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Today's Meditation
Read Colossians 4:2-6
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
-1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
WHEN I was a new Christian I wanted to base my faith on facts, not on feelings. So I became equipped with knowledge of the scriptures, prophecy, and scientific evidence to support truth of the Bible's content. I was so excited by the truths I learned that I wanted to tell the whole world, especially my family and friends. But over the last 20 years, God has taught me something equally significant to being able to build a case for Christ. That is, God calls us to be bearers of the truth, not enforcers of the faith.
I made this discovery when a friend kindly sent me a letter in which she wrote, "I would appreciate it if you would respect my beliefs." Humbled and thankful that she loved me enough to try to preserve our friendship, I realized my responsibility is to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit--not a know-it-all.
Over time, I have become more sensitive to how others receive what I so desperately want to share. Now I try to sense when I've said enough and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Cor. 3:6, NRSV). Rather than risk offending by saying too much, when I share my faith with someone, I breathe a prayer instead.
Sherri Stumpf
(Ohio, USA)
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to share your love in a loving way to those who don't know you. Amen.
Thought for the day: We share the Good News, but only God's grace changes hearts.
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Spurs take 3-0 lead, beat Grizzlies 104-93 in OT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tim Duncan is doing his very best to get the San Antonio Spurs back to the NBA Finals one more time.
The 37-year-old center took control in overtime for a second straight game, this time scoring the first five points as the Spurs rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 104-93 Saturday night.
That put them a win away from their first finals since 2007.
"He was huge for us the other night in overtime and got it done for us, and he did it again tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the two-time MVP. "That's why he is considered as great as he has for the last 17 years. He's been unbelievable. He feels a responsibility to carry us in those kinds of times, and he did it again tonight."
Duncan wants to get back to the finals after being on the verge last year. He said he was more aggressive in overtime after being a bit tentative with his shot in regulation.
"I'm not worried about how old I am or whatever, whatever it may be," Duncan said. "I'm very focused on having another opportunity to make it to a championship and try to win, that's all."
The Spurs grabbed a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals and now have won five straight this postseason. With the memory of blowing a 2-0 lead a year ago in the West finals to Oklahoma City, when they lost the next four, the Spurs shook off their sloppy play early and pushed the young Grizzlies to the edge of elimination in the first West final played in Memphis.
The Grizzlies knocked off the Clippers after trailing 0-2 and upset the West's top seed in Oklahoma City in the semifinals. Now their task is even tougher with Game 4 in Memphis on Monday night.
"We've been fortunate to get this far, and we've got to play better if we want to continue," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said.
Memphis set up for the final shot to win in regulation, but guard Mike Conley missed on a runner at the buzzer. He said he went a little too deep in the paint on the shot.
No NBA team has lost a series when leading 3-0.
"It is frustrating, but you know it gives us hope at the same time knowing that we can fight our way back," Conley said. "And we have had chances to win each of these games. This was a tough one to swallow, but it was a good learning lesson. There's no group of guys I'd rather be with down 3-0 to try to fight back in it."
San Antonio, which didn't lead this game until the opening minute of the fourth quarter, can wrap up the series Monday in Memphis and get back to the finals for a shot at their fifth title as a franchise.
"One of the best wins I've witnessed being a Spur," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said.
The Spurs hit eight of their 10 shots in overtime, with Duncan scoring seven of his 24 points. He also had 10 rebounds. Tony Parker had five of his 26 in overtime, and even Tiago Splitter, playing with four fouls, scored six in the extra five minutes to finish with 11.
"For whatever reason, we didn't panic," Parker said of a start that included four turnovers in the first quarter. "We knew they wanted to come with a lot of energy in the first half. We played our game and came back."
Mike Conley led Memphis with 20 points. Marc Gasol had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Zach Randolph added 14 and 15, and Quincy Pondexter had 15 points. But the Grizzlies, who thrived at the free throw line in knocking off Oklahoma City, got there only 18 times and made only 10.
The Grizzlies last led 85-84 with 1:04 left in regulation on a 15-footer by Gasol. After that, they managed only to tie it up twice, the last on a layup by Randolph with 4:28 left in overtime. Duncan scored and knocked down the free throw with 4:10 remaining to put the Spurs ahead to stay.
The Spurs dominated the Grizzlies in the paint, outscoring Memphis 58-42 to offset their 17 turnovers, which the Grizzlies turned into 25 points. After the Grizzlies outscored San Antonio in the first quarter, the Spurs outscored them in each of the final three periods and overtime, where they had an 18-7 edge to put away the win.
Memphis, which had a lead for only 90 seconds in San Antonio, opened up with its trademark grit and grind defense, forcing eight turnovers in the first quarter to grab an 18-point lead. The Spurs quit turning the ball over and whittled away that lead to set up a doozy of a fourth quarter where the teams swapped the lead 11 times with 10 ties — all in the final 17 minutes.
"They went small real quick, and we couldn't contain the pick and roll ...," Gasol said. "It's painful to watch."
With neither team leading by more than two in the final 8 minutes of regulation, fans stayed on their feet, holding their "Believe Memphis" towels trying to will the Grizzlies to yet another win.
Ginobili scored seven of his 19 points in the quarter, and he put the Spurs back up first with a layup with 1:19 left and then a pair of free throws with 54.5 seconds remaining. But Ginobili also picked up his fourth foul, giving Tony Allen a chance to split free throws and tie it up at 86 for the ninth time. Ginobili then missed a 3-pointer with 20.9 seconds left with Allen getting the rebound.
With the Spurs taking control in their second straight overtime win in this series, they pushed their lead to as much as 11 down the stretch and sent fans heading toward the exits.
The Grizzlies lost for the first time at home this postseason and just their second since Feb. 8. Conley, who led the NBA in total steals this season, set the tone with a steal on the Spurs' first possession.
Parker, who set a career high in the postseason with 18 assists in Game 2, finished with seven turnovers. San Antonio turned it over eight times in the first, with the Grizzlies stealing seven of those, prompting Popovich to pull his starters and go with five fresh Spurs.
"It was one of the worst starts I've ever seen," Popovich said.
Memphis went up by as much as 18 and was ahead 29-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The Spurs opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run and hit 10 of their first 15 to pull within 42-36. The Grizzlies went into halftime up 44-40.
In the third, the Spurs pulled within a point six different times only to see the Grizzlies hit another bucket to hold onto the lead. San Antonio closed the quarter with a 12-4 run and trailed 65-64 on a bucket by Duncan.
The Spurs picked up in the fourth quarter and finally got their first lead of the game on a corner 3-pointer from Danny Green — his first bucket of the game — with 11:45 left to set up the back and forth quarter.
Notes: Duncan had his 144th postseason double-double, moving into second by himself behind Magic Johnson. ... Conley's five steals in the first quarter were the most in a quarter of a playoff game over the past 10 postseasons, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He finished with five turnovers. ... The Grizzlies had their 16th straight postseason sellout. ... The Spurs now have played five overtime periods this postseason, the most in franchise history. ... The Grizzlies are 1-2 in overtime games this postseason.

subset: commoncrawl


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BEDFORD, N.Y. – Springfield College senior Joey Grippi went 4-0 to win his second consecutive 141-pound title at the Doug Parker Wrestling Invitational hosted by Springfield, in Massachusetts.
The 2009 Fox Lane graduate, who was a Division III all-American last year, was seeded first and received a first-round bye. Grippi opened his day with an 8-1 win over Josh White from Bridgewater State. He followed up with a 15-0 technical fall over Fred Reisch of Plymouth State in a quarterfinal match.
In his semifinal, Grippi defeated a tough Corey Vernon from Centenary. Riding the momentum from his semifinal win, Grippi closed out his day with a title after a 10-7 victory over third-seeded Paul Marcello from Johns Hopkins.
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Tag Archives: Bruce Botnick
Flashback: The Doors: "Riders on the Storm"
Check this AMAZING original remixed video of The Doors' classic "Riders on the Storm" by Tanjadoor. Perfect for a spooky October! Check the the eerie vocal and sound effect backtracks. Jim is driving is a 1967 Shelby GT500 that was given to him by his record company, Elektra. Word is that he later wrecked it and left it beside the road and never returned to get it. Somewhere out there in a barn (hopefully it didn't get CRUSHED) is Jim Morrison's 1967 Shelby GT500!
The Doors were IOHO one… Read More
Posted in Performances Tagged "Riders On The Storm", Bruce Botnick, Fender Rhodes, Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Ray Manzarek, Robby Kreiger, The Doors
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Picard interrupts the probe preparations in the science lab to tell La Forge.
Despite the apparent loss of his mother, La Forge intends to continue with the mission. He views the last message he received from his mother in his quarters when Commander Riker enters to try to talk La Forge out of performing the task, but La Forge insists he continue, as the interface has been specifically configured to his VISOR's inputs and there's little time if there are survivors on the Raman .
After a brief period of adjustment in activating the interface, he travels through a corridor on the Raman , finding someone dead. He continues on and finds the rest of them in a magnetic storage bay. There is no one left alive on the ship. Suddenly, a fire breaks out and Crusher orders a disconnection. However, they see that La Forge's hands are severely burned.
It turns out the heat sensory inputs overloaded through a possible feedback loop. In sickbay , Crusher treats the wounds. Picard wants to get the information they were collecting, but not at the risk of La Forge's health. La Forge says they can modify the interface, so they can try again in a couple of hours once the entry point on the Raman can be created.
In the meantime, La Forge learns from
his father
that a
memorial service
has already been planned for the crew on
, as most of the
's personnel were native to the planet. La Forge's father wants to plan a private memorial along with his daughter and La Forge's sister
Modal Scarf Santa by VIDA VIDA F0x3lSK
, which seems premature to La Forge.
Later, he "is just passing by" Data's quarters and stops in. Data is contemplating the emptiness of his computer screen in the style of the Doosodarians . He initially asks if La Forge wants to talk about his mother, and he says no, however, La Forge gives in and asks if it's crazy to think she's still alive. Data factually replies he's not crazy, but statistics show this situation rarely come out well.
La Forge is back in the interface, but, immediately, he inexplicably sees his mother on the Raman .
She states that she and the crew of the Hera are actually trapped on the planet 's surface. Continued use of the probe soon exposes La Forge to unhealthy levels of neural stimulation, forcing his disconnection from the interface.
La Forge becomes convinced that his mother was on the Raman , and wants to use the probe to communicate with his mother. Dr. Crusher and Picard refuse to allow him to use the interface suit again, and attempt to explain that it is highly improbable that he actually communicated with his mother who was last seen over three hundred light years away. Picard orders him to talk to Counselor while Data comes up with an alternate plan to salvage the Raman . There, La Forge admits to Troi that he regretted not responding to her last message, but he does not accept the treatment he's being given, as there's no evidence of her death, and he believes the image he saw on the ship. He abruptly leaves the room, since he has a theory of his own.
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Mark Broich 1 , Matthew Hansen 1 , Fred Stolle 2 , Peter Potapov 1 , Belinda Arunarwati Margono 1 and Bernard Adusei 1
Published 23 February 2011 • IOP Publishing Ltd Environmental Research Letters , Volume 6 , Number 1
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1 South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA
2 World Resources Institute, Washington, DC 20002, USA
Received 12 October 2010 Accepted 3 February 2011 Published 23 February 2011
Mark Broich et al 2011 Environ. Res. Lett. 6 014010
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The Indonesian islands of Sumatera and Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo) are a center of significant and rapid forest cover loss in the humid tropics with implications for carbon dynamics, biodiversity conservation, and local livelihoods. The aim of our research was to analyze and interpret annual trends of forest cover loss for different sub-regions of the study area. We mapped forest cover loss for 2000–2008 using multi-resolution remote sensing data from the Landsat enhanced thematic mapper plus (ETM +) and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors and analyzed annual trends per island, province, and official land allocation zone. The total forest cover loss for Sumatera and Kalimantan 2000–2008 was 5.39Mha, which represents 5.3% of the land area and 9.2% of the year 2000 forest cover of these two islands. At least 6.5% of all mapped forest cover loss occurred in land allocation zones prohibiting clearing. An additional 13.6% of forest cover loss occurred where clearing is legally restricted. The overall trend of forest cover loss increased until 2006 and decreased thereafter. The trends for Sumatera and Kalimantan were distinctly different, driven primarily by the trends of Riau and Central Kalimantan provinces, respectively. This analysis shows that annual mapping of forest cover change yields a clearer picture than a one-time overall national estimate. Monitoring forest dynamics is important for national policy makers, especially given the commitment of Indonesia to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries initiative (REDD +). The improved spatio-temporal detail of forest change monitoring products will make it possible to target policies and projects in meeting this commitment. Accurate, annual forest cover loss maps will be integral to many REDD + objectives, including policy formulation, definition of baselines, detection of displacement, and the evaluation of the permanence of emission reduction.
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jerry-built / jury rig
These two terms have different origins and different meanings, although they are becoming conflated in common usage.
Jerry-built, meaning shoddy construction, dates to 1869. From the 1869 Lonsdale Glossary:
Jerry-built, slightly, or unsubstantially built.
The origin of jerry-built is unknown. One assumes that it is somehow related to the name Jerry, but exactly how is not known.
Jury rig, while similar sounding, has a slightly different meaning, emphasizing the temporary nature of the solution and can imply an ingenious solution done with materials at hand. Jerry-built, on the other hand, is often used for a permanent, but poorly built, construction and has no positive connotation.
The origin of jury rig is nautical and is taken from the term jury mast. A jury mast is a temporary mast erected to hold sail when the normal mast has been lost due to storm or battle. From Captain John Smith's The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England and the Summer Isles, penned in 1616:
We had reaccommodated her a Iury mast, and the rest, to returne for Plimouth.
It is commonly thought that jury mast is a clipped form of injury mast, but no evidence of this longer term has been found. This form of jury is etymologically unrelated to the jury that sits in judgment at a trial.
The term jury rig itself appears in 1788. From Thomas Newte's A Tour in England and Scotland published in that year:
The ships to be jury rigged: that is, to have smaller masts, yards, and rigging, than would be required for actual service.
(Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition)
Copyright 1997-2018, by David Wilton


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Ted Siefer's City Hall: Parents put focus on number of students failing algebraTED SIEFER
October 27. 2012 11:20PM
It turns out parents may have their fingers more closely on the pulse of education than do their elected representatives on the school board.
Last week, the board's Curriculum and Instruction Committee took a field trip to Southside Middle School. The idea was to give parents a chance to express their concerns about curricular matters directly to the superintendent and the board. And we quickly learned that the Manchester School District has a math problem.
One of the bearers of this bad news was a familiar face, Jim O'Connell, the outspoken parent activist and founding member of Citizens for Manchester Schools, the group that has been advocating for more school funding.
He said he had been told at a Central High parents council meeting that nearly 200 freshmen at the school - close to a third of the class - failed algebra last year.
Other parents chimed in to criticize the district's math programs, in particular Everyday Math, the curriculum used through Grade 5. The program emphasizes patterns and games over old-school methods, such as memorizing the times tables.
District officials acknowledged there very well may be a lack of coordination in math teaching as students go from elementary school to middle school and then on to high school, where the problem culminates in their poor performance in algebra.
Principals at the city high schools have since confirmed that large numbers of freshmen - between a quarter and a third - have been failing algebra in recent years. This newspaper will report further on the problem on Monday.
Superintendent Tom Brennan said he is going to be meeting with his team and principals over the coming weeks to figure out what can be done about the problem.
Brennan seemed to be a lot more appreciative of the feedback from the parents than the kind he typically gets from the school board.
He said he'd like to see more such meetings in the community.
'I think it was one of the better meetings,' he said, referring to Tuesday's session. 'Even with the small number of people, it generated questions that need to be answered.'
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Brennan proposed an interesting question at another subcommittee meeting last week: Why are there clocks in classrooms?
Like so many school board discussions these days, the context for Brennan's query, at a meeting of the Building and Sites Committee meeting, involved money. How can the cash-strapped district pay for a laundry list of school repairs, from broken clocks and intercoms to pot-holed parking lots?
It turns out repairing those old clocks - with the red second hand that surely has held the attention of countless school children for countless hours - is very pricey.
'In this day, with all the devices we have, I don't understand why we need to have clocks in the classroom,' Brennan said. 'Perhaps we can have a conversation about that.'
He recalled a sign that a teacher had posted as a message to his students that read, 'Time is passing, are you?'
Brennan called his clock question rhetorical, and in some ways the list of maintenance issues presented by the principals of Memorial High, Southside Middle School and Weston Elementary on Tuesday was also rhetorical.
Many of the items have been on the schools' wish lists for some time, and school board members weren't inclined to spend money on the problems. Among the requests were new lockers and fixing cracked floor tiles at Memorial, a new intercom system at Southside, and a new coat rack at Weston. There may at least be some money for one of the oft-cited problems at the schools: repairing pot-holed parking lots and cracked blacktops. The subcommittee is looking at taking $350,000 in bond money designated for the parking lot at the district office and using it for paving problems at the schools. The assumption is that this will pass legal muster, unlike an earlier attempt to use the money to hire more teachers.
- - - - - - -
There has been an empty seat at school board meetings for the past several weeks. Ward 4 board member Roy Shoults has been laid up. The good news is he is feeling better and expects to be attending this week's meetings. The bad news is he still doesn't know what exactly is wrong with him.
He said he has developed a 'dropped foot' - it's difficult to lift his foot off the ground. And he's been fatigued and has lost about 30 pounds.
So far, all the tests he has had at the hospital have indicated he is in good health.
'I feel at this point that I'm a perfectly healthy invalid,' he said.
The freshman board member says the problems began about six weeks ago, after he moved into a new apartment. He thinks the exertion triggered his condition.
He's steadily been feeling better, and he is able to move around now, at least enough to get him to board meetings.
'Mentally, I don't have any problem, but this has led to my being more frustrated, since I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with me,' he said.
Here's hoping we see Shoults at school board meetings again soon.
- - - - - - -
Who knew? Mayor Ted Gatsas made his acting debut last weekend, appearing last Sunday in a performance of 'Fiddler on the Roof' at the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire center on Beech Street.
The mayor would most certainly make a good Tevye, but it was just a cameo, he said.
He came on stage as the village mayor, complete with sash and hat, appearing alongside the constable and the priest.
Gatsas said, modestly no doubt, that there was 'some applause' when he came on stage.
So did the mayor catch the acting bug?
'Trust me, I'm not quitting my day job,' he said.
- - - - - - - -
Ted Siefer may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter: @tbsreporter.


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Conan the Barbarian (US - BD RA)
Gabe thinks Conan the Bore-barian would be a more appropriate title...
Conan the Barbarian was born on the battlefield. From those blood soaked beginnings, the fledgling warrior is destined to venture into an unforgiving world after his father is brutally murdered and his village destroyed. As he journeys through a world rife with terrifying monsters, sorcerers and bloodthirsty enemies, he chances upon Khalar Zym – the warlord responsible for his tribe's destruction. And so Conan's quest to avenge his father begins... (Taken from the Lionsgate synopsis.)
I have very little love for John Milius' Conan the Barbarian, despite an affection for most things '80s Schwarzenegger, and kind of hate the two sequels it spawned. I tend to prefer the Italian brand of weirdo, fantasy sword and sandal type films, and Roger Corman's ultra-stupid knock-offs. I also have very little knowledge of Robert E. Howard's original pulp novels, and the apparently classic Marvel comics, but I do consider myself a connoisseur of all things Frank Frazetta, so I love the image of Conan, and the general universe encompassed in Frazetta's amazing book cover paintings. I come to this update with little in the way of expectations outside of a hope that director Marcus Nispel would capture a fraction of the beauty and excitement of Frazetta's work. Unfortunately, Nispel is a terrible filmmaker. Outside of his passable work on the okay, but entirely unnecessary Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, he makes movies that are entirely unmemorable outside of how unmemorable they are. Nispel claims to be a huge fan of Conan, and even made a sort of wannabe Conan flick in Pathfinder, a Viking era barbarian flick that is, like most of the director's films, only memorable for the fact that those who have seen it usually can't remember anything about it. Here Nispel lives up to his pedigree. Once again he takes perfectly beautiful production design, and what appears to be well-executed stunts and fight choreography, and bludgeons them with occasionally baffling camera placement, rough, almost anti-rhythmic editing choices, shaking cameras, terrible geographic sense, and dismal lighting designs.
Not surprisingly the screenplay seems to be a bit of an afterthought. I understand that the character is a pulp hero, that he is kind of vaguely defined throughout many interpretations, and these stories aren't known for their novelty, but a Barbarian film really shouldn't be this boring. Am I really meant to care about anything that's happening, or am I meant to be checking the clock in hopes that I'm almost done with this series of random, weightless events? Am I supposed to ignore the befuddling and random choices these characters make, and the lack of sway most of their choices have on the plot? I'm guessing the answer to these questions is 'yes', and that I'm not supposed to care about anything but carnage, which is unfortunate, because even the carnage grows boring. Performances don't really help. Jason Momoa gets away with a lot thanks to some unflappable charisma (he's quite good playing basically the same character on Game of Thrones), but no one else in the cast appears to be even trying to step above the thin boundaries set by the script, and have some major issues with their dialogue (some actors seem to think there is a race commencing to see who can speak their lines the fastest). Steven Lang appears diminutive and unthreatening, Rose McGowan (who I really fought to like here) is more unintentionally funny than frightening, and Momoa's scenes with Rachel Nichols are more obnoxious than charming. The love between the these 'romantic leads' is entirely unearned, and almost humoursly random.
I do appreciate the severe, grotesque degree of violence throughout the film, but also find myself wanting more. Conan is ripped from his mother's womb, slices off an aggressor's nose (he later sticks his finger into the nose hole), head-butts another aggressor with a severed head, somehow squishes gallons of blood from behind unbroken links of armour, and slingshots a victim into the big bad's camp. But the graphic stuff is largely delegated to the early sequences, which leaves a lot of runtime shorn of carnage. It appears as if the production had a scorecard of violent acts, and finished checking off the appropriate acts during the first act and a half. It's more likely that Nispel's complaints of ratings problems are the proper cause (several bits of carnage appear to have been snipped). Still, quite often I had to just take it for grated that what I was watching was badass, and was left somewhat stumped by how little impact the brutal fight scenes carried. And the lack of wall-to-wall sexuality is disappointing given my Frazetta-based expectations, but there is at least some nudity and gyrating sex present to assist in earning the R-rating. Conan had a relatively modest budget of $70 to $90 million, and some of the sets look pretty fabulous, but anytime digital effects are an integral part of a background the film looks cheaper than similar television productions. I'm willing to forgive iffy digital creature animation, but the computer created backgrounds are often ridiculous in their flatness, and I've seen better digital humans in Playstation 2 games.
Someone needs to take digital grading away from Marcus Nispel. Instead of creating otherworldly environments like those of Lord of the Rings, the computer colour correction creates a dull, cold environment for his film. Conan often appears mechanical, almost like a videogame in its mix of desaturated environments. The film, and in turn this 1080p transfer, looks much more impressive when cinematographer Thomas Kloss is capturing a more natural palette of grays and blues, though even here Nispel's universe appears as a shadow of Ridley Scott's Gladiator. By the time the second act as rolls around the palette has devolved almost exclusively into slightly different shades of orange/brown, juxtaposed with cool blues. Stylistic issues are not the transfer's fault, however (assuming the film looked like this in theaters), and the lame digital grading looks quite sharp and pure, with no major bleeding or blooming issues. There are some hot spots, but so little in the way of effective contrast or poppy elements that it's hard to tell how successful the image's extreme elements are. The more decorative design elements fare pretty well, at least when they are not lost in murky shadows, though there are some unfortunate bouts with edge haloes, specifically early in the film, for some reason. Close-up textures look the best, but wide set details are normally fine as well, minus the occasional aforementioned haloes.
This disc features a 3D transfer as well, the size of which might explain the slightly compressed look early in the 2D version. I'm incapable of viewing 3D films at this time, so am not covering this, but do wonder if perhaps the 3D helps make the thin CG backgrounds look a little more convincing.
This 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track starts with a really bizarre narrative spread. Morgan Freeman's voice extends to every single channel at the same time and volume level. Assuming your speakers aren't set exactly as they should be, this will create some unfortunate delay, and out of phase effects. I'm pretty sure I've never heard anything like this before. This problem doesn't extend to the rest of the film for the most part, though Tyler Bates' score is given perhaps too much rear channel separation for my taste. I also had to double check my systems settings a few times to make sure I hadn't set the left channels louder than the right channels. Perhaps my ears were playing tricks one me, but I'm thinking this one is a little left heavy. Apart from this, I'm largely satisfied by the vast quantity of directional effects, and the success with which they move. There's very little in the way of silence anywhere in this film – dialogue scenes feature plenty of musical and ambient swell – and despite the minor issues with balance I found the effects expertly mixed. The punches have thick impact, the sword clashes are sharp, and slashes are gushy with blood splatter. Rose McGowan's magic tricks and the creature fights also let loose some cool directional swirl, and also often feature the best representation of Bates' omnipresent score.
For the sake of time (this review disc came as I was leaving town for Thanksgiving vacation) I'm mostly going to copy Chris' extras section from his UK release review here, specifically the dual commentaries, which take up the most time: Quote: First up we have a pair of commentary tracks, the first with director Marcus Nispel and the second with actors Jason Momoa and Rose McGowan. Nispel's track is a stop-start affair that lacks the sort of insight found in the best commentaries, but it's worth listening to at least once. The actors' track is a bit more enjoyable thanks to the presence of two participants, which allows for a free-flowing track filled with on-set anecdotes and easy conversation.
The featurettes are brief enough that I can quickly cover them. The Conan Legacy (18:00, HD) gives some background on the character through members of the cast and crew, including writers Sean Hood, Joshua Oppenheimer an Thomas Dean Donnelly, 'Conan: The Phenomenon' author Paul Sammon (often seen on similar featurettes and documentaries), producers Boaz Davidson, Avi Lerner and Fredrik Malmberg, director Marcus Nispel, and actors Jason Momoa and Rachel Nichols. It's kind of sad how obviously these people love the property considering the movie they produced, but it also gives a glance at what could've been based on production images, and the writers' original intent (Nispel pooped on more fantastical elements). This featurette is good enough, but I would've preferred a longer look at the history over information about the movie. Robert E. Howard: The Man Who Would Be Conan (11:20, HD) features Sammon, 'The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard' editor Rob Roehm, writer Sean Hood, and ex-writer/editor-in-chief at Marvel Roy Thomas running down the author's personal history. Battle Royal: Engineering the Action (10:00, HD) focuses on fight choreography with the producers, Nispel, actors, second unit director David Leitch, and fight coordinator Noon Orsatti. Staging the Fights (5:50, HD) offers a split-screen view of pre-viz and rehearsal footage. Things come to an end with a trailer, and trailers for other Lionsgate releases.
I'd heard mostly bad things, and generally dislike Marcus Nispel's work, but I genuinely wanted to like this Conan. I did everything I could to enjoy the experience, but came away disappointed, and entirely unphased by the experience. Nispel's record of badly made movies I won't remember a week after watching is secured. This disc has a few minor audio and video issues (I'm not sure I didn't hallucinate these…), but overall is strong in both areas. The extras are mostly good, if not too brief.
* Note: The images on this page are taken from the UK Blu-ray release and resized for the page. They are not entirely representative of the Blu-ray image quality.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Existing Posts
It was still pretty much a sequel.
"I have very little love for John Milius' Conan the Barbarian ... and kind of hate the two sequels it spawned."
There was only one sequel, Conan the Destroyer.
You might be thinking of Red Sonja, where Schwarzenegger did play a barbarian again, but his name was not Conan and he only had about 15 minutes of screen time.
There was only one sequel, Conan the Destroyer.
You might be thinking of Red Sonja, where Schwarzenegger did play a barbarian again, but his name was not Conan and he only had about 15 minutes of screen time.
I could never be a film reviewer as it would mean having to sit through movies that i already knew were going to suck.
Screen Cap #2: Bigfoot/Harry & the Henderson's.
When i was watching this movie, i waiting to see if those FAKE rocks would hit the camera? or someone would fly right in to it.
I quite literally stopped the movie and reconfigured my set up, Chris.
Jason Momoa deserved a better director. Not to mention a better script.
He was good in the role. Best thing about the movie IMO.
He was good in the role. Best thing about the movie IMO.
Nice to read that your comments about the video/audio mirror mine. It means I'm not seeing/hearing things. I went with the higher video score purely because the drab look isn't down to the quality of the encode, but on reflection I reckon 8 is a more accurate reflection of my feelings. The audio is definitely off though. I've subsequently read reviews on other sites praising it as perfect and wondered what they were listening to. It has balancing issues throughout, with the surrounds being disproportionately loud and the dialogue is marginalised for most of the film.
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date: 22nd November 2011
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.40:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras: Audio Commentaries, Featurettes, Theatrical Trailer
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Marcus Nispel
Cast: Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan
Genre: Action, Adventure and Fantasy
Length: 113 minutes
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1780 Pendleton St.Memphis, TN 38114Sale Amount: $3.1 million
Sale Date: Sept. 11, 2013Buyer: Pendleton Apartments LLCSeller: Pendleton Investors LLCDetails: An affiliate of Teaneck, N.J.-based The Aspen Cos. has paid $3.1 million for the Pendleton Place Apartments at 1780 Pendleton St. in the Defense Depot area.
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Set in formal gardens just south of Dublin's city centre, with views across Dublin Bay to Howth Head, the fine 18th century house at the heart of this impressive hotel was once a private residence.
Careful restoration and imaginative modernisation have created interesting public areas, including the Orangerie Bar and a pillared ballroom with minstrels' gallery and grand piano.
This Dublin hotels bedrooms are in a modern four-storey block adjoining the main building, all have garden views (some of the best rooms also have balconies) and air conditioning, and are well-equipped for business guests.
Accommodation is comfortably furnished to a high standard in contemporary style, although some rooms (and bathrooms) are less spacious than might be expected in a recent development.
Conference/banqueting (350/220). Business centre, video conferencing, free broadband wi/fi. Fitness centre; beauty salon. Garden. Ample parking. Children welcome (under 18s free in parents' room, cots available without charge, baby sitting arranged).
Rooms 151 (25 suites, 70 no-smoking, 8 for disabled). 24 hr room service, Lift, Turndown service. Room rate from €170 (max. 3 guests). Open all year.
In four interconnecting rooms in the lower ground floor, this informal Italian restaurant is decorated in warm Mediterranean colours and, with smart wooden tables dressed with slips, modern cutlery, fresh flowers and Bristol blue water glasses, it is atmospheric when candle-lit at night.
A well-balanced menu offers a balanced choice of dishes inspired by tradition and tailored to the modern palate.
This Dublin restaurants good atmosphere and caring service from friendly, efficient staff add to the attraction of a meal here.
The wine list offers a strong selection of regional Italian bottles to match the food. Residents may expect the usual good Radisson buffet for breakfast.
*Lighter menus are also offered all day in the Orangerie Bar and Ballroom Lounge.


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CreatioNZ wrote:nah in Xbox the brigand is very slow and cumbersome but has a rear turret and awesome firepower. and no, there isn't a balmoral bomber that I know of. What is it, as they may call it something different.
I think those stats only apply to non-Mexicans.
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Carnation (Rani) - Plant
The plant is potted in 6 inch plastic Pot
Description for Carnation (Rani)
Carnations instantly add colour to a garden. Whether you use them in a flowerbed, in a rock garden, in containers or as a border, the many available colour varieties will add ornamental value both indoors and out.
Carnations have straight stems and can grow approximately 18 inches tall. These long-lasting plants have full, big blooms that give off a spicy fragrance that is hard to ignore.
|Common name
|Flower colours
|Bloom time
|Carnation, Chabaud Giant Model Mix Carnation
|Dark pink
|Late spring and summer
|3 to 5 feet
Planting and care
Carnations are grown from seed. Carnation seeds can be directly seeded into your flower garden, or started indoors for transplanting later. If planting outdoors, sow them early in the spring. But, make sure the soil is not too wet.
When sowing seeds, cover lightly with 1/4 inches of fine soil. Space seeds or seedlings 12" apart.
If you are growing perennials, you can propagate them from cuttings or by division. Once your plants have been established, they can be propagated by separation in the fall.
|Carnations need full sunlight, about 4-5 hours everyday.
|Carnations thrive in fertile, well drained, slightly alkaline (pH 6.75) soil.
|Carnations do not require much water, except in the hot months. You must be careful not to make the soil too wet which can produce yellow foliage. You must spray water on the plants instead of splashing.
|The optimum temperature for growing Carnations range from 50 to 59 degrees F at daytime and 41 to 46 degrees F at night.
|Add a general purpose fertilizer once or twice a month.
Caring for Carnation
- Insects and Diseases: Insect and disease problems are infrequent. If insect or disease problems occur, treat early with insecticides, repellents, or fungicide.
- Supporting Tall Carnations: You need to know ahead how tall each variety will grow in order to provide the right kind of support. The support should be set in place soon after planting, or as the plants emerge from the ground in the spring, so the stems will remain up.
Typical uses of Carnation
Special features:
- http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/carnation.htm
- http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/growingflowers/growing-carnations
- http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Carnation%20pink.html
What Customer says ?
Want to tell us your experience with this product ? Just login and add your comments
I am satisfied with the plants.Shiva Ranjani Reddy
Very much happy with the product and service. Wasi A Ayaz
It s lovely. The plant was carefully packed and seems to be genuine plant. I m happy with my purchase.Ritu Sudip Karmakar
Got the plant in excellent shape. Looks great! Arijit Mondal
Awesome experience!!! Luved the plant. Looked exactly the same. Thank you NLAshish Bhujbal
Any query about carnation (rani) - plant


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Skip to comments.Iranian Alert - December 19, 2005 - What is behind Ahmadinejads anti-Israel remarks?
Posted on 12/19/2005 8:54:42 PM PST by DoctorZIn
Top News Story
What is behind Ahmadinejads anti-Israel remarks?
Mehran Riazaty: a former Iran analyst for the Central Command of the Coalition Forces in Baghdad in the office of Strategic Communication.Ahmadinejad could not tie his shoe-laces without supports of powerful Ayatollahs such as Khamenei, Rafsanjani, Janati, Kashani, Mesbah Yazdi his mentor, and many others in Iran.
The main question is why Ahmadinejad made these comments? These comments are not definitely made by accident.
During Khatamis presidency, Hassan Rohani, who used to be Irans Supreme National Security Chief, wrote a letter to him and explained Irans Political Strategy: Creating crisis, shifting crisis to opportunities then take advantage of these opportunities. It could be said that Khatami created the crisis and now Ahmadinejad shifting Khatamis crisis to opportunities which soon Iranian Ayatollahs will take advantage of these opportunities.
Khatamis crisis was fire under the ashes. Despite the promises the Clinton administration had heard from Khatamis informal interlocutors that the reformist understood the Untied States concerns about Irans nuclear program would work to accommodate us, Irans nuclear program had never slowed down. In fact, it had made tremendous progress. Ironically, Khatamis accession had helped make that possible. When the reformists took over the government in 1997, Irans nuclear program was extensive and a priority for the regime, but it was horribly mismanaged. Led by the incompetent Reza Amrollahi and team chosen more for their revolutionary credential than their skills, the Iranian nuclear program had stumbled along despite the considerable resources lavished upon it. When Khatami took over, he replaced Amrollahi with the efficient Qolam-Reza Aqazadeh Khoi, who in turn replaced many personnel with true technical experts (Kenneth M. Pollack, the Persian Puzzle; pages 312, 362).
Now the fruit of Irans nuclear activities is ripe, somehow they have to reveal to the world that they are enriching uranium or they want to enrich uranium or even they have a nuclear bomb!
But how? Ahmadinejad makes strong anti-Israel remarks. Moderate political groups in Iran could not even say anything because Ahmadinejads words against Israel are merely a repetition of the wish of the founder of the Islamic Republic (i.e. Ayatollah Khomeini). The world get angry at Iran. Israel begins to think of attacking Iran. Iran will take advantage of Israel position, and tell international communities to defend its nation against Israel who has 200 nuclear warheads needs to advance its nuclear technology.
DoctorZin:Mehran is a former Iran analyst for the Central Command of the Coalition Forces in Baghdad in the office of Strategic Communication. He will be a regular contributor to this blog.
- Baltimore Sun reported that when Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust a "myth" his harsh rhetoric was also an effort to signal that Iran, not al-Qaida, is the leading force behind militant Islam.
- Ali Akbar Dareini, St. Paul Pioneer reported that the recent remarks by Iran's hard-line president are part of a strategy to keep anti-Israel sentiment alive in the Middle East.
- ABC News reported that Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said the West should be more tolerant of Ahmadinejad's views.
- Khaleej Times reported that while the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) seems to have reversed its position on Iran's nuclear plans, the head of the six-member bloc said: It's not worrisome as long as it is restricted to peaceful use.
- Iran Mania reported that China is conducting negotiations with Iran on developing Yadavaran Oilfield.
- Hamed Irani, Rooz Online reported that while the Majlis (Irans Parliament) has a law that bans members of City Councils to hold government posts, there are numerous City Council executives who hold second posts inside the government.
- Rooz Online reported that a movie camera has been found among the debris of last weeks crash of a C-130 transport aircraft and that the entire conversation of the captain and the control tower was recorded on this camera.
- Iran Focus reported that Ali Larijani, Irans chief nuclear negotiator and Secretary General of the powerful Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) described President George W. Bush as an odd man.
- The Jerusalem Post reported that despite the fact that continued diplomatic initiatives will "not foil Iran's nuclear ambitions," OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aharon Ze'evi (Farkash) told the cabinet on Sunday that "it is important to pursue [them]."
- NewKerala reported that Germany has more to lose from any economic sanctions on Iran than other Western countries.
- The Financial Times reported that Britain, France and Germany face tense negotiations with Iran on Wednesday when the two sides resume talks on Tehrans nuclear program.
- Radio Free Europe reported that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today that Iran cannot be trusted with technology that could lead to nuclear arms.
- EU Business reported that Israeli President Moshe Katsav accused the European Union of showing "hesitation and weakness" in the face of Iran's nuclear program.
- Rooz Online published a cartoon "wiping out" Ahmadinejad "wiping out Israel."
- And finally, A photo of an Iranian missile with a banner reading: "Israel must be uprooted and erased from history."
"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail DoctorZin
Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!
"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail DoctorZin
My question is this: Does Ahmadinejad really believe in the 12th Imam and that he has been chosen to pave his way to Jerusalem? If he is using that as a political ploy, then he will do anything. If he truly believes it, then Iran will not nuke Israel, but will use nuclear weaponry to keep America at bay while he leads his army into Israel. What do you think, good Doctor?
I buy the buy line and the answer is one word
Unfortunately, all of the posturing by the Iranian President will wind up killing a lot of innocent Iranian people. He may be counting on other countries to assist in his quest, but they have problems of their own and are extremely prejudiced in their own right and may not come to their aid.
said three years ago, we're still in the phoney war period before all hell breaks out.
Mousharif (sp) has his own problems that I will grant you but I do not think that he would let the FM's comments come to fruition.
musharraf speaks with forked tongue and maintains his allegiance to the islamic brotherhood. that is why he is keeping it as the islamic hub that it is, but, also enabling it to become a nuclear power and thereby an anchor to any other islamic brother.
sure he is a polished politician. that is his job and that is where we are getting suckered
islamics and nuclear power is kinda like drinking (to excess) and driving. im sure of it.
Rafsanjani has the power. The real power. Ahmadinejad's playing international "bad cop" in the game and rattling the sabers. His hothead act might be real - he's a "true believer", but it's a game set-up by Rafsanjani. Reactions are being watched and weighed. The act ups the ante for future negotiations. Iran will back down to a position better than they could have gotten without the "I'm a crazy nut" theatrics.
all the more reason they buddy up
and their religion drives them to the same places./ they are brothers. make no doubt about it
Ahmadinejad is a puppet, but a very good one. He has the gift of being a good speaker, one who can rally Islamists. And, of course, that is the leadership's hope. If I had to choose the world's currently most dangerous man, it would be him.
And one more thing - the young people aren't "out of hand" rejecting Ahmadinejad. Because of his passion and true believer stance, they think he might be a reformer who can do what others only promised... The real question? When will Rafsanjani pull the rug out from under him?
LOL, want me to post my 'painted face' again? It kindof resembles him!
I dont think the rug will be pulled from sidesho bob
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Difference between revisions of "Main Page"
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to can be . .the .-http://..//.
== Features ==
== Features ==
Revision as of 08:13, 8 October 2011
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- Supported audio formats
- Supports 8/16/24/32 bits/sample audio formats
- Supports sampling rates from 8KHz up to 200KHz
- Supports mono, stereo, quad, 5.1, 7.1 and multichannel audio devices
- Transparent Software based Audio Mixer
- Allows applications to share the same "real" audio device regardless of what format is requested by the application.
- Supports recording and full duplex in addition to playback.
- Ability to mix stereo and multichannel audio streams up to 7.1/200Khz/32bit.
- Supports full 24 bit range without loss of precision during internal computations.
- Each application has its own independant volume controls.
- Supports loop back recording. This enables you to "record-what-you-hear". Typically this is useful for recording streaming audio or trapping audio from applications
- 64bit internal processing guarantees audio fidelity and precision if the audio data needs to be converted.
- New device enumeration and mixer API makes it very easy to manage devices programatically.
Currently unimplemented or incomplete features
- power management features like support for suspend/resume
- jacksense may not work (especially the hdaudio cards found on many laptops have such problems)
Source Code
Open Sound System is available under GPLv2/CDDLv1/BSD at: http://www.4front-tech.com/developer/sources/stable/
Wiki pages
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In order to discourage spambots, unregistered users cannot create new pages. Furthermore, a newly registered user has to wait a day before being able to create a new page. If it's really necessary, you may add content to an existing page and move it later.


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Majed had already gathered enough firewood to start a bonfire. The old copper still (Karkeh) was in the woods, a couple of hundred yards from his house. And, he had just returned from Damascus where he bought the anise (Yansoun) from the spice market (Bzourieh). It's moonshine time!
Arak literally means "sweat" in Arabic because the still sweats and drips the liquid. There are other variants of Arak in countries around the Mediterranean. Raki in Turkey, Ouzo in Greece, Mastika in Macedonia, Anesone in Italy, Pastis in France and Ojén in Spain, just to name a few but not all. Our Arak is unique to the Eastern Mediterranean, namely to Syria and Lebanon as it contains no added sugar at all. Arak is also produced in other Arab countries such as Iraq and Egypt. However, in Iraq it's distilled from date juice (Tamer) and from raisins (Zibib) in Egypt.
Geber (Jaber Ibn Hayyan 721-815) the Muslim chemist invented the first still called alembic (Inbiq). This is a very important landmark in the history of alcoholic beverages. Before Geber, the entire world drank fermenting spirits (wine, beer …etc.) as opposed to distilled alcohol (Vodka, Whiskey…etc.). The invention was used to produce perfumes and Kohl (Arabian eye shadow) by the Arabs and they carried it with them to Spain. The Europeans soon enough started producing Kohl on their own and made the natural transition to alcohol. This is where the word comes from Al Kohl = Alcohol. The Mediterranean Syrian and Lebanese were a little smarter from the beginning though and they put the Inbiq = Still = Karkeh to good use as soon as they laid their hands on one. Their mountains and valleys produced plenty of grapes. No irrigation, just basic loving tender care and the ideal Mediterranean climate helped them produce the greatest sweet golden grapes, perfect for Arak.
The alcohol by volume for Arak is ideally between 53 to 60%. It is colorless but magically turns milky-white when mixed with water at a ratio ranging from ¼ to ½ . This is due to the presence of anise. The distillation of Arak is performed in two stages, or sometimes three (Mtallat). The harvested sweet golden grapes are squeezed and left fermenting in barrels for 3 weeks. The grapes and their juices along with a small quantity of pine coal at the bottom of the Karkeh (to act as a filter and absorb any undesirable smell caused by the release of CO2 during the fermentation process) undergo the first distillation process. The alcohol is drawn and rests in new barrels waiting for the second and crucial distillation process. This 2nd stage is when anise is mixed with the drawn alcohol. The quality and quantity of anise are as important as a good vineyard. The Karkeh is placed over a very feeble fire, just enough to cause the alcohol to evaporate (80°C) without the water then condensate at the end of the long neck into a steady, yet very weak crystal clear stream. This process is aided by a steady flow of cold water on the upper part of the still. The first gallon or so of the batch is thrown away since it contains ethylene and might be dangerous. The last couple of liters of the batch are also useless since the alcohol is almost all but gone and murky water starts coming out. Although it is not crucial to repeat the process a third time, it is done only to raise the alcohol by volume level to its maximum value.
I need to mention one final point of utmost importance as an avid Arak lover. The Lebanese commercial variety is by no means better than the Syrian one. The packaging and bottling in Lebanon are more appealing and definitely better. But take one of the very top and expensive Lebanese brands (say Fakra, Ksara, Kefraya) and compare it to the ubiquitous Syrian Mimas or Rayan. There is a fundamental difference; the Syrian anise in the Syrian Arak is of a much higher quality than the Cypriot or Turkish anise imported to Lebanon. As for vineyards, the Homs area alone produces twice as much as all of Lebanon. In the end, no Lebanese or Syrian commercial distillery can match the homemade spirit prepared for personal consumption with love and care. The best homemade Arak, Syrian or Lebanese, is only obtained when real Damascene anise (from the Sa'sa' = سعسع region) is used.
We jumped in the car early the next morning. The rain had stopped, but the sky remained gray and damp with looming and menacing clouds. They were waiting for us at a little ravine, Majed and his father. We parked the vehicle off road, hid it from prying eyes and walked the final muddy track that lead us to a little shed in the middle of a clearing flanked by walnut trees. Hanging nearby on a branch was a leg of lamb. We sat in the near perfect silence listening to the sound of dew drops dripping from yellowed leaves and the slim stream of Arak pouring in the jug of glass. Abu Majed brought forward some raw fluid from the lip of the still for us to drink and savor. Damn, it is good! We each cut a piece of meat and toyed with it over the feeble fire. The sheep was young and a hint of flames made its succulent juices flow. It tasted just perfect with a lingering smoky tang. Our hosts didn't take any risk. They were sure we won't go thirsty or hungry well into the evening. With an abundance of Tannour bread, fresh green olives, shanklish, meat and the noblest of liquors in the world, we slowly consumed our lazy day. Late in the afternoon we were all happy, stupid and fat. Majed yet had another trick up his sleeve. From a wicker basket, he produced the most delicious giant Baklavas (Sh3aybiyat) stuffed with honey and walnuts. I'm not certain whether I wished that all of my friends were there with me, but I must've.
The sun dipped behind the mountain. Abu Majed had to stay a while longer for his shift. His son walked us to the car. He would rest for a couple of hours before relieving his father. If we're alive same time next year, we would do it again we agreed. Majed handed my friend and me 2 transitory bottles of Arak. My jug would be ready for me next time I see him at his restaurant in the village. Meanwhile, I'm back at my office, staring from my window at the trees as they're shedding their leaves in the cold afternoon gust. October, forever!


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News & Events / Bipartisan TSCA Modernization Bill, Chemical Safety Improvement Act, Introduced in Senate
Related Practices
Related Industries
Bipartisan TSCA Modernization Bill, Chemical Safety Improvement Act, Introduced in Senate
Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., May 24, 2013
In a major breakthrough, bipartisan and broadly supported legislation to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been introduced in the Senate. The Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), S. 1009,[1] was announced on May 22, 2013[2] by its chief Democratic and Republican sponsors, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA). This client alert provides the political context for this remarkable development, and then explains the key provisions of the bill. It concludes with comments on the prospects for passage.
Political Context
Just weeks ago, Senator Lautenberg, a longtime champion of TSCA reform, had reintroduced his own comprehensive chemical safety bill, the Safe Chemicals Act (SCA), as described in our previous report.[3] The SCA targets many of the same aspects of TSCA as the CSIA does, but applies different, often more complex approaches. The SCA has obtained support only from the Democratic caucus, with 26 Democratic and 2 Independent co-sponsors. This one-sided support left the SCA with few prospects for passage by the Republican-majority House of Representatives, even assuming that the Democratic majority in the Senate could pass it.
Now, with Senator Lautenberg's retirement next year lending more urgency to his quest for a viable TSCA modernization bill, the long-sought goal of bipartisan support has been achieved. As of this writing, the CSIA has been co-sponsored not only by a number of Democratic senators who had co-sponsored the SCA,[4] but also by eight Republicans,[5] as well as three more conservative Democratic senators who had not signed on to the SCA.[6] Since the original introduction, three more Democrats and one more Republican have co-sponsored the bill,[7] for a total of 19 co-sponsors (10 Democrats and 9 Republicans).
Initial reactions to the CSIA have been generally been very favorable, by both industry groups[8] and some NGOs.[9] Other NGOs have already announced their opposition, however.[10]
EPA has not commented publicly on the bill, although two former EPA officials in the TSCA office, Steve Owens and Charlie Auer, issued statements of support.[11]
There is no guarantee of passage, but never before have the prospects for TSCA modernization been more favorable.
Key Provisions
1. Overview
The CSIA would mandate that EPA determine, on a prioritized basis, whether chemical substances meet a safety standard under the intended conditions of use. If they are found not to meet the safety standard, EPA would have to regulate them. The CSIA would establish a prioritization mechanism; set a safety standard; require EPA to determine whether chemical substances meet that safety standard under the intended conditions of use, by deadlines set by EPA; authorize EPA to require testing when additional information is needed in order to complete that determination; and direct EPA to select risk management measures by taking costs and benefits into account, but not by requiring use of the least burdensome alternative.
In addition to these core provisions, the bill would make limited changes to the new chemical provisions; require reporting by processors; lead to identification of chemical substances that are actively manufactured or processed; revise confidentiality protections, including protection for chemical identities; expand preemption of state and local restrictions of chemicals; and update export and import reporting requirements.
2. Prioritization
The prioritization mechanism would classify a chemical substance as being a high priority or a low priority for a safety assessment and safety determination. With few exceptions, only chemicals classified as active (see below) would be considered for prioritization. Only high-priority chemical substances would continue on to safety assessments and determinations.
For the most part, there would be no statutory deadlines for completing the prioritization process, but EPA would have to make every effort to complete the prioritization of all active substances in a timely manner. A state governor or agency could recommend chemical substances for prioritization; EPA would have to complete its prioritization of those substances within 180 days. If EPA were to need additional information before prioritizing a chemical substance, it could ask the public to submit existing data, but it could not require testing. Lists of high- and low-priority substances would be made public.
3. Safety Assessments and Safety Determinations
EPA would conduct a safety assessment and then a safety determination of each high-priority substance. The safety assessment would be based solely on considerations of risks to health and the environment. EPA would have to establish a methodology for conducting safety assessments and would have to rely on the best available science. The methodology would have to be reviewed every five years and updated as necessary.
Upon completing a safety assessment, EPA would make a safety determination, i.e., determine whether or not the chemical substance meets the safety standard under the intended conditions of use, taking into account factors such as the range of exposure, the weight of the evidence, and the magnitude of the risk.
EPA could require testing if necessary for it to complete either a safety assessment or a safety determination.
There would be no statutory deadlines, but EPA would have to set its own deadlines for completing each safety assessment and safety determination. Those deadlines could vary for different chemical substances. If EPA found that it could not meet a deadline, it would have to explain publicly the reasons for extending the deadline. This innovative approach would subject EPA to deadlines that are likely to be realistic (since it would set them itself), but would avoid the sue-and-settle litigation over failure to meet statutory deadlines that has proven problematic under some other environmental statutes.
Proposed safety assessments and safety determinations would be available for public comment. Final versions would also be made public. Safety determinations would be subject to judicial review.
4. Safety Standard
The safety standard used for safety determinations would be a standard that ensures that no unreasonable risk of harm to human health or the environment will result from exposure to the chemical substance. Compliance with the safety standard would be assessed in light of the intended conditions of use, meaning the circumstances under which a chemical substance is intended or reasonably anticipated to be manufactured, processed, distributed in commerce, used, or disposed of.
This "unreasonable risk" standard would differ from the "unreasonable risk" standard currently in TSCA. That one mandates a weighing of costs and benefits of regulation, the chemical substance, and its alternatives. The CSIA "unreasonable risk" standard would not be a weighing of competing economic and social factors, but rather a judgment after evaluation of various aspects of risk to health and the environment. Among the factors that EPA would consider would be the subpopulations that would be exposed, the degree of exposure, and the protections provided by the intended conditions of use (such as use of engineering controls, protective clothing, or warnings). For example, presumably EPA could find that a chemical substance meets the safety standard under the intended conditions of use for occupational exposure but not for exposure to children.
5. Risk Management
If EPA were to find that a chemical substance did not meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use, it would have to adopt risk management measures through rulemaking. EPA could consider a wide variety of options, such as labeling, quantity or use restrictions, or even phase-outs or bans, if appropriate. Unlike under current TSCA, EPA would not be constrained to select the least burdensome option.
EPA would evaluate the different risk management options in terms of costs and benefits. It would have to consider whether technically and economically feasible alternatives exist; the risks of those alternatives as compared to the risks of the chemical substance under the intended conditions of use; the economic and social costs and benefits of the preferred regulatory option and other options considered; and the economic and social costs and benefits of the chemical substance and its alternatives.
6. New Chemicals and Significant New Uses of Existing Chemicals
Under the CSIA, the current approach for premanufacture notifications (PMNs) for new chemicals, and for significant new use rules (SNURs) and significant new use notices (SNUNs) for new uses of existing chemicals, would continue. The bill would codify some of EPA's current administrative practices for review of PMNs and SNUNs. The authority for the current PMN exemptions, such as those for R&D, polymers, and low volume, would remain unchanged.
In evaluating PMNs and SNUNs, EPA would determine whether or not the new chemicals and significant new uses were likely to meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use. If so, EPA would allow the review period to end and the PMN submitter to submit a notice of commencement of commercial manufacture or import (NOC). If EPA were to determine that a new chemical substance or significant new use would not be likely to meet the safety standard, it would have to impose restrictions in a manner similar to section 5(e) consent orders under current TSCA.
If EPA were to determine that it needed more information in order to make a determination about likelihood of meeting the safety standard, it could require the submitter to develop the information through testing. However, rather than require test results to be submitted before manufacture or the significant new use could commence, EPA could allow the submitter to file an NOC, begin commercial manufacture or the significant new use, and thereby generate income to pay for the testing. If the test results later created concerns for EPA, it could prioritize the chemical substance as a high-priority substance.
7. Testing
Unlike the SCA, the CSIA would have no requirements for submission of minimum information sets in specified circumstances. Instead, under the CSIA, EPA could require testing where it found that it needed additional data in order to complete a safety assessment or a safety determination, or to make a determination of likelihood of meeting the safety standard for a new chemical substance or a significant new use. It could also require testing to meet agency needs under another federal law.
EPA would have to explain its need for testing, including an explanation of why existing information could not be extrapolated to meet the need. Testing requirements would have to be tiered. There would be provisions to encourage alternatives to animal testing.
It would generally be easier for EPA to require testing under the CSIA than under current TSCA. EPA would not have to establish that a chemical substance may pose an unreasonable risk or meets certain volume or exposure levels, and it would not have to proceed by rulemaking. Instead, it could issue an order or enter into a consent agreement to require testing.
8. Reporting and Recordkeeping
EPA currently has authority to require processors to report information, but it rarely exercises that authority. The CSIA would require EPA to adopt reporting requirements for processors, although the requirements could differ from those for manufacturers.
The CSIA would address some of issues of nomenclature used for naming chemical substances on the TSCA Inventory. For example, individual members of statutory mixtures listed on the Inventory would be declared to be on the Inventory. EPA would be directed to continue using its Class 2 and carbon chain length nomenclature.
EPA would have to identify those chemical substances on the Inventory that are active, i.e., have been manufactured or processed within the past five years. It would do so by establishing a candidate list of proposed active substances, then requiring manufacturers and processors to report either the candidate list substances or other substances on the Inventory that they have manufactured or processed in the past five years. For chemical substances on the confidential Inventory, manufacturers and processors would have to reaffirm (but not resubstantiate) that the identities continue to be confidential. If no one were to reaffirm that a chemical substance on the confidential Inventory was still confidential, EPA could make that identity public. EPA would publish the list of active substances (or generic names of confidential active substances). With few exceptions, EPA would prioritize only active substances.
9. Confidential Business Information (CBI)
CBI would be protected from disclosure if certain requirements were met. Like the SCA, the CSIA would identify categories of information likely to be eligible for CBI protection or likely not to be eligible for CBI protection. New CBI claims would have to be substantiated. In most cases, previous CBI claims would not need to be resubstantiated.
Chemical identities could be protected as CBI, even if present in health and safety studies. Additional substantiation would be required, and a structurally-descriptive generic name would have to be made public. Chemical identities could be disclosed under prescribed circumstances, such as in a medical emergency.
Instead of setting fixed time periods for CBI protection, as under the SCA, the CSIA would allow CBI to be protected for the time period requested by the submitter, except where the submitter either withdrew the CBI claim or EPA otherwise learned that the claim could no longer be substantiated. In most cases, before releasing CBI publicly, EPA would have to notify the submitter and afford an opportunity to seek a court order barring release.
10. Preemption
Whereas the SCA would have allowed for virtually no preemption of state or local requirements, the CSIA would expand the preemptive effect of EPA actions as compared with current TSCA.
EPA testing requirements would continue to preempt new or existing state or local testing requirements. With limited exceptions, EPA rules, orders, and consent agreements under sections 5 or 6 for a chemical substance would preempt new or existing state or local restrictions or bans on the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, or use of that substance, as would a completed safety determination for the substance.
New state or local restrictions on the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, or use of a chemical substance would be preempted by EPA's classification of a chemical substance as a high-priority substance or a low-priority substance.
State and local provisions relating to disposal of chemical substances, such as environmental monitoring requirements, generally would not be preempted.
A state or locality could seek a waiver of preemption if it could meet prescribed criteria. Waiver applications would be subject to notice and opportunity for comment, and waivers could be appealed to the D.C. Circuit.
11. Exports and Imports
Export notifications would only be required for chemical substances that EPA found under section 5 not to be likely to meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use, or that a safety determination had found not to meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use, or for which the U.S. was required by treaty to provide export notification. The latter provision refers to treaties which the U.S. has not yet ratified, such as the PIC and POPs Conventions.
Import certifications would be similar to those today, but would also require notification that an imported chemical substance was a high-priority substance or a substance for which the U.S. was required by treaty to provide export notification.
Prospects for Passage
No hearings on the CSIA have been announced, nor has a schedule for consideration been established. These are early days; some senators may still be evaluating the bill (for example, the Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Barbara Boxer, has not yet indicated whether she will support the bill).
Still, this bipartisan bill has fundamentally changed the prospects for passage of TSCA legislation in this Congress, which had been dim. It has effectively stopped any consideration of the SCA as a viable bill, although the SCA will serve as a touchstone for Democrats in evaluating whether to support amendments to the CSIA.
The House of Representatives remains unlikely to initiate its own TSCA legislation. However, if the Senate were to pass the CSIA with a large majority, including many Republicans, the House leadership would be likely to bring a companion bill up for consideration.
Some NGOs (e.g., the Environmental Working Group) have already announced their opposition to the bill, although others are taking a pragmatic approach of considering the CSIA as the best bill that has a realistic chance of passage.
This client alert was prepared by Mark Duvall, email@example.com, and Andie Wyatt, firstname.lastname@example.com. For a PDF version of this client alert, click here.
[1] Chemical Safety Improvement Act, available at www.bdlaw.com/assets/attachments/Chemical%20Safety%20Improvement%20Act.PDF
[2] Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Press Release, "Senators Lautenberg And Vitter Reach Groundbreaking Agreement To Reform Nation's Chemical Laws; Bipartisan Legislation Would Protect Americans From Risks Posed By Exposure To Chemicals" (May 22, 2013), http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=ccf8cd45-e41f-28bd-0252-9984333f7335.
[3] Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., "'Safe Chemicals Act,' First TSCA Reform Bill of 113th Congress, Reintroduced" (Apr. 16, 2013), http://www.bdlaw.com/news-1462.html; see also Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., "TSCA Modernization Proposals in Congress: Recent History and Prospects" (Feb. 25, 2013), http://www.bdlaw.com/news-1447.html.
[4] Senator Lautenberg is listed as the sponsor. Democratic co-sponsors include Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Tom Udall (D-NM), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Patty Murray (D-WA).
[5] Senator Vitter is listed as a co-sponsor. Other Republican co-sponsors include Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), James Inhofe (R-OK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Boozman (R-AR), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
[6] Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Mark Begich (D-AK).
[7] Democratic Senators Begich, Harkin, and Murray, and Republican Senator Murkowski.
[8] E.g., American Chemistry Council, Press Release, "ACC Commends Senators Lautenberg and Vitter for Bipartisan Leadership to Reform TSCA" (May 22, 2013), http://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-releases/ACC-Commends-Senators-Lautenberg-and-Vitter-for-Bipartisan-Leadership-to-Reform-TSCA.html/; American Cleaning Institute, Press Release, "Introduction of the Chemical Safety Improvement Act" (May 22, 2013), http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/22/aci-safety-act-reax-idUSnPNDC19227+1e0+PRN20130522.
[9] Environmental Defense Fund, Press Release, "A bipartisan path forward to reform U.S. chemical safety law; Hard-fought compromise legislation would better protect American families" (May 22, 2013), http://www.edf.org/news/bipartisan-path-forward-reform-us-chemical-safety-law. For a variety of NGO viewpoints, see Safer Chemicals Healthy Families blog, "Reactions to the bi-partisan Chemical Safety Improvement Act" (May 23, 2013), http://www.microsofttranslator.com/BV.aspx?ref=IE8Activity&a=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.saferchemicals.org%2F2013%2F05%2Finitial-reactions-to-the-bipartisan-chemical-improvement-safety-act.html.
[10] E.g., Environmental Working Group press release, "EWG President Ken Cook Weighs In On Senate Chemical Policy Reform Bill" (May 23, 2013), http://www.ewg.org/release/ewg-president-ken-cook-weighs-senate-chemical-policy-reform-bill.
[11] Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, "Top EPA Toxics Officials Under Obama & Bush Admins Hail Lautenberg-Vitter Bill to Reform Nation's Chemical Laws" (May 23, 2013), http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=d2553c0f-beb5-e270-2971-ff2b84a06e88&Region_id=&Issue_id=.
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