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This blog post is closed for comments.
Terkel Jan 30, 2013
"Our country says we guarantee Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not anything else." Raleigh Rocks I
Slight quibble: the Constitution acknowledges that we all have the RIGHT to L,L + PoH. It does not guarantee them. It does not agree to provide them to anyone.
The Constitution provides the framework for a republic where we are free to achieve as we wish, within legal limits. It does not say that some private citizens shall support others.
"Providing for General Welfare" doesn't mean ka-ching for babymamas and illegals, it means acting in a way that furthers the republic. For example, PASSING A BUDGET so businesses can resume their attempts to thrive in spite of the Dictator.
As someone so rightly stated yesterday, taxes are levied to keep govt operating, NOT as some kind of "social justice" corrector or redistribution scheme.
Terkel Jan 30, 2013
0bama proposes legislation, Rucho "touts" it. Nice.
jackjones2nc Jan 30, 2013
Raleigh Rocks 1 - Although your positions typically lack substance and viability, they are entertaining and fairly appropriate considering the level posting here. You might just give ole' Glen Beck a run for his money! Good luck!
ykm Jan 29, 2013
luna All of the items you listed: I am taking those profits home with me or investing in training, new equipment, marketing, etc. All involve people. All increase demand. Put those two together and ya got jobs. So reducing taxes and allowing you to do more of whatever it is you do is meat on the table for others. Have at it.
lunarmodule Jan 29, 2013
Thanks for the economics 101 lesson, RR. No really. I guess I could have stopped at Econ 101 and never made it to my degree in Economics. But trust me, like a true capitalist, if lower taxes increase my bottom line, I am taking those profits home with me or investing in training, new equipment, marketing, etc. In fact, I will look for the best return on that extra money and it may or may not be extra people. I'm not going to hire people to sit around just because I've got extra money in the bank. The point is that there are a lot of variables that influence whether I hire people. Taxes aren't even in the top five.
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 29, 2013
jack, Like the current tax rate does not hurt the middle class, and when Obamacradletogravecare kicks in...man the middle class will get it then.
Not sure how letting me keep all my money will hurt, but Im not a lib, libs want to take my money. Conservatives want you to keep it. If I make 50K, let me take home 50K and not 40K.
Moonman said, You can cut my taxes to the bone...that won't make me hire more people if I can't meet OR GENERATE (Caps by RR) demand for our services...
I remind you I said..When the taxes are low, AND the economy has stability. Cant take half of my quote to make a point.
But, Lower taxes will increase your bottom line, which puts you in a position to hire, so you CAN GENERATE more demand. Higher taxes will lower your bottom line, may make you lay off, or not hire all together which makes it more difficult to create the demand. Econ 101
Oh, and No there was not a demand for another Mexican restaurant in north Raleigh.
mep Jan 29, 2013
Texas has NO State income tax.... only sales tax... and is projected to take in more than it will spend ($5.5 BILLION worth)... so Gov Perry is suggesting the State send refund checks to all its citizens. So who says we NEED a State income tax to generate enough revenue? And a flat sales tax is the only true fair tax there is. Fair being everyone pays the same. If the purpose of taxation is to fund govt operation, and the govt is to treat each and every citizen as equals.... then a flat sales tax is the only way to do it.
Plenty Coups Jan 29, 2013
just a name-"The line for out-of-state teachers coming into NC is long. Most are coming from union states where they can't find jobs."
Please tell that to my local elementary school where they've had a substitute teacher in the special needs room for the last few months.
Plenty Coups Jan 29, 2013
raleigh rocks-"plenty...thats just bull man."
Actually, it not. I can and will prove it. Teachers who make more than 50 thousand will have to have a lot of years in the profession or will have to have an advanced degree above a bachelors. Wake County also adds to the the low pay with a 12% supplement. Most counties in NC don't supplement nearly that amount if at all. Here is the 2012/2013 teacher pay grade. It takes 32 years for a teacher with a bachelors degree to hit 50 thousand per year. What the salary schedule doesn't show is that NC teachers are still working on 2008 pay grades, so that a 5th year teacher, instead of making 31,220 is actually only making the starting amount, 30,800. Then there's also the decreased health care but I won't get into that beyond mentioning the $300 +30% ER co-pays.
Check it out for yourself.(page 2)
jackjones2nc Jan 29, 2013
Radical Republican policies like increasing regressive sales taxes to offset progressive income taxes will harm North Carolina's economy very quickly. Incrasing financial burden on the middle-class indisputably reduces spending, and our richest simply don't "spend" enough to drived the whole economy. I'll waive any points on morality as most Republicans wouldn't understand.
lessismore Jan 29, 2013
I hope every NC citizen starts paying "their fair share" of taxes.
lunarmodule Jan 29, 2013
Raleigh Rocks, apparently there was pent-up demand for that restaurant. The owner made the assumption, took that gamble and was rewarded by people who had money to spend. And while taxes play a role in every business strategy, they are not the driving force behind opening a business or hiring employees. Those decisions are based on the assumption that future and sometimes current demand will justify them. I speak as a small business owner for more than 25 years. You can cut my taxes to the bone...that won't make me hire more people if I can't meet or generate demand for our services.
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 29, 2013
Beachie said..Where does demand come from, primarily from the middle class, not the folks with money.You can have all the money in the world but if you do not need to hire anyone, your not going to.
When the taxes are low, and the economy has stability, those who have money want to MAKE MORE, so they will invest in business and begin to hire. If they feel their investment is not a good one IE I spend a dollar and Obama takes half of it, then they do not invest, and no jobs are created, no cash is spent, and Gov. does not get that 7% on the dollar since it was not spent.
New restaurant opened recently near me. No one I know was saying...we need a new restaurant around here(Demand was not there) but owner invested his money and opened it up. Now, its common to have hour waits for a table. The demand was created after he opened up, gave the consumer a quality product and service for a fair price.
Create an environment that encourages folks to start a business, which creates taxes
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 29, 2013
plenty...thats just bull man.
At the previously mentioned small high school, there are 40(Forty) teachers that are making over 50K a year....FORTY. Many of the these 40 teachers make far more than 50K. For of them Earn 63979.00 THOSE ARE THE INDISPUTABLE FACTS. According to your incorrect information, they all have over 32 years in WCPSS. So if all these 40 teachers were hired at age 22, they would be a minimum age of 54 years old. There are not 40 teachers over the age of 54 at this school. I love me some facts!
And I submit that WCPSS does not need as many positions as it has allotted for some areas.
beachmama Jan 29, 2013
Last comment for me, What creates jobs is demand for goods and services, not money. Companies give their money to their shareholders and their executives who often hold the companies shares. Companies will hire in a minute if demand for their goods or services creates the need. Where does demand come from, primarily from the middle class, not the folks with money. You can have all the money in the world but if you do not need to hire anyone, your not going to
And for my life, I am pretty darn happy with it. Life is too short to be otherwise
JustAName Jan 29, 2013
"Maybe that's why 1 in 8 teachers left the profession last year despite a relatively high unemployment rate in NC." - Plenty Coups
The line for out-of-state teachers coming into NC is long. Most are coming from union states where they can't find jobs.
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 29, 2013
Lets make it easier for the working poor, get Obama out of our lives so folks with money can create jobs.
Yep, life aint a bowl of cherries Beachie. Its tough out there. Our country says we guarantee Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not anything else.
beachmama Jan 29, 2013
I am sorry Raleigh Rocks I you are entitled to your opinion. I too have worked my but off, put myself through college, ate .27 boxes of mac and cheese when I was really really poor. But now, I am doing pretty well. Still work 2 jobs but hey that is just me. The elderely don't have alot of working choices you know. I know it is difficult for some to think about others, like those on fixed incomes, that are barely getting by now, really need to pay more for their groceries and medicine. What about the working poor that are working two jobs to try and make it, let's make it harder for them. How is that going to help anybody to just put people on the brink over it and on welfare? Oh I know they would could work 3 jobs and their kids can just run around unsupervised while they try to keep a roof over their head.
Plenty Coups Jan 29, 2013
Raleigh rock-"No room to Cut?"
What exactly does your post prove? That schools don't need custodians, counselors, or secretaries? Even the "small ones" around 2000 students? It takes a NC teacher 32 years to even hit 50K in pay. Most college careers now start ABOVe that.
lessismore Jan 29, 2013
Maybe a sales tax, taxing consumption, will cut down on those on welfare wasting taxes given to them. Lottery tickets, cigarettes, drugs, alcohol........when food becomes more important than these evil things their lives might impove and they might decide to go back to school, get an education, and a better job...or a job.
goldenosprey Jan 29, 2013
Raleigh rock, those salaries are hardly excessive. In fact, they are pretty low compared with the rest of the country. You complain teachers aren't any good but you don't want to pay them anything. Why would a good teacher want to work here?
You say spending more on education does not necessarily translate into good results. But cheaping out guarantees you poor results.
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 29, 2013
Beach mama..least position to pay it..Why? I busted my tail to make good grades, get an education, and get a job. There are folks black and white, who decided not to bust their tail, and played through high school and collage, called me names, yet now you say I should pay for their mistakes....Almost wants to make me not work and let others pay for me. AND ALAS, there is the reason why socialism will not work. Takes incentive away to be successful. You say they would pay more, I say they will start paying some, instead of none. The sales tax will capture all the drug money and under the table money that is rampant in our society now. Folks are making lots of untaxed income from drugs, tips,being paid cash to work ect. My point..if in America we are all supposed to be equal like the libs think, then why should we not all pay the same equal tax %???
I went to same schools with 2 African American friends of mine, K-collage. Opportunities for all have been available for over 40 years.
for the people Jan 29, 2013
@plenty coups
my wife is a teacher in wake county. she wouldn't leave teaching because of the pay, i'm sure of that. she loves to teach. she would leave because of the environment in the schools that is created by the extreme lack of parenting we have in the community and how that effects the classroom.
conservatives don't hate public education, not as far as i can tell. what they don't like about public education, is the lack of responsiblity on the parents part that leads to extreme distraction in the classroom, and the irresponsibility of the community on free lunch programs etc. why throw money at a public system that those that could/should benefit from, abuse?
the same could be said of many public assistance programs btw. why continue supporting millions of the community if they spend it unwisely?
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 29, 2013
PlentyCommie says.....Per pupil spending in NC is far less than most other states so obviously its not true.
Additional funding does not always mean better education, so obviously that comment is not true.
One small high school in Wake with less than 2k students...
$52,040.88 Academy Coordinator
$51,470.65 Career Development Coordinator
$24,490.32 Clerical Assistant
$17,877.10 Clerical Assistant
$18,517.50 Clerical Assistant
$19,978.00 Clerical Assistant
$17,877.10 Clerical Assistant $57,965.20 Coordinator $78,090.00 Counselors $58,964.60 Counselors $53,829.48 Counselors $41,160.70 Counselors $44,709.75 Counselors $23,318.88 Custodian $29,155.80 Custodian $24,744.84 Custodian - Head $36,613.73 Intervention Coordinator $27,016.80 Registrar $51,999.55 SAP Coordinator $25,041.24 School Secretary - High School $54,335.25 Special Populations Coordinator $57,915.75 Teacher - Special Programs 43,000.00 10 Voc teachers
No room to Cut?
beachmama Jan 29, 2013
Raleigh Rocks 1
You are missing my point all together. All I was doing was throwing out an example to show why the sales tax is a regressive tax and hurts those that are in the least position to pay it especially on basic needs like food and medicine. I am fully aware, depending on how much the sales tax rate and base is as compared to the income tax, that some people may actually have more after tax money, primarily those that have more funds than is required to meet their basic bills. Those that live day to day and week to week, that have a low income tax rate may actually be paying more under the new system depending again on the rate and the base
Plenty Coups Jan 29, 2013
"I don't quite get the point fo some posters that it's not fair to tax income, it's only fair to tax spending. Can they explain some hidden philosophical or moral argument for one form of tax over the other"
Their side proposed it so then they're for it. They convince themselves that its better that the poor and middle class should pay more as a percentage of income so that the long suffering rich can get another tax break. A reverse Robin Hood scenario.
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 28, 2013
Beach Mama...800 a month? 9,600 a year..really? What everyone forgets is you would bring home most of your gross pay..your money.
Raleigh Rocks 1 Jan 28, 2013
miseem, its not your money
miseem Jan 28, 2013
I don't quite get the point fo some posters that it's not fair to tax income, it's only fair to tax spending. Can they explain some hidden philosophical or moral argument for one form of tax over the other, except that they would save more money using one rather than the other? It's widely accepted that someone making a higher income spends less as a portion of their income on expenses. The family making $200,000 may be buying steak and pay more tax on that steak than the family making $40,000, who may be lucky to buy hamburger. But at the end of the year, the wealthier family should still have a lot of income left over and these proposals would eliminate all state taxes on that. The lower income family would have virtually all of their income taxed when sales taxes are expanded. In addition, all of these articles report increasing the STATE sales tax to 8%, and including services. Counties also charge a 2% sales tax. Instead of figuring all of this at 8%, try 10%. On everything.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
"Or you could move to one of those states instead of scolding us because teachers earn more there"
But I'm not a teacher and I make good money, much more than my wife who is a darn good teacher and who does want to leave the profession. In fact, 15 of the 40 teachers at her school left last year. Two thirds of them have a second job. You should be scolded if you choose to ignore the facts. The replacements aren't as good of quality. YOU should care about this as Mississippi isn't something that we want to emulate.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
wildpig-"nah thats not true-- 4 yrs under queen perdue no raise what so ever-- you wana rethink that?"
It is true. They admit it themselves. I'm no fan of Perdue's as she did freeze the pay initially, but she then DID propose raising state teacher pay the last 2 years when the economy improved and republicans voted her down both times.
"fact is teachers and state employees have tolerated a hostile gov ment in raliegh for 40 yrs and i'd urge every state employee an teacher to go on strike and cripple this state until parity is reached."
I agree with that.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
Bunch of liars and hypocrites-the republican party. Oh they ran on proclaiming "we need to end tenure-to get rid of the bad teachers" but "we'll pay the good teachers more". Turns out its a baldfaced lie. They dropped the EOG test score bonuses for teachers and have no proposed plan to replace it. So either they didn't mean what they said or they were lying. They still want to end tenure-its a priority you see-but no talk of the other part. They're hypocrites because they spend big money on their priorities such as state workers who work for Pat McCrory or Thom Tillis as well as voter IDs, as well as tax cuts in a already overall below average taxed state.
Terkel Jan 28, 2013
Or you could move to one of those states instead of scolding us because teachers earn more there.
wildpig777 Jan 28, 2013
Republicans hate public education. Couldn't be more obvious. "Now is not the time to put money in education" really means we don't -- plenty
nah thats not true-- 4 yrs under queen perdue no raise what so ever-- you wana rethink that? fact is teachers and state employees have tolerated a hostile gov ment in raliegh for 40 yrs and i'd urge every state employee an teacher to go on strike and cripple this state until parity is reached.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
Republicans hate public education. Couldn't be more obvious. "Now is not the time to put money in education" really means we don't ever want to pay for it and "We support paying only the good teachers more" means we don't want to pay for any good public school teachers as they've been saying that for decades and don't ever try to do it. Then there's the last argument, "We're broke". They already admitted this year that they are doing fine financially but they plan to cut taxes(again), in a already overall below average taxed state instead of paying the state workers who have had their pay frozen the last 5 years.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
"There is plenty of waste in the system with excessive personnel in non teaching positions that if managed properly ..."
Been hearing this my entire life. Per pupil spending in NC is far less than most other states so obviouslyits not true. For it to be true, we would have to have high education spending AND teacher pay.
" could provide additional money for teachers without more revenue. But nobody has the ability or guts to make it happen."
I guess 5 years of cuts to education get ignored when it comes time to argue the point?
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
doingmybest-"and who determines "What they are worth"?
Hmmm. Perhaps teacher salaries in other states which average at least 10,000-15,000 more per year. Or perhaps we could look at other professions that require the same education level and see that teacher pay is 20-70,000 less.
WolfPackAlum Jan 28, 2013
>>"Right to work" does not prohibit unions. it simply allows workers to choose not to join a union rather than being forced to join if you want the job."
Not exactly. "Right to work" laws use Government regulations to directly prohibit groups of private citizens from forming legal agreements with private companies requiring membership in that group as a condition of employment. In states without "right to work" laws, private companies have the freedom to choose whether or not to sign a legal contract with a union. In "right to work" states, those types of contracts are illegal.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
"A choice they both made that they either live with or do something about, other than continuing to parrot the same old same old."
Aaah, teachers should just accept it that their contracts were broken 5 years ago, right? I doubt any of them would be complaining that they picked the job, just give them what was promised when they started the profession. Don't break your word just because you belong to a political party that doesn't like public education.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
doingmybest-"and who determines "What they are worth"? why do you have to spend more per student to pay teachers more?"
What teachers get paid here lags far behind other states and far behind other college graduates. Maybe that's why 1 in 8 teachers left the profession last year despite a relatively high unemployment rate in NC.
DoingMyBest Jan 28, 2013
"The better question is, why are you OK with not paying them what they're worth? How do you justify this in your mind? Please explain." PC
and who determines "What they are worth"? why do you have to spend more per student to pay teachers more? There is plenty of waste in the system with excessive personnel in non teaching positions that if managed properly could provide additional money for teachers without more revenue. But nobody has the ability or guts to make it happen.
DoingMyBest Jan 28, 2013
"Because he's married to a public school teacher."
A choice they both made that they either live with or do something about, other than continuing to parrot the same old same old.
lunarmodule Jan 28, 2013
Raising the sales tax will definitely impact consumption, which is, after all, the driver of our economy. If middle class and poor people have to pay a greater percentage of their income for food, they will necessarily have to buy less food as well as other commodities. This hurts businesses everywhere. Why do you think Art Pope is issuing cautions about raising the sales tax? It would directly impact the amount of money people could spend in his stores. Fewer sales, fewer jobs. This type of approach hurts our economy as much as it hurts the poor and middle class.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
Morrigan-"Because he's married to a public school teacher."
The better question is, why are you OK with not paying them what they're worth? How do you justify this in your mind? Please explain.
Plenty Coups Jan 28, 2013
"Right to work" does not prohibit unions. it simply allows workers to choose not to join a union rather than being forced to join if you want the job."
In the case of state workers, they are specifically prohibited from going on strike or collectively bargaining. I don't want to be forced to join a union but I also don't want to be prohibited from collectively bargaining. It's simply a mechanism in this day and age to take advantage of workers. Maybe that's why our teachers are paid near the worst in the nation and why many are leaving the profession.
fled91 Jan 28, 2013
"Right to work" does not prohibit unions. it simply allows workers to choose not to join a union rather than being forced to join if you want the job.
goldenosprey Jan 28, 2013
Another thing to consider. The rich have more wherewithal and tend to make more large purchases. Their large purchases, such as appliances, tend to be more expensive than po' folks' purchases. It is thus easier and more cost effective for them to go to a neighboring state to make large purchases. This is a great opportunity to avoid taxes for some.
The rich didn't get that way by paying a lot of taxes.
Who makes up the slack? Why the rest of us, of course.
fled91 Jan 28, 2013
A flat tax could work and it could be made fair so the poor are not disproportionately burdened. Simply exempt groceries and medicine. that is what you need to survive and should not be taxed. everything else is fair game. Many states use this model on sales tax. You want to buy $35 sneakers ay walmart you will pay less than If you want the $500 sneakers.
Terkel Jan 28, 2013
"You have in my mind, criminals that fraud the system, but do you take it away from law abiding citizens that need a little help and support?" beachmama
Yes. Right now it's a huge jobs program which means it's an empire for someone at state and federal levels. They have no incentive to weed out the criminals. Tell them to reduce the rolls instead of giving bonuses for signing up quotas of people into food stamps (Oregon) or they're out of a job in six months. They'll find the criminals. Or the street snitches will.
Terkel Jan 28, 2013
" But it does imply that those with less money will buy hamburger at the grocery store, while those that have more money will buy steak." beachmama
Do you have a problem with that? I don't. And I can't afford hamburger OR steak.
Published: 2007-10-05 09:38:00
Updated: 2015-01-14 14:37:58


text:
Notes: Bernie's back in center
Notes: Bernie's back in center
Williams joined Tony Womack and Bubba Crosby as the Yankees' starting center fielders over the past week, but manager Joe Torre said Sunday that Williams would likely see action in the outfield four or five days per week for the remainder of the year.
"I'm not sure how many days in a row," Torre said of Williams' playing time. "It's for his benefit, too. I thought [Saturday] he had a lot of life in his hands and he moved around really well. Bernie has a big upside for us because he has the ability to hit home runs and that's different than either Bubba or Tony if you put them out there."
It appears to be unlikely that the Yanks will acquire a center fielder before the trade deadline, forcing them to go with their three current options. Torre doesn't seem to have a rhyme or reason for his daily decision, calling it "a feel thing" between Williams, Womack and Crosby.
"I think it's important that we've had Tony involved the last couple of days," Torre said. "It gives us the ability to move people around and do what we want to do. We've played this long with that situation and we have a guy in left field [Hideki Matsui] who can play center, too. It's just depending on what we see, what we like and it's liable to be a musical chair thing."
The Yankees have started five players in center this season, using Williams 57 times, Matsui 25 times, Crosby eight times, with Womack and rookie Melky Cabrera each getting six starts.
Jaret's step forward: Jaret Wright's first rehab start on Saturday was an encouraging step for the right-hander, who will make his next one later this week.
Wright threw 65 pitches over 2 1/3 innings in his outing, and Torre predicts that the pitcher will get up to 80 throws in his second start.
"I didn't talk to him personally, but everything we've got from down there has been coming well," Torre said. "He's just anxious to get out there, but he understands that we're at this point now that he's pitching, and things should start going a little bit quicker for him now, now that he's involved in some games."
Carl Pavano is expected to make one more rehab start on Wednesday before rejoining the rotation next Monday. With no major trades likely to take place, the addition of Pavano, and eventually Wright, will be the Yankees' biggest "acquisitions" in August.
"Both [Wright] and Pavano, and if we get Wang back, it would be a real bonus for us if all of a sudden we got healthy going into September," Torre said. "Right now, the first step is Pavano."
Jolt for Jason: Jason Giambi belted his 18th and 19th home runs of the season on Sunday, giving him 14 in July. That establishes a new career high for the most in a single calendar month for the slugger, who now has 300 career homers.
Giambi also became the first Yankees hitter to homer 14 times in a month since Mickey Mantle accomplished the feat in July 1961.
Torre couldn't be happier to see Giambi's resurgence, as he has provided another big bat in the lower half of New York's lineup.
"It's not like somebody being in a slump. We didn't know how far he was going and how far he was going to come back," Torre said. "So to do what he's done for us this month is pretty encouraging for us."
Brown back: Kevin Brown was back in New York on Sunday, having returned from Los Angeles, where he visited a back specialist on Friday.
Brown declined to speak with reporters, but Torre said that the pitcher seemed to be doing fine.
"He seemed good," Torre said. "I think he felt pretty confident that he'll be pitching again. We don't have a time on that yet, but the fact that he's going to be able to start activity was encouraging."
Making the trip: Ruben Sierra, who is eligible to return from the DL on Wednesday, won't be ready when that date comes, but he will still accompany the team to Cleveland on Monday.
"We're going to take him with us to Cleveland until he's ready to play," Torre said. "Once he's ready to play, we'll send him to Columbus or Trenton or some place to have a couple of games. But until we see that he can run without worrying about it, we'll keep him with us."
On deck: The Yankees have an off-day on Monday before opening a six-game road trip in Cleveland on Tuesday. New York will play three in Cleveland and three in Toronto, as Al Leiter kicks off the trip against the Indians' Scott Elarton.
Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This is the one section of chapter 6 of the book that I'm particularly confident in.
The lack of agreement about much of anything is widely recognized by philosophers themselves. But sometimes, a philosopher will say, "True, we philosophers cannot agree on the big questions, like 'is there a God?' or 'what is free will, if it exists at all?' But over time we've managed to settle a number of smaller questions, and the answers to these smaller questions help us better understand the big ones." I am not sure this claim is false, but I do know that every time I've looked closely at a specific claim that philosophers are unanimous on a specific "smaller question," the specific claim has turned out to be false.
I gave one example of this in the last chapter: the claim that thanks to Plantinga, it's now agreed that none of the older versions of the problem of evil work. Here, I'll give a more detailed, updated explanation of what that claim is wrong. I'll start with a quote from philosopher Gary Gutting's book What Philosophers Know:
Consider a standard atheistic argument from evil: An all-good being would have wanted to prevent the Holocaust, and an all-powerful being would have been able to do so; therefore, since the Holocaust did occur, there is no being that is both all-good and all-powerful – hence no God in the traditional sense. No one familiar with Plantinga's free will defense can think that there is a compelling case for the initial premise of this argument. It is logically possible that an all-good being would permit the Holocaust for the sake of avoiding even greater evils and that even an all-powerful being could not have prevented the Holocaust and avoided greater evils. The argument as formulated is demonstrably inadequate, and anyone who rejects the existence of God on the basis of this argument has been misled. (p.232)
In a blog post written for the New York Times website, Gutting makes similar but more sweeping claims:
When philosophers disagree it is only about specific aspects of the most subtle and sophisticated versions of arguments for and against God's existence (for example, my colleague Alvin Plantinga's modal-logic formulation of St. Anselm's ontological argument or William Rowe's complex version of a probabilistic argument from evil). There is no disagreement among philosophers about the more popular arguments to which theists and atheists typically appeal: as formulated, they do not prove (that is, logically derive from uncontroversial premises) what they claim to prove. They are clearly inadequate in the judgment of qualified professionals. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/philosophy-and-faith/ Accessed 22 Dec 2011
I have heard many people make claims like the ones in these two paragraphs. However, the claims in both paragraphs are easy to disprove. In an essay published after his death, philosopher David Lewis (1941-2001), writes:
The most ambitious versions of the argument [from evil] claim that the existence of evil is logically incompatible with the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and completely benevolent deity…
In my view, even the most ambitious version succeeds conclusively. There is no evasion, unless the standards of success are set unreasonably high. Those who try to escape the conclusion have to insist that no use can be made of disputable premises, however antecedently credibly those premises may be. But philosophers can and do dispute anything. Some, for example, are prepared to argue about the law of non-contradiction (p. 231).
The fact that Lewis had previously written about Plantinga's free will defense disproves the claim the first quote about "No one familiar…" etc., etc. It helps that a substantial minority of philosophers think Lewis was the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. Lewis also gives a nice explanation of what's wrong with the line in the second quote about "uncontroversial premises." Lewis may recognize the needed premises are disputable, but he disagrees with other philosophers in thinking the argument "succeeds conclusively" anyway.
This is enough to show that Gutting is wrong to say no disagreement exists. But someone might claim that Lewis, in spite of being well-respected, was hopelessly confused and therefore he doesn't matter. So I'll explain one reason why there's disagreement about this issue. "Plantinga's free will defense" is a response to a specific argument J. L. Mackie (1917-1981) gave in the 50's. Mackie's argument went like this: God is defined as omnipotent (all-powerful) and good, "a good thing always eliminates evil as far as it can," and "there are no limits to what an omnipotent thing can do." That means that if God exists, evil cannot, but evil exists, so God does not.
Plantinga argued that, on the contrary, maybe no matter how God created the world, as long as he allowed people significant free will, people would make at least some bad choices. (Bad choices are a kind of evil.) And maybe God foresaw this, but decided that free will was worth the price of bad choices. If that's possible, it seems possible for God and evil to coexist after all.
In Mackie's original paper, he talked a version of the free will defense, and said he thought the notion of free will was incoherent. The key issue here is the "incompatibilist" or "libertarian" view of free will. Incompatibilism says that free action is incompatible with the action being determined. Libertarianism (no connection to the political view) is just incompatibilism plus the claim that free will in fact exists.
So, let me re purpose one of Plantinga's examples. Suppose Curley Smith, mayor of Boston, is offered a $35,000 bribe, and given his bad character (and various other conditions, including his financial situation and estimate of the odds of getting caught), it's a forgone conclusion that he'll accept the bribe. Maybe if he were more honest, or he felt certain he'd be caught, he'd reject the bribe, but given how things actually are, there's no way he's going to reject it. Also imagine, if you like, that the laws of psychology also play a role in determining Curley's action.
Now, given this, once Curley accepts the bribe, did he freely accept it? Did he chose to accept it? Could he have rejected it? I think the answer to all three questions is yes. So being determinism is compatible with free action, compatible with choice, even compatible in a sense with being able to do otherwise.
I say "in a sense" for the question about being able to do otherwise, because there's a sense in which determinism means being unable to do otherwise. It means being unable to do otherwise holding all relevant starting conditions and laws exactly fixed. But in these contexts, I think it's natural to say "he could have done otherwise" if what we mean is, "he might have rejected the bribe if he were more honest, etc."
The libertarian, however, says that Curley wasn't free. The libertarian says that if an action is determined by prior conditions, it is not free. Curley's action was determined by prior conditions, so according to the libertarian it is not free. I think libertarians are wrong about this. I'm a compatibilist, meaning I think freedom and determinism are compatible. David Lewis was another compatibilist. There is evidence that most ordinary people's intuitions favor compatibilism. Furthermore—and I think I speak for many if not most compatibilists here—I think compatibilism is true as a conceptual matter and I don't think there's any way libertarianism could have turned out to be true.
Now that we've got all this background, we can see why there's diagreement about Plantinga's free will defense. Plantinga is a libertarian. His free will defense requires this. If the notion of free will is incoherent, as Mackie claimed in "Evil and Omnipotence," then it doesn't make any sense to imagine God allowing evil for the sake of free will. Similarly, if compatibilists like Lewis and I are right, God could have given people free will, but done things to ensure they would always do right (for example, he could have given them only good desires, or made them very good at resisting temptation.) So on certain views of free will, Plantinga's free will defense doesn't work.
To get clear just what I have shown in this section, here are three claims about Plantinga's free will defense:
- Plantinga's free will defense refuted Mackie's version of the argument from evil.
- No one who's read and understood Plantinga's free will defense can deny it refuted Mackie's version of the argument from evil.
- No one who's read and understood Plantinga's free will defense can deny it refuted all the more popular versions of the argument from evil, for example, the argument that a loving God would have prevented the Holocaust.
I think all three of these claims are false. However, I understand if you think (1) is true. If you are a libertarian, you will probably think (1) is true. (2) and (3) on the other hand are things no informed person should believe. That is not to say no informed person does believe them; plenty of people who ought to know better have said things like (2) and (3).
(2) is false just because Lewis and Mackie and I all read and understood Plantinga's free will defense, and were not convinced, in large part because we disagreed with Plantinga's view of free will. And (3) has an additional problem: Plantinga's free will defense argues that God might allow some bad choices for the sake of free will. However, just because God gave the Nazis the free will to decide to try to kill as many Jews as possible doesn't mean he had to let them be so successful at it. After all, there are lots of stories in the Bible where someone tries to do something bad (keep the Jews in slavery, kill baby Jesus, etc.), but God intervenes so that they fail.
I took the trouble of explaining all this in such detail it's such a great example of a false claim of "no disagreement" on a particular philosophical question. Claims like this, in my experience, never turn out to be true. There is always at least one well-respected philosopher who disagrees (and when I say "well-respected," I do mean better respected in the philosophical community than any anti-evolutionist is in the biological community). Next time you hear a claim like this, you'd be wise to be skeptical.


text:
Mitch Nesheiwat Among Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists
NEW YORK -- Mitch Nesheiwat, founder of Gas Land Petroleum Inc. and the cover story focus of the April issue of Convenience Store News for the Single Store Owner, is one of 34 finalists in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in New York.
EY's Entrepreneur of the Year is considered the world's most prestigious business award, according to the organization. Each spring, the business community comes together to celebrate regional semifinalists, finalists and winners.
The honorees not only create and build market-leading businesses, but also help take the standard of excellence to new heights, transform the face of industry, create jobs and contribute to the vibrancy of communities, explained EY, a global provider of assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services.
The New York program encompasses New York State, southern Connecticut and Long Island. An awards gala for the region will take place Tuesday, June 17 at New York City's Marriott Marquis hotel.
Nesheiwat, formerly a New York taxi driver, took the leap into the petroleum business in 1978, operating a gas station in the Hudson Valley under the Power Test Corp. brand, which is now Getty Petroleum. While running that station, he started to bring in products, including milk, eggs, soda and chips, essentially creating a mini convenience store, which at the time did not exist in the area.
By the early 1980s, he took another leap when he purchased his first location in Kingston, N.Y., and became the first in his area to open a full convenience store at a gas station. From that point on, Nesheiwat continued buying stations. He looked for sites with a garage so he could convert them to full c-stores.
That was the start of what is today Gas Land Petroleum Inc. In the beginning, Gas Land operated the stores purchased by Nesheiwat, but since 2008, it is strictly a franchised operation that leases the locations it buys to independent operators.
In 1989, Nesheiwat also became a distributor and today supplies Sunoco, Shell and CITGO fuels to more than 100 franchisees, as well as 60 additional locations in the Hudson Valley area. A few unbranded locations fly the Gas Land flag.
Click here to read the full April cover story, "Opportunity Knocks."


text:
I think Mario and Karina may not be dating but are intentionally leading the public on to boost publicity. True or not true, we are all talking about them....
I think Mario and Karina may not be dating but are intentionally leading the public on to boost publicity. True or not true, we are all talking about them....
According to the TV Guide, Max and Willa are now admitting they are a couple. And, while Mario and Karina are not admitting it, Max said they were and that it was obvious to him.
I thought this was an interesting article about DWtS 3, even if it didn't contain a lot of new info:
Dancing With the Stars Sambas To Hot Ratings
'Dancing With the Stars' sambas to hot ratings
November 14, 2006
With sexy moves, real-life sparks and soaring viewership, ABCs dance contest has been a prime-time story all to itself.
By Maria Elena Fernandez, Times Staff Writer
In a fall season of highfalutin serialized dramas, the most compelling soap opera on television has played out on the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom floor.
Love or its lusty cousin has blossomed between partners Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff, partners Willa Ford and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and an unidentified coupling co-host Samantha Harris will only allude to and giggle about.
Beauty queen Shanna Moakler got into a bar fight with Paris Hilton, of all people. Country singer Sara Evans had to quit because of trouble in her marriage. Daredevil Monique Coleman had a wardrobe malfunction (her bottom went whoops!) that etched itself as a season highlight for the ever-proper British judge Len Goodman. Teen heartthrobs Lopez and Joey Lawrence got verbal spankings for their breaking-all-the-rules ways. Tucker Carlson dazzled with his skillful chair-sitting routine. Jerry Springer Jerry Springer! got choked up when he was voted off the competition not because he wanted to stay but because he was overwhelmed by the kindness he had been shown during his seven-week stint.
And if that weren't enough, NFL legend Emmitt Smith can shimmy, shake and even waltz, earning him the nickname "Twinkle Toes." Tonight's finale at 8, which pits him against Lopez, nicknamed "Super Mario" for his flawless, passionate weekly renditions, promises to be the most intense competition this show has seen. The winner is picked by combining the judges' scores with viewers' phoned and e-mailed votes and will be announced Wednesday night.
"It's been so eventful that we haven't been able to keep up with it," executive producer Conrad Green said. "To be honest, we just read Us Weekly every week to find out what's going on on our own production. It's been really quite dramatic. And the best part of it is that this year the outcome is unpredictable."
What Green and ABC prefer to keep up with are the show's soaring ratings. With an average of 20 million viewers, "Dancing With the Stars" is the No. 1 reality series and the fourth most-watched show. In its third season, "Dancing" grew 8% in total viewers and 10% in the desirable 18-to-49-year-old demographic and ranks No. 9 among 18- to 49-year-olds who earn more than $100,000. The live television variety throwback also has grown into one of television's rare family hours, ranking third with children younger than 11 and 17th among teens, and it is a top 10 show among women in all of the key demographics.
"Our audience skews female, so maybe the boys have more of a chance," Green said, referring to last week's semifinal round in which, for the first time, three men Lopez, Lawrence and Smith were vying for tonight's finale spots. "They're good-looking, muscly boys with almost no clothes on. They stay in the competition longer."
Lopez, 33, Lawrence, 30, and Smith, 37, have surely delivered the goods. After scoring a three-way tie with the judges, Lawrence was voted off by viewers last week, leaving Lopez and Smith to duke it out. Both men will perform sambas and freestyle routines and, for the first time, a third number: Smith will dance a mambo while Lopez will do a pasodoble.
"It feels like a prizefight," said ABC President of Prime Time Entertainment Steve McPherson. "You have this model against the heavyweight champ in Emmitt Smith and, you know, it's really a neat thing to see." McPherson has personal experience. He learned to cha-cha over eight weeks with Edyta Sliwinska (Lawrence's partner) last spring to perform at the network's annual presentation to advertisers in New York.
"It's really a clash of the titans because each one of them has such strength individually," judge Bruno Tonioli said. "They've given such great performances that it makes our job very, very difficult because it's now going into the realm of whether I prefer blue or green. It doesn't mean green is a better color than blue."
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba agreed that it's all going to come down to individual taste tonight.
"They're very different characters because you've got Mario, who from Day One blew us away," she said. "Nobody expected that level of quality in his dancing. Then Emmitt coming out and not being the typical dancer, not becoming a ballroom dancer necessarily, but tapping into some other sort of natural grace that he's got."
No matter who goes home with the trophy, which host Tom Bergeron half-jokingly describes as "a little mirrored ball on a plastic stand with the show title Scotch-taped on it," the big winner this season seems to be the art of male ballroom dancing itself. Who could ever call this a girlie sport again after watching Smith's commanding yet elegant waltz and Lopez's potent tango?
"In England, a lot of the young boys play soccer and they always thought that dancing was a bit nansy-pansy, but when you boil it all down, you play soccer, you score a goal, and they all kiss each other," said Goodman. "
Proving that tough guys can dance was a priority for the three semifinalists. Lopez, who signed up for the show to please his mother, refused to wear rhinestones and sequins; his hyper-sexual chemistry with Smirnoff took care of the rest. In the beginning, Lawrence found some of the moves pointing his toe or raising his pinkie were tough to get right, or feel at ease with.
"You gotta get in touch with a whole different part of you," Lawrence said. "But when you embrace it, it actually feels very masculine to do that because it is very traditional in the sense that the man leads and does take control of the woman."
Three-time Super Bowl winner Smith said it was all about "letting go."
"You have to be comfortable within yourself and understand that for some of the dances, you have to learn different techniques. You have to let loose and let go and be comfortable letting go."
A happily married father of two, Smith joked about the "love fests" that had emerged and said he did not blame the attractive singletons around him. Co-host Harris agreed.
"You put two gorgeous, sexy, passionate people in a room together, locked up for hours a day, body to body, learning these dances," she said, "it's just human nature to fall for each other or have a tryst of some sort. And you know what? Enjoy."
In a way, only the producers are to blame for the love connections. Celebrities do not audition. They are interviewed and selected based on their personalities and the level of dancing skill producers perceive them to have. Complementary personalities are a factor when they match them with the dancing professionals, but more important are the aesthetics
"A lot of it is height; they need to look good together," co-executive producer Izzie Pick said. "You're matching for cohesion and for it to work as a partnership. It's like matchmaking."
Smith is the first to admit he "got real lucky" when he was paired with last year's champion, Cheryl Burke, 22, a top dancer and skillful choreographer.
Smirnoff, 28, is new to the competition this year. Though she and Lopez are reluctant to call themselves a couple, she spends a lot of time cooing "baby" to him off camera, and they are planning to "hibernate" for a week when the show is over "to catch up on sleep."
Springer, whom Bergeron referred to as "the heart and soul of the show," still wishes his partner, Kym Johnson, whom he grew to care for as a daughter, had been assigned a more talented partner.
"I was getting concerned that I was replacing far better dancers," Springer said. "But I was sad to leave because everyone was being incredibly nice to me. In 30 years on television, this is the first time I got to play myself and everyone was so nice. I wish everybody could have a few moments in life like that."
But even if Lopez and Smith do, only one will go home with the disco ball.
"One of the things I hope we never change is that in the context of this show there's something charming to me that all they're doing all the hours, all of the bunions, all of the heartache, the exhaustion is for bragging rights and the goofiest-looking trophy you're ever going to see," Bergeron said.
Maria.Elena.Fernandez@latimes. com
I live in my own world. But it's ok, they know me there.
Kid Nation... a sad day for society when the exploitation of children becomes acceptable entertainment for television viewers.
"Online communities, like the Fort, are very snarky and borderline cynical when it comes to celebrities and their shenanigans." -- Leo, FoRT Writer
Also Katrina stated that she was a bit perturbed by the editing showing Marioand her constantly embracing and kissing but it was just so obvious they were a couple. Don't think the relationship will last very long after the show, though.Originally Posted by Brandy;2139122;
The next season has been announced, but no word on who will be in it yet. Here's a snippet from a larger article, with just the part about DWtS.
Dancing With the Stars 4
Dancing With the Stars to Return in March
ABC's 'Dancing' machine to return
By Georg Szalai
Nov 16, 2006
NEW YORK -- ABC is bringing back "Dancing With the Stars" in March in a time slot yet to be determined, while CBS is demonstrating its faith in new Monday comedy "The Class" by ordering additional episodes. Those were two news tidbits revealed Wednesday at a panel here organized by the International Radio & Television Society Foundation.
The IRTS Newsmaker Breakfast, titled "The Schedulers," also spent time discussing Fox's controversial two-part interview with O.J. Simpson, set to air Nov. 27 and 29 to end this month's sweep.
Mitch Metcalf, executive vp program planning and scheduling at NBC Entertainment, received questions about his network's recent focus on reality programming at 8 p.m. He emphasized that this is "not a hard rule. We believe you have to have a balance between reality and scripted shows."
ABC Entertainment executive vp Jeff Bader offered that "we all have thoughts like that, but we don't say it out loud." But he added that comedy, which has had a tough primetime run in recent years, still can work in the 8 p.m. slot.
He said his network is looking to bring back "Dancing" in March with the time period still being worked out as ABC is trying to figure out whether to run it opposite the "tsunami" that is Fox's "American Idol."
______________________________ ______________________________
So the wait begins for us to see who will be in next season...
I live in my own world. But it's ok, they know me there.
Kid Nation... a sad day for society when the exploitation of children becomes acceptable entertainment for television viewers.
"Online communities, like the Fort, are very snarky and borderline cynical when it comes to celebrities and their shenanigans." -- Leo, FoRT Writer
Oh, they'd just be fools to pit it against American Idol. I'd never miss that show (AI) to watch anything else!!! We actually have AI party nights at our house, where we seat 6 friends to catcall and applaud the singers.Originally Posted by Nemeses;2144174;
We'll have to miss the March shows, if they do that. ~sigh~
Still crazy, after all these shears
"lambikins, put the crack pipe down and back away from the keyboard." Unklescott
"lambikins... I have come to the conclusion that you are the Jedi Master of the Kitchen on FORT!" SuperBrat
Article from MSNBC about last night's winners show:
MSNBC Article Regarding Dancing With The Stars Winners
Smith's victory proves Dancing's charm
Mario Lopez was a ringer, yet football player still bested him
By Linda Holmes
MSNBC contributor
The obvious way to look at Wednesday nights finale of ABCs Dancing With The Stars was as a showdown between football fans and Saved By The Bell fans. Whos more devoted: people who watch games every Sunday afternoon, or people who watch bad comedy every Saturday morning? But in reality, the showdown between Mario Lopez and Emmitt Smith was nothing less than a battle for the shows soul. Or, really, a battle for what would be the shows soul if it had one. Emmitts victory hit the spot.
From the first week, it was obvious that Mario Lopez was a ringer. Even if you hadnt seen him dance on shows like Kids, Incorporated and, yes, on Saved By The Bell, you would have known that this was not his first time on the dance floor, the way it was for a lot of the celebrities involved. Paired with the prickly Karina, Mario started to look like that kid in high-school theater who knows hes going to get the lead and loves nothing more than making everyone else sit through his audition and doubt themselves. No amount of backstage dimple-flashing and trumped-up humility could ever quite wash away the strut. The kid thought it was in the bag.
Emmitt Smith, on the other hand, was exactly the kind of celebrity who can make this ridiculous show weirdly appealing. He wasnt a clown, like Jerry Springer. He wasnt an earnest failure, like Sara Evans. He had the rare combination of natural ability and a capacity and willingness to learn how to do something outside his comfort zone.
For all the talk about unscripted shows (this isnt really reality in the Survivor sense) capitalizing on humiliating people, that isnt really what Dancing is about when its fun. Well, okay, it was fun to see Tucker Carlson humiliated, but thats because hes Tucker Carlson, and he comes across like a bit of a windbag, and total ineptitude on the part of an unappealing person is entertaining.
Smith's victory proved show is still satisfyingly nutty
When the show works, its because watching someone become good at something they dont know how to do is satisfying, and watching them discover and develop a natural talent they didnt know they had is even better. It seems like a lot of credit to give such a fundamentally silly enterprise (Next up: Jerry Springer performs the paso doble and smashes a prop guitar!), but its quite true: part of the fun is all the learning. The most auspicious thing Emmitt Smith said in the first episode was that he was used to being coached, and it turned out to be true. Emmitt worked hard, and he didnt complain (much), and sure enough, he kept getting better.
Mario, on the other hand, seemed to see his coaching sessions mostly as opportunities to develop his love-hate relationship with Karina which apparently went in the direction of love, given Tuesday nights footage of what certainly appeared to be a few stolen smooches. Mario learned the steps for each dance, and his dances were often quite intricate. But there was not the sense that a guy who was not a dancer became a dancer.
Thats the peculiarly nutty fun of this particular show. You take someone who isnt a dancer, and you see if you can make that person a dancer, and sometimes disaster strikes, and sometimes it doesnt. Thats why people like Mario and last seasons Stacy Keibler arent quite as compelling as people like Emmitt and last seasons champion Drew Lachey. Looking at Mario in the first week, the logical reaction was, Wow, Mario Lopez can dance. But looking at Emmitt, the logical reaction was, Wow, I cant believe Emmitt Smith can dance.
Wednesday nights finale proved all these points all over again. When the two repeated chosen dances from Tuesday Emmitts samba and Marios freestyle it was clear that Marios dance was more technically advanced and probably more perfectly executed. But there wasnt nearly as much of a gap between what he did and what you would expect him to be able to do as there was in Emmitts case. It is the busting of expectations that addicts people to the performances. Who knew Jerry Springer would be so warmly self-deprecating? Who knew Monique Coleman would get so emotional? Who knew Joey Lawrence was so creepy and intense?
There were endless recaps of the season, in which we saw over and over that Mario nailed basically every dance he was given, only taking real hits when he hammed up dances like the quickstep and the tango and was clipped for breaking the rules. Emmitt, on the other hand, was the purest of underdogs. He started out surprisingly promising, took a stumble or two, kept working, and eventually got to be good.
Friends and family in interviews continued to feed the same dynamic. Emmitts friends including fellow football players Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach were just amazed to see Emmitt able to dance well. Marios friends, including Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and Showgirls and fellow Saved By The Bell alum Elizabeth Berkeley, were amazed at Marios skill level. In fact, Berkeley thought Mario could make it to Broadway. Nobody was suggesting Emmitt was going to Broadway. They were only suggesting he would be by far the most awe-inspiring dancer in any room full of football players and in most rooms full of people who werent born dancers.
When the two pairs talked about their affection for each other, it became even clearer that Emmitt needed to win. Mario and Karina were so busy being coy about their budding relationship that they barely said anything of substance, and Mario did nothing but flash that oddly blank grin as he talked about his affection for her. Emmitt and Cheryl, on the other hand, talked warmly about their bond. At 37, Emmitt is quite a bit older than 22-year-old two-time champion Cheryl, and he brought her to tears when he thanked her, simply and straightforwardly, for being such a good teacher and such a good friend. Who wouldnt love that?
In the end, the audience was in control. The judges maneuvered themselves to a tie on Tuesday night, so it was all about the popular vote, and the popular vote crowned Emmitt and Cheryl. In all likelihood, nobody who voted was unaware that in a technical dance-off, Mario would beat Emmitt. Emmitt, however, did what the show asks of its celebrities. He started out not knowing what he was doing, and he learned. And sometimes he looked silly, and sometimes he fell down in practice, but he kept going. Strangely enough, thats really what the audience is looking for. Its a popularity contest, and Emmitt probably wouldnt have won without a great deal of personal charm. But he also won because he had going for him the one thing that rescues this show from being completely stupid: he taught himself something difficult.
A few weeks ago, Emmitt said of his efforts on the show, A real man tries to do something he thinks he cannot do. In that sense, he got what he came for, and the show got a surprisingly satisfying ending. Besides, never bet against the football fans.
Linda Holmes is a writer in Bloomington, Minn.
© 2006 MSNBC Interactive
I live in my own world. But it's ok, they know me there.
Kid Nation... a sad day for society when the exploitation of children becomes acceptable entertainment for television viewers.
"Online communities, like the Fort, are very snarky and borderline cynical when it comes to celebrities and their shenanigans." -- Leo, FoRT Writer
Another item from MSNBC regarding last night's show. This one gives a short blurb on 5 persons from DWtS: Emmitt, Cheryl, Mario, Karina, and Bruno. I'm sharing them because I think they're humorous and provide a good summation of these 5 people from the show.
Emmitt Smith
A victory for the regular Joe:
Aw, Emmitt Smith! From the first week, when he did a blissful, upbeat cha-cha to Son Of A Preacher Man, its been easy to root for Emmitt, with his warm smile, good cheer, surprising talent, and impressive physicality. In the finale, viewers learned that in the crazy popularity contest that constitutes winning this show, sometimes its more important to be likable than it is to be perfect, and that sometimes, the underdog actually prevails. Emmitt was adorable, but he also really got to be a good dancer, and hes likely to be showing a lot of other football players a thing or two for years to come.
Cheryl Burke
Two in a row:
There was another champion besides Emmitt on Wednesday night - Cheryl Burke, who also won last year paired with the very different Drew Lachey. Its easy to take the professional dancers for granted, but in addition to serving as teachers, they do the choreography, and it was clear at times that Cheryl had very carefully and effectively planned the dances to showcase Emmitts strengths and minimize everything else. She learned that he could wiggle and float, and she didnt forget. The pros dont always get the credit they deserve, but in this case, Cheryl did a fine job pulling in the trophy for her team.
Mario Lopez
Farewell, Dimples:
Mario Lopez was the man to beat all season, just like Emmitt said. Cocky, pretty, talented, and at the center of a tabloid-ready apparent romance with partner Karina, he looked like a sure thing. But somehow, something about Mario always seemed vaguely untrustworthy. He had a teachers-pet-like way of seeming like he was sucking up to the audience even when there was no reason to. His Eddie Haskell approach was too much most of the time, and while he was always technically proficient, he wasnt likable in the same way Emmitt was. Back to Saved By The Bell reunion movies!
Karina Smirnoff
Sucking on a lemon:
Karina Smirnoff is a wonderful dancer, but she has a sour disposition. Her sparring with Mario started off funny (like when they went boxing together), but it quickly turned into shtick, and often, she just acted unpleasant. Worst of all, after Emmitts victory was announced, she was asked how she felt about her experience and spit out something that sounded an awful lot like a declaration that America had gotten it wrong and that Mario was the better dancer. Its considered bad form to be a sore loser on a silly celebrity show, so she might want to rein that in.
Bruno Tonioli
Calm yourself:
During the endless rehashing of the season during the finale, one thing became quite clear: Judge Bruno Tonioli needs to calm down and stop engaging in wordplay. Every other clip seemed to show him leaping out of his seat, hollering something allegedly clever (The beauty queen turned into the ice queen! Super Mario!), to the point where it became absurd. The judges dont do all that much on this show, especially once they start giving nothing but 9s and 10s, so if Bruno wants to keep his job next season, he would be well served to improve the ratio of substance to yelling.
______________________________ __________________
I agree with all those comments, especially the one about Bruno.
I live in my own world. But it's ok, they know me there.
Kid Nation... a sad day for society when the exploitation of children becomes acceptable entertainment for television viewers.
"Online communities, like the Fort, are very snarky and borderline cynical when it comes to celebrities and their shenanigans." -- Leo, FoRT Writer
I missed Emmitt and Mario tonight on the late show (Conan I think).....did anyone catch it?
And in response to someone's post (my mind just went blank )......I've had enough of NFL players on the show......its too hard for anyone to overcome their fanbase when it comes to voting. So unless DWTS comes up with actors that are currently as big as stars as the athlete, then I'm not interested.
Something I found out this season.......they don't pay the stars....sure limits who would be available to participate.
Nemeses: What wonderful articles you found and posted! Thanks so much; I really enjoyed reading them.
Still crazy, after all these shears
"lambikins, put the crack pipe down and back away from the keyboard." Unklescott
"lambikins... I have come to the conclusion that you are the Jedi Master of the Kitchen on FORT!" SuperBrat


text:
Encouraged by feedback from operators, the Flight Safety Foundation is extending its corporate flight-operations quality-assurance (C-FOQA) program, despite a "painfully slow start." The initial phase began late last year, involving three aircraft–two Gulfstream IVs and a Dassault Falcon 900–and two operators.
Now, working with NBAA, the foundation is preparing to approach more business aircraft operators, including fractional-ownership providers. There has been strong interest lately from additional corporate flight departments, according to program coordinator Ted Mendenhall.
Most interest has come from companies flying larger corporate jets, which Medenhall said is not surprising. "There is a cost involved, which can make it tough for smaller operators," he said. The C-FOQA program is a simpler exercise with larger aircraft than with small jets because higher end models usually come already fitted with digital flight-data recorders (FDR) and other relatively sophisticated equipment. While most corporate aircraft are not equipped with FDRs, even fewer are fitted with small, light, state-of-the-art quick access recorders.
Earlier this year, the Flight Safety Foundation gave the first quarterly reports to participating operators, who were reportedly "very pleased" with observations provided by analysis of their flights during last year's final quarter.
Mendenhall, a former director of flight operations and chief of safety at Gulfstream Aerospace, attributes the halting beginning to aircraft hardware and software considerations, as well as operators' legal considerations.
C-FOQA typically involves routine analysis of flight data from line operations to reveal safety situations and practices that might require corrective action. Accidents can be prevented through identification of potential problems, using quick-access flight-data recorders and related software for routine data collection. Results can improve line operational safety, training effectiveness, airport surface safety, and operational, maintenance, engineering and ATC procedures.
The main difference between corporate and airline operations is that company fleets are small–usually fewer than four aircraft–so it is difficult to get a large sample of data. During analysis, information can be compared with the entire fleet of such aircraft and the owner's operations manual or standard operating procedures to determine how the fleet is being operated.
Participating C-FOQA operators send information to a single data processor. Analysis of selected parameters includes comparisons with how aircraft are being flown by other operators of the same types. C-FOQA is expected to highlight areas of operation that can be studied more closely. Although Mendenhall does not imply that it is a problem with initial participants, FSF is considering tailwind approaches.
"The program covers selected operations parameters, with particular attention being paid to execution of stabilized approaches," he explained. The FSF's approach/landing accident-reduction risk- assessment analysis includes speed, position above/below the glideslope, rate of descent and distance remaining.
Other elements noted are aircraft configuration, ILS deviation and power settings, according to Mendenhall, who said the three aircraft currently involved in C-FOQA are "enough to prove the concept." He told NBAA Convention News that "in large measure" the 700 to 800 initial results have matched expectations.
With airlines and corporate operations exposed to potential overruns as a result of aircraft landing faster and further down the runway, analysis compares approach speed with groundspeed, indicating differences of one to four knots, five to nine knots and 10-plus knots. Mendenhall said there is concern about the two latter speed ranges: "We're looking to see aircraft flying a go-around, but pilots are always tempted to put it down. We look for a go-around policy in the operations manual."


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Pat's Creek saga runs through Peace River's history
Pat s Creek rambled, as only water will, where it wanted. In the 1980s a culvert was installed to guide its travels past what is now the Subway Restaurant on Main Street and on to the Peace River behind the Third Mission Suites adjacent to Riverfront Park.
Human development of the land, over time, has interfered with natural routes of rivers, streams and even creeks. In spite of the interference, Mother Nature seldom abandons routes she carved over thousands of years only to meet man's needs.
Some 12,000 years ago, as the last great glaciers slowly melted away in what would be known as northern Alberta, they left behind deep scars and sediment scattered across the landscape. Thousands of square kilometres of ice, which measured more than 1km in height, was now gone. In its place emerged the Mighty Peace River and its many tributaries, which continue to feed this majestic 1,923 km long river to this very day. One rather small tributary northeast of the town of Peace River, running between Kaufmann and Grouard hills is Pat's Creek, named for Patrick Wesley, a Métis man who lived in a cabin adjacent to the creek on his property. The creek's contributions to the depth of Peace River tend to be rather mercurial. In the spring, melting snow and ice race down from the nearby hills producing a violent rush of water several metres deep. Sharp V-shaped embankments of silt and clay easily slump during this onslaught. Then again, by late July/August, one would be hard-pressed to fill a small bucket with the trickle of water dodging around its creek bed stones.
In the early 1900s, Métis people were eligible for scrip - certificates entitling the holder to a given number of acres of land, or a given amount of money towards the purchase of land. Wesley appears to have been the recipient of both land granted outright and scrip (scrip cert.1151A). His lands in Peace River Crossing, including the creek, were valuable.
The property owner, however, contracted smallpox. In the absence of a hospital, he was fortunate to receive care from Anglican Rev. Robert Holmes' wife, who risked her own health to do so. But, to no avail. Wesley succumbed to the disease.
In his March 1910 will, Wesley deeded to the Anglican Church five acres of his land, including the creek, in appreciation for its kindness and care through Mrs. Holmes.
Settlement at Peace River surged with the completion of the 'Million Dollar' railway bridge across the Peace River in 1918. The impressive 1,736 foot (529.1 metre) long bridge offered a significant economic boost and social link between people and resources of northern Alberta and the provincial capital in Edmonton. By 1916, travel between Peace River and the capital went from 10-plus days by horse and wagon to a mere 14 hours by train. The new rail link and First World War demand for lumber and agricultural products fostered rapid growth in the area. It appears, advice from local Cree people that the hills on the east side of the river "were on the move" and to be avoided was ignored. Although, when the site was chosen, it was the one which offered the easiest, most secure access to land. The year 1935 would be a turning point in Peace River history.
While flooding is a concern, the threat is usually during spring break-up in early April. However, on July 2, 1935, after many days of torrential rains, Pat's Creek burst its banks sending a wall of water and tree debris down Main Street to the Peace River Hotel, where Centex - Twelve Foot Davis Mall is now.
Every able-bodied person was out for the next 24 hours, placing sandbags by the hotel to try to hold back the rising waters. The rains, and flood waters from the tributaries entered the Peace River, causing it to rise more than 20 feet (6.1 metres) above its normal level for July. The waters finally began to recede Friday, July 5, but not before more than $500,000, 1935 dollars of damage to the town of Peace River. To then, it was one of the worst floods ever recorded in northern Alberta. The 1997 flood property damages would surpass it.
While the 1935 Pat's Creek flood nearly wiped the town off the map, it more than redeemed itself by saving a large portion of the town in 1962. On a quiet Sunday evening, September 30, the driver of a truck carrying 4,250 gallons of aviation fuel (19,320 litres) from Edmonton, stopped at the top of the hill of the original Highway 2 overlooking the town before the steep downward trek. The driver duly checked his brakes and his load. Satisfied, he slowly put the truck into gear and started down the hill. To his utter shock, the brakes on the trailer suddenly gave out - a runaway. Rapidly, the truck picked up speed heading to town.
Trying desperately to maintain control of the truck, the driver swerved around parked vehicles and other obstacles as he turned sharply toward Main Street. The trailer skidded sideways, rolled, the tank ruptured, sending aviation fuel gushing toward nearby businesses.
An immense fireball soon ignited near the theatre, the nearest building to the accident. The driver jumped from the truck's cab, rolling to the curb, to escape with only minor bruises. The fire spread quickly, completely destroying the theatre, the drive-in restaurant, a furniture store, a pharmacy, an insurance office, café, bakery, and dry cleaners. The burning fuel continued to race downhill on its way to what is currently Subway. It was there it finally met its demise - at a now cemented Pat's Creek, which then stood as a 15 foot wide and 8 foot deep canal. The canal diverted the burning fuel into sewers leading to the river and away from the rest of the homes and businesses in town. A total of 12 businesses were destroyed before the blaze was extinguished. Amazingly, no one was killed or seriously injured.
Today, from the outskirts of town, Pat's Creek goes from sunlight into a pitch black 3 metre-wide culvert which winds its way for nearly 1.5 km[ under roads, sidewalks, and parks before emerging to join the Mighty Peace River. Though largely hidden from view, as a tributary to the Peace River, Pat's Creek continues to shape the surrounding landscape.
Located near the former steep Hwy. 2 road into Peace River, closed since the late 1960s, one can find Northern Sunrise County's Pat's Creek Interpretive Trail. This 3 km trail offers hikers, runners, mountain bikers, snowshoers a wonderful scenic journey from town to the agricultural fairgrounds.
As you walk the public path adjacent to Third Mission Heritage Suites and Riverfront Park, give a nod of appreciation to Mother Nature's great gift to us all bearing the name of one of the town of Peace River's benefactors - Patrick Wesley. It continues to carve through the town's hills on its way to the Mighty Peace River. Not surprisingly, after thousands of years, its story is far from complete.


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Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis or epicondylopathy,
occurs when there is tendon damage at the elbow where some of the forearm and
hand muscles connect to the upper arm bone.
ByHealthwise StaffPrimary Medical ReviewerWilliam H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency MedicineSpecialist Medical ReviewerDavid Bardana, MD, FRCSC - Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Medicine
Current as ofMay 23, 2016
Current as of:
May 23, 2016
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & David Bardana, MD, FRCSC - Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Medicine
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Abel (dit Tibel) Duon
b.15 May 1722 Port Royal, , , Acadia
d.29 Jan 1807 Pubnico, , Nova Scotia, Canada
Family tree▼
m. 27 Feb 1713
m. ABT 1756
Facts and Events
!BIRTH-CHRISTENING-NAME-PARENTS-MARRIAGE-CENSUS-DEATH-BURIAL: Stephen A. White, DICTIONNAIRE GENEALOGIQUE DES FAMILLES ACADIENNES; 1636-1714; Moncton, New Brunswick, Centre d'Etudes Acadiennes, 1999, 2 vols.; p. 583; own copy. #(6):
!IMMIGRATION: Post card purchased at the Musée Acadien in Pubnico in Aug 2004. In 1755 Abel DUON and a band of 50 refugees fled the expulsion at Grand-Pré and made their way through the forest to Pubnico. Shortly after their arrival, they and most of the rest of the Pubnico residents were deported to Massachusetts. He married at Marblehead, MA that same year. With seven other families Abel returned to reclaim Pubnico in 1767, in a ship they had constructed while in exile. Many of his descendants still live in Pubnico today. He is the progenitor of the name D'EON in the area.
!BIRTH-CHRISTENING: "Duon et non d'Eon," LA SOCIETE HISTORIQUE ACADIENNE, Cahier; ; 21 (1968), vol. 3, no. 1; p. 49; in collection of Peggy Walker. Placide Gaudet quotes from the christening register of Port Royal. Sponsors: Alexandre HEBERT & Jeanne BLANCHARD. He goes on to state that he died at Pubnico on 30 Jan 1807, aged 85 years less 4 months (which was 4 years too many).


text: India v West Indies live streaming: Champions Trophy 2013 Suneer Chowdhary in Cricket 10 Jun 201317 0 share Share Tweet Email Share RedditWill India notch up their second win in the tournament? (credit:vijay_chennupati) India take on the West Indies in the sixth game of the Champions Trophy 2013 at the Oval on Tuesday.Bet on India v West Indies at bet365. You can also watch other live ODI cricket streams hereBoth teams began their tournament with wins. India (4/6 at SkyBet) were punishing winners over South Africa while West Indies (11/8 at bet365) edged out Pakistan in a remarkably close game. A win for either team here will almost ensure qualification for the semi-finals, which makes this a vital encounter.India's batting has been in excellent form. They have piled on more than 300 on all three occasions in the series so far - twice in the warm-ups and now once in the game against South Africa. It was Shikhar Dhawan's century and his superb opening stand with Rohit Sharma that propelled them to an excellent start in the South Africa game.What made it a perfect ending was Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni's pummelling towards the end of the innings against a bowling attack that lacked edge. Then the Indian quick bowlers went for a few runs with each of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma conceding at least seven an over in their spells. Interestingly though, they grabbed a couple of wickets each as well to pull the game back in their favour.Unless there are last minute injuries, it's difficult to see the Indians make any change to the line-up.West Indies were propped up by a fiery spell of bowling from Kemar Roach who reduced Pakistan to 15/3 at the start of their innings. Sunil Narine added three more to his name as Pakistan failed to take off and were bowled out for 170.Then Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels scored cautious 30s and despite a late-order collapse, Denesh Ramdin saw the side through to a win. Gayle will continue to remain a danger man and having played a lot of cricket against the Indian bowlers in the IPL, he will know how to handle them. The one other advantage West Indies have is that they played their first game at the Oval and would have gauged the pitch by now. As compared to the difficult wicket at the Oval, India's batsmen are yet to encounter bowling-friendly pitches and that will make it tough for them in case the track turns out to be a difficult one. On paper though, India should be the favourites here. The India v West Indies Champions Trophy 2013 game will begin at 10.30 am local time.


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Favorite Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) beef broth
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
- 1 envelope onion soup mix
- 4-1/2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1-1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
- 1. In a large bowl, combine eggs and bread crumbs. Crumble beef and sausage over mixture and mix well. Shape into 3/4-in. balls.
- 2. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a foil-lined 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until no longer pink.
- 3. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, saute the carrots, celery and onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, spinach, basil, soup mix, ketchup, thyme and bay leaves.
- 4. Drain meatballs on paper towels. Bring soup to a boil; add meatballs. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Add pasta; cook 13-15 minutes longer or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).
Nutritional Facts
1 cup: 379 calories, 24g fat (8g saturated fat), 107mg cholesterol, 1016mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate (4g sugars, 3g fiber), 21g protein.
Reviews for Favorite Italian Wedding Soup
Average Rating
"This soup is soo pleasing on a cold winter day!!!"
"Excellent, I made as written. Next time, I would add more broth and try a smaller pasta."
"My family and I really loved this soup! So hearty and flavorful!"
"So delicious! I followed the recipe mostly. The only thing I did differently was that I used fresh baby spinach and about five cloves of garlic (personal preference). Best soup ever!"
"This has been one of my family's favorite TOH recipes since it first came out a few years ago. I have made it for our annual soup and sandwich Halloween party for the past few years and am asked for the recipe every year. I have seen several other Italian Wedding soup recipes grace the magazine's pages over the years, but this one is so perfect that I just can't bear to try any of the others. I can't imagine anything can top this keeper!"
"I've made the soup several times now and everyone loves it!! For a short cut, I bought a 2lb bag of mini frozen meatballs before and it worked great. Throwing in some tortellini, also great for a change."
"This soup is delicious!!! Best wedding soup I have tasted and my family loves it too. I have used the penne pasta but have also made it using acini di pepe also. The meatballs are awesome and worth it. This has definitely become one of my regular recipes that I will be making many times in the future."
"My family loves Italian wedding soup. Thanks for providing this delicious recipe. This was enough for my family of 6 to have 2 bowls each"
"Delicious. I am already looking forward to making it again and for the years to come."
"This soup is absolutely delicious.Even my picky husband liked it. It does take a LOT longer than 30 minutes to prepare. It takes at least that to roll out all of the little meatballs. I did not have fresh basil so I used about a Tablespoon of dried. I had fresh spinach on hand and used that and I had fresh sliced fresh mushrooms that needed to be used so I added those. I also did not have penne pasta so I used a cup of ditalani instead and it was plenty because pasta swells so in the cooking. It is well worth the trouble. SJS9"
"Excellent. Had fun making the little meatballs with my daughter and everyone loved the soup! Will definitely be making it again!"
"soup was wonderful very flavorable and definitly would make again...and again!"
"I used small shell pasta instead. They acted like little individual bowls to hold the broth. Yummy!"
"delicious - my family loved it!"
"Excellent! Just excellent!"
"very good. I had no fresh basil so i used 2 tsp of dried. turned out great!"
"Great recipe. I make it with turkey for the meatballs. The broth is so flavorful, you won't miss the fat from the meatballs."
"This was a BIG hit with my family. We fought over the leftovers. I used fresh spinach instead of frozen. For the meat, I used 1 pound hot sausage and one pound regular because I didn't have any Italian sausage. Next time I'll do as the recipe suggests and see if we like it as well. We probably will."
"Fantastic soup. I make it often and receive rave reviews every time. My favorite soup, EVER! Meatballs take some time to roll, but so worth the effort. I usually make double batch of meatballs, since I'm already spending the time to roll them, and freeze the extra batch so next time the soup is really quick! Recommend this recipe highly."
"This soup is great. My husband and my mother are both picky eaters and they love this. Making the meatballs can be labor intense, but so worth it."
"This soup is the best! My husband just loves it. We make it frequently."


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For all their marketing budgets, advertising campaigns, press events and elaborate websites, brands can still be…elusive. A few months ago, I visited the manufacturing facilities at Breitling's head office in Grenchen, Switzerland.
Over the last few years, Breitling had become a brand that I had learnt to admire, if not desire. The kind of brand that I'd be happy to see my friends buy. In fact, Breitling was one of those few brands that I'd happily recommend to a friend.
But would I ever buy a Breitling for myself? I wasn't so sure. Not that there was anything wrong with the brand. Far from it. As a watch journalist, there are few companies that are as professional as Breitling. Their presentations are always comprehensive, press kits well-made, and meetings meticulously scheduled. Yet somehow, while I admired their timepieces, especially some of the more retro models launched over the last two years, they never quite made me go weak in the knees.
This situation, I am glad to report, has changed completely. One visit to the Breitling factory later, I now have a newfound respect for the brand. Breitling has a wonderful factory, a colourful history, and some passionate people working for them. But what impressed me most is their particular obsession with making great-quality watches at a sensible price. For instance, Breitling continues to source movements from suppliers. However, unlike many brands, it doesn't simply slam that movement into a branded outside and pass it off as a unique achievement.
Instead, it disassembles each movement and then puts it back together after several refinements and improvements. This gives you a product that attains a balance between the economy of a sourced movement, and the quality of an in-house calibre.
Which, of course, is Breitling's proposition: superb value.
Tragically, customers of all kinds of luxury products seldom get the opportunity to get to know brands this closely. While you can tell much about a brand from their stores, staff and service, there is nothing quite like seeing how the product is made.
In this issue of Indulge, we seek to tell you the stories of some of these brands. In this issue, you will find histories and profiles of brands such as Breguet, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Fisher and Paykel; and interviews with the people who run them.
So we decided to tell you what makes these brands great. We decided to tell you why these brands are not only good to own, but also great to give your loved ones.
Have a happy, luxurious Diwali.
Sidin Vadukut
(Issue editor)


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=== System ===
Loose adaptation created through the Savage Worlds system, mixed with some elements of the previous Exalted Variant I had created for Fate Stay Night during the Servants of the Grail War campaign.
=== Setting ===
(While this campaign is based off of an Anime/Visual Novel, it will not follow the anime nor do the players have to have knowledge about them.)
A decade ago, toward the end of the 4th Holy Grail War, portions of Fuyuki City was consumed by a massive fire. The flames razed a large portion of the city and took countless lives, amongst the chaos, it wasn't clear if a victor had been decided, nor if there was a wish placed upon the Holy Grail as it was summoned to the world.
The grail war is a war-stricken competition of blood and determination held every sixty years by numerous families of Magi. Each magi carries with them a desire to compete and obtain the Holy Grail in order to grant a wish or desire that lies deep within their heart. In an effort to attain victory, they perform a summoning ritual in hopes of attaining a like-minded powerful Servant to aid them. Servant's are the incarnations of legendary warriors, heroes and mythological denizens. They serve their Masters in an effort to attain the Holy Grail, hoping to be granted a wish that they could not achieve in their lifetimes. Whether it is for repentance, vengeance, or immortality, the pact between Servant and Master is made in hopes of attaining their deepest wish.
Given the laws of the pact made between Master and Servant, the summoner is imbued with a rune made up of three parts. Typically the rune is placed on the Master's hand, however, it can be located anywhere on their body. As the servant fights and encounters near death situations, a Master may use one of these runes to force the Servant to obey them. The master will then lose that rune for the remainder of the campaign. A master can use a rune to force a Servant to do their bidding even if it is against their will and beliefs, example being, sending a heroic servant out to murder innocents in order to obtain the needed mana for fighting. When the runes are used up, the pact between the Servant and Master has ended. The Master may reform a pact with a Servant who has no master, but often, the Servant will kill off their former master for using their power against their will.
As time continued, Magi gathered from throughout the world in hopes of claiming the Holy Grail in order to grant one wish or desire for themselves. Due to the chaos instilled by the conclusion of the 4th Holy Grail War, the mana surrounding the area failed to dissipate properly and wound up setting the stage for the 5th Holy Grail War. Unlike the previous grail wars, many dormant magi families have awoken to their powers and find themselves immersed into the long held tradition between the seven original families of magi. As a result, this grail war will prove to be the most intensive and ruthless one yet, as numerous families enter with their newly summoned servants, the war has escalated beyond the competition of the seven magi families.
Faced with much opposition, difficulties and hardships, you have awoke to your long dormant heredital gifts. You are a Magi, in more than just name, but with such power, you must face the consequences of your actions for seeking the Grail.
This grail war will take place in the same setting as the anime (Fate/Stay Night), however, the main characters will be accessable and in fact defeatable and killable by the players too. They may or may not have the same servants as they did in the Anime, as players can likewise call them.
I encourage players to create their own servants if possible, using the numerous histories and legends, as this will make for a much more enriched campaign.
Best of luck to all the Magi, much like the previous wars, there is no rules or restrictions by which you must abide. Remember, only one servant/master can win the Grail in the end.


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Works of Woe
- (Fredrik Klingwall)
- Format: CD
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'Works Of Woe is a real masterpiece of classical piano music.' - Chain DLK 'scrupulously artistic and beautifully realised' - Mick Mercer Nine poems by Edgar Allan Poe was the influencing spark to nine dark piano pieces by composer Fredrik Klingwall. A beautiful musical gestalt of the dark, decaying and frail human psyche. Incidentally 2009 also marks E.A. Poes 200th birthday! CD Limited to 500 copies in a 4-panel digipak.