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Monday, May 9, 2016
UPDATE: Art Blog By Bob, version 2.0
Hello! Welcome! Welcome to new comers and to old friends alike! Art Blog By Bob
aims to explore the world of the visual arts primarily, but delves into
music, movies, literature, and any relevant connections to the "real"
world. You are presently looking at the original incarnation of Art Blog By Bob on Blogger that ran from 2007 through 2015. You can see my work from 2010 through 2016 at Picture This. For my latest (and greatest) writing, please come on over to "version 2.0" of Art Blog By Bob on Wordpress. The best is yet to come. Thanks!
Friday, August 21, 2015
Days of Infamy: August 21 and 22 and Major Art Heists
For art history, August 21 and 22 are the dates that will live in infamy, not December 7th (all apologies to FDR).
In some strange nexus of negative karma stretching over nearly a
century, three of the greatest art heists of all time took place on
these dates: the theft of the Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (shown above) from the Louvre in Paris, France, on August 21, 1911; the theft of Goya's Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London, England, on August 21, 1961; and the theft of Edvard Munch's The Scream (shown above) and Madonna from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, on August 22, 2004. Each story ends happily with the
works returned safe and sound, but the stories behind each still
bewilder and amaze. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Days of Infamy: August 21 and 22 and Major Art Heists."
Art Theft,
Big Think,
Da Vinci (Leonardo),
Munch (Edvard)
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Electric Apostasy: The Day Bob Dylan Died
For the 1950s' generation, "the day the music died" was February 3, 1959—the day when the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" crashed. For the 1960s generation, however, "the day the music died" was July 25, 1965—the day when Bob Dylan
crashed the 1965 Newport Folk Festival stage with an electric guitar in
front of him and rock band behind him to rip into a loud, raucous
version of his new hit, "Like a Rolling Stone."
Bob Dylan the folk figure of the early '60s was dead. Bob Dylan the
rock voice of the late '60s generation was born. "For many people the
story of Newport 1965 is simple," author-musician Elijah Wald writes in Dylan Goes Electric: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night that Split the Sixties, "Bob Dylan was busy being born, and anyone who did not welcome the change was busy dying." In Dylan Goes Electric,
Wald tells an electrifying story of just how complex the true story of
that moment was—a cultural crossroads now mired in mythology but even
more fascinating and significant when told with clear eyes and an
understanding of both sides of the divide Dylan stood across. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Electric Apostasy: The Day Bob Dylan Died."
Big Think,
Book Review by Bob,
Dylan (Bob),
Music and Art,
Political Art
Atomic Sublime: How Photography Shapes our View of Nuclear Warfare and Energy
The 70th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will undoubtedly be accompanied by images of the "mushroom clouds" that rose over both cities.
Terrible and sublime, these images burned themselves into the
consciousness of "the greatest generation" and every generation since
that's lived with both the legacy of nuclear war and the reality of
nuclear energy. A new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, titled Camera Atomica, looks deeply at the interrelated nature of photography and nuclear war
and peace to come away with a fascinating glimpse of the calculatedly
manufactured "atomic sublime" — the fascination with such terrible power
at our command that simply won't let us look away. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Atomic Sublime: How Photography Shapes our View of Nuclear Warfare and Energy."
A Beautiful Mind: Agnes Martin, Minimalism, and the Feminist Voice
"When I think of art, I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life," minimalist artist Agnes Martin once explained. "It
is not in the eye; it is in my mind. In our minds there is awareness of
perfection." In the first comprehensive survey of her art at the Tate Modern, in London, England, the exhibition Agnes Martin strives to guide viewers to that "awareness of perfection" Martin
strove to embody in her minimalist, geometrically founded art. Rather
than the cold, person-less brand of modernist minimalism, Martin's work
personifies the warm humanity of Buddhist editing down to essentials. At
the same time, surveying Martin's art and thinking allows us to revisit
the feminist critiques of minimalism and shows how Martin's stepping
back from the bustle of the New York art scene freed her to find "a
beautiful mind" — not just for women, but for everyone. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "A Beautiful Mind: Agnes Martin, Minimalism, and the Feminist Voice."
Between Two Worlds: The Unveiling of Yasuo Kuniyoshi
When the Whitney Museum of American Art decided to stage in 1948 their first exhibition of a living American artist, they chose someone who wasn't even an American citizen, but only legally could become one just before his death. Painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi
came to America as a teenager and immersed himself in American culture
and art while rising to the top of his profession, all while facing
discrimination based on his Japanese heritage. The exhibition The Artistic Journey of Yasuo Kuniyoshi, which runs through August 30, 2015, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC,
unveils an amazing story of an artist who lived between two worlds —
East and West — while bridging them in his art that not only synthesized
different traditions, but also mirrored the joys and cruelties of them. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Between Two Worlds: The Unveiling of Yasuo Kuniyoshi."
Crude Behavior: How Big Oil Tries to 'Artwash' Itself
As British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil rig spewed enough crude into the Gulf of Mexico to be seen from space in late April 2010, the Tate Britain
saw fit to celebrate their long-standing sponsorship by BP at their
annual summer party. While oil stuck to shorelines and wildlife, the
black mark of ecological destruction failed to stick to BP, at least for
that night. Artist-activists Mel Evans and Anna Feigenbaum and the Liberate Tate crew crashed that party with performance art protesting both the polluters and those who associated with them. Now, five years later, Evans revisits the relationship between "Big Oil" and "Big Art" in Artwash: Big Oil and the Arts.
Evans accuses Big Oil of focusing more on cleaning up their image than
their business' collateral damage and charges cultural institutions that
take Big Oil sponsorship money as accomplices to that crime. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Crude Behavior: How Big Oil Tries to 'Artwash' Itself."
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Students are encouraged to study at German-speaking universities and the program assists with overseas study plans. For graduate students interested in multimedia teaching technology, the program provides special projects and practical opportunities. Teaching Assistantships are available.
1. A bachelor of arts degree in German or:
2. A bachelor's degree with a minimum of 24 units of upper-division courses in German. These courses must be comparable to those required of a major in German at the University. Deficiencies will be determined by the department.
Advancement to Candidacy should take place upon completion of at least six units, preferably no more than nine units applicable to the program, with at least a 3.0 GPA.
The program will request advancement to candidacy only after a student has filed a transcript of credits or a change-of-objective form, completed the prerequisites, and fulfillment of the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).
The student graduate program must be approved by the graduate advisor, departmental committee, and the College of Liberal Arts Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.
1. Completion of a minimum of 30 units of approved upper-division and graduate courses with 24 units in German;
2. A minimum of 21 units in the 500 and 600 series taken at the CSULB campus in German which must include the following:
3. A reading knowledge of French, Italian, Latin, Russian, or Spanish. Another language may be substituted only under special circumstance. In some cases, students may require as many as 16 additional credits to fulfill the second language requirement;
4. A comprehensive examination or, with permission of a Graduate Advisor, a thesis. (Note: In order to satisfy the culminating activity requirement (thesis, project, or comprehensive examination dependent upon the program), students must earn at least three (3) units and no more than six (6) units related to the completion of the culminating activity.)

subset: commoncrawl


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By Mohammed Ademo (for AlJazeera),
DURING a press briefing in Addis Ababa on April 16, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman praised Ethiopia as a democracy, suggesting it had made great strides toward an open and inclusive electoral process.
With Ethiopia preparing to hold parliamentary elections on May 24, the timing of Sherman's remarks was unfortunate. "Ethiopia is a democracy that is moving forward in an election that we expect to be free, fair and credible and open and inclusive in ways that Ethiopia has moved forward in strengthening its democracy," Sherman said. "Every time there is an election it gets better and better."
In reality, however, Ethiopia has been backsliding toward authoritarian one-party rule. The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which has been in power for the last 23 years, has won each of the last five elections, and has recently used a slew of harsh new laws to stifle dissent and silence any opposition to the incumbent party. The country's one-time vocal opposition is severely diminished, making Ethiopia a de facto one-party state. In a statement earlier this year, 33 opposition parties announced plans to boycott the upcoming polls [PDF] citing intimidation and harassment.
"This election is only ceremonial, it's not really to win the democratic process and empower the people," Yilkal Getnet, the head of the opposition Blue Party, told Bloomberg last month, adding the upcoming plebiscite "will result in another landslide victory for the ruling coalition."
Sherman's statements drew quick condemnations. "Ethiopia remains one of the most undemocratic countries in Africa," said Daniel Calingaert, executive vice president of Freedom House, in a statement Thursday. "By calling these elections credible, Sherman has tacitly endorsed the Ethiopian government's complete disregard for the democratic rights of its citizens."
Freedom House ranks Ethiopia as "Not Free" in its annual Freedom in the World index.
A closer look at Ethiopia's last two elections paint a clear picture. In what was largely seen as the country's first genuine experiment with electoral democracy in 2005, the EPRDF opened up the political space to opposition groups and free press. By all accounts, the EPRDF lost that election. But it claimed victory even before the vote counting was completed, leading to post-election violence in which 193 people died. Almost all vocal opposition leaders and critical journalists were rounded up and jailed [PDF].
"The 2005 electoral process did not fulfill Ethiopia's obligations to ensure the exercise of political rights and freedoms necessary for genuinely democratic elections," said the Carter Center, which observed the elections, in a report after the poll.
In the most recent vote in 2010, the EPRDF won all but two of the 547 parliamentary seats. U.S. embassy officials, independent observers and the media were denied accreditation and permission to travel outside of Ethiopia's capital to observe the polls. "An environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place even before Election Day," the White House, said in a statement at the time. "In recent years, the Ethiopian government has taken steps to restrict political space for the opposition through intimidation and harassment, tighten its control over civil society, and curtail the activities of independent media."
Little has changed in Ethiopia in the intervening years. In fact, the EPRDF has tightened control over the media, jailing or forcing journalists into exile in record numbers. "The Ethiopian government's systematic repression of independent media has created a bleak landscape for free expression ahead of the May 2015 general elections," Human Rights Watch wrote in a January report. "At least 60 journalists have fled their country since 2010 while at least another 19 languish in prison. The government has shut down dozens of publications and controls most television and most radio outlets."
Ethiopia blocks almost all diaspora-based Ethiopian websites, and it has allegedly used European and Chinese spyware to target critical journalists and opposition leaders abroad, including those in the United States.
The U.S. views Ethiopia as a staunch ally in the so-called "war on terror." Given that dynamic, Washington has habitually looked the other way in the face of gross human rights abuses, but contrary to Sherman's comments, the U.S. government has often acknowledged the lack of freedom and the tightening of the political space in Ethiopia. In a January statement, for example, the State Department criticized Ethiopia for using its anti-terrorism law to silence critics.
Sherman should take cues from organizations such as Freedom House, which is funded in part by her own State Department. In an open letter to Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, six U.S.-based NGOs, including Amnesty International and Freedom House, denounced Sherman's remarks, saying they "undermine the courageous work of those pushing for a freer Ethiopia, many of whom are now imprisoned for exercising their fundamental human rights."


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SEC Freezes Assets of Insider Traders in Nexen Acquisition
Washington, D.C., July 27, 2012 —
The Securities and Exchange Commission today obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of traders using trading accounts in Hong Kong and Singapore to reap more than $13 million in illegal profits by trading in advance of this week's public announcement that China-based CNOOC Ltd. agreed to acquire Canada-based Nexen Inc.
The SEC alleges that Hong Kong-based firm Well Advantage Limited and other unknown traders stockpiled shares of Nexen stock based on confidential information about the deal in the days leading up to the announcement. Well Advantage is controlled by prominent Hong Kong businessman Zhang Zhi Rong, who also controls another company that has a "strategic cooperation agreement" with CNOOC.
The SEC took the emergency action to freeze the traders' assets within days of the public announcement of the deal and less than 24 hours after Well Advantage placed an order to liquidate its entire position in Nexen. The SEC's investigation continues.
"Well Advantage and these other traders engaged in an all-too-familiar pattern of misusing inside information to place extremely timely trades and profit handsomely from their illegal acts," said Sanjay Wadhwa, Deputy Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Market Abuse Unit and Associate Director of the New York Regional Office. "Despite the challenges of investigating misconduct in the U.S. by trading accounts located overseas, we have moved swiftly to freeze the assets of these suspicious traders and will hold them accountable for their actions."
According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, CNOOC and Nexen announced before the markets opened on Monday, July 23 that CNOOC agreed to acquire Nexen for approximately $15.1 billion. Nexen's stock subsequently rose sharply that day to close at nearly 52 percent higher than Friday's closing price.
The SEC alleges that Well Advantage and certain unknown traders were in possession of material nonpublic information about the impending acquisition when they purchased Nexen's stock in the days leading up to the public announcement. Well Advantage purchased more than 830,000 shares of Nexen on July 19 and had an unrealized trading profit of more than $7 million based on Nexen's closing price on the day of the announcement. The other unknown traders used accounts located in Singapore to purchase more than 676,000 Nexen shares in the days preceding the announcement. They immediately sold nearly all of the stock once the announcement was made for illicit profits of approximately $6 million.
The emergency court order obtained by the SEC freezes the traders' assets valued at more than $38 million and prohibits the traders from destroying any evidence. The SEC's complaint charges Well Advantage and the unknown traders with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5. In addition to the emergency relief, the Commission is seeking a final judgment ordering the traders to disgorge their ill-gotten gains with interest, pay financial penalties, and permanently bar them from future violations.
The SEC's Market Abuse Unit led by chief Daniel M. Hawke and deputy chief Sanjay Wadhwa has conducted the expedited investigation in this matter jointly with the agency's New York Regional Office. The investigation has been conducted by the New York-based unit members Michael Holland, Simona K. Suh, Charles D. Riely, and Joseph G. Sansone along with Elzbieta Wraga in the New York Regional Office. The SEC thanks the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for its assistance in this matter.


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Jimmy Duncan on EducationRepublican Representative (TN-2) | |
Proponent's Argument for voting Yes:
[Rep. Bishop, R-UT]: In 1996, Congress insisted upon a charter school program in DC. You will hear from both sides of the aisle recognition of the great value that that program has, and justifiably so. There is a waiting list in DC for those charter schools.
This bill increases the percentage of funding going to charter schools in the District. In 2003, an Opportunity Scholarship was instituted, at the insistence of Congress. Again, there was a waiting list of people wanting the opportunity; disadvantaged kids who wanted the opportunity that this scholarship afforded them. There were 216 kids at the time scheduled to enter the program who were not allowed; the bill remedies that.
Opponent's Argument for voting No:
[Rep. Hastings, D-FL]: In the last 41 years voters have rejected private school vouchers every time they have been proposed. In 1981, 89% of the people in a referendum in DC voted against vouchers. So how dare we come here to tell these people that we are going to thrust upon them something they don't want without a single public official in this community being consulted. Congress' oversight of the District is not an excuse for political pandering to the Republicans' special interest of the day du jour.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes: Rep. BETSY MARKEY (D, CO-4): This legislation will improve the learning environment for our children, reduce energy costs and create new jobs across the country. Green schools not only save school districts money but also teach the importance of sustainable living to children at a young age.
Opponent's argument to vote No: Rep. GLENN THOMPSON (R, PA-5): We all know our Nation is drowning in a sea of red ink. The bill we're debating today would add an estimated $40 billion in new spending. And despite the majority's hollow promises of fiscal responsibility, there's nothing in the legislation to offset this hefty price tag with spending reductions elsewhere. This is just more of the same borrow and spend, spend and borrow policy that we've seen under this majority and this administration.
Proponents support voting YES because:
Rep. OBEY: This bill, more than any other, determines how willing we are to make the investment necessary to assure the future strength of this country and its working families. The President has chosen to cut the investments in this bill by more than $7.5 billion in real terms. This bill rejects most of those cuts.
Opponents recommend voting NO because:
Rep. LEWIS: This bill reflects a fundamental difference in opinion on the level of funding necessary to support the Federal Government's role in education, health and workforce programs. The bill is $10.2 billion over the President's budget request. While many of these programs are popular on both sides of the aisle, this bill contains what can rightly be considered lower priority & duplicative programs. For example, this legislation continues three different programs that deal with violence prevention. An omnibus bill is absolutely the wrong and fiscally reckless approach to completing this year's work. It would negate any semblance of fiscal discipline demonstrated by this body in recent years.
Veto message from President Bush:
This bill spends too much. It exceeds [by $10.2 billion] the reasonable and responsible levels for discretionary spending that I proposed to balance the budget by 2012. This bill continues to fund 56 programs that I proposed to terminate because they are duplicative, narrowly focused, or not producing results. This bill does not sufficiently fund programs that are delivering positive outcomes. This bill has too many earmarks--more than 2,200 earmarks totaling nearly $1 billion. I urge the Congress to send me a fiscally responsible bill that sets priorities.
Proponents support voting YES because:
I believe that our Pledge of Allegiance with its use of the phrase "under God" is entirely consistent with our Nation's cultural and historic traditions. I also believe that the Court holding that use of this phrase is unconstitutional is wrong. But this court-stripping bill is not necessary. This legislation would bar a Federal court, including the Supreme Court, from reviewing any claim that challenges the recitation of the Pledge on first amendment grounds.
If we are a Nation of laws, we must be committed to allowing courts to decide what the law is. This bill is unnecessary and probably unconstitutional. It would contradict the principle of Marbury v. Madison, intrude on the principles of separation of powers, and degrade our independent Federal judiciary.
Opponents support voting NO because:
I was disappointed 4 years ago when two judges of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that our Pledge, our statement of shared national values, was somehow unconstitutional. I do not take legislation that removes an issue from the jurisdiction of this court system lightly. This legislation is appropriate, however, because of the egregious conduct of the courts in dealing with the Pledge of Allegiance.
By striking "under God" from the Pledge, the Court has shown contempt for the Congress which approved the language, and, more importantly, shows a complete disregard for the millions of Americans who proudly recite the Pledge as a statement of our shared national values and aspirations. No one is required to recite the Pledge if they disagree with its message.
Title: Expressing the sense of the Congress that public schools may display the words "God Bless America" as an expression of support for the Nation.
The National Education Association has a long, proud history as the nation's leading organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. Founded in 1857 "to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States," the NEA has remained constant in its commitment to its original mission as evidenced by the current mission statement:
To fulfill the promise of a democratic society, the National Education Association shall promote the cause of quality public education and advance the profession of education; expand the rights and further the interest of educational employees; and advocate human, civil, and economic rights for all.In pursuing its mission, the NEA has determined that it will focus the energy and resources of its 2.7 million members toward the "promotion of public confidence in public education." The ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.
Congressional Summary:Authorizes the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to award grants for qualified sexual risk avoidance education to youth and their parents. Requires such education to meet certain criteria, including:
Opponent's argument against bill: (Nick Wing on Huffington Post) How much could it cost to keep teenagers from having sex? More than $100 million per year over the course of five years would be a good starting place, according to the Abstinence Education Reallocation Act. The bill seeks to award $550 million in Affordable Care Act grants over five years to programs that provide teenagers with abstinence-only education.
The abstinence-only effort stands as an effective counter to the Democratic-backed Real Education for Healthy Youth Act. Introduced the same day as the Abstinence Education Reallocation Act, the bill seeks to "expand comprehensive sex education programs in schools and ensure that federal funds are spent on effective, age-appropriate, medically accurate programs." The legislation would also set down guidelines calling for sexual health programs that receive federal funding to feature LGBT-inclusive language on a variety of issues, reject gender stereotypes and provide accurate information about HIV.
Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools or other public institutions. No person shall be required by the United States or by any State to participate in prayer . Neither the United States nor any State shall compose the words of any prayer to be said in public schools.H. J. RES. 78 (1997):
To secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience: Neither the United States nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed. Neither the United States nor any State shall require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, prescribe school prayers, discriminate against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion.


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David signing a Flotsam book. |
You might be wondering what a Think & Do Tank is? Over the past two years, I've designed and refined a Think & Do Process at the lab to foster an open space for people of varied disciplines and backgrounds to come together and effectively learn from each other and create together. The Think & Do Process often occurs over multiple sessions with the goal of creating real tangible products / productions. As Albert Einstein famously said, "Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." This is not a single or solitary occupation but a collective, an embracing and transforming process of engagement where transparency across disciplines has us "see with new eyes;" to push ourselves and each other to be constant learners, to grow and innovate to better ourselves and the world we live in.
Collective Storytelling of Flotsam |
Participants come from varied disciplines and backgrounds, are asked to come and be mentally present throughout the entire session, respecting the goal of the day and the resources allotted within the time frame. This also holds true with the group / company involved in the process that has a stake in the final deliverables. This open line of communication before, during and after the Think & Do session helps make the entire process stronger and relevant to everyone's expectations. Through this process perspectives are synthesized from those who are participating in the creative process and key takeaways with possibilities for incubation of new research‐design projects are identified.
Ideating Opportunities with Transmedia |
We will share the conceptual design of the Flotsam Transmedia Play Experience at the upcoming Innovation Summit on March 30th and then continue incubation with focus groups in late April. So more to come! I hope in future posts I'll be able to share some of my ideas on how we define Transmedia play, learning and performance.


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Sound Devices will introduce the latest hardware accessory for its best-selling 788T Digital Recorders, the new CL-WIFI, at NAB 2011 (Booth C2946). The CL-WIFI allows users to control the already powerful 788T from anywhere on set.
The CL-WIFI works together with its companion iOS software app to allow iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches to control a connected 788T. The CL-WIFI turns an iOS device into a simple, portable control surface that allows a sound mixer to move around on set, away from the sound cart, yet still have extensive control and monitoring of their 788T recording system.
"Sound Devices constantly strives to provide intuitive accessories and firmware updates to help meet the growing needs of our new and existing 7-series recorder customers," says Jon Tatooles, managing director for Sound Devices. "The CL-WIFI was created to help sound professionals manage their 788T regardless of their location on set for production applications that require non-tethered audio recording control, such as critical sound-for-picture and music productions that require the sound mixer to record while not directly connected to the dedicated sound cart."
The hardware CL-WIFI is a Wi-Fi access point, when the iOS device connects to it over Wi-Fi. The CL-WIFI app then uses the Wi-Fi connection to communicate with the 788T. The iOS app controls metering of 788T input and track levels, time code, file length, frame rate display and record start/stop control input-to-track routing enabling take list and take name editing.
Sound Devices' 788T digital audio recorder is designed specifically for multi-track, on-location productions and features a significant expansion of input and output capability with eight full-featured microphone inputs and 12 tracks of recording. In a stainless-steel and aluminum chassis weighing less than four pounds and roughly the size of a hard-covered novel, the 788T accommodates individual controls and connectors for each of its eight inputs, plus numerous additional I/O and data connections.
Sound Devices, LLC designs and manufactures portable audio mixers, digital recorders and related audio equipment for feature film, episodic television, documentary, news-gathering, and acoustical test and measurement applications. The eleven-year-old company designs and manufactures from its Reedsburg, Wisconsin, headquarters with additional offices in Madison, WI, and Highland Park, IL. For more information, visit the Sound Devices website, www.sounddevices.com.
Filmmakers go-to destination for pre-production, production & post production equipment!
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Sandesh started its journey in the world of Journalism in 1923. Since than it has flourished into 5 editions and has played a critical and vital role in the upliftment and welfare of five crore Gujaratis. It covers the latest news and deals with the day to day situation with equanimity and fare judgment . Sandesh provides information and entertainment through its supplements dealing with almost all the subjects. The Sandesh Limited is a listed and public limited company with Head Quarter at Ahmedabad. Till 1984, Sandesh was a single edition newspaper published from Ahmedabad. Then under expansion programme new editions were launched Baroda, Surat, Rajkot & Bhavnagar in 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1998 respectively. Initially in 1923 Shri Nandlal Bodiwala started Sandesh daily on a small scale, But in 1958 when late Shri Chimanbhai Patel was at the helm of affairs ; his vision , foresight and business acuemenship changed the destiny of Sandesh and its circulation began to increase by leaps and bounds. His unique contribution was 'Sunday Sanskar Poorti' in Gujarati journalism, that included many celebrities as columnists . Thus he was the pioneer of Sunday Supplements in Gujarati journalism. He was always in search of new talents and new ideas to make Sandesh a unique and dynamic daily. It was this missionary zeal that made Sandesh a household name in Gujarat. Present CMD and the Editor of Sandesh Shri Falgunbhai Patel joined the organization in 1979 after completing his MBA in USA. His close collaboration with his father made a rare combination of wide experience and youthful dynamism that added a rare spirit of adventure and calculated business viewpoint in the development of Sandesh as a giant entity. The company went public in 1994 with a premium of Rs.90/- on the face value of Rs. 10/- per share. The issue was oversubscribed by 15 times. "The Sandesh Limited" thus became the first media house to become a public limited company.
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New from Scribner: Bones Are Forever by Kathy Reichs.
About the book, from the publisher:
Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX televison hit Bones, is at her brilliant best in a riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan—a story of infanticide, murder, and corruption, set in the high-stakes, high-danger world of diamond mining.Learn more about the author and her books.
A woman calling herself Amy Roberts checks into a Montreal hospital complaining of uncontrolled bleeding. Doctors see evidence of a recent birth, but before they can act, Roberts disappears. Dispatched to the address she gave at the hospital, police discover bloody towels outside in a Dumpster. Fearing the worst, they call Temperance Brennan to investigate.
In a run-down apartment Tempe makes a ghastly discovery: the decomposing bodies of three infants. According to the landlord, a woman named Alma Rogers lives there. Then a man shows up looking for Alva Rodriguez. Are Amy Roberts, Alma Rogers, and Alva Rodriguez the same person? Did she kill her own babies? And where is she now?
Heading up the investigation is Tempe's old flame, homicide detective Andrew Ryan. His counterpart from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is sergeant Ollie Hasty, who happens to have a little history with Tempe himself, which she regrets. This unlikely trio follows the woman's trail, first to Edmonton and then to Yellowknife, a remote diamond-mining city deep in the Northwest Territories. What they find in Yellowknife is more sinister than they ever could have imagined.
Crackling with sexual tension, whip-smart dialogue, and the startling plot twists Reichs delivers so well, Bones Are Forever is the fifteenth thrilling novel in Reichs's "cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series" (The New York Times Book Review). With the FOX series Bones in its eighth season and her popularity at its broadest ever, Kathy Reichs has reached new heights in suspenseful storytelling.
The Page 69 Test: Bones to Ashes.


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Opinion analysis: The Ninth Circuit, like hogs to the slaughter
on Jan 23, 2012 at 11:07 am
Justice Kagan today wrote the Court's unanimous opinion in National Meat Association v. Harris, holding that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) preempts a California statute relating to non-ambulatory animals. Such is the life of the junior Justice.
For those of you who do not have it memorized, the FMIA regulates slaughterhouses. Regulations implementing the Act provide for an "ante-mortem" inspection of animals. Non-ambulatory animals are classified as Condemned or (for less serious conditions) Suspect, the latter of which may permit their use for meat. The FMIA regulations also address the humane treatment of non-ambulatory animals.
The California law challenged in this case forbids a slaughterhouse to "buy, sell, or receive a nonambulatory animal," process or sell its meat, or hold it without immediately euthanizing it. The question in the case is the validity of that statute under a provision of the FMIA that preempts state requirements "within the scope" of the statute that relate to slaughterhouse "premises, facilities and operations," and are "in addition to, or different than those made under" the FMIA.
The Supreme Court held that the preemption clause "sweeps widely," including with respect to "nonconflicting" provisions of state law. The Court found it dispositive that state law would in certain cases prohibit holding a non-ambulatory animal, or using its meat, in circumstances that would be permitted by the FMIA.
The Court also rejected the Humane Society's argument that the California statute is valid when applied to purchases of animals off slaughterhouse premises. The Court viewed that provision as functionally a regulation of slaughterhouses' handling of non-ambulatory animals.
Finally, the Court rejected the Ninth Circuit's theory that the statute is not preempted because it excludes an entire class of animals from being used for meat. The Supreme Court reasoned that the FMIA itself regulates animals that will not be turned into meat, and also regulates humane treatment of animals rather than merely food safety.
One further note. The Kagan chambers announced in a concluding footnote that they had all become vegetarians. Not really. Today was a mixed day for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, who both authored the Ninth Circuit's unanimously reversed decision in National Meat Association and also joined that court's unanimously summarily reversed decision in Ryburn v. Huff. On the brighter side, however, the Court's decision today in Jones appears to have vindicated the Chief Judge's dissent from the denial of rehearing en banc in Pineda-Moreno v. United States (No. 10-7515), which will likely be sent back to the Ninth Circuit for further consideration in light of Jones.


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Renton Motorcycles – Renton, WA – Aug. 15, 2005
Renton Motorcycles
3701 East Valley Road
Renton, WA 98055-2301
Robert Lanphere
Terry Stallcop, General Manager
Bob Lanphere, an auto dealer based in Oregon bought Renton Cycle in October of 2002, but general manager Terry Stallcop is in charge of the daily operation of the powersports and boat dealership, on-site restaurant and an indoor dirt track. The entire facility is roughly 140,000 square feet. About half makes up the powersports store. The rest is divided between boats, the restaurant and the track. Renton Motorcycles sells Honda, Yamaha Kawasaki, Suzuki, Polaris, Beta and Swift in its powersports lineup. Beta is an Italian trials and dirt bike, while Swift is a custom V-twin line. Cycles, ATV, PWC and snowmobiles are all available, along with Rinker, Baja, Glastron and Crestliner boats. Renton Cycle also carries toy hauler RVs and several brands of utility, snowmobile and watercraft trailers. The entire operation employs 110 full time employees with 75 working solely in the motorcycle store.
"Just the lack of riding areas in our state," says Stallcop. "They keep closing riding areas and that is my biggest area of concern at this point in time."
"Sportbikes. [Yamaha] R1s and R6s and [Suzuki] GSX-Rs," says Stallcop.
"It depends on the time of the year," says Stallcop. "Certain times of the year dirt bikes and ATVs outsell street bikes. This time of the year [summer], we're starting to get into more street bikes. The customers are all over the board, but they have all done their homework on the Internet before they come in."
Stallcop says that parts and service make up about 20 percent of the overall business. There are 12 techs in the service department along with a service manager, assistant service manager and three service advisors. "We're open 7 days a week here," says Stallcop. "That's just the way our company does business on both the motorcycle and the car side. We are open 362 days a year; we only close Christmas, New Years and Thanksgiving. Twenty employees handle the parts operation.
"We are really diversified in our advertising," says Stallcop. We do radio, some print, direct mail. We do our own 32 page full-color magazine a couple times a year. We have a huge inventory and we get a lot of repeat and referral business. Renton also sponsors its own race team with approximately 40 people on it. "We have an ATV race team, a motocross race team, an off-road race team and a road race team," says Stallcop. "We have two people that work here, one is a senior sales guy the other is in parts that manage the race team. We give special discounts on bikes, parts and accessories and labor." Finally Renton Motorcycles was the title sponsor of the Seattle Supercross last April, which Stallcop says, "worked extremely well for us."
"I think the most important thing when you are dealing with customers is to follow through and do what you say you are going to do," says Stallcop. "If you say you are going to call them back, call them back. If you don't know the answer to something, say you don't know. We preach that to our people all the time. If someone asks you how much a bike weighs and you don't remember, don't take a guess at it. Say 'Let's go find out.' Be honest, be up front, treat customers like you like to be treated yourself and follow through we every commitment you make to every customer."
-Blake Stranz


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WASHINGTON (AP) – Caving to a massive campaign by Internet services and their millions of users, Congress indefinitely postponed legislation Friday to stop online piracy of movies and music costing U.S. companies billions of dollars every year. Critics said the bills would result in censorship and stifle Internet innovation.
The demise, at least for the time being, of the anti-piracy bills was a clear victory for Silicon Valley over Hollywood, which has campaigned for a tougher response to online piracy. The legislation also would cover the counterfeiting of drugs and car parts.
Congress' qualms underscored how Internet users can use their collective might to block those who want to change the system.
The battle over the future of the Internet also played out on a different front Thursday when a loose affiliation of hackers known as "Anonymous" shut down Justice Department websites for several hours and hacked the site of the Motion Picture Association of America after federal officials issued an indictment against Megaupload.com, one of the world's biggest file-sharing sites.
The site of the Hong Kong-based company was shut down, and the founder and three employees were arrested in New Zealand on U.S. accusations that they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. New Zealand police raided homes and businesses linked to the founder, Kim Dotcom, on Friday and seized guns, millions of dollars and nearly $5 million in luxury cars, officials there said.
In the U.S., momentum against the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act and the House's Stop Online Piracy Act, known popularly as PIPA and SOPA, grew quickly on Wednesday when the online encyclopedia Wikipedia and other Web giants staged a one-day blackout and Google organized a petition drive that attracted more than 7 million participants.
That day alone, at least six senators who had co-sponsored the Senate legislation reversed their positions. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in statements at the time and again on Friday, stressed that more consensus-building was needed before the legislation would be ready for a vote.
On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was postponing a test vote set for Tuesday "in light of recent events." House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, followed suit, saying consideration of a similar House bill would be postponed "until there is wider agreement on a solution."
With opposition mounting, it was unlikely that Reid would have received the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation to the Senate floor.
The two bills would allow the Justice Department, and copyright holders, to seek court orders against foreign websites accused of copyright infringement. The legislation would bar online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as credit card companies from doing business with an alleged violator. They also would forbid search engines from linking to such sites.
The chief Senate sponsor, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., cited estimates that copyright piracy costs the American economy more than $50 billion annually and that global sales of counterfeit goods via the Internet reached $135 billion in 2010. He and Smith insist that their bills target only foreign criminals and that there is nothing in them to require websites, Internet service providers, search engines or others to monitor their networks.
That didn't satisfy critics who said the legislation could force Internet companies to pre-screen user comments or videos, burden new and smaller websites with huge litigation costs and impede new investments.
The White House, while not taking a specific stand on the bills, last week said it would "not support any legislation that reduces freedom of expression ... or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet." On Friday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said online piracy is an issue that has to be addressed, "but everybody has to be in on it for it to work and get through Congress."
The scuttling, for now, of PIPA and SOPA frustrates what might have been one of the few opportunities to move significant legislation in an election year where the two parties have little motivation to cooperate.
Until recently "you would have thought this bill was teed up," with backing from key Senate leaders and support from powerful interest groups, said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., who cosponsored the original bill but quickly dropped his backing on the grounds the bill could undermine innovation and Internet freedom.
Moran said the "uprising" of so many people with similar concerns was a "major turnaround, and in my experience it is something that has happened very rarely."
Moran said PIPA and SOPA now have "such a black eye" that it will be difficult to amend them. Reid, however, said that there had been progress in recent talks among the various stakeholders and "there is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved."
Jeff Chester, executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy, a consumer protection and privacy advocacy group, said Google and Facebook and their supporters "have delivered a powerful blow to the Hollywood lobby." He predicted a compromise that doesn't include what many see as overreaching provisions in the current legislation.
"It's been framed as an Internet freedom issue, but at the end of the day it will be decided on the narrow interests of the old and new media companies," he said. The big questions involve who should or shouldn't pay – or be paid – for Internet content.
Leahy said he respected Reid's decision to postpone the vote but lamented the Senate's unwillingness to debate his bill.
"The day will come when the senators who forced this move will look back and realize they made a knee-jerk reaction to a monumental problem," Leahy said. Criminals in China, Russia and other countries "who do nothing but peddle in counterfeit products and stolen American content are smugly watching how the United States Senate decided" it was not worth taking up the bill, he said.
In the House, Smith said he had "heard from the critics" and resolved that it was "clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products." Smith had planned on holding further committee votes on his bill next month.
The bill's opponents were relieved it was put on hold.
Markham Erickson, executive director of NetCoalition, commended Congress for "recognizing the serious collateral damage this bill could inflict on the Internet."
The group represents Internet and technology companies including Google, Yahoo and Amazon.com. Erickson said they would work with Congress "to address the problem of piracy without compromising innovation and free expression."
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who has joined Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Moran in proposing an alternative anti-piracy bill, credited opponents with forcing lawmakers "to back away from an effort to ram through controversial legislation."
But the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, former Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, warned, "As a consequence of failing to act, there will continue to be a safe haven for foreign thieves." The MPAA, which represents such companies as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., is a leading advocate for the anti-piracy legislation.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The California health exchange says it's been giving the names of tens of thousands of consumers to insurance agents without their permission or knowledge in an effort to hit deadlines for coverage.
The consumers in question had gone online to research insurance options but didn't ask to be contacted, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday ( http://lat.ms/1jyABXS).
Officials with Covered California, the exchange set up in response to the federal health law, said they began providing names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses if available this week in a pilot program. They said they thought it would help people meet a Dec. 23 deadline to have health insurance in place by Jan. 1.
The state doesn't know exactly how many people are affected by the information sharing. Social Security numbers, income and other information were not provided to the agents, exchange officials said.
The pilot program meets privacy laws and was cleared by the exchange's legal counsel, Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, told the Times.
But some insurance brokers and consumers weren't pleased with the state's initiative.
"I'm shocked and dumbfounded," said Sam Smith, an Encino insurance broker and president of the California Association of Health Underwriters, an industry group.
"These people would have a legitimate complaint," said Smith, who added he had been given two consumer names.
The names provided include people who started an insurance application on the Covered California website but didn't complete the process.
A local agent emailed Robert Blatt on Thursday asking him about the application he'd started.
"You can't do this," Blatt, a technology consultant in Ventura County, told the newspaper. "For a government agency to release this information to an outside person is a major issue."
Covered California has signed up nearly 80,000 people in private health plans and an additional 140,000 people qualified for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program.
But the exchange has been struggling recently with a surge of applicants, and consumers are getting frustrated with long wait times. The state wanted to provide additional help by connecting consumers with a network of 7,700 insurance agents who are trained and certified in the enrollment process, said Lee, the exchange chief.
"I can imagine some people may be upset," he said. "But I can see a lot of people will be comforted and relieved at getting the help they need to navigate a confusing process."
A call to Covered California's media line by The Associated Press was not immediately returned Saturday.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Our friends J and D rank the Harvard Natural History Museum as one of their two favorite Boston destinations, along with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Dinosaur and whale bones. A hummingbird collection. The world's largest collection of Victorian glass flowers.
This Ivy League museum is the very definition of old school exhibition style: all the specimens are tightly grouped, even stacked, in front of bright monochrome backgrounds. Without any environmental context whatsoever, the viewer is free to think about the animals however they wish, which makes for a wonderfully poetic exploration. Contemporary museums go to extremes to recreate appropriate environments for their stuffed specimens and often avoid the relationships that are so interesting. It's surprisingly refreshing to focus on just one thing, not the entire context.


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During a Red Bull Music Academy-sponsored impromptu performance yesterday, bandleader of The Roots ?uestlove was asked by Fuse about the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania group's plans. The longtime band for "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" is in the middle of a move, where the "SNL" comedian-turned-host is assuming "The Tonight Show" spot long-occupied by Jay Leno in 2014.
"'The Tonight Show' is coming to us. We are not going to 'The Tonight Show,'" said ?uestlove. The NBC weeknight program is moving from Los Angeles, California to New York City to build the show a new set, according to Yahoo News. ?uesto added, "Basically, you know, it's going to be the same show."
Although he spoke with confidence, ?uestlove did admit the possibility of a change of plans, whether by NBC, show producers or the veteran band. "That's a year from now," said the drummer, producer and deejay. "Anything can happen. So right now we're just very concerned and kind of just concentrating on still doing our thing at 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.'" He presented some assurance in saying, "We're honored to kind of receive the baton and pass down tradition…Yeah, we're staying."
The Roots are also presently recording their 13th studio album, with reported strong involvement from Dice Raw, P.O.R.N. and Truck North.
RELATED: ?uestlove & Rahzel Kick Off Red Bull Music Academy With Impromptu Steet Concert


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For decades, mariners in the United States have depended on NOAA's Tide Tables for the best estimate of expected water levels. These tables provide accurate predictions of the astronomical tide (i.e., the change in water level due to the gravitational effects of the moon and sun and the rotation of the Earth); however, they cannot predict water-level changes due to wind, atmospheric pressure, and river flow, which are often significant.
To better serve maritime user community, an upgraded three-dimensional version of the Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System (CBOFS) was developed by the NOAA/National Ocean Service/Office of Coast Survey in a joint project with the NOAA/NOS/Center for operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) and the NOAA/National Weather Service/National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Central Operations (NCO) using Rutgers University's Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). CBOFS generates water level, current, temperature and salinity nowcast and forecast guidance four times per day. Aerial animations of the whole Chesapeake Bay as well as time series at particular stations or points of interest are available for over 58 locations for the five parameters (water level, currents, temperature, and/or salinity).
CBOFS runs on NOAA's High Performance Computers (HPC) in a new Coastal Ocean Modeling Framework (COMF) developed by CO-OPS. As a result, CBOFS has direct access to National Weather Service operational meteorological products that it needs to run reliably.
The higher resolution and three-dimensionality of the new CBOFS along with the added current nowcast and forecast information and the additional reliability of running at NOAA's HPC will further assist U.S. port authorities and mariners in efficiently navigating the Chesapeake Bay without compromising safety.
For more detailed information about CBOFS, please click here.
For more information about ROMS, please click here.
Disclaimer: The Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System (CBOFS) has been implemented by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) to provide the maritime user community with short-term predictions of water levels, water currents, water temperatures and salinity of the Chesapeake Bay. CBOFS uses a numerical hydrodynamic model to generate the nowcast and forecast information; therefore, they should be considered as model-generated nowcast and forecast guidance. For more detailed information related to the OFS disclaimer, please visit at the Disclaimers web page.


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A post on an old topic for a new outlet, a new British radio station called Talk Radio that asked for some speculation about what happens to al Muhajiroun now that Anjem Choudary has been jailed. Probably not a huge amount, but undoubtedly the loss of their star performer will have some knock on effect to their networks and influence.
Anjem Choudary was jailed for five-and-a-half years on Tuesday
Thursday, September 8, 2016
The jailing of Anjem Choudary is not the end of al-Muhajiroun, the extremist group of which he was the fulcrum. Whilst a process of attrition has seen a number of the group's more prominent members in jail or disappearing into the conflict in the Levant, a number still remain in the UK. The question is which of them will be able to fill Choudary's role as prominent and public speaker for the organization.
It is worth pointing out that it is in the first instance that membership of al-Muhajiroun is almost impossible to pin down. Given the absence of formal membership cards, all that can possibly be done is point out that a constellation of individuals persistently show up at each other's events, and advocate the same message and are involved in similar activity. This in many ways constitutes a group, but it is difficult to talk about it in absolute terms with the organization staying largely amorphous and fluid, reflecting a regulatory environment that quite aggressively tries to clamp down on them.
Of those that are left, therefore, who might be identified as future spokesmen for the group's message?
In an interview after Choudary's jailing, Ricardo Macfarlane, also known as Abdul Hakeem, a man who was jailed for participating in 'sharia patrols' around East London, pointed out that Choudary's incarceration 'leaves big boots to fill.' Macfarlane may have some history, but lacks the preaching charisma of others. Some, like Abu Haleema or Abu Waleed have some history with the community and have been advancing the message publicly for some time through various videos and online speeches.
But the reality is that one of the criteria for participation in the community is propagation and advocacy, which in many ways makes them all preachers. Some may be more articulate than others, but all of them are driven by spreading their violent message as much as possible. Consequently, they will all be filling his boots in different ways.
A policeman stands in front of devotees shouting 'Allah u Akhbar' during a 2002 'Rally for Islam' in Trafalgar Square, which was attended by around 400 Al-Muhajiroun devotees (Getty)
The reason that Choudary was able to elevate himself so far above the others was longevity and profile, along with an ability to deliver pithy messages to attendant audiences and manipulate any discussion to focus on the message he was seeking to deliver. Able to remain tone deaf to any counter arguments, and the fact he had been alongside Omar Bakri Mohammed since his early days of establishing al-Muhajiroun meant he was an excellent promoter of the group's message. As his acolyte and now aspirant 'jihadi john' Siddhartha Dhar told him via text message after the announcement of the Caliphate by Isis, once Choudary gave his 'Islamic verdict' on the announcement, his 'words would be gold on Twitter.'
In his absence, the group will not go away, but it may lose some of its public profile. This will reduce some of its magnetic power, as others lack his links and attention-grabbing power. The media will focus less on the others given their different personalities and loquaciousness. But the remaining figures will likely remain persistent features of investigations.
A survey of the eight different terrorist plots disrupted in the United Kingdom since the murder of Lee Rigby in Woolwich in May 2013 that have shown up in courts show that at least five have clear links to the group, two with tenuous links, and a final one that may also be linked but the detail has yet to emerge. All of which suggests that security and intelligence agencies will continue to look at the community as one of the beating hearts of the terrorist threat that the United Kingdom faces, and has continued to face since the late 1990s.
Raffaello Pantucci is Director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute and the author of We Love Death As You Love Life: Britain's Suburban Terrorists


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Watch Dogs - walkthrough, mission guide, hacking, access codes, strategy guide
Don't miss our essential walkthrough for Watch Dogs' single-player campaign, investigations, side missions, secrets and online content.
Watch Dogs, Ubisoft's much-hyped sandbox game of cyber-subterfuge, has finally hit the shelves nearly two years after its E43 reveal. Set in a Chicago of the not-too-distant future, you assume the role of Aiden Pearce, a hacker-supreme hot on the heels of justice following the sinister death of his niece.
There are stories and systems galore to get stuck into, and we'll be expanding our guide as we make our way through the game. To get things started, we're putting together a complete walkthrough for the game's single-player campaign, with a guide to Watch Dogs' online multiplayer and side-mission content to follow.
Watch Dogs: Act 1 walkthrough
Watch Dogs - Bottom of the Eighth, access code, blackout, hideout, camera hacking
The opening section of Watch Dogs teaches you the fundamentals of hacking Chicago.
Watch Dogs - They Can't Hide, profiling people, access bank accounts, potential crimes
How to track down the would-be assailant, and hack a little free cash while you're at it.
Watch Dogs - Big Brother, city hacking, caller location, GPS, phone hack
Use the city itself to take down an opponent, and bag the maximum experience points.
Watch Dogs - Foresight, hack ATMs, make money, 416 Full-Auto Assault Rifle
We'll help you hack some quick cash to finish up this brief mission.
Watch Dogs - Backstage Pass, access code, hacking game, evade guards, crane
How to complete this mission without raising the alarm - or your blood pressure.
Watch Dogs - Hacking Contract, 2XTheTap, hacker, Online Contracts App, Online Hacking
We'll walk you through your first encounter with an aggressive hacker.
Watch Dogs - Backseat Driver, avoid the police, blockade, fugitive, garage hack
How to avoid the attention of the police and reach your target safely.
Watch Dogs - Open Your World, kill the guards, laptop hack, Badboy17, Clara
We'll show you how to clear the building, grab the code you need, and escape the police.
Watch Dogs - Thanks For The Tip, signal location, ctOS box, phone hack, Fixers
How to clear the building of guards, grab the code you need, and make it out alive.
Watch Dogs - Not The Pizza Guy, explosive panel, avoid Fixers
Tips for dealing with the guards in this section, and advice for dodging the final firefight.
Watch Dogs - A Wrench In The Works, Angelo Tucci, Profiler, niece, car chase
How to track down Tucci and take him out for good.
Watch Dogs - Dressed in Peels, Raul Lionzo, gun, escape, access network, Focus Boost
Our guide to navigating this tricky mission without causing a riot.
Watch Dogs: Act 2 walkthrough
Watch Dogs - Hold On, Kiddo, Jackson, station, train hack, Fixer fight, L-train
We'll walk you through hacking the train station and dealing with both Fixer fights.
Watch Dogs - Brandon Docks ctOS Control Centre, sniper, sniper rifle, ctOS server
Our guide to sniping your way into the ctOS building without breaking a sweat.
Watch Dogs - Breakable Things, Racine's office, clues, armoured guards, IED
How to complete this mission without coming a cropper with the armoured guards.
Watch Dogs - Collateral, defend Clara, explosive traps, escape the motel
Our walkthrough for surviving this mission's deadly fire-fights.
Watch Dogs - One Foot in the Grave, find Tobias, bridge access, poker, catch Tobias
How to find Tobias quickly and stop him in his tracks.
Watch Dogs - A Blank Spot There-ish, generators, access buildings, power controls
Our guide to activating all three generators quickly and simply.
Watch Dogs - The Wards ctOS Control Center, access code, forklift, hacking game
How to unlock the second of Watch Dogs' control centres without alerting the guards.
Watch Dogs - Jury-Rigged, security terminals, ctOS Tower, sniper, patrols
We'll help you avoid the attention of the snipers as you search for the security terminals.
Watch Dogs - Grandma's Bulldog, Rossi-Fremont, Damien's IP address, laptop camera
How to complete the fiddly camera-work in this tricky mission.
Watch Dogs - Not a Job for Tyrone, Bedbug, tracker, protect Rabbit, escape
Stay on Bedbug's trail and get Rabbit to safety with the next part of our guide.
Watch Dogs - Uninvited, blackmail, Sienna Brick Factory, place IEDs, find Bedbug
How to use the IEDs correctly before tracking down Bedbug.
Watch Dogs - Breadcrumbs, briefcase, boat, access marina, patrols
Our quick guide to tracking the briefcase, then pinching it from under the guards' noses.
Watch Dogs - Mad Mile ctOS Control Center, ctOS hack, attract guards
Unlocking the next ctOS Control Center without alerting the authorities.
Watch Dogs - Stare into the Abyss, Crispin, Crispin's phone, frag grenade, Infinite 92
How to take out your target with one very big bang.
Watch Dogs - A Risky Bid, Iraq, IDs, weapons, crane, short-cut
Our guide to every fight in this action-packed mission.
Watch Dogs - Role Model, find Jackson, environment hacks, hacking skill
Surviving the deadly firefights, and making your way to Jackson.
Watch Dogs - Planting a Bug, contact Bedbug, Iraq's server room, escape the Viceroys
How to guide Bedbug through this tricky penultimate mission.
Watch Dogs - Way Off The Grid, data upload, hard drive, final chase
Our simple guide to the final mission of Watch Dogs' second act.
Watch Dogs: Act 3 walkthrough
Watch Dogs - Pawnee ctOS Control Center, Pawnee access code, guard camera
How to successfully infiltrate the next ctoS Control Center without being spotted.
Watch Dogs - Hope is a Sad Thing, drinking game, Ray Kenney, gate, password, antenna
Our guide to manipulating this mission, and finishing the drinking game in style.
Watch Dogs - Let's Play Make a Deal, T-Bone, truck, militia, compound
Keep up with T-Bone, steal his truck, drop it off, then escape to safety.
Watch Dogs - A Pit of Paranoia, helicopter hack, find Blume chiefs, restricted area
Identify the Blume security chiefs, assassinate them, then flee the scene safely.
Watch Dogs - Unstoppable Force, convoy, IED, armoured guards
Interrupt the convoy and take out your target without breaking a sweat.
Watch Dogs - The Future is in Blume, infiltrate Blume, ctOS boxes, profiling, spyware
Sneak in, install the spyware, then get out without being spotted.
Watch Dogs - For the Portfolio, protect T-Bone, militia, defences, boat
Hook up with T-Bone, keep him alive during the militia fight, then flee to safety.
Watch Dogs - By Any Means Necessary, Rossi-Fremont, server data, Iraq fight, Iraq's guard
Sneak into Iraq's server room, steal the data, and then finish Act 3's final fight.
Watch Dogs: Act 4 walkthrough
Watch Dogs - Someone's Knocking, hacking game
Complete the tough hacking mini-game.
Watch Dogs - In Plain Sight, van chase, kill the Fixer, escape the police
Catch up with the Fixer fast, then escape the police.
Watch Dogs - The Rat's Lair, access point, keep T-Bone alive, escape the Fixers
Track down the hacking point, keep T-Bone alive, and survive the furious firefight.
Watch Dogs - The Defalt Condition, find Defalt, hack Defalt's server
Locate Defalt, get on his tail, then pinch the data from right under his nose.
Watch Dogs - Little Sister, phone hack, guide Nicky, hack network, fight or escape
Track down Nicky, lead her to safety, then make your escape.
Watch Dogs - Ghosts of the Past, police helicopter, avoid the police
Flee the city without being seen by the police.
Watch Dogs - No Turning Back, Quinn, office, rooftop fight, download video
Track down Quinn, steal the video from his office, and survive the deadly rooftop firefight.
Watch Dogs: Act 5 walkthrough
Watch Dogs - Sometimes You Still Lose, Maurice, ctOS locations, Damien, lighthouse
Hack ctOS, track down Damien, and finish the single-player game.
Watch Dogs: secrets and collectibles guide
Watch Dogs - Burner Phones, locations, Sanity Check, hidden items, collectibles
Find all eight of Watch Dogs' burner phones.
Watch Dogs: ctOs Towers, locations, Clear Signals, trophy, achievement
Track down and unlock every last ctOS Tower.
Watch Dogs - QR Codes, hidden messages, Gangstar Assault Rifle, Read-Only
Find every single QR code and unlock a new weapon.
Watch Dogs - Missing Persons Investigations, Crie For Your Daughter, Darkness Looms
Uncover all the corpses then put a stop to the killer.
Watch Dogs - Human Traffic Investigations, Revoking Client Privileges, Out of Business
Complete all ten investigations, then finish Demarco for good.
Watch Dogs - Weapons Trade Investigations, Saturday Night Special, They Call Him The Vigilante
Find all nine weapon crates and finish the bonus mission.
Watch Dogs - online tips, invasions, how to blend in, avoid other players
Tips for hiding in plain sight during mulitplayer sessions.
Watch Dogs - Gang Hideouts, main targets, rewards, Spec Ops weapons
Track down and clear out all fifteen of the game's hidden hideouts.
Watch Dogs: DLC walkthrough
Watch Dogs - Breakthrough, convoy, interception, escape
Smash your way through the first of Watch Dogs' DLC missions.
Watch Dogs - The Palace, SoSueMe, hard drives, stealth
Sneak in and out of SoSueMe's mansion, then track down those hard drives.
Watch Dogs - Signature Shot, tailing, smuggler, weapon buyer, weapon
Tail your target and sneak out with the hidden weapon.


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Description (from the book's inside panel): Martha Boyle and Olive Barstow could have been friends. But they weren't-and now all that is left are eerie connections between two girls who were in the same grade at school and who both kept the same secret without knowing it.
Now Martha can't stop thinking about Olive. A family summer on Cape Cod should help banish those thoughts; instead, they seep in everywhere. And this year Martha's routine at her beloved grandmother's beachshide house is complicated by the Manning boys. Jimmy, Tate, Todd, Luke, and Leo. But especially Jimmy. What if, what if, what if, what if? The world can change in a minute.
Review: Olive's Ocean opens with a very simple yet powerful opening scene that stirs our emotions. Our main character, Martha, opens the door and is greeted by a strange woman holding an envelope announces who announces: "Olive Barstow was my daughter." Olive, a schoolmate that Martha had barely noticed, has recently been killed in a car accident. The envelope contains an extract from Olive's diary in which she shares her dreams, including the hope that Martha, who she states is "the nicest person in my whole entire class," would become her friend. With this original and compelling opening scene Henkes draws us into one summer in the life of a familiar, convincing, likeable twelve-year-old girl. A girl who is slowly losing her childhood innocence as she realized that we are all mortal.
I liked Martha right away. She is a quiet, introvert who keeps her dreams of becoming a famous writer a secret in fears that her aspiring-writer father will think she is just copying him. She slowly comes out of her shell as her eyes are open to the world around her. Martha experiences at her grandmother's house has all the elements of a traditional summer novel: a house by the sea, playing at the beach and board games, and a summer crush. The book's setting offers the idea of summer as the time between, the hinge time of growth and change.
What sets Olive's Ocean apart from all the other summer novels is that at its core the book is about the web of relationships with Martha. Like many younger siblings have witness and experienced, Martha's older and beloved brother begins to pull away, the first indication that times are changing. Martha sees her grandmother with new eyes, one who has a world of experience yet still retains vulnerability and insecurities in her old age. Martha and her mother can't seem to stop irritating each other. Her summer crush turns out differently from what Martha expected. All of these relationships are created and feel natural. The heavy issues of realizing death's sudden appearance are handled with care, grace, and humor. You can tell that the author has respect for his characters and they all come alive on the page. Although we don't know who the real Olive is, we do get a chance to see what her life could have been as we vicariously live through Martha's experiences. Olive's Ocean is a deceptively clever and complex look at how the life of another can add dimension to our own existence.
Rating: 4 stars
Why it was challenged/banned: Olive's Ocean was number 59 on the list for the most challenged book from 2000-2009 due to the book's "sexually explicit content and offensive language". I'm a bit surprised at the sexually explicit content charge since nothing even remotely sexual happens besides a kiss, which was even detailed. I'm guessing this claim was raised when Martha's 13 year old brother makes an offhand comment that his parents are exhibiting "morning sex behavior". The comment is something that I would expect a boy undergoing puberty to say. I'm sure many reasons would gloss this over and realize that the parents are happy because they have resolved their problems. There is mild language in the book, but nothing that you wouldn't find on a middle school playground or even a PG movie.
Words of Caution: Mild language. I would recommend this book to strong Grade 5 readers and up.
If you like this book try: Shug by Jenny Han or The Austin Family Chronicles (particularly A Ring of Endless Light) by Madeline L'Engle


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Straight wire comes in spring brass for piping and rods. The wire may be used for piping on locomotives, cars and structures. Prototype pipe is measured by inside dimension, however for modeling purposes, the outside dimension is used. Rods may be used for truss rods on cars, bridges, water tanks and on other structures. They can also be used for bands on water tanks, throw rods for turnouts, railings, masts and standing rigging on ships.
Ten 12" long pieces of .013 brass wire per package. Wire gauge 28, drill size 80, corresponds to 2" rod in N, 3/4" pipe in HO, and 1/2" pipe in S.


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Saturday, April 10, 2010
fingers crossed..candles blazing..positive, positive, positive
we have been looking at real estate for many months now, with many ups and downs...getting attached and getting outbid. the SF market is tough when your regulars like us'ns.
well, our agent emailed a few days ago and i had to leave work at 5pm (early) to get the 1st or 2nd viewing of this special home.
you would all love it. built in 1913, in the same family the whole time, all original details in tact...including a second pantry with the original metal mesh pie rack shelving and a split back door (you can open the top half only) and so many more cherished tid bits.
here's to hoping its our time to own a piece of the pie....fingers crossed.
11 comments:
- 24 Corners said...
How exciting!!! Sounds beyond perfection! All the best!
- April 10, 2010 at 9:46 AM
- Christina Elaine said...
sounds wonderful..... good luck....
ceo - April 10, 2010 at 10:28 AM
- Uncle Beefy said...
Fingers crossed, candles lit... good luck! Sounds great! Now... about those donuts? ;)
- April 10, 2010 at 11:20 AM
- Ivy Lane said...
Sending so POSITIVE thoughts your way! I hope you get your "piece of the pie"!!! and...you musn't keep us all hanging!!!!!
GOOD LUCK!!! :) fingers AND toes are crossed!!! - April 10, 2010 at 12:25 PM
- anythinggoeshere said...
My fingers are crossed for you. It looks lovely.
Do you mean a "dutch" door? That's what they used to call the find that opened top only or both if latched together.
xo Joan@anythinggoeshere - April 10, 2010 at 4:41 PM
- Ivy Lane said...
Any news????? have candles lit... toes are starting to hurt..LOL!!
- April 10, 2010 at 5:05 PM
- red ticking said...
lets have a good chat tomorrow...xo
- April 10, 2010 at 9:37 PM
- brock street said...
thanks for all the positive. got an early start on the good vibes. they are not excepting offers until wed, so we can all wait together.
we did go with our agent again today for a second peak and this one feels good.
i promise to give the updates as they come. - April 10, 2010 at 11:23 PM
- Laura said...
the right house always finds you... it sounds like this one already knew your name...
- April 11, 2010 at 8:46 AM
- Laura Trevey said...
Fingers crossed for you... just found your lovely blog ~~
xo Laura - April 11, 2010 at 4:38 PM
- mb said...
OK. Fingers and toes all crossed. Good luck.
If it is meant to be, it will be. Right?
mb from Dallas - April 13, 2010 at 8:59 AM