text: Scott holds off Hoover girls By Tommy R. Atkinson February 5, 2013 Story Share FALLING ROCK, W.Va. -- Whether home or away, Herbert Hoover used to be an easy mark.That has changed, and Scott found that out fast Tuesday night.The Skyhawks leaned heavily on their inside presence and hit just enough free throws down the stretch to keep the host Huskies at bay for a 55-51 victory. A crowd of about 200 attended the Class AA Cardinal Conference matchup at Hoover.Hoover used a surge near the end of the fourth quarter to pull within four points (49-45) on a pair of foul shots by sophomore Bailey Aab and one free throw from freshman Hannah Schoolcraft. Scott junior Julie Conway made a pair from the charity stripe and converted a putback to push the Skyhawks' lead to 53-45 with 36.8 seconds to go.The Huskies weren't finished, however, as sophomore Bethany Romine drained a 3-pointer to slice the deficit to five points (53-48) with 19.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.Hoover had to foul, and Scott junior Jaimee Dotson converted two foul shots for a 55-48 edge with 11.4 seconds remaining but Hoover senior Jordan Marshall banked in a 3 with 6.4 seconds to go to close within 55-51.Scott threw the inbounds pass the length of the court and Aab intercepted, but Hoover ran out of time. The Skyhawks missed two foul shots in the final 55.3 seconds but secured the rebound each time to thwart the Huskies' comeback bid. The Skyhawks' inside presence of 6-foot-3 junior Ali Whitman and 6-1 sophomore Andrea Rankin was too much for height-challenged Hoover as the duo combined for 29 points on 13-of-21 shooting, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks. Whitman finished with 15 points on 6-of-13 accuracy with 10 boards and four blocks while Rankin added 14 points with seven caroms and seven blocks.Dotson turned in 12 points, four assists and five steals for Scott (10-7) and Conway contributed seven points, nine boards and two steals. The Skyhawks blocked 12 shots, outrebounded the Huskies by 11 (44-33) and held them to 30.6 percent shooting. "We didn't do a very good job,'' said Skyhawks coach John Porter. "We weren't playing with intensity. We just had one or two playing in spurts. We've been off for about a week, but we're starting to play well finally.'' The Skyhawks have been feeling their way around this season after state player of the year Makenzie White graduated after leading them to three straight state tournament finals appearances."I feel pretty good about the next two or three weeks,'' Porter said. "Whitman showed us something tonight.''Scott defeated Hoover by 30 points in Madison in early January."We're disappointed that we lost, but we're not disappointed in how we played and the effort,'' said Hoover coach Greg Ullman, whose team missed 10 foul shots. "I think we fought and scratched hard inside. If I looked at a shot chart the scoring inside the lane was the whole game."It's just a size thing. [Scott] is just a lot for us to handle inside. We made good moves to the basket and they drove hard to the hole. A couple of rebounds at the end that we probably should have gotten could have really changed the game.'' Freshman Kari Harding totaled 12 points for Hoover (10-7) and Aab chipped in 11 points and six boards.The Huskies are chasing their first winning season since 1996 relying mostly on underclassmen."A lot of times out there we had freshmen and sophomores on the floor,'' said Ullman, who last year guided Hoover to its first regional final appearance since the early 1990s. "At times that was probably all that was on the floor."We've got a good group. They like each other and seem to play well together. It's a lot of good chemistry right now. When you go into a game and you're shorter at every position I think we play as a team.''Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at firstname.lastname@example.com or 304-348-4811. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Police seek car driven by woman found dead in Kanawha River 2 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 3 Teen pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Oakes Field shooting 4 Man allegedly cuts father in Rand over argument about sandwich 5 Rhode Island bank claims Justice companies owe $4.2M on helicopter loan Prep basketball results, linescores -- Feb. 5 Previous Story Charleston Catholic continues its roll Next Story


text:
Didn't Spirit or Opportunity have an anemometer strapped to them somewhere, so we could get an idea of real wind speeds, rather than computer simulations?
Boffins reckon Mars quite blustery actually
A new geophysical study of Mars' sand dunes has claimed that the Red Planet may be a windy place after all, despite the evidence of previous experiments. The shifting red sands of the planet have up till now been attributed to carbon dioxide ice sublimation, since boffins believed that strong winds weren't a possibility in the …
A child's windmill in sight of the camera would've done the trick
Apparently not (might have been too much weight), though "Curiosity" will be carrying a weather station with it.
No spice nearby, though...
Dear Boffins
M'ars is quite blustery and at times very blustery indeed.
There seem to be strong associations between dietary input and gaseous output at empirical/observation levels and a whole lot of research identifying, qualifying and quantifying these associations seems critically important.
ps: funding bid is in the post
A piece of string
A piece of string tied to a vertical mast on a rover and we'd have the answer.
As seen from Earth!
Mars is a planet well known for having occasional planet-wide sandstorms. I think one of those would qualify as "quite blustery" ... as well as being quite able to move the odd sand dune.
Why didn't they ask you?
That's what I thought too. Sandstorms without wind is a novel concept.
What makes you think it is sand?
I was under the impression that there were *dust* storms. A few billion years of a gentle breeze plus a little bit of freeze-thaw action should generate dust particles so fine that even a fairly insubstantial wind could keep them aloft.
The Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers got caught in a months-long dust storm, and the major issue was the solar panels getting a bit dirty. Clearly the mass of material being shifted by the storm was pretty small.
already captured on camera!
Those two plucky little rovers have already taken photos of dust-devils scooting along.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
New Zealand announces US$1.2 million to IFAD for rural development
Rome, 20 August, 2013 - New Zealand announced a contribution of US$1.2 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the Ninth Replenishment of the Fund's resources (IFAD9).
The injection of new funds from New Zealand is a confirmation of IFAD's role in international development architecture as an effective organization that delivers results in the area of food and income security, especially for poor rural people. New Zealand sets very high standards for the funding of multilateral organizations, which are reflected in IFAD's strong efficiency and performance achievements.
IFAD represents a unique partnership that brings together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to find lasting solutions to help millions of poor rural women and men raise their productivity and incomes to overcome poverty. Every three years, the resources the Fund provides as concessional loans and grants to developing countries are replenished by Member States. IFAD leverages member contributions to mobilize other funds through project cofinancing with national governments, international donors and the private sector.
The central focus of New Zealand's aid programme is sustainable development to reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world. This includes carefully targeting development funds towards activities that bring about tangible differences to the quality of people's lives.
"New Zealand's re-engagement with IFAD shows that our Member States recognize the importance of agriculture and rural development to eradicate poverty," said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD. "If we are to achieve a poverty free world, we have to focus on the marginalized, rural areas where most of the poor people live."
New Zealand's announcement comes at a time when the Fund has recently undergone an independent external evaluation of its programmes. As a result of the evaluation, IFAD is implementing a plan to increase the sustainable impact of every dollar it invests in rural development.
Press release No.: IFAD/39/2013
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested about US$14.9 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering over 410 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the United Nations' food and agriculture hub. It is a unique partnership of 172 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).


text:
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text:
With apologies to Charles Dickens, lately it has been a tale of two campuses for Palestine RB Adrian Peterson.
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text:
Blueberry Pudding Cake Recipe
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1. Toss the blueberries with cinnamon and lemon juice; place in a greased 8-in. square baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder; stir in milk and butter. Spoon over berries.
- 2. Combine sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle over batter. Slowly pour boiling water over all. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean. Yield: 9 servings.
Nutritional Facts
1 piece: 244 calories, 4g fat (3g saturated fat), 12mg cholesterol, 91mg sodium, 50g carbohydrate (36g sugars, 1g fiber), 2g protein.
Reviews for Blueberry Pudding Cake
Average Rating
"I have made this recipe many, many times and each time it is a total hit. I'll continue making it with no changes to the recipe since it is perfect the way it was first written!"
"I have rated this as a 4* recipe. I'd never made it before. My adjustments were using a can of raspberry pie filling since I did not have blueberries available. I'd also made adjustments using 2 tsp. lemon juice to the berry filling and adding 1/4 tsp. salt with the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and sugar). I'd baked 45 minutes, tested cake and baked 5 minutes longer. Thank you for sharing! delowenstein"
"My children love this cake.. I have it in the oven right now. I make mine with GF bisquick and 1/2 the sugar.. perfect every time."
"This is an awesome blueberry dessert - I have made it more times than I can count. I sometimes serve with homemade whipped cream instead of vanilla ice cream. I noticed some people commented their sauce was runny when using frozen blueberries - I've never had that problem - Editor's note states do not thaw the frozen blueberries to avoid discoloring the batter, but I also think that not thawing prevents the runny sauce."
"LOVE this dessert when served with vanilla ice cream! I suggest upping the cornstarch amount to at least 2 tbsp (otherwise the sauce is very thin, not really thickened much at all- but I always use frozen blueberries, so maybe that makes the difference?)"
"After reading all the great reviews I was surprised. Mine came out runny. I'm wondering if it is because I used frozen blueberries and when they thawed that may have caused the soupy mix. Mine has a dark crust and doesn't look like the picture. I would not make this again."
"have made this with different fruit - always comforting"
"Wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped it would be. The cake part wasn't that great, tasting more like a soggy biscuit that anything. And the blueberries had way too much cinnamon, which ruined the flavor. And the blueberries were too soupy also. No, I would not make this again."
"I LOVE this! So simple, easy to make, and it tastes delicious! I bring this to family events and it disappears fast. I haven't tried it yet with other fruit/berries, but it might taste amazing with peaches."
"I have made this cake 6 times. I follow the recipe exactly and it always turns out great. I get many compliments on it."
"I have made this recipe several times and we do enjoy it, but I have learned to cut back on the sugar. It is way to sweet for our tastes as-is. I cut the sugar to about 1/2 c. in the cake and 1/2 c. in the topping. We also enjoy it with blackberries or chopped peaches mixed in."
"I found this recipe years ago in a newspaper while visiting an Aunt in Michigan. I've been making it ever since and always gets rave reviews! Really good with a mix of blueberries and raspberries."
"Very yummy and easy."
"I used 3 kinds of berries, black, raspberry and blue... omitted the cinnamon and added 1 tsp of vanilla....served with vanilla ice cream. I too did use 3 cups of berries so they covered the bottom of the square dish. Delish...a favorite of mine for sure."
"I put extra berries and more cornstarch. I also only used 2/3 cup water."
"easy and tasty! However, I found it a little too runny. Next time I make it I'm going to decrease the boiling water to 1/2 cup instead of a full cup and see how it turns out. I used fresh blueberries - I just love them in any recipe. Maybe I'll try 3 cups of them instead of 2."
"A clear winner. So simple and got rave reviews from family. "Yummy!" my Dad said! Used frozen blueberries, unthawed. I could use any pie fruit I think. Maybe will try strawberries next."
"I am shocked that so many people like this recipe! I am a sugar addict, but this is the most disgusting dessert I have ever eaten! I kept checking the recipe to see if I was reading it wrong. Yes, that is almost a whole cup of sugar in the topping alone, not including another 3/4 cup you add before that!! I love sugar, but this was horrible! It would be better with a lot less sugar. My teeth are actually screaming out in pain!! My 3 boys wouldn't even touch this!!"
"Ive made this several times using a combination of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries or just two types of berries. Great recipe with ice cream!"
"This recipe is absolutely delicious! I would not change a thing! I use the same large mixing bowl for each step!"
"Super easy recipe. If you eat it while its still warm, the bluberry pudding is thin and awesome spooned over ice cream. We put leftovers in the fridge and its pretty much exactly like blueberry pudding when its chilled. Either way, it was great and I will be making this again!"
"So yummy and very easy. My whole family loved it!"
"This is much too sweet for us. The blueberries at the bottom were runny. I wonder if there shouldn't be some flour added to the blueberry/cinnamon/lemon juice mixture. I will not be making this again."
"Excellent, I recieved this recipe from my sister many years ago. I make a Rhubarb version also that needed some modifying that is in demand at our home."
"easy and delicious!"
"This is soooooooo good!!! For the reviewer concerned about the water making it soggy: no, the cake is cakey, and the water cooks through to the bottom, making the blueberry pudding layer."
"I have used this recipe many times since it was published years ago. I look forward to freash blueberries just so I can make this cake."
"Could I possibly use Raspberries in thsi recipe?? I have raspberries bushes and pick them until I can't pick anymore and then freeze them. I normally just use them all for canning jam and eat some in the process over ice cream or in my cereal. Any ideas?"
" Question: the water does not make everything soggy???"
"This has been a favorite at our house since it came out in your magazine several years ago. It's perfect. Don't change a thing.....except maybe to double the recipe because it won't last long!"
"Very tasty! The kids and I enjoyed it with a dollop of cool whip on top!"
"This was fantabulous. Didn't last long around here."
"this tasted great and you wouldnt even know it was lighter!"


text:
Riding the wave, again
|By Lawrence Cosentino
Symphony opener brings back violinist Giora Schmidt
In March of last year, Lansing Symphony
In March 2010, Lansing Symphony maestro Timothy Muffitt
Now it can be told: Schmidt, who returns
"I was kind of upside down," Schmidt said.
"That's amazing," Muffitt said, when told of this last week.
Several years ago, no less an authority than Itzhak
Even with jet lag, Schmidt found Lansing simpatico. "I
Their tight musical clinch was pretty much sub-verbal.
"We did it without a lot of discussion, which is how you
"I felt like we were on the same artistic wavelength from 'Hello,'" Muffitt returned.
This Friday, Muffitt and Schmidt will kick back and pour
The Beethoven violin concerto, centerpiece of the Lansing
"It's certainly one of the two greatest ever written — and I don't know what the other one is," Muffitt cracked.
Then again, there's nothing light on the menu Friday. The
The primal, cut-the-bull beauty of the Beethoven concerto isn't fodder for extroverts, but mincing around isn't Schmidt's thing.
"I have to watch myself that I don't get swept away by
Muffitt said the Beethoven's concerto, like last year's Barber, plays to Schmidt's strengths.
"The lyricism – so much of it requires exquisitely
But Schmidt said he finds Beethoven's simple harmonies and Eden-naked melodies harder to play than "hard" music.
"It's like walking on glass," Schmidt said. "You have to
Schmidt is thankful for any music, Beethoven or not, that rescues the violin from dog-and-pony theatrics.
"There's a lot of virtuosic, knuckle-busting repertoire
When the Beethoven is over, he wants the "oohs" and
Muffitt finds that Schmidt and his famous teacher, Perlman, share a "focused, expressive emotional intensity."
"(Perlman) is not one for wild rubato or extremes of
In classical music these days, if you don't come down
"You don't
On Friday, Muffitt will balance the purity of Beethoven
The organ part is memorable — it's hard to forget any
When it comes to blending sounds, Muffitt finds
"It's not all the trumpets, tympani and pipe organ
The evening's opener is Jennifer Higdon's "Blue
"Jennifer is one of our most important composers living today," Muffitt said. "Her music is everywhere."
Higdon, like Saint-Saëns, is a whiz at mixing colors.
"It's not your usual shock-and-awe curtain raiser," Muffitt said. "But audiences love it. It reaches you on many levels."
Lansing Symphony Orchestra
Giora Schmidt, violin. Wharton Center. 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16. $15-45 (517) 481-5007 www.lansingsymphony.org
Save 50% on Symphony tickets
Want to save 50% on tickets for the


text:
Admission: Free
Meeting Place: Visitor Center
Are tarantulas dangerous? If you're an insect they are! Debunk the myths and learn the truth about these fascinating bug hunters while meeting a live one up-close.
Explore DeGray Lake Resort State Park with our helpful maps and brochures! Just click on an icon to view, or right-click on your mouse to save a
copy to your computer.
From trails to historic events, tours and fun family activities...Never miss out on an Arkansas State Parks Adventure again!


text:
For time:
21 Overhead squats (95,65)
42 Pull-ups
30 Pull-ups
18 Pull-ups
SSG Joshua Hager, United States Army, was killed Thursday February 22 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to Josh's friends and family. Fair Winds, Josh. (picture and information courtesy of CrossFit)
During this next two weeks we will be putting in some hero wods. Remember to do your best on these wods as the fallen hero's that they are named after gave their best. It does not mean that you have to RX the wod but do what you can to honor these men who have served our country. The next one will be on Sunday.
We are getting a group of people together to do the "whole9" challenge again….so far Allycat, SB, MC, LW and H&I are getting onboard…anyone else interested in joining us? It is better to do as a group that way there is more support and everyone can bouce recipies off of each other. See the link on the side of page for more information. It is a great way to "reset" your body and learn how to eat better in general!


text:
Creative commons photo via Flickr user powtac. Hackers are in high demand as cyberwarfare — once the stuff of science fiction — becomes an increasing threat to the data of individuals and companies, and to the United States, including nuclear … Continue reading
Google and Verizon released a joint set of principles for Internet regulation Monday that would enshrine some aspects of net neutrality principles in law, but would largely exempt the wireless Internet from regulation. We asked advocates and opponents of government … Continue reading


text:
Random Encounter
Credits & Info
- Uploaded
- Mar 9, 2010 | 5:25 PM EST
- File Info
- Loop
- 40 sec
- Score
- 4.72 / 5.00
Related Content
Heard in 4 Entries!
View all submissions featuring this audio file.
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Licensing Terms
Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.
- Score:
- Rated 4.72 / 5 stars
- Plays & Downloads:
- 3,986 Plays | 292 Downloads
- Share Links:
- Genres:
- Electronic - Video Game
- None
Author Comments
Rated 4 / 5 stars
Great job, may I use this for an rpg game I'm making?
Sure thing.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
I dunno if you've ever played Riviera: The Promised Land, but this is very reminiscent of it in terms of overall tone and melody. And that's a good thing. The melody is entrancing and if I were to play a game with this as the battle theme, I'd stick around extra long in said battles just to listen to it. Amazing job on this, I love every last second of it.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
loved it
A great song for an rpg battle! This song was awesome, as soon as I was done using it for my rpg parody flash, I put it on my ipod
Rated 5 / 5 stars
I'd love to hear this playing during a boss fight in a top-down shooter. It's got a wonderful "flying-through-the-sky" vibe to it, and it really energizes me. Hearing those drums kick in at the start gets me really pumped.
The way you smoothly completed the loop with that little alarm-like sound is great. Letting the end part of the sound play right at the loop's beginning effectively conveys the feeling one might get upon randomly encountering an enemy: "Hey!" Meanwhile, you were able to work the beginning part of the sound into the music and connect it with the end part without making it seem awkward or out of place. Well done!
Also, I'm pretty sure I heard a bit of frequency modulation synthesis in there. I'm a big fan of that. <3
To sum it up, everything sounds superb! This little loop is more than worthy of being featured in a game or animation, and I hope it eventually will be, because I'd love for it to gain more recognition. Awesome job!
Wow, I really appreciate that comment! Thanks a bunch! I should have some more stuff uploaded soon once college leaves me alone. XD
And yes, frequency modulation is tons of fun.


text: I want to set up a lock screen for my phone. I had one months ago but I haven't used it since. Every time I try to set it up it asks for my pin, which I don't know and I don't remember setting one up. Is there a way for me to get this pin to set a new password?


text:
So im pretty confident I'll be buying a warbonnet blackbird. I just have a few questions. I'm debating between the DL and SL 1.1 and 1.7.
Whats the difference between the 1.1's and 1.7's?
All i really found is weight and carrying capacity.
Is the suspension that it comes with adequate or is it something I'm going to want to replace?
Is there any reason i should consider Hennesy instead?


text: At first I thought the offseason was looking bad when they picked up Sage Rosenfles (however you spell it), but I really think they came through on many major issues. DE, LB, TE, WR, OL my goodness this was a great offseason. Every guy they brought in could end up being a starter. DE is now solid, OLB and ILB is now solid, WR, if we get Moulds, is a complete 180 from last year. TE is by far the major issue I felt killed the Texas for years, and now we have a great pass catching TE and a great Blocking TE. The OL offseason additions have not been as great as I was wishing it would be, but we really let off some pressure by bringing in Flanagan. Center is solid and with Hodg and McK at guard and Pitts at LT things could really turn around next year. I am very excited about next year, I could care less who they pick in the draft, I think Kubiak is freaking awsome! I never dreamed the decisions and moves/direction a new coach can bring to a down and out ballclub could lift Texans Spirits like it has! I don't know about you people but I am going to guess that we can easily, if we stay healthy, break .500 next year. I feel like the choices being made now, and the players being brought in are moving the team in the right decision. Believe me people, if our guys can stay healthy, this time next year we are going to be talking about who we pray and hope will drop down far enough in the draft so we can get them! Texans offseason in my opinion, if they get Moulds, A-. If we fail to nabb Moulds I give our coaches a solid B


text:
Medical Definition of Sinus tachycardia
Sinus tachycardia: Fast heartbeat (tachycardia) that occurs because of overly rapid firing by the sinoatrial node. Sinus tachycardia is usually a rapid contraction of a normal heart in response to a condition, drug, or disease, such as pain, fever, excessive thyroid hormone, exertion, excitement, low blood oxygen level (hypoxia), or stimulant drugs, such as caffeine, cocaine, and amphetamines. However, in some cases sinus tachycardia can be a sign of heart failure, heart valve disease, or other
Last Editorial Review: 5/13/2016
Drug Medical Dictionary of Terms by Letter
Medical Dictionary Term:
Heart Health
Get the latest treatment options.


text:
The pirate site plans to ignore the lawsuits from Elsevier and the American Chemical Society.
Learning Your Stripes
May 1, 2017|
Science's lowest common denominator has always been patterns.
May 1, 2017|
Science's lowest common denominator has always been patterns.
May 1, 2017|
May Profilee Ben Barres of Stanford University discusses how understanding the basic biology of myelination could help patients with multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
May 1, 2017|
Understanding how people recognize and control their own bodies could help researchers develop therapies for those who've lost their sense of self.
May 1, 2017|
From fish harvests to cottonwood forests, organisms display evidence that species change can occur on timescales that can influence ecological processes.
May 1, 2017|
Guppies transplanted between different communities in Trinidadian streams evolved in response to changes in predation threat in just a few generations.
April 30, 2017|
The US Environmental Protection Agency removed information about global warming and greenhouse gas emissions that doesn't jibe with the Trump administration's views.
April 27, 2017|
By analyzing the genomes of 161 dog breeds, scientists discover how and when certain canine breeds emerged.
April 26, 2017|
Two studies report methods to mimic human fetal brain development using neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells that form 3-D, brain-like structures.
April 24, 2017|
The state's board of education approves new standards that ease up on having students dig into scientific issues relevant to "intelligent design" arguments.
April 18, 2017|
A double-expansion technique embeds brain tissue in the absorbent material of diapers to stretch out cells for easier visualization.


text:
Redeemer or Destroyer
Everyone said Creation was going to hell.
They were wrong. When the Scarlet Empress Returned, hell came to Creation.
Not at first, her return was a miracle. The civil war in the realm ended the moment of her reemergence. Her first act was to destroy the Deathlord, Mask of Winters along with every man woman and child in Thorns; using the Realm Defense Grid. The bureaucracy was improved, corruption routed out, the Wyld Hunt began to ruthlessly exterminate the anathema again.
She was a hero, the savior returned. This facade feel away in time. Increased natural disasters, frequent wars, poisoned dragon lines, threads of fate fraying. Marriage to the Ebon Dragon opened the way for the return of the return of the Ebon Dragon, who closed the gates to freedom behind himself. Keeping the remaining demon kings in hell.
One Hundred Years have passed.
The axis of the world the elemental pole of earth the once great mountain at the center of creation is now a smoking crater barely held together by a web of the Dragons shadow. Creation is fraying at the edges and corruption seeps into the land.
The Blessed Isle became a realm of nightmare drenched in the eternal shadow and poisoned essence of the Dragon. All corners of creation were ravaged by the build up to the war and have fared little better after.
The East is a war torn wasteland of basalt plains and rivers of lava, only Sijan the city of the dead is left in peace.
The North is silent war, famine and a devastating winter have ravaged most life from from that already harsh direction
In the West all major powers except An-Teng lay in ruins. Despite an overwhelming victory half of the west became a shadowland due to the war with the Silver Prince of Skullstone. The Lintha pirate family raids with ease.
The Souths vast coastal cities have been remade into concentration camps seeking refuge from marauding desert tribes. The city of Gem was taken over by the First and Forsaken Lion in his aerial palace.
Sol Invictus is dead and the Daystar reduced to nothing but embers hangs impotently in the sky. The endless hordes of hell reave through the world corrupting Creation to suit its new master. Stomping out all who would or could oppose him.
After the death of the Unconquered Sun and the obliteration of the sidereals heaven went into lockdown. No contact in or out since the Ebon Dragon returned.
He is the Emperor of Existence, Overlord of the Omphalos and other grandiose self-appointed titles. His forces spread out to crush what pockets of resistance remain and enslave the populace of creation. His rule transcends mortal conceptions of tyranny, being utterly oppressive, capricious and self serving. He does what amuses him and what amuses him most is a world gradually unraveling not into nothingness, but worse, nothing but himself as the mad dictator of all chaos.
Those who bear witness to the slow decay of everything good cannot even bemoan the loss for being enslaved to partake in the degradation. The anguish of his slaves delights him, he laughs when mothers splatter the brains of their babies against the walls for being inconvenient. He laughs when starving orphans eat each other. He laughs when his passage brings forth monsters from beneath the earth in great orgies of rape until no pure hum lineages remain. Surviving gods who remember miss the good old days when the King of the Primordials was their kindly master.
The times are bleak but the Exalted still remain. Hope still lives in guttering embers. Strongholds in the Wyld, the beachhead of Autochthonia. Even if all of the chosen are slain their is hope that they new heroes will reincarnate and rise up to overthrow the Ultimate Darkness.
The cycle of creations history is a saga of subordinates overthrowing their masters. Hope springs eternal and hope is poisonous to the Ebon Dragon.


text:
By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Opponents at a D.C. Council hearing yesterday protested Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's controversial plan to take over public schools, and their anger spilled over into a hallway during a confrontation with council members.
In the third of seven public meetings on Fenty's proposal, witnesses included representatives of education watchdog groups who questioned the city government's ability to run the 58,000-student system. Anger surfaced when former school board member Valencia Mohammed said she feared Fenty (D) and council members would take over the school budget and use it for political patronage.
Mohammed also dressed down council members individually, questioning whether member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), a newcomer to politics, is knowledgeable enough to make an informed decision and making a reference to member Marion Barry's past drug use.
Barry (D-Ward 8) said the council would not tolerate personal attacks. "There is no place in this city for that," he said.
The debate continued in the hall after a recess. Mohammed and Cherita Whiting, chairman of the Ward 4 Education Council, approached Barry during a TV interview. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) was standing next to Barry.
Mohammed said she did not understand how the council and mayor were going to tackle education when they have handled other issues poorly. "What are you going to do about all the unsolved murders in this city?" asked Mohammed, a community activist who has lost two sons to homicide.
"We do not want [the school system] to be in the hands of some hip-hop mayor," Mohammed said, referring to Fenty, 36.
Whiting shouted, "You want to give our schools to someone who doesn't have an educational background."
The tension stemmed from last week's lengthy hearing, when several council members left before parents gave their opinions about the plan. Mohammed, Whiting and others said they were also upset that council members asked them few questions yesterday and instead made statements about how they feel about the failures of D.C. public schools. Many council members said they support the takeover plan.
Council member Carol Schwartz (R-At Large), who opposes the takeover, asked those present to "take it down a notch" but said she understood the opponents' frustration. She said the proposal already appears to be a done deal. "They know the die is cast. It's already been decided," Schwartz said.
Opposition to Fenty's plan has grown and this week received a boost from the Council 20 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which, with nearly 8,000 D.C. government workers as members, is the largest union representing city employees. The union has promised to provide the grass-roots opponents with funds for advertising, mailings, mass phone calls and lobbying.
The opponents pooled $1 and $20 donations to pay the travel expenses for yesterday's star witness, New York City Council member Charles Barron (D), an adversary of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (R).
Barron, who serves on his council's education committee, told D.C. Council members that a mayoral takeover is not the answer to the city's dropout rates, poor test scores and crumbling schools. "The worst thing you can do is give the mayor absolute power," he said.
Although some council members said they were impressed with Bloomberg's results, Barron said test scores have risen marginally and do not reflect what is really happening in the classroom, as some students still struggle to learn and unhappy teachers are leaving the system.
Barry said he was unmoved by Barron's arguments.
"I honestly think you've done a disservice when you say there hasn't been a change in New York. . . . The numbers speak for themselves," he said.
A fourth council hearing exclusively for students and dropouts will be Saturday. The council could vote on Fenty's proposal as early as April.
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Senator Farley Announces State Legislature Recommends To Keep Mt. Mcgregor Open
The New York State Budget for fiscal year 2005-06 includes $6 million to keep Camp Mt. McGregor open, announced State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R,C - Schenectady).
"I am proud to have lead the fight to keep this minimum-security correctional camp in Wilton open," Senator Farley said. "The budget that is being passed by the State Legislature will include funding to keep this facility open for the fiscal year 2005-06."
The Executive Budget included a proposal to close Mt. McGregor, as well as to close or downsize other correctional facilities throughout the state. The recommendation was proposed in the Executive Budget in the last fiscal year, 2004-05, but was also defeated by the Legislature.
"Mt. McGregor is special in that the prison has long been a good neighbor in the community," Senator Farley explained. "Prisoners participate in numerous work programs at local governments and community organizations. People throughout Saratoga County benefit from these work programs, and the prisoners gain valuable work experience. The prison is an important part of our economy, and of our community."
Mt. McGregor has a budget of some $6 million, houses 300 inmates, and employs over 80 corrections officers and other employees.


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Carmel Volley Tennis Friends
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A few days left. Some of the mayor's faves are battling to keep their seats on city council.
They can't run on their record.
We love taxes. We love taking money meant for you. We love playing fast and loose with the facts when challenged.
Once in a while we like to debate stupid stuff.
That won't work.
So it's time to kick up the fear and smear. It can work.
Look how Wildrose tanked in the last days of the provincial election after a reference to hell in the Book of Revelation, the lake of fire, sent Albertans scurrying back to a government they wanted to boot days before.
It's what Stephen Carter, master of the lowest common denominator and Premier Redford's deep thinker on that campaign, calls creating "a negative myth."
You remember Carter, one-time Nenshi campaign guru and still a fervent believer in the mayor, the guy who scored six months severance for six months as Premier Redford's chief of staff.
A negative myth is served up. It will be the story until Monday's vote.
This is a beauty. A homebuilder is on a video talking about backing candidates in the city election.
The mayor says it's like a scene out of The Godfather. Really?
Here we go. Certain homebuilders are cast as up to no good. They donate to candidates, some aldermen and some challengers.
This is somehow painted as an attempt to overthrow city council.
It's seen as all-hands-on-deck attempt to stop the mayor from getting his wish to have homebuyers in new communities pay $4,800 more for their house.
The mayor calls the $4,800 suburban home buyers don't pay now corporate welfare, a sprawl subsidy, all loaded words.
The fight isn't just about new home buyers in new communities. It pits suburbs against inner city.
All those families in the suburbs must have been subsidized as well.
Division comes from a mayor who preaches unity.
Nenshi goes further. He does what other Calgary mayors haven't done.
He helps council candidates. He calls out challengers as part of a sinister slate.
He tells Calgarians not to vote for anyone who gets a cheque from anyone in an unnamed group of homebuilders.
This means some challengers and several aldermen previously endorsed by the mayor are now on Nenshi's don't-vote-for-them list.
Aldermen express disgust but off the record.
They can't believe the strangeness of the mayor's actions.
The people who say they believe in a discussion of ideas, politics in full sentences, reduce the election to a comic book Good versus Evil. Then again, as Carter tells us, in election campaigns ideas don't matter.
Let no one mince words.
This is all about keeping Druh Farrell, Gael MacLeod, Gian-Carlo Carra, Brian Pincott and Richard Pootmans on council. The mayor's slate.
It means keeping out people like Kevin Taylor, James Maxim, Sean Chu, Joe Connelly, Jordan Katz, Richard Wilkie and Joe Magliocca among others.
These folks and others say they will fight the mayor's tax-and-spend ways and will vote to give you your tax break for 2014.
They pledge not to treat taxpayers like an ATM, a statement Nenshi made during a budget debate where he ended up voting with the people treating taxpayers like an ATM.
The mayor isn't stupid. This isn't really all about homebuilders.
The tone of city council will be much different if some of Nenshi's pals are not there.
Wednesday, on a newspaper forum, the mayor pushes his slate against candidates he says "aren't interested in debate and information but in a pre-determined agenda."
He talks about "party politics."
Nenshi continues fogging up issues.
He says tax increases weren't 30%-plus on the city side of the property tax bill.
He says the $52 million is "tax room" when the province specifically said it was not tax room but a tax break.
Forgot. When Doug Griffiths, the municipal affairs minister, tells us the province's intentions Nenshi says he's meddling.
Without naming him Nenshi also goes after a guy he really dislikes, Kevin Taylor.
No surprise the mayor is on the warpath. Taylor has been running one hell of a campaign against Farrell.
Nenshi wonders why builders doing business in the 'burbs donate to Taylor running in the inner city.
"Why are they doing that if not to silence a voice they don't like and put in a friendly voice?"
But, Your Worship, aren't you trying to silence voices you don't like?
In the same forum, mayoral hopeful Jon Lord tells Nenshi he "needs to tone down the rhetoric, stop demonizing our citizens, pitting them against each other and start working on solutions not accusations."
Nenshi goes all aw-shucks on us. "Who is it that's done the demonizing? Who is setting up these battle lines? It's not me."
Your Worship, get a mirror.
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Symmetrical Snapshots Rumble2014-08-04 16 Share Tweet
Keen eyes, loads of patience, and eagerness to experiment are needed to ace this rumble!
Spotting symmetrical figures naturally occurring in our surroundings sounds like a daunting task but can be quite rewarding once captured brilliantly in a photograph. Images employing the use of reflection and balanced composition are common in this creative Community of ours but we want the best among them to get the spotlight they deserve!
For this rumble, we want everyone to prepare five lomographs showcasing symmetry for a chance to win 10 piggies. Create your winning masterpiece showcasing well-balanced and symmetrical elements with the use of elaborate techniques like exposing both sides (EBS) or using a splitzer. You can also go simple and just use a plain mirror or huge bodies of water to capture the perfect reflection. Just remember: the more symmetrical, the better!
- 5 winners of 10 piggies each
- Maximum of five submissions per user
- Don't forget to tag your photos (film, cameras, accessories, and at least three tags). Photos without these tags will not be accepted.
- Submissions must be taken using an analogue camera. Please keep in mind our symmetry theme.
- Rumble will run for a week.
Submit your entries now!
written by Lomography on 2014-08-04 #news #competition #rumbles


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Soviet Union
| Join the party!
|Opiates for the masses
|From each
|To each
""Gaiety is the outstanding feature of the Soviet Union.
|—Joseph Stalin, revealing the communist homosexual agenda.
""In 1492 the first global power appeared. In 1992 the last European global power collapsed.
|—George Friedman, Flashpoints, p.41.
The Soviet Union was a group of what later became separate countries, dominated by Russia (then in the form of the RSFSR) and existing from 1922 to 1991. Its full name was the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" (USSR), in Russian Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (CCCP), "Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik" (SSSR). Of course, the Soviet Union was not just a union of soviet republics (soviet is "council" in Russian, referring to a democratically elected workers council), but also a one-party dictatorship.
- 1 Cliff's Notes
- 2 Member "republics"
- 3 Satellites
- 4 In Soviet Russia
- 5 OK, comrades. Time for "Гимн СССР"!
- 6 Science in the Soviet Union
- 7 Space
- 8 See also
- 9 External links
- 10 Notes
- 11 References
Cliff's Notes[edit]
Although it was a Communist (Marx would have called it "barracks-communism") state, the USSR called itself "socialist" in conformance with Karl Marx's definition of that word — a stage of society in which the working class controlled the means of production, which Marx saw as a transitional phase before the State "withered away" and "True Communism" oozed into existence. This has bolstered the mistaken notion that all forms of socialism — even non-Marxist forms such as democratic socialism — are identical to communism. The same technique, applied to "German Democratic Republic" or "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" allows us to see that Democracy, Republicanism and Communism are also all the same thing; in the latter case, it also implies that people are all Communists.
The USSR was hardly sunshine and roses. Stalin and his politburo orchestrated the deaths of at least 8 million (and possibly as many as 20 million) citizens. Mass slaughters only stopped after the end of Stalin's rule, the sheer brutality of which has been compared to the period of Nazi ascendancy.
Its final years were marked by the Afghanistan War (which they lost) and the Politburo withering into a gerontocracy. Jokes about Brezhnev tend to focus on his vanity and senility, e.g. "Some Politburo members have practically become senile, play children's games, ride rocking horses. And look, comrade Gromyko has taken away my tin soldiers and will not give them back..." Here's another one: What has forty legs and four teeth? Answer: Brezhnev's cabinet.
At the very least, the Soviets did see to it that the parts of their population the leaders liked were taken care of. Indeed, after the fall of the USSR, life actually got worse in Russia - and especially in the union republics - for a great many people, as social services were cut back, state-owned property largely fell into the hands of a few "business oligarchs" (less charitably called gangsters), many civil-rights abuses continued, the Russian economy entered a deep depression and the poverty rate reached 40%. (Thank Yeltsin.) Post-Soviet economic conditions improved somewhat under the administration of President Vladimir Putin (President of the Russian Federation: 2000-2008 and 2012- ), but things have still not returned to the level of the Brezhnev years, leading many to pine for the Soviet Union. The Russian Communist Party, which is overtly Stalinist, is the second-largest of its kind.
Member "republics"[edit]
|The Republics of the Soviet Union (1956 — 1989)
|Map of the Soviet Union
|Byelorussia (now Belarus)
|Alma-Ata (now Almaty)
|Kirghizia (now Kyrgyzstan)
|Frunze (now Bishkek)
|Moldavia (now Moldova)
|Kishinev (now Chişinău)
|Ashkabad (now Ashgabat)
Empire builder[edit]
- Russia
Big countries[edit]
- Ukraine (or "the Ukraine")
- Belarus (formerly Byelorussia or "White Russia")
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
Little countries[edit]
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- Kyrgyzstan (was known as Kirghizia before the departing Soviets confiscated most of the vowels)
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Estonia
- Moldova
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
Even littler countries[edit]
There were also about twenty "autonomous republics" for the smaller ethnic groups. Their autonomy didn't extend much beyond having their own name on the bit of land they inhabited. The even-smaller-than-that ethnic groups also had counties and districts for them, including a Jewish Autonomous Region in the ancient Biblical homeland of, er, Siberia. The USSR's million or so Roma got jack all apart from a newspaper.
Took a hike, but someone can't let go[edit]
- Abkhazia and South Ossetia (part of Georgia, de facto independent and only recognized by a handful of other countries)
- Chechnya (part of Russia, de facto leveled)
- Nagorno-Karabakh (part of Azerbaijan, claimed by Armenia, de facto independent for complicated diplomatic and military reasons)
- Transnistria (part of Moldova, de facto independent but not recognized by anyone)
- Crimea (annexed by Russia in 2014, claimed by Ukraine)
- Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic (part of Ukraine, as of this writing in a civil war)
Loyal (mostly) commies[edit]
These countries were members of the Warsaw Pact, the mutual defense organization created by the Soviet Union to keep its friends close and its enemies closer. East Germany was reunified with West Germany in 1990; Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic are now NATO allies, much to the great annoyance of Russia. The Warsaw Pact did not survive the end of the Soviet Union and none of its former member countries are communist any longer.
- Albania (withdrew from the pact after the split between Mao and the Soviets, now fiercely pro-US even by post-Soviet NATO member standards)
- Bulgaria
- Czechoslovakia (broken in two after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact to make spelling easier)
- East Germany (DDR)[note 1] (many older Germans still speak of "the wall in the mind," and there's still a substantial disparity between east and west even now, but by all indications younger Germans don't really get the fuss)
- Hungary (withdrew from the Warsaw Pact after the 1956 revolution but was forced to join again after the Soviet Union invaded it and crushed the revolution). Hungary took a more liberal approach to communism (known colloquially as "Goulash Communism"), which allowed, among other things, the marketing of the Rubik's Cube in the 1980s.[1]
- Poland was permitted a remarkable array of personal freedoms and liberties alien to other countries behind the Iron Curtain, partially due to overt Western pressure (hundreds of thousands of Poles fought alongside the Allies against the Nazis) but also because of the continued influence of the Catholic Church within the country. In the 1980s Poland formed the biggest threat to the well-being of the entire Soviet empire: the independent Solidarity trade union led by Lech Wałęsa, which galvanized an inchoate natural opposition to Soviet hegemony, and Pope John Paul II, a Polish native, provided an inspirational figurehead for the deeply Catholic nation.
- Romania pursued its own foreign policy under Nicolae Ceauşescu, which included not invading Czechoslovakia.
Comecon was the communist version of the European Union. Besides the above, members were:
- Mongolia, the second country to turn communist (in 1925), was among the first to follow Gorbachev's reforms and bring in democracy in early 1990.
- Vietnam has been inching towards freedom for the last 20 years.
- Cuba pretty much seems to think it's still 1984.
- Yugoslavia and Albania, basically only nominal members for all the difference they made.
Commies that weren't so loyal[edit]
These were Communist countries that either did not join or withdrew from the Warsaw Pact.
- People's Republic of China
- Yugoslavia: Josip Broz Tito independently set up communism in Yugoslavia after his Yugoslav Partisans came out on top in World War Two (while helped by the Allies). Stalin didn't like that Tito then wouldn't follow his directives, and tried to have him killed several times. Tito understandably threatened to have Stalin killed in turn, and promised whoever he sent wouldn't fail. Stalin backed off and Yugoslavia stayed independent of Soviet control. Tito established a more democratic form of socialism in the 1950s where state enterprises were run by workers' councils. Yugoslav citizens were also given much more freedom to travel and work abroad than in most communist countries. Both these things helped the Yugoslav economy, which remained far better than most during the Cold War. Tito chose to wisely stay out of the conflict between the US and USSR, placing Yugoslavia in the Non-Aligned Movement. Whatever its relative merits, though, ethnic tensions in Yugoslavia resulted in the infamous violent breakup of the place in 1991, with a bloody round of wars following.
- Vietnam
- Afghanistan (as in, not quite, but bloody and pointless enough)
- North Korea (Kim Il-sung was really upset at Khrushchev for that whole "peaceful coexistence" thing. North Korean propaganda suddenly became anti-Soviet and denounced Khrushchev as a traitor to communism. Mao Zedong was Kim's new role model... or at least that was until the Cultural Revolution shocked Kim and prompted him to switch his loyalty back to the Soviets. By this time, the U.S.S.R. was led by Brezhnev, who was more to Kim's liking, though still not quite Stalinist enough for him. Kim would continue to play the Soviets and Chinese against each other for the rest of the Cold War, beginning North Korea's long tradition of being a huge annoyance to its own allies.)
- Albania
In Soviet Russia[edit]
- In the United States, you watch TV. In Soviet Russia, TV watches YOU!!
- In the United States, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, the Party can always find YOU!!
- In the United States, you enrich uranium. In Soviet Chernobyl, uranium enriches YOU!!
- In the United States, you can say "death to America" and not be arrested.[note 2] In Soviet Russia... you could pretty much get away with saying that too.
- In Soviet Russia, there is freedom of speech. In America, there is also freedom after speech.
- In the United States, you break the law. In Soviet Russia, the law breaks YOU!
- In the United States, you assassinate the President. In Soviet Russia, the president[note 3] assassinates YOU!
- In Soviet Russia, the government controls corporations. In the United States, corporations control the government!
- In the United States, you overuse joke. In Soviet Russia, joke overuse YOU!
- In the United States, you get to tell Soviet Russia joke. In Soviet Russia, you don't tell Soviet Russia joke.
OK, comrades. Time for "Гимн СССР"![edit]
From 1917 to 1944, the Internationale served as the Soviet national anthem. Near the end of the Great Patriotic War (as the Soviets called it), the government decided to reinvent the anthem, in the hopes of reinventing the country with it, making references to the Soviets' defeat of the Nazis, to install pride within the population. The original version praised the union forged through "the will of the people." The chorus implored the Motherland to greatness and its people to follow the red flag to freedom. The second verse praised Lenin for showing the way and Stalin for leading them on. The third verse encouraged the army to fight on against the "daring, despicable invaders." This was changed to "we destroyed the invaders" after the war, as demonstrated in this version sung by Paul Robeson.
By the 1970s, the first verse and the first half of the second verse remained unchanged. However, mention of Stalin's leadership in the second verse had been replaced by praise for the people's righteousness. In the third verse, mention of the military's victory over the Nazis was replaced by praise of communism's "deathless ideal."
NOTE: The version below plays the same 1984 promotional film twice. The first time has Russian Cyrillic and English subtitles. The second has subtitles showing the phonetic pronunciations of the original Russian lyrics, and the lyrics in Spanish.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, another national anthem was commissioned. But the Rooskies didn't like it. As bombastic, nationalistic, and over-the-top as Гимн СССР's lyrics were, its melody and harmony rank among the most gorgeous of any national anthem ever written.[note 4] So about five years later, the Russian Federation reintroduced "Гимн СССР" with new lyrics. (Although they did keep the first lines of the chorus — "Славься Отечество, наше свободное!" — which (roughly translated) means "Sing to the Fatherland and to our freedom!")
Intriguingly, both versions of the USSR national anthem and the post-Soviet Russian Federation anthem were written by the same man, Sergey Mikhalkov (1913-2009), who was a real-life example of a "Vicar of Bray."[2]
Science in the Soviet Union[edit]
While the Soviet Union made plenty of internationally recognized contributions to real science (especially in the more socially detached domains such as mathematics, physics and chemistry), they had a habit of ripping off the scientific and technological achievements of the "corrupt, capitalist West" (most notably in the case of the "atomic spies").
Also, entire branches of science (such as genetics, cybernetics or sociology) were known to fall out of favor with the Party because of nepotism and ideological bias, being ostracized as "bourgeois pseudoscience." Instead, the state invested in dubious research such as abiotic oil and Lysenkoism. This was especially true under Joseph Stalin; however, these started to fade during the era of Khrushchev. The study of parapsychology, however, continued until at least 1975.[3]
When it comes to space exploration, the Soviets were actually quite advanced. They had a lot of initial successes (and with less help from Nazi war criminals than the US...) however for a variety of factors were not able to win the moon race. Despite it running counter to their economic philosophy, the Soviets did not have a unified space agency until the ouster of Nikita Khrushchev. Instead, rival design companies spent their time squabbling for contracts, which led to a general dilution of the Soviet effort. Adding to this, the primary genius behind the Soviet space program in the 1950s and 60s, Sergei Korolev, was in very poor health due to spending WW2 in the Gulags (Thanks, Stalin!) and died young. Khrushchev also refused to consistently and adequately fund the many projects going on, leading to the US not only having all their eggs in one basket, but a much better appointed basket to boot.
That said, the Soviets were able to accomplish some remarkable things, launching the first spacecraft, first spacecraft to land on another planet (which was actually Venus, not the moon), the first man in space, first in orbit, first spacewalk and more. They also were able to come up with a very economical and reliable launch platform, the Soyuz family, which are very reliable and still significantly cheaper than launching the space shuttle, despite not being reusable. The Soviets also came up with their own space shuttle, the Buran, which was arguably more advanced than the US model. Unfortunately, its development came right before the fall of the Soviet Union, which left the craft in a dilapidated hangar, which eventually collapsed, destroying it.
While the Soviets never landed a man on the moon, it is something of a mistake to say they "lost" the space race. The Soviets generally viewed a manned moon landing as primarily a propaganda exercise, with the same amount of actual data being able to be gained cheaper, more easily and with less risk through probes and rovers. Once the US put a man on the moon, the propaganda value diminished greatly and the Soviets focused elsewhere, to great success. The Soviets were decades ahead of NASA in terms of space stations, and had some of the best and most advanced probes and rovers. The Lunokhod rovers of the 70s set a number of records that have only recently been surpassed by NASA, and the Venera probes remain the best source of information on Venus, which was a particular Soviet focus, for some reason.
On the front of space stations, the Soviets launched the first in 1971 with the Salyut 1, and made rapid and consistent progress in advancement. In 1986, Mir, the first modular space station was launched. This was also the largest and most advanced space station until the ISS. The ISS was also spearheaded by the Russians, drawing from their considerable experience during the Soviet days.
While it had issues, the Soviet space program had scores of notable accomplishments, and was in some areas very advanced, even decades ahead of NASA. Unfortunately this tends to be poorly represented in the west due to a combination of cold war politics and the failure of the manned Soviet moon program.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Complete History of the Soviet Union, Arranged to the Melody of Tetris (or, the epic Red Army Choir cover)
- List of bands banned on Soviet radio, and why, Boing Boing
- ↑ Nothing to do with rhythm gaming or computer memory architectures.
- ↑ It helps if you're not a Muslim.
- ↑ Well, technically, the Premier, or alternately the General Secretary of the Communist Party.
- ↑ Seriously, listen to it without paying attention to the words some time. Particularly one of the versions rendered by a large chorus and full orchestra. You'll feel patriotic all over even if you're not Russian... until you remember the massacres.


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Iraqi resistance fighters Saturday stormed into a police station and a government building and freed prisoners in the town of Fallujah west of Baghdad. During the raids, firefights erupted during which at least 21 people were killed and about 30 others wounded, police said.
The gunmen, riding in three cars, opened fire on the buildings with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, police officer Essam Yaseen said, according to The AP.
Hospital sources said at least 18 police and civilians were killed, along with two attackers. Most of the wounded were policemen and two wounded attackers were arrested. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com [1])
[1] http://www.albawaba.com


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text:
PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
Seattle, WA, United States, 2011/10/19 - Sesame Communications ranked 346th Fastest Growing Company in North America on Deloittes 2011 Technology Fast 500 - SesameCommunications.com.
Sesame Communications, the leading provider of cloud-based patient connection systems, today announced it was recognized as number 346 on Deloittes Technology Fast 500 ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America. Sesame Communications grew 234 percent during this period.
Diana P. Friedman, Sesame Communications chief executive officer, credits the innovation and quality of Sesame services and its entrepreneurial employees with the companys revenue growth. Friedman said,Sesame offers best in class tools to better manage and grow a dental practice. Our new cloud-based Sesame 24-7 patient connection system enhances the web design, social media, patient portal, online marketing, and automated reminder offerings with a comprehensive analytics dashboard. The new dashboard provides key performance statistics and quantifies ROI on patient communications, patient engagement and marketing investments. This new platform further solidifies our leadership position and demonstrates our commitment to the success of our growing dental practice membership.
Sesame Communications, like all 2011 Technology Fast 500 companies, has excelled in fostering innovation and channeling it into spectacular growthagainst the backdrop of one of the most challenging economies in history, said Eric Openshaw, vice chairman and U.S. technology, media and telecommunications leader, Deloitte LLP. "Deloitte recognizes Sesame Communications for its remarkable accomplishment.
We are pleased to honor Sesame Communications as a 2011 Technology Fast 500 company, said Mark Jensen, managing partner, technology and venture capital services, Deloitte & Touche LLP. As one of the fastest growing tech companies in North America, Sesame Communications has demonstrated excellence in technological innovation, entrepreneurship and rapid growth.
Overall, 2011 Technology Fast 500 companies achieved revenue growth ranging from 134 percent to 70,211 percent from 2006 to 2010, with an average growth of 1,736 percent.
About Deloittes 2011 Technology Fast 500
Technology Fast 500, which was conducted by Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP, provides a ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companiesboth public and private in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2006 to 2010.
In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company's operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least $50,000 USD or CD, and current-year operating revenues of at least $5 million USD or CD. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of five years, and be headquartered within North America.
About Sesame Communications
Sesame Communications (sesamecommunications.com) is the leading provider of cloud-based patient connection systems for the dental industry with more than five million patients regularly communicating with providers via Sesame services. Sesame continues to build on its category leadership position and expand its team and service offerings through extensive market research and industry needs assessment. An Inc. 500|5000 company, Sesame is recognized as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the United States and is the proud recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including a two-time Pride Institute Best-of-Class winner and as one of the 100 Fastest Growing Companies by Puget Sound Business Journal. For more information on Sesame and Sesame 24-7, visit the website or call 877-633-5193.
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Department of Ecology News Release - February 22, 2014, 12:00 p.m.
LA CONNER – The Washington Department of Ecology, U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies are continuing to monitor cleanup at Shelter Bay Marina after a fire early Friday evening that caused seven boats to sink and damaged others, many of them filled with diesel fuel.
An undetermined amount of fuel has been released to the water. Three layers of oil containment boom and absorbent have been deployed to reduce the spread of pollution. A skimmer is also working to remove the oil. The extent of any environmental damage is still being determined, but most of the leaked fuel appears to be contained. The marina is working with boat owners to determine how much fuel is on each boat.
Global Diving and Salvage has been hired by the Coast Guard to recover as much spilled fuel as possible. A separate contractor will be using a crane barge to remove the damaged vessels from the water. Ecology is working with the Coast Guard and the contractors to monitor the cleanup. Cleanup and salvage operations are expected to continue for several days.
The Swinomish Police Department and Skagit County Fire Department are conducting a joint investigation into the cause of the fire.
More information will be posted on a web page designated to this incident and on Ecology's Twitter site as it becomes available.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Lisa Copeland, Department of Ecology, email@example.com, 360-515-6868; @EcologyWA
George Degener, U.S. Coast Guard, email@example.com, 206-251-3237
Larry Kibbee, Shelter Bay Community, firstname.lastname@example.com, 360-770-6925
For more information:
Ecology incident web page (www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/incidents/LaConner/index.html)
Ecology Spills Program (www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/spills/spills.html)
Ecology's social media (www.ecy.wa.gov/about/socialmedia.html)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.htm


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I have made a universal image of a Windows 7 x64 bit build enterprise. I have placed all the drivers we have in house in C:\Windows\Inf\Drivers\Model of pc and I seal the image with sysprep.
Every model of hardware I have tried this image on all hardware was found and it always defaults to the highest optimal resolution EXCEPT for the Dell Optiplex 760 model of machine, sysprep installs the correct driver for the graphics chip but the resolution
always defaults to 1024X768. I have noticed that the monitor type always shows up as standard vga.
The make of the monitor attached to the Dell Optiplex 760's is the Dell E190S. I even downloaded the driver for the monitor and put it in C:\Windows\Inf\Drivers\Model of pc and still the monitor shows up as standard vga and a resolution of 1024x768. This
is the only model of machine I am having a hard time with regarding the resolution. This is the graphics driver I am using for the Dell Optiplex 760's
Any advice or a helpful hand would greatly be appreciated so I can resolve this problem as I have over 150 Dell Optiplex 760's to deal with.
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Song of the Day: Albert Hammond Jr., "In Transit"
Song of the Day: Albert Hammond Jr., "In Transit"
Whether you're waiting anxiously for a new Strokes record or wishing they would just go away, you'll be interested to hear that the band is laying low while guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. pursues his new solo project. Hammond's debut album, Yours to Keep, comes out in the States March 6, and meanwhile, he's touring with Incubus and Bloc Party.
I'm sort of over the Strokes, but damn, can Hammond play an intoxicating guitar. I really like this track "In Transit," which also features some wicked keyboard work. To listen,


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By Karen DeYoung and Edward Cody
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 17, 2010; A10
As NATO struggles to define itself in a post-Cold War world of new threats and tight budgets, the alliance this week will lay out a vision for itself that is meant to better reflect the realities of the 21st century.
The Strategic Concept, NATO's first mission statement in more than a decade, will be unveiled at a gathering in Lisbon that alliance Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called "one of the most important summits in the history of our alliance."
The statement will embrace deployment of a land-based alliance missile-defense system and approve cost-cutting plans to reduce overlapping weapons systems and streamline NATO's command structure. It will echo President Obama's ideal of "a world without nuclear weapons," but it will make clear that NATO will retain its nuclear deterrent as long as others have such weapons.
It also will commit NATO to developing new capabilities for cyber-defense and counterterrorism, as well as enhanced air defense and ground surveillance systems.
Obama leaves Thursday night for the two-day meeting, a fast turnaround just days after he returned from a 10-day tour of Asia to face resurgent Republicans after their midterm election victory.
Remaining in Lisbon a little more than 24 hours, Obama will participate in the Strategic Concept discussions Friday and a Saturday morning session on Afghanistan to be addressed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top coalition military commander in Afghanistan.
Non-NATO members of the 48-nation coalition also will be represented in Lisbon to approve a plan to begin a four-year transition to Afghan security control in the spring. NATO also anticipates announcing that it has met its goal for up to 1,000 new coalition trainers for Afghan forces, after Canada agreed this week to provide nearly all of them.
Senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the summit plans Tuesday, as well as other U.S. and European officials who discussed the ongoing negotiations, spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will attend the first summit-level meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, which was suspended after Russia's 2006 intervention in Georgia. While bilateral U.S.-Russia relations "have improved significantly over the past year," a senior administration official said, "relations with NATO have lagged. We see this as an opportunity to move to a new stage . . . from focusing on differences . . . to practical cooperation on a host of issues," including piracy, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
"The big decision," Rasmussen said in an interview at NATO headquarters in Brussels, "will be to invite Russia to cooperate in nuclear defense," a concept that Moscow has displayed little enthusiasm for in the past.
Rasmussen, who met with Medvedev and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow earlier this month, said they agreed the response to the invitation will be a six-month joint analysis of what Russian cooperation would mean.
"That's a major shift," Rasmussen said. "There are a lot of questions that must be answered on the degree to which they can cooperate with us."
As the Lisbon meeting approached, Rasmussen still was seeking consensus on how nuclear issues would be treated in the Strategic Concept.
Obama's call last year for a nuclear-weapons-free world led many to believe a radical overhaul of NATO policy might be possible.
"Rarely before has a speech by a U.S. president been so selectively perceived, especially in Europe," German diplomat Detlef Waechter wrote in a recent policy paper for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"Many praised his vision of a world free of nuclear weapons," Waechter said, "but largely ignored the conditions that frame it - the time span ('perhaps not in my lifetime') and the continued will to deter ('the United States will maintain a safe, secure, and effective arsenal')."
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton clarified U.S. goals at a NATO meeting, including an explicit statement that it should remain a nuclear alliance "as long as nuclear weapons exist," while reducing the number of weapons and pursuing missile defense. A high-level "group of experts," tasked by NATO in 2008 with helping lay the groundwork for the Strategic Concept, came to similar conclusions in a report released in May.
Some member states, including Germany, have pushed for a more forceful commitment to the "zero [nuclear] option" as an explicit trade-off for NATO's adoption of an alliance missile-defense system.
But portions of a recent draft of the Strategic Concept, obtained by The Washington Post, made no such connection and said that "deterrence, based on an appropriate mix of nuclear and conventional capabilities, remains a core element of our overall strategy." The several-weeks-old draft, which officials said had not been significantly changed, called the alliance's strategic nuclear forces "the supreme guarantee of the security of the Allies."
Plans call for elements of a "territorial" missile-defense system to be placed in Poland, Romania and possibly Turkey. Turkey has expressed hesitation, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that it would be "impossible" for his country to accept any components inside its territory without command control over them.
Turkey also has objected to naming Iran, which the West has charged is developing nuclear weapons, as a reason for the missile shield. An administration official said Tuesday that no individual nation would be identified in the strategic document.
On another contentious issue, administration officials said the Strategic Concept would not specifically address the hopes of some European nations, including Germany, that the alliance would begin to withdraw tactical nuclear weapons stationed within their borders, but it would promise an early review of NATO's nuclear posture.
A bipartisan group of former national security officials, including former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and former secretaries of state George P. Shultz and Henry Kissinger, have described the weapons as inviting targets for terrorists and of no use in Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"They are much more of a security liability than an asset," said Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association.
Cody reported from Brussels.


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We observed high-purity correlated and entangled photon pairs generated through spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) in a silicon wire waveguide (SWW). Employing a nano-scale silicon waveguide with a low loss mode size converter, we obtained a high coincidence to accidental coincidence ratio (CAR) of around 200 that was larger than that of cooled dispersion shifted fiber (DSF) by a factor 3.2, and observed the two-photon interference fringe of time-bin entangled photons with >95% visibility without subtracting the accidental coincidences.
©2008 Optical Society of AmericaFull Article | PDF Article
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A fungus that leads to a deadly disease that has killed almost seven million bats in the US is continuing its spread westwards, results have shown.
Officials said the disease had been confirmed in Arkansas after samples tested positive for the fungus known to cause white-nose syndrome (WNS).
To date, there is no known vaccine or antidote against the disease.
WNS was first detected in New York State in 2006 and has since spread to 22 states and five Canadian provinces.
The latest positive results came from swab samples taken from hibernating bats in two cave in Arkansas.
The testing was part of a national study, funded by the US National Science Foundation, being carried out by researchers from the University of California Santa Cruz and North Arizona University.
"These are pretty far west occurrences," explained Ann Froschauer, WNS spokeswoman for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
"We do have one potential site further west in western Oklahoma but these latest cases are the most western confirmed cases to date."
Early warning
She told BBC News that the positive results in Arkansas, taken from two caves, only indicated the presence of the fungus, Geomyces destructans, that is known to cause white-nose syndrome but there was no sign of the disease itself in the caves' bat population.
"As we have got better at the science side of things, we have been able to develop more sensitive [tests] that can detect the fungus in the environment in the absence of sick bats," Ms Froschauer said.
"We have seen that there seems to be some sort of timeline from when the fungus arrives in an area and when we start seeing the disease start manifesting itself in the bat population."
Officials hope data gathered by studies this could help improve their WNS management plans and, ultimately, provide an insight on how it would be possible to disrupt the disease cycle.
Biosecurity measures, such as closing caves to the public and offering decontamination guidance to cavers, are the only method currently available to slow the spread of the disease.
To date, no vaccine exists that can be used to protect uninfected bat populations.
"It is something that we are interested in and there are scientists that are interested in the potential of developing a vaccine," Ms Froschauer observed.
"But this will have to be something completely novel. Mammals do not respond to fungal infections in the same way that they respond to bacteria or viruses.
"Our bodies do not develop antibodies in the same way as it does to bacteria or viruses, so some creative thinking is going to be required."
"If we got to the stage where we had a vaccine then we would have to move on to the challenge of how would we administer it to a small, flying mammal."
Written By: By Mark Kinvercontinue to source article at bbc.co.uk


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Eredivisie: Late penalty hands PSV crucial win
AMSTERDAM, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Timmy Simons converted a late penalty to hand leaders PSV Eindhoven a 1-0 victory at Willem II Tilburg in the Dutch league on Saturday.
PSV struggled against their lowly neighbours but were awarded a penalty six minutes from time when goalkeeper Maikel Aerts fouled Ibrahim Afellay and Simons broke the deadlock.
With nine matches remaining PSV are top with 56 points, nine ahead of Ajax Amsterdam, who thrashed visiting Sparta Rotterdam 6-2 on Friday. Heerenveen are third with 45 points after being held to a 2-2 draw at Heracles Almelo.
Roy Beerens opened the scoring for Heerenveen after 17 minutes before Gonzalo Garcia-Garcia, on loan from Heerenveen, equalised shortly afterwards.
Beerens set up Miralem Sulejmani to restore the lead after half-an-hour but with 10 minutes left Robbert Schilder salvaged a point for Heracles, who finished with 10 men after a second yellow card for Rahim Ouedraogo.
Roland Lamah and Willem Janssen gave Roda JC Kerkrade a two-goal lead at home to Twente Enschede, who replied before the break when Blaise N'Kufo got his 19th goal of the season.
However, Dieter van Tornhout sealed victory when he netted a rebound midway through the second half for Roda who leapfrogged Twente into seventh spot with 40 points, one above Twente.
Basement side Excelsior Rotterdam won 1-0 win at NEC Nijmegen, with Geert den Ouden scoring after 70 minutes, to climb three places to 15th with 22 points.
They are now above Tilburg (20), who have slipped to the bottom, VVV Venlo (20) and Sparta Rotterdam (21).


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SF Bicycle Coalition Board Meeting
Tuesday, September 9, 2014 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
SF Bicycle Coalition Members are invited to attend Board meetings. For details on the Board, visit www.sfbike.org/board.
You can download the agenda here.
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*Events not officially sponsored or organized by the SF Bicycle Coalition are marked with an asterisk. We post events that might be of interest to our SF area members; we do not necessarily endorse any particular group or perspective you may find represented here.


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The Friends of Frazier Mountain Park will be meeting to continue their progress on improving the park.
Topics include:
This Chamber of Commerce committee is open to all volunteers who are interested in maintaining and improving Frazier Mountain Park. You do not need to be a chamber member to participate.


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As we continue to get closer and closer to winter here in Northwest Ohio, it was refreshing to have a movie all about heat dropped on my lap. 247°F (the latest from Anchor Bay Entertainment) actually came out two weeks ago, but thanks to the over-worked postal service delivering political garbage by the wheelbarrowful, it somehow was lost. No worries, let's take a look at 247°F.
The movie opens with Jenna (Scout Taylor-Compton) riding in a car with her boyfriend, before an accident leaves him dead, and her stranded in the car waiting for help. We then quickly jump ahead three years where Jenna's bff Renee (Christina Ulloa) is setting up a trip with her boyfriend Michael (Michael Copon) and one of his besties Ian (Travis Van Winkle) in an isolated cabin. Once there, they meet Uncle Wade (Tyler Mane) who makes a hell of a batch of moonshine. After lots of shots and beers, it seems like a good time to try out the sauna out back. However, a fight between Renee and Michael causes the uber-intoxicated Michael to storm off upset, and that's when the rest of the group realize they are trapped inside the sauna. Can they get out before their bodies reach the deadly temperature of 247°F?
247°F is a tough movie for me to review. I admit I was sucked in by the simplicity of the story, people stuck in a heated sauna and what will they do? Situations like this are much more horrific to me and work better than a monster movie. However, for the most part the movie was a paint by numbers thriller that's been done before, and much better I might add. On the upside you have a group of attractive people in there unmentionables that you get to look at for an hour, and you have a couple solid performances from horror remake darlings Taylor-Compton (the shitty Halloween remakes) and Van Winkle (the equally shitty Friday the 13th remake). On the downside, the script is bland, dialog clunky, and no suspense. When you're doing a survival movie (I immediately think of Open Water or Frozen as an example) suspense is really the driving force to keep the movie going, and that was sorely missing here. It also doesn't help when half your cast is so unlikeable you want them to die.
All in all 247°F is a mixed bag. I enjoy the survival horror genre as a whole so I was interested in the movie, but it was overall so mediocre I can't say I was thoroughly impressed. If you are a fan of the genre, I'd recommend a rental before a purchase.
Tags: 247°F, movie review


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The FPS/RTS hybrid has been attempted before, but perhaps never by a man with a history like Nolan Bushnell. The Atari founder and creator of Pong is working on Battleswarm: Field of Honor, a game said to be a blend of hit RTS StarCraft and action packed movie Starship Troopers.
In the game players will be split into two groups: one will play as the bugs in an RTS game and the others will play the game as an FPS as they attempt to kill all the bugs.
"Battleswarm is really about me being able to play against my sons [laughs]. I've got five sons, age 16 through 30. They're all avid gamers and like first-person shooters. The problem is, as you get older, you lose some reaction time, and as a result, I'm getting slaughtered by them," Bushnell told USA Today. "A real-time strategy [RTS] game, however, is more my [preference], a good resource game is what I love. Battleswarm is both an RTS and a shooter, a mash-up between StarCraft and Starship Troopers, if you will. You can switch sides, too, if you feel like an RTS instead of a shooter, or vice-versa."
Battleswarm has currently only been announced for the PC.


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David Sollenberger sits in front of the flat, spinning wheel and the shapeless lump of wet earth turning upon it.
His practiced fingers reach into the mass, probing and forming it. Within seconds a small bowl takes shape. It will soon be finished and another will take its place.
Sollenberger runs Cres Studio Pottery -- named after his wife Cresanne -- out of an airy, brightly lit studio at 8081 Wadsworth Road (state Route 57) north of Orrville in rural Marshallville. This is Sollenberger's first retail space, but he has been making and selling ceramics for most of his life.
Sollenberger, who graduated from Smithville High School in 1979, began studying pottery in seventh-grade under teacher Sam Sheller. He studied under Sheller all through high school and says, "Sam pushed us to show our work anywhere we could.
"He not only taught how to make pots but, perhaps more importantly, encouraged me in my work and in exhibiting my work. Without his encouragement I don't know for certain if I'd be doing this right now."
After high school, Sollenberger studied ceramics at McPherson College in McPherson, Kan. and at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan. It was in college that he had an important realization.
"I'm a potter's potter more than an art potter," Sollenberger said. "I was asked in college how I 'feel' about my pots.
"I felt like an alien in a foreign land because I wanted to make pots more than talk about them," he said. "It's what I wanted to do and all I wanted to do."
After college, however, Sollenberger ended up working in the restaurant business for many years. In 1992 he married Cresanne, of West Salem, whom he had met when he was 16.
"She encouraged me to pursue ceramics, to do what I always wanted to do, and, eventually, to start a studio. It's taken a while to work out, but we opened the 1,200-square-foot retail business on May 10, 2000."
In addition to the retail space where brightly colored wares are displayed on open shelves, Sollenberger has a wholesale business, selling to clients such as the Heinz Corp. and Gooseberry Patch.
"We produced upwards of 15,000 pots last year," Sollenberger said. "The retail and wholesale ends of the business really complement each other. Most of what I do is functional -- apple-bakers, candlesticks, bottles, incense burners, colanders, mugs, pitchers, casseroles, bowls -- and is all food, oven, microwave and dishwasher safe.
"Most production items range from $8-$75, but I also do custom work," he said. "When people come in, I'm always glad to demonstrate at the wheel for them and people who want custom designs can sit and watch me work on them. We'll also be offering pottery classes in January."
Cres Studio Pottery is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday and by appointment. The studio can be reached at (330) 855-7405 or 855-1448.


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TAMPA — Just months after a state Supreme Court ruling stopped the indiscriminate shackling of juveniles in courtrooms, an unrestrained 16-year-old attacked his stepfather during a detention hearing Thursday morning, authorities said.
The Tampa teen was arrested Wednesday on felony charges of battery on his pregnant mother, according to a Tampa Police Department arrest report. He pushed her with both hands, causing her to fall, after she confronted him about his behavior at school, police reported.
On Thursday morning, he appeared in front of Judge Ralph Stoddard at the Hillsborough County courthouse. He was unrestrained, said Lt. Robert Simpson of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office court operations division.
According to a Supreme Court decision that took effect Jan. 1, the use of restraints such as handcuffs and chains during juvenile court appearances is prohibited except in cases where a judge believes there is a flight risk or other potential danger.
During the hearing, the teen's stepfather was standing in front of the judge answering questions when the teen jumped up and attacked him, Simpson said.
"It didn't appear the juvenile liked the answers the stepfather was giving the judge and he lunged at him and struck him, causing the stepfather to fall to the ground," Simpson said.
Bailiffs stepped in and no one was injured, he said. The teen received an additional misdemeanor charge of battery.
Later Thursday, when the teen reappeared in court to finish his hearing, he was restrained, Simpson said.
Typically, judges use a point system to determine whether the restraints are necessary, Stafford said.
"As I recall, this fella didn't score enough to merit restraints," he said.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show no prior arrests for the teen.
But the stepfather, Clifton Holder Sr., did time in state prison for burglary and three counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 12, state records show. He is a registered sex offender.
Holder, reached by telephone, said he didn't know why the teen attacked him.
Shelley Rossetter can be reached at (813) 226-3374 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Mumbai/Pune: It is a week of shame for Maharashtra Police. A day after 36 of the state police's men, including an Inspector, were suspended in Mumbai on graft charges, seven constables were suspended in rural Pune today for allegedly for aiding and abetting smugglers.
These constables helped the gangs, who looted godowns on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway, get away. They are also charged with escorting red sandalwood traffickers after allegedly taking commissions and ensuring their trucks are not stopped for checking.
After complaints, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, also recommended strong action against senior police inspectors for their alleged involvement in the crime.
The state government had earlier on Wednesday suspended 36 policemen in Mumbai for accepting bribes from a person. The victim, Mohammed Kasim Khan, said he was carrying out modification work at his friend's house at Chembur. Mr Khan said the work started in the second week of March and since then, the place was frequented by these policemen who threatened to frame him in a case for carrying out illegal extension.
Over the next few days, the policemen were caught on a hidden camera accepting bribe from Mr Khan ranging from Rs. 50-150.
The video footage was then submitted to the local Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), said Mr Khan, who initiated an inquiry and on the recommendations made by the investigating officer, these policemen, including the Inspector who was in-charge of the police station, were put under suspension.
This came on a day when former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police A K Jain was sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court for taking bribe from a junior officer for protecting him in a departmental inquiry. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 1.5 lakh on Mr Jain.


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TOTTORI – Three of four men rescued from a North Korean boat adrift in the Sea of Japan arrived Thursday at Miho Bay, Tottori Prefecture, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The boat was also towed into the bay, where the three will be questioned aboard a coast guard patrol boat, according to the coast guard. The other man, who was dehydrated when rescued, was taken to a hospital and is recovering, according to the 8th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture.
The 20-meter-long boat was spotted drifting Tuesday about 140 km northeast of the Oki Islands in Shimane Prefecture. The four men aboard were rescued Wednesday.
The four told the coast guard they came from North Korea and suffered engine trouble.
They had expressed a wish to return to North Korea after their boat is repaired.
Police on Wednesday meanwhile found the body of a male aboard a wooden boat that washed ashore in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.
A plastic tank marked with Korean characters was found on the boat, and the police suspect the vessel came from North Korea.
A wooden boat carrying five dead men beached on Niigata Prefecture's Sado Island in late November, followed by similar cases of drifting boats believed to have come from North Korea.