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Or darling Jackie sneaking into my room for a pet. Instead I mostly painted in the bathroom/studio I set up. Watercolors to come tomorrow I hope.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Maine Paintables
Or darling Jackie sneaking into my room for a pet. Instead I mostly painted in the bathroom/studio I set up. Watercolors to come tomorrow I hope.
18 comments:
So much to see & paint & do! Photos are a great way to observe & share what couldn't be painted! One has to go where the energy takes one, no? and if that's doing our thing in a bathroom studio, then super! PS That artist up there, she's très élégante! I wonder if she struggles like I do in her painting process...R.ReplyDeleteReplies
does the artiste look familiar?Delete
'She' should...
LOVE the sequence of colors in the photos - especailly the deep blue into lavander-purple into grass greenReplyDelete
Love the photos from Maine. To paint or not to paint...Jackie looks like she knows the answer to the question for that day at least. Love your instant traveling studio.ReplyDelete
- Replies
at last I am far, far away from those blueberry muffins!Delete
Nothing like them here...
That's a great set up..I do love that first painting though:)ReplyDelete
I would have to unplug my straight iron and blow dryer:)
All the photos..you can paint later!!:)
Camden Pond..be still my heart.In Craigville Mass..there was a pond like this I loved so much!Replies
no no the blow-dryer is essential to dry yr watercolors!!Delete
Ha! I've been there... Just do it!ReplyDelete
Looks wonderful! ... Is that GREEN nail polish you're wearing? Ahhh such a trendy gal! BisesReplyDeleteReplies
JADE Green!Delete
One has to do at least one trendy thing does one not?
Oh my dear Carol, I faced this dilemma every day for 2 months in a cottage by a large river in the lovely country side of Quebec. I triumphed in a very small way over a strong resistance to landscape work by at least managing a few sketches however, 2 months! Your daily email is such a pleasure but today I also enjoyed a good laugh and felt a lot better about my experience. ElainaReplyDelete
Landscape painting en plein air isn't easy. I have tried. I would rather photograph it and paint it later. You did get some pretty good photos tho. Hope you enjoyed yourself and why wouldn't you have with all that fresh air and scenery.ReplyDeleteReplies
I'm with you on that Cris
shoot it now and and paint it later!!


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Color illustration on front cover. Johnson, P. R. at bottom of menu front cover]]>
Lord's Prayer at top of menu. Includes meal hours. Gold and red border design. Rule for Bills of Fare given.]]>
Proclamation by the Governor of Wisconsin regarding Thanksgiving.]]>
Illustration on front cover copyrighted by John A. Lowell & Co. Boston, 1879, 100. Illustration on back cover is a sketch of people picnicking in a field; illustrator's signature is illegible.]]>
Color illustration in upper left corner. The Avenue Hotel was located on Park Avenue above Hot Springs Valley. It had 170 rooms and could accommodate up to 300 guests, and was known for its thermal water baths.]]>

subset: commoncrawl


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August Athlete of the Month
Barrett among the eliteStaff report
September 18. 2013 12:46AM
He was hoping to win it, but Chelso Barrett of Surry said qualifying for the round of 16 at the United States Amateur Championship in August was a solid accomplishment for him.
"I won two matches and the whole week really tested every part of my game," said Barrett. "It was a nice way to cap off my summer."
Barrett was selected as the New Hampshire Union Leader's Athlete of the Month for August, collecting five of a possible nine first-place votes for 35 points.
Placing second was ski jumper Nick Fairall of Andover with 29 points, and taking third place with 21 points was golfer Tracy Martin of Nashua.
Barrett said he was "firing on all cylinders" in August when he also won the New Hampshire Golf Association Stroke Play Championship at Green Meadow Golf Club in Nashua. He carded an 11-under score during the three-day event.
"That's probably the second-biggest amateur tournament in New Hampshire behind the State Am," said Barrett, who plays out of Bretwood Golf Course in Keene. "There are a lot of good golfers in that (stroke) tournament and I plan on playing in it again. I also plan on playing the State Am, too, next summer."
After the U.S. Amateur tournament, Barrett headed to Fort Worth, Texas, to start his freshman season with Texas Christian University.
"It's everything I thought it would be and more," said Barrett. "My teammates are awesome and the facilities are top notch. The Big 12 conference is competitive and I'm really enjoying my time here."
Fairall, competing on snowless, artificial terrain in Park City, Utah, defeated two New Hampshire jumpers to win the U.S. Ski Jumping Large Hill Championship on Aug. 6. Fairall totaled 260.6 points, besting Lebanon's Nick Alexander (242.1, second place) and Andover's Chris Lamb (218.1 third place) to win his first national title.
In her last tourney before moving to Virginia to start a new job, Martin won the New Hampshire Women's Golf Association State Amateur Championship on Aug. 1. Martin carded a 72 to win the event at her home course, Nashua Country Club. The former University of Richmond golfer was at 75-72-72—219 for the tourney.
Golfer Phil Pleat of Nashua placed fourth in the balloting with 18 points for winning the NHGA Senior Championship, on Aug. 28, for the third straight year.
Colin McCaigue of Brookline received 17 points for fifth place. After playing in a series of qualifying rounds to earn a berth in the New England PGA Junior Tour Championship's 11-under division, he won the tournament in a playoff.
In baseball, Ricky Constant collected eight points for sixth place. He was named the tournament MVP of the American Legion Junior state tournament after leading Nashua to the New Hampshire championship on Aug. 6 in Concord. Constant threw a two-hitter in the title game against Lebanon, striking out eight in a 5-2 win.
Placing seventh with seven points was Trinity High's Romeo Masuku, a running back, who scored two touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 113 yards on 14 carries in New Hampshire's 43-0 Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl win against Vermont at Dartmouth College.
Previous 2013 winners: January — Sean Doherty, Conway, biathlon; February — Drew Ledwith, Keene, swimming; March — Kaleb Tarczewski, Claremont, basketball; April — Mariah Crisp, Greenland, softball, and Eric Jensen, Gorham, baseball; May — Carson Cross, Brentwood, baseball; June — Rick Holt, football and baseball, Portsmouth. July — Eva Fabian, swimming, Keene.


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Up coming birthdays feature...
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Up coming birthdays feature...
does the feature that says 'members with birthdays today' and 'members with a birthday in the next five days' still work? cuz it seems that every time i look at it, it says that there are never any birthdays and i'm finding that hard to believe at the moment.
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Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE:ALD) is a business development company with $4.4 billion invested in private companies and $5.1 billion in total assets. ALD typically makes investments up to $250 million in buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth capital and middle market debt and equity.
As a business development company, Allied Capital is required to invest at least 70% of its assets in private U.S. companies and provides investors with the opportunity to become a part of the private equity industry by issuing stock.
Allied Capital targets companies with strong cash flow and high returns on invested capital, providing debt and equity financing with senior debt loans and subordinated debt, as well as managerial advising for invested companies. The company has a low 67% debt to equity ratio, which lets it to take larger risks than other financial institutions. Due to the difficulty of evaluating the private companies it invests in, this ratio is useful in making the illiquid long-term investments Allied Capital typically undertakes.
Allied Capital relies on low interest rates to decrease the cost of loans and increase profit margins. Also, it is difficult for Allied to evaluate the companies it invests in, since there is no public information on these private companies. As such, Allied relies on its own valuation techniques to determine good long-term investments, which increases the risk involved. These long-term investments can prove detrimental to the liquidity of Allied Capital's assets.
Allied Capital's portfolio included 124 companies that generate aggregate annual revenues of over $13 billion and employ over 98,000 people.[1]
Allied Capital Corporation is a private equity firm that specializes in buyouts, acquisitions, and middle market equity and Long Term Debt investments in companies from various industries. Allied focuses on private middle market companies in the U.S.. [2]
Allied Capital maintains a diversified investments portfolio in companies from numerous industries, with no single asset comprising of over 4% of total assets. This diversified approach helps protect against risk and loss in any particular industry.
Allied Capital usually offers long-term investments and does not exit them until the companies are sold, recapitalized or carry out an Initial Public Offering.
In 2009, ALD earned a total negative revenue of $258 million in 2009. This was a huge decline from its 2008 total positive revenues of $518 million in 2008. Remarkably, ALD was able to decrease its net loss from a net loss of $1.0 billion in 2008 to $522 million in 2009.[3]
A business development company is founded with the purpose of lending and investing in private companies. As a business development company (BDC), Allied is required to invest at least 70% of its assets in private U.S. companies. Allied Capital focuses primarily on American companies that are not investment companies. Allied also provides managerial assistance to any companies in need of it.
A business development company provides shareholders the ability to retain the liquidity of a publicly traded stock, while sharing in the possible benefits, if any, of investing in primarily privately owned companies.
Allied Capital's primary strategy is based on making long-term investments in the debt and equity of middle market companies. These long-term investments are illiquid, since they cannot be traded. However, long-term investments can provide persistent cash flow. Allied realized $1.4 billion in cumulative net gains from its investment portfolio.
Capital is generally used to fund buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth, and note purchases. Allied Capital generally invests in middle market companies, which are those with $50 to $500 million in revenues. Industries of interest typically include business services, financial services, consumer products, and retail, among others. The corporation balances debt investments and buyout investments, and usually targets debt investments of between $10 and $150 million dollars, and buyout investments of up to $300 million.
73.3% of the private finance portfolio consists of loans and debt securities, whereas the other 23.7% consists of equity securities.[4]
Since 2001, dividends have increasingly come from net capital gains, with a decreasing amount coming from ordinary income.
As interest rates rise, the cost of borrowing also rises. As a private equity firm, Allied Capital depends on loans in order to invest in other companies. When the interest rates are low, Allied would be able to realize greater profit margins since it would have to pay back less. As interest rates rise, Allied would see a slimmer profit margin. Lower interest rates allow Allied Capital to borrow at lower interest rates.
As Allied Capital invests primarily in private companies, there is no readily available market value for its investments. There is often no public information on these companies, and thus there is no standard method in determining the fair value of the companies. Allied relies on the Board of Directors of the companies as well as on its own employees to effectively evaluate the companies. They are also forced to obtain correct information about the target companies by comparisons with other public firms and on the basis of expected cash flow.
Most transactions are privately negotiated and there is no established trading market. Allied's problem of illiquidity hurts its ability to get rid of debt and equity securities. Without access to equity capital, Allied's dividend growth will decrease. However, since Allied is a BDC, it is able to generate more liquidity through the sale of publicly traded stock.
Allied Capital invests primarily in private middle-market companies over the long term. Investing in private companies brings with it a large amount of risk. There is often no public information on these companies, and thus Allied relies on the efficiency of its own employees to obtain correct information about the target companies by comparisons with other public firms and on the basis of expected cash flow.
Below is a list of Allied Capital's main competitors. Allied Capital is generally more diverse than these competitors, and besides American Capital Strategies, Allied is the only publicly traded BDC in existence.


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NAPLES, Fla. (AP) – Ai Miyazato of Japan kept telling herself to be patient and the putts would start falling. It all came together Friday at the Titleholders, where she felt as if she couldn't miss until her final putt dropped for an 8-under 64 and a one-shot lead.
Two big birdie runs gave Miyazato a good chance to finish off the year with her third win. She finished the front nine with four birdies in a five-hole stretch, then ran off three straight birdies on the back nine at The TwinEagles Club, which had given her fits in the opening round.
Miyazato was at 10-under 134, one shot clear of U.S. Women's Open Na Yeon Choi, who also felt comfortable with the putter on the expansive greens with big undulations. Choi also finished with a big putt, from about 12 feet, only it was for par.
"I've been dealing with my putting since last month and it just didn't go in,'' Miyazato said. "But I just say to myself, `Just be patient and it's going to go in some day.'''
Turns out they went in all day.
Sun Young Yoo, one of three players who shared the lead going into the second round, thought she was only two shots back when she walked off the course. She was approached by rules officials in the scoring tent, who pointed out that her arm was not shoulder-high when she took a penalty drop on the 14th hole. That made a bad hole even worse, as Yoo was assessed a one-shot penalty and had a 71.
Yoo was at 7-under 137, along with Suzann Pettersen, Karine Icher and Brittany Lincicome, who was happy to just be playing.
The LPGA Tour had an online contest where fans could vote who they wanted for the feature pairing on television. Lincicome won, and then was worried she couldn't play. Her lower back seized up on her at the start of the week, and it got so bad Thursday that she needed a therapist to come out to the golf course to work out the kinks.
One of the biggest hitters in golf, she took it easy and kept her thoughts only on the next shot, and it paid off. Lincicome had a 69, and now heads into the weekend with a dozen others in the hunt for the $500,000 first-place check.
"I just tried to guide it down the middle and get back in control of things,'' Lincicome said.
Stacy Lewis still has high hopes, though she has plenty of work to catch up.
Lewis has been distracted all week with the Friday night awards dinner in which she will receive LPGA player of the year, the first American to win the biggest award in women's golf since Beth Daniel in 1994.
Lewis had a 72 on Friday, leaving her eight shots behind.
"Pretty frustrating,'' Lewis said. "My game just hasn't been sharp the last two days. Just been a little off putting, a little off chipping, a little off the iron game. You can kind of see it in the scores. Just haven't quite got things going.''
Karrie Webb rolled in a 30-foot eagle putt up the ridge on the 13th to get into the hunt, and a birdie on the last hole gave her a 69. She was in a group at 6-under 138 that included So Yeon Ryu, who was to be honored Friday night as rookie of the year. Ryu won the U.S. Women's Open last year, but she was not an LPGA Tour member.
Michelle Wie was four shots better than her opening round – a 77 – that put her in last place in the 73-player field, 24 shots behind. She headed for the practice range and worked on her swing as her parents watched.
The somber moment of the round for every player came on the par-3 17th, where a red golf cart with "OU'' painted on one side and the Chicago Cubs logo on the other was sitting on the other side of the bridge. It was a tribute to Doug Brecht, a former Oklahoma women's golf coach and longtime LPGA rules official who died last month at age 62 of complications from the West Nile Virus.
The players stopped at the cart and wrote messages and remembrances for Brecht.
The day ended with some confusion for Yoo, who was unaware of her bad drop until Janet Lindsey talked to her before signing the card.
Yoo's troubles began with a tee shot well right of the fairway and into a bush. She tried to blast it out with a 5-iron, and the ball became lodged. Taking a penalty drop, her arm was well below her shoulder. Yoo punched out, hit on the green and took two putts for a double-bogey 7. Then, it became an 8.
"I didn't try to cheat. I didn't think about my arm's height,'' Yoo said. "It's my mistake. I'm still only three shots behind. I'm in good position.''
It was another bad finish for the Kraft Nabisco champion, who on Thursday ended with a pair of three-putts for a double bogey and a bogey. This was only an extra stroke, but it left her surprised. She had no idea she had taken an improper drop until after her round.
"All I can do is just forget about it,'' Yoo said. "I'll learn from this mistake, and next time I won't make it.''
Miyazato, Choi, just about every player in the field is trying to end on a high note, even though very little is at stake. Lewis already has wrapped up player of the year and would need to win to have any chance at the money list, which Inbee Park leads. Park was at 4-under 140.
Choi still has work to do. She is playing in two more events in Asia, and then plans to spend Christmas in South Korea. As a testament to how hard she works, Choi said a year ago she took the first vacation of her life – to Indonesia and then Tokyo.
"The first time I went without golf clubs,'' she said.


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Model 103 was the second speaker to appear in the Reference Series. An 8 inch two way closed box design, it used the same low distortion B200 bass driver as the Model 104 with the new T52 tweeter (developed from the original T15).
A novel feature of this system was the rotatable steel baffle which could be turned through 360 degrees to present the drive units vertically aligned regardless of the orientation of the cabinet, thus ensuring the broad horizontal dispersion necessary for optimum stereo imaging and minimal tonal variation.
Critical to the low colouration levels of this system was the substantially built cabinet, with critical bracing elements and bituminous panels laminated onto the walls.
Specification: Model 103
System type: Two-way, bookshelf/stand-mount
Enclosure type: Closed box
Size: 500 x 303 x 225cm (19.7 x 13 x 8.9 inches)
Weight: 14.5 kg (32 lb)
Input Impedance: 8 ohms
Rated maximum power: 100W programme
Amplifier Requirements: 25-100 watts per channel into 8 ohms
System resonance: 58Hz, Q=0.9
Frequency response: 50-20,000Hz +/-2dB
Sensitivity: 25 watts for 96dB at 1m and 400Hz in anechoic conditions
Crossover Frequency: 3000Hz
Finishes: Walnut, Teak
Grille: black foam
System: SP1048
Drive units: B200 bass unit (SP1039), T52 tweeter (SP1049)
Crossover: SP1050
Download Reference Series Model 103 Brochure


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Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday he would depart in two weeks on another trip to the Middle East to push peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Speaking to reporters alongside Israeli peace negotiator Tzipi Livni, Kerry said he'd depart on his fourth trip to the Jewish state as America's top diplomat around May 21 or 22. He will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"We are working through threshold questions," Kerry said, ahead of his private talks with Livni in Rome. "We're doing it with a seriousness of purpose that I think ... has not been present in a while. And we all believe we're working with a short time span."
Kerry said officials must have "some sense of direction as fast as we can."
The former Massachusetts senator, who visited the region twice in March and again last month, has been trying to end a 4 1/2 year stalemate between the parties over issues ranging from Israeli settlement construction in disputed lands to Palestinian efforts to win statehood recognition at international bodies.
During that period, the Israelis and Palestinians have hardly negotiated peace at all.
Before arriving Wednesday in the Italian capital, Kerry spoke by telephone with Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani. who led an Arab delegation to Washington last week to try to aid the peace effort.
Kerry and Livni praised the Arab League delegation's decision last week to accept shifts in Israel's border as part of a long-standing offer of universal recognition for Israel in the Arab world — if Israel withdraws from territory it conquered in the 1967 Mideast war.
Kerry said the Arabs "want to keep the process going" and have asked for more meetings.
"We will have those ongoing meetings, but with a purpose," he said. "We're not going to have meetings for the sake of a meeting."
Livni said peace was in the interests of Israel and the Palestinians. She praised Kerry for "recreating hope" after years of stagnancy.
"Some of us lost hope and this is something we need, not just as a vague idea, but something which is concrete," she told reporters.
Neither Kerry nor Livni addressed reports that Israel has put a hold on new construction of settlements in lands the Palestinians hope to include in their state.
American officials would see such a freeze as a positive step, but they don't want to hype any small steps in light of the Middle East peace process' long history of false starts and collapses.


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Who eats: Loop business types and conventioneers.
Why eat: Executive chef Geotano Ascione, who arrived in August, has installed a rustic Italian menu ("strictly on the Italian standards," he points out) that makes good use of the open kitchen's domed, wood-burning oven. The South Loop location is equidistant from the Loop and McCormick Place.
Ambience: Opened in 1999 in a Prohibition-era building that reputedly was a one-time speakeasy, Gioco (which means "game," as in a game you play) exudes rustic and gritty charm. The two-level space includes a sunken dining area within distressed brick walls. Focal points include stacks of wine bottles (alluding to the budget-friendly Italian wine list) and the open kitchen; the sidewalk cafe is a popular sunny-day destination.
Dress code: Business casual rules during the week.
Noise factor: When full, considerable. But lunch service is relatively undiscovered.
Overheard: Chef passionately discussing the menu.
Service: Our waitress seemed hesitant and inexperienced, though she could provide opinions on her favorite dishes.
Cellphone reception/Wi-Fi: Reception strong even in lower level; free Wi-Fi.
Reservations: 312-939-3870, or through opentable.com.
Menu: Compact assortment of seafood and vegetable appetizers, pizzas, pastas, and a few main plates. Dinner menu has more heft.
Reliable options: Thin, blistered-crust pizzas are delicious, particularly the wild mushroom and goat cheese version ($14) anointed with truffle oil. Beef and veal meatballs bathed in tomato sauce and basil ($9) are very good, as is a simple salad of steamed asparagus ($7) with chopped egg and Parmesan cheese. The pasta to try is the paccheri (think extra-large rigatoni) with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and drizzled olive oil, a bit of Neapolitan heaven ($12).
Expect to pay: $46-$60 for two.
Contacts: giocorestaurant.com, or 312-939-3870.


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Brickstock Surname Ancestry Results
Our indexes 1000-1999 include entries for the spelling 'brickstock'. In the period you have requested, we have the following 2 records (displaying 1 to 2):
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brickleton brickley brickliffe brickly brickman brickmann brickmore brickmyre bricknal bricknale bricknall bricknel bricknell brickner bricknill bricknock bricknoll bricknott bricks brickstead brickstocke brickstone brickton brickvile brickw'd brickward brickwell brickwood brickworth brickyer brickys bricles briclesworth bricmarton brico bricoe bricogne bricoun bricout bricport
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GMD GestureControl v7.0.0 Apk – Control device/tablet with MULTITOUCH and MULTITASK gestures similar to iPad.
Updated: September 24, 2013
Current Version 7.0.0
Requires Android: 3.1 and up
Category: Tools
Size: 1.8M
with GMD GestureControl Apk you can hide status bar, full screenin your favorite games or while browsing and this app works in all applications.
- Requires root access
- USB Debuging must be enabled in Android setting
- Multitouch
- Multitask – start any application, shortcut or custom action without leaving current application
- Custom actions – LaunchPad, Start application, Previous Application, Next application, Home, Kill current application, Back, Forward, Recent application list, Recent application dialog, Menu, Notification Panel, Hide/Show status bar, Start launcher shorcut(bookmark, contacts, settings, etc), Start Tasker task, Pause gestures, Exit, Screen Off (lock)
- Swipe 4 fingers right – open previous application
- Swipe 4 fingers left – open next application
- Expand 4 fingers – LaunchPad (similar to SwypePad, start any application, shortcut or custom action)
- Pinch 4 fingers – Home gesture
- Swipe 3 fingers down – Back gesture
- Swipe 3 fingers up – Hide/Show status bar (ICS is in Alfa stage)
- Custom gestures – create your own gestures to start any application, shortcut or custom action
This application allows you to control tablet with gestures.
- Swipe 3 fingers up to hide status bar. Do same gesture again to restore bar.
- Swipe 4 fingers right to open previous application.
- Swipe 4 fingers left to open next application.
- Pinch with 4 fingers anywhere on screen to return to home screen from any application.
- Swipe 3 fingers down to execute back action in any application.
- Expand 4 fingers anywhere on screen to open LaunchPad dialog. It is similar to SwypePad and allows start your most often used applications, shortcuts or custom actions anywhere anytime with simple gesture.
- Works in all applications, games and browsers.
- option to hide notification icon, custom gestures and special actions, any number of actions in LaunchPad.
Application will use freed space when you hide status bar. Some games even work better with status bar hidden.
There is an option to switch to single touch gestures if its more convenient. You can even create your own gestures for any action.
Whats new
- Major update
- Graphical gestures
- Android 4.3 issues fix
- New devices
Free Download GMD GestureControl root 7.0.0


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Come See Why Drivers in Atlanta, Duluth, Roswell, Marietta, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs Trust Ed Voyles Acura for Certified Pre-Owned Acura models
No matter what you call them: certified, used, pre-owned; our selection of used Acura models in Atlanta are sure to please. Drivers from Duluth, Roswell, Marietta, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs visit us because we are a trusted used Acura dealership in Atlanta. Our inventory of certified pre-owned Acura models have passed an extensive inspection and have met our high expectations. After all, we wouldn't put a used car on our lot that we wouldn't drive ourselves. See a used Acura you like? Come take it for a test drive!


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By Naomi O'Leary
ROME (Reuters) - A growing bank scandal in Italy on Friday threatened to hurt both the center-left frontrunners and outgoing premier Mario Monti, as a survey suggested that next month's election could usher in new instability.
The poll by the Piepoli Institute in La Stampa newspaper indicated the center-left would fail to win control of the Senate, preventing it forming a stable government without outside help.
Center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani is widely expected to seek an alliance with Monti if he falls short in the Senate, which has equal power to the lower house in approving laws.
Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the world's oldest bank, which is already seeking a 3.9 billion euro ($5.2 billion) government bailout, this week revealed losses on complex financial instruments that could cost it as much as 720 million euros, unleashing a major scandal that is playing into the election campaign.
The bank's biggest shareholder is a charitable foundation controlled by politicians of the Democratic Party (PD), the biggest group in the center-left alliance.
"There will certainly be a negative effect on the Democratic Party," said Maurizio Pessato, the vice chairman of rival pollster SWG. "The question is whether it will be temporary and how intense it will be."
The idea that part of the revenue from big tax hikes imposed by the outgoing technocrat government could be used to rescue a bank is toxic for both the PD and Monti, who is also standing in the election, Pessato said.
"Much of the Italian population sees Monti as someone connected to the financial world. The man on the street will see this as Monti's world, and imagine he is involved."
Politicians rushed to exploit the scandal.
"This stinks of bribes," said Northern League leader Roberto Maroni. "Monti gave MPS 4 billion euros and he must explain why ... He cannot avoid the responsibility he has in this disaster, him and only him."
The League is part of a center-right alliance led by former premier Silvio Berlusconi that is fighting to rob the center-left of control of the Senate.
In a radio interview, Monti also sought to use the scandal for political reasons, saying the center-left was implicated.
"The Democratic Party is involved in this affair," Monti said. "I'm not here to attack Bersani ... these problems stem from the ugly beast that is the blend of banking and politics."
The Piepoli poll on Friday said the center-left would win the lower house, but saw Berlusconi's center-right taking the key regions of Sicily, Lombardy and Veneto in the Senate race.
The center-left's lead was less than five points in a further three regions, the survey said. A split result would make it difficult for the government to pass legislation in a bi-cameral system where laws have to go through both houses.
Pessato said he expected the scandal to be reflected in a poll by SWG due early next week.
A survey by Pessato's company taken last Wednesday showed the center-left leading on 34.1 percent - a small increase over the week before - against 26.6 percent for the center-right and 12.8 for Monti's centrist coalition, which is so far failing to gain the traction it hoped for against its rivals.
Pessato said the Monte dei Paschi scandal could boost support for the Northern League, a consistent critic of Italian banks, and for the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, whose leader Beppe Grillo has called for MPS to be nationalized.
Grillo attended an angry meeting of Monte dei Paschi shareholders on Friday and joined a chorus of demands for the management to step down.
(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Barry Moody)


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The University of Alabama signed three prospects from the state of Georgia in the 2013 class, including Rivals100 members Alvin Kamara, a four-star running back from Norcross High School, and Tyren Jones, a four-star running back from Walton High in Marietta. The top two backs in the Peach State selected the Crimson Tide instead of the Georgia Bulldogs.
The University of Alabama signed three prospects from the state of Georgia in the 2013 class, including Rivals100 members Alvin Kamara, a four-star running back from Norcross High School, and Tyren Jones, a four-star running back from Walton High in Marietta. The top two backs in the Peach State selected the Crimson Tide instead of the Georgia Bulldogs.
Alabama's success in the neighboring state doesn't come as a surprise. The Crimson Tide has won three of the last four national championships and also garners a lot of attention playing in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff classic in Atlanta and the SEC championships. Alabama's biggest haul came in the 2012 class, when seven players from Georgia signed, including freshmen contributors Kenyan Drake, Geno Smith and Dillon Lee.
Alabama signed linebacker Xzavier Dickson in the 2011 class. The 2010 class was impressive with Adrian Hubbard, Blake Sims, Brian Vogler and Austin Shepard.
Alabama's best player from Georgia has been offensive guard Chance Warmack. He was part of legendary 2009 recruiting class that also featured Trent Richardson, Dre Kirkpatrick, AJ McCarron, Eddie Lacy, D.J. Fluker, Nico Johnson, James Carpenter, Kenny Bell, Anthony Steen and Quinton Dial, just to name a few.
It's time for the Crimson Tide to turn its attention to the class of 2014. Assistant coaches Chris Rumph and Kirby Smart are well known throughout Georgia. They have already made several stops to high schools checking on next year's batch of elite prospects. Alabama head coach Nick Saban has continued walking through the hallways of high schools in Georgia the past few months.
The majority of top prospects recruited in Georgia for next year's class play on the defensive side of the ball. A few offensive standouts who have offers from Alabama include Nick Chubb, a four-star running back from Cedartown High; Demarre Kitt, a four-star wide receiver from Sandy Creek High in Tyrone; and Orlando Brown, offensive tackle from Peachtree Ridge High in Suwanee.
Georgia has lost three of the best backs in the state to Alabama in the past two recruiting classes. Coach Mark Richt wants Chubb playing his college football in Athens, and the Bulldogs are the early favorite. But that doesn't mean the Crimson Tide is out of the running.
"It is Alabama," Chubb said. "I really like how they turn their running backs into monsters. I like how they pass and run the ball."
Alabama will likely have the most success recruiting on the defensive side of the ball. The Crimson Tide is a major contender for Lorenzo Carter, a five-star defensive end from Norcross High. Alabama is also in the mix for Raekwon McMillan, a four-star linebacker from Liberty County High in Hinesville. Clemson and Ohio State are his current top two schools.
"They built the (Alabama) program off defense," Carter said. "I don't like offense. Defense is the key thing. They are recruiting me as a Jack linebacker. Adrian Hubbard plays the position, and he is out of Norcross. It would be cool to see the last two Jacks at Alabama from Norcross."
Other elite prospects on the defensive side of the ball include Elisha Shaw, a four-star defensive tackle from Atlanta's Tucker High; Bryson Allen-Williams, a four-star outside linebacker from Cedar Grove High in Ellenwood; Dontavius Russell, a four-star defensive tackle from Carrollton High; and Dante Sawyer, a four-star defensive end from North Gwinnett High in Suwanee.
Alabama has also offered several defensive backs including Nick Ruffin, a cornerback from St. Pius X High in Atlanta; Kalvarez Bessent, a four-star cornerback from Camden County High in Kingsland; Chris Williams, safety from Camden County High; Nick Glass, a safety from Peachtree Ridge High; and Cortez McDowell, a four-star safety from Locust Grove High.
TideSports.com has recruiting updates on a daily basis of the top prospects with scholarship offers from Alabama, players showing high interest in the Crimson Tide and updates on prospects attending Junior Day in Tuscaloosa this month. Join TideSports.com for the weekly recruiting chat each Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Reach Andrew Bone at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewJBone


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Arts center hosts annual Art of Wine fund raiser
Arts center hosts annual Art of Wine fund raiser
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —
Crowds gathered Saturday at the Walton Arts Center to taste 400 different types of wine from around the world.
The arts center has been hosting the Art of Wine for about 10 years.
"Hundreds of guests here tasting great wines and all of it, all of the benefits go right to our programs, all of our cultural and educational programs," said Chief Executive Officer Peter Lane.
Lane said the Photosphere program, which promotes visual and performance arts, and their Ten-by-Ten Program for high school students, benefit from the funds raised at the event.
Vendors from several companies sponsored the wines, Lane said.
Lane said more than 350 tickets were sold at the box office, bringing in $52,000 for the programs.


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Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (US - BD RA)
Gabe revisits the land of Narnia, minus the extended scenes, but plus 1080p...
Note: the following film review was taken and altered from my Extended Cut DVD review.
In this, the first part of C.S. Lewis' epic Chronicles of Narnia children's book series, four siblings escape their WWII ravaged home in London to a mansion in the country. The giant domicile hides a mysterious wardrobe that serves as a passage to another world, the world of Narnia. Narnia has been in a frozen disarray for hundreds of years under the cruel reign of the evil White Witch. But there is a prophecy that tells of two sons of Adam, and two daughters of Eve (read: humans) that will save Narnia from its eternal winter.
The Chronicles of Narnia would not have been green-lit had Peter Jackson's filmed versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels flopped. Disney was likely holding fast to the Narnia rights and watching The Lord of the Rings box office with wagging and salivating tongues. The studio even went directly to LOTR practical effects designers Weta, and filmed in New Zealand to make the film. After Mel Gibson's S&M, slow motion fetish-fest The Passion of the Christ rolled in the Christian cash, the studio made the decision to up-play the original story's Christian themes to sweeten the bait (though I have to give them credit for not softening the original story's strong Christian overtones, anything else would be a sell-out). The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe may have some artistic merit, and entertainment value, but the whole film is mad dash for the sweet green cash.
The real shocker wasn't the studio's acquisitiveness, but the hiring of Andrew Adamson as director. Adamson was hot off the first two Shrek computer animated films, produced by DreamWorks SKG, an animation department that was made and maintained by ex-Disney employees. Adamson's studio jump was seen by some as less than chivalrous. His hiring in general was plenty suspect to those of us who were actually looking forward to the film.
Not to get too down on the man or his green ogre, but the Shrek movies were not character driven, poignant, or even particularly dramatic work. They're joke driven. Personally, I laughed at the first one the first time I saw it, and have found its many pop culture references entirely tiring on subsequent forced viewings. The two movies are insanely popular, but they're easily forgotten, surface layer writing isn't the kind of thing I would expect to stand up to the deeply dramatic and rich worlds of Jackson's LOTR. (though I suppose anyone watching Braindead in the early '90s wouldn't ever suspect Jackson of being capable of anything beyond fart, gut and blood jokes).
Adamson gets the job done here, but on a disappointingly bare level. His Narnia is visually rich, attractive, and pretty much exactly what I pictured when I read the first two books as a kid. Real world Britain is even more eyeball-pleasing, and the art and set design staff do a pretty good job of not making this fantasy world look exactly like that of Middle Earth. The problem is that Jackson's Middle Earth, and to a certain extent the worlds of the Harry Potter films, have a realistic, gigantic, and lived-in feel to them. Narnia is very pretty, but like the worlds of Shrek, pretty shallow. I don't get the feeling of this being a lived in world, with thousands of years of history, and I never forget that I'm watching a film set or computer amalgamation (though the botched green-screen composites don't really help me there).
I attribute my personal apathy towards the plot and characters to the fact that I'm not very fond of the original books (or the two I read). I understand that these are classics, but it's just not possible to overlook the fact that I find them excruciatingly dull. What Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh managed to do with The Lord of the Rings was to take a dated fantasy series that was the partial inspiration of all fantasy that followed, and rework it into something not only accessible to the general public, but something cineastes, intellectuals, and other snobs can enjoy. It's all in the adaptation, and when done right a film can be better than the original book, at least in the context that it works for and touches the greatest overall theatre going audience, from high-brow to low.
Adamson and his crew has followed C.S. Lewis' source novel a little too closely. The book was written with children in mind, and the story moves way to fast, at least in these post- LOTR times. Jackson and Co. knew what characters needed a lot fleshing-out to gain the most dramatic tension possible. The best example is the character of Faramir, who in the books is an entirely generic 'hero'. In the film (much to Tolkein fanatics' chagrin) things are changed to give the character a proper drive and arch. An audience watching The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is expected to take the filmmaker's word for the fact that they should care for these people and creatures. Some would argue that taking two, three-plus hour long movies to establish characters is overkill, but I found it invaluable from a raw emotional standpoint. Let's not make a habit of it, but admit that sometimes it's needed.
Adamson doesn't do up-close action very well at all, and his editors over-edit even the simplest shots. There isn't a lot of time taken to establish geography in any shot, and this is a huge problem during action. Hopefully Disney will be willing to let the next film in the series play out a little slower, and Adamson will grow a bit as a filmmaker, because right now his attention span isn't to far from his Shrek days.
Some wide-shot action is at least nominally majestic, especially those featuring flying creatures dropping rocks on non-flying creatures, but the battle fields are stilted and sudden. The battle isn't set in the layers Jackson used so well during the attack on Helms Deep for The Two Towers, and the elapsed time is short due to a lack of cutaways. The bigger problem here though, is the lack of build up. Zulu, Braveheart, the two latter LOTR films, Kingdom of Heaven and pretty much every other classic cinematic large scale battle had at a lot of build up to the release of violence, in the case of Zulu and [/i]LOTR[/i] a matter of hours.
As a non-fan of Harry Potter, who thought the series didn't pick up until the third episode, I was always impressed with the calibre of child actors. The kids here aren't bad, by any means, but never act naturally. It's always obvious that they're acting well, rather than melting into the story or their characters. They're thinly drawn nature can be attributed to Lewis' source material, but as I said, the actors behind LOTR found ways to flesh-out their characters. The best performances come from the voice cast, and Tilda Swinton as the evil White Witch. The problem with this praise is that most of these parts were just well (and sometimes all too obviously) cast, and these actors are simply replaying older roles.
The effects are decent, at some points during the battle brilliant, but always obviously effects. Some animal characters (the beavers and the fox) are a little too cartoony for my taste (though I understand this is a kid's film), and some of the more fantastical creatures don't blend into each other in a group. The difference between practical and digital effects is hard to miss. The problem here, as it usually is with ineffective special effects, is context. If the story doesn't sell an effect as real, the illusion is obvious, and no matter how solid the voice acting, these characters are clearly effects.
After two disappointing DVD release, both the extended and theatrical cuts, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is finally sharp and clean enough to look the hundred and some million bucks it cost. This Blu-ray presentation is really close to perfect, presented in full 1080p/AVC MPEG-4, blah biddy blah blah. The lack of compression makes a comparison of this and the previous DVD releases pointless.
Colours are even brighter and 'realistically' rendered, black levels are deep and as rich as my set would allow. Blues are especially clean and warm reds and yellows really pop. Some skin-tones and browns display small amounts of noise and cross-colouration, but you have to get really close to see it. The overall image sharpness almost erases memories of soft and choppy details. Lowly lit scenes are still a bit on the noisy side, and cause an overall redness in the frame, but now the backgrounds are still discernable. Lighter sequences look basically perfect, with only minor edge enhancement in busier shots.
The problem with this amazing visual clarity is the occasionally spotty digital effects are often the most highly detailed thing in frame, causing them to stand out even more against the real life sets, actors and backgrounds. In exchange, however, some wide shots have such an incredible depth of field that they appear three-dimensional.
I still haven't found the money to catch up with the rest of the Blu-ray world audio-wise, and still don't have uncompressed PCM abilities (I do have a Paypal account, however). The included Dolby Digital track is comparable to the extended release's DTS track, and pretty fantastic even with its slight compression. Dialogue is perfectly clear without overpowering subtle background sound. Directional effects are nearly perfect, and add to that three dimensional quality. LFE is thick and room rumbling, but it does lack a bit of punch, which is likely solved in the PCM track, so I'm going to ignore the problem.
The score runs hot and cold, sometimes beautiful, other times entirely unoriginal and obvious. There's a hair too much Enya-like vocalisation for me overall (the final credits of all three Lord of the Rings films had this exact problem, especially Fellowship, which actually used Enya herself).
Disc one houses the same extras as both of the original DVD releases, starting with the same two commentary tracks, one technical and the other fun. The children's commentary with director Adamson is the better track due to the fact that the kids themselves are pretty infectious. The later track with Adamson and some of his crew would be unnecessary had this release included the 'disc four' extras from the extended edition release. The first disc also has a few more kid friendly extras like a blooper reel and some nice little Narnia pop-up facts.
Disc two is not unlike the second disc of the previous special edition releases, but with the added fun of a Blu-ray game. 'The Battle for Narnia' froze up on me three times, which meant I had to restart the disc, which meant I had to sit through another one to two minute load time, which was pretty annoying. The load times are just brutal, I can't picture any children (the group to which the game is aimed) sitting still for three plus minutes of loading. After the third try I gave up. Hopefully those of you with newer players can tell me if it was fun or not.
The rest of the disc is basically one big documentary cut up into a billion little pieces. Returning to the main menu every few minutes isn't my idea of a fun, and the disc's producers don't supply a 'play all' option for the encompassing menus. Despite their length, the 'Evolution of an Epic' features are a pretty breezy viewing, though the pace is occasionally a bit too fast for the bits I actually cared about (especially the Richard Taylor of Weta, and Howard Berger or KNB sections, which only run about six minutes apiece). The 'Creatures, Lands & Legends' sections, covering the mythology and design of the world are far too short.
The two biggest sections of the disc are 'Chronicles of a Director' and 'The Children's Magical Journey' featurettes. 'Chronicles of a Director' gives the viewer a nice glance into the making of the film, and forces some respect upon director Adamson, but when directly compared to the similar footage found on the LOTR DVDs, the production almost looks easy (not to deplete the production crew's effort, but LOTR looked like a living Hell). There's a bit too much brown-nosing, but this kind of behaviour is to be expected from such featurettes. 'The Children's Magical Journey' is pretty darn endearing, and made me wish I'd enjoyed the final film a bit more. Seeing the epic filmmaking experience from the kid's point of view is a great touch. Another breezy thirty minutes.
But there are some things missing here. The option of the extended cut is a big dump on the heads of the film's fans, as we all know a seamless branching option could easily hold room for both versions on the disc. Besides this are the super cool PiP features that adorned the four disc extended edition release. I suppose Disney does have an excuse here, as the majority of standalone Blu-ray players are unable to deal with PiP technology, but it still seems that the option would've been perfect for a high definition release.
We stand on the cusp of Prince Caspian's theatrical release, and then we'll see if Adamson and Co. have learned from their mistakes here. Everything about this first Blu-ray release sings the song of a double dip release around the time part two finds its way to home video. Missing is the extended cut, and the extended cut exclusive extras. However, the disc does look and sound about as sharp as one can expect, with only a few small flecks of compression noise to hold it back from a perfect score. To bad the game took three tries and several minutes to not load properly.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Some material may not be suitable for children
Disc Details
Release Date: 13th May 2008
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: PCM 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Spanish, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Portuguese, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Thai
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Extras: Filmmakers/Director/Actor Commentaries, Bloopers, Fun Facts, Creating Narnia, Chronicles of a Director, The Children's Magical Journey, Evolution of an Epic, Creatures' Lands and Legends, Creatures of the World, Explore Narnia, Legend in Time, Game, Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Andrew Adamson
Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton
Genre: Family and Fantasy
Length: 135 minutes
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Nov. 15, 2008
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team was vying for its third-straight Big West title and its sixth in the past eight years, but it was not to be as the Gauchos lost in the Big West Tournament championship game to UC Irvine, 4-2.
UCSB, ranked as high as No. 19, is still likely to receive its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. The NCAA Selection Show airs on Monday at 3 p.m. PST on ESPNews. The Gauchos' current run of six straight NCAA appearances is the eighth-longest active streak in the nation.
The Gauchos have been a top-25 team all season long and in the most recent RPI rankings, they were No. 9 in the nation. UCSB finishes the regular season with a 10-6-5 overall record. UC Irvine, ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation, finishes the regular season 14-1-6. The Anteaters' lone loss came to the Gauchos in early October.
UC Irvine took a commanding 4-0 lead in the first half, as Rafael Macedo scored goals in the 10th and 26th minutes. Amani Walker's goal in the 16th minute and Irving Garcia's goal in the 39th minute put the Gauchos into a hole they couldn't recover from.
The four goals were the most that goalkeeper Kristopher Minton had allowed since taking over between the pipes in the middle of the season. Minton had allowed just two goals in the Gauchos' past three games.
Both of UCSB's goals came on penalty kicks as Chris Pontius converted one at 75:36 and Nick Perera put one away at 89:10.
For Pontius, it was his 14th goal of the season, which places him into a tie for sixth all-time by a Gaucho player in a single season. Pontius is tied with Scott Grasinger (1982) and UCSB all-time points leader Drew McAthy (2003) for goals in a season. The record is held by Rob Friend, who put away 20 in the 2002 season.
Pontius' goal also gives him 29 in his illustrious career, placing him fifth all-time in UCSB history. That is one more than UCSB assistant coach Neil Jones had in his excellent career, from 2001-04.
Perera, meanwhile, scored his eighth goal of the season which is a career high as is his 19 overall points this season. Perera has scored three goals in his past two games and is second behind Pontius on the team in both points and goals.
The four goals UCSB allowed were its most since losing to Wake Forest, 6-2, on Sept. 21.
UCSB outshot UCI, 20-13, however, Anteaters goalie Andrew Fontein made nine saves and thwarted the Gauchos all night.
Should the Gauchos host a NCAA Tournament game, tickets will be available following Monday's Selection Show, which airs on ESPNews at 3 p.m. PST.
Tickets will be available by calling (805) 893-UCSB or coming to the Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics building on campus Monday through Friday or by clicking here.


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge in Albuquerque has postponed until Thursday a bond hearing for the animal rights groups who won a temporary ban on domestic horse slaughter.
The Humane Society of the United States, Front Range Equine Rescue and others on Friday won a temporary restraining order that blocked plans by companies in Roswell, N.M., and Sigourney, Iowa, to start slaughtering horses this week.
But before their lawsuit challenging the Department of Agriculture's June decision to open the plants can proceed, a bond must be posted to cover the companies' losses should the animal groups lose.
Blair Dunn, who represents Valley Meat Co. in Roswell, says he will seek at least $10 million.
The hearing was scheduled Monday. But federal Magistrate Robert Scott says he needs more time to hear arguments.


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PHOTO CREDITS: Banner courtesy Oborseth/Wikimedia Commons; Crowd photo courtesy Ed Mutchnick; Polar bear courtesy Flickr/flickrfavorites; Martha, the last passenger pigeon — public domain (U.S.); Coquí guajón courtesy Luis O. Nieves; Langes metalmark butterfly courtesy USFWS; Pacific walruses courtesy USFWS; Ribbon seal by Dr. Peter Boveng, NOAA; Sandplain gerardia courtesy USFWS; Orca courtesy NOAA; Florida panther courtesy USFWS; Pika courtesy Flickr/Lukas Vermeer; Forest Path courtesy Anja Jonsson/Flickr; MuleDeer courtesy Oborseth/WikimediaCommons; Horned Lizard courtesy Brad Smith/Flickr.


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Myrna Buckley, 78 - April 08, 2009
Services for Myrna Elaine (Ackerman) Buckley, 78, formerly of Gothenburg, were held Saturday, March 28, 2009, at the Zion Lutheran Church at Ainsworth with the Rev. Georg Williams officiating. Interment was held at the Ainsworth Cemetery.
Buckley was born Sept. 27, 1930, at Gothenburg to Jerry and Christina (Buesing) Ackerman. She graduated from Gothenburg High School in 1948.
She was united in marriage to Richard Buckley of Cozad on July 12, 1950. To this union, five children were born.
Buckley and her husband began their lives together in Cozad and eventually moved to Fort Benning in Georgia for her husband's military service. Following their time in Georgia, the couple then returned to ranch in 1973.
She committed her life to her family and was proud of her family memories and welcomed all who entered her home with unconditional kindness, according to family members. She provided a second-home to several friends of her own children and other children in the neighborhood as well.
Buckley was active in many women's clubs and was an accomplished seamstress, winning the "Make it with Wool" contest. She used her skills to help her children with their extracurricular activities including projects for 4-H, baking for school fundraisers and team sport functions.
She enjoyed spending her time in football stands, volleyball bleachers and wrestling tournaments, always supporting the activities of her children and grandchildren, said family members. She was also an avid reader and loved to share her "words of wisdom."
Buckley was preceded in death by: her husband, Richard; a daughter, Ranae; her parents, Jerry and Christina; a brother, Harlan; grandson, James Buckley.
Survivors include: her sons—Kim (Sue) Buckley of Ainsworth, and Ryan of Tyler, TX; daughters—Joy (Don) Doucet of Lincoln, and Karma (Donovan) Bower of Bellevue; grandchildren—Erin (Ron) Coles of Lincoln, Brooke (Matt) Hughes of Kearney, Jade Walton of Chicago, IL, Merry Buckley of Alexandria, LA, Abbygayl and Sage Meyer of Bellevue, Trev Buckley and Brett Carlyle of Tyler.
Memorials are suggested to the family.
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By Stephen Mangan
BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's worst period of violence since a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of conflict has highlighted just how fragile that accord is and raised fears that the province cannot fully emerge from its bloody past.
Petrol bombs and guns returned to the streets of Belfast after a vote by local councilors to end a century-old tradition of flying Britain's flag from City Hall every day provoked pro-British loyalists into riots that have raged for much of the past five weeks.
For locals, it has stirred memories of the 30 years of sectarian conflict that pitted Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland against British security forces and mainly Protestant loyalists determined to stay in the United Kingdom.
The police, who are the target of the latest disturbances, say they have contained the unrest and with rioters unable to muster numbers much larger than 200, the threat to the 15 years of peace has so far been limited.
However business has been severely disrupted, Belfast's improving reputation tarnished and some politicians worry that they can no longer get through to those who feel they have no place in a new Northern Ireland where they sense they are both economically and demographically under pressure.
"The politicians have lost control," Danny Kennedy, a member of the province's second largest pro-British party, the Ulster Unionists, and a minister in Northern Ireland's devolved government, told Reuters.
"Twenty years ago when the two leaders of Unionism issued a statement appealing to loyalists to stay off the streets, they would have been obeyed. It's a worrying factor and a new factor in Loyalism - the constituency which says things have gone too far and nobody is standing up for what we stand for."
That constituency is mainly made up of disillusioned teens who, with faces covered by scarves and British flags draped over their shoulders, pelted police with petrol bombs and fireworks for much of the past week.
While police have accused pro-British militant groups of exploiting the violence, the angry crowds have been dominated by younger faces with the disturbances arranged via social media sites like Facebook, much like riots in London in 2011.
Of the 107 people arrested since the trouble began at the beginning of December, police said one third have been under the age of 18 with an 11-year-old boy the youngest amongst them.
"The scary thing is, these kids aren't listening. For a lot of them it's just fun, a game of cat and mouse with police which is better entertainment than their Playstation," said Mark Houston, director of the East Belfast Mission group that is working with protesters to try and quell the unrest.
"They don't have any prospects, there's a hopelessness so you've a lot people involved in recreational rioting, with nobody really with the power to switch it off. They've no fear of anyone and it isn't any one group doing it."
Houston, whose offices are based at the heart of the unrest in protestant East Belfast, said one-in-four males under the age of 16 in that area are functionally illiterate and come from families where other generations have never been employed.
With jobs in areas such as technology replacing the once reliable industrial employment offered in shipyards like Harland and Wolff, which a century ago built the Titanic, uneducated young people in East Belfast have few, if any, opportunities.
Community workers like Houston say a first meeting of the new 'Unionist Forum' on Thursday, where politicians will meet to seek to address the communities' issues, will help but is unlikely to yield the quick fix needed at grassroots level.
Instead exasperated residents, who have seen militant Irish nationalists become more active in recent years by killing three police officers and two soldiers, may simply have to wait for rioters to get bored of fighting with police, he said.
For nationalist politicians, whose communities have so far mainly stayed on the sidelines with the exception of those militant factions who attempted to kill a policeman with a car bomb last month, a Unionist-led solution will not work.
Protestant protesters have complained that the removal of the flag was a step too far in the ebbing of their dominance in the province.
Gerry Kelly, policing spokesman for Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), says the decision to fly the flag on 17 specific days a year simply brings Belfast in line with many other town halls in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.
"We can sort this out collectively but there has to be a realization that we're not just talking about one issue, we're talking about a series," Kelly, who served 15 years in prison in relation to a fatal bombing in the 1970s, told Reuters.
"We have a difficulty - it's the beginning of the year, the marching season is ahead of us. Am I worried about it? Yes, I am but I do think we have overcome bigger problems that this before and we can do it again," said Kelly, whose party shares power in the devolved government with its former Unionist foes.
Kelly was referring to the divisive summer marching season when Protestant groups hold traditional parades that are seen as provocative by Catholic nationalists and often turn violent. Police were shot at and injured last year.
The differing views among politicians shows the lingering division that makes governing its 1.8 million people a complex affair as Northern Ireland, severed from the rest of the island 90 years ago as a Protestant-majority province, sees its demographic balance tip toward Catholics.
Census data released last month showed that a majority of Belfast's population is now Roman Catholic and experts predict that Catholics could become a majority of the whole province's voters within a generation.
However for most people on the streets of Northern Ireland, who were looking forward to a year when the province plays host to the G8 summit of world leaders, there is no will to return to the bloody times that cost some 3,600 lives over three decades.
"The small numbers of people carrying on with violence and attacks on police will never win," said Adrian Warren, 62, a Protestant former government worker from south Belfast.
"Northern Ireland will never be a war zone again because the ordinary, everyday people here want peace and want their children and families to be safe. Bombs and guns are a thing of the past and they've no place anymore."
(Writing by Padraic Halpin, additional reporting by Conor Humphries and Eamonn Mallie; Editing by Giles Elgood)


text:
To report an emergency in progress, call 911.
August 31, 2012
Placer County is seeking volunteer firefighters to help staff fire stations throughout the unincorporated areas of the county. Volunteers play a key role in providing firefighting and medical service to local residents. After passing the application process and completing a volunteer firefighter academy, volunteers are issued safety equipment and are able to respond to calls for service. In the unincorporated communities in the county, volunteers are needed at the following stations: Dry Creek, Paige, Sheridan, Thermoland's, Fowler, Ophir, and Dutch Flat.
Depending on their qualifications and the need for volunteers at a particular station, volunteers may staff stations and fire apparatus. Qualified volunteers are issued personal protective equipment and a pager so they can respond to calls for emergency service from home or work as available. By law, volunteer firefighters are held to the same requirements for training and expectations of behavior as paid firefighters.
While the volunteers are typically not paid, they can be compensated for attending trainings and sometimes receive a stipend for responding to calls, depending on which agency they work for.
"Community volunteer firefighters have been integral to Placer County's preparedness and response capabilities going back to before we became a county," said Rui Cunha, Assistant Director of Emergency Services. "With reduced property tax revenues, which are the primary funding source for fire service, it has become very difficult to maintain current service levels. Community volunteers are more important today that they have been in the past. Volunteering can make the difference between keeping a fire station open or having to close it."
Some volunteer firefighters will use the experience gained in serving as a volunteer as a stepping stone to paid, permanent employment in the fire services. Others will volunteer to serve their community. Regardless of the motivation, all volunteers must meet significant requirements and standards and attend required classes and trainings, obtain and retain necessary certificates, and meet physical requirements.
Volunteers can rise through the ranks by meeting additional standards and obtaining the necessary skills to become firefighters, engineers, paramedics, on up to captain. Volunteers can participate in trainings and drills so that they become qualified in:
Difficult economic conditions continue to adversely affect many Placer County governmental functions. One of the more visible is firefighting agencies in rural, unincorporated Placer County. Because of this, Placer County is seeking additional firefighters to respond to calls. To encourage volunteer participation, local fire agencies regularly hold trainings at times that are conducive to attendance by volunteers, many of whom hold full-time employment in other fields. The volunteers must participate in a minimum number of trainings to maintain their active status. Volunteers may have a year-long probationary period.
Becoming a volunteer firefighter is open to anyone; however there are requirements for admission into the volunteer firefighter academy. All applicants must:
For information on becoming a volunteer firefighter, please contact CAL FIRE/Placer County Fire, at 530-889-0111. The next academy is expected to be held in early 2013. The application process before anyone can be enrolled in an academy takes several months, so those interested in applying are encouraged to begin the process as soon as possible.