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Lymphedema after cervical cancer treatment
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
I was diagnosed with cervical cancer in February 1998 and subsequently underwent a radical hysterectomy followed by cautionary radiation therapy. I now live with Lymphedema. I currently use a mechanical pump sleeve device; but it offers very little relief and I am still extremely limited in my mobility. Any recommendations on treating this lifelong affliction?
Lora Packel MS, PT, Coordinator of Cancer Therapy Services for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, responds:
As you mentioned in your letter, lymphedema is a lifelong condition that can have a significant impact on mobility, body image and quality of life. Lymphedema can occur when lymph nodes are dissected, after radiation to a lymphatic bed, or after an infection. The standard of care for lymphedema treatment is Complete Decongestive Therapy. This is an intensive therapy program that includes lymphatic massage, bandaging, garment wear, exercise and skin care. Our program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania does not use the pneumatic pump to treat lymphedema, as the research doesn't presently support its use in most occasions. There are some people who can benefit from its use, however they need to be evaluated and closely followed by a trained therapist.
Lymphedema therapy should be provided by physical therapists, occupational therapists or massage therapists that have undergone >50-100 hours of training. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has an extensive lymphedema program with six physical therapists that have undergone this training and specialize in oncology rehabilitation.
For more information, see our lymphedema section. Also, the Klose-Norton website has a list of trained therapists and other important information for patients.


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iEagle offers the best range of cheap airfare deals for West Palm Beach to Singapore flights. If you are looking to travel on business class flights from West Palm Beach to Singapore, turn to iEagle for cheap business class tickets. We offer discount airfares on direct and indirect flights between PBI and SIN. Book your cheap Singapore flight tickets to West Palm Beach International Airport and nearby airports in the USA. Don't worry about airfare for last minute travel to West Palm Beach International Airport! iEagle books cheap last minute flights to Singapore (SIN) from West Palm Beach (PBI).
China Airlines, United Airlines, Air China, Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, China Southern Airlines, Korean Air, Delta Air Lines, Hainan Airlines, ANA and other airlines operate cheap flights from West Palm Beach to Singapore Changi International Airport Singapore. Singapore is a prime destination for tourists as they get easy access to nearby popular tourist places. We book air travel to these tourist places from West Palm Beach via Singapore at the lowest prices.
iEagle issues the cheapest tickets for flights to Singapore from West Palm Beach (PBI) in business class and economy class. We have the best deals for business class flights and the cheapest airline tickets for economy class travel to Singapore from West Palm Beach International Airport and nearby airports. Book your air travel at iEagle and board cheap Singapore flights from West Palm Beach.

subset: commoncrawl


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In 2013, if you think you've got a long-lost twin, there's one way to find out: Connect on Facebook, Skype each other, and raise money on Kickstarter to meet up and get a DNA test.
According to their Kickstarter page, Samantha Futerman and Anaïs Bordier have already hit their Kickstarter goal of $30,000, so you can expect a documentary about their unique reunion. Their story is like a flipped Catfish: The internet made a perfect match.
Futerman and Bordier say they were both born in South Korea on Nov. 19, 1987, and adopted. Futerman grew up in New Jersey and eventually moved to Los Angeles to act, while Bordier studied fashion in London after growing up in Paris. One day, Bordier's friend posted a screenshot on Facebook showing Futerman in this YouTube video. After some online sleuthing and an appearance by Futerman in the "21 and Over" trailer, Bordier tracked down her apparent twin and sent her a message:
The two connected, chatted online and discovered similarities, including their shared lactose intolerance and "apparent napoleon complex." Now they plan to reunite and get a DNA test to confirm the match. The meetup will be filmed and:
"The film will touch upon nature vs. nurture, adoption, sisterhood, & the power of social media. Our goal is to reveal every step of their journey, in order to exhibit an experience never documented before."
Long-lost twins, coming to a YouTube/Skype/Twitter/theater near you.


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The fc_open function returns a pointer to PRFileDesc that refers to an open file (fileName). The fileName must be the full path name of an existing file. The file is opened in read mode only. The application calling this function should not modify the currency of the file pointed to by the PRFileDesc * unless the DUP_FILE_DESC is also passed to this function. In other words, the application at minimum should not issue a read operation based on this pointer that would modify the currency for the PRFileDesc *. If a read operation is required, that might change the currency for the PRFileDesc *, then the application should call this function with the argument DUP_FILE_DESC.
On a successful call to this function, a valid pointer to PRFileDesc is returned and the handle FcHdl is properly initialized. The size information for the file is stored in the fileSize member of the handle.
PRFileDesc *fc_open(const char *fileName, FcHdl *hDl, PRUint32 flags, Session *sn, Request *rq);
Pointer to PRFileDesc, or NULL on failure.
const char *fileName is the full path name of the file to be opened.
FcHdl*hDl is a valid pointer to a structure of type FcHdl.
PRUint32 flags can be 0 or DUP_FILE_DESC.
Session *sn is a pointer to the session.
Request *rq is a pointer to the request.


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Owner Occupied Rehab Program
Periodically the County receives funds through the California State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in the form of the Community Development Block Grant and/ or HOME Investment Partnerships Programs. The purpose of these programs is to maintain the existing housing stock to supply decent housing for low- and very low-income families by providing low-interest or deferred loans to eligible residents.
Who is eligible?
Residents of the unincorporated area of the County who own and reside in the home to be rehabilitated are eligible, subject to income guidelines. We have limited funds available county wide, does not include the Cities of Lakeport and Clearlake. The homeowner must be low income according to HUD Section 8 Income Guidelines (see chart below). Maximum assistance for the rehabilitation or replacement of an existing structure shall at no time exceed the Maximum Subsidy Limits as set by HUD. Total indebtedness against the property, including this rehabilitation loan, may not exceed 100% of the after-rehabilitation value.
To view Income Table click this link: 2016 Income Table
This file is a PDF files and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to open. To download the Acrobat Reader, click this link: Acrobat Reader. PDF files may take a few minutes to download. Thank you for your patience.
What repairs are eligible?
|Roof / Gutters
|Dual Pane Windows
|Interior / Exterior Paint
|Interior / Exterior Doors
|Handicapped Retrofitting
|Heat / Air Conditioning
|Bathroom / Kitchen Repairs
|Bedroom Additions *(if determined that the home is overcrowded)
What is the interest rate?
- The interest rate is currently at 2.5%, simple annual interest. Deferred payment loans, interest-only payment loans, and amortized loans are available based on income qualifications.
What is the term of the loan?
- Amortized loans will be 30-year term of deferred payments. This loan may be repaid at any time with no-prepayment penalty.
What do I need to do in order to apply?
- You must first obtain an application packet by calling the number below.
- Upon verification of eligibility, your property will be scheduled for a preliminary inspection.
- After completion of this inspection, you will be notified of your eligibility.
- A rehabilitation project will not be accepted or scheduled for an inspection until your application is complete.
For More Information, Please Call


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Mixed fortunes for home teams on first day of Samila Asian Beach Volleyball Tour
Samila, Songkhla, Thailand, April 14, 2014 - Home spikers enjoyed mixed luck on the opening day of the 15th Samila-Chang Asian Beach Volleyball Tour at Samila Beach on Monday, with all Thai women's teams registering scintillating wins while the going got tough for their men's sides.
Disappointed by the loss in the third-place playoff in the last week's Khanom meet in Nakhon Si Thammarat, the 2012 Asian Beach Games champions Tanarattha Udomchavee/Varapatsorn Radarong (Thailand 1) displayed their improved performance with aggressive combination this time.
The Thai duo, who finished in third place here in Songkla in last year's edition, made a superb start on their opener against Yu Ong Wei/Gabrielle Gomes Chleo to beat the Singaporeans 2-0 (21-7, 21-4) in 25 minutes. The fast-improving Tanarattha and Varapatsorn went on to bag their second win following a comfortable 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) victory over Ngo Vo Thanh Loan/Tran Thi Trong (Vietnam 1).
Rumpaipruet Numwong/Khanittha Hongpak (Thailand 2) followed suit. After a
stunning 2-0 (21-10, 21-12) win over Nanda Ragilia/Maria Dwiningtiyas (Indonesia
1) in their first match, the young guns from the home side made it two in a row
by outclassing Melissa Ruru/Danielle Quigley (New Zealand 2) 2-0 (21-17, 21-12).
Vanuatu's Elwin Miller/Latika Henriette, the women's champions at last week's Khanom meet in Nakhon Si Thammarat, still proved that they are the favourites to win the Samila meet having claimed two straight wins on Monday. They first outclassed Ayumi Kusano/Fujii Sakurako (Japan 2) 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) before beating Sujeewa Wijesinghe Vithanage/Thaksila Niranjali Gunasinghe (Sri Lanka 2) 2-0 (21-13, 21-8) in 30 minutes.
Unlike the women's teams, the Thai men's sides played inconsistently. Sittichai Sangkhachot/Prathip Sukto (Thailand 1) started well by breezing past Badar Al Subhi/Hassan Al Balushi (Oman 1) 2-0 (21-12, 21-16), but could not maintain their form in the second match against Joshua Court/Damien Schumann (Australia 2) going down in straight sets 2-0 (16-21, 18-21) in 41 minutes.
Kittipat Yungtin/Chutipong Sukarayotin (Thailand 2) fought hard against Tiago De J Santos/Pereira Santos (Qatar 1), but found the Qatari pairing, fresh from winning the last week's Khanom meet, too strong losing to them in straight-sets 2-0 (15-21, 13-21). However, the Thai duo went on to beat Sandun Madushnka Anbibuduge/Sapun Dileka Fernando Weerakonda (Sri Lanka 2) 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) in their second encounter.
Nevertheless, lady luck did not shine down on Surin Jongklang/Banlue Nakprakhong (Thailand 3) when the home duo failed to make their mark to suffer three successive losses on the same day.
They first went down to Ashfiya Mohammad/Rendy Verdian Licardo (Indonesia 2) in easy encounter 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) before losing to Nguyen Trong Quoc/Nguyen Thanh Vinh (Vietnam 1) 2-0 (21-18, 21-13). They were also given a tough challenge by Jude Mahesh Perera Mahamalage/Wasantha Rathnapala Bombuwala (Sri Lanka 1) to go down in a gruelling 60-minute match which ended 2-1 (20-22, 21-19, 15-6) in favour of the visitors.
Meanwhile, Alexandr Dychenko/Alexey Sidorenko (Kazakhstan 1), who suffered a bitter loss to Tiago De J Santos/Pereira Santos (Qatar 1) in the men's showdown at the last week's Khanom meet, tamed Sandun Madushnka Andibuduge/Supun Dileka Ferando Weerakonda (Sri Lanka 2) 2-0 (21-14, 21-15) to later avenge the Qataris 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) in 36 minutes.
Koko Prasetyo Darkkuncoro/Ade Candra Rahmawan (Indonesia 1), winners at the 2012 Asian Beach Games, opened up with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-11) win over Sriramalu Dhamodharan/Pitchai Sivabalan (India 2), but lost their touch to go down to Samuel O'Dea/Michael Watson (New Zealand 2) 2-0 (21-15, 21-19).
Beach spikers from 12 countries including Australia, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Indonesia in the women's event and 17 nations including the Philippines, China, Iran and Kazakhstan in the men's category are vying for top honours in the 15th Samila Asian Beach Volleyball Tour.
The competition continues through Wednesday, when the semi-finals and finals will be held at the Samila Beach in Songkhla, Thailand.


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Calif.'s 5-year plan emphasizes water conservation
California must make water conservation "a way of life," the state said yesterday as it released a five-year plan for managing supplies that arrived as a record-breaking drought underscores the state's challenges.
The California Water Action Plan listed a number of priorities and put conservation at the top, with the document stating that "there is more that can be done and all Californians must embrace this effort."
The blueprint also said the state will look to improve its ability to store water and will manage groundwater more effectively. Water recycling also must be enhanced, it said. And California leaders pledged to balance the competing demands of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which supplies water to 25 million Californians -- two-thirds of the state's population -- and 3 million acres of farmland.
"It is imperative that we do everything possible to mitigate the effects of the drought," Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said in his State of the State speech last week, words that were quoted at the top of the water plan. "We need everyone in every part of the state to conserve water. We need regulators to rebalance water rules and enable voluntary transfers of water, and we must prepare for forest fires."
The blueprint said the state faces problems that include uncertain supplies from the Colorado River, scarcity because of drought, declining groundwater supplies, poor water quality, declining native fish species, floods and the risk of earthquakes that could disrupt supplies. It all comes as the population is projected to grow to 50 million by 2049 from the current 38 million.
The drought could push the state to move forward with changes to how it handles water, said Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis.
"We have a history of having a lot of California inaction plans," Lund said. "We just had decades and decades of people making plans often without a lot of high-level buy-in at the political level."
The latest plan, he said, is "only 20 pages and it brings a level of focus to the broad waterfront that we haven't seen in past water plans that have been maybe narrower in scope and maybe not at a high level for policy discussions."
He added, "I think a drought is going to get everybody's attention. It brings a level of focus that we don't always see."
The five-year plan lays out steps for balancing the needs of people, farms, fish and the environment. The document said the proposed changes will ensure "more reliable water supplies, the restoration of important species and habitat, and a more resilient, sustainably managed water resources system ... that can better withstand inevitable and unforeseen pressures in the coming decades."
The state probably can't achieve all its stated ambitions, Lund said. "But if they get 25 percent of it, maybe half, that will be quite an accomplishment."
Cutting consumption 20 percent
So far, Brown has only asked for voluntary conservation of 20 percent to deal with the drought. The plan notes that in 2009 the state adopted the Water Conservation Act, which required a 20 percent reduction in urban per-capita water use by the end of 2020. That law also mandated promoting expanded development of sustainable water supplies regionally. It required agricultural water management plans and efficient water management practices for those supplying water for agriculture.
"Conservation and efficiency are also keys to reducing the energy needed to pump, transport, treat and deliver water -- an important action included in the state's Climate Change Scoping Plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions," the blueprint said. "We must continue to build on our existing efforts to conserve water and promote the innovation of new systems for increased water conservation."
The Brown administration plans to ask the state's Legislature to expand funding for research on urban and agricultural water use efficiency, as well as the development of efficiency standards.
The plan also urged promoting local actions to cut water use. Those include "prohibiting certain types of wasteful water use," the blueprint said, including "watering hard surfaces such as sidewalks, walkways, driveways or parking areas; prohibiting outdoor watering during periods of rain; and not serving water to customers in restaurants unless specifically requested."
To deal with drought, the plan said, California will "revise operations to respond to extreme conditions." State agencies, working with federal counterparts, "will implement a series of administrative solutions ... to make water delivery decisions and propose options to address water quality and supply objectives in extreme conditions."
Asked to elaborate, Tim Moran, spokesman with the State Water Resources Control Board, cited the governor's drought declaration that said agencies will "expedite the processing of water transfers."
The state also will speed up funding for any water supply enhancement projects that can break ground this year, the governor's proclamation said, "and will explore if any existing unspent funds can be repurposed to enable near-term water conservation projects."
There also are limited cases where the state could suspend its protection law, the California Environmental Quality Act. Those include requests for transfers between the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
The drought proclamation said parts of the law could be "suspended on the basis that strict compliance with them will prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the emergency."
Moving ahead with tunnel plan
Other goals named in the plan include managing and preparing for dry periods, expanding water storage capacity and improving groundwater management, providing safe water for all, and increasing flood protection.
The plan also talks about achieving "the co-equal goals for the Delta." There are competing needs including supplying water to farms and meeting federal requirements that in some cases block pumping to protect fish.
"In recent years, important fish populations have declined dramatically, leading to historic restrictions on water supply deliveries," the plan said. "Moreover, the current system relies on water flowing through a network of fragile levees from the northern part of the Delta to the pumps in the south, where two out of three fish trapped near the pumps die."
The levees also were not designed to withstand a large earthquake, "the probability of which is greater than 60 percent over the next 50 years," it said. "They are also vulnerable to major floods and rising sea levels."
The water blueprint advocates going forward with the delta plan. That controversial goal, which Brown backs, would build 30-mile tunnels underneath the delta to carry water underneath it to the south, cutting back on the current practice of running massive pumps in the south delta that disturb fish like the endangered delta smelt (Greenwire, Oct. 8, 2013).
Jason Peltier, deputy general manager of the Westlands Water District, which supplies irrigation water to about 600,000 acres of farmland in the San Joaquin Valley, said his group supports moving ahead with that plan.
"If the drought highlights anything for us, it's that the infrastructure we're living with today is outdated," Peltier said. "We need more storage, we need more conveyance, we need to get on with preparing the infrastructure for the next generation, something we've done way too little on."
But he said his group is concerned less about increasing water storage and more about increasing access to water from the delta.
"Today it's drought, but over the last 20 years we've seen our water supply in Westlands, we've had water supply cutbacks of 40, 60, 90 percent," Peltier said. Much of that, he said, is due to environmental regulations.
"We can't get access to the water that we've already developed, the water that's up north" in reservoirs, Peltier said. "Regulations keep from getting access to it." The proposed tunnels "could overcome the regulatory blockade," he said.
Some environmental groups have been critical of the Bay Delta tunnel plan, saying it won't do enough for the fish or the immediate region if state officials do not commit to reducing the amount of water exported from the delta to below current levels.
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The Great War is a modification for Company of Heroes meant to bring the war two decades earlier. This mod focuses on the later years of the First World War. Currently the two teams will be the British Expeditionary Force against the German Empire, however with time the team will try and bring some more nations in, such as France and Austria-Hungary. This mod will focus or realism but keep the game balanced enough to make it enjoyable. Things to look for in the mod are the famous artillery strikes and the infamous gas attacks. Trenches will provide vital cover for infantry while tanks will roll over the battlefield and instil fear into the enemy troops.
The media you are trying to view has been deleted and is no longer available. This may have occurred at the uploaders request, or it may have occurred because it violated the sites Terms of Use. If this is a mistake and you would like it re-activated, please contact us with the details.
If you would like to view other media in this gallery click here.
German light Fieldgun for support purposes


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Marcus Lattimore, a South Carolina running back who is regarded by many observers as a likely first-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, suffered an apparently serious leg injury during Saturday's game against Tennessee.
Lattimore was hit high by one player and low by another on a second-quarter carry, and his leg bent awkwardly, in a manner reminiscent of Joe Theismann's infamous compound fracture. Lattimore immediately screamed in pain as he went to the ground, and players on both teams looked sickened by what they had seen.
In a sad scene, the entire South Carolina team circled around Lattimore, with his teammates becoming emotional, and Lattimore covered his head with a towel and appeared to be sobbing as he was carted off the field.
Lattimore's 2011 season was cut short when he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. This injury was to his right leg.
A junior who is eligible for next year's NFL draft, Lattimore is widely regarded as the top running back prospect in the country.


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Feature which would be nice to have is an image format that can be displayed in PDF's made in Microsoft Word. Copying an ORM diagram from Visual Studio into a Word document works fine, but if you save it as a PDF the image is no longer displayed.The workaround I use now is to make a screen capture of the picture in Visual studio. However this isn't as sharp as the original and is a bit fiddly.
Hi Karl,
Have you considered using Snagit for this?
You can save a Snagit screen caputure in many formats such as PDF, PNG, JPG, MP4 and SWF.
NORMA doesn't have direct PDF support, but the web-viewers at http://ormsolutions.com/tools/orm.aspx and http://ormsolutions.com/tools/ormPrint.aspx display ORM diagrams (but not the relational view) from any browser that can print to PDF. I'd recommend Chrome, which has a built-in 'print to pdf' feature. I've also tried Bullzip's PDF printer, but the results are nowhere near as sharp as the built-in Chrome PDF print. I haven't tried any of the Adobe-native PDF printers.
You'll need Chrome, Firefox or IE10+ to open .orm files locally with the web viewers.
The diagram size can be adjusted with the zoom dropdown on the page, or with the scale query parameter on the page. The default scale is 1.2, so ...orm.aspx?scale=2.4 will make the 100% zoom level on the page twice the normal size.
The ormPrint.aspx is still pretty basic. I don't have any fit-to-page style support or zoom settings for individual diagrams. Zooming individual diagrams is a pain, so I need to dig into HTML5 printing support at some point and figure out how to print wide diagrams (currently truncated, long diagrams go to the next page). This currently prints one diagram per page in the generated PDF.
PS IMO, the SVG is actually clearer than the EMF produced by NORMA. There is an extremely low-level bug (in the native GDI+ libraries, below the .NET libraries) that leaves an uninitialized field in the EMF properties for dashed lines. This results in very large purple or blue blobs if the meta files are pulled into tools that look at this field. Short of figuring out how to identify the garbage data, then scanning and cleaning the EMF on the clipboard, there is nothing I can do about this. Unfortunately, it has been known to cause major problems for some printer drivers and non-MS tools. So, if you're pasting to word, I'd recommend Paste Special for the meta file. If you're targeting anything that supports SVG--which word doesn't--I'd use the web viewers instead.
Hi Ken,
This is true, but regardless of the file format, all of these screen snaps are bitmaps and will only look good at the exact zoom level that you snapped them at. If you want the diagram to look good in a document, then you need a scalable (vector graphic) representation. For pasting into Word, this means Copy Image in NORMA, then Paste Special in Word with a choice of Picture (Enhanced Metafile). For programs that don't handle the meta files well you need to use SVG generated by the web viewers, as described in my other response.
Thanks for the tips guys; I'm already using snagit to paste the ORM diagrams in word in the case that I want to turn the document into a PDF (which my employer demands when any document leaves the building). I tried the paste special option but the created image isn't as nice which is due to the fact that I zoom in when I make a capture with snagit. This just doesn't seem to work with the paste special option.
That's an interesting perspective. Glancing at the code, we do a TranslateTransform on the graphics object used to generate the image, but I don't see any graphics.ScaleTransform. If I can get a reasonable quality image with some tweaks to the graphics object then I can break Copy Image into three items (copy at default size, copy at current zoom, copy at custom zoom). The latter would be useful in Word, for example, if you paste in an image which is too big and is automatically reduced to fit in the margins. If you look at the Size and Position properties in Word, you can read off the exact zoom level, then re-copy the image at that custom level. You could paste a sharp bitmap instead of a compressed one and get a much better transfer to PDF than the EMF is currently giving you.
Would a zoom-aware Copy Image help you out here?
PS You'll have to ask Microsoft for direct SVG support in Word (Office is supposed to be HTML5 compliant, but clearly isn't IMO without native SVG support). This is supposed to be the path to standardized vector graphics.
Matthew Curland:This is true, but regardless of the file format, all of these screen snaps are bitmaps and will only look good at the exact zoom level that you snapped them at
Hi Matt,
I don't know how Snagit works - but on my system I can zoom captures to 800% without any noticeable image degradation.The method I use is to save the Snagit capture to either PNG or PDF and then zoom from there.
Of course you are right when you say that a vector graphics solution would be much better.But it seems to me that the practical choice is to use Snagit today and switch to a vector graphics solution if and when it becomes available.


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At my job, I have to pay $600 a month out of my paycheck for my family's health insurance. That seems like a lot. The plan is decent, but I'm wondering if I could get a similar plan on my own and pay less. What do you think?
Squeezing Every Nickel
Dear Squeezing Every Nickel,
I sincerely doubt that you would pay less on your own for a plan that would be similar to your employer's plan. The reason is your employer buys what is called a "group plan" (or "small group plan" if there are fewer than 50 employees). The insurance carrier knows that most employees and families will join the group plan; in fact, if less than a certain percentage of employees join, the carrier can adjust the cost. The carrier can, therefore, set the plan cost knowing that it will have some sick people and some healthy people. In the end, it will balance out and the carrier will make some profit.
The same is not true for plans that you buy on your own. These are called "individual" or "non-group" plans. The carrier knows that people who buy these plans are more likely to need medical care. Therefore, the rates for individual plans count on more sick people and are higher – a great deal higher.
Young people, say under age 40, may be able to find an individual plan that costs less than their employer's plan. However, they are unlikely to find a plan that has the same features, co-pays, and deductibles as their employer's plan. Group plans, overall, have more generous benefits than individual plans.
So you can take a look at other plans, but you may not find a better deal — at least not this year. In 2014, if federal health reform survives the Supreme Court decision, the market for non-group/individual plans may be very different. When almost everyone is required to have health insurance, there will be more people buying non-group plans. The insurer's assumption about getting more sick people in these plans will change, and rates may go down.


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The surplus of U.S. peanuts could be cut almost in half this year, thanks to a combination of fewer planted acres and poor growing conditions in many areas of the Peanut Belt.
"Based on current production estimates, we're looking at drawing down the surplus by 40 to 50 percent," says Nathan Smith, University of Georgia Extension economist. "That looks very positive, but there still are a lot of peanuts out there. We had a record supply coming into this year, and we had almost record production last year. When you combine the carryover from last year, we were up 3.5 million tons."
Smith presented the U.S. peanut outlook during the annual Southern Region Agricultural Outlook Conference held in Atlanta.
Looking at the current price situation, shelled prices went down a couple of years ago, and that has led to lower farmer prices, says Smith. We had strong historical increases in food use with the 2003 and 2004 crops, and last year's crop was basically even. The Virginia market actually has seen a decline in use," he says.
As for per-capita peanut consumption, the United States is at 6.7 pounds — the highest it has been since 1989.
"Last year, at about this time, more than 100,000 tons of peanuts were forfeited in the CCC storehouse," says Smith. "In other words, the government took over ownership of about 100,000 tons. The big prediction this year was that it would be 600,000 to 700,000 tons, at least, if we produced the average annual yield. These peanuts were forfeited last year and went to fill 2005 crop orders. Recent numbers show that 23,000 tons of the 2005 crop had been forfeited, he adds.
"This year, the latest update has production back to 2002 levels — the last time we had disaster aid, and the carryover number has been cut in half. Planted and harvested acres are down from previous years, a little bit less than 25 percent off of last year's crop. The U.S. planted crop was 1,242,000 pounds and the harvested crop is set at 1,213,000 pounds, with an abandonment of less than 2 percent. Yield for this year is estimated at 2,645 pounds per acre — quite a drop from last year's average of about 3,000 pounds — with a total production of 1.6 million pounds," he says.
Georgia produces about 45 percent of the total U.S. peanut market, says Smith. "South Carolina has become a big player with 60,000 acres, and Mississippi became an official peanut state this year with 16,000 acres. Georgia, Florida and Alabama contributed greatly to the drop in acres this year," he says.
As far as yields, Alabama has an average yield of 1,900 pounds per acre this year while Florida has an average yield of 2,300 pounds per acre.
Turning to peanut use — under the new program — U.S. growers are not as dependent on exports, says Smith. Argentina is the main competition of the United States, and they're concentrating on exporting rather than importing, he says.
"Looking at the balance sheet, if we were looking at a 2 million ton-plus crop as we have the last couple of years, we'd be looking at a similar situation of having too many peanuts. If harvest turns out as it has been projected, we'll work those ending stocks down by about 40 percent."
Demand actually has been estimated at being up by about 1.4 percent on food use, says Smith. "It's hard to say on exports — we're basically holding our own. China is the largest exporter, followed by Argentina and the United States. As far as quality edible peanuts, Argentina and the United States are the high-quality suppliers, while China and India export a lot of boil-grade peanuts."
The National Posted Price, which comes out each week, determines the LDP on peanuts, and it's a "black box" method, he says. "USDA won't reveal how they do it for fear of manipulation. AMS issues a peanut report of shelled prices, but they will be discontinuing that report. NASS will work towards a weekly report of peanut prices, which is a voluntary report of surveys done with shellers of the total amount they paid for a ton of peanuts. There's no real market to derive spot prices on peanuts."
Shellers, says Smith, either buy peanuts out of loan or they give option contracts. "They're all option contracts, which means shellers have the option of buying from the farmer if they want to. The National Posted Price is actually above the loan rate now, so there's no LDP."
Economic considerations this year, brought on by rising energy costs and a surplus crop, have created a cost/price squeeze for farmers, says Smith.
U.S. peanut acreage decreased this year primarily because there were not any pricing opportunities, says Smith. "Peanuts had a cost advantage over cotton this past year, but we still planted more cotton because of uncertain pricing opportunities for peanuts.
As for the outlook, the domestic market has slowed, but it's not going backwards. We'd expect to consume about 2 million tons. We have a buffer because we carried over at least half of that. We have seen prices rise in the shelled market, and that's a result of the National Posted Price going up. Argentina says they're increasing acreage, but they have some very dry weather."
With the cost/price squeeze, Smith predicts farmers will be looking for $380 per ton as a sign next year to plant peanuts. "They'll also be looking at corn and cotton. This cost/price squeeze leads to a situation where better prices will be needed to encourage peanut plantings. The cotton and corn markets will have an impact on peanut acres in 2007."
e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Major Section: RELEASE-NOTES
Also see note-2-9-1 for other changes since the last non-incremental release (Version_2.9).
There was a bug in non-linear arithmetic (see non-linear-arithmetic) that caused the following error:
ACL2 !>(include-book "rtl/rel4/lib/top" :dir :system) .... ACL2 !>(set-non-linearp t) T ACL2 !>(thm (implies (and (bvecp a 77) (bvecp b 50)) (bvecp (fl (/ (* a b) (expt 2 23))) 104)) :hints (("Goal" :in-theory (enable bvecp))))Thanks to Robert Krug for providing a fix for the above error.
[Note: A hint was supplied for our processing of the goal above. Thanks!]
By the simple :definition BVECP, the :executable-counterparts of EXPT and UNARY-/ and the simple :rewrite rule ASSOCIATIVITY-OF-* we reduce the conjecture to
Goal' (IMPLIES (AND (INTEGERP A) (<= 0 A) (< A 151115727451828646838272) (INTEGERP B) (<= 0 B) (< B 1125899906842624)) (BVECP (FL (* A B 1/8388608)) 104)).
HARD ACL2 ERROR in VARIFY: This should not have happened. The supposed variable, '1/8388608, is instead a constant.
ACL2 Error in TOP-LEVEL: Evaluation aborted. See :DOC wet for how you might be able to get an error backtrace.
Guard-checking was being inhibited (since v2-9) for calls of built-in
primitives on explicit values, e.g.,
(car 3). This has been fixed.
Guard-related warnings could be printed during proofs (this bug was introduced in Version_2.9.1). These warnings have been eliminated.
Compound-recognizer rules
natp-compound-recognizer and
posp-compound-recognizer are now built into ACL2 for predicates
natp and
posp, and hence have been deleted from book
natp-posp.lisp (where they were called
natp-cr and
The function
file-clock-p, which recognizes a component of the ACL2
state, is now defined using
natp instead of
Thanks to Jared Davis for suggesting this change. (Technical explanation
about functions in ACL2 source file
axioms.lisp: With a
file-clock of
-1, the call of
make-input-channel in
open-input-channel will create
a channel that can't be closed; see the guard of
(Allegro CL users only) Support is now provided for building an Allegro CL
application, provided you have an Allegro CL dynamic runtime license. (Our
belief is that with such a license, many users can use the same application,
rather than each user needing a separate license.) See new GNUmakefile
allegro-app and file
build-allegro-exe.cl for more
The new home page now contains a link to a new page
which contains information about other ACL2 releases. (This is in one's
local home page, but may not show up on the central ACL2 home page until the
next non-incremental release.) Thanks to Warren Hunt for suggesting this
We thank Erik Reeber for suggesting a solution to output redirection using
sys-call, which we have described at the end of its documentation.
A new documentation topic fixes the flawed argument for conservativity of the
defchoose event that appears in Appendix B of Kaufmann and Moore's
paper, ``Structured Theory Development for a Mechanized Logic'' (Journal of
Automated Reasoning 26, no. 2 (2001), pp. 161-203).
See conservativity-of-defchoose. Thanks to John Cowles and Ruben Gamboa for
helpful feedback on drafts of this note.
The solution to exercise 6.15 in
books/textbook/chap6/solutions.txt has
been fixed. Thanks to Aaron Smith for pointing out the problem.
A new documentation topic defun-sk-example gives a little more help in
defun-sk effectively. Thanks to Julien Schmaltz for presenting
this example as a challenge.
(GCL only) There is now a way to speed up GCL builds of ACL2, at the cost of
perhaps a percent or so in performance of the resulting image. Using
make one supplies the following.
LISP='gcl -eval "(push :fast-acl2-gcl-build *features*)"
Various makefiles have been improved in several ways.
(1) Parallel book certification, using GNU make'sThanks to comments from several users that led to the above Makefile improvements: Ray Richards, Doug Harper, and the Rockwell ACL2 users for (1) and (2) (and inspiring (4)), and David Rager for (2) and (3). In particular, Doug Harper sent a replacement for the
-joption, can be used.
(2) Book certifications now stops at the first failure if
books/Makefile-genericis used, and returns non-zero exit status. However, the various make targets in the ACL2 source directory (
certify-books, etc.) still continue past failures unless you provide
ACL2_IGNORE=' 'on the
makecommand line.
(3) The build process has been modified (file
GNUmakefile) so that it stops upon a failed compile or a failed initialization.
(4) The automatic dependency generation (from ``
make dependencies'' has been improved so that commands of the form
(ld "my-book.lisp")in
.acl2files cause the appropriate depedencies to be generated.
.date mechanism, which was
interfering with
make -n; so, these files are no longer written.
A mechanism has been added for saving output. In particular, you can now
ld on a file with output turned off, for efficiency, and yet when
a proof fails you can then display the proof attempt for the failed (last)
event. See set-saved-output. Another new command --
see set-print-clause-ids -- causes subgoal numbers to be printed during
proof attempts when output is inhibited.
Documentation has been added for using ACL2's makefile support to automate the certification of collections of books. See book-makefiles.
Fixed a bug in
sys-call-status that was causing hard Lisp errors.
cw-gstack to allow a
:frames argument to specify a range
of one or more frames to be printed. see cw-gstack.
Fixed a bug in proof-checker command
forwardchain. Thanks to
Ming-Hsiu Wang for bringing this bug to our attention.
We have provided a mechanism for saving an executable image.
See saving-and-restoring and see save-exec. We have eliminated obsolete
note-lib and
Modified the
ground-zero theory so that it contains all of the
built-in rules (in ACL2 source file
axioms.lisp). It had formerly failed
to include rules from some definitions and theorems near the end of
A new event,
set-enforce-redundancy, allows the enforcement of
defun, and most other events during book development.
See set-enforce-redundancy.
A bug has been fixed that had allowed
deftheory events to cause a
hard Lisp error when calling
union-theories on ill-formed theories
after, for example:
:set-guard-checking nil (in-theory (union-theories '((:rewrite no-such-rule)) (current-theory 'ground-zero)))The handling of guard checking has been modified somewhat in a way that should only very rarely affect users. (An ``Essay on Guard Checking'' in the ACL2 source code explains this point to anyone interested in implementation details.)
(GCL ONLY) Removed the -dir setting in the ACL2 wrapper script for GCL. This should generally have no effect for most users, but it eliminates a potential source of error down the road.
Several interesting new definitions and lemmas have been added to the rtl
library developed at AMD, and incorporated into
Other book changes include a change to lemma
truncate-rem-elim in
books/ihs/quotient-remainder-lemmas.lisp, as suggested by Jared Davis.
The macro
real/rationalp may now be referred to in
events and hints, thanks to a new
add-macro-alias event.
Thanks to Jared Davis for this suggestion.
ACL2 terms of the form
(if p 'nil 't) are now printed as
(not p),
where in some setting they had been printed as
(and (not p) t). Thanks
to Robert Krug for this improvement.
(GCL ONLY) Added profiling support, based heavily on code supplied by Camm
Maguire. See file
save-gprof.lsp for instructions. Thanks to Camm, and
also to David Hardin for inspiring this addition.
Added support for preprocessing before printing (untranslating) a term.
See user-defined-functions-table, in particular the discussion of
untranslate-preprocess. Thanks to Jared Davis for inspiring this
addition, and for providing a book that takes advantage of it
The documentation has been improved for explaining how runes are assigned; see rune. Thanks to Robert Krug for pointing out inaccuracies in the existing documentation.


text:
By KATHRYN FLAGG
MIDDLEBURY — Even after Fourth of July festivities die down for another year, every weekend will be a long weekend for employees at the Middlebury town clerk's office. Beginning July 7, the office will be operating on four-day workweek.
The move comes as officials in Middlebury, like those in other government offices, look for ways to cushion the blow dealt by skyrocketing fuel prices.
The new schedule — which will include extended hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday — will be in effect until at least Aug. 29, allowing the office almost two months to test what Town Clerk Ann Webster termed a "pilot program."
According Webster, the decision to test the new schedule rose first and foremost from a desire to save on transportation costs for employees — especially Webster's two assistants, who commute daily from Ferrisburgh and Granville, respectively.
The pilot program comes in conjunction with an energy savings project undertaken by the Middlebury Area Global Warming Action Coalition. Using a "low carbon diet workbook," MAGWAC, as the coalition is known, has worked intensively with groups of individuals to reduce energy consumption and the burning of climate-changing fossil fuels. It has also applied this same principal to several town offices and vehicles.
The town clerk's office is currently the only Middlebury municipal office making the shift to a four-day workweek so the town will not gain the potential energy and cost savings that would be had by not heating or cooling the municipal building if all offices were closed on Fridays. But there still will be some savings, said MAGWAC energy coordinator Laura Asermily, as "flex time," telecommuting and shortened workweeks provide increased flexibility for both town and private offices.
By CYRUS LEVESQUE
MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury selectmen on Tuesday approved a water rate increase of almost 10 percent, but Assistant Town Manager Joe Colangelo said that a corresponding decrease to the sewer rates would result in little or no overall change to households and business who use both town water and sewer.
On Colangelo's recommendation, the selectboard at a regular meeting increased the rate for water district users from $2.60 per thousand gallons to $2.85 per thousand gallons in the fiscal year beginning July 1. Colangelo said that the rate hike was necessary partly because it hadn't been changed since 2001, but wages and expenses have continued to grow in the meantime.
In addition, Colangelo said, the water district is also paying for debt service on the Palmer Springs chlorination project, which began after 2001, and the district's revenues were down for the current year because business problems for two major corporate water users — Specialty Filaments and Standard Register Co. — resulted in less water use by those companies.
At the same time, the wastewater district's fund balance was doing better than usual, Colangelo said. He couldn't pinpoint any particular area where expenses or revenues were especially better than usual, but he told the board he found room in the sewer district budget to lower rates by the same amount as the increase in the water district rates, from a current sewer district rate of $6.19 per thousand gallons to $5.94 per thousand gallons.
That will not balance out exactly because people's usage varies, and Colangelo said that many area property owners are members of one network but not the other. He said that for an average family of four that uses only town water and not town sewer, the water rate increase would amount to about $12 per year.
BRANDON — For the third time in 18 months state and local officials are working to see what assistance and enticements they can offer a major local employer to keep the business in the area.
The 90 people who work for furniture manufacturer Vermont Tubbs are waiting to see if the new owner of the plant will keep it in Brandon or move it out of state. Economic development officials say that, as with any employer, they have a range of grants and loans available to BSF Transition LLC, the Whitefield, N.H., company that bought Tubbs for an undisclosed price earlier this month.
What's available comes from a veritable alphabet soup of programs that, when accepted, sometimes keeps a struggling business in operation and keeps it pumping money into the local economy.
"Our goal … is to help foster business development here in the region," said Jamie Stewart, the executive director of the Addison County Economic Development Corp. "That sometimes means taking a higher risk than we would normally want to take."
But that risk — and available public loans, grants and tax incentives — provide no guarantee that the jobs will stay forever.
Tubbs officials stated in a press release at the time of the sale that that they will continue to manufacture in the existing facility on Arnold District Road while Brownstreet assesses future production plans. A published report last week said the company may close shop in Vermont after 168 years of production, but Brownstreet officials did not return calls to confirm.
WEYBRIDGE — Josselyne Price's tidy yellow house looks much like any of the other homes scattered among Weybridge's intermittent grassy knolls — except, of course, for the flock of exotic drums sitting just inside the threshold of her front door.
"These are new," said Price, indicating a set of Ghanaian drums, each carved from a single piece of tweneboa wood, decorated with notched ridges and topped with a drawn-tight skin. The largest stands at over five feet tall.
"You never know what you're going to find out in the cow fields," Price laughed.
Price, a percussionist and ethnomusicologist at St. Michael's College in Colchester, will pack up her drums (new and old) this week, pile into a 12-passenger van and lead several members of the Akoma Drumming Ensemble south. She, her students and her drums are bound for New Orleans, where the ensemble will participate in Tulane University's New Orleans Dance Festival and volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity Musicians' Village.
Price will be joined on her trek by four St. Michael's students — Dan Klug, Alex Furdon, Jud Wellington and Luke Lombardi — as well as Ghanaian master dancer and Seattle resident Awal Alhasson and Haitian master drummer and dancer Johnny Scovel.
"It's always been a priority of mine to try and illustrate to my students that music is a part of your work and community," said Price. "It has a value past entertainment, and for many cultures it's a vital part of who you are socially, of your identity.
"I wanted to link the idea of music to service," she continued, "and show them that music can make a difference in a community."
By ANDY KIRKALDY
VERGENNES — This spring four Addison Northwest Supervisory Union teachers and one administrator with a decade on that job and 25 years of teaching experience are stepping down after a collective 164 years of service to district students.
All five have served ANwSU for at least 24 years. Leaving, in order of length of tenure, are:
• Vergennes Union High School agriculture program head Harmon Boyce, who started at VUHS in 1969.
• Vergennes Union Elementary School teacher Edward Wells, who has taught fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders there since 1971.
• ANwSU directional of instructional support services Thelma "Kitty" Oxholm, who began coordinating the ANwSU special education services in 1998 after starting as a VUHS special education teacher in 1973.
• Rita Smith, who began teaching first- and second-graders at VUES on a halftime basis in 1980 and went full-time at that level in 1984.
• Daryl Hatch, a VUHS middle school English teacher who started there at 1968, took time off to raise her family, and then returned to VUHS on a halftime basis in 1985 before going full-time in 1989.
All will be missed, said ANwSU superintendent Tom O'Brien.
"Clearly, they are the building blocks of the family. Addison Northwest has been referred to as a family of schools, and every family has its strong elements, and they are ours," O'Brien said. "They are huge losses."
VUHS Principal Ed Webbley said Boyce may be the most difficult of all to replace because of his specialty — months of advertising in conjunction with the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center and phone calls have yet to produce someone to take over the school's ag program.
"Harmon is literally a tough act to follow. We are still in the process of a nationwide search," Webbley said.
By JOHN FLOWERS
CORNWALL — Cornwall resident Roth "T' Tall this year is poised to become governor.
No, he hasn't decided to challenge Middlebury Republican Jim Douglas for the state's top administrative job.
Tall, on July 1, will begin a one-year term as governor of Rotary International's District 7850, a region with around 1,700 Rotarians in 41 clubs encompassing large portions of Vermont, New Hampshire and the Canadian province of Quebec.
Tall becomes only the fifth Addison County resident to serve as governor of the district since the Middlebury Rotary was established in 1927.
"I'm deeply honored," said Tall, who became a Rotarian in 1979. "But this is not about me; this is about what the organization is doing."
Rotary International is a worldwide service club organization with 1.2 million members in 200 countries and geographical regions, divided into 530 districts. Each district has a governor who serves for one year, visiting all the clubs within that district to foster better communication and more efficient coordination of Rotary's many humanitarian efforts.
Rotary's most high-profile humanitarian campaign to date has been its PolioPlus program. Since 1985, Rotarians have raised more than $600 million and offered untold volunteer hours to vaccinate more than 2 billion children throughout the world against polio. Tall noted there are now fewer than 1,000 cases of polio globally, a testament to Rotary's efforts.
RIPTON — Road crews on Wednesday were still stabilizing roads, culverts and small bridges decimated by a powerful June 14 rainstorm that stranded dozens of residents in Ripton and East Middlebury.
"All we can do right now is fill in the ruts and get people moving," said Ripton Road Commissioner Ron Wimett, who with other state and local workers has spent untold hours since Saturday's rainstorm at the controls of heavy equipment, filling massive craters and gullies carved into the North Branch Road and other rural lanes that could not stand up to the torrential downpour that forced the Middlebury River and its tributaries to hop their respective banks. One estimate indicated more than six inches of rain fell in Ripton during just a few hours Saturday night.
"We're hoping people are safe and that the federal government and someone can help us," Wimett added. "We can't incur costs like this."
Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) officials on Tuesday were unsure whether the storm damage in Addison and Rutland counties would amount to the $1 million necessary to trigger a federal declaration of emergency, which would result in the release of government aid.
To qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance, the state must sustain approximately $1 million in damage to public infrastructure like roads, bridges, public buildings, or any other municipal property. There are also county thresholds that need to be met. If local estimates are correct, Addison and Rutland counties may meet the criteria.
Wimett, on Tuesday evening, said he was confident the repair bill will reach seven figures.
"With the cost of materials and fuel prices, we'll reach $1 million, no problem," he said.
FERRISBURGH — Ferrisburgh Central School officials have decided not to try to shoehorn the recently approved $1.5 million upgrades to the school into this summer, instead opting to plan the work for next summer.
FCS board chairwoman Adela Langrock said board members had initially hoped the project — including replacing the school's failing heating system, installing a new ventilation system and windows, replacing stained ceiling tiles and rotting eaves, and upgrading its electrical system — could be done without interfering with education this fall.
But as they learned more about the bidding process, its projected timetable and the needs of workers during the job, Langrock said, they realized that goal could not be met.
"Given the level of engineering, and the coordination of all of it, it's not feasible for it to be completed this summer ... It would be better to do it next year, to move in the first day of (next) summer and complete it with everyone off site," she said. "We just felt like it would be very disruptive for the next academic year if we started this summer."
By the time bids could be sent out, sorted out and accepted, and then work begun, it would be August, Langrock said. Students would have to be shielded from construction debris and dust, noise would be an issue, and workers would need the equivalent of four empty classrooms to work on at any given time — space the school does not have.
"The amount of disruption for our program would be astronomical ... We just have nowhere to put these kids," Langrock said.
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text:
Out of work since not being retained as a free agent by the Ravens, former Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode worked out for the Detroit Lions this week, according to a league source.
Gurode played a reserve role with the Ravens last season after signing a one-year contract.
Gurode was signed to provide depth behind six-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk, who had surgery on his left knee at the beginning of training camp.
Gurode was cut by the Dallas Cowboys last year for salary-cap reasons.
He visited the Seattle Seahawks, Lions and the New England Patriots before agreeing to terms with the Ravens.
Gurode wasn't immediately signed to a contract as punter Nick Harris...


text:
RobDIKUM wrote:well they have certain cutoffs on milestones that are basically automatic ins to the hall. For the steroid era, they should just extrapolate and judge players based on the era. It shouldn't be a formal thing, but basically a guide that says, in this era the average HR's, RBI's, etc. were this compared to previous eras and have a different cutoff. Although, pitchers from the dead ball era are given a break, so maybe i don't know what i'm talking about.
However, I'm not a McGwire fan, but the fact that Baseball was on his and sammy's nuts to recover from the strike, i think it's hypocritical how they treat these guys. MLB knew what was going on and now it's like they have the plague.
why should there be different milestones when many of the pitchers they faced were juicing as well?


text:
Major Section: THEORIES
theory (see theories) enables only a few built-in functions and
executable counterparts. It can be useful when you want to formulate lemmas
that rather immediately imply the theorem to be proved, by way of a
hint (see hints), for example as follows.
:use (lemma-1 lemma-2 lemma-3) :in-theory (union-theories '(f1 f2) (theory 'minimal-theory))In this example, we expect the current goal to follow from lemmas
lemma-2, and
lemma-3 together with rules
f1 and
f2 and some obvious facts about built-in functions (such as the
definition of
implies and the
executable-counterpart of
car). The
in-theory hint above is intended to speed up the
proof by turning off all inessential rules.


text:
Accused: mvsm92
The accused are suspected of:
Being Multis
Other: Missing games intentionally
This player has completed 10 games and won zero. The player was kicked out for missing too many turns in the following games. Please note game 12390594 where 3 players all missed too many turns and were kicked out...huge coincidence there...
12578622 is the game I'm currently in where he just missed too many turns...it's a doubles game.
12390591 - kicked out 3/3 - Izual Rebirth wins game
12390594 - kicked out 3/7 - Izual Rebirth wins game (2 other players in this game also kicked out)
12393601 - kicked out 3/25
12401827 - kicked out 3/1
12405827 - kicked out 3/7
12427766 - kicked out 3/7
12431602 - kicked out 3/22
12514687 - has missed turns, but is still listed as playing now.
Also, players are giving him good ratings for being kicked out for missing turns????
Just sending this in because I hate playing doubles games where one of the players disappear early in the game especially when seeing a history like this one.


text:
Thompson Square Partner With ChildFund International for 2012 Tour
Thompson Square's Keifer and Shawna Thompson are the latest country stars to use their celebrity status to do good for those in need. The husband and wife duo have joined forces with ChildFund International for the remainder of their 2012 tour dates in order to help bring awareness to the global child development and protection agency, which helps the world's deprived, excluded and vulnerable children survive.
"When we learned about the amazing work ChildFund International does to help children on a global scale, we knew immediately that we wanted to be involved and figure out a way that we could contribute," says Keifer Thompson.
The partnership began over the weekend, as audiences on the road were enlightened by a video of Thompson Square discussing ChildFund International and the amazing work that comes out of the organization. The video's impact will help show how very little can help make a big difference in a child's life.
ChildFund International will be on site at each concert. There will be a booth set up at every show, which is run by volunteers who each personally sponsor a child through the organization. Fans who visit the ChildFund International booth and sign up to sponsor a child that evening will receive an autographed copy of Thompson Square's self-titled debut album.
"The concert venues present another great opportunity to share the message and experience of sponsoring a child," says Matt Panos, VP of Global Fundraising and Communications for ChildFund.
The new partnership between Thompson Square and ChildFund International will be included on the duo's own headlining performance dates, as well as Lady Antebellum's 2012 Own the Night World Tour, on which Thompson Square is an opening act through June.
"We've personally sponsored an adorable little girl named Lady from Indonesia and hope to make a difference in her life," says Shawna Thompson. "Also, giving away one of our signed albums to fans who want to join us and give back to a child in need is the very least we can do to help."
For more information on ChildFund International, visit the organization's official website by clicking here.


text:
Hometown Hero – Dillon Boy
Military Service Branch: Marine Corps
Rank: Corporal
Where Are They Stationed: Camp Pendleton
Submitted by: Darci Boy (Mother)
Dillon has always thought of others before himself and will do anything in his power to protect others. He is currently serving as a Corporal in the US Marine Corps. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for 2-yrs; during that time he helped in clean up efforts in Bangkok, Thailand, and the Philippines. We are very proud of our son.


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Your browser does not support iframes.
This weekend is a very big event for Galax and the Twin Counties. Chestnut Creek School of the Arts is holding its grand opening, with a colorful black tie gala on Friday night and then a Parade of the Arts on Saturday, with something for everyone.
I do hope that you will be coming to celebrate!
The world has a big problem with homeless people, yet no one seems to help them.
We are all equal but they have no choice but to survive outdoors. We look at them like they are scum, and think if they wanted to they could have made something of themselves.
In all cases that's not true. Many homeless people are veterans, who served our country to help us. What do we do for them? Really, we do nothing at all.
The government needs to pay respect to our veterans. They fought for our country, and went through a whole lot more than anyone should.
This is in response to The Gazette's editorial, which implied that the Grayson County Public School system lacks sound fiscal planning.
A comparison was made between Carroll County Public Schools and Grayson County Public Schools, but these two systems have completely different funding issues.
The Carroll school system is fortunate to have excellent support from its board of supervisors. The Carroll supervisors provide approximately $2 million to the school system above minimum funding required by the state.
The Grayson County Board of Supervisors feels it is important to communicate and inform citizens on important issues, and from time to time to provide relevant facts that impact or have potential to impact taxpayers of Grayson County.
The board does not wish to perpetuate any back-and-forth regarding school funding, nor interject any opinion about fellow elected officials.
We all serve an important role and the board has been, and will continue to be, a committed partner to education.
Budget cutting for Carroll County Public Schools may feel painful, but the hurt can't go nearly as deep as other divisions in the state and even in the Twin County area.
It's probably not too much of a stretch to call Carroll schools a model of fiscal responsibility for anticipating from a long way off the budget crisis that has caught so many divisions off guard this year.
The proposed 2010-2011 schools budget marks the third year Carroll administrators have decided not to hire new employees to fill positions that have recently become vacant.
Obsessing about a far-off border can't be healthy or good for morale.
Most critics of U.S. immigration policy from the Twin Counties probably have never laid eyes on, stood at or passed over the divide between our country and our neighbor to the south. They just know by anecdotal evidence that it's a somewhat porous place where not every foreign national follows all the bureaucratic procedures in order to cross and to enter "The Land of Opportunity."
Last week it was announced that California-based Med-Fit Systems, Inc. had come to the rescue of more than 100 people about to lose their jobs in Grayson County.
Leaders of the 23-year-old physical therapy and senior care products provider offered 115 of the 170-plus employees a position with the newly named business in Grayson and vowed to return to full staff within 36 months.
Grayson leaders worked diligently for several months to keep as many jobs as possible in an area suffering from a 12 percent unemployment rate.
Now the real work begins.
I am writing to express concerns former Gov. Kaine's budget reduction proposal as it pertains to Medicaid home- and community-based programs.
Any one of the proposals would have an extremely negative impact on providing care for some of Virginia's most frail and vulnerable citizens.
In combination, they will devastate Virginia's home- and community-based care system.
I am keenly aware of the commonwealth's fiscal condition and recognize that this past year has been challenging.
Winter portends a perilous number of driving pitfalls, but patchy pavement doesn't usually lead the pack of problems.
But this winter has presented a particularly potent set of potholes for motorists to pass through.
The proof in the pudding can be found in a long line of damaged vehicles forced to the shoulder of Interstate 77, near the 11 mile marker of the northbound lanes.
There were reports of dozens of disabled vehicles needing repairs to wheels and tires as a result of dipping into large depressions, causing sudden deflations.
It was with sadness that we learned last week that the "EAR"resistable animal rescue organization in Grayson County was about to close because of a lack of funding.
In its brief life, the non-profit group provided a humane alternative to the animal shelter, saving the lives of dozens of animals that were neglected, abused, abandoned or from families that no longer had the means to care for them.
The operation soon realized that it, too, was being abandoned by donors who, in this dog of an economy, were no longer able to help.
Finally, the anticipation is over.
Chestnut Creek School of the Arts' renovations were complete in late 2009, a slew of Galax city workers and volunteers helped full- and part-time staff move into the former First National Bank building in downtown Galax last week and classes will begin today, Monday, weather permitting.
If there are problems in Carroll's emergency services department, they weren't on display as many members of fire and rescue from across the county responded to the Briarleigh Court blaze Jan. 9.
If one could see behind the firefighters' breathing apparatus, no doubt their faces would show concern for the 37 people living inside the apartment complex. Alongside that emotion, the rescuers' faces also reflected their determination to get everyone out of harm's way.
As children, we can't wait till we are teenagers. Age 16 comes and we can't wait to be 21. Twenty-one comes and we can't wait to be 30.
On it goes, waiting to retire, and even that has been extended.
Each year we lose someone we care about to death. The gathering for that, too, is growing smaller and smaller.
In the 1980s, people began wanting a sense of belonging and the search for generations past became a must in nearly every family.
On a warm July day back in 2008, Grayson leaders broke ground on the first county school construction program in more than 25 years.
Superintendent Elizabeth Thomas said that day that "young people deserve a school equipped with the latest technology."
Former County Administrator Bill Ring stated that with the new facility, students "don't have to take a back seat anymore."
Seventeen months later, a beautiful school stands where an open field once was, ready to educate the future of Grayson County.
Smoking a privilege, not a right
I've read the Hotline calls of irate smokers (and one non-smoker) who claim their rights were trampled by the recent law going into effect that bans smoking in restaurants.
I certainly understand their anger, given how unreasonable it is to ask them to walk 20 feet to the door, open it, and stand in the open air to smoke. How unreasonable!
Foresight is a thing that's refreshing to find in government on any level.
It's even more rare when desperation seems to run rampant, as it did while officials worked on their finances in the midst of the Great Recession last year.
But the Carroll County Public Schools leadership managed to both avoid budgetary pitfalls and help prepare to meet future fiscal challenges for 2010.
The federal government stepped in to help localities avoid crippling layoffs through the recovery act. Many places used this one-time infusion of cash as a short-term fix.
Many memorable events marked 2009, but most we'd like to forget.
It was a year of economic turmoil, swine flu freak-outs, bank robbers in fake wigs and partisan political pandemonium.
A bear got loose in a Hillsville corn maze at Halloween, but Carroll County punished dogs by enacting a trespassing law aimed at them.
Two women were fired for taking nude pictures of nursing home residents. Why, we don't know. Is there a market for "Grandpas Gone Wild" videos?
Country road is not NASCAR track
I live in a small community with tranquil woods, hills dotted with cattle and pretty little farms and houses.
However, the country two-lane road that cuts through our sleepy village connects U.S. 58 with Interstate 77. This is a shortcut or bypass of the 58/I-77 intersection, and is the subject of my complaint.
What used to be a rural winding country lane has turned into a veritable Autobahn with no posted speed, no traffic signals, no stop signs.
Senior programs praised
I have been meaning to write a letter to praise the senior program at the Galax Recreation Center.
I have taken advantage of many parties observed during the summer, fall and Christmas season. It is always a joy to see old friends there.
I attend the fun bingo games each month, with Michael Dees calling out the numbers. There are usually close to 70 people that attend. I applaud Mike in his many efforts to make the center a fun, user-friendly place.
Sometimes the realization of years of planning and working and dreaming are not announced with fireworks or fanfare.
Sometimes, you just realize that a long-promised change in the state of things has happened.
Such is the case with Galax's mission to become a "cultural district," a community devoted to the visual and performing arts, centered around the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts downtown.
The school is still months away from its grand opening, but already there's a feeling in the air, an electricity sparked by creative minds.
Copyright © 2019
The Galax Gazette is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Galax, Grayson, Carroll, and surrounding areas.


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Posts Tagged 'Family Reunion Invitation'
Scrapbook Your Family Reunion Invitation!
by Sherry Stocking Kline
22 April 2011
Summer is reunion time for many families, and ours is no exception!
This is our year to get together, and I'm really looking forward to it! After hunting down a cool place to gather, one with plenty of things for both old and young to do, (my mom insisted the place have a tornado shelter!!) the next thing to do is send out "Save the Date" invitations!
While playing with my Heritage Maker's website (affiliate link at http://www.turnmemoriesintobooks.com/) to personalize our own invitations, I made several to choose from, and I'm posting one of those here.
The Camp Horizon campground is a real campground in Kansas, (and is not pictured above) but the contacts, and family and reunion information posted here is fictional, not fact!
I substituted made-up names for our own names & info, so if you show up to attend our Jones Family Reunon on July 4th, just be warned — we won't be there!
If you would like to use this template to make a "Save the Date" invitation like this one,check out my website at www.TurnMemoriesIntoBooks! There are numerous templates to choose from in the template gallery, just do a search on Invitations or Save the Date. If you sign up for a Premium or Club HM membership I will gladly share the one shown above with those who sign up!
I plan to post some invitations using the Basic Membership art work soon!


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Liked the teaser only problem is, it was just a teaser. are you going to have the full copy available soon?
As an appetite-whetter this is very good!
Starting with a dramatic cover that sucks you into the excitement from the get-go, the main meat of the thing is an article about the Thundercloud Galaxy that poses far more questions than it answers (always a good thing, a good way to attract interest), and with statements like 'people are inexplicably drawn to the Thundercloud Galaxy, where they seem to meet with tragedy' is designed to get hordes of Rifts characters setting course for the place eager to find out what's going on there.
Even better for Palladium's bank balance, it will attract hordes of eager GMs looking for something new and intriguing to fill out their multiverse... and I'm one of them: given this taster I'll be looking to add this work to my (virtual) shelves when it comes out.
A good example of how to stir up interest in a new product, and a promising looking product at that.


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Politics & Government
Obama, helped by Latino vote, tries to cling to Nevada
If there's any battleground state that should concern President Barack Obama, it's Nevada. The state leads the nation in unemployment. It ranks fifth in foreclosures after months in the top spot – or bottom, depending on how you look at it.
But with the help of a surging Latino population and a strong union presence, Obama holds a narrow lead over Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in this state with the fifth largest Hispanic population in the nation. The president has the support of nearly four out of five registered Latino voters in Nevada, according to Latino Decisions polling, which takes into account a 9 percent bump in support after Obama granted hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants two-year deferrals to remain in the country legally.
Nearly 270,000 Latinos are eligible to vote, accounting for about 15 percent of the electorate, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
"We're going to give Obama another chance," said Ruth Arriaza, a manager at a Latino fast food restaurant.
Arriaza, and her husband, Alex Martinez, 35, lost their "dream home" after going bankrupt during Obama's term, but they said he was the only candidate who really cared about immigrants.
Martinez, a heating and air conditioning technician, said he was disappointed in the president for failing to pass comprehensive immigration restructuring after campaigning on the issue, but he said Obama deserved credit for using his executive powers to helping children who were brought to the country illegally by their parents.
Not all Latinos feel the same way. Rolando, 69, and Esperanza Varera, 58, also lost their house. And they don't see the president helping them get it back. Esperanza, who's originally from Mexico, said that what many recent Latino immigrants failed to understand was that if they didn't have jobs and couldn't keep their homes, then there was no future for them in the United States.
"They say we should be Democrats," she said. "They say Republicans don't like Latinos, but that's not true. The Republicans are the ones who are going to fix our economy so that Latinos can get their jobs back."
Nevada has only 2.7 million residents, but its six electoral votes could be decisive in the election. Obama's support may have surged with Latinos, but it's dropped with white Nevadans, giving Romney an opportunity. Still, Romney must overcome the fact that Nevada voters don't fit traditional voter profiles. And more 70 percent of the population lives in socially liberal Clark County, home to the most extravagant casinos in the nation.
"We're a state built on gambling," said Eric Herzik, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno. "The bars never close. We have legalized prostitution in 10 counties. We're at the bottom of the percentage of individuals who attend church."
In interviews with dozens of residents across Las Vegas, it's clear that the economy wasn't necessarily everyone's top issue. On social issues is where Republicans generally lose ground, Herzik said.
Both candidates paid Nevada a visit last week, each seeking to motivate supporters and convince remaining undecided residents that he's the best-qualified man to tackle local challenges.
On Wednesday night at a rally outside Las Vegas, Obama touted falling unemployment rates and rising home values. He warned that a Romney presidency would "turn the clock back 50 years for women and immigrants and gays."
Earlier that afternoon in Reno, Romney zeroed in on struggling homeowners. He warned that a second term for Obama would mean "the values of your homes continue to bump along in the basement."
Obama handily won Nevada in 2008 with 55 percent of the vote, but he's lost the backing of many supporters over the lack of economic progress since the Great Recession. The state is far from a Democratic stronghold; George W. Bush won it in 2000 and 2004.
Like many of their friends, Jeff and Alicia Wagner voted for Obama in 2008, believing that he could put Nevada and the country back on track. Unemployment had reached 8 percent that November, which was its highest in two decades, and the state already was leading lists of "worst hit" states from the recession.
The Wagners' optimism turned sour as the state's unemployment rate continued to rise, peaking at 14.5 percent last year. An architect, Jeff Wagner said his best friend had lost his job and then his home. Their own home is worth 50 percent less than they paid for it, he said.
"Four years ago it was very clear that our peer group was in Obama's camp," said Alicia Wagner, 29, an interior designer. "We just saw a lot of friends take steps backwards."
"We believed in the rhetoric of change," Jeff Wagner, 33, said after voting for Romney in early polling. It was his first vote ever for a Republican president.
Ethan Souder, 32, his wife, Laura, and his 7-year-old daughter attended Romney's Las Vegas rally last Tuesday. A member of the U.S. military, he's being dispatched to the Middle East next month, his fourth overseas assignment.
Emphasizing that he was speaking only for himself, Souder criticized Obama for planned defense cuts and said the country needed a new leader like Romney. Part of the cuts stem from a deal agreed on by the president and bipartisan members of Congress that involved a package of spending reductions if a budget deficit-reduction program isn't in place by the end of this year."I'd like to help, but (military regulations) prevent me from volunteering for any political campaign," he said.
Republicans also have cut into the Democrats' registration lead in Nevada. As of April, they'd reduced Democrats' advantage to 36,000 registered active voters. But with the help of the unions, who've paid some members to take time from their casino jobs to register voters, the Democrats made a strong final push. They now have 90,000 more active voters registered than Republicans do.
There are some signs of improvement in Nevada. Foreclosures have begun to drop and home values are rising.
Those seeds of hope are enough for Kyle Matthews to stick with Obama. The trade show coordinator said exhibitions were coming back as well, giving her optimism about the future. Watching football last week at Meatheads video poker bar, she said she worried about Romney's lack of specifics on the loopholes he'd close to cut tax rates.
"When I talk to my friends, we at least think we're on the right track," she said. "And there's a lot of trepidation for someone who's not articulating a clear path."
Still, the state continues to lead the nation in unemployment, at 11.8 percent. More than 70 percent of Nevada homeowners owe more money on their mortgages than their homes are worth, known as being "underwater," according to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures across the country.
Among the eye-catching billboards that advertise comedy shows and strip shows are others from lawyers promoting their expertise in short-selling underwater homes.
Those types of concerns are on the minds of dozens of volunteers at the Romney headquarters in Las Vegas, where they make hundreds of calls a day encouraging supporters to get out and vote.
"If you're sick, you call a doctor," said volunteer Alex Caveda, 30, who said he's struggled to get full-time work since he graduated four years ago from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "You have a problem with the economy, you get someone who has worked and succeeded in the economy."


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What in Neptune's World?
By Terry Siegel Posted Sep 14, 2006 08:00 PM Pomacanthus Publications, Inc.
Guess the mystery fish.
- Contents
Welcome to "What in Neptune's World" - a column intended to explore the wonders of the coral reefs in an entertaining, interactive manner.
This month, we have a mystery fish seeking identification. Can you identify it?
The answer will be announced the General Discussion Forum the first week of the following month. In the meanwhile, feel free to discuss the possibilities with other hobbyists in this thread in the Reefs.org's General Reef Discussion Forum.


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Find hotels in Carteret using the list and search tools below. Find cheap and discounted hotel/motel rates in or nearby Carteret, NJ for your personal leisure or group travel. We provide the best Carteret, New Jersey motel and hotel rooms. Browse the Carteret area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Carteret hotels. Booking 5+ Rooms? Find Carteret Group Hotel Discounts
The Carteret center point is about 2 miles northwest of Rossville and 3 miles northwest of Arden Heights.
How should we direct your call?


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Doctor Who (2005)
The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living – more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.
- Sydney Newman
- C. E. Webber
- Donald Wilson
Episode 1 - Asylum of the DaleksRelease Date: 2012-09-01
Kidnapped by his oldest foe, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission - to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter... the Asylum. A planetary prison confining the most terrifying and insane of their kind, the Doctor and the Ponds must find an escape route. But with Amy and Rory's relationship in meltdown, and an army of mad Daleks closing in, it is up to the Doctor to save their lives, as well as the Pond's marriage.
Episode 2 - Dinosaurs on a SpaceshipRelease Date: 2012-09-08
An unmanned spaceship hurtles towards certain destruction - unless the Doctor can save it, and its impossible cargo... of dinosaurs! By his side a ragtag gang of adventurers; a big game hunter, an Egyptian Queen and a surprised member of the Pond family. But little does the Doctor know there is someone else onboard who will stop at nothing to keep hold of his precious, prehistoric cargo.
Episode 3 - A Town Called MercyRelease Date: 2012-09-15
The Doctor gets a Stetson (and a gun!), and finds himself the reluctant Sheriff of a Western town under siege by a relentless cyborg, who goes by the name of the Gunslinger. But who is he and what does he want? The answer seems to lie with the mysterious, Kahler-Jex, an alien doctor (yes another one!) whose initial appearance is hiding a dark secret.
Episode 4 - The Power of ThreeRelease Date: 2012-09-22
The Doctor and the Ponds puzzle an unlikely invasion of Earth, as millions of sinister black cubes arrive overnight, almost like presents falling from the sky. But what are they, what's inside them and most importantly, who sent them? With the international community at a loss, it's left to the Doctor to unearth who is behind the mystery.
Episode 5 - The Angels Take ManhattanRelease Date: 2012-09-29
The Doctor's heart-breaking farewell to Amy and Rory – a race against time through the streets of Manhattan, as New York's statues come to life around them… With Rory's life in danger, the Doctor and Amy must locate him before it's too late! Luckily, an old friend helps them and guides the way.
Episode 6 - The Bells of Saint JohnRelease Date: 2013-03-30
When the Doctor receives a mysterious call from Clara, the woman that he's been seeking since he has seen her die twice, he arrives in 21st century Earth and discovers that something is using wi-fi to download human minds into the Internet... and feed on them.
Episode 7 - The Rings of AkhatenRelease Date: 2013-04-06
Clara wants to see something awesome, so the Doctor whisks her off to the inhabited rings of the planet Akhaten, where the Festival of Offerings is in full swing. Clara meets the young Queen of Years as the pilgrims and natives ready for the ceremony. But something is stirring in the pyramid, and a sacrifice will be demanded.
Episode 8 - Cold WarRelease Date: 2013-04-13
The Doctor and Clara land on a damaged Russian submarine in 1983 as it spirals out of control into the ocean depths. An alien creature is loose on board, having escaped from a block of Arctic ice. With tempers flaring and a cargo of nuclear weapons on board, it's not just the crew but the whole of humanity at stake!
Episode 9 - HideRelease Date: 2013-04-20
Clara and the Doctor arrive at Caliburn House, a haunted mansion sat alone on a desolate moor. Within its walls, a ghost hunting Professor and a gifted psychic are searching for the Witch of the Well. Her apparition appears throughout the history of the building, but is she really a ghost? And what is chasing her?
Episode 10 - Journey to the Centre of the TARDISRelease Date: 2013-04-27
When a salvage ship attempts to pull the TARDIS aboard when the time vessel's shields are down, an explosion occurs. The Doctor forces the salvage crew to help him find Clara, who is lost somewhere inside his vessel.
Episode 11 - The Crimson HorrorRelease Date: 2013-05-04
Something ghastly is afoot in Victorian Yorkshire, as bodies are found with their skin a waxy, glowing red.
Episode 12 - Nightmare in SilverRelease Date: 2013-05-11
Hedgewick's World of Wonders: the perfect theme park day out - and ground zero for a deadly silver resurrection.
Episode 13 - The Name of the DoctorRelease Date: 2013-05-18
Someone is kidnapping the Doctor's friends, leading him towards the one place in all of time and space that he should never go.


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I'm making a partial exception to my self-imposed rule of not speaking ill of the dead.
Paul Tibbets, the pilot who dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima, died Nov. 1, unrepentant till the very end.
"I wanted to do everything that I could to subdue Japan. I wanted to kill the bastards. That was the attitude of the United States in those years," he told an interviewer in 1995. "I have been convinced that we saved more lives than we took. It would have been morally wrong if we'd have had that weapon and not used it and let a million more people die."
There was only one problem with his analysis: He was just plain wrong. In the last few decades, there has been a whole slew of studies showing that the dropping of the bomb was-militarily and strategically-completely unnecessary. (Here, I am setting aside the moral arguments, convincing as they are.)
Perhaps the dean among this group of scholars is Professor Gar Alperovitz, who has written a number of books on the subject, including the magisterial "The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb," which in 1995 demolished once and for all the arguments for obliterating Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In an op-ed two years ago for The Progressive's sister organization, the Progressive Media Project, Alperovitz cited a number of recent studies that further bolstered his case.
"Long before the bombings, top American and British policy-makers were aware that a declaration of war by the Soviet Union, combined with assurances for the Japanese emperor, would likely end the conflict," Alperovitz wrote. "As early as April 29, 1945, for instance, U.S. intelligence advised that entry of the Soviet Union into the war would 'convince most Japanese at once of the inevitability of complete defeat,' and further, that if they were persuaded that unconditional surrender 'did not imply annihilation, surrender might follow fairly quickly.' "
Alperovitz listed several prominent generals as decrying the bomb. (Eisenhower said after the war that "the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing.") The most surprising of this bunch is right-wing extremist (and inspiration for Jack D. Ripper in the movie "Dr. Strangelove") General Curtis LeMay. Even he publicly proclaimed afterward that the war would have been done with in two weeks and that the bomb played no part in hastening its end.
In his recent book, "Empire and the Bomb," Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee devotes a chapter to knocking down the claim that using the two weapons was necessary.
"Included [in this book] is a detailed explanation of why the A-bombings were not essential to end the war on terms acceptable to the U.S.," Gerson writes. "Most damning is the irrefutable evidence that Truman and his advisors were well aware of this."
So why did Truman drop nuclear weapons on Japan? Bizarre as it may seem, a big part of the reason was to send the Soviets a message. And if you don't believe me, surely you will believe a top scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project that devised the bomb.
"More important was to demonstrate to the world-and particularly to the Soviet Union-the newly acquired might of the United States," Nobel Peace Prize-winner Joseph Rotblat wrote for the Progressive Media Project a few years ago. "I personally happened to find this out, directly from the mouth of General Leslie Groves, the head of the Manhattan Project, who said in a casual conversation in 1944, 'You realize, of course, that the main purpose of the project is to subdue the Russians.' "
Rotblat left the Manhattan Project shortly after in disgust, the only scientist to do so. He dedicated the rest of his life to peace work, and in 1995, received the Nobel Prize for the Pugwash scientists' conferences he helped organize to further nuclear disarmament.
Tibbets may have gone to his deathbed believing that the bomb he incinerated Hiroshima with was justified. It wasn't.
Amitabh Pal is managing editor of The Progressive.
© 2007 The Progressive


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Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli sharing kids over the holidays
Actress JENNIE GARTH will spend Thanksgiving without her children after working out a shared parenting agreement for the holidays with estranged husband PETER FACINELLI.
The Hollywood couple parted ways in March (12) and they have split custody of their three daughters, Luca, Lola, and Fiona.
The pair has now decided to split the upcoming celebrations - Garth will spend Christmas (25Dec12) with the kids, while her husband has them for Thanksgiving later this month (22Nov12).
But the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star is cooking up an early Thanksgiving meal this weekend (17Nov12) so she won't miss out on the fun with her girls.
She tells Us Weekly, "We're gonna do our Thanksgiving (with the girls) on Saturday. I'm gonna make a whole meal, have them go shopping with me and help me bake everything, and my mom and her husband are gonna come over.
"This is my first shared holiday. Their dad and I are hammering out the details of that, which is weird. They're actually gonna be with him for Thanksgiving and I'm gonna be with some friends, and then I get to have them for Christmas."