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To determine if a website is legitimate, check for complete contact information, including the company name, office address, email address, contact numbers and a contact form, if available. Verify whether the payment pages start with "https," which indicates a secure payment process. Before buying products or transacting with the site, try calling the customer service number, and assess the professionalism of the customer service representative.
When navigating a website, evaluate whether the design looks professional and whether all links lead to working pages. Check for proper spelling and grammar, as a website with lots of typographical errors is likely unreliable.
Check for third-party certifications to examine the reputation and reliability of a website. Click the seals to verify their authenticity. Nonclickable seals that do not lead you to the sites of the seal providers or information about the certifications signal shoddy business practices.
Find out about the company's rating on the Better Business Bureau's website. Sites without BBB ratings and those with low grades and numerous consumer complaints are possibly not trustworthy. Read the terms and conditions of a website to know about the delivery of products or services and about return policies. Additionally, try typing the name of the website on a search engine to discover customer reviews.


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Let me tell you, I could walk into a room and say "Shabby Apple" and hear a dozen sighs of, "Oooohhh, I LOVE Shabby Apple"! Its amazing how many people I know who are ga-ga (me included!) over their dresses, accessories, skirts, etc. I must admit I follow every facebook update, read every mailing list email, and gab about the new dress every time one comes out. I would consider every dress a favorite, but here are some of my all-timers:
and Tigris. Dreamy! Yup, I'm in love.
Well, guess what?! Here's a super dandy code you can use right now! 10% off site wide when you use the code: favorite10. This code expires 9/14/2012 so hurry! Shop shop shop! Buy YOUR favorite Shabby Apple dress!!(Today IS my birthday, I might do just that!)

subset: commoncrawl


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Car`di*al"gi*a (?), Car"di*al`gy (?), n. [NL. cardialgia, fr. Gr. ; heart + pain: cf. F. cardialgie.] Med.
A burning or gnawing pain, or feeling of distress, referred to the region of the heart, accompanied with cardiac palpitation; heartburn. It is usually a symptom of indigestion.
© Webster 1913.
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Content count24
Last visited
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About Tits_Mcgruff
Recent Profile Visitors
yuiismywaifu asked how everyone was going sokorseBLI's comment is on topic to this thread.
Don't need to be a dick about it. If you don't care just ignore the guy.
Tits_Mcgruff started following Hi!
Muv-Luv Alternative will be censored just the like everything else, otherwise there can't be a steam release. Plus if they didn't censor it what is the point of them then releasing a patch on denpasoft? There's also no way they will sell MLA on releasefor anything less than the original kickstarter cost. It sounds like you're not even a backer so I don't understand why you think Degica would even listen to your requests.
Tits_Mcgruff started following How can i get this game?
"decent" is relative. By itself the old english patch doesn't seem that bad. But when you then compare it to the quality seen in the Muv-Luv steam release it's like night and day. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/muvluv/muv-luv-a-pretty-sweet-visual-novel-series/updates
Just a couple questions for a CYOA I'm making
Tits_Mcgruff posted a topic in Yuuko's LaboratorySo I'm starting to designaMuv-Luv Choose Your Own Adventure (have a look at /r/makeyourchoice on reddit if you don't know what I'm referring to). To make it accurate to the lore and theme I have a couple questions. First off, does anyone know what the main fonts used in the trailers, art, merchandise etc. are called? If they are hand drawn does anyone have any suggestions for similar styled fonts? Second question, has it ever been clarified how young the conscription/enlistment age has been lowered by the time of MLU/MLA? Edit: One more thing are there any maps like the one attached that go past 1996?
Tits_Mcgruff started following Just a couple questions for a CYOA I'm making
One of the things that stands out about Muv Luv to me is that the "Childhood friend" is actually pretty good.
Tits_Mcgruff replied to Mkilbride's topic in General Muv-Luv DiscussionWhen you think about it though, the reason men aren't meant to hit women is because we generally are stronger and can easily take a hit from them but a proper hit from a bloke could seriously hurt them. But in muv luv (and most animes) the girls seem to be just as strong, if not stronger. Most of the time Takeru hits sumika she hits him back harder so I don't really see an issue. Plus I think its meant to represent they've been together since they were toddlers who do hit each other regardless of gender.
If you could change one thing about Muv Luv, what would it be? [Spoilers]
Tits_Mcgruff replied to Mkilbride's topic in General Muv-Luv Discussion@BlesselYeah somehow my text got replaced by that quote. I actually had written a decently long post so now Icbf rewriting it.
If you could change one thing about Muv Luv, what would it be? [Spoilers]
Tits_Mcgruff replied to Mkilbride's topic in General Muv-Luv DiscussionIgnore this post, the formating somehow replaced my text with a quote
I've just noticed that even though I got the steam achievement for completing Meyia's route in extra, her chibi didn't unlock on the clear list. Not a big deal but I'd thought I should mention it. edit: I also just realised that none of her CGs are appearing in the gallery
Changes to OST / Music licensing problems
Tits_Mcgruff replied to Euphoric's topic in Muv-Luv AlternativeOh okay, thanks. I guess I can see why Aalt would find it annoying, (everyone has pet peeves) but I don't really think leaving out the hyphen correlates withhow much Mkilbride actually cares about muv luvMuv-Luv* (:P). On a half separate note I'm also interested to see how @Mkilbrideworked out the likeness rating, if for no other reason than I'm interested how he managed to extract the script from the game.
Changes to OST / Music licensing problems
Tits_Mcgruff replied to Euphoric's topic in Muv-Luv Alternative@AaltSorry to keep this going but what did he misspell? I'm dyslexic so while I usually can get the gist of what I'm reading if given enough time, I still struggle noticing typos and misspellings (even more so for my own writing).
Tits_Mcgruff started following Changes to OST / Music licensing problems
I can only wonder what they'd think of the pilot suits lol Well I personally mentioned Kei because she's one of my top 3 characters and probably the most drastic improvement translation wise for any character. But that doesn't mean she's the only one, the new translation has helped all the characters. Takeru, Meyia, even the three idiots are much more entertaining to read. Takeru now reads like a normal teenage guy rather than, to put it bluntly a complete social retard. Sure he's still pretty immature and bitches, but now he words his thoughts and speech in a way that sounds like a real person. The three idiots are still kinda annoying, but at the same time they can be pretty entertaining. When I first read the fan translation the only time I enjoyed any scene with the idiots was whenTsukuyomi would call them out and hit them. With the official translation it's no longer frustrating to listen to them speak and they come across as stupid yet cunning rather that completely retarded. Meyia's translation improvements are a little harder for me to describe, but the best way I can explain it is that I feel she no longer comes across as ignorant and full of herself but rather sheltered and determined. (Btw this is just based on what I've seen in extra so far, my 2nd semester for uni started this week so I've not been able to read as much as I'd like) But hey this is just my interpretation of what I'm reading. Evan and the rest of the team could of been aiming for a completely different direction for each of the characters, but that's the thing with art/literature/etc. everyone's free to see it their own way.
I gotta say that so far I've been impressed with the steam release. The difference in writing quality is night and day, and kinda reminds me a little of grisaia (edit: probably due to Koestl's influence ). Kei was already one of my favourite characters and this translation actually representsmore accurately how I perceived her personality based on her VA, sprites and actions, hopefully this will mean there will soon be more fellow Kei fans!The only issue I've encountered so far is that clicking on the black bars doesn't move the dialogue along. This isn't really a big issue, just my muscle memory has me drag the cursor to the lower left corner to get it out of the way. Though if this is working as intended don't mind me I'll get used to it soon enough. In regards to the cropping I don't mind as long as nothing actually important was cropped out, which I haven't seen this so far. As for the music I honestly don't care, the only reason people do care is cause it's different rather than if the new music is better or worse. I don't feel there was anything inherently great about Warudakumi that couldn't of been achieved by a different (original)soundtrack. So yeah keep up the great work guys, I can't wait for all the other works to be released !
Tits_Mcgruff started following Muv-Luv Feedback
Who are your top 3 favorite Muv Luv characters?
Tits_Mcgruff replied to haloff1's topic in General Muv-Luv DiscussionA top three is pretty tough, but for me it'd have to be: Takeru Sumika Kei But there are many many other characters that I like as well
Muv-Luv Cosplay
Tits_Mcgruff replied to invalidname's topic in Yuuko's LaboratoryThanks both of you!


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Road ID Interactive: The Exercise Techy's Must Have
Product: Road ID Interactive
Price: $19.00
Rating: Strong Recommend
Exercising outside can unfortunately be a hazardous adventure. Running and cycling can especially put an athlete in harms way when contending with multi ton vehicles. While an armor suit in currently unavailable, Road ID's interactive product means you are safe when you exercise outdoors.
The Road ID wrist bands have been around for a while along with their other safety products. Beloved by hardcore athletes, they are good insurance for if injury strikes while exercising. Most people we know (including ourselves) do not carry our drivers licenses and insurance cards while out on the road. The Road ID interactive features all of that information conveniently stored online and accessible though the phone or web interfaces. That way if you get hit by a truck, the attending parcamedics can use your Road ID to find all of your relevant health info. In our casem,we are allergic to latex so any contact could cause unnecessary complication during surgery. Road ID interactive steps in to provide the information that might help save our life.
Just like the original Road ID, the interactive model is conveniently available as a wristband, ankle-band, and dog tags. We personally have tested and love the wristband model finding it unobtrusive and comfortable when we are out on the road. The Road IDs are available in a variety of colors and styles to fit the way you wear them. One touch we are especially fond of is the high intensity reflective thread and coating on the metal plate adding another means to keeping ourselves visible in low light.
Our suggestion is to pick one up if you participate in rigorous outdoor exercise. Nothing beats the peace of mind that an emergency responder always has your information even when you cannot speak for yourself.
Our Ratings:
Strong Recommend*
Weak Recommend
Don't Recommend
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.


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Being a Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF) provides opportunities for graduate students to advance their leadership skills while contributing to the pedagogical development of their peers.
Graduate Teaching Fellows are a select group of advanced graduate students with a demonstrated commitment to student learning in their discipline. GTFs develop a project in their department aimed at graduate student professional development in learning and teaching. For the broader campus community, they lead workshops and conduct teaching observations at Searle. GTFs are a critically important part of the campus community through their contributions to learning and teaching at Northwestern.
Graduate Teaching Fellows benefit through:
- Designing a GTF project that supports teaching and learning graduate professional development in their department.
- Developing and co-facilitating workshops at the New TA Conference: one for new TAs in their discipline, and another focused on a cross-disciplinary topic.
- Fostering a community of learners by facilitating two workshops throughout the academic year as a part of the Graduate and Postdoctoral Workshop Series.
- Conducting teaching observations and composing observation feedback for fellow graduate students.
- Participating in a learning community of like-minded graduate students to share progress on projects, discuss scholarship on teaching and learning, and receive training and support.
- Contributing to the annual Graduate Learning and Teaching Symposium held each spring.
Graduate Teaching Fellows are selected each spring via a competitive application process. GTFs are appointed for a full academic year, with the possibility of reappointment for a second year. The position carries a $3,000 stipend.
Contact Nancy Ruggeri, Director, Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, with questions.
Ph.D. students from any program may apply, provided they meet the following criteria:
- Previously served as an NTAC Workshop Leader and/or participated in the Teaching Certificate Program.
- Taught at least two quarters at Northwestern (either as a teaching assistant or instructor).
- Passed qualifying exams by September 2017.
- Fully funded with a full tuition scholarship and stipend for the 2017-18 academic year.
- Can attend all NTAC summer training sessions and the New TA Conference.
Applications for the 2018-19 academic year are now closed. Please check back in March to apply to be a Graduate Teaching Fellow for the 2019-2020 academic year.
A completed application to the Graduate Teaching Fellows program consists of the following:
- Completed online application
- CV and Cover Letter
- Teaching Statement
- One-page Project Prospectus -- The Project Prospectus should include the following information:
- Description of a teaching and learning need in your department.
- Proposal
ofa concrete way to address this need.
- Description of your proposed project timeline.
- Description of the evidence you plan to collect to show the effectiveness of your plan.
- Advisor Acknowledgment -- A brief note from your advisor acknowledging your prospective participation in the GTF program.
The Graduate Teaching Fellows program is co-sponsored by the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching and The Graduate School.


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Well, it has been a couple of years since my last post and we did not get the opportunity to use Scala at work. I lost interest and started chasing other shiny, twinkly things.
But, I did get a chance to give a presentation on Scala at the local JUG. I'll post slides when it is done if I don't completely embarrass myself.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Lazy initialization of blog posts
Posted by Mitch Blevins at 2:12 PM
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Call your personalinjury attorneys today!
Mr. Kearney provides guidance in matters related to elder law, estate planning, and real estate transactions.
"Clients come to see me under two conditions," said Kearney. "Either because they're in a crisis and they want me to help them navigate the legal system, or because they want to prevent future problems by planning for life changes." - Attorney Michael Kearney
Mr. Kearney began his career as a public school teacher in Park Rapids, Minnesota, where he taught for three years prior to going on to law school.
Elder law, probate law, estate planning, guardianship/conservatorship law, workers' compensation law, social security disability law, real estate law, municipal and township law and criminal prosecution.
Mr. Kearney is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association and Iron Range Bar Association, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Iron Range Rehabilitation Center.
William Mitchell College of Law, J.D., 1985; St. Cloud State University, B.S. in Education, 1979.
1985, Minnesota State Bar Association; 1987 U. S. District Court, District of Minnesota.
Michael K. firstname.lastname@example.com


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I' m looking for flyerers in London...
to help flyer for my clubnight. You'd need to be over 18 and able to make certain places in Central London on certain nights - you also need to have a digital camera. In return you get free entry for two to the next clubnight and some free beer.
Next night is Oct 13th - ZOMBIE NIGHT with
headliner tbc
Milk Kan
Broken Dolls
Indigo Colony
Black Cherry (DJ set)
Send me your mobile and availability: email@example.com


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KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) senior leader Babar Khan Ghauri late on Wednesday night blasted former party worker Saulat Mirza for claiming that he was the one who called the shots that killed KESC's managing director Shahid Hamid.
"There is no truth in Mirza's figment's of imagination. His rather shady late night video statement is nothing but a conspiracy against the MQM," said he.
Ghauri said that he had never met Saulat Mirza in his whole life.
"The story about a meeting at my residence in which I ordered four hitmen including Mirza to shoot Shahid Hamid dead is absolutely fictional. I swear no such meeting ever took place anywhere," the former minister for ports and shipping asserted.
Earlier, after showing some of the 'devastating cards' he had so far kept close to his chest, former Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker Saulat Mirza managed to dodge his hanging for 72 hours, Samaa reported.
"On the behest of party's London-based leader Altaf Hussain, Senator Babar Ghouri ordered the four of us to gun down Shahid Hamid, the then managing director of the power utility, Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (K-Electric) ," Mirza alleged in a rare statement issued from his death cell Wednesday night.
He Hangs in Balance
His statement shook the federal capital out of slumber and President Mamnoon Hussain, in an emergent high-level meeting in the President House, put off Mirza's execution for 72 hours. The President House did not release further details. According to sources, Machh Jail authorities have received the orders to stay the hanging for another three days.
"We have received a fax from the President House. Saulat Mirza will not be hanged Thursday," Ishaq Zehri, Superintendent Machh Jail told Samaa.
Begging pardon for his heinous crimes, Mirza, who had tears in his eyes, warned the party workers, sympathizers, and wannabe members, against falling in the wrong hands and the subsequent brainwashing.
"Today I have become an example for all those who are in the party or deliberating to join it. Let me tell you they use the workers as tissue paper wipes and then throw them away. So open your eyes and do what is right," he said dubbing himself as other activists as expendables.
Adding to his statement, a disillusioned Mirza minced no words when he sounded out he had been disowned by the party.
"They always turn their back on the workers who land in the hands of law," said the erstwhile hitman.
I Know The Secret To Karachi Peace?
Mirza said that he did not want to be go to the gallows without sharing with the authorities a secret hoard of information that could prove vital in bringing about peace in Karachi.
"I know a lot of things that can help the men of affairs restore calm in the metropolis. I am not asking them to undo my punishment, but rather give me some time to atone my sins" said he.
Insulting Ouster of Syed Mustafa Kamal?
According to Mirza, the former party leader, Syed Mustafa Kamal, was kicked out of party in an unspeakably unceremonious way for his outspokenness.
Kamal is a serving Senator in the upper house and has served as the Nazim (mayor) of Karachi from 2005 to 2010.
Governor House Shelters Criminals?
The dead-man-talking also accused the Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad of using his authority to have the criminals find a safe passage. The Governor House, in a late night statement, denied these accusations in the strongest of words.
PPP Facilitated Me?
In his video statement, Mirza also dragged Pakistan People's Party (PPP) into the 'accusatory picture' by alleging that the MQM had had him facilitated when Asif Ali Zardari led political party was in power.
Sharjeel Memon Say Never…
The PPP leadership spun into action after the statement.
Information Minister Sindh, Sharjeel Memon had to wake up to talk to media and clarify his party's position.
"This is outrageous. Pack of lies. The PPP had never facilitated any criminal," Memon said promising complete protection to Saulat Mirza's family.
Saulat Mirza was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court on May 24, 1999, for killing the then MD Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, Shahid Hamid, and his driver and a guard on July 5, 1997, in Karachi. He was arrested on Dec 10, 1998, from the Karachi Airport on his return from Bangkok.


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Beverley Sandler
The road that directed me to becoming a counsellor/therapist happened many years ago. I was lucky enough to discover my passion for supporting people, to empower themselves, to feel good and engage in a positive life style. My love of learning has led me to engage in many physiological courses over the years. All of which have enabled me to have a good understanding of how the mind works, and can help relieve and calm any given situation, thus allowing the client to release negative thoughts. I feel I have endless energy to propel myself forward, always looking at the glass half full, instead of half empty. Life I believe is meant to be enjoyed not endured! Looking at the joy we can achieve each day. I always practice an attitude of gratitude for all the things I have in my life. Qualifications include: Member of the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy), 0CNW Young people's counselling issue's Level 2, Counselling Skill Level 2, Counselling Diploma Level 4, ABS Advanced Certificate of Therapeutic Hypnosis, Diploma in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy, ABC Advanced Certificate in Therapeutic Hypnosis, Professional Development Inroads Training, Counselling victims with Stress and Anxiety, Professional Development Inroads Training, Counselling victims with Sexual abuse in Childhood, S.T.E.P.S. Personal Development Facilitator (The Pacific Institute), Certificate in Understanding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Certificate level Nutritional Interventions for Eating Disorders, CBT Diploma (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), CBT Diploma Advance Level, NLP Certificate (Neuro Linguistic Programming), NLP Silver Member- Practitioner Coach.


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A Month in the Sea of Cortez
We wanted everyone to see the latest in Mexican luxury yacht design. I guess this is the marine equivalent to a large armored SUV with black windows. We didn't have an opportunity to visit with the crew and never saw any passengers.
In contrast, we had great visits with old and new friends on smaller, more conventional boats. Each year (this is our fourth winter in Mexican waters) we meet more people, and it is always a pleasure to encounters them again.
In two days, we return to Portland, hoping to come back to sail during the spring months.


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Carey Lee's Testimonial
I have struggled with my weight and self confidence my whole life. I was very overweight as a child and by high school I decided it was time to lose weight. I bought into the "eat less calories and do as much cardio as possible" idea. I quickly lost about fifty pounds and was dangerously close to taking it too far. In college I went through a hard time and turned to food for comfort, rapidly gaining all the weight back… plus more. I felt horrible, but didn't know how to stop myself from eating. I had deprived myself of food for so long, I no longer knew how to have a normal relationship with it. I would go to extreme measures to try and undo the damage. I would have some good days and then just fall right back into the same cycle. I lost control.
I went through this for years. A little over a year ago I finally found Brittany's Instagram account and read about her story. So much of her story connected with me, and through her, I finally saw a way out! I decided I needed to reach out to her for help. After contacting her I started my first plan.
The idea of counting macros made complete sense to me, and having an actual plan to stick to with no restrictions helped me gain control over my eating. I had never even touched weights in a gym before and had no idea what I was doing, but I figured it out as I went along. And I absolutely love weight lifting now! It is my favorite part of the day!
I have lost over 30 pounds (the healthy way) since starting with Brittany. I can feel my confidence growing by the day! I also actually have muscles now, so that doesn't hurt! I still have a long way to go on my journey and still have some off days, but with Brittany's help and support, I finally feel freedom from the food battle and I know I will reach my goals!
Training with Brittany truly was the best decision I ever made!


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First of all, Happy New Year!
I haven't written for a while and as you might expect there is a lot of backlog, but I will try and catch up by unloading on you massive amounts of videos and photos with minimal captioning - not a bad thing at all, probably.
The reason for the long silence is in part that I have been vary busy trying to attend some lectures and thinking about my plans for the future. However, as most of you surely already know, the main reason why I haven't made an effort to write is that my father died in the middle of December and, while it was impossible for me to write about it for several unpleasant reasons, it also didn't seem to make much sense to just keep going as if nothing had happened.
There are things I would have probably written here that now don't seem appropriate anymore. I will think about it and maybe I will come back to this topic later on, or I might not. I wanted to at least post a picture, but unfortunately the most recent I have is from a year and a half ago. Here it is, at the Torino airport.
My favorite picture of my father is another one, from my childhood, but I can't show it to you now. I took it when I was about seven years old I think, with my first camera - Fisher-Price childproof camera, one of the best gifts ever. It was Easter and we were having a family gathering. My dad posed for a photo in the act of lowering an asparagus into his mouth and although I say so myself, it is really a great picture. The only print I have is in a photo album in Torino, so I won't be able to post it until (if) I succeed in making a decent digital copy of it.
Anyway, let us move on to the promised goodies. For this first post I want to show you three videos. The first two were filmed in Calicut during the Christmas holidays. Those were early crawling days for Rohan, he is faster and less prone to accidents now. In case you are wondering, there is really no point to either of the videos, it is just an attempt to capture a little bit of comforting chaos.
The last video is not a home movie, but I thought I would share with you one of Appu's favorite episodes of Kipper The Dog. We love Kipper around here and I think nonna Laura will be especially pleased by this particular choice. I recommend you all watch it, Kipper is good for you.


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look 1: denim (dl1961 on SALE, love THESE skinnies), jacket (Chico's c/o ON SALE), blouse (Morton James), necklace (AJs Casuals, Lexington), heels (French Connection, sold out, cute neutral Alternative), clutch (Chico's c/o cute alternatives HERE, HERE, or HERE), necklace (Page Sargisson, see similar ( HERE), shades (Ray Ban), rings (Lagos, Anna Beck), bracelets (Coordinates, Omar + Elsie, Cuff, Morton James, Kate Spade),
look 2: blazer (Gap, old, love this Puff Sleeve Version ON SALE), oxford (Old Navy on SALE), bracelet (J.Crew old), heels (J.Crew adore THESE ON SALE & THESE CUFFED LOVELIES), clutch (Kate Spade)
Had a little chilly spell in the Bluegrass a week or so ago which indeed called for a light jacket. Serving up two different options for summer toppers--a light and airy neutral jacket along with a bright RED BLAZER. Both equally suitable for summer, both able to complement a dress, button down, tshirt, or loose tank.
Gonna keep her short and sweet today--headed out the door to do a Closet Cleanse then getting geared up for a weekend at the pool--fave fave fave time of the year indeed! Y'all enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend--make it a great one!
photos courtesy of Kristin Tatem


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The suspect had reportedly sneaked into the victim's residence on Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos, through the kitchen at about 3am on Tuesday, carting away phones, a laptop and a passport.
He also reportedly made away with Abimbola's wife's jewellery and the identity card of his sister-in-law, who lived with the family.
While lamenting the loss, Abimbola reportedly got a call at about 7am from a friend, who alerted him to a picture posted with one of the stolen phones on his (Abimbola's) Instagram page.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the burglary said the police were on the trail of the suspect.
Badmos, a Superintendent of Police, added that the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, had instructed the division to transfer the case to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad at the command headquarters in Ikeja.


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Well hello Keira Knightley. You're looking mighty fine today!
The Roller Lash has yet to be released which probably increased the interest. So any way like a lone sheep I followed the herd of women and bought myself a copy. I tossed the magazine to the side and got wearing this as soon as I could.
Let's first tall wand/brush... It's a plastic comb style wand which is slightly curved in shape. Each side of the wand has different lengths of bristles. I like this fact as I like to wiggle my wands and rotate them when I apply mascara.
I find personally wiggling and rotating gets the best affect, as it coats every lash from the base to the tip which is what we want hey ladies???
The finished look is very natural, lifted and separated application. This above is just one application and I hadn't curled my lashes either. I quite like the finished look! ! !
You can grab a fall size tube online and in stores on February 12th when it comes rolling out on to the shelves. Corny joke I know!


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Violent Video Game Stigma10 months, 3 weeks ago
Posted on Mar 04, 2018, 1 a.m.
According to researchers at University of York they have not been able to find any evidence to support the popular theory that video games make the users more violent.
Researchers investigated the theory involving more than 3,000 participants in a series of studies that according to the researchers demonstrated that video games do not gear players to behave in certain ways, and that the increased realism of violent video games do not necessarily increase aggression.
The idea of learning in games is built around the theory that exposure to concepts involved in games such as violence makes those concepts easier to use in real life situations, this is known as priming and is believed to lead to changes in the player's behaviour. Studies on the subject in the past have provided mixed results.
Researchers conducted a recent study increasing participant numbers compared to other studies conducted in the past, and compared different types of gaming realism to evaluate whether or not more conclusive evidence could be provided.
If players were primed through immersion into game concepts, they should be able to categorise game related objects more quickly in real life after game conclusion. Researchers were not able to find any signs of this, other than in some cases reaction time being significantly slower on one study.
In another study investigating aggression effects following game completion players were asked to complete word puzzles, expecting that more violent word association would be chosen, and found that priming of violent concepts was not detectable.
Researchers findings suggest that there is no link between the realism in video games and the kinds of effects that have been associated with video games players in the past. Further studies are required to see if other aspects of realism will wield the same results. It is worth noting that only adults were tested on these theories, additional studies are required to investigate if the effects are different in children players.
Materials provided by University of York.
Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
David Zendle, Daniel Kudenko, Paul Cairns. Behavioural realism and the activation of aggressive concepts in violent video games. Entertainment Computing, 2018; 24: 21 DOI: 10.1016/j.entcom.2017.10.003


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The consultants below specialise in home loans, debt consolidation, tax, loan refinancing, business loans, financial planning, insurance and more.
If you're a Oakley mortgage broker & would like to connect with new customers, add your business now.
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You may be interested in mortgage brokers across South Western.
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South Western mortgage broker results
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Find a mortgage broker in your area
- Mortgage brokers Blythewood
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Vehicles sorted from highest to lowest price
Used Sedans Under $22000
Inventory Page 90 of 443
6 Photos
2005 Audi A6 in great condition for $4500, well-maintained taking care of interior's in...
9 Photos
Vehicle is in good condtions, AC blows cold, has a clean title.
4 Photos
I have my 2005 Toyota Camry for sale. Everything works good. Smog passed.
3 Photos
I have a black on black BMW 525xi AWD for less than $5K in Boston, MA 02110. It comes with...
5 Photos
Automatic, 4dr, 4cylinder, with 146k , all leather equipped. Has sunroof, 6 cd changer,...
3 Photos
Un solo propietario, papeles en orden, placas hasta 2/18, super económico, bien...
- 1-Owner Vehicle
1 Photo
Need gone ASAP going thru some money probelms have to get rid of some things including my car....
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Chevrolet Impala 2011, $4500, I'm selling my Chevrolet Impala, 132k miles, engine is super...
6 Photos
The vehicle is neatly used, accident free and ready to go. I am Carvana agent willing to sell...
1 Photo
It a great car rebuilt all over 9729469833


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Janet Kira Lessin & Dr. Sasha Lessin facilitate an Anunnaki discussion panel with Michael Lee Hill & 1 or 2 others (to be announced) on Thursday, August 27, 2015 at 8 PM Eastern time.
We the Anunnaki – What Do The Annunaki Look Like?" – Panel: Janet, Sasha, Karen and Michael – Witnesses have seen these shape-shift, they have been depicted in ancient art as Humanoid, heroic god-like figures with bulging muscles and long curly hair, have been seen with animal heads, as reptilian, with fish tails, and bird feet. Some have seen them as dragon-like, or humanoids much larger than mere mortals, cuddling lions like beloved pets. Others have been depicted with elongated heads, or is that another species that have lorded it over humanity such as the royals of egypt. Are we talking about a multi-species incursion into the human story or shape-shifting multi-dimensionals? Our panel tackles the diversity and confusion, attempting to shed light on ancient mysteries.
Check Out Education Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Aquarian Radio on BlogTalkRadio


text: Is it possible to relay a wifi network over multiple hops/repeaters with Airport Expresses and/or DD-WRTs (or similar?) Our church meets in a facility that is about four blocks away from our office (where the wifi is) and we need access to it during these meetings. It might sound desperate, but is it possible to put some kind of repeaters/extenders in strategically placed cars between points A and B to get the signal there?


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In advance of the fall farm show season, farmers might want a primer on what to expect for engine power choices from the major manufacturers. For Deere, the choice for the next three years is pretty clear: You won't see much of a change.
That choice, which is part of a strategy aimed at providing what the company says is a "key advantage" in the market, differs from the other three players in the business for 2011. "We're more confident than ever that these are the right solutions to meet emission standards," says Goeff Stigler, product marketing manager, John Deere Power Systems.
Major engine makers face a two-step process for meeting much tougher emission standards - called Tier 4. There's an interim step that takes effect in 2011 for engines with 175 horsepower and above; then just three years later (a short amount of time for engineers and designers) Final Tier 4 takes affect. The chart below shows how dramatic the emissions changes since 1999.
From Tier 1 in 1999 to January 2011 engine makers have had to make significant cuts in NOx and particulate emissions. Bright yellow in front shows the largest engines and their progress.
During a conference call earlier this summer, Stigler outlined the two approaches engine makers face for meeting emissions. "You can use a diesel particulate filter with a diesel oxidizing catalyst and cooled exhaust gas recirculation or go with selective catalytic reduction using urea," he says.
With SCR, engine makers might have fewer actual changes in the engine itself - although different manufacturers are taking different approaches. Deere has chosen the DPF/DOC approach - which means an added particulate filter to their current engine design.
In addition, Deere will use more exhaust gas recirculation which Stigler explains has worked well in the Tier 3 engines the company now sells. "We chose cooled EGR more than four years ago and that's supported by customer research," Stigler says. In fact, for the interim Tier 4 engines Deere will be launching at the Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days in the next few weeks, EGR use will rise to as much as 30% to lower NOx.
How will you know? The new interim Tier 4 PowerTech engine launching next week is the PVX 9.0L. The P stands for Plus, the V for variable geometry turbocharger, the X for exhaust filter and of course 9.0L is the displacement. Deere has been using a variable geometry turbo in its Tier 3 engines, which allows precise control of airflow as the engine operates.
"With this approach we'll have three more years with a single-fluid solution with no reduction in reliability and fuel economy," Stigler says. "There are 160 Deere applications that use these engines and hundreds of outside applications too." EPA certified the 9-liter engine at the end of March 2010. Stigler says the engines have had 240,000 test hours and 42,000 vehicle test hours.
If you're headed to any of the big shows this fall, check out the engine choices being offered by the major producers. Deere's single-fluid approach is based on customer research and while the company is hard at work designing final Tier 4 engines for launch in 2014, it's keeping its options open.
As for pricing? The company announced a 5.7% increase for the 8R tractor with interim Tier 4 engine technology.


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Hello, all, and welcome to the Seniors' Sandbox provided to us by ParishWorld.net. Since my name is on the list of people key to the operation, I thought I would share my experience of getting old quickly, not necessarily graciously. In fact my sons tell me that grace, respect and elegance were the least of the qualities that shaped my "getting old" experience. Now that it is behind me and now that I am officially old, and still recuperating from the physical and emotional torture, I will tell you the story before I go back to work in the secular world.
June of 2008 was a nasty month. I was let go from a nice job for fabricated reasons, and in favor of a less competent replacement. Never one to let management gloat, I went out and found work inside of a month. It was a different world. I went from teaching, writing and planning Church events to driving an airport shuttle van six and one-half days a week, never less than fourteen hours on the full days. Then, Providence smiled on me and a fellow parishioner offered me a job opportunity in a medical transportation company. I passed all the tests (including the physicals) and all the interviews. I liked the people in the management and I liked the drivers who were soon to become my colleagues. So, in January of 2009 I went from driving fourteen to 18 hours a day to just ten or twelve, and those were the "long" days. I was thrilled to learn that Sundays were non-working days. Talk about hitting the jackpot.
On January 7, 2009, I hit the road for my training period with the senior partner of the firm. After a couple days I received my official employee identification badge. My number? 007. A license to kill! At the time little did I know that I would be the victim.
In the middle of the second week of training, I soloed. I was off and running. I weighed 170 pounds. I know that I made at least my share of dumb rookie mistakes. The management corrected those that they could and learned to live with the rest. I passed the probationary period test (6 months) and was kept on. The company was growing, so the decision to keep me was perhaps made a little bit easier because of that. It was during this growth period that the first customer with pre-dawn needs to be picked-up and brought to early morning dialysis treatments engaged our services. I quickly volunteered to do that work. I had two reasons: a] at my age (72), getting up at 2:30 AM won't be hard, and b] by doing what no one else wants to do, I'll have job security. You oldies who are reading this, know exacty what I mean. So I did it. Soon we went from having one or two such passengers to having four or five or more. Six days a week we had a van (mostly mine) enjoying having all the city streets quasi empty and all the traffic lights on the major thoroughfares green at 4:00 AM. It was fun. Plus, most passengers are a lot more loquacious at 4:00 AM than they are later in the day.
I did this until February 6, 2010. On Monday, February 8, I called in sick because I could hardly move from a generalized gout attack. I sat around the house all day. I crawled around the house in pain for two days. My mother-in-law died on February 12, in San Diego. We went. I could not drive. Belle, (my beloved spouse) fresh from surgery, drove. We viewed her mother before the morticians took possession of the body. She stayed in San Diego and our elder son drove me back to Kaiser Urgent Care in Riverside. I was getting old fast. After one hour, the doctors confined me to the hospital. I had to be wheeled to my bed. I will spare you the physical, mental and emotional adventures of my stay. Five days later I would be discharged from the hospital, a frail invalid of 132 pounds who could not do anything for himself. Now, that is old. Two weeks before my 73rd birthday. Did I get old graciously? Let me quote my son; "Pa, you must be the first person ever to get expelled from a hospital." (February 18, 2010)
"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1; 21)
I remember some of the thoughts that I had while in the hospital, most of them while I was lying on my back convinced that I would not be able to walk out under my own steam. I would say to myself, "What am I doing here? Is this what it is like to be in the hospital? Why am I here, there isn't anything that can be done to make me better?" Then I would turn my head and see my elder son, sitting in vigilance by the bedside. He was the priest that God had given me for the first three days of my stay. I would say to myself, "There are no words of gratitude in human language to express the emotions that I feel in seeing my son offering the sacrifice of love that I am presently witnessing." In the moments of lucidity that I had (very few over a period of more than ten days) I would tell him the same thing.
When his younger brother came to replace him, I told him the same thing. He turned it back on me and said, "You expect me to believe you while you're 'out of it'?" I actually remember laughing weakly at that.
Over the years I have suffered fiery physical pain from chronic gout. It was never as vicious as what incapacitated me during February and March of 2010. Over the same period of time I have learned the truth about incapacitation and pain. It's not mine to own, it's not mine to keep. Job, the foreigner, and Jesus, the God-obeying, Spirit-filled Jew, both knew that. Our human difficulties are our gift/sacrifice to God. Our bodies are the altar of the sacrifice where pain is offered to God so that he can use it to bring someone else's life closer to His. We say that pain and suffering are part of life. True. I firmly believe that pain and suffering are natural and supernatural realities of human life. Just like the grain of wheat has to die before growing and producing; just as the lamb has to die before becoming the protein and sustenance of other life, the part of our death that we feel in pain and suffering belongs to God so that He can harvest it and sustain another of His disciples in righteousness.
It has been about one month now that I have been perceptibly becoming more and more "normal", physically and emotionally. The doctors have been doing marvels. My indomitable competitive nature has not been shy about twisting God's arm to make Him make me a stronger missionary for His cause. I tell Him, "You kept me alive, so now make me better so that I can work for you. I don't mind the pain, take it, it's all yours. Oh, by the way, any time you want to invite me to take a walk with you back to the Garden of Eden, I'm ready. Just say the word." (Read Genesis, chapter 4, verses 23 and 24. I pray for that grace every day.)
I have gone back to the things I like. Sunday school for adults, writing for ParishWorld.net and preparing 90 minute conferences for adults on Biblical and Theological topics. Finally, I am hoping to be back at work in a week or two. I crossed the Red Sea into Old Age as a grouch. I am working at polishing my attitude and regaining my sense of humor. I count on you to pray for me.
I leave you with the simple thoughts expressed above. I hope that they will serve as food for thought. Low calorie, low cholesterol and sugar-free, of course.
Paul Dion, STL Theology Editor
Catholic Living Today in ParishWorld.net


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Dungeons and Dragons 5e Riddling Contest Rules
- There will be two rounds of riddles so each person will provide two riddles to be solved. Play in character but you can draw upon your riddle knowledge as a real person.
- The winner shall be determined by points
- 1 point for solving a riddle
- 2 points for stumping everyone with a riddle
- When it's your turn to provide a riddle, you have two options:
- If you, as a player, know a riddle you can provide it freely (we'll assume your character would know some riddles)
- You make an Intelligence Saving Throw to draw a riddle or riddles from the bag. Once you draw a riddle or riddles, you must use it (or one of them if you drew several). Based on your saving throw result, you
- 5 or less – Draw two riddles, read them, and provide the easier riddle to the group. Remove the second riddle from the game.
- 6-10 – Draw one riddle and use it
- 11-15 – Draw two riddles, read both, choose one and use it, remove the other riddle from the game
- 16-20 – Draw two riddles, read both, choose one and use it, and return the other riddle to the bag
- 21+ - Draw three riddles, read all three, choose one and use it, and return the other two to the bag
- Likewise, when it's your turn to answer a riddle, you have two options. A person can only provide one answer to a riddle – the first answer counts as their final answer. The riddle ends when the correct answer is given.
- If you, as a player, know or think you know the answer, you can yell it out. Anyone yelling an answer should go first.
- You can make an Investigation roll. Based on the success of the roll, you (and only you) are provided with clues to the answer. Clues are provided first to those that roll highest.
- 15 or less – no clues provided
- 16-20 – A clue to the nature of the riddle is provided (perhaps it's a language based riddle or the answer is an abstract concept)
- 21+ - A clue to the nature of the riddle is provided as well as a clue to the actual word itself in the answer (for example, "It has four letters and ends with 't'.")


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Thursday, August 30, 2007
Transit project
Hope to have more posted in the coming days and weeks.
New slogan:
Transit cuts. Real people. Real pain.
$50 billion vs. bathroom come-on
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Better to do it right
An RTA might be the way to go to deal with transit's funding woes, (although why some of the bloat in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation could not be redirected into something useful, like funding transit, is beyond me). Trying to cram RTA legislation -- which could very well contain new taxes or at least the mechanism to create them -- into an already super-contentious budget that is already bogged down in conference committee would be disastrous and pointless. The entire budget process (whatever part of it is still functioning) likely would come to a halt. It's not like an RTA will be up and running the day after it is approved. It will take time to establish, coordinate and staff. It's very possible that it wouldn't be in existence in time to stave off 2008 rate increases, anyway.
Worse, though, is that transit riders would be shut out of the creation of the RTA.
Better to do this slowly and well than rush and have an ill-conceived, poorly-functioning agency that does not have public support.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Kanavas gets it wrong and wronger
Whatever his problem, the press release he issued Monday about the Zoo Interchange grossly misstates the facts about what Gov. Doyle proposed and what the Democrats in the Senate did with that proposal.
Untruth No. 1: "I was pleased to learn the Zoo Interchange reconstruction project was fully funded in the Governor's 2007-2009 state budget....Senate Democrats cut funding..."
Doyle never, ever fully funded Zoo Interchage reconstruction in his budget proposal. He couldn't, because nobody knows how much it will cost, except that it will be a lot. The governor proposed $24 million for environmental and engineering studies related to future reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange. That money still is there. Neither the Democratic Senate nor the Republican Assembly removed it.
Untruth No. 2: Senate Democrats, Kanavas writes, also "restricted the ability to expand the Interchange" and "they want to specifically prohibit adding lanes to the Zoo Interchange, a move that renders the project useless (although still expensive). Not one Democrat is the State Senate, including Senators representing Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties, objected to this decision."
It could be that no one objected because there was, in fact, no move to prohibit expansion of the Zoo Interchange. (If there had been, I would have been the first to stand up and cheer.) What happened is this: the governor proposed that WisDOT be granted authority to go ahead and expand the Zoo Interchange if that's what the road-builders at WisDOT wanted to do. There was no money attached to the authority, though.
The governor was just a tad premature in his desire to give this go-ahead to the ever-poorly-managed and wasteful WisDOT -- after all, not a single study related to the Zoo project has been completed, there is no cost estimate for the work, and there is certainly no funding plan. The Dems simply indicated a desire to have further consideration of the project's scope, costs and impacts. Kanavas is really objecting fiscal discipline and responsibility. Looks like he is just another tax-and-spend Republican.
Kanavas really thinks rebuilding aging infrastructure is "useless" unless it is made bigger? Even after the Minnesota bridge collapse? He's probably the only one in America, besides George Bush, so hesitant to change his mind when presented with facts that contradict his opinion.
The Senate did add language to the budget that would prohibit expansion of a stretch of I-94 well east of the Zoo Interchage project area, on the portion of the freeway that abuts historic Wood National Cemetery.
When the proponent of a proposal has to prevaricate to sell the proposal, it's probably a good idea to take a long hard look at both the project and the proponent. In the end, it is very possible that neither has much to recommend it to the public.
How hard up is the city for money?
There are some logistical challenges associated with the fee, especially if it is assessed against only those convicted of a crime. First the courts would have to sort out who was booked by Milwaukee as opposed, to say, Wauwatosa, Whitefish Bay, or Cudahy. How much would the state court system charge the city to perform that little administrative task? How much would it cost the state to get a computer system that could do it? Think the federal courts would be willing to spend millions so Milwaukee could collect its $20 per book-ee fee?
Then there would be that pesky matter of collection. Is the city going to have automatic canteen account deductions for prison inmates? Will debt collectors be sent to Waupun to track down the scofflaws?
The city needs money, and this proposal needs a lot more thinking about.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Yes to speeding up street repairs
City streets are in awful shape, but are in terrific shape when compared to county parkways and roads. Some of each are growing dangerous, especially to people on bikes, scooters and motorcycles. If we are going to get serious about transportation alternatives, we at least have to have infrastructure good enough so those trying to cut their fossil fuel use don't risk serious injury by hitting a giant pothole. (PS to drivers: bike lanes are for bikes!)
The JS story, though, missed a huge factor in the declining state of city streets -- people are turning down needed projects all over town because of the city's whopping special assessment charges. The assessments were doubled in 2002, and a typical resurfacing job that cost a abutting property owner $1,250 in special assessments before the change now costs $2,500, according to information presented last month to the Common Council's Public Works Committee.
City Budget Director Mark Nicolini assured the committee that Mayor Tom Barrett would be open to lower assessment charges -- here's hoping Barrett proposes reducing the charges himself and doesn't make aldermen try to figure out how to adjust the budget to accommodate them. (Unfortunately, the city can't count on the state to help out in the form of local road aids, as the state would rather fund obscenely expensive freeway projects, as Jim Rowen and the Daily Reporter point out.)
The JS also reported today that the Barrett administration has a plan to greatly increase the pace of road repairs in the city, but failed to mention that the plan relies on huge increases in special assessment collections and remarkably inflation-free road project costs. Aldermen at last month's meeting were pretty skeptical about it all.
Yup, the special assessments should be lower -- a $2,500 charge is simply a back-breaker for too many Milwaukee residents. The pace of major local road projects also should be speeded up. Unfortunately, these may be contradictory goals that will take more than action by the mayor and Common Council to achieve -- the state and federal governments will also have to do their parts.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Cutting the county's phone costs and life lines
Reports the JS:
Also on the chopping block is funding for IMPACT, a non-profit group that operates Milwaukee County's 211 call center. The group would lose 90% of its county funding, from $480,000 last year to $46,958 this year.
The 211 centers link callers to community services, including food pantries, emergency shelter, utility assistance, low-cost home rentals, and alcohol- or drug-treatment referrals.
When the 211 service began in 2002, the center took 58,000 calls. This year, it will take an estimated 130,000. Mike Davis, president and CEO of IMPACT, said the proposed budget would cut the number of calls taken by about 55,000.At first glance, the $3.69 per call cost of operating the line may not seem cost-effective at all. In fact, the county absolutely should look at ways to reduce that cost, either by increasing the volume of calls to the center through an awareness campaign or by actually cutting costs.
But cut the budget? Supervisors ought to put this on the morality weigh scale: operating the 211 line costs the county significantly less per call than the county charges for many generally destitute inmates to call collect from the House of Correction or County Jail.
That amount is $5.50 a call, unless the inmate has a debit card -- then it's $3.30. (The latter is 39 cents less than the cost of the 211 call, but I'm betting most inmates aren't getting the lower rate because they don't have the required debit cards and the average cost of the calls is going to be more than $3.69.)
If county government is unwilling to spend as much to help residents get needed social services as it will charge for an inmate to talk to a loved one on the outside, then something is beyond repair in county government.
Here's a thought: how about looking for ways to reduce both of these costs?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Hard cases make bad law -- another example
Now Monyelle, a rather low-functioning adult, is on trial after confessing that he had sexual thoughts about kids. The prosecution also says he visited places like malls and toy stores where he was not supposed to go.
He could be locked up for life as a sexual predator, even though he hasn't touched anyone.
He could be locked up for life about being honest about what he was thinking, even though he was encouraged to report what he was thinking for his parole overseers.
This case is simply abuse of prosecutorial discretion. It is wrong, even in cases of potential sexual assault, to lock someone up for crimes they may have pondered, but haven't committed.
Of course child sexual abuse is a heinous crime. So are a lot of other crimes. Should anyone who imagines killing the boss / spouse / bad neighbor be convicted of thinking about it? Or maybe only those who some sort of criminal record should be punished for their thoughts.
Should someone with a bad driving record be sent to jail for having a lazy thought about swiping that Porsche down the street?
How many people do you think, whether or not they have ever committed a crime, have fantasized about committing one? Is there a living human being who has not?
Who gets prosecuted (or committed for life in a civil proceeding) for that? Maybe we should limit it to convicted felons. That way we likely would only have to build 50,000 new prisons.
Once this door is opened -- the ability to lock people up for thinking bad thoughts when they have done nothing criminal -- anybody can be pushed through it. That is a far larger danger than Michae Monyelle has proven thus far to be.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Rip van JS
Get this line from this morning's story on a potential new Regional Transit Authority:
Their new cooperation follows a previously unannounced Aug. 8 meeting with philanthropist Michael Cudahy and Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
Except the meeting was announced, just not necessarily to the JS. The Business Journal reported quite extensively on it in the paper's Aug. 10 edition. (The link is just to a snippet of the story. The Business Journal doesn't post full versions of its stories for just anyone to look at -- you have to be a subscriber to the paper.) The story included quotes from both Walker and Barrett about the meeting. (Here's an earlier post on this very matter.)
Can a meeting that has been very publicly discussed by its participants be called "unnanounced"? Guess it depends on your definition of "unannounced;" a newspaper, though, struggling for trust in large sections of its circulation area, should not be so Clintoneque in its word-smithing. It doesn't help the cause.
Transit Authority: Do it right
What a bad way to implement a potentially good idea. The mayors and county executives of Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha are important folks, but apparently have given themselves a promotion beyond the reach of their constituents, their colleagues, and reality.
Yes, transit clearly needs a broader funding base. A transit authority may be a good idea (a better one would be for the Wisconsin State Department of Transportation to quit throwing money at road-building contractors and to invest more in transit). Trying to establish a transit authority by making sure almost everyone is excluded from the discussion is simply assuring failure.
(Hmm. That wouldn't be the real motivation of some of these folks, would it?)
There is no way a hurriedly-planned RTA should be rammed through the state budget at the last minute. A governing body established that quickly probably will be poorly designed. A governing body with the authority to tax and spend that would be established without public input and without public hearing and without public debate is probably dead on arrival.
A new layer of government agreed to by eight white guy electeds in a closed room kind of reeks of old boy politics. Visions of pot-bellies and big stogies dance in my head.
How do these folks expect their colleagues on the legislative side of their respective governments to react when they learn that their elected executives decided against that "check and balance" thing? Does Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas really think the Waukesha County Board will take kindly to being shut out of the discussion about potential new taxes in Waukesha County, especially when they have no say in what kind or how much?
Maybe it wasn't stogies those guys were smokin' in that meeting.
Who serves on the RTA? Is representation proportional? Are members elected? Are they paid? Do they have taxing authority? Will it still be staffed, as is the existing RTA, by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, that suburban-based, suburban-biased agency that spends public money on things like books about itself and studies designed to win favor from black Milwaukee County supervisors?
'Scuse me for asking -- I'm only a member of the public.
A transit authority might be the way to build and run transit. It will never happen, though, unless the folks behind the plan take care to win support for the idea. This needs to be done right if a RTA for regional transit is going to be more than an election time feint.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Subprime mess: take two
Don't believe any regulators, real estate agents or mortgage bankers who say otherwise. They knew.
Now the fed has jumped in to pump liquidity into the markets and to lower interest rates, which is great for the suit-and-tie crowd that made the subprime market the sham it became, but the folks at the bottom are still looking at soaring mortgage payments they can't afford. Excuse me for asking, but where is the help for them?
The subprime market is falling apart because it is riddled with ethical and legal corruption, which a lot of folks realized a long time ago, but ignored because the money was so. damn. good. Besides, if you didn't look, you wouldn't see the rot.
About 10 years ago, Milwaukee was hit with a wave of real estate fraud. Eventually, more than 500 properties, most in the central city, were caught up in fraud conspiracies prosecuted by the US attorney's office.
500 properties! Imagine walking in a straight line past 500 houses. You would have to walk a pretty good distance.
The scams the bad guys ran back then took advantage of weaknesses in the subprime market and the vulnerability and ignorance of the people who borrowed there. Just like today. Things haven't changed, though they may have gotten a bit worse.
I spent a great deal of time in the late '90s and early 2000s investigating the crooks and subprime bottom feeders.
Here are some of the things that were wrong then and now.
Loans requiring little or no down payments. In the late 90s, subprime mortgage lenders were settling for 5% down with 95% financing. Sometimes the lenders would quietly refund -- or kick back -- the 5% to the buyers. Now subprime lenders are advertising 100% financing and openly telling the world that credit histories and ability to pay will not be verified.
Shock! Surprise! Lots of people who shouldn't have gotten a loan actually did! Who would have thunk it?
Inflated appraisals. In the late '90s, lenders eager to write the loans would seek or tolerate, or not notice blatantly fraudulent appraisals that vastly overstated the value of properties. In one instance, two properties that were in reality several miles apart were described as being within a few blocks of each other. The lie went undetected, in part because the appraisal was given a "desk review" by someone in California who didn't know a thing about Milwaukee.
The state legislature really needs to establish a few new rules for appraisers like, maybe, demonstration of basic competence. The Milwaukee Common Council understood this in 2001 and asked the state to license appraisers, but couldn't even get a bill introduced. Now the city is trying again. The ladies and gents in Madison could have made the subprime fiasco a little less painful if they had acted back then, but they didn't. So please, please act now.
Far away corporate lenders. Then and now, the appraiser gets paid for delivering what the lender wants to hear; the real estate agent gets a commission based on the vastly inflated sales price, which is based on the bad appraisal; and the lender writes a huge loan and promptly sells the paper, raking in a really nice profit. The big bank or corporation that bought the paper is probably 1,000 miles away and doesn't really care about that particular mortgage, which is one of hundreds of mortgages purchased in a big package, as long as the good performers in that package do better than the bad performers and the money rolls in.
And when the poor sap who ignorantly paid tens of thousands of dollars too much for the property defaults on the loan and loses the house to foreclosure? The far-away mortgage owner hires someone to go look at the property. And that someone comes back and reports "This property is a piece of crap. You will never get your investment out of it."
The big corporate mortgage owner, because it is run by smart people who want to maximize profit and because it doesn't really give a damn about Milwaukee and its neighborhoods, knows that improving the property and then selling it will only make wetter the bath the company already has taken.
So the corporate mortgage owner simply walks away from the property.
It falls into disrepair. The city comes and boards it up. And boarded up houses become blights on their neighborhoods, attracting crime and depressing property values.
Nothing's changed. A system designed to be ripped off is being ripped off.
This time, though, the government is stepping in to throw billions to ease the financial wounds at the top of the economic pyramid, while the bleeding goes on and on and on at the bottom.
The system is still broken and entirely corrupt in very many ways, but with time, people will forget and the cycle will begin again.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Wrong way to go
What an absolutely horrendous idea. Spitzer's guys may or may not have crossed the ethical line, but issuing a subpoena to a reporter in such a relatively minor investigation -- let's face it, national security is not at risk here -- will have such a chilling effect on reporters that a free press will become a cowed press.
Of course, that's what a lot of politicians and government officials -- maybe even members of the New York State Elections Commission -- would like to happen.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Actual county memo
To All,
The Milwaukee County websites using the internet are now available.
Sorry for any incontinence this may have caused.
IMSD Help Desk
Is it any wonder the county's payroll/HR system is so screwed up?
More spying coming our way
Spy satellites and other classified intelligence technologies are poised to play a greater role in domestic homeland security and law enforcement missions, challenging long-standing legal and policy barriers against their domestic use.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the Director of National Intelligence recently authorized access to intelligence satellite products by officials of the Department of Homeland Security to help support border security.
See "U.S. to Expand Domestic Use of Spy Satellites" by Robert Block, Wall Street Journal, August 15, p.1:
A comprehensive 2005 government study of the use of intelligence capabilities for domestic applications concluded that "significant change is needed in policy regimes regulating domestic use of IC [intelligence community] capabilities" in order to permit their full exploitation.
"The use of IC capabilities for domestic purposes should be… based on the premise that most uses of IC capabilities are lawful rather than treating any use as an exception to the rule requiring a case-by-case adjudication," the study said.
"There is an urgent need for a top-down, Executive Branch review of all laws and policies affecting use of intelligence capabilities for domestic purposes," the report said.
In particular, the 1981 Executive Order 12333 which governs intelligence activities "should be amended to permit as unfettered an operational environment for the collection, exploitation and dissemination [of domestic intelligence data] as is reasonably possible," the report recommended.
The authors acknowledged that such "unfettered" operation would require increased oversight, but they suggested that it could be satisfactorily accomplished by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The Board has been a minor, not notably influential player in recent intelligence policy disputes.Congress, caving in to the Bush Administration's scare tactics on eavesdropping, already found a way to provide oversightless oversight: give Alberto Gonzales extraordinary powers to invade people's privacy, then turn oversight of those extraordinary powers and Alberto Gonzales to ... Alberto Gonzales.
Gas prices likely to rise on this one
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has had just a few new thoughts in the last 50 years, and none of them involved re-thinking urban transportation.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
More on the bridge collapse
...two years ago this month President Bush signed a nearly $300 billion transportation law that was infamously known for its 6,300 pet pork project earmarks. Analysts have been quick to pounce this week on projects like the "bridge to nowhere" as the root of the nation's transportation woes.
They are missing the bigger picture. Even though the $20 billion that comes from the thousands and thousands of earmark projects is a lot of money by any measure, this is only about 5 percent of the overall federal transportation program.
The real problem is that we have a national transportation framework that is adrift. It takes an almost agnostic approach to how those billions of dollars are spent and it does not hold the recipients of the federal money - the states, mainly - accountable for meeting any kind of national goals or objectives....
...there is no accountability for meeting even the most basic performance goals and objectives such as safety, congestion relief, or improving air quality.
The federal government needs to make the preservation, maintenance, and modernization of the existing system a national priority and it needs to take a lead role in holding the states accountable for doing so. Safety should be assumed, not hoped for.
The surge
The surge, clearly, is not working.
Did President Bush really expect us to believe that putting too few soldiers in just one place for a limited amount of time would bring peace? Did even he really believe it?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Environmental justice and SEWRPC
SEWRPC gave a PowerPoint presentation that could put a dead man to sleep. Then the ACLU's Karyn Rotker spoke, and people paid attention. A summary and video (broken into three bite-sized pieces can be found here).
SEWRPC, an unelected body heavily skewed toward suburban interests, makes influential recommendations regarding land use and transportation planning and now is involved in a water supply study that undoubtedly will make recommendations favorable to suburban water vampires like Waukesha.
Sprawl, anybody?
50+ Things You Won't Learn from Talk Radio
50+ Things You Won't Hear on Talk Radio
A new "book" by radio talker Charlie Sykes has inspired
Quite a distinguished group. Perhaps the most blog brainpower assembled since Thomas Jefferson blogged alone.
Sykes repackaged and expanded on a little schtick he started more than 10 years ago, with what was then called, Rules of life for teenagers".
It ran as an op ed column in 1996 with 14 rules, and now has grown to 50 – and a book, "50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School."
Sykes' rules, which will make you either groan or say "Duh!," are getting predictably good reviews from Sykes' fellow wingnut bloggers, for such "insightful" sayings as "Life isn't fair; get used to it." (Did he steal that one from Jimmy Carter?)
If you must, here's a website where you can find more of the rules.
But you can stay right here and read 50+ Things You Won't Hear on Talk Radio.
You are welcome – nay, more than welcome, invited even – to add your own, in the comments section or by email.
1, Might does not make right.
2. Repetition doesn't make anything right.
3. Ditto wishful thinking.
4. Ditto the size of your IQ.
5. Size only matters if you're insecure.
6. Guns do kill people.
7. The rich get rich and the poor get poorer; it's the Republican way.
8. You are your brother's and sister's keeper.
9. People don't choose to be poor, any more than they choose to be gay.
10. The Fairness Doctrine is not an "Equal Time" rule.
11. The economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around. – Gaylord Nelson.
12. When you go to war, God is not on anyone's side.
13. Reagan raised taxes.
14. I'm sorry.
15. I was wrong.
16. I shouldn't have interrupted you.
17. Bill Clinton isn't still President.
18. George Bush made a mistake.
19. Gays are human beings.
20. The American public turned against the Vietnam war before the press did.
21. There were no weapons of mass destruction found in
22. Saddam Hussein was not behind 9/11.
23. Abstinence programs don't stop teens from having sex.
24. Abortion is a choice best left to a woman and her doctor, not the government.
25. Prayer doesn't improve test scores.
26. You are not entitled to your own facts.
27. Joe Wilson didn't lie. Valerie Plame was covert.
28. Bill Clinton was incredibly popular.
29. Al Gore didn't say all those things you think he said.
30. Climate change is real.
31. Tax cuts don't increase revenue.
32. The
33. Illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes than American citizens.
34. Universal health care is cheaper and of better quality in most Western nations than our "free market" approach in the
35. Compassionate Conservatism is neither.
36. When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed. – Mother Teresa.
37. Blaming parents for their out of control teenagers may feel good but it does not lower homicide rates.
39. No Democrat was ever caught fondling a FEMA director and saying, "You are doing a heckofa job Brownie."
40. Politicians should leave the science to the scientists.
41. Political scientists should learn that politics is not a science.
42. Medical decisions should be between doctors and patients, not between big insurance companies and their accountants.
43. Even people that I disagree with are innocent until proven guilty.
44. Being poor is not a character defect.
45. You didn't grow up rich in the suburbs because you're so smart. (You were born on third base; that doesn't mean you hit a triple.)
46. Radio airwaves belong to the public; broadcasting on them is a privilege, not a right.
47. The greatest tragedy in mankind's history may be the hijacking of morality by fundamentalists.
48. The poor go to heaven, too.
49. In fact, it has been said that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
50. Taxes are not inherently evil.
51. The
52. Dick Cheney is not omniscient
53. The president really can't just do anything he damn well pleases. Even
if he's a Republican.
54. The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. -- Bertrand Russell.
55. Gay marriage won't hurt your marriage.
56. Poverty causes social problems.
57. The Constitution mandates a separation between church and state.
58. The right to privacy is a constitutional guarantee.
59. Justice Scalia has expressly repudiated strict constructionism.
60. The U.S was founded not on Christian but on Enlightenment principles.
61. Bill Clinton was, at worst, slightly right of center.
62. It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… attributed to Theodore Roosevelt.
63. The
64. Be a class act. Class seems to be inextricably related to kindness, consideration, and a general recognition of human worth. -- Roy Beers.
65. Being black in
66. Being gay could not possibly be a choice since no child who ever heard the hatred tossed around playgrounds would ever choose it.
67. Living in poverty is hard work. It's not for the lazy.
68. The truly conservative position on gay marriage would be to insist upon it.
69. We're going to need all the immigrants we can get here to pay into Social Security to support the Baby Boomers in retirement.
70. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
71. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth.
72. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
73. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be satisfied.
74. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
75. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
76. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
77. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
78. Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.
79. If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.
And finally, a few of local interest to Sykes & Company:
80. Really -- hair is supposed to move!
81. Jessica McBride is not a journalist.
82. Midnight fireworks can backfire.
83. Paul Bucher has never been a judge, not even for one day.
Update: Thought of another one --
84. George W. Bush is the evil twin.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Oh, yeah, Barrett was in the room, too
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is calling local leaders together to discuss whether the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority should be beefed up to run public buses - including his county's financially troubled transit system - as well as commuter trains....
Walker's move comes as debate continues on the future of public transit locally.
The story mentioned Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas, Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson, Racine Mayor Gary Becker and Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was noticeable for his absence.
Now here's the Business Journal's take on the same topic:
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker have set aside their dueling transit plans and agreed to pursue a regional transit authority that would run bus systems in southeastern Wisconsin....
Barrett and Walker will invite government representatives from Racine and Kenosha counties, as well as other Milwaukee-area municipalities and counties, to disucss interest in the regional transit concept.
"The mayor and I have been on the same wavelength" on the regional authority, Walker said.
Barrett and Walker will invite government representatives from Racine and Kenosha counties, as well as other Milwaukee-area municipalities and counties, to discuss interest in the regional transit concept.
The Journal Sentinel focuses on Walker exclusively. The Business Journal includes Walker, Barrett and others as the movers behind this latest effort to get transit rolling forward. The JS' exclusion of Barrett's contribution to the newest efforts is puzzling, especially since the story was written by the City Hall reporter. Did Walker simply "forget" to mention Barrett? Or did the JS simply fail to follow up?
The participation of Barrett and others besides Walker makes the transit meeting among regional leaders actually mean something. Barrett, after all, actually understands the importance of transit and might be able to preserve this vital service.
Walker, on the other hand, has simply let the transit system crumble under his administration: Ho hum, let them drive cars.
Bad Dave Schulz, good Dave Schulz
What did Schulz have to say to all this? Not much according to last month's expose in the Journal Sentinel: Schulz did not respond to numerous interview requests.
You might think such a grasping figure -- a guy who stiffs his former constituents and then won't discuss it, who may even have paid less for the service credit than he should have -- might have lost just a wee bit of credibility in the eyes of the JS powers.]
Perish the thought. Nope. The JS instead gives him a chunk of space in which to state his views. Schulz has an op-ed piece in today's Crossroads section entitled, ironically enough, Don't fear, but you're going to have to pay.
Schulz was not referring to his own undeserved county pension, but to road infrastructure repair costs. His piece essentially an argument for higher taxes.
Yes, the JS has a guy who is ripping off county taxpayers but refusing to discuss it opining at some length on the need for higher taxes. Don't be surprised if he doesn't have a whole lot of credibility on this one.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
A State Fair shortcoming
This year, as we are every year, we wondered if the State Fair folks would ever install bike racks and provide at least a little security for them. This doesn't seem like anything they would have to be told, since every year there are lots of bikes chained to the fences. (The space available for this decreases as the landscaping immediately adjacent to the fence increases.) This year, as we triple-chained our bikes to the fence, I noticed a very nice mountain bike chained to the fence nearby.
A few hours later, as we were leaving the fair, that nice mountain bike was gone. The chain was still hanging from the fence, sliced through neatly, like a tender steak would be sliced by sharp knife.
It really is time for the State Fair to get with the program and provide secure bike racks so a trip to the State Fair doesn't turn into a bad memory.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
It's election time and Walker plays "let's pretend"
This is the top story in the JS -- a discussion that will be held next month.
Walker, of course, has no authority to get the RTA to do that, so that's all there will be -- a discussion. Mayor Tom Barrett is actually the one who has at least a partial plan to move forward with real transit solutions (those pesky operating funds remain an issue, though), while Walker simply says "No" and looks increasingly foolish about it to an increasing number of people.
The solution? A meeting! A discussion! Be still, my heart!
Most of the leaders Walker has invited to the discussion lead governments that run transit systems, according to the JS. Most, but not all. How did Walker choose which non-transit-runners to invite? Why weren't they all invited?
Walker doesn't have any real ideas for saving transit. What he has is a re-election campaign, a pension scandal (why is the JS, which did a fabulous job breaking the story, treating him with such kid gloves on that one?), a crony-crippled administration, and a real need for some decent press. The JS obligingly met that need today, giving Walker's empty gesture a prominence it did not deserve.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Bar Louie gets its license, but...
Aldermen got their vacations interrupted for the special meeting.
America's Second Harvest, according to the Journal Sentinel, will get a "significant donation" (let's hope there was no deal worked out on that before the meeting) and Milwaukee residents got a rather unsettling view of their local government at work.
The lesson: if you are going to forget to renew your liquor license, make sure you are wealthy enough to hire a very politically-connected lawyer to take your case to the local politicians. If you are a solo operator of a corner bar, you likely are out of luck.
Or maybe not. Now that the precedent has been so nicely set, will the city be able to avoid legal liability if it says 'no' to other bar owners that want financial forgiveness for late license renewals?
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
SEWRPC backs off
A spot of trouble for our favorite road-building firm
Oh, did I mention that HNTB gets piece of the pie for the Zoo Interchange reconstruction project as well? The state is just waiting for the budget to be done before signing the contracts and shoving more money into HNTB's pockets.
From the Boston Herald:
Inadequate drainage and problems with snow and ice buildup on the roof were among several convention center design flaws targeted in a $24 million out-of-court settlement that the MCCA reached last summer with the project's engineering and design firm, HNTB Corp., Rafael Vinoly Architects and two other companies.
To think the safety of our infrastructure is in the hands of a firm that can't design a roof that doesn't leak. Water from the roof leaked into the exhibition hall and was particularly a problem on the east side of the building, and in Hall C on the south end of the center.
Monday, August 06, 2007
One small step for SEWRPC
"Heck," you must be thinking. "This can't be that SEWRPC -- not the folks with the Pewaukee headquarters inaccessible to public transit! Not the group that took the words 'environmental' and 'justice' out of the term 'environmental justice'!"
Yes, indeedy, this task force is being brought to you by the very group that cannot afford to conduct a regional affordable housing study but CAN afford to celebrate its own 50th anniversary by paying $60,000 to a writer to pen a commemorative book that absolutely no one will read and CAN afford to pay more than $130,000 to a pr firm for things like suggesting the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission become known as the Regional Planning Commission of Southeastern Wisconsin and CAN afford to award a $50,000 no-bid contract to old friends of an influential SEWRPC official to conduct a study of Milwaukee's 30th Street Corridor in order to win the hearts and minds of black Milwaukee County supervisors even though said study is duplicative of what the city already is doing.
Rest assured that SEWRPC didn't go out of its way to inform the broader public about the meeting. I was part of the committee that met with SEWRPC for a couple years to get it to establish this task force, but SEWRPC didn't send me any notice of the first meeting. SEWRPC didn't even put a notice of the meeting on its web site until someone complained about it not being there.
The meeting is happening, though, and that's a small step forward. A very small one. SEWRPC is still playing games. Just look at the way it worded the agenda items.
SEWRPC's own guy, Gary Korb, will, according to the agenda, provide a "review of SEWRPC efforts to meet Federal Environmental Justice responsibilities relative to transportation planning."
ACLU attorney Karyn Rotker, who has been relentless in her pursuit of better environmental justice practices at SEWRPC, will then provide her "perspective."
Excuse me? What makes one a "review" and one a "perspective"? The fact that Gary is paid by SEWRPC and Karyn knows a lot about environmental justice? Why isn't Karyn listed as providing a "review of SEWRPC's environmental justice shortcomings"?
Hey, for next meeting, let Karyn's side write the agenda. Betcha it comes out a little different.
More on SEWRPC: Power grab, power grab, power grab. SEWRPC wants to decide who sets up a water management plan for Milwaukee area watersheds. Jim Rowen has more on this here. The response to this proposal should be a simple, emphatic "No."
Another fine mess, Mr. Walker
Sometimes saving money by not raising taxes can be very, very expensive.
Friday, August 03, 2007
About that road spending
A case of skewed priorities that puts driver and pedestrian safety at risk.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Could the Minnesota bridge disaster happen here?
This particular picture is from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's 2006 Budget Trends report. The top line represents spending on highway construction. The pink line, third from the top except near the end when it slips to fourth, represents spending on highway maintenance. The time period covered is 1992 through 2007.
So yeah, I'm guessing it could happen here.
For more on this, see Jim Rowen's post.
The county's pension mess
From Dave Umhoefer's story on Sunday: The Journal Sentinel spent six months analyzing the costs and hired two financial experts to assist in the calculations.
That's not an analysis any single supervisor is likely to be able to do, although maybe the Personnel Committee should have contracted for its own study.
The real problem, though, is that Walker for too long had the wrong people running the county's HR department, where the practice of allowing employees "buy" past service credit should have been dissected. The county's HR department has stumbled repeatedly under Walker. Just a year ago, Supervisor James "Luigi" Schmitt called it "incompetent."
The mess in HR is Walker's responsibility. Walker for too long let hacks roam where he needed competent professionals. The huge errors by his department finally forced him to make changes this year, but his knowing neglect of this department will cost county residents plenty.
As for the County Board, it needs to look at its own structure and staff. It may be time for it to add a bit more HR / Personnel expertise of its own to provide needed information and to protect the interests of taxpayers.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Computer woes
Now my printer may kill me.
Technology can be such a pain.
Rupert wins, journalism loses
It's a terrible day for journalism and, quite bluntly, for the United States. The Wall Street Journal is one of the best, if not the best, business publication in the country. Is there any other publication that can step into the void that Rupert Murdoch is creating? Who is the watchdog now? As corporations and their executives grow increasingly arrogant and continue to increase their own power, we need more information about what is happening and what we can do about it. Rupert Murdoch's takeover of the Wall Street Journal means we will know less about what the worst of big business is doing to us.


text:
Click here to go to the next issue
Highlights Home Page | Receive the Nondual Highlights each day
#2700 - Monday, January 15, 2007 - Editor: Gloria Lee
Nondual Highlights
The quotes in this issue all pertain to meditation and spiritual practice, after due recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. on his day.
posted to Daily Dharma
Below are excerpts from a
speech Martin Luther King
gave in 1967 voicing his opposition to the Vietnam
War. When he first spoke against the war, he was met
with great opposition and ridicule, including guarded
but sure criticism from the press and his own
supporters. Eventually, he was admired for speaking
out, for taking a stand that was not popular, but
which he knew was the truth. In hindsight, we see how
right he was, and we are inspired.
And in this very day, we find ourselves in a war
similar in many ways. He speaks of the "arrogance" of
America, thinking it is our calling to be a messiah to
the rest of the world - and we flinch - who us? And we
know there is truth there. Even now. Maybe more so
--dharma grandmother
who obviously got carried away by Dr. King's words. Be
sure to read his whole speech (you can hear him read
it too - and then he stops reading and the second half
is all spontaneous - brilliant, moving, much better by
way far than above ramblings. At:
Take the One Seat
When we take the one seat
on our meditation cushion we become
our own monastery. We create the compassionate space that allows
for the arising of all things: sorrows, loneliness, shame, desire,
regret, frustration, happiness.
Spiritual transformation
is a profound process that doesn't happen
by accident. We need a repeated discipline, a genuine training, in
order to let go of our old habits of mind and to find and sustain a
new way of seeing. To mature on the spiritual path we need to
commit ourselves in a systematic way. My teacher Achaan Chah
described this commitment as "taking the one seat." He said, "Just
go into the room and put one chair in the center. Take the seat in
the center of the room, open the doors and the windows and see
who comes to visit. You will witness all kinds of scenes and actors, all
kinds of temptations and stories, everything imaginable. Your only
job is to stay in your seat. You will see it all arise and pass, and out
of this, wisdom and understanding will come."
--Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart
From time without
beginning, our ego clinging has caused us to
wander in samsara; it is the root of all our sufferings, it is indeed the
culprit. Considering others to be more important than ourselves, we
should give up our self-cherishing attitudes and decide to act without
hypocrisy, emulating in body, speech and mind the behavior of friends
who live their lives according to the teachings. Mind Training should
be engaged in discreetly. It should not be done with external show,
in a way that attracts attention and creates a reputation; it should
act as the inward antidote to our self-clinging and defiled emotions.
We should bring our minds to ripeness without anybody knowing.
From "Enlightened
Courage", by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Swinging Door
When we practice zazen
[Zen Meditation] our mind always follows
our breathing. When we inhale, the air comes into the inner world.
When we exhale, the air goes to the outer world. The inner world is
limitless, and the outer world is also limitless. We say "inner world"
or "outer world," but actually there is just one whole world. In this
limitless world, our throat is like a swinging door. The air comes in
and goes out like someone passing through a swinging door. If you
think, "I breathe," the "I" is extra. There is no you to say "I." What
we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and
when we exhale. It just moves; that is all. When your mind is pure
and calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing: no "I," no
world, no mind nor body; just a swinging door.
--Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind
It is a
matter of transferring attention for this brief period
from the ego and fixing it lovingly on the Overself. For while thought
dwells in and on the ego alone, it is kept prisoner, held by the
little self's limitations, confined in the narrow circle of personal
affairs, interests, problems. The way out is this transfer of
attention. But the change needs a motive power, a push. This comes
from love and faith combined--love, aspiration, longing for Overself,
and faith in its living ever-presence within.
--Notebooks of Paul Brunton
A story and article
about Sri Ramana Maharshi and Chitrabhanu-Ji and the Principle of
Dear Friends,
I have just uploaded to http://luthar.com/ a story and article about Sri
Ramana and my teacher Gurudev Sri Chitrabhanu-Ji which highlights the
importance of the ancient principle of Ahimsa on the spiritual path.
Namaste and Love to all
top of page


text: The sweater is a versatile top that basically works in 3 out of the 4 seasons: windy fall's, cold winter's, and chilly spring's. We all have those basic, plain sweaters we pull out each year to layer underneath coats. But this season, I fell in love with the bold and brilliant sweaters worn as statement pieces! From bright graphic prints and delicate embroideries to interesting cutouts and embellished details these are definitely no demure layering knits. So ditch that coat and check out these 10 fabulous sweaters that are sure to turn heads!