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Supreme Court to Hear Pivotal Affirmative Action Case
(WASHINGTON) -- Supporters of affirmative action fear that the Supreme Court could curtail or further restrict the use of race-conscious admissions policies at public universities.
On Wednesday, all eyes will be on Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose vote is considered pivotal in the case brought by a white Texan who has sued the University of Texas at Austin, claiming that she was denied admission to the school in 2008 because of her race. Abigail Fisher, who has since graduated from Louisiana State University, said she was subject to unequal treatment in violation of the 14th Amendment.
"I was taught from the time I was a little girl that any kind of discrimination was wrong, and for an institution of higher learning to act this way makes no sense to me," Fisher said in an interview clip posted on the website of the Project on Fair Representation, a legal defense foundation that's providing her with legal representation.
On the other side are lawyers for the University of Texas, who argue that, like many other universities, UT seeks to assemble a class that is diverse in innumerable ways -- including race -- and that "race is just one of many characteristics that form the mosaic presented by an applicant's file."
More than 90 friend of the court briefs have been filed in the case, with the Obama administration weighing in favor of the university. Others, who support Fisher, argue that diversity can be achieved through race-neutral programs, and that race-preferential admissions policies can do more harm than good.
"What's at issue is: (1) whether it will remain permissible to consider race in an attempt to ensure that higher level education remains integrated; and (2) whether universities or the court are going to be the ones to determine what academic diversity consists of," said David D. Cole, a professor at Georgetown Law, who believes UT's plan should be upheld.
It was only recently, in 2003, that the Supreme Court narrowly upheld the limited use of race in public university admissions policies in Grutter v. Bollinger. The five-four opinion was written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who said that diversity was a compelling government interest. But O'Connor has since retired from the high court, and has been replaced by Justice Samuel Alito, who is more skeptical of race-conscious admissions preferences.
In 1997, the Texas legislature passed the "Top 10 Percent Law," which mandates that Texas high school seniors in the top 10 percent of their class be automatically admitted to any Texas state university. But after the Grutter decision came down, another policy was added that allows the school to consider race among several other factors for admission. Fisher did not qualify for automatic admission, and was forced to compete with other non-top-10-percent state applicants. She said she was denied admission, even though her academic credentials exceeded those of some of the admitted minority candidates.
The University of Texas, which was racially segregated during the first 70 years of its existence, argues that its current program exemplifies the type of plan the Supreme Court allowed in Grutter v. Bollinger: "Race is only one modest factor among many others weighed; it is considered only in an individualized and contextual way that examines the student in their totality."
But lawyers for Fisher said that the top 10 percent plan had made UT one of the most diverse public universities in the nation, and that the school did not need to overlay the successful race-neutral program with another one that considered race. Furthermore, they said that the school is working toward an impermissible goal of using race in admissions to mirror the demographics of Texas, which they said amounted to "racial balancing."
While Fisher's lawyers argue that Grutter should be clarified or even overturned, supporters of UT's program take solace in Kennedy's opinion in Grutter. He ruled against the University of Michigan Law School program named in that case but said, "There is no constitutional objection to the goal of considering race as one modest factor among many others to achieve diversity, but an educational institution must ensure, through sufficient procedures, that each applicant receives individual consideration and that race does not become a predominant factor in the admissions decision making."
Despite those words, Kennedy has never -- in his entire career on the bench -- voted in favor of racial preferences.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio


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Mentioned almost offhandedly in Gov. David Paterson's 90-minute edit board appearance in Rochester is the news that perhaps a few of the workers who received layoff notices might end up keeping their jobs — but only if their personal or family circumstances are especially dire. Or at least that's all we can construe from this exchange, which comes near the end of a discussion of Paterson's battles with state worker unions, culminating in the recent reductions:
P: I'm going to look at, over the holidays, maybe some of the more egregious situations, because we may have more savings that we thought. And perhaps people who were going to be put in very difficult situations, we might want to give them their jobs back.
Q: When you say a few, are you talking dozens, hundreds?
P: No, you know — I'm just saying special cases where people have diseases, or numbers of children that will go without health insurance, that kind of thing. They would be impacted more severely than — I mean, it's going to be a severe impact for anybody to lose their job, and I feel terrible about it. But I have to honestly ask all of you, what other choice did the public employee unions leave me?
"I don't even know how to respond to that, to tell you the truth," said CSEA spokesman Steve Madarasz, adding that the union has argued for months that layoffs are unnecessary and would exacerbate the effects of the state downturn.
We're seeking a fuller explanation from Paterson's office. Here's the full session; the bit above comes at the 30-minute mark:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
No. 20, Summer 2011: Japan
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text:
- San Fransisco, CA (map)
Status: Confirmed
Use the form on the right to contact us.
You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right.
Minneapolis, MN
Danielle Keller aka Lucid
Lucid is a full time illustrator by day, a webcomic artist by night, and a real life vampire by the in-between spaces of day and night. Her comics are queer with touch of magic realism. Mostly they're about boys kissing.
My con table will usually be listed as Lucky Juice, in association with my doujinshi circle.
Status: Confirmed


text:
The Commonwealth Bank's market capitalisation has risen above $100 billion for the first time as investors continue their chase for higher-yielding stocks.
The bank's shares rose to its highest-ever value - $63.24 - at the close of trading on Thursday, as the ASX200 reached a 19-month high and the market continued to rally following the US Congress' temporary aversion of the "fiscal cliff" crisis.
Shares were trading slightly lower at $63.15 at midday on Friday, with CBA's market capitalisation - the total dollar value of a company's shares - standing at $101 billion.
Analysts said the strength of Australian banks in a well-regulated environment, as well as the consistent positive earnings from CBA, were drawing investors towards the country's biggest bank and the world's 10th largest according to market capitalisation.
"People are comfortable with the fact that these are safe haven banks," Bell Potter Securities banking analyst TS Lim said.
"You get consistent cash flows coming out and very good risk-adjusted returns. You've seen a lot of banks blow up overseas but over here, it's been well run and well-regulated."
Mr Lim said Commonwealth Bank's attractiveness was boosted by its retail focus, which meant that it was not heavily involved in the more volatile parts of the industry.
"CBA has always had a positive trajectory. If you look at CBA's earnings in the last 10 years, it's been going up, compared to the other local and international banks that have dips here and there," he said.
Investors were also moving into firms with the most stable yields as interest rates declined, City Index chief market analyst Peter Esho said.
"The yield is franked, the income stream is quite resilient, and banks have managed to grow their earnings even in very challenging circumstances. Even at the current share prices, Commonwealth Bank is still yielding a franked dividend of around 5 to 5½ per cent."
Last month, Nobel laureate and leading US economist Robert Engle said Australian banks were well capitalised and could withstand another financial crisis.
Dr Engle, a professor of finance at New York University's Stern School of Business, said the world ''looks pretty rosy from Australia's point of view'' and that the liquidity measures used during the global financial crisis appeared to be effective.
Australia's big banks are still expected to face an extra level of monitoring. Rules are being drawn up that would force domestically important financial institutions to come under additional regulatory scrutiny by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Mr Esho said the big test for Australian companies would be during the corporate reporting season in late February and early March.
"It's going to be a very important season because the market has risen in anticipation of decent earnings numbers," he said.
Mr Esho said the biggest risk for Australian banks was an elevation in bad debt charges as the economy slows down, but added that he thought it would be an unlikely issue.
World's 10 top banks by market capitalisation (Bloomberg)
1. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - $229.18 billion
2. China Construction Bank - $199.42 billion
3. HSBC Holdings - $188.23 billion
4. Wells Fargo & Co - $174.86 billion
5. JPMorgan Chase - $161.90 billion
6. Agricultural Bank of China - $141.22 billion
7. Bank of China - $124.94 billion
8. Bank of America - $123.18 billion
9. Citigroup - $115.98 billion
10. Commonwealth Bank - $101.76 billion
11. Royal Bank of Canada - $84.83 billion
12. Westpac - $81.29 billion
13. Banco Santander - $81.14 billion
14. Toronto-Dominion Bank - $73.13 billion
15. Itau Unibanco - $72.76 billion


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Sunday, June 3, 2012
Break free. Go bold.
I mean, check out just a few of the projects that Jacquie and Katie created:
It's unique and, for the modern quilter especially, incredibly timely and useful.
25 comments:
- B Greene said...
Thanks for a peek inside the book - it looks like it is full of inspiration!
- June 3, 2012 at 12:26:00 PM CST
- Diann said...
Thanks for the review. The book sounds good.
- June 3, 2012 at 1:51:00 PM CST
- Marcia W. said...
Thanks for the photo journey and book review. The pillows look wonderful.
- June 3, 2012 at 2:11:00 PM CST
- Kelly O. said...
this book is going to be a keeper!
- June 3, 2012 at 2:20:00 PM CST
- Anya said...
The book looks fabulous!
- June 3, 2012 at 2:42:00 PM CST
- Tamie said...
I can't wait to "learn" how to work in the improv style. Thanks for participating in the celebration weekend.
- June 3, 2012 at 2:57:00 PM CST
- Amorette said...
love the colors on the tipsy city quilt! these look gorgeous.
- June 3, 2012 at 2:59:00 PM CST
- Esch House Quilts said...
I'm so excited about this book! I want to try each technique, one at a time :)
- June 3, 2012 at 4:33:00 PM CST
- dottieziegs said...
Can't wait to see this book for myself
- June 3, 2012 at 5:58:00 PM CST
- pink daisy said...
The more I see of this book. . . I think it will have to be in all my sewist friends gift boxes this year.
- June 3, 2012 at 6:27:00 PM CST
- SewLindaAnn said...
I've really enjoyed the blog tour on this one. The idea of becoming more "free" with my creating is really settling in with me.
- June 3, 2012 at 7:41:00 PM CST
- Kate said...
Ooh, love seeing more of the pictures. I must get this book!
- June 3, 2012 at 8:03:00 PM CST
- MariQuilts said...
I agree, this is a fabulous book!!
- June 3, 2012 at 9:25:00 PM CST
- JaneB said...
Thank you for showing the book pages. This looks really intriguing, I think I'll have to give it a try.
- June 3, 2012 at 10:24:00 PM CST
Thanks for hosting Malka!
- June 3, 2012 at 10:30:00 PM CST
- quiltzyx said...
Another book to add to my "Gotta Have It" list!
- June 3, 2012 at 10:58:00 PM CST
- Kristy @cottonaddiction said...
This party is making me drool! Love all of the inspiration!
- June 4, 2012 at 2:13:00 AM CST
- Steph said...
Great to see more beautiful projects from this inspiring book!
- June 4, 2012 at 5:42:00 AM CST
- Suzanne said...
Thank you for your thoughts on the new book.
- June 4, 2012 at 6:02:00 AM CST
- bookworm said...
Looks like a book for my Amazon wish list! I love the improv look.
- June 4, 2012 at 8:28:00 AM CST
- Katherine said...
There appears to be endless inspiration in this book and talk about quilty eye candy!
Thanks for your review, Malka. I definitely need to get this book!
- June 4, 2012 at 8:44:00 AM CST
- Kathryn said...
Thanks for the intro to what looks like an inspirational book.
- June 4, 2012 at 10:23:00 AM CST
- JaimeG said...
Malka, I love how you took your own photos of the book spreads. Always original. Thanks again for participating in our tour. It's been fun reading your blog and catching up on your adventures of late. --JG
- June 4, 2012 at 11:35:00 AM CST
Can hardly wait to see it in person!
- June 4, 2012 at 2:05:00 PM CST
- jacquie said...
Thanks for being a part of our weekend. You continue to be an inspiration!!
- June 5, 2012 at 6:06:00 AM CST


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123 Boul Frontenac Ouest, Thetford Mines, QC, Canada, G6G 7S7
Phone: (418) 338-0171 Fax: (418) 338-9252
Supports Green Practices
"Supports Green Initiatives" designates a hotel's participation in an optional environmental program that includes the use of energy-efficient lighting, guestroom towel/linen re-use, and on-premise recycling. "Supports Green Initiatives" does not represent an official certification of any kind.
Join free while you book
There is no catch. Join for free, and get access to exclusive perks!
Access to exclusive promotions and low, member-only pricing
10 points per dollar that add up fast... for free nights, gift cards or your dream getaway
Instant extra rewards for your weekday travel
Exclusive flexible rate for Choice Privileges members when you book direct at ChoiceHotels.ca or through the Choice Hotels Mobile App. Valid at most International and U.S. Choice Hotels locations. Must be or become a Choice Privileges member prior to making the booking. Discount rate is non-transferable or redeemable for cash, cannot be used for future stays or existing reservations and may not be combined with other promotions, offers or discounts. Unless otherwise stated, quoted rates are per room, per night, based on single/double occupancy and do not include taxes, gratuities or incidental charges. Early departure fees, deposit and cancellation restrictions may apply and will vary by hotel. Not valid at vacation rental properties.
This Comfort Inn® hotel is just minutes from popular area attractions, including Parc National de Frontenac, Cégep de Thetford, Mont Adstock and the Club de Golf et de Curling de Thetford Mines.
Thetford Mines is home to one of the largest open-pit asbestos mines in the world. At the Musée Mineralogique et Minier de Thetford Mines, visitors can learn about the history of this mining region. Mine tours are available.
For outdoor enthusiasts, downhill skiing and golf are a quick drive away. Guests will find restaurants and retail stores within walking distance of the hotel.
All spacious guest rooms come equipped with irons, ironing boards and 32 inch LCD television. In addition to standard amenities, some rooms include refrigerators. Our hotel is a 100% Smoke Free environment and is Pet Friendly.
This Thetford Mines hotel offers many premium amenities and features, including:
Whether you are traveling on business or pleasure, the Comfort Inn hotel is the perfect location in Thetford Mines. Come and stay with us a while, you'll be glad you did.
Check-In Time: 15:00 Check-Out Time: 12:00 Guest Rooms: 63


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Potential Locations
This page collects trip reports to view possible Noisebridge spaces.
- SettingUpViewings: Pointers on how to set up your own space viewing, with frequently asked landlord questions.
- QuestionsForTheSpace: This is a list of questions we may want to ask about any space we want to inhabit.
- InsuranceQuestions
- ThingsToMakeTheSpaceUsable
- ThingsWeWant
- ThingsWeHaveToGiveAway
Places to look include craigslist and Bill pointed out starboardnet.com hcmcommercial.com, loopnet.com, and sfarmls.com. Also look in windows of buildings as you pass by and take down "for rent" numbers. When you see a place that looks interesting, add it to the list of "places to set up viewings" below. If you have a minute and can schedule some time out of your day, pick up a place from the list and call the landlord to set up a viewing.
Space Specs
Here's a list in no particular order of the things we are looking for from a space. This describes an ideal space, not every space will be like this.
- $2000-$3000/month
- 1200+ square feet
- 24-hour access (ideally our own secured entrance)
- No neighbor complaints for access, music work, or other noise
- Safe neighborhood (see murder map, for example)
- Shower/bathroom
- San Francisco
- Near public transportation
- reasonable power and ventilation
Rating Spaces
When writing up a report of a space you've viewed, please include a section with a quantification of the above desirable features, either as a "yes or no" or on a scale of 1 to 10, like so:
- Size: 8 (2000 square feet)
- Private Entance: No
- 24/7 Access: Yes
- Privacy / Sound Isolation: 6 (single neighboring space, used days, shares *thin* interior walls)
- Safety of Neighborhood: 8
- Shower: No
- Bathroom: Yes
- Kitchen: No
- In San Francisco: Yes
- Transit Availability: 6 (short bus ride from BART)
- Power: 10 (in a PG&E Substation!)
- Connectivity: 8
Completed Viewings
December 2007:
17 January 2008:
We (Jake Appelbaum, Andy Isaacson, and David Molnar) went out to go look at an office space advertised on craigslist on Thursday that might be available for a permanent move-in soon. We actually ended up seeing two places. Here are some notes on the places plus pictures. These give some idea of what possible options are in addition to 40 Ringold. (Thanks again to Bill for letting us use 40 Ringold for meetings, etc. during this time!)
23 July 2008:
- Dimension 7 - 150 Folsom
29 July 2008:
- 880 Harrison @ 5th - 1803 sq. ft for ~$2500, http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/off/773536200.html (http://www.project880.com/suite_301.html); Contact: Craig Lipton 415-923-0916
- 185 Clara @ 5th - 1732 sq. ft for $2250, http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/off/773505313.html (http://www.project880.com/185clara.html)
Upcoming Viewings
Places to Set Up Viewings
This is a list of places where we may want to set up a viewing. Please add and update status as needed. (24 Sept 08 -- I( Steen) deleted the listings that were gone from craigslist which is why this list is now so thin)
- 984 Folsom @ 6th - 1000sq -- http://monkeybrains.net/ -- MonkeyBrains.net World HeadQuarters
- 10th and Harrison - http://www.foundersrealty.com/cgi-local/viewer.cgi?action=display_rentals_detail&id=565
The next few have pix Rachel took on the way to & from work, mostly on Folsom & Howard between 6th and 10th.
- 1234 Folsom - Ritchie: 982-7100, http://crazedweasels.com/1234_Folsom.jpg (on the right) - Rachel left message for Rourke O'Neill on 7-24
- 1122 Howard - Ritchie: 982-7100, http://crazedweasels.com/1122_Howard.jpg - Rachel left message for Rourke O'Neill on 7-24
- 1240? Folsom - TRI: 268-2218/2259, http://crazedweasels.com/1234_Folsom.jpg (on the left)
- Folsom between 7th & 8th - Pacific Union: 834-3555, http://crazedweasels.com/Chrome_bldg.jpg - LEASED 'just now'
- 3265 17th St @ Mission - 650-697-9639, http://crazedweasels.com/17th_and_Mission.jpg
- 2017 Mission @ 16th - 885-6970, http://crazedweasels.com/2017_Mission.jpg


text:
One of my favorites has always been Ambitious Card, it's a classic for a good reason. It can be as simple or as complex as you want, but it will always be amazing, especially if you get creative with it.
I also love transpositions, another of my favorites is Hand Sandwich, which was made famous by D Blaine, although I'm not sure if it was created by him. And as mentioned above, Angle Z by DM is an incredible effect. I also like Lapse, also by DM in his book Anthology, especially because it's impromptu.
This is unrelated, but the Out of This World plot was mentioned above and I was doing some research on it and found a wikipedia page dedicated to it. That's great and all, but what isn't great is that there's an entire section devoted to the method... This is incredibly disrespectful to the art form as a whole, but especially to the creators whose well-being may very well depend on the money they receive for these effects. I don't know if Wikipedia has revealed other tricks, but I feel like the magic community should stand up to do something about this. Perhaps start a petition, or something of the like.
Here's the link to the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of...d_(card_trick)


text: A regular meeting of the San Francisco Public Library Commission will be held as follows: Date: Thursday, May 20, 2004 Time: 4:00 PM Place: Koret Auditorium, Main Library, lower level The meeting will be called to order. 1. PUBLIC COMMENT (This item is to allow members of the public to comment generally on matters within the Commission's purview as well as to suggest new agenda items for the Library Commission's consideration.) 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - ACTION Presentation of, discussion of, and possible action to approve the Minutes of the regular Commission meeting of April 15, 2004. Explanatory documents: Minutes. 3. BOND PROGRAM MANAGER'S REPORT - DISCUSSION (This is a discussion item to allow the Branch Library Bond Program Manager to report on recent bond program related activities and make announcements.) This report will consist of an informational presentation: none regular reports: program budget and schedule; active projects; and community outreach; and special reports; Marina Branch update (PDF 136K); Western Addition Branch update (PDF 32K). Explanatory documents: current Budget Report (PDF 72K) and Branch Library Summary Schedules (PDF 151K) 4. NOE VALLEY BRANCH PEER REVIEW - DISCUSSION This item will be taken up time certain at 5:00 p.m. Presentation of and discussion of a peer review of proposed designs for the Noe Valley Branch Library. Explanatory document: Noe Valley/Sally Brunn Branch Library renovation FAQs (PDF 41K) 5. SUNSET BRANCH PEER REVIEW - DISCUSSION This item will be taken up immediately following the Noe Valley Branch Peer review Presentation of and discussion of a peer review of proposed designs for the Noe Sunset Branch Library. Explanatory document: Sunset Branch Library renovation FAQs (PDF 41K) 6. ADJOURNMENT - ACTION (requires motion and public comment) Presentation and discussion of a report concerning Library security issues. M. Housh, Secretary 5/14/04 Explanatory documents: Copies of listed explanatory documents are available as follows: (1) from the Commission Secretary/Custodian of Records, Main Library, 6th Floor, (2) in the rear of the Koret Auditorium immediately before and during the meeting, and (3)to the extent possible, on the Library's website at http://sfpl.org/. Additional materials not listed as explanatory documents on this agenda, if any, that are distributed to the Library Commissioners prior to or during the meeting in connection with any agenda item will be available to the public for inspection and copying in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.1 and Sunshine Ordinance §§ 67.9, 67.28(b)& 67.28(d).


text:
The year was 2005, and baseball was returning to DC after a 34-year absence. The team was named the Washington Nationals and they were going to call RFK Memorial Stadium home. As the District prepared for baseball, crews swarmed on RFK to begin the multi-million dollar refurbishment of the stadium to get it set for the new team.
One day in January 2005, while working on the outfield walls, crews found a large egg nestled underneath the stands. And this was no ordinary egg. It took a crew of ten men to carry the egg to safety behind homeplate. Zoologists came from throughout the world to examine the egg, hoping to determine what magnificent creature waited inside. Throughout it all, the Nationals kept the egg a secret.
Teams of zoologists cared for the egg day and night, awaiting the day it would finally hatch. But the cold weather of DC didn't help. The zoologists and the Washington Nationals players anxiously waited 'til Spring.
Finally, on a beautiful Spring day -- on April 17th, 2005 -- in front of a roaring home crowd at RFK, the egg began to move. Obviously ready to greet its team, the egg wandered into centerfield and began to tremble and crack. As stunned fans and nervous workers looked on, the egg slowly hatched, revealing the secret inside: A young (but enormous) eagle! The Nationals scrambled to name their newest fan - who wouldn't stop screeching about his favorite team.
And then it hit them: Screech, the Nationals eagle!
The team knew they had quite a bird to nurture. The players saw the pluck and energy that Screech had and welcomed him to RFK. So Screech now calls Nationals Park home, as he settled into a nice nest near the clubhouse.
And here he stays, an eager eagle, screeching on the home team at every Nationals game!
Screech is available to make appearances all over the DC area to make your event one to remember. Just email email@example.com to inquire about availability and invite Screech to your next birthday party, wedding reception, school activity, sporting event, or any other occasion!
To invite Screech to your next event, view the Screech Appearance Guidelines »


text: Thanks for considering us in your planning process. The first step is to complete this form. This will begin the process to review your needs and see if and we can assist. Please complete all of the information as accurately as possible so that we can respond in a timely manner.


text: We told you last week that Center City Comedy would be celebrating it's third anniversary of Thursday night open mics at the Raven Lounge with a special show that would bring together hosts from open mics all over the city, along with some of Philly's favorite comics. Well, it happened, and our friends at Super DPS were there to capture the action on video. Below are some clips from the night – and you can see more on Super DPS' Youtube Page.


text:
Data Center Management—Start Building Your Private Cloud Today
Microsoft System Center 2012 is a comprehensive IT infrastructure, virtualization, and cloud management platform. With System Center 2012, you can more easily and efficiently manage your applications and services across multiple hypervisors as well as across public and private cloud infrastructures to deliver flexible and cost-effective IT services for your business.
System Center 2012 provides a unified management toolset for your applications and services—enabling productive infrastructure, predictable applications, and cloud computing on your terms. Further, System Center 2012 offers deep application insight combined with a service-centric approach to ensure your applications run smoothly.
Client Management and Security—Unified Device Management
The boundaries between work and life have blurred, and people expect consistent access to corporate services from wherever they are, on any device they're using—desktops, notebooks, smartphones, and tablets.
Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection offer a single pane of glass to manage physical, virtual, and mobile clients and tools that help IT:


text:
Our conflict resolution courses and programs are the most comprehensive in Canada and are delivered in three locations across British Columbia, as well as Alberta, Yukon, and online.
If you would like to improve your ability to respond to conflict and contribute to building stronger organizations and communities, you will find a course or a certificate here to meet your needs.
Our programs are designed to help you communicate more effectively and to provide you with new skills and knowledge that will enhance your relationships within your workplace, family, and community. Most courses can be taken as part of a certificate or on an individual basis.
|View our latest program guide
|View our latest course dates
See what our students are saying.
Gillian Robbins, JIBC Graduate
Certificate in Conflict Resolution:
Specialization in Mediation/Third-Party Intervention
Last updated August 22, 2019


text:
AMD's Radeon HD 5870: Bringing About the Next Generation Of GPUsby Ryan Smith on September 23, 2009 9:00 AM EST
- Posted in
- GPUs
Lower Idle Power & Better Overcurrent Protection
One aspect AMD was specifically looking to improve in Cypress over RV770 was idle power usage. The load power usage for RV770 was fine at 160W for the HD4870, but that power usage wasn't dropping by a great deal when idle – it fell by less than half to 90W. Later BIOS revisions managed to knock a few more watts off of this, but it wasn't a significant change, and even later designs like RV790 still had limits to their idling abilities by only being able to go down to 60W at idle.
As a consequence, AMD went about designing the Cypress with a much, much lower target in mind. Their goal was to get idle power down to 30W, 1/3rd that of RV770. What they got was even better: they came in past that target by 10%, hitting a final idle power of 27W. As a result the Cypress can idle at 30% of the power as RV770, or as compared to Cypress's load power of 188W, some 14% of its load power.
Accomplishing this kind of dramatic reduction in idle power usage required several changes. Key among them has been the installation of additional power regulating circuitry on the board, and additional die space on Cypress assigned to power regulation. Notably, all of these changes were accomplished without the use of power-gating to shut down unused portions of the chip, something that's common on CPUs. Instead all of these changes have been achieved through more exhaustive clock-gating (that is, reducing power consumption by reducing clock speeds), something GPUs have been doing for some time now.
The use of clock-gating is quickly evident when we discuss the idle/2D clock speeds of the 5870, which is 150mhz for the core, and 300mhz for the memory . The idle clock speeds here are significantly lower than the 4870 (550/900), which in the case of the core is the source of its power savings as compared to the 4870. As tweakers who have attempted to manually reduce the idle clocks on RV770 based cards for further power savings have noticed, RV770 actually loses stability in most situations if its core clock drops too low. With the Cypress this has been rectified, enabling it to hit these lower core speeds.
Even bigger however are the enhancements to Cypress's memory controller, which allow it to utilize a number of power-saving tricks with GDDR5 RAM, along with other features that we'll get to in a bit. With RV770's memory controller, it was not capable of taking advantage of very many of GDDR5's advanced features besides the higher bandwidth abilities. Lacking this full bag of tricks, RV770 and its derivatives were unable to reduce the memory clock speed, which is why the 4870 and other products had such high memory clock speeds even at idle. In turn this limited the reduction in power consumption attained by idling GDDR5 modules.
With Cypress AMD has implemented nearly the entire suite of GDDR5's power saving features, allowing them to reduce the power usage of the memory controller and the GDDR5 modules themselves. As with the improvements to the core clock, key among the improvement in memory power usage is the ability to go to much lower memory clock speeds, using fast GDDR5 link re-training to quickly switch the memory clock speed and voltage without inducing glitches. AMD is also now using GDDR5's low power strobe mode, which in turn allows the memory controller to save power by turning off the clock data recovery mechanism. When discussing the matter with AMD, they compared these changes to putting the memory modules and memory controller into a GDDR3-like mode, which is a fair description of how GDDR5 behaves when its high-speed features are not enabled.
Finally, AMD was able to find yet more power savings for Crossfire configurations, and as a result the slave card(s) in a Crossfire configuration can use even less power. The value given to us for an idling slave card is 20W, which is a product of the fact that the slave cards go completely unused when the system is idling. In this state slave cards are still capable of instantaneously ramping up for full-load use, although conceivably AMD could go even lower still by powering down the slave cards entirely at a cost of this ability.
On the opposite side of the ability to achieve such low idle power usage is the need to manage load power usage, which was also overhauled for the Cypress. As a reminder, TDP is not an absolute maximum, rather it's a maximum based on what's believed to be the highest reasonable load the card will ever experience. As a result it's possible in extreme circumstances for the card to need power beyond what its TDP is rated for, which is a problem.
That problem reared its head a lot for the RV770 in particular, with the rise in popularity of stress testing programs like FurMark and OCCT. Although stress testers on the CPU side are nothing new, FurMark and OCCT heralded a new generation of GPU stress testers that were extremely effective in generating a maximum load. Unfortunately for RV770, the maximum possible load and the TDP are pretty far apart, which becomes a problem since the VRMs used in a card only need to be spec'd to meet the TDP of a card plus some safety room. They don't need to be able to meet whatever the true maximum load of a card can be, as it should never happen.
Why is this? AMD believes that the instruction streams generated by OCCT and FurMark are entirely unrealistic. They try to hit everything at once, and this is something that they don't believe a game or even a GPGPU application would ever do. For this reason these programs are held in low regard by AMD, and in our discussions with them they referred to them as "power viruses", a term that's normally associated with malware. We don't agree with the terminology, but in our testing we can't disagree with AMD about the realism of their load – we can't find anything that generates the same kind of loads as OCCT and FurMark.
Regardless of what AMD wants to call these stress testers, there was a real problem when they were run on RV770. The overcurrent situation they created was too much for the VRMs on many cards, and as a failsafe these cards would shut down to protect the VRMs. At a user level shutting down like this isn't a very helpful failsafe mode. At a hardware level shutting down like this isn't enough to protect the VRMs in all situations. Ultimately these programs were capable of permanently damaging RV770 cards, and AMD needed to do something about it. For RV770 they could use the drivers to throttle these programs; until Catalyst 9.8 they detected the program by name, and since 9.8 they detect the ratio of texture to ALU instructions (Ed: We're told NVIDIA throttles similarly, but we don't have a good control for testing this statement). This keeps RV770 safe, but it wasn't good enough. It's a hardware problem, the solution needs to be in hardware, particularly if anyone really did write a power virus in the future that the drivers couldn't stop, in an attempt to break cards on a wide scale.
This brings us to Cypress. For Cypress, AMD has implemented a hardware solution to the VRM problem, by dedicating a very small portion of Cypress's die to a monitoring chip. In this case the job of the monitor is to continually monitor the VRMs for dangerous conditions. Should the VRMs end up in a critical state, the monitor will immediately throttle back the card by one PowerPlay level. The card will continue operating at this level until the VRMs are back to safe levels, at which point the monitor will allow the card to go back to the requested performance level. In the case of a stressful program, this can continue to go back and forth as the VRMs permit.
By implementing this at the hardware level, Cypress cards are fully protected against all possible overcurrent situations, so that it's not possible for any program (OCCT, FurMark, or otherwise) to damage the hardware by generating too high of a load. This also means that the protections at the driver level are not needed, and we've confirmed with AMD that the 5870 is allowed to run to the point where it maxes out or where overcurrent protection kicks in.
On that note, because card manufacturers can use different VRMs, it's very likely that we're going to see some separation in performance on FurMark and OCCT based on the quality of the VRMs. The cheapest cards with the cheapest VRMs will need to throttle the most, while luxury cards with better VRMs would need to throttle little, if at all. This should make little difference in stock performance on real games and applications (since as we covered earlier, we can't find anything that pushes a card to excess) but it will likely make itself apparent in overclocking. Overclocked cards - particularly those with voltage modifications – may hit throttle situations in normal applications, which means the VRMs will make a difference here. It also means that overclockers need to keep an eye on clock speeds, as the card shutting down is no longer a tell-tale sign that you're pushing it too hard.
Finally, while we're discussing the monitoring chip, we may as well talk about the rest of its features. Along with monitoring the GPU, it also is a PWM controller. This means that the PWM controller is no longer a separate part that card builders add themselves, and as such we won't be seeing any cards using a 2pin fixed speed fan to save money on the PWM controller. All Cypress cards (and presumably, all derivatives) will have the ability to use a 4pin fan built-in.
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mapesdhs - Saturday, September 26, 2009 - link
MODel3 writes:
> 1.Geometry/vertex performance issues ...
> 2.Geometry/vertex shading performance issues ...
Would perhaps some of the subtests in 3DMark06 be able to test this?
(not sure about Vantage, never used that yet) Though given what Jarred
said about the bandwidth and other differences, I suppose it's possible
to observe large differences in synthetic tests which are not the real
cause of a performance disparity.
The trouble with heavy GE tests is, they often end up loading the fill
rates anyway. I've run into this problem with the SGI tests I've done
over the years:
The larger landscape models used in the Inventor tests are a good
example. The points models worked better in this regard for testing
GE speed (stars3/star4), but I don't know to what extent modern PC
gfx is designed to handle points modelling - probably works better
on pro cards. Actually, Inventor wasn't a good choice anyway as it's
badly CPU-bound and API-heavy (I should have used Performer, gives
results 5 to 10X faster).
Anyway, point is, synthetic tests might allow one to infer that one
aspect of the gfx pipeline is a bottleneck when infact it isn't.
Ages ago I emailed NVIDIA (Ujesh, who I used to know many moons ago,
but alas he didn't reply) asking when, if ever, they would add
performance counters and other feedback monitors to their gfx
products so that applications could tell what was going on in the
gfx pipeline. SGI did this ages years ago, which allowed systems like
IR to support impressive functions such as Dynamic Video Resizing by
being able to monitor frame by frame what was going on within the gfx
engine at each stage. Try loading any 3D model into perfly, press F1
and click on 'Gfx' in the panel (Linux systems can run Performer), eg.:
Given how complex modern PC gfx has become, it's always been a
mystery to me why such functions haven't been included long ago.
Indeed, for all that Crysis looks amazing, I was never that keen on
it being used as a benchmark since there was no way of knowing
whether the performance hammering it created was due to a genuinely
complex environment or just an inefficient gfx engine. There's still
no way to be sure.
If we knew what was happening inside the gfx system, we could easily
work out why performance differences for different apps/games crop
up the way they do. And I would have thought that feedback monitors
within the gfx pipe would be even more useful to those using
professional applications, just as it was for coders working on SGI
hardware in years past.
Come to think of it, how do NVIDIA/ATI even design these things
without being able to monitor what's going on? Jarred, have you ever
asked either company about this?
JarredWalton - Saturday, September 26, 2009 - linkI haven't personally, since I'm not really the GPU reviewer here. I'd assume most of their design comes from modeling what's happening, and with knowledge of their architecture they probably have utilities that help them debug stuff and figure out where stalls and bottlenecks are occurring. Or maybe they don't? I figure we don't really have this sort of detail for CPUs either, because we have tools that know the pipeline and architecture and they can model how the software performs without any hardware feedback. Reply
MODEL3 - Thursday, October 01, 2009 - linkI checked the web for synthetic geometry tests.
Sadly i only found 3dMark Vantage tests.
You can't tell much from them, but they are indicative.
GPU Cloth: 5870 is only 1,2X faster than 4890. (vertex/geometry shading test)
GPU Particles: 5870 is only 1,2X faster than 4890. (vertex/geometry shading test)
Perlin Noise: 5870 is 2,5X faster than 4890. (Math-heavy Pixel Shader test)
Parallax Occlusion Mapping: 5870 is 2,1X faster than 4890. (Complex Pixel Shader test)
All the above 4 tests are not bandwidth limited at all.
Just for example, if you check:
You will see that a 750MHz 4870 512MB is 20-23% faster than a 625MHz 4850 in all the above 4 tests, so the extra bandwidth (115,2GB/s vs 64GB/s) it doesn't help at all.
But 4850 is extremely bandwidth limited in the color fillrate test (4870 is 60% faster than 4850)
Also it shouldn't be a problem of the dual rasterizer/dual SIMDs engine efficiency since synthetic Pixel Shader tests is fine (more than 2X) while the synthetic geometry shading tests is only 1,2X.
My guess is ATI didn't improve the classic geometry set-up engine and the GS because they want to promote vertex/geometry techniques based on the DX11 tesselator from now on.
Zool - Friday, September 25, 2009 - linkIn Dx11 the fixed tesselation units will do much finer geometry details for much less memmory space and on chip so i think there isnt a single problem with that. Also the compute shader need minimal memory bandwith and can utilize plenty of idle shaders. The card is designed with dx11 in mind and it isnt using the wholle pipeline after all. I wouldnt make too early conclusions.(I think the perfomance will be much better after few drivers)
MODEL3 - Saturday, September 26, 2009 - linkThe DX11 tesselator in order to be utilized must the game engine to take advantage of it.
I am not talking about the tesselator.
I am talking about the classic Geometry unit (DX9/DX10 engines) and the Geometry Shader [GS] (DX10 engines only).
I'll check to see if i can find a tech site that has synthetic bench for Geometry related perf. and i will post again tomorrow, if i can find anything.
JarredWalton - Friday, September 25, 2009 - linkIt's worth noting that when you factor in clock speeds, compared to the 5870 the 4870X2 offers 88% of the core performance and 50% more bandwidth. Some algorithms/games require more bandwidth and others need more core performance, but it's usually a combination of the two. The X2 also has CrossFire inefficiencies to deal with.
More interesting perhaps is that the GTX 295 offers (by my estimates, which admittedly are off in some areas) roughly 10% more GPU shader performance, about 18.5% more fill rate, and 46% more bandwidth than the HD 5870. The fact that the HD 4870 is still competitive is a good sign that ATI is getting good use of their 5 SPs per Stream Processor design, and that they are not memory bandwidth limited -- at least not entirely. Reply
SiliconDoc - Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - linkThe 4870x2 has somewhere around "double the data paths" in and out of it's 2 cpu's. So what you have with the 5870 putting as some have characterized " 2x 770 cores melded into one " is DOUBLE THE BOTTLENECK in and out of the core.
They tried to compensate with ddr5 1200/4800 - but the fact remains, they only get so much with that "NOT ENOUGH DATA PATHS/PINS in and out of that gpu core."
cactusdog - Friday, September 25, 2009 - linkOmg these cards look great. Lol Silicon Doc is so gutted and furious he is making hmself look like a dam fool again only this time he should be on suicide watch...Nvidia cards are now obsolete..LOL. Reply
mapesdhs - Friday, September 25, 2009 - link
Hehe, indeed. Have you ever seen a scifi series called, "They Came
From Somewhere Else?" S.D.'s getting so worked up, reminds me of
the scene where the guy's head explodes. :D
Hmm, that's an alternative approach I suppose in place of post
moderation. Just get someone so worked up about something they'll
have an aneurism and pop their clogs... in which case, I'll hand
it back to Jarred. *grin*
SiliconDoc - Friday, September 25, 2009 - linkThat is quite all right, you fellas make sure to read it all, I am more than happy that the truth is sinking into your gourds, you won't be able to shake it.
I am very happy about it. Reply


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Smartphone OS maker Symbian appears to be suffering a growth slowdown a bit more than some of its competitors. The company reported in its quarterly results today that it had sold 19.6 million units during the second quarter of 2008, reflecting a mere 5 percent growth over the same quarter in 2007. Comparatively, Symbian's first quarter growth rate was 16.5 percent year-over-year, although the latest drop may only be temporary as Symbian's business strategy changes and handset makers launch new devices.
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CHESTER, Pa. – US manager Bob Bradley experimented with a more attack-minded 4-3-3 formation, but it brought very few scoring opportunities as the US settled for a 0-0 tie against Colombia at PPL Park on Tuesday night.
The match marked the first US cap for FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea, who lined up on the left wing of Bradley's new formation. After playing at center back against Poland last Saturday, Maurice Edu returned to his more familiar central midfield role alongside Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones, who was making his second appearance for the US.
It was a first half of very few opportunities on either side, with the US failing to create meaningful scoring chances in attack while Colombia were content to wait for a turnover to launch their counterattack.
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Colombia had the best chance of the first half after only four minutes. A giveaway by the US midfield allowed los Cafeteros to launch a breakaway and enter the US penalty area. Radamel Falcao's first shot was blocked by a US defender and Giovanni Moreno followed up with a shot off the rebound, which US goalkeeper Brad Guzan saved from the ground.
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Of note was a play in the 73rd minute in which a free kick found Altidore in an offside position, nullifying his cross to Bradley, who deposited the ball into the back of the net.
In his first appearance for the US senior team, Shea was closed down effectively by Colombia right back Camilo Zúñiga and was rarely a threat before coming out at halftime. Right back Eric Lichaj, who was the most active of the fullbacks of the night with his forays into the attack, also got his first appearance in a US jersey.
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The US return to action on Nov. 17 in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup, when the Red, White and Blue take on South Africa in Cape Town (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
USA (4-3-3 / left to right): #18 Brad Guzan; #14 Heath Pearce, #21 Clarence Goodson, #5 Oguchi Onyewu (capt.) (46' #16 Michael Parkhurst), #2 Jonathan Spector (46' #13 Eric Lichaj); #19 Maurice Edu (46' #9 Eddie Johnson), #15 Jermaine Jones, #4 Michael Bradley; #23 Brek Shea (46' #8 Clint Dempsey), #17 Jozy Altidore, #11 Stuart Holden (59' #22 Benny Feilhaber)
Subs Not Used: #1 Tim Howard, #7 Alejandro Bedoya
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
COLOMBIA (4-4-2 / left to right): #22 Faryd Mondragón; #6 Juan David Valencia, #3 Mario Yepes (capt.), #2 Aquivaldo Mosquera, #18 Camilo Zúñiga; #8 Victor Ibarbo (63' #4 Juan G. Cuadrado), #21 John Javier Restrepo, #15 Jhon Viáfara (63' #19 Jhon Valencia), #20 Adrián Ramos (73' #11 Teófilo Gutiérrez); #10 Giovanni Moreno (80' #7 Pablo Armero), #9 Radamel Falcao (56' #17 Darwin Quintero)
Subs Not Used: #1 David Ospina, #12 Bréiner Castillo, #14 Luis Amaranto Perea
Head Coach: Hernán Darío Gómez
Scoring Summary:
Misconduct Summary:
COL – Adrian Ramos (caution) 72
USA – Jermaine Jones (caution) 75
USA – Jozy Altidore (caution) 90
COL – John Restrepo (caution) 91+
Referee: Roberto Garcia (Mexico)
Assistant Referees: Joel Rangel (Mexico), Marcos Quintero (Mexico)
Fourth Official: Brian Dunn (USA)
Attendance: 8,823
Weather: Clear, 65 degrees


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Find out more about our alternative hearses survey.
We will always try to accommodate any requests for alternative hearses – you'd be surprised about what we can arrange for you!
Alternative hearses are a fantastic way to create a unique tribute to celebrate a loved one's life. Our Land Rover hearse, Rainbow hearse and Poppy hearse are popular choices that we have available in our fleet.
Funeral procession
The traditional funeral procession is still popular but is becoming more personalised as families are choosing the route the funeral procession takes.
If you're driving behind the hearse as part of the funeral procession, turn on your headlights and keep a close but safe distance to the car in front, allowing adequate braking distance.
To help keep the procession together, we can provide cortege markers and flags for the vehicles following the procession to alert other motorists.
If you're using satellite navigation, please note that the route we use may not be exactly the same one as shown on the satellite navigation system.
Speak to your local Funeral Director about what we can do for you. Find their contact details here.
Here to help
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to give us a call, we are here to help and support you.
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or Contact us
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You can buy a Set Funeral Plan online, in one of our funeral homes or by calling us free on 0800 088 4872.Purchase a Set Funeral Plan


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Download this project
- Solid black and solid pink scraps
Finished block: 14" square
Cut the Fabrics
From solid black, cut:
- 8—2-7⁄8" squares, cutting each in half diagonally for a total of 16 triangles
- 4—2-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles
- 4—2-1⁄2" squares
From solid pink, cut:
- 4—4-1⁄2" squares
- 8—2-7⁄8" squares, cutting each in half diagonally for a total of 16 triangles
- 1—2-1⁄2" square
Assemble the Block
1. Sew together a solid pink triangle and a solid black triangle to make a triangle-square (Diagram 1). Press the seam allowance toward the black triangle. Repeat to make a total of 16 triangle-squares.
2. Join two triangle-squares into a pair. Add the pair to one side of a solid pink 4-1⁄2" square (Diagram 2). Then join two triangle-squares and a solid black 2-1⁄2" square to make a unit. Press the seam allowances in one direction. Then add the unit to the adjacent edge of the solid pink square to make a paw unit. Press the seam allowance toward the pink square. The pieced paw unit should measure 6-1⁄2" square, including the seam allowances. Repeat to make a total of four paw units.
3. Lay out the four paw units, the solid pink 2-1⁄2" square, and four solid black 2-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles in three horizontal rows (Diagram 3). Sew together the units in each row. Press the seam allowances toward the solid black 2-1⁄2×6-1⁄2" rectangles. Then join the rows to make a block (Block Assembly Diagram). Press the seam allowances toward the center row.


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Ocean Backpackers
Ocean Backpackers is a homely hostel with a laid back atmosphere and no curfew.
Availability & RatesTo view availability and prices please select dates and click 'Update Dates'
Hostel Facilities & Policies
- Bicycle parking
- Board Games
- Breakfast Not Included
- Common Room
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Free Parking
- Free WiFi
- Internet Access
- Self-Catering Facilities
- Linen Included
- Luggage Storage
- No Curfew
- Outdoor Terrace
- Parking
- Playstation
- Tea & Coffee Making Facilities
- Towels For Hire
- Wi-Fi
Cancellation PolicyThis property has a 1 day cancellation policy. Failure to cancel within this time will result in a cancellation charge equal to the first night of your stay.
DirectionsShow MapHide Map
Main routes by car: -
From London. Take the M4 until you reach Bristol. Take the M5 and head South. At junction 27 take the A361 signposted Barnstaple. Stay on the A361 until you reach Barnstaple and follow the signs to Ilfracombe.
From the West: -
Take the A39 up to Barnstaple and then follow signs to Ilfracombe.
From Exeter: -
Take the M5 or the A37 to Barnstaple and then follow the signs.
Once in Ilfracombe: -
At the roundabout at Mullacott Cross (Restaurant/Caravan site 'Cooks Island') go straight across and descend the hill into the town. At the first set of traffic lights (DIY shop on corner) turn left, drive for 1km past the Landmark Theater (two domes) and continue onto a one way street. We are the big blue building just past the church on the right. There is parking for 6 cars at the rear of the Hostel.
By Coach: -
National Express Coaches arrive at Ilfracombe's main bus station just opposite Ocean Backpackers Hostel From London Victoria, Heathrow, Birmingham and Taunton
By Train: -
Trains connect from across the country with Exeter. From Exeter hop on the scenic Tarka line railway to Barnstaple and then take a regular local bus to Ilfracombe. (main bus station). When you arrive look out for a gravel driveway next to the church, this is our car park at the rear of the building


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Moderator: The Slider
The Slider wrote:As others have stated, cheating is a concept that is completely arbitrary so it can only be relative to your expectations. To add though, this depends on not just her expectations but also yours. If you form the opinion that this is not cheating, then you would also conclude that if your spouse disagrees and believes it is in fact cheating, she is incorrect and probably not the right person for you.
Slim Kracka wrote:It is cheating regardless of what kind of religion you believe in unless it is noted that you are infact both okay with it and both parties are fine with it.
Sephiroth9611 wrote:Slim Kracka wrote:It is cheating regardless of what kind of religion you believe in unless it is noted that you are infact both okay with it and both parties are fine with it.
So are you saying that as long as Christian Boy X and Christian Girl Y agree cheating is okay, then religion doesn't count in the equation? In other words, religion for you is a personal philosophy rather than being Absolute Truth until Itself?
Cloud Strife wrote:My outlook is cheating is wrong however you cut it.
Cloud Strife wrote:I won't agree and say cheating is okay because like you I prefer her vaginal walls are mine and whatnot if we are dating.
Cloud Strife wrote:The thing becomes who am I say what is personal philosophy or absolute truth.
Cloud Strife wrote:Personally, it's none of my business what other people do or think.
Cloud Strife wrote:Again if both parties think it is okay and they are okay with said circumstances then to me that is their business.
Cloud Strife wrote:I do believe in karma and it's ways do in fact create waves. To you it may count in the equation but to someone else it may not.
Cloud Strife wrote:Cheating is wrong. I just refuse to tell someone they are wrong because religion said so. It kinda like someone forcing there beliefs down your throat in my eyes.
So you are denying even the existence of a natural law? What if those people are hurting other people?
So you are saying that you believe in something, but deny that it has any purpose? If you believe in karma does what we normally think of when we think of karma, then you must think it exists and does what it does regardless of whether someone else counts in the equation. Do you believe that these waves affect other people regardless of if they believe in them?
If a child reaches out to touch a hot pan, would you prevent the child from doing so in order to prevent the child from being burned? Why would you do this?
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Be it at home or on the road: enrich your life with more relaxation and well-being! Enjoy the special moments of well-being that exclusive magnetic jewellery by ENERGETIX along with many other accessories that possess integrated magnets can give you! Test it yourself and let the jewellery and accessories develop their effect on you. Be it a water rod with a pretty motif or the MagnetMassage tool in the unusual design. The products are both decorative and useful.
The MagnetHeart that is also known as the Power Heart is one of our most popular articles. Like the MagnetStrip, it may be worn almost anywhere on the body. The products are also available in a copper version. Both the MagnetHeart and MagnetStrip each possess a magnetic force of 0.22 tesla. This means that both of these articles are power magnets. MagnetHeart MagnetStrip
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FILM CLIPS / Also Opening Today
'Brooklyn Rules' Drama. Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Scott Caan, Jerry Ferrara and Alec Baldwin. Directed by Michael Corrente. (R. 99 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.)
Capturing Manhattan's essence is easy. But capturing life inside provincial New York City -- that is, the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island -- is something that eludes most filmmakers. They get the accents wrong. They condescend to the characters. Even when they get the accents right, they get the attitude wrong. Scorsese, of course, knows this turf, and so does Edward Burns. And now add "Brooklyn Rules" to the short list of movies that get it right.
The more you know, the more you'll appreciate "Brooklyn Rules." For example, take this early scene, in which the neighborhood mafia captain -- perfectly played by Alec Baldwin -- takes a liking to a little boy and asks his name. "Carmine Mancuso," the kid answers. To which the mobster replies, "Is your mother Italian?"
An outsider watching that scene might be puzzled by the mobster's response. If his name is Mancuso, his father is Italian, so why mention the mother? The movie never explains his reason, but here it is: He wants to know if the kid is 100 percent Italian. If he is, he might have a mafia career someday. If he isn't, he can never become a made guy.
Directed by Michael Corrente and written by longtime "Sopranos" writer Terence Winter, "Brooklyn Rules" tells the story of three pals in their early 20s, living in Bay Ridge in 1985. Why 1985? Again, the movie leaves it to the audience to figure out. But setting a movie in Bay Ridge, 1985, is a little like setting a movie in the United States in 1963. Everyone knows the earth-shaking event that happened later that year. In 1963, it was the JFK assassination. And in 1985 -- on Dec. 16, 1985, to be exact -- Gambino family boss Paul Castellano was gunned down by John Gotti's men outside a steakhouse.
"Brooklyn Rules" is not about the mob war that followed. Throughout, the perspective remains that of three young men, who happen to have grown up in an Italian American neighborhood. Only one of them, Carmine (Scott Caan), is mob connected at all, and even then, only in a minor way. Michael (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is going to Columbia and taking pre-law classes, and Bobby (Jerry Ferrara) is studying for the post office test. Yet, the mob ethos is everywhere: in the men's understanding of masculinity, in their conception of fair play and in their approach to getting on in the world. And when the gang war starts, the reverberations have an impact on their lives.
Michael is the protagonist, but the picture juggles the stories of all three guys, and that leads to some clumsy storytelling here and there, though for no more than a minute or two at a time. In all the important ways, the movie succeeds. It never leaves us in doubt that these guys are friends, or that they're from Brooklyn. It's not just that they pronounce words with a Brooklyn inflection. More significantly, they find that odd combination of naivete and aggression, of hostility and diffidence, that's at the root of (and informs) the Brooklyn way of talking.
Prinze, who starred in every bad teen comedy at the start of his career, finally gets a role to live up to, and he does that and more. He plays especially well off of Caan, who for the first time demonstrates a charismatic and commanding presence. As the mob captain, Baldwin makes the right choices. He knows better not to play up being scary. Everybody else is scared of him -- and that makes him scary.
Most people don't know what it's like to sit in a bar and have a local mobster walk in. Here's what happens. People don't get excited. They get terrified. They look down at their drinks and don't look up, afraid to make eye contact. They start calculating what might be a safe interval after which it would be OK to leave. They know if they offend the guy -- even by accident -- they'll end up sleeping with the fishes.
Winter knows exactly what that's like. That mood and point of view are all over "Brooklyn Rules" -- an entertaining film that's true to its world.
-- Advisory: Violence and strong language.
-- Mick LaSalle
'Ten Canoes' Drama. Starring Peter Minygululu, Jamie Gulpilil and David Gulpilil. Directed by Rolf de Heer. (In Ganalbingu with English subtitles and in English. Not rated 90 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.)
Americans' familiarity with Aboriginal culture is mostly limited to its so-called dream paintings. "Ten Canoes," which won the Australian Academy Award for best film, offers another way into these complex indigenous people, through storytelling as haunting as their artwork.
This highly unusual and captivating movie unfolds in two different time frames -- one a thousand years ago and the other further back still. It sounds confusing, especially because the same actor appears in both segments; but you always know where you are because the first story is shot in black and white, the far older one in vibrant color.
There's a moral message -- a variation on the ninth commandment tweaked to thou shall not covet thy brother's wife. But so much else is going on that "Ten Canoes" never feels preachy. And there's an odd comfort in the realization that people have had lust in their heart for as long as they've been around. While a narrator keeps reminding us in English (used in combination with subtitled translations of Ganalbingu, an indigenous language) that this is "our story not your story" the feelings and jealously portrayed will seem familiar, giving "Ten Canoes" a universal appeal.
In opening scenes, tribal men gather bark to make canoes so they can go off on a seasonal goose-egg hunt. Group leader Minygululu (Peter Minygululu, an artist who, like many in the cast, is making his acting debut) becomes aware that his much younger bachelor brother, Dayindi (Jamie Gulpilil), has become enamored with Minygululu's third, and most attractive, wife. Instead of forbidding a liaison, he tells his young sibling an ancient story about a man with three wives and a brother who is sexually attracted to one of them. The English narration is done by David Gulpilil, who played the lead in "Walkabout," and his son, Jamie Gulpilil, appears as both young men. He makes their longing for the forbidden palpable.
The tale unfolds in installments -- a sort of "As the Ancient World Turns" -- continuing through the entire process of the canoemaking and hunt. The audience is drawn in by this film within the film, which entices with scenes of sorcery and revenge.
Australian writer-director Rolf de Heer is an extremely visual filmmaker, and his images stay with you. "Ten Canoes' " authenticity is guaranteed by a close collaboration with the Aboriginal community. I can't remember a "canoeist" ever being listed on film credits before.
-- Advisory: Some sexuality.
-- Ruthe Stein
'Vitus' Drama. Starring Teo Gheorghiu, Bruno Ganz and Fabrizio Borsani. Directed by Fredi Murer. In Swiss German with English subtitles and in English. (PG. 120 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.)
Are all child prodigies insufferable, unhinged or diabolical? It sometimes seems so from their portrayals in "Amadeus," "Shine" and "The Omen," and that's just the short list.
The Swiss film "Vitus" takes a different tack. Its title character is a prodigy who grows to resent his genius genes and yearns to be normal.
Arriving in this country with a PG rating and the label "family drama," "Vitus" is likable enough and definitely suitable entertainment for young people willing to read subtitles. But director Fredi Murer strains too hard for it to be something more, a magical opus about childhood and taking flight, in this instance literally and figuratively. You wind up feeling manipulated instead of emotionally moved.
At age 6, Vitus (Fabrizio Borsani) is discovered to have a preternatural ability at the piano -- he plays Schumann as if it were "Chopsticks" -- and can run rings around his fellow kindergarteners. Hearing about global warning, he lectures them on the dangers, sounding like a pint-size Al Gore.
These early scenes are the best because of Borsani. He's that rare child actor who's adorable without being ingratiating. He never seems to be playing to the camera. So Vitus wins you over even at his most obnoxious. The only person he doesn't feel a need to show off for is his free-spirited grandfather (the versatile Bruno Ganz, a chilling Hitler in "Downfall"). Together, they fantasize about becoming pilots.
The film becomes far less interesting when Teo Gheorghiu steps into the role of an adolescent Vitus. A real-life piano prodigy, he dazzles at the ivories but is stiff when called upon to emote. The script becomes increasingly less plausible. Vitus is not revealed to be the Antichrist but something nearly as silly.
-- Ruthe Stein


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Bullpen can't finish job after Lester exits vs. Rays
ST. PETERSBURG -- For most of his time as a setup man for the Red Sox, Junichi Tazawa has been a picture of dependability, backed by his ability to pound the strike zone.
But the righty picked an inopportune to have an off night on Friday at Tropicana Field, and the reeling Red Sox paid the price with a 6-4 loss to the Rays in the opener of a three-game series.View Full Game Coverage
ST. PETERSBURG -- For most of his time as a setup man for the Red Sox, Junichi Tazawa has been a picture of dependability, backed by his ability to pound the strike zone.
But the righty picked an inopportune to have an off night on Friday at Tropicana Field, and the reeling Red Sox paid the price with a 6-4 loss to the Rays in the opener of a three-game series.View Full Game Coverage
After providing some hope by reeling off eight wins in nine games, Boston has lost four in a row and is risking the possibility of falling out of any kind of realistic contention before Thursday's July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline.
"It's crazy," said designated hitter David Ortiz. "Hopefully it gets better."
Tazawa has clearly had better nights than this one.
"Uncharacteristic with him misfiring as much as he did," said manager John Farrell. "It was just off the edge on a number of pitches. It's not typical that you see him walk a couple of guys in a given inning."
Ace lefty Jon Lester gave the Red Sox what they've come to expect, holding the Rays to two runs while walking one and striking out seven over six innings. He left with a 3-2 lead against David Price in a compelling duel.
Andrew Miller hit Jose Molina to open the seventh inning. After Miller struck out Logan Forsythe, he was removed in favor of Tazawa.
But Tazawa didn't have it. He walked Desmond Jennings and then gave up a line single to Ben Zobrist that Jonny Gomes bobbled, allowing pinch-runner Cole Figueroa to score from second.
Up stepped Longoria, who hammered a 2-2 curveball into the corner in left for a three-run double that put the Rays back in front at 6-3.
"Battle mode," Longoria said of the at-bat. "He's tough. And he's been tough against me, so it was really just trying to get something I could handle, and he'd thrown a breaking ball earlier in the count that was way out of the zone. And I didn't think that he was going to come back to that. I thought he would stay with the split or something hard away. So, I just had my foot down early and it was a breaking ball across the middle of the plate."
Heading into that at-bat, Longoria was 0-for-8 with three strikeouts against Tazawa.
"He's certainly a good hitter," said Tazawa. "He hit my curveball that I don't use that often. He sort of scooped it. I probably should have located that a little lower, but he's certainly a very good hitter."
Tazawa, who has struggled mightily throughout his career against the Blue Jays, did not pitch in Boston's four-game series in Toronto that preceded the trip to Tropicana Field.
"He threw on the side up in Toronto, we gave him a couple of days down, not because of any health reasons, just felt like it was a chance to give him some added rest in this series, and like I said, between he and Andrew, a very uncharacteristic seventh inning," said Farrell.
It was another tough loss for the Red Sox, particularly when you consider that they battled Price well enough to have the lead through six.
"I felt good," said Lester. "We made David work pretty hard, but he was able to get a lot more early count outs than I was tonight. That's why he was able to go a couple more innings. But we did a good job battling, putting some swings on some balls. To leave up 3-2 against David Price is a good feeling. But they were able to put some good at-bats there against Andrew and Taz. Unfortunately we were on the bad side."
Shane Victorino gave the Red Sox an early lead when he lined a solo homer over the wall in left against Price.
Lester was in fine form early, keeping the 1-0 edge through four.
In the fifth, James Loney got something started for the Rays with a leadoff single to left. With two outs, Jennings hammered a two-run homer to left-center and the Rays suddenly had a 2-1 lead.
The bad news for the Red Sox was that Lester had to throw 35 pitches in the frame.
But the Red Sox bounced right back in the sixth. Dustin Pedroia ripped a one-out double into the gap in left-center for his first extra-base hit since July 11. Ortiz came through with an RBI single to right-center to tie it. And after a two-out single by Gomes kept the rally alive, Victorino lashed an RBI single up the middle to put Boston back in front at 3-2.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the momentum swings weren't finished.
"Time is running short," said Lester. "We all know what's coming next week. Like I said, we can only do one thing, that's take one game at a time, show up tomorrow and try to win tomorrow. That's all we can control."
Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brownie Points, and follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne.