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McCULLOM LAKE – Sandy Wierschke was given seven months to live when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer.
That was more than seven years ago.
The odds of her survival are even more remote than the three in 100,000 odds of getting the deadly disease. The average survival time with treatment is less than a year, and victims have only a 3 percent chance of being alive five years after diagnosis. Her husband, Tim, said her doctors have put her in the top half of 1 percent of people who have lived the longest.
Part of what keeps her going, they said last week, is that she wants to live to face the chemical manufacturer that she and 32 other plaintiffs blame for their brain and pituitary tumors.
"Everyone knows Sandy is a fighter. She's not going anywhere until we see vindication of the lawsuits," Tim Wierschke said.
Sandy is going back into surgery Monday morning at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge – her last MRI caught the cancer growing back.
"I want my day in court," said Sandy, sitting next to her husband in their McCullom Lake home and behind the walker she needs to get around. "So they can see what I've gone through."
Eleven of the plaintiffs are deceased – six of them died after they filed suit. The health of a number of others has taken a turn for the worse.
And with the first of the cases to go to trial tied up in the appeals court for the past 2½ years – although a ruling is soon expected – more than a few worry that they won't live to get their chance.
'My legs gave out'
The first three plaintiffs were former McCullom Lake next-door neighbors who were diagnosed with brain tumors. They sued Philadelphia-based Rohm and Haas in April 2006, alleging that vinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals from its Ringwood plant a mile and a half north fouled their air and groundwater.
Rohm and Haas, now a subsidiary of chemical giant Dow Chemical Co., acknowledges that a plume of volatile organic compounds has leaked into groundwater from decades of dumping by the previous owners into an unlined 8-acre waste pit. Past and present owners have been working for the past two decades to clean it up. But the company vehemently denies allegations that chemicals ever reached area residents or made them sick.
Original plaintiff Bryan Freund woke up Tuesday morning in his McCullom Lake home with the same headache he's had almost every day since his December 2004 diagnosis. The oligodendroglioma brain tumor in his head grew in his most recent MRI.
But he takes it in stride compared to the fates of other plaintiffs. The lawsuit of the former neighbor to his right, Franklin Branham, was filed by his widow. The former neighbor to his left, Kurt Weisenberger, is crippled after a July emergency surgery.
Weisenberger, like Freund, has oligodendroglioma. While more survivable than glioblastoma, it is even rarer – about one person in 300,000 is diagnosed with it.
"Now I feel I'm surrounded by blessings because I have my mobility and my five senses," Freund said.
Plaintiff Lance Kuhns, who grew up in the Lakeland Park subdivision on the other side of the lake in McHenry, lost his mobility several months ago. He's in physical therapy with the hopes of getting it back. Kuhns now needs a wheelchair, and his brother, Todd, moved in with him to help take care of him.
"It just came out of nowhere. I was in my bedroom, doing something or another, and I just fell. My legs gave out," Kuhns said.
His MRI taken last week came back clean, without the oligodendroglioma that a 2006 surgery – his second after it grew back – removed at the expense of a softball-sized dent in his head. But swelling and fluid buildup are a different matter – he now has a shunt in his head to help it drain.
Kuhns, like Freund, grew up next to someone who developed a brain tumor and sued. Their homes weren't far from another set of childhood neighbors who grew up to develop brain tumors. The unusual links don't end there; plaintiffs include unrelated people who spent time in the same homes at different times, and a mother and son, both deceased.
The case of Joanne Branham, Franklin's widow, was the first to go to court in September 2010. It has remained in court since.
Waiting for a ruling
The trial in a Philadelphia courtroom was expected to last 10 weeks. It lasted five before the judge hearing the case angrily ended it over the expert testimony of the plaintiffs' epidemiologist.
After a two-day cross-examination in which the epidemiologist's testimony crumbled, Judge Allan Tereshko ended the trial before plaintiff's attorney Aaron Freiwald, who had three more experts to call, could rest his client's case. Tereshko called the epidemiologist's testimony "an attempt to deceive the court" and "tantamount to fraud."
Freiwald asked for a mistrial, but Tereshko ultimately sided with Rohm and Haas. In April 2011, almost five years to the day since the first lawsuits were filed, he granted the company's motion to dismiss.
Freiwald immediately filed an appeal with the state Superior Court – what Pennsylvania calls its appellate court – in which he blasted Tereshko's ruling as "a product of emotion and bias." Chief among Freiwald's many complaints was an allegation that Tereshko violated long-established court rules by ending the trial before his client rested. Judges typically end a trial in such manner – called granting nonsuit – if they conclude, after the plaintiff has presented all evidence, that the evidence does not support the allegations made.
The three Superior Court judges hearing the appeal have had it for deliberation since September 2012, after both sides had opportunities to make their cases. It asked the lower court at the end of May to justify its decision to throw out a claim of strict liability, or that the manufacturing plant did not engage in what the law calls "abnormally dangerous activity."
If overturned, the case will most likely not go back to Tereshko. He was reassigned to family court in January, shortly after he stepped down as supervising judge of the civil court trial divisions under criticism in an unrelated case. A separate panel of Superior Court judges overturning his 2011 ruling in favor of a defendant insurance company chastised him for not disclosing his wife's employment with the law firm representing it. The case has since been reassigned to another judge.
How many years
Freund is confident that he will make it to trial, but he worries about Weisenberger.
Weisenberger lived with his tumor for years because doctors said it was too deep in his brain to remove surgically. But from June to July, it doubled in size, said his wife, Joanne. It then became a choice of removing the tumor or letting it kill him.
Joanne Weisenberger said she is unsure whether her husband will get his day in court.
"Look how many years it's been already. Dow has more money than they know what to do with," she said.
The Wierschkes are optimistic. Sandy's most recent MRI caught the glioblastoma early, before it could grow the tentacles that make it so difficult to remove. Her most recent MRI revealed a half-inch-thick tumor that wasn't there three months earlier, Tim Wierschke said.
Sandy Wierschke has high praise for her doctors, who are the same ones who have done her previous surgeries. Besides her original neurosurgeon, Dr. John Ruge, she will have the plastic surgeon, Dr. Lucio Pavone, who built a flap on top of her head to replace tissue that had died from previous intense radiation therapy.
Tim and Sandy Wierschke hope to keep beating the odds. Freund hopes for the same, both for himself and for his wife, Rusty, whose health has been failing.
"Brain cancer just doesn't try to destroy you. It tries to destroy your life," Freund said. "Unfortunately, it does a really good job."
About this series
"Coincidence or Cluster?" is the Northwest Herald's ongoing investigation of the McCullom Lake brain cancer lawsuits.


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Three-Way Marriage Ignites Uproar in Brazil
These days in Brazil two women are simultaneously walking down the aisle to marry the same man.
The BBC is reporting that a union between three people, two women and a man, in Sao Paulo is causing major outrage.
The publication says that public notary Claudia do Nascimento Domingues, based in the city of Tupa, feels the couple is entitled to the same family rights that traditional couples have. She added that currently there is no law that averts the union between the threesome.
Still, religious groups are irate over the three-way marriage and Brazilian attorney Regina Beatriz Tavares da Silva told the BBC that the union is "absurd and totally illegal."
The BBC says that both women and their mutual boyfriend have been residing in Rio de Janeiro for the past three years and like other couples split financial responsibilities.
According to Domingues the couple has a joint bank account, something that is not an offense in Brazil.
Domingues believes that the couple represents a new idea of what "family" is and how the definition of what a family is has changed over the years.
"What we considered a family before isn't necessarily what we would consider a family today," The BBC quotes Domingues saying.
"We are only recognizing what has always existed," she added. "We are not inventing anything."
Ms Domingues says the threesome has already opened a joint bank account, which is also not prohibited by any law in Brazil.
International television network Globo TV claims that the couple has been married for three months but just recently their union was made public.
Jurist Nathaniel Santos Batista Junior said the union was kept hushed to protect the rights of the couple in case they decided to separate or if one of the partners died, said a report from Globo.
Da Silva, who leads the Commission for the Rights of the Family within the Institute of Lawyers in Brazil said that the three-way marriage is "something completely unacceptable which goes against Brazilian values and morals."
The attorney added that the marriage will not be allowed to continue. There is also uncertainty as to how medical insurance firms, health care providers and private companies will apply the ruling.
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subset: commoncrawl


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DALLAS, PA – The York College women's soccer team dropped their second straight to open the 2010 season as the Misericordia Cougars upended the Spartans 3-2 in a non-conference contest in Dallas, PA on Saturday. The Spartans fall to 0-2 for the campaign while the Cougars improved to 2-0.
The story of the game came within a two-minute stretch early in the second half. The Cougars owned a 1-0 lead at the break but the Spartans notched the equalizer just under six minutes into the second half. Senior Carly Bock found the back of the net on a corner kick, drawing the Spartans to even in the game's 52nd minute.
Things went south for the Spartans just over ten minutes later as the Cougars struck for a pair of goals a mere 1:37 apart, turning the tie into a two-goal margin. Kim Suchoski recorded the first goal in the 63rd minute off a pass from Alyssa Mocion. Emily Esposito tacked on the eventual game-winner as she blasted home a deflection in the 64th minute.
The Spartans tried to rally late, but the quick Misericordia spurt ended up ruining the day for the Green and White. Freshman Cassie Castle found senior Stephanie Mergler for the Spartans' second goal. Mergler's tally was her first of the season and came in the game's 81st minute. York two shots and a corner kick in the final eight minutes but could not notch the equalizer as they suffered the tough loss.
Jenn Brucker gave the Cougars the early lead as she struck for the first half's lone goal in the 37th minute. Brucker's tally was unassisted and came on a corner kick as the ball deflected off Spartan goalie Sarah Spanarkel into the back of the net.
The Spartans outshot the Cougars 15-12 while Misericordia held an 8-7 edge in corner kicks.
Spanarkel suffered the loss as she allowed three goals in her 90 minutes of action. She registered seven saves as she falls to 0-2. Morgan Myers improves to 2-0 for the Cougars as she notched seven saves while she allowed the two Spartan goals in her 90 minutes of work.
The Spartans conclude their season-opening three game road swing on Wednesday, September 8 when they travel to Elizabethtown College to face the Blue Jays. Game time from Elizabethtown is set for 7:00 pm.


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English actor Christopher "Kit" Harington, 25, has gone from a virtual unknown to international heartthrob in the course of a year, due to his role as Jon Snow on the HBO hit show "Game of Thrones." In this Q&A, he talks about power, the rain in Northern Ireland, and how he dislikes the show being called "The Sopranos of Middle Earth."
Had you read the books before you were cast in the show?
I hadn't read the books. I got this pilot, though, and I read it. I knew it was HBO, so I knew it would be of a certain quality. To an outsider, at first it's very confusing actually. Where am I? What world am I in? But it ended up that I loved the whole story. I loved the characters.
The show has been described as "'The Sopranos' of Middle Earth." What's your opinion of that phrase?
I think we've all regretted that becoming the tagline for it. It's not 'The Sopranos' of Middle Earth. It's very different in a lot of ways. I was never a fan of the fantasy genre. But it breaks out of that box. As I read the books, I started to think it could be very popular. If it can turn me in that way, it could turn other people. The characters are so rich; the story is so deep on so many levels people can really lose themselves in the show.
Have you read the whole series thus far? And how do you feel about your character's progress in comparison with his brothers?
I've read four of them. I've not read the latest one. I won't give any spoilers away. But I'll say he's a very loyal guy to his family.
Would you recommend people read the books before watching the show?
There's no wrong or right way. If you read the books, hopefully you'll see we did the books justice.
Have you met George R.R. Martin?
We've all met George. He's very much part of the series. I have nothing but respect for the man. I think he's a genius. It's amazing to watch him come on set. He's got this whole world plotted out in his head. For the most part it's very close to what he imagined.
Jon Snow's relationship with his direwolf, Ghost, is instrumental to understanding his character. Which do you prefer: working with the husky dogs, playing wolves, in Season 1 or the larger, CGI direwolves for Season 2?
I much prefer the CGI version personally. This wolf is a big part of who he is. When I first got the part, I wanted to spend as much time as I could with the wolf, or the dog. But it just doesn't work like that. The dog has to spend as much time as possible with the trainer. It was my first experience at film and I was learning along with a wolf a lot of time.
Wait. Your first time being in any sort of TV show or movie was with 'Game of Thrones'? That's a pretty big-time first gig.
I got really lucky. I came out of drama school and I did a play for 'War Horse' and auditions came through the door. One of the first ones was Jon Snow. I'm learning as I go still.
I spoke with Richard Madden [who plays Robb Stark] the other day and he mentioned that you guys have become good friends on the show. What's it like working with Richard?
There's really three of us. Richard and Alfie [Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy and, incidentally, is singer Lily Allen's brother] and I met on the pilot. We bonded very quickly and spent the days together. We were excited about being part of this show. Both of them are really intelligent, lovely men. We've actually become very, very close friends off set. It's kind of upsetting we don't get to spend more time together on screen.
Richard told me he's been stuck in Ireland, while you get to travel around the world with the show.
[Laughs] He's always complaining about always being in Ireland. I got to go to Iceland, which is incredible. Poor old Madden gets all the rain in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is beautiful and we've got some really stunning locations. But I understand you want to break out of one place and go to different areas.
If there's one lesson someone can learn by watching the show what is it?
Power corrupts. That's been said a lot but it's true. The show is all about power, essentially. It's relevant on a political level today. It's about what power does to people and what politics is. The best people to have power are the ones who don't want it.
Are there situations in modern politics you think are analogous to events on the show?
I think so. Politics is a game and a profession. It doesn't really serve the people the politicians are supposed to serve. The show sort of deals with that: The backstabbing. The behind the scenes stuff.
Which actors on the set are the funniest?
We lost a few of the funniest people last season. Jason [Momoa, who played Khal Drogo], Mark Addy [who played Robert Baratheon] and Sean Bean [who played Ned Stark]. The people who died off were a lot of fun on set. I love John Bradley, who plays Samwell [Tarly].
Why do you think so many women are gaga over Jon Snow?
I think Jon is kind of an adorable guy. You want to mother him maybe. Maybe that's part of it. You kind of want to make sure he's OK. I hope people root for him. He's in this very cruel world and he's one of the good people in it. Maybe people relate to him.
What should viewers be most excited for as the season progresses?
Episode 9 is a big episode. It's where a lot of the budget was used. It's one huge battle essentially. Like last season, Episode 9 is the climax. It's got the great, slow build we had in the first season. You've got that arch. The whole world we're in sort of breaks apart. It's exciting to watch what happens to the characters.


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As paleontology moves into the 21st century, its newest story may well turn out to be a cross between "Out of Africa" and "Land Before Time."
From Malawi, Niger, Morocco, Cameroon, and Egypt to Madagascar, Tanzania, and South Africa, dinosaur and mammal fossils emerging from layers of ancient sediments are giving researchers new insights into the variety and evolutionary history of earth's menagerie more than 65 million years ago.
The continent is probably best known for what many anthropologists see as its place as the cradle of human evolution, a story told through fossil finds unearthed in southern and eastern Africa since the mid-1920s and dating back at least 3.5 million years.
Yet paleontologists have been digging at many far older sites in Africa on and off at least since the early 1900s. Within the
past decade, as political stability has increased in many African nations, expeditions have returned with increasing frequency, turning the continent into a growing hotbed of research.
In particular, many paleontologists are interested in creatures from the Cretaceous period, which ranged from about 146 million to 65 million years ago. During this time, the sun was setting on the age of dinosaurs, and the supercontinent Pangea had split.
To the north lay what was to become Asia, Europe, and North America. To the south, today's Africa, India, Madagascar, South America, Australia, and Antarctica formed an enormous land mass.
Finds from Africa promise to fill important gaps in earth's biological history book, notes Paul Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago. Two weeks ago, he and colleagues described the life and times of a large fresh-water crocodile from the Cretaceous period, found in Niger.
The species was first discovered there by French paleontologist Philippe Taquet in the 1960s, who unearthed a skull. Dr. Sereno's group pulled out a largely intact skeleton, giving researchers more insights into the creature's place in its family tree and in its local ecological setting.
"We know so much about North American dinosaurs," Sereno says. "Western North America is particularly rich, richer probably than any other single continent," although Asia, particularly China and Mongolia, is providing stiff competition.
Yet, he continues, Asia and North America were connected during the Cretaceous period, so their fossils "are pretty similar. You end up with a very lopsided view of fossil history."
By contrast, he continues, "Africa is a tabula rasa." When he and his research team began working in a section of Niger a few years ago, he says, "there were two named things from this area. Yet from the expeditions we've led, there's an entire menagerie of animals we'll ultimately name and describe."
Nor is he alone. A team led by David Krause at the State University of New York in Stony Brook has been working in Madagascar since 1993 and has uncovered a variety of dinosaurs, birds, turtles, snakes, fish, lizards, mammals, and crocodiles.
"We're trying to get a snapshot of life at that time and in that place," says Catherine Forster, a SUNY-Stony Brook colleague who three years ago reported the discovery of a prehistoric bird whose skeleton blended birdlike features with those of theropod ground-dwellers, thus strengthening the evolutionary link between birds and their dinosaurian ancestors. "We're trying to develop a complete environmental picture of the area."
Earlier this year, an international team led by University of Pennsylvania paleontologist Joshua Smith reported the discovery of an enormous plant-eating titanosaurid at the Bahariya Oasis in Egypt, an area that paleontologists have not explored since 1935.
Drawn to scale, the new creature gives an African elephant all the presence of a toy poodle standing next to Michael Jordan. The area is so rich in fossils that Mr. Smith dubs it "dinosaur heaven."
Africa's seemingly late appearance as a fertile ground for dinosaur fossil-hunting is traceable largely to its history as a geopolitical football, researchers say. Two world wars, wars for independence, and subsequent civil wars fueled in part by cold-war allegiances allowed for only brief windows of stability through which US and European researchers could peek at the continent's prehistoric treasures.
"Probably the greatest undertaking was in what's now Tanzania," says Hans-Dieter Sues, vice president for collections and research at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and a professor of zoology at the University of Toronto. "They got spectacular material, and it forms one of the most important Jurassic dinosaur assemblages in the world to this present day."
Conducting their digs from 1909 to 1912, the team used slash-and-burn techniques to uncover fossil-bearing formations - literally cutting their way through the rainforest and burning out the undergrowth. The expedition employed hundreds of local tribesmen.
"Every bone had to be carried to the coast hundreds of kilometers away," Dr. Sues says. "It was a real testament to their perseverance."
About the same time, German researchers working in Egypt found the rich trove of fossils at the Bahariya Oasis, only to see the collection largely destroyed during Allied air raids during World War II.
Two French paleontologists moved into North Africa in the late 1940s and early '50s, yielding the first hint "that North Africa has these remarkable resources," Sues continues. They were followed in the 1960s by Dr. Taquet, who began exploring Niger after French mineral companies reported finding large numbers of fossils as they explored for uranium.
Even now, researchers say, they would love to poke around promising formations in Algeria and the Congo. But Islamic militancy in Algeria and the low-level war in the Congo are giving them pause.
Says one paleontologist, "The Congo has excellent prospects.
"We have hints of Cretaceous reptiles and Jurassic fish. I'd love to explore Algeria, but I'm worried about getting my throat cut, especially in rural areas where they don't like foreigners very much."
Still, when combined with those from other parts of the world, Africa's finds to date are helping to tell a story of the diversification of vertebrates, whose changes appear to have been driven as much by plate tectonics as by genetic mutation.
Sues describes an outline that begins in the late Triassic period, some 230 million years ago, when Pangea, driven by the molten heat exchanger beneath earth's crust, begins its inexorable split.
At that time, he says, Pangea was inhabited by early mammals and lizard-like reptiles that appear to be virtually the same throughout the supercontinent. "You see these same little animals in places as far apart as Nova Scotia, South Africa, and China. That's just extraordinary. There was nothing like it before in earth history and has been nothing like it afterwards."
With the breakup came the beginnings of regional variations in species among creatures in the northern and southern segments. Now, researchers in Africa are using Cretaceous creatures to help document the biological and ecological effects of further splitting as the southern segment, known as Gondwanaland, began to break apart.
Large animals are particularly good markers for continental drift, because they are less likely to "raft" their way on fallen trees or other vegetation over oceans thousands of miles wide to new shores, Sues says.
In 1997, for example, Dr. Krause and colleagues from India described finding the same fossil mammals from the late Cretaceous period in Madagascar and India, providing what the team calls the first evidence of a growing "cosmopolitansim" among Gondwanaland mammals from that period. The only other travelers from Gondwanaland had been seen in South America, another cast-off from the larger land mass.
As they work their sites and study the lessons fossils have to teach, several paleontologists also are working to erase the legacy of Indiana Jones-style approaches to collecting fossil specimens.
The shift is driven in no small part by increasingly tight restrictions host countries have placed on shipping evidence of Africa's prehistory heritage to other parts of the world.
In some cases, expedition leaders are looking for local students who have an aptitude for the work, inviting them to come to Western universities for graduate degrees, and then watching as they return to take up the work at home on their own.
"If you can take a person and train them to perform at an international level and they go back, those people will be leaders in their countries - they have abilities and knowledge that that country can use," says Louis Jacobs, a paleontologist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and director of the university's Shuler Museum of Paleontology.
He has focused his own efforts on Malawi and the hunt for Cretaceous mammals.
Under his tutelage, a Malawian graduate student earned her PhD and returned home to take over work at the sites Jacobs had begun studying there. He and his team trained others to properly care for and display the fossils.
He notes, "Our group from the outset said, 'We're not going to practice scientific colonialism.'"
In other cases, expedition leaders are initiating small-scale aid projects.
In what Jacobs calls a model, SUNY's Krause has established a foundation that has endowed a school and teacher for the village in Madagascar near his team's excavation site.
The group also has sunk a well for the village, to provide clean water.
"We often had kids visit the site in the middle of the day. We had a great time showing them the site, but we wondered why they weren't in school like they should be," says Dr. Forster, who works with Krause. "They didn't have one."
"We thought the best thing we could to to thank these people for letting us come into their community every summer and dig holes in their landscape is at least to hire a teacher," she says.
As efforts to uncover Africa's fossilized flora and fauna expand, researchers note the universal interest in dinosaurs.
"People in Malawi are just as interested in dinosaurs as people in the United States are," Dr. Jacobs says.


text: I went into the ER this morning and was diagnosed with kidney stones. the medication they gave me is not compatible while BFing. I have to pump and dump for 72 hours (until Saturday night). I'm afraid this is going to hinder my supply...anyone have any advice on how I can keep my supply up? How often should I pump? Please help.


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Police: Thornton meth lab busted
November 28. 2012 11:20PM
THORNTON - A man is under arrest, accused of making methamphetamine in a "one pot" laboratory located within four feet of a child's crib inside his Mateus Drive home.
Richard Gilpatric Jr. of 24 Mateus Drive was arrested Tuesday night and charged with manufacture of methamphetamine, as well as receiving stolen property. Gilpatric could be facing additional charges.
Police Chief Aimee Moller said Gilpatric was arrested after a seven-month investigation, which began with calls from concerned citizens.
Officers found a "one pot" methamphetamine laboratory within four feet of a child's crib when they searched the home. The child was not in the crib at the time.
According to a news release, the manufacture of "one pot" methamphetamine is a growing problem in the state. The process involves a highly volatile chemical reaction typically contained in a bottle. Due to the volatility of the process, the bottle can explode in a sudden burst of flames, or cause several feet of fire to shoot violently out of the bottle. It is not uncommon for a home to catch fire due to the production process. The gases and by-products of production of methamphetamine can also pose a serious health hazard.
Police said the public should be aware that "one-pot" methamphetamine can be produced virtually anywhere, including inside a vehicle. Manufacturers or "cooks" may discard the by-products anywhere, including throwing them out the window of their vehicles.
Some of the warning signs of "one-pot" methamphetamine production include plastic bottles containing a white or salt-and-pepper-colored powdery substance, and/or a strong odor of ammonia. Anyone who suspects they have found evidence should not touch any of the items and should call their local police department immediately.
The investigation was conducted by Thornton police with assistance from agents with the DEA HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas), DEA New England Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team, and officers from Ashland, Tilton, Bristol, Plaistow, Plymouth, Grafton and Merrimack counties sheriff's offices, New Hampshire State Police, New Hampshire State Fire Marshal's Office and the N.H. State Police Forensic Laboratory.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to call police at 726-3871.


text:
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You Pay: $238.55
The 10 x 12' Studio Kit from Backdrop Alley comes with one black and one white background and an aluminum studio stand. The stand can be used in the studio or on location, and setting up or breaking down is quick and easy with the user-friendly locking knobs.
The crossbar can hold a 10' wide fabric backdrop or a 9' roll of paper, so you'll have enough room to accommodate a single person or a small group of people. The backdrop is made of 100% cotton muslin and can be easily folded. A pole pocket seam is located on the 10' side of the backdrop to hold the crossbar. A carrying bag is included for storage or transportation of the kit.
|Maximum Height
|12' (3.7 m)
|Minimum Height
|4' (1.2 m)
|Closed Length
|4' (1.2 m)
|Maximum Width
|10' (3 m)
|Minimum Width
|3.5' (1.1 m)
|Material of Construction
|Black and White
|Material of Construction
|10 x 12' (3 x 3.7 m)
|Packaging Info
|Package Weight
|26.2 lb
|Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
|44.2 x 10.5 x 10.5"


text:
10 hoteller funnet i Xionglin
Resultat 1-10
Hsinchu, No. 238, Guang-Fu Rd. Sec.1
Hsinchu, 227 Kuan Fu Road Section 1,Hsinchu, Taiwan
Hsinchu, No. 227, Kuan-fu Road, Sec 1
Hsinchu, No.22, Ln. 243, Sec. 1 Guangfu Rd., East Dist.
Hsinchu, No.500, Buding Rd
Hsinchu, No. 265, Dong Sec 1 Guangming 6th Rd
Zhubei, No.1, Guangming 9th Rd.
Hsinchu, No. 111, Sec.2, Gongdao 5th Rd
Hsinchu, No116,Zhongshan Rd., Zhubei City
Hsinchu, No.272, Sec. 2, Guangfu Rd., East Dist.


text:
UPDATE: Ask and it shall be given, I suppose? I've turned the associated flag on, but can't see any difference in performance due to the apparent message pump cap I mentioned in a newer post. I'll see if I can find some better way of performance testing this later.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Firefox 4 beta 4 - Hardware Acceleration FTW!
UPDATE: Ask and it shall be given, I suppose? I've turned the associated flag on, but can't see any difference in performance due to the apparent message pump cap I mentioned in a newer post. I'll see if I can find some better way of performance testing this later.
8 comments:
Does this include Canvas rendering with Hardware Acceleration?ReplyDelete
I don't know, I haven't investigated that yet. I would thing so, however. The nature of the hardware acceleration probably speeds up the canvas naturally anyway.ReplyDelete
Going to your Quake3 page I get a million repeats of, depthFunc: invalid enum value 0x0.ReplyDelete
The only thing being rendered is a fiery skybox(?).
This causes the browser to become unresponsive until I bring forth the activity manager.
Any ideas on why this might happen? I'd like to experience this "OMGWTFBBQ"! :P
Try refreshing a couple of times. I'm pretty sure I've got a race condition in the resource loading.ReplyDelete
Still the same thing, except I occasionally get another error which causes the skybox to get a checkboard pattern instead:ReplyDelete
generateMipmap: texture does not satisfy requirements for generateMipmap
Looking in the Web Console it looks like all resources are loaded?
Ah, that's a different issue. I think I missed converting one or two of the textures to a power-of-two size, which causes generateMipmaps to fail on browsers that are more strict about the validation (Firefox has just recently tightened down on that.) Not sure why mine worked and yours failed, but I can fix that soon. Thank you for the heads up!ReplyDelete
Okay, that should do it! I've ensured that all textures loaded by the demo are POT and generateMipmap friendly now. (You may have to flush your browsers cache to get the resized images.) Actually, I had done that before, and had said as much in my Tech Talk post, but apparently a last minute re-conversion of some images before I uploaded ended up undoing some of my work.ReplyDelete
In any case I believe this should work with your browser now. Let me know if the problems persist!
Argh, I had a long answer written out but then I accidentally pressed Ctrl+Space and managed to close the group. :(ReplyDelete
Anyhow, I forgot to tell you that I'm running Firefox nightlies. Sorry about that, I guess I've been using it for so long that I forgot about it. :-/
It works fine on Linux now, so thanks for the quick fix! I'll have to wait until tomorrow before I can test on Windows, with Direct2D. I shall await that moment gleefully. =)
Probably not a "real" problem for a tech demo, as it's running now, but:
I still get flooded with "invalid enums" several times per second in the Error Console.
The respawn button (R) doesn't work.
The hit detection is off, getting stuck in diagonal and "arced" walls. Being placed a bit below the floor after climbing stairs, having to "jump out".
As I said, no real problems, just thought you should know in case it's of interest.
I get 25FPS in Chromium nightly and 20FPS in Firefox nightly on Linux.


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Treasure Island Music Festival is one of the long running festivals in the Bay Area and definitely well known on the West Coast. Produced by both Noise Pop and Another Planet Entertainment, this year marked the 11th annual event with a diverse lineup across int...[more]
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2 days ago
Raiders down Dragons in game of the year
The Canberra Raiders have turned out their best performance of the season to take down the table topping St George Illawarra Dragons 24-12 in a classic encounter at Canberra Stadium tonight.
In front of 19350 fans, both teams put on a show that was more than worth the price of admission, with its multiple sin-binnings, punishing defence, and exciting attack - and most of that was before half time!
Both teams came out firing, with neither team showing any concern for their own welfare as they launched themselves like missiles at their opposition.
The Dragons collected the only try of the first half in the 15th minute, when Ben Creagh batted down a cross field kick to Ben Hornby, who found Darius Boyd looping around the back who in turn found Brett Morris who spun out of a tackle for the try.
Following that, things really heated up.
Dean Young found himself in the sin bin in the 20th minute after reacting to Terry Campese throwing the ball at his head.
One minute later, and Michael Weyman found himself on the ground needing the medicab after a nasty headclash between himself and Josh Miller.
The Raiders had the one man advantage and much of the field position, but couldn't find their way through the Dragons defence, that just refused to crack.
The Raiders were getting frustrated, and that frustration came to a head when Campese was penalised for being offside in the 31st, then found himself in the bin after giving the referees a gobfull.
Just like the Raiders before them, the Dragons were unable to take advantage of the extra man, and both teams went into the sheds with the Dragons holding a slender 6 points to nil lead.
Coming out of half time, both teams were as intense as ever, however decided to let their attacking prowess do the talking, as the game opened wide up.
The Dragons extended their lead in the 43rd as Boyd collected a mid-field chip from Campeses and raced 80 metres for the try.
It didn't take much longer for the Raiders to awaken, and it was two of their youngest combining when, following a scrum win in the 47th, Josh Dugan found Jarrod Croker who stepped past Neville Costigan and palmed off Jamie Soward on his way to the line.
Three minutes later, and the Raiders were back to even-stevens after going the length of the field, with Dugan again featuring heavily, in the lead up to Daniel Vidot's try.
All the momentum was with the home side, and in the 55th minute they hit the lead for the first time when Dane Tilse collected Campese's grubber at the base of the goal posts and planted it over the line in one great motion.
The game heated up to boiling point following that try, with Justin Poore and Miller going toe to toe in the 60th, with both men being saved from the bin solely due to the fact that not one official on the field saw any punches get thrown.
Jeremy Smith wasn't so lucky though, finding himself with an early mark from the game in the 71st minute after what was deemed to be a high tackle on Croker. Smith may come under some scrutiny from the match review committee.
Tonight's result will no doubt have the Raiders faithful wondering where that sort of passion and energy has been all year, while the Dragons will be looking over their shoulder as the Bulldogs are now just two points behind them in the minor premiership race.
Match Details
Canberra Raiders 24 def St George Illawarra Dragons 12
Round 23 - Saturday August 15th, 2009 07:30pm Venue: Canberra Stadium Referee: Ben Cummins & Brett Suttor
Sideline Officials: Daniel Eastwood & Luke Potter
Video Referee: Sean Hampstead Crowd: 19,350 Halftime: Canberra Raiders 0 St George Illawarra Dragons 6
Canberra Raiders 24
Tries: Jarrod Croker, Daniel Vidot, Dane Tilse
Goals: Terry Campese (5/5), (1/1)
St George Illawarra Dragons 12
Tries: Brett Morris, Darius Boyd
Goals: Jamie Soward (2/4)
LeagueUnlimited.com Player of the Match 3 Points: Tom Learoyd-Lahrs (Raiders) 2 Points: Josh Dugan (Raiders) 1 Point: Jarrod Croker (Raiders)
LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary Talk about the game as it happens - Raiders v Dragons forum discussion - click here!
Good evening and welcome to Canberra Stadium for tonights clash between the Canberra Raiders and the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Tonight, the Dragons will be looking to continue on their winning ways, and give themselves a four point buffer from the second placed Bulldogs in the Minor Premiership race. The Raiders, being no chance of making the finals, will be looking to restore some pride and give their local faithful a show to enjoy.
Team changes are as follows: RAIDERS: Joel Monaghan has been ruled out. Joel Thompson shifts from second row to centre, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs comes into the starting back row, and Trever Thurling is the new man on the bench. DRAGONS: The Dragons have lost both their centres, with Matt Cooper injured and Beau Scott suspended. Neville Costigan and Chase Stanley are the new centre pairing, with Dan Hunt coming off the bench to lock the scrum, and Nick Emmett and Jon Green rounding out the team.
RAIDERS: 1. Josh Dugan 2. Daniel Vidot 3. Jarrod Croker 11. Joel Thompson 5. Phil Graham 6. Terry Campese 7. Josh McCrone 8. Dane Tilse 9. Alan Tongue (c) 10. Scott Logan 14. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Josh Miller Interchange: 15. Travis Waddell 16. Troy Thompson 17. Joe Picker 18. Trevor Thurling DRAGONS: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Brett Morris 13. Neville Costigan 16. Chase Stanley 5. Wendell Sailor 6. Jamie Soward 7. Ben Hornby (c) 8. Justin Poore 9. Nathan Fien 10. Michael Weyman 11. Dean Young 12. Ben Creagh 14. Dan Hunt Interchange: 15. Jeremy Smith 17. Jarrod Saffy 18. Nick Emmett 21. Jon Green
There's a big crowd on hand, with many a Dragons fan having travelled down for this game.
Both teams are out on field, stay tuned here on LeagueUnlimited.com as kickoff is just moments away!
0 min: And we're underway! Dragons to get first use of the ball, and they almost let it bounce over the dead ball line.
1 min: PENALTY - Raiders: The home side get the first penalty of the game and the crowd roars. Canberra on the Dragons 20.
2 min: A jolting tackle under the ribcage by Costigan has forced Learoyd-Lahrs to spill the ball.
6 min: Soward kicked early, attempting a 40/20 but Dugan was wide awake to it and collected the ball before it bounced over the sideline.
10 min: Costigan unloaded the ball to an unsuspecting Sailor who spills it just 25 out from his own line. Another excellent opportunity for the Raiders.
11 min: PENALTY - Raiders: Young strips the ball out with three in the tackle. The Dragons have another set of defence ahead of them.
12 min: McCrone tries to thread a ball through but it's pounced upon by Hornby, and now the Dragons have received a much needed penalty to get them out of their own end.
15 min: VIDEO REF - Possible Dragons Try... After withstanding a few high pressure sets in defence, the Dragons have gone down the other end of the field and looked to have scored the opening points, just checking to see whether Creagh has knocked the ball on.
15 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons Soward put up a cross field kick on the last, which was batted down by Creagh, collected by Hornby and fired out to Boyd who looped around and found Morris who spun his way out of a tackle and over the line. Conversion attempt by Jamie Soward unsuccessful. St George Illawarra Dragons 4-0
17 min: PENALTY - Raiders: Another piggy-back penalty for the Raiders, and they now have an opportunity to hit straight back after the try.
20 min: BIFF: Campese gave away a penalty for obstruction, and copped a shoulder from Young on the way through. Campese threw the ball at Young, to which Young replied with a flurry of fists at Campese's face. The penalty against Campese stands, however Young has been sent to the bin for ten.
20 min: Josh Miller has flown out of the line and delivered a massive head clash on Michael Weyman, who is down on the ground and hasn't moved an inch, very reminiscant of Jarad Hickey last night for the Bulldogs.
20 min: Both teams join the crowd in applause as Weyman is now lifted onto the medicab and driven off the field.
22 min: Soward saves the day for the Dragons again as he drops back to clean up the fifth tackle grubber.
23 min: PENALTY - Raiders: Hornby only has eyes for Vidot and knocks him out of the contest for the high ball on the last tackle. Fresh set of six for the Raiders in the Dragons red zone.
24 min: Harrison looks to have lost the ball, but it's ruled to have been knocked on by Stanley. Yet another set coming up for the Raiders.
26 min: VIDEO REF - Possible Raiders Try... Scott Logan has planted the ball, just checking for a knock on from Dugan.
26 min: NO TRY - 20 metre restart The Dragons only have 12 men out there, but it's almost as if they have 30 - the Raiders simply can't find a way through the line. And now they've given away a penalty, so the Dragons have the ball on the Raiders 30 on tackle 2.
29 min: ATTEMPTED PENALTY GOAL St George Illawarra Dragons Boyd gets fouled in a tackle, and Soward lines up to take the kick at goal, that he's hooked to the right of the posts. St George Illawarra Dragons 4-0
31 min: SIN BIN: Just as the Dragons get Young back, the Raiders lose Campese for giving the ref a gobfull after being penalised for inside the ten. Soward to have another attempt at goal.
31 min: PENALTY GOAL St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons 6-0
33 min: PENALTY - Raiders: Smith lifts a knee in the tackle, and the Raiders find themselves down the Dragons end yet again, and yet again fail to come up with any points.
37 min: Costigan sends Soward on a long run down the far touchline, before finding Boyd in support who gets bundled into touch by Graham.
39 min: Costigan has been left behind the line with a possible injury to his hip, but recovered in time to deliver a massive hit on Croker that sent the young Raider flying backwards.
HALF TIME Wow, what a game. Two players binned, one carried off on the medicab. Massive hits in defence, enterprising and exciting attacking raids, yet there's only been one try. This is semi finals football come early, and it's a shame that only one of these teams will be featuring in September. There's been enough action in his high-intensity game to fill an entire highlights reel, and the best thing is there's still 40 minutes to go! If the second half is anything like the first, then go to the toilet, get a drink and some munchies, and set yourself here on LeagueUnlimited.com for the continuation of the most exciting club match all season!
Stay tuned, the second half is not too far away!
40 min: Strap yourselves in, as we're back underway!
41 min: Campese has returned to the field following a somewhat subdued start to the second period.
43 min: TRY St George Illawarra Dragons Campese continues the poor last tackle options for the Raiders, as he chips over the top for McCrone but the ball floats too far into the hands of Boyd who takes advantage of the broken line, racing 80 metres for the try. Conversion attempt by Jamie Soward successful. St George Illawarra Dragons 12-0
46 min: Ominous signs here for the Raiders, as the Dragons start to string some offloads together, and almost break through only for Saffys pass to find the ground where Vidot collects and immediately goes on the counter attack.
47 min: TRY Canberra Raiders Following a scrum win, Dugan fires the ball early to Croker who does it all himself, spinning out of Costigans attempt, then fending off Soward in a 30 metres dash for the line. Conversion attempt by Terry Campese successful. St George Illawarra Dragons 12-6
50 min: TRY Canberra Raiders Well, after the Dragons posted first points in the second half and things started to look a bit ugly for the Raiders, in the space of three minutes the Raiders have posted back to back tries to give Campese a chance to level this game up. Vidot's try coming off some fantastic lead-up work by Dugan, who managed to spin out of about three attempted tackles before finding Thompson who found Dugan who found the corner. Campese's attempt at goal hits the upright and goes over! Conversion attempt by successful. 12 all
53 min: A tough, tough call against the Raiders here as they get penalised for dragging Sailor back to the in-goal after the tackle was complete, when replays show there was always momentum in the tackle.
55 min: VIDEO REF - Possible Raiders Try... Tilse is claiming the four pointer, just checking for possible obstruction and grounding.
55 min: TRY Canberra Raiders Campese threads a grubber through that comes to a stop at the bottom of the upright, where it is collected and planted in the in-goal in one fantastic motion by Tilse. Conversion attempt by Terry Campese successful. Canberra Raiders 18-12
60 min: BIFF: As Campese put another poor grubber through on the last, we see Poore and Miller going at in in backplay after Poore tackled Miller without the ball. None of the referees saw any punches thrown, and as such have only awarded a penalty to the Raiders, however replays show many punches being thrown.
60 min: PENALTY GOAL Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders 20-12
63 min: A torpedo punt from Soward has dipped at the last second, forcing Dugan to knock the ball on 20 out from his own line.
67 min: Great set from the Raiders as they come from their own goal line down the the Dragons 35, where Campese drills the ball into touch to give his chargers a well earned rest.
68 min: A poor pass from Stanley has given possession back to the Raiders in great field position.
69 min: McCrone drills the ball into the in-goal where it is collected and taken dead by Boyd. Following the drop out Learoyd Lahrs winds up and charges back at the defensive line at full pelt.
71 min: BIFF: It's on once again, this time Jeremy Smith looks to be the instigator. Picker has been called out and cautioned by the ref. Smith has been called out and been sent to the bin for a high shot. Replays show Croker standing in the tackle of Hunt, and just as he's about to play the ball Smith launches himself in with a stiff arm over the top.
72 min: PENALTY GOAL Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders 22-12
74 min: Sowrd tries a mid field grubber for himself, but Dugan attacks the ball then puts himself in top gear, weaving in and out of defenders before eventually being brought down five out from the line.
77 min: PENALTY GOAL Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders 24-12
78 min: Waddell broke through the line and had visions of going the length of the field, however gets called back for an obstruction. Dragons will have one chance to make the score more respectable.
FULL TIME It's full time here, and in a major boilover the Canberra Raiders have held strong their home record against the Dragons, taking them down 24 points to 12.


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The findings, published in this week's issue of Science, conclude that food-web stability is enhanced when many diverse predator-prey links connect high and intermediate trophic levels. The computations also reveal that small ecosystems follow other rules than large ecosystems: differences in the strength of predator-prey links increase the stability of small webs, but destabilize larger webs.
Natural ecosystems consist of interwoven food chains, in which individual animal or plant species function as predator or prey. Potential food webs not only differ by their species composition, but also vary in their stability. Observable food webs are stable food webs, with the relationships between their species remaining constant over relatively long periods of time.
Understanding complex systems such as food webs present major challenges to science. They can either be examined by observing natural environments, or by computer simulations. To enable computer simulations of such systems, scientists often have to make simplifying assumptions, keeping the number of model parameters as low as possible. Yet, the computational demands of such simulations are high and their relevance is often limited.
Innovative methodology
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPIPKS) in Dresden, Germany, have developed a new method that allows them to efficiently analyze the impact of innumerable parameters on complex systems.
"By using a method called generalized modeling, we examine whether a given food web can, in principle, be stable, i.e., whether its species can coexist in the long term," says Thilo Gross from MPIPKS. Complex ecosystems can thus be simulated and analyzed under almost any conditions. "In this way we can estimate which parameters will keep ecosystems stable and which will upset their balance."
The method can also be used for examining other complex systems, such as human metabolism or gene regulation.
Generalists stabilize, specialists destabilize
Applying this innovative modeling approach together with colleagues at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria, and Princeton University, USA, the scientists have succeeded in discovering not just one, but several universal rules in the dynamics of ecosystems.
"Food-web stability is enhanced when species at high trophic levels feed on multiple prey species and species at intermediate trophic levels are fed upon by multiple predator species," says Ulf Dieckmann of IIASA.
The scientists have also identified additional stabilizing and destabilizing factors within ecosystems. Ecosystems with high densities of predator-prey links are less likely to be stable, while a strong dependence of predation on predator density destabilizes the system. On the other hand, a strong dependence of predation on prey density has a stabilizing impact on food webs.
Differences between small and large systems
A further important finding is that food webs consisting of only a few species behave qualitatively different from webs consisting of many species.
"Small ecosystems apparently follow different rules than large ecosystems," says Ulf Dieckmann. "Systems with fewer species are more stable if there are strong interactions between some species, but only weak interactions between others. For food webs with many species, exactly the opposite is true. Extremely strong or weak predator-prey links in nature should therefore be the rarer the more species a food web contains," he concludes.


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The Body Covers: The 15th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections
CROI 2008 Highlights: An Interview With Joel Gallant, M.D., M.P.H.
February 6, 2008
Dr. Joel Gallant has been treating people with HIV since the beginning of the pandemic. He's also a leading HIV researcher and a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.
Can you give us your take on the most interesting research presented at CROI 2008?
I'm going to have to speak from my own perspective of being interested in treatment. There was a lot of stuff about prevention that we can talk about, too, but I'm focused more on treatment.
Reyataz Versus Kaletra for Initial Regimens
But there were some advantages of Reyataz, specifically in terms of side effects like diarrhea and nausea, and it had a little bit less of an effect on cholesterol and triglycerides. The data really are telling us that all these boosted PIs [protease inhibitors] were great. You don't pick one because it's stronger. You pick it because maybe you like the side effects better or it has fewer pills or different doses. But they all seem to work very well.
What I think people in the audience may not understand is that sometimes drugs are not approved for first-line use, but they are used anyway. That's very common. A lot of drugs are not used for what they are approved for.
In the U.S. that's true, because once that drug is approved, we can use it "off-label," if you will. We don't have to use it for the approved indication. In some countries, they do, so they are very much restricted by the local country's approval mechanism. But for us, we've been able to use boosted Reyataz [for intial therapy]. In fact, it's been listed as a preferred regimen in the guidelines,2 even though it hasn't had that FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] indication.
Truvada Versus Epzicom for Initial Regimens
Were there any other first-line therapies that were looked at?
There was the HEAT study, which was the first head-to-head comparison of Truvada [tenofovir/FTC] with Epzicom [abacavir/3TC, Kivexa].3 These are both nucleoside [nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI)] backbones that were combined with Kaletra. There's been a lot of debate over which of these is better. The bottom line is: They both look fine. They both look great. They did a great job.
There was no difference in terms of the effectiveness of either one. In terms of side effects, the things you would expect would be hypersensitivity with the Epzicom [because of the Ziagen (abacavir) that's a component of this drug] and kidney issues with the Truvada. But we really didn't see much of either.
They weren't doing HLA-B*5701 screening, the way we would do now, so obviously they did have a little more hypersensitivity in the Epzicom arm.
There wasn't much in the way of kidney problems with the Truvada. We had a little bit, but less than 1 percent. There was a little bit better cholesterol and triglyceride profile with Truvada than Epzicom. But for the most part, they both look good.
Ziagen/Epzicom and Heart Attack Risk
Did you have a new perspective on Epzicom because of the D:A:D study from Europe?4
It was interesting, because only a week or two ago, the DHHS [Department of Health and Human Services] guidelines in the U.S. changed2 -- Epzicom and Truvada are now the preferred nucleoside backbones, and Combivir [AZT/3TC] has been demoted to an alternative. Everybody thought that made perfect sense. The European guidelines had just made that change, as well.5 Then along came the HEAT study that I just mentioned, showing that those are both good combinations. So everybody's happy.
Next the D:A:D study comes along.4
D:A:D is a big observational cohort study that's really been doing a lot of work on looking at cardiovascular complications of HIV treatment, things like myocardial infarction, or heart attack, and lipid changes. They set out to look at the nucleoside component of therapy, to see if that made a difference. Their suspicion, their hypothesis, was that people who were taking thymidine analogs, like AZT [zidovudine, Retrovir] and d4T [stavudine, Zerit], would be at a higher risk for heart attack because those drugs increase cholesterol.
What they found was that that wasn't the case. In fact, it was abacavir that increased the risk and, to a lesser degree, ddI [didanosine, Videx] -- abacavir being Ziagen and a component of Epzicom. They found what they called a 90-percent increase in risk, which sounds horrible, but keep in mind that the numbers of heart attacks were very, very low. You're talking about a 90-percent increase over a very low number.
Nobody has any idea how abacavir would do this, if it does. Keep in mind that this is an observational study. In other words, people weren't randomized to take abacavir. They just were looking at whatever people happened to be taking. So there's a lot of room for what we call "selection bias."
As an example, if somebody was on a protease inhibitor and their cholesterol went up and they developed coronary artery disease, the doctor could have said, "I've got to get them off this protease inhibitor to protect their heart." So the doctor switched the patient to Ziagen and then the patient had a heart attack. Maybe it was the protease inhibitor's fault, not the Ziagen. It just happened to be that people were more likely to be on Ziagen if they had these problems. That's an example of selection bias.
The investigators tried to control for that as best they could, with various statistical methods. But you can never completely eliminate that bias.
I don't think we know right now whether this is a real risk of Ziagen and Epzicom, or not. We need to keep an open mind. We need to look at this further and see whether it is. It's certainly not a reason for people to panic and rush out and stop or change their therapy at this point. If there is a risk of a heart attack from this drug, it's small in comparison with the risk of smoking cigarettes or sitting on the couch eating potato chips. You have to be realistic and put this all in perspective.
If you had a patient who is worried about the results of the study and has heart disease, would you take him or her off of Ziagen?
Viread [tenofovir], or the combination of Truvada, is certainly also a great choice. If somebody was really worried about it, I'd be happy to switch them to Truvada, provided that there weren't kidney issues. If somebody has problems with their kidneys, then they are definitely better off on Ziagen or Epzicom. But if there aren't any kidney issues, then you could certainly use Truvada instead of Epzicom, and there would be no problem there. But I doubt that I'm going to recommend that to my patients. I would certainly listen to my patients if they were concerned about the issue.
I see. So you're not going to be proactive.
I have to say, the most common nucleoside regimen that I use in practice is Truvada, because it doesn't require the testing of HLA-B*5701 and it has excellent data.6 If I have a patient on Epzicom, it's usually for a good reason. It's usually because, for whatever reason, they can't take Truvada. Maybe they have kidney issues, or something like that.
Most of the people I've got on Epzicom probably need to be on Epzicom. That may not be true for all physicians. Some are much more commonly using Epzicom.
I don't know whether this single study should change their practice, or not. It's hard to say. Again, it's an observational study and I think that is its weakness. On the other hand, it's a very powerful observational study, with huge numbers of patients, and has produced some very good studies from the same cohort in the past, so we have to look at this. But I think the jury's still out on whether this is a real risk or not.
I guess it's wise to warn people who are currently taking Ziagen or Epzicom that they should not stop taking their drug if they're worried. They should discuss this with their physician.
The risk of stopping your drug is far greater than any risk of heart problems could ever be. Again, this was a huge study: thousands of patients. They didn't see very many heart attacks. It's just that they saw more with abacavir.
Right, 33,000 patients.
Yes. We're talking about a very small number of events. The relative risk may have been there, but the absolute risk is very low.
HIV/HAART and Heart Disease
There was a bunch of presentations at the conference about the general risk of heart disease in older patients with HIV. Could you comment on that?
Obviously, our patients are getting older, and we hope they'll keep getting older. They are already at higher risk for heart disease, just by aging. But there's always been evidence that HIV itself can increase the risk of heart disease and some of our treatment can increase the risk of heart disease, if it affects cholesterol. There were interesting findings from the SMART study.7 You remember: The SMART study was the study where they randomly assigned people to either continue therapy or to stop and then restart when their CD4 count dropped.
One of the early observations from the SMART study was that people who stopped therapy were more likely to have heart attacks. When these results came about everybody thought, that doesn't make sense. It should be the other way around! People on therapy should have more heart attacks because of the cholesterol changes.
But it wasn't that way. So people have been looking for a reason for why stopping therapy would increase the risk of heart attacks. One thought was that maybe, when your viral load goes up, you develop inflammation or immune activation. That could cause coronary plaques to form.
One of the presentations today looked at a lab test called D-dimer, which is a test that's used to measure how easy it is for your blood to form clots.8 Having a high D-dimer level is associated with clotting more easily. That's not a good thing, because clots in your coronary arteries are what cause a myocardial infarction. What they found was that in the SMART study, when you stopped therapy, your D-dimer level went way up. The more your viral load went up, the higher the D-dimer level went up.
This suggests that what's happening is that, as HIV drugs keep your viral load suppressed, they are also keeping this D-dimer level down. They are making it harder for you to form these bad clots. Then, when you stop therapy, that clotting risk returns.
This raises another whole question. Presumably it isn't just stopping therapy that increases your D-dimer level, but probably also not being on therapy at all. We have long had data that people who are untreated with HIV are more likely to develop clots in their veins.9 Certainly people with dialysis catheters are more likely to clot those things off. This may have to do with this easier clotting in untreated HIV. It raises this whole question of: When should you start therapy? Should we be starting earlier because of these issues? It hasn't been answered yet, but it's an intriguing concept.
Wouldn't this be compounded if you already have a genetic risk for heart disease?
Possibly. There are a number of risk factors for heart disease, some of which you have no control over, like your genes and your gender. Others you do have control over, like smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. So if you have a strong family history of heart disease, or if you have some of these other risk factors for heart disease that you haven't modified, then having untreated HIV could be another factor that increases your risk.
What should a 22-year-old, recently diagnosed with HIV, feel about these kinds of numbers and worries? Are they the population that's being discussed? Or is it really just the older population of HIV-infected people?
A 22-year-old is much less likely to get into this kind of difficulty because, presumably, they have far fewer risk factors for these issues. I think we're only beginning to talk about this now because our population is aging, and they'll be getting into the age where these things can happen.
I think that for people of any age, there is evidence that it's better to have treated HIV than untreated HIV. It's better to have an undetectable viral load than a detectable viral load.I think that for people of any age, there is evidence that it's better to have treated HIV than untreated HIV. It's better to have an undetectable viral load than a detectable viral load. We haven't yet gotten to the point where we're going to say everybody should be treated, no matter what. But theoretically that could be true. Right now, we sort of compromise, and we say that if your T cells are below 350, then you should be treated. But I don't think there's an upper limit. I think you could argue that everybody's better off having a suppressed viral load.
Cancer and HIV
Were there any presentations of interest on cancer and HIV?
The focus is now moving away from the so-called AIDS cancers, like Kaposi's sarcoma [KS] and lymphoma, and moving to looking at the non-HIV-associated cancers. We're finding that some of them, in fact, are HIV associated; that if you have a low CD4 and a high viral load, you're more likely to get not just lymphoma and KS, but some of these other cancers.10 Again, this is another reason why you want to be treated for HIV, rather than letting your CD4 count get low.
Hepatitis C and HIV
What about hepatitis C? I know they are seeing a lot more sexual transmissions of hepatitis C in people with HIV.
We're all waiting for these newer, better drugs for hepatitis C, and hoping that they're coming along. We are seeing sexual transmission. It's not common, and it appears to be associated with rougher sex, and sex that may involve blood contact. But, we're certainly seeing it.
It also appears that, if you are acutely infected with hepatitis C, you have a much better chance of being cured if you get treated right away than if you wait and let it turn into chronic hepatitis C. Patients and clinicians need to be aware of this. If you have people whose liver tests are going up for no good reason, make sure that you test for that, using PCR [polymerase chain reaction] testing to make that diagnosis, so you can get people on treatment right away.
HIV Drugs in Development
It's been an odd conference, because there aren't a lot of new drugs being discussed. There's just one CCR5 inhibitor being discussed.11,12 Compared to recent HIV meetings, this one has been subdued when it comes to new treatment options.
Yes. We're in a lull now, after the veritable avalanche of new drugs from last year. We had so many new ones that came out, up till Intelence [etravirine, TMC125] was just approved in the last couple of weeks. I don't think we're going to see a lot of new approvals anytime soon. The drugs that we have coming, while they have their advantages, aren't necessarily drugs that will offer something to people who have failed the current ones.
For example, elvitegravir [GS 9137], the new Gilead integrase inhibitor, has cross-resistance with Isentress [raltegravir, MK-0518].13 Vicriviroc [SCH 417690; SCH-D], which is the next in-development CCR5 inhibitor, is not going to work if you've failed Selzentry [maraviroc, Celsentri], because this failure means you have X4 [CXCR4]- or dual/mixed-tropic virus. Thus, you won't respond to a CCR5 inhibitor.14
It may be a while for more HIV drugs to be developed. That's why I think it's going to be so important that we use these drugs well. If we start seeing the emergence of resistance to integrase inhibitors, we're not going to have a lot of options to fall back to.
Were there any new targets being looked at at this conference?
People are looking at new types of entry inhibitors, including small molecule entry inhibitors that could be taken orally.15 There's still some hope; there's hope for the maturation inhibitor bevirimat [PA-457].16
Isn't there also a study about using a drug intravenously once a month?
Yes, there have been several. There's the Tanox drug, known as TNX-355, which has been looked at. That's usually given every one to two weeks.17
Isn't there also a Tibotec drug?
Yes, there's a Tibotec NNRTI [non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor] called TMC278 [rilpivirine] that they are hoping could be given once a month by infusion or injection.18 That would be very exciting, and could have implications for things like pre-exposure prophylaxis, as well.
HIV Prevention
So there's some excitement about new drugs. Anything else?
The big downer at this meeting is the prevention news. As exciting as treatment news is, the prevention news just continues to be depressing. We had the failure of the HIV vaccine this year.19 Circumcision looks good in preventing HIV in men, but it doesn't seem to be helping the female partners in Africa, when men get circumcised.20
Then there was the failure of the first vaginal microbicide recently.21 Now, at this meeting, we heard that treating people with acyclovir [Zovirax] doesn't help to prevent HIV transmission, as well.22
That's the herpes drug.
Yes. It's not that these herpes drugs directly suppress HIV. First of all, they keep you from having genital ulcers, which are a great way for HIV to get in. We also know that having herpes activates your HIV replication. So the hope was that by using that kind of a drug you would decrease spread, but it didn't seem to work.
The real hope now is in specific microbicides that contain active anti-HIV drugs and PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, where you actually give drugs to people who are HIV negative and try to keep them from getting infected. Of course, condoms are still a good idea.
In the HIV testing arena, there seems to be decreasing use of condoms and an increase in unprotected sex among, at least, men who have sex with men.23
Yes. It's concerning. I think people have lost their fear of HIV. Of course, it isn't the same disease it was 20 years ago. It's not as scary. But still, who wants to have a chronic disease? I still think preventing HIV is better than treating it. I think we need to still focus on that.
There's a lot of talk now at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of directing the message of prevention towards people who are HIV positive, rather than negative. Directing it at people who are negative has not worked very well. People who are negative do incredibly dumb things.
I think we need to focus on people who are positive, and get the message out that "the disease stops with me." I used to hear that a lot in the '80s and the early '90s; people came in and they said, "This stops with me. I'm not spreading to anybody." I don't hear that so much anymore, and I'd love to hear that again.
Do you think methamphetamine is part of that story?
Oh, yes.
Are you seeing it a lot?
You couldn't design a better drug for spreading this epidemic than crystal meth -- a drug that enhances sex, enhances your ability to have lots of sex, and completely takes away all judgment and inhibitions. It's just made for this. I'm seeing a lot of HIV transmission, including transmission of resistant virus that's directly linked to crystal meth.
Smoking Cigarettes and HIV
To wrap up: There might be news coming out of the conference about cancer, or about heart disease, but most patients really don't have to worry. Could you put that in perspective for people?
All of these things are so tiny and miniscule in comparison with the risk of not treating your HIV. It's a luxury that we can focus on things like heart attacks. When you think back to before 1996, we would have loved to talk about your risk of future heart attack back then, because people were dying every day. It's great that we can now focus on these long-term complications, and try to prevent them.
Despite these occasional glitches and pieces of bad news, our drugs are getting safer and safer, and easier to take.At the same time, despite these occasional glitches and pieces of bad news, our drugs are getting safer and safer, and easier to take.
Frankly, when I look at my patient population of, say, 250 to 300 people, of course I have a few people who are dealing with a lot of these issues. But most of them are not. They are doing great, and they're working, and feeling good. They frankly don't have to spend much time thinking about their HIV, when they take their pills once a day. I think things have really improved.
I've heard that one of the biggest lifestyle changes somebody with HIV can make to reduce his or her risk of heart disease is to stop smoking, because such a great percentage of people with HIV smoke.
Yes. Smoking dwarfs all other risk factors. When you think about protease inhibitors increasing your cholesterol, the risk that that causes is miniscule compared to the risk of smoking. The day you stop smoking you lower your risk significantly for heart disease.
If I have a patient who smokes, but is worried about his or her protease inhibitor, then we have to have some kind of a common sense talk. Because smoking is such a big risk for heart disease -- not to mention stroke, lung disease, cancer, and all sorts of other problems you don't want to have.
OK. So, a pretty good conference, you would say?
Yes. I would say it's a pretty good conference. Hopefully, we'll have maybe more exciting stuff at future conferences, and better news on the prevention front. But at least in terms of treatment, things are going very well.
Great. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
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Actual rating will vary with options, driving conditions, habits and vehicle condition.
The standard features of the Kia K900 Premium 3.8L include 3.8L V-6 311hp engine, 8-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS), integrated navigation system, side seat mounted airbags, curtain 1st and 2nd row overhead airbags, rear side-impact airbag, airbag occupancy sensor, automatic air conditioning, 18" aluminum wheels, cruise control, ABS and driveline traction control.
Starting at: $49,900
Closed-end lease based on new 2017 K900 Premium (Model F4362 Auto. Trans.) subject to credit approval, dealer participation, and vehicle availability. Offer shown based on $2,999 due at lease signing including $429 first monthly payment, $1,920 capitalized cost reduction, $650 acquisition fee, plus tax, title, license and registration fees, dealer conveyance fee, processing fee or optional service fee and any emission testing charge. No security deposit required. Offer shown total lease payments are $18,014. Actual payments may vary. Purchase option at lease-end for offer shown of residual value of $21,865.50. Lessee is responsible for insurance, maintenance, repairs, $.20 per mile over 12,000 miles/year, excess wear, and a $400 termination fee*. Lease offer applies to K900 Premium A/T (MSRP $50,850, includes freight, and excludes taxes, title, license, additional options and retailer charges). Actual prices set by dealer. Must take delivery from retail stock by 10/31/2018. Dealer contribution may vary and could affect actual lease payment. See dealer for warranty and lease details or go to kia.com.
*Termination fee for all states except CO, IN, IA, KS, ME, OK, SC, WI, WV & WY. WI termination fee: The amount of the base monthly lease payment or $400, whichever is less. CO, IA, KS, ME, OK, WV & WY termination fee: The amount of two times the base monthly lease payment or $400, whichever is less. IN & SC termination fee: The amount of three times the base monthly lease payment or $400, whichever is less. Not all incentive programs are compatible. Additional terms and conditions apply. All matters of program eligibility and qualification will be resolved by Kia Motors America, Inc. ("KMA") in its sole discretion, and KMA reserves the right to change product and program specifications at any time without incurring any obligations. Cannot exceed 12000 miles per year.
See Trims
|City/Hwy mpg
|Premium 3.8L Search New
|311-hp 3.8L 6-cyl
|8-spd auto
|17 / 25
|Luxury 3.8L Search New
|311-hp 3.8L 6-cyl
|8-spd auto
|17 / 25
|Luxury 5.0L Search New
|420-hp 5.0L 8-cyl
|8-spd auto
|15 / 23
A comparatively heavy car, Kia's biggest sedan is quiet and comfortable on most pavement surfaces. Easy and enjoyable enough to drive, it's not as emphatically solid as a Mercedes-Benz sedan. While lacking the sporty behavior of a four-door Audi, the K900 promises well-composed, near-plush ride quality, yielding a moderately upscale, nicely refined overall feel. Through curves and corners, the body tends to remain quite flat, for a sedan of its type and size.
Both engines are strong, though V8 drivers might notice some evidence of lagging while accelerating hard. Exhaust noise increases when the engine is pushed, generating an unappealing rumble rather than an energetically melodic accompaniment, like some European luxury models.
Steering feels precise, if short on road feel – hardly an uncommon demerit these days. As expected, the sedan's deftly-damped suspension aims for easygoing comfort more than taut roadholding. Even on lumpy, fluctuating rural roads, the sedan's stability-control system helps maintain satisfying balance.
Three driving modes (Normal, Eco, and Sport) are selectable, altering transmission shift points along with steering weight. Eco mode limits performance, but doesn't produce a stifling effect. Sport mode adds a touch of powertrain responsive, but doesn't affect road feel.
Helped by its 8-speed transmission, the K900 ranks around average in fuel economy for full-size sedans. The V6 version is EPA-rated at 17/25 mpg City/Highway, or 20 mpg Combined. With the 5.0-liter V8, the K900 is far less frugal, EPA-rated at 15/23 mpg City/Highway, or 18 mpg Combined.
Crisp European-style bodywork is the rule for Kia's smaller models, but the larger K900 comes across as a bit more ordinary. Though pleasant enough, the sedan looks more anonymous than its mates. Though it fits in with Kia's midsize Optima and newly redesigned Cadenza sedans, the K900 lacks verve and imaginative detailing, when compared with some contemporary rivals.
Not every buyer yearns for a stimulating, stand-apart design, of course. Many will be more impressed by the promise of considerable comfort, punctuated by several classy cabin details. Undeniably long overall, with short front/rear overhangs, the K900 displays proportions in keeping with traditional rear-drive luxury sedans, led by an expansive hood and steeply-angled windshield.
Like its body, the K900's interior doesn't quite stand apart from the premium luxury pack. Yet, it feels stylish, if rather reserved. Soft-touch materials help impart a comparatively upscale tone, helped by wood trim in Luxury models but impeded by an excess of piano-black plastic, which is prone to scratching.
On the whole, K900 cabin design and materials don't quite match those of competitive, full-fledged luxury sedans. As a result, the K900 might be deemed a premium sedan rather than an all-out luxury model.
Entering and exiting from the cheerfully bright, airy cabin is a breeze. Roominess is a valuable virtue. As many as five adults can expect abundant space in the quiet cabin, sufficient to stretch out readily. Seats are comfortably cushioned and trimmed with leather. A full-length sunroof is installed on all versions. A VIP package, optional for Luxury trim, includes a power recliner for back-seat passengers.
Controls are straightforward and easy to use. Kia provides an excellent infotainment system, even in Premium trim. Quietness is ensured by various noise-reduction measures, including underbody trays that help reduce air rush.
While lacking any specific unique or distinctive features, the K900 delivers one singular virtue: strong value. Undeniably, the Genesis G80 from Hyundai, Kia's parent company, promises even greater value. Still, the K900 yields quietly comfortable, predictable performance, without complexity. Shoppers in the next-luxury league, who aren't impressed by prestige-brand nameplates, might be easily tempted by the top Kia.
Driving impressions by Andrew Ganz, The Car Connection. James M. Flammang contributed to this report.
Premium V6 ($49,900) includes leather seat trim, 18-inch alloy wheels, HID headlights with dynamic bending, heated power-folding mirrors, a panoramic sunroof, leather-wrapped dashboard, and aluminum interior trim. Also standard are a 9.2-inch infotainment display with navigation, 14-speaker audio, power rear sunshade, power driver and front-passenger seats, heated/ventilated front seats, and heated outboard rear seats. (Prices are MSRP and do not include $950 destination charge.)
Luxury V6 ($54,900) adds Nappa leather seating surfaces; 17-speaker, 900-watt Lexicon audio; wood interior trim; and a heated leather/wood steering wheel.
Luxury V8 ($61,900) comes with the 5.0-liter V8 engine, LED headlights, 19-inch wheels, and 12.3-inch instrument screen.
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Jaime Hernandez: The production of the 2010-P Native American Dollar is a continuation of the Sacagawea Dollar Program issued from 2000 to 2008. However, beginning in 2009, the reverse design will be changed every year to celebrate the contributions made by Indian tribes and Native Americans to the United States. From 2009 and forward, the Mint now refers to the coins as Native American Dollars.
Obverse: The obverse illustrates an image of Sacagawea and her son Jean Baptiste. The obverse of the coin has the inscriptions "LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, 2010.
© 1999-2018 Collectors Universe NASDAQ: CLCT


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Football outsiders is one site almost every NFL fan respects. Its not only nerds crunching numbers, but its Football Nerds crunching Numbers.
Last April Football Outsiders compiled the numbers, known as the Lewin Career forecast, to let the numbers project the success of this years Rookie Crop. However, this normally unbiased site could not let the numbers speak for themselves, and if you read the article (links below), you will discover a list, from highest to lowest, starting with Griffin, then Luck, and ending with Brock Osweiler, before Russell Wilson appears, but with an asterisk next to his name and a score higher then RG3...
It is here that normally cold hard statistics are desperately being tried to explain away.
After this article, another Football Outsiders article, called the Asterisk came shortly after that.
The Asterisk
Lewin Career Forecast
This is just a reminder that Number Crunching Nerds should trust their results instead of trying to eyeball things (actually mentions his height as a factor of relevance).


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What shipping methods do you offer?
We now offer Free Shipping on all orders over $35, on our website. Free Shipping is available in the United States, however in some cases, as stated, will only be available to the Continental United States. If you need specific shipping arrangements, for example UPS instead of USPS (Postal Service), please call us at 800-872-9353, additional charges may apply.
All of our MIG welders, except the MIG 130, need to be shipped by truck freight to a commercial address, a business, or we
can find a truck terminal in your area that you can pick your shipment
up from there. We are happy to ship these items to your home,
however there will be an additional charge for residential
deliveries and someone needs to be home to unload the items from the
truck. Please call us at 800-872-9353 to discuss any shipping questions.


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A sea of emerald green is sweeping the nation this weekend as crowds gather in big cities and small towns to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
In New York, hundreds of thousands of revelers lined the St. Patrick's Day parade route, cheering the marching bands, dance troupes and politicians.
In downtown Chicago, thousands along the Chicago River cheered as workers on a boat dumped dye into the water, turning it a bright fluorescent green for at least a few hours in an eye-catching local custom.
And in Ireland, Dublin's five-day St. Patrick's Day festival was unfolding with a new addition. For the first time, up to 8,000 visitors from around the world were due to march in a so-called people's parade Sunday, when Ireland's capital city also intends hold its usual procession of bands and pageantry.
Here are some photos of St. Pat's celebrations around the country.


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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Basketball player Greg Oden will have to remain on GPS monitoring, a judge said on Wednesday.
Oden appeared in a Marion County court for his initial hearing after being charged with felony and misdemeanor battery. He's accused of beating his ex-girlfriend until her nose fractured.
A judge entered a not guilty plea for Oden, which is standard in felony cases. Oden's attorney asked for his client's GPS monitoring to be removed, but the judge denied the request. The judge did say Oden is allowed to leave the state, though.
The judge ordered Oden to not contact two people.
According to court documents, Oden, his ex-girlfriend and her friend went out drinking last week. When they got back to his mother's house in Lawrence, police say the couple started arguing. Court documents show Oden punched his ex-girlfriend in the face three times, causing cuts, swelling, and bleeding.
Police say the victim told officers she fell but that Oden ended up taking responsibility for her injuries. A relative told officers that every time the two would go out the night would end in an argument.
Oden's next court date is Sept. 18.
Oden played high school basketball in Lawrence. He most recently played for the Miami Heat.
Author: By Staff Reports
Source: http://wishtv.com/
Your one stop for gps tracking needs, contact an experienced GPS Monitoring Specialist to assist you with any GPS situation.


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These images of the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, Indonesia, are as sad as they are strangely beautiful. The contrast between colorful figures and the grayscale of the ash-covered landscape is so striking that it seems unreal. Here's the entire story told in photos.
The Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, in western Indonesia, erupted on November 11. It was a mild eruption but it just went into absolutely insane mode, ejecting a pyroclastic cloud that was four miles high.
The beginning of the eruption, November 11
Puppy left behind in the evacuated village of Mardinding, three kilometers from Mount Sinabung
The violent eruption on November 15, four miles high
Ash starts to fall down
A flower opened after the eruption covered everything with ash
People protecting themselves with plastic bags
Solitary bird on a sea of grey
Farmers trying to rescue their crops
Students getting back home through the ash covered landscape
Photos by AP Images and Getty Images.


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'Protect Our Jobs' Proposal Is Not Certified by State Board of Canvassers; Court May Have Final Say
Analyst: 'Proposal could completely change how Michigan is governed'
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012
Contact: F. Vincent Vernuccio
Director of Labor Policy
Ted O'Neil
Communications Associate
MIDLAND — The "Protect Our Jobs" Amendment today failed to get enough votes at the State Board of Canvassers to be on November's ballot. Supporters have appealed directly to the Michigan Supreme Court.
"This radical ballot initiative holds ramifications for the state that are too comprehensive to be explained in just 100 words on the ballot, as is required by the state constitution. It's doubtful the court will allow special interests to completely change how Michigan is governed," said F. Vincent Vernuccio, director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
According to Center analysts, the initiative would effectively make each collective bargaining agreement into its own Constitutional Convention, as the language in each agreement would supersede many state laws. One estimate of the initiative's reach suggests that the "Protect Our Jobs" proposal — if adopted — could repeal to varying degrees some 170 Michigan laws.
"This proposal is so far reaching I have asked UAW President Bob King to publicly debate its consequences for Michigan. My offer remains an open one," added Joseph G. Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center.
For more information on the "Protect Our Jobs" proposal and other ballot initiatives, visit www.miballot2012.com.


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Couch will appoint new member
The resignation of Roland Maier from the West Side Recreation and Park District's Board of Directors has left an opening on the five-member body. The board had to cancel a meeting last week, in fact, because it didn't have a quorum
Maier, a former principal with Taft City School District, has been superintendent/principal with Cuyama Joint Unified School District since July 2011 but was still living in the Recreation District's boundaries until recently, said Don Koenig, district administrator.
Since moving out of the district, Maier has had to resign, Koenig said.
Kern County appoints three of the members of the district board and Taft city the other two. Maier was appointed by the county.
Anyone who would be interested in serving on the district's board should contact 4th District Supervisor David Couch, Koenig said.


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From sex to temptation, and money to communication, each episode's lesson coincides with issues that make-or-break every relationship.
At the end of boot camp, Steve will deliver his verdict on whether or not this couple is a good match and should get engaged or break up once and for all.
Steve will make his opinion known, but ultimately it's up to the couples to decide to commit or acquit - the fate of six romances makes this a season finale unlike anything you've ever seen before!
Some couples will be forced to see that their relationship has serious problems that cannot be solved, and will finally have the peace of mind to break up for good and get on with their separate lives.For others, the lessons will bring them closer together and their journey will end with an amazing beginning - a proposal of marriage.Either way, Tough Love Couples is an emotional, transformative ride every couple should experience...Steve Wardis known for telling his clients not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear to find love.After setting up hundreds of successful marriages, no one knows better than Steve whether or not two people are meant to be together.
Now, Steve and his mother Joann are taking on even their toughest cases yet - couples!
For couples looking to know if their partner really is "the one", there's only one person qualified to tell you the brutal truth of whether you've really met your match and that's Steve Ward.
Tough Love Couples boot camp welcomes six couples all on the verge of getting engaged and puts their relationships to the ultimate test to find out if they're really right for one another.
Our couples are all at a crossroads and need to decide if they're in it for the long haul, or should call it quits for good.
Each couple fits a specific archetype - be it The High School Sweethearts or The Cheaters - all with their own set of reasons to doubt if their relationship can really last a lifetime.
Over the course of this difficult eight-week process, Steve and Joann will put the couples through lessons designed to test their relationships on every level.


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More Information:?
18th & Vine District
Performing and Visual Arts
Whether you are a theatre fan, comedy club lover, music and dance enthusiast, or a museum/gallery aficionado, you will find Kansas City filled with opportunities to indulge your passion, to learn, to be entertained. Newcomers and locals enjoy performances from acclaimed professionals, visiting and homegrown, and the notable works of talented students and amateurs.