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Do you ever get days where it feels like everything is against you?
Having had the mindset training I have I know to try and look for the positives but let's be honest life isn't a bunch of roses for anybody no matter how strong their positive mindset!
This week my gratitude journal has been getting half a page entries rather than the full page I strive for each day.
It feel like I've had everything thrown at me this week!
Hubby's cousin who inspired me to write a post about grabbing life with both hands and living the fuck out of it lost her 4 year long fight with cancer, my wonderful mother in law has been poorly and needed an operation, my Nan had a fall and broke her hip, the kids have been ill non stop all week and Pud had some tests done and I have to wait all weekend to find out why the dr needs to talk to me about the results!
Having to deal with all that is basically the reason the posts have been a bit thin on the ground lately. (Don't even get me started on the weight loss plan! It's gone the wrong way completely!)
On the plus side, I've been trying to keep myself occupied by planning some exciting new photoshoots and launching my new money saving shopping group on Facebook!
The plan is to try and bring you money saving offers and gift ideas for those hard to buy for people in your life.
Check out the page here: The Hopeless Housewife Shopping Group
I'm hoping that normal service will be resumed next week…that said, I did name this blog the hopelss housewife for a reason……just saying 😉


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Beside Chinese language courses CI´s another aim is to promote Chinese culture. We offer a large range of cultural courses of calligraphy, erhu (Chinese violin) playing or cooking. The offer of cultural courses changes depending on the presence of Chinese lecturers.
We also take part in activities of Palacky University in Olomouc such as traditional Veletrh Flora in Olomouc or Science fair PU.
We offer cultural workshops for primary and secondary schools and high schools or reading of Chinese fairy-tales. We organise exhibitions, live concerts and lectures about Chinese language and culture. Lecturers are in most cases experts in Chinese language and culture from the Czech Republic and China.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
November ballot issue seen for stormwater
Still unresolved is what sort of mechanism it would be. In a presentation Jan. 8 to the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG) Board of Directors, Carol Baker of Colorado Springs Utilities displayed a slide show stating that the task force still does not know if the governing body would be a new or existing entity. Also needing a decision is if such an operation would be funded by fees based on a property's impervious surface, sales or property taxes, or bonds that would be paid back over time with taxes or fees.
Nevertheless, the Task Force timetable, also part of the slide show, indicates that by spring - Baker told the board the target month is March - a "final recommendation" will be ready.
In preparation for the November election, intergovernmental agreements will also be hammered out this spring, the slide presentation states.
The idea is to have as many governments participating as possible, but "no one will have to do anything," Baker stressed. "It won't be crammed down their throats."
According to a year-old consultant study that the Task Force is using, more than 20 of nearly 400 needed stormwater projects inside Colorado Springs city limits are on the Westside. Included on the list are the Camp Creek drainage and the King Street and 19th Street detention ponds, each of which had been deemed "critical" when the city had a fee-supported Stormwater Enterprise from 2007 to 2009.
Based on findings from a "scientific public opinion poll" in November, the Task Force - consisting of local civic and government officials - believes strong public support exists for taking some kind of action. One of the presentation slides showed that two-thirds of those polled believe flood control is "very important," 81 percent prefer a dedicated-funding plan and 73 percent want a regional approach.
Key to zeroing in on a governance plan is a scheduled meeting of the Task Force with Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach Jan. 16. To date, Bach has expressed reluctance to support a new tax or fee for stormwater upgrades.
One of the Task Force presentation slides quotes a 2012 study revealing that Colorado Springs' average funding per capita for stormwater needs is $4.63, compared to an average of $57.38 of the other 10 most populated cities in Colorado.
The city's stormwater funding averaged above $40 a year during the Stormwater Enterprise years, but voters - angry that the fee was never put to a popular vote - threw it out in a 2009 election
Another slide, drawing on an engineering study by CH2M Hill, shows that Colorado Springs has $535 million in "estimated needed funds" for stormwater capital improvements but only has $2 million in "annually available funds." For operations and maintenance, the "need" is $10.4 million and the "available" is $1.5 million, the slide further states.
Baker noted that the study analyzed the region's needs in 2012 - before flooding worsened by the Waldo Canyon Fire occurred last August and September.
This time lag led to discussion among board members about the full reliability of the information. Andy Pico, a City Council member, said the study ought to be updated to show the city money spent in 2013 to address emergency and other flood issues. Baker said that even if it did, the region's efforts would still rate poorly overall.
The presentation focused on Colorado Springs and El Paso County. Marc Snyder, mayor of Manitou Springs, argued that facts should also be provided on what other specific jurisdictions are doing in the region - for example, he said, Manitou already has a stormwater fee, charging $11 a month for stormwater needs on every utility bill.
Baker said she is giving her presentations at meetings of various government entities in the region. The PPACG board, which consists of elected government representatives from three counties (including El Paso), was not asked to take formal action at this time.
Westside Pioneer article


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I'm still moving slowly after Dad's death. But, I'm starting to recover.
It helps to know that there is new life on the horizon. Serena and Justin will be parents in July. I'm trying to decide what to knit for Merridyth Ann. At least there is a 95% possibility that it will be Merridyth Ann, known as Merri. I'm going to try to do another 3 generation blanket for her (Mom, me and Serena.) I want each of the grandtads to have that, don't want one to be left out. That means I need to get going soon, to make sure that it happens. I'm thinking cables for this one. Haven't decided quite what, but...
Justin L's winter sweaters for this year and next are almost finished. A couple of more days of knitting on break and lunch and the 3rd will be finished. Then putting it together and sewing in the ends for both. Then they will be mailed off. I'm sorry that this year's is late, but circumstances conspired to lose my momentum.
It has been a colder winter here than normal. I'm so glad that Howard bought the winter coat that he did. When he did I thought (with some private snickering) that he'd wear it a week a year here. Who knew that he'd need it for over a month this year!!!
Thank God that the roof leak has finally stopped! I started off putting one container down. It gradually grew until there were 8 containers in and beside the closet. The roofers came to fix it, the next day it still leaked. But, whatever they did must have taken care of it, for the containers (I didn't dare pick them up) have stayed dry. If only I didn't hear the drip in my dreams, even though it isn't happening!
Not a lot more to post, but I'll try to get more active here. Some days are harder than others, still.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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There's a lot that economists don't agree on: monetary policy, tax policy, environmental and energy policy, and host of other complicated and obscure issues.
So when you do find overwhelming agreement among expert economists on a particular subject, there's good reason to sit up and pay attention, particularly when it contradicts what the vast majority of lay people believe.
This is a lesson that Barack Obama has yet to take to heart, and we saw a glaring example of it in his State of the Union address, which was dedicated to outlining his "job creation" plan.
In it, the president proposed raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to nine dollars per hour. If this seems like a good idea to you, you're not alone: polls show that public consistently supports raising the minimum wage, by a lot.
But you would be rather lonely if you tried to press this idea in nearly any economics department the country. In fact, 79% of all economists agree that the minimum wage increases unemployment among the young and unskilled, and there are sound theoretical and empirical reasons why.
The short explanation, which I wish more politicians understood, is that prices are not arbitrary. They convey real information about underlying scarcity. As Professor Antony Davies puts it, "Prices are not levers that set value; they are metrics that reflect value."
When President Obama says that by raising the minimum wage the government can, in one step, "raise the incomes of millions of working families," he is missing the most fundamental fact about prices.
Seen vs. Unseen
Support for the minimum wage is driven by the difference between what French economist Frédéric Bastiat called "the seen and the unseen" consequences of a law. In 1848, Bastiat wrote,
A law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen.
The other effects emerge only subsequently; they are not seen; we are fortunate if we foresee them…
Yet this difference is tremendous; for it almost always happens that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the later consequences are disastrous.
The visible effects of an increase in the minimum wage are obvious: all else equal, some workers are paid a higher wage. But what are the invisible effects, that we would be wise to foresee?
1. Employers will use less labor. This might seem obvious to non-presidents, but when you raise the price of something, people will buy less of it. By increasing the cost of unskilled labor, employers are encouraged to invest in more capital (machines, equipment, technology) and in higher-skilled, more experienced, more productive workers.
If you make labor more expensive, employers will find ways to make sure that the marginal product of that labor will be equivalent to its cost, by increasing productivity with more skilled workers or more capital equipment.
2. Unemployment among unskilled workers will rise. Workers who are making the minimum legal amount are, by definition, on the margin of employment. They tend to be disproportionately young, uneducated, inexperienced, and unskilled. If you raise the cost of employing them above what market rate for their skills are, you will price them out of the labor market.
Price floors (lower limits on what people can charge for a good or service) work the same in every market: they create surpluses, reflecting the difference between the amount supplied at a given price and the amount demanded. A surplus of labor is unemployment.
When the minimum wage is raised, in practice, these effects need not manifest themselves in the immediate termination of any employee making below the new minimum wage (although it may well lead to the letting go of the least productive workers). Rather, what is more likely is that it will be harder for young and unskilled people to get hired in the first place, as they compete for entry level jobs in the market.
Anyone who isn't skilled or experienced enough to produce as much in output per hour as the minimum wage requires they be paid for that work simply will not get a job. Employers will invest in more machines to raise the productivity of their employees, and hire more skilled workers.
Given that low-wage positions experience a high turnover rate (McDonald's is well over 100% annually), this means that some workers may get a few weeks or months of higher pay, only to be unable to get a job at all some time in the future, when they are back out competing in a market flooded with surplus (i.e., unemployed) workers. Their hourly wages drop to zero.
What Is a "Minimum Wage" Law?
For employees, minimum wage laws are rules that make it illegal for them to sell their services (generally, unskilled labor) for less than a certain amount. For employers, they are rules forbidding them from hiring workers whose output is less than the minimum wage rate–even if workers want to work and employers want to hire them. It increases the cost of labor for businesses and reduces the number of jobs available to workers.
What Happens When You Raise It?
Raising this rate, other things equal, makes labor more expensive. Consumers of labor (employers) will purchase less of it. It may cause employers to:
- cut back on hours;
- lay off the least productive employees;
- hire fewer new inexperienced workers;
- replace labor-intensive work with capital-intensive work (technology, machines);
- replace many low-skill workers with fewer high-skilled workers;
- or–depending on their size, profitability, and ability to adapt–they may go out of business.
Who Gets Hurt?
The minimum wage is inefficient and economically damaging, but it doesn't hurt everyone equally. Minimum wage earners are on the margin of employment — they are the first to lose their jobs and the last to get hired if the price of labor is forced up.
By pricing them out of the market, the government protects skilled workers by making their less skilled competitors unemployable. So who are these workers?
- Minimum wage earners are overwhelming young, female, less educated, part-time, service employees.
- Less than 4% of Americans over age 25 make minimum wage.
- Women are about 40% more likely than men to make minimum wage or less.
- 13% of workers without high school degrees make the minimum, compared to 5% of those with a HS degree and less than 3% of those with a college degree.
- 14% of part-time workers earn minimum wage vs. only 3% of full-time workers.
- 60% of minimum wage earners work in service industries (composing about 14% of all service workers).
Data from the Department of Labor and Census Bureau shows that the disemployment effect of the minimum wage is greatest among the least educated. Because individuals with college educations earn much more money, a relatively higher minimum wage has no effect on their employment opportunities.
But for workers with high school diplomas or less, the data shows a strong correlation between a larger minimum wage and higher unemployment.
Empirical Evidence
Those still grasping for reasons to defend the minimum wage will accuse economists of putting "theory" ahead of "people." So let us ignore the core principles of economics and just look at what the empirical evidence shows.
A wealth of literature has consistently shown that increasing the minimum wage decreases employment. The best studies continue to demonstrate a statistically significant effect for low skilled workers.
- A 1995 study by economists at Michigan State and the Federal Reserve showed that New Jersey's 18.8% increase in the minimum wage lead to a 4.6% decrease in employment.
- A 1999 study in the United States and France demonstrated that a 1% increase in the minimum wage decreased the probability of continued future employment by 0.4% for men and 1.6% for women and showed "very strong effects on workers employed at the minimum wage."
- Nor does the minimum wage alleviate poverty: a 1997 study found "minimum wages increase both the probability that poor families escape poverty and the probability that previously non-poor families fall into poverty. … The evidence indicates that in the wake of minimum wage increases, some families gain and others lose. On net, the various tradeoffs created by minimum wage increases more closely resemble income redistribution among low-income families than income redistribution from high- to low-income families" (emphasis added).
- In a 2006 meta-study, Neumark and Wascher reviewed the literature on minimum wages and employment and concluded that the large majority show negative employment effects from minimum wages, and that "the studies that focus on the least-skilled groups provide relatively overwhelming evidence of stronger disemployment effects."
We got a clear picture of what happens when the minimum wages jumps suddenly during the last period the minimum wage went up. In 2007, Congress passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which increased the rate in 3 steps. In July 2009, the final increase went into effect, raising the minimum wage from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour.
In June, based on his prior research, University of California-Irvine economist David Neumark predicted that this 11% increase would destroy about 300,000 jobs for workers between ages 16 and 24. Between July and October, 330,000 teen jobs disappeared.
Hardest hit were young black males, whose unemployment rate shot up from a dismal 39% in July to over 50% by September. By comparison, President Obama is asking for a 25% increase in the minimum wage.
It's not as if Congress is oblivious to the problem, either. In July of last year, the House of Representatives voted 378-11 to stop an automatic increase in the minimum wage for American Samoa. A 2011 GAO report found that the increases mandated for American Samoa in the 2007 law had led to the closing of a tuna factory, which drove the island's unemployment rate to nearly 20% by 2010.
The measure was supported by Samoa's governor, nonvoting representative, and Chamber of Commerce Chairman, who remarked that, "Congress is to be thanked for preventing further economic calamity in American Samoa and preventing continual increases to the minimum wage which would have led to additional layoffs in our fragile economy."
What Is Really Lost?
In the final analysis, what is really being lost because of the minimum wage? Of course, there's the lost wages unemployed teen workers won't receive, and we shouldn't discount this — many families need whatever supplemental income they can get, particularly when the economy is stagnant.
But over the long-run, for most young workers, the main value of their first job isn't the small income they receive but rather the development of their human capital — the skills and experience they will gain from the work itself.
In his book Applied Economics, economist Thomas Sowell explains:
Those who disdain low-paying jobs as "menial" or who refuse to accept "chump change" for entry-level work are usually not thinking beyond stage one. … Young people who begin by working at McDonald's seldom spend their careers at McDonald's. Just in the course of one year, McDonald's has more than a 100 percent turnover rate.
What those who leave take with them is not only such basic experience as showing up for work regularly and on time, cooperating with others, and knowing how to conduct themselves in a business environment, but also a track record that enables them to move on to other and very different occupations at progressively higher levels in the years ahead. The experience and track record of from McDonald's are likely to be more valuable in the long run than the modest paychecks they earned serving hamburgers.
Put differently, whatever reduces opportunities for gainful employment for people with little or no experience has the effect of costing both them and the society far more than the lost jobs. … Reducing the number of jobs available by pricing inexperienced workers out of the market solves no problem for these workers.
Economists David Neumark and Olena Nizalova have studied the effects that minimum wages have on young worker's long-run income and employment prospects, finding that:
Exposure to minimum wages at young ages may lead to longer-run effects. … The evidence indicates that even as individuals reach their late 20's, they work less and earn less the longer they were exposed to a higher minimum wage, especially as a teenager. The adverse longer-run effects of facing high minimum wages as a teenager are stronger for blacks.
From a policy perspective, these longer-run effects of minimum wages are likely more significant than the contemporaneous effects of minimum wages on youths that are the focus of most research and policy debate (emphasis added).
A Perverse Principle
Given that minimum wages hurt the very people they are supposed to help, by restricting workers' freedom, reducing their choices, and increasing unemployment, one must wonder why, despite decades of consensus among economists, politicians and pundits continue supporting these destructive regulations.
They often do so because they want "send the right message" about the "kind of society" we want to live in. While this appears well-intentioned, the principle underlying such arguments is actually quite perverse: that it is better for us to feel good than to actually do good.
Minimum wage laws ensure that no one works for less than a certain amount, and this leads to much self-congratulation among its supporters, but it merely conceals the problem it is supposed to solve, by making sure that people who can't produce that amount make nothing. And that is, and always will be, the only real "minimum wage."
It is particularly ironic that President Obama would choose a speech about "job creation" to push for the one policy that is absolutely guaranteed to destroy thousands of jobs. Writing the Wall Street Journal in 1996, the late Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan remarked:
The inverse relationship between quantity demanded and price is the core proposition in economic science, which embodies the presupposition that human choice behavior is sufficiently rational to allow predictions to be made.
Just as no physicist would claim that "water runs uphill," no self-respecting economist would claim that increases in the minimum wage increase employment.
Such a claim, if seriously advanced, becomes equivalent to a denial that there is even minimal scientific content in economics, and that, in consequence, economists can do nothing but write as advocates for ideological interests.
Fortunately, only a handful of economists are willing to throw over the teaching of two centuries; we have not yet become a bevy of camp-following whores.
Mr. President, you are free to argue for whatever policy you think is best — but please don't look to economists to support the idea that making labor more expensive is a "job creation" measure. We have not yet become a bevy of camp-following whores.


text:
President's Pages in Princeton Alumni Weekly
Opening Exercises: Becoming a Princetonian
October 5, 2005
On September 11, I welcomed the 1,223 members of the Class of 2009, 530 matriculating graduate students, new faculty and staff, and, last but not least, a number of displaced students who are joining us from universities in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. It was a festive day, tinged with sadness at the memory of 9/11 and the disastrous events on the Gulf Coast. As in past years, I would like to share part of my address to freshmen with you. — S.M.T.
Today marks the official beginning of the academic year. We celebrate your arrival and congratulate ourselves on exercising the good judgment to have offered you a place in the class. We also celebrate the equally good judgment you have shown in accepting our offer. You are now fledgling Princetonians, on the path to earning the right to claim that you are not just a member of the Class of 2009, but a member of the Great Class of 2009.
But what does this mean—to be a member of a class; to be a Princetonian? As a member of a class, you are here not just to learn from this place and its faculty, but from each other. And you are here not just to learn together, but to live together— to share experiences and form friendships that in many cases will last a lifetime. As a Princetonian, you suddenly will have an explosion of orange and black in your wardrobe, colors that you had relegated to Halloween costumes in the past. You will find yourself singing "Old Nassau" without the slightest self-consciousness that you are waving an imaginary hat around for half the song. A stranger who sits beside you in an airplane becomes an instant connection for a summer job when you discover that you have Princeton in common. When you leave this chapel, you will join a Pre-rade that will foreshadow the P-rade of Princeton's annual Reunion gathering, a parade in which such august figures as our Provost Christopher Eisgruber of the Class of 1983 and Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School Anne-Marie Slaughter of the Class of 1980 can be seen marching in Reunion regalia that would, in the words of Lerner and Lowe, "make a sailor blush." That's one part of being a Princetonian—it is having a deep, emotional, and lifelong attachment to your alma mater, and making no bones about it!
However, becoming a Princetonian means a great deal more than costumes and songs. The goal of a Princeton education is to prepare young men and women to take up positions of leadership in the 21st century. Of course, the word "leadership" conjures up images of presidents and CEOs, but I want to stress that my idea of a leader is much broader than that. A leader is someone who has that powerful combination of determination, intellect, and strength of character to make a positive difference in the world. A leader can be a teacher who inspires students in a first-grade classroom to love learning, or a doctor who cares for the indigent, or an engineer who devises a new technology that connects remote African villages to the Web. What sets leaders apart from others is their ability to get things done, to put the needs of others before their own, and to accomplish both with a finely calibrated ethical compass.
The Princeton ideal of leadership is not for the weak of heart. It requires that you take a bold and adventuresome approach to your education, for make no mistake; this is your education to make of what you will. Princeton can be a four-year way station between adolescence and adulthood or it can be the defining years of your life, upon which you will look back and say, as so many have before you, "Princeton changed my life." In making choices about how you spend your time, I hope you will seek out opportunities and individuals you know nothing about, and not just stay within the safe confines of your comfort zone where you excelled in high school. These four years will fly by with lightning speed, and I can assure you from my 20 years of experience at Princeton that if you show no courage now, in the spring of your senior year you will be regretting all the missed opportunities you had to explore uncharted territory.
Our expectation is that you will place more emphasis on developing lifelong habits of critical thinking than on acquiring a large body of knowledge. Both are important to have at one's command at various times, but if you have a disciplined and curious mind, you will always find a way to acquire the information you need to move forward. Critical thinking requires an openness to the "other;" the ability and the receptivity to explore all sides of a complex question, and having done so, the self-confidence to select among the possibilities without ignoring or denigrating the positions you reject. There are issues that may be rightfully described as black or white, right or wrong, but in my experience the most interesting questions are never that straightforward, but require a subtlety and flexibility of mind that I hope you will hone over the next few years.
Beware of the ideologue with whom discussion is a shouting match. Universities and colleges cherish the right of each individual to speak freely and openly and to defend positions with dispassionate reason, not closed minds or contemptuous attitudes. There is too much empty rhetoric in the world today; this country and the world need more individuals who can navigate the complex waters around deep and fundamental questions of what it means to be human, what it means to be a citizen of a country and what it means to be a citizen of the world. We desperately need more individuals who ask questions, listen to others, absorb information, think, and then, quite possibly, change their minds.
This is one of the reasons why Princeton places such a strong emphasis on independent work—for developing critical thinking requires the continual application of your cognitive abilities to new and often difficult problems and issues. Gone are the days when you will be rewarded for dutifully memorizing and regurgitating what you have read. Here you will be asked to absorb all that is known about a subject and then come to your own conclusions about what it means.
You will be relieved to know that you will not be asked to acquire these habits alone. Throughout your years at Princeton you will be working closely with distinguished members of the faculty who are among the acknowledged leaders in their fields. They will pose questions that matter and teach you how to dig deep for the answers, beyond the material in your textbooks and the wonderful world of Google, to unearth ancient manuscripts in the recesses of Firestone Library, or learned articles in professional journals like World Politics, or DNA sequences in genetic databases. The wondrous thing about this archeological process of excavation for new information and learning is that the more you know about a subject, the more interesting it becomes. When I think back to my own university education, what remains most interesting and vivid to me are the projects that were the most challenging and on which I worked the hardest.
Of course, a Princeton education may begin in the classroom, but it certainly does not end there. It happens everywhere—in the dormitories and dining halls, on the playing fields and performance stages, and in all the places in between. There are more than 200 student organizations that will welcome you with open arms and support your aspirations: from tutoring disadvantaged children to singing beneath the beautiful arches of our campus; from prancing across the McCarter stage in an all-male kick line to making our University community more environmentally friendly. Princeton is a closely knit residential community, and much of your personal and intellectual growth will come from knowing the people in this chapel. Look around you. Somewhere in this chapel are the closest friends you will have for the rest of your lives.
Some of these friends may act and think like you; it is only natural to gravitate to people in whom we instinctively recognize ourselves. But Princeton also offers you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with men and women whose lives have differed dramatically from your own; who view the world from a different vantage point. Never again will you live with a group of peers that was expressly assembled to expand your horizons and open your eyes to the fascinating richness of the human condition. After all, Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye could have saved herself and her colleagues a great deal of time and effort by admitting the first 1,223 applicants who were class valedictorians, or the first 1,223 with double 800 SAT scores, or 1,223 from the state of New York. The reason she took such care in selecting all of you—weighing your many talents, your academic and extracurricular interests, your diverse histories—was to increase the likelihood that your entire educational experience, inside and outside the classroom, is as mind-expanding as possible. When you graduate you will enter a world that is now truly global in perspective, and in which success will require that you have a cosmopolitan attitude. You must be equipped to live and work in not one culture, but in many cultures. As Tom Friedman, the New York Times columnist, wrote in his most recent book, The World Is Flat, globalization has "accidentally made Beijing, Bangalore, and Bethesda next-door neighbors." You will be prepared to live in the new flattened world if you learn from and embrace the diverse tapestry that makes up the globe through friendships born at Princeton.
To be a Princetonian, then, is to take on the responsibilities of leadership; to take a road less traveled as thousands of men and women have done on this campus before you; to grow in ways that you cannot predict today; to change without abandoning the outstanding qualities that brought you here; and to use your talents and energies, on your own and with others, to change the world for the better. Let me conclude by paraphrasing what I said last spring at Commencement to the graduating class: "I hope you will acquire the spirit of Princeton and all that this place aspires to teach you—a determination to follow your passions in service to the common good, a respect for tradition and for progress, an openness to new ideas, the courage to stand up for your beliefs and the rights of others, a global sensibility, and a lifelong devotion to justice and freedom, all informed by the highest standards of integrity and mutual respect." To do so, you will need to aim high and to be bold.
Good luck to you all.


text:
by Subarna Ganguly and Jonathan Mellors, December 2011
This article provides a step-by-step process for using the interactive
scinstall utility to install and configure Oracle Solaris Cluster software for two nodes, including the configuration of a quorum device. It does not cover the configuration of highly available services.
Note: For more details on how to install and configure other Oracle Solaris Cluster software configurations, see the Oracle Solaris Cluster Software Installation Guide.
The interactive
scinstall utility is menu-driven. The menus help reduce the chance of mistakes and promote best practices by using default values, prompting you for information specific to your cluster, and identifying invalid entries.
scinstall utility also eliminates the need to manually set up a quorum device by automating the configuration of a quorum device for the new cluster.
Note: This article refers to the Oracle Solaris Cluster 4.0 release. For more information about the latest Oracle Solaris Cluster release, see the release notes.
This section discusses several prerequisites, assumptions, and defaults for two-node clusters.
This article assumes the following conditions are met:
Note: It is recommended, but not required, that you have console access to the nodes during cluster installation.
Figure 1. Oracle Solaris Cluster Hardware Configuration
This article assumes that Oracle Solaris 11 has been installed on both systems.
You must have the logical names (host names) and IP addresses of the nodes that are to be configured as a cluster. Add those entries to each node's
/etc/inet/hosts file or to a naming service if a naming service, such as DNS, NIS, or NIS+ maps, is used.
The example in this article uses the NIS service and the configuration shown in Table 1.Table 1. Configuration
|Cluster Name
|Node 1
|Node 2
scinstall interactive utility in Typical mode installs the Oracle Solaris Cluster software with the following defaults:
switch1 and
The example in this article has no cluster-transport switches. Instead, the private networking is resolved by using back-to-back cables.
In the example in this article, the interfaces of the private interconnects are
nge1 and
e1000g1 on both cluster nodes.
Perform the following steps.
rsh or
ssh access for
root on the cluster nodes.
/etc/inet/hosts file entries. If no other name resolution service is available, add the name and IP address of the other node to this file.
In our example (with the NIS service), the
/etc/inet/hosts files are as follows.
On node 1:
# Internet host table # ::1 phys-schost-1 localhost 127.0.0.1 phys-schost-1 localhost loghost
On node 2:
# Internet host table # ::1 phys-schost-2 localhost 127.0.0.1 phys-schost-2 localhost loghost
In our example, there are two disks that are shared between the two nodes:
# format Searching for disks...done AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS: 0. c4t0d0 <FUJITSU-MBB2073RCSUN72G-0505 cyl 8921 alt 2 hd 255 sec 63> /pci@7b,0/pci1022,7458@11/pci1000,3060@2/sd@0,0 /dev/chassis/SYS/HD0/disk 1. c4t1d0 <SUN72G cyl 14084 alt 2 hd 24 sec 424> /pci@7b,0/pci1022,7458@11/pci1000,3060@2/sd@1,0 /dev/chassis/SYS/HD1/disk 2. c0t600A0B800026FD7C000019B149CCCFAEd0 <SUN-CSM200_R-0660 cyl 2607 alt 2 hd 255 sec 63> /scsi_vhci/disk@g600a0b800026fd7c000019b149cccfae 3. c0t600A0B800026FD7C000019D549D0A500d0 <SUN-CSM200_R-0660 cyl 2607 alt 2 hd 255 sec 63> /scsi_vhci/disk@g600a0b800026fdb600001a0449d0a6d3
# more /etc/release Oracle Solaris 11 11/11 X86 Copyright (c) 1983, 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Assembled 26 September 2011
addrconf, as displayed by the command
ipadm show-addr -o all).
If the nodes are configured as static, proceed to the section Configuring the Oracle Solaris Cluster Publisher. Otherwise, continue with this procedure and do the following:
# netadm enable -p ncp defaultfixed Enabling ncp 'DefaultFixed' phys-schost-1: Sep 27 08:19:19 phys-schost-1 in.ndpd[1038]: Interface net0 has been removed from kernel. in.ndpd will no longer use it Sep 27 08:19:19 phys-schost-1 in.ndpd[1038]: Interface net1 has been removed from kernel . in.ndpd will no longer use it Sep 27 08:19:19 phys-schost-1 in.ndpd[1038]: Interface net2 has been removed from kernel . in.ndpd will no longer use it Sep 27 08:19:20 phys-schost-1 in.ndpd[1038]: Interface net3 has been removed from kernel . in.ndpd will no longer use it Sep 27 08:19:20 phys-schost-1 in.ndpd[1038]: Interface net4 has been removed from kernel . in.ndpd will no longer use it Sep 27 08:19:20 phys-schost-1 in.ndpd[1038]: Interface net5 has been removed from kernel . in.ndpd will no longer use it
# svccfg -s svc:/network/nis/domain setprop config/domainname = hostname: nisdomain.example.com # svccfg -s svc:/network/nis/domain:default refresh # svcadm enable svc:/network/nis/domain:default # svcadm enable svc:/network/nis/client:default # /usr/sbin/svccfg -s svc:/system/name-service/switch setprop config/host = astring: \"files nis\" # /usr/sbin/svccfg -s svc:/system/name-service/switch setprop config/netmask = astring: \"files nis\" # /usr/sbin/svccfg -s svc:/system/name-service/switch setprop config/automount = astring: \"files nis\" # /usr/sbin/svcadm refresh svc:/system/name-service/switch
# ypinit -c
# beadm create Pre-Cluster-s11 # beadm list BE Active Mountpoint Space Policy Created -- ------ ---------- ----- ------ ------- Pre-Cluster-s11 - - 179.0K static 2011-09-27 08:51 s11 NR / 4.06G static 2011-09-26 08:50
There are two main ways to access the Oracle Solaris Cluster package repository, depending on whether the cluster nodes have direct access (or access through a Web proxy) to the Internet:
To access either the Oracle Cluster Solaris Release or Support repositories, obtain the SSL public and private keys, as follows:
ha-cluster publisher with the downloaded SSL keys to point to the selected repository URL on pkg.oracle.com. The following example uses the release repository:
# pkg set-publisher \ -k /var/pkg/ssl/Oracle_Solaris_Cluster_4.0.key.pem \ -c /var/pkg/ssl/Oracle_Solaris_Cluster_4.0.certificate.pem \ -g https://pkg.oracle.com/ha-cluster/release/ ha-cluster
To access a local copy of the Oracle Solaris Cluster Release or Support repository, download the repository image, as follows.
# lofiadm -a /tmp/osc4.0-repo-full.iso /dev/lofi/1 # mount -F hsfs /dev/lofi/1 /mnt # rsync -aP /mnt/repo /export # share /export/repo
ha-cluster publisher. The following example uses node 1 as the system that shared the local copy of the repository:
# pkg set-publisher -g file:///net/phys-schost-1/export/repo ha-cluster
ha-cluster packages is likely to fail if it cannot access the Oracle Solaris publisher.
# pkg publisher PUBLISHER TYPE STATUS URI solaris origin online <solaris repository> ha-cluster origin online <ha-cluster repository>
ha-cluster-full package group, as shown in Listing 4.
# pkg install ha-cluster-full Packages to install: 68 Create boot environment: No Create backup boot environment: Yes Services to change: 1 DOWNLOAD PKGS FILES XFER (MB) Completed 68/68 6456/6456 48.5/48.5$<3> PHASE ACTIONS Install Phase 8928/8928 PHASE ITEMS Package State Update Phase 68/68 Image State Update Phase 2/2 Loading smf(5) service descriptions: 9/9 Loading smf(5) service descriptions: 57/57
On node 1, run this command.
# dladm show-phys LINK MEDIA STATE SPEED DUPLEX DEVICE net3 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g1 net0 Ethernet up 1000 full nge0 net4 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g2 net2 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g0 net1 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown nge1 net5 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g3
On node 2, run this command.
# dladm show-phys LINK MEDIA STATE SPEED DUPLEX DEVICE net3 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g1 net0 Ethernet up 1000 full nge0 net4 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g2 net2 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g0 net1 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown nge1 net5 Ethernet unknown 0 unknown e1000g3
In our example, we will be using
net1 and
net3 on each node as private interconnects.
# svcs -x
network/rpc/bind:default has its
local_only configuration set to
# svcprop network/rpc/bind:default | grep local_only config/local_only boolean false
If it is not set to
false, set it as follows:
# svccfg svc:> select network/rpc/bind svc:/network/rpc/bind> setprop config/local_only=false svc:/network/rpc/bind> quit # svcadm refresh network/rpc/bind:default # svcprop network/rpc/bind:default | grep local_only config/local_only boolean false
scinstall command, which will configure the software on the other node as well, and then type 1 from the Main menu to choose to create a new cluster or add a cluster node.
In the example shown in Listing 5, the command is run on the second node,
scinstall Command
# /usr/cluster/bin/scinstall *** Main Menu *** Please select from one of the following (*) options: * 1) Create a new cluster or add a cluster node * 2) Print release information for this cluster node * ?) Help with menu options * q) Quit Option: 1
*** Create a New Cluster *** This option creates and configures a new cluster. Press Control-D at any time to return to the Main Menu. Do you want to continue (yes/no) [yes]? Checking the value of property "local_only" of service svc:/network/rpc/bind ... Property "local_only" of service svc:/network/rpc/bind is already correctly set to "false" on this node. Press Enter to continue:
>>> Typical or Custom Mode <<< This tool supports two modes of operation, Typical mode and Custom mode. For most clusters, you can use Typical mode. However, you might need to select the Custom mode option if not all of the Typical mode defaults can be applied to your cluster. For more information about the differences between Typical and Custom modes, select the Help option from the menu. Please select from one of the following options: 1) Typical 2) Custom ?) Help q) Return to the Main Menu Option [1]: 1
>>> Cluster Name <<< Each cluster has a name assigned to it. The name can be made up of any characters other than whitespace. Each cluster name should be unique within the namespace of your enterprise. What is the name of the cluster you want to establish? phys-schost
phys-schost-1), press Control-D to finish the node list, and answer yes to confirm the list of nodes, as shown in Listing 8.
>>> Cluster Nodes <<< This Oracle Solaris Cluster release supports a total of up to 16 nodes. List the names of the other nodes planned for the initial cluster configuration. List one node name per line. When finished, type Control-D: Node name (Control-D to finish): phys-schost-1 Node name (Control-D to finish): ^D This is the complete list of nodes: phys-schost-2 phys-schost-1 Is it correct (yes/no) [yes]?
net1 and
net3, as determined previously. If the tool finds network traffic on those interfaces, it will ask for confirmation to use them anyway. Ensure that those interfaces are not connected to any other network, and then confirm their use as transport adapters, as shown in Listing 9.
>>> Cluster Transport Adapters and Cables <<< You must identify the cluster transport adapters which attach this node to the private cluster interconnect. Select the first cluster transport adapter: 1) net1 2) net2 3) net3 4) net4 5) net5 6) Other Option: 1 Searching for any unexpected network traffic on "net1" ... done Unexpected network traffic was seen on "net1". "net1" may be cabled to a public network. Do you want to use "net1" anyway (yes/no) [no]? yes Select the second cluster transport adapter: 1) net1 2) net2 3) net3 4) net4 5) net5 6) Other Option: 3 Searching for any unexpected network traffic on "net3" ... done Unexpected network traffic was seen on "net3". "net3" may be cabled to a public network. Do you want to use "net3" anyway (yes/no) [no]? yes
>>> Quorum Configuration <<< Every two-node cluster requires at least one quorum device. By default, scinstall selects and configures a shared disk quorum device for you. This screen allows you to disable the automatic selection and configuration of a quorum device. You have chosen to turn on the global fencing. If your shared storage devices do not support SCSI, such as Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) disks, or if your shared disks do not support SCSI-2, you must disable this feature. If you disable automatic quorum device selection now, or if you intend to use a quorum device that is not a shared disk, you must instead use clsetup(1M) to manually configure quorum once both nodes have joined the cluster for the first time. Do you want to disable automatic quorum device selection (yes/no) [no]? Is it okay to create the new cluster (yes/no) [yes]? During the cluster creation process, cluster check is run on each of the new cluster nodes. If cluster check detects problems, you can either interrupt the process or check the log files after the cluster has been established. Interrupt cluster creation for cluster check errors (yes/no) [no]?
Listing 11 shows the final output, which indicates the configuration of the nodes and the installation log file name. The utility then reboots each node in cluster mode.Listing 11. Details of the Node Configuration
Cluster Creation Log file - /var/cluster/logs/install/scinstall.log.3386 Configuring global device using lofi on phys-schost-1: done Starting discovery of the cluster transport configuration. The following connections were discovered: phys-schost-2:net1 switch1 phys-schost-1:net1 phys-schost-2:net3 switch2 phys-schost-1:net3 Completed discovery of the cluster transport configuration. Started cluster check on "phys-schost-2". Started cluster check on "phys-schost-1". . . . Refer to the log file for details. The name of the log file is /var/cluster/logs/install/scinstall.log.3386. Configuring "phys-schost-1" ... done Rebooting "phys-schost-1" ... Configuring "phys-schost-2" ... Rebooting "phys-schost-2" ... Log file - /var/cluster/logs/install/scinstall.log.3386
scinstall utility finishes, the installation and configuration of the basic Oracle Solaris Cluster software is complete. The cluster is now ready for you to configure the components you will use to support highly available applications. These cluster components can include device groups, cluster file systems, highly available local file systems, and individual data services and zone clusters. To configure these components, consult the documentation library.
# svcs -x # svcs multi-user-server STATE STIME FMRI online 9:58:44 svc:/milestone/multi-user-server:default
# cluster status === Cluster Nodes === --- Node Status --- Node Name Status --------- ------ phys-schost-1 Online phys-schost-2 Online === Cluster Transport Paths === Endpoint1 Endpoint2 Status --------- -------- ------ phys-schost-1:net3 phys-schost-2:net3 Path online phys-schost-1:net1 phys-schost-2:net1 Path online === Cluster Quorum === --- Quorum Votes Summary from (latest node reconfiguration) --- Needed Present Possible ------ ------- -------- 2 3 3 --- Quorum Votes by Node (current status) --- Node Name Present Possible Status --------- ------- -------- ------ phys-schost-1 1 1 Online phys-schost-2 1 1 Online --- Quorum Votes by Device (current status) --- Device Name Present Possible Status ----------- ------- -------- ------ d1 1 1 Online === Cluster Device Groups === --- Device Group Status --- Device Group Name Primary Secondary Status ----------------- ------- --------- ------ --- Spare, Inactive, and In Transition Nodes --- Device Group Name Spare Nodes Inactive Nodes In Transition Nodes ----------------- ----------- -------------- -------------------- --- Multi-owner Device Group Status --- Device Group Name Node Name Status ----------------- --------- ------ === Cluster Resource Groups === Group Name Node Name Suspended State ---------- --------- --------- ----- === Cluster Resources === Resource Name Node Name State Status Message ------------- --------- ----- -------------- === Cluster DID Devices === Device Instance Node Status --------------- ---- ------ /dev/did/rdsk/d1 phys-schost-1 Ok phys-schost-2 Ok /dev/did/rdsk/d2 phys-schost-1 Ok phys-schost-2 Ok /dev/did/rdsk/d3 phys-schost-1 Ok /dev/did/rdsk/d4 phys-schost-1 Ok /dev/did/rdsk/d5 phys-schost-2 Ok /dev/did/rdsk/d6 phys-schost-2 Ok === Zone Clusters === --- Zone Cluster Status --- Name Node Name Zone HostName Status Zone Status ---- --------- ------------- ------ -----------
Now, we will create a failover resource group with a
LogicalHostname resource for a highly available network resource and an
HAStoragePlus resource for a highly available ZFS file system on a zpool resource.
/etc/inet/hosts file on the nodes.
In the following example,
schost-lh is used as the logical host name for the resource group. This resource is of the type
SUNW.LogicalHostname, which is a preregistered resource type.
On node 1:
# Internet host table # ::1 localhost 127.0.0.1 localhost loghost 126.96.36.199 phys-schost-1 # Cluster Node 220.127.116.11 phys-schost-2 # Cluster Node 188.8.131.52 schost-lh
On node 2:
# Internet host table # ::1 localhost 127.0.0.1 localhost loghost 220.127.116.11 phys-schost-1 # Cluster Node 126.96.36.199 phys-schost-2 # Cluster Node 220.127.116.11 schost-lh
/dev/did/rdsk/d1s0 and
/dev/did/rdsk/d2s0. In our example, we have assigned the entire disk to slice 0 of the disks, using the
format utility.
# zpool create -m /zfs1 pool1 mirror /dev/did/dsk/d1s0 /dev/did/dsk/d2s0 # df -k /zfs1 Filesystem 1024-blocks Used Available Capacity Mounted on pool1 20514816 31 20514722 1% /zfs1
The zpool will now be placed in a highly available resource group as a resource of type
SUNW.HAStoragePlus. This resource type has to be registered before it is used for the first time.
# /usr/cluster/bin/clrg create test-rg
# /usr/cluster/bin/clrslh create -g test-rg -h schost-lh schost-lhres
# /usr/cluster/bin/clrt register SUNW.HAStoragePlus
# /usr/cluster/bin/clrs create -g test-rg -t SUNW.HAStoragePlus -p \ zpools=pool1 hasp-res
# /usr/cluster/bin/clrg online -eM test-rg
# /usr/cluster/bin/clrg status === Cluster Resource Groups === Group Name Node Name Suspended Status ---------- -------- --------- ------ test-rg phys-schost-1 No Online phys-schost-2 No Offline # /usr/cluster/bin/clrs status === Cluster Resources === Resource Name Node Name State Status Message ------------- --------- ----- -------------- hasp-res phys-schost-1 Online Online phys-schost-2 Offline Offline schost-lhres phys-schost-1 Online Online - LogicalHostname online. phys-schost-2 Offline Offline
From the above status, we see that the resources and the group are online on node 1.
# /usr/cluster/bin/clrg switch -n phys-schost-2 test-rg # /usr/cluster/bin/clrg status === Cluster Resource Groups === Group Name Node Name Suspended Status ---------- --------- --------- ------ test-rg phys-schost-1 No Offline phys-schost-2 No Online # /usr/cluster/bin/clrs status === Cluster Resources === Resource Name Node Name State Status Message ------------- --------- ----- -------------- hasp-res phys-schost-1 Offline Offline phys-schost-2 Online Online schost-lhres phys-schost-1 Offline Offline - LogicalHostname offline. phys-schost-2 Online Online - LogicalHostname online.
This article described how to install and configure a two-node cluster with Oracle Solaris Cluster 4.0 on Oracle Solaris 11. It also explained how to verify that the cluster is behaving correctly by creating and running two resources on one node and then switching over those resources to the secondary node.
For more information on configuring Oracle Solaris Cluster components, see the resources listed in Table 2.Table 2. Resources
|Oracle Solaris Cluster 4.0 documentation library
|Oracle Solaris Cluster Software Installation Guide
|Oracle Solaris Cluster Data Services Planning and Administration Guide
|Oracle Solaris Cluster 4.0 Release Notes
|Oracle Solaris Cluster training
|Oracle Solaris Cluster downloads
|Revision 1.0, 12/02/2011
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Last month, LUPE hosted students from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, who traveled to the Rio Grande Valley to learn more about the immigration system and its effects on the people living along the border. At the end of their week with us, as part of our trip evaluation, one of the students wrote the question, "Why is ICE so determined to deport immigrants?"
That is not a question that can be easily addressed in an article or blog post–and it may not be a question we will ever fully answer. But I wanted to offer some insight into the inner workings of ICE and the Border Patrol to give our readers an idea of why agents will go to great lengths to get attain a deportation–even harassment and violating immigration rights.
So let's get into it. A 2010 article in the Washington Post gives us the background to the ever expanding deportation numbers under the Obama administration:
Seeking to reverse a steep drop in deportations, U.S. immigration authorities have set controversial new quotas for agents. At the same time, officials have stepped back from an Obama administration commitment to focus enforcement efforts primarily on illegal immigrants who are dangerous or have violent criminal backgrounds.
In a Feb. 22 memo, James M. Chaparro, head of ICE detention and removal operations, wrote that, despite record deportations of criminals, the overall number of removals was down. While ICE was on pace to achieve "the Agency goal of 150,000 criminal alien removals" for the year ending Sept. 30, total deportations were set to barely top 310,000, "well under the Agency's goal of 400,000," and nearly 20 percent behind last year's total of 387,000, he wrote.
This sets up the situation where immigration officials are seeing each person as a number to meet their goals, rather than a human being with rights that should be given his or her due process. While the official policy of the Obama administration was to focus on the worst offenders, in practice, efforts were placed on attaining the 400,000 deportation goal. The same article continues:
"For ICE leadership, it's not about keeping the community safe. It's all about chasing this 400,000 number," said Chris Crane, spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees Council 118, which represents ICE workers.
Since November, ICE field offices in Northern California, Dallas and Chicago have issued new evaluation standards and work plans for enforcement agents who remove illegal immigrants from jails and prisons. In some cases, for example, the field offices are requiring that agents process an average of 40 to 60 cases a month to earn "excellent" ratings.
Such standards present a problem, said one San Francisco area agent who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisal. Instead of taking a day to prepare a case against a legal resident with multiple convictions for serious crimes, agents may choose to process a drunk driver or nonviolent offender who agrees to leave the country voluntarily, because it will take only hours.
The Department of Homeland Security is adamant that they do not use quotas. Rather, they call them "annual performance goals". To meet such goals, agencies must devise strategies that target low-priority immigrants and create incentives for increased arrests.
In an article published last week, USA Today reports:
U.S. immigration officials laid out plans last year that would ratchet up expulsions of immigrants convicted of minor crimes as part of an urgent push to make sure the government would not fall short of its criminal deportation targets, new records obtained by USA TODAY show.
Among those new tactics — detailed in interviews and internal e-mails — were trolling state driver's license records for information about foreign-born applicants, dispatching U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to traffic safety checkpoints conducted by police departments, and processing more illegal immigrants who had been booked into jails for low-level offenses. Records show ICE officials in Washington approved some of those steps.
Colorlines Magazine reports on one incentive program in operation along the US-Canada border:
"…this is the first public data on USBP discretionary bonus programs that include cash bonuses, vacation awards, and distribution of gift cards to border patrol agents from Home Depot and Macys. Data shows bonuses reached up to $2,500 a year per agent."
Because of such a focus on numbers, there begins to form a culture of arrest:
…USBP agents act on the assumption that no matter where they operate within the United States, they may arrest any noncitizen—whether a tourist or a long‐term legal resident with a driver's license—whenever that person is not carrying detailed documentation that provides proof of status. But USBP's records also show that the agents are not genuinely interested in what documents the law might require noncitizens to carry. Instead, USBP's demand for "papers" is universal, resulting in an enforcement culture that maximizes arrest rates.
Once in custody, a large percentage of detainees face some form of abuse. A 2011 report titled A Culture of Cruelty is based on interviews with 12,895 individuals who were in Border Patrol custody and were subsequently deported. The report, coauthored by statistician and research consultant Dr. Katerina Sinclair, found that "…99.7% of people, plus or minus 0.5%, are experiencing some sort of violation by Border Patrol when they are in custody." Violations range from denial of water or access to legal aid to physical and verbal abuse.
Now, with immigration reform looming on the horizon, and with leaders from both parties advocating for more immigration enforcement, we must ask ourselves, will we allow immigration reform to increase wrongful arrests, violations of due process, and treatment of people as if they are mere means to reach a numerical goal? Or will we fight to reform the immigration enforcement institutions so they respect the rights of all?
Let us know why you think ICE and immigration officials are so determined to deport our community members in the comments below.


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Nice work! Enjoy the show!
Link Copied!
Trump claims victory after losing House to Dems
Opening Sequence
British PM Theresa May to resign on June 7
Trump-Pelosi war of words scales new heights
U.S. charges Julian Assange with espionage
Weinstein and accusers reach tentative deal: WSJ
VERBATIM: Theresa May announces her resignation
SpaceX launches first Starlink payload
Fireflies that blink in sync draw swarms of tourists
Closing Sequence


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TECLA is a first-generation New York City (Hell's kitchen) native — born of Italian and Haitian immigrants. She has gone from being a classically trained child-pianist-prodigy to versatile performer in hip-hop, reggae, punk-rock, electronic, funk bands. She has toured throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia with Chrisette Michele, Das Racist, Gordon Voidwell,Chairlift, and more. Exploring her talents on a variety of synth keyboards she discovered and developed her own modern musical sound. TECLA is known for her genre-mixing melodic compositions, danceable afro/funk/Caribbean/tropical/pop production style, and boundary-breaking songwriting and rap lyricism. She has been described as "the new freak Lauryn Hill", "SWV on acid", "the Rocktronica Black Cinderella" and "Ritchie Valens meets Pagliacci". TECLA is a recent recipient of the Van Lier Fellowship which will allow her to travel to Cuba and Jamaica to study and record indigenous drum rhythms for her upcoming album, "We Are The Lucky Ones."
On Wednesday, September 19th, Colin Harris-McTigue of We Good Wednesdays will team up with Lola NYC & Mayimba Management to transform the ex gentleman's club, now The Westway, into a feast for the eyes and ears. Turning nightlife on its head, The Westway will morph into a Carnival complete with a freak show, fortune-teller, exotic dancers and some of New York's most buzzed about acts. TECLA's first headlining set of the Fall will be accompanied by a DJ set from Kool A.D. of Das Racist and undisclosed special guests.
Mayimba is very excited to have TECLA become part of their close-knit company. A family owned brand run by publishing guru Marti Cuevas and her children, Mayimba is taking a new direction with TECLA. Typically concentrating on Latin styles, Mayimba has decided the time is now for the world to experience all that TECLA has to offer. "We've been watching TECLA for a long time. We admire her musicianship and originality and can't wait to see what the future holds for our girl!" says TECLA's manager, Zoila Sylvester.
TECLA will release her single "Fake Tears" this Fall along with a tour and album release in the winter.
Mayimba Music is a family-owned, full-spectrum music company specializing in Spanish language styles. As a music publisher since 1999, Mayimba has been able to offer full-service publishing administration for 3rd party publishers and independent composers. Their seasoned staff also handles full-administrative services for record labels including artistic direction, artist management, marketing and distribution both digitally and physically.


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Looking for something different? How about a serene hideaway, a pleasantly secluded neighborhood with picturesque views of the golf course & wooded surroundings, all on your 1+ acre property? Then you must see this custom built split-level with finished sub-basement. 4 levels of living space offering 5,600+ sq.ft. Home features 1st flr private office, country size eat-in kitchen, Florida room, master bedroom & bath, hardwood flrs, 3 fireplaces, convenient 1st flr laundry, finished sub-basement with full bath. Huge home, great location. Short distance to Metra train, schools & shopping. Sold as-is.
Home | Open Houses | Search for Homes | Advanced Search | Map Search | Foreclosures | Mortgage Rates | Buyer/Seller Info | Real Estate Tips, Tools & News!!! | DuPage County Forest Preserves | About Ginny | Our Blog | About Us | Meet The Leamy Team | Contact Us | Free House Value | Market Update - Elmhurst | Market Update - Berkeley | Market Update - Lombard


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The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a hands-on option for students in Years 11 and 12. The VCAL gives you practical work-related experience, as well as literacy and numeracy skills and the opportunity to build personal skills that are important for life and work. Like the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), VCAL is an accredited secondary certificate.
Please refer to the
authorisation process for VCE or VCAL delivery.
For Students & Parents Information for students and parents on choosing VCAL, what counts towards a VCAL program and where the VCAL will lead students.
For Employers Information for Employers considering taking on a VCAL student in their workplace. Provides answers to commonly asked questions and case studies of VCAL students in specific industries.
For Providers Access to support resources and information for providers of the VCAL program.
Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs Answers to frequently asked questions about VCAL from students, parents employers and providers.
Schools and Study Search Conduct a search to find which schools offer what Victorian senior secondary subjects. This listing is based on enrolments of students. The home school of students has been used, rather than the assessing school.
Where To Now? An online guide to the VCE, VCAL and Apprenticeships and Traineeships.


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So, Earl and I were slackers on the blog this year, but not slackers in terms of travel. Trips to Mexico, being seen on the Travel Channel's Christmas Crazier, being contributors to Jenny McIver's book about Round the World trip planning as well as other business and personal travel as usual. We also enjoyed going … Continue reading
Earl and I were very excited to see people following our blog for our RTW trip. As we start 2012, I wanted to share these stats and my goal to post at least once a week for 2012. Thanks for Reading! The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here's … Continue reading


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We ensure that all the structures for your business to operate smoothly and profitably are locked in place. When it's time to take your company to the next level, we'll offer advice on how to secure the investment funding you need and successfully expand your activities to markets in the EU and elsewhere.


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Bandana Shirts: One Of The Best Of The Whole Lot
The fashion and clothing industry has always been teeming with ideas when it comes to the clothing that people could possibly wear. Nowadays, the most common, casual styles for shirts would most definitely have to be the T-Shirt, which, despite the ebb and flow of certain fashion trends, have remained timeless, with only the kind of prints you see in them being varying from time to time. One of the most popular brands for shirts nowadays is the bandana shirt mens, and this article would help to explain exactly why this is so.
Premium Quality
This shirt is one which is optimized for all printing types, and hence basically every possible kind of print may be used, thus making it your favorite shirt. There are a lot of methods and things you could possibly print whatever it is that you like on it with the print, regardless of method sitting well with the shirt.
Extra Comfortable
The shirt is made from 100% cotton, with a more specific composition of 95%/5% viscose. Its over-all fabric weight is a mere 5.29 oz. While this is classified as heavyweight, it still is very easy. Moreover, it is double-stitched and its seams are reinforces at the collar, waist, sleeves, and shoulders, thus preventing unnecessary and annoying runs.
Diverse Sizes
One of the unique attributes of this shirt is the fact that there are several sizes for you to choose from, and thus you can be guaranteed even more of the comfort. To be more specific, the sizes range from S-5XL, meaning that there really is a size for just about anyone. Moreover, you can be guaranteed of the uniformity of the shirt, as they are produced fairly, and are triple and certified to be audited.


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Cucumber Salad is one of the hubsters favorite things to eat during the summer.
Having a job that requires him to outside most of the day, he likes it when I make light, cool type dinners for him when he comes home. That means, that I learned awhile back never to make Chili in the middle of August ..
But on to the recipe.
One of the things that I LOVE about this recipe, is not that it's SOO simple to make, but that you can keep it going for quite awhile in your fridge by just adding more cucumbers and onions to it. It makes a great side dish and even a light snack.
Cucumber Salad
3 large cucumbers, seeded
1 small white onion sliced
1 small red onion sliced
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. dill
Peel the cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scoop out the seeds from each half, forming a groove down the center.
Using a sharp knife, slice the cucumbers crosswise as thin or as thick as you'd like them. Slice onions. Place onions and cucumbers into a medium nonreactive (like glass or Pyrex) bowl or container that has a lid.
In a small nonreactive bowl, combine the white vinegar, cider vinegar, water, sugar,and dill, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour over sliced cucumbers and onions. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
Now, if you have time, let the dish sit in the fridge for an hour or so before serving. You don't HAVE to do this, but the longer the cucumbers marinate, the better they will taste.
Keep in fridge, adding cucumbers and onions as needed.
Enjoy and Happy Summer Salad eating…


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Just a reminder for all those stateside that 'Anaconda 3: The Offspring' will be showing this week on the Sci-Fi Channel. The Crystal Allen and David Hasselhoff starring sequel will be showing this Saturday (26th July).
Check your local listings for show times for this adventure that thrusts our cast into the jungle in search of a miracle drug. This medical miracle supposedly has an adverse reaction on the local anacondas making them "highly aggressive."


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Rebecca Matulka is a former electronic communications professional to the Vitality Department. In 2012, she joined the Electrical power.gov crew, masking all items Vitality efficiency -- from gas cells and car or truck technologies to enhancements in producing and buyer Strength effectiveness recommendations.
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5 Tips about home heating You Can Use Today
Rebecca Matulka is a former electronic communications professional to the Vitality Department. In 2012, she joined the Electrical power.gov crew, masking all items Vitality efficiency -- from gas cells and car or truck technologies to enhancements in producing and buyer Strength effectiveness recommendations.


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Browsing Recipes similiar to Hamburger Rice Skillet Recipe.
Hamburger-Rice Skillet
I found this in Better Homes and Gardens Low-Cost Cooking cookbook. I've had the cookbook for about 25 years and only recently discovered this recipe....
tomato, basil, green pepper, ground beef, rice, onions, tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, +cheese, +garlic, +salt, +water
Hamburger Rice Skillet
ground beef, onions, green pepper, rice, tomato, tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, basil, +garlic
www.bigoven.com - Similiar recipes
Hamburger Rice Skillet
rice, ground beef, onions, green pepper, basil, worcestershire sauce, +garlic
www.cooks.com - Similiar recipes
Hamburger Rice Skillet Recipe
I love skillet meals and this is a good one. It is really easy to put together, very colorful and is served right out of the skillet! Prep:15m
ground beef, green pepper, rice, onions, tomato, +avocado, +taco seasoning, +green onion, +lettuce, +mexican cheese blend, +salsa, +salt, +sour cream, +tortilla chips, +water
Susans Spanish Rice Recipe
This is a casserole recipe a friend gave me back in the 70's. I've not made it in years but just came across the recipe. I used to make it on winter...
green pepper, tomato, ground beef, onions, tomato sauce, rice, +celery, +black pepper, +salt
Skillet Spanish Rice Recipe
This is a very flavorful rice dish, I remember growing up having this as a child. Enjoy Prep:20m
Crock Pot Spanish Rice
This a good recipe for in the crockpot.
green pepper, ground beef, onions, rice, tomato sauce, tomato, worcestershire sauce, +chili powder, +salt, +water
Crock Pot Beefy Spanish Rice
Found on the Web in response to the question, "Can rice be cooked in the crock pot?" I have not (yet) tried this myself.
green pepper, ground beef, rice, onions, tomato sauce, tomato, worcestershire sauce, +chili powder, +salt, +water
Hard Times Hamburger Casserole Recipe
This is comfort food. It beats hamburger helper any day and is so easy. Prep:15m
green pepper, ground beef, onions, tomato, tomato sauce, basil, +celery, +cheddar cheese, +pasta, +hot sauce, +salt, +oregano
Beef And Rice Skillet Recipe
ground beef, green pepper, onions, rice, tomato, +beef bouillon granules, +monterey jack cheese, +mustard powder, +water
www.cdkitchen.com - Similiar recipes
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This is the English Version of KIKAN KOCHI.
Features is "GROWING AND LOVING LOCAL. LIFE & KOCHI".
It's Kikan Kochi style .
KIKAN KOCHI is a local quarterly magazine that's crazy about Kochi. Kochi is located on the south coast of Shikoku and has a rich natural environment with the sea, mountains, and rivers.Kochi's tough but rich natural environment has shaped a unique culture. We cover a wide range of topics connected with Kochi, such as people, food, and lifestyle.
It is revised in order to shorten its length.
We do hope many people will read this free online magazine.


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Airborne Clicker - News Page 1:
Airborne Cricket in the News, snippets of information relating to the D-Day Cricket. If you come across any information we have not listed feel free to contact us with the details and we will get it listed.
Campaign to Find 'The Lost Clickers' of the D-Day Landings 2019 - 75th D-Day Anniversary:
Campaign to Find 'The Lost Clickers' of the D-Day Landings
We are calling out to D-Day veterans and their relatives to find what have been coined 'The Lost Clickers' of the D-Day landings.
Supported by The Royal British Legion and marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, ACME Whistles is searching for original 'Clickers' issued to the American Airborne Division as a vital piece of survival equipment. Paratroopers were dropped into darkness behind enemy lines on the night before D-Day, if they were not alone when they landed, or later detected someone close by, they were to click once. Two clicks in reply meant friend, no response meant something else.
If/when the Clickers are found veterans, friends and family who take ownership of them will be invited to a special commemorative day, hosted by ACME Whistles.
More Information >>
We are calling out to D-Day veterans and their relatives to find what have been coined 'The Lost Clickers' of the D-Day landings.
Supported by The Royal British Legion and marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, ACME Whistles is searching for original 'Clickers' issued to the American Airborne Division as a vital piece of survival equipment. Paratroopers were dropped into darkness behind enemy lines on the night before D-Day, if they were not alone when they landed, or later detected someone close by, they were to click once. Two clicks in reply meant friend, no response meant something else.
If/when the Clickers are found veterans, friends and family who take ownership of them will be invited to a special commemorative day, hosted by ACME Whistles.
More Information >>
Chris Pratt in Jurassic World
The main character in the film Jurassic World uses an airborne cricket to attract the attention of the Raptors who were chasing a pig. The use of the cricket is a reflection of the use of our cricket in training dogs and other animals! A far cry from its original intention in the 1940s.
Genuine WW2 Cricket with provenance
We were contact by a customer in France. He supplied pictures from every angle as well as dimentions and weight. After analysis we were 99% sure this was a genuine cricket. On receipt of this news he advised us "The cricket was given by a injured paratrooper 101 airborne to a french volunter women wich working like nurse in an evac hospital in Normandy after d-day. I know the name of the nurse at 100% and I have paper of his family to prove it. I have also his helmet. At this time I have the name of the paratrooper and I'm looking for to found him in Nara."
So in summary this customer has a very rare and valuable piece of WW2 History!
Amazon film Golitah uses Airborne Clickers
The Airborne Cricket is the main prop in the Amazon series Goliath. A disgraced lawyer, now an ambulance chaser, gets a case that could bring him redemption or at least revenge on the firm which expelled him. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, William Hurt, & Maria Bello.
WW2 Replica Crickets in Aged Brass and choice of hole placement.
We are now happy to announce that you can choose where we punch the hole on our aged brass crickets - either top tight, middle or bottom right. Many originals had holes punched into them using nails, bayonets or sharp tools. This allowed the Paratrooper to string string through it to attach it round his neck or hang from his equipment. You can get your cricket here.
Original M1942 Paratrooper uniform, Worn on D-Day.
Among the rarest artifacts of the Airborne during WWII was without a doubt, the M1942 Jumpsuit. Some out of place accessories ring this incredible uniform. Non-period tape, grenades, metal clicker are just but a few of the post war additions to the display. On the uniform seems to be a period piece. Notice the completely faded american flag sewn on the shoulder.
Courtesy of foxholefashion.wordpress.com
ACME Cricket in GOLD
We are pleased to announce that we can now supply our WW2 Crickets in 9 carat Gold plate. These make great birthday presents or presentation pieces and do not look too dissimilar to our brass crickets, which means if you wanted you could use it during Living History reenactments.
Great Gift for Customers attending WW2 Normandy Military Tours
They may throw away your paperwork but will be unlikely to throw away this gift!
Simple smart Battlefield Tour Marketing. Feel free to contact us if you would like more information or bulk buy our crickets.
Cricket Noise Maker
The original cricket noise maker was a child's toy made by the ACME Whistle Company in England. But for D-Day, paratroopers were issued much more serious brass versions. With soldiers scattered willy-nilly behind enemy lines, the troops needed some type of stealth audio signal to identify each other in the dark of night.
Operation was simple: If someone approached, you clicked your cricket, making the most innocuous of night-time sounds. If the passer-by clicked back, you knew you had encountered a friendly comrade. Courtesy of Wired.com
Paratrooper Cricket Toy - worn on M2 Helmet
Here is another example of the Paratrooper Cricket being worn on the M2 Jump Helmet. This image comes from the pamphlet "The Legendary Cricket of D-Day. Paperback Booklet", available here.
A great combination of helmet and clicker to ensure the cricket does not get lost. The airborne Infantry alway come up with ways to optimise their kit!
Original Paratrooper Clicking toy - cricket recovered in Carentan
The 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, ordered to reinforce Carentan, was delayed by transport shortages and attacks by Allied aircraft. The attacking 101st Airborne Division, landed by parachute on 6 June as part of the American airborne landings in Normandy, was ordered to seize Carentan.
In the ensuing battle, the 101st forced passage across the causeway into Carentan on 10 and 11 June. A lack of ammunition forced the German forces to withdraw on 12 June. The 17th SS PzG Division counter-attacked the 101st Airborne on 13 June. Initially successful, its attack was thrown back by Combat Command A (CCA) of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division.
There are no markings on the Airborne Cricket and the hole has been made with a knife, nail or similar device. The steel metal base plate has most likely corroded over time.
Courtesy of Rafa - Spain.
In the ensuing battle, the 101st forced passage across the causeway into Carentan on 10 and 11 June. A lack of ammunition forced the German forces to withdraw on 12 June. The 17th SS PzG Division counter-attacked the 101st Airborne on 13 June. Initially successful, its attack was thrown back by Combat Command A (CCA) of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division.
There are no markings on the Airborne Cricket and the hole has been made with a knife, nail or similar device. The steel metal base plate has most likely corroded over time.
Courtesy of Rafa - Spain.
Picture of original airborne paratroopers cricket - battlefield recovery
The cricket was excavated from a crashed C-47 in Normandy in 1989. Next to it stands a replica paratroopers cricket for comparison, however its not an ACME made cricket unfortunately. Notice how the steel base plate on the original has gone, possibly from impact or corrosion. A sad yet powerful reminder of what the USA Airborne forces endured in helping to libarate Europe in ww2. Courtesy of comesasoldierswhisper.com
101st Airborne 506th PIR Soldier with airborne Cricket
Superb model of a 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment soldier from the 101st airborne Division in Normandy in World War Two. He holds our famous 'Airborne Cricket' in his left hand for signalling purposes! Courtesy of Jacek Spychalski via Facebook.
WW2 101st & 82nd Airborne Helmet and Collection
One of our customer sent in his WW2 101st & 82nd Airborne Helmet and accessories collection including our airborne Cricket. In our customers words 'It looks awesome' and we totally agree a great little Paratrooper display. Courtesy of J. Dizon.
We are pleased to announce our new D-Day Stripes Framing service for your Airborne Crickets.
You can select and display your cricket in framed D-Day stripes and miniature rivets and authentic distressing. Each one is hand made to order and therefore unique to you! You can get more information here.
John Wayne in "The Longest Day" 1/6th Warriors
Pictured is a 1/6th Model of John Wayne from the film 'The Longest Day'. He is fully equipped and holds his Airborne Cricket in hand. Which we have to say is a lot more accurate than the one actually used by John Wayne in the film. More... [courtesy of onesixthwarriors.com]
Airborne Cricket Announces Engraving Service.
We are pleased to announce our new engraving service for your Airborne Crickets. Several WW2 USA 101st Airborne Veterans had their crickets engraved at the end of the war. We offer a similar service and you can choose from several fonts and turnaround is usually within one working day of order. Engraving temporarily suspended till new engraver found.
Geocaching - Find the Airborne Cricket
We came across this interesting article: "I chose the "Cricket" because my mother's cacheing name is CrickettLegs, given to her by her husband Twomikes2003 because of how she rubs her legs together when she's cold. I was simply going to find a toy cricket or plastic bug for this TB, but since I am a Soldier with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the unit used these devices in WWII, it seemed fitting to tie the TB to our relationship, Mother and Son. This is an authentic reproduction cricket made on the same equipment as the originals. More... [courtesy of geocaching.com].
Nickel Clicker in display case with USA Flag and WW2 Airborne Wings
It looks like our customers display case below has kicked off a few more display ideas! Pictured is our nickel paratrooper cricket in aged condition (but cleaned up), with the USA flag and WW2 Paratrooper Award Wings. The customer has painted the frame & background olive drab and mounted the paratrooper clicker behind the glass finish. Please keep these coming - we love these displays for our crickets.
Home Made Display Case for our Paratrooper Clickers used on D-Day
The picture opposite has been sent in by one of our customers who purchased the full range of Airborne D-Day Crickets: Nickel, Brass with hole, Brass without hole, Nickel Aged, Brass with hole Aged and Brass without hole Aged.
He has mounted them in a deep wooden frame which has been spray painted olive drab. The background has been 'corked' to give a helmet effect and again painted Olive drab and finished off with a piece of genuine WWII helmet net. This reflects crickets having been worn on helmets during the Normandy invasion. Some paratroopers did wear the clickers attached to their helmets and other pieces of equipment.
This has given us a great idea - stay posted for further information.
D-Day Cricket Worn on M2 Paratrooper Helmet
The picture opposite is taken from the book 'Helmets of the ETO' by Regis Giard & Frederic Blais. This shows a M2 Westinghouse helmet with a D-Day cricket taped to the helmet shell. This book is available from Historic Collections. [courtesy of Historic Collections]
D-Day Cricket strapped to chinstrap of M2 Airborne Helmet
The picture to the left is taken from the book 'American Paratrooper Helmets' by Michel De Trez and is available through Historic Collections. It shows a D-Day cricket attached to the chinstrap of a Paratrooper M2 helmet. The helmet belonged to 2nd Lt. Gibson B. Kennedy assistant platoon leader of 3'd platoon 'C' Company, 326th AEB. [courtesy of D-Day Publishing]
European Paratroopers Association - Airborne Crickets Discount
The European Paratroopers Association are now offering 5% discount for Airborne Crickets. They run the following courses: Basic Airborne, Counter-Terrorism, Parachute Rigger and SWAT, as well as holding several other military related events.
Sign up and attend your course and you are entitled to 5% discount on our Paratrooper Clickers bought through our site. More Information.
Legion of Honour Holder uses Acme Cricket
The French Legion of Honour was awarded to U.S. Army Col. Dave McNeil the on June 6 2014 in Sainte Mere Eglise, Normandy, France. Retired Colonel McNeil served 30 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, serving in multiple Airborne, Ranger and Special Forces assignments.
Since he retired from the Army, he formed a company named Normandy Systems, which is dedicated to preserving and teaching the history of D-Day. In addition to the young soldiers who he leads in Normandy each June, he now also leads groups of corporate executives to Normandy throughout the year to teach senior-executive-level leadership based on the leadership lessons of D-Day. Dave is a stickler for accuracy and therefore only uses our genuine Acme Cricket as part of his tours.
2015 Signed Cricket Books
We are please to announce that we now have signed copies of the clicker history book. The Legendary Cricket of D-Day. Copies of these are limited so buy them while you can.
Nous veuillez devoir annoncer que nous maintenant avons signé des copies dulivre d'histoire de clicker. Le Legendary Cricket du Jour J. Des Copies de ces derniers sont limitées ainsi achetez-les tandis que vous pouvez.
Don Lassen Donates his 'Cricket' to Eisenhower Museum
Two interesting articles from 1969 that details paratrooper Don Lassen donating his D-Day "cricket" to Eisenhower Museum.
This is interesting as the 82'd Airborne were not generally issued ACME crickets but there are several recollections from 82'd Airborne Veterans who did have them. It is true to say that they were not issued on the same scale as the 101st Airborne Division and were most likely picked up by troops by other means. More... [courtesy of 505th Regimental Combat Team]
...When I returned home, I quickly found Joe's picture in Ken Ford and Steven Zaloga's book Overlord: The D-Day Landings. In the photo, he's climbing aboard a C-47 on the evening of June 5, 1944. Like his fellow 16,000 U.S. and 8,000 British paratroopers, each jumper carried about 200 pounds of weapons and gear on him. Their kit also included a child's cricket clicker, a vital device for locating one another in the dark. Joe knew that the password for safety that night was the simple call "thunder" and response "lightning." More... [courtesy of www.ncronline.org]
France Honours D-Day Liberators
The Children greeted a uniformed paratrooper by clicking little devices called "crickets" carried by the real paratroopers 50 years ago to locate one another at night. More... [courtesy of Google News]
DVIDS remembers D-Day
D-Day veteran, Fred Morgan, presents Spc. Manychanh Kittrath, 861st Quartermaster Unit, an authentic clicker at La Fiere battlefield, June 6. Morgan explained that the when you came up on another person on the battlefield, you'd click once, and they'd click back twice to let you know they were friendly. On June 6, Task Force 68 walked through the battle fields of La Fiere and learned about the heroic acts of the men who captured the bridge of La Fiere, ultimately allowing for the landings of the beaches of Normandy to succeed. Task Force 68, which is made up of paratroopers from U.S., Germany, France, Holland, and United Kingdom, is in Normandy, France to commemorate the 68th anniversary of D-Day. More... [courtesy of www.dvidshub.net]
The toy that saved lives - 101st clicking toy
For 13,000 World War II paratroopers, a humble little toy—the Acme No. 470 clicker—meant the difference between life and death. The D-Day pre-dawn flights of June 6, 1944, were shaping up to be as nerve-wracking as American paratroopers had expected. Heavy fog, missed drop zones, marshy swamps, darkness and enemy fire faced the brave men of the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions as they floated to the French countryside. More... [courtesy of Phoenix Patriot]
101st Airborne exhibit opens at Tennessee State Museum
A memorial exhibit for the soldiers who served in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II opened Friday on the 70th anniversary of D-Day - 6th June 2014.
The exhibit — "Rendezvous with Destiny: the 101st Airborne Division and D-Day" — highlights the history of the 101st, from its inception as a Wisconsin reserve unit in the Civil War through its current incarnation in Afghanistan today. Uniforms stand on mannequins and recreations of maps and helmets hang on the walls of the lower floor of the Tennessee State Museum. More... [courtesy of The Tennesean]
Ontario man saw war from D-Day to Eagle's Nest raid
When the allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, during the D-Day invasion exactly 70 years ago today, it was the largest amphibious assault in history and the start of the Allied push to Berlin. But the invasion had already begun at 10 p.m. the previous night with U.S. Army Airborne soldiers.
Chick Kiem, 91, from Ontario, was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division 501st Parachute Regiment. He and other U.S. Army Airborne soldiers helped launch the Allies' invasion of Normandy, France, with a mission the night before D-Day, June 6, 1944. More... [courtesy of The Argus Observer]
Honoring the past ... ... securing the future
The Second World War was fought in thousands of locations across the globe, yet one place and one day stands out as being the inflection point in the allied struggle to liberate Europe from the tyranny of Nazi Germany.
The "Day of Days" was originally planned for June 5, 1944, but foul weather and choppy seas would push right the largest seaborne invasion in history [Operation Neptune] and the subsequent invasion of German-occupied western Europe [Operation Overlord]. More... [courtesy of Fort Campbell Courier]
Zippo issues collectible set honoring D-Day
Zippo Manufacturing Co. has issued its latest collectible set honoring the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Presented in a special gift box and accompanied by a wartime replica brass Acme clicker, or "Cricket," this set has been created as a tribute to the courage and ingenuity of those who served on June 6, 1944. More... [courtesy of The Bradford Era & Zippo]
D-Day: Charlotte paratrooper survived all four major World War II jumps Harold Eatman at his Matthews home Saturday, May 31, 2014. Eatman, 98, was 28 when he jumped into Normandy, France, hours before the D-Day. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne and would make all four major World War II jumps.
The average paratrooper carried about 70 pounds of gear on his body; officers carried 90 pounds. With the parachute strapped on, troopers weighed up to 120 pounds over their body weight. More... [courtesy of Lake Wylie Pilot]
A Boomer's Guide to D-Day
Seventy years ago — on June 6, 1944, commonly known as D-Day — World War II took a dramatic turn with the Allied invasion of Normandy.
The Allied landings — overseen by General Dwight D. Eisenhower — were conducted in two phases: an airborne assault shortly after midnight, and, beginning at 6:30 a.m., an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armored divisions along a 50-mile stretch of the French coastline. More... [courtesy of AARP Blog]
D-Day Cricket Relic found in Normandy
Extract from Military forum:
"Somehow I have only just discovered this forum! I am from Stratford UK but I've been living in Normandy for over six years, I go out researching and detecting on the Battlefields every week, I'll be posting some of my photos on here over the next week or so."
The cricket has been ground dug in Normandy and was amongst many other items recovered. Notice the hand punched hole. More... [courtesy of warrelics.eu]