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Beyonce has now officially recovered from her pregnancy, or fake pregnancy, or whatever it was that had her in hiding for a few months before and right after their stripper-named baby, Blue Ivy, was born.
Beyonce and Jay-Z have been in Paris the past couple of days shopping and I guess probably doing some shows and being granted some medals by French arts people. But, more importantly, Beyonce has returned with the body we ourselves so badly wanted to make with-child, or even fake-child. The booty, the top on display with her sheer see-through fashions in the City of Light. Enjoy.


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Allen Tate Realtors Greensboro Homes for Sale
Zane Gerringer
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Top 5 Things to Know Before Buying a Home
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What's An REO?
What's an REO?
REO stands for "Real Estate Owned". These are properties that have gone through foreclosure and are now owned by the bank or mortgage company. This is not the same as a property up for foreclosure auction. When buying a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees accumulated during the foreclosure process. You must also be prepared to pay with cash in hand. And on top of all that, you'll receive the property 100% "as is". That could include existing liens and even current occupants that need to be evicted. A REO, by contrast, is a much "cleaner" and attractive transaction. The REO property did not find a buyer during foreclosure auction. The bank now owns it. The bank will see to the removal of tax liens, evict occupants if needed and generally prepare for the issuance of a title insurance policy to the buyer at closing. Do be aware that REO's may be exempt from normal disclosure requirements. In California, for example, banks are exempt from giving a Transfer Disclosure Statement, a document that normally requires sellers to tell you about any defects they are aware of.
Is it a bargain?
It's commonly assumed that any REO must be a bargain and an opportunity for easy money. This simply isn't true. You have to be very careful about buying a REO if your intent is to make money off of it. While it's true that the bank is typically anxious to sell it quickly, they are also strongly motivated to get as much as they can for it. When considering the value of a REO, you need to look closely at comparable sales in the neighborhood and be sure to take into account the time and cost of any repairs or remodeling needed to prepare the house for resale. The bargains with money making potential exist, and many people do very well buying foreclosures. But there are also many REO's that are not good buys and not likely to turn a profit.
Ready to make an offer?
Most banks have a REO department that you'll work with in buying a REO property from them. Typically the REO department will use a listing agent to get their REO properties listed on the local MLS. Before making your offer, you'll want to contact either the listing agent or REO department at the bank and find out as much as you can about what they know about the condition of the property and what their process is for receiving offers. Since banks almost always sell REO properties "as is", you'll want to be sure and include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for hidden damage and terminate the offer if you find it. As with making any offer on real estate, you'll make your offer more attractive if you can include documentation of your ability to pay, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender. After you've made your offer, you can expect the bank to make a counter offer. Then it will be up to you to decide whether to accept their counter, or offer a counter to the counter offer. Realize, you'll be dealing with a process that probably involves multiple people at the bank, and they don't work evenings or weekends. It's not unusual for the process of offers and counter offers to take days or even weeks.
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Effective Creative Meetings
November 1, 2004
1. Read the Strategy to Open
At any meeting where creative work will be presented or discussed, someone (usually the advertising agency Account Executive) opens the meeting by reading aloud the Creative Strategy or Creative Brief. It's sort of like saying grace before a meal.
2. Agency/Client Agreement on Strategy
Nothing is worse than waiting for six or eight weeks for the agency creative presentation, only to discover that that they didn't "get" the brief.
It is essential that client and agency discuss the brief before any creative work begins. Face-to-face meetings are best, especially for major new creative work, such as a new campaign. A telephone conference call, at the very least, is required for any project.
Every word in a strategy statement or brief must be there for a reason. Aim for simple Anglo-Saxon language rather than ornate Latinate; go for simple, active structure. Keep the document to one page, with as much addenda as you need: lab reports, focus group verbatims, etc.
David Ogilvy said: "The best creative strategy is one that can be told by an account executive to a copywriter in an elevator, between the second and third floors."
3. The Creative Brief: Five Essential Elements
There are as many different kinds of briefs as there are clients and ad agencies, but there are five essential elements they must contain:
- Objective: What do you want the advertising (or communication) to accomplish.
- Target Audience: Who are you talking to? If you try to talk to everyone, you will end up talking to nobody. A good Target Audience description usually marries a demographic (such as age, education, income) with a psychographic (mindset).
- Key Consumer Benefit or Promise: The heart and soul of the strategy statement. What's in it for the consumer - whether the consumer is a housewife, a doctor, or a CFO?
- It's great if the benefit your brand offers differentiates it, but beware of benefits that are distinctive but not meaningful. Your first job is to offer an important benefit to the consumer.
- P&G believes that in most categories there is a "high ground" - a benefit more important than any other. In instant coffee, it's "tastes like fresh-perked." In toilet paper, it's "softness." P&G doesn't care if 100 competitors all offer the same benefit; they will go after the same high ground and simply ask their agency for superior creative work.
- Support or "Reason to Believe": Consumers are increasingly skeptical today. A reason to believe the Key Consumer Benefit is more important than ever.
- Avoid Multiple Support Statements. Try to zero in on the most important one, just as you did with the key consumer benefit. Avoid language like: "Support may be drawn from the following," with a litany of possible supports.
- Tone and Manner: The "personality" of the advertising in question. (Note that this is not the personality of your brand, although all communications must adhere to the brand persona.)
4. "Tree" of Benefit Importance
Sometimes the key consumer benefit is a rational one; more often, the higher or more important benefit is emotional.
A classic example is P&G's Joy Dishwashing Liquid.
For years, Joy promised that it would clean dishes
"right down to the shine" - a powerful rational benefit.
Later, Joy added the words: "And isn't that a nice reflection
on you," an emotional benefit for the housewife.
Make sure you have followed the twigs as far up the tree as you need to go.
5. Creative Presentation Attendance
Ideally, you want to gather in the same room at the same time everyone who needs to approve the creative work.
If this is advertising that will launch a new product or service, approvers will be very senior indeed. If the advertising concerns a major new campaign, again senior levels are involved. Fewer and less senior people are needed if the meeting is to present the 10th print ad in a successful, long-term campaign.
Increasingly, clients today are trying to have the approvers present at the same meeting. After the agency presents the work and makes its recommendation, and after as lengthy discussion as is needed, the clients leave the room, discuss the creative work, and come back with one unanimous decision.
This is not easy to do, but advertisers who are trying to simplify the approval process tell us it is worth its weight in gold. And agencies love hearing the news - good or bad - right away. (One copywriter called multiple meetings with multiple requests for revisions the fate of "being nibbled to death by ducks.")
6. Set Clear Deadlines - and Stick to Them
Establish clear deadlines for the creative presentation(s), with enough time built in to evaluate the work and to ask for revisions, or even for an entirely new effort. Never assume creative executions will be perfect the first (or even second or third) time.
Four weeks is usually enough time for the agency to create new campaigns. One to two weeks is appropriate for individual ads or spots that pool-out an existing campaign.
Be particularly strict about timing if you are facing air dates, insertion dates or scheduled research.
7. Agency Responsibilities
The creative presentation is the agency's show. They are responsible for whatever materials are necessary to present the creative work in the best way. For example, if one campaign relies on an unusual film technique, they might show an example. If they are suggesting the use of a celebrity, they might bring a tape or photos.
The agency should never present any work it would not be willing to produce. And if it shows more than one campaign or execution, it should always have a recommendation and a reason why.
8. Evaluating Creative Work
There are basically three steps.
- React like a person; better yet, put yourself in the shoes of your consumer. Do you "get" the advertising? Do you like it? Does it engage you?
- Is the advertising on strategy? If your answer is "no," you must turn it down. Be aware that this is sometimes subjective. The agency may feel that the key consumer benefit is present; you may believe that it is buried in the body copy.
- Is the advertising effective?
9. Giving the Agency Compelling Feedback
Here again, you have three basic options:
- Approve the advertising as it stands.
- Reject the advertising completely. The advertiser asks the agency to go back to the drawing board and start over.
- Ask for revisions. Again, try to give reasons. Be as objective as possible. Try to give the agency your concerns, not your solutions.
Be candid and clear. Remember that the agency has "subjective hearing" at this point. They are waiting for approval. So unless you are firm and specific in turning something down, you are likely to see that same piece of creative work, only slightly revised, at the next meeting.
10. Establishing Next Steps
Never end the creative meeting without agreeing on next steps: revisions or new work needed; timetable, responsibilities. Ask the agency for a detailed conference report within two days.
Jane Maas, Chairman Emeritus Earle Palmer Brown and ANA training instructor Creative Strategy & Positioning. November 2004.


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Three dollars every month added to our property tax? The Champlin Council says they can't afford street lighting.
Well, how many times have you drove by a baseball field with no one around but all the lights are on? A group or club that wants to play at night should have to reserve and pay for the lighting cost.
As for the skating rinks in the winter time, I've rarely seen more than three people skating, sometimes only one. Isn't one light enough?
Furthermore, why is it Champlin can't afford street lighting that is meant for safety but they can afford a splash pad?
Isn't safety more important that fun and a waste of water? Will it have to be lit up like daylight also?
Champlin Council has to get their heads out of the clouds and decide what's really important and what's not.
A splash pad costs millions of dollars to build and maintain. Wouldn't you rather have safely lit streets?
Darlan Gulden,


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Rouge Forum Update: The Education Agenda is a War AgendaTuesday, October 26th, 2010
Little Red Schoolhouse
Chicago Whittier Sitdowners Hold Strong For Complete Victory:
"I was ignored, laughed at, intimidated and treated like a criminal by CPS."
Part of Arceli Gonzalez's opening remark Wednesday during her allotted time at the Chicago Public Schools board meeting is no longer true. The parents and activists protesting at Whittier Elementary School are not being ignored.
After her contentious exchange with schools CEO Ron Huberman, Gonzalez and over a dozen other supporters of the protest filtered out of the board chamber. In the hallway, a gaggle of media crowded around for an impromptu press conference where Gonzalez said the sit-in would not end even if they received Huberman's promised letter outlining prior agreements to preserve the field house they call "La Casita."
For the last 43 days, parents and activists from Pilsen have been living in the field house at Whittier, 1900 W. 23rd St., to protest the plan to demolish the decades-old building – deemed unsafe by CPS – and replace it with green space. It was to be the final part of $1.4 million in improvements to Whittier in the last year. The group demands a library for the school, one of over 160 in the system without a formal library.
"We don't want 10 books in the school, we want a full top-of-the-line library for our kids, just like other schools are getting," said Evelin Santos, a DePaul student from Pilsen who has been very active in the protests.
One of the Best Big Test Videos Yet: Male figure: Let's begin today's collaborative planning meeting with successes and challenges. Who would like to volunteer some successes? You are all required to volunteer successes.
Female voice: My students are not understanding verse structure. We have been working on it for three days….
Male voice: That is not a success. You need to mention a success for this week.
Female voice: There have not been any this week. Today is Tuesday and Monday was a holiday.
Male voice: See, it was not hard to find a success. Stop being so negative and we can get more done. Does anyone have a challenge to volunteer? voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/school-turnaroundsreform/ha-funny-scary-education-conversation.html?wprss=answer-sheet
The Education Agenda is a War Agenda: CHULA VISTA, CA – Southwestern College today announced a major new partnership with the U.S. Navy and Department of Labor to train students for long-term, well-paying careers in ship maintenance and repair. The new program is the only one of its kind in California and open to anyone interested in becoming part of the Navy's civilian workforce.
"Our students want an education that translates into a career. With this new partnership, they have yet another way to get it," Dr. Raj K. Chopra, Superintendent/President of Southwestern College, said. "Working with our federal partners, Southwestern College is proud to offer diverse learning opportunities to our students and community."
The program, called the Southwest Regional Apprenticeship Program, is based at the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado. It includes academic and trade-based training, and provides its graduates U.S. Navy and Department of Labor Journeyworker certifications and a Certificate of Proficiency from Southwestern College.
So You Want to Get a PhD in the Humanities? (Poignant video):
Another Creative Video by Jerry "Gangs in the Hat!" www.xtranormal.com/watch/7471189/
Stroker Mathis Sentenced: Former Detroit Public School Board President Otis Mathis was sentenced today to two years probation for misconduct in office related to accusations he fondled himself during a private meeting with the woman who was then serving as the district's superintendent. www.detnews.com/article/20101026/SCHOOLS/10260389/1408/LOCAL
More Detroit School Administrator/Gangsters Charged: A federal grand jury today whacked a former Detroit Public Schools executive with new charges in a public corruption scandal involving inflated million-dollar invoices, kickbacks and expensive parties that were thrown on the school district's dime.
Charged in the superseding indictment was Stephen Hill, 59, a former executive director of the Risk Management Department of the DPS, who allegedly accepted and demanded kickbacks from a vendor accused of looting more than $3 million from the school district by over-billing for inadequate work. Hill also accepted kickbacks in the form of a brand-new Mustang GT convertible in 2005, and a new Dodge Durango SUV in 2006, the indictment said.
Hill also is charged with conspiring to use DPS funds to pay for his $40,000 retirement party when he temporarily left DPS in September 2005.
Also charged in the superseding indictment were Sherry Washington, her sister Gwendolyn Washington, Marilyn White, and Sally Jo Bond — all of whom were partners in company called "Associates for Learning."
According to the indictment, Associates for Learning contracted with Hill to facilitate a wellness program for DPS employees that was supposed to cost $150,000. The company ended up billing DPS more than $3 million for the program, and gave Hill 5% of the total amount as a kickback, the indictment said.
Perpetual War
2011 Exit? No! We Meant 2014. Pretty Much the Same Thing, eh? (call in another airstrike):
A chorus of military and diplomatic voices is predicting that combat operations in Afghanistan will likely continue for several more years, despite a promised U.S. timetable to begin withdrawing troops next July.
Among those casting doubt on an aggressive drawdown in 2011 are former Marine Corps Commandant James Conway, who retired Friday; military analysts; NATO diplomats who will gather for a summit next month; and Marines serving in Helmand province interviewed by The San Diego Union-Tribune. www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/25/allies-point-to-2014-for-exit-date/
From an On-the-Spot WashPost Reporter: Thanks to WikiLeaks, though, I now know the extent to which top American leaders lied, knowingly, to the American public, to American troops, and to the world, as the Iraq mission exploded. The American troops, who were risking their lives on the ground, witnessed and documented it themselves…was not "calming," as Rumsfeld would have it. Rather, this was sectarian war, and, over the next few months, the Bush administration's effort to convince the world that everything was hunky-dory in Iraq became less and less sustainable as the slaughter continued. According to the synopsis of the WikiLeaks documents by The New York Times, the death toll in 2006 reached beyond 3,000 one month.
Late last year, I sat in on a seminar at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government led by a former Bush official in Iraq and heard her say matter-of-factly that more than 1,000 people died in one day in the immediate killing after the Samarra bombing.
But as the WikiLeaks documents show, Casey and Rumsfeld must have known that all along, owing to the accounts from their forces. Despite the statements of the top U.S. commanders at the time, it wasn't the journalists in Baghdad who were lying. www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-10-25/wikileaks-shows-rumsfeld-and-casey-lied-about-the-iraq-war/2/
Taliban Still Rising: An intense military campaign aimed at crippling the Taliban has so far failed to inflict more than fleeting setbacks on the insurgency or put meaningful pressure on its leaders to seek peace, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials citing the latest assessments of the war in Afghanistan.
Escalated airstrikes and special operations raids have disrupted Taliban movements and damaged local cells. But officials said that insurgents have been adept at absorbing the blows and that they appear confident that they can outlast an American troop buildup set to subside beginning next July.
Puppet Gov on Obamagogue and the War Criminals: Hey Liberals How Are the Prosecutions Going?
Rats and Buggery! Is Our Puppet Their Puppet Too? Give Us Back the Strings! One evening last August, as President Hamid Karzai wrapped up an official visit to Iran, his personal plane sat on the airport tarmac, waiting for a late-running passenger: Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan.
The ambassador, Feda Hussein Maliki, finally appeared, taking a seat next to Umar Daudzai, Mr. Karzai's chief of staff and his most trusted confidant. According to an Afghan official on the plane, Mr. Maliki handed Mr. Daudzai a large plastic bag bulging with packets of euro bills. A second Afghan official confirmed that Mr. Daudzai carried home a large bag of cash.
"This is the Iranian money," said an Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Many of us noticed this." www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/world/asia/24afghan.html?hp
Yup and Damn Right They Give Me Bags of Cash. So Do You. It's the Price of Patriotism says Lap Dog Karzai: President Hamid Karzai acknowledged on Monday that he regularly receives bags of cash from the Iranian government in payments amounting to millions of dollars, as evidence mounted of a worsening rift between his government and its American and NATO supporters. "They do give us bags of money — yes, yes, it is done," Mr. Karzai said, responding to questions about a report in The New York Times on Sunday that Iran sends regular cash payments to his chief of staff, Umar Daudzai. "We are grateful to the Iranians for this."
"Patriotism has a price," he said.
Afghan and Western officials said the Iranian payments were intended to drive a wedge between Mr. Karzai and the United States and NATO. www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/world/asia/26afghan.html?_r=2&hp
Hey Karzai! Watch Your Back!
US To Pay Billions in Bribes Asking Jihadists to be Nice: The Obama administration announced Friday that it would seek an additional $2 billion in aid for Pakistan's military, despite continuing disagreements with Islamabad over the war against militants.
The five-year package, which supplements $7.5 billion in civilian aid to Pakistan, would raise annual military aid to about $400 million a year from $300 million. The plan is subject to congressional approval and won't come up for consideration until next year, congressional sources said.
The announcement came at the end of a week of high-level meetings between U.S. and Pakistani officials in Washington, which were used to promote an image of harmony between the countries. www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-military-aid-20101023,0,3601041.story
WikiLeaks First US CyberTarget? Forget China or Al Qaeda. In a twist that would have been inconceivable even a few months ago, the WikiLeaks.org Web site is being proposed as the first public target for a U.S. government cyberattack.
After the shadowy, document-leaking organization distributed nearly 400,000 classified documents from the Iraq war on Friday, Washington officialdom responded with a torrent of denunciations alleging violations of national security and endangering U.S. military operations.
In a rare point of congruence, the Washington Post and the Washington Times both criticized the release, with the smaller paper arguing that WikiLeaks' offshore Web site should be attacked and rendered "inoperable" by the U.S. government. Some hawkish conservatives followed suit, including Christian Whiton, a State Department adviser under President George W. Bush, who wrote a column calling on the U.S. military to "electronically assault WikiLeaks and any telecommunications company offering its services to this organization." www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20020869-501465.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CBSNewsWebMD+(CBS+News%3A+Health%3A+WebMD)
Financial World Raises its Finger to US Demands On Currency and Trade (hey, are we supposed to keep shopping and will you please send some checks so we can?): In the wake of the global financial crisis and devastating recession, U.S. officials have pressed harder for export-dependent countries to import more and grow their economies by boosting domestic demand. At the same time, the U.S. and other countries that have been running deficits would need to consume less while lifting savings and investments. The shift, officials argue, is necessary for strong, sustained growth of the global economy and to prevent a recurrence of the recent worldwide crisis.
While agreeing to the general principles of this framework, the U.S.-backed proposal to set global curbs on the current-account surpluses and deficits of major countries drew immediate opposition from some key American allies and trading partners, underscoring the difficulties ahead in restoring stability to the global economy. www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fi-g20-meeting-20101024,0,1753309.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29
Shazam! We Got Some Techno War For You Creeepos! Doom This Time! Oops. Send More Money! A Boeing 747 jumbo jet outfitted with a massive laser gun failed to knock out a dummy missile over the Pacific Ocean, marking the second consecutive setback for a key missile defense program that is years behind schedule and plagued with cost overruns.
The heavily modified 747, dubbed Airborne Laser Test Bed, was unable to fire the laser gun because its onboard sensors could not accurately track the missile, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said. It was the second time in as many months in which the laser failed to hit the target…It has taken nearly 15 years and at least $4 billion to develop the airborne laser, which has been designed and tested in Southern California www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-airborne-laser-20101023,0,6448960.story
Stratfor on The Obamagogues Iran Option: Obama has avoided overt military action against Iran, so a confrontation with Iran would require a deliberate shift in the U.S. stance, which would require a justification.
The most obvious justification would be to claim that Iran is about to construct a nuclear device. Whether or not this is true would be immaterial. First, no one would be in a position to challenge the claim, and, second, Obama's credibility in making the assertion would be much greater than George W. Bush's, given that Obama does not have the 2003 weapons-of-mass-destruction debacle to deal with and has the advantage of not having made such a claim before. Coming from Obama, the claim would confirm the views of the Republicans, while the Democrats would be hard-pressed to challenge him. In the face of this assertion, Obama would be forced to take action. He could appear reluctant to his base, decisive to the rest. The Republicans could not easily attack him. Nor would the claim be a lie. Defining what it means to almost possess nuclear weapons is nearly a metaphysical discussion. It requires merely a shift in definitions and assumptions. This is cynical scenario, but it can be aligned with reasonable concerns.
As STRATFOR has argued in the past, destroying Iran's nuclear capability does not involve a one-day raid, nor is Iran without the ability to retaliate. Its nuclear facilities are in a number of places and Iran has had years to harden those facilities. Destroying the facilities might take an extended air campaign and might even require the use of special operations units to verify battle damage and complete the mission. In addition, military action against Iran's naval forces would be needed to protect the oil routes through the Persian Gulf from small boat swarms and mines, anti-ship missile launchers would have to be attacked and Iranian air force and air defenses taken out. This would not solve the problem of the rest of Iran's conventional forces, which would represent a threat to the region, so these forces would have to be attacked and reduced as well.
An attack on Iran would not be an invasion, nor would it be a short war (reprinted from Stratfor with permission) www.stratfor.com/weekly/20101025_us_midterm_elections_obama_iran?utm_source=GWeekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=101026&utm_content=readmore&elq=b56211105cdd4b62b546af54c4e36540
War on Drugs is War on Minority People: "In the last 20 years, California made 850,000 arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana, and half-a-million arrests in the last 10 years. The people arrested were disproportionately African-Americans and Latinos, overwhelmingly young people, especially men."
For instance, the report says that the City of Los Angeles "arrested blacks for marijuana possession at seven times the rate of whites."
This imbalance is not specific to California; it exists across the country.
One could justify this on some level if, in fact, young blacks and Hispanics were using marijuana more than young whites, but that isn't the case. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, young white people consistently report higher marijuana use than blacks or Hispanics. www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/opinion/23blow.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=charles%20blow%20smoke&st=cse
Election Shell Game:
Buy My Vote! richgibson.com/buymyvote.html NEA Spending Machine Cranks Out Another $15 Million: The National Education Association (NEA) launched a $15 million ad campaign on Wednesday to help elect several Democratic lawmakers. thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/123007-teachers-union-launches-15-million-ad-mail-campaign-for-dems
Hey! Demagogues! Gossips! Whores! Politicos!There's a War(s) On! Both Democrats and Republicans appear to have decided that talking about the wars is not in their best interest. Democrats are divided on the war, and do not want to air internal divisions in a year when they have so many other problems. Republicans are unified in support of the war in Afghanistan and the president's decision to send more troops there, but see no need to stress an issue on which they are more or less allied with Mr. Obama. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/us/politics/29war.html?_r=1&hp
Tomgram–Winners and Losers as Hysteria Builds About the Shell Game:
Prospective Winners
Osama bin Laden: Who woulda thunk it? More than nine years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden and his number two compadre, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are believed to be alive, well, and living comfortably in the Pakistani borderlands with not a cave in sight, according to the best guesstimate of a "NATO official who has day-to-day responsibility for the war in Afghanistan." With the globe's "sole superpower" eternally on his trail — admittedly, the Bush administration took a few years off from the "hunt" to crash and burn in Iraq — he's a prospective global winner just for staying alive. But before we close the books on him, he gets extra points for a singular accomplishment: with modest funds and a few thousand ragtag masked recruits, swinging on monkey bars and clambering over obstacles in "camps" in Afghanistan, he managed to lure the United States into two financially disastrous, inconclusive wars, one in its eighth year, the other in its tenth. To give credit where it's due, he had help from the Bush administration with its dominatrix-like global fantasies. Still, it's not often that someone can make his dreams your nightmares on such a scale.
The Taliban: Here's another crew heading toward the winner's circle after yet another typically fraud-wracked Afghan parliamentary election conferring even less legitimacy on President Hamid Karzai's toothless government in Kabul. Think of the Taliban as the miracle story of the global backlands, the phoenix of extreme Islamic fundamentalist movements…. www.tomdispatch.com/post/175312/tomgram:_engelhardt,_placing_your_global_bets/
There Goes the Economy:
The Thieving Bastards Lied Again: The United States Treasury concealed $40 billion in likely taxpayer losses on the bailout of the American International Group earlier this month, when it abandoned its usual method for valuing investments, according to a report by the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program…"In our view, this is a significant failure in their transparency," said Neil M. Barofsky, the inspector general, in an interview on Monday.
In early October, the Treasury issued a report predicting that the taxpayers would ultimately lose just $5 billion on their investment in A.I.G., a remarkable outcome, since the insurance company was extended $182 billion in taxpayer money in the early months of its rescue. The prediction of a modest loss, widely reported as A.I.G., the Federal Reserve and the Treasury rushed to complete an exit plan, contrasted with an earlier prediction by the Treasury that the taxpayers would lose $45 billion. www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/business/26tarp.html
Stiglitz: Jail the Bastards: Legal penalties for financial fraud in the U.S. have become "just a cost of doing business," Stiglitz said. "It's like a parking fine. Sometimes you make a decision to park knowing that you might get a fine because going around the corner to the parking lot takes you too much time."
"We fine them, and what is the big lesson?" said Stiglitz. "Behave badly, and the government might take 5% or 10% of what you got in your ill-gotten gains, but you're still sitting home pretty with your several hundred million dollars that you have left over after paying fines that look very large by ordinary standards, but look small compared to the amount that you've been able to cash in."
Taken together, Stigliz said, this system of widespread fraud, lax regulation and non-deterrent enforcement, created a system of skewed incentives that rewarded criminality, gambling and other bad behavior, and left American workers, investors and homeowners holding the bill.
Meanwhile, the astonishingly disproportionate influence of the big banks and corporations on the American political system has allowed powerful executives to exert their will on the U.S. government at the expense of the people, Stiglitz said….
What should be done? "I think we ought to go do what we did in the S&L [crisis] and actually put many of these guys in prison," said Stiglitz. "Absolutely. These are not just white-collar crimes or little accidents. There were victims. That's the point. There were victims all over the world."
Among the casualties of this whole mess, according to Stiglitz? Faith in the legal system itself. "The legal system is supposed to be the codification of our norms and beliefs, things that we need to make our system work," he said. "If the legal system is seen as exploitative, then confidence in our whole system starts eroding." www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/joseph-stiglitz-corporate-crooks-to-jail/19684353/
Fasenfest on the Continuing Financial Collapse (not for them, for us): Bank profits in the first quarter of 2010 soared to an amazing $18bn, with 'big' banks (defined as those with over $10bn in assets) booking almost $16bn in profits, over 85 percent of total bank profits. And yet, in the same FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile, First Quarter 2010 (www2.fdic.gov/qbp/2010mar/qbp.pdf), it is reported that about 775 banks are in danger of failing. The banking industry is shaking out, with all signs pointing to consolidation – apparently worries over banks being 'too big to fail' translates into 'let's get bigger'. Furthermore, one of the main reasons for this large upsurge in profits is that big banks have drastically reduced the amount set aside to cover potential losses. These are the big banks that received major infusions of taxpayer dollars to sustain them during the 2008–9 financial crises as a result of under-estimating risk and taking big financial losses (many have returned these TARP funds to relieve themselves of the limited TARP-related obligations and controls; see bailout.propublica.org/list/index for an accounting). And now these are the same banks which are holding on to capital and making it near impossible for small businesses to borrow in order to expand and hire (it is a well rehearsed tale that most job growth occurs with the expansion of small businesses). The profit picture is rosy for manufacturing as well. After all, as the US Census Bureau News reported (www2.census.gov/econ/qfr/current/qfr_mg.pdf), in the first quarter of 2010 manufacturing firms earned $107.8bn in profits, up about $4.5bn from the previous quarter.
These are not numbers one expects to see in a society whose economy seems to be tanking or in a tailspin (or so it would seem when you are on the bottom). How can one explain these two sets of numbers? In the end it is easy. First, as has always been the case, productivity gains have enabled many manufacturers to maintain or increase output (and after all, whether you adhere to basic Marxism or capitalism, both teach you that you have to produce to generate profits), all with fewer and fewer employees. As noted in a report to Congress (Platzer and Harrison, 2009: 8) there were almost four million manufacturing jobs lost between 2000 and 2008, yet manufacturing output between 1997 and 2005 increased by 60%, a clear indication of the productivity gains that require fewer workers in this sector. Since 2008 the forecast for employment in manufacturing continues to worsen even as production and (as we note above) profits continue to climb.
Clearly, as Rick Wolff (2010) points out, this truly is a recovery for a very few. (Fasenfest in Critical Sociology 37(1) 3-6, 2010–"Capitalism's Shell Game).
NPR on the Latest of the Housing/Finance Crisis. No Accountability. None. www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13
Bloomberg: Rich Got Really Richer and Workers (and Jobless) Poorer: As the recession pushed U.S. incomes down last year, America's highest earners — 74 people who made more than $50 million — saw their pay more than quintuple on average to a record $519 million each.
Those top-end Americans earned a combined $38.4 billion in 2009, up from $11.9 billion earned by 131 individuals with wages above $50 million in 2008, according to Social Security Administration data. Nationally, the average annual wage fell by $384 to $39,269 and the median wage fell by $253 to $26,261 during the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.
Financial Times–Why Would Anyone Buy a Negative Rate Bond? Because the Dollar May Collapse! Never too Late to Panic: The abnormal state of the credit markets came into focus as the US Treasury sold bonds with negative interest rates for the first time and Goldman Sachs prepared to issue its first 50-year debt deal.
Both developments on Monday highlighted the difficult choices facing investors at a time when interest rates are at historical lows and the Federal Reserve is moving towards more asset purchases aimed at boosting the economy and staving off deflation. Investors who think the Fed will succeed in its efforts – which would lead to higher inflation – accepted a yield of minus 0.55 per cent on $10bn of Treasury inflation protected securities, or Tips, which compensate holders if the consumer price index rises…"We are seeing longer-term-thinking clients becoming increasingly wary of bonds and hedging against inflation. Shorter-term thinkers are still willing to buy bonds, on the presumption that they are nimble enough to get out when inflation comes to push yields up." www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dfa5ee7c-e08e-11df-abc1-00144feabdc0.html
We Say Fight Back.
Workers Tell Unionites Who Spend $100 Million Plus On Electoral Sham, "They're All Crooks. Go Away You Shills" It was a beautiful autumn morning, but Mr. Turosky, a retired steelworker himself, greeted them with surprising gruffness. He said he wasn't buying what they were selling; in fact, he wasn't going to vote at all, even though he is a lifelong Democrat.
"I'm mad at all of them; they're all crooks," he said, angry that the government is not increasing his monthly Social Security payments for the second year in a row. "I have no use for any of them."
Poland Strikes and Tenant Actions Continue: Today tenants blocked rush hour traffic and demonstrated against city housing policy, calling for the dismissal of the entire adminstration and condemning the role of all authorities in supporting the system of exploitation and speculation. zspwawa.blogspot.com/2010/10/tenants-protest-strike-actions-continue.html
Pa Teachers On Strike (don't mess with football): BETHEL PARK, Pa. — After weekend negotiations ended without a deal, the Bethel Park Teachers Union began striking on Monday.
All classes in the Bethel Park School District were canceled beginning Monday, Oct. 25.Athletic events will continue as scheduled. Bethel Park High School students who attend the Steel Center Area Vocational Technical School will continue to attend at their regularly scheduled times and will be transported from their regular bus stops, rather than from school.
Zbig Brizenski on It is Easier to Kill People than Control Us and THE UPRISING!
Solidarity Forever
Harry Kelber on the AFL-CIO's Bogus Working America Membership: As a member of Working America, what is expected of you? The short answer is: nothing. There are no meetings, conferences or workshops, where you and other members can get together to discuss the organization and its problems. All decisions are made in-house, without input from members.
If you would like to run for a position on the organization's board of directors, forget it. There are no elections. Working America is run by a group of 10 AFL-CIO International Union presidents and their aides under the direction of executive director Karen Nussbaum, a co-founder of the organization.
As a member, every six months or so, you may receive a list of about 20 major issues, and you can check off those that you are especially interested in. The checked list may vary with different members, but it doesn't really matter. The ultimate campaign issues are decided by Nussbaum and her staff and are always consistent with the official agenda of the AFL-CIO. Differences of opinion never see the light of day.
Thus, Working America can speak out on any issue in the name of 3.2 million members, with considerable political clout, in support of any of AFL-CIO 's public campaigns, no matter what the wishes of its members are.'Working America' Is Subsidized by AFL-CIO Dues-Payers
Can They Get !/2 The Working Class To Jail the Other Half? California's politically powerful prison guards union will appeal a $12 million verdict by a federal jury in a defamation and breach of contract case, the union's lawyer said Saturday.
The jury in Sacramento federal court awarded more than $10 million in punitive damages Friday to former officials of Corrections USA, a California-based national coalition of prison guard unions. That's on top of $2.6 million awarded by the same jury earlier in the week for financial losses.
More than $12 million of the verdict is against the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. The union was accused in the three-year-old lawsuit of taking over Corrections USA and removing its previous officers. The balance of the award is against Corrections USA and two of its officers.
The jury found officials with the union and Corrections USA broke contracts, spread lies about Corrections USA's founder and two other plaintiffs, and harmed their financial future as the union was seizing control of the national organization.
"The message this verdict sent was scorched earth tactics and bullying tactics by CCPOA are not acceptable. Maybe the next time CCPOA will think twice," said Daniel Baxter, the attorney for Corrections USA's founder and former executive director, Brian Dawe. www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16422474
Former Patco Leader Dennis Reardon Loses Ohio Ed Association Lawsuit, Gets Mink: also accused Lopez of being responsible for two anonymous letters sent to Reardon, one of which insulted Reardon's wife, also an OEA employee. It read, in part:
You have made life a lot more difficult for people who devoted their working lives to OEA. Meanwhile Mrs. Reardon is decked out in a full length fur coat. You know the old saying? "What do you call a pig in a dress? A PIG!" How can you look at yourself in the mirror? You will burn in hell, you bastard.
The case worked its way to the 10th District Ohio Court of Appeals of Ohio, which ruled against OEA. On the issue of Lopez calling Reardon a "slimebag," the court found:
The voicemail was a statement of opinion that Lopez did not think well of Reardon. This kind of trifling figure of speech is of so little consequence it cannot be said to be material and should be disregarded.
Fake Wobblies Lose FastFood Vote: The workers voted against joining the Industrial Workers of the World, which was a powerful, far-left union a century ago, but now is far smaller and weaker and often seeks to organize groups of workers that other unions overlook.
Among the votes cast, 87 were against the union, 85 for, with 2 challenged ballots. The challenged ballots would not affect the outcome because the union needs a majority to win. The results are final, but parties have seven days to file objections before the results are certified. Erik Forman, one of the leading pro-union employees, said the union would file objections, accusing management of unfair labor practices, to ask for a new vote.
Here, Counterfeit Wobblies, is What Hundreds of People Fought and Died About, the Heritage you Defile:
Spy vs Spy
CIA renegade Agee's files surface at NYU
The private papers of Philip Agee, the disaffected CIA operative whose unauthorized publication of agency secrets 35 years ago was arguably far more damaging than anything WikiLeaks has produced, have been obtained by New York University, which plans to make them public next spring.
Agee, who worked undercover in Latin America from 1960 to 1968 and died in Cuba two years ago, once said he resigned because the values of his Catholic upbringing clashed with his CIA assignments to destroy movements to overthrow U.S.-backed military regimes. CIA defenders said he was on the verge of being fired.
Agee's first book, "Inside the Company: CIA Diary," published in 1975, included a 22-page appendix with the real names of some 250 undercover agency operatives and accused a handful of Latin American heads of state of being CIA assets.
The CIA's classified in-house journal, Studies in Intelligence, called it "a severe body blow" to the agency.
"As complete an account of spy work as is likely to be published anywhere," wrote Miles Copeland, a former CIA station chief, "an authentic account of how an ordinary American or British 'case officer' operates… All of it … presented with deadly accuracy."
Two subsequent books by Agee and his co-author Louis Wolf revealed the names of about 2,000 more alleged CIA operatives in Western Europe and Africa. blog.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/
Magical Mystery Tour
Don't Worry–Froggy Saves the Day!
More News on San Diego's Rapist Priests (nearly $200 million worth of them but immediately after the settlement the SD Catholic Church sent Letters to the Entire Community Demanding Money to Pay for Their Crimes, ah, sins): But the pages that do involve allegations show a pattern that has become common to clerical sexual abuse cases in other dioceses: Victims and their families were often ignored or called liars; diocese officials transferred priests when allegations were made but never contacted the police; and the San Diego Diocese found parishes for priests being transferred from elsewhere in the country to avoid allegations.
One case is that of Robert Nikliborc, a priest who served time in federal prison for failing to file income taxes. He had been accused of living a double life as a wealthy married man in Palm Springs and was later accused of molesting several youths under his care at a Banning school for boys.
In 1976 then-Bishop Leo T. Maher wrote to the pope's delegate in Washington, D.C., saying of Nikliborc that it "would seem he has a dual personality, has charm and a most pleasing personality, and can easily win people over to his views. But if one does not agree, he is really vicious, very vindictive. … I can say in all honesty he is a liar and a very dishonest person. … I do not believe he should be allowed to function as a priest."
Jean Jadot, the Holy See's apostolic delegate to the U.S., responded: "I realize that you will have to do something. My only suggestion is that you try and avoid as much harmful publicity for the church as possible."
Nikliborc continued serving at Saint Anne Catholic Church in San Diego and more than two decades later, when the priest himself asked to retire, his superiors asked him to stay on.
The Rapid Emergence of Fascism as a Mass, Popular, MultiTentacled Movement:
Chomsky and Hedges: "called him at his office in Cambridge, Mass. "The parallels are striking. There was also tremendous disillusionment with the parliamentary system. The most striking fact about Weimar was not that the Nazis managed to destroy the Social Democrats and the Communists but that the traditional parties, the Conservative and Liberal parties, were hated and disappeared. It left a vacuum which the Nazis very cleverly and intelligently managed to take over."
"The United States is extremely lucky that no honest, charismatic figure has arisen," Chomsky went on. "Every charismatic figure is such an obvious crook that he destroys himself, like McCarthy or Nixon or the evangelist preachers. If somebody comes along who is charismatic and honest this country is in real trouble because of the frustration, disillusionment, the justified anger and the absence of any coherent response. What are people supposed to think if someone says 'I have got an answer, we have an enemy'? www.truthdig.com/report/item/noam_chomsky_has_never_seen_anything_like_this_20100419/
The US Holocaust Museum "Nazi Medicine" Display (which omits the foundational US Eugenics Research): www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/deadlymedicine/
However, "Only after the United States set the pace in eugenics did Germany enter the arena. In 1925 the Rockefeller Foundation gave $2.5 million to the Psychiatric Institute of Munich, Germany for the study of Eugenics (around the time that Prescott Bush (George's grandfather) got involved in financing the german war industrial machine via his investment bank, Brown Brothers Harriman). Germany later performed 375,000 forced sterilizations between 1933-39."
Best Thing in the History of the World
Zee Future by Student Nick Damiano: vimeo.com/3702380
Zee Past–Why People Go To Detroit Lions' Games:
Worst Thing in the History of the World
Grace Slick is 71:
If the FBI Kills You, It May Go Something Like This: www.freep.com/article/20101022/NEWS02/101022061/1318/Watch-dramatic-FBI-video-of-Muslim-leaders-killing-in-Dearborn-raid-shootout
Never Forget
So Long Alex:
Thanks to Paul, Adam and Gina, Perry. Monte, Sally and Sandy, Marisol, Peter, Ricky, Steve, Dennis, Mary Smith and John, Kate, Perry, Ken and Barb (yes), Arturo, Ruben, Edgar, Jesus, Dave, Sharon A., Carol Panetta, Candace, Aschlye, Sherry, Wayne, TC, and Donna.
Good luck to us, every one. See below for the letter from France.


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Athletic Training
Torn Ligament: Surgery or Not?
I am 61 yr female. Had an MRI done and was told I have a torn ligament. At the day of appointment was told to take 9 ibprofens and consider rehabilitation therapy but I asked for MRI that same day(which the doctor said I could do the first then maybe MRI later)due to I took entire day off of work. That Thurs was told I had inflammation and continue as before but by Monday I could hardly walk or put my foot down. Called doctor that day and nurse said I had the torn cartlidge, come in for cortizone shot. That helped tremdenously and I continued with pills and did my own therapy. Everything was great but every once in a while I would get a little pain, letting me know that it was still there. I am now out of work and no insurance. Should I contact my doctor to see if surgery needs to be done or is it necessary? I need to find a job but want to know if this will still remain hurting or will ever heal?
I am glad to hear that your symptoms are doing better.
I would follow up with your physician by phone and let them know how you are doing. Let them know what your new circumstances are regarding surgery and get their opinion as to how to progress. Since you are feeling better, they may have you continue with your activity as you tolerate. They may however, based on the results of your MRI, give you some restrictions for activity. Good luck!
Janine Oman, MS, PT/ATC
Assistant Athletic Director
Instructor at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University


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Earlier today we saw news about HTC extending the end date for the One smartphone trade-in program. While that has since been extended until May 19, 2013, it now looks like HTC is doing something a bit extra this coming weekend. The 'One phone, One weekend, One premium upgrade' promo kicks off on May 2nd and is promising a trade-in up to $375.
On the flip side, HTC will still be offering the $100 guarantee. This offer will run through May 5th. Similar to the regular trade-in program you will need to buy an HTC One. In this case, that purchase needs to be made between May 2 and May 5. Once the purchase has been made you then go to the trade-in website and use HTC100 as a promo code.
From here you then have until May 31st to print your shipping label. The actual mailing of the old device needs to be done by June 15th. The actual trade-in values will vary depending on the handset. Some of the examples include the BlackBerry Curve and Bold as allowing for the $100 minimum. On the high-end you have the iPhone 5 which will give you up to $375 depending on the amount of storage.
Those with a Galaxy S III are looking at somewhere between $130 on the low-end and $210 on the high-end. Some other Android handset examples include the Droid RAZR which will get you somewhere between $100 and $184 and the Optimus 4X HD which will get you $150. Bottom line here, while the HTC One trade-in program has already been extended, those who are considering an HTC One, this weekend may be a good time to check the value of your trade-in device as it may give you more than $100.
[via HTC]
[device id=4676]


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- Review the release announcement for special instructions. Most updates are going to be simple affairs, but sometimes there are specific actions you'll have to take to update to the latest version. If you're updating across multiple new releases (like from Alpha 8 to Beta 4), review the release notes for the intermediate releases, too.
- Back up your database and module directory. This really is essential, as it will protect you from the headache of an update gone wrong destroying your database. In the event of a failure, you can easily revert to your previous settings and files.
- Overwrite your old Ubercart folder with the new module folders. This will ensure you don't miss an update. We'll let you know if a module gets moved that would require you to remove a previous directory manually.
- Run update.php. This is done by logging in as user 1 and browsing to http://www.example.com/update.php. Follow the instructions to perform the updates. You shouldn't have to adjust any of the select box values for update versions, as the script automatically chooses the latest one.
- Look at the results and report any bugs you encounter. Not all failure messages will be bugs, but you can post your questions in the forums just too make sure. Please review the recent posts to make sure no one else has reported the same issue before starting a new thread.
- Get back to work. That's all, folks.
This information and more is available in this FAQ. We will hopefully extend this page in the future: When a new release of Ubercart gets posted and you're itching to try it out on your site, you should consider the following pointers to make sure you don't end up with a disaster on your hands. While we do test updates between release versions ourselves, it's better to be safe than sorry!


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Jason Calacanis is talking Adsense earnigns again. I'm a bit surprised that a publisher like Jason is revealing his Adsense CTR and CPM figures so explicitly post. Not because I'm offended by it or anything (I actually find its pretty interesting) but because its against Google's rules. ('m not going to refer to his actual figures here in case he decides to remove them later.)
A few people have asked me to comment on his CTR levels which I always hesitate to do mainly because comparing CTR from page to page or even blog to blog is so difficult to do.
Whilst I can look at the CTR he's mentioned and see its at the lower end of what the range of my blogs do there are so many factors that can contribute to it ranging from positioning on the page, to design of ads, to the amount of other outbound links you have on your page (both within your blog or to other sites), to the topic of the blog that it is almost useless to compare one blog's performance to another one.
What I'm more interested in with my CTR is comparing one blog's figures over time – this (in my opinion) is the main usefulness of the statistic and I track my CTR in this way on all my blogs.
Jason talks about how they've optimized their Adsense ads the past few days which has seen a good rise in their earnings – up from $600 per day (just a week or so ago) to $1000 per day. Its amazing what a tweak or two can do for people. Yesterday I helped one person with their ads and they increased their CTR from less than 1% to over 5% with one small adjustment – quite amazing what a change of colors or position can do! I'm not going to go into what the strategy for doing this is because its all in my Adsense category already and I'd just be going over the same old stuff.
Update – Of course within minutes of posting this Jason has removed his CTR and CPM figures as I went over to leave a comment suggesting he did.
What still concerns me however is that in his comments others have followed his example and are revealing their own figures which could get them in trouble with Adsense.


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Challenger Nick Segura continues to collect more money than any other candidate in the Chula Vista school board race, according to the latest financial disclosure forms.
Segura — who is competing for Larry Cunningham's seat — has raised more than $7,100, or nearly 224 percent more than the next candidate.
The trio of incumbents running as a team — Cunningham, Douglas Luffborough and Pamela Smith — have raised $9,600 together, or an average of $3,200 per candidate.
The three continued this month receiving money from vendors with the Chula Vista Elementary School District, including $1,000 from longtime energy contractor Innovative Energy Services, Inc. and $500 from Imagine Learning, a language acquisition software firm. The incumbents had previously accepted $1,500 from David Ruhnau of Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke Architect. Former district student and current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith made a $200 contribution.
Brenda Ruacho — Pamela Smith's challenger — has raised nearly $2,300, most of which is money she lent her campaign. Fransico Sevilla, also competing for Smith's seat, has raised $2,200 so far, with the largest donation coming from the local Sheet Metal Workers union chapter, which also donated $250 to Segura. The majority of Segura's money comes from the electrical industry in which he works, but his largest donation to date, $1,000, came this month from state Sen.-elect Juan Vargas.
Challengers Patti Boman, John Buzzi, Willard "Doc" Howard, Archie McAllister and Diego Vargas did not file contributions, indicating they do not intend to spend or raise more than $1,000.Copyright © 2017, The San Diego Union-Tribune


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SEATTLE — Brandon Morrow's transition from Pacific-10 Conference baseball to the major leagues took all of eight games.
Morrow, a Cal product taken fifth overall by the Seattle Mariners in last June's amateur draft, was so impressive during spring training that he nailed down a spot on the opening day roster.
This after pitching just seven games for Seattle's rookie league team in Peoria, Ariz., last season and one game for Single A Inland Empire, a franchise no longer affiliated with the Mariners.
Seattle knew Morrow had a great arm coming out of Cal.
What he showed during the spring was that he also had the poise and maturity to play in the big leagues immediately.
"He came in throwing strikes," Mariners pitching coach Rafael Chaves said. "It's not a secret that he does have good stuff, and he won a job."
How prominent of a role he'll play in Seattle's bullpen remains to be seen. But the Mariners have indicated they may turn to Morrow, who brings a fastball in the high 90s, as a setup man for closer J.J. Putz. Seattle has two more experienced right-handers to share those duties, in Chris Reitsma and Julio Mateo.
Morrow first realized he had a shot to stick with Seattle after one of his early exhibition appearances against the Chicago Cubs, when he struck out Jacque Jones and Derrek Lee back to back, and then shattered the bat of Aramis Ramirez.
"That was really the first time I faced big league starting guys," Morrow said. "After that point, I really opened some eyes and thought I had a shot."
A Santa Rosa native, Morrow graduated from Rancho Cotate High before moving on to Cal, where he was named All-Pac-10 last season.
He had lots of loved ones to spread the good news to when he received word Sunday that he made the Mariners' roster.
"I was in the locker room, and you don't like to talk on the phone in the locker room, so I sent out kind of a mass text message, e-mail kind of deal," he said.
Morrow, who grew up rooting for the A's, came in and pitched a scoreless ninth Tuesday. He gave up a walk and a single but then retired the next three batters.
INJURY UPDATE: Pitcher Esteban Loaiza was diagnosed with a slightly bulging disk in his neck after being examined Tuesday by Bay Area back specialist Dr. Robert Rovner.
That diagnosis provides some clarity on a nagging injury that has bothered Loaiza since early in spring training. He began the season on the 15-day disabled list and is eligible to come off it Monday, but he won't be rejoining the rotation anytime soon.
According to A's assistant general manager David Forst, Loaiza is scheduled to resume throwing Tuesday but likely will need to build up arm strength before making a rehab start.
Before Tuesday's game against Seattle, manager Bob Geren said Chad Gaudin is likely to remain Loaiza's fill-in for the second cycle through the rotation. Gaudin will start Thursday against the Angels in Anaheim.
The news seems a little cheerier regarding right-hander Dan Haren. Haren said he was a little sore Tuesday after stumbling in his delivery against the Mariners on Monday. After the game he said he had "tweaked" his right hip flexor and might have over-reacted to the pain because he suffered a similar injury while training in the offseason.
But Haren planned to do his normal running Tuesday and said he should be able to throw his bullpen session Thursday and start Saturday in Anaheim.
ONE-HOPPERS: Geren repeated that he'll be cautious with shortstop Bobby Crosby's playing time for the first month of the season.
Crosby seems fully recovered from last season's lower back injury but missed most of spring training while working his way into shape. Crosby probably will sit out Thursday against the Angels, Geren said, and possibly Saturday's day game.
Geren slid Crosby from seventh to eighth in Tuesday's batting order, putting switch-hitter Bobby Kielty, who hits lefties especially well, in front of the shortstop. Kielty spelled Travis Buck.


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I just had my second Breast Augmentation Surgery to remove scar tissue that had formed on nerves in my right underarm area. I ended up replacing both implants with saline, but going smaller.
I had the surgery to aleviate the pain I was experiencing in my right breast. A nerve was covered in scar tissue, which was making my shoulder seize, and creating numbness in my pinkie and ring finger of my right hand.It's been 4 weeks and the lymph nodes in my underarms are still swollen, and I have an odor from both sides that is strong. Is this my body's response to trauma or is this abnormal?


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Close, 4
(The previous post involved me testing out and adapting one of Geddes's 'thinking machines' – a little bit of neural coding, if you like. It helped me recognise that my tendencies to withdrawal, incrementalism, slapstickery, and to what I identified … Continue reading
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About this blog
FLEFF Intern Voices
The Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival from the interns' point of view
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Blog post written by Haley Stearns, Still Photography '15, FLEFF Blogger, Buffalo, New York
The Hungry Heart tells the story of Vermont Pediatrician Fred Holmes who works with patients addicted to prescription drugs. Music for the film includes numerous sources, but three are rooted in Ithaca: The Horse Flies, Richie Stearns, and Boy with a Fish. Jeff Claus and Judy Hyman, of The Horse Flies and Boy with a Fish, and Stearns, solo artist and also of The Horse Flies, will join film director, Bess O'Brien for the screening.
Aside from contributing music for The Hungry Heart, Jeff Claus has a remarkable resume. He is a founding member, writer, vocalist, and guitarist of the alternative rock band, The Horse Flies. He is also a member of Boy with a Fish, a band rooted in Ithaca, New York.
Along with scoring The Hungry Heart, Jeff and Judy have scored four feature films Where the Rivers Flow North, A Stranger in the Kingdom, The Year that Trembled, and Disappearances. They have also composed the scores for several other documentary films.
Jeff recently retired from Ithaca College, where he was a Associate Professor in the Department of Education. He taught courses relating to multicultural education, the education gap, issues of equity, diversity, and social justice in education, and more. His work focuses on making K-12 schools more welcoming and supportive for all young people and their families.
Jeff Claus will be at the screening of The Hungry Heart at Cinemapolis on Sunday, April 6th along with the filmmaker Bess O'Brien and his wife and co-creator, Judy Hyman. Make sure to reserve your tickets in advance to see this incredible film!
Watch the trailer for The Hungry Heart here.
Just to clarify, I'm not the composer of the score for this wonderful film. The film includes songs and music by a number of groups and people. Three of them are Ithacans: The Horse Flies, Boy with a Fish, and Richie Stearns. My wife, Judy Hyman, and I are in the first two, and Richie Stearns is in The Horse Flies, and has solo material in the film as well.
Mr. Claus,
I would love to know how you originally became involved with the film!


text: Wife noticed today the rear arch on our A3 TDi 204 (54) is bubbling! I clean this car every week, polish it once a month and LOOK after it. I swear it was not there when washed last Tuesday. Really not happy. DMF, clutch, bearing, engine mounts, rust........anything f#cking else?!


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Kodak EasyShare's Post-Halloween Contest Giveaway!
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble… the SOCIALITE LIFE team is giving away TREATS instead of TRICKS! Enter to win a Kodak EasyShare M530 digital camera by sending your Halloween pics to email@example.com.
Whether you were naughty, nice or used the Mean Girls excuse and made Halloween your once a year opportunity to dress scantily and not be made fun of – enter your picture and you could win a FREE digital camera, courtesy of Kodak.
Our entries have been unique so far: we've got the fresh, clean smile of the Orbit lady; while a present paired with it's very own champagne makes me want to toast and bring on the holidays!
22 days left to enter, but Halloween has already past so your entry is sitting there just waiting for you to submit! Leprechauns, beer maids and Geisha are welcomed submissions, but please be a U.S. based resident!
Good luck, ghouls.


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Edgar Marquess Branch eBooks
eBooks found: 1
Roughing It
Edgar Marquess Branch & Harriet E. Ms. Smith & Harriet Elinor Smith & Mark Twain
University of California Press, January 2011
Format: PDF, ePub
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MultiBind 230 Multifunctional Binder
(£399.99 ex VAT)
Product Description
The MultiBind 230 is a sturdy multifunctional binder with the flexibility to create comb or wire bound A4/A5 documents. Its high 30 sheet punch capacity makes it ideal for frequent use and it binds up to 125 sheets using 21 loop wire or 450 sheets using a 51mm comb. It is also equipped with useful features such as auto centring and a paper separator.
- Period of Warranty: 2 years
- Weight-13.068 (kg)
- Dimensions-238x548x490
Shipping and Returns
Shipping - Free UK shipping on all orders using DPD Tracked Service - We expect all orders to be delivered within 3-4 days from point of purchase and you will be sent a tracking code for use
You may return a new or unused Product(s) within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Product(s) by you and you can choose either to:
a)receive a full refund of the price you paid for the Product(s), plus any applicable delivery charges you paid for if you are returning the entire order*; or
b) exchange the Product originally purchased for a like-for-like replacement Product


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MTV and Giuliana Rancic Hit Up Lincoln Road for a 24 Hour Fashion Show
Die hard fashionistas get ready for the first ever 24-hour fashion show on Lincoln Road this weekend hosted by Giuliana Rancic of E! News and E!'s Fashion Police. The show which will be live streamed on MTV is the world premier of Cotton's 24 Hour Runway Show and will feature 1,440 looks—one look per minute—to celebrate The Fabric of Our Lives. Looks will run the gamut every hour from "haute hipster" to "urban chic" to effortless bohemian."
"There's a number of reasons why we chose to have the show in Miami," said Cotton spokeswoman Marissa Barlin. "The beautiful weather, back drop, the fact that it has a huge fashion culture and good retail shopping are some reasons," said Barlin.
The free show kicks off at noon on Saturday and runs till Sunday with over 50 brands and designers participating. Some are Betsey Johnson, Forever 21, French Connection, Kate Spade, Ben Sherman, Penguin, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger. 24 style icons from around the nation who competed in Cotton's style search will also be making their way to the catwalk.
Plus, higher end lines Kimberly Ovitz, Elizabeth St.John and Chris Kole will be featuring their cocktail and bridal couture.
Appearances by Bill Rancic, Michael Yo, Cindy Taylor, Carla Fisher are expected and performances will include Mia Moretti and Caitlin Moe, DJ Ross One, DJ Joe Maz, Aulden Brown and Juan Mejia.


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Ammunition firm moving to Cheyenne due to gun lawsJan 3, 2014 The Associated Press
CHEYENNE -- One of the country's largest producers of ammunition magazines for guns is leaving Colorado and moving operations to Wyoming and Texas because of new state laws that include restrictions on how many cartridges a magazine can hold.
Erie, Colo.-based Magpul Industries Corp. announced Thursday that it was moving its production, distribution and shipping operations to Cheyenne and its headquarters to Texas, making good on a vow it made to leave Colorado during last year's gun control debate.
"Moving operations to locations that support our culture of individual liberties and personal responsibility is important," Magpul CEO Richard Fitzpatrick said in a statement. "Moving to a true multi-state operation will also allow Magpul to utilize the strengths of both Texas and Wyoming as we continue to expand."
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said in a statement that Wyoming offers Magpul "a firm commitment to uphold the Second Amendment."
The Democrat-led Colorado Legislature and Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper enacted a new law last year prohibiting the sale of gun magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.


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"Either the game does surgery on itself here or soccer faces a future that is very
bleak indeed.
Soccer is in crisis and Adelaide United's horrendous two losses proved once and for all that
something has to be done to fix it.
Neal Guthrie (Canberra Stadium) Heather Reid (CEO Capital Football) and Franz Weimper (Millissa
Fischer's advisor and Assistant Head Coach Altona Magic.)
An inspiring group of Canberrans
Former Socceroo Danny Moulis, Matildas and Canberra United star Caitlin Munoz (Get to the game
Sunday 5pm at Fortress McKellar), Ned Zelic, and Canberra A-League Bid Leader Ivan Slavich.


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All Comments
What should i do about this kind of bullying?
These really popular girl that lives across the street from me keeps bullying me. I was walking my dog one day and she came up to me and said that she was really bored. She asked me to meet her in the park in 5 minutes. She said that if I didn't see her right away, to not worry and that she was probably under the slide. (Then she went on and on about how her skin freckles easy, and how she needs a lot of protection from the sun.) I really didn't want to go but I didn't have any thing else to do at the moment; so i decided to see how it went; if I got bored, then i would leave.
After dropping off my dog at home, I went to the park, didn't see her, then checked under the slide. When I didn't see her there i got up from my knees, but before I could turn around: I felt someone's arms wrap around me tightly, really tightly.
Merit; the popular girl, slide out of the slide and turned around to face me. She asked me why I would ever think that I could ever have a chance to hang out with her.
She took out a pair of scissors from her pocket and started cutting off my top.
I asked her numerous times why she was doing this. Asked her who was holding me. Turns out her boyfriend; Dean, was the one.
I also tried to fighting back but Dean is way stronger than me.
Once my top was cut off, my pants were.
Dean thew me over his shoulder and brought me to the swings.
Merit then, roped and ductaped me, s. my feet were apart and my arms were up.
Merit slowly stripped me down to nothing. She cut up even my socks. Dean took pictures of me: completely naked. "Your chest, your butt and pussy" Merit laughed at me. "Don't forget her vagina!" Dean said. Merit teased me. "Your so hairy", "are you sure your not a guy", "did you have a sex change?"
Merit went back to the slide, while Dean touched me with leaves. He said I was too disgusting to actually touch.
When merit came back she had a mini massager. She put on some gloves and started massaging my breasts, my stomach, my pussy, my vagina. I was so scared that I started to pee.
Merit got really made then. She set down the massager and slapped my butt and pinched my boobs. Some had gotten in her gloves she forced me to drink it.
Dean had gloves too. While I was drinking my own sh*t, he fingered me.
They left me there until it got dark. I didn't call for help I didn't want anyone to see me naked.
Then Dean came back and said to NEVER tell anyone. I said what if I do, and he replied with actions. He took some of the cloth from my shirt and tied it around my eyes.
"This will happen" he said. He put one leg around me and thrust ed his pelvis forward numerous times. Then something wet hit me like a stream from a hose. "I'll do that, you will be covered in pee, and naked pics of you will be on the web. He took off my blind fold and wrote on my inner thighs, boobs, and butt: things that can't be repeated. He must of loosened the tape because somehow i got out of it.
Nobody saw me, and I still didn't tell anyone.
I don't want to tell any one but I want to get them back.
Does anyone know how?
file a report to the police!!!!!!!!!!!! make sure the police confiscate the camera before they upload the picture


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I have been an avid runner for eight years now and one of the major perks (besides the endorphins) is that it's quite inexpensive. The only thing absolutely necessary to invest in is your running shoes. Running can be very tough on your body and it's important to take responsibility for treating yourself well!
I bought a new pair of Asics GT-2170 last weekend. I have been running in the 2000 series for years now and they have never failed me. The difference with the newest model is that they are taking on this minimalist trend. The sales clerk was very knowledgeable about the shoes and explained that they are lighter and have a lower heel in order to help runners reduce heel striking. It is much less harmful to the body when runners achieve a midfoot/forefoot strike in their stride.
Lately I've been seeing more and more talk about the minimalist running shoe trend. My ears perked up when I started to notice those odd looking FiveFingers shoes, which seemed more like socks to me. The idea is that they "allow the foot to move more naturally and, thus, allow the rest of the body to set up in more efficient running posture from foot to forehead" (http://bit.ly/elIFyp). In fact, this idea has gone beyond the FiveFingers brand and has become a major trend in the running shoe industry.
All of this new information regarding minimalist shoes has definitely contradicted a lot of what I have learned in the past about running shoes. One barefoot enthusiast claims that, "Arch support, cushioning, and high-tech features are believed to be improvements for human comfort but they're actually the direct cause of foot problems and injuries." People in support of the minimalistic shoes even go as far as saying that companies who promote motion control and stability shoes are simply propaganda. I am personally a mild over-pronator, meaning I roll across too much from the outside to the inside of my foot, causing injury. Luckily, it is only mild and I have a bit more leeway with the shoes I buy and have only suffered small, treatable injuries such as shin splints and slight pain in my knees. Nothing I can't fix with a little rest and lots of ice!
However I know many people who suffer from chronic shin splints and plantar fasciitis. As far as I was concerned, the solution was running in the right shoe for you, which can be stability or motion control shoes. However after researching the minimalist concept, it seems to make more sense to let your body adapt to itself in a natural way, instead of controlling movement. One thing to keep in mind is that it is not easy to adapt to these minimalist shoes after you have been active in a more structured shoe. According to Jay Dicharry, directory of the SPEED Clinic at the University of Virginia's Center for Endurance Sport, there are three criteria to making the change to minimal-drop shoes. They are flexibility, strength and technique.
Overall, he says it is smart to be patient when you begin running in a new pair of shoes. Take it slow and build as you get stronger. My words of advice; always listen to your body, rest when necessary and ice painful areas, it's like magic! Happy running everyone!
Tags: Running shoes, Running, Wellbeing
University Recreation | Wellbeing | Wellbeing Online
umm, i read somewhere that five finger shoes are not meant for running because of the direct impact on your foot.it's greater than if you run in regular sneakers.I don't know about prolonged cardio sessions, but i sprint 99.9% of the time when i train.and with cerebral palsy since birth i overtrain my msiserable right foot all the time.well, a running clinic doc said, forget about the treadmill and the like. it was like a verdict and so i brushed it off ( sprinting is another vital part of my training), it hurts, i get bruises, "it must be the shoes",or not,i get swollen everything, but i just can't give it up.
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text: Well I thought this would be a fun thing to do. Take a snap of the first page of your photo album, then post it here. We can relive some great memories we created on VMK If you think it would help, explain any of the pictures or tell when/where you took them. Hmm, I guess I never got down how to use a camera until a few months into VMK @_@ The first three were in my Everest Ride Comp. Room. Then a rectangular crate, me showing off my inferno and flying carpet in the spell room (how i miss that room..). Hey look I was wanted even way back then . The ride-a-thon where we saw those cool tiki stuff, 2 years later and we already have one . Then the last two are a host event. Dude


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Through all the thaws and chills of Soviet-American relations, one channel has remained open for 21years: the Moscow-Washington hotline. This week, after nearly a year of sporadic negotiating, the two countries are expected to sign a pact to modernize the outmoded equipment. Most recently upgraded in 1976, the teleprinters are able to send material at the sluggish rate of 66 words-a- minute. The new system will permit almost instant transmission of texts, maps and photos. While hardly a diplomatic break through, the accord represents the only substantively new superpower agreement since Reagan took office;...
Foreign Policy: Better Lines of Communication
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Baby on the way for Syracuse captain Mike Angelidis
AHL Syracuse captain Mike Angelidis knew he likely would have to leave Lightning training camp to be with wife, Lenna, when she delivered their first child. Well, that call finally came.
Angelidis will play tonight against the Blues in St. Louis and then fly home to Toronto on Saturday. Daughter, Sanatana, who is breech, will be delivered by C-section on Sunday.
"When we found out the baby was breech, that was a little tough to deal with," Angelidis said. "There's nothing you can do. It is what it is. We have to deal what we're given, so we move along and expect the arrival of a little girl. I can't wait. I'm pumped. I can't wait to meet her."
Angelidis said his stay in Toronto is open-ended as he expects Lenna will remain in the hospital two or three days. He is expected to start the season with the Crunch.
"We'll learn more as we go along," he said.


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ipsy Glam Bag: December 2012
This would be the post that took forever to prep for, so I apologize profusely for its lateness. People rarely want to read December beauty box reviews in January – only a few short days before the January subscriptions are shipped – but timing wasn't in my favour this holiday season. My ipsy bag didn't show up until right before New Years (thanks, Canada Post), and following the big 2013 Welcome Celebration, life tends to sober up and resume. Decorations come down, wine bottles are recycled, people return to work, and loved ones fly back to where they now live. Nevertheless, albeit late and despite the crazy, my ipsy December 2012 review is finally here.
This bag was actually fantastic and loaded with full-sized beauty treats. I, personally, was beyond impressed. Out of all the December bags I've reviewed, this was my favourite by far. Sorry Glymm and Topbox!
Before jumping into the review though, I'll be experimenting with a new product rating system this post, and we'd really appreciate your feedback. If you find the new review system more, less, or equally helpful, we want to know as this blog is for you, the readers, not us. So please, comment away.
December's Glam Bag was themed "Haute Holiday" and featured a gorgeous cosmetic bag plus five full-sized products and an exclusive BB cream sample from Urban Decay. This is why ipsy won my stamp of December Favourite. Also, all these products are fabulous, and I'm not being over-the-top or kind in saying that. But to prove my point, let's take a closer look.
I, quite blatantly, was not impressed with the look, feel, or quality of ipsy's November cosmetic bag. Still, we're really paying for the samples and the bag is just a nice perk, so it's easy to see past that. Nevertheless, the December bag did a complete 180, and gave us this gorgeous gem. The bag looks nice, feels great, is stitched well, and has a fantastic zipper. Also the inside?
Absolutely adorable. It's also a great size to throw into any gym bag or travel purse – compact and chic. It's slightly longer than eye pencils and mascaras, too, so all your lengthy cosmetics will fit.
This limited bonus item was sent to "active participants within the ipsy community", which it seems Ever Vain falls under as both Kyuu and I received this sample.
Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm is one of the newest additions to the BB cream market. It totes a broad spectrum SPF 20, DNA repair, optical blurring, and an oil-free formula. While optical blurring is par for the course in BB creams and DNA repair is becoming common in high-end brands, it is nice to see a product with SPF. Makeup isn't a night-time-only affair, and too often do we forget that harmful UV rays (responsible for accelerated ageing, dark spots, and skin cancer) aren't exclusive to the summer months. Props to Urban Decay for taking note and adding this feature to their products.
Naked Skin has a thin, somewhat watery formula, and unlike some BB creams that have a thick composition and go on thick, Naked Skin goes on light and sparingly. It also blended very well and very quickly to my light complexion. I applied only 2 coats to achieve my desired even skintone, but you do not need a lot of this product to cover your face, so do remember to use it in moderation. I immediately saw a significant reduction (or rather elimination) of shine and pore visibility. It also left my skin feeling soft and powdery, which is a good thing! It's so light that I almost forgot I was wearing it – it really does let skin breathe. Additionally, it lasted all night then came off easy with a makeup remover cloth (I prefer Garnier Nutri-Pure Detoxifying Wet Cleansing Towelettes which are available at most local drug stores). All in all, I was very impressed with this product. It is, however, slightly more expensive than some BB creams, but noting its DNA repair and SPF features, the price is on par.
Sample Value: $3.59 USD for 3.7 mL (0.12 fl. oz.)
Regular: $34.00 USD for 35 mL
Up next is Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I prefer liquid liner to pencils. Primarily because I shake worse than a meth addict when under-caffeinated, thus I need a tool I can make a quick, sweeping line with that requires no second application.
Many would argue that the Glide-On Eye Pencil is a compromise – its structure and composition is a creamy pencil that allows the user to make more fluid, seamless lines. Maybelline Define-A-Line Eye Pencil and Maybelline Line Stylist Eyeliner also follow this premise. I haven't used the latter, but I can attest that Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On is superior to Maybelline Define-A-Line in every regard. Not that Define-A-Line isn't a good product – it works and is affordable – but 24/7 Glide-On glides easier, has bolder colour, and doesn't spontaneously retract while trying to use it.
(I apologize for the lighting in this swatch; I must have accidentally turned the flash off. That's probably what I deserve for taking photos at 2am. Shh.)
For a pencil, 24/7 Glide-On applies fluidly and provides good pressure control, as can be seen above. Zero is also a rich black that smudges nicely and would be a great liner when doing a smoky eye. It also has a creamy, non-clumpy texture, which I liked. As for long-lastingness (or "effectiveness"), I found it so good that it was bothersome. While it didn't budge, smear, or smudge all night, when I was trying to take it off before bed, I used two types of eye makeup remover and a wad of cotton pads and my eyes were still coated in liner. It's definitely durable, waterproof, and long-stay – perfect for any overnight adventure – but if you need to take it off quickly for any reason, you may be facing trouble. These pencils are also very pricey, in my opinion, especially when you can pick-up a similar product at the drug store for $5.00-$9.00. In this case, I personally feel you're paying for the brand name, not the liner.
Travel Size: $14.25 USD
Regular: $19.00 USD
Nyx Ultra Pearl Mania in Charcoal Pearl is a smoky, sparkly loose eyeshadow with a lot of body, intensity, glitz, and glamour. Nyx Cosmetics Loose Pearl Eyeshadow has been catching my eye on and off for months now, so it was great to receive this sample. Charcoal was also a perfect colour for me as the traditional smoky eye is my go-to look. This was another full-sized product, too, which is fantastic. Props, ipsy.
As you can see, there is a lot of sparkle in this shadow. How well it's applied will depend largely on the quality of your personal makeup brushes. Should you have a good brush, this loose shadow goes on easy and blends well. You can also apply it as thick or as light as you choose. It's also very affordable at $3.00 USD per bottle. Overall, I was very impressed.
Value: $3.00 USD for 5 mL (0.06 oz.)
Be A Bombshell lip gloss in Hot Mess has the colour intensity and longevity of lipstick but the sheen and application of lip gloss. Hot Mess is also a very "true red" – think Marilyn Monroe lips with a glossy pop. The colour is gorgeous and the texture is wet and non-sticky. It also doesn't smudge easily and wears long into the night. When you are ready to take it off, all you need is a makeup remover wipe or towelette (you'll be applying it to your lips, so just remember to use one that is lip-friendly and non-toxic). The applicator also allows for great precision as the tip is structured and only slightly spongy – too much sponge is where we start making mistakes.
Value: $14.00 USD for 3 g (0.11 oz.)
Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes is a clear, non-scented facial makeup primer with an oil-free texture that is soft on skin. What really impressed me about this product was its applicator. The tube releases a very fine string of primer, allowing for precise control of product release and use. This is especially helpful if you only intend to use this primer on your eyes and thus only require a small amount. This product is Paraben-free, which is great, but it is still recommended that you avoid applying Prime to your lash line.
From a cost perspective, Mirabella Prime is pricey but on par with other high-end brand name primers. Personally, however, I wouldn't consider Mirabella a "high-end" brand, so I question the steep price tag. Additionally, many pricey primers nowadays come with additional features, like SPF and corrector. Prime is just that – a primer. There's nothing special or distinct about it. For that reason, I'd suggest Sephora Collection Perfecting Ultra-Smoothing Primer which costs $15.00 USD ($17.00 CAD) for 0.5 oz.
Value: $29.00 USD for 12.85 g (0.45 oz.)
Lastly, we have Mai Couture St. Barts Highlighter Paper. I'd actually never used highlighter paper prior to receiving this product, so it was a learning experience. I usually spend more time removing shine and sheen from my face, not applying it, but I do see the value in the product. It's also great for adding definition to your collarbones and chest.
I was very thankful for the "How To" guide at the back of the booklet as I was essentially clueless. There were 25 sheets in this booklet and each sheet is 3.9 inches x 2.5 inches. The sheets are also double-sided, allowing for twice the usage. The only thing to beware of is how messy your hands will get – just remember to wash them directly after sheet use. The sheets also allow for large-area use but lack precision. I'd personally prefer a palette and brush, but I do see the value in these booklets as they are transportable and fit nicely into a clutch or pocket.
Sample Value: $14.00 USD for 25 sheets
Regular: $28.00 USD for 50 sheets
As for overall value, the ipsy December 2012 Glam Bag – excluding the cosmetic bag – is valued at $77.82 USD and contained 6 items, 4 of which were full-sized products. All of this for $10.00 USD (or $14.00 CAD). The product quality was fantastic on average. Product diversity was also high, providing subscribers with almost all the tools required for a complete makeover. By and large, if November's bag didn't make me an ipsy fan, December's bag definitely did.