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JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other U.S. swap dealers would gain limits on the Dodd-Frank Act's reach for overseas trades under a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal released today.
SEC commissioners voted 5-0 to seek comment on measures that would exempt overseas affiliates, including those guaranteed by U.S. banks, from registration when they conduct business predominantly with foreign clients. Overseas branches of U.S. banks could be exempt from Dodd-Frank standards for conduct with clients for equity and some credit swaps.
"This approach would allow the elimination of overlapping regulation when it truly is duplicative, while recognizing that regulatory regimes will necessarily differ in some respects," SEC chairman Mary Jo White said at a meeting in Washington.
The SEC said it hoped the proposal would influence how global regulators address rule differences while working to reduce risk and increase transparency in the swaps market. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is the predominant U.S. regulator for the $639 trillion global swaps market. The SEC, whose staff said the agency oversees 5 percent of the overall market, is writing rules for equity and some credit-default swaps.
"Its influence will clearly not be based on the relative size of the security-based swap market that is supervised by the SEC," Edward J. Rosen, New York-based partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, said of the SEC rules in an e- mail before the meeting. "Any significant impact that this guidance will have will depend entirely on the extent to which it is regarded by the broader U.S and foreign regulatory community as having sensible and well-grounded policy and intellectual underpinnings."
Dodd-Frank, the regulatory expansion enacted in response to the 2008 credit crisis, calls on the SEC and CFTC to have most swaps guaranteed at clearinghouses, traded on exchanges or other platforms and reported to regulators. The U.S. agencies have come under pressure to limit their international reach from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, both based in New York, as well as European, Asian and South American regulators.
Swaps rules under consideration by the SEC and CFTC are fragmenting the global market, nine overseas finance officials said in an April 18 letter urging Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew to limit Dodd-Frank's reach.
"An approach in which jurisdictions require that their own domestic regulatory rules be applied to their firms' derivatives transactions taking place in broadly equivalent regulatory regimes abroad is not sustainable," the officials wrote to Lew, who has no formal role in SEC and CFTC rulemaking.
The cross-border rules is the SEC's first major proposal under White, who took over as chairman on April 10. White told lawmakers during her Senate nomination hearing in March that she would prioritize rules required by Dodd-Frank, which prescribed changes to reduce the risk of repeating the 2008 crisis fueled by unregulated swaps that forced the U.S. to bail out American International Group Inc.
The proposal approved today would govern how other SEC swap rules, many of which haven't been completed, apply in cross-border transactions. The vote releases the proposal for a public-comment period to solicit views on its ideas.
The SEC outlined plans for allowing so-called substituted compliance, recognizing comparable overseas laws and enforcing its own rules when foreign standards aren't sufficient. The proposal seeks to avoid a "line-by-line" comparison of U.S. and foreign laws and take a more flexible approach based on the outcomes of the rules, White said.
Patrick Pearson, head of the European Commission's financial markets infrastructure unit, said during testimony at a House hearing in December that regulators should aim for one set of rules in cross-border transactions. The CFTC's version of substitute compliance was "too modest" and should be "applied more broadly," Pearson said.
The SEC's proposal raises the potential for risk flowing back to the U.S. because of its treatment of overseas affiliates and branches, said Commissioner Luis Aguilar, part of the Democratic majority on the five-member panel.
"Under the proposed rules, two non-guaranteed foreign subsidiaries of two separate U.S. entities could engage in unlimited amounts of security-based swap transactions with each other outside the United States," Aguilar said at the meeting. "The proposed rules seem to assume that any failure by these foreign subsidiaries would not financially affect the U.S. parents."
Barclays Plc, UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG and other overseas-based dealers began registering with U.S. regulators at the end of last year. CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said his agency shouldn't extend a July 12 deadline for other rules to take effect.
"I think that we've got a good approach at the CFTC, but also we have a different law than the SEC," Gensler said yesterday after Bloomberg's Washington Summit. "There may be differences."
The CFTC is willing to work with overseas officials to determine when foreign rules are similar enough that U.S. regulators let them satisfy Dodd-Frank's goals, he said.
"It's been nine months that that guidance has been out there" he said. "It's time for us to finish the deliberative process."
Bloomberg News


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The top U.S. derivatives regulator will vote today to adopt rules to improve protections for customer funds two years after MF Global Holdings Inc. collapsed amid claims the brokerage illegally financed investments by borrowing from client accounts.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was criticized for poor oversight of MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group Inc., whose founder last year admitted stealing more than $100 million from customers. Regulatory exams over the years failed to detect the embezzlement at Peregrine, which happened over almost 20 years.
The CFTC's rule, proposed in October 2012, would give regulators electronic oversight of futures brokers' bank accounts to more closely monitor customer funds. It also would require heightened disclosure of how client collateral is held and tougher auditing standards.
"We put a lot of effort into changing our examination approach," Gary Barnett, the CFTC's director of swap dealer and intermediary oversight, said Oct. 28 at a conference in New York sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. "The meeting will hopefully bring closure to our efforts to update and enhance our customer-protection rules for" commodities brokers.
Futures brokers have objected to a measure in the CFTC's proposal requiring them to set aside additional funds to cover customers' collateral deficits. The CFTC said the change is meant to prevent brokerages from using end-of-day balancing to "obscure a shortfall."
Brokerages say the change would tie up additional capital and would probably lead to higher costs for clients. Some say it would be especially detrimental to small and mid-sized brokers that serve farmers and ranchers.
MF Global, which filed the eighth-largest U.S. bankruptcy in October 2011, is returning money to customers who faced a $1.6 billion shortfall as part of the firm's liquidation. Wrong-way $6.3 billion trades on bonds of some of Europe's most-indebted nations helped destroy the firm and its brokerage unit.

subset: commoncrawl


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Midwest International Piano Competition
Midwest International Piano Competition
Sunday, June 1, 2014 (All day) to Saturday, June 7, 2014 (All day)
The School of Music will host the Midwest International Piano Competition. Join us for the inaugural celebration of this new, biennial, global piano competition. The event is open to outstanding youth and professional performing pianists and audience enthusiasts.
The finals concert for the junior category will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, June 6. The finals concert and receptions for the senior category will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 7. Tickets for both finals concerts are available by calling 319-273-4TIX or visiting www.uni.edu/tickets and selecting "Buy Tickets" under the School of Music heading.
Location: Great Hall, Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center
Contact Information
Name: Caroline Boehmer Email: email@example.com Phone: (319) 273-2028
Link to Event: Midwest Piano Competition
Sunday, June 1, 2014 (All day) to Saturday, June 7, 2014 (All day)


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August 21, 2014 |
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Second candidate, Austin Scieszinski, to run for 15th District state Senate seat
JANESVILLE—Two, possibly three, candidates are lining up to catch the voters' fancies in a local election for state Senate seat.
Austin Scieszinski, a Janesville native, announced today he will run for the 15th Senate District seat.
Scieszinski joins the previously announced Janis Ringhand, Democratic Assembly representative from Evansville, in the race for their party's nomination. Voters will decide in the Aug. 12 primary.
Mike Sheridan, the former Janesville Assembly representative and union activist from Janesville, has said he is close to making a decision on running for state Senate, as well.
In an interview with The Gazette, Scieszinski, 24, styled himself as a fresh face in a new generation of leadership who is willing to work with anyone in the Senate to break down partisan gridlock to improve the lives of people of the 15th District.
That willingness to work with political opponents is similar to the philosophy of Sen. Tim Cullen, who is vacating the seat after his term ends.
Scieszinski was a state government summer intern in a program that Cullen founded when Scieszinski was a student at Craig High School in 2007. Three years later, Scieszinski ran Cullen's campaign for Senate and "did a heck of a job," Cullen told The Gazette. Scieszinski later worked in Cullen's Senate office.
Cullen didn't want to steal Scieszinski's announcement thunder with an endorsement today, but he said: I think he's a terrific candidate, and really I think we need somebody like him, and I'm really excited about him running."
Scieszinski said he has a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting from UW-Madison and has been working in his family's real-estate investment company, Northwoods Investments, as a project manager.
Scieszinski noted that finance is at the core of many policy debates, and while working in a small business he has seen how businesses struggle and hold the potential for providing jobs.
At the state Capitol, "I've seen how it operates. I know how it operates. So I'd be able to hit the ground running."
That resume might resonate with voters, although Ringhand also has experience at the Capitol and in her family's business. She also has experience in local government.
Asked about the potential for a three-way primary, Scieszinski said he wasn't sure what would happen, but "it's an open race, and it's an open primary, and everyone has the right to run."
Scieszinski said he would run a "traditional Democratic campaign, going door to door and taking nothing for granted."
The district leans Democratic, and no Republican candidate has declared, yet. Wisconsin law allows voters from any party to vote in the primary, although they may vote only in one party's primary.
Asked whether a primary might harm Democrats' chances of retaining the seat, Scieszinski said he believes the competition will be politically healthful, with opposing ideas leading to the best legislation for the district.
"I think that's what makes our democracy great," he said.
The district comprises much of Rock County, including Janesville and parts of surrounding counties of Walworth, Green, Jefferson and Dane counties, including Whitewater.


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Spring 2013 Class Descriptions: Upper-Division Required
Civil Procedure II (Jane Henning)
3 credit(s)Civil Procedure is the study of procedural rules governing civil actions in state and federal courts. The topics studied throughout the year include selection of the proper court and place for litigation, jurisdiction over the parties, joinder of parties and claims, contents of pleadings, discovery, pre-trial motions, conduct of trials, and conflicts between state and federal judicial systems.
Professional Responsibility (Junichi P. Semitsu)
3 credit(s)The roles of the lawyer in society and the obligations implied in those roles are examined. Topics include disciplinary standards and procedures, the history and organization of the legal profession; avoiding conflict of interest; obligations to clients, the courts, and society, and conflicts presented by the adversary system for settlements of disputes; and responsibilities of lawyers as public servants and citizens. American Bar standards will be reviewed.
Tax I (Dennis Lilly)
3 credit(s)
Tax I provides students with an understanding of the basic principles of federal income tax, including gross income, deductions, tax accounting, capital transactions, and income shifting. Required for upper-class students.


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Stomach bloating and weight gain
For discussing the functions of different structures of all organisms.
Moderator: BioTeam
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
A few of the symptoms discussed in this thread could be possible signs if insulinoma, such as the unexplained weight gain and fatigue. Maybe not so much the bloating though. If you hold a healthy diet and still lack of energy and always feel like your blood sugar is low you might want to look this up. Insuliomas are (in most cases) non cancerous tumors on the pancreas. It causes a high production of insulin which can lead to hunger feelings, fatigue, dizziness, nausea and hyperglycemia. Your brain does not get enough energy even though your body gets enough nutritions... If you ever have suspected diabetes but gotten negative results this might be the next step. Might not help so many of you with the gas and bloating problem primarily, but I thought is was worth mentioning for us who struggle with unexplainable weight gain despite our healthy life style.
As for gas, bloating, digestive, fatigue and weight gain problems;
All of you who has not already done this should take a proper food intolerance blood test. Many of the symptom you have mentioned sound like food allergies! And if not an allergy you might be intolerant. It is important to know the differences between an alleric reaction and a reaction from a food intolerance. Even if weath, dairy, soy and egg might be some of the most common 'bad guys' your reaction might be caused of a food you would never think of. An ELISA test can, from what I understand, check your blood for over 100 different nutritions at the same time. Google it and you may see for yourself.
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
I read "skullcat" and can definitely see myself - the only thing is that I am now 55 going 56 and have no periods any more. The rest is me alright. Have you had any change since this post? I am eager to find out what is going on as doctors just say IBS but they also say that IBS is the name used when they don't know what the problem is. I am quite fed up as my life has no joy from morning to night and not much respite at night either as I cannot sleep. Each time I turn the pain wakes me up and I am absolutely down.
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
Pretty much all the same symptoms and I am blood type AB+
It is definitely a good idea for all of us to start noting any similarities.
Exposure to horses.
Blood type AB+
Eating disorder in past (bulimia?) or history of dieting
Chronic stress
i think may be its helpful for you that I also had a similar problem, went to the doc and got xrays. It showed I have a huge gas bubble in my large intestine with no blockage though. I am regular and the problem happened overnight. The docs had no explination for what the cause was. I got prescribed Reglan and it has slowly (over 4 days) began helping. Hope this is helpful.
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
I have been reading the posts here with great interest. I am a nutritional therapist and as part of my practice I test people for food intolerances.
Here are a couple of suggestions that have helped a lot of my clients who were suffering from bloating after eating.
There are many foods that will cause bloating but the most common one is cow's milk. For some people it's the lactose, for some it's the milk protein and for others it's both. To eliminate completely you need to avoid anything that's made with milk or a derivative of milk: lactose, lactic acid, whey, casein, caseinate. It can be in virtually anything and if you're sensitive even the smallest amount can cause a problem so in order to do an elimination properly you need to scrutinize labels.
For some people eating too quickly is the single reason why they bloat after eating. I have written an article on the importance of chewing and how it relates to stomach bloating. You will find it at justvitaminc.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/how-to-reduce-bloating-in-one-small.html
I hope this helps.
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
Maybe I can't post links on this forum.
I'll try again.
http://justvitaminc.blogspot.co.uk/2011 ... small.html
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
Hi all,
I'm a new shy member
but absolutely, I'm a very lucky one !!!!
I have blaoting issues since I got married 2 years ago
ofcourse it made me gain 38 pounds since then and my stomach / belly is blaoting extremely althought I started working out and kinda cutting candies and junk food !!
Recently, it is even growing worse than ever and I can feel it swelling, hard and hurting
I no more can wear my rings, bracelets, shoes and clothes and my face is a round loaf of bread .. the strange thing is that the bloating is not just during ovulation or period .. it's ALWAYS !!!
Whenever I go to doctors "with all my respect" they just charge you alot and cost you labs and then tell you "There's nothing wrong with you clinically ... maybe you just need to just accept it and find peace with yourself"
Come on !!!
it never goes standstill ... it always gets worse !!!!!!!
I'm 34 and I'm trying to conceive ... But deep inside me I'm really scared about what might happen to me if I don't fix it before I get pregnant .. I would explode probably !!! OMG
I'm glad to read the many useful tips many of you shared.
I believe I might have a problem of Milk intolerance but although I don't take it seriously but I keep consuming my favorate ALMOND CHESSE .. I get it from Mother's market and it tastes REALLY GREAT like any other cheese
Does anyone have similar symptomps like mine !!
and by the way, I use thyroxine 100 mg. since 2 years now
May I suggest that someone can summarize general symptoms
general recommendations
I have 36 pages to read
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
Hi all again,
I made some researches and I found this really interesting article
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... denly.html
It summarizes general reasons behind bloating tummy and it highlights 2 cases as well
One of the comments is really interesting in adding the possibility of candida albicans
Please advise
Re: Stomach bloating and weight gain
The Daily Mail is hardly a reliable source of medical information or advice.
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Criminal Communications
"We're making the ability to intercept communications with a court order increasingly obsolete."
–Andrew Weissman, general counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act requires telephone and Internet providers to install surveillance capabilities on their networks and equipment at the FBI's request. But the law doesn't apply to companies that provide email, cloud or online chat services, meaning that the FBI is limited in its ability to monitor communications on services such as Gmail, Google Voice, Skype or DropBox.
At a luncheon for the American Bar Association, Weissman argued that the agency's inability to monitor such sites in real-time is preventing it from effectively fighting terrorism.
Chocolate Chips
"Strong intellectual property and patent rights in the United States are critical to fulfilling our mission."
–Richard Marsh, general counsel of Myriad Genetics Inc.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, which centers on whether human genes are patentable or unpatentable "natural law." The two genes at issue, which Myriad isolated, are linked to increased hereditary risk of ovarian and breast cancer. Justice Antonin Scalia seemed to side with Myriad and expressed concern that, without the incentive that patents provide, companies will cease to research such genes.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor, continuing the court's grand tradition of food metaphors, compared isolated genes to the ingredients in a batch of chocolate chip cookies. "I can't imagine getting a patent simply on the basic items of salt, flour and eggs, simply because I've created a new use or a new product from those ingredients," Sotomayor said.
Sports Scandal
"While I regret the circumstances surrounding my departure from Rutgers, I always will have very fond memories of the challenges and achievements that I have been a part of and the many colleagues and friends."
–John Wolf, former interim general counsel of Rutgers University
Sports coaches aren't necessarily known for being warm and fuzzy, but Rutgers University basketball coach Mike Rice appeared to go beyond tough love in his practice sessions. The university fired Rice earlier this month, after ESPN aired a video that showed the coach flinging basketball at his players and berating them with obscenities and anti-gay slurs.
It subsequently emerged that the university allegedly knew of Rice's behavior as early as the summer of 2012, but that it chose to suspend the coach for three games rather than firing him. In the fallout from the scandal, several school officials who supposedly advised against firing Rice–including Wolf and athletic director Tim Pernetti—were also axed.
Video Victory
"Today is an important day for the Internet."
–Kent Walker, general counsel of Google Inc.
Google celebrated another victory over long-time courtroom foe Viacom Inc. this week, when a federal judge once again rejected the argument that Google is responsible for the infringing videos hosted on its YouTube video service. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton, who ruled in Google's favor in 2010—only to have a federal appeals court revive the case—granted summary judgment to the Internet giant on Thursday.
Viacom had argued that YouTube earned revenue by placing ads next to copyrighted material from popular shows such as "South Park" and "The Colbert Report." But Stanton noted in his ruling that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act shields websites from liability provided that, upon receiving notice of infringing content, they remove the copyrighted material.
Amendment Axed
"We think that the focus should be on fixing [the National Instant Criminal Background Check System] and getting the records into the system that aren't in there now."
–Lawrence Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation
On what President Barack Obama called "a shameful day for Washington," the Senate this week voted down a proposal that would have expanded background checks on gun sales. The so-called Manchin-Toomey plan, which fell six votes short of the 60 votes needed for passage, would have instituted background checks for Internet sales and purchases at gun shows.
Most senators voted along party lines—with all but four Democrats voting for the proposal and all but four Republicans voting against it. The vote prompted the president to sharply criticize the gun lobby, which he said "willfully lied about the bill." But before the vote, Keane told PBS that expanded background checks would place an undue burden on gun sellers, and that the government should instead focus on updating federal databases with information about would-be buyers who are prohibited from purchasing guns because of mental health problems or criminal records.


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RAW VIDEO: House fire explosion rocks nearby home
Monday, May 12, 2014
Video of a Beloit house fire captured Friday shows a blast big enough to engulf a building.
Jim Tropp, who caught the blaze on video, said the explosion shook his home.
Seven people were displaced by the fire, officials said. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.
Watch below.
RAW VIDEO: Blast during house fire rocks nearby home (1:06)


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Rookie season: Lots of new teachers face students on first day
JANESVILLE—A new teacher with butterflies fluttering in her stomach is a normal thing, but Jaclyn Clai and Marissa Grooms expressed few qualms as they talked about starting their first teaching jobs.
The two rookie teachers at Janesville's Kennedy Elementary School seemed confident last week as they anticipated today—the first day of the school year.
"I think I'll get better every week," Clai said when asked about replacing teachers with years of experience.
"I'm going to be the best I can be," Grooms said.
The women are among nine new teachers at Kennedy and about 60 district-wide who are greeting students as full-fledged teachers today for the first time.
Clai, fresh out of UW-Whitewater, said she's nervous, and she knows she faces months of hard work to learn about the school, her students and the demands of the job, "but I feel like they prepared me pretty well here."
Both women have teaching degrees. Clai (rhymes with try) did her student teaching at Janesville's Wilson Elementary School, where she said officials encouraged her to apply for a job here.
Grooms, a 2001 graduate of Janesville Craig High School, has a master's degree and spent several years working with autistic children.
But experts say classroom experience matters.
"You can't replace time," said Rick Mason, a retired principal of Janesville's Washington Elementary School who teaches aspiring school administrators at UW-Whitewater.
"(Experienced teachers) have an understanding of the curriculum, the system, the communications with students, with parents," Mason said. "That's only learned from a long time in that particular position."
"There is a tremendous amount of learning that happens in those first few years of teaching," agreed Peter Goff, a professor of education at UW-Madison.
On the other hand, new teachers have "incredible enthusiasm," Mason said.
And of course, new teachers are at the bottom of the pay scale, which is a bonus to a school district's budget.
But if test scores are important, inexperience can be a problem.
Goff said national studies show that students tend to do better on tests as their teachers gain experience through the first five years, with some gains continuing through the 11th year.
But test scores are not the only way to rate a student or a teacher. A child's social/emotional development also is important, Goff said.
The way a school system handles its new teachers can help, Goff said.
Districts that provide mentoring, social networking and professional development are better at keeping teachers long enough to gain that valuable experience, Goff said, but not all districts can afford to do enough.
Retaining teachers is a big deal; studies show more than 40 percent of teachers leave the profession in their first five years.
Janesville assigns experienced teachers to mentor all new teachers through their first year, said Kim Ehrhardt, director of instruction. New teachers also get three days of training before the veteran teachers arrive for work in August.
The district offers speakers and other professional development through the year, Ehrhardt said.
New teachers also get detailed checklists and learn what they should do in their first five days and their first 30 days.
Clai said Kennedy staff members have been helpful: "There's always someone we can go to."
"There's never a question that's too small," Grooms added.
District officials seem aware they have a lot of work to do to get their rookie teachers ready. The annual all-staff gathering last week featured numerous references to breaking in the new staff, including a video with advice to new teachers.
Grooms said the best advice she has heard is to "exude confidence, even if maybe you're not feeling that way."
Grooms also has embraced the notion that she should get to know her students on a personal level. She has a diverse group of fourth-graders arriving today, including some identified as gifted learners and some whose mother tongue isn't English.
Students should know she cares about and respects them, and that's going to help her help them succeed, Grooms said.
Pressed about their anxieties as they start their careers, the two teachers admitted they're concerned about how smoothly things will go this week.
"It's important to get our routines down right away, or else everything's going to be chaotic," said Clai, who will teach second grade.
At Kennedy, as at many elementary schools, the first day will be full of appointments with parents and students and picture-taking day. Wednesday will be the first day of instruction.
Kids will be full of energy and will test their boundaries in the early going, Grooms said, "but I think that it's a work in progress, and you roll with it."
Asked what she would tell their students as they look forward to school, Clai said: "To be ready for an exciting year. Be prepared to become lifelong learners and work hard, and the fun will come along with it."
"Just come the first day with your energy and enthusiasm and wanting to be a part of a positive learning community," Grooms said, "and we're going to have a great year."


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Camouflage in nature
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
Moderator: BioTeam
Camouflage in nature
Hi, everyone!
Just wanna tell you in advance that I haven't majored in biology or any other relevant discipline (so I'm sorry if I say something obviously naive). I have a question to people who are more relevant to this forum though.
This is the link to a set of very peculiar photos
I've been kinda puzzled by how camouflage used by creatures in nature has developed through natural selection. Let's pick this one, for example
This bug, obviously, didn't develop into a copy of this tree leaf (color, shape, texture, and behavior) overnight. It started as a proto-bug which didn't look like a leaf at all. If I understand the evolution concept correctly, species evolve over a long period of time through a series of accidental and random genetic mutations from which beneficial ones are retained. For instance, in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xNk6w3E6Jg&feature=related Mr. Dawkins gives an interesting illustration of a possible way of an eye development. So, basically, in Dawkins' example, the eye development starts with a set of simple light sensitive cells which become useful for shades recognition, then a cup develops around them which enhances the process, etc, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the conclusion I drew from the Dawkins' explanation is that the first retained mutation does serve the purpose even in its simplicity. So the following sequence of mutations in Dawkins' example only enhanced something that was immediately useful already.
Getting back to the bug… compared to an eye, each individual feature of this bug's camouflage used alone (either color or shape or texture or behavior) in the stage of its (feature's) early development seems to have little or none utilitarian use by itself in respect to the tree it's hiding in. Say if a bug becomes kinda green, but it's not shaped like the leaf and it crawls all over the branch like crazy, it's still going to be picked up by birds. If it manages to replicate something that kinda looks like a shape of the leaf, but stays brown in color without alteration of its behavior, it's still going to be killed…. The point I'm trying to make is that compared to an eye development, each individual feature of the camouflage you see on the picture (color, shape, texture, or behavior) in its early stage of development, doesn't seem to really serve the purpose of pretending to be an eucalyptus leaf. Unlike in the eye example, I don't see a gradual enhancement of an immediately useful feature, but rather an application of a set of features which only become useful if they are fully completed and simultaneously applied. The bug must've relied heavily on other defensive mechanisms before it developed the look and behavior it has now. If that's true, wouldn't the bug loose the features you see on the photo in their rudimentary stages in the process of evolutionary development due to their low immediate / stand-alone utility, before it even had a chance to reach the state of a perfect camouflage you see on the photo?
My previous point can probably be rebuffed (staying just still or just green, does help even without all of these features combined or being fully developed), but the problem is complicated by the fact that, unlike an eye, which is kinda "independently" useful, the bug on the photo mimics a specific type of a tree leaf. So now we have the dependency, the system (bug – specific tree) with multiple degrees of freedom. The tree is a separate being. It is not related to the bug and it chases its own evolutionary goals. So we have a bug which over a LONG period of time managed to develop a near perfect camouflage, which mimics the specific tree leaf which (the leaf) most likely didn't have its current precise color, shape, and texture at the time when the bug's evolutionary changes started. Do you see my point? In this case, the "beneficiary" mutation starts before the benefit is even available and somehow overlaps with it almost 100% in exactly the same time and space in the future.
I either have a false logic somewhere or maybe I don't understand the process of natural selection correctly. Because as it stands, it seems to me that the bug, to be successful, has to undergo a series of really rapid beneficial mutations to be able to mirror a relatively static object (otherwise, if mutations are not rapid enough, the object it's "trying" to replicate is not going to be static anymore). I do suspect that trees, compared to bugs, are more genetically stable (so the bug's benchmark might actually be relatively static over a long period of time). But this bug I used is a vivid, but not the only example. An Indonesian mimic octopus ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimic_Octopus )successfully mimics about five different marine animals (in shape, color and behavior). This capacity is definitely not a result of a conscious effort, but rather an instinctive one, developed over a long period of time. But those creatures (venomous snake, lion fish, etc.) the octopus "learned", over a long period of time, to mimic have also been undergoing genetic evolution, changing color shades, shapes, behaviors, etc…. along the way, most likely with similar speeds as octopus' mutations . How did the octopus manage to catch up? How does it manage to complete the process before the same natural selection tosses not yet useful rudimentary endeavor into a trashcan due to its low immediate utility or its obsolescence by the time it's fully developed?
When one grows to a bigger size or develops sharper claws in response to changing environmental demands, this process is not demanding (no one questions why an animal grew its claws 3 inches long or 4 inches long – as long as we correctly understand why it did so at all in response to changing conditions). But this bug or the octopus have to hit their constantly moving future bull's eyes precisely in all respects (see the picture of that bug again – the resemblance of the eucalyptus leaf is impeccable), or they will fail.
P.S. Unfortunately, I lack time (and knowledge) for frequent replies and discussions, but I will definitely read your feedback (if any). Thanks!
Re: Camouflage in nature
Maybe the missing element here is that bugs exist in populations. Variable populations. Reproductive success is at the heart of evolution, and it is reproductive success relative to the other members of the population that is important. If a bug is slightly greener than all the other bugs, it will have a slightly better chance of surviving and reproducing when spending its time, moving or not, amongst green leaves, thus passing along its slightly more greenishness. Maybe that first slightly greener bug got eaten anyway before reproducing. Fast forward a thousand years. A second slightly greenish bug appears but doesn't get eaten. Slight greenishness is now established in the population. Further mutations may then, over time, improve the greenishness. Later, or concurrently, other variants arise in the population that modify behaviour or body length or morphology that allow those bugs to survive better than others in the population. These new traits then get established in the population.
Co-evolution. Nature contains many examples of plant-plant, animal-animal, animal-plant, parasite-host, etc. associations where, if one changes, the other must follow suit or pay the consequences. The bug in the photo is very well camouflaged now. In earlier times when the tree's leaves may have been broader or greener, or whatever, the bug would have been broader, or greener, or whatever. As one species changes, a second species that eats, lives on, lives in, or mimics the first must change along with it, or find another strategy to survive. Evolution cannot predict the future but only deals with what survives best NOW.
The vast majority of species don't cut the mustard and go extinct. Octopi obviously managed to survive, or they wouldn't be here. How they managed to do so, I don't know. We like to think of nature as harmonious and peaceful, but it is actually quite ruthlessly vicious. Eat and be eaten. Survival of the fittest.
That's OK. It's refreshing to get good questions on this forum. I hope some of this helps.
Just wanted to add to Gavin's response, that no you do not need massive and rapid changes.
The proto- leaf insect even when it does not mimic a leaf exactly will still be that much harder to pick by the predators. But some will be picked, and among the picked one will be the worst at hiding. In the enxt generation, there will be again more variations (probably in both directions: easier and harder to pick), and again the most likely to reproduce are going to be the better camouflaged.
You can have fun with this simulation if you want:
http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cf ... urceID=554
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
Re: Camouflage in nature
2 Gavin & canalon
Thank you for your replies!
I kinda understand what you're saying and at the same time it doesn't stick… I mean logically.
Let me come back to an eye example. The purpose of an eye is a detection (and getting use) of sunlight. It's a 1-dimensional problem. The benefit has been steadily available to us ALWAYS (the sun has been rising for several billion years). HOW the organism solves the problem – doesn't matter (the eye of a human being is absolutely structurally different from an eye of a spider). What matters is, again, that the benefit is always there, which means that one has a sufficient time to develop the light-detecting organ, with increasing complexity, but still with a 1-dimensional goal to achieve.
Back to the camouflage… 1) If I ask you to make a detailed description of ALL the eucalyptus leaf characteristics, it will result in quite a list. So we already have a multi-dimensional problem, which, unlike the sun, will be in motion, changing in all these multiple dimensions…. (canalon, without rapid changes, how do you create a carbon copy of something that is also constantly changing?)
2) Lets look at the greenishness… Beneficial mutations are indeed retained. Extra greeneshness could've spawned a new, better adopted bug, which would still have to rely on something else before the conversion to a full camouflage is complete (we don't see that many military snipers fully relying on just a greenish outfit acquired in a local Gap store). In this dicey process greeneshness can still fluctuate depending on numerous environmental factors. And we don't need just A greeneshness, we need THE specific shade of green from a million of variations. Then one has to become shapier. Then appearance of leaf – like vein in the middle of the body, etc, etc, etc., etc, etc… Evolution, as I understand it, is blind. It blindly reacts in response to the need of survival and it tosses something that it has no use for (like Mexican tetra fish lost it's eyes, when it lost the need for them in a cave environment). Adding an extra leaf – like vein in the middle of the body should not really increase or decrease the competitiveness of the bug that much until the entire process is complete, and the blind evolution could've tossed this feature as unnecessary at the moment. Let me say something dumb. If I collect all these bugs, and draw a tiny funny face with neutral colors on all of them, I bet you it will not decrease their chances of survival. Nevertheless, the blind process of nature turned the bug into a specific tree leaf without any impurities, and succeeded in all respects where all the characteristics of the leaf eventually overlapped in the bug at the same time and space. How did the bug manage to succeed on numerous fronts and achieve perfection in this multi-dimensional quest through the blind process? I mean, I understand, that everyone on this forum can describe to me how it happened according to the concept of evolution through natural selection. But when I step aside and think about it, it's not quite comprehendible. Maybe it's just me.
Re: Camouflage in nature
My purpose in introducing the population concept was to indicate that survival depends on what else is present for the predators. In a population of a million bugs, an ever-so-slightly greenish bug, will have an ever-so-slightly higher probability of not being eaten. The 999,999 brown bugs will be an ever-so-slightly easier target. This greenish beginning will, over time, slowly increase to the "THE specific shade of green from a million of variations". Once greenishness is in the population, and a range of greenishness appears, those bugs whose greenishness is less detectable by the predators will have a better chance of surviving and reproducing. Statistical probability of survival is the key. Probability ranges between 0 and 1, where 0 is impossible, and 1 is an absolute certainty. A probability of survival of 0.001 is better than 0.
Bugs tend to be bilaterally symmetrical (the left side is a mirror image of the right side) and have a distinguishable midline on at least the abdomen (the hindmost part). As with greenishness, any mutation that makes the midline look a bit like a leaf's central vein will impart a survival advantage over those bugs that do not possess this feature. How all of this may have happened, I have no idea. Green first, shape next? Shape first, green next? Both at the same time? Generation time is also a factor. Bugs have short generation times compared to us, For argument purposes, let's say that this bug has one generation a year. In a million years, there will be a million generations. That's a lot. And in a population of a million bugs, that's a lot of variation for natural selection to act upon. Things don't have to appear fully formed immediately. ANY slight advantage is still an advantage.
Let's say birds eat these bugs. Birds are very good at identifying prey. If birds learn - and they are good learners - to associate tiny funny faces with a good meal, they will look for, and find, funny faces.
Very slowly. Step by small step. All the intermediate forms must have some advantage, however slight, over the other individuals of the population, even if not "fully formed". Not all of these intermediate bugs will survive to reproduce. But STATISTICALLY in the population of a million bugs, the intermediates are more likely to survive. In time, their progeny will be better intermediate forms, and their progeny will be even better, until we get something that looks like what is in the photo. Evolution is usually very slow and incremental (things, though, can change quite quickly under extraordinary conditions).
No, it's not. We humans have a very difficult time being able to fully grasp the vastness of time. Lots of variation in lots of time can produce lots of things. Now, let me tell you a little about quantum mechanics ...
Re: Camouflage in nature
Gavin, thanks for the reply! I'm familiar with the "peppered moth" argument and I stated in my first post that acquisition of even a few features of camouflage does indeed most likely increase the chances of survival ….
I'm afraid that I'm gonna walk around in circles, but I'll try…. I do realize that we live in an ever-changing world, and creatures do manage to adopt. But once you develop something, you develop this for a long use. Why? Because as you said, complex structures usually take a very long time to develop. Change is bad. Change destroys the utility of the features we've been developing for so long. Lucky us, we still have eyes, cause the sun always shines. We still have hands, cause there is always something available to pick up. Dolphins are slick and mobile, cause oceans are always there providing them with the benefit of being slick and mobile, etc., etc… It's a linear relationship eyes – light, hands – picking up, and the benefit is always there (or you loose it if you don't use it)
If I release this bug into an isolated car junkyard, it may even assume a shape of Volkswagen Jetta, that's possible… after a gadzillion # of years…. provided that we are dealing with the model with 1 degree of freedom (only the bug is allowed to alter its numerous qualities). What if I introduce oxygen and water vapor into the model and Volkswagen Jetta starts alterations of its own. A bug develops a white color, but Jetta turns white with brownish spots. A bug develops wings which look like back view mirrors, but actual back view mirrors develop cracks…. As far as the eyes go, the sun still shines, and the eyes are fine. But as far as development of camouflage goes - we have more than 1 degree of freedom now, so every time a bug develops something in this respect, it's racing against time. It has to either outpace Jetta in its numerous (colors, shapes, smells, etc, etc) changes or its efforts to mimic will constantly become obsolete. That's why I said in my first post that the bug has to be a way more genetically active than the tree. And that's why I used another example (actually there are so many), like an Indonesian mimic octopus (now that system has numerous degrees of freedom) since the octopus has to constantly catch up with a bunch of other animals who are most likely are not that genetically static like a tree.
That was my biggest dilemma. I did not really question the benefit of beneficial genetic alterations. In case of a camouflage, I questioned the possibility of the perfect outcome through slow and lengthy genetic alterations of multiple camouflage characteristics in a constantly changing system with numerous degrees of freedom.
I can see water, I can touch water, I can drink water, but I will never see a perfect reflection of my face on it if it constantly has ripples.
Re: Camouflage in nature
Why couldn't multiple camouflage characteristics develop if they all independently increased the likelihood of survival? A slight greenishness would be an adaptation to avoid predation by birds. A slight elongation of the body would be an adaptation to avoid predation by birds. A line along the midline of the abdomen would be an adaptation to avoid predation by birds. The survival of organisms depends on the environments in which they live in the present. If the environment changes in a way that negatively impacts an organism's survival, the organism will have to adapt to the new environment or pay the consequences (extinction). Let's take the bug in the photo as an example. Imagine that the climate begins to change so that the species of tree to which the bug is so well adapted no longer grows very well, and the tree's population begins to decline. This will have consequences for the bug population. As the trees decrease in numbers, the bugs will decrease in numbers, as will the birds, as will the parasites that live in the gut of the birds. If the variations within the bug population cannot lead to adaptations to the new environment, the bugs will die out. A bug that looks very much like a eucalyptus leaf will not do well in a savannah. But savannahs have leaves too. Perhaps variations in the bug population could lead to even longer or thinner bodies and a different shade of green. Then they would resemble grass leaves.
The history of life on Earth contains periods known as mass extinctions, when changes in the global environments have been so severe or so rapid that a large percentage of all the species present on the planet at the time were unable to adapt, and they died out. No species evolves in isolation. All are parts of ecosystems and environments that can change. The evolution of each component species will depend on the evolution of other species that share the same ecosystem or environment at the same time.
Re: Camouflage in nature
Mass extinctions do not happen every day, and they only confirm that creatures take a long time to adopt. You keep asking why couldn't multiple camouflage characteristics develop if they all independently increased the likelihood of survival? Of course they could, they would and they did. The question is HOW? And I don't expect any DNA drawings. I raised this question on a conceptual level and I keep repeating it and rephrasing it for better understanding what I'm trying to ask. How did a mimic octopus slowly develop the capacity to mimic qualities of 5 different creatures, which were most likely changing those qualities over the same period of time for the same adaptation reasons? Wouldn't it constantly fall behind? Or does the octopus' genetic mutations go faster than those of other creatures? I don't have problems with adaptations through genetic mutations. I have a problem with those genetic mutations managing to catch up with genetic mutations of other creatures. Yes, it does happen. An airplane does happen to fly, but until someone explains how Bernoulli's principle functions (at least in principal), it still looks like a flying piece of metal.
P.S. Yes, interrelations of species exist left and right - kill all the sparrows, and the bugs will spread everywhere. Development of camouflage is kinda more twisted kind of interrelation.
Re: Camouflage in nature
Probably by a slow selection for better and better mimicry AT THE SAME TIME that the mimicked species exist. As the mimicked species change, so do the octopi AT THE SAME TIME. Also, mimicry does not need to be perfect to provide a selective advantage. If the octopus can imperfectly mimic one species, and that species changes a little, then the octopus will probably still be able to mimic it. If the mimicked creature changes a lot, the octopus could also change a lot. I had a look at a YouTube video of the mimic octopus here:
The degree of mimicry is pretty low.
Maybe the word "slowly" is causing confusion, since you've underlined it. My use of the word is to indicate that evolution usually happens by small, incremental, cumulative steps. Large jumps are not the norm. If the mimic species is changing by large jumps, then it should be disqualified for cheating.
How can it fall behind if the species the octopus is mimicking is no longer around? The octopus cannot mimic something that doesn't exist. Selection occurs IN REAL TIME. There is no looking forward or falling behind. I can't really imagine that a mimicked species could change so much and so quickly that the octopus wouldn't be able to keep pace. And considering the degree of mimicry involved, I don't think the octopus need worry too much. But supposing the mimicked species does change phenomenally extensively and quickly (which would indicate extraordinary environmental changes that may provide the octopus with larger challenges than mimicry), then I imagine the octopus would no longer mimic it, because no selective advantage would exist.
If the octopus can mimic one species, it should be able to mimic two, or five. If I am still misunderstanding what you are trying to ask, then maybe someone else can chime in and take over.
Re: Camouflage in nature
Gavin, I picked the octopus because of the number of different creatures it simulates (the degree of mimicry can not probably go any higher without actual body alteration and then it would be impossible to copy 5 different creatures at the same time).
The last argument you made is very persuading, but when I think about the entire process from the beginning to the end, it's still looks very unrealistic. The genes mutate through the toss of dice. Yes, the process will eventually lead to retention of only useful features. But each toss of dice in this respect is still absolutely statistically independent from previous outcomes. The fact that the bug is now greener, insures higher chance of survival of it's kind, but doesn't seem to increase the speed of even higher greeneshness development (for that particular reason – each consecutive alteration of genes is statistically independent from previous outcomes… am I wrong?). That means that the increased "greeneshness" you were talking about can take quite a time to reach it's final objective – the bug can keep hitting numerous colors before it hits the shade of green it has today. That's why I used an eye as an example, cause even the development of an eye seems to be a simpler "assignment" to me – as long as the better capture of light is achieved, the next step is accomplished. The bug can develop absolutely different structural types of eyes, they will still do the job. But there can be only one copy of a leaf at the end – meaning a huge number of trials and errors. That's on the top of the fact that the object it's mimicking is constantly changing - winning a lottery on a lottery on a lottery on a lottery… isn't it?
Re: Camouflage in nature
Okay, I'll give it one last try.
Yes (you are wrong). Selective steps are cumulative. Greenishness, once it appears, does not have to be re-invented in each generation. That first bug that stumbled upon a slight greenishness will have a statistically slightly higher chance of not getting eaten. If it survives, it will pass its traits on to the next generation. Modification with descent, as Darwin put it. Its progeny will also have the same statistically slightly higher chance of not getting eaten. So we started with one bug with slight greenishness in the population. The next generation will have ten or a hundred (I don't know how many eggs a female may lay in one generation, but in insects, it's usually quite a few) slightly greenish bugs in the population. You can see that slight greenishness is spreading through the population - increasing in frequency. The greenish bugs will survive better that their brown relatives, reproduce better, and eventually will become dominant in the population of bugs. Now another role of the dice will produce a silghtly even-more-greenish bug, which will have an even slightly higher survival advantage over its merely slightly greenish, and definitely its brown, relatives in the population. Increased greenishness does not occur through a new role of the dice that turns a brown bug into a greener bug. The "alteration of genes" builds on what has already occurred - there's no resetting back to a default level. Once started, the improvement of any trait that will increase survival and reproduction, RELATIVE TO OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BUG POPULATION that are all competing for not getting eaten, will ratchet through successive generations towards perfection, which nothing ever actually reaches. Survival of the fittest (greenest).
Another factor, which will not apply to all examples of camouflage or mimicry, is the relative abilities of populations to change. With the bug example, we have three relevant populations - the bugs, the trees, and the birds that eat the bugs. The ability of a population to change depends on the amount of genetic variation within the population. The amount of genetic variation within a population is highly dependent on the size of the population - more individuals, more mutations (in the population). Each tree will likely have more than one bug on it, so the bug population will likely be larger than the tree population. The bug population will generate more random mutations than the trees upon which natural selection can act. There will also probably be more than one bug per bird. Another factor will be generation time. Trees tend not to start producing seeds until many years after their lives begin. Bugs will have at least one generation per year. The spread of any selective advantage can thus potentially occur faster in bugs than in trees. So, more mutations and faster spread gives the bugs an advantage, in this example.
It might be better to think of it as a lottery within a lottery within a lottery within a lottery, with the probability of winning increasing each time you play.
I don't know if it will help, but you could have a look at:
It's a bit simplistic, since it's meant for kids, and it's nearly an hour long, but it deals with the cumulative aspect of selection. It's the complete lecture from which your initial link is taken.
Re: Camouflage in nature
Sorry. Descent with modification, rather than modification with descent. I'm old.
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Death Notices for Dec. 29, 2013
Lloyd Edward Emmerich, 91, Janesville, died Thursday at Cedar Crest, Janesville. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday in the chapel of Wisconsin Memorial Park, Brookfield. Henke-Clarson Funeral Home, Janesville, is assisting the family.
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European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
In December 2012, the European Parliament approved legislation for a new unified patent court system, and on Feb. 19, 24 EU member states signed an agreement to participate in the new structure. InsideCounsel's April issue took a look at the new system, which may go into effect as soon as 2014 (though it's likely to take a little longer).
For companies interested in protecting their IP in Europe, an understanding of the unitary patent system will be paramount. Never fear, though, we've broken it down for you here, answering all the questions you're sure to have about the advantages, drawbacks and potential savings:
How is the unified patent court going to work?
Simply put, applicants will be able to seek a patent from the European Patent Office, and get a patent that's valid across all the participating member states. In the past, innovators had to apply for a "classical" European patent and get approval from each member state, or file separately in each state for a national patent.
The new, unified court will have jurisdiction over all existing European patents, as well as new ones, including for any civil litigation related to the infringement of those patents. There will be a Court of First Instance, with local and regional divisions and a central division with sites in Paris, London and Munich. Its Court of Appeal will be in Luxembourg, and the European Court of Justice will deal with any questions of EU law.
What are the advantages of the new system?
The unified patent court will save in-house counsel time, as they only have to apply to one entity to get a patent for all participating member states. The uniformity is also an advantage—no more worrying that what's protected in one country might not be in another. For lawyers based in the U.S., the unified patent court will make the EU feel more familiar. Just as you don't have to apply for patents in multiple states, you won't have to apply for patents in multiple EU countries.
"[The unitary patent system] is a step toward Europe becoming the United States of Europe," says Alain Villeneuve, a shareholder at Vedder Price.
There has to be a downside, right?
Well, the risk you run with getting a uniform decision is that you might not like what the court decides. Companies could see their patents revoked in one court and thus be dealt a serious blow across the continent.
The other disadvantage is that the system is still new and untested. It doesn't resemble any of the existing European systems, and it wasn't designed by judges or litigators. Some experts are concerned that judges may have differing amounts of experience with patent law, and it's yet to be determined how they will be appointed.
What effect will the new system have on the cost of filing for patents?
It is going to be way, way cheaper. Currently getting patent protection through a "classical" European patent for all the participating member states would cost about €32,119. According to the European Parliament, the unified patent court will reduce that cost by up to 80 percent. During a preliminary "transitional period," which will last for up to 12 years, the cost of a unitary patent will be €6,425, and will drop to about €4,725 after that time.


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Janesville fans ride emotional rollercoaster as Badgers lose
JANESVILLE—This is a Badgers town, down to the red nail polish on Amy DeGarmo's fingernails and the Bucky decal on her cheek.
DeGarmo, her father and her boyfriend watched the biggest Badgers basketball game since 1941 in Legends bar in downtown Janesville on Saturday night.
Their team had reached the national semifinals only twice before, in 2000 when it lost and in '41, the only time the Badgers won it all.
"The intensity down here for any Badgers or Packers fans, there's nothing better," Amy's father Jeff DeGarmo said shortly before the final, fateful seconds when Wisconsin lost by one point to Kentucky.
But smiles dominated the night at Legends, which might be the heart of Janesville Badger fandom. Or at least its liver.
Ask Amy DeGarmo and many of the others at the bar how long they've been Badgers fans, and they answer, "all my life."
"My dad used to tell me that I used to say, "Go Bucky!" when I was tiny," DeGarmo said.�
DeGarmo got her childhood wish and attended UW-Madison. She teaches third grade at Janesville's Lincoln Elementary School.
"This is really cool, being here with fellow Badgers fans," DeGarmo said. I always get goose bumps when they play, especially at this level."
"I'm going to cry" if they lose, she said. "I'm going to definitely cry. But it's so cool they've come this far."
That was the opinion of many fans at Legends. They knew that beating Kentucky was a tall order.
Of course, some in town roll their eyes at such excessive devotion to "just a game," but this is clearly a huge part of many lives here.
Kevin McCulloch is from Milwaukee, where he was more of a Marquette fan, but he moved to Janesville in 1966, the year his brother went to UW-Madison.
"It was easy enough to be converted once we moved to Janesville," McCulloch said.
What followed were a lot of years when Wisconsin's premiere university generally didn't do well in the popular sports, football and basketball.
Fans like McCulloch stayed fans because that's what fans do.
With that perspective, McCulloch is philosophical. He would like to see Coach Bo Ryan's Badgers back in the tournament again and again, but "but this could easily be the last time in my life I get to see the Badgers in the Final Four," he said.�
Legends co-owner Tim "Milly" Millis is celebrating his bar's 30th anniversary this weekend. A huge Badgers fan, Millis said the Badgers' success is icing on the anniversary cake.
A 1973 Craig graduate, Millis remembers listening to Badgers football on the radio as a boy.
"It was the Packers and the Braves and the Badgers," he recalled of the Wisconsin teams of the 1960s.
The Badgers are Wisconsin, and that's why many of his patrons who never went to UW-Madison are nevertheless rabid fans, Millis said. "I suppose it's the same in any state."
"I think tonight, as much as we wanted the Badgers to get to this point, and as much as we want them to win, it's incredible that they got to the final four teams in the tournament," Millis said.
"Just look at the excitement," Millis said as the fans packed the bar an hour before the Badgers took the floor. "People like rooting for good things, obviously. It's not the end of the world if they lose."
"It don't get much better than this. I like the atmosphere, all the TVs are on the same game, and most people know what they're talking about," said Jake Hassinger, Craig High School 2002, who often catches games at Legends with his buddy Zach Anacker, Parker High 2007.
Hassinger and Anacker were among the most enthusiastic of a very enthusiastic crowd, who cheered frequently and vigorously, jabbing fists into the air each time the Badgers scored or stopped Kentucky, as if they were watching the game live.
"Badger fans," Hassinger explained, "born and bred."
"I won't be too disappointed if they lose, because it's farther than I thought they'd get," Anacker said before he had to leave for work. "And if they lose, you know they're going to come back strong next year—a lot of their guys are coming back," Anacker said.
Anacker had invoked one of those things all fans can related to. There's always next year.


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2011 Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools
Bel Air Elementary – Allegany CountyIn spite of over 41% of its students participating in Free and Reduced Meals, Bel Air is a high achiever with 97% of students proficient and above in both math and reading. Parents donate over 1300 hours annually. Bel Air is a 2008 School of Distinction and has been recognized by its Chamber of Commerce, the County Commissioners, and the Board of Education. Its students have won prestigious awards such as the Carson Scholarship and the Young Poets Writing Competition. The school is proud of its many corporate partnerships and is a PDS School with Frostburg State University. Teacher attendance is exemplary at 97% and they have won awards such as Teacher of the Year finalists. Staff members also participate with students in numerous service programs and encourage colleagues through staff spirit awards.
Mt. Washington Elementary – Baltimore CityWith 45% of its students on Free and Reduced Meals, the school has MSA proficiency and advanced scores of 91% in math and 92% in reading and advanced scores have risen over the years from 19% to 40% in reading and from 29% to 36% in math. The school partners with Johns Hopkins and is the only one in Maryland that provides its Center for Talented Youth Online Math during the school day as part of regular math instruction. Fifty of its highest achieving students are enrolled in this program and Mt. Washington will be featured on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. Parents provide a great deal including instructional lessons along with fundraising efforts such as one which built an outdoor classroom with an amphitheater. Mt. Washington is also the 2010 Baltimore Basketball League Elementary School Champion. Future plans include an expansion to include grades 6 through 8.
Lime Kiln Middle School – Howard CountyLime Kiln, a high achieving school, excels with over 94% of its students proficient and above in math and 96% proficient and above in reading. It is a designated Green School by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education and won the Maryland Junior Envirothon Competition for five out of six years. With a special grant, it was also able to build a Learning Legacy Trail on school grounds. Lime Kiln is proud of its award-winning teachers including the Agnes Meyer Teacher of the Year for 2009 and the 2010 Maryland Art Education Teacher of the Year. Lime Kiln's student debate teams have received numerous awards. The school also established a successful peer buddy program with the adjoining Cedar Lane School which serves profoundly disabled students.
Oklahoma Road Middle School – Carroll CountyAt Oklahoma Road Middle, a Maryland Green School, 91% of the students are proficient and above in math and 96% are proficient and above in reading. In fact, 67% of the student body earned Honor Roll status. Student participation in after-school programs is exceptional. Students are officers in the Carroll County Student Government Association and are also service oriented, sponsoring numerous programs such as the Harvest for the Hungry Food Drive, the American Red Cross Blood Drive, and "Bundles for Babies." a drive for the Carroll Hospital Center. Teachers are highly qualified with five having received National Board Certification. One third of the staff participates in a Teacher – Student Mentoring program funded through a grant from the Carroll Education Foundation.
Severna Park High School - Anne Arundel CountyWith over 99% of its students proficient and above in math and over 95% in English, Severna Park High is one of Maryland's top high schools. Over 63% of its students are on Honor Roll and 91% of the graduating seniors have taken at least one AP or Honors course as well as the exams. Seven seniors won "Scholarships for Scholars" last year and fifteen students were Commended for National Merit Awards with one National Semi-Finalist. The school is also dedicated to the arts and known for its 21 years producing an all-student "Rock N' Roll Revival,"which plays to sellout audiences. Athletics is also important and there are 450 athletes participating in fall and spring sports and 300 in winter sports. The school touts 83 State Championships in its 51 year history. Severna Park High also has an award winning newspaper and yearbook.
Towson High School Public Law and Policy – Baltimore CountyTowson High School ranked 334 in Newsweek's 2010 list of "America's Best High Schools." Its students are over 98 percent proficient in math and 99 percent proficient in English. 17 percent of the seniors rank in the top five percent in the state of Maryland and over 76 percent of Towson High's students take the SAT. This past year, over nine million dollars in grants and scholarships were awarded to Towson's graduating seniors. Towson had seven Merit finalists and 26 National Commended Students in addition to three National Achievement Scholarship Finalists, one National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, 38 Maryland Distinguished Scholars in Academic and Visual Arts, and 68 seniors who were Advanced Placement Scholars. In music, students are members of the All-County Honors Band and art students have been recognized at the state and national levels. Towson High employs eight National Board Certified Teachers.


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Centric Mid-Back Folding Boat Seat, Gray & Smoke - Attwood
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Whitewater crash victims identified
WHITEWATER—Mouh Seguir Hammoutene, 43, of San Antonio, Texas, and Kenneth Paul, 52, of Milwaukee were the drivers involved in a crash Monday afternoon at Highway 12 and Walworth Avenue, according to a Walworth County Sheriff's Office news release.
Paul sustained serious chest injuries and was taken by ambulance to an area hospital.
His passenger, David D. Williams, 33, of Milwaukee sustained severe lower leg and chest injuries and also was taken by ambulance to an area hospital.
Their conditions are not known at this time.
Hammoutene was not hurt.
While both drivers had a green light to proceed straight through the intersection, the investigation shows Hammoutene failed to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic while attempting to make a left-hand turn. He was cited for the infraction.
The Walworth County Sheriff's Crash Investigation Unit and Truck Inspector, along with Whitewater police, Wisconsin State Patrol and Whitewater fire and rescue members, assisted at the scene. The road was closed to traffic for three hours during the investigation.


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We are usually content to highlight the accomplishments of others in our community, but I am incredibly proud of the people I work with this week, and want to tell a little bit about how hard they work to bring you the high-quality news and information packaged in a way that you can't find anywhere else.
For about 50 years, one man has had the courage and determination to make it all possible, our publisher and Clipper owner Gail Stahle. He started in the newspaper business when his father John Stahle, Jr. owned the Clipper, then headed to St. George, where he purchased the St. George Spectrum and turned it into a thriving daily paper. He moved back to northern Utah and by 1989, was in talks to purchase the Clipper.
The Bountiful community has long-been thankful for Gail Stahle's dedication, and last week the printing industry's Utah Press Association recognized him as a Master Editor and Publisher at its annual conference.
In addition to the Clipper, Gail Stahle owns Iron County Today in Cedar City and the bi-weekly Utah Islander, which is distributed in northern Davis County.
In my interactions with Mr. Stahle, I have learned that for him, newspapers are more than just a money-maker, and sometimes, they aren't even that. Instead, our publisher wants the Clipper to engage the community and to rid our readers of all-too-common apathy while providing local news and entertainment.
Fortunately, we have a dedicated staff standing with us. Our reporters work all hours of the day with nary a complaint, and are eager to jump in on everything from photography to newspaper design in addition to covering their regular beats. Without their efforts, the people of Davis County wouldn't know nearly as much about drug testing in local high schools, the good work being done at Bountiful Food Pantry and the Children's Justice Center, the excellent community theater shows at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre and much more.
Without the efforts of our sports department, most people would know very little about the spate of recent accomplishments by local prep sports teams.
I am thankful to be part of such a team, and I strongly believe that this community is more engaged and is better off because of Clipper staffers.
Awards aren't everything in the news business, but they are acknowledgement from our peers that what we do matters and that it meets a high level of professionalism. Also last week at the Utah Press Association Conference, the Clipper won 11 awards for its 2012 coverage.
Reporter and photographer Louise Shaw and the Clipper advertising department dominated the awards for the paper. Shaw's Summerfest photo page took honors, as did a news photo, feature photo and a column she penned.
Our arts team, which does everything from page design to advertisements to web updates, also got top recognition. They earned first place for an ad that promoted the Clipper plus four others, and the recognition is nothing less than overdue.
Finally, all our staffers deserve recognition for our efforts on the web at davisclipper.com. We have not only doubled online readership since July, we also took home a third-place prize for the site. There, you will find regular updates and have the opportunity to leave comments about our stories or send letters to the editor. You can also search for stories from the recent past and can download, for free, each edition of the Davis Wellness magazine and all our special sections.
While I'm expressing thanks, I would be remiss no to mention our advertisers and loyal subscribers. Without them, we wouldn't even have the chance to engage and entertain the community, and we are forever thankful that they trust us with documenting the happenings of Davis County. Here's to 2013!


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Delavan-Darien School Board votes to go to referendum
DELAVAN--After considering all options, the Delavan-Darien School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to ask voters for the right to increase its revenue limits by $2.1 million.
The referendum will appear on the April ballot and, if approved, would increase taxes from $9.64 per $1,000 of equalized value to $10.41 per $1,000 of equalized value.
The referendum had originally been scheduled for discussion Monday, but after a closed session meeting that night, school board Vice President Joe Peyer announced the discussion would move to Wednesday.
On Wednesday, district business manager Carey Bradley reviewed the district's financial situation including:
--What the district already has done to reduce costs, such as eliminating positions, allowing some larger class sizes, reducing course offerings and programming, modifying health insurance, limiting pay increases, deferring maintenance projects and reducing bus routes and costs.
�--What state revenue caps have meant for the district. The state imposed revenue caps on school districts in 1993 to help hold down local property taxes. Districts that had budgeted carefully, however, found themselves facing financial challenges.
�--Showed the differences in per-pupil revenue limits in Walworth County. Districts that were less financially conservative now have significantly higher revenue limits per pupil.
For example, for the 2012-13 school year, Williams Bay has the highest per-pupil revenue limit at $11,937. The Delavan-Darien School District has the lowest at $9,185. The county average for per-pupil revenue limits is $9,860.
Board member Steve Logterman pointed out that based on the number of students in Delavan-Darien schools, the district was receiving $1.8 million less than the county average.
Board members used that average in their discussion about how much to ask for from voters.
"The biggest struggle for me is what is the correct amount to go after," Peyer said. "Schools can make a community great, or they can make a community poor."
Chad Kort noted that several weeks ago he had asked, "Why $2 million?" and "Why now?" Kort said he felt his questions had been answered.
"The community supported the strategic plan, and now we have an obligation to go out to community and ask for support," Kort said.
Kort said he was a strong believer in the statement, "You don't fix a problem by throwing money at it," but in this case the district had done its work, making cuts where it could.
"This is necessary to fund the strategic plan," he said.
Logterman said that along with the discrepancy between revenue per student among schools, Delavan-Darien also has a higher number of special needs students and students living in poverty.
Logterman also wondered if it wouldn't be better to vote on the referendum issue when all board members were present. Board President Jeff Scherer and Jim Hansen are on vacation and missed Wednesday's meeting.,
Peyer said he had talked to both men and they were strongly in favor of going to referendum.
There were no members of the public at Wednesday's meeting. At Monday's meeting, very few district residents attended, and none spoke on the issue. Superintendent Robert Crist said he didn't know why.
"I would love if more people came to the meeting to see the presentation," he said, "and I know the board would love it, too."


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