina continues its policy of hostility towards the Falklands people with attempts to strangle the economic livelihood of the islands and in its refusal to co-operate with the Falklands on a range of issues for the common good of the region."


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MG42 machinegun replica
Thanks to AGM company, another real treat for history weaponry and historical airsoft enthusiasts has emerged on the market. A long awaited replica of well know, introduced in 1942 machinegun Machinengewehr 42 – MG42. A weapon that in hands of III Reich (but not only!) soldiers sow terror on all fronts of World War II and during the years it gained cult status.
It can be determined at first glance that this is no toy but a solid piece of metal. The dimensions and details are as close to original as they can be, additionally thanks to full-metal structure the weight is also righteous – it weighs nearly 7kg. The only parts made from polymer are pistol grip (just like in the original) and bb loader in the magazine.
Basic components of the replica – receiver, outer barrel, barrel cover and receiver cover – were made from homogenous zinc and aluminum alloy. The bipod, magazine, charging handle, magazine mount cover and other small elements, like sight base and barrel change lever were made from steel. The whole is painted in matte black color, which gives very realistic impression.
The replica's stock, just like in the original, is made from natural, painted wood. Inside of the stock there is place for accumulator. The hop-up adjustment lever is located under the receiver cover. Solid, steel bipod can be folded and secured under the barrel. The original MG42 could be used as anti-aircraft gun, hence the replica is equipped with set of AA type sights.
For powering 'The Hitler's Saw', a specially designed, reinforced two-part gearbox was installed. Inside it has a set of steel gears, chrome cylinder, driven piston head with bearing and 8mm ball bearings. Additionally it has efficient, long 600mm inner barrel. The gearbox has quick spring change system.
MG42 is fed from electric powered BOX type magazine, which is true copy of the original one. It's shell is made entirely from steel. The magazine can store 2500 bb's and is powered by 4 AA type batteries (not included).
The set includes:
- replica
- magazine
- user manual
Replika karabinu maszynowego MG42
12 months
|Velocity [FPS]:
It is the spped of bb, while its leaving the innerbarrel of replica. This speed is measured in FPS (Feet Per Second).
1 FPS = 0,3 m/s
1 J = 99 m/s
|Propulsion / Powered by:
|Gearbox version:
Indications v2, v3, v6 does not mean the level of advance, but only shape of gearbox skeleton which was used and selected by the manufacturer depending on the capabilities of the body of the replica. For example, a models of the M4/M16 family, MP5, have a v2 gearbox, while the AK family have gearbox v3.
Special Gearbox
|Type of fire:
|Made of:
Steel + wood + metal + plastic
|Diameter of bearings in GB [mm]:
|Lenght [mm]:
The length of the replca is measured between the two most distant points of each other. Different models have several of these values, because of its design allows to increase or decrease it length (eg. folding stock or extended flash hider).
|Inner barrel length [mm]:
|Weight [g]:
This is a value that includes the weight of the replica, magazine and other accessories that are include in set without a battery, charger, cleaning rod, etc., etc.
|Battery included:
rechargeable battery is characterized by high efficiency
current-carrying capacity, but there are disruptive effect on memory.
Should be unloaded and loaded in the full cycle, ie, it is recommended
to fully discharge, and after unloading must charge the battery
immediately without leaving it for a long time in a discharged state.
|Magazine type:
BOX magazine
|Magazine capacity [pcs]:
Hop-Up system is used for overclocking bb during the shot (putting it in rotation), through which, it extends its flight path. Acting laws of physics make that bb lift up, while the gravitational force take it down. Appropriate adjustment of Hop-Up, will compensate for these two factors, which result in long and straight flight for longer distance and be greater focus shot (to improve accuracy).
Yes, adjustable
|Blow Back:
Blow back is a simulation system of the cocking lever - it imitates the work of it as the equivalent sharp. This system raises the realism and adds a lot more experience during shooting.
|Black Madness:
do 10%

subset: commoncrawl


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Sunday, November 22, 1998 Published at 22:16 GMT
McRae moves ahead in UK rally
Colin McRae ploughs through the tricky terrain
Colin McRae took command of the Network Q rally after world champion Tommi Makinen crashed out in controversial circumstances after six stages.
Makinen was caught out by a patch of oil left by an old Hillman Imp, part of the Historic Rally which precedes the main event.
He skidded, ripping the right rear wheel off his car.
It was to prove impossible to continue on three wheels.
"It happened on the first left-hand bend of the stage," said a tearful Makinen.
"There was black stuff on the surface and it just threw me completely. I'm very upset - I've thrown the championship away."
Terrific display
McRae gave an awesome display of speed, particularly over the first six stages where the Scot was never once outpaced as he built up a lead of 20 seconds.
His first `defeat' came on the Silverstone Superspecial where the Spaniard Sainz was Quickest.
A collapsed front wheel which damaged the suspension was McRae's only real problem, his advantage being cut to less than half-a-second by Sainz's French colleague Didier Auriol on stage 10.
But Auriol slipped back to end the day fourth, just behind McRae's brother and temporary team-mate Alister, who impressed in his one-off appearance with the Subaru team.
Sport Contents


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EVANSTON--Northwestern has been through a snake-bitten season, and perhaps no player has been bitten worse than Alex Marcotullio.
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text:
Ridges Physiotherapy and
Sports Medicine Clinic
About the clinic
Oak Ridges Physiotherapy was opened in September 2002. The
clinic is 1750 square feet consisting of high tech and modern
equipment. The clinic has a full exercise gym- treadmill,
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recumbent bike, balance boards and free weights. Modalities
include heat packs, cold packs, lumbar traction, ultrasound,
autosound, interferential current, tens, muscle stimulations,
paraffin wax and acupuncture.
The clinic also offers custom braces for ligament and
joint injuries, so athletes can return to the field as soon as
possible. Ankle supports, elbow clasps, aircast walkers, Obus
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readily be ordered and fitted through our numerous suppliers.
Services available at Oak Ridges
Massage Therapy
Custom Bracing
Oak Ridges Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine


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House of Habsburg, also spelled Hapsburg, also called House of Austria, royal German family, one of the principal sovereign dynasties of Europe from the 15th to the 20th century.
The name Habsburg is derived from the castle of Habsburg, or Habichtsburg ("Hawk's Castle"), built in 1020 by Werner, bishop of Strasbourg, and his brother-in-law, Count Radbot, in the Aargau overlooking the Aar River, in what is now Switzerland. Radbot's grandfather, Guntram the Rich, the earliest traceable ancestor of the house, may perhaps be identified with a Count Guntram who rebelled against the German king Otto I in 950. Radbot's son Werner I (died 1096) bore the title count of Habsburg and was the grandfather of Albert III (died c. 1200), who was count of Zürich and landgrave of Upper Alsace. Rudolf II of Habsburg (died 1232) acquired Laufenburg and the "Waldstätte" (Schwyz, Uri, Unterwalden, and Lucerne), but on his death his sons Albert IV and Rudolf III partitioned the inheritance. Rudolf III's descendants, however, sold their portion, including Laufenburg, to Albert IV's descendants before dying out in 1408.
Austria and the rise of the Habsburgs in Germany
Albert IV's son Rudolf IV of Habsburg was elected German king as Rudolf I in 1273. It was he who, in 1282, bestowed Austria and Styria on his two sons Albert (the future German king Albert I) and Rudolf (reckoned as Rudolf II of Austria). From that date the agelong identification of the Habsburgs with Austria begins (see Austria: Accession of the Habsburg). The family's custom, however, was to vest the government of its hereditary domains not in individuals but in all male members of the family in common, and, though Rudolf II renounced his share in 1283, difficulties arose again when King Albert I died (1308). After a system of condominium had been tried, Rudolf IV of Austria in 1364 made a compact with his younger brothers that acknowledged the principle of equal rights but secured de facto supremacy for the head of the house. Even so, after his death the brothers Albert III and Leopold III of Austria agreed on a partition (Treaty of Neuberg, 1379): Albert took Austria, Leopold took Styria, Carinthia, and Tirol.
King Albert I's son Rudolf III of Austria had been king of Bohemia from 1306 to 1307, and his brother Frederick I had been German king as Frederick III (in rivalry or conjointly with Louis IV the Bavarian) from 1314 to 1330. Albert V of Austria was in 1438 elected king of Hungary, German king (as Albert II), and king of Bohemia; his only surviving son, Ladislas Posthumus, was also king of Hungary from 1446 (assuming power in 1452) and of Bohemia from 1453. With Ladislas the male descendants of Albert III of Austria died out in 1457. Meanwhile the Styrian line descended from Leopold III had been subdivided into Inner Austrian and Tirolean branches.
As the German princes had not cared to give Rudolf adequate support against Otakar, he did not feel bound to them and set out to acquire the former Babenberg lands for his own house. In 1281 he made his eldest son, Albert (later Albert I, king of Germany), governor of Austria and Steiermark; on Christmas, 1282, he invested his two sons, Albert and Rudolf II, with Austria, Steiermark, and...READ MORE
Frederick V, senior representative of the Inner Austrian line, was elected German king in 1440 and crowned Holy Roman emperor, as Frederick III, in 1452—the last such emperor to be crowned in Rome. A Habsburg having thus attained the Western world's most exalted secular dignity, a word may be said about the dynasty's major titles. The imperial title at that time was, for practical purposes, hardly more than a glorification of the title of German king, and the German kingship was, like the Bohemian and the Hungarian, elective. If Habsburg was to succeed Habsburg as emperor continuously from Frederick's death in 1493 to Charles VI's accession in 1711, the principal reason was that the hereditary lands of the Habsburgs formed an aggregate large enough and rich enough to enable the dynasty to impose its candidate on the other German electors (the Habsburgs themselves had an electoral vote only in so far as they were kings of Bohemia).
For the greater part of Frederick's reign it was scarcely foreseeable that his descendants would monopolize the imperial succession so long as they did. The Bohemian and Hungarian kingdoms were lost to the Habsburgs for nearly 70 years from the death of Ladislas Posthumus in 1457; the Swiss territories, lost in reality from 1315 onward (see Switzerland: Expansion and Position of Power), were finally renounced in 1474; and Frederick's control over the Austrian inheritance itself was long precarious, not only because of aggression from Hungary but also because of dissension between him and his Habsburg kinsmen. Yet Frederick, one of whose earliest acts in his capacity as emperor had been to ratify, in 1453, the Habsburgs' use of the unique title of "archduke of Austria" (first arrogated for them by Rudolf IV in 1358–59), may have had some prescient aspiration toward worldwide empire for the House of Austria: the motto A.E.I.O.U., which he occasionally used, is generally interpreted as meaning Austriae est imperare orbi universo ("Austria is destined to rule the world"), or Alles Erdreich ist Österreich untertan ("The whole world is subject to Austria"). He lived long enough to see his son Maximilian make the most momentous marriage in European history; and three years before his death he also saw the Austrian hereditary lands reunited when Sigismund of Tirol abdicated in Maximilian's favour (1490).
Before explaining what the Habsburgs owed dynastically to Maximilian, mention can be made of a physical peculiarity characteristic of the House of Habsburg from the emperor Frederick III onward: his jaw and his lower lip were prominent, a feature supposed to have been inherited by him from his mother, the Mazovian princess Cymbarka. Later intermarriage reproduced the "Habsburg lip" more and more markedly, especially among the last Habsburg kings of Spain.
The world power of the Habsburgs
Even before Frederick III's time the House of Habsburg had won much of its standing in Germany and in central Europe through marriages to heiresses. Frederick's son Maximilian carried that matrimonial policy to heights of unequalled brilliance. First he himself in 1477 married the heiress of Burgundy, Charles the Bold's daughter Mary, with the result that the House of Habsburg, in the person of their son Philip, inherited the greater part of Charles the Bold's widespread dominions: not the duchy of Burgundy itself, which the French seized, but Artois, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the County of Burgundy or Franche Comté. Secondly, though he failed after Mary's death in 1482 to secure Brittany also by a similar coup (France frustrated his proxy marriage to the Breton heiress Anne), he procured Philip's marriage, in 1496, to Joan, prospective heiress of Castile and Aragon: thus securing for his family not only Spain, with Naples–Sicily and Sardinia, but also the immense dominions the Spaniards were about to conquer in America. Maximilian's matrimonial achievements were the occasion of the famous hexameter Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube ("Let others wage wars: you, fortunate Austria, marry").
Since Philip I of Castile died prematurely, his son was already ruler of the Burgundian heritage and of Spain when, in 1519, he succeeded Maximilian as ruler of the Habsburgs' Austrian territories. In the same year, he was elected Holy Roman emperor as Charles V.
The threat of force as well as an enormous expenditure in bribes was necessary to secure Charles's election. Besides the fact that many of the German princes were reluctant to saddle themselves with so mighty a sovereign, there was the opposition of France, which saw itself already half-encircled, from the northeast clockwise to the southwest, by Charles's possessions. Dating from Maximilian's Burgundian marriage, antagonism between the French kings and the Habsburgs was to persist, to the progressive detriment of the latter, until the middle of the 18th century, and until the second half of the 17th the other European powers would mostly sympathize with France. The Habsburgs in the 16th century were too formidable not to provoke envy and anxiety.
Charles V's responsibilities at the time of his becoming emperor were moreover too great for one man to assume, as he himself could acknowledge: they had to be divided. By the Treaty of Brussels (1522) he assigned the Habsburg-Austrian hereditary lands to his brother, the future emperor Ferdinand I. In 1521 Ferdinand had married Anna, daughter of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia; and Louis II's untimely death in 1526, after his defeat by the Turks in the Battle of Mohács, prompted Ferdinand to stand as candidate for his succession, to which, despite rivals, he was elected.
Power and weakness
The Habsburgs reached the zenith of their power before the end of the 16th century: the duchy of Milan, annexed by Charles V in 1535, was assigned by him to his son, the future Philip II of Spain, in 1540; Philip II conquered Portugal in 1580; and the Spanish dominions in America were ever expanding. There were, however, three faults in the power structure—two of them historical accidents, the third an effect of the Habsburg dynasty's own measures for self-preservation.
In the first place, the ascendancy of Charles V coincided with the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, which was to spread turmoil for decades over Europe from the Netherlands to Hungary. As Charles, from his Spanish upbringing, was imbued with ideas of Catholic uniformity and as his successors, with the exception of the enigmatic Maximilian II, sought also to realize those ideas, religious resistance to the Habsburgs' authority came to aggravate or to camouflage political resistance. At the same time, the papacy, overawed though it was by the Spanish military presence in Italy, did not always subscribe to the Habsburg's special policy for Catholicism.
Secondly, Ferdinand's accession to Hungary meant that the Habsburgs had to bear the brunt of the Ottoman Turkish drive from the Balkans into central Europe, just as Habsburg Spain had to confront Turkish incursions into the western Mediterranean. The great victory of Lepanto (1571), won by Charles V's natural son, Juan de Austria, did not end those troubles, which were exploited, against the dynasty, by Hungarian dissidents and, more covertly, by France.
The third flaw in the Habsburg edifice was latent in the 16th century. Mindful of what they had won by marriages, the Habsburgs sought to preclude rival dynasties from turning the tables on them by the same means: to keep their heritage in their own hands, they began to intermarry more and more frequently among themselves. The result, in a few generations, was a fatal inbreeding that brought the male line of Charles V to extinction.
Bloodlines and conflict
By a series of abdications toward the end of his life, Charles V transferred his Burgundian, Spanish, and Italian possessions to his son Philip II and his functions as emperor to his brother Ferdinand, who succeeded him formally as such after his death (1558). That division of the dynasty between imperial and Spanish lines was definitive: Ferdinand's male descendants were Holy Roman emperors until 1740, Philip's were kings of Spain until 1700. The imperial line was inevitably concerned to maintain its position in Bohemia and to assert itself against the Turks in divided Hungary, because the loss of the two kingdoms would have meant the reduction of its possessions to what the Habsburgs had had hereditarily before Frederick III's time (the Austrian duchies and scattered holdings in Swabia and in Alsace)—a reduction that in turn would have compromised its chances of continuing to be elected to the German kingship. Philip II of Spain remained territorially the greatest sovereign in the Western world until his death in 1598; but the Revolt of the Netherlands (see Low Countries, history of), which he proved unable to subdue, was an irritation that his English and French enemies did their worst to inflame.
Cooperation between imperial and Spanish Habsburgs in the 17th century failed to maintain the hegemony that the dynasty had enjoyed in the 16th. For the imperial line, religious troubles in Germany and in central Europe went on even when the domestic conflict between the insane emperor Rudolf II and his brothers was over (1612); and the Bohemian insurrection of 1618 gave rise to that chain of wars involving the Austrian Habsburgs that, because it was prolonged until 1648, is known conventionally as the Thirty Years' War. For the Spanish Habsburgs, their truce of 1609 with the Dutch ended in 1621, whereupon the renewed conflict in the Netherlands became merged with the struggles of their Austrian cousins. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) finally abolished Habsburg sovereignty over the northern Netherlands, severely restricted the emperor's authority over the other German princes, and transferred the Habsburg lands in Alsace to France; however, the ordinance of 1627, whereby the Bohemian crown had been converted into a hereditary one for the Habsburgs, was permitted to stand.
France from the late 1620s had made the most of the Thirty Years' War to distress the Habsburgs of both lines, and peace with the imperial line did not prevent France from continuing its war against the Spanish until 1659, when by the Peace of the Pyrenees it obtained Gravelines, most of Artois, and part of Hainaut, together with some places south of Luxembourg.
The next 30 years saw the end of the Habsburg dynasty's claim to European hegemony in any real sense. The aggressions of Louis XIV of France, from 1667 onward, took territory after territory from the Spanish Habsburgs—large parts of Flanders, the rest of Artois, and other areas in the Netherlands, as well as the whole Franche Comté and, in 1684, the stronghold of Luxembourg—and demonstrated at the same time that the imperial Habsburgs, preoccupied as they were with the Turkish assault from Hungary, could not effectively defend the German frontier west of the Rhine. After being saved from the crisis of the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, the imperial Habsburgs did indeed obtain one dynastically significant success—the conversion, in 1687, of the Hungarian crown into an hereditary one for themselves—but by that time it was plain to Europe that the most formidable dynasty was no longer the Habsburg but the Bourbon. In the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) the rising powers that 100 years earlier had been Habsburg Spain's principal enemies and feeble France's most fluent encouragers, the Dutch and English, led those supporting the Habsburgs against Louis XIV.
Apart from the Bourbon ascendancy, there was a further reason for other powers to watch with jealous solicitude over the fate of Spain. The physical debility of Charles II of Spain was such that no male heir could be expected to be born to him, and the question of his succession was one of great concern to the European powers. Up to 1699 it was understood that his crowns would pass to the electoral prince of Bavaria, Joseph Ferdinand, son of his niece Maria Antonia, daughter of the emperor Leopold I. That arrangement was generally acceptable because, by transferring the Spanish inheritance to the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach, it would not necessarily upset the balance of power between the imperial Habsburgs and Bourbon France. In 1699, however, when Joseph Ferdinand died, the moribund Charles II's next natural heirs were the descendants (1) of his half-sister, who had married Louis XIV of France, and (2) of his father's two sisters, of whom one had been Louis XIV's mother and the other the emperor Leopold I's. Critical tension developed: on the one hand neither the imperial Habsburgs nor their British and Dutch friends could consent to their Bourbon enemy's acquiring the whole Spanish inheritance; on the other neither Bourbon France nor its British and Dutch enemies wanted to see an imperial Habsburg reunite in one pair of hands most of what the emperor Charles V had had in 1519. Charles II in the meantime regarded any partition of his inheritance as a humiliation to Spain: dying in 1700, he named as his sole heir a Bourbon prince, Philip of Anjou, the second of Louis XIV's grandsons. The War of the Spanish Succession ensued.
The Habsburg succession in the 18th century
To allay British and Dutch misgivings, Leopold I and his elder son, the future emperor Joseph I, in 1703 renounced their own claims to Spain in favour of Joseph's brother Charles, so that he might found a second line of Spanish Habsburgs distinct from the imperial; but when Joseph I died, leaving only daughters, in 1711, and was succeeded by his brother as emperor (Charles VI) and as ruler of the Austrian, Bohemian, and Hungarian lands, the British and the Dutch lost interest in making him king of Spain and together began serious negotiations with France. Their Treaties of Utrecht (1713), which recognized the Bourbon accession to Spain and to Spanish America, virtually forced the hand of the reluctant Charles, who made peace with France by the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714: out of the whole inheritance of the Spanish Habsburgs, he had finally to content himself with the southern Netherlands and with the former Spanish possessions on the mainland of Italy, together with Mantua (annexed by him in 1708) and Sardinia. Sardinia, however, was exchanged by him in 1717 for Sicily, which the peacemakers of Utrecht had assigned to the House of Savoy. With characteristic obstinacy, Charles remained technically at war with Bourbon Spain until 1720, when an armistice was declared (formal recognition of the Bourbon accession came only in 1725).
Meanwhile the extinction of the Spanish Habsburgs' male line and the death of his brother Joseph left Charles, in 1711, as the last male Habsburg. He had therefore to consider what should happen after his death. No woman could rule the Holy Roman Empire, and furthermore the Habsburg succession in some of the hereditary lands was assured only to the male line. In order, therefore, to secure the indivisibility of his Habsburg inheritance he issued his famous Pragmatic Sanction of April 19, 1713, prescribing that, in the event of his dying sonless, the whole inheritance should pass (1) to a daughter of his, according to the rule of primogeniture, and thence to her descendants; next (2) if he himself left no daughter, to his late brother's daughters, under the same conditions; and finally (3) if his nieces' line was extinct, to the heirs of his paternal aunts. The attempt to win general recognition for his Pragmatic Sanction was Charles VI's main concern from 1716 onward (his baby son died in that year). By 1738, at the end of the War of the Polish Succession (in which he lost both Naples and Sicily to a Spanish Bourbon but got Parma and Piacenza for the Habsburgs in compensation), he seemed to have won his point: Saxony, Bavaria (grudgingly and with an express reservation), Spain, Russia, Prussia, Hanover-England, and finally France (with a reservation about third-party rights) had all, in one way or another, acknowledged the Pragmatic Sanction. His hopes were illusory: less than two months after his death, in 1740, his daughter Maria Theresa had to face a Prussian invasion of Silesia, which unleashed the War of the Austrian Succession. Bavaria then promptly challenged the Habsburg position in Germany; and France's support of Bavaria encouraged Saxony to follow suit and Spain to try to oust the Habsburgs from Lombardy. Great Britain came, late enough, to support Maria Theresa rather out of hostility toward France than out of loyalty to the Pragmatic Sanction.


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Here's a quick update on the status of my new book, The Devil's to Pay: John Buford at Gettysburg. A History and Walking Tour. As I write this, it's ranked 4,221 out of the many millions of books sold on Amazon, and is sitting at number 1 on the list of Gettysburg books. That's the highest ranking any of my books has ever had on Amazon. The first printing was sold out before it ever went to the bindery. Not even a month later, the second printing is nearly sold out too, and a third printing is going to be ordered very shortly. Since it's selling like crazy, if you want a copy, be sure to order one from …
The Buckland Races
A song by J.E.B. Stuart
Come listen to me, ladies,
A story I'll relate.
Which happened in the eastern part
Of the Old Dominion State
Away down at New Baltimore,
On a day of Autumn bright.
The Yankee braggadocio
Was whipped clear out of sight.
CHORUS: Hurrah for Kil!
Who ran with such a will!
He distanced every nag that day
In the race at Buckland Mill.
It was the "Buckland races,"
Far famed through old Fauqu'er,
With Stuart before their faces,
Fitz Lee came in their rear;
And such another stampede
Has never yet been seen.
Poor Kil led off at top speed,
And many a Wolverine.
CHORUS: Hurrah for Kil!
Who ran with such a …
Last month, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the first annual symposium put on by my friends at Emerging Civil War. A camera crew from C-SPAN was there to record the entire program. I've just learned that my talk, which was on the Battle of Trevilian Station, will air twice on C-SPAN 3 twice this upcoming Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 6:00 PM and 10:00 PM as part of C-SPAN's American History TV series. Please check it out!Scridb filter…
With much gratitude to Al Eelman of Philadelphia, who was kind enough to share both this photo and the accompanying narrative with me. For a larger version of the photo, click the image.
I often tell the stories of forgotten cavalrymen. Today, I get to tell the story of a cavalryman's horse, which is not something that I get to do very often. When I saw this photo and heard the story associated with it, I had to share it with you. Hence, I bring you this forgotten cavalryman story.
As some of you may know, a number of years ago, I edited and published a new edition of the memoir of the Appomattox Campaign written by Lt. Col. Fredric …
The soldier in the image is Lt. Alonzo Cushing, who is set to receive a Medal of Honor on September 15, 2014, 151+ years after his death at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. Of the following facts, there is no dispute or doubt: Alonzo Cushing was a brave and very capable young soldier who died as a hero. Cushing, although horribly wounded, stood to his gun and pulled the lanyard, blasting canister into the faces of the Confederate soldiers of Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead's brigade at point-blank range at the climax of the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge. He was an incredibly brave young man who died a hero's death doing his duty. These facts are not in dispute. I admire …
Time for some shameless self-promotion. Over the weekend, I signed off on the page galleys for my newest book, The Devil's to Pay: John Buford at Gettysburg. A History and Walking Tour. The file has been sent to the printer, and in about five weeks, my publisher, Savas Beatie, LLC, will have books.
This is, in many ways, the culmination of my life's work. I began researching what started out as a bio of John Buford not long after Susan and I got married din 1992. This study of John Buford at Gettysburg has been percolating all that time. The book will feature 17 of Phil Laino's excellent maps (including two that have never before been mapped) and …
I received the following challenge:
List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't over think it. They don't have to be the "right" books or great works of literature, just books that have impacted you in some way.
So, here goes, in no particular order:
1. The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. This was the one that started it all for me. Bruce Catton's wonderful prose and THE coolest maps ever made.
2. William Manchester's marvelous The Arms of Krupp, 1587-1968. My master's thesis was a direct result of having read this book.
3. Carlo D'Este, Patton: A Genius for War. Simply put, THE finest military biography that I have …
I have long been an enthusiastic supporter of the gang at Emerging Civil War. Chris Mackowski and Kris White founded Emerging Civil War to create a place for the next generation of Civil War historians to try out their voices. And they have formed a very talented team that includes Chris Kolakowski (whom I've known for about 10 years now), Dan Davis, Phil Greenwalt, Rob Orrison, Meg Thompson, and others. As I travel around the country, I see far, far more gray hair in the groups that attend the events where I speak and too few young people. Consequently, I constantly worry about the future of Civil War scholarship.
I'm pleased to tell you that after attending an event …
Today is a happy day. The demolition of the Fleetwood Hill McMansion and the brick ranch house in front of it has begun!
Thank you to everyone who donated to make this long-awaited day possible.
From today's Fredericksburg Freelance-Star:
Brandy Station battle site is being restored
History lovers, rejoice.
On Saturday, the Civil War Trust began restoring the most important scene of America's largest cavalry battle, Fleetwood Hill near the village of Brandy Station in Culpeper County.
Spotsylvania County contractor J.K Wolfrey is removing a garage and brick ranch house—one of two modern dwellings—on the 56-acre property, said Jim Campi, director of policy and communications for the national nonprofit trust.
The strategic
My world, and welcome to it. 🙂
The stuff that people feel that they have to share with us at book signings is pretty astounding.
Please don't mistake my sarcasm for a lack of gratitude. I really appreciate it that folks feel like they can approach me and for the most part, I enjoy the interactions. Every now and again, someone will bring something to my attention that is of great interest to me, and I completely lose myself in the conversation. As just one example, at one of my first speaking engagements after my book Glory Enough for All: The Battle of Trevilian Station and Sheridan's Second Raid was published, a fellow approached me and handed me a copy …


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|You are in: Business
Thursday, 17 May, 2001, 14:12 GMT 15:12 UK
Mobile internet boosts NTT profits
Japan's largest telecoms group NTT has said that its mobile internet service is powering profits but its fixed telephone line business is weak.
The company unveiled profits after tax in the year to the end of March at about 464bn yen ($3.76bn), against a 67bn yen loss the year before.
It also forecast that net profits in the current financial year would plunge 72% as it faces growing competition in the market for local calls.
NTT's subsidiary DoCoMo is best known for its groundbreaking i-mode service, which allows subscribers to surf the web on their mobile phones.
DoCoMo made a record 365.5bn yen profit after tax for the year, about 87% of the group's total.
But results from the company's fixed line business were weak.
"They are not very good. The numbers could have been better," NTT president Junichiro Miyazu said at a news conference.
The results were broadly in line with analysts' forecasts of between 230bn-540bn yen. Although some were speculating that NTT might have to implement job cuts in a bid to remain profitable.
i-mode 'hugely popular'
DoCoMo's i-mode is hugely popular in Japan, used by more than 23 million subscribers who surf the web on credit-card-sized screens.
The company has said that it expects to have about 30 million i-mode subscribers by the end of the current business year - a forecast some analysts have said is conservative.
DoCoMo has a hold on 60% of the market for mobile phones in Japan.
It is that explosion in mobile phone use that, conversely, has taken business away from NTT's fixed line business.
Although a US-Japan trade pact last year also lowered fees for NTT's rivals, allowing more to enter the market, providing services for homes and businesses.
See also:
09 May 01 | Business
DoCoMo defies telecoms gloom
24 Apr 01 | Business
DoCoMo: Racing to 3G launch
18 Jan 01 | Business
The i-mode comes to Europe
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aaahhh slowly the madness of society is creeping in on surfing as if the freezing air and 38 degree water can barely keep it away, I was bored so i read through this and A) Most people don't like sharing info about the breaks they surf regularly through an internet forum B) The spot you guys are talking looks just as good as any northeast wave on a big winter swell so there are plenty of spots to go to and C) Surfing is inherently a selfish activity but when you're out in the big atlantic with a few other nuts show some love!
Results 91 to 98 of 98
Thread: Indian River South side question
the waves
The Peir
Did you ever see majicseeweeds report for indian river. Its Twice their report for OC every day. That sight is off. Theirs no chance that they are that big. 8================]
Last edited by DPR; Feb 8, 2008 at 12:51 AM. Reason: I do what i want. 8================]
this is quite the thread
Indian River SS vs. Ocean City
Everyone gets so emotional about this topic but what is the difference between them both?
Feb 10, 2008, 11:35 AM #95Senior Member
- Join Date
- May 2006
- Location
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts
- 150
- Images
- 26
carson is right about that
Why to not ask
This forum is why you don't ask about surf spots.
Mar 13, 2008, 04:53 PM #98Senior Member
- Join Date
- May 2006
- Location
- Baltimore, MD
- Posts
- 150
- Images
- 26
Now that we have that straightened out. By reposting in this particular topic, thereby resurrecting it, you have perpetuated the very thing you were attempting to illustrate as being a negative. I guess you could call it a double fvck up.


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Planet Ubuntu Needs More Awesome - Conclusion
Could Planet Ubuntu be made more awesome? Definitely. Planet Ubuntu is not as useful as it could be and we are aiming too low. Let's reboot it.
In conclusion (and interpreting that I collected and summarized here and here):
Readers of Planet Ubuntu are loyal. They say that they derive value from the site but they want more. Planet Ubuntu is an important part of the Ubuntu information landscape. Let's admit that and let's give it the attention and maintenance it deserves.
Planet Ubuntu is nearly as important to Ubuntu as www.ubuntu.com as it represents the real pulse of the Ubuntu project as seen through the eyes of its contributors, potentially *all* of them. It does not have a commercial angle, nor does it present Ubuntu in the uni-dimensional "software-y" way that most privately run Ubuntu news sites do. In fact, Planet Ubuntu reminds us that *"Ubuntu is not just software"*. No other site has the potential to send that message as loudly and clearly. Name a proprietary platform that is anything except software for the extraction of profit for a select few at the expense of everyone else. See why the "Ubuntu is not just software" message is important?
I recommend that we work hard to measure our audience size, publish it, then set goals to expand our readership *well* beyond the current echo chamber that consists mainly of Ubuntu Members (and "free software enthusiasts/contributors"). We cannot improve what we cannot measure.
Let's re-frame Planet Ubuntu as *the* place for authoritative goings-on in the Ubuntu project as written by those who are passionate about making Ubuntu. Let's ditch the current tagline "Planet Ubuntu is a window into the world, work and lives of Ubuntu developers and contributors." This tagline opens the door to ambiguity and confusion of our readers. I can imagine someone new to Ubuntu coming to Planet Ubuntu and seeing that most of the posts have nothing to do with Ubuntu. The signal that sends is "Ubuntu is not important enough for even its contributors to write about." Perception becomes reality.
Let's not water down the site with random tidbits of unrelated content. This infuriates (yes, that strong a word) people who come to the site looking for a pulse on the Ubuntu project. I personally feel that it is disrespectful (or at least in bad taste) to use the popularity of Planet Ubuntu as a springboard for one's personal projects and topics completely unrelated to Ubuntu. I'm not saying that's always the motivation of those who post unrelated content, but I *am* saying that it happens. Plus, everyone who posts to Planet Ubuntu has their own personal blog anyways. What's the point of shipping irrelevant information to the eyeballs of people who crave Ubuntu information?
If we cannot enforce a "stay on topic" rule, then I recommend that we consider moderation and/or emphasis/de-emphasis of submitted articles based on the relevance to Ubuntu. This moderation could be crowd-sourced or automated.
I recommend that we adopt a zero tolerance rule for Ubuntu CoC violations, deleting posts that do not comply in no longer than 5 minutes or 500 page views, whichever occurs first. Authors that violate the Ubuntu CoC should be removed using a "three-strikes and you're out" rule. I recommend that we remove authors that have not posted Ubuntu content during a span of one year.
I recommend that we extend Planet Ubuntu authorship well beyond Ubuntu Members. Let's identify people who are truly passionate about Ubuntu and who live and breathe it. Let's get past the notion that blogging about Ubuntu requires membership in an exclusive club. Let's encourage and people who do a lot for Ubuntu but who never get a voice to step forward and help write the content of the site. Let's embrace our community members inside Canonical and respect them for what they are: passionate and dedicated Ubuntu contributors.
Let's change the look of Planet Ubuntu. Let's make it more modern and more interactive. Let's make it work well on all the screen sizes (form factors) that Ubuntu supports. Let's choose a platform that we make and control, or at least one that does not use us. We are tired of being used.
In conclusion, Planet Ubuntu has the potential to be *much* more awesome, and we should seriously consider making it *the* place to visit for all things Ubuntu by rebooting it.
Thank you, and a call for assistance.
This concludes my series on making Planet Ubuntu awesome again. If you have additional thoughts and constructive suggestions kindly share your thoughts in the comments. If you would like to help champion a blueprint or work items to bring these improvements to fruition, please raise your hand.
Planet Ubuntu Needs More Awesome - Part 2
In Part 1, I presented some of the results of my surveys about Planet Ubuntu from late 2013. Didn't read the summary? There's still time! What better a way to start your day?
With that behind us, let's dive into Part 2 of my promised summary along with additional bonus colour-commentary and recommendations not available anywhere else (at any price.)
Planet Ubuntu needs a makeover.
Survey Says:
There is a strong indication that people want a "new and improved" Planet Ubuntu.
Colour Commentary:
I'm firmly of the same opinion. Planet Ubuntu looks creaky and awkward. It's a throwback to an earlier era of web design. Interactivity? Not there. It also doesn't present well on different form factors. Have you ever tried reading it on Ubuntu Touch? Were you happy with the result? I could go on and on, but suffice to say there's room for improvement.
Some of you might be thinking "Why bother? There are plenty of other social web platforms that we could use as an Ubuntu blog. Why not just use ______." The problem with the word that's usually on top of that blank is that it's always out of our control, often predatory, and usually a bad idea in the long run. The best chance we have to shape the personality of one of the most prominent sites about Ubuntu is to actually maintain control of it. Planet Ubuntu reflects on Ubuntu whether we want to admit it or not. Let's admit it and make Planet Ubuntu great again.
Randall Concludes:
Let's reboot it.
Survey Says:
Ignoring the fence-sitters, people want Ubuntu stories to have prominence, by a factor of two to one.
Colour Commentary:
I was a little surprised by how many people don't care one way or another. That aside, the majority vote for increased prominence of Ubuntu-related content is encouraging. I think this represents a good compromise for people who are insistent about blogging about non-Ubuntu topics on an Ubuntu site. (Yes, there are some who are.) Give them a small place, but not a place that detracts from the main event. Maybe the "real estate" a story gets should be proportional to the amount of Ubuntu content it contains. The mechanism for determining that would have to be designed, but it's an idea that has merit.
Randall Concludes:
Ubuntu-centric stories should be granted more prominence.
Survey Says:
Colour Commentary:
People have no idea how widely (or not) Planet Ubuntu is read. Some think it's amongst the top sites on the web, and others swear it's nothing but cob webs and tumble weeds. This isn't really surprising since the site doesn't publish any stats, and in the absence of data people will make up some wild assumptions. If we want Planet Ubuntu to have as wide a readership as possible, which IS what we want, then perhaps an important first step would be to insert analytics, or even a simple page view counter that can be graphed over time. That way, well be able to see if we're as popular as we need to be.
Randall Concludes:
Publish page view stats ASAP. We cannot improve what we cannot measure.
Survey Says:
People want Planet Ubuntu authors to abide by the Ubuntu Code of Conduct.
Colour Commentary:
This was a bit of an accidental poll. While I was in the midst of my polling activities an unfortunate article that was a clear violation of the CoC and in poor taste was posted. What surprised (and disappointed) me is how long it took to take it down. Thankfully it was removed, but who knows how many people saw the article and now associate Ubuntu with something crass and juvenile?
Adding even more disappointment, the article was from someone who wasn't even an Ubuntu Member any more. So, it should never even have been posted in the first place.
And, adding *even more* disappointment, an effort to clean up the list of people who could post to Planet Ubuntu had been languishing for months.
Randall Concludes:
Maintain the site. (Looking in the direction of Community Council). Take down CoC violations with haste (i.e. in minutes, not hours). If you don't have the time/bandwidth, then delegate, or increase your numbers.
Survey Says:
Nearly an even split.
Colour Commentary:
Given that there's a desire to make Ubuntu stories more prominent (see above), I'm curious to know what mechanism the people who don't want up-voting would use to make this happen. Perhaps an algorithm that scans for keywords and adjusts prominence accordingly? Or, maybe we could leave the decision to a panel of experts? I don't think either of these options have merit. I advocate that we use a system of up-voting by a group of people that are passionate about Ubuntu and are actively contributing to it day-in, day-out. Perhaps Ubuntu Members would be a good start for a group of up-voters?
Randall Concludes:
We need a reliable way to make Ubuntu articles prominent. Up-voting is that way.
To be continued...
I will wrap up the series in my next post with general conclusions and a prescription on how to make Planet Ubuntu awesome again. In the meantime, please share your thoughts in the comments.
Planet Ubuntu Needs More Awesome - Part 1
Could Planet Ubuntu be made more awesome? How would we do it? Where would we start? Perhaps we'd start by seeing who reads it and what those people actually think about it. During the latter weeks of 2013 I conducted a series of polls (on my blog) to determine just that. Going into this effort, I had my opinions. Some of them were validated. Some were not.
What follows is my promised summary of the survey results along with my bonus colour-commentary and recommendations.
Planet Ubuntu has the potential to be *much* more awesome, and we should seriously consider making it *the* place to visit for all things Ubuntu.
Survey Says:
Members outnumber non-members by a factor of two (give-or-take) as readers of Planet Ubuntu.
Colour Commentary:
I was surprised that the margin wasn't a *lot* bigger. I was expecting a factor of at least 10:1, and certainly not 2:1! Planet Ubuntu is an echo chamber - a place where primarily Ubuntu members speak to themselves. Could we do better? Yes! Why not make Planet Ubuntu a place for everyone? Why not make it *the* place where people (of all types, not just Ubuntu members) come to get the latest information about Ubuntu's collaborators and their Ubuntu thoughts? If this were to be our focus, I think we'd see a lot better news and information on other sites too as they would be hard-pressed to slant their stories (or to miss the point entirely) when the people who are actually building Ubuntu are presenting matters clearly and to a wide audience on a very public site.
Randall Concludes:
We need to make Planet Ubuntu appeal to everyone. We need to make it read primarily by non-members. The ratio needs to be at least 1000:1.
Survey Says: By a wide margin, readers perceive that they derive value from Planet Ubuntu.
Colour Commentary:
This is a very surprising result, and I must admit, I don't share the same opinion. To me, Planet Ubuntu has drifted far away from where it was a few years ago. I can recall visiting daily in those days and reading all kinds of really interesting news and commentary, mostly about Ubuntu, and specifically from people who were at the core of a lot of Ubuntu goings-on. Now, when I come to Planet Ubuntu, I am generally disappointed to find that most of it is not about Ubuntu, and the core contributors rarely chime in. Instead, we have people that perhaps were once really interested and involved in Ubuntu who now have new pet-projects and want to showcase them. I'm all for learning about what people are working on these days, but Planet Ubuntu ought to be mainly about Ubuntu.
Randall Concludes:
I'm going to agree to disagree and be in the minority here. Planet Ubuntu is not as useful as it could be. We are aiming too low.
Survey Says: People primarily want Planet Ubuntu people to be written by "Ubuntu people", but not necessarily Ubuntu members. Then there are some that want to introduce a Canonical relationship, but only for authors who don't work for Canonical.
Colour Commentary:
I'm surprised by the Canonical (or Mark) selected result. This tells me there is pent-up demand for a more official voice, or more core-contributor stories but reluctance to restrict to the direct voice of Canonical employees.
There is also demand to let in authors who are Ubuntu contributors but not necessarily Ubuntu members. Overall the data suggests a need to expand authorship. Perhaps Ubuntu Members aren't pulling their blogging weight.
Randall Concludes:
Let's open up Planet Ubuntu to people who have real passion for Ubuntu and who live and breathe it daily. That might mean forgoing the requirement to be an Ubuntu Member, and replacing that requirement with something along the lines of "must have a demonstrated and sustained passion for Ubuntu".
Survey Says: Most people want Planet Ubuntu to be about Ubuntu.
Colour Commentary:
This is expected, and I fully agree. I want Planet Ubuntu to live up to its name. I would love it if people writing there would keep their articles focused, at least to the point there's a clear Ubuntu tie-in. That's what makes it worthy of a read instead of the gerjillion other sites on the web that aren't about Ubuntu. Do we really need a site that has Ubuntu in its name that is primarily not about Ubuntu?
Here's an anecdote. Back in the early 2000's, 2002 I recall, there was a period of time where the USA (government) was considering an invasion of Iraq. At the same time, there was a large popular movement and demonstrations/marches against the idea. I was in San Francisco at the time, and recall seeing large numbers of people marching on Van Ness Ave, near SF City Hall carrying placards saying "No Invasion", "Peace not War", i.e. stuff one would expect to see at an anti-invasion demonstration. In the same march, I also saw placards with slogans like "End Poverty", "Stop Animal Cruelty", and other noteworthy causes. What struck me about this was just how out of place they were and how obvious it was that some were trying to capitalize on the popularity of the demonstration for other "pet" causes. I was saddened that the main cause was being diluted. (Note that I'm not saying these other causes were not worthy, but I am saying that this was not the place for them. People were trying to stop a war.)
Randall Concludes:
I'm going advocate that we keep Planet Ubuntu about Ubuntu and encourage everyone who writes here to respect the stated title of the site.
Survey Says: Planet Ubuntu is a "watering hole". Our readers come here often.
Colour Commentary:
This is encouraging in that it shows that we have reader loyalty. People keep coming back. This doesn't say why though. Are people coming back in the hopes that there will be something interesting about Ubuntu? When they arrive are they pleasantly surprised? Or, are they like me and longing for more Ubuntu? This survey question begs for more questions to get at the reasons.
Randall Concludes:
We have loyal readers. Let's find out why.
To be continued...
I will continue with a summary of results 6 through 10 soon. In the meantime, please share your thoughts in the comments.
Fighting the "War on Ignorance"
I started this blog three and a half years ago with the headline "Amplify the Signal". In general, that sentence has served me well. But recently, I've been thinking if there's a clearer statement I can make to state my intent.
Then on Friday, a close Ubuntu friend asked me, "Why are you so passionate about Ubuntu?"
In a nearly automatic way, it all "clicked" at that moment. I blurted out "I believe the most important battle to fight is the one against ignorance, and Ubuntu is the best way to do it." Let me explain...
People mostly have their attention siphoned to the crappiest and most caustic drivel the web has to offer. I don't need to name sites and content. You know the places. Littered with ads, useless trivia, minutia, stuff that is so far from mattering that it's brutally painful. Meanwhile the world rots.
To quote Lessig, "We need to get to the root of the problem." (He thinks it's political funding, but he's wrong.) The real root of the problem is the world's diet of "junk information". Like junk food, "junk information" is toxic, it causes mental diabetes, and it's everywhere. It is foisted upon people as soon as they fire up their browsers. It's a predetermined path. The second people power on their devices their proprietary systems take them to the "properties" they are supposed to see. You know, the ones that fund the mansions of the predatory 1%. The sociopaths.
So, today, I'm declaring the "War on Ignorance", and I'm adding that tagline to my blog. It is unacceptable to prey on other people through the use of technology that breeds ignorance, and the war is hereby declared.
Enter our weapon: Ubuntu. It's ours. It's free. It's a clear channel that obeys our wishes, and more importantly our Mom's wishes, and takes us to places on the web where *we* want to go. Places that can teach us what's really going on and how to make the world a better place. Places that respect us.
There's only one catch. (Relatively) no one knows about Ubuntu. And this my friends is the first thing we must fix. We can't win the war until Ubuntu is front and foremost in the minds of everyone we know. Ubuntu not only needs to be top of mind, but it needs to be the spotlight that makes it obvious that every proprietary system is predatory and socially unacceptable. In fact let's not even use the term proprietary any more. Let's just call these systems what they are: *predatory*.
Will you help me win the war? Will you help me end the ignorance of Ubuntu and thereby end ignorance. Let's make this our top priority. Let's attack the root of the problem.
> Fighting the "War on Ignorance".
Image cc-by-nc 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliejohnson/2051377206/
Planet Awesome! Poll #10 (and final one!)
Is your Planet really awesome? Could it be made more awesome by massively growing its audience?
Please click through for Poll Question #10, which is the final poll question in this highly controversial series!
Thanks in advance for participating, and thanks all for your answers on questions 1 through 9. Once this poll closes, we'll all enjoy an analysis and summary, and maybe even a new Planet.
I was asking some basic questions in order to gauge the audience, relevance, and usefulness of Planet Ubuntu. I had my opinions, but I wanted to see what the data said.
Got an idea for an enhancement for Planet Ubuntu that hasn't been polled? Please share it! Let the world know.
People should be able to "up-vote" the content they want to be most prominent on Planet Ubuntu
Ubuntu. We're Going to Mars!
Ubuntu Friends,
Some news from Ubuntu Vancouver and also from our sister group, Ubuntu Mars:
In 1975, NASA launched the historic billion–dollar mission to land on Mars and to photograph its surface. It was the most ambitious space science project in history and it was a resounding success. Well, almost...
All but a few images were lost. Why? Depending on who you ask, you'll get a bunch of excuses, apologies, or even silence. My best information (from the source) tells me it was a result of data loss, indirectly related to the misapplication of proprietary software and tools to a public mission. Proprietary software has no place in projects that are funded by the public for the public. Lesson learned? Hopefully.
A few years back, when I was just getting started building Ubuntu Vancouver, I met Kip Warner who introduced me to one of the most profound and interesting projects I had ever heard of: a project to create a game on Ubuntu that would allow people to design a new society based on Mars as a way to learn why Earth is broken and how to build a future society that actually works.
There was just a *tiny* snag: In order to get the imagery to create the game, Kip and his crew had to first recover the Viking images.
Good news! They did it! The ground-breaking software originally intended as an internal research tool, is now available.(It's licensed under GPLv3, and totally rockin' on Ubuntu),
You too can experience the Mars imagery in its true and original glory by going here:
The team will have a lot more to showcase with you over the coming weeks, including already complete beautiful concept artwork.
Thanks for helping us with this important mission!
See you on Mars!
Do you live in Vancouver? Join us!
Want to help with the Mars mission? Join us!
No Ubuntu group in your city or town? Join us!
The appropriate action for a Planet Ubuntu article that violates Ubuntu's Code of Conduct should be the following:
Planet Awesome! Poll #9
Is your Planet really awesome? Could it be made more awesome by massively growing its audience?
Please click through for Poll Question #9.
Thanks in advance for participating.
I am asking some basic questions in order to gauge the audience, relevance, and usefulness of Planet Ubuntu. I have my opinions, but I would like to see what the data says.
All poll results will be summarized and published here.
Got an idea for an enhancement for Planet Ubuntu? Please share it! Let the world know.
Not an Ubuntu member (and can't post to Planet Ubuntu)? If you have a poll question you'd like me to ask, just ask (in the comments)!
Planet Awesome! Poll #8
Is your Planet really awesome? Could it be made more awesome by massively growing its audience?
Please click through for Poll Question #8.
Thanks in advance for participating.
I am asking some basic questions in order to gauge the audience, relevance, and usefulness of Planet Ubuntu. I have my opinions, but I would like to see what the data says.
All poll results will be summarized and published here.
Got an idea for an enhancement for Planet Ubuntu? Please share it! Let the world know.
Not an Ubuntu member (and can't post to Planet Ubuntu)? If you have a poll question you'd like me to ask, just ask (in the comments)!


text:
Phone Shop: Series 1 and 2 DVD
Starring Tom Bennett, Andrew Brooke, Javone Prince, Martin Trenaman, Emma Fryer, Juliet Cowan
All 12 episodes from series 1 and 2 of the British sitcom set in a high street mobile phone store.
The show follows new employee Christopher (Tom Bennett) as he settles into his job and gets into various predicaments along with his fellow workers, Ashley (Andrew Brooke), Jerwayne (Javone Prince), Janine (Emma Fryer) and manager Lance (Martin Trenaman).
Series one episodes are: 'Doctor Who', 'Never On a Tuesday', 'The First Temptation of Chris', 'Bear Bad Man', 'Salesman of the Month' and 'Soldier, Swingers, Shelley, Shelley'.
Series two episodes are: 'Lance Got Game', 'It's Training Men', 'The Sleepyman', 'Whatheather', 'Come Dine With We' and 'Revenge of the Razz'.
- Format: DVD
- Region: 2
- Certification: (15)
- Catalogue number: 2EDVD0858
- Studio: 2 Entertain
- Release date: 02/09/2013
- Genre: Comedy
- Colour: Colour
Free Home Delivery
on all orders
Pick up orders
from local bookshops


text:
Product Description
Hang this charming flower bird house anywhere! It's a great gift for use in the home or garden.
This unique birdhouse ís made of naturally water repellant wool, and when it does get wet (mainly on the exterior) it will also naturally dry itself out. Made with other sustainably harvested materials including a braided natural hemp hanging cord and a bamboo perch.
The 1 1/4'' diameter opening is sized for small birds such as wrens, chickadees, titmice and blue birds. It can be enlarged for larger birds as desired. If birds don't choose to nest inside they can pull at the wool for material to feather their own nests. Comes partially filled with recycled paper to maintain the shape in shipping that can easily be removed. If exposed to sun and hard weather, the colors and shape should last over a year in hard weather, and forever in a protected place such as a porch or even inside.
Handmade felt components are created and assembled by skilled artisans working in a fair trade production center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Artisans use 100% natural wool and non-toxic, azo-free dyes. Wool scraps are recycled into new products.
Decorative and entertaining for bird enthusiasts as well as everyday admirers of nature's most amazing creatures...birds!Size: 9" x 4.25".