text:
A Last (Chemical) Gasp for Bees?
Yes! Magazine
Newly published scientific evidence is bolstering calls for greater regulation of some of the world's most widely used pesticides and genetically modified crops.
Earlier this year, three independent studies linked agricultural insecticides to colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon that leads honeybees to abandon their hives.
Beekeepers have reported alarming losses in their hives over the last six years. The USDA reports the loss in the United States was about 30 percent in the winter of 2010-2011.
Bees are crucial pollinators in the ecosystem. Their loss also impacts the estimated $15 billion worth of fruit and vegetable crops that are pollinated by bees in the United States.
The studies, conducted in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, all pointed to neonicotinoids, a class of chemicals used widely in U.S. corn production, as likely contributors to colony collapse disorder. The findings challenged the EPA's position – based on studies by Bayer CropScience, a major producer of the neonicotinoid clothianidin – that bees are only exposed to small, benign amounts of these insecticides.
The new studies found that bees are exposed to potentially lethal amounts of neonicotinoids in pollen and in dust churned up by farm equipment. They also found that exposure to neonicotinoids can reduce the number of queen bees and disorient worker bees.
An alliance of beekeepers and environmental groups filed a petition on March 21 asking the EPA to block the use of clothianidin in agricultural fields until the EPA conducts a sound scientific review of the chemicals.
Meanwhile, farm chemicals and the biotech industry have come under fire for the problem of pest resistance. Some weeds and bugs have become less susceptible or immune to the chemicals or biotechnology used to control them.
In March, national experts on corn pests published a letter to the EPA describing how rapidly rootworms are becoming resistant to the larvae-killing gene in Monsanto's genetically engineered "Bt" corn. The letter warns that the EPA should move to regulate Bt corn – by requiring, for example, non-GM buffer zones – with "some sense of urgency."
In a similarly alarming trend, Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" soy and corn, which are genetically modified to tolerate the active ingredient in Roundup, are associated with the creation of "super weeds." The widespread use of these crops has led farmers to vastly increased use of the herbicide, leading to the development of resistant weeds.
The agriculture industry has responded to Roundup's failure by developing new crop varieties resistant to another pesticide/herbicide, 2,4-D. An ingredient of Agent Orange, 2,4-D is linked to birth defects, hormone disruption, and cancer. Last December, Dow AgroSciences LLC asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve the new varieties for cultivation.
In response, the Pesticide Action Network, Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Food Safety, and Food and Water Watch are gathering public comments for a petition to the USDA against Dow AgroSciences' request.
ALEC Slips Exxon Fracking Loopholes into New Ohio Law
By Connor Gibson
Wake up and smell the frack fluid. But don't ask what's in it, at least not in Ohio, cause it's still not your right to know.
Ohio is in the final stages of making an Exxon trojan horse on hydrofracking into state law, and it appears that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) connected Exxon's lawyers with co-sponsors of Ohio Senate Bill 315: at least 33 of the 45 Ohio legislators who co-sponsored SB 315 are ALEC members, and language from portions of the state Senate bill is similar to ALEC's "Disclosure of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Composition Act."
…disclosure of fracking fluids? On behalf of ExxonMobil?
Frack fluids include unknown chemicals that gas drillers mix with sand and large amounts of water. The mixture is pumped underground at high pressure in order to retrieve gas and oil by fracturing shale formations. These are the chemicals that have caused widespread concern among residents near gas fracking operations; concerns echoed by doctors who don't know how to treat patients harmed by exposure to chemicals that oil companies keep secret. Oil companies like XTO Energy, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, the first company lined up to drill in Ohio's Utica shale.
Concern over unconventional energy like gas fracking may be the reason by Ohio SB 315 also addresses clean energy standards and drilling regulations. While the new law will allow doctors to obtain disclosure of fracking chemicals, it places a gag order on them…meaning some chemicals aren't disclosed to the public at all (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Instead, chemicals that subsidiaries of Big Oil use during fracking can remain exempt from public disclosure as "trade secrets," mirroring language of ALEC's model law.
What's most suspicious is that seven of the ten Ohio Senators co-sponsoring SB 315 are ALEC members, as are 26 of the 35 co-sponsoring Representatives.*
Among the co-sponsors are Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus and state Senator Troy Balderson. Senators Niehaus and Balderson are members of ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture task force, which approved the fracking "disclosure" bill internally sponsored by ExxonMobil, modeled after a Texas bill (see New York Times and ProPublica).**
Four of the co-sponsors of SB 315 attended ALEC's meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., although it is unclear which (if any) of them may have been inside the EEA task force meeting the day that the fracking chemical loophole bill was discussed and approved:***
- Rep. Cheryl Grossman
- Rep. Casey Kozlowski
- Rep. Louis Terhar
- Rep. Andrew Thompson
Some co-sponsors became ALEC members in the lead up to ALEC's late 2011 meeting in Scottsdale, where the fracking disclosure loophole model bill was finalized by ALEC's Energy, Environmental and Agriculture task force. Emails between representatives of ALEC, an Ohio state legislative aid and Time Warner Cable's Ed Kozelek show that last-minute recruitment of new ALEC members before the Scottsdale meeting brought in three state legislators who ended out co-sponsoring SB 315 (PDF pp. 71-76): Rep. Lou Terhar, Rep. Brian Hill and Sen. Bob Peterson (who was appointed to the Ohio Senate in 2012).
Cyber Space
Anonymous Claims Attack on Facebook
The notorious hacker collective Anonymous is claiming responsibility for sporadic service failures around the world at Facebook on Thursday evening.
"Some users briefly experienced issues loading the site," Facebook says in an e-mail statement about the outage. "The issues have since been resolved and everyone should now have access to Facebook. We apologize for any inconvenience."
However, problems appeared to be lingering Friday morning. When I tried to access my Facebook account around 8 a.m. Eastern time, I could not access the website. The problem lasted about five minutes. When the site did come back online, I had to reenter my username and password to access it.
A website that tracks outages, downforeveryoneorjustme.com, reported Facebook down early Friday morning but service returned between 9 a.m. and 9:40 a.m. Eastern time. According to just-ping.com, packets were being lost Friday morning at Facebook locations in Stockholm, Shanghai, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Lisbon; checkpoints were unavailable in San Francisco and Moscow; and an unknown host message was generated in Beijing.
During the service disruptions Thursday, a tweet was posted to the YourAnonNews Twitter account suggesting the group may be behind the Facebook disruptions. "Oh yeah… RIP Facebook a new sound of tango down bitches," the tweet said.
While acknowledging the service disruptions, Facebook has been mum on any role Anonymous may have had in the failures.
In March, Facebook experienced a number of outages in Europe. Those outages were attributed to DDoS attacks — a common tactic used by hacktivists — by Belgium's Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT). Facebook did not acknowledge any connection between the outages and Anonymous at the time.
Anonymous has threatened to bring down Facebook in the past. In August 2011, the erratic group threatened to "kill Facebook" on November 5. As that date approached, however, it shelved its plans for that attack.
Follow freelance technology writer John P. Mello Jr. and Today@PCWorld on Twitter.
Report: Obama Ordered Stuxnet Attacks on Iran
By Grant Gross, IDG News
U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the Stuxnet cyberattacks on Iran in an effort to slow the country's development of a nuclear program, according to a report in The New York Times.
The Times, quoting anonymous sources, reported that, in the early days of his presidency, Obama accelerated attacks related to an effort begun by the George W. Bush administration. The Stuxnet worm, long rumored to have been developed by Israel or the U.S., escaped from Iranian computers in mid-2010 and compromised computers across the Internet.
Obama considered shutting down the cyberattacks after Stuxnet began compromising other computers, but decided to continue with the program, according to the Times. The Stuxnet worm came from a joint U.S. and Israeli effort to target the Iranian nuclear program, the Times said. The newspaper interviewed U.S., Israeli, and European officials currently and formerly involved with the cyberattack program, it said.
Two-Year-Old Mystery Worm
Stuxnet was discovered in July 2010, when a Belarus-based security company detected the worm on computers belonging to an Iranian client. The consensus of security experts at the time was that Stuxnet was built by a sophisticated attacker, likely a nation state, and was designed to destroy something big, such as an Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor. Security experts examining the worm when it was first discovered said that it placed its own code into systems installed with Siemens software, after detecting a certain type of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) device.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on The New York Times story.
Obama raised concerns that the Stuxnet program, code-named Olympic Games, would embolden other countries, terrorists and hackers to use similar attacks, but concluded that the U.S. had no other options available against Iran, the Times story said.
The goal of the attacks was to gain access to the industrial computer controls in Iran's Natanz nuclear plant, the story said. The U.S. National Security Agency and a secret Israeli cyberunit developed the Stuxnet worm, the story said.
Predictable — But Risky
The report that the U.S. and Israel were behind the Stuxnet attack didn't surprise Snorre Fagerland, senior virus analyst with Norman, an IT security vendor in Lysaker, Norway. The Stuxnet worm was "orders of magnitude" more complex and sophisticated than previous cyberattacks, he said, and the creation of the malware would have needed significant resources.
It would have taken a team of 10 to 20 people to write Stuxnet, Fagerland said.
The report of U.S. involvement may lead to an increase in cyberattacks, with other countries stepping up their offensive cybercapabilities, Fagerland said. "It raises the stakes," he said. "That will cause others to think, 'They're doing it, so why shouldn't we?'"
While several other countries may have offensive cybercapabilities, they appear to be "less organized" than the team that put together Stuxnet, he added.
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's e-mail address is email@example.com.
This article originally posted on PCWorld.com at 7 a.m. Pacific Time June 1.
Online Services Try Harder to Protect User Data, Watchdog Says
By Loek Essers, IDG-News-Service:Amsterdam-Bureau
While some online services are stepping up their efforts to protect private user data from government requests, there is plenty room for improvement, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said on Thursday. It is time for all companies that hold private user data to make public commitments to defend their users against government overreach, the foundation said.
The EFF measured the commitment of 18 U.S. companies hosting users' personal data, including Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft, to protect that data from U.S. government requests. It examined their privacy policies, terms of service, published law enforcement guides if available, and the track record of companies defending user privacy in courts.
The companies were awarded stars and half stars in four categories. The EFF investigated whether users were informed about government data demands, determined whether the companies were transparent about government data requests, whether they were willing to fight for user privacy in courts, and whether the companies were fighting to protect user privacy in the U.S. Congress.
The EFF said it was pleased that Facebook, Dropbox, and Twitter have stepped up their game since last year, when it published its first report on the topic. Twitter was awarded an extra star because it started fighting for user privacy rights in Congress, and showed more effort to fight for users rights in courts, EFF data showed. The microblog service now has 3.5 stars.
Facebook gained half a star for being more transparent about government requests, bringing its total up to 1.5 stars and Dropbox gained two stars for becoming transparent about government requests and telling users about data demands, bringing its total to three out of four stars.
Sonic.net, an ISP based in California, is the first company to receive a full gold star in each category, the EFF said.
Google maintained its position with two whole and two half stars.
Apple, Microsoft, and AT&T still have one star, for fighting for user privacy in Congress, while Comcast picked up its first star for protecting its users' privacy in the courts, according to the EFF data.
Verizon, Myspace, and Skype failed to score a star in any of the categories.
"The overall poor showing of AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, who provide Internet connectivity to so many people, is especially troubling," the foundation said.
The EFF added five new companies to the list this year including location based services Foursquare and Loopt. Foursquare was awarded zero stars and Loopt got one for defending privacy in Congress. "We're hopeful that next year we'll see more protections for users from location services providers like Loopt and Foursquare, since location information is so sensitive and increasingly sought by the government," the EFF said.
By publishing the report, the EFF hopes to stimulate companies to improve transparency about what data flows to the government and to encourage the companies to stand for user privacy when it is possible to do so, the foundation said.
Loek covers all things tech for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to email@example.com.
America's Spy State: How the Telecoms Sell Out Your Privacy
Your seemingly private information is a public commodity, subject to the dictates of the security state and market opportunists.
You need to know one simple truth: you have no privacy with regard to your electronic communications.
Nothing you do online, via a wireline telephone or over a wireless device is outside the reach of government security agencies and private corporations. Your ostensible personal communication — whether a phone call, an email, a search, visiting a website, a credit card purchase, a 140 character Tweet, a movie download or a Facebook friending — is a public commodity, subject to the dictates of the security state and market opportunists.
Corporate surveillance has begun to raise consumer, Congressional and regulatory concerns – a major case, Amnesty v. Clapper, is now before the Supreme Court. One can only wonder why it is not an issue in this year's election?
Corporate spying takes a variety of forms. GPS tracking over a wireless device is widespread. Google's efforts to commercialize its users' keystrokes resulted in a $25,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Potentially more consequential, a growing chorus of criticism over its recently introduced data-harvesting program seems to have contributed to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation of Google; the FTC retained Beth Wilkinson, a high-powered outside counsel, to oversee a possible anti-trust prosecution of the company. On March 1st, Google introduced a new program that collects user data from its 60 services. Google stores "cookies" (i.e., code that compiles a record of an individual's web browsing history) on a growing number of communications devices, whether a home PC, tablet, smartphone and a growing number of TV sets. These cookies track every website a person visits or function s/he uses. As the New York Times wrote, "The case has the potential to be the biggest showdown between regulators and Silicon Valley since the government took on Microsoft 14 years ago."
The surveillance state is a multi-headed hydra. Corporate spying is intimately linked to the surveillance state, an omnipresent system consisting of federal, state and local security agencies. This spying system is made up of many of the leading private telecommunications and Internet companies working closely with the Department of Justice (DoJ), NSA, FBI, DHS, FCC and still other entities. This increasingly integrated federal system is complemented by an ever-growing army of state and local police "intelligence" agencies. Individual entities work either on their own, together with others and/or with private companies, many that financially benefit from commercial data harvesting.
Jon Michaels, a law professor at UCLA, warned in an invaluable 2008 study: "[P]articipating corporations have been instrumental in enabling U.S. intelligence officials to conduct domestic surveillance and intelligence activities outside of the congressionally imposed framework of court orders and subpoenas, and also outside of the ambit of inter-branch oversight." His warning rings louder in 2012.
All the President's Spies: Private-Public Intelligence Partnerships in the War on Terror
The attacks of 9/11 provided the rationale for the institutionalization of the security state. Now, a decade later, the U.S. is in a perpetual state of war, fighting threats both foreign and domestic, thus providing the ongoing rationale for expanding surveillance.
The principle vehicle for this policing action is the National Security Letter (NSL), an administrative demand letter or subpoena requiring neither probable cause nor judicial oversight. In effect, an NSL overrides 4th Amendment guarantees safeguarding an American's right from unreasonable search and seizure. Between 2000 and 2010 (excluding 2001 and 2002 for which no records are available), the FBI was issued 273,122 NSLs; in 2010, 24,287 letters were issued pertaining to 14,000 U.S. residents. (Nicholas Merrill received an NSL; his experience should be a warning to us all.)
Even more alarming, if a company, journalist, person or attorney receives an NSL, they are barred from informing anyone, including the press, about the order. And the NSL is but one of an expanding number of means employed by the surveillance state to spy on an ever-growing, in effect unknowable, number of Americans.
The policies of today's security state were instituted by a Republican, George W. Bush, and continued with even-greater vigilance by a Democrat, Barack Obama. Whoever wins in November will, if the economic suffering persists and austerity further imposed, the security state will be extended, particularly to spy on alleged domestic "threats."
* * *
21st century surveillance is a multi-headed hydra united by a string of 0s and 1s.
Some of this spying is banal. Two U.S. malls — Promenade Temecula in southern California and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, VA – are tracking guests' movements by monitoring the signals from their cell phones. Using a FootPath Technology's application, the malls capture a guest's phone's unique identification number and follow a shopper's path from store to store.
Some of this spying is sci-fi. According to a CNET report, the FBI has used an innovative means of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations. It remotely activates a mobile phone's microphone and uses it to eavesdrop on a nearby conversation. The technique is known as a "roving bug" and was approved for use by top DoJ officials in a New York organized crime case.
And some of this spying is good-old business as usual. The ACLU uncovered a lucrative scheme involving the security state outsourcing data gathering to the major telecommunications companies. The documents provides detailed information on the practices of Alltel, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint/Nextel, Microsoft/Skype, Vonage, U.S. Wireless, Comcast, Embarq and Cricket.
The major telcos charge hundreds of dollars per wireline telephone wiretap and charge extra for the tracking of voicemail, text messages, GPS locations and other services. Profiles of some of these activities and the fees charged follow:
- AT&T – charges a $325 per wiretap activation fee, plus $5 per day for data and $10 for audio; it gets $150 for access to a target's voicemail; it charges $75 per "tower dump" (these allow police to see the numbers of every user accessing a certain cell tower and charges are on a per hour basis, with a minimum of two hours); location tracking costs $100 to activate and then $25 a day.
- Verizon — charges a $50 administrative fee plus $700 per month, per wiretap, per target; it charges $50 for access to text messages; it charges between $30 and $60 per hour for each cell tower dump; it doesn't charge police in "emergency cases, nor do we charge law enforcement for historical location information in non-emergency cases." The company insists that it doesn't "make a profit from any of the data requests from law enforcement."
- T-Mobile – charges law enforcement a flat fee of $500 per target per wiretap; it charges $150 per cell tower dump per hour; and charges a much pricier $100 per day for location tracking.
- Sprint/Nextel – charges $400 per wiretap per "market area" and per "technology" as well as a $10 per day fee, capped at $2,000; it also charges $120 for pictures or video, $60 for email, $60 for voice mail and $30 for text messages; it also charges $50 per tower dump and $30 per month per target for location tracking. The company says it doesn't charge law enforcement for data requests in "exigent circumstances." It adds: "Fees are charged to law enforcement in other circumstances such as court ordered requests and it's important to note that any fee charged is for recovery of cost required to support these law enforcement requests 24/7."
Equally revealing, the ACLU uncovered a DoJ chart detailing how long wireless companies retain personal data. Some of what it details follows:
- AT&T — keeps data indefinitely per cell towers used by a phone call; text messages are kept for 5 to 7 years, although it claims no to retain the text message content; and ISP session and destination info is only retained per non-public ISPs for 72 hours and not retained if a public ISP is used.
- Verizon — stores cell-site data for "1 rolling year"; holds onto text message detail for "1 rolling year" and actual text content for 3 to 5 days; it keeps ISP session information for 1 year but ISP browsing destination history information for 90 days.
- T-Mobile — does not retain the message content, but hangs onto your text details for "pre-paid: 2 years; post-paid: 5 years"; it does not keep ISP browsing destination history information.
- Sprint/Nextel — keep cell-site data for 18 to 24 months and stores ISP addresses and browsing history for 60 days.
- Virgin Mobile (owned by Sprint) — keeps text detail for "60 to 90 days" and the text message content for 90 days; it claims that a search warrant is required with "text of text" request"; it does not keep ISP browsing destination history information.
Christopher Soghoian, a leading Internet security scholar, provides an invaluable overview of this situation in a recent talk he gave at TED X.
* * *
The ACLU, through Freedom of Information requests, secured documents revealing that more than 200 police departments around the country have been engaged in (often warrantless) surveillance activities. Local and state police regularly track cell phone locations. Perhaps more disturbing, local police brass often instructs their officers to not discuss cell-tracking technology with the public.
As the ACLU reminds all Americans: "Traditionally, the government should have to obtain a warrant based upon probable cause before tracking cell phones. That is what is necessary to protect Americans' privacy, and it is also what is required under the Constitution." Those days are quickly slipping away.
A sampling of how state and local police employ surveillance tools is revealing.
- Arizona – localities have acquired cell surveillance tracking equipment to avoid the time and expense of working through the commercial carrier.
- California — state prosecutors advised local police departments on ways to get carriers to "clone" a phone and download text messages while it is turned off.
- Michigan – police are using "extraction devices" to download data from the cell phones of motorists that they pull over; extractions take place even if the motorists that are pulled over are not accused of doing anything wrong. In addition, a cell locator was used to find a stabbing victim who was in a basement hiding from his attacker.
- Nevada, North Carolina and other states — police departments have gotten wireless carriers to track cellphone signals back to cell towers as part of nonemergency investigations.
Little Brother is watching you.
* * *
In 2004, Mark Klein, a recently retired AT&T technician, revealed that in 2003 the NSA built a secret room at the company's San Francisco facility on Folsom Street. The facility's purpose was to monitor and copy all phone calls, emails, web browsing and other Internet traffic to and from AT&T customers and provides the information to the NSA. This story exposed the deeply hidden secret about federal surveillance of ordinary Americans known as the warrantless wiretap.
The Patriot Act, a draconian, anti-terrorist piece of legislation hurriedly enacted on October 26, 2001, legitimized the use of warrantless surveillance by federal agencies on U.S. citizens who the government suspected of communicating with a hostile foreign national. The Act allows the FBI to obtain telecommunication, financial and credit records without a court order.
In the wake of the popular outrage over the revelations of AT&T-NSA spying, the Congress amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 2008 to retroactively grant U.S. companies immunity from being sued by their customers when they conduct warrantless wiretaps and provide the information to government agencies.
In a recent article in Wired, James Bamford described in detail the NSA's new "Utah Data Center," a massive complex that will serve as a global surveillance hub. In the article, Bamford cites a revelation from William Binney, a former NSA senior official and now a whistleblower, that the agency has intercepted "between 15 and 20 trillion" communications (or "transactions" in NSA-speak) over the last decade.
The federal government draws its authority to spy on citizen from a Prohibition-era Supreme Court decision, Olmstead vs. U.S. The Court found that federal wiretapping of the private telephone conversations of a bootlegger without a prior court warrant and the subsequently use of this information as evidence in court did not violate the defendant's 4th or 5th Amendments protections.
The 1994 adoption of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) extended federal spying authority.
The Act requires telecommunications carriers to provide "back doors" so that law enforcement agencies and federal intelligence organizations can capture any domestic or international telephone conversations carried over their networks. In 2004, the FCC extended these provisions to apply to broadband networks. Thus, spying expanded from conventional telephone calls to Internet services (e.g., VoIP services like Vonage), peer-to-peer systems (e.g., Skype), caller-ID spoofing (i.e., false number posting) and phone-number portability.
The FBI began building its high-tech surveillance system, the Digital Collection System Network (DCSNet), in 1997. Documents obtained by the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) reveal that DCSNet can execute near-instantaneous wiretaps on almost any telephone, cellphone and Internet communications device. It also connects FBI wiretapping facilities to switches controlled by wireline operators, VoIP companies and cellular providers.
DCSNet allows the FBI to monitor recorded phone calls and messages in real time, create master wiretap files, send digital recordings to translators, track the location of targets in real time using cell-tower information and stream intercepts to mobile surveillance vans. Sprint operates the system over a private, secure and self-contained backbone.
The FBI is now urging Internet companies not to oppose a new proposal that would further extend backdoor access to social-networking websites as well instant messaging and e-mail. It would apply spying requirements to Facebook, Twitter and Xbox Live, among many others. The new provisions would apply to encrypted VoIP software from European firms like the Lichtenstein-based Secfone, available on Android-OS devices.
* * *
The battle over what were once considered sacred Constitutional privacy provisions is heating up.
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is making its way through Congress; House of Representatives passed it and the Senate is now considering it. Pres. Obama has come out in opposition, warning that he will veto it, insisting: "legislation should address core critical infrastructure vulnerabilities without sacrificing the fundamental values of privacy and civil liberties for our citizens." As currently drafted, CISPA would undermine the Obama administration's principal Internet proposal, Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.
CISPA is conceived as supplanting all current privacy laws by ordering all telecoms, Internet service providers (ISPs) and applications companies to hand over all personal data to the NSA and other federal agencies. Civil liberties groups like the EFF warn that the proposed Act lacks meaningful due process or judicial oversight and will essentially end Constitutional protections against unreasonable electronic search and surveillance.
How this surveillance shell game plays out will likely depend on how the Supreme Court rules in Amnesty v. Clapper. The ACLU is representing a broad coalition of attorneys and human rights, labor, legal and media organizations to determine the limits to federal warrantless wiretapping under FISA.
In 2009, a New York judge dismissed the ACLU's original suit on the grounds that its clients, including Amnesty International, couldn't prove that their communications would be monitored under the new law. In 2011, a federal appeals court reversed the 2009 ruling and, in May 2012, the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to re-impose the state's right to warrantless wiretaps and other surveillance practices on the basis of national security.
It's a flip-of-a-coin to prognosticate on how the Court will decide this case. Will it replay it sweeping, conservative Citizens United decision or will it follow the privacy protections extended in the recent Jones decision prohibited GPS tracking of an alleged drug dealer? Stay tuned.
Today's spy-state recalls the World War I era "red scare," marked by the roundup of immigrant anarchists and socialist and, in many cases, their deportation. Similarly, it resonates with the anti-communism of the post-World War II era, the age of J. Edgar Hoover, Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon. Today's politicians, both Democrat and Republican, know how to play the security card to appease popular fears during a period of profound economic restructuring.
Survival / Sustainability
The Other Side of Gainful Unemployment
Nation Of Change
By Shannon Hayes
"Today, I will do one thing at a time."
These are the words I've been saying to myself each morning lately as I leap from my bed. I mindlessly repeat them while working through when to teach homeschool lessons to my daughters, which emails I need to respond to, when I'm going to make soap, how much beeswax I need to rinse and render, when we're going to photograph and upload our newest farm products to the online shopping cart, which websites need to be updated, whether I'm needed or not at the farm this day or this week, what spices I need to order for sausage making, whether I'll find time this day to get the weeds out of the raspberries, if I've got enough change for this Saturday's farmers' market, when I'm going to get to the dairy farm up the road to pick up butter for making pate to sell, what needs to happen to complete the start up of our new yarn business, which essays and articles need to be written, how I'm going to steer my newest book into publication by September, which photographs still need to get taken for the insert, which presentations need to get written for the fall speaking season, whether or not the blueberry bushes need fertilizing, when I'm going to find the time to take the girls into the woods to gather ramps.
In short, as soon as I utter that morning promise, I begin the daily process of failing to honor it as I work myself into a frenzied whirlwind of activity. My life is unusual in that nearly every item on my to-do list is something that I love. But rather than being in-the-moment to enjoy these myriad pleasures, my brain rattles me into a frenzied state, where I am constantly distracted by what else I want to accomplish. Thus, even the act of perpetually doing things I love can leave me cranky, impatient, and difficult to be around.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Bob and I are creative people, unable to fathom a life where we would do one thing for a living. For the last decade, we have managed to carve out a livelihood for ourselves that matched our eclectic interests and our passion to produce beautiful things in harmony with the earth. We call it gainful unemployment. One of my most important contributions to this adventure has been my ability to perpetually come up with new ideas and business schemes, ensuring that the income stream for our radical homemaking household was always diversified, and thus more secure. For the sake of writing this piece this morning, I sat down for the first time and wrote a list of each of our enterprises. We had 16 different ventures.
That makes for a pretty respectable livelihood for two adults who have decided to stay home full-time with their kids. My trouble is that my most important gift in managing a life like this—my ability to envision and implement new ideas while juggling existing responsibilities—is also my greatest burden. I have a brain that doesn't rest. I lead a life that honors the rhythms of Mother Nature, but the frenetic pace in my head impedes my soul from resonating with her vibrations.
Survival fishing techniques bank lines
by M.D. Creekmore (a.k.a Mr. Prepper)
This guest series is by Zach of fishingreports.com.
Bank lines are a form of fishing similar to trot lines. For those that do not know about trot lines, they are a way to fish without being present watching the pole. Below is a diagram of what a bank line usually looks like.
To make a bank line, all you need is some heavy fishing line (I recommend 100+ lb. test), swivels, and hooks. You will also need two anchors, one on land and another for the water. The water anchor can be a rock or branch, make sure the anchor isn't too small or too large—you will need to throw it out as far as you can in order for this setup to work well. There are many custom things that can be done to a trotline, but at bare minimum you only need line, knot-making skills, swivels, and hooks.
This article is my favorite for making a simple trotline. If you have the time and live in an area where fishing would be important in a survivalist situation, I suggest making an emergency trotline ahead of time. They take up very little space and weigh next to nothing, but can be a fair amount of labor upfront to get it correctly setup.
You need to know about bank lines because they are efficient! People commonly drop off these fishing rigs in the morning and pick them up at night or the next day, thus you can be off getting other things done while the trotlines do the fishing for you. Keep in mind, however, that depending on the presentation, many trot lines and bank lines end up getting stolen by other anglers. This is why I suggest a bank line rather than a trot line—keep the rig low profile.
How to care for an infected wound
by M.D. Creekmore (a.k.a Mr. Prepper)
This guest post is by Denise H .
As citizens of TWAWKI, some of the hardest lessons we can learn is those to which we have limited exposure. To keep our families healthy and safe we have to be sure we can handle any crisis without the luxury of the "supports" we have at this present time. Our family has been displaced from our primary location and our primary medical provider for several months. It is necessary for us to call someone to stay, while we go receive regularly scheduled care. As a result, we have chosen to address much of our medical care by natural or homeopathic methods.
Our family has recently had several health challenges.
First, I had a sinus infection with associated ear aches. For the sinus infection, I used three toes of garlic crushed and consumed in 4 oz. of orange juice, 2 x a day for two days. For the ear ache, which came back two or three times… I did two things and both helped. I hummed for 60 min morning and night,( I learned this from a current show hosted by an M.D.) and second, I took a medium-sized toe of garlic peeled it, and cut off the root end. Placed it in my ear canal.(it felt cool) and l left it for an hour to an hour and a half.
Then, due to my having had a major gastric surgery, years ago, I am blessed with multiple gastric intolerances caused from enzyme imbalances. My symptoms range from gastric discomfort to intestinal twisting.(That requires a hospital!)..and to every thing in between. I will eat a food and it causes no problem, and the next time I partake, it leaves me deathly ill. At least, that's how I was until I discovered the effects of a herb , everlasting, which causes my wild intestines to calm to a near normal routine. One ounce of the tea, every other day, made from the herb has stopped the effects of not having digestive enzymes in sufficient quantity for normal digestion.
Herbals are medicines and should be treated with due respect. Each person who uses them , should be able to know what they are using and what kind of desired effect they will produce. So, if you have gastric distresses, intolerances, enzyme imbalances, this might be one that you would desire to research.
Our family's most recent challenge was a badly infected wound on my dh's right foot– an injury he dismissed as nothing until, it swelled up several days later. Upon reflection, he remembered pulling out some dried sticks that had gotten caught in his sandals a little over a week earlier. He'd had little bleeding and did not realize he needed to be concerned.
I have chosen to make this as descriptive as possible with the goal of assisting anyone required to give wound care to gain a perspective on the difference in an infected wound and an inflamed one. Wounds heal in stages and one must be able to tell when the wound has progressed to the next level, requiring a change in care.
What we did worked, for we had the privilege of going to dh's attending physician on day 11 of the treatment. He declared it infection free, and had us continue antibiotic cream for three more days. Then, just keep the wound clean and dry. Post TEOTWAWKI, I don't believe we will have that luxury.
Late one evening, my dh comes up and says, " 'Tater, check my foot!" So I have him put it up, and I start the evaluation.
On his left foot I find, an oval blister, on the inner aspect of his second toe that is still closed. This intact blister is even and uniform in color, it has no hardness under the toe. I can't see any foreign material in it and the redness, approx circumference of an inch, is confined to the 2nd. toe.
BUT, On his right foot I find a very angry-looking 2nd and 3rd toe. They are swelled, so much he can't bend them. There is redness on top of the foot, extending almost an inch from the base of the two toes. There is a hard lump at the base of the third toe. and there is a huge oval blister, approx 3/4′ tall, and extends the entire swelled depth of the toe…and about 3/4″ long. It is ringed with multiple colors including purple, yellow.
I cleaned it, it appeared to have some foreign material in it. Dh said "open it!". So I got out a sculpture needle, sterilized it, and proceeded. There was about 1/2 tsp.of foreign material, some debri and thin,blood tinged exudate, removed with the opening. To further clean the wound, I prepared a hot soak with 3 gallons water, as warm as he could tolerate, 1/2 cup epsom salt and 2-Tablespoons,(30cc)6% bleach. We soaked it for 30 min., then dried his feet.
Upon checking the condition of the wound I determined that it was still dirty. There was still some dead material and old blood in the wound. I could not see pink tissue in the bottom of the wound and it was angry and inflamed. So I determined the wound needed debridement (removal of dead material) and I prepared a debriedment paste with… 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, one tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of betadyne.. I packed the wound with this and secured a sterile 2×2.
The other wound (on his Left foot) I protected with a 2×2 and antibiotic ointment. The next morning and evening we soaked both feet,using a fresh solution of epsom salt and bleach.. each time,noticing an improvement with reduction of redness and associated swelling.Then, reapplied the debridement paste.
On day 3, after the long soak, the wound was pink inside. The debriedment was complete. The swelling was down to a level that allowed him to move his toes. The redness was reduced to the toes only and no longer to the top of the foot The wound was still angry and there was a persistent red, hard area at the base of that third toe.
Occupy Buffalo convinces city to withdraw $45 million from JPMorgan
By Eric W. Dolan
Buffalo City Comptroller Mark J.F. Schroeder announced on Thursday that the city would be pulling $45 million in funds from an account with JPMorgan Chase, following concerns raised by members of the Occupy Buffalo movement.
BuffaloNews.com reported that the Buffalo Sewer Authority funds will be deposited into a higher-yielding account with the local bank First Niagara. The new account will earn 0.30 percent interest. The account with JPMorgan had a 0.25 percent interest rate.
"Not only will the funds earn more interest with First Niagara, a major local employer headquartered in Buffalo, but it also sends a crystal clear message to JPMorgan Chase that the City of Buffalo is not happy with their business practices," Schroeder said in a statement.
Members of the Occupy Buffalo movement and others had urged the Buffalo Common Council to withdrawal their funds from JPMorgan. The group of demonstrators have been critical of the major bank's foreclosure practices.
"I commend the comptroller for seeking a solution to concerns raised by residents, while at the same time saving taxpayers' money by doing business with a local bank," said Council President Richard A. Fontana.
Source: Raw Story (http://s.tt/1d7xR)
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]


text:
- Mobile site
- E-Newsletters
- News feed
- Find us on Twitter
Food & feature writer Katherine MacAlister
Music Editor Tim Hughes
Oxford United from Oxford Mail
Oxford Mail on Twitter
Follow our Features Editor on Twitter
- Find us on Facebook
Oxford Mail
Like and follow us on Facebook
Wright applauds as Oxford United's travelling army march on (From Oxford Mail)
Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting OXFORD NEWS to 80360 or email us
Report this comment
Wright applauds as Oxford United's travelling army march on
9:20am Friday 25th October 2013 in Headlines By David Pritchard , Chief Sports Reporter covering Oxford United. Follow us on twitter: @oxfordmailoufc. Call me on 01865 425458
Oxford United take 2,500 fans to Fratton Park, who roared their side to a memorable 4-1 win against Portsmouth
THERE are few certainties in League Two, particularly in this most unpredictable of seasons, but Oxford United will head to AFC Wimbledon tomorrow assured of strong backing.
The last of the 852 tickets in the away allocation for Kingsmeadow were snapped up days ago.
It was not surprising given the support United have received on their travels this season.
From Devon to Durham they have pounded the motorways, helping to boost the average away gate to 936.
It is significantly higher than the 515 who watched the team on the road last season and has an impact on the team, according to U's skipper Jake Wright.
He said: "It's brilliant and it just gives us such a lift when we see we're going to have the fans and the noise there.
"We'll be able to hear our fans over their fans. It's constantly been like that this season.
"We've had some treks – Accrington, Hartlepool, Torquay – and they still turn up in their numbers, so our away fans have been different class."
Their commitment has been richly rewarded, with United the only side in the division unbeaten on their travels.
For Wright, the catalyst was the 4-1 win at Fratton Park on the opening day of the season, watched by 2,500 away fans.
He said: "I think the Portsmouth game helped a lot, because everyone was excited to play there.
"It was a massive game, the biggest we could have got on the first day of the season.
"There was a brilliant atmosphere, no moaning going on like sometimes you get a small minority doing at home.
"The supporters went in their numbers and because we did so well there I think a few more fans thought 'I liked what happened there'.
"It's carried on and we've done so well away from home that they keep coming."
Portsmouth 2,500
Charlton (cup) 771
Torquay Utd 701
Burton Alb 592
Cheltenham 1,346
Hartlepool 348
Accrington 376
Wimbledon 852
Average 936

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The definitive source of information for the strships of the year 2300 has arrived! Star Cruiser is both a complete addition to the Traveller: 2300 rules and an exciting boardgame of futuristic space combat.
The Rules
Inside you'll find the complete guide to starship construction. Rules cover the power plant and stutterwarp drives, the advanced weapon... [click here for more]
Arachnid Army Book
Bugs, Arachnids, call them what you will, they are the greatest and most terrifying threat mankind has ever faced. A species so utterly ruthless and alien that they are beyond comprehension. The Arachnid Army book takes this most compelling threat and re... [click here for more]
The Armor Pack is a resource for the Heavy Gear tactical system. The booklet features four armor-oriented scenarios that can be played independently or integrated in a campaign. The pack also includes one hundred counters covering the major tank and strider designs used by armed forces on Terra Nova.
Includes notes from the publisher, editor, and proofreader; after-action reports on Federation Commander: Reinforcements Attack, Captain's Log #47, Origins Game Fair 2013, and Operation Fetch; tactical notes with a note about why they were not published in the main Captain's Log; and a long tactical article by David Zimdars.
Are you running out of new machines to pit your plaqers against? Tired of playing the same old machines? Need to spice up your campaign with never-seen-before designs? Running out of time to create your own Gears?
Wait no more! This is the book you've been waiting for.
The Terra Nova Field Guide series showcases the most common pieces of equipment used by the armies of the 62nd centu... [click here for more]
A Hunter races past you, its rapid-fire 20 mm autocannon spitting metal death. As you watch in horror, your commanding officer's Black Mamba erupts into a ball of raging flame, composite armor and fuel ablaze in a bright fireball.
"Fall back! fall back!" Hastily, you have taken command. Your squadron pulls back behind a rocky outcropping and regroups. Tracers surrou... [click here for more]
A Hunter races past you, its rapid-fire 20mm autocannon spitting metal death. As you watch in horror, your commanding officer's Black Mamba erupts into a ball of raging flame, composite armor and fuel ablaze in a bright fireball.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Hastily, you have taken command. Your cadre pulls back behind a rocky outcropping and regroups. Tracers streak by your... [click here for more]
It's time to set up the battle map, the one that you're going to be looking at for the next few hours. It's time for Hot Chicks! These high-quality "Standie" figures will grace any battle, as front line fighters, hostages, villains or bystanders. Provided in varying states of dress and amounts of equipment, these Hot Chicks will spice up that battle map.
Once again, it's time to lay out the battle map... the one you're going to be rolling dice over for hours. Why not cover it in Hot Chicks? These forty-eight (48!) high-quality "Standees" portray women of the far future and futures that never were, in everything from form fitting powered armor to semi-revealing martial arts robes, and more! Usable as super heroines, soldiers of ... [click here for more]
Once again, it's time to lay out the battle map... the one you're going to be rolling dice over for hours. Why not cover it in even more Hot Chicks?
These forty-eight (48!) high-quality "Standees" portray women of the deadliest sort - beautiful in demeanor and proportion, with big honkin' weapons to blow things away with! Each of these forty-eight dangerous beauties ... [click here for more]
It's time to set out the battle map. The one that you're going to be looking at for the next few hours. When it's time to place your character, place a Hot Dude! These forty-eight (48!) high quality "Standies" feature studs in various degress of studliness, dressed in everything from three piece suits to high-tech body armor. When it's time to show off your inches of movement or your massiv... [click here for more]
"Tracer Three, this is JSS Bullroarer. Sorry about the delay. We had some ECM problems. We're in position, thirty klicks behind you and ready for telemetry link."
"Glad to hear it, Bullroarer," Kara muttered as her Intruder took another glancing hit. "That "Striker is less than a minute from our transport ships, so let's do this quick."
Taking a deep breath, Kara stea... [click here for more]
Most of the Solar System laughs at Venus' army. They think the corporations lack backbone, that the Venusians' Home Defense Force is a showpiece of flashy ostentation. They look at the garishly-lit warships of the Venusian Navy, and rest easy, knowing that the cosmic rug merchants of the second planet have no military might to back up their ephemeral money and stocks. Most of the Solar Syste... [click here for more]
Klendathu Invasion
The homeworld of the Arachnid menace has been located and the Mobile Infantry has been moved into position to strike – are you ready to join the greatest battle Mankind has ever initiated?
...enemy destroyer is cored...bomber wing, move to charlie-charlie-niner and engage flagship... ...that's the last of the escorts...good shooting, Spinal Control... ...severe damage to drives...venting plasma... ...torpedo loose...evasive maneuvers and countermeasures on my mark... ...making my run...target hit...that's it, burn... ...hull breach! Hull breach!...get those... [click here for more]
The strike carrier thundered ahead, its massive hull gleaming in the light of the distant Sun. Its companions were spread out in a loose attack formation, ready to cut a swath through CEGA's massed fleet.
"Stay alert, people -- they know we're coming." The captain secured the seal on his pressure suit and dropped his hand to the seat beside him, resting it on the reassuring smoothnes... [click here for more]
"Stay alert, people -- they know we're coming." The captain secured the seal on his pressure suit and dropped his hand to the seat beside him, resting it on the reassu... [click here for more]
Everybody needs a dice tower! How about a mini-dice tower complete with dice drawer to make the rolls private until the GM wants them revealed? The Mini-Dice Tower by Blue Panther is the "little cousin" to our larger Dice Tower. Measuring approximately 3" (8cm) x 3" (8cm) x 6" (15cm) high with a pullout "dice drawer", ... [click here for more]
Mobile Infantry Army Book
The greatest army in the history of mankind, the Mobile Infantry is the place for dedicated men and women who are ready to put themselves in harm's way for the safety of the body politic. Equipped with the best weaponry that earth can prov... [click here for more]
Autocannon fire sprayed across the massive Grizzly Gear, doing little more than chipping the paint. The enemy Gears -- Jägers and Iguanas -- fell back while the massive fire support machines advanced across the battlefield. Rocket fire was more effective at slowing them down, but it was only putting off the inevitable advance across the Southern position. One unlucky pilot in the Northe... [click here for more]
"Move on out."
Ranger Lander kicked her Kodiak Destroyer to full power, its massive legs crunching into the packed sand of the Badlands. Her squadron-mates were slightly behind her and their unit formed a v-shape as they charged over the dunes. Static popped in her comm set and tactical readouts danced in front of her eyes.
The low growl of the Gear's v-engine reverbe... [click here for more]
"Oohh, look at this pretty toy."
Ranger Landers lovingly stroked the heavy armored panel covering the left leg of the huge machine towering above her head. The brand new Kodiak Destroyer, its paint glinting in the late afternoon sun, seemed indifferent to the attention lavished on it by the technicians and soldiers gathered on the parade ground. Heavy tarps and packing ... [click here for more]
Ber Yanna gritted her teeth as her Klemm tank lurched forward over the dune. The lead tank in her squadron, it was the first to clear the sand and see the forces laid out ahead of her. Intelligence had told them what to expect, but there was nothing like seeing a group of Visigoths in person to get the blood flowing. "You got those targets?"
Yanna's gunner took his time answering... [click here for more]
The best trained troopers within the Mobile Infantry, it is the role of the Pathfinders to accept and complete the most hazardous missions in any war zone. Equipped with the advanced M-1A6 power suit and trained to take the fight to the Arachnids, Pathfinder platoons can be found in every campaign.
click here for more]
Unable to wage a full interstellar invasion, the Black Talon strike forces and their CEF/Caprice counterparts conduct raids and commando operations deep behind enemy lines. As stealthed shuttles glide through previously unknown Gates, both sides wage a quiet war to cripple the other's strategic assets in preparation for a future rematch. And sometimes, they have to content with trouble at home ... [click here for more]
In this month's bumper issue;
In this month's issue; The Book of the Elephant Part 3 - The conclusion to this Conan epic! The V/W-class Destroyer - New ships for Victory at Sea. Continuum 2008 - A report from the front lines! Chimaera - A sneak peek at this new superhero RPG from Flaming Cobra. Operation Chastise - a very silly mission for Battlefield Evolution: ... [click here for more]
Satellite observations had picked up the task force hours ago, but the extra preparation time had done little to reassure the defenders of the small Northern outpost. They looked with apprehension at the dust cloud that was forming on the horizon, and turned their sensors toward the incoming enemy force.
Rows after rows of armored tanks and Gears were on the march, crossing th... [click here for more]
"Circle around that enclosure; time to box them in."
Moving his Iguana MP through the large fire base, Sous-Lieutenant Delamarne gave orders to his fellow policemen. Their blue-tinged Gears deployed around the make-shift structures with practiced precision. Some of the buildings were sheltering MILICIAmen with "political doubts" and it was the MPs' job to bring them in. Treason wa... [click here for more]
Soldat Laubert and his comrades, all dressed in brand new uniforms, looked on with apprehension to their commanding officer. This was the escouade's first official sortie and they were determined to prove themselves worthy of the honor bestowed upon them by the army. The air inside the armored personnel carrier was thick with tension. Explosions and bullet impacts resounded outside the metal... [click here for more]
"All right rebels, you asked for it!"
The huge armoplast and durasheets fist of the Cobra MP smashed through the concrete wall with explosive force. Clouds of gray dust flew in the closed quarters of the barracks as rebel MILICIAmen scampered to find cover. The hulking military police model, its massive Piston Punch already retracting, backed up a few paces to make room for an Igu... [click here for more]
Caporal Nadia Venier positioned herself at the top of the dune and removed the cap on her rifle's sight. Low-light amplification and a digital telescopic lens brought her within spitting distance of the Northern formation. This was a big advance - Aller MBTs, Klemm and Tyburr tanks, it was an impressive display. But she was interested in the vehicle protected by a squadron of Jaguar Gears. C... [click here for more]
Hemming's lamp joined in as she pulled her Gear to a stop. She raised her eyebrows when she saw the faint marks Marten gestured at. "Doesn't look too seriou... [click here for more]
Starship Troopers: The Roleplaying Game puts players into the dangerous and exciting story of a struggle for species survival. The various Starship Troopers stories are set on planets as diverse as the water planet Hydora, the Jungles of Tesca and the terrifying Klendathu itself, home of the Arachnid menace.
This exciting boxed set containing Eight full colour terrain maps on four dou... [click here for more]
Welcome to the Starship Troopers Miniatures Game Painting and Modelling Guide. Within the pages of this book you will find loads of handy hints and guides on how to make and paint our exciting range of Starship Troopers miniatures along with tips on constructing scenery to make your games really look like they are taking place on another planet.
Mongoose brush maes... [click here for more]
Containing all the fun and excitement of the Starship Troopers box set, this rulebook has everything you need to start playing the hit miniatures game of 2005. All the rules from the main box set are present, along with 16 pages of additional battle reports and miniatures painting guides.
It's time to set out the battle map; the one that you're going to be looking at for the next few hours. You need what EVERY battle needs... Stuff To Beat Up! These high quality "Standies" feature technological terrors, including troops in high-tech body armor with a variety of weapon load outs, sleek killer robots, and genetically modified battle-babes, complete with gear. Go up against bad ... [click here for more]
It's time to set out the battle map; the one that you're going to be looking at for the next few hours. You need what EVERY battle needs... Stuff To Beat Up! These high quality "Standies" feature Killer Robots, with a variety of deadly weapons, in several designs. Choose from alloy endoskeletal structures, sleek high-tech combat models, sharp and fast close assault 'bots, or Heavy Firepower.... [click here for more]


text:
Helping disadvantaged students is the aim of the first Annual Appeal by the University of Newcastle (UON) Foundation.
Funds raised from the appeal will support the new Shaping Futures Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships of $4,000 per student.
Psychology student Lisa Whitten from Berkeley Vale has been helped by one of these scholarships.
Lisa is a single mum and sole foster carer for four little girls – two sets of sisters, aged four, five, six and eight.
Lisa left school in Year 9 and worked in supermarkets and department stores. But she decided she wanted to pursue a career in psychology so she completed Open Foundation and is now studying at the Central Coast campus.
"My dream is to work with children, especially those who have been abused or abandoned.
"I believe I owe it to myself and to my children to have the courage to live a life of purpose. This scholarship has helped not only me but my four girls. It has relieved the financial pressure on my family."
University of Newcastle (UON) Foundation CEO Louise O'Connell said there were many students, like Lisa, who faced great challenges in their lives and needed help and support to get an education.
"Many students face great adversity such as medical conditions, disabilities, carer responsibilities, family issues and financial disadvantage.
Through this appeal we want to increase the number of student scholarships we can provide."
Scholarships support students with expenses such as fees, text books, computer equipment, living expenses and accommodation costs.
Mrs Jennie Thomas has made the first donation to the new scholarship fund. She is encouraging other community members to join her by making a donation.
"We just don't have enough scholarships to assist so many excellent students who really need help. If we pool our donations together, we can make a big difference.
"Every dollar contributed will be used to help our needy students get an education that can change their lives forever."
The number of scholarships awarded will be dependent on the amount raised.
The appeal will run until October. To make a donation can contact the UON Foundation on (02) 49217 453 or visit the website at www.newcastle.edu.au/foundation/annual-appeal.
About the UON Foundation:
The UON Foundation is the platform for philanthropic support for the University of Newcastle. Donations help fund student scholarships, academic positions and research.
Media contact: Tanya Carlyle, UON Foundation Marketing & Communication Coordinator,
(02) 4985 4178 or 0407 276 061.


text:
Appraisal review requires a different skill set than traditional appraisal work. In this seminar, career professionals will gain invaluable insights into client expectations regarding the content and quality demanded by review assignments.
Designed specifically for residential appraisers who also review appraisals, the seminar presents methods for performing review assignments efficiently and effectively. Real estate professionals involved in appraisal management or who work in quality control and compliance for financial institutions may find this program beneficial.
While exploring techniques and methodologies used by professional reviewers, you will distinguish features of the ideal appraisal report, identify eight general categories and examine 14 specific warning signs of a problem appraisal, plus dig into 7 examples of complex review appraisal assignments. This seminar will help you spot the most common reporting deficiencies—while avoiding those deficiencies in your own appraisal reports.
At the end of this seminar you will be able to:
Note. This seminar uses the same textbook (the 2010 version is required!) as the Appraising the Appraisal: Appraisal Review—General seminar. If you have previously attended the "general" version of the seminar, you will find that some content covering appraisal review theory is similar. However, this seminar focuses on residential appraisal review and is replete with insightful examples of residential appraisal review techniques. It is not-to-miss education for all residential appraisers and reviewers—even for those who have attended the "general" version.
Note. the book Appraising the Appraisal: The Art of Appraisal Review (2010) is required for this seminar. If you do not have the 2010 version of the book, please choose the "Register + Book" option when registering for this seminar.
Cancellations/Refunds: Requests for cancellations must be received in writing at the Chapter office. Confirmed students should not assume that cancellation has been granted until a confirmation has been received. Please be sure to read "Cancellation Policy".
Course Attendance: 100% attendance is required for all Appraisal Institute education programs. This follows Appraiser Qualification Board minimum criteria requirements.
ADA Policy: If you have a disability and may require special accommodations, please notify the chapter office at least two weeks in advance and we will arrange for reasonable accommodations.
Hotels in area: Country Inn & Suites, 1241 Kentucky Mills Dr. Louisville, KY (502) 261-9434 (Bluegrass Chapter rate $69.99/night);
Jameson Inn, 1301 Kentucky Mills Dr., Louisville, KY 40299, (502) 267-8100;
Fairfield Inn, 1220 Kentucky Mills Dr, Louisville, KY (502) 240-6171 (Bluegrass Chapter rate $85/night)
Microtel, 1221 Kentucky Mills Dr, Louisville, KY (502) 266-6590
Holiday Inn Express, 1620 Alliant Ave., Louisville, KY (502) 240-0035;
Hilton Garden Inn, 1530 Alliant Ave, Louisville, KY (502) 297-8066;
Hampton Inn, 1451 Alliant Ave. Louisville, KY (502)809-9901;
LaQuinta Inn,1501 Alliant Avenue, Louisville, KY (502) 267-8889;
Candlewood Suites, 11762 Commonwealth, Louisville, KY (502) 261-0085;
Sleep Inn, 1850 Priority Way, Louisville, KY, (502) 266-6776


text:
Root Category: company-store
SiteContext: company-store
*Discount applies to new orders only, on The Company Store® and CompanyKids® items only, on merchandise total exclusive of tax and delivery charges. Must purchase three or more items to qualify for discount. Discount is applied to the highest priced item in your order only. Enter promo code X13SAVE on your shopping bag page. Discount will appear on the shopping bag page when promotional code is entered. One-time use only. Offer not valid towards in-store purchases. Offer does not apply to past purchases, as payment on any credit card account, gift cards, sale items, clearance merchandise, items shipped directly from the manufacturer, custom shop, club memberships, or any products by the following brands: Abigails, Apple & Bee, Brooklyn Slate Co., Bungalow360, Charisma®, Coyuchi, Creative Candles®, D.L. & Co., Echo Design, Eyebobs, Faribault Woolen Mill Co., Gentlemen's Hardware, kumi kookoon, Lafco, Mariposa®, Mosaiq®, Nambé, Rablabs, rockflowerpaper, Rogaška, Shiraleah, Stephanie Johnson, Swing Design™, Utility Canvas, eeBoo, Hape Toys, House of Marbles, Levels of Discovery Furniture, Madame Alexander®, Moulin Roty, Ragtales®, Rockabye, Schylling Toys, Seedling, Stephen Joseph™, Tegu Toys or Thames & Kosmos, and may not be combined with any other offer. Offer expires at 11:59 p.m., EST, 12/8/2013.
For the dog lovers out there (and you know who you are!), we've gathered together a fun assortment of our favorite breeds—from Scotties, Terriers and French Poodles to Basset hounds, Afghans and more. They're whimsically rendered on 5 oz. cotton flannel that's been brushed for supreme softness and coziness. The best part? Our flannel bedding gets softer and more welcoming every time you wash it.
The complete Doggie flannel bedding set is available in a flat sheet, fitted sheet, pillowcase, duvet cover and sham. Combine all the adorable dog themed bedding together for a well coordinated spread you'll love. For a great mix of color and print, the Doggie flannel bedding pairs nicely with our Prism duvet cover and shams. Exclusively ours, the Doggie flannel bedding set is only available at The Company Store.
@2013 Hanover Company Store, LLC. ALL Rights Reserved |


text:
Cooper is star man as Ashton go second (From Evesham Journal)
Get involved! Send your photos, video, news & views by texting EJ NEWS to 80360 or e-mail us
Sport RSS Feed
Cooper is star man as Ashton go second
11:20am Saturday 17th August 2013 in Sport
ASHTON-under-Hill moved up to second in Cotswold Hills League Division One with a thrilling three-run victory over promotion rivals Leamington thirds.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Ashton's 211-9 in 45 overs was built around 62 from consistent opener Richard Cooper against a strong bowling attack.
Cooper was well supported by Alex Porter (17), Elliot Seal (26) and captain Will Archer (24 not out). Promising young seamer Matthew Davison took 2-10.
In reply, Leamington got off to a flier thanks to openers David Hawkes and Liam Killian until the former was stumped off Sam Cope for 14.
Killian continued to dominate but wickets started to tumble at the other end.
When Killian (73) was caught by Archer off Jack Perks (3-48), the momentum swung towards Ashton.
But positive late-order hitting left Leamington needing six to win off the last three balls through the final pair Davison and Chris Calcott.
After scrambling a two, a dot ball followed and, with four needed, Calcott hit Perks' last ball of the innings straight to Archer as Leamington were dismissed for 208.
Matt Wakefield bowled well to finish with 3-26 off seven overs, while Archer and Sam Cope both picked up two victims.
Comments are closed on this article.


text:
Featured Photo Contests
Share your photos in these popular opportunities!
I Heart Animals Photo Con...
Win a $3000 value!
Creative Lighting Photo C...
Win Prizes by Adorama
29 days left
Urban Photographer Contest
Win $500 Peachpit Library
Autumn Sceneries Photo Co...
Win $475 Rhino Slider Carbon
New Photo Contests
Weekly new opportunities with the awesomest brands and judges!
Be one of the first photographers to enter.
Double Exposure Photo Con...
Win Pocket Tripod and more!
Horizon Photo Contest
Win Goal Zero Products
Spiders Photo Contest
Win Topaz Complete Photo Collection
LightWeight Photo Contest
Win PNY Elite Performance Card
"An awesome photo contest community" - Trey Ratcliff
Ending Soon
Submit your photos while there's still time, or just check out the entries.
Your View Photo Contest
Win Photography Week Cover & Feature
1 day left
Precious Photo Contest
Win Prizes by Good Light! Magazine
6 days left
Fences and Rails Photo Co...
Win Capture One Pro 7 Software
14 days left
HDR Composition Photo Con...
Win Professional Naneu Bag
14 days left
Speed Photo Contest by Pr...
Win Prizes by ProPhoto!
15 days left
Light In Water Photo Cont...
Win $200 plus a bundle!
16 days left
The Holiday Spirit Photo ...
Win Adorama Gift Cards
17 days left
Covers Photo Contest Vol 7
Win Exposure!
18 days left
"An outstanding and inspirational community for photographers."
- Frederick Van Johnson
Discover the most amazing photos from the ViewBug galleries.
Like, award and favorite them!
Strike A Pose Photo Contest
Won Over $600 in Prizes
Rule Of Thirds Photography Co...
Won Exposure and more!
Freedom Photo Contest
Won Blackrapid Prizes
Covers Photo Contest Vol 6
Won Exposure!
Underwater Photography Contest
Won Rain Cover Bundle and more!
Contrast in Black and White P...
Won Exposure bundle and more!
Facial Expressions photo contest
Won onOne Perfect Photo Suite...
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand...
Won Prize Bundle!
"The BEST photo contest engine on the web." - Scott Bourne
Featured Judges
Some of the most talented photographers in the World reviewing your photos!
"These photo contests ROCK" - Peter Hurley
You are in good company
Hundreds of innovative and creative brands are already engaging with artistic people.
plus many more


text:
Already a member?
You can't like your own messages.
Private FT trader for the past 20 years. Trade only with market trend. Look mostly 4 swing trades with occasional daytrades.
Follow investors and traders that match your style and get a personalized stream of news, charts, and ideas.
I read & accept the StockTwits Terms of Service
Remember me
Forgot password?


text:
Interested in Toronto?
We'll send you updates with the latest deals, reviews and articles for Toronto each week.
TripAdvisor's Tourism page has the web's best articles on Toronto travel.
Our Toronto hotels page presents hotels ranked by popularity - read traveler reviews and guidebooks.
Looking for things to do in Toronto? Check out our page of things to do in Toronto!
TripAdvisor's Toronto restaurants page shows you the best local places to dine.
Planning a weekend trip to Toronto? Check out our Toronto weekend itinerary!
Visit our Toronto forum page to ask questions and get advice about Toronto travel. TripAdvisor forums let you ask questions and get advice - post in our Toronto forum.
Our Toronto maps page has maps and other travel information for Toronto.
Book a flight to Toronto with our cheap flights finder.


text:
This is a 1965 Mercedes 600 SWB in stunning restored condition. This car , Vin # 100012-12-000312, is an original #040 Black car and... More
1970 MERCEDES BENZ 600 SEDANExotic Classics is pleased to present this rare and distinctive 1970 Mercedes-Benz 600 Short Wheelbase (SWB) sedan. Featured in Dark... More
Current ownership dates back to 1981. Car has been in climate controlled storage and used sparingly for special events over the past 30+ years.... More
Still widely regarded as one of the best sedans ever built the Mercedes-Benz 600 marked the ascendancy of the Stuttgart marque back to the... More
MERCEDES-BENZ: 1971 600, swb, silver, maroon interior, excellent condition, $325,000. 323-874-8479, CA.... More


text:
Latest Updates
January 23, 2013
November 29, 2012
Latest Updates
January 23, 2013
June 20, 2012
April 13, 2012
February 02, 2012
December 29, 2011
December 09, 2011
December 01, 2011
Latest Updates
November 29, 2012
Saints Row: The Third Videos
Saints Row: The Third Full Package Launch Trailer
A new edition of Saints Row: The Third is out next week, with every weapon, vehicle, outfit and mission pack in one convenient
November 02, 2012In Detail: Saints Row: The Third and Creating Itagaki (creator of Ninja Gaiden)
1UP executive editor Theirry Nguyen explains, in details, how to create the famed creator of the heralded franchises Ninja Gaid
December 01, 2011Saints Row: The Third 'Cherished Memory' Trailer
Saint's row lives up to its reputation in this video of a mascot getting juggled in mid-air by explosive pistol rounds.
October 06, 2011Saints Row: The Third Professor "Genki's Reality Climax" Trailer
This new trailer for Saints Row: The Third does a good job of encapsulating the insanity that awaits players this November.
September 30, 2011Saints Row: The Third 'Professor Genki' Trailer
The insane antics of the Saints Row series continue with this new trailer for Professor Genki trailer.
July 12, 2011Saints Row: The Third Open-World Gameplay Walkthrough
If you're into zany open world antics, Saints Row: The Third may be right up your alley if this developer walkthrough is anything to go by.
June 24, 2011Saints Row: The Third Full Package Launch Trailer
A new edition of Saints Row: The Third is out next week, with every weapon, vehicle, outfit and mission pack in one convenient place.
2012-11-01T17:24:00+0000Saints Row: The Third Genkibowl VII Trailer
The first downloadable mission pack for Saints Row: The Third is now available, including new games like Sexy Kitten Yarngasm and Sad Panda Skyblazing.
2012-01-17T18:38:00+0000SR3 Genkibowl VII
Are you ready for the "the greatest spectacle in sports"? Genkibowl VII - the first DLC for Saints Row The Third - is out January 17th.
2012-01-10T16:00:00+0000Saints Row: The Third Launch Trailer
Today's the day. Tigers, fighter jets, and furry costumes await.
2011-11-15T18:47:57+0000Saints Row: The Third - Pimps & Gimps
Assemble your team of pimps, gimps, zombies and, most importantly, the mayor of Steelport himself. Strap it on.
2011-11-03T17:00:35+0000Saints Row: The Third Cherished Memories #5
In our fifth Cherished Memory from Steelport, we enjoy a leisurely motorcycle ride through a quaint Steelport neighborhood while a friend rains down hellfire upon the Steelport PD.
2011-10-27T20:34:03+0000Saints Row: The Third Initiation Station
Create pretty much whatever character you want in Saints Row the Third.
2011-10-25T22:51:26+0000Saints Row: The Third - Cherished Memory #3
In our third Cherished Memory from Steelport, we pay homage to America's favorite pastime and the World Series with a little game of baseball, Saints Row style. Batter up!
2011-10-20T17:42:33+0000Saints Row: The Third - Shock and Awesome Trailer
The only military force in the world capable of answering the call is STAG, the Special Tactical Anti Gang unit, outfitted with hover jets, speeder bikes, laser tanks, and one hell-of-a flying aircraft carrier.
2011-10-18T18:13:12+0000Saints Row: The Third - New Cherished Memory Genki
Professor Genki?s Super Ethical Reality Climax, Steelport?s favorite game show. Time sure does fly when you?re shooting pandas. Enjoy!
2011-10-12T17:52:10+00001UP Review
Saints Row: The Third Review
Score: B+
We haven't seen a game so full of things like rampaging sex workers, bizarre celebrity cameos, and over-the-top setpieces like this before.
November 11, 2011Latest News for Saints Row: The Third
South Park Goes to Ubisoft, Vigil And Darksiders Abandoned in Messy THQ Breakup
Meanwhile, Dead Island's publisher gets its hands on Saints Row and its developer.
January 23, 2013 20 34Saints Row Expansion's Cancellation Allows Saints Row 4 to be That Much Bigger
Enter the Dominatrix is being rolled into the sequel, due out next year.
June 20, 2012 7 20Playing Saints Row and The Witcher on Facebook Works Surprisingly Well
Gaikai has come to Facebook, where it works every bit as well as you could hope.
April 13, 2012 1 74What Happened to Gaming's "Middle Class?"
Indie and AAA developers and publishers dominated GDC, but what about those in the middle?
March 12, 2012 22 32How Saints Row: The Third Nearly Failed
Design Director Scott Phillips explains the lessons learned from the game's development.
March 08, 2012 15 24OP-ED: THQ and Ignition Troubles Show That Gamer Taste Threatens the Industry
Publishers' financial difficulty shows that gamers themselves may be the biggest danger to industry.
February 02, 2012 46 39November NPDs: Xbox 360, Call of Duty, and Skyrim Come up Big
Skyrim sales have almost already eclipsed Oblivion's lifetime sales.
December 09, 2011 24 88How to Make Tomonobu Itagaki in Saints Row: The Third
Our instructional video on how to make one of gaming's more infamous developers within Saints Row: The Third
December 01, 2011 12 14Saints Row: The Third PS3 Buyers Get Saints Row 2 for Free
The promised bonus for PS3 gamers was found to be missing yesterday.
November 16, 2011 24 26Promised Saints Row: The Third PS3 Exclusive is Missing
THQ isn't commenting on where the exclusive mode they promised is.
November 15, 2011 8 15Latest Previews for Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row: The Third Preview
We spend one hour with the third Saints Row game, and spend it committing insurance fraud, shooting tigers, and punching civilians.
August 18, 2011 0 18Latest Features for Saints Row: The Third
The Legend of the R-Rated Gaming Comedy
A look back at the few games that ever dared to go raunchy.
February 08, 2013 0 38Ten WTF Intersections of Video Games And Hollywood
Some of the weirdest connections between Hollywood and the video game industry.
December 29, 2011 0 76


text:
Down East 2013 ©
Beth Bowley has an apartment in NoHo (the neighborhood north of Manhattan's Houston Street) and a house in SoRo (the affectionate local term for South Rockland). That's so she can manage her eponymous New York-based clothing design company, and fourTWELVE, her Rock City women's clothing and home décor retail store. This fall the Brunswick, Maine, native is embarking on yet another venture: Nuthatch Productions, a new clothing line designed — and manufactured — in Maine.
How did you find yourself in the fashion industry?
There was no other choice for me. I was making clothes for my stuffed animals and my dolls in fourth grade — as soon as my mother dared to give me scissors. When I was a checkout girl at a grocery store in Brunswick, I volunteered to sew everyone new uniforms because they wanted us to wear pink polyester ones, and I just couldn't do it. I graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1984, and I stayed in New York for twenty years. My first job was at Perry Ellis as an assistant designer. Getting that job was a little bit unreal. I was catapulted into the world of Seventh Avenue fashion. I was just a hick from Maine.
Why did you choose to return to Maine?
Well, I already had a business in New York: I had started my branded line in 1998, and six or seven years previous to that I was doing design consulting. But I wanted to spend more time in Maine. My family is in Maine. I wanted to breathe some cleaner air. And I was ready to start the next phase of my career.
Why Rockland?
For about five years, every August, I rented a house in a different part of Maine to get a feel for where I wanted to end up. Rockland is centrally located on the coast. It's gorgeous and it's the perfect mix of creative and practical people. I love that it has a very solid year-round arts community.
What are the challenges of running a New York-based company from midcoast Maine?
Making the separation from my staff in New York. I have twelve people there and four in Rockland at the moment. The biggest challenge was getting everyone to the level where they felt comfortable making decisions without me. I still keep an office there. But if you can call a Blackberry a desk, that would be my Beth Bowley desk.
What are the advantages?
I wanted more space. Space is so expensive in New York. It's so nice to get a big building that has potential and room to think and room to grow. Also, I can ride my bike to work.
How does Maine inform your creative work?
I have the time to breathe and to spend less time worrying about subways and buses and dealing with New York. Maine allows your brain to absorb your environment and have the opportunity to be thinking about creative things instead of logistics. And we have a lot of very creative souls in the area. I've seen a lot of very creative fashion choices, which to me are more joyful than somebody who has tried to replicate a look out of a magazine.
How has your store managed to make it through Maine winters?
We have such a great, supportive, loyal customer base. People come in my store and thank us for being there. It's really nice to hear. And by adding the home part of the business, that's also increased our winter business, since it's more appropriate for holiday gifts. But who in January doesn't need a new pair of corduroys to get through the winter?
What are your future plans?
Jinsook Lawrence (my business partner) and I are going to start sewing in September. We'll be manufacturing women's clothing right on the spot. Initially we will supply design and custom work for fourTWELVE. By mid next year we'll offer it wholesale to selected other boutiques. It's a whole new line, called Nuthatch Productions, and it's all the stuff that we can never find that we want to buy: so very elegant, thoughtful clothing that can be everyday, yet function as an evening outfit, too. We anticipate hiring up to five people in the first two years. And then you'll have to ask again.
[1] http://www.downeast.com/files/images/dee1008bowley4.jpg
[2] http://openx.downeast.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=61315069


text:
Joaquin Phoenix [vexel], After a long time period |
This Month's Contests | Hosts Looking for Hostees | Hostees looking for Hosts | BigBookofResources
Submission Guidelines
Joaquin Phoenix [vexel], After a long time period |
*StanleyThePanda* |
Mar 8 2006, 03:01 PM
Guest |
This is a new style I was trying out... It came out pretty well I think.
I started making this late january/early february, And I stopped for a very long time. I only had like... 30%-40% done. So today I decided to finish it. It took about... 4 hours today, so all in all it was probably around 6-7 hours. There are 150+ layers... and yeah... Tell me what you think: Heres the original: http://handson.provocateuse.com/images/pho..._phoenix_01.jpg |


text:
Red Hind
Portrait of a red and white Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus), resting on a reef of hard coral and purple Sea Plumes (Pseudogorgia sp.).
This image is available for use with credit to the photographer for non-commercial use. If you are interested in commercial use, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com.
To save the full sized image to your computer right click the Full Size link above (or control click on a Mac) and choose "Save Image As".


text:
125% Price Match
Find it cheaper, we'll reduce our price by 125% of the differenceCustomer Service
Mon-Fri. Call 1300 20 20 80Free Shipping
Free Shipping for Orders $70+- Page 2 of 11
Product Matches
Women's Clothing Sale
A great womens clothing sale allows you to put "cheap" in front of quality apparel for a limited time. Trixan Body's womens clothing sale drowns you in a swirl of femininity. Whether lounging or entertaining, you get style at big savings. This womens clothing sale features last season's ladies apparel at smashing discounts. From the comfort of home, browse beyond your wish list. At these prices, you get the adventure without the hassle.
Women's Clothing Sale Dresses
Choose from a dazzling assortment of dresses in prime style. Our womens clothing sale carries brand names, but you choose the best fit. We offer half-price (at least) on dresses for the beach and sundresses. How many womens clothing sales offer you up to 70 percent off frills, maxis, pleats and halters? Trixan's womens clothing sale offers the largest savings on the highest-priced items. Are we crazy? From shadow dance to lace trim, our body beauty colours your world. From peacock to pink, you choose from Giza, Phoenix, Blue Nile, Sphinx, twists, Vegas and waterfall styles. We built this fashion outlet for greatest value. Even at our womens clothing sale prices, you qualify for free shipping on orders over $70. From understated simplicity to elegance, our sale dresses put a smile on your face.
Women's Clothing Sale Pants
Style selection also applies to pants at our womens clothing sale. You can buy lounge pants or essential warm-ups. We have reserved-styled pants for your boyfriend's arrival, or your kickboxing class. Sometimes, function trumps colour. No problem. At Trixan Body, a womens clothing sale suits you, your moods and your budget. Our trouser and jeans selections fit. Pick up capris, tights or trackies at half-price. We also have cheap shorts for athletes or girls who love to just love to be active.
And There's More at the Women's Clothing Sale
A spectacular womens clothing sale defies season. Ours does, too. When you think about it, you can find occasions to don most fashions. Ladies can throw a cheap singlet into the virtual cart to go with shorts, or wear under a formal suit with sneakers. This womens clothing sale offers great random additions to expand your wardrobe. Select from a tasteful variety of hoodies, jackets and tops in many styles (pleats, tanks, ballet and vests). While you're on-site, check out our cheap underwear and cheap swimwear. We designed our womens clothing sale to resolve your fashion needs. The more you buy, the more you save.
Don't pass up this limited opportunity to cash in on Trixan Body's womens clothing sale. We made it as unique as you.


text:
Posted: Mar 6, 2013 6:36 AM by Cecilia Stevenson
Updated: Mar 6, 2013 7:48 AM
Friends of the Library will have a book sale at the Heymann Center. The sale begins on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 for "Friends" (members only). The sale continues Thursday, March 7 until Saturday, March 9, 2013. The books are sold by the inch horizontally, according to the back spine of the book. The funds raised support the Lafayette Public Library.
Times are: Wednesday 6p.m.- 8 p.m., Thursday - Friday 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. unitl 3 p.m.
For more info call: 337-501-9209
Or visit: www.friendsofthelafayettelibrary.org


text:
- January 4, 2013
- 10:36 p.m.
- Suggest removal
- Reply to this post
Luvee writes:
in response to smacktalk:
Good evening folks, my mom is showing some good signs of recovery. I whispered in her ear last night. Do what you want, we all understand if you want to go home.
But if you want to stay with us on this side of heaven you had better get busy living and show us some signs that you want to be here. I got no response and was worried, but okay with what I thought was inevitable Got a call from my daughter that at 1:30 this afternoon she was writing on a tablet " Love you" and one nurse was mean, the Dr said she would not be able to hold pen but she did.
After I got there I asked her if she felt better and she wrote" No" I asked if she was in pain , She wrote "No". asked if she knew where she was and wrote " ICU" God is powerful , thanks for the prayers
Your friend, Smack
Glad to hear your great news Smack. Keeping you and your family in my thoughts!
Want to participate in the conversation? Become a subscriber today. Subscribers can read and comment on any story, anytime. Non-subscribers will only be able to view comments on select stories.