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How The Rest Of The World Sells Its Government Bonds
The Primary-dealer intermediated US Treasury issuance model is well-known to virtually everyone (and if it isn't, today the TBAC has released a convenient presentation explaining all the nuances for those who may not be familiar with all the aspects of just how the US Treasury auctions off bonds). But how does the rest of the developed world fund its budgeting needs? The following table from the TBAC presentation provides all the answers.
More from TBAC:
- Most countries with PDs have anywhere from 5 to 25 PDs at any one time. 5 PDs appears to be a minimum number to ensure competition among PDs and to avoid collusion or moral hazard. A large number of PDs can dilute the benefits that accrue to PDs; benefits that are critical in inducing PDs to perform the responsibilities. Countries with large borrowing needs and/or high debt-GDP balances can generally support a larger number of PDs.
- The PD system in the U.S. appears well-suited to the mix of securities now being auctioned by Treasury. Other G-7 countries use syndications to sell less conventional securities like foreign-denominated bonds and ultra-long instruments. If Treasury decides to issue unconventional securities to further diversify their investor base, then syndications should be considered.
- Syndicated deals in the EU are typically timed for periods when institutions tend to be cash rich. Since Treasury is a frequent borrower and auction statistics tend to be consistent over time, seasonal syndicated deals do not appear necessary in the current environment.
- Most EU countries come with 1-3 syndicated deals per year. Since Treasury likes to be a consistent and reliable borrower, periodic and/or opportunistic syndicated deals would not fit Treasury's stated goals.
- The UK supplements gilt auction sales with other distribution methods such as syndications (long-dated gilts and index-linked gilts), mini-tenders (to supplement shortfalls in syndications) and their Post Auction Option Facility or PAOF (which allows auction bidders to acquire up to an additional 10% of their auction allocation within a 2 hour period after each auction). Treasury often adjusts T-Bill issuance to changing cash flow needs so such 'top-up' schemes are generally not needed.
- In Japan most JGB's are sold via competitive price auctions; the last syndicated JGB deal was in the 1990's. Some JGB auctions are non-competitive and designed for retail investors (minimum of JPY 10,000 and no upper limit) and Japan also has an OTC sales system for 2yr, 5yr and 10yr maturities where the price is set by the MOF and where there is a maximum allotment of JPY100 mln per individual application.
And the full TBAC presentation highlighting the "The U.S. Primary Dealer debt distribution model: benefits and challenges" (pdf)
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You have to admit it's a really pretty piece of paper.
Please do enjoy this fine S+M Medley.
Thank you, but that's a bit rough for these old bones.
I prefer this -
Old school.
your wife calls it molesting
Nice Gig ..........if we could all sell Bonds for our future earnings...........................oh wait.........that's a mortgauge or loan.................and GOV has already sold our asses down the road
".........if we could all sell Bonds for our future earnings..."
Publicly traded corporations have been doing this for the last 4 1/2 year to the tune of 3.7 trillion USD by selling low yield bonds (thanks, Bernank!) and then using the revenue to buy their own shares back (adding to their debt but making execs on compensation-based-on-share price-performance very happy).
The "markets," "economy," "sovereign bonds," etc. are all one big interconnected Ponzi-Pyramid.
p.s. I can hardly wait to see if the 30 billion USD market cap company that is twitter managed to eke out a profit!
making execs on compensation-based-on-share price-performance very happy...
Isn't this what Professor Black would call "control fraud"? I was just a kid during the S & L crisis so I didn't really catch everything about what made that event so shameful. It's quite evident now, however, that was child's play in comparison to the collusion between these (s)elected individuals. The biggest travesty is the lack of even a cursory competent judiciary.
Will we ever be fed up with the overfed fed?
Aren't the mining companies of Bitcoin similar to the PD's?
Great analogy. Fewer miners = more collusion and 'moral hazard.' More miners = dilution of 'benefits.'
Gotta hit that Satoshi sweet spot to strike a balance of virtual oligopoly.
MyRa new war bonds..... They want it all... PD are TBTF welfare and ZIRP clowns.
Everyone scrapping their fees off the top.
and the rest of us scraping feces off our faces
Why not go Postal? We could send our money in, con-gress could "borrrow it" replacing it with Treasury notes, just like Socialist Security.
MyRa new war bonds..... They want it all... PD are TBTF welfare and ZIRP Quigley clowns.
"The Rothschilds, and that class of money-lenders of whom they are the representatives and agents -- men who never think of lending a shilling to their next-door neighbors, for purposes of honest industry, unless upon the most ample security, and at the highest rate of interest -- stand ready, at all times, to lend money in unlimited amounts to those robbers and murderers, who call themselves governments, to be expended in shooting down those who do not submit quietly to being robbed and enslaved."Quote by: Lysander Spooner
(1808-1887) Political theorist, activist, abolitionist Source: "No Treason #6" (1870)
Precisely why you want your monetary system to be tethered to some real asset. Something that can't be "created" out of thin air by a relative few, who enrich themselves and enslave the many.
LawsofPhysics: The thin air to print currency illegally was then used to obtain a monopoly ownership on nearly all the assets you describe as real including gold. Tethering money to some real asset presents a real problem when the ownership is concentrated in the hands of the relatively few.
Apart from the criminal aspect of receiving stolen goods, how do you create a monetary reserve currency if the assets to back it are owned by the very criminals themselves? This much has never been confiscated/stolen by one class of criminal in the history of the world, ever.
The problem i see is how to prosecute?
Lysander. He da man! +++
All paper is going to zero and all paper is created equal (of course some paper is "more equal" than other paper).
Hedge accordingly.
Those Italian bonds look like a great deal.
sarc on
Dunno, Argentina's cookin' too. S/cont.
Money and politics don't mix and the US system has shown that up beyond redemption in this current conundrum going ballistic.
Moral Hazard is now viral as the ELECTED now belong to the Money Cabal.
And you guys who pretend to be in favour of the 99% still believe that by some miracle of an Austrian Shaman you will change the power workings of this awesome hegemonical takeover of the world economy by Mr Moneybags cabal of the 0.001 %.
"You cannot be serious"... as Big McEnroe would have said!
It occurs to me that a more Ukrainian tact might be necessary. Then again, I doubt Ukraine.gov has the firepower of the money cabal.
Putin only knows one line of argument with the Euro Ukraine lot of golden tressed Roxelane : Open your legs wide and it won't be statuary rape but a Femen saying : "come n get it you russian bear! Then the EU can stuff it 'cos I will be hailed as democrat who never acts like an autocrat!"
That's called Russian diplomacy, a variant of russian roulette, for those who have wet dreams of freedom.
Tact and fact; its all a question of how you ACT !
BUt then Putin is no worse than Assad or the Saud lot; way behind the DC lot !
They be in a class of their own ! Behind Google glasses of sophistication, OFCOURSE !
"How the rest of the world sells its government bonds"---by using the "greater fool" theory? Just guessing.
"How the rest of the world sells its CRAP" maybe is better
The deeper I delve, the more I realize how I understand nothing. It's all Greek to me. (Pun?)
Well we all know for sure that life is getting worse by the minute. However there is one (and only one) bright spot: more people are waking up to the paper money scam. At least it's something.
Right, a free market is not dependable when you need to fund an infinite level of government debt, which is required to exert infinite control.


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There is model photography and then there is Hot Model Photography. I think it's safe to say that this is HOT model photography. My good friend Joe Asbury who served the United States Army developed a passion for photography. After retiring from service after 20 long and tough years he and a couple of friend's joined forces with Full Frame Production. And if you ask me it looks like a very fun photography business he has. The female models are gorgeous. Their hair is styled beyond compare. Their makeup is painted to perfection. And, dare I say the models have great bodies from what I am told. (In case my wife is reading :).
Anyway, I want to give a big shout out and congratulations to Joe. Thank you for keeping us well protected for all those years. Now is your time to enjoy!
If you like what you see please Pin, Tweet, Like and most importantly enjoy!
Hot Model Photography: Full Frame Production
Full Frame Production is a New York City photography studio. Owners Thomas Tamborski, Joseph Asbery and Henry Sen specialize in the highest quality glamour, fashion and auto imaging.
Our broader team includes some of the most talented makeup artists, models and special guest photographers in the city.
We create the perfect setting for each challenge, from intimate imaging to larger efforts with several photographers and models. Group shoots provide a great way to network, working with a variety of uniquely gifted creatives at once in a comfortable environment.
To check out more hot model photography and full frame production please click on the links below.

subset: commoncrawl


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Serologic Diagnosis of Celiac Disease
DESCRIPTIONCeliac disease, which may also be referred to as celiac sprue or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, may be defined as small intestinal inflammation resulting from an immunologic intolerance to gluten; i.e. the proteins derived from wheat, barley and rye. The diagnosis is confirmed when there is a clinical and histologic improvement on a strict gluten free diet, and relapse when dietary gluten is reintroduced. As summarized in the following table, the symptoms of the disease are markedly variable and can be broadly subdivided into intestinal and extraintestinal manifestations, the latter thought to be related to nutrient malabsorption. For example, osteopenia and osteoporosis, commonly seen in adults with untreated celiac disease, is related to the impaired absorption of vitamin D and binding of intraluminal calcium and magnesium to unabsorbed dietary fatty acids, forming insoluble soaps.
Clinical Manifestation of Celiac Disease
As noted above, the symptoms of celiac disease are nonspecific and are often overlooked. In addition, the disease may develop at any time in life from infancy to very old age. In children, the disease typically presents between 6 and 24 months, following weaning, and is characterized by abnormal stools, poor appetite and irritability. In adults, diarrhea is the main presenting symptom, but presenting symptoms may be entirely nonspecific, such as anemia or infertility. "Typical" or "classical" celiac disease refers to the presence of malabsorption, while "atypical" celiac disease consists primarily of extraintestinal manifestations. Finally, silent celiac disease may be entirely asymptomatic and discovered only on biopsy or with serologic testing (see further discussion below). For example, population-based screening serologic surveys suggest a prevalence of 1 in 250-500 in most countries, including the United States. Celiac disease is an HLA-associated disease and therefore there is a hereditary component to the disease, with a 10% prevalence among first degree relatives. Celiac disease is associated with a number of other conditions, including type 1 diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis and primary biliary cirrhosis.
Given the nonspecific nature of the symptoms, definitive diagnosis has been based on the results of small intestinal biopsies showing a flattened intestinal mucosa in association with an inflammatory infiltrate. Diagnostic criteria were first established in 1969 by the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHN) and consisted of a series of three intestinal biopsies, one at diagnosis, one after institution of a gluten free diet, and the third after a repeat gluten challenge. This cumbersome method of diagnosis was revised in 1990 by simplifying the diagnostic criteria to a positive biopsy at presentation in conjunction with consistent history and serologic results, followed by a clinical response to a gluten free diet.
While a positive biopsy is still considered the gold standard for diagnosis, there has been considerable interest in the serologic evaluation of patients with possible celiac disease, in part as a technique to triage the large number of patients with nonspecific symptoms for biopsy. Serologic diagnosis is focused on the detection of IgA antibodies. In the presence of gluten, the intestine produces large amounts of antibodies that are secreted intraluminally, but spill over into the serum, where they can be detected. Antigliadin antiendomysial, and tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies have been most extensively studied. Gliadin is a component of gluten, while antiendomysial antibodies (referred to as EMA) are directed against the reticulin network surrounding the smooth muscle bundles of the gastrointestinal tract. Tissue transglutaminase is the enzyme responsible for deamidation of gliadin in the lamina propria, increasing its immunogenicity and allowing interaction with HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8.
Antigliadin antibodies can be detected using an ELISA test. EMA antibodies are detected using an indirect immunofluroscence technique using either primate esophagus or human umbilical cord as a substrate. More recently the EMA antigen has been identified as the tissue enzyme tissue transglutaminase (tTG), allowing the development of an ELISA based test or a dot blot procedure that can be performed in the physician's office. A total of 2-3% of patients with celiac disease are IgA deficient; in these patients IgG antibodies are assayed instead of IgA antibodies. Among the approximately 10% of cases where clinical suspicion, serologic testing and intestinal biopsy are equivocal, the 2007 review by Green and Cellier suggests that negative tests for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 (present in 90-95% and 5+% of patients with celiac disease respectively) can rule out a diagnosis of celiac disease.
The newest serologic tests are deamidated gliadin peptide (DGP) antibody tests. Deamidation refers to a chemical reaction in which an amide group is removed from an organic compound. Deamidated gliadin is produced when gluten undergoes acid or enzymatic treatment so that tissue transglutaminase converts some of the glutamines to glutamic acid. Deamidated peptides are believed to be more specific to celiac disease than native peptides. A limitation of human antigen-based tTG tests for diagnosing celiac disease is that they have relatively low specificity and can result in false-positive findings in patients with chronic liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and other conditions. Some of the DGP antibody tests are able to assay both IgA and IgG, so they can be used in patients regardless of IgA deficiency status.
Antibody testing for celiac disease is widely available and HLA typing for celiac disease is offered by several laboratories such as Quest, LabCorp and Promethus.
POLICYSerologic measurement of tissue transglutaminase or antiendomysial antibodies may be considered medically necessary in patients with signs or symptoms suggestive of celiac disease.
Serologic measurement of antigliadin antibodies may be considered medically necessary in children under 24 months of age with signs or symptoms suggestive of celiac disease.
Serological testing is considered medically necessary to screen persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus for celiac disease.
Serologic measurement of deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies is considered investigational in patients with signs or symptoms suggestive of celiac disease.
HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 testing may be considered medically necessary to rule out celiac disease in patients with discordant serologic and histologic (biopsy) findings or if persistent symptoms warrant testing despite negative serology and histology.
Screening of asymptomatic at risk patient groups for celiac disease using one or more serologic IgA or IgG measures is considered investigational.
Population screening for celiac disease using one or more serologic IgA or IgG measures is considered investigational.
Investigative service is defined as the use of any treatment procedure, facility, equipment, drug, device, or supply not yet recognized by certifying boards and/or approving or licensing agencies or published peer review criteria as standard, effective medical practice for the treatment of the condition being treated and as such therefore is not considered medically necessary.
The coverage guidelines outlined in the Medical Policy Manual should not be used in lieu of the Member's specific benefit plan language.
POLICY HISTORY7/2003: Approved by Medical Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC)
10/19/2006: Policy updated to allow testing as medically necessary
5/29/2008: Policy statement updated with the following as medically necessary: addition of tissue transglutaminase, the use of antigliadin antibiodies for children under 18 months of age and HLA-DQ2 and –DQ8 testing to rule out celiac disease where serology and histology are equivocal. Additional policy statements added that screening both the general population and asymptomatic at risk subgroups are investigational.
04/19/2011: Policy description updated regarding available tests. Policy statement updated to state that serologic measurement of deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies is considered investigational in patients with signs or symptoms suggestive of celiac disease. Also, added that the use of more than one antibody test is considered not medically necessary.
04/19/2012: Deleted the following policy statement: Use of more than one antibody test is considered not medically necessary. The age limit for testing in children was changed from 18 months to 24 months.
08/20/2013: Added the following policy statement: Serological testing is considered medically necessary to screen persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus for celiac disease. Code Reference section updated to add the code range for diabetes mellitus, type I.
08/14/2015: Medical policy revised to add ICD-10 codes.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association policy # 2.04.30
CODE REFERENCEThis may not be a comprehensive list of procedure codes applicable to this policy.
The code(s) listed below are ONLY medically necessary if the procedure is performed according to the "Policy" section of this document.
Covered Codes


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Mixing cultures is not something new, but many friendship or dating sites, sometimes completely free, have made it more accessible.
Although there are places where crossbreeding is more common (in Spain we can clearly see that in places such as Ceuta and Melilla, where Christian and Muslim cultures have lived together for years), the truth is that these sites are about sharing something more than a space limited by political boundaries, such as love, a life or a future together.
This is all well known by Datanta.org, the group of sites Amistarium – Datanta, where many couples of different nationalities and cultures have found the love of their lives or a casual relationship, since that option is also available on the site.
Datanta.org is a global site
Unlike other dating sites with limited geographical scope, Datanta covers a great part of the five continents: from France to Mexico, Brazil ot India.
Amistarium – Datanta received more than one million visits a month from 172 countries.
This is extracted from data provided by Google Analytics, whereby we can conclude that Spaniards, Mexicans, Colombians and Americans are the most assiduous visitors in that order, but it is people from Central Asia who spend more time surfing the site, whereas most of the new visits come from Oceania, America and Africa.
Multicultural love stories
This multiculturalism promoted by the successful free dating website Amistarium – Datanta has helped creating an endless number of couples with incredible real love stories and no boundaries. (Names have been changed to maintain users' anonymity).
· Rania and Marcelo. Rania comes from India. She's got beautiful, expressive eyes and long, silky hair. "But that's not what made me fall in love with her", says Marcelo, a young Colombian entrepreneur who joined Datanta to meet "the sweetest woman I have ever met". Their love story developed with each keystroke for months. Then, Marcelo travelled to India in order to meet Rania and her family and many trips followed that one. Today, Marcelo and Rania live happily in Barcelona. They are already planning their wedding, which will take place in November.
· Another happy ending features, for the last three months, Paola and Marco Antonio: she, Italian, was a manager in one of the most exclusive clothes shop in Rome and accumulated love fiascos: "Very often I had the feeling that men were only attracted by my looks", says Paola, whose beauty is enviable, but Marco Antonio, a Chilean vet who was looking for his better half, did not mind it. A hopeless romantic, Marco Antonio fell madly in love with Paola, who had only put up a photo of her face on Datanta. After two months, Marco Antonio looked for a vet job in Rome and moved together with his love, and together they enjoy a continuous honeymoon.
· More complicated was the love story between Dam and Cinthya, a 36-year-old from Senegal and a 22-year-old American, a former Harvard student. Cinthya's parents thought she was too young to start a relationship with an older person who lived so far away, but their love was stronger than parental objections. Today, Dam and Cinthya live together in Paris. She works as a lawyer in one of the city's law firms and he is a chef in a distinguished restaurant. He gets on very well with his parents-in-law thanks to his cheerful character and his love for Cinthya.
These are three examples of love between people from different countries and cultures, but not the only ones among the many love stories: interculturalism promotes love and Datanta is an expert in that. Not in vain, since right now, another couple from different cultures could be starting. It surely is.


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I just decided to jump in and do my first set of intervals on a bike ever. I mean actually go as hard as possible to certain time period.
I did 1x 3 ratio intervals, 30 seconds off the saddle, 39 seconds on, increasing cadence on the saddle, 3 minutes to E1 and repeat. I did four sets of the 1x3 intervals, spent 22 minutes of the bike, 5 minutes of warm up and 5 minutes of cool down.
Now my reaction. My HR took 1 minute to drop from 179 (zone 5a - 5b) to 162 (zone 4) and 2.5 minutes to E1 (135 BPM). My max HR was 182 BPM (zone 5c). I was definitly anarobic past 173 BPM and was breathing hard down to 165 or so after I stopped interval, my guess is catching up on breath from the interval. At the 4th interval I could almost not finish, muscles were actually tired enough not to be able to push 39 - 11 on the trainer.
It took me about 15 minutes off the bike to return to normal after I layed down and consumed my recovery drink.
Is this a normal reaction for first time intervals or am I going too hard. I felt dizzy once I got off the bike and for a few minutes after. I was covered in sweat. I think the dizzyness has to do with me not consuming enough water. I definitly need at least 48 oz before this type of workout, I do sweat alot anyway.
Thanks in advance.


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SEOUL, Korea - The visit last month of North Korea's diminutive dictator Kim Jong Il to China is still making waves here in the South Korean capital.
The Chinese rolled Kim through showcases of their market reforms. The North Korean leader, who once denounced the Chinese for retreating from socialism, responded with dutiful words of praise for the Chinese model.
South Koreans applaud any evidence that Kim may be headed down a Chinese-style path. Like the Chinese, most South Koreans believe this may be the only way to ultimately persuade the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
But in conversations here with senior South Korean officials and others closely involved with North Korea, I detected unease, even alarm, at the growth of China's influence and presence in the North. Some talked darkly about a Chinese "takeover'' of the North.
South Korean mixed feelings about China are not new. But the Kim visit comes on top of a rapid broadening of Chinese economic ties to North Korea, described in detail in a new report issued by the International Crisis Group. Chinese trade and investment in North Korea has reached $2 billion annually. Bridges and highways in and out of North Korea are being built, making it easier to ship iron ore and other raw materials out.
Hundreds of Chinese firms are investing into North Korea, in some cases grabbing deals away from South Korean companies.
Is China willing to use this expanded influence to compel Pyongyang to give up nuclear weapons? Some in the Bush administration still cling to that hope. But the report argues strongly against that happening.
China may again drag Pyongyang back to the stalled six-party talks that it hosts. And it will move quickly to curb any North Korea provocation, such as a nuclear test, that could lead to war.
But China has an overriding interest in stability as well, opposing any attempt to destabilize the Kim government. The Chinese will cooperate to curb Pyongyang's laundering of counterfeit money through their banks, the report says, but will not shut down the North's banking operations in China.
South Koreans don't differ with China on the need to engage the North. Their own economic ties with the North are deepening. And Seoul too is consumed with the danger of triggering a war by trying to cut off the North's economic lifeline.
But South Koreans now also worry that China's deepening stake in the North will only perpetuate the division of the Korean Peninsula.
A South Korean businessman who is deeply engaged in dealings with the North argued to me privately that the North Koreans are unhappy with their dependence on Beijing and eager for an alliance with the United States. By refusing to deal directly with Kim Il Jong, he argued, "the Bush administration is pushing North Korea into the camp of China.''
We should explore such claims with a healthy dose of skepticism. The North Koreans are masters at playing the Chinese and South Koreans against each other, as they did with the Russians and Chinese during the Cold War.
More important, South Korean nervousness about China comes together with renewed interest in shoring up the strained alliance with the United States. This is partly behind a decision to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the United States this year.
A free-trade agreement between the United States and Korea, one of the largest economies in the world, would be good for both economies. It should open more markets in Korea, removing a host of barriers such as restrictions on foreign investment. Korean officials, led by a young and ambitious American-trained trade minister, believe an FTA will spur a new round of needed internal reform and a jump in growth.
Anti-FTA protests were already taking place as I was discussing this with Korean officials. More are sure to come from those, such as farmers, most threatened by more open markets. But officials say the president and his government are committed to pushing this through.
Privately, Korean officials hope the FTA will also remind Koreans and Americans of the value of their alliance. It gives both sides something to talk about other than to dwell on their differences over North Korea. We should push hard from both sides to quickly finish an FTA deal -- and continue to talk quietly about our shared interests in maintaining a strategic balance in Northeast Asia.


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After giving birth to daughter Haven Warren in August, Jessica Alba made sure to be consistent with her workouts. The dedication clearly paid off as Alba showed off her body in a pink and aqua bikini while vacationing at a Mexican villa in Los Cabos yesterday (December 29th).
The star was surrounded by family and friends as she dropped her maxi dress to reveal and toned and tan figured. "I didn't gain as much weight with my second pregnancy, so I think that really made a big difference," Alba told Us Weekly at an event on November 21."I did prenatal yoga up until the very end. I just made healthier choices. I started working out and not going too crazy, but I did what was safe and what the doctor approved."


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I am building my first road bike! So I may as well be a snob about it and go all Italian!
I've been commuting and MTBin' on my old GT Zaskar Mountain Bike for years.
Then I had to take a break from the dirt as I broke my neck in 2007 [MX-accident]. My return saw my MTB transform to MTB'Road'mutter...
So, all the riding on the road with the MTB finally led me to make the jump.
Enter Mr. CINELLI ALIANTE
The beginning of my first Italian steed.
The Cinelli Aliante
Purchased from Open Road Bicycle Shop - Pasadena, CA
local.yahoo.com/info-20618606-open-road-bicycle-shop-pasa...
What is an "Aliante?"
Italian: aliante [glider]
1. a motorless, heavier-than-air aircraft for gliding from a higher to a lower level by the action of gravity or from a lower to a higher level by the action of air currents.
2. a porch swing made of an upholstered seat suspended from a steel framework by links or springs.
3. a person or thing that glides.
4. a person who pilots a glider.
Purchased from Open Road Bicycle Shop - Pasadena, CA
(626) 683-9986 -- 60 N Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
Year of MFG: 2005
Color/Finish: Frame: Soft-Touch Clear | Carbon-rears&fork: Natural-Clear
Seat height / Inseam Formula:
29-inseam & 73cm - Saddle Height: 64.5cm
30-inch inseam & 76cm - Saddle Height: 67.1cm
D2RX 001 Chromosomes or DNA unknown - either way, it's #001 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
According to Open Road, frame was purchased at Interbike as a display bike. The owner purchased the bike intending to ride it himself. He pulled it down to the frame/fork/stem/post level and just never got it built as he has two other bike bikes he rides on the regular. It was sitting there for some time and then here I come a few years later with new excitement, saw it, wanted it! That frame hanging there was speaking to me! Yes, the frame spoke to me, it called me out!
It's the Cinelli Solido on steroids. The Solido Magnum is much lighter than any other over-size stem. Its over-size section make it ultra-rigid. The Solido Magnum is CNC machined inside and out from a solid block of Al 2030 T6. Wall thicknesses vary according to structural requirements. Black polished and matte black anodized. Titanium screws. Reversible rise.
weight : 135.0g
colors : Black--Matte/gloss anodising
materials : Al 2030 T6
Clamp diameter: 31.8
clamp diameter: 28,6 mm (1 1/8 - with reduction sleeve to 25,4mm
rise x length : +-10° rise x 90,100,110,115,120,130mm
This bad boy has been sitting in my office for way too long! I purchased this frame-set from Steve at Open Road Bicycle Shop in Pasadena on June 27th, 2008. It's time to build!


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Villa Ladies preview: Winger Follis as quick as lightning
Winger Emma Follis was so quick in her last game for Villa Ladies that the assistant referee pulled up with a calf injury chasing her down the line.
Follis has been the star of the show for Villa Ladies these past few matches, showing pace, precision and power in abundance from the flanks.
The 21-year-old Villa fan scored in the 7-0 friendly win over RAF Cosford on Tuesday - where she was too pacy for the official - and looks set to dazzle on Sunday in the County Cup quarter-final clash with Copsewood Ladies.
She certainly loves life in claret and blue at the moment.
She said: "I was in USA just before the season started so it took me a while to get up to full match fitness.
"Then I got a nasty rib injury which kept me out for about a month.
"But since getting back into the team, I have been really pleased with my performances.
"I'm full of confidence and just want to get on the ball and terrorise the opposition defences as much as possible.
"Every time I get hold of the ball I just look to either create a chance for a team-mate or get in the position to score myself.
"Joe has drilled into us the need to defend too, even in advanced positions, so that's an important part of my game also.
"There's a great spirit in the squad. It's great to be involved with Villa Ladies. We're doing well and we've really improved these last few months, after a slow start.
"Now we just aim to push on, try to win every game in the league and get through in the cup competitions.
"It's a big thing for me playing for Villa, the club I love. I'm living the dream!"
Boss Joe Hunt added: "Emma has been electric over the last six weeks, taking the game by the scruff of the neck and either creating chances or scoring herself.
"She's been magnificent and long may that form continue."
Make sure you pick up tickets for Newcastle.
Season Tickets
on sale
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[Page: S7093]
The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill..............
Mr. GLENN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of an amendment offered by my colleagues, Messrs. Cochran and Durbin, to correct a significant deficiency in our export licensing system.
I will speak today of the current practice of allowing the export from the United States of high-powered, dual-use computers--machines that until very recently were called supercomputers--without any prior U.S. Government assessment of their end uses or end users. The amendment takes a significant step to correct this problem--not by banning the export of such machines, but merely by requiring exporters to obtain an individual validated export license before exporting them from the United States or reexporting them from elsewhere.
The amendment specifically requires a license for the export of computers with a composite theoretical performance level equal to or greater than 2,000 million theoretical operations per second [MTOPS], when such machines are destined to a group of countries that now receive such computers--up to a level of 7,000 MTOPS--without U.S. Government end use or end user checks.
The specific group of controlled countries--the so-called `Tier 3' countries--is described as follows in the Bureau of Export Administration's Report to Congress for Calendar Year 1996: `* * * countries posing proliferation, diversion or other security risks.' So we are dealing here with certain countries that our government, on the basis of all the information at its disposal, has determined pose risks to our security.
This is not the first time I have spoken about the proliferation risks associated with high-powered computers. On October 31, 1989, I spoke of the dangers from supercomputers and super bombs (Congressional Record, 10/31/89, p. S-14382 ff.).
On that occasion, I reminded my colleagues of the role computers play in designing nuclear weapons, and this particular application will only grow in importance now that the world appears heading for a ban on all nuclear explosions. Though it is true indeed that countries do not need high-powered computers to build the bomb--witness America's 1945-vintage Fat Man and Little Boy bombs--it is well recognized today that such computers are absolutely essential to developing advanced nuclear weapon designs, including H-bombs, especially when nuclear test explosions are prohibited. These computers are also useful in designing nuclear weapon delivery systems, the full gamut advanced conventional weapons systems, and have other national security applications--cryptography, for example.
Over a decade ago, in January 1986, America's three nuclear weapon labs--the Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia National Laboratories--issued an unclassified report aptly titled, `The Need for Supercomputers in Nuclear Weapons Design.' The following extracts clearly identify the utility of supercomputers--as defined back in 1986--in the design and improvement of our Nation's nuclear weapons:
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Large-scale computers are essential to carrying out the weapons program mission. Computers provide essential understanding and enable us to simulate extremely complicated physical processes . . . Computers enable us to evaluate performance and safety over the decades of a weapon system's lifetime . . . computers enable us to verify weapon designs within testing limits.
With large-scale computers, we have been able to improve our designs by optimizing design parameters, while reducing the number of costly experiments in the design process . . . Tests involving high explosives have been reduced from 180 tests for a 1955-vintage weapon to fewer than 5 for today's weapons because of computation.
Computers enable us to extrapolate to new capabilities . . . it is this computational capability, driven by the needs of the weapons design, that has made possible new concepts and enhanced safety in weapons.
The inability to calculate solutions to complex problems [during the years of the Manhattan Project] hampered development and forced weapons designers to build in large margins against error (e.g., large amounts of high explosive, which increased weight to such an extent that some designers were uncertain the devices could actually be carried by existing aircraft) . . . It has been estimated that a team of scientists using the calculators of the 1940s would take five years to solve what it takes a Cray computer one second to perform.
Without supercomputers, the nation's nuclear weapons program would be deprived of much of its vitality . . . supercomputing is
essential . . . in providing us with a tool to simulate the complex processes going on during a nuclear explosion . . . computers enable us to infer real-environment weapon performance from underground nuclear tests.
The computer becomes absolutely essential in the evolution of a design that will survive the `fratricide' threat . . . the computer is essential in designing a system whose vulnerability to an ABM attack is reduced to an acceptable level.
[Computers] enable the designer to `test' ideas before actually committing to hardware fabrication . . . computing capabilities are absolutely critical to progress in new designs.
OK, so those were the uses of high-powered computers a decade ago. Obviously, computer technology has grown rapidly--even exponentially--since that time. This growth has led to much higher computing speeds, more manufacturers, more applications, improved software, and more countries seeking such machines. The growth has been so rapid that many both in and out of Government have come to believe--or appear to have convinced themselves--that this technology is completely uncontrollable.
The rapid advancement of this technology has been accompanied by an equally rapid decontrol of some of the very devices we used to make some of the most powerful weapons the world has ever known. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Export Administration, for example, reports in its most recent Annual Report to Congress that--`Due to the 1994 and 1995 liberalization for computers, this commodity group has been replaced by shotguns as being the most significant commodity group for which export license applications were received in fiscal year 1996.' So it now appears that we are giving closer regulatory attention to shotguns than to a key technology that our top weapons labs have characterized as essential to performing a variety of nuclear-weapons applications.
But the supporters of this decontrol effort are not daunted by this news. They have consistently argued that if some other country is exporting high-powered computers without rigorous controls--or without any controls at all--then by golly, so should we, or else we would face the horrible accusation of `shooting ourselves in the foot' by denying U.S. manufactures market opportunities that are available to their foreign competitors. If there is evidence of foreign availability, in short, if there is at least one other country out there--whether it be North Korea, or Iran, or China, or any other nation --if just one of these countries decides to cash in on America's restraint, then we should have the same profit-making opportunities.
Well, there are a lot of problems with this point of view, some legal, and some political and moral. Let's have a closer look at these problems.
Under our Constitution, treaties are the supreme law of the land. One of our treaties, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 [NPT], explicitly requires America not in any way to assist any non-nuclear weapon state to acquire the bomb. That treaty does not contain any proviso indicating that assistance may be provided if some other country is providing such assistance. It has no loophole allowing such assistance provided though a third party. It contains no codicils exempting the computer industry or any other industrial sector from the duty not in any way to assist the proliferation of nuclear explosive devices. The taboo on assistance is clear and categorical.
As well it should be. Indeed, America is quite fortunate that the term `not in any way' does not mean `except in some ways.' After all, there are 5 nuclear-weapon states today in the NPT and over 175 non-nuclear-weapon states in the world that have ratified or acceded to that treaty. If today we decide that it is fully consistent with this treaty obligation for the United States to decontrol completely technology that our top weapons designers at our nuclear weapon labs have publicly identified as essential to performing a variety of nuclear weapons-related activities, then how can we even pretend to be complying with this treaty? Is this the kind of approach we wish for other members of the treaty to adopt, to interpret that treaty as only requiring the regulation of state-of-the-art technology or goods that are only exclusively available at home? Is this what is ahead for American leadership in the global nonproliferation regime?
If this is the reasoning that is to guide America's technology transfer control policies into the 21st century, then I truly worry not just for the future of the NPT but for the future security of our country. To those who argue that we should only control state-of-the-art or sole-national-source technology, I ask: Why limit this logic only to the controls over computers? Why not, after all, also decontrol all of the other technologies that go into making bombs, except those items that are the most modern or exclusively sold in the U.S.?
The answer of course, is self apparent. Such a step would amount the crudest possible form of technological indexing, where U.S. controls would
simply be ratcheted down with every new technological advancement. Such an approach would wreak havoc on any responsible nonproliferation policy.
The hydrogen bombs that America fielded in the 1950's and 1960's are no less dangerous in the hands of our adversaries just because they were made with technology that is now a half-century old. To advocate the decontrol of a technology strictly on the bases of so-called foreign availability, or the age, or level of sophistication of the item, without regard to either the actual end use or identity of the end user, is to turn a blind eye to proliferation. It is a sure-fire method to bring, as fast as possible, anachronistic weapons of mass destruction back into fashion. Fortunately, the NPT does not only aim at preventing the proliferation of state-of-the-art bombs--and we and our friends and allies around the world are much better off as a result.
Nor does our domestic legislation take such an approach. I am proud, for example, to have been the principal author of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 [NNPA], which requires the President to control `all export items * * * which could be, if used for purposes other than those for which the export is intended, of significance for nuclear explosive purposes' (section 309(c)). Now I suppose it might have been possible to have written this law only to control:
The smallest possible number of choke-point export items . . . which are known beyond even the faintest shadow of a doubt to be exclusively intended for a weapons-related use in a publicly-listed bomb plant in a rogue regime that is known to be pursuing weapons of mass destruction.
But fortunately that is not how the law was written and our Nation is quite a bit safer with the original text. No indeed, the law was quite explicit in requiring the control over `all' export items--and all means all--which `could be'--not just are--`of significance for' nuclear explosive purposes--not just absolutely critical to performing such functions.
We also have several sanctions laws that punish foreign countries and firms that assist other countries to acquire nuclear weapons. The so-called `Glenn/Symington amendments' in sections 101 and 102 of the Arms Export Control Act, for example, require sanctions against any party involved in the transfer of unsafeguarded uranium enrichment technology or nuclear reprocessing technology. These are the types of technology that produced the nuclear materials used in the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings. I guess you can call that old technology. I guess you could say there is `foreign availability' of that technology since many other nations can perform these fuel cycle operations. I guess that today's methods of enriching uranium or separating plutonium are more sophisticated than they were 20 years ago. But does any of this mean that we should rewrite all of our nuclear sanctions laws to correspond to this dubious new doctrine of controlling only state-of-the-art goods? Absolutely not, the question answers itself.
When China transferred ring magnets to Pakistan's unsafeguarded uranium enrichment plant, I did not wonder, `now gee, were these items state-of-the-art quality or just 1970's-vintage?' I was not angry that the items did not come from San Francisco, Chicago, New York, or even Cleveland. I did not care how sophisticated, or how old, or how cheap, or how `available' such items were. I did care, however, that China was assisting Pakistan to produce nuclear materials for its secret bomb project.
Nonproliferation is about not assisting countries to get the bomb--not just a duty to control the most modern gadgets available. When the special U.N. inspectors found tons of Western dual-use goods in Saddam Hussein's weapons bunkers, did any of my colleagues recall an avalanche of mail from their constituents expressing outrage that more U.S. goods were not found in Saddam's arsenal? Were there pickets in front of the Capitol haranguing the Congress further to relax export controls so that we can lower our Nation to that grimy `level playing field' quite evidently enjoyed by some of our European friends? None that I could find.
None indeed. Here is what happened instead. The public was outraged, and outraged all the more amid revelations shortly after the gulf war in 1991 that United States dual-use goods did, indeed, turn up in Iraq. This outrage, with a little help from the news media, helped to stimulated some constructive reforms in America's nonproliferation policy. In 1992, America succeeded in getting 27 nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to commit themselves not to export dual-use goods to unsafeguarded nuclear facilities and to require full-scope international safeguards for all exports of nuclear reactors and other nuclear energy-related technology. Before these sensitive dual-use goods can be exported, under this multilateral understanding, member governments must review specific license applications and review the specific nonproliferation credentials of the importing parties.
In this instance, America did not stoop to adopt the laissez faire nuclear trading practices of other countries; instead, we raised the level of the international playing field to our level by showing that our Nation is a
leader not a follower when it comes to nonproliferation.
Another positive reform in U.S. nonproliferation controls was implemented just a few months after Iraq invaded Kuwait. President Bush unveiled the `Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative' [EPCI], which authorized the U.S. Government to prohibit the export of any item--repeat, any item--that could contribute to the proliferation of missile technology or chemical and biological weapons. A similar control had existed for years covering dual-use nuclear technology where the exporter `knows or has reason to know' that the item would be used in a weapons-related application.
The EPCI or so-called knows rule was intended, however, to complement--not to replace--the Nation's export licensing system. Let me cite a recent case to illustrate this point.
On February 19, 1997, for example, the Washington Post reported that a California computer firm, Silicon Graphics, Inc., had illegally sold four supercomputers to a Russian nuclear weapons facility. The article quoted the chief executive officer of this firm as offering the following explanation for the export: `The Department of Commerce doesn't provide a list of facilities around the world that we shouldn't ship to. So we tend to rely on the end-user statement on how they will be used.' In short, the company interpreted the knows rule as applying only to the importer's stated end-use for the specific export. The company, and it is probably not alone in this respect, evidently did not even consider the possibility that its importer would consider offering a bogus end use.
Now there are several reasons why the U.S. Government cannot go around publishing the names and locations of all the world's secret bomb facilities and their suppliers. Here are three of them--First, the names change rapidly in the black business of nuclear proliferation and a printed list would no doubt be obsolete as soon as its ink was dry; second, the public identification of such facilities and suppliers could well jeopardize U.S. intelligence collection capabilities; and third, such a listing could be quite useful to a proliferant country or group, effectively amounting to free market research for the proliferators.
So there are some significant limitations in the extent to which the Government can delegate export control responsibilities to the private sector. Companies simply do not have the capabilities of U.S. intelligence agencies. That is the reason why licensing is such a good idea: It is the best known technique for making efficient and effective use of the resources of our Government--for which the U.S. taxpayer has paid so dearly over the years--to assess proliferation risks in specific exports.
Thus even if some of the goods we control are being sold by foreign competitors, and even if some goods are not state-of-the-art, it still makes considerable sense for the U.S. Government to require licenses for items that could assist countries to make bombs. Why? For two key reasons.
First, licensing is the Government's window on the world market for U.S. products; export decontrol or devolution of export controls to the private sector slams that window shut. In other words, licensing creates a paper trail, generates data, and gives our Government's nonproliferation analysts something concrete to work with. This information is valuable in assessing --and subsequently reducing--proliferation risks. Thus, even if license applications are rarely denied as is currently the case, it still makes sense to require licenses for goods that, as our treaties and domestic laws specify, could assist other countries to make weapons of mass destruction.
Second, our leadership role in international nonproliferation regimes requires not just words but deeds. If we want other nations to strengthen their controls, we should be prepared to do so ourselves. Again, our job must be to use our leadership to raise international standards up to our own level playing field, rather than lower our own to some homogenized least-common-denominator standard set by the world's most irresponsible suppliers.
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Before concluding today, I would like to touch upon a few other charges that have been leveled against the very idea of requiring export licenses for any but state-of-the-art computers. I will address two of such charges.
First, our national economy will allegedly be hurt by the establishment of licensing requirements for computers rated at over 2,000 MTOPS going to the designated nations.
We should keep in mind here that the overwhelming majority of America's exports leave the country without requiring export licenses at all. In 1995, for example, America exported $969 billion in goods and services, while the Government denied export licenses for goods valued at only $30 million. To give my colleagues an idea of the scale we are talking about here, the ratio between the value of those goods that were denied licenses and the total value of U.S. trade in that year is analogous to the difference
between the length of a pencil eraser and the height of the Washington Monument. That is about the same ratio as the size of garden pea on the quarter-inch line of a 100-yard football field, or the amount of calories in a single carrot relative to a year's worth of balanced meals.
Here is another way to put this problem in its proper context: $99.20 out of every $100 in U.S. exports did not require an export license. And of the few that did require such a license, only one license in a hundred was denied. That was in 1995. Since then, computer controls have been substantially liberalized (along with chemical exports going to parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention), while overall U.S. exports were just over $1 trillion in 1996. Relative to total U.S. trade, therefore, fewer and fewer goods are requiring licenses.
Now some might argue that while these figures may be true, certain industries face a greater likelihood of having to face license requirements than other industries. Yes that is undoubtedly true: If you produce something that is likely to assist another country to get the bomb, you can expect Uncle Sam to get a bit nosy and, if the system is working right, to be an outright nuisance. No company, however, can claim any right under U.S. law to help another country to make nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction. We have a free economy--but our individual freedom to produce and market goods is not unlimited, especially when it comes to goods that can jeopardize our national security.
As John Stuart Mill once wrote in his book, `On Liberty,' over a 100 years ago: `Trade is a social act. Whoever undertakes to sell any description of goods to the public, does what affects the interest of other persons, and of society in general; and thus his conduct, in principle, comes within the jurisdiction of society.' The writer of those words was one of England's foremost liberal economists. Even Adam Smith himself admitted that the Government had a legitimate responsibility to regulate certain forms of trade.
And I for one cannot imagine a more legitimate basis for regulating trade than to ensure that America is not assisting other countries to make the bomb. Fortunately, I am not alone in this conviction. As President Clinton stated on October 18, 1994: `There is nothing more important to our security and to the world's stability than preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.' The key legislative task--a responsibility now before us today--is to ensure that this principle is reflected in the rules and procedures America uses to control its own exports. License-free exports of technologies that our weapons labs have repeatedly identified as useful in making bombs and reentry vehicles hardly seems to me an appropriate way to implement this Presidential statement of our top national priority.
Our national economy will not be hurt, and America's international economic competitiveness will not be crippled, by the establishment of a licensing requirement on computers rated at 2,000 MTOPS and above going to certain destinations--though our national economy could well be endangered, and considerable business opportunities lost, if a nuclear war should someday break out involving foreign weapons that designed with computers that were Made in USA.
Most computers, moreover, will still leave the country without export licenses. We are talking about today machines that have special capabilities. On June 12 of this year, a senior strategic trade advisor at the Department of Defense, Peter Leitner, testified before a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee on `Economic Espionage, Technology Transfers and National Security.' Dr. Leitner included with his testimony a graphic showing some of the functions in our own military of computers operating at levels actually less than 2,000 MTOPS. He pointed out that NORAD had recently upgraded its computers by buying Hewlett-Packard computers rated between 99 and 300 MTOPS. He testified that machines have been used below 2,000 MTOPS to perform the following functions: space vehicle design (launch and control); high-speed design simulations; pre-wind tunnel modeling; reentry vehicle design (ICBMs); and high-speed cryptography.
Perhaps we should require licenses for computers at even lower levels than 2,000 MTOPS, as Dr. Leitner's testimony implies. It seems hard to justify the authorization of exports--without even requiring a license or an end use or end-user check--of technology that is capable of being used in designing nuclear weapons or reentry vehicles as being in any way consistent with our national security interests. Until some international agreement can be reached on an alternative level, however, the 2,000 MTOPS level is a good place to begin to strengthen controls over these sensitive dual-use items.
Multilateral control over this technology is of course the best course to pursue, but multilateralism has to begin somewhere. The United States--with its reputation as the world's leading champion of nonproliferation and with its world-class computer industry--has an extraordinary opportunity for leadership in encouraging other members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to adopt similar controls. A diplomatic effort of this nature would also help to alleviate fears of our industry that the duty of complying with these
controls would fall only on U.S. exporters. Our negotiations with other members of the NSG should begin with one basic question: Why should computers be exempt from the no-assistance norm that lies at the heart of the global nonproliferation regime?
My colleague from Minnesota, Mr. Grams, has recently suggested that perhaps the General Accounting Office might be called upon to examine the national security risks of unregulated exports of computers in this range and, depending on the scope and content of the request, this might be a good idea indeed. But until we see a specific request and a finished study, I think the amendment proposed by Messrs. Cochran and Durbin is a prudent course to follow for the immediate future.
It is useful to recall that GAO does indeed have some relevant background in dealing with the proliferation implications of such computers. At my request back in 1994, the GAO prepared a lengthy report on U.S. export licensing procedures for handling nuclear dual-use items. In testimony before the Committee on Governmental Affairs on May 17, 1994, a senior GAO official, Joseph Kelly, noted that recent export control reforms in recent years `. . . will almost certainly result in a substantial decline in the number of computer license applications and could complicate U.S. efforts to prevent U.S. computer exports from supporting nuclear proliferation.' GAO concluded that `many of the computers that will now be free of nuclear proliferation licensing requirements are capable of performing nuclear weapons-related work.' (GAO/NSIAD-94-119, 4/26/94 and GAO/T-NSIAD-94-163, 5/17/94.) Mr. President, these do not seem to me to be the types of items that should be, in GAO's terms, `free of nuclear proliferation licensing requirements.'
The second charge leveled against the establishment of a licensing requirement is that it would place U.S. exporters at a competitive disadvantage, due to the protracted delays in obtaining the necessary license approvals. This argument also lacks credibility. The Bureau of Export Administration [BXA] in the Department of Commerce is so proud of its recent efforts to streamline the export license application process that it trumpets this achievement in its most recent annual report to Congress. Here is what that report had to say about the licensing process:
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. . . BXA implemented significant improvements in the export license system via Presidential Executive Order 12981 [which] . . . limit the application review time by other U.S. agencies, provide an orderly procedure to resolve interagency disputes, and establish further accountability through the interagency review process.
[E.O. 12981] . . . reduces the time permitted to process license applications. No later than 90 calendar days from the time a complete license application is submitted, it will either be finally disposed of or escalated to the President for a decision. Previously, all license applications had to be resolved within 120 days after submission to the Secretary. . . . By providing strict time limits for license review and a `default to decision' process, it also ensures rapid decisionmaking and escalation of license applications.
In FY 1996, the Bureau introduced a PC-based forms processing and image management system which, along with the new multipurpose application form, enhances BXA's ability to make quick and accurate licensing and commodity classification decisions.
BXA ensures that export license applications are analyzed and acted upon accurately, quickly, and consistently, and that exporters have access to the decisionmaking process, with current status reports available at all times. Rapid processing is available for the majority of applications BXA receives.
BXA also notes that it is in the process of upgrading and expanding its electronic licensing process to provide prompt customer service.
It is also noteworthy that BXA discusses in the same report its assistance to Russia and other new republics of the former Soviet Union to upgrade their national systems of export control. Obviously, if America is decontrolling goods useful in making nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and the missile systems to deliver them, then we can hardly hope to inspire these other countries to show any greater discipline.
It would be far better for us to be sticking to a strict interpretation of the `not in any way to assist' obligation that the United States and every other nuclear-weapon state in the NPT has vowed to implement. We should lead the way in strengthening international controls, not in relaxing them under the false flag `economic competitiveness.' We should remember that these other countries have their own conceptions of `economic competitiveness' that, if allowed to become a global norm, could lead to a total collapse of the international nonproliferation regime. We have as much at stake in encouraging these countries to place nonproliferation as a high-national priority as we have in ensuring a similar priority here at home.
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So I ask my colleagues to join me in voting for this constructive reform of our export licensing process. We have the people in our government who are competent to review these licenses. We have the technology and procedures in our Government to ensure the prompt and efficient handling of license applications. We have both domestic and international legal obligations that requires the control of technology that could assist other countries to get the bomb. And we have legitimate national security interests to protect. America can be a formidable economic competitor in the world without becoming the world's most formidable proliferator of nuclear or dual-uses goods. I urge my friends and colleagues to vote for this amendment.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I had the opportunity earlier today to meet with a number of computer manufacturers located in my State. They expressed grave concerns about the amendment which you have proposed. I would like to take this opportunity to engage in a colloquy with the Senator from Mississippi in an effort to get more information on this important issue into the Record.
My constituents allege that, by next year, your amendment will have the effect of restricting the sale of personal computers--similar to those in our Senate offices--to Tier 3 countries. Do you agree with this statement?
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, based upon statements made by Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration William Reinsch, it is highly unlikely that personal computers capable of more than 2,000 MTOPS will be available by next year. At a recent hearing Secretary Reinsch said, `high-end Pentium-based personal computers sold today at retail outlets perform at about 200 to 250 MTOPS,' and at another hearing, this one before my subcommittee on June 11, he also said that `computer power doubles every 18 months, and this has been the axiom in the industry for I think about 15 years.' The math is straightforward; if top-end PC's are capable of 250 MTOPS today, 18 months from now they'll be capable of 1,000 MTOPS; and 54 months from now--in 4 1/2 years--they'll be capable of 2,000 MTOPS. Fifty-four months from now is not, contrary to the claims of some computer manufacturers, the fourth quarter of next year.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, it is my understanding that, since 1995 when the new export control standards were established, there have been over 1,400 computers sold in this range to Tier 3 countries. Of those 1,400 sales, a small number have allegedly wound up with military end users in Russia and China. What evidence do we have concerning these alleged computer sales to military end users?
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, according to the Department of Commerce, from the period January 25, 1997, through March 1997, 1,436 supercomputers were exported from the United States. Of that number, 91--or 6.34 percent--went to Tier 3 countries, some of which went with an individual validated license. We know, based upon statements by Russian and Chinese Government officials, that some of these supercomputers are in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a military facility in Chungsha, China, and in Arzamas-16 and Chelyabinsk-70. Arzamas-16 and Chelyabinsk-70 are both well-known nuclear weapons development facilities in Russia; the suggestion by exporters that these high performance computers would be in either of these locations and not be doing nuclear-related work appears to be somewhat self-serving and contrary to common sense. According to Russia's Minister of Atomic Energy, these supercomputers are '`10 times faster than any previously available in Russia.' The Chinese Academy of Sciences, which has worked on everything from the D-5 ICBM to enriching uranium for nuclear weapons, hasn't been shy about its new supercomputing capabilities, saying that its American supercomputer provides the Academy with `computational power previously unknown' available to `all the major scientific and technological institutes across China.' American high performance computers are now available to help these countries improve their nuclear weapons and improve that which they are proliferating.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, if your amendment passes, it is my understanding that this would be the first time that export control parameters would be established in statute. I am concerned that with advances in technology, the fixed parameters will quickly become outdated. How will we be able to deal with these technological advances when fixed parameters are included in legislation? Did you consider other alternatives to fixed statutory language, such as an annual review of the threshold by a neutral third party or government entity?
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the current policy is established in regulation, and regulation has the force and effect of law. For Congress to participate in the policymaking process it must pass legislation. Furthermore, the pace of technological advancement is such that, at some point in the future, it is entirely possible that the 2,000 MTOPS level--which is the administration's current floor--will have to be raised. That is why, on July 7 on the Senate floor, I said that if, 4 or 5 years from now, industry's optimism proves to be correct, I will be pleased to return to the floor and offer legislation adjusting the 2,000 MTOPS level.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I have been told that computers with similar capabilities and computing power are readily available from other nations. Given that, the concern is that your amendment would put U.S. computer companies at a competitive disadvantage since these computers are readily available on the world market. What has your subcommittee's research shown regarding the foreign availability of computers in this range (2,000-7,000 MTOPS)? What is the market share of U.S. manufacturers of computers in this range, and has that market share changed since the administration liberalized its policy in 1995?
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, this amendment will not in any way reduce the number of American high-performance computers going to Tier 3 countries. It does not change the administration's standards for making the exports; all that is changed is the question of who makes end-use and end-user determinations for Tier 3 countries. In fact, at least eight high-performance computers have been exported to Tier 3 countries with an individual validated license since this policy started. Only entities that shouldn't be receiving these supercomputers in the first place won't, because of closer scrutiny by the executive branch, receive them under this amendment. So, the suggestion by some manufacturers that this amendment would somehow reduce their market share is an argument that has no basis in fact.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, it has been alleged that the licensing requirement contained in your amendment will put U.S. computer companies at a commercial disadvantage since it often takes up to 6 months for the Commerce Department to approve an export license. By contrast, the Japanese often approve export licenses in 24 hours. In conjunction with your efforts on this amendment, have you explored options for improving the export license approval process at Commerce?
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Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, Japan has a more restrictive export control policy than does the United States. I support making the Department of Commerce export licensing process more efficient, though a more efficient process cannot come at the expense of national security concerns, which must be adequately addressed in the process. I would note, as well, that more than 95 percent of export licenses considered by Commerce are currently approved in 30 days or less.


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Sugar mills of Uttar Pradesh are expected to post moderate operating profits in the 2012-13 marketing year, following the state government's decision to increase cane price by Rs 40 per quintal, rating agency ICRA said today.
The Uttar Pradesh government last week announced a Rs 40/quintal increase in the state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane for the marketing year 2012-13 (October-September).
The cane price for the normal varieties has been raised from Rs 240 per quintal to Rs 280/quintal. The rates for early maturing varieties has been increased from Rs 250 to Rs 290 per quintal. For the rejected varieties, the SAP has been raised from Rs 235 to Rs 275 per quintal.
Based on current prevailing prices and costs, ICRA said that the "operating margins for UP based sugar mills will moderate from the levels seen in the second half of 2011-12 sugar year unless supply-demand dynamics permit sugar mills to pass on cost increases".
ICRA said the landed cost of cane (inclusive of basic SAP, purchase tax, society commissions and inward freight costs) to be around Rs 290-295 per quintal.
The rating agency expects UP-based sugar mills to benefit from higher prices in 2012-13, higher crushing volumes and higher recovery rates, but said the higher cane costs are likely to substantially offset the positive impact of the aforesaid.
According to ICRA's estimates, with the new cane prices, the cane cost of production for sugar is likely to increase by around Rs 3500/MT and stand at Rs 30500-32000 per tonne, given that the recovery rates for most UP-based sugar mills range between 9 per cent and 9.5 per cent.
ICRA said the price of sugar for most UP sugar mills would be around Rs 33,000/tonne for 2012-13, and at these levels, most efficient and integrated mills are likely to report modest operating profits.
Stocks Also check: Bajaj Hindustan
Company INFO Also check: Balrampur Chini


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Is New Medicare MD Insurance Price below $100 a Month Good News?
October 31, 2011 in Health Insurance, Medicare, News
Well — like $3.49-a-gallon gas which is really $3.50 when you look closely at the sign while you're pumping the gas – Medicare MD insurance is only 10 cents below $100.
But that's good news, right? The answer: Yes, No, and Maybe.
Here's the background. The Health and Human Services (HHS) department announced October 27 that the 2012 Medicare Part B premium will be $99.90. As explained in an earier Healthcare Savvy post, Medicare Part B primarily covers doctors charges. As explained in another earlier Healthcare Savvy post, the Part B premium has been $96.40 for most Medicare subscribers since January 1, 2009. But it was $110 and change a month for those subscribers that signed up for Medicare Part B in 2010 and $115 and a few cents for those who signed up in 2011.
Mostly that's people who turned 65 in those years but it applied to all new 2010/2011 subscribers, including younger disabled people and older seniors that continued to work past 65 and received employer sponsored insurance until they signed up for B at whatever age. (Despite conventional wisdom, Medicare insurance is means tested and about 5% of subscribers nationwide — those with incomes over $85,000 — pay more than these amounts. This blog post ignores the situation for these "poor" senior citizens.)
Now for the Yes, No and Maybe
First, Yes, this is good news for many, primarily seniors aged 65-67. For the about 2,000,000 of us who signed up for Part B in the last two years, we're seeing a $10 or $15 dollar a month "savings." Added to a 3%-plus increase in monthly Social Security payments and — on average — lower Part D Standalone Drug Plan premiums, this is all good news. In addition, in Massachusetts at least, Medicare Part C Medicare Advantage and private Medigap plans (90% of seniors subscribe to one or the other of these or some other form of supplemental Medicare insurance) went up only slightly on average.
So – net-net — the HHS announcement is most likely good news for those between 65-67 years of age. Don't spend it all in one place, as they say.
Second, No. the HHS announcement is not such good news for those that signed up for Medicare Part B in 2009 or previously. They get their first Part B premium increase in three years (as well as — of course — their first Social Security increase). This group includes the vast majority of Medicare subscribers and — net-net and highly oversimplified — they probably at least break even on B and face only a slight overall Medicare increase.
Third, Long term this may be another example of kicking the can down the road to our grandkids. The numbers behind the 3% increase don't add up.
Healthcare costs in general are up a much higher percentage over the last three years. As are healthcare insurance premiums.
Also the MedPAC group — a sort of Congressional-Budget-Office-like non-partisan accounting and advisory group dedicated to the Centers of Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) — estimated in May 2011, just five months ago, that Part B premiums would be around $106. CMS claims the reason that the increase in October is smaller than MedPAC estimated in May is because the pool of payees expanded more than expected due to the Social Security increase. OK, maybe, but… MedPAC was off by a factor of three??? It's particularly unclear whether the CMS and/or MedPAC is factoring in the inevitable "doc fix."
Finally HHS claims the premium is what it is because of the new free "wellness visit" and free screening tests added to Medicare in 2011 by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As good as these benefits are, they certainly could not have had an effect on long-term health care outcomes after only a few months.


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The X Factor UK – Results Live Show 4 – 10/30/2011
Who went home on The X Factor UK Live Show 4 Results Show? Group number: Bright Lights, Big City.
Cher Lloyd performed her new single 'With Ur Love'
Nicole Scherzinger also performed her new single 'Try With Me'
Group Number:
Bottom 2: Misha B and Sophie Habibis – what a shocker! Unbelievable! Kelly Rowland really let her girls down this week.
Sophie Habibis sings for survival!
Misha B sings for survival!
Judges Vote:
Louis votes off Sophie
Tulisa votes off Sophie
Kelly votes off Sophie (over the phone)
Gary votes off Sophie
Sophie Habibis is voted off The X Factor!
Noooooo! Just when I posted her performance here for the first time. 🙁
I'm cursed.
Follow me on Facebook! • Follow me on Google+


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Posted on March 31, 2007
Days on Market, Portland Feb.
I just ran a quick search in RMLS: Portland (areas 141, 142, 143, 148), pending, one day on market in the last month. There are 52 results that span a price range from $127,000 to $1,275,000. Strong eveidence… Read More
Posted on March 29, 2007
RMLS Market Action Feb.
RMLS released February's Market Action report. Click on the graphic to enlarge.
Posted on March 28, 2007
Watch Your Credit
We applied for a simple equity line on our house. We got a letter from the bank on Saturday noting that my credit report showed a 30 day late pay. A little further investigation revealed that the same… Read More
Posted on March 26, 2007
Buyer's Advantage
We've previously discussed how buyers can compete in any market. We've talked about informally bundled services; one stop shopping if you will. Some pundits have derided the idea. I've disclosed that Prudential Northwest Properties owns Columbia Mortgage outright… Read More
Posted on March 23, 2007
First Time Buyer Expectations
We hear the lament all the time: "I've been priced out of the Portland market." First, it is only fair that I let you know that we own four homes in Portland so I come from the "other"… Read More
Posted on March 21, 2007
San Diego Prudential Real Estate Convention
The Beach Boys closed out our annual convention last night. The two days included the obligatory rah rah and way too many awards honoring our success (we are President's Circle winners) but also there was some great information… Read More
Posted on March 12, 2007
Portland Days on Market
"The market has slowed; houses are spending more time on market. If you list your home, be patient." That's become a familiar tone in the Portland real estate market in the last few months. There is some truth… Read More
Posted on March 8, 2007
Relationships in Real Estate
In Arizona, a buyer can walk into Joe Realty and meet with Joe Loans and Joe Title and Escrow without walking out the door. In Oregon, we can't do that by name but we can coordinate the process… Read More
Posted on March 7, 2007
Lending Tightens
We've had some discussion in the last couple of weeks about lending requirements tightening and how that will effect our market. I've been more optimistic outlook on how it will impact the Portland real estate market than other… Read More
Posted on March 5, 2007
Like-Kind Property for a 1031 Exchange
The exchange of Like Kind Property is the key to a 1031 Exchange. The IRS states: Properties are of like-kind, if they are of the same nature or character, even if they differ in grade or quality. Personal… Read More


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Nectarine crumble
Nectarine crumble
When there's a glut of nectarines, this is the recipe to turn to. Fresh fruit topped with a buttery, cinnamon crumble? Yes, please!
- 6 deliciously ripe nectarines
- Approx 2 cups of your favorite crumble recipe * *
- 2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 1 cup plain wholemeal flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- pinch of your favourite spice mix (cinnamon)
- chopped nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, pecans etc.)
- softened butter
- ** crumble mixture can be frozen to be used at a later stage
- Use large nectarines, cut in half and remove stone.
- Place cut side up in a lightly greased muffin tin.
- Mix all dry crumble ingredients together, add softened butter until mixture is moist.
- Sprinkle 2 cups of crumble mixture (which can be used straight from the freezer) onto nectarines.
- Bake at 180ºC and start checking the oven from 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Part of the fun is presenting these in the muffin tray to the table so every one gets to choose the yummiest one.
- Serve with ice cream, enjoy!
- This is by far one of my family favorites and I am sure it would work well with all stone fruits.


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This compact Solac iron features unique sensor technology which activates the steam function simply by hand contact, with absolutely no buttons to press. The only ironing system with steam at low temperatures, Solac Sensor Tactile Evolution iron comes with touch sensitive, high visibility screen for accurate temperature and steam control, and anodised magnesium sole plate that is more resistant and ensures smoother gliding.
The intuitive Tactile Evolution iron is easy to use. It provides constant vertical steam with adjustable continuous flow, special tear-shaped integrated ceramic insert to remove fabric static and soft-touch ergonomic handle for ultimated ironing experience. Other benefits of Solac Sensor Tactile Evolution iron include energy saving ECO temperature setting for minimum energy consumption and ironing all types of fabric with maximum steam flow, Auto-Pause safety system that switches off the compact iron when it is not used for 3 minutes, warning buzzer, anti-drip system and permanent anti-limescale system. Price is approximately € 140. Solac.
Posted in Small Appliances at August 10, 2011 11:22 PM
Appliancist is an online magazine about the latest Home Appliances & Home Appliance Trends. Covering High-End Luxury Kitchen & Bathroom Appliances.


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Barossa Events
Fringe in Barossa: Blueprint @ Elderton Live on the Lawn
9 March 2014, 12:00pm-4:00pm
Location: 3-5 Tanunda Road, Nuriootpa SA 5355
Elderton are pleased to present the unique and visually stimulating local band "Blueprint" on the winery lawns on Sunday 9th March from 12pm-4pm.
2014 will mark Blueprint's third Fringe Festival. Described by Ash Grunwald as 'guitar virtuosos', Blueprint offers stylistically complex rhythm and groove through their original compositions. Flamenco, roots and rock merge to create a performance that is visually stimulating and instrumentally diverse.
Enjoy the full range of Elderton white & red wines, local produce plates from $12, Bratwurst Dogs with slaw $8, soft drink, ice cream, coffee & tea available for purchase throughout the day.
Bookings not essential but are appreciated
For further information & bookings:
E: email@example.com W: www.eldertonwines.com.au
Fringe in the Barossa will feature 30 events across more than 20 venues. Full programme of Barossa Fringe Venues and Events available here
Come and Stay in the Barossa and experience a range of Fringe in the Barossa events. Why not make it your Fringe Hub? The Barossa Visitor Centre can assist with your bookings and plans! Call 1300 0852 0982 for further information or visit our web www.barossa.com page to book your stay.
'Like' My Barossa on facebook.
Follow My Barossa on twitter.
Follow Barossa Dirt on Instagram #FringeBarossa #Barossa
For more information please visit the Adelaide Fringe Website www.adelaidefringe.com.au


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Dexterous Material: Edition No.3
Let's get this straight. Less is not more. Usually. For all purposes of this column, more is more. And that's what I'm sticking to. Which leads me to compilations, collaborations, and all things involving two or more grotesquely talented artists. The more the better.
The first of these collaborations is possibly the most ambitious, the track by Gorillaz, Andre 3000, and James Murphy: 'DoYaThing'. Traditional Gorillaz style, Damon Albarn's unamused vocals accompanied by a simple beat and unexpected twists throughout. Andre 3000 is one of those twists, bringing his wild energy and fitting it perfectly into this track. The video includes bloody ears on toast, which is almost as great as being able to download it for free.
In other wonderfully free news, newest album by Mr. Oizo "Stade 3" is available for download on his website. 'Toodoo' features an attitude ridden Carmen Castro rapping about Godzilla and a yellow armadillo. Feel free to interpret that in any way you see fitting. The ridiculous lyrics compliment the song in the best way, the whole thing feels like a whirlwind of awesome confusion.
Next up is slightly dizzying track by Sinden and Melé. 'Steel Ride' packs a satisfying amount of bass with quite a bit of squeaking bed springs, and somehow it works? There's something enticing about house music in the summer. 'Steel Ride' fits the bill, a little anticipatory, and a little dark at the same time.
Diplo working with hot bad-ass women? Unheard of.
This time around it's firecracker Azealia Banks. She's nearly explosive, spitting vile lyrics over an intense classic Diplo style drum-line. He seems to have a knack for picking the women that are on the tipping point of taking off, (M.I.A., Santigold, La Roux, have I proven my point yet?). It surely won't be difficult to keep an eye on Azealia.
Speaking of Diplo, a more relaxed side of his work has been shown in newest Major Lazer track 'Get Free,' featuring the sought after Amber Coffman of The Dirty Projectors. Coffman also was featured on another Mad Decent artists track, 'Hold On' by Rusko off the album "Songs."
Burial and Four Tet have worked together before, the track 'Moth' was and remains a haunting and eerie addiction. Their newest work 'Nova' is just as good, continuing on their reputation of a looming slightly provocative sound. With tranquil music such as this there's a fine line between enjoyable and boring, thankfully these two know exactly how to stray far from that line. Although it's not the liveliest music, it's still absolutely fantastic.
Last on the list of spring collaborations is Brainfeeder artist Lapalux with the slick track 'Moments' featuring Py. Everything Brainfeeder puts out is of a certain quality, and this is no exception. This track covers all the bases and is dripping audio gold.
Power in numbers, the more talent the better when it comes to making music. The level of excitement and importance is always elevated when two talented artists are seen working together. It's like both of their genius put together is sure to produce some sort of musical prodigy child. Music babies encouraged.
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Dexterous Material: Edition No.7
The cold is coming. This is not a weather column, but some music just sounds better at the right temperatures. Summer is for music that induces heart palpitations and head rushes, when autumn comes it's time to slow it down and get a little darker. Put some audio fleece on your ears. My personal favorite. [read more]
Dexterous Material: Edition No.8
Sub-genres are increasingly exhausting and infuriating, and the sheer volume of music being made makes it even more difficult to place an artist. But I'm not complaining; it keeps things interesting. [read more]
Dexterous Material: Edition No.9
To expect the unexpected. Which in turn means you are expecting exactly what you will be getting. Which isn't unexpected. So what do you expect? Before we become profoundly irrelevant, this edition focuses on artists making unexpected music. Switching it up, surprising us and keeping on our toes. [read more]
Dexterous Material: Edition No.6
This column is a giant pile of puke. Before you gag, know that it is a jumbled mess of Flying Lotus, Crystal Castles, Animal Collective, Four Tet, Rustie, and a few others. So it's good vomit, the best really. And fresh, still warm. But enough about nausea. All these long time players have been fitting some new music in between the summer festival uproar, and it seems like everyone is taking their own pathway. [read more]


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Flightglobal reports that Lufthansa is in talk with both Boeing and Airbus to order up to 108 new aircraft: 100 short-haul and 8 long-haul units.
Quote:#Lufthansa proposing to supervisory board to order 100 short-haul and eight long-haul aircraft, delivery in 2015-25.Quote:#Lufhansa in discussions with both #Airbus and #Boeing over order for 108 aircraft, overall value of $9bn.
What do you think, 737 Max / A320neo, A350 / 787 or even more VLA's?


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Ross Levinsohn, the former head of Yahoo and Fox Interactive Media, has just been appointed CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media, the parent firm of The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek, and other entertainment focused properties. According to the THR, Levinsohn has been named CEO of a newly renamed Guggenheim Digital Media, which is the parent firm of those properties. THR said that Levinsohn will be in charge of identifying new media businesses in which the global financial services company can invest -- or acquire. Levinsohn has been an influential force in the Los Angeles technology startup scene, most recently joining the board of ZEFR; he had also been very active in making investments in local startups, running a venture fund, taking board seats, and otherwise advising the startup community here over the last few years.
Top NewsTuesday, January 15, 2013
Ross Levinsohn Named Head of The Hollywood Reporter
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Damon & Naomi: Playback Singers
Damon & Naomi
Playback Singers
Sub Pop
DAMON & NAOMI are Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, recent newlyweds who entered the music world in the '80s as the rhythm section for the most arch of '80s indie bands, Galaxie 500. By the '90s, the Galaxie had run out of gas, and ego-tripping frontman Dean Wareham had gone on to attain moderate commercial success, and occasional alt-pop blandness, with Luna. But where Luna trafficks a poppy version of the same Velvets retreads that powered Galaxie 500, Damon & Naomi's work digs deeper, exploring melancholic folk through sleepy tunes and ethereal vocals.
Their new album, Playback Singers, is a bona fide mopefest, brimming with dragging tempos, weeping guitars, and lyrics such as "It's so hard being me." Yet this effort is different from earlier, equally somber work, thanks mainly to the absence of indie-rock production guru Kramer, who blanketed the group's first two albums with lush studio effects. Playback Singers was recorded in Damon & Naomi's Cambridge, Massachusetts, attic and it employs a droning harmonium along with acoustic guitars and light percussion. It's a sparse project, dominated by singing, not sound. This feel is made flesh when Yang wraps her otherworldly, high-pitched voice around hymn-like melodies in "Eye of the Storm" or "Awake in a Muddle." Krukowski's wobbly, feminine singing takes more getting used to, but it becomes endearing when one considers how similar his voice's texture is to Yang's. Like the Richard and Linda Thompson of I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, Damon & Naomi demonstrate a bond that obviously continues to exist after they turn the tape recorder off.
Of course, the Thompsons' last masterpiece, 1982's Shoot Out the Lights, came in the midst of their divorce, proving once and for all that woeful folk prospers through pain. That album's cover art depicted Richard sitting underneath a framed photo of Linda. The only band photo in Playback Singers shows the newlyweds meshed together as one. And this sentiment resonates throughout the album (particularly in "The Navigator" and "I'm Yours"), and one can't help but wonder what made these soulmates so damn morose in the first place.
By the same token, anyone who discovers Playback Singers' pleasures should relish the fact that these rock 'n' roll marriages never last. Maybe Damon & Naomi have a Shoot Out the Lights in them yet.
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