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> Tainted Halloween Candy
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Tainted Halloween Candy
Every year for decades children and adults alike have been hearing and passing along rumors of dangerously tainted Halloween candy: goodies laced with poison, drugs, razor blades, pins, needles, and other sorts of harmful substances randomly distributed to innocent trick-or-treaters by depraved pranksters. While documented cases of such
tampering are rare (and in the case of
these rumors persist, in part, because every year numerous cases of suspected candy tampering are reported by the news media in the days immediately following Halloween.
Nearly all such cases turn out to be nothing: they're pranks played by children on their parents, siblings, or friends; they're false reports generated by attention-seeking children and adults; they involve material that accidentally, rather than deliberately, ends up in children's goodie bags; or they're examples of coincidence mistaken for causation (e.g., a person eats a piece of candy and shortly afterwards feels ill, then erroneously attributes the illness to tainted Halloween candy). But often no
are done on such news stories after the initial, unconfirmed reports, leaving the public with the impression that all of them involved genuine cases of tainted candy being distributed to trick-or-treaters. Below we've collected a round-up of such news stories from Halloween 2014, some of which are already known to involve false reportings:
Station WSOC in Charlotte ran a A
about a metal blade purportedly found in a Twix candy bar handed out on Halloween night in Maiden, North Carolina:
Police in Maiden were investigating after parents of a trick-or-treater said they found a razor blade partially embedded in a small candy bar.
The child was no hurt but police said they were taking the matter very seriously.
Officers said the parents were checking their children's Halloween candy when they found a small metallic blade inside the wrapper of a Twix Mini candy bar. The child had been trick-or-treating in the Maiden area.
Police want to make sure that parents check their children's Halloween candy and are continuing to investigate the incident
Similarly, Pennsylvania police
that a teenager had purportedly found a razor blade secreted in the wrapper a candy bar given to him while he was trick-or-treating:
A 13-year-old trick-or-treater in Montgomery County made a horrifying discovery after unwrapping a candy bar he picked up on Halloween: a large razor blade.
The candy had been sealed when the boy opened it and immediately discovered the blade loose inside the wrapper, not hidden in the candy itself, said Sgt. John Cutrone of the Towamencin Township Police Department. He did not bite into the candy and was not injured.
"I was just sitting in my living room, my son's sitting in the kitchen ... he opens up the wrapper, and there's a razor blade, like the ones you get out of a cutter, right on top of it," said Jennifer Gage, the boy's mother. "He's like, 'Mom, look, there's a razor blade right in this candy!'"
She said the blade was inside a small, "snack size" Nestle Crunch bar. Cutrone declined to identify the brand, saying that could lead parents to overlook other types of candy that may also have concealed objects.
He said it was unclear whether the candy bar had been opened and then resealed. It was also unclear which house the candy came from, but the child had been trick-or-treating in the area of Woodlawn Drive and Walnut Lane in the Inglewood Development section of the township, Cutrone said.
"It's a very controlled area, it's only like three streets," Gage said.
Police will publicize the incident on the township website and social-media feeds, Cutrone said; the North Penn School District used its notification system to inform parents.
Asked whether it might have been a prank, Cutrone said police were investigating all possibilities.
Buffalo Police issued a warning based on a local woman's
that pieces of glass had been found in Tootsie Pops given to her children the night before Halloween:
Parents in the citys Kaisertown area near Houghton Park are being warned by Buffalo Police to be careful of the candy their children are given in Halloween excursions tonight.
A Kaisertown woman complained to police about pieces of glass in Tootsie Pops her children were given during Beggars Night trick or treating activity. Police are trying to pin down the residence involved.
Canadian police investigated a complaint about a pin found in a chocolate bar in Wetaskiwin, Alberta:
RCMP in Wetaskiwin are reminding people to check their childrens Halloween candy after officers received a complaint of a pin found in a chocolate bar.
Officers say it appears to be an isolated incident and no one was injured.
"It was a relatively small pin," said Cpl. Gary Kroeker with Wetaskiwin RCMP. "The candy was bitten and the pin was noticed after that and so it didn't actually puncture or prick anybody. So at least, thankfully, nobody was injured."
In a post on the Wetaskiwin Rant and Rave Facebook page, resident Victoria Kimberly says she found the pin in one of her kids mini chocolate bars.
"Parents check your kids candy. It may look safe but you never know," the post reads. "It takes two seconds."
Another woman in the Kansas City area
to the news media that her daughter found a pin in her Halloween candy:
Laticha Robinson's children were snacking on their Halloween stash when her oldest daughter broke open a Snickers and found a black metal pin inside.
"I teach them you don't eat no candy until you get home and when you get home you break through your candy, and that's what she did," said Robinson.
Robinson kept the contaminated candy and ordered her kids to bag up the rest so she could throw it away.
Her twin girls, 9-year-old Shanoia and Shaneta Harris, gladly complied after trick-or-treating in Waldo and Midtown as a doctor and a police officer. Their mom has already changed how they'll celebrate Halloween next year. Surprisingly, the twins don't mind.
"No more trick-or-treating; we'll do holiday parties at home. No more. I'm totally done with it. My grandson, this was his first and his last trick-or-treat," said Laticha Robinson.
"I feel good because we still going to get some candy," said Shaneta Harris.
Kansas City police have not received any reports of dangerous candy. The same is true for Children's Mercy and St. Luke's hospitals.
In a similar vein, a father in Auburn, Maine, said one of his children found a
sewing needle
concealed within a Snickers bar received while trick-or-treating:
A sewing needle "expertly" placed down the center of a candy bar caused a concerned dad to dump the whole load of Halloween candy and send out a word of caution.
Jason Levesque said he took his children, 6, 8 and 16 years old, out for an innocent evening of trick-or-treating, expecting a great haul from a generous neighborhood.
When the three kids pooled their spoils together and divided them, Levesque's oldest found a trick hidden within her treat. Buried within a "fun size" Snickers bar, Levesque said the teen found a sewing needle.
"Frankly, I'm flabbergasted," Levesque said. "Hopefully, this is an isolated incident."
Auburn police Lieutenant Laurie Woodhead said she hadn't heard of any similar incidents regarding tampered candy.
Levesque said that outside of urban legend, this is the first time he actually heard of anything like this happening — and certainly not within his own family.
A mother in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, said she found "a
plastic bag
containing three pills" in her childrens Halloween candy:
A mother in Pottawatomie County told authorities she found a plastic bag containing three pills in her childrens Halloween candy.
The mother told investigators she didn't know where the pills came from. Authorities said it did not appear that the pills were intentionally put in the trick-or-treat bag.
The pills were taken into evidence.
Last updated:
4 November 2014
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About Me
I am a second-year graduate student in the Astronomy Department at UC Berkeley. I recently earned my M.A. in astrophysics from UCB in 2013 so the three to four-year journey to PhD has begun. I did my undergraduate at the University of Arizona earning a B.S. in physics, astronomy in 2012.
I lived in Arizona most of my life so am still adjusting to the "harsher cold" of Berkeley. To keep sane, I play tennis and do martial arts (at the Berkeley rec center) almost every week.

subset: commoncrawl


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Life Goes On
This is me on a trip into Boston shortly after dying my hair again. Even though I am a natural red head I like to make it extra red from time to time. My brother and I went into Boston to see our old High School perform "On the Verge" at the state finals of the One Acts Drama Festival. The theater teacher who works at the high school had a huge influence on both me and my brother as we passed through high school.
I am trying to get bits and pieces of my website updated as many of my pages are outdated. For example I haven't touched my gallery in a year or two. Today I finished a much needed update on my breast development page. You can see my updated breast development timeline here (WARNING: Partial Nudity). I was pretty discouraged with my development until I saw my most recent pictures next to the images from when I first started. My breasts have grown a TON! Looking at my other timelines reveals that I have changed in many more ways than I thought.
I looked at this image of my facial hair before starting electrolysis and hormones and I cringed remembering what all that facial hair felt like. I still get facial hair, but I only have to shave every 2-3 days. That mustache and goatee are horrrrrible!
Anyways, I have been trudging through life without really doing anything. Weekly therapy, video games, netflix, and visiting friends is pretty much my whole existence right now. I have been selling collars on my etsy shop, which I got my business cards for! I am impressed by how well they came out. The cards themselves are durable and the detail looks wonderful. I am very happy with them. I opted for the premium double sided cards and it costed around $20-30, which isn't too bad for 250 cards. You can get 250 for free from Vista Print. Check mine out below.
I am going to focus on my timeline pictures next and should have that up by the end of the week. In the mean time I am going to look at jobs and think about where I want to go from here. Depression has been beating me down lately and it is time I pulled myself out of it. The beautiful weather outside will definitely help. :)
URGENT: Help a supporting mother win custody of her transgendered son.
This is just going to be a quick entry for the sake of helping out a boy in need.
I recently found out about a boy who's mother is fighting for custody for her son, Jake, who's father has filed a lawsuit for full costody because the mother is supporting their child's chosen gender. It makes me sick that a father would actively force a child to obey his opinion of what gender they should be by taking them away from their only supporting parent.
It is disgusting.
So I ask that you donate what you can to help this boy. Even if you are not financially able to donate, it would be wonderful if you could share Jake's story and spread the word.
Hi guys, I hope everyone is doing well. The weather is finally starting to get nice and I am excited to finally be able to go outside. (I don't do enough of that.)
I haven't been doing much lately, mostly thinking, making jewelry, hanging out with friends, and playing Guild Wars 2. I have started seeing my girlfriend again. We are patching things together, hopefully we will grow from our experiences in the future.
Another thing I am working on is deciding my path for the future. I do not think going back to school right now would be in my best interest. That leaves me to finding a job, or some sort of apprenticeship/internship in the field I am interested in. I have been looking at theater internships around the country that would provide housing and a stipend while working and learning new skills. It would be a good experience but I am not sure it is what I want to do.
Anyways I just wanted to give a little update, I am a little behind on emails so I am sorry if you sent me a message and I haven't answered yet.
Take care,
2013 in review
I am a little late on the new years bandwagon but hey, better late than never right?
It has been an interesting year, but I'd hope that every year would be because otherwise there wouldn't be much excitement now would there? In the past year I've consulted with Dr. Mcginn, I began seriously considering surgery, I took a leave of absence to reassess my life goals, I spent a year with my wonderful girlfriend, I met many extraordinary people who I now call friends, I was forced to see how much support I have from friends and family, My life has been broken down into pieces, and finally I have begun rebuilding my life into something amazing.
Below is a summary, courtesy of WordPress, on my blogging activity in 2013.
My question for you is in the past year what major changes have happened in your life, and what great things will they lead to if 2014?
Happy new year!
Here's an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 170,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 7 days for that many people to see it.
Fifteen hundred seventy-six thousand, eight hundred minutes!
The time I've spent popping estrogen pills.
That's right, this is my 3 year anniversary since starting hormones, and now I have rent stuck in my head.
Quite a bit has changed in the past 3 years and I am genuinely glad that I made the decision to transition so long ago, even if I thought I was too old. Trust me, 21 is not too old. It is a daunting step, but absolutely worth it. I have had my fair share of ups and downs, which is partially what I am going to talk about today, but in the end I am still happy with the choices I've made.
The last time I gave a substantial update was around the beginning of the year. My girlfriend and I are still together, we are pretty madly in love, which creates it's own set of problems. More on that later. Over the summer I did some more over-hire work at the music theater, mostly welding. I got to design an awesome set of handles for the gate into Oz (Thats right, we did the wizard of Oz). After that they did Cats, which I only helped on load in for. I was pretty off the wall about it because I am a cat myself. I was freaking out running around the super-sized set pieces and climbing up the steel cat perches suspended above the stage. On opening night I even had a confrontation with one of the cats in the aisle. I meowed at him and he froze, looking at me. I meowed again and as he slowly backed away I hissed. I am mildly insane.
(The handles I designed and built)
Speaking of insane, I am re-evaluating my mental health. My girlfriend recently went into the hospital and is now in Florida trying to get her life back together. Since we are so in love, being apart is wreaking havoc on my emotional well-being (especially with our particular relationship). While she was in the hospital here I had a few mental breakdowns because it was particularly triggering for me. I took a medical leave of absence to get myself figured out this semester. At one point I stopped caring and took a bunch of pills, including 40mg of Ambien. I woke up the next day with my mom sleeping next to me, wondering what the hell happened. Honestly, she probably should have taken me to the hospital.
This whole ordeal has been quite trying on my state of mental health. I am questioning whether the Zoloft and Wellbutrin I am on are doing anything at all. I need to be re-evaluated to determine what my problems actually are. I feel like my anxiety and panic attacks are the root of many of my problems. I've had an increasing number of panic attacks recently. I have had some incidents of self harm as well.
I need to be in some sort of program, and yesterday I was evaluated and referred to a partial hospitalization program, where you are at the hospital from 9am-3pm doing group and individual therapy. I think it will help me, but I am not sure if I actually need inpatient. Last night I had a particularly bad panic attack because I was thinking about all the people I would have to be around in the program. I eventually started scratching myself but had enough willpower to stop myself before any significant damage was done. It scared me a lot. Hopefully I end up where I need to be.
On a more positive note, I have been trying to take this time off from class to do things I've always wanted to do. I am trying to expand my Etsy store and this past friday I took a blacksmithing workshop and had a blast making this forged "S" hook and pointer.
On an even brighter note, I have a consultation on the 19th of November with Christine McGinn in Pennsylvania. I am going to be talking to her about FFS, breast augmentation, as well as GRS. I am making a strong effort to get the procedures covered under insurance. Chances are I will focus on the FFS and breast augmentation first because they will have a greater effect on my self confidence.
Anyways I will try to get some answers up to the Ask Abbey questions that have been piling up in my inbox, sorry to those who haven't had their questions answered! I am also going to update my face and breast development timelines soon.
Until next time,
Abbey Kat


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Archive for the 'Backroad Gold' tag
Corky Coker's Travel Channel show, Backroad Gold, debuts February 5
Corky Coker and Greg Cunningham on the lookout for Backroad Gold. Still image from video below.
Possessed with seemingly limitless amount of energy, Corky Coker is a regular sight at significant classic car events, always ready to greet customers with a smile and a handshake. Next week, Coker will don a new hat with the launch of a new television series on The Travel Channel, entitled Backroad Gold.
Those familiar with the television show American Pickers will instantly recognize the format of Backroad Gold: Traveling the side streets, alley ways and dirt roads of America with his son-in-law Greg Cunningham, Coker will try to unearth "rusty gold," cars and motorcycles that can be acquired reasonably, then restored and flipped for a profit by his Honest Charley Garage. It promises to deliver a blend of treasure hunting and "Let's Make a Deal" negotiation with a bit of family dynamic (similar to the show Pawn Stars).
In addition to Corky and Greg, the show will feature Corky's daughter, Casey Cunningham, who serves as office manager at Honest Charley; Hal Everett, the shop's lead mechanic; and Harold Coker, Corky's father (and, apparently, his biggest critic). Backroad Gold debuts on the Travel Channel on Wednesday, February 5, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.


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Harlequins have been paired in Pool 3 with Bath Rugby, Worcester Warriors and former winners Ospreys, while the Chiefs are accompanied in Pool 2 by double champions Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks and Cardiff Blues. Harlequins, who beat Sale Sharks 32-14 last March to lift the Anglo-Welsh Cup for the first time in their history, have lost on two of their last three visits to Sandy Park. Saturday's tie will be the first time the sides have met in the LV= Cup.
Bath begin their bid to win their first piece of silverware since lifting the European Challenge Cup in 2008 with a trip to last season's losing finalists Sale Sharks, who beat Bath 19-13 at the AJ Bell Stadium in the Aviva Premiership on October 4. Since the Anglo-Welsh format was introduced Bath have made the knockout stages in each of the last two years and three times in total, but have never reached the final. Tickets are available for the Sale Sharks v Bath game by phoning 08444-994-994.
Former Worcester Warriors forwards coach Phil Davies comes up against his old club when his Cardiff Blues side play host to the Premiership strugglers at the Arms Park on Friday night. Blues were the last Welsh winners of the cup when they defeated Gloucester in the 2009 final. Worcester, meanwhile, have yet to make it past the pool stages, their best finish being second place behind Leicester in the 2006/07 EDF Energy Cup. Indeed, in five of the last seven seasons the Warriors have finished bottom of their group. This will be the first time Cardiff Blues and Worcester have met in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
Ospreys' rivalry with Leicester Tigers continues at Welford Road on Friday evening in what will be the 12th competitive fixture between the sides in the last seven years. Leicester edge the Heineken Cup and Anglo-Welsh head-to-head record with five wins to the Ospreys' four with two draws. Tigers famously beat Ospreys 41-35 in the final of the 2007 EDF Energy Cup before the Welsh region exacted revenge at Twickenham 12 months later following a 23-6 victory. The last LV= Cup meeting produced an emphatic win for Ospreys: 46-13 at the Brewery Field on November 12, 2010. Leicester became the only side to win the Anglo-Welsh Cup twice when they overcame Northampton Saints 26-14 in the 2012 final at Sixways.
Inaugural winners London Wasps kick off their campaign with a visit from one of last year's beaten semi-finalists. These Premiership rivals have met twice in the Anglo-Welsh Cup before, with the home side winning on both occasions. Wasps thrashed Saracens 42-8 on their way to winning the Powergen Cup in 2006, while Saracens won, 26-15, at Vicarage Road the following year.
The 2010 and 2011 champions face each other at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday when Northampton Saints take on Gloucester. Saints won 26-7 when the sides met at the same venue and the same stage of last year's competition. Saints won the 2010 LV= Cup after beating Gloucester 30-24 in a thrilling final at Sixways.
London Irish make a swift return to the North East after being drawn away to Newcastle Falcons in the opening round. The Exiles lost 13-11 to the Falcons at Kingston Park in the Aviva Premiership on October 27 and have not beaten Sunday's opponents since a 48-9 win in January 2009. In cup competitions the sides have played each other four times at Kingston Park with two wins apiece.
The remaining tie of the opening weekend is the all-Welsh affair between Scarlets and Newport Gwent Dragons. Dragons won 23-16 when the sides met at Rodney Parade in the RaboDirect PRO 12 League earlier this season.
The LV= Cup, be part of the rugby family. For more information, visit http://www.LV.com/rugby
LV=Cup Round 1 fixtures
Friday November 8
London Wasps v Saracens, KO 19:30
Scarlets v Newport Gwent Dragons, KO 19:30
Cardiff Blues v Worcester Warriors, KO 19:30
Sale Sharks v Bath Rugby, KO 19:45
Leicester Tigers v Ospreys, KO 19:45 (Live on Sky Sports HD)
Saturday November 9
Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins, KO 15:00
Northampton Saints v Gloucester, KO 17:00
Sunday November 10
Newcastle Falcons v London Irish, KO 15:00


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Obey Savage Posse Flyer Black Crew Neck Sweatshirt
Item # 205307
Buy1 Get1 Free
Stash Points: 2,997
What is this?This is the number of points you get in The Zumiez Stash for purchasing this item. Stash points are redeemable for exclusive rewards only available to Zumiez Stash members. To redeem your points check out the rewards catalog on thestash.zumiez.com.
Meet up at Club 74520 for a wild free show with the Savage Posse Flyer crew neck sweatshirt from Obey.
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It's official: Galliano is an anti-Semite
The French court trying John Galliano for "public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity" has just reached a verdict on the matter — guilty as charged. Phew! Without the French legal system's help I wouldn't have known what to make of the designer's anti-Semitic rant at a Paris bar. As for punishment,… More ▸


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Grave group from Artres
Merovingian, early to mid-6th century AD
From a grave at Artres, near Famars, Nord, France
A Frankish noblewoman's jewellery?
An assemblage of jewellery was found by a farmer under a small mound in Artres, France in 1855. Most of the items found in the grave are shown here, the other finds were sold separately or are now lost. Their quality suggests that they belonged to a Frankish noblewoman, possibly the wife of a local leader. A Roman fort at Famars, nearby, became the centre of a Merovingian rural district (pagus).
Although nominally Christian, the Franks continued to bury their dead in pagan fashion: females wore their clothes and jewellery and males, depending on age and social status, were clothed and armed. Without the evidence of textile remains and the position in which the objects were found, it is unclear how these brooches were worn. The two large, gilded silver, radiate-headed brooches may have been worn on a tunic or dress at the waist or thigh. The pair of small, gold and garnet bird brooches were used to close eyelets in the neck opening of the garment. But it is also possible that the two pairs of brooches fastened a heavier overdress or cloak and an underdress respectively. The gold earrings with polyhedral beads are of a typical sixth-century form and would originally have been inlaid with garnets (now mostly missing). The silver bracelet was a further sign of status and the rock crystal pendant in a sling of gold strips was probably believed to have amuletic properties.
Recent research has located a gold disc pendant, from the same grave, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The location of the other finds, including a garnet-inlaid gold ring, are uncertain. There was also a large crystal ball, which has been substituted here by a similar one, probably from the cemetery at Herpes, Charente, France.
More information
B. Ager, 'Mobilier d'une riche tombe féminine' in Trésors archéologiques du Nord (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes, 1997), pp. 125-27
Length: 2.500 cm (brooches, pair)
Diameter: 3.600 cm (earrings, pair)
Height: 3.600 cm (pendant, overall)
Length: 2.500 cm (brooches, pair)
Length: 2.500 cm (brooches, pair)
Diameter: 3.600 cm (earrings, pair)
Diameter: 3.600 cm (earrings, pair)
Length: 2.500 cm (brooches, pair)
Museum number
Bequeathed by Sir A.W. Franks
Britain, Europe and Prehistory
AF.514a-b; AF.515; AF.518; AF.524-525; AF.3328; 1905,0520.994


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Mark Reardon: Why Is The ObamaCare Website Crashing?
October 22, 2013 3:51 PM
Mark Reardon Read More
KMOX Sports Director Tom Ackerman is in Boston for the World Series.
The Mark Reardon Show
Why is the ObamaCare website crashing? Grace Marie Turner is the president of The Galen Institute.
The Mark Reardon Show
James Shuls is the education policy analyst for The Show Me Institute. He joins us in studio to talk about pensions for public school teachers and administrators.
The Mark Reardon Show


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Jewish rituals and blessings for a birth, the Sabbath, a death many of us are aware that Judaism offers ways to mark major life events. But what about blessings for everyday events like organizing your office, visiting the sick, sending a child to college, taking on a volunteer role, or bringing home a new pet?
Drawing from decades of experience in connecting spirituality with daily life, the interdenominational faculty of CLAL the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership offers this resource of old and new ways to mark all sorts of important events in people's lives. This guide shows how to mark any experience in life in a meaningful Jewish way. For each of more than 100 everyday events and holidays, it offers a meditation, a blessing, a profound Jewish teaching, and a ritual that readers can use exactly as presented, or can adapt to fit their personal situation.
|Related Items


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The process of buying a new GMC car or truck can seem overwhelming if you don't know where to begin. Edmunds.com can get you started on the right track with a convenient directory of GMC car dealerships in and around Valparaiso, Indiana. Compare online price quotes on the new or used car, truck, SUV, minivan, or wagon of your choice to locate the best deals. Edmunds.com makes it easy to find trusted GMC car dealers in Valparaiso, saving car buyers time and money on what will be an important purchase.
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Our Tweets
Daily Archives: November 23, 2009
It's Pajama Time!
On Friday, November 27, we celebrate Monica's favorite Natural Stitches Holiday: Pajama Day. Traditionally on Black Friday, folks tend to find that a. they've eaten so much that their pants don't fit, and/or b. they've gotten up at 5:00 am … Continue reading
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I have configured and setup up centos to join AD using autofs to mount remote home directories. One of the servers, server1, has an issue - here is what I think the problem is
When I go to server1, I get a error when trying to run ls in my home directory
ls: .: Permission denied
When I run ls -lha on the home directory of the user, I see the GID of the group instead of the group name "domain users". All other servers show domain users and the group owner of the directory. Here is the output of the directory with the permissions error
drwxrwx--x 3 16777217 16777220
When I run wbinfo --group-info=domain\ users I get this
domain users:x:16777218:
So the problem appears to be that the gid on the home directory does not match the gid of the domain users group on server1
If I run getent group on server1 I get this
domain users:x:16777218:
How can I change this so the GID on server1 for domain users matches the GID of the remote home directory?


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Captain Jim Kelley was thunderstruck. Suddenly Alexandra Mendez had gone from one of the guys, kid sister and tomboy to all woman. Alex was under his command on a dangerous undercover mission, but Jim had to keep reminding himself they were only pretending to be lovers.
Alex had loved Jim all her life, but they'd always been just friends. Now working together to thwart an assassination plot, their cover required her to unearth her femininity. Jim's sudden attention was unexpected...and thrilling. But was Jim just infatuated by her looks, or was it her he wanted?


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The Colorado Department of Human Services is taking next steps in building a trauma-informed care model at its mental health institutes in Pueblo and Ft. Logan.
The Office of Behavioral Health will use peer support specialists to help patients manage their mental health problems during treatment. Peer support specialists can connect to patients using their personal experiences as part of the therapeutic process.
The department has contracted with Englewood-based Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. to invest $1.7 million over two years in this new model.
In addition to the peer support specialists, CDHS will oversee brick and mortar changes at Pueblo and Ft. Logan to repurpose treatment areas into de-escalation rooms for patients. The funding will also provide for additional staff training for trauma and substance abuse assessments.
These next steps align with Governor John Hickenlooper's Mental Health Plan for Colorado, announced in 2012. Building a trauma-informed culture of care and expanding service capacity are among the key components of the state plan.


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KTOO's Susan Fitzgerald steps into the studio for this live preview of arts and entertainments events in Juneau.
Recent headlines
- - The state will idle the Taku, Fairweather and Chenega next summer, and the ferry Malaspina will only operate during May.
Budget cuts force 4 ferries out of serviceOctober 7, 2015
- - Bystander Cate Ross and a friend were sitting on the deck outside The Hangar on the Wharf when she heard a splash.
911 responders rescue man from channel near Marine ParkOctober 7, 2015
- - Jason Hart and Jeff Redmond lost their bids for Juneau School Board to incumbent Andi Story, and newcomers Josh Keaton and Emil Mackey in Tuesday's election.
Story, Keaton and Mackey win school board seatsOctober 6, 2015
- - The new mayor was the only change to the Juneau Assembly to come out of the elections. Assemblymen Loren Jones and Jerry Nankervis will both retain their seats for second terms.
Fisk beats Sanford in race for Juneau mayorOctober 6, 2015


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To be considered for the summer internship, complete the form below and attach your resume, copy of your transcript, and writing sample (no more than 5-pages in length), and a cover letter (no more than 1-page in length) explaining your interest in the Office.
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Paramedics deliver baby in truck
CREATED Jun 28, 2012
Web Producer: Rikki Mitchell
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Tucson Fire Department paramedics were called to assist a woman having contractions five minutes apart.
Paramedics arrived to the 5800 block of S. 6th Ave. and took the woman to University Medical Center.
While traveling to UMC, the woman began to deliver her baby.
The driver of the truck pulled over and the woman delivered a baby girl.
Both the mother and the baby girl were taken safely to the hospital.
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban, was still on ventilator at a top army hospital, though her condition was satisfactory and her vital organs were "intact and working properly", the military said on Saturday.
The condition of 14-year-old Malala, who is in the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi, continues to be satisfactory, a military spokesman said.
She is still on ventilator in the intensive care unit but her vital organs are "intact and working properly," he said.
A board of doctors is continuously monitoring her condition.
A special medical team, comprising specialists from abroad and civilian hospitals and senior doctors of the Pakistan army, is also keeping a vigil on Malala's health round the clock, the spokesman said.
Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.
Interest Networkitimes | Email


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Items where Division is "CMFRI-Vizhinjam" and Year is 1979
Group by: Creators | Item Type | No Grouping
Jump to: L
Number of items: 1.
Luther, G (1979) Anchovy fishery of southwest coast of india with Notes on characteristics of the resources. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 26 (1&2). pp. 23-36.


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Sleeveless Lattice Dress
Simple Yet Spectacular: Sleeveless Latticework Dress with Embroidered Florals
Sleeveless Lattice Dress
Simple Yet Spectacular: Sleeveless Latticework Dress with Embroidered Florals
What Our Customers Are Saying about Our Sleeveless Lattice Dress …
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"I bought this dress to wear to summer Scottish Highland Festivals here in the South, where the temperatures soar to the high 90s. It was cool to wear and I got lots of compliments. Fit was a perfect size M." - Kim Smith, Newnan, GA
"This lattice dress is extremely comfortable and I love it. As it turns out, everyone else does, too! It looks casual but dressy and comes out of the dryer ready to wear -- no need to iron!" - Susan Morris, Phoenix, AZ
"I love this dress! Light, simple, but can be dressy. Perfect for summer." - Linda, Casper, WY
"I bought this dress two years ago and have been meaning to buy another one. I'm glad you still have it. It's cool, comfortable, pretty and flattering - I get many compliments every time I wear it. Thanks." - Nancy, Casper, WY


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Momeni Coastal Light Blue CC-03 Area Rug
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|The Momeni Coastal Light Blue CC-03 by Momeni is sometimes listed with the following brand codes: COASTCC-03LBL2030, COASTCC-03LBL3050, COASTCC-03LBL2680, COASTCC-03LBL4060, COASTCC-03LBL5080, COASTCC-03LBL80B0. Also, the following UPC codes: 039425992096, 039425992140, 039425992393, 039425992294, 039425992195, 039425992348
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The Internet is probably one of those technologies that have contributed the most in terms of revolutionizing the way members of our species communicate and interact with each other. Never before in our history has such colossal amounts of information that can be retrieved with just a couple if clicks, been available to anyone as it is to us lucky enough to be alive in this Internet age. Data on the Internet can be posted by anyone and can cover any topic under the sun. Unless you are one of those unfortunate citizens living under an authoritarian regime which is so paranoid about free speech that it would stop at nothing to censors all aspects of the media, including silly Facebook rants by college students who have nothing better to do with their free time.
The ease with which information can be retrieved from the Internet could in an ironic twist, be its greatest drawback. There are cases where not all information may be appropriate for certain audiences, particularly when it comes to young children. Perhaps you are a parent who is legitimately concerned about their young kids visiting age inappropriate websites. Or maybe it just drives you nuts when your PC becomes infested with Pac man and Pokémon pop ups or pop ups of scantily clad hotties inviting you to view their webcam, signs that your roommate sneaked in to use your computer when you were not around. Whatever the case, you may want to consider blocking certain websites from being run on your system.
The solution to this problem is browser dependent. You need to disable your unwanted website on each of the browsers you have installed on your system. I am going to demonstrate how easily this can be achieved on two of the most widely used browsers, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Google's Chrome.
Let's begin with Explorer 9. Start by opening up the browser. Then click on the "Tools" icon at the top right hand corner of the window. It is the little gear image shown below in the screen shot by the blue arrow. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut (Alt + X).
From the dropdown menu that appears, select "Internet Options". Click on the "Content" tab in the Internet Options menu bar and then click on the "Settings" button. This brings up the "Content Advisor" pop up window. Next click on the "Approved Sites" tab in the Content Advisor menu bar. All of these can be seen in the screenshot below.
Type in whatever website you wish to restrict access to in the text field and click on "Never". That website would be included as a disallowed website in the list of approved and disapproved websites as you can see from the screenshot. Alternatively, you can create a list of approved websites, although I personally regard this as unnecessary and redundant. You can easily remove websites from this list using the "Remove" button. Validate your changes by clicking "Ok" or "Apply". There are some other cool features in Content Advisor that allow you to restrict whole website categories. I think it would be worth your time exploring some of these features.
Now let's take a look at how this is done on Chrome BETA, Google Chrome's latest version. After opening the browser, click on the wrench icon in the top right hand corner of the window, shown below.
Click on "Options". A new browser window opens. On the left panel of this Options window, click on the "under the Hood" link. Then in the right panel, click on the "Change proxy settings" button. A pop up window appears similar to that of Explorer. Follow the same procedure as explaine d above for Explorer.


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Tag Archives: injury
Gator Women's Basketball Gets Big Win At Home
By Jillian Baach on January 7th, 2013
The Florida women's basketball team took down the Tigers of LSU in a close 77-72 showdown on Sunday in the O'Connell Center. This was a huge confidence booster for the Gators (12-4, 1-1 SEC) who were narrowly defeated by Kentucky, … Continue reading
Gator Football: Muschamp's Unexpected Visit, Practice Update
By Jillian Baach on August 15th, 2012
Gator head football coach Will Muschamp surprised the media on Wednesday by making a special appearance at media availability to discuss the firestorm that surrounded the Jeff Driskel injury reports. News broke on Tuesday that the sophomore slinger suffered a "significant shoulder … Continue reading
Posted in College Football, Gator Football Tagged Clay Burton, injury, Jeff Driskel, Josh Evans, Will Muschamp Leave a comment


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Was perusing REI recently and saw the Brooks LSD II wind jacket, which i previously had never heard of. The listed weight for a medium is 4.3 oz, and i did a breathe test on it and then on the Houdini which i have heard a lot about. To my surprise and subjective perception--the breathablity seemed rather similar. But that wasn't only it, even the back of the head, hood cinch system was pretty much the same. One big difference besides price, was the Houdini is made out of nylon and the Brooks LSD II is made out of polyester. I think there are both pros and cons to both. On one hand, polyester is innately more warm (pro or con depending) and noticeably more innately hydrophobic than nylon (so it will dry faster, especially when the DWR's wear off), but on the other hand nylon is stronger and a bit more durable. When dealing with such thin materials to begin with, the latter is definitely an edge. Re: the warmth of the poly Brooks jacket compared to the P. Houdini, the former does have more innate venting which probably makes up for that. The Brooks LSD II was on sale or clearance for 58 dollars. The Patagonia was 99 dollars. I'm aware you can get the latter cheaper at some online vendors, down to around 60 not including shipping in some cases. However, i wanted to be able to easily return it if i needed to or didn't like it. So i figured 58 dollars was pretty much within my current budget if i worked a little extra on the weekend, which i have the option of (but don't like to do)... (Shhh, don't tell my wife, but i did get the Brooks jacket, it's hiding in my trunk--this, my double life as a gear junkie/whore/secret agent... oh, what the heck, i spent 50 dollars easily yesterday on stupid and completely unnecessary stuff for the vaunted "valentines" day) Ok, so it's no Montbell Tachyon or the like (i would like to get the Stoic Wraith if they actually had it in stock), but i think the Brooks is a decent choice for the poor man's light(ish) windshirt. Edited for correction of an error.
Edited by ArcturusBear on 02/15/2013 22:25:36 MST.
Isn't that windshirt made by Brooks instead of Brooks Range?
Yes, you're right Richard. I will edit my other post, thank you for pointing that out.
I have the Brooks LSD ii and it's been great for me. I only wear it running though. It handles precipitation well and breathes pretty decently. On a cool day (high 30s to low 40s) I can run 10K+ (at 10 kph) without working up much of a sweat in it. But it definitely doesn't feel as durable as my First Ascent Sirroco windshirt, although they're the same weight... Probably because it feels silky/plasticky.
Had both of them...You simply can't compare LSD to Houdini. It is completely different league - in terms of wind resistance, breathability, cut, quality etc.Houdini turned out to be the best windshirt I have ever worn.
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Shoreline, Lakeforest Park and Kenmore on October 6th –Northwest Mechanical joins the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and hundreds of solar-savvy installers and grassroots organizations throughout America to showcase more than 5,000 solar-powered homes, schools and businesses ― in Puget Sound and across North America -- for the 17th Annual National Solar Tour, the world's largest grassroots solar event.
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Posts in Alan Gross
President Obama Can Help Crist Win Florida
Progresso Weekly has published an optimistic assessment of how Charlie Crist can regain the governorship of Florida as a Democrat, an important contest for Americans who want more rational relations with Cuba.
It is worth considering whether a breakthrough by President Obama with Havana could help by demonstrating that Crist's call for a new approach to Cuba was realistic and relevant. Obvious White House options are opening travel with a general license for all purposeful travelers, not just Cuban Americans; movement toward normal relations; and suspending anti-private enterprise aspects of the embargo.
If Alan Gross dies in Cuba...who is responsible?
Raul Castro, Barack Obama, Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio, Ileana Ros-Lehtinenm, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Mario Diaz-Balart or Joe Garcia?
All of the above!!!! But especially the last six.
"I've never seen Alan in such bad shape during all the years that the Cuban government has kept him," [Judy Gross] said in a statement. "Our daughter, Nina, was unprepared to see how gaunt and physically frail her father has become. And his decision to say goodbye to us was wrenching."......attorney Scott Gilbert said. "He's lost most of the vision in his right eye. His hips are failing and he can barely walk. He has stopped all attempts to exercise. Alan's emotional deterioration has been severe, and his mother's lingering and painful death has only accelerated this."
Alan went to Cuba on behalf of our government. His immediate release from prison in Cuba and return to the U.S. must be a priority for our nation. Indeed, we believe this is a moral imperative. Our communities are gravely concerned that Alan continues to languish in a Cuban prison nearly five years after his arrest.We ask, with all respect, that you take whatever steps are necessary to ensure a prompt end to Alan's, and his family's, continuing nightmare.
Is Obama Acting Pragmatically in the Alan Gross Case?
The worst managed issue between Cuba and the United States during Obama and Raul Castro's first terms has been the detention of USAID subcontractor Alan Gross, who has been imprisoned in a Cuban military hospital since December 3, 2009. Shirking the first requirement of pragmatism, namely "facing the facts," the Obama Administration has created its own fictional narrative that contradict even its own documents now available to the public.
Gross is an American international development expert who entered Cuba as a non registered foreign agent. As a USAID subcontractor, his mission was to create a wireless Internet satellite network based on Jewish community centers that would circumvent Cuban government detection. The USAID program was approved under section 109 of the Helms-Burton Act, a law committed to regime change in Cuba.
Kerry's Cuba Sanity
One would have to go back to John Quincy Adams, who served in the U.S. diplomatic service from the age of 17, to find a predecessor better pedigreed than John Kerry to lead the U.S. State Department. The son of a diplomat, Kerry is a war veteran, senior senator, and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Few experiences have had greater influence on Kerry's foreign policy views than his decades-long relationship with Vietnam, where Kerry served as a swift boat captain during the Vietnam War.
Kerry's experience in Vietnam, where visceral ideological attitudes prevailed over rational analysis, prompted the future senator to advocate for a more realistic course for U.S. policy. A decorated veteran, John Kerry became a spokesman for veterans against the war. He learned that to promote U.S. values and interests requires awareness of the relative nature of power and the force of nationalism in the post-colonial world.
Judy Gross' Message "from Washington al Mundo"
Mauricio Claver-Carone hosts a satellite radio program by the name "From Washington al Mundo" covering international affairs. But don't expect any diplomacy there. The program is merely his platform from which to insult the American foreign policy establishment. For example, in his August 6 show, Claver targeted Vali Nasr, the Dean of the School of Advanced Studies of Johns Hopkins University and a leading expert on the Middle East, calling him "a useful idiot" or an agent of Teheran for not advocating a regime change policy and promoting negotiations with Iran. Mr. Claver and his guest Shahriar Etminani agreed that the nuclear issue is mere "noise".
In another episode, Claver denounced Washington's engagement with Beijing. On April 17, Claver hosted Thadeus McCotter or "the smartest member of Congress" by Claver's reckoning. The host and the guest shared their belief that as long as the Communist Party is in power, China remains the same. The United States should apply a Cold War policy to China because the war has never ended. According to Claver's logic, the 40- year Nixon-Kissinger model of "unconditional" and "nonchalant" engagement with China is a case of "myopia". It should be replaced by a "confrontational" approach. After Tiananmen Square, the United States should have applied to China a policy similar to our fifty year failure against Cuba: the embargo.
Meeting dissidents should not be a litmus test for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba (A response to the March 19 Washington Post Editorial).
As the visit of Benedict XVI draws nearer, Cuba's internal opposition is stepping up its activities in an effort to use his presence on the island as a sounding board. The Ladies in White, a group of mothers and wives of dissidents who were given long prison sentences in 2003, have eased up some since all of their relatives were released as a result of mediation by Cardinal Ortega. Now they are asking for a meeting with the Pope. In 2010, the Cardinal also managed to secure eight city blocks for them to hold their Sunday marches after mass at the Santa Rita Church in the Havana neighborhood of Miramar. On Sunday March 18, the group, which has never managed to fill the ceded space, pushed further, and were detained by the government only to be released several hours later.
Don't get me wrong. In the Cuba I dream of, without an American embargo and with representative democracy, opposition forces would have the right to demonstrate peacefully. But that is not the issue here. The gradual recovery of social spaces has been central to the Catholic Church's strategic adaptation to the post-revolutionary system. Unlike the political opposition calling for the government's acceptance of a disorganized partisan pluralism that has no relevance on the street, the Church gradually recovers social spaces and then negotiates government recognition. The Cuban Bishops demanded the right to parade the Virgin of Charity through the towns of Cuba after parishes overflowed with worshipers, not before.
Rene Gonzalez Gets a Yes While Alan Gross Waits - Can Pope Benedict Help?
One might expect that a terrible coincidence such as an American prisoner in Cuba and a paroled Cuban prisoner in the U.S. each desperately seeking permission to visit beloved relatives dying of cancer in their home countries might finally move both governments to do the right thing and send each man home. But so far, both governments have dug in their heels needlessly regarding the prisoners in their own custody, while at the same time, insisting that clemency should be shown towards their own citizens held in the other country.
So what happens now that a federal judge in Miami has approved Rene Gonzalez's petition for a two week visit to his brother in Cuba? The judge gave her permission so long as Gonzalez obtains the necessary license from the U.S. government, provides his itinerary, keeps up with his parole officer while in Cuba, and returns when his two weeks are up. Lucky for Gonzalez that Mr. Obama delivered on his campaign promise to Cuban Americans back in 2009: anyone can visit close family in Cuba under 'general license' authority, so he doesn't have to ask for further permission. This is good news for Gonzalez and his brother.
But will it mean good news for Alan Gross, in exchange? Unfortunately, it's hard to argue this can be an 'exchange' of humanitarian gestures by the two governments, since Obama's Justice Department opposed Gonzalez's deathbed visit to his brother. These kinds of equities – or inequities – weigh heavily in Havana. When former governor Bill Richardson visited Cuba last August and suggested a swap of Gonzalez for Gross, Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon scoffed at the idea – Gonzalez was finishing his term, having served more than a dozen years in prison, whereas Gross had only just begun his sentence of 15 years. And, from the Cuban government's perspective, Gonzalez was merely trying to protect Cuba, whereas Gross's work to establish untraceable Wi-Fi networks on the island was funded under a statute calling for regime change in Cuba. (U.S. officials naturally have a different view: they cite national security concerns about Gonzalez, who was an unregistered agent of the Cuban government in the U.S., and they view Gross's work as purely humanitarian in nature. )
Another reason why Cuba is less likely to grant Mr. Gross a deathbed visit to his mother is that granting a temporary release to Gross is tantamount to simply commuting his sentence. Why would he return to Cuba once reaching the U.S.? Gonzalez is likely return to the U.S. out of a sense of solidarity with the rest of the Cuban Five; if he fails to meet the conditions set out by the judge that granted his motion in the first place, that could impact decisions made on future motions filed by the rest of them. But Gross has nothing else at stake in Cuba, and if the Cuban government is bent on keeping him as a chip for the right humanitarian bargain to come along (say one that includes more of the Five), then granting his deathbed visit request would take away that imagined leverage.
But it's a mistake to think that Mr. Gross offers any leverage to Cuba.
One for Five?
May Day parade poster for the Cuban 5, Havana 2011
In a meeting with Hispanic journalists on September 12th, President Obama, referring to Bill Richardson's trip to Cuba, said:
"Anything to get Mr. Gross free we will support".
Israel has shown the US how to do it.
If it can exchange Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinians, including 315 serving life sentences, why is it so hard for the Obama Administration to release five Cuban intelligence operatives, one imprisoned for life, in return for USAID subcontracted operative Alan Gross?
President Obama can make the first humanitarian gesture by letting Cuban operative Rene Gonzales serve his probation in Cuba, under the supervision of the US Interests Section--if that is required. President Castro can respond with a humanitarian gesture of giving probation to USAID subcontractor Alan Gross, under the supervision of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington.
Part of a bilateral negotiated arrangement should be the release of the remaining four imprisoned Cuban intelligence agents.
Cuba can respond in like manner, sending four prisoners to the US. If there were any still held as prisoners of conscience, they deserve priority. Otherwise the four can be persons convicted for politically motivated acts of violence, the new cause of the Ladies in White. It is not too big a stretch as Cuba generally regards all anti-regime actions as being motivated if not funded by the US.
Cardinal Ortega could be asked to serve as the intermediary to assure both sides act in good faith.
Each country regards those imprisoned by the other as heroes and exponents of unimpeachable values. Similarly each country believes those it holds have been legitimately convicted and sentenced under its laws in the defense of national security and sovereignty.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has provided an example of what it means to be serious rather than rhetorical.
Should Obama be equally courageous, he can expect blatant hypocrisy in response.
Does including Cuba on the State Department's list of terrorism sponsoring nations serve the United States' national interest?
Lawrence B. Wilkerson and Arturo Lopez-Levy
According to a New York Times story , in his recent visit to Havana, former Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson told Bruno Rodriguez, Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations, that by releasing Alan Gross, Cuba could begin a process of being removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list. Since both Richardson and the State Department have repeatedly declared that they have been working together on this issue, this is practically a confession that Cuba's inclusion on the state sponsors of terrorism list is a sham.
The list of terrorist sponsoring nations should be a bargaining tool for dealing with, well, countries that engage in or sponsor terrorism. The misuse of an otherwise effective foreign policy tool must give pause to responsible members of Congress and the Washington intelligence community. First, it focuses efforts and resources in the wrong direction, taking eyes and dollars from where the real threats are. Second, it sends the wrong message to other countries, diminishing the impact of a warning to countries such as Iran and Syria and the groups they sponsor such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Third, it weakens the capacity of US allies like Israel , who are real targets of terrorist threats, to make a case for the isolation or monitoring of countries such as Iran whose presence on the list is justified.
Before You Stop Diplomacy...
Despite the tensions associated with the upcoming 2012 election campaign in the US, a dialogue between Washington and Havana, as proposed by the Cuban Foreign Relations Minister Bruno Rodriguez, is also in the interest of the Obama Administration, which has nothing to gain from more conflicts in its relationship with Cuba. President Barack Obama's positions favoring dialogue without preconditions, increasing people to people contacts, and reaching mutually beneficial agreements on bilateral issues were never predicated on sympathy for Fidel or Raul Castro, but rather on the conviction that diplomacy and contacts between societies are the best ways to promote US national interests.
By that standard, the balance of the first three years of the Obama administration's relationship with Cuba is positive. The increase in cultural, family, humanitarian and religious travel to Cuba accelerates current reforms in Cuba, improves the image of the US in the hemisphere, and strengthens domestic political trends favoring an engagement policy that is less dependent on the Miami right and more consistent with democratic values and US strategic and economic interests.
The High Holidays and Alan Gross: Is there a Jewish Road Out?
The High Holidays are the expression of the supreme Jewish belief in reconciliation and every individual's capacity to recognize his or her mistakes and change for the better. The Cuban government should view Alan Gross' recent statement as expressing repentance for his unconscious participation in American government sponsored regime change policies that violated Cuban sovereignty. Mr. Gross, an American Jew from Maryland, interested in civil society development was arrested in Dec. 3, 2009 by the Cuban authorities. He had gone to Cuba five times as a subcontractor of Development Alternatives Inc (DAI), a private company serving contracts awarded by the Bush Administration under the Cuba program of USAID.
Alan Gross's Appeal in Cuba, and Then What?
Alan Gross will have his appeal to Cuba's Supreme Court on July 22nd. Will his conviction and 15 year sentence stand? And if it does, will Cuba's leaders feel pressure to step in to commute the sentence and release him?
A few weeks ago, I attended a talk offered by Bob Pastor, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter, who traveled with the former president this spring on his second trip to the island. Pastor said in on-the-record comments - and I'm paraphrasing here from notes I took - that Carter left Cuba with the impression that Raul Castro wants to find a way to release Gross. Many will say (and I agree), wait a minute, if he really wants to release Gross (whether because he believes Gross doesn't belong in prison, should be allowed to go home to cancer-stricken family members, or whether he even just wants the political stumbling block to U.S. engagement removed), he could do so right now.
Nonetheless, if Raul Castro has either his own, his brother's, or other Cuban government hardliners' pride on his mind (and in Cuba, the US government program that sent Gross to the island is seen as an illegal foreign intervention aiming to bring down the Cuban government), what will convince him it's time to step in?
All Detained Americans Are Not the Same
My ears perked up last week upon hearing that after six months of being detained in North Korea, American citizen Eddie Jun was freed last week on humanitarian grounds. Jun, a Los Angeles business man, was detained by North Korean authorities last November for alleged proselytizing while in North Korea on a business visa. As with Cuba, U.S-North Korea relations are colored by years of distrust and miscommunication. But unlike Cuba, North Korea is a nuclear power. That means that in world of finite U.S. diplomatic resources, North Korea demands our attention in a way Cuba never will. So despite, in indeed perhaps because of, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's proclivity for belligerent and provocative acts, the U.S. continues to rely on a mix of both sanctions and engagement in its dealing with Pyongyang.
Amid reports that flooding and an outbreak of disease have contributed to one of the worst food shortages in years, North Korea recently took the unusual step of asking for help from some of its most long-standing foes, including the United States. Against this backdrop, the detention (and subsequent release) of American Eddie Jun was seen as part of the North's strategy of re-engaging the U.S. in a conversation about providing food assistance to North Korea. (U.S. assistance stopped in 2008 after North Korea expelled food aid monitors there to verify that aid was going to the neediest North Koreans, not being siphoned off for use by government officials.)
The debate about food aid to North Korea is a heated one, and has been since the international community's first major humanitarian response to widespread famine in North Korea in the early 1990s that killed nearly one million people. The two sides of the debate go something like this- proponents argue the assistance is humanitarian, and to withhold it is a human rights violation, while those who oppose aid argue that reinstating it would amount to rewarding Pyongyang's bad behavior, and would only serve to strengthen the North Korean regime. Sound vaguely familiar Cuba-philes?
The "Low Point" in U.S.-Cuba Relations- One Year Later
At roughly this time last year the headline of a Reuters article proclaimed, "U.S-Cuba relations under Obama fall to lowest point." The article chronicled a number of prickly moments between Washington and Havana, but largely attributed the backslide to the arrest of U.S. contractor Alan Gross in late 2009 and the unfortunate death of Cuban prisoner, Orlando Zapata Tamayo which occurred just a few months later.
Given President Obama's remarks about Cuba to Univision last week, one might conclude U.S.-Cuba relations have reached a sort of second nadir. In response to a question about the reforms currently underway in Cuba, the president said,
"For us to have the kind of normal relations we have with other countries, we've got to see significant changes from the Cuban government and we just have not seen that yet."
While senior Obama Administration officials have been following those same talking points for months, (see Cuba Central's helpful chronology here), to hear them again, precisely as Cuba begins to implement some of the wide-ranging policy reforms recently endorsed by its political leadership, is a troubling signal of where this Administration is on Cuba policy. Despite the past year being one in which Cuba began an historic process of reform and agreed to a major prisoner release brokered by the Cuban Catholic Church, Obama's comments have the ring of an all-too-familiar refrain that is increasingly incompatible with the facts on the ground in Cuba.
Senator Kerry Demands Accountability for USAID in Cuba
U.S.-Cuba policy is important to Senator Kerry and he wants us to get it right. That was the message he sent last Friday when he announced he is freezing funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Cuba democracy promotion programs until a complete review of the programs is completed
Kerry's announcement came after USAID provided a spending plan (h/t Cuban Triangle) for the $20 million it recieved for Cuba democracy promotion programs in the FY2010 federal budget. For those readers who are not avid followers of the federal budget process, the U.S. Congress is currently wrangling over the FY2011 budget, in which, yes, the Administration requested another $20 million for USAID's Cuba democracy promotion programs.
If it sounds like Kerry is singing a familiar tune, it's because this isn't the first time he's tried to call attention to this deeply flawed program that has cost U.S. taxpayers more than $150 million. Four months after American USAID contractor Alan Gross was arrested in Cuba for his work on a USAID sub-contract, Kerry placed a hold on the dispersal of USAID Cuba democracy promotion funds to allow the State Department to conduct a review of the program.
As Kerry's spokesman, Fred Jones said at the time, "We all want democratic change in Cuba," Jones continued. "The question is whether American taxpayers are getting progress towards that goal."
Unfortunately, it seems the most that came of that review was a modest attempt to broaden and de-politicize the program's roster of recipients to include "marginalized communities" such as those living in rural areas, ethnic and religious minorities, as well as to promote grass-roots economic development. Expanding the program to encompass more traditional USAID priorities such as economic development was a good move, but it didn't address the more fundamental concerns with the program- that it operates without the consent of the host government and under Cuban law, put Americans and Cubans involved with the program at risk.
Reading the Carter Tea Leaves
In reviewing the transcript of former President Carter's press conference in Havana on Wednesday, he says many things we've all heard before: End the embargo. Remove Cuba from the U.S. State Department's State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Restore basic freedoms in Cuba. What's refreshing though is that these comments emanate from one individual, who, as a former U.S President and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, knows more than a bit about the intersection of foreign policy making and human rights.
Consistency is something often lacking in discussions about U.S.-Cuba policy, such that Carter's two-pronged message, calling on both the U.S. and Cuba to take affirmative steps to improve relations, carried with it the exotic flavor of equity. In calling for the repeal of the U.S. embargo and the end of restrictions on travel between the U.S. and Cuba for Americans and Cubans, Carter pointed out the hypocrisy of a U.S. policy that curtails the rights of its own citizens under the guise of punishing a rights-abusing regime.
"I believe we should immediately eliminate the trade embargo that the United States has imposed on the people of Cuba and also allow travel without any kind of restriction from the U.S. to Cuba and vice-versa…"
One does not have to agree with everything the former President said to appreciate the significance of a distinguished American statesman publicly calling for an end to the U.S. embargo and decrying Cuba's lack of freedoms in a single breath.
President Carter in Cuba: The Indefatigable Interlocutor We Need
Photo: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter shakes the hands of eager schoolchildren during his historic trip to Cuba. (May 2002).
When former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, 86, touches down in Havana today he will confront a situation not totally unlike his last international diplomatic outing. Replace nuclear weapons with decades of distrust, add in a failing state–run economy and an American in a communist prison, and you have the backdrop against which the thirty-ninth President of the United States enters Cuba for a brief, but potentially powerful three-day visit.
Nine years ago when Carter first visited Cuba, it marked the first time an American president had set foot on the island since Fidel Castro took power. The visit was marked by a public address, broadcast over Cuban radio (and delivered in Spanish), in which President Carter called for the end of the U.S. embargo and lauded the Cuban pro-democracy initiative, the Varela Project.
Since then, and as most Cuba watchers know, significant changes have come to Cuba with many more still on the horizon. Under President Raul Castro's watch, Cuba has essentially sworn off the state-led economy as it has precariously existed in Cuba since Fidel Castro took power. The government has pledged to lay off approximately 500,000 state workers, and has granted 171,000 private employment licenses. Next month's Communist Party Congress, the first to be convened in 14 years, will focus on "the fundamental decisions on updating the Cuban economic model," and will shed light on how the government plans to reconcile market-oriented reforms with political and social norms of Cuba's communist system.
USAID in Cuba- Why Keep Funding Failure?
An American contractor could spend 15 years in a Cuban prison because of work he undertook at the behest of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). If this tragic episode does not fundamentally transform the nature of U.S. "democracy promotion" efforts in Cuba, I shudder to think what it may take.
The saga that Alan Gross and his family have been living for the past 15 months was an incredibly unfortunate accident waiting to happen. USAID knows its back door tactics place American and Cuban participants in direct violation of Cuban law. In dealing with Cuba, a country that views these programs as part of a larger strategy of regime change (with good reason), and operates one of the most formidable intelligence services in the world, it is no wonder, however regrettable, that Havana decided to make an example out of Alan Gross.
Cuba News Roundup: Airports, Party Leadership and Trial of Alan Gross
It figures that just as I get ready to take an extended leave for the next two months (during which I'll be unable to blog here as much as I'd like), U.S.-Cuban affairs would get to their most interesting - and critical - point in some time.
In recent days we've learned that April's Communist Party Congress in Cuba may not just clarify and embrace the ongoing economic overhaul, but now it will include election of new leadership - which offers the prospect that Fidel Castro will step down as party head, Raul Castro will presumably take his place, and someone else will step into the number 2 spot. Any readers want to take a gander at that one in the comments section?
And then there's what fate awaits Alan Gross, the American contractor the Wall Street Journal editorial board today suggests went on trial in Cuba for "bringing computer equipment to the island to help Cuban Jews communicate with the disapora"? It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is, even, and especially perhaps, for the media to ignore the parts of reality it cares to. Gross was allegedly delivering highly advanced and unregulated satellite communications equipment (added emphasis is mine) on behalf of a foreign, and let's face it, hostile, power. That's a big difference, particularly when we know that droves of American Jews visit the island every year to connect and make generous donations, resulting in community amenities like a computer lab.
The WSJ may in fact be absolutely right that the Cuban government is "terrified of the internet," but questioning the motives behind the application of a law in another country doesn't give you the right to expect that law to be disregarded because you believe your motives to be on a higher order.
A Road Map to Solve the Alan Gross Case
by Lawrence Wilkerson and Arturo Lopez-Levy
The trial in Cuba against USAID subcontractor Alan Gross, which will begin on March 4, presents an opportunity for the Cuban government to both demonstrate the legitimate basis for nationalist defense against U.S. interventionist policy and its good will towards the millions of potential American travelers to Cuba.
By the end of the trial, it should be clear that U.S. travelers to Cuba have nothing to fear if they keep a healthy distance from regime change programs and that Washington and Havana would both gain from dismantling hostile attitudes.
The trial serves three Cuban government purposes:
Trial Date Set for Alan Gross in Cuba
Alan Gross, a Maryland-based USAID subcontractor detained in Cuba in December 2009, is finally about to get his day - or days - in court on March 4th. His family, and U.S. consular officials will be allowed to attend the trial.
As CBS Havana Bureau Chief Portia Siegelbaum reports, there may be a surprise witness in the room too. Finally, a member of the Jewish community has stepped forward to say he did encounter Alan Gross, several times. But William Miller, former Vice President of the the Templo Beth Shalom in Vedado, says Gross's activities "had absolutely nothing to do with the Jewish community," as State Department officials have repeatedly insisted. Though Miller wouldn't elaborate on exactly what role he'll play in Gross's trial, he revealed he'll be "a part of it." And, then he added this, clear as mud:
"The solution to the problem is coming . . . better for the government to explain everything."
It's hard to imagine Miller would utter one word the government didn't want revealed in such a sensitive case. For those of us who saw this whole saga as an unfortunate dragging of one man and his family into a tortured diplomatic relationship, Miller's comments about a "solution" offer hope that Gross could soon return to his family.
Solving a USAID Tragedy.
The Cuban government has announced a new phase of the Alan Gross saga. According to the official note in Cuban newspaper Granma, prosecutors will seek a 20 year sentence against Gross under the Cuban sovereignty defense law. This law was passed by the Cuban National Assembly in 1999 as a nationalist antidote against the American interventionist regime change programs promoted under the 1996 Helms-Burton Act.
The fact that Mr. Gross will finally have his day in Court is positive. It brings his situation closer to international standards regarding the human right to legal counsel and a fair and impartial trial. The Cuban government will have the chance to present Gross' alleged violations of Cuban laws and expose the ways in which the USAID Cuba program differs from the legal and good practices of international development assistance. These factors might create conditions for a political solution of his case negotiated by Havana and Washington.
A USAID sub-contractor, an American interested in social development, Alan Gross spent more than a year behind bars in Havana without formal charges. His family has paid a major emotional and financial toll for his absence. His daughter, Shira, has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy without having her father by her side. His wife Judith, his family, and his congregation all bemoan his absence.
Gross's imprisonment is the direct result of the design flaws in USAID's Cuba programs that the Obama Administration inherited from its predecessor. The agency is conducting programs on the island that place Cubans at risk of severe prison sentences without informing them of the risk they take.
Alan Gross, USAID and the MININT Video "Leak"
Earlier this week, we noted that Cuban prosecutors plan to finally try an American citizen (and USAID subcontractor) held in Cuba during what appears to have been an exhaustive 14 month investigation for crimes against "the independence or territorial integrity of the State." They plan to seek a 20 year prison sentence.
Right on the heels of that announcement, someone slipped Cuba's most celebrated independent blogger Yoani Sanchez - "Viva el Cubaleaks!" writes Sanchez - a copy of a Cuban Ministry of the Interior briefing describing how the United States's war against Cuba has moved into cyberspace. In this video, the MINIT briefer describes how, since at least 2008 (and, notably, even today under the Obama administration) the United States has actively sought to place satellite communications networks in Cuba free from Cuban government control and recruit Cubans to maintain them. And, right on the heels of that leaked video being posted by Yoani on her blog, Yoani now reports that the Cuban government has ceased blocking access to her blog from the island.
That's a lot of drama and intrigue for one week, but chances are this is only the beginning. As Phil Peters notes in his excellent analysis of the MINIT video, this video looks less like a leak and more like the Cuban government's opening statement in the upcoming trial of Alan Gross. (All the more ironic that the video was leaked to Yoani Sanchez, one of the subjects treated in the video and a blogger the Cuban government considers to be "manufactured" by the U.S. and allies in Europe.) For those who want to skip the video, and even the transcription at Cafe Fuerte, or the translation available at Translating Cuba, and just get a synopsis of the main messages in the video, then I recommend you hop over to The Cuban Triangle here and here. Here's a taste of that analysis:
If you read the transcript, what Cuban government messages can you derive? I think they are these:
- To Latin American governments and publics, and beyond: "Obama is no different than Bush; same economic sanctions against Cuba, same attempts to bring down our Revolution."
- To friendly governments: "You might want to check what USAID is up to in your country."
- To international public opinion: "We have young people who are smart, tech-savvy, and as committed as any historico to defending Cuba."
To USAID and its contractors and President Obama: "We've got your number."
U.S.-Cuba Talks Conclude With a Glimmer of Hope for Alan Gross?
The fourth round of U.S.-Cuban migration talks wrapped up in Havana this week, with just two newsworthy tidbits. The Cuban government allowed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson to visit with the American USAID subcontractor, Alan Gross, who has been detained in Cuba for more than one year now without charges, and, Jacobson and the American delegation visited with Cuban dissidents, in spite of the Cuban government's request that they not do so. The latter evoked an angry response from Cuba's foreign ministry, which described the U.S. delegation's visit as a "flagrant violation of the international norms and principles" under which the two countries should operate (my translation below):
"This act confirms once again that there's no change in the U.S. policy of subversion and interference in Cuban internal affairs, and that its priority continues to be to encourage internal counterrevolution and promote destabalizing activities, while it intensifies the embargo and the persecution of Cuban financial and comercial transactions around the world."
When this same thing happened last year, right down to the immediate and angry "we asked you not to" response from Cuba, I concluded it was all essentially a show; Cuba asks the U.S. not to use the occasion of diplomatic talks to visit (and, as they see it, elevate) internal critics, the U.S. delegation went ahead anyway, and Cuba threw a fit on principle. I still believe that to be the case, but I don't see the Cuban concerns, particularly as expressed this year, as cosmetic. What they are essentially saying is, 'you Americans come here (and leave here) saying how willing you are to cooperate with us, but out of the other side of your mouth, while you're still standing on Cuban soil, you make only gestures of disrespect, and oh by the way, in just this last year you've been trying to strangle us even harder than before - what gives?'
It might be a bit of Kabuki theater, but I find myself wondering if the Cuban side has decided to put up with these visits not because they don't really care (what impact do they truly have?) but because that's the price they must pay for continued talks. While we haven't seen a big agreement signing come out of these talks, they are an important way to raise concerns and build trust. And with big changes underway in Cuba, and the potential for President Obama to win a second and (presumably) less politically penned-in second term, I doubt either side wants to jeopardize this channel. Six, eight years ago, talks such as these could so easily be blown up by two very trigger happy sides.
In The Baltimore Sun: "Alan Gross: A Victim of U.S. Policy on Cuba"
"It's been said that when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
No case illustrates this suffering more than that of Alan Gross, a Maryland resident and USAID subcontractor who was working to connect the Cuban Jewish community to the Internet and was detained by Cuban authorities one year ago. Campaigning for his release these many months, his wife, Judy Gross, fears that her husband has become a "pawn" in the half-century Cold War between the United States and Cuba."
That's an excerpt from a commentary that fellow THN contributor Arturo Lopez-Levy and I published in today's The Baltimore Sun. The piece examines not just Alan Gross's case, but the history of the controversial USAID program for which he was working, and other major flaws in the program that impact not just US contractors but the Cuban "beneficiaries" too. Arturo, who has deep roots Cuba's Jewish community, is deeply frustrated over what he sees as the US government's failure to obtain the informed consent of Cubans on the ground. To read the whole piece, click here.
We're pleased that The Baltimore Sun wanted to dig a little deeper into complex and sensitive issues such as this one, which, in its myopic editorial of December 7, The Washington Post utterly failed to do. While we agree with the Post that it is long past time for the Cuban government to give Gross a fair hearing or let him return home to his family, this tragedy didn't transpire in a vacuum. U.S. policy and the Obama administration itself, which never conducted the policy review Secretary Clinton promised Senator Richard Lugar nearly two years ago at her confirmation, bears crucial responsibility too for landing Mr. Gross in his current predicament.
Judy Gross, who in a letter to The Miami Herald called on Presidents Obama and Castro to improve the tortured relationship of which she considers her husband a victim, also talked to The Forward recently. Here's a snippet from the Jewish Daily Forward website:
Washington Post Editorial on Cuba Plays the Jewish Card
I wish I could commend the Washington Post Editorial Board for shining a light on the plight of Bethesda-based Alan Gross, who has spent a year in a Cuban jail cell without charges. Truly, I do. Because on this I am sure most everyone can easily agree: it is long past time for Cuban authorities to give Mr. Gross his day in court or else set him free.
But Monday's editorial, "Cuba's Jewish Hostage," crossed a line when when it irresponsibly led readers to believe that Gross is in prison in Cuba because he's Jewish, and because he was working with the Jewish community.
"Raul Castro's attempt to win foreign favor and investment for Cuba's moribund economy took a particularly cynical turn on Sunday, when the dictator celebrated Hanukkah with Havana's tiny Jewish community. Broadcast on state television, the event was designed to prove that the regime doesn't share the anti-Semitism of allies such as Iran and Venezuela. There was just one problem: No mention was made of Alan P. Gross, an American from Potomac who passed the holiday in a Cuban military facility, where he has been imprisoned for a year without trial because he tried to help Cuba's Jews."
If we've explained it once here at THN, we've explained it a thousand times (as have countless other Cuba analysts): Alan Gross most likely ran afoul of Cuban authorities by traveling to Cuba on a tourist visa (when he was not a tourist) to complete a mission directed and funded by the United States Government. Whether we find its implementation draconion or not, Cuba has a law against that kind of thing (so do we, by the way, it's called the Foreign Agent Registration Act), and the words "Jews of Cuba" don't appear anywhere in it.
An unflinching look at what happened here should lead The Washington Post and other interested media to question whether the State Department bears some responsibility for sending private Americans like Alan Gross into a country to break its laws.
It's also worth asking whether the U.S. government committed a huge blunder by expanding USAID's Cuban democracy program efforts previously focused on declared political dissidents to nonpolitical groups like Cuba's Jews, and thus forcing them into a political battle for which they never asked.
Maybe the next Washington Post editorial will start raising some of these tough questions.
How to Wean Miami off the USAID Cuba Program
Today marks one year since a USAID subcontractor, Alan Gross of Bethesda, MD, allegedly helping the Cuban Jewish community connect via internet to the Jewish community outside of Cuba, was taken into Cuban custody at the conclusion of his fifth such trip to the island. Cuban authorities maintain that he broke Cuban laws, and have even suggested in a couple of instances that he was a spy. U.S. authorities, meanwhile, insist that Gross did nothing wrong, broke no laws, and that Gross's work would not have been a problem in other countries around the world. Alan Gross's wife considers her husband a political pawn, and believes both the U.S. and Cuba could take steps to improve relations and in the process, bring her husband home.
I'm with Judy Gross on this. If Alan Gross violated Cuban laws, he should know and face the charges against him in a fair and open trial.
Unfortunately, Cuba's failure to move the case along has merely enabled Washington's own immobility. Simply demanding his release, as the State Department again did once again yesterday, clearly isn't getting anywhere. It would be a lot easier to sit back and fold our arms ("We don't negotiate with hostage takers!") if our own government hadn't played a starring role in Gross's predicament in the first place. Beyond the intrepid oversight efforts of Senator John Kerry and Congressman Howard Berman (whose committees have jurisdiction over the program) there's been zero effort - beyond a cursory "at your own risk" warning to future USAID Cuba program contractors - from the U.S. side to take responsibility for what happened here. And in that vacuum, Tracey Eaton reports, people like former Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roger Noriega, continue to offer platitudes like this one:
Judy Gross Wants Action on Cuba, While Obama Sweetens a Deal for Sudan
Yesterday's Miami Herald featured a plea from Judy Gross, wife of the American USAID subcontractor who has been held in Cuba for 11 months (under investigation and without any formal charges filed yet), to Presidents Obama and Castro to "be different than your predecessors, change the tide of bilateral relations."
"This is my plea to Presidents Obama and Castro: Be different from your predecessors, change the tide of bilateral relations. I call on President Obama, in whom my husband believes so much, to not forget his pledge of a "new beginning" in relations with Cuba. And I call on President Castro to continue working on improving Cuba's human rights record. To both, I beg: Do not make Alan's case an excuse to fall further apart, but rather an example of a new era in U.S.-Cuba relations."
Al Kamen Misses the Mark on Alan Gross
Who doesn't love Al Kamen's "In the Loop" column in The Washington Post? His scoop is always well researched and substantive, while bringing a little bit of much-needed levity to the news about town. So naturally I chuckled when i read today's bit on Cuba, which began thus:
"He may be the last one to figure it out, but Fidel Castro's recent observation to Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic that the Cuban economic model "doesn't even work for us anymore'' was nonetheless stunning."
But while Al Kamen keeps us in the loop on so many matters, he was a bit off the mark in the case of Alan Gross, the American who traveled to Cuba on a USAID sub-contract, and, as Kamen writes, remains "imprisoned in Cuba for the crime of distributing cellphones and laptops in Cuba's tiny Jewish community."
To better understand the circumstances around Mr. Gross's plight (he's been in prison since last December), Kamen need have looked no further than the September 3rd edition of the venerable Jewish weekly The Forward (or visit its sister publication, The Daily Forward). In it, Arturo Lopez Levy, a Cuban Jew who immigrated to the United States via Israel several years ago but still maintains close contacts with Cuba's Jewish community, wrote:
"Gross was not arrested because he is Jewish, nor is it likely that he was imprisoned because of his efforts to help Cuba's Jewish community with communications technology. Rather, Gross appears to be a victim of failed American policy toward Cuba and a paranoid Cuban government that is holding him without trial.


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LMR Logo Bot
This is my first attempt on building an 'arty' bot.
I didn't know before I started, that this would be the most time instensive robot I 've ever build. But I've learned a lot of new things like: painting, polymorph etc.
As the name suggested, it should look like the robot in the LMR logo. I am not sure if it looks similar, but ok, this is my first art work, so be patient with me.
As usual, an Arduino clone has been used for the electronic brain. To hide most of the electronic stuff, a brain from Polymorph has been created.
The robot platform is the Robot Rover for Arduino from Robot Shop, decorated with sheets of Polystyrene. The most difficult part was to color the black tracks into yellow.
- 2 Maxbotix EZ1 ultrasonic sensors for obstacle avoiding. They fits perfectly into the 35mm film rolls I've been using as robot eyes.
- 2 LDRs for ambient light detectors
All sensors has been put together with the Duo LEDs into the film rolls. See my blog post about howto connect 2 ultrasonic sensors.
- A LVDSMC from Pololu has been choosen as motor controller for the GM9 1:143 geared motors. Build with FETs it brings the most power out of 4 AA cells for the motors.
- 2 Duo LEDs (red/green) as distance indicators. No object in sight meens green LEDs are glowing, in a middle distance of 30cm the LEDs glow yellow. Near objects are shown red.
- A BlinkM RGB LED will illuminate the Polymorph brain, to indicate the robots emotions.
Update: 05.03.2010
A POV (persistence of vision) display has been added to the LMR Logo-Bot. Now the robot can write messages of light into the air. Because of the low speed of the robot the messages can only be seen by a bulb exposure taken with my digicam. In the second video you can see the POV display in action.
The POV display is made out of 8 blue LEDs. Because I don't have enough free ports a PCF8574 I2C port expander chip has been used to connect the POV display to the Arduino.
Further work:
- the front servo needs to be move a little bit, to give more place for the POV display.
- I've ordered some RGB LEDs for the brqain illumination
- Hack the GM9 motors to add wheel encoders
Next time instead of painting your tracks yellow
Next time instead of painting your tracks yellow, try some Plasti-Dip. Available in different colors also. Rubberizes plastic and gives traction. Much better than applying tape for grip. Somebody shoot the guy in the video please!
More traction on a tracked vehicle?
Finally Rik, it depends on the load
Of course! If your on carpet
Respect, this is very funny!!
That remark was made when I
That remark was made when I just thought it would be a good looker! Now with the new marksups on the video, I saw what it actually do, nice job! :D


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Albert Hadley's Spring Cleaning
At the legendary decorator's auction next week, you can snag a piece of design history—for next to nothing
'I'm a little embarrassed by this auction, to tell the truth," said decorator Albert Hadley with characteristic modesty. "It's not like it's Bill Blass—it's just a mixture, nothing grand."
Mr. Hadley's mixtures, no matter what composition, are the stuff of design legend. When he closed his office last year, a small number of furniture pieces and objects from his days working with decorating partner Sister Parish were kept in storage. Mr. Hadley, eyes always ahead, has decided that now it is time for that to go. Included in Sotheby's European furniture sale of March 30 and 31 are 38 lots from the inventory of the greatest American decorating office of our time.
There are some very personal things, like a trompe l'oeil painted curtain valance. "That was done for the stair hall of my parents' house in Nashville by an artist called York Kennedy," Mr. Hadley recalled. There was once a pair of them, and while he doesn't remember where the pendant ended up, given the history of his firm it could have been Babe Paley's Kiluna Farm, the Kennedy White House or just about anywhere else you might have dreamed to see. Have a go at lot 675 for $200-$300.
Then there are the prototype pieces made for famous Parish-Hadley projects that spawned a multitude of imitations and descendants, making them look familiar to us now (see lot 670, four Swedish Moderne-style wood benches). But these pieces were in the front lines of American design, which for a generation looked to Parish-Hadley to lead the way.
Mr. Hadley and Sister Parish were never furniture snobs—with the best taste in the world, they didn't need to be. Prices in this sale will be attractive, the furniture pretty and usable and the moment, a piece of history. Sothebys.com
—David Netto


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Bug found
Hi, found a bug.
If I check the task as done, it goes to the bottom of the list, where I can still reach the notes of this task. So I open the notes of this done task and on the top of the notes window, I can uncheck the done checkbox. When I do, it appears in not done, but also stays in done as well, so it duplicates. And if I try to uncheck the duplicated done task, it stucks and keeps trying to do that.
All responses
Hi Korj,
If you refresh the page, does it still show it duplicated? Does this occur in the web version as well?
Yes, it still is duplicated.
And yes, same in the Web version.
I can't reproduce this issue. I followed your instructions exactly, and it does appear to have the task in the completed list as well as non-completed. The moment I click the refresh button, it goes away from completed.
Hm, sorry, it really goes away after refreshing, but still it's a bug. It duplicates after this manipulation.
So, will it be recognized as a bug?
Hello Korj,
I have passed it to the developers, but it seems to be only a visual glitch as reloading the page and accessing the completed task list again shows that the task isn't there anymore, only on the active task list.
Best regards,
This issue has now been fixed.
Best regards,