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There are few things in life I love more than the Winnipeg Jets (the original go around) and Iron Maiden. When I was a teenager, the list of things I loved apart from those two was dramatically shorter. So when a story dropped earlier this week my personal summer of love was complete! Chris Mason wearing a mask inspired by Eddie from the Aces High single? Seriously?!?
The link is here.
Like any good Quentin Tarantino movie, lets go back to the beginning shall we? In April, the Phoenix Coyotes were on the verge of moving back to Winnipeg. No buyers were present; all that was left was the City Council to decide if it was time to pull the pin. For reasons that only they know, the decision was made to front even more money and the day was "saved". In my mind we would have to wait another year.
Almost immediately, Atlanta came into the picture. Fractured ownership group, a bad economy, and a fan base that while passionate was too small. (That usually is the case when you give them one playoff series a no playoff wins in franchise history.) Momentum starting rolling downhill and on May 19th, Steven Brunt proclaimed to the world that it was a "done deal" and the NHL would be returning to Winnipeg! It took a couple of weeks mainly due to the amount of lawyers on each side, but a deal was struck and finally announced at a press conference on May 31, the day after my birthday. Admittedly I had a very hard time controlling my emotions. (That's the professional way of saying I was crying)
On June 4th I happened to be in Toronto. A couple of minutes after the 10.00am CST start time on Ticketmaster, I decided for fun to try and buy a set of season's seats. I knew it was fruitless but I was more interested to see what was left. My answer, NOTHING. All of the tickets were gone in minutes, all of them! What the fans of Winnipeg had just done was unheard of. I still shake my head in disbelief… Not only did they buy every ticket available, they locked the seats up for 3-5 years. Let it be known, Winnipeg has just changed the landscape for all of pro sports in North America. Take note, if and when a NFL team returns to LA, they will attempt the same business model.
Next up, June 24th and the NHL entry draft. Winnipegger's swarmed Minnesota as well as attending a draft party at the MTS that would rival any turnout from any NHL team. The next gift, the Jets name was back. I'm sure it was not the original plan but most polls online routinely had the "Jets" name at an 80% approval rating and I believe Mark Chipman had a change of heart. I'm sure they wanted to forge a new identity and go in a different direction, but the outpouring of support for the Jets name was like holding back the wind. It was the first night you really got a sense that this thing was real, that you could unite with other fans and cheer "GO JETS GO" again.
So then comes the personal cherry on top for me, Eddie! No band in history can say that a fictional character is almost as popular as the band itself. Ask a casual fan, someone who has heard Iron Maiden on the radio or maybe rocked out to them on Guitar Hero, Ask them to name the band members and it is a chore. Ask them the name of the scary dude on the album cover and most people know who Eddy is. I for one have met several people who say they started listening to the band because of the artwork. I've been a fan of Iron Maiden for almost 30 years; I have seen them live I believe 10 times, and currently own 4 shirts! No my friends I will never grow up and have no plans to. In fact, I may have to rock my Eddy Team Canada shirt at one of the games this season just for fun.
Chris Mason is a free agent after this season. Based on this mask alone he deserves an extension. (That and he was one of the first players to come to the city) Make it happen Mr. Cheveldayoff! In the meantime I will enjoy the last couple weeks of this incredible summer, all the while humming Aces High in my head. (BTW, that would be a great song to come onto the ice to but I'm sure they will lean to "Jump") Thank you very much Mr. Chipman, you have provided me with several gifts. I will never be able to repay you but I certainly will thank you and shake your hand if I get the chance. Oh what a summer…


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| Anthem
|Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
|- 1990-2000
|Árpád Göncz
|- 2000-2005
|Ferenc Mádl
|- 2005-2010
|László Sólyom
|- 2010-2012
|Pál Schmitt
|- 2012
|László Kövér
|- From 2012
|János Áder
|Prime Minister
|- 1990-1993
|József Antall
|- 1993-1994
|Péter Boross
|- 1994-1998
|Gyula Horn
|- 1998-2002
|Viktor Orbán
|- 2002-2004
|Péter Medgyessy
|- 2004-2009
|Ferenc Gyurcsány
|National Assembly
|- October 23, 1989
|- January 1, 2012
|EU accession
|May 1, 2004
|NATO accession
|March 12, 1999
|93,028 km²
|- 2010
|- Total
|US$ 185.5 billion
|- Per capita
|Communist Hungary
Hungary is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic in Eastern Europe. The official name was changed in 2012 from "Hungarian Republic" ("Magyar Köztársaság") to "Hungary" ("Magyarország") by a new constitution, which introduced changes.
Following the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867-1918) at the end of World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory and one-third of its population. It experienced a brief but bloody communist dictatorship and counterrevolution in 1919, followed by a 25-year regency under Admiral Miklos Horthy. Although Hungary fought in most of World War II as a German ally, it fell under German military occupation following an unsuccessful attempt to switch sides on October 15, 1944. Under Nazi occupation, the Hungarian Government deported or executed and seized the property of hundreds of thousands of its minority citizens, mostly members of the Jewish community. On January 20, 1945, a provisional government concluded an armistice with the Soviet Union and established the Allied Control Commission, under which Soviet, American, and British representatives held complete sovereignty over the country. The Commission's chairman was a member of Stalin's inner circle and exercised absolute control.
- Communist Takeover
The provisional government, dominated by the Hungarian communist party (MKP), was replaced in November 1945 after elections which gave majority control of a coalition government to the Independent Smallholders' Party. The government instituted a radical land reform and gradually nationalized mines, electric plants, heavy industries, and some large banks. The communists ultimately undermined the coalition regime by discrediting leaders of rival parties and through terror, blackmail, and show trials. In elections tainted by fraud in 1947, the leftist bloc gained control of the government.
By February 1949, all opposition parties had been forced to merge with the MKP to form the Hungarian Workers' Party. In 1949, the communists held a single-list election and adopted a Soviet-style constitution, which created the Hungarian People's Republic. Between 1948 and 1953, the Hungarian economy was reorganized according to the Soviet model. In 1949 and the country joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA, or Comecon.) All private industrial firms with more than 10 employees were nationalized. Freedom of the press, religion, and assembly were strictly curtailed. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Forced industrialization and land collectivization soon led to serious economic difficulties, which reached crisis proportions by mid-1953. Imre Nagy replaced Rakosi as prime minister in 1953 and repudiated much of Rakosi's economic program of forced collectivization and heavy industry. He also ended political purges and freed thousands of political prisoners. However, the economic situation continued to deteriorate, and Rakosi succeeded in disrupting the reforms and in forcing Nagy from power in 1955 for "right-wing revisionism." Hungary joined the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact Treaty Organization the same year.
- 1956 Revolution
Pressure for change reached a climax on October 23, 1956, when security forces fired on Budapest students marching in support of Poland's confrontation with the Soviet Union. The ensuing battle quickly grew into a massive popular uprising. Fighting did not abate until the Central Committee named Imre Nagy as prime minister on October 25. Nagy dissolved the state security police, abolished the one-party system, promised free elections, and negotiated with the U.S.S.R. to withdraw its troops.
Faced with reports of new Soviet troops pouring into Hungary, despite Soviet Ambassador Andropov's assurances to the contrary, on November 1 Nagy announced Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. In response, the Soviet Union launched a massive military attack on Hungary on November 3. Some 200,000 Hungarians fled to the West. Nagy and his colleagues took refuge in the Yugoslav Embassy. Party First Secretary Janos Kadar defected from the Nagy cabinet, fleeing to the Soviet Union. On November 4 he announced the formation of a new government. He returned to Budapest and, with Soviet support, carried out severe reprisals; thousands of people were executed or imprisoned. Despite a guarantee of safe conduct, Nagy was arrested and deported to Romania. In June 1958, Nagy was returned to Hungary, and, following a secret trial, was executed by the communist government.
- Reform Under Kadar
In the early 1960s, Kadar announced a new policy under the motto of "He Who is Not Against Us is With Us," and introduced a relatively liberal cultural and economic course aimed at overcoming the post-1956 hostility toward him and his regime. In 1966, the Central Committee approved the "New Economic Mechanism," through which it sought to overcome the inefficiencies of central planning, increase productivity, make Hungary more competitive in world markets, and create prosperity to ensure political stability. By the early 1980s, it had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization and pursued a foreign policy which encouraged more trade with the West. Nevertheless, the New Economic Mechanism led to mounting foreign debt incurred to shore up unprofitable industries.
- Transition to Democracy
Hungary's transition to a Western-style parliamentary democracy was the first and the smoothest among the former Soviet bloc. By 1987, activists within the party and bureaucracy and Budapest-based intellectuals were increasingly pressing for change. Young liberals formed the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz); a core from the so-called Democratic Opposition formed the Association of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), and the neo-populist national opposition established the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). Civic activism intensified to a level not seen since the 1956 revolution.
In 1988, Kadar was replaced as General Secretary of the MSZMP (the communist party), and that same year, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package," which included trade union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly, and the press; a new electoral law; and a radical revision of the constitution, among others. The Soviet Union reduced its involvement by signing an agreement in April 1989 to withdraw Soviet forces by June 1991.
National unity culminated in June 1989 as the country reburied Imre Nagy, his associates, and, symbolically, all other victims of the 1956 revolution. A national roundtable, comprising representatives of the new parties and some recreated old parties--such as the Smallholders and Social Democrats--the communist party, and different social groups, met in the late summer of 1989 to discuss major changes to the Hungarian constitution in preparation for free elections and the transition to a fully free and democratic political system.
- Free Elections and a Democratic Hungary
The first free parliamentary election, held in March-April 1990, was a plebiscite of sorts on the communist past with the Democratic Forum (MDF) winning 43% of the vote and the Free Democrats (SZDSZ) capturing 24%. Under Prime Minister Jozsef Antall, the MDF formed a center-right coalition government with the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP) and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) to command a 60% majority in the Parliament. Parliamentary opposition parties included SZDSZ, the Socialists (MSZP--successors to the Communist Party), and the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fidesz). Peter Boross succeeded as Prime Minister after Antall died and the Antall/Boross coalition governments achieved a reasonably well-functioning parliamentary democracy and laid the foundation for a free market economy.
In May 1994, the Socialists came back to win a plurality of votes and 54% of the seats after an election campaign focused largely on economic issues and the substantial decline in living standards since 1990. A heavy turnout of voters swept away the right-of-center coalition but soundly rejected extremists on both right and left. The MSZP continued economic reforms and privatization, adopting a painful but necessary policy of fiscal austerity (the "Bokros plan") in 1995. However, dissatisfaction with the pace of economic recovery, rising crime, and cases of government corruption convinced voters to propel center-right parties into power following national elections in May 1998. Fidesz captured a plurality of parliamentary seats and forged a coalition with the Smallholders and the Democratic Forum. The new government, headed by 35-year-old Prime Minister Viktor Orban, promised to stimulate faster growth, curb inflation, and lower taxes. Although the Orban administration also pledged continuity in foreign policy, and continued to pursue Euro-Atlantic integration as its first priority, it was a more vocal advocate of minority rights for ethnic Hungarians abroad than the previous government. During Orban's tenure, Hungary acceded to NATO on March 12, 1999.
In April 2002, the country voted to return the MSZP-Free Democrat coalition to power with Peter Medgyessy as Prime Minister. The Medgyessy government placed special emphasis on solidifying Hungary's Euro-Atlantic course, which culminated in Hungary's accession to the European Union on May 1, 2004. Prime Minister Medgyessy resigned in August 2004 after losing coalition support following an attempted cabinet reshuffle. Ferenc Gyurcsany succeeded Medgyessy as Prime Minister in September 29, 2004.
In the April 2006 election, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany and his Socialist-liberal coalition were re-elected, the first time since communism that a sitting government renewed its mandate. The SZDSZ pulled out of the coalition in April 2008, leaving the MSZP to govern alone. After the dissolution of the coalition with SZDSZ, Prime Minister Gyurcsany reduced the number of ministries in the cabinet from 17 to 13.
The global economic crisis spilled over into Hungary in autumn 2008, and severely impacted the country. Prime Minister Gyurcsany resigned in March 2009 and was succeeded by a technocratic crisis management government led by Gordon Bajnai, the former Minister of Economy and National Development.
Parliamentary elections in April 2010 brought a Fidesz-KDNP coalition back to power with a two-thirds majority (263 seats). Viktor Orban became Prime Minister. Joining the MSZP (59 seats) in opposition were the newly elected far-right Jobbik party (47 seats) and the Green party, Politics Can Be Different (LMP) (16 seats). There is one independent member of Parliament. The Fidesz-dominated Parliament quickly launched an ambitious legislative agenda that has reduced the overall number of seats in Parliament to 200 effective for the next election in 2014, cut by half the number of local representatives, and extended citizenship rights to ethnic Hungarians living beyond the country's present borders.[1]
The president of the republic, elected by the National Assembly every 5 years, has a largely ceremonial role, but powers also include appointing the prime minister. The prime minister selects cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings and must be formally approved by the president. The unicameral, 386-member National Assembly is the highest state legislative body and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. A party must win at least 5% of the national vote to enter Parliament. National parliamentary elections are held every 4 years (the last in April 2010). An 11-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality.[2]
Foreign Policy
Except for the short-lived neutrality declared by Imre Nagy in November 1956, Hungary's foreign policy generally followed the Soviet lead from 1947 to 1989. During the communist period, Hungary maintained treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance with the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, and Bulgaria. It was one of the founding members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact and Comecon, and it was the first central European country to withdraw from those now defunct organizations.
As with any country, Hungarian security attitudes are shaped largely by history and geography. For Hungary, this is a history of more than 400 years of domination by great powers--the Ottomans, the Habsburgs, the Germans during World War II, and the Soviets during the Cold War. Hungary's foreign policy priorities, largely consistent since 1990, represent a direct response to these factors. Since 1990, Hungary's top foreign policy goal has been achieving integration into Western economic and security organizations. To this end, Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in May of 2004. Hungary also has improved its often-chilled neighborly relations by signing basic treaties with Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. These renounce all outstanding territorial claims and lay the foundation for constructive relations. However, the issue of ethnic Hungarian minority rights in Slovakia and Romania periodically causes bilateral tensions to flare, including in June 2010 when the Parliament offered Hungarian citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living outside its borders. Hungary was a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, has signed all of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)/ Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) follow-on documents since 1989, and served as the OSCE's Chairman-in-Office in 1997. Hungary's record of implementing CSCE Helsinki Final Act provisions, including those on reunification of divided families, remains among the best in eastern Europe. Hungary has been a member of the United Nations since December 1955.[3]
Hungary's key national security focus since joining NATO in 1999 has been contributing to the stability of the region while integrating its armed forces into NATO's force structure. Hungary takes a keen interest in NATO expansion and in the transatlantic link. It shares a more acute sense of the threat than many other European countries and is watching events in the Balkans, Ukraine, and Russia with great interest. Hungarians believe that Hungary's own security and that of its ethnic minorities in neighboring countries will be best served by a peaceful, unified region, which will be achieved when EU and NATO membership is extended to the entire region.
Hungary has been slowly modernizing and downsizing its armed forces since it left the Warsaw Pact in 1990. Transitioning from a heavy, slow-moving Warsaw Pact force to a lighter, versatile NATO force, the Hungarian military went from 130,000 in 1989 to approximately 24,000 combat and combat support forces in 2008. Implementing a new training, logistics, and leadership system and a new Joint Forces Command structure, the Hungarian military has gained considerable practical experience working with NATO and other forces serving in international military missions (about 1,000 at any given time). Hungary was especially helpful during the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords in the Balkans from 1995-2004, when its airbase at Taszar was used by coalition forces transiting the region. Hungary currently leads a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan, and deployed an additional Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT), which operates in partnership with the Ohio National Guard, as well as Special Forces personnel in Afghanistan in 2009. The Hungarian military took over command of a joint battalion in the Balkans in 2008. Hungary's Papa Airbase is the home base of the Strategic Airlift Consortium's C-17 operations, expanding its contribution to NATO and other European partners. Hungary's military still faces numerous challenges to its modernization program, as reflected in the 2008 Hungarian defense budget, which was set at 1.17% of GDP, well below the NATO target of 2%.[4]
Prior to World War II, the Hungarian economy was primarily oriented toward agriculture and small-scale manufacturing. Hungary's strategic position in Europe and its relative lack of natural resources dictated a traditional reliance on foreign trade. In the early 1950s, the communist government forced rapid industrialization following the standard Stalinist pattern in an effort to encourage a more self-sufficient economy. Most economic activity was conducted by state farms and state-owned enterprises or cooperatives. In 1968, Stalinist self-sufficiency was replaced by the "New Economic Mechanism," which gave limited freedom to the workings of the market, reopened Hungary to foreign trade, and allowed a limited number of small businesses to operate in the services sector.
Although Hungary enjoyed one of the most liberal and economically advanced economies of the former Eastern Bloc, both agriculture and industry began to suffer from a lack of investment in the 1970s. Belated reaction to the economic crisis of the early 1970s and deteriorating terms of trade resulted in increasing indebtedness. In response, the Hungarian Government launched a restrictive economic policy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, followed by the "Dynamization Program of 1985," which increased consumer subsidies and investments--mainly in unprofitable state enterprises--eventually leading to a doubling of foreign debt levels. By 1993, Hungary's net foreign debt rose significantly--from $1 billion in 1973 to $15 billion. Liberalization of the economy continued, however, and in 1988-89 Hungary passed a joint venture law, adopted tax legislation, and joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. By 1988, Hungary developed a two-tier banking system and enacted significant corporate legislation which paved the way for the ambitious market-oriented reforms of the post-communist years.
The Antall government of 1990-94 began market reforms with price and trade liberation measures, a revamped tax system, and a nascent market-based banking system. As a result of the collapse of Eastern markets and the inability of state-owned companies to compete with foreign competitors, industrial production fell by 50% between 1989 and 1994, and the country faced high unemployment and inflation rates, as well as a deteriorating trade balance. By 1994, the costs of government overspending and hesitant privatization had become clearly visible. In 1996, austerity measures referred to as the "Bokros package" (for then-Finance Minister Lajos Bokros) improved both the fiscal and external balance situation, and increased investor confidence. Simplified and accelerated privatization led to significant inflow of foreign capital in industry, energy, and telecommunications sectors, and a number of greenfield investments were launched. Hungary's early openness to foreign direct investment (FDI) led to a sustained period of high growth and made Hungary a magnet for FDI in the late 1990s and early parts of this century.
In 1995, Hungary's currency--the forint (HUF)--became convertible for all current account transactions, and subsequent to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) membership in 1996, for almost all capital account transactions as well. In 2001, the Orban government lifted remaining currency controls and broadened the band around the exchange rate, allowing the forint to appreciate by more than 12% in a year. Trade with European Union (EU) and OECD countries now comprises over 75% and 85% of Hungary's total trade, respectively. Germany is Hungary's most important trading partner, followed by Italy and France. The United States has become Hungary's sixth-largest export market, while Hungary is ranked as the 72nd-largest export market for the United States. Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased to more than $1 billion per year.
With more than $60 billion in FDI since 1989, Hungary has been a leading destination for FDI in central and eastern Europe, although this level is beginning to decline. The largest U.S. investors include GE, Alcoa, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Ford, IBM, and PepsiCo, with the overall level of direct U.S. investment estimated at $9 billion. As a result of extensive and continuing liberalization, the private sector produces about 80% of Hungary's output.
Close relationship with the economies of the EU helped pave the way for Hungary's EU accession in 2004. As part of its EU membership agreement, Hungary agreed to meet the economic criteria necessary to adopt the euro. In 2005 and 2006, however, it became clear that not only was a high budget deficit hurting the economy (nearly surpassing 10% of GDP in 2006), but that Hungary was moving away from meeting euro entry requirements, and would be subject to EU excessive deficit procedures. Against this backdrop, in fall 2006, Prime Minister Gyurcsany launched a program of fiscal consolidation by raising taxes, decreasing subsidies, and streamlining the public sector. Businesses complained, however, that increased taxes, particularly on labor, decreased Hungary's economic competitiveness compared to other countries in the region. Greater fiscal discipline allowed the government to reduce its deficit to 3.4% of GDP by 2008, but decreasing government spending during this period also reduced domestic consumption and contributed to a decrease in Hungary's GDP growth.
In October 2008, the effects of the global financial crisis spilled into Hungary. Despite its success in reducing its fiscal deficit, years of high budget deficits and Hungary's high external debt levels fueled investor risk aversion, and negatively affected the foreign exchange, government securities, and equity markets in Hungary. The country was hit hard by global de-leveraging, and weak demand for government bonds. A sharp decline in the share of non-resident investors in the government securities market raised concerns that Hungary would be unable to meet its external financing requirements. In order to increase investor confidence and ensure liquidity in domestic financial markets, Hungary concluded a $25 billion financial stabilization package with the IMF, EU, and World Bank in November 2008.
Under the agreement, Hungary committed to further fiscal consolidation, financial sector reforms, and enacting banking sector support measures. Terms also included periodic assessment of macroeconomic and fiscal targets. Taking into consideration the worsening global economic and financial crisis, the IMF and the EU revised their projections of Hungary's GDP decline in 2009 to minus 6.7%, and agreed to increasing the 2.9% deficit target to 3.9% for 2009. Public debt was expected to increase to 83% of GDP in 2009 before returning to more sustainable levels through fiscal tightening.
To respond to the crisis, the Bajnai government in 2009 enacted a series of economic reforms and spending cuts intended to reduce the tax burden on labor, encourage employment, improve Hungary's economic competitiveness, and offset lost government revenue due to the deeper-than-expected recession. These measures included reforms to the pension and entitlement systems, as well as tax changes to shift the tax burden from labor to wealth and consumption. In addition to cuts in taxes for businesses and employees, tax changes included raising the value added tax (VAT), and a proposal for the introduction of a property tax. In 2009 GDP declined by 6.3%, and the Hungarian Government was able to meet the 3.9% deficit target.
The Orban government elected in 2010 has pledged to meet the 3.8% budget deficit target and launched a 29-point economic program designed to promote growth by reducing administrative burdens on businesses and lowering the tax burdens on small businesses. The plan also includes strict control of budgetary expenditures, and a tax on the financial sector of HUF 200 billion (about $850 million), which would remain in effect for 2 years.[5]
Ethnic groups in Hungary include Magyar (nearly 90%), Romany, German, Serb, Slovak, and others. The majority of Hungary's people are Roman Catholic; other religions represented are Calvinist, Lutheran, Jewish, Baptist, Adventist, Pentecostal, and Unitarian. Magyar is the predominant language. Hungary has long been an integral part of Europe. It converted to Western Christianity before AD 1000. Although Hungary was a monarchy for nearly 1,000 years, its constitutional system preceded by several centuries the establishment of Western-style governments in other European countries.[6]
- Árpád Göncz (₩) (May 2, 1990 - Aug 4, 2000)
- Ferenc Mádl (₩) (Aug 4, 2000 - Aug 5, 2005)
- László Sólyom (₩) (Aug 5, 2005 - Aug 6, 2010)
- Pál Schmitt (₩) (Aug 6, 2010 - Apr 2, 2012)
- László Kövér (₩) (Apr 2, 2012 - May 10, 2012)
- János Áder (₩) (May 10, 2012 - )
Prime Minister
- József Antall (₩) (May 23, 1990 - Dec 12, 1993)
- Péter Boross (₩) (Dec 12, 1993 - Jul 15, 1994)
- Gyula Horn (₩) (Jul 15, 1994 - Jul 6, 1998)
- Viktor Orbán (₩) (Jul 6, 1998 - May 27, 2002)
- Péter Medgyessy (₩) (May 27, 2002 - Aug 27, 2004)
- Ferenc Gyurcsány (₩) (Aug 27, 2004 - Apr 14, 2009)
- Viktor Orbán (₩) (Apr 14, 2009 - )
Hungarian Polities
- Satellite state: Hungarian People's Republic (1949-1989)
- Hungarian Republic (1946-1949)
- Third Reich: Hungarian State (1944-1945)
- Kingdom of Hungary (1938-1946)
- Kingdom of Hungary (1920-1938)
- Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)
- Hungarian People's Republic (1918-1920)
- Austria-Hungary: Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (1867-1918)
- Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen
Neighbouring Nations
- ↑ The United States Department of State - Background Note
- ↑ The United States Department of State - Background Note
- ↑ The United States Department of State - Background Note
- ↑ The United States Department of State - Background Note
- ↑ The United States Department of State - Background Note
- ↑ The United States Department of State - Background Note
- Hungary: a country study (Library of Congress)
- Hungary: Guide to Law Online (Library of Congress)
- The World Factbook (CIA)
- Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments (CIA)
- U.S. Department of State
- Australian Government
- European Union
- Inter-Parliamentary Union - National Assembly
- BBC News Country Profile
- BBC News Time Line
- World Statesmen.org
- International Constitutional Law Project
- Psephos Election Archive
- Wikipedia

subset: commoncrawl


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April 03. 2013 1:07PM
Nashua man admits he bought insurance after crash, then filed claim
A Nashua man admitted he obtained car insurance after getting involved in a collision, then filed a claim to recover damages.
Peter St. Laurent pleaded guilty in Hillsborough County Superior Court in Nashua to one count of Class B felony insurance fraud, state officials announced in a press statement released Wednesday.
State Police were called to a single-car collision at 10 p.m. Aug. 15, 2011, at which St. Laurent had collided with a jersey barrier near Exit 3 on Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua.
At 11:24 p.m. that night, Progressive Northern Insurance Co. initiated a policy for St. Laurent by telephone, authorities said. The next day, St. Laurent told Progressive he had been in a car accident at 1 a.m. on Aug. 16, 2011, and filed a claim in excess of $1,000 in damages.
After an investigation, St. Laurent withdrew the claim.
St. Laurent was sentenced in court to 12 months in the House of Correction and a $1,000 fine, both of which were suspended on good behavior and successful completion of one year of probation, authorities said.
The case was investigated by the state Attorney General's Office and state Insurance Department's Fraud Unit.


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Vice President Joe Biden was joking about his next run for office even before Tuesday's election results were in.
At a surprise campaign stop in Cleveland, Biden joked that he might run for a local office.
"I'm going to go back home and run for county council or something," Biden told a customer at the Landmark Restaurant. Home for Biden is Delaware.
Biden, who turns 70, in two weeks, recently has been making jokes about his 2016 plans. He told a Florida man last week that he should vote for Biden once his health insurance rates go down because of the health care law known as "Obamacare."
Biden's stop in Cleveland came as Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan made Election Day stops in the city at about the same time.
Ohio has become a central battleground in the presidential race.
Biden voted in Delaware on Tuesday morning and told reporters it might not be the last time he votes for himself in an election.
He said voting is a great honor and urged Americans to "stand in line as long as you have to" in order to vote.
"It's always a kick" to vote, Biden said.
Biden served six terms in the U.S. Senate before winning election to the White House in 2008.
Biden also said he would visit New York's hurricane-damaged borough of Staten Island on Friday. Many Staten Island residents are still without power, more than a week after Hurricane Sandy made landfall.


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Sunspots provide the best test of magnetohydrodynamic theory under astrophysical conditions. Nowhere else in astrophysics is the theory confronted with such a wealth of detailed observations. Recent, remarkable advances in high-resolution observations provide us with key information that allows us to begin to assemble a coherent picture of the formation of a sunspot, its complicated magnetic and thermal structure, and associated flows and oscillations. Numerical simulations of nonlinear magnetoconvection are beginning to reproduce some of the fine structure observed in a sunspot, including umbral dots, penumbral grains, and light bridges. A new picture of penumbral structure has emerged from the observations, involving two components, with different magnetic field inclination, that remain essentially distinct over the lifetime of the spot. The darker component, in which the magnetic field is more nearly horizontal, includes "returning" magnetic flux tubes that dive back down below the solar surface near the outer edge of the penumbra. These arched flux tubes carry most of the photospheric Evershed flow, which can be attributed to siphon flows driven by pressure drops along thin flux tubes. The returning flux tubes and the curious "interlocking-comb" structure of the penumbral magnetic field can be understood to be a consequence of downward pumping of magnetic flux by the turbulent granular convection in the moat surrounding a sunspot. This robust flux-pumping mechanism, which has been demonstrated in three-dimensional numerical simulations of fully compressible convection, is an important key to understanding the formation and maintenance of the penumbra and the behavior of moving magnetic features in the moat.
Another key to understanding the structure of a sunspot is the array of characteristic oscillations observed in the umbra and penumbra, which serve as a probe of sunspot structure. The techniques of helioseismology have shown that sunspots absorb a significant fraction of the power in incident p-modes. This absorption seems to be due to a conversion of acoustic waves to slow magneto-acoustic waves that leak downward out of the p-mode cavity. Time-distance helioseismology has been used to detect flow patterns in the convection zone beneath a sunspot. A better understanding of the interaction between acoustic and magnetic-acoustic waves in realistic sunspot models is needed in order for the techniques of sunspot seismology to reach their full potential.


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Who was Saint Paul?
RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(18-10-2012 08:35 PM)Buddy Christ Wrote: Oh, you were asking who the authors using the pseudonym "Paul" were. I was describing Paul as the character he played in the fairy tale called The Bible.
Ok. Got it, and I agree.
18-10-2012, 08:55 PM (This post was last modified: 18-10-2012 09:02 PM by Mark Fulton.)
RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(18-10-2012 07:24 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote: Great thread. Wrong verb. Who WERE P? aul
Re "Great thread. Wrong verb. Who WERE Paul?"
Paul is traditionally credited with writing thirteen of the twenty-seven titles in the New Testament. All scholars admit that a number of the letters in the Bible attributed to Paul were written at a much later date by other parties who used Paul's name to give them credibility. This was a common practice of the time, and was, in fact, forgery. Many scholars claim only the following letters are genuine: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon and the following are considered not genuine: Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Hebrews is universally recognized as not genuine. The doubtful letters, including Hebrews, are labeled as "deutero-Pauline."
It is thought he wrote his first surviving letter, to the Thessalonians, in 50–51 CE and his last enduring dispatch to an individual named Philemon, in 61–63 CE. The deutero-Pauline posts were penned by anonymous reporters in the second century.
Re "When I first came here, I thought this nutty Fulton dude was out of his frickin mind. He is not." I'm still an opinionated git.
Re "Now, I see, that if you read Acts with the idea in mind that Saul was sent by Rome to disrupt, and change the Way cult, (which he did *in spades*), he makes perfect sense. I still think, Jeebus was just a common crook, executed by "standing order" in the Pax Romana,, (that is if there ever was a real Jeebus), for trying to disrupt the temple economy, but there are other possibilities, once you let go of the propaganda." Yes and yes!
Thanks for the links...they are excellent!
RE "So about one of the Pauls : The Tarsus Paul.
Beyond all the obvious stuff, about him introducing the "salvation paradigm" (which is 100 % absent in Mark, the first gospel, thus we know it was not the message of Jesus), is the more subtle case that can be made about sacrifice, atonement, and purification, and the telling origins of each. In Hebrew culture, a sacrifice was made to "atone" for one's sins. That is to "repair" a ruptured, or injured (cosmic) relationship between the (Yahweh) god, and the human, (and ONLY the *human*). In Saul of Tarsus, this is radically changed to a totally non-Hebrew idea. What sort of idea you ask ? A Zoroastrian idea. And where did THAT come from ? Tarsus...a hotbed of Mithraism. Mithraism took the concept of "personal purification of sin" from Zoroastrianism, and Paul placed that into his new cult. That concept was NOT the same as the Hebrew concept of "atonement". They are totally different. Along with "personal purification" also came other concepts relating to "free will", imperfect, (fallen creation)...not just "original sin", but ALL of nature "fallen" to an imperfect state, (which is non-Hebrew), and cosmically "repaired" by Jeebus' sacrifice, (which are TOTALLY 1000 % non-Hebrew ideas). The cultures are NOT the same. Paul grafted his ideas onto the Way cult, in an attempt to compete for followers, of the Greek mystery cults, as "the apostle to the Gentiles". He thought that was his job. "Someone might argue, 'If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner ?'"(Romans 3:7). He knew he was "changing things"..*cough cough. He admitted it. Christians practice Paulianity/Mithraism/Zoroastrianism. They just don't know it."
Bucky, you've nailed it! Beautifully written, and in my opinion this contains truths profoundly important to appreciate. I take my hat off to you sir. I will elaborate on these ideas later.
RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(18-10-2012 08:01 PM)Erxomai Wrote:(18-10-2012 07:57 PM)Mr Woof Wrote: Pretty spot on on but i would say he quite mentally ill!
I think he was mildly mentally unwell. He was anxious, obsessive, insecure, a touch paranoid, and quite delusional. He was also very introspective and egocentric. I suspect he was never at ease with himself, nor comfortable in a world he couldn't totally control.
He loved telling others how to live their lives, yet he was the one who needed the help! He would have been a difficult patient. A therapist would try to stop him talking for a minute, and get him to put his feet up and listen to the wind and birds. He may not have been well enough to follow this advice. He would corner the counselor and try to counsel him about Christ or some other rationalization of his current obsession. There would be no quiet moments in Paul's presence.
He had no idea his writings would be picked to pieces by millions of people. He would be surprised to discover humankind still around nearly two thousand years later. He may have been more careful about the things he wrote if he had known how famous he would become and what an enormously wide audience he was writing to.
RE: Who was Saint Paul?
Paul the Misogynist
Paul was blatantly sexist. He wrote:
"For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man" (1 Cor. 11:8–9 NKJ).
"Wives should regard their husbands as they regard the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church submits to Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything" (Eph. 5:22–25, NJB).
If any women are feeling their blood boil, be warned: it gets worse.
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." (1 Corinthians 14:34-5, KJV)
"Similarly, I direct that women are to wear suitable clothes and to be dressed quietly and modestly, without braided hair or gold and jewelry or expensive clothes; their adornment is to do the sort of good works that are proper for women who profess to be religious. During instruction, a woman should be quiet and respectful. I am not giving permission for a woman to teach or to tell a man what to do. A woman ought not to speak, because Adam was formed first and Eve afterwards, and it was not Adam who was led astray but the woman who was led astray and fell into sin. Nevertheless, she will be saved by childbearing, provided she lives a modest life and is constant in faith and love and holiness" (1 Tim. 2:9–15, NJB).
Women of the world, here we have what the founder of Christianity (and those who wrote in his name) really thought of you. You were made to be playthings for men. You were to always submit to your men folk. You were to remain silent unless spoken to. Your opinions were not important. You were not to make yourselves look attractive. You were inherently evil and had led men into sin. The best way you could save your wicked selves from going to hell was to shut up, accept your second-class status and bear your husbands' children!
There are no excuses for this misogynistic nonsense. Paul disliked women and feminine sensuality, thought they were intellectually inferior, and that they were their husband's property. Anyone who advertises this discriminatory drivel today should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Most Christians quite rightly ignore Paul's opinions, yet in their next breath insist his theology was inspired by God. That makes no sense.
One of the reasons Christianity has been so successful over the centuries is that it aims to degrade and hold back half of its own congregation! Churches resent strong women because the control of women is vital to their success. Churches have always encouraged subordination of women, pregnancy and their exclusion from the workforce and higher education. As soon as women get educated and have a voice, their families become empowered too. Consequently, it's well-recognized that societies in which women are emancipated become more successful, better educated and less likely to go to church. So churches prefer to keep the plebs poor. The empowerment of women throughout much of Europe over the last fifty years has meant a marked rise in standards of living and a sharp fall in church attendance.
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RE: Who was Saint Paul?
Quote:Without his influence it is probable that Christianity, as we know it, would not exist today.
Who was this Paul guy?
A cunt.
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RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(19-10-2012 06:36 PM)earmuffs Wrote:Quote:Without his influence it is probable that Christianity, as we know it, would not exist today.
Yep! Even judged by the standards of his own time.
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RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(19-10-2012 05:42 PM)Mark Fulton Wrote: but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
Oh oh. So much for the old law ending with Jeebus.
(Shhh. Just pretend, you didn't see that. No one will notice).
There's really hilarious quote in Aquinas where he says the reason why the snake got Eve to eat the apple first was "For the light of reason shone less brightly in her". Then there's all this mental gymnastics about why a human, (a *manifestation* of an "idea" of god) is never as perfect as the "idea. If that's not proof that religion sanctions culture, and not culture "receiving" values from religion, I don't know what is.
Insufferable know-it-all. It is objectively immoral to kill innocent babies. Please stick to the guilty babies.
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RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(19-10-2012 08:03 PM)Bucky Ball Wrote:(19-10-2012 05:42 PM)Mark Fulton Wrote: but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
Yeah. Good point. Paul couldn't make his mind up about the Jewish law.
20-10-2012, 02:39 PM (This post was last modified: 20-10-2012 02:49 PM by cufflink.)
RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(19-10-2012 06:36 PM)earmuffs Wrote: Who was this Paul guy?
I beg your pardon??? [ETA: Oh, OK, it's "was," not "is." Carry on.]
But seriously . . . It's always struck me as odd that "Paul" is considered an appropriate name for a Jewish kid. I wonder if my parents realized they were naming me after the Founder of Christianity.
Great posts, Mark and Bucky. And Mark: nice to see you back and active!
Religious disputes are like arguments in a madhouse over which inmate really is Napoleon.
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20-10-2012, 04:23 PM (This post was last modified: 20-10-2012 04:30 PM by Mark Fulton.)
RE: Who was Saint Paul?
(20-10-2012 02:39 PM)cufflink Wrote:(19-10-2012 06:36 PM)earmuffs Wrote: Who was this Paul guy?
Thanks Cufflink. He changed his original name, Saul, to Paul, in honor of a Roman governor. Some scholars have suggested that Paul may not have been a Jew, because his theology is so obviously influenced by gentile ideas. Yet Paul passed himself off as a Jew, and wrote that he was Jewish. He claimed,
"I was circumcised when I was eight days old. As for the law I was a Pharisee; as for working for religion, I was a persecutor of the Church, as far as the Law can make you perfect, I was faultless" (Phil. 3:5–6, NJB). He declared he was educated in what he called the "traditions of my ancestors" (Gal 1:14, NJB), and he clearly had some understanding of Jewish beliefs. Whether he had a genuine respect for those beliefs is another matter.
I'll keep rambling...
Paul on Sex and Marriage
Paul describes the loathing he felt about his own sexuality.
"The fact is, I know of nothing good living in me—living, that is, in my unspiritual self—for though the will to do what is good is in me, the performance is not, with the result that instead of doing good the things I want to do, I carry out the sinful things I do not want. When I act against my will, then, it is not my true self doing it, but sin which lives in me…I can see my body follows a different law that battles against the law which my reason dictates…What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death" (Rom. 7:18–24, NJB).
Poor, pathetic Paul! He was so deluded with puritanical ideas he was repulsed by his own libido and miserable. He was a suppressed, toxic little man, totally ill at ease with himself.
It is not surprising he was celibate:
"I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn" (1 Cor. 7:8–9, KJV). To be single was quite unusual for a Pharisee, as they were expected to marry. I guess that Paul would have had difficulty finding a woman willing to live with him. Or he may have been homosexual, yet ashamed of the fact, and therefore not willing to admit it. Whatever the case, he quite clearly had a neurosis about sex:
"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:6–13, KJV).
"He wants you to keep away from fornication and each one of you to know how to use the body that belongs to him in a way that is holy and honorable, not giving away to selfish lust like the pagans who do not know God, He wants nobody at all to ever sin by taking advantage of a brother in these matters; the Lord always punishes sins of that sort, as we told you before and assured you. We have been called by God to be holy, not to be immoral" (1 Thess. 4:3–7, NJB).
"Yes, it is a good thing for a man not to touch a woman. But since sex is always a danger, let each man have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband must give his wife what she has the right to expect, and so too the wife to the husband. The wife has no rights over her own body; it is the husband who has them. In the same way, the husband has no rights over his body; the wife has them. Do not refuse each other except by mutual consent, and then only for an agreed time, to leave yourselves free for prayer; then come together again in case Satan should take advantage of your weakness to tempt you" (1 Cor. 7:1–6, NJB).
Commentary here is almost superfluous. Paul had a sour, jaundiced perspective. He was convinced sex was something distasteful and unclean, an annoying body function, like going to the toilet. He thought one should dump the toxic load when necessary, and quickly, so as to get on with something more important, like praying. He implied marriage existed so people had a quick way to get sex over and done with.
Paul must have been disappointed that people had sex on their minds, as that made it difficult to teach them his more spiritual profundities. I suspect he didn't approve of people having an aspect of their lives that wasn't under his supervision.
There is nothing to suggest the average person had such a sick, negative attitude. One wonders where he got it. He may have been sexually abused as a child, he might have had erectile difficulties of his own, he may have been horrified by his own attraction for other males, or he could have been brainwashed with Platonic ideas about the superior nature of the spirit compared to what were considered base bodily functions. He was obsessed with the idea the end of the world was imminent, which may be why he thought it was pointless for people to marry. None of these reasons are good excuses for writing what he did.
Most people today quite rightly dismiss this dogma as deluded. Others don't. We should consider the psychological damage inflicted on millions of innocent people through their Christian upbringings. All youngsters explore their sexuality; yet the Christian is often told that such behaviors—even thoughts—are sins! The consequence is guilt and fear, which is totally unnecessary.
Some of today's churches still promote a disgust of sex. They introduce embarrassment and shame into the most natural aspect of our humanity. Their agenda is to destroy people's self respect by making them dislike themselves. When an ego is wounded, a person is easier to control. The savior is clean and pure, so Jesus jumps to the rescue, and the church has won another customer. The victim is saved from a problem he never had in the first place.
Their teaching is a filthy stain that is hard to wash out of people's minds once it has taken root. Shame on churches for still promoting this as the word of God!
Sex is a special, wholesome, and beautiful aspect of life. It strengthens relationships and is nature's way of ensuring we reproduce. It is an affair between two people, so religious authorities should ipse facto butt out of people's private business.
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The Sterling Regional MedCenter Wellness Services Department will be offering a "Body Sculpting and Toning Class." The class is intended for people of all ages. The series will be taught by Angie Myers, SRM Wellness Specialist. Classes will be held twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:15 to 6 p.m. Cost of the program is $5 per session. The class starts back up on Monday, Jan. 9, at Ayres Elementary.
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My parents were in town this weekend, and we had such a great time! They came to see our house and yard (and us, of course), and wanted to tackle some projects with us while they were here. Here's what we did:
Added plants (complete with drip system!!) and electricity to the fountain in the back corner.
Refurnished our patio furniture.
Added pots with plants to the backyard (also on the drip system!).
Built a shed in accordance with our HOA rules - thanks to Costco!
Rearranged pots and added (live) plants to them, and extended the drip system to the pots (so the plants won't die again - I'm not very responsible).
Can you tell I'm excited about the drip system?! Seriously - all of my potted plants died last year because I failed to water them. And finally, my other favorite project:
A laundry table complete with a hanging rod underneath to keep the clothes easy to iron!
Thank you so much to my AMAZING WONDERFUL PARENTS (and husband and friends, of course)!!
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department on Monday notified Congress that it had approved an arms sale valued at $421 million to Japan for upgrades to its Aegis missile defense system built by Lockheed Martin Corp, and related equipment.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, said Japan had requested the upgrades as part of the modernization of two of its Atago class destroyers.
U.S. lawmakers now have 30 days to block the deal, although such action is rare.
If approved, Lockheed would be the prime contractor. The sale would include the Aegis combat systems, new processors for radar systems, display consoles and video wall screens and more capable guns and sensors.
The Pentagon said the proposed sale would contribute to U.S. security objectives by providing Japan with a significantly improved air warfare capability.
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Leslie Adler)


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Steve Ott netted the game-winner late in the third period to help the Buffalo Sabres edge the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2, on Tuesday at CONSOL Energy Center.
Thomas Vanek scored twice and added an assist, while Jochen Hecht had the other goal for the Sabres, who snapped a two-game skid. Ryan Miller posted 40 saves in the victory.
"It's always nice to win," Miller remarked. "I thought the guys did a nice job of sticking together and playing hard."
Jarome Iginla and Chris Kunitz each scored once, while Marc-Andre Fleury allowed three goals on 32 shots for the Penguins, who had their seven-game win streak snapped.
"This is a week before the playoffs, we want to be sharp and we want to have good habits and be playing that way and tonight, it wasn't," Iginla admitted.
With the score locked at 2-2 late in the third period, Mark Pysyk threw a shot on net from the low left circle that Fleury turned away, but Ott was there to bat the puck out of midair for a 3-2 lead with 2:34 remaining.
The referees immediately went to video review, which showed Ott's stick was just under the height of the crossbar for a good goal.
Miller then fought off a Pittsburgh flurry before Vanek netted an empty-netter with 32.4 seconds left to account for the final margin.
Buffalo struck first with 7:11 left in the opening frame when Vanek blasted a one-timer from the slot past Fleury, but Pittsburgh answered just 20 seconds later when Kunitz rifled a shot from the top of the left circle that Miller got his glove on, but it wasn't enough to keep the puck from trickling across the goal line to tie the game.
After a scoreless second stanza, the Sabres grabbed the lead just over six minutes into the third when Vanek won a scrum on the left boards and fed Hecht for a one-timer at the 6:11 mark.
A delay of game penalty against Christian Ehrhoff just past the midpoint of the period helped the Pens find the equalizer, as Iginla rifled a shot from the top of the left circle that sailed through a screen and beat Miller high to the far side at 11:02.
Game Notes
This game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was bumped back to Tuesday after Pittsburgh's contest against the Boston Bruins was moved from Friday night to Saturday afternoon due to the city-wide lockdown during a manhunt on Friday for the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings ... The Sabres wrapped up their road slate at 10-11-3 ... Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin (upper-body injury) returned from a four-game absence and recorded an assist in 21:18 of ice time ... Pysyk, Cody Hodgson and Drew Stafford each registered two assists for the Sabres.


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The Packers Pink Pet Jersey is the ultimate Packer attire for your pet. The pink jersey has pink woven trim on neck and sleeves. The front features the NFL shield patch, the Packers logo and Green Bay in screen printing. The back features the Packers logo and 00.


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NEW YORK (AP) — The euro rose against the dollar Tuesday on signs that the economies of the 17 countries that use the euro are recovering.
The region's purchasing managers' index, which measures manufacturing within the euro zone, rose to a 10-month high of 48.6 in January from 47.2 in December.
The euro rose to $1.3584 in late trading Tuesday from $1.3520 late Monday.
The British pound fell to $1.5663 from $1.5766.
The dollar slipped to 93.36 Japanese yen from 92.38 Japanese yen and to 0.9083 Swiss franc from 0.9084 Swiss franc. The dollar also fell to 99.60 Canadian cents from 99.81 Canadian cents.


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These knives are created using the time-tested traditional forging techniques of Japanese swordsmiths. The central core is V metal 10 stainless steel. �This steel, high in molybdenum, vanadium and cobalt, holds an incredible edge. Surrounding this hagane (inner core) are 16 layers of soft jigane, called suminagishi or damascus steel. Following in the best tradition of knife making, a steel ferrule is forge-welded to the tang to ensure that food particles cannot become lodged between the tang and the handle. The handle, made from multiple layers of wood impregnated with resin, is riveted to the full length tang and will last a lifetime. The blade comes razor sharp and fully honed.
Availability: In stock. Usually ships in 1-2 business days


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has launched three separate reviews on how military medals are awarded, in the face of broad criticism over the inability to recognize heroism in incidents such as the Fort Hood shootings and aborted plans to create a new award for drone pilots.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signed a letter Thursday formally ordering a comprehensive yearlong study in military awards, saying it will primarily focus on whether the department adequately recognizes all levels of combat valor and if the award processes are appropriate.
In comments to Congress last week, Hagel said that as the U.S. comes out of its longest war, it's an appropriate time to do a complete review of all military decorations.
"As we scale back combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of this year, it is imperative that we use the lessons learned from 13 years of combat experience to improve the Department of Defense decorations and awards program," Hagel said in his letter to the Joint Chiefs and senior Pentagon leaders Thursday.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, have ordered two separate reviews that look at how the military awards Purple Hearts, largely due to disagreements over whether victims killed and injured in the shootings at Fort Hood and at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark., should be entitled to the medal.
Hagel also said that the broader review will specifically look at the plan announced last year to develop a way to recognize service members who use drones and other remote technologies to directly affect combat operations.
Last year, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the creation of a Distinguished Warfare Medal to be awarded to troops such as drone operators and cyber warriors who had a major impact on a combat operation without ever stepping foot in the warzone. Months later, amid withering criticism from veterans groups and Congress members, the Hagel canceled the medal and sent the issue back for more study.
A key complaint about Panetta's recommendation was that the medal would have been ranked a bit higher than the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, but lower than the Silver Star. Veterans groups were incensed, saying it should not rank higher than those combat medals.
"These reviews are great news. Most of all, they need to take into consideration the thoughts of those in uniform, regarding the medals," said Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org. "I think, if they do, they will find broad support for ensuring the drone medal doesn't rank higher in precedent than various valor awards from officers and enlisted troops who have been in combat, and broad support for giving Purple Hearts to the Soldiers wounded or killed at Fort Hood."


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$99.00 $39.00
In Stock | STYLE: 001-648-04996
Ships Tomorrow (cutoff time was 4:00 pm CT)
White Sterling Silver Butterfly Set with pendant and earrings. According to my 9 year old grand daughter, this is the most beautiful necklace in the world! She wears hers almost everyday. It comes with the jewelry box included for this price, with a mirror!... *Prices are subject to change based on fluctuations in metal prices and currencies
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By Barry Bluestone | Boston.com | November 16, 2012
As we approach the "fiscal cliff" President Obama is adamant about raising tax rates on high income families to help reduce the deficit. House Speaker John Boehner now says Republicans are willing to consider some form of higher tax revenue as part of the solution – but only "under the right conditions." Lower tax rates for all families, both rich and poor, is one one of them. If the Republicans were to reconsider this position, the President and the Congress could pull off a pretty neat trick – simultaneously reducing the deficit and stimulating the economy.
How could this possibly work?
Right now, the main reason why economic growth is so sluggish is a lack of consumer spending. If we want to increase demand for goods and services, we need to put money in the hands of spenders, not savers. Savers are good for investment, but savings are not our current problem. Businesses are sitting on the sidelines with something like $2 trillion in cash which they could use for investment. They are not investing because in the current economy they fear there is not enough consumer demand to purchase the output this investment would produce.
Right now the nation needs consumers. So who consumes and who saves? This is well-known. In general, savers are rich people. A family in the top 1% of all earners (those with incomes in excess of $569,000) spends only about 49 cents out of every additional dollar while those in the top 5% spend 63 cents out of every dollar. The rest goes into savings accounts, the stock market, and hedge funds – which in the short run create virtually no jobs.
What about everyone else? Four-person families in the lowest quintile of incomes – the poorest 20 percent — earning up to $45,200 a year spend 99 cents out of every additional dollar. Families in the second quintile ($45,201 – $69,800) spend 91 cents while those in the middle quintile (earning up to $100,200) spend 89 cents.
A major reason why economic growth has been so slow over the past decade is that an enormously disproportionate amount of income flowed to the richest families in the country who saved much of their gains. Between 2002 and 2007, 87 percent of the increase in personal income went to the wealthiest 10 percent of all Americans. Thirteen percent went to everyone else. Even spending every dollar of the little additional income they earned, total consumption by the bottom three quintiles of the economy was insufficient to grow the economy fast enough or create enough jobs.
This suggests a straightforward way to grow the economy faster while reducing the federal deficit and not add to government spending. The math is pretty simple. If we transfer $1,000 from a rich household in the top 1% of the income distribution to a family in the first quintile, consumption falls by $490 for the rich household, but spending goes up by $990 for the low income family for a net increase in consumption of $500. Transferring $1,000 from that rich household to a family in the second quintile increases consumption by $420. A transfer to a middle quintile family boosts spending by $400.
So here's the deal the White House should offer Boehner to help avoid the fiscal cliff.
- President Obama and the Congress should agree to temporarily raise the maximum marginal tax rate for those in the top 5 percent of all earners from 35 percent to 50 percent. This would be equal to the maximum rate in 1985 when Ronald Reagan was in the White House.
- Half of all the additional revenue garnered from this increase in the top tax bracket should be set aside to reduce the size of the federal deficit.
- The other half should be transferred as immediate tax rebates to households in the bottom three income quintiles. Nearly 93 percent of these dollars will go into the spending stream.
- This increase in the maximum tax rate on the richest families in the nation and the tax rebates for most others should remain in effect until the unemployment rate falls below 6 percent. Cutting the higher marginal tax rates on the wealthy when the economy is booming again will shift incomes to high savers who will help spur investment when new production capacity will be needed.
This plan could be part of a larger Grand Bargain that includes additional methods for reducing government expenditures and raising more revenue.
The beauty of this plan from a liberal perspective is that it provides a major new stimulus to the economy without increasing the federal deficit. The beauty of this plan from a conservative perspective is that it entails no new government spending out of the increased tax revenue.
Unfortunately, Mr. Boehner and his allies are so ideologically opposed to taxes that they will likely refuse to consider such a plan no matter how well it might work to help reduce the deficit and expand economic growth, ironically the two issues at the very center of their own standard bearer's recent campaign for the Presidency.


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Accountable in Nashua: Who's watching Police Commission?EDITORIAL
January 23. 2014 10:22PM
Attorney General Joe Foster is supposed to be investigating the scandal involving Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, five dead ducks and the chairman of the Nashua Police Commission. Gov. Maggie Hassan handed the task to Foster as a matter of course. That reveals a lack of judgment and a dodging of her responsibility.
Under both state law and the Nashua Charter, the governor is responsible for appointing and removing Nashua police commissioners. (Appointments and removals must be approved by the Executive Council.) Nashua Police Commission Chairman Thomas Pappas, who intervened on behalf of Rep. Campbell when Nashua police were trying to investigate a report of a "gentleman who is drunk" running over ducks in a parking lot, is accountable not to Nashua officials, but to Gov. Hassan.
The governor may remove Nashua police commissioners "for malfeasance, misfeasance, inefficiency in office, incapacity or unfitness to perform assigned duties, or for the good of the department, agency, or institution to which such official is assigned," according to the statute.
She has not sought to do so. Instead, she has trusted the investigation of this incident involving two politically connected Nashua lawyers to Attorney General Foster, who is a politically connected Nashua lawyer. The inappropriateness of that move is obvious. Gov. Hassan needs to insist that Foster appoint a special investigator. That is, if she doesn't simply ask Commissioner Pappas to resign, as the law puts it, "for the good of the department." Commissioner Pappas should do that on his own, but unfortunately he has left it to others to suggest this obvious move.


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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Harvard's John Lyon and Colton Chapple will play in the third annual FCS Scout Bowl at Doug Shaw Stadium on December 15 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The North-South formatted game will feature 100 players from the Football Championship Subdivision in a 5 p.m. kickoff. The game will be streamed live over the internet via UStream. For more information, go to FCSSeniorBowl.com.
The South team will be coached by members of the North Carolina Central University staff. Lyon and Chapple will play for the North team, which will be coached by members of the Johnson C. Smith University staff.
Lyon ranked 18th nationally with 7.5 sacks as part of 10 tackles for a loss in the campaign. A three-year letterwinner, the Durham, N.C. native started all but one game in his career. This year he earned Harvard's Joseph Wolfe Award as the program's top interior lineman.
Chapple, the Ivy League and New England Player of the Year as well as Harvard's Frederick Greeley Crocker Award as Harvard's most valuable player, finished the regular season as the second-rated passer in the country. He achieved single-season records for touchdown passes, totaling 24 touchdown passes to surpass the previous high-water mark of 18. He also set the single-season record for total offense, accounting for nearly 320 yards of offense per game, on 66 percent passing while rushing for 602 yards and nine touchdowns.
For his career, the Alpharetta, Ga. native recorded five games with at least four touchdown passes – no other Harvard QB has more than two such performances (Ryan Fitzpatrick.)
Harvard went 8-2 overall and defeated Yale, 34-24 to earn a program-record sixth straight win over the Bulldogs as well as the 11th victory over the Elis in the last 12 years. The season marked Harvard's Ivy League-record 12th-straight season with at least seven wins – with no other Ivy team even having seven such seasons.


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Get Rhem3: The secret Library Demo off WP (20mb)
"Rhem3: The secret Library" continues the story from its two predecessors "Rhem" and "Rhem 2: The Cave", but can of course also be played without having played the previous two titles. Your task is to once again help the brothers Kales and Zetais to discover a new part of their fascinating world. After you have found a letter from Zetais with instructions you start the journey to Rhem once again...
On your arrival you meet Kales who has discovered that a mysterious artefact, a black gem, is hidden somewhere on Rhem. Because the doorway must be opened by two persons but remains open just long enough for only one person to slip through, you are the only one accessing this new part of the island. Again, on your own you must uncover these new secrets of Rhem.
You will soon find out that the mysterious black gem is not the only mystery on Rhem. You will discover new passages to unknown but also to familiar and well-known places on Rhem. To find the black gem you must for one uncover the hints hidden in the secret library. But you will also need the help of some other characters to solve all the mysterious of Rhem. Some of these characters, like the redcapped Cavemen, you already met in "Rhem 2". But this time they will ask something of you in return for their help.
" Rhem 3: The secret Library" sets you into a huge, fantastic world full of strange vehicles and buildings, unknown mechanisms and machines, secret passages and doorways. Adventuresomeness, logic, attentivness and the ability to solve engimas will help the player to slowly but surely unveil the mystery of this new adventure on Rhem. Everywhere on Rhem you can find hints and solutions that will help you to unveil some of the strange enigmas and puzzles in Rhem 3. And remember, finding the black gem can be the final discovery in Rhem 3, but it must not be...
- a fascinating world full of mindbending mysteries and puzzles
- many hidden rooms and secret passages are waiting for you
- atmospheric sound and music with stereo environment sound
- non violent, non linear gameplay
- available for Mac and PC
The principle of the game corresponds with the graphic adventures (pre-calculated first person). The virtual world is shown through the eyes of the players. The environment consists of individual pictures covering a 360-degree view. Navigation takes place through going forward, turning left/right, etc. In principle, each standpoint has four views. In the virtual world, one must have in advance different puzzles to unlock, representing both collection and use.
More articles about Rhem 3: The Secret Library


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Beverly Willis, Executive Director of the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation writes:
It's never too late to correct a stupid mistake. When extraordinary accomplishments in architecture, design and engineering are being honored, those who were directly responsible for the work should be equally recognized regardless of gender. Give Denise Scott Brown the recognition she deserves.
Read more here


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Watermelon Tequila Cocktail Recipe
Happy Hour: Watermelon-Tequila Cocktails
Since today is National Tequila Day (cheers!), I thought I'd share my latest obsession with you. While I'm a huge fan of the classic margarita combination of tequila and fresh-squeezed lime juice, it pales in comparison to the delightful pairing that is watermelon juice and tequila. I'm so crazy about this dynamic duo that I've already made three different cocktails with it. The one seen here — my current fav — is a mixture of watermelon, tequila, mint, blueberries, and lime juice. With its sweet, minty flavor, refreshing thirst-quenching quality, and beautiful blushing color, this cocktail is almost perfect. I say almost because it's far too easy to drink. A problem that's quickly solved with a generous float of tequila. To get the party, or the weekend, started, make this drink tonight.
Watermelon-Tequila Cocktails
From Bobby Flay
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 3/4 cups blueberries
- 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
- 1 1/4 cups silver tequila
- Ice
- In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool.
- In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.
- In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint
- Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
- Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.
Makes 8 drinks.
- Category
- Drinks, Cocktails
- Cuisine
- Mexican


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Bursar & Cashier Office
The Bursar's/Cashier's Office is responsible for ensuring that student accounts are accurate and paid in a timely manner. The Bursar's/Cashier's Office issues all credits as a result of financial aid and records all payments, ensuring that all charges for tuition, room, board, fees, and other miscellaneous items (i.e. campus safety charges) are applied to student accounts.
- Summer 2018 Tuition and Fee Schedule
- 2018-2019 Tuition and Fee Schedule
- 2017-2018 Tuition and Fee Schedule
- Taylor University Payment Plan Brochure
The office is also responsible for all non-payroll payments to Taylor vendors, faculty, and staff, the annual audit, and other business-related matters.
Online billing information
Taylor University bills by the semester and the billing statement and other account information is available online on the student portal Quick Links under Bursar Billing Statements.
- The initial fall billing statement will be available in late July and payment will be due August 20.
- The initial spring semester billing statement will be available in late December and is due January 20.
A statement will be issued on or by the last day of each month if there has been activity to the student account or if there is a balance still due for previously billed charges. Unbilled activity and pending financial aid or payment plans will also be listed on the online account site.
An e-mail notification will be sent to the student's e-mail address when their new statement is available or there has been a change to the student account, and it is the student's responsibility to access the account information to keep informed of their account status. Additional e-mails can be sent to the parents' e-mail address if the parent has been set up as an authorized user by the student.
In order for a parent or other bill payer to view student billing information or make payments online, the student must first enter their parent(s) or other bill payer as an authorized user(s) through the student online site. There is no cost to pay via e-check, but the credit card option will incur a convenience fee. Authorized users must access the secure online billing site, using their e-mail address as the ID.
Questions should be directed to the Bursar's Office.
Check payment processing
Important Notice: If paying by check, please be aware that you are authorizing Taylor University to use the information on your check to make a one-time electronic debit to your checking account. This electronic debit will be for the amount indicated on your check.
If you do not have sufficient funds in your bank account, the amount of the check plus a returned check fee of $10 will be charged to your Taylor University account and you will be responsible to pay the charges.


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Farmers market can't plant signs on public land
SALEM — Selectmen have denied a request by Salem Farmers Market organizers to place signs on public rights-of-way, saying the market is a business enterprise not a nonprofit community event.
Farmers market organizer Jane Lang made the request after the town asked the market to stop putting up the signs on public rights-of-way two weeks ago.
Since that time, business at the weekly Sunday market at the Lake Street Garden Center has fallen significantly.
"I've had calls from people who have said to just put the signs up, but I want to do this the right way," Lang said. "In the two weeks that the signs have been down, there has been a decline in attendance. People are driving around and thinking there might not be a market."
Lang said it is important to have the signs up to let people know there is a market. Lang's request was to put up six signs on the morning of the market with those signs being removed by the end of the day.
With the market having a very limited advertising budget, Lynn Bishop said the signs are the best and least expensive way to advertise.
"If the farmers market does not have the opportunity to use signs to attract business, it is not going to grow, and if it doesn't grow, it could be done," Bishop said.
Salem resident Eunice Miller has a small business that sells chocolate at the market, and she said she has seen her business decline in the past two weeks.
Everett McBride, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said organizers can still put up signs on private property. He said organizers could approach residents of high visibility areas and ask them if they could put signs on their property.
"You would probably have better coverage than you would with the rights-of-way," McBride said.
Selectman Pat Hargreaves supported the farmers market request, stating that the organizers had established that the market was a benefit to the community.
Selectman Michael Lyons said he is willing to look at the sign issue in the future and possibly making it easier for nonprofits to put up signs for special events. But Lyons said he wasn't sure how much help that would be to the farmers market, since it is a regular event with businesses that earn a firstname.lastname@example.com


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Here's my favorite part of New York Superintendent of Financial Services Ben Lawsky's proposed "BitLicense" regulations for companies that provide Bitcoin services in New York:
"Each Licensee shall maintain at all times such capital as the superintendent determines is sufficient to ensure the financial integrity of the Licensee and its ongoing operations. In determining the minimum amount of capital that must be maintained by a Licensee, the superintendent will consider a variety of factors, including but not limited to: ... the amount of leverage employed by the Licensee."
Isn't that strange? Capital, in the usual financial sense, is just the inverse of leverage: Capital requirements determine how much leverage you can have. If you have an 8 percent capital requirement, then you can be 12.5 times levered. Saying "we'll decide how much capital you need based on how much leverage you have" is circular: How much capital you need determines how much leverage you can have.
This weird amateurism feels right at home, though, because these are Bitcoin regulations, and there's a general flavor of weird finance amateurism running through Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a self-conscious reinvention of every wheel in finance, and when you crowdsource your wheels some of them will be lumpy or ill-formed or oval. And some of them will be Reuleaux triangles because, and here let's just be brutally honest, Bitcoin is largely for nerds.
My second favorite part of the proposal is this, from Lawsky's press release:
"Each firm must hold Virtual Currency of the same type and amount as any Virtual Currency owed or obligated to a third party. Companies are also prohibited from selling, transferring, assigning, lending, pledging, or otherwise encumbering assets, including Virtual Currency, it stores on behalf of another person. Each licensee must also maintain a bond or trust account in United States dollars for the benefit of its customers in such form and amount as is acceptable to DFS for the protection of the licensee's customers."
What this means is that if you're in the business of Bitcoinery -- "receiving Virtual Currency for transmission or transmitting the same; securing, storing, holding, or maintaining custody or control of Virtual Currency on behalf of others; buying and selling Virtual Currency as a customer business; performing retail conversion service ... or controlling, administering, or issuing a Virtual Currency" -- and you owe Bitcoins to customers, then you need to have 100 percent of those Bitcoins sitting in your Bitcoin vault. And you can't borrow against them. And you need to have some extra cash in dollars, just in case (in case what?). And you need to have however much capital Ben Lawsky decides you should have.
So if you start Joe's Bank of Bitcoin, and you're holding 100 Bitcoins for your customers, your balance sheet has to look sort of like this:
Where X is the larger of the capital requirement and the bond account requirement.3 What that means is, if someone comes in and asks you to hold another 100 Bitcoins, you have to immediately come up with another $X of your own capital to do that. Where does that come from? Well, presumably from charging the customer a fee to hold on to its Bitcoins. And the higher the capital/bond requirements, the higher the fee.
So: That's a totally reasonable business model. Storage companies will take your stuff, hold onto it for you, and charge you a fee. They can't use your stuff while it's in their warehouses, so the fee is the only incentive they have to hold on to it for you. And they probably have some sort of insurance against the risk of losing your stuff, and your fee goes in part to covering their costs for that. There's no reason that Bitcoin custodians -- and Bitcoin converters and transferers and other infrastructure providers -- can't have precisely the same business model.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.