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How Noble Was Robert E. Lee?
Lee Considered: General Robert E. Lee and Civil War History
Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction, 1861–1868
The Destructive War: William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans
Alan Nolan's previous book on the Civil War was a superb account of the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. He will need the same tough hide possessed by the Union veterans he described to endure the attacks from spiritual descendants of the legions who marched with Robert E. Lee. For Lee Considered is nothing less than a wholesale revision of the heroic image of the white South's favorite icon. Nolan calls his study Lee Considered rather than Reconsidered because he believes that the figure of the legendary Lee has blocked genuine consideration of the historical Lee—apart from Thomas L. Connelly's 1977 book, The Marble Man, which was primarily an account of the construction of the Lee myth.
Anticipating the outcry that will greet his interpretation, Nolan disavows any purpose to defame Lee. "I do not deny Lee's greatness," he assures the reader, but "Lee was, after all, one of us, a human being,…a great man but, indeed, a man" not a god. "Excessive adulation is not the stuff of history." To a historian this is unexceptionable. But this disclaimer of bias is a bit disingenuous. Nolan is a lawyer by profession. The book has something of the tone of an indictment of Lee in the court of history, with the author as prosecuting attorney. He wants the jury—his readers—to convict Lee of entering willingly into a war to destroy the American nation. Lee did so, he believes, in the interest of perpetuating slavery. He pursued a faulty military strategy that ensured Confederate defeat, prolonging the war long after victory was possible at the cost of incalculable and unnecessary death and destruction. There is truth in some of these charges; it is not the whole truth, however. Nolan's portrait of Lee may be closer to the real Lee than the flawless marble image promoted by tradition. But the prosecutorial style of his book produces some new distortions.
The Lee hagiography offers Nolan a big target. An early biographer of Lee wrote that "the Divinity in his bosom shone translucent through the man, and his spirit rose up to the Godlike." The 1989 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana pronounced Lee "one of the truly gifted commanders of all time…one of the greatest, if not the greatest, soldier who ever spoke the English language." The journalist-historian Douglas Southall Freeman, whose four-volume biography of Lee won the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 and did more to shape our image of Lee—indeed of the Civil War—than perhaps any other work, wrote of Lee: "Noble he was; nobler he became…a great and simple person. His character offers historians no moral flaws to probe." Under the entry "personal characteristics" in his index, Freeman listed: abstemiousness, alertness, amiability, boldness, calmness, charm of manner, cheerfulness, courage, courtesy, dignity, diligence, fairness, faith in God, friendliness, generosity, goodness, good judgment, good looks, grace, heroic character, humility, integrity, intelligence,…
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Police Oversee Gas Station Wedding Before Arresting Groom
Wedding Was Bizarre, Gas Station Worker Says
It probably was not their idea of a dream wedding, but one Albuquerque couple had little choice when they were married at pump three of an Albuquerque gas station Thursday.
Police said when they swarmed a gas station at San Mateo Boulevard and Indian School Road to arrest 28-year-old Caleb Rogers, they had no idea he was on his way to marry his fiance.
When they found out, they cut him a little slack.
"He was standing there in handcuffs. They were all standing around and I thought, 'What's going on? This is very bizarre,' because they're just standing around talking," gas station cashier Ellen Coffman said.
Police helped to organize a simple wedding for the couple at the gas station.
Officers said they kept the ceremony short and simple in order to make sure everyone was safe and secure.
"Obviously they had the compassion to go ahead and allow the ceremony, but we were also safe about it. He was under arrest and handcuffed," Albuquerque Police Department Officer Mark Aragon said.
Officers called a Justice of the Peace to the scene in order to make the ceremony official.
"I guess you could call it a love story," Aragon said.
Police said Rogers was wanted on a serious probation violation. Court records list a long rap sheet that includes mostly drug charges.
He was being held without bond as of Saturday, police said.

subset: commoncrawl


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A few weeks ago I blogged about neglecting the blog because I was working on my first ebook, about the Titanic. I finalised it last week and it's now in the Amazon store for Kindle, and on iTunes!
The book is a collection of Guardian articles on Titanic, from its inception as the world's largest ship (rumours first circulated that the White Star line was planning a mammoth liner in 1907), through the excitement of the launch and the tragedy that followed, and on to the present day, with the discovery of the wreck in the 1980s, James Cameron's 1998 film and the creation of the Titanic 'brand'.
The most moving pieces I found were firsthand accounts of the disaster from survivors, given to journalists on their arrival in New York and to the official inquiry that followed the tragedy.
Titanic is obviously the story of the moment, with the 100th anniversary of the sinking looming this weekend, and the ebook has reached #33 on Kindle's world history list (yay!). The From the archive blogpost I wrote in conjunction has been shared more than 76,000 times on Facebook.
You can read more on the From the archive blog (Titanic – a maiden voyage that ended in tragedy) or, you know, download the ebook! It's only £2.56…


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|Kate Hansen, me and Erin Hamlin with our USA Luge Start
Championship medals
Competing in the sport of luge, your chances to showcase excellence are limited. Our Olympic competition clocks in at less than four minutes, our World Cups under two minutes, and this past week our kickoff event for the season, the USA Luge Start Championship lasted just over 6 seconds for each competitor. It was the combination of two reaction starts. Our newly elected Olympic discipline is the team relay in which one man, woman, and doubles sleds compete for a total time. What differentiates this from our normal competitions is that the start is a reaction start, with a gate that opens simultaneously with the prior sled finishing their run. Mid-September the U.S. Olympic Committee helped our federation to install a reaction gate similar to that used in the World Cup team event so we may practice in anticipation of the relay next year in Sochi.
Getting back to the Start Championship, this is the first test for our team to see where we stand in perspective to our strength. A good start is crucial to being a medal contender in our sport. Last year of all the World Cup medals available over 60% of them were won with an athlete who had a top 3 start for their discipline. For me this event was very important as it was the first test for me from recovering fully from my Arnold Chiari decompression surgery in March 2011. I competed in the second part of last year's schedule, but it wasn't until July of this year that I started to feel "athlete" strong and that I had fully recovered. I won the woman's division at the USA Luge Start Championship by a margin of just .01 hundredths of a second over my teammate Kate Hansen. While that equates to less than an inch of ice in the competition, it is much greater to me.
What has it taken to get my start back to top form? I looked back over my training journal and since May 1st I have done the following: 1,097 pull ups/chin ups, 536 reps of bench press, 237 reps of close grip bench, 560 12lb med ball tosses, 623 various triceps exercise repetitions, and more crunches, sit ups, planks, leg raise, ab exercises than I count in one sitting. In our sport we are racing for inches, and anything less of winning this past week would have been disappointing. With every workout, every repetition I have thought about having the power back in my start and after this competition and my physical testing I can say with great pride that I have succeeded. I am more excited than ever to see what this year holds for me, I feel strong mentally, physically and ready to attack every run. I am currently packing up here in Lake Placid, and heading over to start my on ice sliding season in Lillehammer, Norway. We have limited access to the track in Lake Placid this fall, and I want to head into the season as prepared as possible, which for me as an athlete means lots and lots of runs. I like to head into my competitive season with a minimum of 100 runs of training, and with my plan for the next month I should exceed that easily.


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How To Buy
Choose the track you like and contact us writing the name of the track. We check the availability and let you know the process.
Here you can find ready-to-buy Dubstep tracks. The price of each track and its DAW are included at end of its name. These tracks are the same as original tracks and you will receive the project files and etc. for them too. We can edit these tracks to your taste if you want, but that would require extra money.


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Events Calendar
Plastination: The Art of Preservation
Students using a specimen to aid in anatomy and physiology courses
Date and TimeFriday, April 26, 2019
7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
- Red Wall Gallery, Lake Ontario Hall
Plastination is the process of impregnating animal, human or plant tissues with a variety of plastic or silicone products to render the tissues odor-free, dry and permanently preserved for educational and instructional purposes. The process was invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens in 1977 at the University of Heidelberg, Germany and made popular through his many Body Worlds exhibitions around the world.
Beginning in 2007, members of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) began studying plastination and investigating the opportunity to create a lab at GVSU. That became a reality in 2013, and since then, over 300 specimens have been plastinated for use in a variety of teaching roles. This exhibition tells the story of plastination at GVSU and walks viewers through the process and use of plastinates. It brings together over 20 animal specimens from the lab – currently the only plastination lab in Michigan.
Art Gallery, 616-331-2563
This event also occurred on 1/7/2019, 1/8/2019, 1/9/2019, 1/10/2019, 1/11/2019, 1/14/2019, 1/15/2019, 1/16/2019, 1/17/2019, 1/18/2019 and 108 others


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January 17th, 2007, fell on a Wednesday. Day 17 of 2007. Decade: 2000s.
13 years, 4 months and 20 days have passed since January 17th, 2007.
Events that occurred on January 17th, 2007:
Songs that were on top of the music singles charts in the USA and the United Kingdom on January 17th, 2007:
What movie was on top of the box office?
Trending news stories and fads that were prevalent throughout this time period. These are news stories and events that would have been in the media on January 17th, 2007.
Between 2005 and 2008, MySpace was the most popular social network in the world.
In countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Ireland, a social network called Bebo (Blog Early Blog Often) is beginning to overtake its rival MySpace. Bebo is famous for its quizzes, auto-playing video box, whiteboard, "Bebo Skins" and "Bebo Luv" features.
During this period of time, an Internet meme called "LOLcats" is beginning to take-off.
"No Country for Old Men" won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2007.
Movies that hit the big screen in 2007 included the likes of 300, Transformers, Superbad, Shrek the Third, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Spider-Man 3, I Am Legend, Ratatouille, The Simpsons Movie, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Zodiac, American Gangster and No Country for Old Men.
American actress Jessica Alba is listed as FHM's sexiest woman in 2007.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is named as the Time Person of the Year 2007.
Popular music artists in 2007 included My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Daughtry, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Avril Lavigne, Rihanna, T-Pain, Soulja Boy, Kanye West, Fergie, Maroon 5, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse, Chris Brown and Timbaland.
"Rehab" by Amy Winehouse would go on to win a Grammy for 2007's Record of the Year.
Basic facts and information about this date:
Notable events that occurred around January 17th, 2007:
Zodiac & Birthstone information:
TV shows that you might have been watching around this time.
Children's and Teen TV shows that would have been airing on this date in 2007.
"Curious George" - "The Hills" - "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" - "Hannah Montana" - "Ben 10" - "Everybody Hates Chris" - "Go, Diego, Go!" - "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" - "Avatar: The Last Airbender" - "Zoey 101" - "Veronica Mars" - "Unfabulous" - "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" - "LazyTown" - "Peppa Pig" - "Drake & Josh" - "One Tree Hill" - "My Life as a Teenage Robot" - "That's So Raven" - "The Fairly OddParents" - "Dora the Explorer" - "SpongeBob SquarePants" - "Ed, Edd n Eddy" - "7th Heaven"
Toys and games that would have been popular on this date in 2007:
Celebrities and historical figures that were born on the 17th of January:
Weather information for January 17th, 2007:
Who was the US President on this particular date?
Interesting facts about conception dates.
Popular video games that you might have been playing around this time.
Events that have occurred on the 17th of January:
Enter your date of birth below to find out how old you were on January 17th, 2007.
Looking for some nostalgia? Here are some Youtube videos relating to January 17th, 2007. Please note that videos are automatically selected by Youtube and that results may vary! Click on the "Load Next Video" button to view the next video in the search playlist. In many cases, you'll find episodes of old TV shows, documentaries, music videos and soap dramas.
Here are some fun statistics about January 17th, 2007.
A list of random dates that you might be interested in:


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Design by Ionna Vautrin, 2010. By Foscarini.
Binic is inspired by the world of the sea and the shape recalls windsocks — aeration systems on boats. These shapes evoke other figures: a loudspeaker, a cartoon character, an animal or a totem.
Binic is a real lamp that exploits the power of compact fluorescence to the full. The ray of light is functional to the activity of the individual: a personal light that focuses on a defined area with a strong, warm, intensity. The special packaging underlines the idea of an 'easy take-away' in terms of design, color, and light. With Binic, personal light goes beyond a soft glow.
Conteins: 1 model; 6 materials; 3 textures; .rps; .fbx; .obj; 3ds 2010 & 2010.
Only Press F9, ready!
by Bruno Matias


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Holtby thinking big after Schalke stay unbeaten
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Article summary
Delighted that FC Schalke 04 finished Group B unbeaten and on top of the pile, Lewis Holtby is looking forward to the 20 December draw and a possible encounter with Real Madrid CF.
Article top media content
Article body
Lewis Holtby told UEFA.com he is dreaming of playing at Real Madrid CF's celebrated Santiago Bernabéu after helping FC Schalke 04 clinch top spot in UEFA Champions League Group B.
The midfielder highlighted the display of goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand against Montpellier Hérault SC in sending his side into the last 16 unbeaten. The Germany Under-21 captain then turned his thoughts to the knockout stages, where team-mate Teemu Pukki picked out Madrid as one of "the most difficult" clubs to be paired with.
With their European adventure over, Montpellier reflected on yet another promising performance which brought scant reward, centre-back Hilton insisting the Ligue 1 outfit "deserved better" than to finish bottom of the section.
Lewis Holtby, Schalke midfielder
It's a little bit of a lottery who we get now, but we're happy to be through. We were confident we'd get through, but to go through as group winners and unbeaten too, that's special for us. It gives us confidence and we'll take that into the league. It should take us forward. We've had a tough two to three weeks in the Bundesliga. We started well and we're still near the top of the table. We'll try to win our last two games before Christmas. You always go through bad situations as sportsmen and we have to go through that now.
We've got three important games coming up and we have to be focused. Credit to Timo [Hildebrand], he had a good game. In the first half we played really well and had some good chances. We fought well, went ahead and unfortunately conceded soon after. We showed great spirit again. I don't really care who we play now. It's the Champions League. If you want to win it, you have to beat everybody. We know it's going to be difficult, but why not, at 22 years old, play at the Santiago Bernabéu? That would be a dream. I'll just sit back when the draw comes up, happy to be there in the last 16.
Teemu Pukki, Schalke forward
We wanted to win the group, that's what we got out of the game. We can be happy about the outcome, but the performance was not so good. It was more difficult than we expected. The pitch was tricky too, not the easiest to play football on, but 1-1 away from home is a good result. It'll help us in the future that we have gone through the group stage unbeaten.
We started the Bundesliga well, although recent games haven't been as good, but if we get a couple of wins before Christmas we'll be in a good position in the league. The big teams in Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are the most difficult opponents in the knockout stages, but I'll be keeping an eye out for who makes it through. I'm not worried, though.
Hilton, Montpellier defender
We deserved to win. It's a shame that once again we have shown that we could have done something in the Champions League. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to do so. In the second half we had two or three chances to win. It's the kind of performance which we can draw on for the rest of the season. We can harbour regrets given the matches we've had: here against Arsenal and Olympiacos, at Schalke ... But that's football at the very highest level.
We thought we could have gone on, but unfortunately not. We lacked experience and were up against sides who are used to playing high-level competitions like the Champions League. That's what has made the difference. We've improved with every game we've played. The only match that we really messed up was at Olympiacos, where they totally deserved the win. In the other games we deserved better results.


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A number of big name tech firms including IBM, Sony and Nokia have joined forces to work on a patent-sharing plan, dubbed Eco-Patents Commons.
The new project, which was officially launched today, has been set up to encourage companies to donate intellectual property that improves the environment.
The founders said that, to egg on that incentive, 31 patents have already been donated into the public domain, including a recyclable protective packaging material for electronic components from IBM, and mobile phones recycled into calculators and personal digital assistants from Nokia.
The commons will be overseen by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). It described the new project as an opportunity for companies to independently pledge intellectual property that "provide environmental benefit and do not represent an essential source of business advantage for them".
The Geneva-based WBCSD group, members of which include around 200 of the world's biggest companies, also said it wanted to build on the open source community's methods of sharing free software by getting businesses to contribute technology patents that provide environmental benefits.
It said that any company wishing to join the commons need only make one patent pledge. The WBCSD hopes over time to globally establish "a robust number of patents". ®
Sponsored: How to simplify data protection on Amazon Web Services


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The Buck glowed with strange fires, and it followed with unerring sense the track of the doe. But in his wake rose up puffs of points of light with colors that struck the ravens with foreboding. It was not part of their calculation.
"What are they?" Null shrilled.
Knull said," I am stumped. I guess these are spun off from all that energy the tree acquired in defining Space and Time. Nothing more we can do but watch how these develop?"
Null went blank and snapped out of its spell screaming "The Ghost Runners!"
Later he asked," What put that thought into my mind?"
"It of course! But what worries me more than anything else, "Who is dead here anyway?"
Knull had reason to feel puzzled. 'How can there be ghosts without death as a reality?'
Or were they angels, flames of fire spun out of Will (or Thought?)
The ghost runners were as incidental as humans transfer parasites evolved alongside through many cycles of their birth.
End of Prologue


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The Wave® radio III has two independent alarms. Each alarm can be set for:
Applies to:
Wake-up source: buzzer or radio
Using the alarm buttons
Using the alarm buttons on the bottom of the remote, you can setup and operate each alarm.
alarm 1:
press to turn alarm 1 on or off.
alarm 2:
press to turn alarm 2 on or off.
alarm setup:
press to activate the alarm setup mode and view alarm 1 settings. press again to view alarm 2 settings. press again to exit the alarm setup mode.
Alarm status indicators
The upper right-hand corner of the display shows the alarm status indicators if the alarm is set. In the example below, Alarm 1 is set to 6:30 AM, and Alarm 2 is set to 7:15 PM.
Setting the alarms
You can choose the settings for each alarm by activating the Alarm Setup mode and displaying the settings for the alarm you want to change.
To set an alarm:
press alarm setup to activate the alarm setup mode and display the settings for alarm 1. the alarm number and time start flashing in the upper right-hand corner of the display. then the display will show you the current settings for alarm 1
Alarm Setup
using the time buttons, set the alarm time
Select your wake-up source:
press sleep to choose "buzzer." this is the factory default alarm setting
press radio to choose a radio station
press volume up or volume down to set the volume level of the selected wake-up source
Volume up
Volume down
press alarm setup to enter the alarm 2 setup mode. repeat steps 2-4 to set up alarm 2
press alarm setup again to exit the alarm setup mode


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Went shopping with Gh0stparis today, spending money we didn't have on things we dont need. As you do. She took me to Wagamamas which I can confirm was very good, was my first time too! I actually wore this outfit on Saturday to Westfields and these were the test shots I quickly did in my new room. Not too bad, dont like the carpet because it casts a grey tone over the image and wearing shoes on carpet is really bad, but for the sake of people who need to see the shoes We'll have to roll with it! Also this was the day after I moved in so it could do with a good hoover!
If theres one thing I hate more than fake pockets, its fake buttons. This Primark shirt is lovely but gapes at the neck as it needs another button just to hold it all together. Just seems so silly having buttons on the outside that actually dont do up all in the name of "detail"!


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- Parent Category: News
Family Searching for Missing Woman
The family of a missing Vermilion County woman is asking for the public's help in finding her.
There's no new information, according to Hoopeston police, concerning the whereabouts of 33-year-old Amanda Walters-Pentecost. The woman's been missing since February 1st.
Hoopeston Police reported last week there's nothing that leads authorities to believe foul play was involved in any way.
Friends of the woman say a local business security camera captured Walters-Pentecost leaving her purse near the road.
January 31st was last time Amanda made contact with the family.
Amanda is 5'9", with brown hair, green eyes and several tattoos. Police believed she was on foot. Again, authorities don't suspect any crime behind her disappearance.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hoopeston Police Department at 217-283-5196.
94.1 FM, WGFA cg


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Possible Duplicate:
How to create my own arrow effects in illustrator CS 2
Is there an easy way of creating thin perpendicular lines capping the end of a line segment in Adobe Illustrator CS4? The sort of effect I'm looking for is this:
(but without the dotted effect!). This is useful for example for adding dimensions on technical type drawings.
I would have expected I could do this easily either with add arrowheads or with line cap type options, but I can't find a way in Adobe Illustrator CS4. Obviously I'd prefer not to draw three separate line segments every time. I am struggling to investigate this as I'm not even sure what the proper term is for this type of line decoration.
Thanks for any suggestions.


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skid4 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 26 diseños de 13 diseñadores freelance.
I need a header for my website designed I already have a logo and have custom colors. My logo is the CF in the circle on the make shift header. I can email it to anyone as needed.
I want a header designed for my website/Blog. I have a current make shift one up there now. I work as a personal trainer and athletic trainer. I need this designed to complete the look of my website.
- Item 1... I want this tagline in my header: The Internets top site devoted to eliminating pain and getting you in the best shape of your life.
- Item 2...I want my company name: Completely Fit in the header.
- Item 3...I would like my logo worked in
- Item 4...This is the main color scheme of my business other colors can be used but I would like these worked in: Maroon-660000, Dark Gray-999999 Light Gray-EDEDED
- I have changed my mind based on some of the current entries I would like to have an image in the header somewhere, you may choose what it is.After reviewing all entries what we are noticing is we want the emphasis to be on the tagline not on the company name/logo
- Item 1...


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As "Jon & Kate Plus 8" gets ready to take the air one final time on Monday night, Jon Gosselin said he's looking ahead to the future – and life on his own in the Big Apple.
"New York is nice. It's three hours from my house where my kids are," Jon said in his final confessional on the TLC show, which airs as part of Monday night's series finale. "Which means, it's like… I have work again. Although I live there, it's not like I'm at my house and work is at my house and everything is just crashing down, you know what I mean? I couldn't leave. Now, it's like I have a place to go."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Jon & Kate: After The Break Timeline
And while he's leaving behind the family home in Wernersville, Penn., where the reality series was shot, Jon said he can always return to his roots and "chill."
"When I get sick of the city and all the press and the media and everything, I cross the [George Washington Bridge] and go back to my country place and I'm going to chill," he added. "So I've got the best of both worlds right now."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Jon & Kate's Family Photo Album
For Kate, in her final confessional interview for the show, she said she's still getting used to life without her estranged husband.
"It always crosses my mind that I should be in the passenger's seat and Jon should be driving. Every single time," she told the cameras, referring to driving her brood around.
"To clarify, I never wanted that to change. Maybe I wanted roles to change and people to step up and stress loads to shift," she continued. "But I never wanted him absent from that driver's seat."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Top 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, last week TLC announced plans for a series spin-off, "Kate Plus 8," were no longer in the works.
"'Kate Plus 8' is not in production," TLC spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg told Access.
However, that doesn't mean the reality mom is hanging up her reality TV hat.
"We are focusing on the launch of Kate's new series in early spring," Goldberg added.
Monday night's series finale will feature both Jon and Kate taking their eight kids – 9-year-old twins and 5-year-old sextuplets – on separate outings.
While dad brings his brood to a fire station near the family home, Kate takes the kids to a local dairy farm.
Over the weekend, the reality parents met for an arbitration session in Pennsylvania to discuss custody and financial matters.
And while the meeting was described as "successful," the same couldn't be said for Jon's gift for his estranged wife.
Jon showed up to the hearing with a bouquet of red roses for his ex.
However, a source confirmed to Access that the roses never touched Kate's hands, "but the receptionist had a beautiful bouquet to take home for the day."
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Jon Gosselin: 'I Can't Forgive Myself,' But 'I Do Apologize To Kate'
PLAY IT NOW: Jon Gosselin Defends Hailey Glassman & His Parenting Skills
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Jon & Kate Plus Eight - Jon Gosselin - Kate Gosselin - TLC - Reality TV


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- by Mohit Katariya
- 6 years ago
- 6587
"Honey I shrunk the kids, but that's not a problem, Now." Here to beat even Wayne Szalinski's folly is the elixir gadget launched by LG earlier this week. LG's KizON is a wrist wearable gear designed especially for kids, and to abate parents' concern over children's dearth for fairy-tail adventures.
Sneak Peak at the features
The LG KizON houses a GPS tracker for mommies and daddies to constantly monitor their kids' location which also uses Wi-Fi as an aide in the tracking process. The KizON features "One Step Direct Call" button which can be used by tots to dial or receive calls from defined set of numbers. Even in case of emergency or non-responsiveness from the child, the call shall be accepted on its own after a period of 10 seconds so that parents could hear the surrounding via the in-built microphone.
The polythiourethane wrist-bound whatnot is resistible to water splashes and stains, a momentous part of daily childsplay and comes in a variety of bright shades like baby pink and sky blue and moss green, and toddler-friendly accessories like Hello Kitty covers and other animated characters to keep kids avidly involved despite its big size. KizON was initially designed keeping in mind pre-school and primary school children but the spectrum of amuse also shed umbrella shade for the elderly, especially ones suffering from serious diseases associated with dementia.
The KizON catalogues as another device in the list of those needed to be charged every night with a claimed battery life of 36 hours, although it also intimates the parents when battery falls below 25 per cent charge. It can operate on both 2g and 3g networks, expanding its parachute of ease of connectivity and has a 64MB RAM. Don't worry, kids won't be able to glue to it as they do your iPads in this dystopian-headed lifestyle and it would give them chance to play freely and not just jolt buttons besides easing out parents' tension for their child's safety.
Mixed emotions?
Despite of great use, the views about LG KizON is distinctively opinioned. While many people would enjoy the ability to track their kids and keep an eye on the activity, somemay also be cynical about dependency on gadgets and parental snobbery for auditing their kids like criminals fresh out of jail. Despite known critical disapproval, LG Mobile and Communications CEO Jong-seok Park showed hope in the approach and overwhelmingly presented the benefits of wearable gears which defy the dependency on big devices and chances of being lost or stolen while offering seamless and quick connectivity.
LG was probably the big early bird in this market but certainly not the first with the concept. Earlier this year a British company called KMS developed a similar wearable for kids while previous year saw a collaboration AT&T and Filip for a wrist wearable for children which also came with a screen.
KizONgoes on sale in South Korea in second week of July and is expected to shelf in European and American markets by fall of this year. Despite its hitech-dependent nature, the device is a great leap in favour of children security and safety.
Xiaomi's lurking brilliance to be unleashed:
Xiaomi is a name unheard to almost everyone outside China but the company treasures its prominence in the home market as China's Apple and has been giving Apple a bitter combat by outnumbering its sales in the country. Xiaomi is all primed up to give Indian smartphone leaders a stifle by locking its gun with knives. Xiaomi is ready to release Mi-3 in India, the current heir to Xiaomi's legacy of ultra-marvelous phones with ultra-competitive pricing.
The Chinese company had recently been on west world radar systems when it filched Android designer and Vice President for product management Hugo Barra to join them after the Android I/O Conference this year. The Mi-3 was launched in China last year and had dazed everyone with its jaw-dropping price and performance accord. Xiaomi is willing to transmit the same enthusiasm and awe in India by launching this beast at a price of only Rs. 14,999.
Amazing specs with bewitching looks and sensible pricing:
Just after Motorola's Moto G startled Indian users and gained much appreciation, Xiaomi will launch their phone just a thousand rupees over Moto G's 16GB version and the specifications are set to bewilder Indians yet again. The behemoth has a 5-inch screen with full HD display and Corning Gorilla Glass aside a stunning pixel density of 441ppi. The heartbeat is powered by Qualcomm 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor along with 2GB or RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Running on the latest Android KitKat, Mi-3 has a customized UI dubbed the MIUI V5.
Glittering camera, set to woo snappers:
The bag of astonishing miracles unpacks a 13MP camera with Sony Exmor sensor capable of shooting 1080p videos. Mi-3 has Sony's best phone camera sensor and is loaded with a flock of intelligent features like the one that automatically determines your age and sex to enrich picture quality. The stunners don't end at this. Mi-3 has a colossal battery of 3050 mAh. The handset doesn't come with 4G but that is docile in Indian context as even 3G is suffering to entomb its roots firmly here. Components that the Mi-3 houses are found in dignitaries like Galaxy Note 3, Nexus 5, Xperia Z1 and LG G2 to enumerate some.
Made In China, still a dilemma:
People may find body a little inspire by the Nokia 920 with wide speaker grille at the bottom and thick round edges. Although the build quality may disappoint some but at this price, it doesn't have to bear the complete iPhone 5S armour as far as its zippiness can pacify disappointments in its vital stats. Another setback would be unavailability of MicroSD card slot, as users may find internal memory of just 12GB bestowed upon them a little cramped.
Coming from biggest Chinese manufacturer, reasons to cheer:
Going by the specifications Xiaomi offers, it is, at least on paper, the undisputed sultan of the mid-range market with typically no competition. In the age of China conquering manufacturing outsourcing arena, this is at least a home-made device from world's fastest growing mobile phone company. A reason worth joy certainly.
Android app to track and board GPS-armed auto-rickshaws:
Recently when Delhi's Autowalahs secured price hike in auto-rickshaw fares, new meters steeled with GPS flared the market and many people questioned the lunacy of Delhi Transport was limited to encumbering the pockets of auto riders, but this rather turned out to be a canny decision. Now a new Android app Pooch-O will allow Delhiites to track and book auto-rickshaws near them.
Sanctioned and dovetailed by Delhi Integrated Multi-Model Transport System (DIMTS) and launched by the Lt-Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, this app might put an end to clamoured rejection on hearing "chaloge bhaiya" by Delhi's auto-rickshaws drivers. This app uses smartphone's GPS to locate nearest auto-rickshaws and even call the ones whose numbers are registered on DIMTS. The app is currently in its beta stage and is available for download from the Google Play Store. Currently only the android version of the app is available.
A firm step towards women safety in Delhi:
Jung was elated about the development of the app and reported that this app would be an effective barrage in safety for women in Delhi especially at night. Commuters can share their travel details on various social networking portals after boarding the auto-rickshaw so that family and friends are well aware of their location. Thereare various security elements associated with the app as well said Jung. However it would be a considerable advancement if next update allows authorized people on your social circle to track the auto that you have boarded in scenarios of chaos or suspicion.
App Calculates estimated fare and time:
This app can also be used to calculate estimated rate and to verify whether the auto is imminent after being called on phone. Auto-rickshaws are also believed to cherish this prosperity as it would help them find passengers easily. The app is being brewed for iPhone users and believed to loom very soon, announced S N Sahai, Managing Director (DIMTS) at the Press release of Pooch-O.
Heavy penalties for denying commuters:
Sahai also reported that currently 24,000 auto-rickshaws in Delhi brace GPS and many more are hoped to share the same canopy soon to perk many users. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Shukla was also on board when the app was launched and promised that auto-rickshaw drivers who refuse to take Pooch-O users will be heftily penalized. Traffic Police has also been ordered to link this app with their website so that if auto drivers rebuff passengers without substantial reasons, stern actions would be taken against them.
Cluster Buses also under the umbrella:
Pooch-O users can also track the locations of orange Cluster buses plying in Delhi-NCR region. There are currently 1,100 buses in Delhi fitted with GPS. Users can locate their buses and determine arrival time based on their location. The app is also expected to incorporate traffic information and warn users and auto-rickshaw drivers against slow moving traffic.
Excellent hypothetically, what really?
Although the concept sounds good abstractly, the practicality of the approach is yet to be tested. It is worth examining that would those auto-rickshaw drivers who deny commuters even after being dared to be reported, be plaint or haughty towards the approach.
Israel-Gaza Conflict: Is the escalation about to reach its end?
It has been fifteen dark days since the break out of the news of the kidnapping and subsequent murders of three Israeli youths in the West Bank led to steep escalation in tension in the region comprising Israel and Gaza. This led to the incarceration of around 300 Palestinian Hamas members by Israeli authority. Hamas, the radical Palestinian Sunni Islamic group, that holds all the political and military buttons in Gaza strip, soon launched a rocket armed assault aimed at the deep regions in Israel.
For an enduring period, Israel has been bombing the hot-spots of Hamas' militant activities and collaring many of its militants in Gaza, alongside discussing the political terms of peace with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). For those who are unaware about the status Of PLO, it was created in 1964 aiming to create an independent state of Palestine and though the fact isironic that it got rid of the status of a terrorist fit just in 1991, two years before renouncing the practice of violence and terrorism to attain its means,after taking reasonable pressure from the UN Security Council. But this renouncement went into nullity as in the Palestinian parliamentary elections of 2006;Hamas defeated Fatah Party that enjoyed the popular support of PLO, with a huge margin bringing the tension in the region back on the table. Hence, to prove its point and show displeasure, Israel imposed a number of sanctions against the new government, primarily economic. Egypt too, from the southern side, sidelined the area to survive on its own.
If the majority of the sources are to be believed then the prime motive of Israel right now is to completely suppress the Hamas rocket-bound aggression by razing the military operatives based in the West Bank. It is evident that for at least sometime the Israeli authority's attempts to hide the news of the deaths of the teenagers from the locals has enflamed the enmity in the local Jews for the Arabs to another level. The result was, not surprisingly, a sharp rise in the "jihadist" activities against Israel to contain this unofficial aggression. Hamas has its own reasons. One among which is the death of one of their innocent operative who was not directly involved with the rocket fire on Israel. The major count of the people killed in the Israeli air raids in Gaza is still inaccurate. Majority of these deaths include the killings of civilians includes many women and children as well. Many people have left their home and property in Gaza to seek refuge from the persistent Israeli air-raids. Meanwhile, there can also be a possible ground attack from the Israeli front, curbing the ceasefire hopes of the rest of the world even more. UN, like previous such times, is trying to serve the "humanitarian needs" that have arose from the conflict. The scale of the conflict is even more than the one that took place in 2012.
The Current Scenario
According to Israel, there are at present 118 concealed rocket launching pads present in Gaza, which they have been aiming at to destroy. By now, there have been almost 170 Palestinian deaths in just 5 days. Saying that the previously done isolation of Gaza by Israel and Egypt has proved to be constructive measure for the region, would be amateurish. The irony is that spite of coercing so many Palestinian out of their homeland and even attacking the refugee camps, many Israeli Jews are running for cover under the pretext of morality. It wouldn't be foolish to say that Israel holds a major hand in starting this confrontation as it didn't prove first that Hamas was actually responsible for the death of those teenagers and directly made those arrests and killed many Hamas activists. Also we cannot ignore the first revenge death of the Palestinian teenager. The lives of the Israelis are also in major distress, resulting from constant rocket-fire siren wails and a few rockets fired from the Hamas side which the anti-missile system, the Iron Dome, having 87% accuracy, was not able to neutralize.
The Divided Stand
In recent developments, Egypt has tried its best to broker a politically well framed ceasefire plan for the both the parties to agree on and bring peace. After realizing that the Hamas' offense has been considerably brought down, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accepted the Egyptian plan of ceasefire. But the hopes of peace faded away immediately the very next day as Hamas rejected the proposal, blaming it to be another political conspiracy for the region to fall into from the diplomatically closer nations. Hamas is still demanding the release of the prisoners captured in Israel who, if sources are to be believed, are being tortured endlessly.
On the seventh day (14 July 2014) of the Operation Protective Edge, commissioned by Israel, the rocket firing on a humongous scale continued, with Gaza hospitals almost completely running out of the supplies in their medical inventory. Clearly, Gaza is on the losing end in this conflict as it does not possess any anti-missile system, a result of which the damage to the indigenous infrastructure and loss of lives has been "immense". Just 20 schools operated by UN in Gaza have to accommodate almost 17,000 refugees as these locations are not being fired on by Israel.
The other superpower nations in the world too seem to stand divided on the bigger blame posing game that is being played between the two sides. With countries like the US and the UK supporting the Israeli operation on one hand, other nations including Scotland and the UAE have condemned it. But help is still coming down to Gaza in different forms from many Muslim nations which support and sympathize with its cause. Egypt has also ease the blockage of its border with Gaza to give shelter to the refugees based in the coastal parts of the region.
The light at the end of the tunnel seems to look pretty bleak from looking at the current state of affairs in the region as the motivation of saving thousands of lives from destructions is right now being easily overpowered with religious passion and the fear to lose. Still, the question which fails to leave the equation is that when would it be enough and if, in future, it will be then, will the irreversible and irreparable destruction caused by this conflict be justifiable on any ground? I think this quote of the biggest advocate of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi, will be able to shed some light on the subconscious of the people suffering in Israel and Gaza, "It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence".
Sony grasped in selfie-craze:
Last year the morpheme "selfie" found its way into the Oxford Dictionary, so why should smartphone manufacturers wane behind in respecting its newly attained dignity. Following this, Sony has launched a phone with a camera dedicated for Selfies, which vouches that this fad of crazy people holding up cameras onto their faces is here to stay longer. Flaunting a powerful PROSelfie Cam and bundle of Selfie friendly apps along with a flash for the front camera might turn out to be a grace for Selfie lovers.
No frailty in speed and performance:
The Xperia C3 is crammed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset along with a Cortex-A7 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM and Adreno 305 GPU and runs on Android KitKat. The 5.5-inch screen smartphone with 720p resolution and BRAVIA 2 Display Engine also gloats an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 8GB internal storage. Apart from the main charm, the Xperia C3 is super dieted at 7.6mm. The C3 is 4G-ready and supports LTE Cat4. A dual SIM version is soon to arrive as well which has been baptized Xperia C3 Dual, which would support not only dual standby but also dual calls.
The glorious Selfie-friendly front camera with "soft" flash:
Now the gallant feature that has made Xperia C3 the talk of almost every tech expert is its front-facing 5MP camera dubbed the ProSelfie Cam which comes allied with a "soft" LED flash leaving miles behind other flagship devices like the HTC One (M8) or Huawei Ascent P7 which brag supreme front-facing cameras but lack flash. Sony's athletic 80-degrees view field is also capable of using Superior Auto Mode which automatically adjusts parameters depending upon Ambient lighting conditions to elate selfie enthusiasts. And making selfies further easy is the two-tap snapper which clicks selfies when the back is patted twice or by activating the smile shutter. Duckface heaven!
Broaching the rise of selfies to 17,000% since 2012, Sony has loaded the smartphone with dozen of selfie dedicated apps. AR Effects append themes that allow selfie fanatics to brace their pictures with various fun animations ad graphics-like horror eyes, cowboy hats etc. both in picture and video modes. Portrait Retouch apps allow beautification of pictures by choosing among 10 different beauty styles apart from 6 magic beam options for various eye reflections and 10 DECO frames. Sweep panorama is another notable spotlight star.
Battery and other salient features:
The battery on the C3 is expected to last the entire day after extensive usage and Sony's Battery Stamina Mode 3.0 automatically detects when the phone is not being used and turns off features which are not vital. The smartphone also headlines an easy-toggle keyboard for single hand input in inclusion with its smart home screen.
Expectation and Sony's seriousness with the Selfie phenomenon:
The C3 will be launched in white, black and mint colours in August as China is ascribed to be the first launch market. The device will follow various routes along the globe but destinations are uncertain and so is the pricing. Although Sony has been the market leader for camera devotees but being dedicated to single clique sounds foolish. However, Sony seems to be very serious about the move and it would be well wished to see better front cameras on other devices too in future.
Is the host country now ready to liberate himself from the hangover of FIFA 2014?
If someone is to be given the imposing task of summing up the key highlights of the FIFA 2014, hosted by Brazil, then it would be an arduous exercise for him or her to give it in an epigrammatic manner. From the 7-1 symbolic manslaughter of the Brazilian football team in the hands of their German opponents in the semi-finals to the early exits of the predicted to be probable trophy-lifters viz. England, Spain, Italy & Portugal; from the accession of a new world-class striker in the form of a Colombian, James Rodriguez, to the loss of the closest chance to etch his name in the football history as a "great", by Lionel Messi; inexorably this world cup did have its own few surprises to throw at us. It has been a world cup of riots as well as that of massively scaled celebrations.FIFA 2014 has also been filled with scandalous controversies (Go Suarez!) as well as that of record breaking achievements of players. Though being also called a world cup of the "underdogs", Germany prevailed and won the golden trophy this time.
Shifting back the focus of this analysis to the impact that this event created on its host nation from start to its subtle end, let us first examine the prominent antagonistic response of the locals towards the infrastructure growth and other developments for the event that the Brazilian government undertook. The million dollar funds that the government employed in organizing the event caused a mass uproar among the citizens, as these funds could have instead been used in other national core sectors which have been in a poor state for a long period. But as the Brazilian team started winning its matches and the people appreciated the revenue from tourism that the world cup generated, the commotion fell to a much lower level and almost disappeared during the subsequent stages of the tournamentand patriotic joy instilled the Brazilians.
Everything, including the mood of the nation, was in the right place for Brazil until when Neymar, their most important player, experienced an ominous vertebrae injury leading to his rule out for the remaining matches. Also their skipper, Thiago Silva, got himself suspended for the next game. Although in that match Brazil overcame the young and enthusiastic Colombian side with a score of 2-1, yet the worse and the worst was still to come. In the next match against Germany, Brazil experienced the biggest world cup defeat of all times (7-1), embarrassingly on their own soil. During the first half of the game,the world saw Germany netting 4 goals in a really short span of just 4 minutes. Hell broke loose for the Brazilian fans, as they witnessed this inapprehensible circus. This game even became the most followed football event in the history of twitter. Still the team just made it worse for the fans as they lost to Netherlands in the fight for the third place and hence ended forth in the tournament.
Letting bygones be bygones, we can say that in spite of the pictures of half finished stadiums, violent riots and 8 construction related deaths of its workers, Brazil was satisfactorily able to pull this world cup off and did win as an organizer, proving the previous negative apprehensions of many of its critics wrong in the process. Many a times the government had to violate many important civil ethics to serve the purpose of maintaining law and order to smoothly run the world cup. Even stun grenades and rubber bullets were used in the process of suppressing the protests. The day of the final also witnesses suck section from the authorities including the use of pepper spray to repulse the protesters.Still it had to face minor events of on-pitch as well as off-pitch humiliation. Keeping in mind the sweet-bitter memories of this world cup, what Brazil needs now is some deep soul searching. Many local football legends believe that to regain its previous playing form, Brazil needs to stop exporting its football talent to other nations.
The prime blame taker of this lack-lustre performance of the team has been none other than the national coach, Luis "Feelipão" Scolari, who didn't make any prominent changes in the playing strategy of the team, since Brazil won the Confederations Cup in 2013. The 65 year old manager, who won the 2002 world cup with Brazil, submitted his resignation from the post to the respective authority as he was unable justify the reason for the continuous struggle and loss of two back to back games by Brazil, in their own backyard since 1940. His successor hasn't yet been announced by the Brazilian Football Federation.
Despite the fact that Brazilians failed to conquer the title of world champions (if they did then it would have been their sixth final victory), the Brazilian President declared the hosting of this giant-scaled event to be a "victory" for Brazil and even took the liberty to state that the world had witnessed the "Cup of the Cups" and backed the national football team to come back to its successful indigenous playing ways. The cup final witnessed a record number of flights (572,000) in Brazil, proving the quality and order followed during the services. But the actual hint which we can extract from this statement of the President is that Brazil is ready to take the Rio Olympics 2016 head on and write a bigger and a better success story for the world. This is what the whole world too actually expects from Brazil to do in 2016. Also the bar for the next FIFA WC2018 in Russia is already set very high, as Putin was handed over this duty by his Brazilian counterpart.
But, now as the World Cup is over and so is its fever on the people of Brazil, their attention will get back to the subject of the national policy of allocation of the tax-payer's money sanctioned for this event. The Brazilian president still owes some more answers to her people, though it is hard to say if they too will turn out to be "victorious" for her this time.
What should the court do if they come across a case where a group of boys below the age of 18 rape a girl and the evidence provided is beyond a reason of doubt? Should they be given strict sentencing or as in most cases, since the act was committed by a juvenile, let them off the hook once they turn 18? Just today in Times of India it was reported a girl just over 4 years old was sexually abused allegedly by senior students inside the school premises in Kozhikode Kerala. What would have prompted to commit this dastardly crime is beyond the comprehension of most civilized people. But the most disappointing and sad thing I could understand was the school authorities offering to hush up this whole incident by paying off the parents to protect their reputation. But that is beside the point and the question remains what motivated these boys to commit such heinous crime against an innocent and defenseless little girl. As a mother to two young daughters this news is no less than a recurring nightmare for me or any parent.
In the last few years, we have witnessed a very high number of cases where juvenile crime has risen. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveal that from 2002 to 2012, there has been a 143 per cent increase in the number of rapes by juveniles and murders committed by minors went up by 87 per cent. This sudden surge in such cases is baffling to most of us.
Is it because the laws are not very strict and the underage delinquents know if they commit any crime spanning rape, murder to violent burglary, they will not spend too much time in prison. Is the loophole being exploited? Or our society has denigrated to a level previously unknown? Whatever the reason may be, this problem of teenage boys committing some of the most heinous crimes has reached epic proportion. But then the question is, should there be tougher laws to prosecute minors? Spend money on rehabilitation program? So many ideas and suggestion, but no solution in sight.
If a politician tries to suggest that we must pass a law for tougher punishment for juveniles who commit serious crime like rape, murder and burglary, then the liberals and the Non-Government Organizations (NGO) will call this a draconian step. On the other hand, how do we go about rehabilitating them? Most of the crimes committed are in the cities and many of them come from impoverished and tough neighborhood, where from a very early age one has to fend for themselves and have to be street smart. Places like these make a person grow up very fast but sadly the emotional growth takes a back seat and the qualities like empathy and compassion which one hopes to install in one'schildren never takes root. Plus most of the juvenile detention facilities do not rehabilitate but end up desensitizing them and making them more violent.
This does not mean all the crimes committed by juveniles are always from bad neighborhoods; many a times the boys come from a well off family. Rape does not always mean forcing a girl for sex, what happens when a boy makes an MMS clip of having consensual sex with his girlfriend and post it on the internet. Boys stealing for pocket money to maintain a colorful lifestyle. To add to this problem the lack of sex education is also not helping the cause with many politicians apposing because of their backward thinking.
This problem has reached a viral crescendo and the laws to deal with these problems are just not right and need to be changed. If money and time should be spent in rehabilitation then, at times, tougher sentences will also have to be carried out. I am not suggesting trying a minor as an adult like they do in the United States and put them on death row. But to simply release a person from prison when they turn 18 is just not the answer because at times it feels that when an underage person commits a serious crime, he is already under the impression that he would not face serious charges and will be out and about when he turns 18. If that will be the attitude, then it is a clear violation and misuse of the law.
Our society is fast changing and the needs are also growing along with it. Small children are not hesitating to steal a woman's purse, chain snatching or steal someone's mobile phone for a quick buck and in the process end up seriously hurting someone or worse kill them. This is a problem which has reached a level where we might have to either find sensible laws to help solve this problem or not in a distant future we may have to create draconian laws which will only exacerbate this illness further.
In the year 2014 we are going to witness the first Indian Super League (ISL) for the game of football. But will it turn out be as successful as the Indian Premier League (IPL) remained to be seen? Football is still a very popular sport in India, but somehow it never really has managed to capture the public's love which cricket has. Maybe football needs a Tendulker who really changed the way we watched the game and also satellite television helped cricket a lot. This year, though during the football world cup many matches were played during the middle of the night, but still many of us stayed up late to watch important clashes. Going to office and getting any work done was an entirely different issue, but many Indians did watch the games and that tells us 'football is alive in India'.
Promotion of the game
The United States of America (USA) hosted the world cup football, this blessed event back in 1994 and football or soccer as it is popularly known in the US was not even one of their favorite sports. Baseball, Basketball and American Football have always dominated American interest and billions of dollars are spent each year. But someone realized that to stay away from football, the most loved and popular sport in the world would not be prudent. Since then soccer in the US has been on the up and up. America is home to a very large Hispanic population and though other sports are popular with them, the game of soccer probably got promoted to the current breed of young Americans by their parents who may have played but certainly would have watched football when they were young.
Now the US team as managed to qualify to world cup finals every time. The question is how? Because china hosted world cup football and automatically received a slot as host nation, but since then have not managed to qualify for the world cup finals. In the US the infrastructure is so good that they have managed to generate some good players of international standard like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey who in the 2014 world cup showcased his talents a top flight football player. Can the ISL help India develop into a top Asian team? If that will be the case, then all the support must be given to promote this sport. We must not hesitate to build world class faculties like we have for cricket because football has a much larger audience than cricket can ever hope for and since it is a seasonal sport unlike cricket which is played 365 days a year, it can be promoted much more efficiently.
Past and future goals
There was a time when India was a very good football side, but that was in the 1950s and 1960s which is also called the golden era of Indian football. But sadly throughout the following decades this great sport has declined due to poor facilities and infrastructure. This is what happens when sports are governed by bureaucracy and players are not given the kind of support which they deserve. If football develops into a popular sport as cricket which is possible with proper marketing and brand strategy, it could turn out be very lucrative for many sectors in India from Media to sports goods and merchandise, from infrastructure to tourism. But first we must become the best team in South East Asia and then slowly we could be in a position to try to qualify for the world cup.
The road to world cup finals which the dream of many Indians is far away but the ISL may be the remedy which we are looking for and with the likes of Former cricket captains Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly buying teams, definitely they will be able to attract large crowd. Also the sponsors must also invite famous football players of past and present. Also if we have a world class stadium which meets FIFA and international standards, we can host matches of Champion league and may be a friendly match between a two major football playing nations.
Hopes and dreams
Football is a game where the operating cost for an individual is much cheaper than cricket and this could be taken as an advantage, plus it is a very fast sport with results within two hours or more. Football academies need to be set up all across the country to train young and aspiring athletes to become football players which can also be used as an outreach program for the socially underprivileged, because you never know where you may end up discovering some raw young talent.
These factors will help attract more audience and the game will grow more in India. IPL has given rise to some very young exciting cricketers in just few years of its inception then it is quite possible that one day we could release our dream of watching Indian football players, playing for top club like Manchester united, Liverpool and Arsenal in English Premier League or any other top football clubs in other leagues in Europe. It is time, football in India got the attention and recognition it truly deserves and who knows somewhere out there, in the vast expanse of our country, there is a player with the caliber of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, just waiting for an opportunity.
Since time humans have practiced bigotry one form or the other, be that someone's race, ethnicity, color of skin, caste system of India and much more. But as society has progressed, people all over the world have grown more sensitive and tolerant towards each other but few lingering practices of bigotry still exist and on top of the list stand the most politically convenient and racially inclusive form of discrimination, "Homophobia". Why should someone be afraid of people who are gay or lesbian? Are they here to cause harm and damage to property? But wait, we as humans have more tolerance towards those who cause us physical and financial harm then we have for gays. The only reason is their sexual orientation. The point is, what one does in the privacy of one's bedroom is nobody's business. But all over the world and specifically in Africa outrageous laws have been enacted by the governments to punish gays, Lesbians and other transgender i.e. LGBT.
Uncalled for
In countries like Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya draconian laws have been enacted to curb homosexuality which is considered against society and the sad part is all this is influenced due to colonialism and influence of religion and all the culture and traditions of the past were forgotten. However in the west the very countries which ruled many of these African countries and promoted their form of social virtues are now bastion of liberal society where homophobia is not tolerated one bit. Laws are in place to ensure that gays, lesbians and transgender persons not to be discriminated. But somehow this "juice of revulsion" towards homosexuals has been so deeply "marinated" into the bones of African due to colonialism and there is no sight of ending one of the last vestiges of bigotry.
Many in Africa or as the matter of fact in other places besides the African Continent, still believe, there is a strong connection between homosexuality and AIDS, which is an absolute fabrication of the truth but with constant bombardment by western missionaries and the constant torrent of funds pouring in to promote social virtue like "abstinence" in Africa is an unstoppable force which only solidifies this silly idea. It is not very helpful when African leaders like President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria make irresponsible and insensitive statements about Homosexuality for cheap political gains and instead focus on solving problems like bad economy, lack of education among women and terrorism plaguing a country like Nigera with Boko Haram getting out of control. the leaders of African countries especially Nigera should focus more of their time and energies solving these problem which are much more dangerous.
Other problems
Activists are threatened, science is ignored and homosexuality is considered a decease spread by the west and their decadent lifestyle. Right now AIDS is killing more people in Africa than the Ebola Virus and instead of taking steps to prevent it by education and asking people to use condom, the issue is diverted towards gays and the proverbial finger of judgment is pointed towards homosexuals and they are blamed for all the problem people face and so many innocent people have paid with their lives. Just over a decade ago Africa was witnessing some of the worst form of ethnic problems and who can forget the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 but now everyone is coming together to form laws against homosexuality. I was watching the news one day and I saw anti gay protest in Uganda and one particular placard caught my eye it read "Obama We Want Trade Not Homosexuality" and the people were grateful of the Ugandan Parliament.
Africa is fast losing its natural resources and wild life and illiteracy among Africans is still very high. Thousands die each year due to starvation and malnourishment among African children is one of the highest in the world. With all these problems, how can centering action against a harmless minority will give any solution to all the problems faced. Homosexuality is not decease or a mental problem which can be cured as many religious organizations claim. It is a natural phenomenon which as modern citizens of the world we must embrace.
I once asked a gay friend of mine why the rainbow colors were chosen as the symbol of gay rights and he said that an artist in San Francisco named Gilbert Baker designed what is believed to be the first modern gay pride flag by combining eight stripes, each a different color with its own symbolism: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for the human spirit. If this is what a group of minuscule minority feel and just want to enjoy life on their terms, then who are we to judge, control and brand them as evil and call them the ills to all our problems. All they ask is for equal rights under the law.
Look Back and Move Forward
If we check history some of the greatest men have been gay from Alexander the great, Roman Emperor Hadrian, renascence legends Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Literary genius like Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde and in modern times, music legend Elton John, one of the best women comedian Ellen DeGeneres, designers Gianni Versace and Giorgio Armani. The list is endless.
Countries like Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda have a rich history and traditions and they must look back beyond their colonial past and did deep into their own culture which was full of tolerance. Some of the best answers are in the past and Africans and Asian also must embrace our Gay, Lesbian and transgender brothers and sisters. We must move towards a more congenial and open society where no one should be discriminated. If people are capable of coming together from different race, culture, ethnicity and religion to discriminate homosexuality, than we are equally capable of getting together and end this "apartheid of small minded believe" and live together as children of god under one rainbow.
These days the most difficult decision a woman has to make is what food to give her children for school and this specially applies for small children. Kids want something different everyday and also enjoy it even more if the look is different. If taste is important so is presentation. No longer children are satisfied with a monotones launch prepared by their mother. What your kids would want in there Tiffin and what you want to give them, can never be same. But we can come up with a mix which is healthy as well as tasty as per your kids liking. Let's look at a few things you can do, which can give a complete image makeover to the daily Tiffin box you pack for your kids.
Looks Matter
You know your kids favorite cartoon character, so buy their favorite cartoon character themed lunch box. There is a huge variety available in the market. This adds a lot of fun element to the Tiffin eating experience. Get them a same theme spoon or fork and a matching tissue paper and they would just love it.
Every day of the week has to be made special. giving either bread or chapatti is not the answer. There are a lot of kid centric food shows on TV, explore them. They provide you with a lot of yummy and healthy food options that your kids would love to eat.
Instead of putting just one thing in Tiffin, give them small portion of 2 to 3 things daily. If you give them stuffed roti for Monday, also give them small portion of fruits to go with it like apples or grapes. Along with it some almonds and cashew nuts, just 2 or 3 would be enough. That ways even if they don't like one of the options and do not finish their launch, than they have can have something else.
Plan for the week ahead. Different days need to have completely different menu like Monday sandwich, Tuesday roti, and Wednesday pulao. Also plan one day in the week as" treat day" where you can send something like pasta or noodles but make sure it is wheat based.
Different varieties of one thing.
Roti does not mean roti and sabzi always. It can be stuffed roti of any kind, e.g. cheese stuffed. Similarly bread can be used in so many different ways. Just one point to be considered try going in for wheat bread.
Involve your kids
As we mentioned that you need to plan for the week ahead. Sit with your kids over the weekend. Ask them what all they would want to take in Tiffin. You might not agree with them on few points, similarly they might not agree with you on some points. But once the menu will be decided both the parties would have to eventually agree to it.
Here, is a simple tiffin week menu, to give you an idea about how to plan the best
- Idli/dosa/uttapam
- Fruits
- Almonds/Nuts
- Bread - Commom options-bread butter, bread jam or sandwich(which would be more healthy and filling) Vegatable sandwich is a good option
- Fruits
- Home made chips
- Parantha Day - Aloo, gobhi,cheese anything that your kids would prefer.
- Fruits
- Biscuits
- Rice- Pulao, fried rice,poha.
- Fruits
- Cake slices or muffin
- Treat Day- Pasta, Noodles.
- Fruits
- Corn
(The above mentioned menu is a vegetarian diet, you can change the plan as per your kids liking and your preferences)
Samsung has overpriced virtually all its products. Especially the smartphones! Whenever a device from the brand is launched with some feature special, its price hikes up so high it becomes almost impossible for the majority to go for the product. In a scenario like that, it sounds rather weird when someone tells you about a Samsung smartphone running on Android KitKat priced at Just Rs. 7,299. However, recently the Korean giant launched a budget smartphone dubbed Galaxy Core 2. Soon after taking this step into the entry-level smartphone market, Samsung is all geared up to launch the Galaxy Start Advance – another budget Kitkat smartphone.
This news comes from a Mumbai based retailer who unveiled more stuff about the smartphone apart from its price. Notably, there has been no official announcement about such a phone from the brand itself.
The Retailer Says…
The yet to be announced smartphone is to feature a 4.3 inch WVGA TFT display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. Compared to what other brands are offering at similar price range, this screen could prove to be a setback for the brand. However, for people who love brands and have been waiting for bigger names in the smartphone industry to launch budget smartphones, this smartphone could be a hit. A lot of people would still readily compromise on specifications for a heavy branding on their phone's face.
The phone is said to support dual SIM feature and will be powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core processor. The chipset is not specified as yet, due to obvious reasons. The processor will be mated to half a gigabyte of RAM which is rather disappointing for a phone from such a brand. At least a GB of RAM is expected. Inbuilt storage of 4GB and expandable storage of up to 32 GB is supported by the smartphone. Moreover, the Galaxy Start Advance is expected to come with a 3G support and the company's signature TouchWiz UI will sit on top of the Android KitKat.
A 3 megapixel rear snapper with LED flash is what is known when it comes to the camera experience. There are high chances of an absent front camera, since there is no word on it yet.
The phone is said to sport a battery rated at 1800 mAh.
Other features on the Galaxy Star Advance include ChatOn, Google Talk, video recording, Samsung Apps, Google Maps and FM radio recorder.
For now, the only good thing about the phone that can be concluded from the alleged word is that is comes from a very high end brand. Other than that, the Galaxy Star Advance sports no such feature that can make buyers switch from the likes of Moto E, Asus ZenFone 5 and Xperia E1 to Samsung Galaxy Star Advance. These phones boast better set of features in every way as compared to the Samsung's budget smartphone. As a matter of fact, Samsung has apparently managed to overprice a budget smartphone too!
We all do it regularly and derive a lot of pleasure from it also. It's a taboo in most religion and culture but it still does not deter us from doing it. Yes ladies and gentleman I am talking about Masturbation, the most common human experience. While growing up in India one thing is certain most people would not have received proper sex education and sex would have been presented as something bad, especially for girls because girls get pregnant. For boys, it is either you will go to hell or your penis will stop functioning. In a land which is obsessed with virginity, masturbation the safest and healthiest expression has been deemed evil.
If anyone tells you that masturbating is bad then they are wrong, in fact it is good for your health and this applies for boys and girls, men and women. Here are 5 reasons why masturbation is good for you. We have collected the information from various internet sources for example MensXP.com.
Helps you with premature ejaculation
If you have problems with premature ejaculation first go see a doctor. But do you know masturbation is also a good remedy? Just release some tension few hours before you have sex and hopefully it should help or else better see a doctor. When you do this 2 hours before you initiate your intimate moves, it helps you play till the end.
Gives You Fresh Swimmers
When a man masturbates, it also helps him develop his sperm quality i.e. sperm count and motility so before you have sex and you're planning a baby this could certainly work for you. But eureka is achieved on first go also.
Sleep Well
Sex can be very strenuous but it also helps you relax afterwards and if you are not getting any and you also have difficulty sleeping. Masturbation is the answer to your problem. Getting a good night sleep is very important for anyone and if a little self pleasure can help you get some sound sleep, what's the harm.
Helps you fight prostate cancer
It has been medically proven that people who have regular sex or those who masturbate quite often can have very high chances of avoiding prostate cancer. I think we will do just about anything to avoid cancer in general, but this remedy is free and in our hands.
Safe sex
We are curious about our body and yes while growing up we have been told many old wives tale about the dangers of masturbation i.e. you will go blind or it will fall off etc. It is not the case boys and girls, because it is good for you. No one in the history of mankind ever got a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or got pregnant using hands and fingers. Masturbation is the safest way to avoid unwanted pregnancy and also have a good time.
Someone once asked the Renowned Indian Sexpert Dr Mahinder Watsa that if regular masturbation could make someone's penis shrink and his reply was "you talk a lot, does your tongue shrink?".
Do not be ashamed and if you have any burning questions (Pun Intended) please visit your doctor.
Android has grown into world's most dominant mobile operating platforms having over a billion present users in its bag. As a matter of fact, for a majority of people, still, smartphones translate to Android operated phones. Google has taken another step in the world of Android legacy and has recently unveiled its next Android venture. Currently being called Android L, this grand version of Android has not been given with a dessert-themed name or an official version number yet.
Android L is expected to release later this year and it is highly anticipated that new smartphones launched at a similar timeframe will make the best out of all the new features. HTC has committed that it will bring an Android L update to all of its existing HTC One series. More companies are expected to announce their support soon.
Android L and New UI
The already much loved Android with its easy UI is to get a completely refurbished look. The new design approach, currently being called the "Material Design" is promised to be less monotonous as compared to the current UI. More colors, bolder icons and more animation will find their place in Android L. Absolute visual overhaul is what awaits the upcoming phones fortunate to feature the new Android L, since all screen-transitions as well as every little user interaction has been treated with changes, right from the little green Robot-like typeface to the Android navigation keys.
No More Overlays
Google has attempted to come up with a refined and clean UI. Shadows and scaling on the icons, simple silhouettes and consistent transitions from one application into another! One of the major reasons for such a distinguished and bold UI is being seen as an attempt to discourage third party vendors from creating custom Android themes and overlays which, to a great extent, deviate from the original vision of Google.
Another major feature associated with Android L is the fact that integrates input methods like voice, mouse and keyboard along with touch with equally distributed importance thereby elevating the smartphone-experience beyond the current scenarios.
Safe and Easy Unlocking
A rather impressive feature that is to come with the Android L is the associated device's ability to sense whether it's being used in a trusted environment or not. If so, the lock code will be dispensed. The feature can be turned on via presence of a specific Bluetooth device, for instance a smart-watch that's always present on the wrist of the user or a Wi-Fi access point that you consider safe. Android L will be able to detect such signal and as soon as the surroundings are reckoned as safe, you won't have to unlock your phone.
An integrated Samsung Knox feature, better and greater web integration, a Google Fit framework which is a direct take on Apple's Healthkit and improved notification system on your phone! These contribute to the renewed and made-over Android L. While the fact can't be ignored that the colorful and animated icons, heads-up notifications that can be dismissed or attended at anytime and other such features coincide majorly with Microsoft's Windows Phone UI, the new Android L could be a hit with people who have had enough of similarly sized icons and monotonous transitions between screens and apps.


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Everybody likes vacationing; taking a short break from tedious work and stressful activities, and the best way to get there is by seeking a relaxing place and seeking the cheapest hotel deal. The internet will offer you the best cheap hotel deals and by being flexible, you've got a great chance to find a hotel with cheap rates.
One suggestion is for you to use Priceline. It provides a great bidding feature for those who really need to find cheap hotel deals and accommodations. You do not have to choose your hotel, actually you could choose the location, the quality of the rooms, and the amount you're keen on paying. At times, it costs half of the regular room rates with their bidding feature.
Several hotels provide discounted rates when you stay for a few nights, and you get one night free. Make an immediate call to the hotel and ask for discounts and special promotions. Compare all amenities with other hotels you find in the place where you would like to stay at. Most often, there are even discounts when you get a plane ticket and a hotel together. Be wise in finding some hidden charges like when you search on a travel web-site. Travel web sites may add some additional fee for using their website – a fee which would not be there if you directly ask the hotel about their rates. Package deals with hotel reservations and car rentals may provide you more savings, but it is also better to check what the rates would be if you purchase them separately.
Searchers sometimes find it difficult to find out where to begin as there are plenty of travel sites in the internet. They say that all other sites have the same offer of the cheapest hotel deals; This is a general misconception, as one web-site might be far different from another.
Hotel Deal Site is one more great way to locate cheap hotel deals. Simply select your destination and the date you intend to go and they will compare the hotel rates for you from all other major hotel deals. First you need to find out where to search online for cheap hotel deals, and from there you will find no reason not to stay at comfortable hotels simply because you have gotten low budget. Certainly, you will be amazed that hotel rates can simply be as affordable as you never thought it'd be.


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Twins outright lefty Hernandez to Triple-A
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins outrighted left-hander Pedro Hernandez to Triple-A Rochester, the club announced Tuesday.
Hernandez became the latest Twins player to be outrighted off the 40-man roster early this offseason, joining infielder Doug Bernier, outfielders Wilkin Ramirez and Clete Thomas and right-handers Josh Roenicke, Cole De Vries and Shairon Martis.
Hernandez, 24, posted a 6.83 ERA in 14 appearances (12 starts) in 2013. The southpaw struck out 29, walked 23 and gave up 10 homers in 56 2/3 innings. He fared better in the Minors, as he combined to post a 3.66 ERA in 12 appearances, including 10 starts.
Hernandez, a Barquisimeto, Venezuela native, was originally acquired by the Twins in the trade that sent left-hander Francisco Liriano to the White Sox on July 28, 2012.
With the roster move, the Twins now have 35 players on their 40-man roster, which doesn't include right-hander Samuel Deduno, who has yet to be reinstated from the 60-day disabled list. Deduno underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in September.


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LITTLE ROCK � Republican House Speaker-elect Davy Carter on Monday named a former senior adviser to the state Democratic Party as his chief of staff for the 2013 session.
LITTLE ROCK � Republican House Speaker-elect Davy Carter on Monday named a former senior adviser to the state Democratic Party as his chief of staff for the 2013 session.
Carter named veteran Democratic operative Gabe Holmstrom to the post during the first day of a weeklong orientation for newly elected House members.
Holmstrom, a former spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat, served as a senior adviser to the Democrat Party in 2010. He also was a campaign manager for former Democratic Congressman Marion Berry and for Democrat Chad Causey�s failed bid to succeed Berry.
Originally from Cabot, Holmstrom most recently served as a public affairs specialist with Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods public relations firm in Little Rock.
Carter, also from Cabot, said Monday he has known Holmstrom for years.
�Gabe is a friend of mine,� Carter said. �He has got the skill set and the knowledge and the history of someone that � is perfect for that position, and most importantly, I trust him.�
Republicans will hold majorities in both chambers of the Legislature next year after nearly 140 years of Democratic control. Carter, who will be the first Republican since Reconstruction to serve as House speaker in Arkansas, said he did not think the appointment of a Democrat as his chief of staff should be viewed by the GOP House majority as a problem.
�I made it very crystal clear the staff will be nonpartisan, and knowledge, skill set and trustworthiness are the three things that matter, it�s not Republican and Democrat,� Carter said. �I trust Gabe immensely.�
Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, termed Holmstrom a �good pick� and said partisanship had no bearing.
�I think in this business a lot of people want to make it far more partisan than it is, many people,� Bell said. �This position will have a very limited affect on policy.�
Last spring the House, still controlled by Democrats at the time, elected Rep. Darrin Williams, D-Little Rock, as House speaker for the 2013 session over GOP Rep. Terry Rice of Waldron. Williams would have been the state�s first black House leader.
But after Republicans gained a narrow House majority � 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats and one Green Party member � in the Nov. 6 general election, the incoming membership failed to confirm the earlier vote.
Rice was the only Republican candidate for speaker when the House voted in March and was presumed to be in line for the post if the GOP won a House majority this fall. But Carter presented himself a few days after the general election as a new contender and defeated Rice 52-45 on Nov. 16 after promising incoming members he would work hard and be inclusive.
Holmstrom did not return an e-mail request for comment Monday and Rice did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Holmstrom will replace outgoing House Speaker Robert S. Moore Jr.�s chief of staff, Bill Stovall of Quitman. Carter announced that Stovall, himself a former Democratic House speaker, would move to a newly created position as House operations officer and that former GOP House member Roy Ragland of Marshal would serve in another new position, House director.
Ragland has served as a government liaison for Secretary of State Mark Martin.


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In the 1980s and 1990s, Neville Southall was considered to be one of the world's greatest goalkeepers. After winning two English league championships and FA Cups with Everton, as well as the European Cup Winners' Cup and a record 92 caps for Wales, he was one of the continent's finest custodians.
What also added a bit of intrigue about 'Big Nev' was his career path. After starting out working in a café in his home town of Llandudno, he then moved to doing manual work for the local council before becoming a refuse collector.
Despite only doing the job for a few months before turning professional, his trade stuck in the memories of football fans. Indeed his recent biography, was entitled 'The Binman Chronicles'; a tip of the hat to his former role.
Southall left school in the 1970s without a qualification to his name, but after hanging up his boots and gloves for good in 2002 at the age of 43 he earned a teaching certificate four years later. He is now mentoring 'NEETs': children who are not in education, employment or training.
"We began by giving excluded youngsters the chance of gaining an apprenticeship through sport," he told FIFA.com. "They also did carpentry, bricklaying, art and other things. It's alternative education.
"It's about children who aren't academic, who are good with their hands, perceived to be disruptive or who are actually disruptive. They don't get opportunities that the academic ones get. It's not that they aren't bright, just not academic."
Just as in football, Southall and his colleagues have enjoyed success. One of his former pupils now has his own music business; others are in hairdressing, tattooing or back in mainstream education.
If you look back to what you have achieved you're not going to want to achieve much more in your life. There is always something else going on tomorrow.
The Welshman believes that his "former life as a footballer" gave him a good grounding for his current role. "Being in the dressing room, dealing with people from all walks of life, helped make the transition between playing and teaching," he continued.
"In a dressing room there are different characters, the intelligent ones, the silly ones, the loud ones and the quiet ones - and it's similar in the classroom as well. Mind you, I'm quite scatty. I'm not neat and tidy and I don't like being enclosed by four walls. I like being outside and the youngsters the same!"
When asked whether the youngsters were in awe of the legend standing before them, Southall smiled and said: "Their verdict was if you're any good, you'll be on YouTube. Also if their dad rated you, you were OK."
Despite the glory days of his career, which saw him earn an MBE for services to football, appear in the PFA's Team of the Year four consecutive times and win the 1985 Football Writers' Award, Southall now appears to be more than content to look forward rather than relive times past.
"I never have been one to look back," he said. "If you look back to what you have achieved you're not going to want to achieve much more in your life. There is always something else going on tomorrow."
Southall's next challenge is the growth of his Community Foundation. "It's about giving people from all walks of life a chance through sport," he said. "It could be helping out a kid who can't afford a pair of boots or transport to their training sessions. The current economic climate means that there are so many people struggling – and if I can help them, I will."


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We are almost half way done with the paving construction project around Godfrey Blvd. at BGR, wanted to give passengers an update.
Starting early this morning (8/12), paving will begin on Phase I. Over the past three weeks, construction crews have removed several layers of pavement that have been "patched" over the last few years, and have improved several drainage issue areas. Once paving starts tomorrow, the lane will be level.
Beginning early Thursday morning (8/13), the barriers will start being moved to the right lane of Godfrey Blvd. This means that there will be no passenger pick up/drop-off in front of the terminal for several weeks. Passengers needing wheelchair assistance may be dropped off or picked up in front of the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel. All other passengers may be picked up or dropped off in the Short Term parking lot (there are signs indicating where to go). Remember the first 15 minutes of parking in the Short Term lot are FREE!
Continuing from the first post about construction, typically, passengers are encouraged to arrive at least 1-2 hours prior to flight departure to park, check luggage, and process security screening. During this time, please plan to arrive closer to 2 hours prior to scheduled departure, to ensure you catch your flight.
Finally, starting today for a period of about three hours, the Car Rental Return entrance will be relocated just around the corner (please see photo). Signage will be posted, and we will announce the change on facebook and twitter.
The construction that is taking place will help improve access to BGR and make the roadways safer for the winter season. Finally, to recap:
- Passengers needing wheelchair assistance may park in front of the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel starting Thursday.
- All other passengers may be picked up/dropped off in Short Term Parking, and the first 15 minutes are FREE. Please do not park on the side of the road or in the middle of the road as it is a safety hazard.
- Passengers traveling to BGR needing a Taxi should proceed to the Short Term Lot where they will be waiting.
- Passengers flying out of BGR should arrive approximately 2 hours prior to their scheduled departure to allow for new traffic patterns for parking/drop-off and Summer flight times.
- Check BGR's Facebook/Twitter pages for construction updates, as we transition through phases.
Thank you for your patience while we work to the customer experience at BGR. If you have any questions, please comment or email us at email@example.com