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Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.
out of 100
Metascore®Mixed or average reviewsbased on a weighted average of allcritic review scores.
Top-shelf cast, headed by Tobey Maguire, slips into familiar grooves of adultery, lies, blackmail, and pet poisoning, it's the spectacular blow-ups and dressing-downs that make this such a nervy pleasure.
Read Full Review
Tobey Maguire's characteristic placidity makes a fine mask for a man who is thoroughly awful.
See all The Details reviews at Metacritic.com
Pause for kids 16 & under
Bad choices and immoral acts go unpunished in dark comedy.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Details is a dark comedy about a not-so-likeable man (Tobey Maguire) who commits some pretty heinous deeds. He lies, cheats on his wife, considers murder, and even intentionally runs his car over an animal. Other people in the film are just as unpleasant, and nobody really gets what they deserve. There's plenty of swearing (including multiple variations on "f--k"), some drinking, and one scene in which people smoke pot. There's also a rather bloody murder involving a bow and three sex scenes in which bare backsides are glimpsed and oral sex is suggested. A character masturbates to online porn. (The movie is also available on demand.)
Messages: Almost everyone in this film lies, cheats, steals, or worse -- and nobody seems to get what they richly deserve. The innocent are punished, while the guilty get to live a good life. There's simply no justice here.
Role models: Though Jeff Lang plays Good Samaritan to help a friend in need, he has few other redeeming characteristics. He cheats on his wife, scams his way through medical school, plots a murder, and even tries some illegal home improvements. And worst of all, it seems like he might get away with all of it.
Violence: A few heated arguments and one rather gruesome, bloody murder using a bow. A man intentionally drives over an animal and then puts the car in reverse and does it again, just to be sure.
Sex: A few sex scenes, some featuring quick glimpses of naked backsides and suggestions of oral sex. A husband and wife argue about their sex life, and the man sometimes masturbates to online pornography.
Language: Frequent swearing includes many permutations of "f--k," plus "s--t," "whore," and more.
Consumerism: One character mentions grocery shopping at Trader Joe's, and a Nike shoe is visible in an early scene.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Two characters get drunk in a bar, then go smoke a joint and fondly recall the times they got wasted in medical school. People drink wine and other alcoholic beverages at social events and meals.
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© Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Hewlett-Packard Co., the largest personal-computer maker, forecast fiscal second-quarter profit that exceeded analysts' estimates, helped by cost-cutting measures and a smaller-than-projected drop in service sales.
Profit, excluding some items, will be 80 cents to 82 cents a share for the current quarter, which ends in April, the Palo Alto, California-based company said a yesterday. That beat analysts' average 77-cent estimate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shares rose the most in more than a year.
Hewlett-Packard is using job cuts to bolster profit as demand for printers and personal computers slumps and companies curtail purchases of higher-margin hardware and software. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman said she feels "pretty good" about fiscal 2013 and reaffirmed a prediction that the company will resume growth next year, evidence of progress on a five- year turnaround plan even as competitive pressures linger.
"They seem to be managing the restructuring better than we had expected -- it's still a work in progress," said Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research, based in Livingston, New Jersey.
Fiscal first-quarter revenue fell 5.6% to $28.4 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $27.8 billion. Profit, excluding amortization, restructuring and other charges, was 82 cents a share, compared with the 71-cent prediction. Net income fell 16% to $1.23 billion, or 63 cents a share, from $1.47 billion, or 73 cents, a year earlier.
"I feel pretty good about the rest of the year," Whitman said in an interview. "I think we are beyond the announcements about the writedowns and restructuring."
Share Jump
The shares rose 8.1% to $18.49 at 9:34 a.m. in New York, and earlier touched $18.60 for the biggest intraday gain since September 2011. Hewlett-Packard had advanced almost 2% in the last hour to close at $17.10 yesterday. Almost 4.29 million shares traded in that timeframe, three times the average volume seen during the same period in the past five trading days.
"To me, it looks like someone had to have known something," Frank Ingarra, head trader at Greenwich, Connecticut-based NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, said in a telephone interview. His firm oversees $1.4 billion. "There's huge volume. I would be skeptical to think that someone didn't have any idea."
John Nester, a spokesman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, declined to comment on whether the agency was reviewing trading ahead of the announcement.
The stock has climbed 46% since Nov. 20, when the company disclosed an $8.8 billion writedown on the value of software company Autonomy Corp., which it agreed to buy for $10.3 billion in 2011.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


text:
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Nigel continues the story It's very kind of Susan to give me such a full description of her experience at the hands of my boss. Especially in bed with a nylon stocking wrapped around my cock as she strokes it. When I began this new life of cuckoldry I never imagined it would involve my lovely wife S
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text:
Our wilderness is under an unprecedented attack from Trump and anti-conservationists in Congress. Help us fight back.
Temporary reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was passed as part of a federal appropriations bill that will fund our government for the coming year.
In 2015, you helped us speak up and gain protection for some of America's most remarkable natural and cultural sites, from a whitewater rafting hotspot in Colorado to a monument in Hawaii that reminds us of the fragility and importance of civil rights.
We talk a lot about national parks and wilderness areas, and with good reason. But never overlook our national forests.
The report (PDF) from The Wilderness Society explains how the oil and gas industry routinely exploits leasing loopholes known as "suspensions," to
The third and final planned transfer of desert bighorn sheep to the Pusch Ridge Wilderness, north of Tucson, brought 23 ewes and six rams to the area.
In southeast Oregon's Owyhee Canyonlands, greater sage-grouse and bighorn sheep roam a remote landscape of red-rock canyons and untamed rivers.
Climate change is devastating wild lands and the wildlife that thrives inside them, according to findings of a government study.
On the heels of President Obama's historic recommendation last January to preserve nearly all of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, a record number of U.S.
Show the Trump administration Americans don't support plans to destroy this epic wildland.


text:
As the Eagles mark the two-week anniversary of Andy Reid's departure, they confirmed they interviewed Ken Whisenhunt, just fired by the Cardinals, on Monday, as a prelude to interviewing Cincinnati offensive coordinator Jay Gruden later in the day.
Whisenhunt, who turns 51 next month, was said to be close to getting the Cleveland job last week, but reportedly couldn't agree with the Browns on whether the front office would have veto power on his staffing decisions. He also has interviewed with the Chargers.
Some people feel the Cardinals' front office had more to do with 2012's 5-11 record than Whisenhunt, who went 45-51 overall, but took the Cards to the franchise's first Super Bowl. Whisenhunt was well-regarded as the Steelers' Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator under Bill Cowher.
Whisenhunt gets demerits for his handling of the Cards' QB situation after Kurt Warner retired. That's a critical question for the Eagles as they try to decide whether to move forward with Nick Foles.
Indianapolis offensive coordinator and former Temple coach Bruce Arians remains to be interviewed. Reports have indicated that would happen Tuesday, but the Eagles said Monday that an interview with Arians has not yet been scheduled. The team did ask for and receive permission to speak with Arians.
In the small world department, Arians was Whisenhunt's quarterbacks coach in Pittsburgh. Aside from being 60 years old, Arians seems to fit many of the criteria Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie cited when he fired Reid. Arians seems to be in demand with several teams interviewing him, after he went 9-3 as the Colts' interim head coach, while Chuck Pagano was being treated for cancer.
FOX's Jay Glazer reported today that the Eagles' Saturday interview with Gus Bradley went well and that the Birds want to meet again with Bradley, who like Arians and Whisenhunt, has other suitors. Lurie has seemed leery of a defensive-oriented coach, and the scoring fest of last weekend's playoff games underscores why -- it's an offensive league now. But not all the coaches who won were offensive guys, they just presided over potent offenses.
Meanwhile, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was blasted by CBSSports.com's Jason LaCanfora. Howie seems to have made some enemies.


text:
Congressional Quarterly reports that the House of Representative's most outspoken critics of what they say is unnecessary military spending are nonetheless attempting to secure nearly half a billion dollars in the defense appropriations bill for programs in their districts that the Pentagon does not want. CQ explains:
Sixty-seven Democrats who voted in March for a Progressive Caucus amendment to the budget resolution (H Con Res 99) that would cut defense spending by 21 percent and shift the money to domestic priorities successfully lobbied the Appropriations Committee this summer to add their local projects to the defense-spending measure (HR 3222), which the House passed Aug. 5. They obtained $485 million worth of programs not sought by the military, including missile launchers, blimps and self-inflating sleep pads, according to data compiled by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan research group.
Among these hypocrites are Dennis Kucinich, Maxine Waters, Barney Frank, Jim McDermott, John Lewis, and Keith Ellison. Republican members too are grabbing slices of pork but, as CQ notes, "unlike so many of their Democratic colleagues, the GOP members did not do so while condemning the Pentagon budget as inflated."
Or, as Keith Ashdown, chief investigator with Taxpayers for Common Sense, puts it


text:
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text:
With his 43rd birthday just a couple months past in the spring of 2011, Mark Recchi famously told his Boston Bruins teammates that if the team ended its Stanley Cup championship drought he would retire.
That June, Recchi made good on his promise.
Forty-one-year-old Jaromir Jagr, another left-shooting right wing whose plaque will someday wind up on the wall of the Hall of Fame in Toronto, is not about to make any such proclamations in the Bruins' dressing room.
To read the full story log on to NHL.com.


text:
|January 27, 2010, 03:48 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 4, 2006
Location: NE FL.......
Posts: 1,081
Test results.......
Had a 20ga SXS with RIFLED barrels built last year. It's on what was a FN 16ga sidelock action. Took it to the range this weekend to see how it shoots with 3 different slug loads.
Shot all 3 loads at about 25 yards after boresighting it so it'd be on the paper. Shot them off a bench but with the gun supported by my hand and only my elbow resting on the bench.
That's the way a Double Rifle is shot so I did it that way. I uderstand that for the barrels to regulate properly it has to be shot using hands only so that it recoils and rolls.
The first picture is Buckhammer Reduced Recoil.
I was surprised as how close the barrels put them to one another. They did not kick all that bad even though the shotgun weighs only 7 pounds.
The second is Brenneke. You can see the shape of the holes is much different. They recoiled more, maybe 20 %. Did not shoot as tight a group but still plenty good for hunting.
The last is of 2 Hornady Sabots. My wife has used them to good effect on hogs in the past. They are about equil to a 45-70 in power. Have a 260 grain bullet. ( .44 cal. I think ), at a advertised 1800-1900 FPS. They had a good kick to them.
After adjusting the sights we set up clay targets on the backstop at 50 yards and did some off-hand shooting. It was not a problem at all to hit them using either the Buckhammer or the Brenneke. Did not use the Hornady for this.
Next trip to the range will involve longer ranges and more experementaion with the Hornady.
What may be dificult will be how the barrel regulation holds up at longer ranges.
|January 27, 2010, 03:50 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 4, 2006
Location: NE FL.......
Posts: 1,081
Ignore the hole in the middle of the second target.....my son in law was messing with me!
|January 27, 2010, 08:59 PM
Staff In Memoriam
Join Date: October 13, 1999
Location: Columbia, Md, USA
Posts: 8,812
Good on ya, for actually testing what loads work. A couple things....
First, while Rottweil Brenekkes kick very well, the 20 gauge version is up with the 12 as to effect on whitetails,IME.
My guess is at longer ranges, the groups will show the left barrel shooting to the right of the right barrel. IOW, they will cross.
When double rifles are regulated, it's at a given distance. Since most double rifles these days are meant to be stoppers on dangerous game, that's usually close work. I think H&H regulated stopping rifles at 40 yards and zeroed the open sights in for that on the first leaf.
What sights are you using?
|January 28, 2010, 05:12 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 4, 2006
Location: NE FL.......
Posts: 1,081
Using a Aimpoint Micro.
No iron sights on it.
Aimpoint is mounted about 1/3 of the way out the barrel. Lines up easy and allows both eyes open use.
|January 28, 2010, 07:22 PM
Staff In Memoriam
Join Date: October 13, 1999
Location: Columbia, Md, USA
Posts: 8,812
If it works for you, fine.
Keep us posted, I'd like to hear how this does on deer....
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East Brookfield Police
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The Big Picture: One Day in November
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whats scarier is how this doesn't effect me no matter how
Why the Hell would people think this release date would favour the republicans? Only based on two false assumptions:
-it is the "youth" who mainly play games (even though average age of gamer is mid-30s)
I think the people (old enough to vote) who will camp out all night for Halo 4 and play it all through election day are far morel likely to vote republican. I mean Halo is a simplistic idealistic war-shooter, idolising the military and an inhuman religious-fanatic enemy with a huge focus on a mindless repetitive war shooter.
Microsoft may be a "Big Corporation" but they are Silicon Valley idealists, they have a very strong DEMOCRAT leaning. If there is any conspiracy or group conceit, then it is towards the democrat party or another liberal policy.
"youth vote" is far too broad a demographic. Not EVERY 18-20 year old is going to vote Obama, and those who won't are more likely to vote Republican... I think.
Mitt Romney's association with Microsoft shouldn't be surprising, he is RICH AS FUCK! And so is Microsoft. Rich knows Rich.
PS: I don't think this is a conspiracy, it is a coincidence. A conspiracy would be indicated if the date was MOVED to remove this obama-favouring move.
Solution to this: MAKE IT EASIER TO VOTE! THAT is how you increase voter turnout, there is not reason to keep voting in the same way as was done 200 years ago, make it electronic. If I can securely transfer thousands of pounds/dollars via internet banking then surely America can devise a way of securely voting online? OR how about this, a voting Weekend. WHY OH BLOODY WHY is voting held on a single Tuesday? Make Voting day a national holiday. That's how you increase turnout.
A game sale may get in the way, but ANYTHING could get in the way. What if there was bad weather, then the elderly may be less likely to leave the house so affect that demographic.
Hmm, I'm not sure if you are distinguishing between "controlled by lobbyists" and "Limited by political realities".
What you see is Politicians saying they will do things and then they don't.
That isn't because lobbyists controlled them. That is because they made promises they couldn't keep. Wow, politicians do that!
They can't "wake up" from this, you are asking them to turn a blind eye. People aren't "waking up" they are buying into ignorance and denialism. Denying the legal precedents and commitments.
Obama wasn't "controlled by lobbyists" when he didn't shut down the P.O.W. camp in Guantanamo Bay, he was face with the political reality that it WAS a Prisoner Of War camp and not a civilian prison. So he couldn't just unload the prisoners onto civilian courts or to other countries. Realise that terrorists and guerilla fighters captured in this war when they were taken off the plane and realise they were in Guantanamo Bay they whooped and cheered with delight... they'd rather be in US custody that ANYWHERE ELSE! The most inhumane thing Obama could do would have been to give these prisoners to Egypt, Libya or Syria (this was before the Democratic uprisings) or Saudi Arabia or Oman.
Renowned sceptic James Randi said now is a time of great danger, the danger of a new dark age precisely because the internet allows the spread of information. Particularly the allure of false information, nonsense and flawed ideology. The Internet is the biggest contributor to that. It can spread nonsense like politicians need to "Wake up" (turn a blind eye) and do exactly what a misinformed masses want regardless of the actual reality of the situation. Just "give us what we we want even if you know it is wrong".
Just because people can legally light their crotch on fire with axe doesn't mean they should.
And that's where it begins. Obviously they can't vote for themselves, their life would be better if we decide laws for them. Suddenly they fall out the bottom of democracy. A democrocy of other people decided for them. The problem is where do you draw the line. I guarantee someone in the world feels like your choices are so dumb they want to draw that line above you head saying, "you choose so poorly things would be better if you didn't influence any vote." In a true democracy everyone gets to choose no matter how dumb or easily taken in by flashy campaign adds and loud noises. In truth we have the electoral college which was set up so the smart business men could vote and if they win they get all the votes from their state, even from the bumpkins who did not or could not vote, because they know best for everyone.
They tried that national voting day somewhere. I can't remember where. It just increases the amount of drunk voters. Drunk voters vote mostly conservative.... I don't know why that's just what I remember.
Halo 4 will not affect the election. Microsoft's a very smart company. They know the deal and that's why they're doing what they're doing.
OK, I didn't account for that. Maybe a sobriety test before the voting booth?
Nah, I think the ideal situation is to embrace modern technology and make it easier to vote online or via the phone, or even jsut recorded delivery.
I'm 18-20, but I won't be buying Halo 4 since the Halo franchise is nothing reskins of a mediocre console FPS, and I won't be voting since I don't want either candidate to win. I'd vote for Ron Paul, but I'd be wasting my time.
Just write him in like I'm doing.
That way, you can say that you actually supported fixing this damn country as opposed to picking between two pro-war power-hungry assholes.
Whoops. Sorry. But yeah, anyone saying that this election actually means something is just kidding themselves. Besides, a particular person's vote will never matter, so they should vote for who they want to win over who they think WILL win.
You do know that not voting for either of them won't mean that neither of them get the job?
Surely there is one you would PREFER to have as president? You not voting is not going to be interpreted as protest, it's going to be interpreted as laziness. If you have to choose between a ham sandwich and a dirt sandwich, pick the ham sandwich even if you don't like ham. You do not have a choice on no sandwich, come 2013 America WILL get a new President.
You don't have to like either of the candidates, you just have to decide. It's like being on a jury deciding if a man is either "Guilty" or "not Guilty", you aren't voting for the winner of Big Brother. You just have to decide of the candidates which is best for the job.
The only reason I'd have for deliberately not voting (if I was capable of) is if I REALLY COULD NOT DECIDE which was better or worse or I thought it really wouldn't matter which got elected.
Technology would make things a lot easier for voters, but this would bring up far more problems then 'distracting voters on election day'
e-votes can be hacked remember: http://www.geekosystem.com/bender-school-board/
so until we can figure out a way to insure that these machines can't be hacked (how many systems have claimed to be un-hackable over the years?) we're stuck doing it the ancient way.
I don't vote unless I feel strongly one way or the other. The America voting system isn't the best anyway, how come there are only 2 viable candidates for presidency?
Actually, in local politics it does kind of matter. My home town with a population of 3000 had new Mayor based on a right in vote.
A handful of votes for County Commissioner could result in a varitey of ordinance changes that could have State Wide ramifications.
Of course that's a little off topic, back to the Halo 4 game being released the same day as the election. It probably won't matter.
The people who would rather get Halo 4 first over voting, probably were not going to vote anyway. Also I several people in the bigger cities will organize the an event to encourage both actions. Like a bus that stops at the nearest polling place first than goes to the nearest retail store, or the other way around.
I can see it now. Loud mouth liberals and conservatives standing in front of video game stores handing out political materials to the long line of gathering video game nerds.
That's it, we get all the Halo 4 fans to register to vote while waiting in line. Perfect.
I have to be 100% completely honest here. If you are so obsessed with getting and playing Halo 4 that you would skip voting to do it then you have no business voting in the first place. Doing something like that proves that you have no priories or even a clue what so ever.
Sure I like Halo and I'm going to get the game but I'll do it well after I have voted. I'll crack it open and play it after the election is called. Electing a new president is way more important than playing a video game... even if is going to be a kick ass game.
Yeah, e-votes can be hacked. And ballot boxes can be stuffed. What is the distinction? There is none.
I have no tolerance for such fatuous concerns, we accept the possibility of ballot-box stuffing because it is as old as democracy, but we won't accept the risk of "hacking" because it is new and we don't understand it. That is a ridiculous logic.
For example with internet banking ALL YOUR LIFE SAVINGS can be stolen, that's not a reason to never use internet banking. In fact the move to internet and digital serviced has been a nightmare for fraudsters as while a signature is literally child's play to forge obtaining a pin-code is next to impossible. Computer hacking/cracking is way way harder, less reliable and more risky.
The example you cite of election fraud had laughably poor security. It is the digital equivalent of leaving the main ballot box in the middle of the street with a sign on it said "Official votes, do not tamper with" and leaving it unguarded - but WOW, turns out someone tampered with it when they weren't looking! The Login was "admin" and the password was "admin". That's not a grand heist, that's stealing candy from a baby. There are not superlatives extreme enough for how careless this is.
I'll spell this out for you:
Is that clear enough? Is it unhackable? HELL NO! But it IS more secure. Stop using "hack" in some colloqual TV-trash way for "magic with computers". Some things ARE impossible to seize illicit control. Like the United States's nuclear missiles silos. The point is even if you can hack into it YOU WILL KNOW IT WAS HACKED! But if someone starts stuffing ballot boxes... you have [no way of knowing. The security you need for ballots is extraordinary and there is a while encyclopaedia of techniques to defraud an election submitted in paper and unlike on a computer they are untracable and undetectable.
You false assumption is because paper-based in-the-booth voting has been around for so long it is somehow immune. am fed up with this double standard against new technology that can make people's lives so much better. This is like refusing to have new surgical procedure to remove a tumour by citing an example of a charlatan doctor who performed a botched surgery while drunk.
I don't think you realise quite how much the democratic process is severely undermined by low voting turnout, as people can be elected into power with as tiny a proportion of 20% of the population actually voting for them. How can a president have the authority to exercise his power as the people's choice with such a situation? Something must be done to alleviate this and neo-luddite logic "ooooooh the dangers of new technology aren't worth it" won't get us anywhere. Legally mandating votes is a recipe for disaster and goes against the free choice of elections.
I remind you, the hack at UoM would work just as well whether the votes were entered on paper or via the internet, as it attacked the central counting system which MUST be a digital computer to count them reliably and quickly. Would you rather wait weeks for votes to be counted with a 5-10% margin of error?
PS: There are two main candidates for the same reason there are two main parties in America, as the political establishment doesn't want to end up like the Weimar Republic where you have dozens of different parties and impossible to gain a majority. With two presidential candidates, the winner will most likely also have the majority of he vote, it's important for legitimacy so you don't have a case where only 30% of those who actually voted chose them. Anyway, the voting doesn't even begin there, it begins at the caucuses. Did you vote in the caucuses? If not, why not? Don't complain you don't have democratic choice if you discard your opportunity to choose.
Yeah, his total lack of Halo bombing was quite refreshing.
Also, it was good to see he dug on both sides of the issue.
There's a game store that's literally underground? And it happens to be directly beneath a voting booth? That's pretty awesome.
Surprised Bob didn't mention one of the big, frightening truths of the issue- regardless of whether the release is a deliberate conspiracy by Microsoft to influence the vote or simply a big coincidence as they state, it WILL probably cause a fair number of young people to skip voting to pick up and play the game instead. Whether or not it's relevant, it will still be significant. If Microsoft genuinely don't want to influence the presidential election then they really should release the game the next day- what could it really cost them?
I wish Bob would not use some clip of filler footage multiple times in an episode. For instance, all the Halo 3 clips in this episode came from one trailer.
I find it kind of distracting. I know for movies you're usually stuck with just the one trailer, but there are tons of Halo trailers. Even if you only wanted Master Chief related clips you have nearly 5 games worth of trailers at this point. Let's see some variety!
Fine episode otherwise.
I'd like you to show me a ballet stuffer who is not only able to stuff thousands of extra votes into the box while at the same time removing opposing votes. That would be quite impressive.
I don't think you understand me, I'm not scared of e-votes because they are a new way of doing things. I'm scared of them because of the incredible importance of their job coupled with the fact that they can be altered to completely skew the results.
Yes the security was laughably terrible, the thing is that the people who created the system challenged people to try to hack it in an attempt to prove how 'secure' the e voting system is. This is equivalent to placing a ballot box in the middle of the street with a sign that says "We created the most secure ballot box ever, you can't tamper with it even if you tried"
The fact that the login/password was admin just furthers the point, this was a human error. It's actually a lot easier to take advantage of a human error than a computer one since people are idiots: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-27/human-errors-fuel-hacking-as-test-shows-nothing-prevents-idiocy.html
alright thanks for spelling it out, but please explain it. Just because you claim that e-voting can be made secure doesn't make it so. How would you prevent human errors? how would you make sure that these systems can't be hacked? It's hard to fix a problem in the software if you don't even know it's there and by the time you figured it out the damage would have already been done.
I don't appreciate being patronized. just because I don't go into grand detail about certain hacking techniques doesn't mean I assume people can type for 10 minutes and steal all the money from a bank account. I'd also like to point out that just because the nuclear missle silo's haven't been hacked doesn't make them impossible to hack. Have you ever heard of Stuxnet?
Before it people assumed nuclear power plants couldn't be hacked either. How did the virus get into the power plants? through PC's used by maintenance staff, human error.
you might want to read that article again, specifically this paragraph:
By exploiting a number of equally egregious security flaws, the team was able to get inside the system, block it off from other attackers, control the ballots, modify them to include SkyNet and Bender, and accomplish this all while remaining completely covert. As a victory dance of sorts, the team programmed the machines to play the University of Michigan fight song. Authorities remained unaware of the successful hack until a tester - who had just ruled the system "secure," I might add - suggested they lose the music because it was annoying.
they got away with it, so much so that a tester wasn't able to notice it after it had already happened. It's actually fairly easy to stay hidden when using a computer.
I have nothing against new technology but just because it's new doesn't make it safe. It has already been shown that these things are hackable on more than one occasion: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44706301/ns/technology_and_science-security/t/it-only-takes-hack-voting-machine/#.T6HBlsV20kY
what's more you don't even need to be smart to do it, a lot of these hacks are done by 'injecting' the machine with software which means that anyone with a basic understanding of computers can pull it off.
how would these vote counters be hacked? the general public would not be allowed anywhere near them, they wouldn't need to be connected to the internet (which means they can't be remotely hacked) and the only way a human error could occur is if someone were to connect/install something onto the machine allowing the hack to happen.
No I didn't, because I'm Canadian.
Hrm...I keep hoping that Bob will have something worthwhile to say again (other than just flamebaiting) This may be it.
Curious idea...Though I wonder whether people who play videogames that hardcore really vote.
Of course it's a ridiculous stunt. It's Halo. It's not like we're talking an Elder Scrolls or new Half Life, here. And it's not like those who want to vote one way or the other are going to be swayed by the release of a game.
People aren't actually stupid enough to forget that they can do both on the same day.... right?
Ps. I think the release date was intentional, but not to "influence voters", but more so that people would talk about the release date, similar to how Skyrim was released on 11/11/11. Of course, it's working because.... we're talking about something so benign as what date it comes out on in more than just spreading information.
If you'd rather stand in line to get and play Halo than vote you probably shouldn't be voting to begin with. Leave politics to those who care.
Nevermind the fact that the majority of young voters with any shred of intelligence hate both Romney AND Obama... They're practically the exact same anyway.
And way to go Bob. You've proven yourself to be just as pitiful as much of the mainstream media. You forget a certain other competitor who is a thousand times more popular with the younger voters than either of those other two? Who actually IS winning a lot of states, contrary to what the media is reporting?
Really Bob, I'd expect someone like you to at least mention Ron Paul in that. Unless you really are so dense as to still think Obama is a good president.
I feel like it could just as easily swing the other way. Inertia can be a pretty powerful force, but when you're heading out to pick up the game already, why not swing by the voting booths?
Also, Obama supporter here. He might not have gotten All that much done (aside from, you know, getting some semblance of actual health care put into law, repealing DADT, killing Bin Laden, getting out of Iraq, handling the overthrow of the Libyan regime while minimizing American and civilian casualties, and slowly getting us into economic recovery), but most of the gridlock in Washington can be laid at the feet of the Repulicans intentionally keeping anything acceptable from getting through Congress.
Definitely something to wrap your head around.
However, tbh, Bob, I'm not going to vote, and I'm probably going to be one of those people trying to get Halo 4. However, it isn't because I value Halo 4 over politics (OK, I do, but hear me out.), but rather, it's because the presidents and the government in general has become so stagnant and deadlocked that we're not likely to have any truly significant changes or events anytime soon. The only really big turnout of the Obama election was the Obamacare, and that's been shoved on the backburner due to Republicans deadlocking everything that it would do in the first place, so Obama's... essentially done nothing.
I know the whole point of a democracy is to vote for a president that will bring change, but between the stagnant Obama administration and the rollbacking Republicans that advocate ideas from an age I'd like to burn to the ground rather than hear ranted at me one more time, I think I'll just stay home and play out Master Chief's new chapter. It'll be more productive, well-spent time than voting to see who we blame for the new four years of nothing.
I can give you examples of ridiculous election fraud as in Zimbabwe and Iran, but the problem with paper elections is PRECISELY that ballot box stuffing (that includes discarding votes of votes you don't want) is untraceable. You literally have to have cameras everywhere and make sure their recordings are never tampered with. Electronic voting it is possible - as with secure bank transactions - to make tampering with even a single solitary vote a mountainous task with multiple avenues to get caught.
The explanation is in how internet protocols work and how such an electronic voting system should work, it's exchange of codes and algorithms, constantly in confirming communication with multiple police servers and monitoring where the packets go and come from.
Um, how do you propose we can remove human error from the equation OTHER than via more electronic internet/computer based voting? Human errors are inherent EVEN WITHOUT ANY COMPUTERS INVOLVED! There are human errors in counting the votes by hand. Fail to carry the one and suddenly thousands of voters have been disenfranchised.
I have more than hear about stuxnet, my dad works in a gas refinery that has been hit by stuxnet and he has overseen efforts to contain it. It's no big issue. It's a simple troll virus and obvious in its effect, in no way is it relevant to the possibility of SECRETLY tipping election results in an internet based national election.
Their "without being noticed" is not because they were invisible, but because NO ONE WAS LOOKING FOR THEM! It really is like an unwatched ballot box in the middle of the street at night, no one saw them not because they were invisible... but because NO ONE WAS LOOKING! Their network was not policed, there were no significant firewalls, it's nothing but a basic Windows network security AND THEY HAD AN EASY TO GUESS KEY CODE! Am I mad? Kind of, yeah. That this university could be so dense and on the other hand people like you concluding new technology is ALL untrustworthy. They didn't even USE even a fraction of the network security they could have used.
Please STOP using this ridiculous straw-man argument of UoM's LAZY attempt at voting. They had less than poor security, they had NO SECURITY! You cannot keep using this example of its unacceptably unreliable security when it's clear they didn't even try. I mean the login password they used, no admins paroling ready to pull the plug, nothing. Where were the firewalls?
They central counting computers would be hacked exactly the same as in this UoM example. Via the internet. They need to be connected to the internet to receive the results from each count in a timely manner. In principal and and in practice it is exactly the same the difference being UoM DIDN'T EVEN TRY to make their system secure and in actual national elections in the USA they DO MAKE IT SECURE! Even nuclear missiles silos are connected to the internet, that is why the internet was created to coordinate a nuclear war, but they don't get hacked BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY BOTHER TO TRY TO MAKE THEM SECURE!
Let me make this clear, University of Michigan did not even TRY to make their system secure. This is no Fort-Knox heist, this is inviting someone to steal candy from a baby and then declaring them master thieves. Now if someone hacks a Nuclear Missile silo and launches a random nuclear weapon... THEN you can go around claiming that no system is secure and we need to perform every election in a boot with paper, but till then, nope.avi
PS: why are you complaining about US elections then? Canada doesn't have a President but a Prime Minister? What is your problem? Anyway, Ive explained the voting in the caucuses, so there, you do have more than "just a choice between two candidates"
I hate the prospect of ignorant youngsters voting, so when I first heard that this may deter young voters, I smiled on the inside... Darwinism, however, obligates me to say that I was NOT referring to any of the well-informed, political savvy individuals on this website. You are all shining paragons of culture and knowledge, rivaling the abilities of greek philosophers. Nor was I referring to myself, an individual among the very demograhic I expressed skepticism towards... PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!
But isn't the gridlock the beauty of the system? Isn't the point of the system to make radical change dificult and slow? You probably stopped reading this as soon as you saw the Calvin Coolidge profile pic, but not liking either candidate is a bad reason to avoid voting. If you do that you're essentially giving each of them half a vote. Just choose the one you agree with more, otherwise the gridlock would disappear... Man, I sound like some whimsical pamphlet they'd hand out at a high school assembly.
His " big picture " is going on the assumption that politicians hold any real power and or that the public has a real influence over politics and or politicians. I call that assumption laughable at best dangerous at worst.
That's an over generalization, their both r's and d's that push for and against different regulations.
Uuuuh, you know you are voting the President as the EXECUTIVE not chief legislator!
Government =/= passing laws
Government = governing = how you sort shit out
Obama gets too much credit for "Obamacare", his influence over legislature is very small and the most he can do is NOT veto the act. The President's main job is RUNNING the government.
Key Executive decision Obama has made:
Why don't you vote more in the legislature elections?
Distinction between Executive and Legislature is practically taught at grade school level, why do so many not make this distinction?
lol, I guess I screwed up that distinction, didn't I?
Even then, though, the divisive split between Americans for Republicans and Democrats means that, more than likely, we'll see a Congress and a House that's still pretty much split evenly between the two parties, meaning that we're still going to have a deadlock. Neither Romney nor Obama, imo, look like they'll be able to persuade or compromise any bill to adequately please both parties, so any action they pass in THAT regard is going to stagnate in the Congress for months at end.
I'm not disillusioned with the presidency; I'm disillusioned with our government in general. I know that, throughout history, both Republicans and Democrats have been trying to tear each other's throats out, but I haven't exactly seen a president in recent years or a united Congress/House in recent years that might be able to get SOME progress in. It still seems like the same old crap we saw back in the last election, and the last election before that, so I'm predicting we'll still have the same old four years.
Thus why I'm not going to vote; I don't see any significant change that anyone's going to bring in the next few years.
Wait, so games don't usually come out around elections? Personally it sounds a good idea to release a game at a time both near the start of the month after people get payed and when there's very little competition.
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- Data shows Marion HS as state leader in college and career readiness
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- MHS students excel at Advanced Placement exams
- MHS's Owensby earns IWU's Maidenberg Award
- MRCC to offer cyber forensic certification program
- MRCC, Afena FCU join forces for internship program
- MRCC's IT Academy to offer tech services to the community
- Two MHS students earn National AP Scholar honors
- VIDEO: WIWU-TV features MRCC aviation program
October 19 2018Call for artists: MCS holiday card contest (deadline 11/9)
October 19 2018Calling all families: Thriving Families Festival set for 10/27
October 18 2018MRCC to offer cyber forensic certification program
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October 5 2018MRCC Monthly Memo features IT Academy
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Join Laura Waterman Wittstock and Miguel Vargas as they talk with distinguished Professor Robert Miller about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the upcoming Permanent Forum discussion at the United Nations on May 7 – 18 in New York.
Join Laura Waterman Wittstock and Miguel Vargas as they talk with guests Roxanne Gould and Jim Rock about the upcoming Augsburg Native American Film Series: Where Condor Meets Eagle: Indigenous Bolivian and Native American Film Festival, a three-night celebration of Indigenous film, collaborations across national boundaries, and visual storytelling. Elise Marrubio and Sonia Davilla from Bolivia will also be with us. Included are films from Bolivia, Canada, and Minnesota. Some of the filmmakers from Bolivia will be present, all films in Spanish will be translated.
Join Laura Waterman Wittstock and Miguel Vargas as they talk about the upcoming Minnesota Historical Society's "Minnesota Tragedy: U.S.-Dakota War of 1862."
Join Laura Waterman Wittstock and Miguel Vargas this week as they talk with guests Professor Brenda Child, Chair of the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, and Michael Sullivan, who is a PhD student in linguistics and active in the revitalization effort of Ojibwe, an Algonquian language of the northern Midwest region of North America.
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Far from the main roads and deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, you'll find the farm of Claude Gibson "Gibb" Steele III. Don't blink or you'll likely miss his farm headquarters that's the focal point of downtown Longwood, Miss. Longwood is so small, it doesn't have a post office. That's why Steele gets his mail from nearby Hollandale, Miss.
A successful rice and soybean farmer, Steele farms heavy clay gumbo soils on land scattered throughout much of Washington County. His farm includes an impressive total of 7,300 acres with 5,000 acres of rented land and 2,300 acres of owned land. His yields are good ones: 177 bushels per acre for rice grown on 3,650 acres, 55 bushels per acre for soybeans grown on 2,650 acres and 69.9 bushels per acre for wheat grown on 700 acres.
One reason for the high yields: Both soybeans and rice are irrigated.
As a result of his accomplishments as a rice and soybean farmer, Steele has been selected as the 2008 Mississippi winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. Steele now joins nine other state winners from the Southeast as finalists for the award. The overall winner will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga.
"I grew up on a small sheep farm in Greenwood, Miss.," says Steele. "My father worked for the Federal Land Bank and, after selling the land in Greenwood, he bought 500 acres near Calhoun City, Miss., where we grew crops and cattle. He later swapped that land for land here near Hollandale, and in 1973 I became a partner with my dad. Then in 1978 my brother came into the operation. Together, my brother and I acquired most of our land during the 1980s and 1990s."
"We started farming rice in 1974 and 1975 when allotments opened up," he continues.
"We cleared a lot of land, more than 1,000 acres in those days. I got to do a lot of manual labor that my son missed out on."
Steele and his wife Pam have one son, Gibson, and Steele is slowly turning more of the day-to-day management of the farm over to Gibson. Pam helped on the farm during the early years by working as a secretary for her husband. She also currently serves as a director and secretary-treasurer of the Lake Washington Land Owners Association.
Almost all of the land Steele farms is precision land leveled. This allows for efficient flood irrigation for his rice crops and furrow irrigation from polyethylene pipe for his soybeans. The poly pipe eliminates the need for ditches and dams, and eliminates labor intensive hand priming used for siphon pipe. "Once you can get rice irrigated, it generally makes a good crop," he adds. He retains the water on the rice with the use of small levees or earthen dikes that are just tall enough to hold about four inches of water on the soil. He plants wheat on rented land that is not precision land leveled. He also was an early adopter of no-till rice planting. The adoption of high-flotation tires helped eliminate ruts in his fields.
He uses grain drills to plant rice and conventional row crop planters for seeding the soybeans. He equipped his soybean planters with small plows to create furrows that allow for better irrigation and drainage. With soybeans, it's important to get water on and off the soil quickly, and the plows help accomplish this. Better irrigation, planting on time, and using improved varieties have allowed Steele to increase his soybean yields from about 30 bushels per acre during the 1970s and 1980s to close to 60 bushels per acre today. By switching from maturity Group VI and Group VII soybean varieties to Group IV and Group V varieties, he's now able to complete soybean harvesting during the third week of October.
"Our goal is to do no conventional field work or tillage in the spring," he says. "All we do is plant, and we want to be through planting both rice and soybeans by the end of April."
"Employee management is more of an art than a science," says Steele, who takes pride in recruiting and retaining long-term employees. Many have worked for him 15 years or more.
In 1979, Steele started an aerial application business. A few years ago, he sold his interest in the flying service to his brother. "He manages that and I manage the farm," Steele adds.
Many farmers in Mississippi have started raising corn in recent years. High corn prices have prompted Steele to start thinking about raising some corn himself, perhaps in 2009.
He has avoided corn so far because it is not a compatible rotation crop with rice, his main crop. Strong rice prices earlier this year prompted him to increase his acreage of that crop. "We planted 30 percent more rice this year," he says. "We planted some rice behind rice because of the good prices, but we don't normally like to do that." He normally plants rice and soybeans in rotation and notes that this reduces the likelihood of weeds becoming resistant to herbicides.
He's adding new grain bins to hold 300,000 bushels. This should aid in marketing and provide storage space for all his crops. Steele marketed last year's soybeans and wheat on his own using advice from two market consultants. He's more comfortable, however, turning over crop marketing to experts. "We market our rice in a pool," he explains. "I don't have the stress of worrying about what the markets will do." While this minimizes the likelihood of receiving extremely high or low prices, he says it has consistently resulted in strong season-long average prices.
Steele does his part to attract ducks to his farm. "Rice and soybeans are left in the field attract the ducks," he says. "We like to hunt ducks, so we stop up culverts to keep water on some fields, and we even pump water to bring ducks to some of our fields." He has also placed about 300 acres in the USDA's Conservation Reserve Program.
Steele has served as a commissioner for the Washington County Drainage Commission, Washington County Planning Commission and as president of the Hollandale Rotary Club. He has held leadership positions in the Mississippi Rice Council, Mississippi Rice Promotion Board and the U.S. Rice Producers Association. He's also active in the Delta Council, an organization that has promoted agricultural and economic development of the Mississippi Delta since 1935.
"I have lived my dream of being a farmer," says Steele. "You never go to work when you love your job. My hope is that my son enjoys his life as a farmer as much as I have."
Melissa Mixon with Mississippi State University is the state coordinator for the Farmer of the Year award. Robert Martin, Extension agent in Issaquena and Sharkey counties, nominated Steele for the award. Steele helps Martin by providing land for soybean variety trials. "He's a steward of the land and is active in local, regional and national organizations," adds Martin.
As Mississippi winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo award, Steele will now receive a $2,500 cash award and an expense paid trip to the Sunbelt Expo from Swisher International of Jacksonville, Fla., a jacket and a $200 gift certificate from the Williamson-Dickie Company, and a $500 gift certificate from Southern States.
He is also now eligible for the $14,000 that will go to the overall winner. Other prizes for the overall winner include the use of a Massey Ferguson tractor for a year from Massey Ferguson North America, a custom made Canvasback gun safe from Misty Morn Safe Co., and another $500 gift certificate from the Southern States cooperative. Also, Williamson-Dickie will provide another jacket, a $500 gift certificate and $500 in cash to the overall winner.
Swisher International, through its Swisher Sweets cigar brand, and the Sunbelt Expo are sponsoring the Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award for the 19th consecutive year.
Swisher has contributed some $724,000 in cash awards and other honors to Southeastern farmers since the award was initiated in 1990.
Previous state winners from Mississippi include: Hugh Arant Sr. of Ruleville, 1990; Bill Hawks of Hernando, 1991; Kenneth Hood of Gunnison, 1992; Tol Thomas of Cruger, 1993; Rick Parsons of Vance, 1994; Ed Hester of Benoit, 1995; Bill Harris of Benton, 1996; Robert Miller of Greenwood, 1997; Ted Kendall III of Bolton, 1998; Wayne Bush of Schlater, 1999; William Tackett of Schlater, 2000; Willard Jack of Belzoni, 2001; Hugh Arant Jr. of Ruleville, 2002; Rick Parsons of Vance, 2003; Sledge Taylor of Como, 2004; Laurance Carter of Rolling Fork, 2005; Brooks Aycock of Belzoni, 2006 and Tom Robertson of Indianola, 2007.
Mississippi has had three overall winners with Kenneth Hood of Gunnison, 1993; Ed Hester of Benoit, 1995, and Willard Jack of Belzoni, 2001.


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Vying for 8th French Open title, Nadal gets Ferrer
PARIS (AP) — His words catching in his throat, Toni Nadal called it "really a miracle" that his nephew is back in the French Open final.
Seriously? Miraculous? More like expected, given that Rafael Nadal is 58-1 for his career at Roland Garros, a seven-time champion who will become the only man with eight titles at one Grand Slam tournament if he beats David Ferrer in Sunday's all-Spanish final.
Here is what Uncle Toni, who has coached Rafa since age 4, meant: They harbored doubts about whether a return to the top was possible after Nadal was sidelined for about seven months with a left knee injury.
There were times, the younger Nadal said, when "it was impossible to think that I would be here."
After outlasting top-seeded Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7 in a taut and terrific semifinal that stretched across more than 4½ hours, the third-seeded Nadal referred to his time away, saying, "When these kind of matches happen, you suffer, but I really enjoy these moments, no? I really enjoy suffering, because what's harder is when I am in Mallorca last year and I had to watch these kind of matches on the TV."
As Nadal began accumulating Grand Slam titles, the biggest question was how long his body would be able to withstand his always-on-the-move playing style.
Citing bad knees, he decided not to defend his Wimbledon championship in 2009, just weeks after losing to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open (that remains Nadal's only defeat at his favorite tournament). Nadal's left knee was what held him out of action from last June, when he lost in the second round at Wimbledon, until this February. He missed the London Olympics, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open.
Since returning to the tour, Nadal is 42-2 with six titles, reaching the finals of all nine tournaments he's entered. He's on a 21-match winning streak.
Nadal, who pulled out of next week's grass-court tuneup at Halle, Germany, citing the need for rest ahead of Wimbledon, wears a thick wrap of white tape below his troublesome left knee for each match.
"There are weeks when I feel better, weeks when I feel a bit worse," Nadal said. "Sometimes you're more positive; sometimes you're more negative."
Nothing makes him happier on a tennis court than winning at Roland Garros. And no one has done that more frequently than Nadal.
His victory over Djokovic in an epic filled with lengthy exchanges and moments of real drama was Nadal's 58th in a French Open match, equaling the tournament record shared by Guillermo Vilas (who had 17 losses) and Roger Federer (14 losses).
Nadal's seven French Open titles — in 2005-08 and 2010-12 — already are the most in history, and his eighth final appearance sets another mark. The only other men in the last 80 years to win seven trophies at any Grand Slam tournament are Federer and Pete Sampras, who both achieved that total at Wimbledon.
Looking at the bigger picture, Nadal can earn his 12th major championship overall Sunday, which would move him past Borg and Rod Laver and into a tie for third with Roy Emerson, behind only Federer (17) and Sampras (14).
Nadal, who turned 27 last Monday, would be about 11 months older than Federer was when he got to No. 12.
"He likes to compete. He never gives up. I mean, that's an impressive virtue that he has," Djokovic said before falling to 0-5 at Roland Garros against Nadal, 15-20 overall. "Over the years, he's been so consistent and so dominant, on this surface, especially. He's struggled with injuries, came back, and lost only a few matches. ... You've got to respect that."
While Nadal will be participating in his 17th Grand Slam final — he's 11-5, with two losses to Federer and three to Djokovic — Ferrer will be making his debut on such a stage in his 42nd major tournament.
The fourth-seeded Ferrer was 0-5 in Grand Slam semifinals before eliminating France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Friday. Ferrer has won all 18 sets he's played these past two weeks, needing less than 11 hours combined to get through six matches. Nadal, in contrast, has dropped four sets — including the opener in each of his first two matches — and spent nearly 17 hours on court.
At 31, Ferrer would be the oldest French Open champion since Andres Gimeno took the 1972 title when he was 34.
Ferrer knows it won't be easy, and not just because of Nadal's tremendous record in Paris.
They will be playing each other for the 24th time, and Nadal is 19-4 so far.
"Defeating Rafa is very difficult on any surface; it's even worse on clay," Ferrer said. "But ... I'm going to try to play a beautiful match."
Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich


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Animated horror is a rather niche, albeit strong, genre that has developed over the past two decades. Ever since Jack Skellington waxed poetically in front of a full moon Hollywood has been trying to replicate the magic in some form or another (Usually having something to do with Tim Burton as well). So it should come to no one's surprise that the creative team who brought us the recent addition "Coraline" has added to this legacy of quality in a relatively small sample size with "ParaNorman"
Date: 1949
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney
Cast: Bing Crosby
The crew channels their inner children with Paranorman!
Anyone excited for the upcoming movie, "ParaNorman", (coming out August 17th in the US) should be lining up at the stores this week on July 5th for which the book the movie is based. The book is only a Grade 3 reading level - but hey, don't act like you aren't going to see the movie.
Summer movie season is here in all it's popcorn filled glory. Though as fun and indulgent as this time of year is for film fans, it can often leave horror fans wanting. Yet a strong set of films is on the horizon that should keep genre fans relatively happy throughout their summer break.
I'm a sucker for animation and if you make it spooky, it's generally a Tim Burton joint. "ParaNorman" however, looks fantastic! Trailers are often hit or miss, this one's use of "Season of the Witch" gives it the perfect vibe!
Josh Stewart, who 8 of you might remember from "The Collector" is the latest to be added to the cast of Chris Nolan's "The Dark knight Rises". As usual there's no word as to what role he'll be playing but I'm going to toss out a curve ball and guess Aquaman. Yeah, I said it.
Matthew Fox, Ed Harris and Julia Levy-Boeken are all rumored to be joining the ever growing cast of the big screen adaptation of Max Brook's "World War Z". Fox you probably know from "Lost", Harris wasn't Robocop but I will insist he was till the day I die and Levy-Boeken is French so you'll soon know her as that girl with hairy armpits who was in "World War Z".
"ParaNorman" is a new stop motion zombie/comedy from the fine people that created "Coraline" that's schedule to hit theaters next summer. But animated characters need voices my friends and it looks like Alex Borstein who does the voice of Lois Griffin on "Family Guy" will be added to the list of talent that already includes Casey Affleck, John Goodman and a number of others. I have no idea how they're going to fit all these people into one of those tiny recording booths.
What in the sweet hell is going on with shark attack movies this summer? Where was it decided that sharks were the new vampires? Where the hell are my keys!? I'm so frightened. Anyway here's the trailer for "Dark Tide" a new chop flick that stars one Halle Berry who I assume was cast based on the fact that her character spends 75% of her screen time in a bikini. Which makes me wonder why I wasn't cast... someone get my agent on the phone.


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Central Park Tour: Hallett Nature Sanctuary and the Pond
Sunday, August 17, 2014
12:00 p.m.–1:15 p.m.
Please note: This event has already taken place. Please use the Search options on the right to find upcoming events.
Take a break to enjoy this walk through Central Park's smallest woodland area, open to visitors only on guided tours and limited open hours April through October. Route involves hills and wood chipped trails.
Space is limited; advance registration suggested. Tickets available onsite with credit card only. Please arrive at the meeting location 15 minutes before the start of the tour to allow time for check in. For the courtesy of other guests, those arriving after the start time cannot be accommodated.
Ticket sales are final. Tours take place rain or shine, except in extreme weather conditions (heavy rain, sustained winds of 30 mph or more, snowstorms, and a wind chill below 25 or heat index above 95 degrees).
Groups of seven or more must schedule a custom tour three weeks in advance at firstname.lastname@example.com.
For the latest information or to see more dates for this tour, check the Central Park Conservancy calendar. Tour dates and times are subject to change without notice.
Tickets: $15 per person. Central Park Conservancy members: $10 per person.
Event Organizer
Contact Number
(212) 794-4064


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The end of the story was gruesome–a spray of bullets and a splattering of blood on a wall in central Romania. On Christmas Day 1989, after a hastily arranged trial before a kangaroo court, the deposed Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed by a firing squad. The assembled soldiers, eager to eliminate the despised dictator, were ordered not to aim higher than his chest. The faces of the condemned had to be recognizable after the fact. The country had to see that the communist era was over.
The fall of communism was as decisive a turning point in modern history as the French or Russian revolutions. In 1989 the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe collapsed; the division of Europe symbolized by the Berlin Wall crumbled; the cold war began to recede into historical memory; and more pluralistic, sometimes democratic, states emerged where one-party dictatorships had dominated for four decades. (It was also the bicentennial of the fall of the Bastille.) Statist, ostensibly planned economies yielded to freewheeling capitalist markets; and hopes were raised, momentarily as it turned out, for a "new world order" without debilitating ideological conflicts.
Interpretations of the causes of the collapse of communism and the Soviet empire are becoming as numerous as books on the subject, especially in this, its twentieth-anniversary year. At one extreme are fatalistic accounts that trace the demise of a utopian system structurally flawed at its conception. At the other are highly voluntarist and contingent explanations that focus on the key players–the Polish pope, John Paul II; the determined but inconsistent reformer Mikhail Gorbachev; and an array of actors on both sides of the barricades, from Lech Walesa to Nicolae Ceausescu–who shaped a welter of dynamic and volatile events without ever being able to control them. But the events themselves were so consequential for our own times that few are content to stop with narration, analysis and explanation. Moral and political lessons are to be learned. Judgments about socialism, capitalism, democracy and the social engineering intrinsic to modernity are to be handed down.
The events of 1989 are most often depicted as the failure of socialism. It's a powerful interpretation that has served to discredit alternatives to the capitalist system, which is said to have triumphed, and to bestow upon capitalism an aura of legitimacy based not only on a reading of recent history but also on assumptions about the natural order, not least human nature. Capitalism, it is proposed, is the normal state of human traffic in what people make and value and need; socialism is the deviation. Capitalism responds to the nature of "man"–acquisitiveness, competition, egoism and the insatiable need for more. Socialism stands in the way of initiative, creativity and competition. Going by its nom de guerre, communism, it proposes radical equality in a world of unequals. Therefore, it can be maintained only by the coercive power of an entrenched elite and a repressive state. In the Eastern bloc, once that force was removed and party leaders lost confidence in their right to rule, communism naturally fell, and people's instinctual drives for material accumulation were liberated. Markets won out everywhere, even when democracy did not.


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East Africa overflows with adventure, wildlife and relaxation
Journey through the heart of East Africa and be amazed by the astounding diversity of landscapes and wildlife – verdant highlands, steamy rainforests, tropical beaches and waving grasslands that are home to some of the planet's most amazing animals. Get closer to nature than you ever imagined in the game parks of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zanzibar. Enjoy the unforgettable experience of being so near to lions, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, giraffes, flamingos and chimpanzees, not to mention sitting in the presence of rare mountain gorillas in the Ugandan rainforest. Along the way, meet local people whose friendly smiles and sense of community are inspiring. The wonders of East Africa will remain vivid in your memory long after this tour ends.
In 2019 this trip will no longer visit Marangu or visit the Mshiri Village in this area. Instead this trip will go directly from Mto Wa Mbu to Usambara Mountains and reduce to 27 days instead of previously 28 days. The departures will start on the same date and finish one day earlier.
With gorilla permits included in the price of the trip, seek out the rare mountain gorilla on a trek through Uganda's steamy forests and spend an unforgettable hour in their presence
Experience the two sides of Jinja, a riverside retreat at the source of the Nile but also the adventure capital of Uganda
Partake in community activities in Mto wa Mbu with a guided stroll around the farming areas
Embark on a safari across the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater in an open roof safari 4x4 for a chance to see a Black Rhino.
Wander around Stone Town's bustling bazaars and fragrant spice markets and receive a guided tour of the spice plantations
Tracking gorillas in the dense forest can sometimes be wet, muddy and uncomfortable. The terrain is by no means easy either, so it can be pretty strenuous and often humid. But the sheer thrill in coming across a habituated group of gorillas, dominated by a great male silverback, more than outweighs any difficulty. You need to be prepared and fit enough to walk up to 4 hours - up and down hill. A top tip is to pack some gardening gloves to assist in any up-hill climbs.
Camp in the Serengeti National Park itself without fences between you and the animals. Your leader will brief you on the safety measures the group will need to take for the 2 nights spent in the park.
At Usambara Mountains the group will do a hike to the beautiful Irente viewpoint.
We use our purpose-built overland vehicles for the duration of this trip. This multi-purpose truck allows for great game viewing with large sliding windows. This means the trucks do not have air-conditioning and conditions can get dusty and hot.
The overland vehicle is large enough to seat up to 22 passengers and carries all the camping equipment needed for the duration of this trip. Therefore the going can be slow over the long distances and often bumpy roads.
This is a participatory camping trip. You will be expected to set up and take down you own tent as well as assist with food preparation and cleaning. This makes it quicker, easier, more fun and will bring the group closer together.
Some passengers on this trip will have been travelling together prior to the start of your trip, so they can help you get into the groove quickly.
As the early bird catches the worm, the early camper sights the animals. There will be many early starts either to make use of the better safari time or to beat the morning traffic on long travel days.
This itinerary is valid for departures from 01 January 2018 to 21 December 2018. View the itinerary for departures between 22 December 2018 - 31 December 2019
1.This trip requires a higher non-refundable deposit (AUD1000, USD1000, EUR800, NZD1250, GBP650, CAD1000, ZAR8000, CHF900) in order to secure the included gorilla permit. We also require full passport details at time of booking. Please note that we need to confirm availability of a gorilla permit if you are booking within 45 days of departure. The additional deposit paid at time of booking will be credited to the final balance of your booking.
2. A single supplement is available on this trip. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
3. An optional sunrise balloon ride in the Serengeti National Park is possible on this itinerary. Please see the itinerary above for full details of this activity. As the balloon only holds 16 people, places are limited and we recommend you book in advance. Please inquire when booking your trip to book this optional activity.
4. This is a combination trip made up of 3 shorter trips. This means the composition of your group may change in Nairobi and Stone Town as some group members leave and new ones join you.
5. The Zanzibar portion of your itinerary may have a few more passengers than the maximum group size of 22 as we have a crossover of trips starting and finishing in Zanzibar.
6. This trip finishes upon arrival at our finish point hotel in Stone Town on Day 28. Please do not book any flights until after 2pm this afternoon.
In 2019 this trip will no longer visit Marangu or visit the Mshiri Village in this area. Instead this trip will go directly from Mto Wa Mbu to Usambara Mountains and reduce to 27 days instead of previously 28 days. The departures will start on the same date and finish one day earlier.
Our Gorillas, Game Parks & Beaches trips score an average of 4.67 out of 5 based on 27 reviews in the last year.
Never mind the animals, I enjoyed the chaotic but exhilarating experience of seeing and being in Africa.
Review submitted 11 Sep 2018
The African safari across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania was the trip of a lifetime. The camping out was well worth the effort and while early starts were sometimes tough, there were plenty of rewards with beautiful landscapes and magnificent wildlife watching. I loved this trip!
Review submitted 31 Jul 2018


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Tech companies fingered by SEC share option probe
Delving deeper
Juniper Networks and Openwave Systems have said they have been contacted by regulators investigating alleged abuse of share options back in the heady days of dotcom lunacy.
Juniper said it had been contacted by the US Attorney for Brooklyn asking for information about granting of stock options. Mobile software firm Openwave confirmed it had received a similar letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Stock options became the incentive of choice for tech companies in the late 90s. The suspicion is that some companies moved the date of options back, and so guaranteed executives made a profit.
CNET Networks has formed a committee to look at how it granted share options, but has not said if it is under investigation.
Chip kit maker KLA-Tencor and chip designer Trident Microsystems join those companies that have been contacted by regulators seeking more information. RSA Security is also under SEC investigation.
Merrill Lynch yesterday warned its investors that the scandal may well spread. The firm investigated semiconductor companies and found shares were consistently doing better in the 20 days after options were granted.
On a day of big falls on exchanges worldwide, Nasdaq lost one per cent while Openwave fell 4.5 per cent and CNET almost seven per cent.


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We should all work together to build the best trauma system in the country for the sake of saving the most lives and making a positive impact in our communities.
As a trauma surgeon with 35 years of experience, I have seen and treated all types of life-threatening traumatic injuries, and patients have the best chance for survival when they receive trauma care within 60 minutes of their injury. Here in Florida, only 35 percent of trauma patients are treated in designated trauma centers, compared to the state's published goal of 65 percent, and lives are being lost as a result.
Our state is divided into 19 trauma service areas, and unfortunately some of these areas have no active trauma center.
What is jarring is that some would pose the question of whether Marion County, in the case of Ocala Regional Medical Center, even needs a state-of-art trauma center. This is simply preposterous and, quite frankly, fails to put the needs of the community and quality trauma care first.
The University of South Florida and Hospital Corporation of America formed the USF HCA Trauma Network in 2010 with the goal of increasing the number of Floridians who have access to trauma care. I'm proud to say we have already opened six trauma centers in underserved areas across the state.
Our success has drawn some criticism and legal challenges, not because of the quality of our care, but because we dared to upset the status quo by bringing the highest level of surgical care to trauma patients in need. Here is the reality: Shands Gainesville, Shands Jacksonville, and Ocala-based Munroe Regional are trying to shut down our trauma center at Ocala Regional Medical Center. Meanwhile, Jackson North and Jackson South in Miami are trying to shut down our trauma centers at Ocala and Kendall Regional Medical Centers.
Our opponents clearly see our effort to build a statewide network as competition and are putting their business objectives first — not patient interests. The evidence is clear: Shands Gainesville, Shands Jacksonville, Jackson North, and Jackson South are not in the same trauma service area as Ocala, and while Munroe is, it doesn't have a trauma center. What is even more astonishing is their move to shut down Kendall's trauma center. Since its opening more than a year ago, our Kendall team has saved more than 1,000 lives and recently added a state-of-the-art burn unit.
Bottom line, if these challenges are successful, communities in these areas will be deprived of accessible trauma care where patient survival is critical.
The need for accessible trauma care for Marion County residents is underscored by the survival story of Dereck Welzh. Prior to the opening of the new trauma center at Ocala Regional, seriously injured patients would be transported to Gainesville or Tampa, losing critical time, which could be the difference between life and death. Welzh knows what this means all too well. After his spleen ruptured, he died twice of an aneurysm — once in the ambulance and once on the table at Ocala Regional. His chance of survival was between 2 percent and 5 percent, but because of the quality, accessible trauma care in Ocala, he is alive today.
The 300 Marion County patients a year who were subject to long ambulance rides or airlifts to distant trauma centers can now see an expert trauma surgeon in Ocala within minutes — and when minutes matter, every second counts. True, that means 300 fewer patients for hospitals in Gainesville and Tampa; but much more important, it means improved survival chances for patients and their families.
Economic self-interest is the driving factor to the pushback by our opponents. Case in point is the fact that Shands and Jackson, for instance, did not raise any concerns when Tallahassee Memorial Hospital or Bay Medical Center in Panama City filed their trauma applications. Why? The answer is simple: These facilities did not impact their bottom line.
Our health care providers — and policymakers — should concentrate on developing the best means to effectively get care to the patients who need it, not fighting turf battles or pushing self-interested litigation.
We should all work together to build the best trauma system in the country for the sake of saving the most lives and making a positive impact in our communities.
Dr. James M. Hurst, M.D., FACS is the medical director of the USF HCA Trauma Network and a professor of surgery at the University of South Florida.


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From Bangtao's serene coast, explore myriad diversions around the island such as recreational and leisure activities, beach sports, shopping and entertainment venues in town, or sightseeing to appreciate the history and natural beauty of Thailand and Phuket Island.
Then, relax at the Resort's luxury spa.
Kids Club
Our Kids Club is designed to accommodate children aged 4 to 12 years old. Our team of specialised employees has prepared a variety of programmes and activities, comprising of interactive games to stimulate children through art adventures, team building and indoor fun.
An adventurous and enchanting play area offers delight in a safe environment. We look forward to offering our younger visitors unforgettable fun at the Kids Club of our resort.
Opening Hours: 8.00 am to 6.00 pm


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This morning, I imagine Americans everywhere were doing a double take at the news tickers and headlines on their televisions and computer screens. "Wow! I did read that right... Barack Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize. What the hell for?"
The U.S. President said that he was "both surprised and deeply humbled." I'm praying that he was humbled enough not to escalate in the Middle East. In fact, a columnist at the American Thinker argues that that was the point of awarding him the prize:
The award is a not so veiled attempt to make it psychologically impossible for Obama to now send 40 thousand more American troops to Afghanistan. To do so would be to spit in the face of his most adoring audience in his favorite venue, the vague and undefined world stage.
To be entirely honest, as someone who does not see troop escalation in Afghanistan as the best strategy for America's national defense, I can almost sympathize with the Nobel Institute's reasoning if that is in fact the case. Almost.
While hoping to play the part of Obama the Magnanimous (but only because he's Obama the Vain), the President said that he didn't believe he was receiving this reward for his personal accomplishments and that he doesn't deserve to share it with past recipients.
Unless he's talking about Yasser Arafat and Al Gore, then for once Mr. President, I agree with you! Not only does he not deserve it for anything he's done yet as President of the United States, he certainly didn't do anything to deserve it by February 1st of this year, the deadline for nominations.
You read that right. FoxNews notes that the deadline for nominations was February 1st, just 12 days after Mr. Obama was inaugurated on January 20th. Click the link and you'll find a detailed rundown of exactly what the President did from January 20th to February 1st to get nominated (nothing).
Meanwhile, the American Spectator hits hard, saying that "the American president is perfectly happy being a Carter-like posterboy for American weakness." The American Thinker also opines that we've crossed over into the Twilight Zone, where something bizarre and inexplicable happens every time you turn around... sounds about right.
A columnist at the Huffington Post sums the situation up succinctly with the headline "Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize for Not Being George Bush." Too bad he is George W. Bush in all the worst ways. Last of all, Michelle Malkin chronicles Obama's rise despite an utter lack of any real concrete achievement.
If Ayn Rand were alive today, she could tell you that it is precisely because of his lack of merit that Obama has advanced so far. In her best-selling novel, Atlas Shrugged- for those of you who've read it- the fictional American President, Mr. Thompson is the perfect archetype and prophecy of Mr. Obama's merited rise.
Remember? Yeah, it's all coming true now. We are entering into a bizarre Twilight Zone world. Even two key White House aides didn't believe the news, asking "It's not April 1st is it?" No- it's not. And yes- the Noble Peace Prize has become a joke.


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|April 14, 2012, 08:42 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 16, 2008
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 11,018
Lot of good people out there who are more then adequate in the use of a firearm but WON'T DO IT, when actually faced with the ideal of shooting another human being, regardless of what that person is doing.
Big difference is "knowing how" and actually "using" using a firearm.
Kraig Stuart
CPT USAR Ret
USAMU Sniper School Oct '78
Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071
|April 14, 2012, 02:32 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: July 26, 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 351
Warning shots and "shooting to wound" are not best practice in a situation involving lethal force. From the available information about this anecdote, it seems like a very solidly justifiable use of force, but in other instances things may be less obvious, so in general, the best advice is to avoid using lethal force (i.e., ANY use of a firearm), except as a terrible last resort, but then, shoot with the intent of ending the threat...YMMV.
From the facts available in this case, it is clear the attacker was engaged actively in a felony, and the homeowner stayed inside his home which was tactically and legally wise. There are many factors that affect the outcome of the (inevitable) civil suit, that really have no impact on the actual decision to use lethal force (like if the attacker turns out to be a 17-year-old kid...). The lawyers will throw up a bunch of smoke, usually to try and get a settlement from someone with deep pockets (the gubmint, the insurance company), who doesn't want to risk a jury award and for whom it may cost less to settle than adjudicate...but I digress.
The M1 Carbine was, of course, designed as basically a self-defense weapon for soldiers whose duties precluded them from carrying a rifle. They are not considered assault weapons in Kalifornia, although you are limited to 10-round mags (which should be adequate for home defense), unless you have "grandfathered" hi-cap mags already in your possession.
IMHO, one weakness of the carbine is that the mags are not sturdy enough and the mounting not secure enough, for consistent reliability. Especially with commercial 10 round mags, it is important to make sure the ones you have are reliable. GI 15 rounders are reputed to be the best, the extended 30- or 40- rounders the worst, but I think it depends on the mag and the gun.
The other weakness of the carbine is the caliber. .30 Carbine is ballistically on a par with .357, but with the FMJ bullet has a reputation as a poor stopper. Fortunately, the aforementioned Corbon DPX rounds with the Barnes solid copper HP bullets seem to unlock the full potential of the caliber. They cost about a buck a piece, though...
I keep my CMP War Baby ready with an Ultimak hand guard mounted tac light. The light precludes the use of the sights, so I have an occluded-eye sight mounted in back. I also swapped out for new Wolf springs. Don't worry, though, I kept everything and can put it back to GI...
I worked rounds through the action (barrel pointed in a safe direction) until I found some mags that were reliable. I used mostly FMJ rounds, but also included some of the DPX rounds to ensure they would feed reliably. I inspected the rounds to ensure none were damaged, then fired them at the range. I ended up with three mags that I was confident would work.
Avoid the Universal Carbine. I had one years ago, but it was never reliable. I suppose if you have one that works for you, it would be OK, but I would never buy one again. Maybe you could fix one with Wolf springs (which is a good idea in any carbine), but you're better off laying out for a GI model.
Never run anything in your home-defense weapon not legal in your location. One good thing about the Universal for me is that because of it, I had several pre-ban 15- and 30- round mags that I could use when I got my GI carbine from the CMP a few years ago.
Last edited by R1145; April 14, 2012 at 03:07 PM.
|April 14, 2012, 08:03 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: May 4, 2010
Posts: 4,999
yep, a lawyer will tell any sort of lie, and spin anyway he can, because that is the only reason he has to live.
To gather a little perspective, take the example you just gave.
"why didn't he just shoot him in the leg and be done with it, so my client would have lived? A shot in the leg is nonlethal and would have ended the confrontation."
That is an absolute lie, because he is putting out as a fact that a leg shot would have changed the situation for the better, that the homeowner had a responsibility, and that the homeowner had information that only god had, and now, a lawyer with the files.
Stating a case in these terms is, in fact, a LIE. Nobody but the almighty god knows the future outcome of a decision as it is being made.
Any time facts are withheld, and only favorable information is presented, a person is lying, because the presented "facts" are incomplete and distorted.
The caliber/firearm war threads here are full of low level lies, usually known as "BS."
You know,
"12 gauge slug is the best bear round on the planet because (blah blah blah blah)" and everything that could possibly be better is dismissed with all the other stuff out there, and anything that may have other attributes that are equally or even more important are pushed aside as irrelevant.
TRUTH IS A MOVING TARGET. that's the simplest, truest thing you could ever learn, and it is the most important thing to know in your lifetime.
What was true there, in that home, at that very second, was changing with every passing second. The guy used his weapon based on history, even if only 5 seconds of actual history, and his lifetime of experience.
The lawyer is going to do everything in his power to rewrite the truth of that moment by adding unavailable information to that decision process, and prove that the decision was totally wrong.
That's what we all have to remember as situations like this unfold.
There will be LIES told. We have to minimize personal risk not only in the moment, but in the future, by using our brains and making the best possible decisions, ones that will be defensible in court.
Not all juries are gullible, but everyone who walks into a courtroom takes the risk of being put in the hands of morons.
|April 14, 2012, 08:18 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: May 4, 2010
Posts: 4,999
another bit to add is that the fact that there are "good" and "bad" lawyers, ones who can strongly affect the outcome of a trial is almost a good proof that the jury system isn't working properly.
A strong willed and persuasive lawyer who can pull out all the stops and sway a jury to a decision that a "lesser qualified" lawyer could not get has managed to present the same case facts as any other lawyer would have had, and convince the jury that the facts that he presented were the most relevant and accurate.
Guilt being determined by manipulation of the presentation of facts by lawyers, and the understanding of facts by juries is something that we should all be afraid of. we have plenty of well pulblicized cases of convictions being overturned upon appeal, or even decades later, because information was not presented correctly, and the "proof of guilt" was completely false.
there are also many, many cases where the guilty have walked free because "proof of guilt" could not be established strongly enough to overcome "reasonable doubt."
I fear the courts, and so should everyone else on this planet, whatever country you live in, because even the best system cannot be perfect.
|April 15, 2012, 12:11 AM
Senior Member
Join Date: May 22, 2005
Location: USA The Great State of California
Posts: 2,090
I think a jury in San Francisco will come up with a different decision than one in Dallas when considering the same presentation of 'The facts'. I think the same is true in Miami, Columbus, Minneapolis, .... That said I personally prefer the jury system to a trial a single individual, or tribunal. Yes sometimes the guilty go free, and the innocent suffer loss, but overall I have found the personal prejudices of one, or a close knit few, to be more a detriment. I can support this feeling simply by considering my experiences on gun boards like this one. I notice a significant bias on many issues that I find appalling, and scary. Personally I prefer a blend of biased opinions in dealing with matters involving guilt, or innocence, and a good lawyer.
When the number of people in institutions reaches 51%, we change sides.
|April 15, 2012, 12:40 AM
Join Date: November 23, 2005
Location: California - San Francisco
Posts: 9,091
Lots of unsupported opinions about the law and juries, but that's not what this thread was about. So it's over now.
"It is long been a principle of ours that one is no more armed because he has possession of a firearm than he is a musician because he owns a piano. There is no point in having a gun if you are not capable of using it skillfully." -- Jeff Cooper
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The ECOMAT™ Carbon Film Element is 1m width x 6m length, is easy to fit by the experienced DIY enthusiast and emits a comfortable, even heat throughout the room.
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Eagles Abroad – March 12
All Quiet On the Western Front
It was a fairly slow week for Americans overseas as breaks from league action and injuries kept most Americans off the pitch.
For one American, the quiet will continue, as it was his last weekend in Europe. Kevin Swiryn announced his retirement from professional rugby last week citing chronic injuries that have kept him out of much of the last two seasons. Swiryn began his rugby career at St. Mary's where he burst onto the scene as one of the most talent players in college. His strong play eventually got him a spot on the U.S.A. 7's team, where he really developed into his own.
After captaining the team for several seasons, Swiryn signed a contract to play with Agen in the Top 14 at the start of the 2010-11 season with an eye to getting 15's form for the World Cup. He played well that first season but injuries limited his time. He was able to recover in time to appear in the World Cup, but soon after returning to Agen he picked up several injuries that eventually forced him to retire effective at the end of the season.
Swiryn will return stateside to Seattle. It's sad to see an American, especially someone as good as Swiryn, be forced to leave the game early, but we wish him luck in all his endeavors!
While Swiryn's retirement was the big news in France, Taku Ngwenya quietly put in another start and 80 minutes for a resurgent Biarritz team. The Basque side beat Brive 26-11 to climb a little further from the relegation zone.
Elsewhere in France, Scott LaValla continues to get time with Stade Francais after playing 22 minutes off the bench as his team beat Lyon 40-19.
Seta Tuilevuka did not dress for Montpellier as they defeated Bayonne 37-26. Tuilevuka has been slowed by injuries all season.
In the Pro D2, Inaki Basauri started and played 72 minutes for a struggling Perigueuz team that lost to Oyonnax 43-7.
In England, the start of the RFU Championship saw all the Americans' teams involved in the push for promotion. Andrew Suniula returned from injury and played 25 minutes off the bench as the Cornish Pirates drew with Leeds 21-21. Robbie Shaw (back) and Mike MacDonald (wrist) were out injured and did not play for Leeds.
Shawn Pittman was also injured and missed his playoff match for London Welsh as they beat Nottingham 32-21.
In the National 1 competition, Tim Usasz coached his last-place team to a big 22-20 victory over league-leaders, and promotion favorites, Jersey. It was a big win for the young coach!
The annual match between Oxford and Trinity (Dublin) saw Derek Asburn start and Jason Law come off the bench for Oxford as they lost 15-21.
Elsewhere in the British Isles, Paul Emerick (Wasps), Chris Wyles and Hayden Smith (Saracens) had the weekend off in the Aviva Premiership.
Samu Manoa and Chris Biller's Northampton side beat Scarlets 27-12 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-finals but Manoa was rested and not in the game day squad and Biller did not dress. The Saints play Leicester in the final.
Lastly, Tommy Seymour (Glasgow) and Hanno Dirksen (Ospreys) had the weekend off.