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Nov 2013
Yamamay Million Dollar Swimsuit for Miss Universe to be Unveiled during 2013 MISS UNIVERSE® Competition
NEW YORK, NY – November 6, 2013 – Italian swimwear and lingerie brand Yamamay will unveil their official MISSUNIVERSE collection, YAMAMAY FOR MISS UNIVERSE, during the worldwide MISS UNIVERSE telecast, by unveiling a one-of-a-kind emerald, ruby and diamond swimsuit valued at one million dollars. The spectacular swimsuit has traveled from Milan, Italy to Moscow, Russia (with armed guard) just in time for this global event, which will take place at Crocus City Hall November 9th at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
The Miss Universe contestants' swimsuit styles have evolved over the show's rich 62-year history, but the pageant's celebration of confidence and beauty has always remained the same. The new YAMAMAY FOR MISS UNIVERSE collections will honour the glamorous styles that have been worn by elegant women from around the word. The 2013 MISS UNIVERSE® swimsuit competition will feature the new collection, captivating a viewing audience from around the globe when the million dollar suit takes center stage. The debut of the YAMAMAY FOR MISS UNIVERSE swimsuits, which will be available in select stores and online this December and around the world beginning in January 2014, kicks-off the partnership between Yamamay and the Miss Universe Organization.
The MISS UNIVERSE® 2013 titleholder will be awarded the unique opportunity to model the YAMAMAY MILLION DOLLAR SWIMSUIT FOR MISS UNIVERSE the day after she is crowned at her first official photo shoot and in front of the MISS UNIVERSE international press corps, during a press conference at the Crowne Plaza World Trade Centre in Moscow. Miss Universe 2013 will also be featured in the international advertising campaign for the YAMAMAY FOR MISS UNIVERSE collection, including its two new lines called TIMELESS and SPARKLING; which are inspired by movie stars from the 1950's and a revised glam punk style.
Nov 2013
Congratulations to Miss Universe Nicaragua for the Best National Costume Prize
During the 2013 MISS UNIVERSE Preliminary Competition, Nastassja Bolivar – Miss Universe Nicaragua took home the prize for the best National Costume and a credit of $5,000 USD from Russian Standard Bank. The National Costume show was held on Sunday, November 3 at Vegas Mall in Moscow Russia. Congrats!
Nov 2013
Miss the 2013 MISS UNIVERSE Prelim Competition? Watch it here!
Miss the 2013 MISS UNIVERSE Preliminary Competition is now on YouTube. Click here to watch.
Nov 2013
You Be the Judge Application is Announced
MISS UNIVERSE® FANS CAN LOG ON TO RATE CONTESTANTS IN REAL TIME DURING THE 62ND MISS UNIVERSE® COMPETITION NOVEMBER 9TH at 9pm ET
New York, NY–November 4, 2013—Fans are encouraged to log onto http://www.MissUniverse.com during the 62nd Annual MISS UNIVERSE® pageant to rate contestants in real time as part of the new interactive "You Be the Judge" application. Fans will be able to rate contestants on a 1-10 scale during the Swimsuit Competition, Evening Gown Competition and the Final Question. Once viewers lock in their scores, they will be able to compare their scores against other fans. Additionally, only with the "You Be the Judge" application, viewers will get an exclusive look at the official 2013 MISS UNIVERSE finals judges' scores. Viewers will also have the opportunity to have their opinions on polling questions appear on screen throughout the telecast. The program, sponsored by High 5 Games, was created to make watching the 2013 MISS UNIVERSE Competition on November 9 at 9pm ET, an interactive experience. The application is for entertainment purposes only and the votes do not affect the actual results of the show.
A panel of 8 judges including Steven Tyler, Chef Nobu, Tara Lipinski, Carol Alt, Anne V, Farouk Shami, Italo Fontana, and Philip Kirkorov will be at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia judging contestants from 86 countries in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview.
Prior to the pageant, fans will also have the opportunity to vote their favorite contestants into the semifinals through the MISS UNIVERSE Fan Vote, also sponsored by High 5 Games. Voting will take place now through November 8 by logging on to http://www.missuniverse.com or http://www.telemundo.com.
On November 7th, "Crowning Moment" will debut exclusively on High 5 Casino at http://www.facebook.com/high5casino as the first slot game venture with the Miss Universe Organization. This Super Stacks game will feature real images and videos of the crowning moments from prior MISS UNIVERSE® Competitions, as well as a mystery symbol to represent the 2013 titleholder, which will be updated to include Miss Universe 2013 shortly after her crowning moment.
Nov 2013
2013 MISS UNIVERSE Competition Sponsor Release
New York, NY – November 2, 2013 – The Miss Universe Organization is proud to announce its sponsors and partners for the 2013 MISS UNIVERSE® Competition, set to air on NBC November 9th at 9 p.m. ET from Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia.
Official Sponsors and Partners:
o CHI (Official Hair Care and Title Sponsor)
o Diamond Nexus (Official Jewelry Sponsor)
o Sherri Hill (Official Fashion Sponsor)
o Chinese Laundry (Official Footwear Sponsor)
o High 5 Games (Official Sponsor of 2013 Miss Universe Fan Vote)
o Yamamay (Official Swimwear Sponsor)
o IMAGE Skin Care (Official Skin Care Sponsor)
o OPI Products, Inc. (Official Nail Care Sponsor)
o New York Film Academy (Official Scholarship Sponsor)
o MONE (Official Partner)
o Mercedes-Benz Russia (Official Partner)
o Sberbank (Official Partner)
o Russian Standard (Official Partner)
The 2013 MISS UNIVERSE® Competition will showcase all of the spectacular things that the city of Moscow has to offer. The contestants will tour various sites and attend special events with transportation provided by Mercedes-Benz Russia while staying at Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre. The coveted crown that the 2013 Miss Universe contestants compete for is created by Diamond Nexus and will sit upon hair styled by Farouk Systems, the makers of CHI. IMAGE Skin Care has provided the contestants with a healthy skin care routine leading up to the competition and MONE will apply a picture perfect finish. Throughout the show, contestants will compete in Yamamay swimsuits and fashions provided by designer, Sherri Hill while walking the stage in Chinese Laundry Shoes. This polished look will be brought together with a fresh manicure using OPI nail products as one winner will wave to the crowd for the first time as Miss Universe 2013. Upon arriving to New York City, Miss Universe will receive full tuition to the New York Film Academy.
The 2013 MISS UNIVERSE® Competition will feature 86 contestants from around the world. They will be judged in three categories including swimsuit, evening gown and interview. The telecast will conclude with one contestant ultimately being crowned Miss Universe 2013.
For the third year in a row, fans can vote online at http://www.missuniverse.com or http://www.telemundo.com for their favorite contestant through the Miss Universe Fan Vote presented by High 5 Games through November 8.


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CALGARY - A liquefied natural gas project planned for Kitimat, B.C., faces an uncertain future after one of its U.S. partners announced plans to get out of the LNG business.
Apache Corp. said Thursday it plans to ditch the Kitimat LNG project, which it was developing alongside Chevron Corp., as well as the Wheatstone LNG project in Australia.
The Houston-based company has been under pressure from activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC to restructure.
"I'd like to make it clear that Apache intends to completely exit the Wheatstone and Kitimat LNG project," CEO Steven Farris told analysts on a conference call.
Apache wants to make its North American onshore operations the focus of its business, and is also weighing its options when it comes to its international holdings.
Farris said Apache's exit from Kitimat LNG won't detract from its value.
"Frankly, whether we're in it or not, it is a world class project with world class reserves and frankly Chevron and Apache at this point are way ahead of anybody else in that arena."
It was largely a matter of timing, as LNG terminals take years to build, he said.
"It makes sense for someone else to own it that has a different time horizon than we do."
Apache and Chevron's Canadian divisions declined to provide further comment on the project's future.
The Kitimat LNG project is furthest along in the development process of any of the proposed natural gas export facilities planned for Canada's West Coast.
However, Chevron and Apache have not had an easy time securing buyers for the resource, said Ed Kallio, director of gas consulting at Ziff Energy, a division of Solomon Associates.
"Even though it's a shovel-ready project, they've just had that weakness on the market end," he said.
Kallio said the "A-list" Asian energy players are involved in competing LNG projects on the West Coast. Korean, Chinese and Japanese firms have signed on to the Shell-led LNG Canada proposal near Kitimat. Malaysia's Petronas is leading the Pacific Northwest LNG near Prince Rupert, B.C.
Other global LNG buyers that don't have as deep pockets are looking to get their supplies from proposed U.S. LNG players, Kallio added.
LNG is natural gas that has been chilled into a liquid state, enabling it to be shipped by tanker.
Chevron and Apache split Kitimat LNG 50-50. Under their current arrangement, Chevron would operate the facility and a connecting pipeline, while Apache would provide gas from its shale holdings in northeastern B.C.
The partners have not made a final decision to go ahead with the project, which has a permit from the National Energy Board to export 10 million tonnes of LNG per year.
On the call, Farris said its Horn River and Liard shale gas properties in northeastern B.C. are considered part of the Kitimat LNG project. But the company intends to step up its activity in the Montney and Duvernay shales in Alberta and B.C.
Follow @LaurenKrugel on Twitter

subset: commoncrawl


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Safari Jeeps
Old-Time Fun Fair
With determination and jungle fever Dr Livingstone's successors face the lions from up close in their Safari Jeeps. Hello Safari!
They look exactly like their big brothers in the African jungle – the Safari jeeps at HANSA-PARK. Striped black and white like zebras these jeeps zoom through the jungle scenery past wild lions, dangerous crocodiles, venomous snakes and huge elephants – a real adventure for the little explorers among you.
- Outdoor
- Photo Spot
Ride Attraction with Photography Service
At this attraction, photos are made during the journey. Please avoid this ride if you do not want it.
safety instructions
Slow moving ride in small vehicles featuring simulated animals. Ride includes period of darkness as well as light and sound effects.
If the vehicles come to a stop during the experience passengers are to remain seated until told to exit by staff.
Children up to 3 years must be accompanied by an adult. They must sit on the right side.
The following persons are not permitted on the ride:
Persons unable to psychologically cope with the experience of the ride.
Persons under the influence of alcohol, drugs or psychopharmaceuticals.
Maximum 2 people per vehicle.
Sit calmly and upright during the ride and hold on to bars.
It is not permitted to jump up and down during the ride or lean out, stand up or stick out arms and/or legs.
Clothing and footwear required.
No umbrellas, (walking) sticks, sharp or bulky objects.
Exit after every ride.
Warning: Risk of getting wet! - No liability accepted for water damage.
No food nor drink.
No animals.
No smoking.
Photos are being taken during the ride. If you wish not to be photographed please avoid this ride.
The entire site is monitored by cameras.
Before you use the attraction, please note the ride description, safety warnings, possible access restrictions and how to behave in a safe manner posted at the entrance to the attraction.


text:
If you are facing a legal issue, whether you were injured in an auto accident or arrested for driving under the influence, you are probably feeling a great deal of stress. If you are visiting Myrtle Beach on vacation, dealing with a legal issue can be even more difficult.
At Axelrod & Associates, P.A., we understand that you are dealing with a serious problem. However, it's something our lawyers can manage for you. Our job is to fight for our clients. With offices in Rock Hill and Little River, we represent people from all over the country who face legal problems in South Carolina. Call 843-353-3449 for a free initial consultation.


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Houa Phah, LaosKirsty Turner
Few tourists step off the tourist trail long enough to experience Houa Phah's gentle charms, yet there are wonderful rewards in store for those who make the effort. Pristine emerald green forests and limestone mountains are just waiting to be explored and there is a good variety of wildlife to spot.
There are more than 100 caves located in Houa Phanh. Available in all shapes and sizes, visiting the caves is an interesting experience and also a good way to keep cool. Perhaps the most famous of all the caves is Tham Than Souphanouvong, which was once the home of Prince Souphanouvong when he was forced into hiding.
Other caves worth visiting in the area are Tham Than Kaysone and Tham Than Khamtay. Both of these caves were the residences of leading Lao political figures and are very grand in scale featuring meeting rooms and reception areas.
After a busy day of climbing through the caves, visitors to Houa Phah can soak away their aches and pains in the local hot spring in the Xam Tay district, where the waters reach temperatures of 40?C. Cool off afterwards in the pretty Xam Tay waterfall and explore the surrounding forest.
There are a large number of villages dotted around Houa Phah and the talented villages are well known for their craftwork skills. This is a good time to watch weaving, which is still done using traditional methods. The textiles made here are thought by many to be some of the finest in Asia and make great souvenirs.
Hintang Archeological Park is one of Laos' more important prehistoric sites and a great place for a daytrip. Wander through the ruins and discover the foundations of this picturesque region and pay a visit to the large and inviting Keo Nong Vay temple.


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Permanently Banned
I don't think I need to tell anyone this, but the OLDC has been really crappy for almost a year now. There are very few entries, which universally are untested garbage submitted by new members and untested rush jobs submitted by the old members. This has lead to the OLDC generally being completely awful, and with the March/April 2012 contest, it's clearly hit the breaking point.
Therefore, if the May/June 2012 contest does not have a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of the OLDC, the OLDC will be suspended until the release of 2.1. If you like the OLDC but haven't been entering recently, I highly encourage you to put together something for the OLDC, and please put forth some real actual effort. All a rush job proves is that you can put together a WAD in two hours, and at this point we all know that you can.
Yeah, I've been getting tired of seeing rush jobs everywhere in the OLDCs lately, so seeing this topic here isn't much of a surprise.
As for this latest OLDC, most of the entries aren't actually rush jobs this time though, so to me it really looks more of a sign nobody is bothering to take part anymore period, let alone entering something with effort.
Despite what I said in IRC I can understand this. Same thing happened with ST speedmapping.
KartKrew Dev
How much this matters is whether or not 2.1 is coming soon.
Kart Krew Workshop Thread
SRB2 Top Down & SRB2 Kart
Official Community CoatRack
I am honestly puzzled how this will increase the amount of good levels we will receive for the OLDC, suspending it till after 2.1's release seem iffy to me. It could turn out like the first 2.0 OLDC, and we know how that turned out.
Also, I honestly enjoy making maps in 2 hours, mostly because I enjoy speed mapping. But I do agree that SOME of the rush job levels are horrible, but there are a few gems, like the old "FAIL" level form 1.09.4, or even, dare I say it "Ponies Suck Zone" (although I disagree with the name, it still played good.)
The Genocide Pack, "MADE IN THE STYLE OF THE 8 AND 16 BIT CLASSICS!"
Permanently Banned
Inspiration begets motivation begets inspiration.
The reason the contest has failed is because all parties involved have stopped showing ANY interest in it, so why in the world would a newcomer want to be a part of it?
You want a better contest? Make people want to contribute. Vary the requirements. Add a theme. Make it more grandiose and elabourate, rather than routine and stale! Do something interesting with the reward, like give that person unique insight into development! These are all just ideas off the top of my head -- be creative, guys, come on! Make us really wish we were the best mapmaker here!
Better yet, encourage users to participate by participating yourselves -- instead of making maps specifically for 2.1 (because lord knows we'll never be playing them anyways), release those levels into the OLDC for public evaluation. Who gives a crap if Castle Eggman (gasp) is in the contest before 2.1's release? You'll get much-needed feedback on the map, and inspire your peers to come forth and be creative themselves! I won't even begin on how much attention you'll draw towards the contest by pouring anything you've made for 2.1 into it.
The contest has also sucked for years now because everyone here has refused to do anything but the routine, the ordinary, or what's expected (This actually goes for more than just the OLDC...). I shouldn't have to tell you guys that I go out of my way to break routine, be out-of-the-ordinary, and do the opposite of what others expect. It's earned me some charisma, respect, and well, controversy. One thing's certain, though -- you know who I am. You wouldn't know who Spazzo is if he played things by the book, would you?
Now go and take that mindset and apply it to this bi-monthly mapathon, and watch the talent pour in. It's no secret anymore that you guys look to the cream of the crop from the OLDC when looking for fresh developer meat, so why not broadcast that fact to give users something to aspire to? It's a very far-off goal, sure, but give 'em a little hope, and they'll shoot for the stars!
Funny how it's been well over a year since I left STJr., yet I'm still the guy holding up the pom-poms and doing cartwheels. Come on, guys! Show me you've still got some passion! I'm on your side here!
Last edited by Spazzo; 05-02-2012 at 02:29 AM.
Probably Responsible
Though I can honestly say I agree with you. Nobody else ever tries anything different, and our best mappers lost interest. We can't wait for 2.1 to make that happen.
My awful Twitter account
My also awful YouTube channel
Permanently Banned
There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. However, that doesn't change the fact of the matter: The contest has been completely worn out. There is no novelty left. Try as you might, one person's effort cannot fix the entire contest, it has to be the collective work of many. You gotta have competition, right?
Good on you for trying something different, D00D64. While I personally find the map overly niche for me to personally enjoy, you still went against the grain and succeeded, so it's certainly earned you some respect in my eyes.
I've been trying to coerce people to mix up the contest for years now. Some of my suggestions even got in -- the contest winner title, for example, as one possible incentive to do well -- but it was more of a band-aid fix than anything. You guys want to make the contest radical again? Well, start making some radical changes.
D00D, don't wait until 2.1, trust me. Start now. 2.1 will suffer this same fate if you uphold that "I'll wait until the next version" mentality. If something is to be done, you guys can't put the responsibility on an equally-as-worn-out group of individuals to supply your own creativity.
Last edited by Spazzo; 05-02-2012 at 03:10 AM.
ArchPack developer
As for the OLDC being suspended (likely): I have mixed feelings about it, while I find it terribly sad, I feel I was fed up and expecting something of sort to happen, sooner or later, perhaps people get a clue and someone speaks up a "I told you"... But still, it's not the end of the world; I comprehend this is a measure the staff is taking to force people to make something decent or, if it still fails, kill it altogether.
ArchPack v2.1 level pack | EzerArch.com | YouTube | ERZ2 FTW!
Last edited by Ezer.Arch; 05-03-2012 at 06:01 AM.
Permanently Banned
The problem, Ezer, is that you can't "force" people to be creative. They need to be inspired. If what you say is correct, than it is doomed to fail.
Giving a theme sounds like a great idea. It should at least be tried before it gets the ax...
The unreliable judge
I think now is a good time to suggest a plan that has been rattling around in my head for a little while now to help inspire some extra creativity in this community.
It's well established by this point that the lack of released and finished single player level packs for SBR2 has become a problem, with the only finished level pack for 2.0 being Tortured Planet. Would it be possible for us as a community to develop a single player level pack as a collaborated project?
There are a lot of details that need to be sorted out before such a project can begin though, such as how we decide what zone themes the levels will use, who will work in which level, what level of standard we will aim for, and a list that stretches on for far longer, this is an idea that would need further discussion in its own thread if an interest is gathered.
But what a project like this will achieve is that it will give mapmakers an opportunity to have their work released in a large coherent level pack without taking years to make any significant process (like Chaos Domain or Lost Worlds) and also give the community something to look forward to instead of just the OLDC.
Of course, there's no guarantee that this idea will end in a perject level pack if it ever starts. The standards can't be too high, or we will end with another SRB2&K and nothing will be finished. So take this idea with a pinch of salt, even if I think some interesting results could come from it.
Meanwhile in Aerial Garden Zone
__________________________________________________ _________
Now here's what I propose to attempt and fix the contest: Make reviews mandatory. The OLDC is primarily a feedback mechanism that helps mappers improve, and I think at that it fails. The mappers who have been recently contributing to the OLDC aren't really getting any better, they're stagnating at the same level. Why is that? Maybe they're not reading the reviews or maybe the reviews aren't helpful. Probably both. So maybe it would help if we force the users to give reasons for their scores and at least make an honest attempt to be helpful. Of course, I'm not expecting huge multi-paragraph reviews and high-quality insights from everybody. That would be foolish. But a bit more than a score and five words would be nice.
Permanently Banned
You know, SpiritCrusher, as much as I respect you, I couldn't disagree more. Force reviews? I said this once already -- you can't FORCE people to do anything. That will stifle them even more.
Stagnation is not a result of not reading the reviews, or the reviews themselves being unhelpful. I wouldn't make a map to get the reviews. I would make a map because I want to compete in a competition with my peers. That alone is worth the effort for me.
Forcing users to give justifications for their scores and "make an honest attempt to be helpful" will result in subjectivity being graded moreso than the maps themselves. You guys already have enough control over how things run here, don't go and force us to vote in something nobody is passionate about. You will lose support.
(Nevermind make yourselves look a lot worse if you use words like FORCE, MUST, and OBLIGATED for something that's supposed to be FUN, ENGAGING, and OPTIONAL like the contest. Jeez.)
Oh, and for what it's worth, stop anticipating 2.1 (and all of its content) like it's the second coming of Christ. This isn't my commentary on its quality, either, this is a statement for your own benefit. The sooner you guys realize that the developers are just like you guys and are making maps no differently than you are, the sooner you'll realize that the amount of hype put around their work is completely unnecessary and counter-productive. The only difference between them and the general userbase is perception. There's nothing saying that what levels they make are inherently superior or inferior.
Less aristocracy, more democracy.
Last edited by Spazzo; 05-02-2012 at 07:39 PM.
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that is not how this place is intended to work like.
We're all here to obligate the current mappers to PRODUCE mediocre content. All we want is to make the official level rotation SUPERIOR to everything else, and that is our VERY DAILY duty.
The whole contest project is nothing but something to ENTERTAIN. We take new slaves everyday to create funny projects, while we set a low standard, so we can MOCK at them later, while we post offensive comments nobody else but US can read them. If you really thought it was a way to receive feedback, you're WRONG, as we censor most of it.
We all know we're pretty -stale- when it comes to ideas. However, we will NEVER accept feedback to improve the game. The very moment we see a passionate, outstanding piece of work, we'll make sure we either STEAL it, or make it disappear, as that would put our precious amount of WORK that we've been keeping for YEARS in risk. And while we like to see INTERESTING content, we prefer to hide it so our level rotation is EVEN MORE INTERESTING.
Less retardocracy, more nazism
I was originally going to reply to Spazzo's post, but after having a conversation with him, it turned out that the whole argument was based on a misunderstanding. What I suggest is the following: Votes should only count if an explanation is attached. I'm not suggesting that the explanation needs to have a specific length or needs to be good. The explanations aren't reviewed by anybody. They should just be there. I suggested this because I feel that the feedback aspect of the OLDC is being neglected. It doesn't fix the underlying problem that the OLDC doesn't have enough activity.
Yeah, sorry, I actually had a SP map in the works, but I decided to go back to a vanilla Doom 2 map I was working on, tighten it up a bit, make one mandatory puzzle slightly less obtuse, texture alignment, general prettifying, that sort of thing. Still concerned I'll hit visplane overflows in a few areas; I'll have to move from PrBoom+ to Chocolate Doom at some point and see (after moving from GZDoom to PrBoom+ in Doom 2 1.9 compatibility mode). At least lowering the wall for this one secret no longer lowers the floor for ALL sectors, though...
Anyway, the base is there, but I sort of ran out of ideas, which I frequently find myself doing these days. Doesn't mean I can't tidy it up for the next contest. Funny, though, if I had entered it, I'd have won the SP division by default (not that entering an unfinished map and winning is any particular accomplishment...)
You would have probably still won anyway.
Clearly, we both need to finish up said maps and enter them into the contest to find out for certain...
Last edited by Shadow Hog; 05-02-2012 at 08:25 PM. Reason: I ended two sentences in a row with "sure". I find when I'm redundant like that, I hate it when I'm redundant like that.
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Offense erupts late to send Phillies home happy
Howard comes through in 10th after Brown caps ninth-inning rally
PHOENIX -- The Phillies had their pink bats to the wall on Sunday, but it was the pink shoes worn by Ryan Howard that may have saved the day for them.
On Mother's Day and in deference to breast cancer awareness, Howard wore the shoes as he struggled through another tough afternoon at the plate until coming up with one out and runners on second and third in the 10th inning.
Howard's solid single to right made the difference in a 4-2 Phillies win over the D-backs, who led 2-0 heading into the ninth at Chase Field.
"I just wanted to go out in support for Mother's Day," said Howard, who was in an 0-for-18 slump and had nine strikeouts in the series before winning the game with a two-run hit off left-hander Matt Reynolds. "I had the pink wristbands, the pink arm sleeves. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but when I saw the shoes with the two colors in it I said, 'OK, we're good.'
"I had it coordinated. It starts with the shoes. The only thing I didn't have was the bat today. It's all about going out and supporting the cause. It got me a hit today. I might wear them again on Tuesday. You never know."
Despite a hapless offensive performance for most of the four-game series, the Phils earned a split as they head home to face the first-place Indians on Tuesday night. The Phillies were 4-3 on this seven-game trip to San Francisco and Arizona, and the three losses each came by a margin of a single run.
It could have been a lot worse. Chase Utley had a pair of key doubles, one in each of the final innings when the Phils knocked out eight of their 15 hits. The Phillies scored just 10 runs in the series and Jimmy Rollins' solo shot Friday night was the only homer.
Rollins and Ben Revere used the pink bats in the game for the Phillies and were a combined 1-for-8, with Rollins contributing a one-out single in the 10th followed by Utley's second double -- Utley's fourth hit of the game.
D-backs manager Kirk Gibson threw all kinds of shifts against Howard in the series, but when he came to bat with one out in the 10th and Rollins and Utley in scoring position, Gibson pulled the infielders in and moved three of them over to the right of the second-base bag, playing tight on the grass.
This time, Howard simply lined a solid single over the shift to drive home only his third and fourth runs of the trip. He had one homer and hit .148 (4-for-27) in the past seven days.
"My frustration level coming in to today? I don't know if I can really put a number on it," Howard said. "It's definitely been frustrating. Upset. Ticked off. But you just try to keep separating each at-bat. And I was able to get one to fall. Shifts? I've seen all kinds of them. Shifts aren't fun."
Right-hander Brandon McCarthy had his way with the Phillies on Sunday in his best outing for Arizona since coming over from Oakland in an offseason trade. The Phils had seven hits -- none for extra bases -- and only two runners reached as far as second base in eight innings against McCarthy, whose win was wiped out in the ninth.
How close did Gibson come to leaving McCarthy in with a pitch count of just 88?
"Yeah, I thought about it," Gibson said. "I guess we thought it was the best way to go. You make decisions, sometimes they don't work out. That was my decision. I did what I thought was the right move and it didn't work out. We didn't execute our pitches. They made us pay for it."
In that fateful ninth, Utley led with a double and scored on Delmon Young's one-out two-bagger. Young was replaced on the bases by pinch-runner John Mayberry Jr., who scored on Domonic Brown's single. The comeback came against Heath Bell, the latest in a line of Arizona relievers who have now blown a Major League-leading 11 save opportunities.
Once again a Phillies starter pitched well enough to win. This time it was Kyle Kendrick, who gave up a pair of runs in the first inning and then settled down to pitch seven innings of six-hit ball. He didn't issue any walks and struck out four.
Before the game, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had said he was short on relievers. After the win, he disclosed that Mike Adams is dealing with a bit of tightness in his back.
"We just didn't want to get him up," Manuel said.
There was a question beforehand that Jonathan Papelbon might not be available after recording a tough 29-pitch, five-out save on Saturday in the Phils' 3-1 victory.
But after the Phillies took the lead Sunday, there was Papelbon in the 10th. This time he needed only 15 pitches to record his seventh save. Didi Gregorius made it interesting by smacking a two-out double, but he was left stranded on second when Martin Prado flied out to center.
It was that kind of game and that kind of weekend. The Phillies may have had their pink bats to the wall, but it was Howard's glossy pink shoes that proved the lucky charm in the end.


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The goal is not being effected by outside stimulus! This means, I see things and bless them and ignore them; I dont wait to get a bad attitude about them; I dont wait and listen to them until I hate them or have a reason to hate; I get ouda- there.
I have to learn; when I glance at some; for that split second; get my eyes off them. I have to learn that they owe me nothing! I must turn to God for what I want! I put create a world in my imagination for the things I want!
I must get my eyes of the physical and keep my eyes on my imagination!
Keep my eyes off those people and places and things I can get needy about! Ive notice that when I see someone; for that first glance, Im better! Im fine, suddenly that glance turns into reminiscing on the person Im looking at; I find my emotions transforming into them and their lives! Im fantasizing when I dont want to! So, now; I stop! get my eyes off these people.
The space I would use to look at others is suppose to be a space I use for my imagination; things I want to go after! Their is nothing in the physical accept those things attracting to me from the universe.
The goal is positive thinking; real positive stuff! it must be learned! Im going from angry victim to planning goal setting positive manifested of my own desires! This means; eyes off everything and everyone else!
This means, walking around seeing the positive aspects of things and creating a new life and a life for myself! this suggests, no one else is needed for my thinking and taking action process! However, this does not mean others not getting involved! It means the mind and lies of the past do not exist anymore.


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I'm new. I moved recently to Edinburgh and found with the forest cafe and a bit of wifi quickly a good start here.
For the fundraising I would like to get involved in the designing (maybe as well developing) of the press website.
One of the ideas at the save-the-forest meeting (14th Nov) was to provided a space to share fundraising relevant information. So people can upload content in different format (web site banner & text) and link their activities (twitter tweeds, facebook page & blogs) with http://forestcafe.tumblr.com
To get started I do have some question. How do people upload currently content and link their activity? http://forestcafe.tumblr.com/submit
Who gets to see this content and has the right to approve it? I'm asking because I would like to some user testing (The video demo tells quiet a lot about user testing http://silverbackapp.com/). So around 5 – 6 user would submit some dummy content. Afterwards I would like to publish and discussed the findings here and design from this a first prototype (paper prototype for a mail client http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrV2SZuRPv0&feature=fvw).
Sure, some would say why not start with coding first when we have so less time to raise money?!
Because if we get make something that is easy to use from the start more people are encourage to contribute.
See you at the forest on Sunday 2pm.
X Jane
Press website: ideas how to share fundraising info
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Turkish Plate Ø 30 CM - Withered Flowers
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Handmade Classic Turkish Ceramic Plate
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- Origin: Turkey
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- Stock: 15
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Ex Tax: $129.99
Tags: turkish , plate , turquoise , and , red , ceramic classic tulips , carnations , diameter allah , muhammad , basmala the , palace withered , flowers


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Pitney Bowes to Open Mail Presort Facility in Florida
STAMFORD, CT—Aug 26, 2010—Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) today announced it is opening a new domestic mail presorting facility in Jacksonville, FL. The facility, which will open its doors in November, will offer mailers the opportunity to benefit from postage discounts, increased mailing efficiencies and delivery optimization via Pitney Bowes's nationwide presort network.
The 40,000-square-foot center will have the annual capacity to presort more than 40 million pieces of First-Class letter mail and Standard-Mail in its first year of operation. It will employ approximately 30 people by the end of 2010.
"Our new facility in Jacksonville will serve as an important gateway for Pitney Bowes to offer Florida customers convenient, one-stop presorting of their mail to help optimize deliverability and reduce postage costs," said Jay Oxton, president, Presort Services, Pitney Bowes. "We are thrilled to join the Jacksonville business community and look forward to working with area customers to meet their mail presorting needs."
As the nation's leading mail presorter, Pitney Bowes enables customers to receive significant postage discounts on First-Class letters and flats, and Standard Mail. Pitney Bowes currently handles 14 billion pieces of mail per year through its 37 facilities across the United States.
About Pitney Bowes:
Celebrating its 90th year of innovation, Pitney Bowes provides software, hardware and services that integrate physical and digital communications channels. Long known for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies grow their business. Pitney Bowes is a $5.6 billion company and employs 33,000 worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity(TM). www.pb.com


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Timber Rattlesnake, Canebrake, Rattlesnake
Scientific name: Crotalus horridus (LINNAEUS 1758)
* Currently accepted name
* scientific names used through time
- Crotalus horridus – LINNAEUS 1758
- Crotalus atricaudatus – LATREILLE 1802
- Crotalus horridus atricaudatus – GLOYD 1935
Description: Average adult size is 36-60 inches (76-152 cm), record is 74.5 inches (189 cm). It can be a large, heavy-bodied snake. The reddish brown stripe running down the center of the back is disrupted by a series of large, black, chevron-like crossbands on the pinkish gray or tan body. The tail is uniform black. The scales are keeled. The head is large and sometimes with a dark diagonal line through the eye or just behind the eye. The pupil is vertical (cat-like) and there is a facial pit between the nostril and the eye. The tail ends in a rattle.
Juveniles resemble adults, but have a single or few rounded button at the tip of the tail
A. Top of the head (notice, except for the scales over the eyes, there are no large scales on the top of the head)
B. Keeled scales
C. Side of the head (notice the facial pit between the eye and the nostril)
D. Front (face view) of the head
E. Elongated scales below the tail (subcaudal scales) are typically undivided
Range: The Timber Rattlesnake snake has a very limited range in our state, found in only 8 or 9 counties in northern Florida. It ranges as far south as Volusia County and as far west as Hamilton and Suwannee Counties. There are also a few records from the panhandle. Outside of Florida, it ranges north to southern Maine and west to central Texas and southeastern Minnesota.
Habitat: Timber Rattlesnakes in Florida prefer low bottomlands where it is fairly damp, river beds, hardwood hammocks, pine flatwoods, swamps, and cane thickets.
Comments: VENOMOUS. The Timber Rattlesnake should be given a wide berth and left alone. Because of its cryptic coloration (camouflage), it can be easily overlooked, especially if it does not rattle.
This snake was once very common and still is in some parts of its range. Throughout the past it, as well as other rattlesnakes, has been persecuted in Rattlesnake roundups, in senseless killings, and the sale of its skin to specialty leather shops. Rattlesnakes and other snakes, are some of our best allies in the fight to control rodents. They should be respected, not feared.
Comparison with other species: The only other Rattlesnake it might be confused with is the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), which has large dark diamonds down its back and a brown tail. Southern populations of the Timber Rattlesnake, including those in Florida, have a reddish brown stripe down the middle of the back and a pinkish body.


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Hanging 36 Inch Hexagon Snowflake - Warm White (1011-W)
Save Liquid error (product-badge line 32): -Infinity%
Our LED Rope Light snowflakes in Warm White are great decorations in any setting. Designed to hang, these snowflakes will light up your holidays from all directions.
Great views from either side.
We use only the highest quality LED rope light on our frames.
If one bulb burns out, the others stay lit.
Made from durable heavy aluminum, our frames can withstand the harshest environments.
Lights are protected inside solid but flexible PVC rope. Includes 6-foot lead cord.
Warm White LED works well with traditional incandescent lighting, gives a soft warm glow. Made from solid rust-resistant aluminum.
Size: 3.0'H x 3.0'W
Weight: 8 lbs
Bulbs: 410 Warm White Pro Grade LEDs rated for 50,000 hours of use
Amps: 0.21 (25 watts)
If you live in a coastal area, be sure to rinse your motif with fresh water at the end of each season before you store it for the off-season. Never store your motif in the sun between seasons.


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What is Airodump-ng and Aireplay-ng?
If you are familiar in wireless hacking then I believe that these both tools are your best friends.
For the one who are still new in hacking, Airodump-ng is wireless packet capture, simple but very powerfull. It will capture raw 802.11 frames. Airodump-ng writes out a text file about the details of all access points and clients seen.
Aireplay-ng is a tool for injecting packet into a wireless network to generate traffic.
I will not explain how to use these tools in here, but how to install it in Ubuntu Lucidlynx.
If you are still using the previous Ubuntu version, you still can apply the same methods.
Can I install using 'apt-get install' command in LucidLynx terminal?
You can't.
Airodump-ng and Aireplay-ng are part of aircrack-ng packages. So, you just install aircrack-ng then these both tools will automatically available.
Make sure you are connected to the Internet then open your Lucid Lynx terminal (Application > Accessories > Terminal).
Type $sudo apt-get install aircrack-ng.
Now, both airodump-ng and aireplay-ng are available in your system.


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Danforth Music Hall Theatre
147 Danforth Avenue,
5 people favorited this theater
Originally opened as the Allen Theatre on August 18, 1919 with Madge Kennedy in "Through the Wrong Door". It was later known as the Century Theatre and was remodeled in 1934 by the architectural firm Kaplan & Sprachman.
It last showed mostly second-run movies before its closing in February of 2004. It reopened in May of 2004 under the Festival chain but closed once again in August of 2004.
It re-opened in 2006 as the Danforth Music Hall Theatre.
Recent comments (view all 33 comments)
The web page Eric Veillette linked to in his comment of Jan 23, 2011, has a scan of an ad for Allen theaters which includes an Allen's Bloor. Does anybody know if that house is listed at Cinema Treasures under a different name? If it is, it's missing the aka. I found an article about a Bloor Street Allen Theater in a 1919 trade journal, and I'd like to link to it on the appropriate Cinema Treasures page, if somebody can point me to it.
Allen's Bloor is listed here – erroneously – on CT as the Midtown and currently serves as Lee's Palace, a nightclub. It took me a little while to sort this out because there is erroneous information both on the Midtown page and elsewhere. In fact, the Midtown page should not be labeled Midtown, and this fact has been noted by other commentators, but the error has not been corrected.
What is now Lee's Palace opened as Allen's Bloor at 529 W. Bloor in 1919. Famous Players took over the Canadian assets of the Allen chain in 1923, so this theater was later the first Bloor Theatre. The current Bloor, across the street at 506, opened as the Madison and has had a number of names, including the Midtown, Capri, and Eden.
So, the AKA of Allen's Bloor should be on a theater that should be listed here on CT as either Lee's Palace (in that case, it should have two AKAs: Allen's Bloor and Bloor and possibly some others, but not Midtown) OR as Bloor Theatre (with an AKA of Allen's Bloor) and the current function noted as Nightclub and an indication in the headnote that it is currently called Lee's Palace.
Exactly CW
I see that the errors have been fixed. Tres bien.
Perfect. Now only if they would drop the Algoma theatre in Marie, ON which is actually the Algoma in SAULT STE MARIE Ontario and already has it's own page on CT.
Don't get me started on that 8-).
Thanks, CW.
Saw a band last night at the Danforth Music Hall. It was great venue for that. They've removed the seats on the main level now, but, there are still seats in the balcony.
1919 and 1948 grand opening ad in photo section.
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater


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Freephone: 0800 496 4996
Student Travel Europe
Cultural trips have long been part of the annual Activities Week at Latymer Upper School...
Booking a school trip can seem daunting. As a teacher you want to focus on...
Amid all the uncertainty over Britain's future following BREXIT next April, the School Travel Forum...Read more
Club Europe's Educational Tours Account Manager Danielle Tysall-Blay has just returned from a Familiarisation trip...
"Alahree and Sabine were excellent.To sum up our Club Europe tour experience: completely reliable."
Alda Whaley, Head of Modern Languages, Beacon Academy, East Sussex
"The students learned more about historical events not usually studied in our curriculum."
Jenny Wong, Latymer Upper School, London
"I feel confident that Club Europe provide an excellent service .The communication is fanatsic. I always feel they know about our trip to the finest detail.The director Tim intervenes too. Excellent."
Alda, Head of Modern Languages, East Sussex
"It was exceptional for Geography and fitted well with the GCSE curriculum. There were also overlaps with science, history and art/photography."
Sian, Teacher of Geography, Surrey
"All the trips were perfect and everything went really smoothly -911,Empire State and the Statue of Liberty Cruise and Ellis island. There were all fantastic."
Robert, Teacher of Music, South Lanarkshire
"The combination of all visits was perfect."
Wendy Ward, Sir James Smith's School
"All the students on the trip are currently studying A Level Classical Civilisation with me and I have taught units on Greek religion, where they have studied the Acropolis of Athens and Delphi."
Kathryn, Head of Classics, Hertfordshire
"The visit to CERN was amazing. The students are Physicists and found the whole experience at CERN riveting."
Mehdi Behnoudnia, Teacher of Physics, Kingston Grammar School, Surrey
"It linked with Theatre Studies, GCSE Drama and Dance – covered a great part of performance work, script work and career ideas."
Karen, Head of Performing Arts, Bristol


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Freecom's CLS external hard drive series take an aesthetic page from cassettes and floppies of our already distant memory. Each 2.5" drive is minimal, durable, and can be hand-labeled for quick reference to its contents.
The German-made, Belgian-designed drives can also be docked three at a time, via a single USB connection, allowing you to consolidate space (And admire the retro look. Why do things look cooler when they're vertical?). When you want to pack them up, they'll slip neatly into plastic cases for further 80s fetishization. [Freecom via designboom]


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Army OneSource is committed to providing access to our web pages for individuals with disabilities. To meet this commitment, this web site has been formatted for accessibility and compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
If you use assistive technology (such as a Braille reader, a screen reader, TTY, etc.) and the format of any material on our web site interferes with your ability to access the information, please contact us at email@example.com. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the material, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information.


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One of the major differences between American winemakers and their European counterparts is that here wine is largely made and sold based on grape variety rather than a growing area. So, a Californian will make a cabernet sauvignon or a merlot while a French vintner will produce a Pauillac or a Saint-Emilion.
Both winemakers have to deal with regulatory issues unique to their location, but in some ways the French vintner has a little more leeway. A Pauillac or Saint-Emilion is often a blend of grape varieties. The formula can change from year to year, depending on the harvest and quality of the grapes.
The Californian, however, can be hamstrung by regulations that require any wine labeled "cabernet sauvignon" or "merlot" to contain at least 75 percent of that particular grape.
American consumers like buying wines by the grape name because, frankly, it's easier to suss out what one is getting. But American winemakers can and do chafe at being constrained at spitting out bottles that must be at least three-quarters full of just one grape. They want the freedom to blend, to create, as the French and other Europeans do.
For John Williams, founder and winemaker at Frog's Leap Winery, evoking a sense of the place is what pushed the creation of Rutherford, a red wine named for a region in Napa Valley noted for the quality of its cabs.
The wine has ranged from 60 percent cabernet sauvignon to 100 percent cab since its introduction in 1996.
Given that the current vintage, 2006, is 92 percent cabernet — and could be labeled as such — one might wonder why Williams bothers with the Rutherford moniker.
"If this was a Bordeaux wine, it would never have occurred to you to ask the question," he replied with a chuckle. "The attitude we take with this particular wine is how to make it smell and taste like Rutherford. We consider it the most noble goal to make a wine that smells and tastes like where it comes from."
Freeing oneself from the constraints of having at least 75 percent of a wine be one variety opens far more avenues for creative winemaking.
"Blends are always more interesting, for me anyway," said Tim Mondavi, who along with his sister, Marcia Mondavi Borger, is behind Continuum, a red wine blend now entering its third vintage.
"There are so many ways to approach it," he added. "It's fascinating to see how different varieties are realized in different soils and different exposures."
For Mondavi, the policy of blending goes back to Opus One, a joint venture begun by his late father, the legendary Robert Mondavi, with Baron Philippe de Rothschild, and even further to the Robert Mondavi Winery Reserve line, which, although labeled as cabernet sauvignon, features a number of different grapes.
"From 1974 to 2004, I can recall only two vintages (of Mondavi Reserve) that were not blends, and that's because the cabernet franc and the merlot didn't do as well,'' he recalled. The 2007 vintage of Continuum is 60 percent cabernet sauvignon, 22 percent cabernet franc and 18 percent petit verdot. Mondavi expects the percentage of cabernet franc to grow because it gives silkiness and long aging capability.
Mondavi's Continuum is not the only example of a proprietary red wine. There are wines like Maximus, Illustration and Seduction, to name a few. Some winemakers call their wines Meritage, a trademarked designation for wines made in a Bordeaux style. To use this term, a winery must join The Meritage Association and follow the association's rules.
Williams shrugs off any concern that consumers may not buy a wine that doesn't explicitly call itself "cabernet sauvignon." Given that the retail price is $75 and the wine is produced in small quantities, Rutherford appeals to a relatively focused segment of the wine market, he said.
"There are a number of us, a growing number, I hope, who want a sense of place," he said.
Standing out by blending in There is a kindred spirit to these seven wines that goes beyond their Napa Valley address. Cabernet sauvignon is dominant in most, with varying percentages of merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. All evolved markedly in the glass with time, offering a changing roster of flavors and aromas. Where they differed was on price, ranging from $25 to $140.
2007 Continuum : This proprietary red wine is a sophisticated blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. There are ripe berries and a touch of smoke on the nose, and a smooth, slightly oaky accent atop the major flavor notes of berry and cranberries. The finish is a bit astringent. ✭✭✭ $140
2006 Bennett Lane Maximus: This "red feasting wine" is 65 percent cabernet sauvignon, 20 percent merlot, 10 percent syrah and 5 percent malbec. Colored a dark brick red, with a spicy nose of cinnamon and black pepper, this wine is plush with rich blackberry flavors. ✭✭✭ $35
2006 Frog's Leap Rutherford: Almost completely cabernet sauvignon with just an 8 percent splash of cabernet franc, this red offers bright fruit at first, then an earthy tartness. Look for a black raspberry and graphite aroma. ✭✭✭ $75
2006 Hestan Vineyards Stephanie: A blend of 66 percent cabernet sauvignon, 13 percent petit verdot, 10 percent malbec, 8 percent merlot and 3 percent cabernet franc. A deep garnet red, with a slightly fleshy nose, this wine offers plenty of berry flavor with accents of oak and earth. ✭✭ $60
2006 O'Brien Estate Seduction: Colored a dark, inky purple, this wine is composed of 50 percent cabernet sauvignon, 30 percent merlot and 20 percent cabernet franc. The nose is sweetly ripe, the flavor offers notes of blueberries, plums and violets. ✭✭ $45
2007 Chappellet Mountain Cuvee: A blend of 51 percent cabernet sauvignon, 46 percent merlot and 1 percent each of malbec, cabernet franc and petit verdot. Plush if a bit jammy on the palate, this red offers touches of cherry, plums, oak and a little stemmy bitterness. ✭✭ $25
2007 Duckhorn Vineyards Decoy: This wine is made from 43 percent each cabernet sauvignon and merlot, plus 10 percent cabernet franc and 4 percent petit verdot. A bit leathery on the nose with a soft, slightly sweet cherry flavor. ✭✭ $30
You want that wine. But your store or distributor may not carry it or state law may prohibit you from ordering online. What to do? Ask your wine retailer for a wine similar in flavor, style and price. Prices may vary.
Freedom to blend
One of the major differences between American winemakers and their European counterparts is that here wine is largely made and sold based on grape variety rather than a growing area. So, a Californian will make a cabernet sauvignon or a merlot while a French vintner will produce a Pauillac or a Saint-Emilion.


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Beat the Streak Report: Tuesday, June 22
The writing was on the wall as soon as the schedule was released.
Once it was clear that there were only three games on Monday's bill
with four of the six teams being the Nationals, Royals, Athletics and
D-backs (with the Yankees and Reds being the other options), it was
clear that an absurd amount of the Beat the Streak nation would put all
their eggs in the Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter basket.
I cautioned that such strategy was mighty risky should Arizona
starter Rodrigo Lopez somehow stymie the Bombers and put some extra hot
sauce on his fastball.
I was right. Sort of.
A staggering 67.2 percent of all streakers selected either
Robinson Cano (45.7 percent) or Derek Jeter (21.5 percent) last night.
And as Jeter (0-for-3) fans know, the hot sauce was a comin'.
As for Cano, the man who has shredded opposing pitching all
season long to the tune of a Major League-leading .365 batting average,
he kept his streakers on a full-blown sweaty palms panic attack watch
all night by waiting until his final at-bat in the eighth inning to
loop a single.
Unfortunately, Michael Young and the Rangers were not playing, as
"fromomma" decided to roll the dice with the wrong Yankee for the
Which means for now, Dick George (Cano) is our lone ranger with a 38-game streak.
Time for Tuesday's picks
Oh, hello there …
? Kevin Kouzmanoff: .688 AVG (11-for-16) lifetime vs. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo
? Austin Kearns: .438 AVG (7-for-16) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Jaime Moyer
? Prince Fielder: .412 AVG (7-for-17) lifetime vs. Twins starter Scott Baker
? Casey Blake: .429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Juan Uribe:
.545 AVG (6-for-11) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt. Uribe has
one hit in his last 11 at-bats. Roy Oswalt pitches well for a living. I
say stay away.
You'll thank me later …
? Hunter Pence: .111 AVG (2-for-18) lifetime vs. Giants starter Tim Lincecum
? Manny Ramirez: .091 AVG (1-for-11) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana
? Ryan Braun: .154 AVG (2-for-13) lifetime vs. Twins starter Scott Baker
? Marlon Byrd: .143 AVG (2-for-11) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Jason Vargas
Leaderboard time!
Riding high with a 35-game streak is "kbarr9" who also selected Cano
last night. "kbarr9" is 61.4 percent on the way to the $3,000,000. Ya
know, assuming Dick George goes down in flames first.
Top MLB streakers
? Josh Hamilton: 16 games
? Jose Guillen: 16 games
? Jason Kubel: 12 games
? Jeff Mathis: 12 games
? Garrett Jones: 11 games
38 Comments
Today I have Ichiro in BTS. At 0 so figured why not. Tex in HR BTS and Rangers in Survivor. Lost my streak with the Yanks but it's ok.
No mention of survivor today??? it was a pure massacre!
72.9% waved good bye to their streak….It was alsmot a guarantee: Yankees playing at 10pm eastern time, no day off, with 'unpredictable' Burnett on the mound, and a struggling Jeter…
Well, today I have the Rangers over the Pirates (it's never a bad move to pick against the Pirates, especially when they have Ohlendorf on the mound).
Had Ichie but am giving Kouz another shot. Also at 0…
I hate the Yanks, so i never touch the yankees… worked out for me last night.. 5 gamer in survivor and 11 gamer in bts… see you guys at the finish line!
i got david wright for BTS, he's a beast
Giants for survivor, they have yet to let me down when linny is pitching
annnnd mark reynolds came through for me last night (well i guess when you bat .215 and have 15+ HRs, your only hits tend to be out of the park) so i'm following him up with Morneau
should be good! good luck everyone and i wish you all a safe recovery!
Let's hope Cano accomplishes what he couldn't yesterday. Here it to hoping Haren brings out his A game for a 1-hitter complete shutout! And that hit goes to Granderson. LOL!
haha…here's my prediction…the Yanks couldn't beat Rodrigo Lopez yesterday so u know what they'll do today? Go out & beat an ace in Haren.
Well, that was fast!
Back to a 1-game hit streak!
Today's Top Picks of the current Top2500. All games included, 134 different batters selected overall
Batter, Times Picked, Percentage
Josh Hamilton, 332, 13.28%
Justin Morneau, 219, 8.76
Derek Jeter, 206, 8.24
Robinson Cano, 171, 6.84
Prince Fielder, 156, 6.24
Austin Kearns, 135, 5.4
Vladimir Guerrero, 123, 4.92
Michael Young, 78, 3.12
Joe Mauer, 78, 3.12
Dustin Pedroia, 69, 2.76
Ichiro Suzuki, 66, 2.64
Martin Prado, 66, 2.64
Miguel Cabrera, 62, 2.48
… No Selection, 34, 1.36
Highest "No Selection": Page 6 with a streak of 16 now reset to zero
Yesterday saw 27% Top2500 streaks come to an end
Bloggers Group Top2500
UserName, Streak, Page#, Pick
blanco21, 14, pg14, Ryan Howard
cojobs, 9, pg66, Josh Hamilton
Hamilton's the only guy on that list that I considered picking.
Could it happen 2 days in a row for our leader dick.george? What you ask? Cano gets only hit on last AB. Tonite 0-fer thru 7 and spot due up in 9th. With a 1-run lead, extra innings could be in play too. Possibilities…
And that's exactly what happened, Cano gets hit on last AB. Leader has some serious mojo going on right now!
Wow. How much BS luck with this guy have? This is getting ridiculous. I am sure he did not pick Cano to get hit off a high school relief pitcher.
A team like Arizona should be banished from MLB. They sould go compete against AAA clubs. That is all they're. So they're down by a run and they send in a clown to pitch.
They replaced the clown with Chad Qualls with 9 ERA. Why is this guy even in baseball?
This is BS. Three days of BS luck. I hope he cloks tomorrow!
This is BS. Three days of BS luck. I hope he cloks tomorrow!
@lavolpe: Still not worried?
Me worried? Ask me on Monday. I generally don't hold my breath until one gets into the mid-40s. But leader has been really lucky so far; don't know whether he'll ride Ichiro, Cano, M&M boys, or other big ticket players. I know I'd be tempted to ride high average players if I got in the 40s. But remember, he just passed the 2/3 point yesterday, today is the 1st day of is final 19 game hitting streak.
Three days of bad picks, 3 days of luck. Does this happen to any other BTSers?
@lavolpe: Yes. But he just got away with 3 deaths. He is due for some easy picks which is what makes this scary.
Seriously, teams like Arizona who cannot compete realistically and use high school caliber players should not play MLB. This is a joke. Chad Qualls. How does a guy have such record and still pitch?
The whole team is made up of homegrown "talents" and rejects from around the league. I am wondering does anybody even go watch Arizona games. What a pathetic excuse of a team.
The whole team is made up of homegrown "talents" and rejects from around the league. I am wondering does anybody even go watch Arizona games. What a pathetic excuse of a team.
Throughout anyone streaks, there are easy picks. But sometimes those easy picks are the ones that send one back to zero. He can't really afford to play it safe by picking to-be-on-DL players either since his competition is right behind him. If one tries that strategy waiting on a "gimme", then the opportunity exists for the 2nd place leader to leap frog ahead of him. He'll also be 2nd guessing himself to death; we all just have to wait and see.
Holy cow. Qualls is their closer. What a joke. They barely win as it is and their closer blows 4 saves and loses with ERA of 9.
@But sometimes those easy picks are the ones that send one back to zero.
But that never happens with top streakers. Outside of the freak events, you'll know when that day might be the day they'll go down. Last 3 days, I knew it soon as I saw the picks. They just were not good picks. Ok, yesterday he was handicapped by 3 games but Prado and Cano today were not good picks. I just hope the pressure of high streak gets to him and he is forced to make lemming picks.
A guy who hits .360 can rarely be considered a bad pick, especially facing Haren who has give up the most hits in baseball…not to mention Arizona has the worst bullpen too.
"How does a guy have such record and still pitch?"
I remember Qualls from the Astros magical run in 2006, when they nearly made up 10 games in the standings to pass the Cardinals with only 15 days left in the standings.
Qualls was a main piece in that bullpen then.
Not sure if he has gotten worse since then.
"They barely win as it is and their closer blows 4 saves and loses with ERA of 9."
ERA's with relievers are meaningless though. If you go 0.1 IP and give up 4 runs, your ERA is tarnished for half the season.
And every year, I see Brian Fuentes with 5, 6 blown saves before the All-Star break and yet, somehow, he always lands on the All-Star team.
I think I'd worry more for a streaker that is nearing 40 right after the all-star game. By that time, some teams are selling and playing 2nd/3rd string players/pitchers the rest of the season. I think the opportunity for easier picks may be in the final 3 months; but then again, fatigue comes into play too.
"He can't really afford to play it safe by picking to-be-on-DL players either since his competition is right behind him. If one tries that strategy waiting on a "gimme", then the opportunity exists for the 2nd place leader to leap frog ahead of him. He'll also be 2nd guessing himself to death; we all just have to wait and see."
ha, weren't you the one that said it is impossible to win the contest?
if that were true, he would not have to worry about people behind him, since they are doomed to fail anyway.
he would just need to choose between more "gimme" picks, but picking from behind versus weaker picks from ahead.
"A guy who hits .360 can rarely be considered a bad pick"
That is cumulative avg. I don't think he is *currently* even batting .300. He has already begin to cool days ago. Basically, that is what this game comes down to. Trying to figure out how well he is hitting right now.
"the final 3 months; but then again, fatigue comes into play too."
That is the worst time. Fatigue kills everyone. Every big streak in last 4 years just about now.
Cano has not been easy to predict, which has led me to look for other options, until he sorts out.
He looked like he was going to slump last time he had back-to-back 0 for X's, but then went on another 10-game hit streak.
So now, he is stuttering. I would not place a big streak on a stuttering pick.
Thank goodness there is no stand out easy pick for tomorrow. I want Dick.George finished. He had more than his helping of lucks go his way.
Also, I think everyone is being too hard on Vazquez. He currently has a 6.00 ERA, which has that 0.0 IP, 5 ER outing built in.
In his last 7.1 IP, he had only given up 1 ER on 1 hit.
But now, of course, the leader called.
So, he blew up.
Vazquez should not be touched. He has been pitching very well lately. He is almost back to where he was last year. I like Vaz. I just don't AJ. AJ sucks Moose Fluid. He is basically above avg. pitcher who took #1 starter $. He has blown so many games already. He has not been the same since the surgery.
ha, I meant Esmerling Vazquez that everyone is taunting now.
To prove my point further, click on over to Gameday and watch the Angels' game now.
Fuentes currently has a 6.23 ERA and is closing for the Angels.
Yeah but Fuentes has sucked for a long time too. He is 2nd tier moving into a set up role from here. The point of being a closer is not being barely good. I mean closing game is not that hard. I bet me & you can close few games here & there. Even if you make bad pitches, some times hitters get themselves out. I actually don't have much respect for them. You just need a decent rubber arm and you can close 80% of the games easily.
Those back-to-back 0-fer's were predictable. I remember staying away from him b/c he faced two tough lefties in Romero & Cecil. In June Cano is hitting .370 so against any average pitcher I wouldn't hesitate to take him if I couldn't find anything better. Btw, I stay away from any hitter facing my favorite team (Mets), so I'm not surprised he had 2 0-fer's when it was against them 😛


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LO-FI-FNK – Maxade Mixtape Volume 1 (Premiere)
Swedish electropop duo Lo-Fi-Fnk have been relatively quiet since their second album The Last Summer, but are back in a big way with their Maxade Mixtape Volume 1. The mix features a collection of tracks with bubbly synths and italo disco vibes. Some might be surprised to hear some old school R&B tunes, including "It's Not Alright But It's Ok" by Whitney Houston. Carly Rae Jepsen also makes an appearance. The mix also includes a brand new song by Oakland producers Friendzone with vocals by the Lo-Fi-Fnk boys called "Takin U 4 Granted". We're giving you first listen to their new track and the mixtape here on Discobelle.
Tracklist for the mix:
1. Merely Feat. Sun Angels – Where Are You
2. Chris Brown – Beautiful People
3. Balkan Beat – Oh Yeah (2010 Remix)
4. Blood Diamonds Feat. Grimes – Phone Sex (Unicorn Kid Remix)
5. Robert Miles – One And One
6. Friendzone & Lo-Fi-Fnk – Takin U 4 Granted
7. Whitney Houston – It's Not Right (But It's Okay)
8. Young Diamond – Call Me Maybe
9. Sun Angels – G-Force Summer
10. Lo-Fi-Fnk – Shut The World Out (Friendzone Remix)
11. Monkey Safari – Ed Did It
12. Kalle J – Inget Att Förlora


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We've all heard the stories of advisors who have successfully grown their firms with dramatic strategies: radio shows, seminars, a newspaper column, referrals from accountants or a tight niche focus (executives at a large local company, vineyard owners, dry cleaners, widows, etc.).
Now, don't get me wrong: these are all great, successful strategies. The problem is that for the most part they are either based on a skill that most advisors don't have (broadcasting, public speaking, writing, etc.), shared experiences (a former dentist working with dentists, etc.), or resulted from an opportunity that presented itself, rather than by design (most client "niches").
What about advisors who don't have "media" skills or haven't discovered a client "niche"? Basically, they're stuck with the old standby: referrals from existing clients. We all know that's how most successful advisory firms were built. As we also all know, there are many strategies for getting more client referrals, with "just ask for them" at the top of the list. While there's rarely any harm in asking, we've found a very simple strategy that virtually guarantees client referrals.
But before I tell you the secret to unlimited referrals, let me warn you: you're going to hate this idea, and most of you won't even try it. In fact, I can divide my advisor-client list into two columns: those who do this (and are turning clients away), and those who don't, and have anemic referral rates and/or fired me over the recommendation.
Okay, are you ready for the secret to life, the universe, and advisory firm growth? Here it is: client perks.
Well, get over it. (In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," the answer was "42," so it could be worse.) One of the fundamental truths of life is that people love free stuff. The more affluent they are, the more they love it. Keep in mind, this doesn't have to make sense to you; it just has to work.
And work it does. What's more, the perks don't have to be expensive: They can even be free. In fact, you don't even have to give free stuff yourself: you can just help your clients to get free stuff. Here are some examples of client perks that advisors have offered, which we've seen produce huge referral results:
- Identity Theft Protection
One advisor contacted one of those identity theft protection companies and negotiated a flat fee to provide their service to his entire client base. The cost was negligible, but the message was clear: here was an advisor who truly cared about her clients' financial well-being. This is the kind of thing that clients tell their friends about at cocktail parties and on the golf course. I think all advisors should offer this perk.
- Account Aggregation
This is a big one these days. A number of my advisor clients have cut deals with online aggregation sites or phone apps (like from mint.com) that enables clients to download all their financial accounts—bank, brokerage, credit card, etc.—into one easy-to-access site or app. Again, the cost is very low, and clients love it.
- A Platinum American Express Card
The clients have to pay the annual fee, but the advisor's office works with American Express to fill out the applications and gets his clients approved with minimal hassle for them. Then, the best part, the advisor (or someone in his office) has become an expert on AmEx card perks, and gives a class to their clients about all the free perks, rewards, and discounts that are available from American Express, and the best ways to take advantage of them. It's hugely popular client perk (kind of like a concierge service) at no cost to the advisor, other than a bit of employee time and effort.
- Subscriptions to Kiplinger's Personal Finance
There's a discount deal to this respected magazine that allows you buy a gift subscription for 12 issues for $12 for up to 100 clients, or $10 for 12 issues for more than 100 gift subscriptions. Recipients can get a gift card announcing the subscription, and when each magazine arrives the mailing label will read "Courtesy of [your firm here]." (For more information, email circulation director Roseann Ciccarello)
Afterward, and if you wish, you can follow up by sending a monthly email pointing out articles of particular interest to your clients.
- Casino Rewards Cards
One advisor in Kansas noticed that, like many local folks, a lot of his clients like to visit the casinos on the Missouri River. (Being Kansas born and raised I understand this. Kansas folks work a lot with nothing to do with the extra cash.) So he contacted Harrah's casino and got all his clients their "rewards" cards, which track their chip purchases, give them free perks such as free meals, shows, and hotel rooms. The advisor tells her clients how to maximize their points, and how to get their free stuff. The clients love it—and it costs her nothing.
- Berkshire Hathaway Shares
This is my favorite client perk. This advisor lives in Nebraska, as do his clients. He recommends that all this clients buy at least one share in Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A BRK.B). Yes, the A shares are in the stratosphere, but owners of B shares (trading recently at $121/share) get the same benefits. Not only do this advisor's clients get to attend the BH annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, which is just cool, but as BH shareholders, they also get significant discounts from many of the companies which are wholly owned subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway, including GEICO, The Nebraska Furniture Mart, Mrs. Sees Candies, RC Willey Home Furnishings, Borsheim's Fine Jewelry and more.
And our advisor clients come up with new perks all the time. Why does any of this work? Here's my theory: The financial services you provide to your clients—while enabling their happy retirements, health care, children's and grandchildren's futures, etc.—are what they are paying for. At least, that's how they see it.
Perks are unexpected extras: they're what they'll tell their friends about, who, of course, will want those free perks, too.
I know, these perks seem silly, compared to what you actually do for your clients, professionally. But ask yourself this: Does it really matter why your clients come to you, if it costs you little or nothing, and it enables you to really help more people? If not, just try a perk or two, and see if it doesn't dramatically increase your referral rate. The worst that can happen is that you make some of your existing clients happier.
Call me crazy or hate the recommendation, but I guarantee it works for firms of all sizes.
For additional insights on successful referral strategies, check out these ThinkAdvisor articles:
What Professionals Want: Tips for Building Referral Networks, by Bob Clark
How to Become an Advisor of Influence, by Jane Wollman Rusoff
To Succeed With Referrals, Become Politely Aggressive, by Scott Wood


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Philanthropically inclined families with donor-advised fund accounts are using them to prepare the next generation to take up the family's giving legacy, according to a new report from Fidelity Charitable.
DAFs also help donors integrate giving into their total financial plan.
A survey of more than 1,100 Fidelity Charitable donors found the following:
- 94% strongly or somewhat agreed that they were teaching or had taught their children to give
- 65% had discussed their charitable giving with family more than twice in the past year, including 17% who had discussed the topic with family more than five times a year
- 78% said the causes they supported reflected input from family members
Trends that emerged from the survey portended a more central role for charitable giving in families in the future.
Donors under 50 were one and a half times likelier that those over 70 to strongly agree they were or had taught their children to give.
Seventy-eight percent had discussed philanthropic strategies with family members at least twice a year, and 86% said their charitable choices were influenced by their family.
DAF accounts have also proved a boon for many donors, helping them integrate philanthropy into their total financial portfolio and significantly changing their approach to charitable giving, Amy Danforth, president of Fidelity Charitable, said in a statement.
"They use their accounts to more easily plan for both short- and long-term charitable giving and to track their progress toward their philanthropic goals," Danforth said.
The great majority of donors were actively recommending grants, while some were also using their DAFs to pursue longer-term giving strategies, an analysis of some 104,000 donors connected to nearly 64,000 Fidelity giving accounts showed.
The average number of grants per account rose to eight per year in 2013 from seven in 2012, while the average grant size increased by 6% to $4,017.
A majority of incoming contributions were fully expended as grants within a decade, the analysis found. For example, 91% of contributions made from 1996 through 2000 were granted to charities by the end of 2010.
The survey also found that donors often took advantage of the ability to recommend grants in advance or for distribution on a recurring basis to have a consistent charitable effect for causes they supported.
Donors recommended 110,000 grants on a prescheduled basis, 21% of total grants.
Many charities in particular welcomed grants designated to go "where needed most" rather than to a specific purpose because of the flexibility those provided to help meet urgent needs.
"Where needed most" grants accounted for 41% of grants overall, and some 50% of those to charities in the human services and environment and animals sectors and 29% of grants to religious and educational nonprofits.
Finally, an analysis of grants by donor age showed that older donors recommended grants across a wider range of charitable sectors than younger donors. Donors under 50 were most likely to recommend grants to the education, human services and religion sectors.
Older donors supported those sectors at similar or slightly increased frequencies, but recommend grants more frequently to charities in other sectors as well.
Check out 15 Most Generous American Donors in 2013 on ThinkAdvisor.


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Each day, the apologists for the Muslim Brotherhood continue to carry on their propaganda campaign, meant to gain acceptance for the group's participation in the new democratic Egypt. The most outrageous example comes from the International Herald Tribune, the English language daily of the New York Times in Europe. It is an op-ed from none other than the would-be moderate Muslim, Tariq Ramadan, who writes that "not only is Islamism a mosaic of widely differing trends and factions, but its many different facets have emerged over time and in response to historical shifts."
The different facet, as you expected, is the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928 by his grandfather, Hassan al-Banna. Ramadan continues:
The Muslim Brothers began in the 1930s as a legalist, anti-colonialist and nonviolent movement that claimed legitimacy for armed resistance in Palestine against Zionist expansionism during the period before World War II. The writings from between 1930 and 1945 of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Brotherhood, show that he opposed colonialism and strongly criticized the fascist governments in Germany and Italy. He rejected use of violence in Egypt, even though he considered it legitimate in Palestine, in resistance to the Zionist Stern and Irgun terror gangs. He believed that the British parliamentary model represented the kind closest to Islamic principles.
Al-Banna's objective was to found an "Islamic state" based on gradual reform, beginning with popular education and broad-based social programs. He was assassinated in 1949 by the Egyptian government on the orders of the British occupiers.
We know, thanks largely to the writer Paul Berman, that Ramadan's reputation as an insightful moderate is itself a falsehood. In a much discussed 2007 essay in TNR, and later in his important book The Flight of the Intellectuals, Berman notes that the writer Paul Landau describes "al-Banna, in his position as chief guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, as a figure comparable to Il Duce and the Führer. Landau attributes a lot of importance to al-Banna's friendship with Haj Amin al-Husseini, the mufti of Jerusalem—who, as Hitler's ally, helped organize a Muslim division of the Waffen-SS and then, after the war, when he was wanted for war crimes (owing to his SS division), succeeded in escaping to Egypt, thanks to help from al-Banna himself." Berman writes that al-Banna had the following goals:
the creation of a properly Muslim individual person, in thought and belief; of a properly Muslim family; of a properly Muslim people or community; of an Islamic state; and, finally, the resurrection of the ancient Islamic Empire—which al-Banna describes by referring admiringly to what he calls the "German Reich" and to Mussolini's dream of a resurrected Roman Empire, though naturally al-Banna regards his own resurrected Islamic Empire as vastly preferable and theologically more legitimate than anything Mussolini could have contemplated.
To put it simply, al-Banna had a fascist program in mind, and his conception of the Brotherhood was anything but non-violent, or a parliamentary Western model of government, or legalist. Two Iranian scholars he quotes, Ladan and Royan Boroumand, also point out that "[f]rom the Fascists—and behind them, from the European tradition of putatively 'transformative' or 'purifying' revolutionary violence that began with the Jacobins—Banna also borrowed the idea of heroic death as a political art form."
There is much more to learn, which you can do by buying Berman's book or reading his article. Leave it to the editors of the IHT to run Ramadan's article, from which readers will gain a false impression about the origins of the Brotherhood, and which, without the antidote of someone like Paul Berman to inform them about the truth, they will accept as proof of the reasonable program of the Muslim Brotherhood.
One other point about Ramadan's disingenuous article. He refers to al-Banna's claim that his grandfather favored "legitimate" opposition to the extremist Irgun and Stern gangs in pre-1948 Jewish Palestine, against which he said violence could be used. Those who know anything about the two Jewish terrorist groups know that the mainstream Zionists opposed them as counter-productive and even called them fascist, and that the leader of the Yishuv and Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, ordered the Haganah to stop them by force. What al-Banna favored was violence against the entire Jewish community in Palestine, and its just effort to create a Jewish state and to oppose the British control of the Mandate.
Anyone who takes Ramadan's assurances that today's Brotherhood is modern, favors "the Turkish example" of Islam (he does not talk about what happened in Turkey with that model in the very recent past), and wishes only to participate in the democratic transition is accepting assurances from a very tainted and unreliable source. Moreover, even Ramadan lets the cat out of the bag when he writes that "the Muslim Brotherhood's leadership has signaled that now is not the time to expose itself by making political demands that might frighten the West, not to mention the Egyptian people. Caution is the watchword."
Translated, you can get the gist of what the Brotherhood's leaders really want; i.e., to proclaim their true agenda when the time is ripe, when they can advance to the Islamic state and take the secular Egyptian populace along for the ride, and when they no longer have to worry about frightening the West. It is the tactic of the stealth jihad, of which Ramadan himself is a good example of one of its top practitioners.
Many in this country will not trust Tariq Ramadan, especially after they have read Berman. Others, however, carry on with their own work to whitewash the Brotherhood. The most recent example comes from Foreign Affairs, in the form of a new essay by Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, associate professor of political science at Emory University. Professor Wickham too assures us we do not have to fear the group. She writes:
Those who emphasize the risk of "Islamic tyranny" aptly note that the Muslim Brotherhood originated as an anti-system group dedicated to the establishment of sharia rule; committed acts of violence against its opponents in the pre-1952 era; and continues to use anti-Western, anti-Zionist, and anti-Semitic rhetoric. But portraying the Brotherhood as eager and able to seize power and impose its version of sharia on an unwilling citizenry is a caricature that exaggerates certain features of the Brotherhood while ignoring others, and underestimates the extent to which the group has changed over time.
Unlike Ramadan, she does not accept his version of the Brotherhood's program in the early pre-1952 era. Instead, she assures us that they have changed. Readers of PJM, having read many of Barry Rubin's entries detailing the current Brotherhood program, are by now well acquainted with what its leaders believe in the present. Rubin has pointed to their recent gatherings, as well as the words of its leaders in our own day and age. So has Glenn Beck in this week's programs about the Brotherhood, in which — contrary to what his critics say about him — he has accurately portrayed what they believe.
But according to Professor Wickham, the Brotherhood always had good aims. Contrary to what Berman has proved, she asserts:
It was initially established not as a political party but as a da'wa (religious outreach) association that aimed to cultivate pious and committed Muslims through preaching, social services, and spreading religious commitment and integrity by example. The group saw its understanding of Islam as the only "true" one and condemned partisanship as a source of national weakness. It called on Egyptians to unite to confront the forces of Zionism and imperialism and pursue economic development and social justice.
Who can oppose such noble goals, like fighting "Zionism and imperialism" — the two are equated — and creating "social justice"?
Professor Wickham then argues that although they eventually entered politics to change the system, the system changed them. The result: "Islamists and Arabists found common ground in the call for an expansion of public freedoms, democracy, and respect for human rights and the rule of law, all of which, they admitted, their movements had neglected in the past." Evidently she has not read the most recent statements indicating that Brotherhood leaders are still neglecting them.
Rather, she assures us that today "its leadership is more internally diverse today than ever before." She continues to describe the group's three major factions, assuring readers that its "pragmatic conservatives" and the weaker yet influential "Islamic democracy activists" are the group's real future. ElBaradei's chief spokesman, she informs us, is part of its "reformist wing." Thus she praises the Brotherhood's willingness to not play a major role at present, to concentrate on joining with others to force Mubarak to resign immediately, and to create "an interim government palatable to the military and the West."
I agree that its leaders, as she puts it, are "savvy," and that hence it does not want to "invite the risk of a military coup by attempting to seize power on its own." But such an understanding on the Brotherhood's part does not show anything but a desire to wait until the moment is ripe to attain what it has always wanted — an Islamic state based on sharia law. It hardly proves that the group has changed its openly stated agenda.
Indeed, even Professor Wickham ends with some qualifiers of her own; i.e., "[i]t remains to be seen whether the Brotherhood as an organization — not only individual members — will accept a constitution that does not at least refer to sharia; respect the rights of all Egyptians to express their ideas and form parties; clarify its ambiguous positions on the rights of women and non-Muslims; develop concrete programs to address the nation's toughest social and economic problems; and apply the same pragmatism it has shown in the domestic arena to issues of foreign policy, including relations with Israel and the West."
Professor Wickham should not hold her breath. All indications reveal only that she and others are confusing their own wishful thinking with reality. What she says about the Brotherhood, that "the best way to strengthen its democratic commitments is to include it in the political process," is precisely what so many pundits said about Hamas in the Gaza Strip before it seized power and instituted a mini Islamic state. What happened is exactly the opposite; it used political power to oppose not only democrats, but the secular Fatah that shared its goal of destroying Israel and creating a Palestinian unitary state in place of Israel.
Her final words are these: "With a track record of nearly 30 years of responsible behavior (if not rhetoric) and a strong base of support, the Muslim Brotherhood has earned a place at the table in the post-Mubarak era. No democratic transition can succeed without it." She has it backwards. The truth is that a democratic transition the Egyptian people want will not succeed with the Muslim Brotherhood. Only its defeat will assure that outcome.


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Free Delivery over €100
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A adjuster that can be found at the hem of your pants to increase or decrease the leg opening.
A protective piece of comfortable fabric to keep the zip soft and cosy against your chin and avoid rash.
In order to make an outerwear garment waterproof, you need more than waterproof fabrics - you also need taped seams. A simple seam becomes a taped seam once waterproof taping has been carefully and firmly placed over a stitched seam. Critically taped seams means that only the seams in critical, exposed areas are taped.
Ergonomically curved seams for maximum freedom of movement. The seams are constructed at at a contoured angle to aid freedom of movement.
Keep the heat in and the snow out with the fixed hood. Ergonomically shaped hood with build in visor for maximum storm coverage.
The place to store your goggles inside your jacket when not in use or need to dry. Made from highly breathable, ventilated mesh fabric, your goggles won't fog up when stashed in the goggle pocket.
Covers the zipper to keep moisture and the cold air out. A protective flap of fabric which sits in front of the jacket over the zip to stop cold winds getting into your jacket
The barrier between the snow and your body when you take a tumble. This piece of fabric is found at the bottom hem inside the jacket with press buttons to seal it and stop snow getting in.
A stretchy piece of fabric at the end of the arm cuff which you can put your hands in to stop snow going down your sleeve.
Keep the snow out of your sleeves and your wrists. The wrist gaiter with thumbhole keep palms warmer too.
Inspired by O'Neill's 60-year history in wetsuit design; our body mapping research has show us parts of the body that require more insulation.
Used for this product in conjunction with insulations from for example 3M™ Thinsulate™ or down; O'Neill Firewall reduces weight, maintains warmth and offers greater comfort on cold days.
Free Delivery over €100
60 day free return policy