text: LOCAL GOP says Granholm speech lacking Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's "stay the course'' message underlining Wednesday night's State of the State address wasn't enough to satisfy the majority of Republican lawmakers from southwestern Michigan. Criticism of the Democratic governor and her address was in some cases harsh. B1 Winter Olympics hopes take downhill slide Once again, there's a Winter Olympics that's about to unwind, this time in Italy. And, once again, it won't include Berrien County's Brenna Margol. It seems the 24-year-old Sawyer woman, ranked No. 1 in the country in women's singles luge competition three years ago and as high as 8th in the world, had some rough sledding in 2005. The downhill slide couldn't have occurred at a worse time. B1 Digital Excellence reaches milestone It was supposed to take five years to provide 1,000 families with computer skills and home computers. But only 19 months were needed. The Council for World-Class Communities' Bridges to Digital Excellence program graduated its most recent group of families Thursday, and in doing so surpassed the 1,000-family mark. B1 BUSINESS Commerce Center gets two booster shots Business office employees at the South Bend Clinic will take over the entire fourth floor of the historic Commerce Center on the East Race in South Bend in May. That lease with the South Bend Clinic helped convince Richard Gabriel, owner of Tycore, Ltd., of Chicago, to purchase the building for which he already is planning a new parking garage. C8 NATION/WORLD Prisoner release spurs hopes for journalist Iraq's minister of industry narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Thursday, while the release of five female prisoners by U.S. authorities raised hopes that kidnapped American reporter Jill Carroll might soon be set free. Also Thursday, Army Gen. George W. Casey acknowledged to reporters in Diwaniyah that U.S. forces were "stretched." A4


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Friday, February 5, 2016
Clearly Besotted Release Day!
Hi everyone! I'm back with my last card for the Clearly Besotted Stamps Febraruy Release. All the stamps and dies are on sale later today (10:00 BST) over in the CBS shop so be sure to go and check everything out!
I love to play with water colour...I am an amateur, learning and experimenting. What's nice about water colour is that it is forgiving and even if you go out of the lines, you can just spritz some water on it and let the colours run a bit. I used some distress inks and a water pen to colour in the tulips from the new You are Wonderful set, then spritzed some water and watched the colour pop out and create a cool shadow around the flowers. If the card looks kind of "scrappy," it is! My scrap pile is getting a little too big so I was determined to use some of them on this card. The grey dotted strip, the yellow circle and the bronze stars are all scraps who have a new home now (this card, not my desk!).
Thanks for stopping by and for all your lovely comments on this Clearly Besotted Release :) Head over to Stephanie's blog for some more inspiration and the Release Reveal contest!
5 comments:
- Keren Baker said...
I love watercolouring for that very reason too. Such a pretty card- I admire anyone who can layer well, I'm rubbish at it! x
- February 5, 2016 at 4:00 AM
- Bajalizzy said...
I would love to have received a card like this - so pretty - I like that extra textured paper in the star embellishments too
- February 5, 2016 at 4:43 AM
- Marisa said...
Beautifully done! Well done using the scraps - always a great feeling to put a dint in them :)
- February 5, 2016 at 10:34 AM
- Iris Esther Lopez said...
What a pretty card.
- February 6, 2016 at 1:13 PM
- Denise Bryant said...
Gorgeous card! Beautiful layering and coloring! Love the tulips!
- February 8, 2016 at 4:26 PM
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Readiness for Change
"I always talk about readiness for change. People commit to change for different reasons, I'm talking about four stages of readiness. But somebody who is really ready for change when they're at Stage 1. And that Stage 1 is when they are so sick to death of what is plaguing them that they wont put up with it for one more second of one more minute of one more hour of one more day. They are so sick of it that no matter how scary it looks on the other side, screw that, I am through with this. I cannot and will not put up with this another day in my life. And when you claim that position, that's when you change. Is this that moment for you?" ~ Dr Phil
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text: Market Transparency and Accountability Act of 2009 Misses the Mark February 22, 2009 The economic meltdown that faces President Obama is likely the most serious economic threat to the United States and the global financial markets since the Great Depression. In an effort to change the regulatory structure that set the stage for the current crisis, the House Committee on Agriculture passed The Derivatives Market Transparency Act of 2009 ("Derivatives Act") this month. Arguably, changes to the regulatory regime of the financial markets may be needed, one need only point to Bernard Madoff or R. Allen Stanford. However, any change to the way the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") regulates the financial markets, must first address the ability of both these regulators to regulate. Neither the CFTC nor the SEC can regulate non-transparent markets- that is the markets in which the estimated $596 trillion[1] or more unregulated over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives including the $35-65 trillion in credit default swaps[2] that have played a role in the current credit crisis. Any change to the existing regulatory regime must address the need for transparency in the financial markets. Concepts like marking to market are essential to transparency, well functioning financial markets and to regulators. Moreover, the legislature, especially as the financial markets continue to teeter on the brink of further collapse, must be careful to avoid hasty legislation that may make matters worse. The causes of the current worldwide credit/asset valuation crisis, which has led to the present economic meltdown of 2009 are many. But the chief suspects are a structural lack of transparency in the financial markets and an inherent problem in the way the financial system internally looks at risk. Unlike previous economic crisis, the credit crisis was not caused by any exigent force but by the financial markets themselves. The idea that market events are random and occur in normal distribution must for once and for all, be examined. The current economic meltdown was caused by allowing regulated parties such as banks, pension funds and investment houses to use notional values and computer models to value assets instead of marking all securities to a regulated market. The current crisis was also caused by the inability of out risk models to handle events that fall outside of a normal distribution. That market events occur in a normal distribution is the key assumption made by many financial models, including the capital asset pricing model, the Black-Scholes option pricing model, and VaR. However, events, like our current credit crisis, the market crashes of 1987 and 2000, Long-Term Capital Management, the collapse of Bear Stearns, the Savings and Loan Crisis, the crash of 1929, the collapse of Northern Rock, the Russian Debt crisis, the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 1990 Japanese asset bubble crisis, the 1973 oil crisis and 1978 energy crisis do not even remotely fit into a normal distribution. Our current models for evaluating risk are structurally A. Marking to Market Marking to market, the opposite of notional value, is a characteristic of the most transparent financial markets. One of the provisions of the $700 billion dollar bailout bill that was passed by the House of Representatives on October 3, 2008[3] includes a provision that gives the Securities and Exchange Commission the right to suspend mark-to-market accounting under Statement Number 157 of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. In other words, the SEC would be allowed to suspend the use of mark to market accounting standards whenever it thinks the public's interest would be best served by its doing so. Mark-to-market, or "fair-value" accounting is cited as one of the principal reasons for the recent meltdown in the U.S. banking system. This accounting rule, which went into effect Nov. 15, 2007, forces financial institutions to put a fair value on their assets and liabilities each quarter. This is not a novel regulation. Section 475 of the Internal Revenue Code has mandated the marking to market of securities at the end of each calendar year since 1983. Marking to market is being held responsible for erasing over $100 billion in assets tied to mortgage related securities. However, the principle of marking to market has existed in the futures markets since the beginning of price discovery by way of auction and open-outcry. Blaming the marking to market of securities for the current credit crisis confuses cause and effect. This is tantamount to blaming the scale for your weight problem. This said, it was correct to suspend having to mark to market the value of securities and OTC derivatives during the height of the current financial crisis. Not doing so, may have resulted in a global market meltdown. Also, banks and counterparties would have been forced to liquidate securities at prices that have since risen. Marked to market is more than an accounting rule; it is a principle that allows market participants to know the true value, the market value, of a financial instrument. Had the investment houses and counterparties more frequently had to mark the value of the mortgage related securities to market, the current credit crisis could have been averted, or at a minimum, the failing brokerage houses would have accurately accessed their financial situation long before bankruptcy. All over the world at any given time, the value and the price of an S&P500 futures contract are known. Knowing the price of a contract contributes to liquidity-the ability to get in or out of a position held in a contract. The regulated futures market, long a stepchild of the financial markets, is the most liquid and transparent market in the world. It has been remarkably free from systemic financial crisis . . .with the exception of a certain salad oil scandal. Perhaps there is a lesson here for Wall Street to learn. If you cannot mark to market, then trade at your peril, because you are in every way, trading in the dark. Without marking to market, you cannot readily determine risk. For example, what price changes or variables will adversely affect the value of certain derivatives and at what point does a change in one or more of these other prices or variables make the counterparty or both counterparties to a derivative bear a loss that is at or beyond their risk parameters? B. Transparency Transparency refers to the degree of information that is available. In a perfectly transparent market all relevant information about a market transaction from the price, order size, order flow, trading volume, identity of the traders/counterparties, all bids and offers available, etc. would theoretically be discoverable. The value of transparency in the marketplace is possibly best explained by its absence-opaqueness. The lack of transparency is called opaqueness. The environment that led to the current crisis was opaque. In the current mortgage debacle, few of the players knew what the baskets of mortgages they were packaging, buying and selling were actually worth. The participants in instruments that led to this current crisis operated in a very opaque if not downright murky environment. The mortgage related securities being traded from brokers to banks and between banks were not pegged to the value of anything tangible. One could make the case that they were not even derivatives because their value was effectively not derived from an underlying anything. All market transactions involve a degree of risk. In the law as in the markets, there is a presumption, albeit arguable, that the greater the amount of information a market participant has, the better able the participant is to assume and understand the risk behind the transaction. Price is the single most relevant information provided in a transparent market. "What did you pay for that?" is more than vaguely related to "what is it worth?" While the price paid for a piece of art is often not a precise indicator of what it is worth, it is a good starting point. However, regardless of the price paid for a Monet or a November Soybean contract, the important question soon becomes, "what is it worth?" Soybean contracts are marked to market; owners could look at the spot or cash market and know immediately what the value of what they own. A stock portfolio of listed stocks has an immediately discoverable value because listed stocks are marked to market everyday as buyers and sellers determine what listed equities are worth at any given moment. The owner of a financial instrument unlike the owner of a Monet, has an after market to which he can go to instantly determine the value of the instrument and where he can sell it. As we are now seeing, bad things can happen when the price of something is not known. In cases where financial instruments are not commoditized, regulated or listed, their value must be determined by the assignment of a notional value. Notional value can take on different meanings in various contexts. Notional value of many of the collateralized debt obligations ("CDO") are created by one or more of the counterparties to the transactions. Worse, the notional value of a CDO or of a mortgage security bears no relation the market value. It is argued that the notional value of unregulated securities transactions now exceeds $1 quadrillion ($1000 trillion). For collateralized CDOs the market value of the collateral may be much less than the notional value. Are they even collateralized? In the case of Bear Stearns, many of the trading in mortgage related securities involved financial instruments assigned only a notional value. The failure of one of Wall Street's most venerable investment houses and the largest bankruptcy in United States history that now threatens to shut down the banking system itself were caused by mortgage backed securities that were assigned notional values. The current credit crisis on Wall Street is reminiscent of 1929 with a crucial difference-a lot more money at stake. Technology has at once increased the speed of transactions. In 2009, there are complex transactions involving derivatives whose notional values are in the hundreds of trillions of dollars. There are several possible reasons why these transactions, which are in the author's opinions only loosely termed, collateralized debt obligations, have become so popular. They are the product of what has become known from the late 1980s as financialization, the shift in the engines of economic growth away from manufacturing, production or even the service sector, to finance. Finance now accounts for the largest component of private sector GDP. GM and Ford make more from their financial services than from making cars, they have been losing money on making cars for some time. It is now the financial firms that are considered too big to fail. Many people point to the growth in private and public debt that occurred concurrently with financialization. During this same period, the profits of investment banks have grown tremendously. However, a simpler explanation is self-interest. Trading in futures may be a zero-sum game. But there are some that would argue, wrongly, that trading in other derivatives is also a zero-sum game. Trading in mortgage related securities has proven that with the use of notional value, each counterparty wins, at least for a while. Assume for example that a trader at investment house A is able to repackage and sell a package of mortgage related securities that he just bought to a trader at investment house B. Trader at investment house A cannot mark to market the value of what he just bought and sold because he would have to assess every component of underlying collateral for each mortgage included or underlying the securities. Perhaps he should also look at the FICA score of each of the mortgagers. The trader first most likely assigned a notional value out of thin air. In many cases, because the trader wanted to receive a bonus at the end of the year and show how much money he was making, the notional value he assigned to the securities he sold to the trader at investment house B was greater than the notional value he paid to buy them. In turn the trader at investment house B would have bought this basket of mortgage securities, repackaged them and sold them a notional profit to a trader at investment house C. And so on. One or more these traders may have been able to add another house in the Hamptons. Warren Buffet remarked on the perils of marking derivatives according to the models of the counterparties that buy or sell them as opposed to having to mark them to market in Berkshire Hathaway's 2002 Annual Report, "Those who trade derivatives are usually paid, in whole or part, on "earnings" calculated by mark-to-market accounting. But often there is no real market, and "mark-to-model" is utilized. This substitution can bring on large-scale mischief. As a general rule, contracts involving multiple reference items and distant settlement dates increase the opportunities for counter-parties to use fanciful assumptions. The two parties to the contract might well use differing models allowing both to show substantial profits for many years. In extreme cases, mark-to-model degenerates into what I would call mark-to-myth. I can assure you that the marking errors in the derivatives business have not been symmetrical. Almost invariably, they have favored either the trader who was eyeing a multi-million dollar bonus or the CEO who wanted to report impressive "earnings" (or both). The bonuses were paid, and the CEO profited from his options. Only much later did shareholders learn that the reported earnings were a sham." Regulation is not possible without transparency. But regulation without marking to market may not be possible at all. Currently, most of the hundreds of trillions of dollars of securities in existence not only have no market value, they are not subject to any regulatory oversight. Complex derivatives and swaps are exempt from regulation. Opaque instruments, with no value other than what is assigned by the computer-generated models of a self-interested counterparty, cannot be regulated. C. Regulatory Background of Current Crisis 1. Glass-Steagel Act It may be helpful to recall some history and perhaps the observation by George Bernard Shaw that, "If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience." Shaw might just as well have been referring to the November 1999 decision by President Bill Clinton, led by Robert Rubin and Phil Gramm and supported by Alan Greenspan to sign into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Bill or the "Financial Modernization Act." This bill repealed the Glass-Steegall Act and officially removed the prohibition that investment banks and commercial banks must be separate entities. Congress enacted Glass-Steegal in 1933 by an overwhelming majority to prevent a recurrence of the speculative frenzy that culminated in the Great Depression. Interestingly many of the banks, like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, that participated back then are participants in the current crisis. Glass-Steegal separated the investment banking functions of banks from those of commercial banks. There is much to be said in favor of such separation. By definition, a commercial bank is a deposit-taking bank where an individual places money into a checking or savings account for the principal purpose of safekeeping and with the expectation of receiving interest. It is also an institution whose purpose is to loan money. A customer's expectation that his money will be safe guarded is enhanced by the knowledge that the bank will not use the customer's money to conduct speculative investment or deal making that would place the customer's money at risk. Customers prepared to take on more risk could invest money in any number of the financial products offered by an investment bank. But this would be the customer's choice, not the bank's. But the main argument in favor of Glass-Steegal was the need to prevent a few mega banks from accumulating so much power that in the event of catastrophe or excess, Wall Street would not be plunged into another depression or credit crisis. An unintended consequence of the repeal of Glass-Steegal Act in 1999 is that commercial banks became very much like hedge funds, investment banks and large speculators in the market. Commercial banks competed against investment banks for profits from investments and trading in an ever more mind-bendingly complex array of financial transactions. Few people understand that the real fortunes on Wall Street, and principally in investment banks, are made between the wall and the wallpaper. This is a very fortunate place to find oneself because fortunes are made in fees. With each transaction, each counterparty booked a profit (albeit notional, but the reader should be getting used to the idea by now) but more importantly, each bank charged a fee, or many fees attached to each buy and to each sell, as the case may be. The investment banks made fees because every time a transaction is conducted on Wall Street, there is a fee to be made. An incentive is created to produce transactions for their own sake. New products or repackaged old ones, generate profit from fees. Everyone was winning until now. But how, one may ask, was this allowed to happen? Was anyone minding the risk? It would be like an inveterate gambler who kept losing money but was able to determine his own limits with the house until one day he brought the house down. All the while the combination of insurance, investment banking functions, commercial banking functions created a growth in the conflicts of interests within banks that despite "firewalls," seemed to multiply. In a conflict of interest anecdote for the ages, Robert Rubin, who lobbied for the repeal of Glass-Steegal in his role as Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton (what some Wall Street curmudgeons termed the "Citigroup Authorization Act") stepped down from this position after its repeal to become Chairman of Citigroup's Executive Committee at a starting salary of $40 million. While Glass-Steegal did not cause the current crisis, had it not been repealed, Bear Stearns, AIG or Merrill Lynch and so many other banks would not have been allowed to have the kind of over-leveraged losing positions in mortgage backed securities ("MBS") or CDOs that led to their collapse. 2. Shad-Johnson Jurisdictional Accord The SEC and the CFTC entered into the Shad-Johnson Accord in 1982. The Shad-Johnson Accord clarified the respective regulatory jurisdiction of both entities. It stated that all securities based derivatives products including options on securities, certificates of deposit and stock groups like exchange-traded funds would be exclusively regulated by the SEC. In turn the regulation and oversight of all futures and options on futures and on exempted securities and broad-based stock indexes was left to the CFTC. Single stock futures were banned under the Shad-Johnson Accord. 3. Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (the "Act") was part of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Bill or the "Financial Modernization Act." The Act was signed into law by President Clinton on December 21, 2000. The Act amended the Shad Johnson Accord to allow for the trading of futures contracts on single stocks (single stock futures) and narrow-based stock indexes. Regulation and oversight of single stock futures would be shared by the CFTC and the SEC. However, the most important change to happen as a result of the Act is its declaration that most OTC derivatives are exempt from the regulation or oversight of the CFTC. By way of some background, the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA") holds that all futures contracts[4] be traded on a CFTC regulated exchange unless a statutory exclusion or regulatory exemption states otherwise. Prior to the Act, there was some legal ambiguity on whether the CFTC or the courts would announce that swaps and OTC derivatives are illegal because they are off-exchange traded futures contracts. The Act clarified an important grey area in futures law by stating that OTC derivatives and swaps of all kinds, were exempt from CFTC regulation. Prior to the passage of the Act, swaps were considered functionally "hedges", or risk-shifting transactions and as such under the jurisdiction of the CFTC. In 1993, the CFTC eased its regulation of swaps to exempt swaps whose terms were individually negotiated and not traded on computerized exchanges from the requirement that they be traded on a regulated exchange.[5] The Act went further by expanding the definition of what constitutes a swap. It amended the CEA[6] to exclude from the jurisdiction of the CFTC any Swap Transaction broadly defined as any contract or agreement involving a non-agricultural commodity that is entered into between "Eligible Contract Participants"[7] and whose terms are not individually negotiated and is not traded on a Trading Facility[8]. Title II of the Act amended the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") by essentially removing all swap transactions from the definition of securities.[9] The Act left security-based swaps under the jurisdiction of the anti-fraud and anti-manipulations provisions of the Securities Act and the material nonpublic information provisions and insider trading provisions of the Exchange Act.[10] What is exempt from regulation dwarfs the largely regulated global financial capital markets. The notional amounts outstanding of (OTC) derivatives continued to expand in the first half of 2008, with all types of OTC contracts standing at $683.7 trillion.[11] By contrast, the total size of the all world's capital or stock markets combined is quoted as $118 trillion.[12] It would seem that the regulatory loop-hope created by the Act makes the size of the regulated market look like a toothpick on a pie. 4. Derivatives Market Transparency and Accountability Act of 2009 The Derivatives Act states its purpose as being "to bring greater transparency and accountability to commodity markets." This article will address three major dictates of the Derivatives Act ostensibly drafted to bring about transparency and accountability: (1) a ban on "naked" credit default swaps[13]; (2) trading limits to prevent speculative excess[14], and (3) mandatory clearing[15]. The former Chairman of the SEC, Christopher Cox, after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, announced that credit default swaps[16] were not only a way to evade short-selling rules in the equity markets but that they were also responsible for the current credit crisis.[17] This may not be entirely true. In their most simple terms, credit default swaps are wagers that a company will fail. They are a hedging mechanism. However, they are not insurance and are, distinct from insurance contracts, they transfer the risk of failure without actually having to go through the failure. Credit default contracts are akin to life insurance policies that do not require that someone close to you actually die. What they do, even in their much-maligned current state, is allow for risk transfer between willing parties. They are also a way for the public to short corporate bonds, which other wise cannot be shorted. What has given credit default swaps a particularly bad name in the current crisis is their lack of transparency. They are not marked to market and their value, in many instances, is not known. But on the scheme of things, this is not that bad of a problem. Assuming that the parties to a credit default swap are able to account for the worst-case risk scenario, the lack of transparency would not necessarily be problematic. What is more problematic is that the sellers of credit default swaps, as in the case of AIG, did not themselves adequately understand their risk when they issued credit default swaps. They did not have good risk models. The users of credit default swaps did not have nearly adequate risk models. The contracts themselves, while not susceptible to regulation because of their lack of transparency, are not inherently bad, if the counterparties to the contracts understood the risk of the contracts-which in so many cases and so famously it has turned out, they did not. Section 6 of the Derivatives Act calls for the imposition of trading limits on Designated Contract Markets[18], Designated Transaction Execution Facilities[19], other electronic trading facilities and Foreign Boards of Trade. This provision is interesting in that it appears to be a red herring. Position limits have historically been imposed to prevent market manipulation (cornering of the market, one or more large speculator having an inordinate effect on price), to enhance liquidity and to promote an orderly delivery of a physical contract. It is difficult to decipher the logic behind this Section. However, a reading of the testimony before the House Agriculture Committee on the Derivatives Act offers some clues. In his written testimony before the Agriculture Committee, Professor Michael Greenberger of the University of Maryland Law School writes that Section 6 should be enacted in a wholesale manner without further study because of the "overwhelming evidence that has been gathered about the impact of excessive speculation on the energy futures and energy swaps markets."[20] Presumably, the idea that higher energy prices in the futures markets were the result of excess speculation may have led the legislature to conclude that position limits should be imposed on heretofore unregulated, OTC derivatives and on all commodities. The logic is difficult to follow. However, one of the unintended consequences of this seemingly illogical part of the Derivatives Act would be to deter price discovery and even trading on domestic exchanges. Trading in commodities and in OTC derivatives may simply move off-shore given that in 2009 so much of the world's financial markets are inter-linked and in effectively, global. This Section may hurt the remaining domestic exchanges. Section 13 of the Derivatives Act seeks to impose the mandatory clearing of all credit default swap contracts, effectively repealing the Act. The regulated futures markets have long stood as a paradigm of well functioning transparent, and problem free markets. If credit default swaps were listed and traded on regulated domestic exchanges, you would have transparency and they would be marked to market and most of all-they would not be the pariahs of the financial world that they now are, blamed for the current credit crisis and by extension the global economic meltdown. CME Group and Citadel have announced their intention to form a credit default swaps exchange as has the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), NYSE Euronext and the Eurex. The regulated futures markets are a great model. There has been an outcry to require the clearing and regulation of all OTC derivatives. Ideally, this would seem to prevent derivatives from ever again being the financial weapons of mass destruction Warren Buffet called them. However, credit default swaps, unlike all regulated and listed futures contracts are not standardized in their terms and they cannot be cleared. Credit default swaps cannot by definition be standardized because their terms are individually negotiated and customized by the counter-parties. The very fact that we enact legislation stating that they must be cleared on a regulated exchange will not make them so. This Section of the Derivatives Act is somewhat counter-factual. Indeed requiring the clearing of what are now all OTC derivatives may well have the effect of moving the trading of OTC derivatives to foreign exchanges and making matters worse by hurting our existing domestic exchanges. The current economic crisis was not ironically caused by a failure of regulation. Perhaps the Legislature should institute a regulatory scheme that would enforce the same regulations on the essentially hundreds of trillions of securities out there that are presently and effectively completely unregulated vis a vis all listed and regulated equity and derivatives products but this cannot be done in haste and the Derivatives Act is not the answer. OTC derivatives however do not lend themselves to regulation simply because they are so customized and cannot be standardized for clearing purposes. In many ways, credit default swaps resemble legal contracts more than they resemble listed futures contracts. A better approach for the government regulators may well be to look much more closely at the balance sheets of the financial institutions that they already regulate. By keeping a hawkish eye on the use of leverage by all regulated financial entities, including banks and insurance companies, the SEC and the CFTC could at least in theory, catch speculative excess before it reaches Main Street. Excessive deregulation, however, has not precisely helped either. Since the 1980s and for the almost three decades since, Washington has adopted the belief that the markets self-regulate perfectly if only the government regulators leave it alone. During this time, Wall Street ran amock with investments and trades in an alphabet soup of financial instruments or ever increasing complexity, often times in pursuit of fees and financial concoctions for their own sake. The idea that Wall Street would self-regulate and correct its own mistakes is simply not true, as the world painfully learned after September 15, 2008. Just because regulations have at times impeded the market does not mean that we should abandon all regulation. As the current credit crisis proves, just because regulations are not perfect, does not mean that the markets are either. The larger problem lies at the cause of this current crisis and it is a structural problem within our financial system and one that was caused by our financial system itself. Wall Street must look at the way it thinks about risk. Risk is a funny notion but it is not notional, it is real. Between the time we have bubbles and financial debacles, talking about risk is a little like talking about the existence of God-or talking to a teenager about growing old. In a go-go atmosphere of notional value and financial obfuscation, the environment that bred the current credit crisis, risk was never a polite topic of conversation. It is now time to have it. If Wall Street does not adjust its risk models they are allowing the table to be set for the next round of crisis, after memories of this one are beginning to fade, the time when the remainder of the hundreds of trillion dollars in securities with only notional values, come into play. A scenario that would portend badly for the banking system and the global financial system because it would herald the coming of losses once and for all greater than the entire global financial system's ability to fix. Dramatic market events occur at a greater frequency than is possible assuming normal distributions. Since the 1998 Russian debt crisis, the global financial markets have experienced at least 10 extreme events, none of which were supposed to occur more than once every few billion years. Our models of the financial markets do not anticipate the occurrence of extreme events and according to our present models, they are statistically so unlikely to occur as to be deemed essentially impossible. Where does this leave us? Why are we using them at all? R. Tamara de Silva [1] Bank for International Settlements, BIS Quarterly Review (September 2008), available at http://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qa0809.pdf#page=108 [2] Id. [3] H.R. 1424 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Section 132 [4] The CEA does not provide a definition of a futures contract other than to refer to a futures contract as, "contracts of sale of a commodity for future delivery." [5] 17 C.F.R. Part 35 (1993). [6] Section 301 et. seq. [7] Eligible Contract Participants include: regulated financial institutions, regulated insurance companies, regulated investment companies, regulated commodity pools with total assets exceeding $5,000,000, entities with assets in excess of $10,000,000 or with net worth in excess of $1,000,000, employee benefit plans with assets in excess of $5,000,000 with independent advisers and certain government entities. [8] Trading Facility under the CEA means, a person or group or persons that constitutes, maintains, or provides a physical or electronic facility or system in which multiple participants have the ability to execute or trade agreements, contracts or transactions by accepting bids and offers made by other participants that are open to multiple participants in the facility or system, but does not include; a facility that permits participants to negotiate bilateral transactions through communications exchanged by participants (as distinguished from the interaction of multiple bids and offers), or certain activities of government securities dealers and brokers. [9] Section 2A(a),(b)(1) of the Securities Act; Section 3A(a)(b)(1) of the Exchange Act. [10] Section 2A(b)(4) of the Securities Act; Section 3A(b)(4) of the Exchange Act. [11] Bank for International Settlements report, "OTC derivatives market activity in the first half of 2008" (November 13, 2008) available at http://www.bis.org/press/p081113.htm [12] McKinsey Global Institute report (2003) available at http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/gcm/us.asp [13] H.R. 977, Section 16 [14] H.R. 977, Section 6 [15] H.R. 977, Section 13 [16] "Naked" credit default swaps are also called naked shorts on public companies because they are contracts or wagers on the financial failure of a company or enterprise. Credit default swaps that occur to hedge an event that will actually occur and in which the holder of the contract suffers an actual loss are presumed by many to not to be "naked," but actual hedges. [17] O'Harrow and Denis, Downgrades and Downfall, Washington Post (December 31, 2008). [18] Designated Contract Markets are boards of trade or exchanges that operate under the regulatory oversight of the CFTC, pursuant to Section 5 of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 USC 7. They are like traditional futures exchanges, which may allow access to their facilities by all types of traders, including retail customers. [19] Derivatives Transaction Execution Facilities ("DTEF")are trading facilities with a lower level of regulation as they limit access (to mostly institutional or otherwise eligible traders) and/or limit the products to lower the regulatory concerns. Section 5a of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), 7 USC 7a, provides for two types of DTEF markets: Regular DTEFs (or eligible participant DTEFs) and Commercial DTEFs (or eligible commercial entity DTEFs). [20] Michael Greenberger,"Discussion Draft: The Derivatives Market Transparency and Accountability Act of 2009" (February 3, 2009) before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. Page 9


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In Michigan, it is illegal for people to possess, use, purchase, or sell certain types of weapons. While the Second Amendment does provide individuals with the right to bear arms, every state has its own set of laws regarding the ownership and possession of firearms and other weapons. Depending on the circumstances, penalties for weapons offenses can include significant jail time and steep fines.
If you are being accused of a weapons-related crime, contact White Law PLLC. We understand that the laws can be confusing and you may not even be aware that you have violated a law. Our Okemos criminal defense lawyers have experience protecting clients and helping them navigate the intricate legal system. We can also defend clients who are being accused of committing a crime involving weapons.
Always know your options and your rights if you have been charged or accused of a weapons offense. Our team works hard to push for a dismissal when possible and to minimize the effects on your future. As seasoned trial lawyers and skilled Okemos criminal defense attorneys, we are equipped to take your case all the way to a trial to protect your interests.
Schedule a free initial consultation today to learn more: (517) 774-2274.


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Saturday, October 8, 2011
Michael and Me:
7 comments:
I love it! You make me want to write about my love for Marc Jacobs!ReplyDelete
I love Michael too! You're outfit looks amazing! I really love that Coach bangle!!ReplyDelete
My style icon is Victoria Beckham! However, my male celebrity designer crush is either Tom Ford or Brian Atwood.... Those two men are just absolutely gorgeous.... Anyways, I love your target leopard belt, I snagged one up at Marshall's from 9West a few weeks back, real calf hair for $17! Love the Marc Jacobs bag and...style that hot pink halter number...it's for a good cause :)ReplyDelete
Brian Atwood is a gorgeous man. Love him. I guess the reason why I love MK so much is because growing up in Stockton I always loved clothes and fashion but I had no idea about high end designers or anything like that. So when project runway hit the scene I had an instant crush on Michael Kors!ReplyDelete
My favorite shoe designers are Christian Louboutin and Giuseppe Zanotti and Jimmy Choo...I like Brian Atwood too :) but my #1 love for designer shoes has to to be CL :) Heck..if I am going to spend all that $ you may as well know what it is...ReplyDelete
I love MK's designs, I bought a pair of jeans by him this summer and they're my absolute favorite pair! I agree with B on the male designer crush, definitely TOM FORD! yummmyyy :DReplyDelete
I own far too much Michael Kors Merchandise. I love when Macy's has sales all on of his clothing.ReplyDelete


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I went out with friends last night to North Beach for coffee and dessert at Cafe Puccini. When we left, I noticed that there was an anti-Michael Bauer poster hanging in the window. It was a take-off of a Most Wanted poster, complete with photo and description of the "man who destroys restaurants."
It was pretty funny. I'm just curious -- does anyone know who's behind it?


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Relax with friends at the luxurious Clifton Lido. The outdoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room, hot tub and poolside bar make for a gorgeous day of indulgence. It's £20 for an afternoon pass so is one of the more expensive adventures for this student explorer, but as a special girly treat it was perfect.
I am lucky enough to have the self-confessed Queen of disorganisation as one of my very best of friends. She is notorious for triple booking herself -which to prioritise? A frisbee training session, a night out on the town or a 5,000 word essay due in the next morning? – and you can see her bedroom floor biannually at a push (it's a great event and a wonder to behold.. there's sometimes even a champagne reception). But the absolute best thing about my glorious best friend's disorganisation, is that I got to enjoy my Christmas present last week in the gorgeous July sunshine.
As a special luxurious treat, we snuck off to Clifton's hidden oasis, the fabled Clifton Lido. For £20 each between 13.00 – 16.00 the Lido baths open their doors to the public for swimming – and seriously.. It is so worth SPLASHING out (hahahahaha).
Off St. Paul's Road and round the corner of Oakfield Place, sits the unimposing Lido, next to the equally unassuming Victoria Pub. But stepping through the doors, first opened in 1849, you find yourself in a completely different land. The outdoor pool, glistening blue and tumbling over the sides sits in the middle, with changing booths with coloured drapes on one side and wooden tables with potted plants overlooking from the other.
It is a world away from the local leisure centre's warm patches and shrieking, splashing children. It is decidedly classy and 'grown up' and we grinned to each other, in our (almost identical, Urban Outfitter) bikinis remarking that it was hard not to feel wealthier and more glamorous with each serene length that you complete (keeping you hair and sunglasses, of course, out of the water). Bathers lounge in the sun at the far end, chatting, laughing, often with prosecco in hand. Diners sit at the tables along the waters edge, nibbling on tapas and freshly made bread.
After having enough of swimming and basking in the heated but refreshing central pool, we nipped into the hot tub, tucked away at the side. Utterly relaxing – lacking only some chilled out music and maybe some mojitos… We then popped into the steam room (which – surprisingly – was pretty hot.. and steamy) once again looking out onto the pool, and then into the sauna and finished off the circuit by pulling a chain that dumped a bucket of cold water onto our heads. Everybody in the pool heard our shrieks and giggles.. Hardly the chic, adult vibe we were aiming for.
We then spent some time chilling out with some drinks at the tapas bar by the side of the pool. There's a lengthy menu of exciting drinks and snacks – some of which are naturally more expensive than others – but there is still some choice which isn't crazy expensive for students wanting to treat themselves. We both decided to enjoy the Lido Classic teas which were only £2.50 for a pot each. Maddy enjoyed a sort of spicy, black and green china tea with ginseng, lapacho bark and lemon fruit, while I (ever the sweet toothed one of our duo) enjoyed a green leaf Indian tea with hawthorn fruit and mint. We also had a small sample from the tapas menu, with the most delicious and light tasting houmous I have ever sampled (£3.00 for a bowl with a little freshly made bread) as well as some syrian lentils (also £3.00).
To end our classy classy day of classiness, we made full use of the Spa Boudoir, overlooking the pool, with vintage dressing tables equipped with hairdryers and straighteners.
Useful Info
- Afternoon swimming pass available Mon-Fri, 1pm-4pm for £20. Including full use of pool, sauna, steam room and hot tub.
- Spa and Poolside Bar opening times – 8am -11pm (9am-6pm Sunday)
- Cup of coffee – £2.25.
- BRING: Swimming costumes, towels, conditioner and moisturiser (for afterwards obv).
- Lido,
Oakfield Place,
- http://www.lidobristol.com
- @lidobristol


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Joe Rogan is a stand-up comic and comic actor. He appeared as a character in the sitcom NewsRadio, as a host on the reality show Fear Factor, and — with an apparently extensive martial arts background — as a color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His comedic style is iconoclastic and confrontational. He has frequently accused other comedians of plagiarism, and has publicly espoused a number of conspiracy theories regarding the Apollo moon landing, the Kennedy assassination, and the attack on the World Trade Center. He has challenged Wesley Snipes to a mixed martial arts combat. He has been an occasional guest on the Mancow Show and the Howard Stern show; he has a sensory deprivation tank in his basement. He has also — and this is probably no surprise by now — been deeply influenced by the theories of Terence McKenna and Rick Strassman about DMT.
In 2005, Rogan was a guest on a talk show run by Jim Breuer called Breuer Unleashed, which appears regularly on weekdays on the Sirius Satellite Radio channel Raw Dog Comedy. In response to a caller's question, Rogan launched into a ten-minute discourse on DMT, dreams, and the nature of humanity — a mashup of McKenna, Strassman, and his own idiosyncratic interpretations, all laced with the most remarkable profanity. "It's easily the weirdest interview I've ever done," Rogan says, "and definitely the most interesting." The audio of the broadcast is here:
But wait -- there's more. Shpongle — the group has both a discussion forum and a fan site — is a psychedelic downtempo ambient technotrance psybient music project made up of Simon Posford and Raja Ram, along with a number of collaborators and guest musicians. Posford also performs under the name Hallucinogen and owns the label Twisted Records; Raja Ram — born Ronald Rothfield — is a member of 1200 Micrograms. Shpongle builds its sound on samples of eastern ethnic instruments and western contemporary synthesizer-based psychedelic music; Posford does the synth and studio work and Raja Ram the flute arrangements.
On their first album, Are You Shpongled?, released in 1998 on Twisted Records, there is a cut entitled Divine Moments of Truth. The lyrics are not profound: DMT, DMT, doo dee doo DMT, LSD doo DMT, LSD doo DMT ... divine moments of truth, total and utter cosmic stuff ... be here now ... I love everybody. But the high sound quality, the successful mix of samples, instruments, and synths, and the progress of the music through the album made it one of the most influential releases of its time. There have been a number of remixes over the years; here is the original track:
And if you really like Shpongle — and I guess I do — here is a video of a live performance of Divine Moments of Truth at the 2001 Solstice Music Festival in Japan:
There is one more ingredient to this mix. Gnostic Media consists of Jan Irvin and Andrew Rutajit. They are the creators of the DVD The Pharmacratic Inquisition, setting forth what they coonsider to be the Christian persecution of archaic religions, because personal access to ecstatic states through the ingestion of entheogenic plants challenged church domination, culminating in the creation of the pharmacratic state and its current war on drugs. They are also the authors of the book Astrotheology and Shamanism: Unveiling the Law of Duality in Christianity and Other Religions, which also addresses the persecution of entheogens and their users, and discusses the solar and mushroom symbolism that the authors believe to underly all religions, eapecially Christianity — very similar to the ideas put forward by John Marco Allegro in 1970 about the origins of Christianity in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. If you are interested in their theories, you can see the entire video here. But that is not why we are talking about them.
Rather, what follows is a video, entitled Divine Moments of Truth with Joe Rogan, on which we hear the words of Joe Rogan on Breuer Unleashed, remixed by Gnostic Media with added visuals, some by visionary artist Alex Grey, a remix of Shpongle's Divine Moments of Truth, and additional words by Terence McKenna. How could it not be interesting?


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Gale, George Washington
Gale, George Washington,1789–1861, American educator and clergyman, b. Stanford, N.Y., grad. Union College, 1814, and Princeton Theological Seminary, 1819. In 1827 he founded Oneida Institute at Whitesboro, N.Y., where students paid for their instruction by doing manual labor. He planned a college in the West to be similarly maintained, and he organized a land company that founded Galesburg, Ill. From the proceeds he established Knox Manual Labor College in 1837; the manual labor feature was later dropped and the institution became Knox College. Gale served as trustee and taught literature and moral philosophy there until his retirement in 1857.
See his autobiography (1964).


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Round 1 Game Recaps - Nov. 8
The Zags Move On, Hold Off Idaho, 64-56
The No. 25 Gonzaga Bulldogs knock off a tough Idaho Vandals team, 64-56, and advance to round two of the Preseason WNIT. The Bulldogs will host the UT Martin Skyhawks on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. ET. The Skyhawks defeated Georgia State 84-80 in an earlier game tonight.
Gonzaga's Haiden Palmer led all scorers with 18 points and seven steals. Teammate Keani Albanez finished with 13 and Sunny Greinacher added eight.
Alyssa Charlston scored 15 points and pulled down nine boards for Idaho. Christ Salvatore knocked in four three-pointers and finished with 14 points. The Vandals will fall into the consolation bracket with matchups and games times being announced on Sunday, Nov. 10.
The Zags are picked as the favorites to win the West Coast Conference women's basketball title, receiving nine first place votes in the preseason coaches' poll. For the first time in program history, the Gonzaga started the season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Oklahoma Advances to Round Two with 78-60 Win Over Stetson
Aaryn Ellenberg scored a game-high 24 points to lead the No. 11/14 Sooners to a 78-60 win over the Stetson Hatters in round one of the Preseason WNIT.
OU's Kaylon Williams added 17 points and Sharane Campbell finished with 10 as the Sooners advance to host round two against Wichita State on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. ET. The Shockers defeated IPFW 69-46 earlier today.
Oklahoma was voted the Big 12's preseason favorite, earning five of 10 first-place votes by coaches. Ellenberg was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and is on watch lists for the Wade, Wooden and Naismith Awards.
Stetson's Sasha Sims finished with a team-high 16 points and Jama Sharp chipped in 11. Sims, a senior, was tabbed as the Atlantic Sun Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and was also selected to the preseason all-conference team.
LSU Honors Legendary Coach Sue Gunter; Defeats Stephen F. Austin, 86-58
No. 15/17 LSU began its 39th season of women's basketball tonight with an 86-58 victory over Stephen F. Austin in what was tabbed the Sue Gunter Classic in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.
Da Shawn Harden finished with a team-high 20 points for the Lady Tigers and teammates Theresa Plaisance and Danielle Ballard each added 18.
Stephen F. Austin's Porsha Roberts scored a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Brittney Matthew added ten points and four assists.
During tonight's game LSU honored long-time head coach Sue Gunter. Gunter pioneered the LSU women's basketball program and built it into what it is today.
The Lady Tigers are playing in the Preseason WNIT for just the second time and the first time since 2007 when it went 3-1 and reached the championship game before falling to Maryland.
LSU will host Saint Joseph's in round two of the Preseason WNIT on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. ET.
St. Joseph's Cruises to 85-57 Win Over Mount St. Mary's
St. Joseph's shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the field and had three players finish in double figures in an 85-57 win over Mount St. Mary's in round one of the Preseason WNIT.
Sarah Fairbanks led the Hawks with 17 points and five rebounds. Erin Shields finished with 15 points and Kelsey Berger netted 12. St. Joseph's improves to 2-1 all-time in Preseason WNIT games and advances to round two for the second time in program history.
Sydney Henderson scored a game-high 21 points for the Mount and Jessie Kaufman finished with 13. Henderson is one of two returning starters for the Mountaineers this season, leading the team both in scoring and rebounding a year ago.
The Hawks will play at LSU starting at 3 p.m. ET Sunday in round 2 action.
UT Martin Holds on to Defeat Georgia State, 84-80
Jasmine Newsome scored 24 points and dished out 12 assists for UT Martin in a 84-80 victory over Georgia State in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT. Newsome is the two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and averaged 22.6 ppg and 5.5 apg in 2012-13.
Four other Skyhawk players finished in double figures with both Heather Butler and Elizabeth Masengil scoring 14 a piece, Katie Schubert with 11, and Chelsea Roberts chipping in 10. UT Martin outrebounded Georgia State 43-29 and shot 48.3 percent from the field.
Kendra Long scored a team-high 20 points for the Panthers and teammate Gaby Moss added 16. Georgia State shot 49.1 percent from the field (26 of 53) and hit 11 three-pointers in the game.
This was the sixth meeting between the two schools with Georgia State winning four in a row before the loss tonight.
The Skyhawks will play the winner of Idaho at Gonzaga in round two action.
Quinnipiac Knocks Off North Carolina A&T, 77-63
Jasmine Martin connects on five three-pointers and finishes with a game-high 22 points to lead the Quinnipiac Bobcats to a 77-63 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies.
Quinnipiac never trailed in the game and led by 23 points at halftime. The Bobcats shot 50 percent from behind the arc (13 of 26) and 48 percent from the field (24 of 50). Samantha Guastella added 10 points and Camryn Warner pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for Quinnipiac.
Forward Tracy King scored 14 points and pulled down six boards to lead the Aggies, while guard Adriana Nazario netted 12 points and dished out seven assists.
This was the first ever meeting between the schools. The Bobcats are now 4-2 all-time against MEAC opponents.
Quinnipiac will advance to the second round to face the winner of Loyola Chicago vs Louisville.
Wichita State Advances, Defeats IPFW, 69-46
Four Wichita State players scored in double figures as the Shockers defeat IPFW, 69-46, in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT. Wichita State will move on to face the winner of Stetson at Oklahoma in round two on Nov. 10, while IPFW drops into the consolation bracket.
Wichita State's Alex Harden led all scorers with 15 points, Michelle Price added 14, and Michaela Dapprich chipped in 13. Jamillah Bonner led the way with a career high seven rebounds for the Shockers and had a career high 10 points.
Wichita State shot 38 percent (23-60) from the field and 46 percent (6-13) from three point range, holding IPFW to 28 percent (11-38) from the field and forced 18 turnovers in the victory.
Amanda Hyde scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds for IPFW; teammates Rachel Rinehart and Haley Seibert each added 10.
The Shockers hosted its semi-annual Schoolhouse Rocks with the Shocks, which included over 8,000 students from local area elementary schools at Charles Koch Arena.
Round 1 Results
Nov. 8, 2013
Wichita State 69, IPFW 46
Quinnipiac 77, North Carolina A&T 63
UT Martin 84, Georgia State 80
Saint Joseph's 85, Mount St. Mary's 57
Oklahoma 78, Stetson 60
LSU 86, Stephen F. Austin 58
Gonzaga 64, Idaho 56
Nov. 9, 2013
Loyola Chicago (17-15) at Louisville (29-9), 7 p.m. ET
Round 2 Schedule
Nov. 10, 2013
Saint Joseph''s at LSU, 3 p.m. ET
Wichita State at Oklahoma, 3 p.m. ET
UT Martin at Gonzaga, 5 p.m. ET
Consolation Games (Matchups TBA Sunday afternoon)
Nov. 15-16
Georgia State
Mount St. Mary''s
North Carolina A&T
Stephen F. Austin
November 2018


text: Are you ready for LeeZu 'Street Blues Boots'? These smart looking rich leather boots are balanced on a secure platform heel, and have a contrasting colored wrap that gives them a cozy and protected feel. Framed by cute short laces, these sophisticated leather boots are the latest treat from LeeZu, and are available just in time for the Christmas season!


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Just been doing some reading this afternoon in Destiny of the Republic, a book about the assassination of President James Garfield (half the blog readership is saying, "Wow, you really are a dork,"; one quarter is saying, "Wow, that actually sounds kinda cool,"; and one quarter is saying, "Garfield was assassinated? Betcha dollars to donuts that Odie was behind it."). In the background, I had the preliminaries to the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race on.
As I read, I heard something that forced me to put my book down. Darrell Waltrip was giving an invocation (i.e., prayer). I was blown away as they panned across the crowds. Tens of thousands of people standing quietly, respectfully, hats off, eyes closed, as the Lord's blessing was asked upon a sporting event. When Waltrip finished, a bagpipe quartet launched into an emotional Amazing Grace. As I watched, two thoughts kept going through my mind: "This is so cool!" and "This is on national TV?"
The opening ceremonies were concluded by a 21-gun salute followed by Taps, an excellent rendition of the National Anthem by a Blowfishless Hootie, and an awe-inspiring flyover by a B-52. Truly, one of the greatest intros to a sporting event that I've seen in quite a while.
I'm not sure why this all caught me so off-guard. I guess I've simply realized how sad it is that I should be this surprised over a prayer on TV. It just seems so non-televisiony – like it's violating some law governing the separation between Church and Tube. Church belongs to God; television (except for the obligatory Sunday morning services and the very rare TBN show that does not worship the twin gods, Clairol and Maybelline) belongs to the other guy.
I'm old enough to remember the Billy Graham Crusades on TV (not that I really appreciated them interrupting my latest update on the happenings in the Cunningham family). I also remember the Waltons praying over their meals, something I have a hard time picturing the Kardashians or the Griffins doing. I know that it's possible to have non-buffoon, non-bigotted, loving, caring Christians portrayed on the little screen.
Now, before I start sounding too much like a bitter, curmudgeonly old man ("Yeah, back in my day we only had three stations and they all showed the Jerry Lewis Telethon straight through the entire Labor Day weekend…and we liked it!" [said in bitter, curmudgeonly old man voice]), I realize that times have changed, that culture has changed, and that the Christian gray area has greatly expanded. I guess I'd just like to give an internet fist bump to NASCAR and Fox for reminding the nation that this is Sunday, that God still matters, and that people do still pray.
Oh, gotta go. Fox is showing a promo for their awesome new dating show "Take Me Out" where 30 ladies get to choose between various eligible bachelors. Looks fascinating. Wonder who's giving their invocation?


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Presenting a full replica of the 2011 VLN HEICO Motorsport SLS GT3 raced by L. Arnold!
Painstakingly created, I could not have done the project without the help of my friend Thomas Diefenhardt Featuring replica paint scheme, replica door badges, replica tyres, many scratch logos, official fonts, driver names, custom arrows, and more to get you as close as possible to the real thing. Many thanks to Thomas Diefenhardt for official VLN photos of the car
Now you can tackle the Nurburgring like L. Arnold in this video from Race-Media tv:
2011 VLN HEICO Motorsport SLS GT3 1.0
Official replica of the VLN Lauf. 4 racecar


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Augustail - my last August (2011)
Download: Mediafire
01 Rolly polly
02 Angel&me
03 Rest in peace
Great summer time Pop Punk! It's the 1st EP by this band.
The albums are just for evaluation, you MUST delete them in 24 hours or less. The web and webmasters are not responsable on how albums are used after being downloaded.If you wanna give advices,request something,send us the bands you love please use the forum. Also you can send us a mail to:


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The one ad that stands out above all others was the one by Charles Atlas, the body builder. The ad was about transformation. Here was a skinny guy getting sand kicked in his face at the beach and who decides that he is going to send way to Mr. Atlas to learn how to transform his body. He 'gambles the stamp' and receives the information. By following the simple steps he is transformed into a muscular man who can stand up for himself and win back his girl.
The idea behind the ad was simple: if you will commit yourself to a certain pattern of life, you will have results. You do not have to be a victim of circumstance, you do not have to stay a weakling. If you will only eat right and exercise, you would be shocked by how changed your physique could be. Generally speaking this is true. If you diet and exercise this year, your physical condition will improve. But it will require more than a desire to change. It will require activity. It will require perseverance. Most boys seeing the ad by Mr. Atlas would say that they wanted to look like that, but how many were willing to do what it takes to accomplish that goal?
The same holds true for the Christian life. It is possible for you to become a stronger, more muscular Christian. It is possible for you to grow this year in both grace and in knowledge. It is possible this coming year for you to walk more closely with God, to enjoy his comforts, and to grow in holiness.
God has provided means for our growth. Those means are freely available for every believer, certainly every believer in the Western world. The problem that most professing believers face is not one of ignorance, but rather of desire and felt need.
Do I want to do these things? Do I need to do these things? I want the results (being a strong Christian) but do I want the results badly enough to do what I need to do to have the results? Allow seven words of exhortation for the coming year.
1. Commit yourself to daily communion with God
-Make time to thank God, to seek renewed strength from God, to confess your sins to God, and to intercede for others.
-Read or listen to the Bible daily
-The blessed man meditates upon God's word.
-Hide God's word in your heart.
2. Commit yourself to the stated meetings of the church
Every single meeting of the church for instruction, worship, and prayer is designed to bring glory to God and to bring help to your on the pilgrim pathway. By willfully absenting yourselves from those meetings your are denying yourself crucial nutrition for your soul.
3. Commit yourself to mortifying sins
Is there some nagging issue in your life, some place of disquiet in your soul, some thing which saps your strength and your assurance, the lingering issue of concern regarding your soul, some sin which easily ensnares you? When will it be dealt with? Shall sin have dominion over you? Has God placed the resources at hand–prayer and the word and the Spirit to aid you in overcoming it? Does he desire victory? Will he provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it?
4. Commit yourself to hospitality
1 Peter 4:9 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
Hospitality generally speaking refers to showing love to strangers–taking in the traveler, but here it is expressed within the church. Every member in the church has something to offer you and you have something to offer every member. Can you receive or give these benefits on the Lord's Day and at prayer meeting only?
5. Commit yourself to dealing with unnecessary distractions
We all have distractions in our lives. Our jobs and daily human needs, our commitments to family, etc. But are there things that fill our time and our affections which detract from the great issues of life?
6. Commit yourself to study (read a good biography, find a good book on a doctrinal subject)
I have found few things more helpful and challenging than the reading of a good biography. When I say good–I am referring to a worthy subject, a well written treatment and what I will call realism–not fawning praise, not the presentation of perfection, but real progress of real pilgrims
7. Enjoy the rich benefits of a sanctified Lord's Day
Here is a day, by divine design, to aid us in delighting in God. Here is a day designed to be for us a foretaste of heaven. A declension in our commitment to its benefits will not promote heavenly ends.
May God help us to grow strong in the coming year!


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Angel Varnado, a former prosecutor, has announced her candidacy for the 24th Judicial District Court's Division G seat. She seeks to fill the vacancy Judge Robert Pitre that leaves at the end of the year from the Jefferson Parish court.
An Avondale native, Varnado says she brings experience in civil and criminal law to her candidacy, having worked for the Pugh, Accardo, Haas, Radecker and Cary law firm. She was an assistant district attorney in New Orleans in addition to Jefferson, from which she resigned to launch her campaign. She says she earned a reputation as "one of the most successful prosecutors in the metropolitan area."
"To be a good, solid judge, you need real trial experience coupled with temperament, objectivity, a sense of fairness and toughness," she said. "And I know that I possess those qualities."
She graduated with honors from L.W. Higgins High School, received an undergraduate degree in psychology from Louisiana State University and pursued a master's degree at the University of New Orleans while obtaining a certificate in human resources management from Tulane University. She obtained her law degree from LSU.
The election is Nov. 4, and voters in western parts of West Jefferson and southern Kenner will decide the race. The qualifying period begins Wednesday and ends Aug. 22.


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Dr. Pong 8:30 p.m. at Mojo's; no cover.
Lee Ruth 7 to 10 p.m. at Cooper's Landing.
Leighton Roden, piano, 7:30 p.m. at Murry's; no cover.
Clay Cumbie 8 p.m. at D. Rowe's.
Leighton Roden, piano, 7:30 p.m. at Murry's; no cover.
? 7:30 p.m. and DJ dance party 9 p.m. at Peppers; $3.
? 8 p.m. at The Upper Deck.
? 8:30 to 12:30 p.m. at Sky Hi Bar and Grill, north location.
? 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. with Big Mike at Hawgs and Heifers.
Z.A.P., Steddy P 7 p.m. at The Blue Note; $7.
Hamilton Loomis 8 p.m. at Mojo's; $10.
Bandana 9 p.m. to 1 a.m at Midway Lounge.
Megan Boyer Band 7 to 10 p.m. at Jazz.
Oatmeal for the Foxhounds 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Rocheport General Store.
Tropicana Latin Night with Caliente and salsa lessons 8 p.m. at Sapphire Lounge.
Wooden Kite, Stephen Simmons 8 p.m. at The Blue Fugue; $5.
Noah Earle 7 to 10 p.m. at Cooper's Landing.
Mick Byrd and Mark Rice 6 to 9 p.m. at Summit Lake Winery at Holts Summit.
Rocket 6 to 9 p.m. at Bambino's.
Adam Powell 7 to 10 p.m. at Grand Cru.
? 7:30 p.m. and dance party 8 p.m. at The Upper Deck.
? 9 p.m. at Woody's Pub&Grub, Ashland; no cover.
? 9 p.m. with Big Mike at Main Street Pub.
Lucero, Glossary, John D. Hale Band 8 p.m. at The Blue Note; $12.
Double Duty 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at Trailhead Bar&Grill.
Nick Pagliari 9 p.m. at D. Rowe's.
Naked Dave 7 to 10 p.m. at Cooper's Landing.
Bandana 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Midway Lounge.
Kent Burnside, Noah Earle 9 p.m. at The Blue Fugue.
Yesterday's Gold 7 to 10 p.m. at Columbia Area Senior Center 1121 Business Loop 70 E.; $5
Chuck Wilson, solo, 7 to 10 p.m. at Jazz.
Adam Powell 7 to 10 p.m. at Grand Cru.
Dennis Schubert and The Rumrunners 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Rocheport General Store.
Joel Anderson 6 to 9 p.m. at Bambino's.
Aaron Russell 8 p.m. to midnight at the VFW Post 280. Public is welcome.
? 7:30 p.m. and DJ dance party 9 p.m. at Peppers; $3.
? and dance party 8 p.m. at The Upper Deck.
? 8 p.m. at The Turtle Club.
? 9 p.m. Big Mike at Fat Boyz.
Shinedown, Black Stone Cherry 7:30 p.m. at The Blue Note; $26.
Lisa Rose Jazz Duo featuring Joel Anderson 2 p.m. at Columbia Public Library; free.
Rocket Kirchner 5 to 8 p.m. at Cooper's Landing.
Honky-tonk and blues jam 1 to 4:30 p.m. at Katfish Katy's in Huntsdale.
? 7:30 p.m. at Peppers; no cover.
? 8 p.m. at Hoot-n-Anny's; no cover.
? 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. at Midway Backdoor Lounge; no cover.
special events
Boone County Minority Health Network presents "Map A Healthy Life" event to discuss diabetes and general health issues 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Mount Celestial Baptist Church, 1410 Grand Ave. Call 445-9463 for details. Free.
William Woods University will celebrate its 12th summer commencement 7 p.m. tomorrow in Cutlip Auditorium of the McNutt Campus Center in Fulton. Stephen Hageman, instructor of history, will give the commencement speech at the event involving 257 students.
Dancearts of Columbia will present its Summer Intensive Dance Camp showcase performance at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts, 203 S. Ninth St. Free and open to the public.
Jefferson Farm&Gardens Open House 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Learn about crops grown in the Midwest. Kids can catch bugs in the wildflower meadow and watch for butterflies. See tractors and other farm equipment. 4800 New Haven Road. The event is free.
The 47th Annual Roanoke Band Concert&Ice Cream Supper 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Highways 3 and 129 in northern Howard County.
Not-for-profit Hope Chest For Kids Inc. seeks donations of new or used musical instruments and donations for music lessons for children. Donations can be made at Mexico Music in Mexico, Mo.; Arnold Music in Centralia and Moberly; and The Music Suite in Columbia. For information or to arrange pickup of donations, call (573) 682-7773 or visit www.hopechestforkids.com.
University Lab School Class of 1972 reunion: Aug. 29 to 31. All classes, faculty and friends are invited. Call (630) 992-5618 or e-mail
Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre: "Proof" through Sunday. www.lyceumtheatre.org or (660) 837-3311.
? "Arsenic and Old Lace" Aug. 8 to 16.
? "Little Women, the Musical" Aug. 23 to 31.
? "On Golden Pond" Sept. 6 to 14.
? "The Mousetrap" Sept. 20 to 28.
D�j� Vu: J. Chris Newberg with Johnny Kavanaugh, 9:30 p.m. today and tomorrow; 8 and 10:15 p.m. Saturday. $6 Thursday, $7 Friday, $8 Saturday. 405 Cherry St. www.dejavucomedy.com.
TRYPS: Enrolling for summer camps at the new TRYPS center at Columbia Mall. Camps run 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
? Aug. 4 through 8, "Zoey 101&Jimmy Neutron." Fees are $175. Students entering grades K-7 in the fall are welcome. Bring sack lunches. 449-4536 or tryps.missouri.org.
Stephens College Okoboji Summer Theatre Program at Spirit Lake, Iowa, runs through Aug. 17. For a list of plays, visit www.stephens.edu.
Independent Actors Theatre: Learn more about the new season, "Against All Odds," at www.iatheatre.org.
Maplewood Barn Community Theatre will present "Lysistrata" Aug. 15 to 17, 22 to 24, 29 to 31 at Maplewood Barn, 2900 E. Nifong Blvd. All performances begin at 8 p.m.; box office opens at 7 p.m. $8 adults, $6 senior citizens and students, children younger than 12 free. 449-7517 or
PACE Youth Theater will present the following performances at the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts, 203 S. Ninth St. $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and younger. Tickets available at the door or visit www.motheatre.org. Call 443-0541 or visit
? "The King and I" 7 p.m. Aug. 7 to 9 and 2 p.m. Aug. 9 and 10.
? "Disney's Aladdin Jr." 7 p.m. Aug. 14 to 16 and 2 p.m. Aug. 17.
Columbia Entertainment Company: will present "Seussical the Musical" Sept. 11 to 14, 18 to 21 and 25 to 28 at CEC theater, 1800 Nelwood Drive. 474-3699 or www.cectheatre.org
Maples Repertory Theatre in Macon will present "High School Musical" through Sunday. (660) 385-2924 or www.maplesrep.com.
ticket alert
Yonder Mountain String Band Oct. 22 at The Blue Note; $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.thebluenote.com
33rd Annual Missouri River Festival of the Arts Aug. 21 through 23 at Thespian Hall in Boonville. Visit www.friendsofhistoricboonville.org.
The Temptations and The Four Tops 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City; $39.50, $49.50 and $85; www.kcstarlight.com.


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Who Bombed Judi Bari?
On the 13th and 15th, Who Bombed Judi Bari? the documentary about the unsolved 1990 Oakland car-bombing of Earth First!ers, Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney will be showing at the Garberville theater. There is a showing today at the Arcata Playhouse. (Yesterday's showing sold out.)
Press Release for the movie:
Who Bombed Judi Bari? is actually narrated by Judi Bari herself using footage taken at her deathbed testimony in her civil rights lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police. In 2002, a federal jury found 3 FBI agents and 3 Oakland officers guilty of violating Bari and Cherney's civil rights in order to silence them. Law enforcement falsely accused the Earth First!ers of car-bombing themselves while they were on a musical roadshow to promote a series of protests known as Redwood Summer 1990, which ultimately attracted thousands of activists.
With only 30 days left to live, Bari tells her life story while the movie flashes back and forward to illustrate the events she describes. Wherever Bari went, cameras followed. The movie covers her early days as a union organizer at the DC Bulk Mail Center, her agitating as a feisty feminist Earth First!er convincing loggers to join environmentalists in opposing corporate redwood logging, and her federal trial against the FBI and Oakland Police that was carried forth posthumously by her organizing partner Darryl Cherney.
Early praise comes from Ed Asner, who said the movie "transcends politics and will be appreciated as a well-told story and parable." Actor Peter Coyote remarked, "This film is… a graphic, factual display of criminality on the part of police in the service of big business. It got me angry, it made me sad, but above all it made me laugh like hell." "Before Occupy Wall Street," adds Producer Darryl Cherney, "there was Redwood Summer."
Bari and Cherney's lawsuit against the FBI continues to make news. In 2011, their legal team secured a stop order preventing the FBI from destroying evidence that could contain the bomber's DNA; and ordering it turned over to an independent lab for testing. The FBI is appealing the order. The movie is Executive Produced by Elyse Katz, Co-executive Produced by Sheila Laffey, and Co-produced by Bill and Laurie Benenson, all veteran filmmakers.
The documentary is controversial with Bruce Anderson of the Anderson Valley Advertiser claiming,
Darryl Cherney and the affiliated ghouls still profiting from the car bombing of Judi Bari in 1990, have now produced a hagiographic movie depicting themselves heroically NOT finding the bomber…. Cherney made a cool million off a phony federal lawsuit arising from the FBI's and the Oakland Police Department's bumblingly premature arrest of Bari and Cherney for knowingly transporting the device. ..
UPDATE: A rebuttal to Bruce Anderson's opinion can be found here.
After a long trial and long deliberations, the jury gave a stunning $4.4 million damage verdict in favor of Bari and Cherney, unanimously finding that the FBI and police had violated their civil rights by falsely arresting them and defaming them after the bombing. Fully 80% of the damages were for violating the pair's First Amendment rights, vindicating Bari and Cherney's claim that law enforcement tried to frame them for the bombing so as to discredit them and disrupt their political organizing in defense of the forests.
UPDATE: 4/3 : A Press Release by Cherney's attorney says,
Press Release from Darryl Cherney: In an order dated March 31, 2012 and released today, Honorable Claudia Wilken, United States District Judge of the Northern District of California, affirmed a March 21, 2011 Order by Magistrate Judge James Larson, directing the United States, through the FBI, to turn over evidence in the 1990 car bomb assassination attempt of Judi Bari in Oakland, CA to a third party forensic laboratory for independent testing.
"This is a historic and momentous development," said Ben Rosenfeld, attorney for plaintiff Darryl Cherney, Judi Bari's co-organizer in the sustained campaign to preserve California's ancient redwoods, who was also injured when the bomb went off. Cherney went to Court in 2010 to prevent the FBI from destroying the evidence. That evidence includes a mostly intact explosive device built by the same hands as the car bomb, as well as a cardboard sign, and latent fingerprints.
The FBI never subjected this evidence to basic forensic examination. Its lawyers contacted Cherney's lawyers in 2010 announcing plans to destroy the evidence. In 2002, an Oakland federal jury found three FBI agents and three Oakland police officers liable for violating Bari and Cherney's First and Fourth Amendment Rights by trying to frame them by falsely accusing them of transporting the bomb which nearly killed them. The FBI never looked elsewhere.
Cherney alone has continued to pursue the bomber(s). With co-Director Mary Liz Thompson, he just released a new documentary entitled Who Bombed Judi Bari? (<http://whobombedjudibari.com/>http://whobombedjudibari.com/). The evidence, hitherto sealed away in an FBI locker, may finally yield an answer to that question.
Request a copy of the Court order via one of the contacts above, or look it up on PACER under federal Case No. 91-01057 (Document Number 686). For historic information about the case, visit <http://www.judibari.org/>www.judibari.org/.


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Mansion Style Living in the Heart of the Bosque.
Andalucia Villas is a brand new gated luxury apartment community in Albuquerque, NM. We feature 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartment homes that include attached garages and private entry for every apartment home. Amenities include health and fitness center, business center, Wi-Fi, amenity center with big screen TV and fireplace, resident lounge, resort style pool and spa, sun deck, playground and Dog Park
Floor Plans and Pricing
|1 Bedroom
|2 Bedroom
|3 Bedroom
Pets Welcome...Call for Breed Restrictions
- Attached Garages for Every Apartment Home
- Private Entry for Every Apartment Home
- Washer & Dryer in Every Apartment Home
- Walk In Closets
- Mansion Style Apartments
- Health and Fitness Center
- Resort Style Pool and Spa
- Close to Walking/Biking Trails in the Bosque
- Gourmet Kitchens w/ Granite Countertops
- Dog Park
Interior Features
- Air Conditioning
- Appliance Package Included
- Attached One-Car Garage
- Attached Two-Car Garage
- Balcony
- Cable/Satellite Ready
- Dishwasher
- Fireplace
- Patio
- Washer/Dryer Connections
- Washer/Dryer Included
Community Features
- Close To Medical
- Fitness Center
- Garages
- Gated Community
- Near Bus Line
- Onsite Manager
- Spa/Jacuzzi
- Swimming Pool
- Walking Paths
Andalucia Villas is a brand new gated luxury apartment community that offers attached garages in all homes. 9 ft. ceilings, gourmet kitchens with granite countertops, alarm systems, washer/dryer in every apartment home, ceilings fans, walk-in closets, patio or balcony, oval garden tubs, crown molding with built in computer desk and fireplace in select homes. Amenities include health and fitness center, business center, Wi-Fi, amenity center with big screen TV and fireplace, resident lounge, resort style pool and spa, sun deck, tot lot, and dog park. We are conveniently located on near Coors and Montano providing easy access to shopping, fine dining and walking/biking trails in the Bosque!
Albuquerque, NM 87120
Featuring Luxury 1-3 Bedroom Apartment Homes For Rent In Albuqueqrue, NM
Monday: 9 - 6Tuesday: 9 - 6Wednesday: 9 - 6Thursday: 9 - 6Friday: 9 - 6Saturday: 10 - 5Sunday: 12 - 5
As you search for your perfect home, please keep in mind that rates (including specials and discounts) and availability are very fluid in the housing industry. Based on many factors, the rates (including specials and discounts) and availability can actually change not just daily, but hourly, if not even more quickly. While our advertisers do take steps to keep their information current, the rates or availability you may find here now at After55.com may not be the same as when you contact the communities.


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The economy may continue to sputter, but local business leaders are preparing for another wall-to-wall crowd at the 10th annual Tri-Chamber Foothills Community Business Expo next week.
The expo, which will start at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8 at Verdugo Hills Hospital, is sponsored by the Crescenta Valley, La Cañada Flintridge and Montrose-Verdugo City chambers of commerce as a means to foster local commerce, organizers said.
"The event annually serves to introduce our community to their neighbor businesses," said Ted Ayala, executive director of the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce. "It serves as a gateway to explore these businesses and get to know the services that the Crescenta Valley offers."


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Barack Obama
The Judiciary Report has consistently maintained Hollywood keeps getting Obama into trouble and they've done it again. The ironic part is when Obama is voted out of office (which polls continue to indicate), they will dump him like yesterday's news, in favor of trying to bribe and buy the next president and congress with donations, into doing their bidding.
President Obama has let Hollywood use him and it has hurt his name, legacy and interests in an enormous way. Gay Hollywood has irreparably damaged the first black president of the United States. Disgraceful.
At the end of the day, the gay marriage issue goes against the religion of billions of people all over the world (Christians and Muslims). Trying to force that on people, is to ask others to defy their religion, for what is an alternative lifestyle and a personal sexual choice you have made.
Vilifying and attempting to financially and personally harm and destroy those that disagree with gay marriage, especially people of faith in the public eye adhering to their religion, will and has only caused public hatred, making people push back even harder to protect their religion. Leave people's religion alone. To try to change other people's religion to suit your chosen lifestyle is out of line and patently wrong and offensive.
If you want to be gay that is your choice, but don't try to force it on others, lest you threaten, bully and destroy them, which high profile homosexuals in Hollywood have unlawfully done to innocent people that peacefully disagreed with them. It's not a good look. That's the definition of intolerance - people won't see things your way, so you do all you can to destroy them for it.
I've seen Hollywood gays in action in this regard, unlawfully acting against religious people that peacefully and constitutionally disagree with gay marriage and their sexual orientation. They go around calling banks demanding they put people's homes and businesses into foreclosure for peacefully and constitutionally disagreeing with the gay lifestyle for religious reasons.
They go around calling manufactures, suppliers and business clients, demanding they stop doing business with and discriminate against religious people for peacefully and constitutionally disagreeing with the gay lifestyle.
They pay private investigators to follow, harass, phone hack and wiretap people and their families that peacefully and constitutionally disagree with the gay lifestyle. They swamp religious people with vitriolic and sometimes threatening hate mail, emails and calls, for peacefully and constitutionally disagreeing with the gay lifestyle.
Hollywood gays literally try to savage and destroy people for this. They need to get a hold of themselves. Hollywood gays are some of the most hateful, vicious, vengeful people on the planet that do the gay community no favors with their terrible, abusive conduct and outright bullying of others, who peacefully and constitutionally disagree with them.
They selfishly don't think about who their conduct will harm, even if it hurts the children of religious people they unethically target. No collateral damage is too much. Even if the collateral damage is the first black president of the United States, in something the black community in America and around the world, is never going to forget or think well of Hollywood for.
Hollywood actor, George Clooney and the high profile gays that attended the party at his home a week ago in Hollywood, with the expressed intent to get President Obama to publicly endorse gay marriage, in exchange for millions in campaign donations, didn't give a rat's behind about what it would do to him or his legacy in the black community or religious world. Well, you got your wish. He endorsed gay marriage and now he has lost untold millions of votes, as polls are now reflecting. I hope you're happy (sarcasm).


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Another treacly and pseudo-profound set of pronouncements, these from "the Copt," a Greek living in Jerusalem at the end of the 11th century.
The conceit of the book is that, in 1974, Sir Walter Wilkinson discovered a papyrus manuscript written in Arabic, Hebrew and Latin. (Coelho is, if nothing else, eclectic in his cultural attributions.) This manuscript, purportedly revealing the wisdom of the Copt on the eve of the capture of Jerusalem by French crusaders in 1099, is in the form of call and response from various townspeople—Muslims, Christians and Jews. A sample setup: "And someone said: 'When everything looks black, we need to raise our spirits. So, talk to us about beauty.' " This is all the opening the Copt needs to pontificate in a style reminiscent of warmed-over Kahlil Gibran: "All the beings created under the sun, from birds to mountains, from flowers to rivers, reflect the miracle of creation." Or, "to those who believe that adventures are dangerous, I say, try routine; that kills you far more quickly." Or, "[e]verything is permitted, if everything is accepted." Coelho's style is terse and epigrammatic, but despite the framing device, there's really no narrative here, only a series of assertions that reflect the Copt's surprisingly New-Age sensibilities. On the other hand, perhaps this isn't so surprising since at the beginning of the manuscript, the Copt announces that he "do[es] not believe very much will change in the next thousand years."
This "novel" will appeal to those who like their philosophy predigested yet served on platters.


text: Born in the beautiful port city of Odessa, Anita Zotkina started her art career at a very young age. Even still, she quickly learned to draw highly intricate pictures, while maintaining a charming and whimsical style. To this day, Anita has never lost her passion for nature, or her sincere belief in the equal value which both humans and animals bring to our world. This is why the animal characters in her drawings were often anthropomorphized; wearing clothes, eating with utensils, reading books, etc… At age 10, Anita was accepted into Odessa's Grekov Art School, the oldest and one of the most prestigious art schools in Ukraine, but dropped out after her first year, feeling stifled by the lack of creative freedom. Nevertheless, she would continue to paint on her own. In the wake of the Soviet collapse, as so many struggled to make ends meet, Anita realized that she could use her art to make a living. This realization marked the beginning of her career as a professional artist, and she has yet look back. Anita immigrated to New England at age 27, and currently makes her home in the beautiful woods of Vermont. It is from this peaceful and harmonious environment that she derives the inspiration she needs to create the delightfully spiritual artwork she is known for. To their viewers, Anita's paintings are meant to convey her deep and abiding love and respect for our mother Gaia. Making varied use of creative media, ranging from thick oil on canvas to textures acrylic on paper, Anita's work fills the heart with love, inner peace, and positive healing energy. These paintings are excellent for bringing a little bit of light and beauty into any room in the house, and are sure to brighten up your day!


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The best way to do this is with tights and socks! I just love stripy tights and socks, but I really love the American Apparel different coloured leg tights!
|Tights from American Apparel www.americanapparel.net
Tights from Mini A Ture www.miniature.dk
|Tights from Phister and Philina www.nordickids.co.uk
|Tights from American Apparel www.americanapparel.net
Sticking to the uniform rules and adding a little bit of your own style can be easy these days, as a lot of highstreet brands such as Next, The Gap and Zara launch their "schoolwear collections". Here are a few pieces from various brands I have found that I think you could get away with!
|Skirt from Paul Smith www.paulsmith.co.uk
|Skirt from The Gap www.thegap.co.uk
|Shirt from The Gap www.thegap.co.uk
Shirt from Paul Smith www.paulsmith.co.uk
|Cardigan from Christina Rohde www.christinarohde.dk
|Jumper from FUB www.fubchildrenswear.dk
|Waist coat from Bonton www.bonton.fr
|Cardigan from The Gap www.thegap.co.uk
|Trousers from The Gap www.thegap.co.uk
|Shoes from The Gap www.thegap.co.uk
|Black leather hightops from Converse www.converse.co.uk
|Shoes from Pepe www.eliasandgrace.com
|Boots from Pepe www.eliasandgrace.com
|Shoes from Pepe www.eliasandgrace.com
If there is one thing I love, it is bags! I have loads and love this selection of school bags!
|Leather bag from www.littlezebra.com
|Rucksack from www.littlezebra.com
|Leather satchel with picture from www.littlezebra.com
|Rucksack from www.littlezebra.com
|Rucksack from American Apparel www.americanapparel.net
|Pencil case from American Apparel www.americanapparel.net
As you can see school uniforms don't have to be too unfashionable, but if your school is super strict with the uniform why not funk things up with a cool bag or pencil case!


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The School of Biological Sciences aims to enhance the way we use technology in research, food security, microbiology, ecosystem biology, sustainability and many other related areas.
Research Institutes
The Institute for Global Food Security
World Leading Commitment to Research
The Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast. is a key partner in national and global efforts to provide the world's growing population with a sustainable, safe and secure supply of high quality food.
Research Themes
Food Safety and Nutrition
Securing global food supplies
Microbes and Pathogen Biology
Solving global microbial issues
eCOSYSTEM bIOLOGY & sUSTAINABILITY
Meet our researchers
Research Impact
Our research impact
Queen's University is joint 8th in the UK for research intensityOur REF ranking
Opportunities and Studentships
Explore our Research Opportunities
Put your knowledge into practice
Studentships & Funding
Access funding for your research study
Scholarships available


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Category Archives: Software Updates
Windows 8 Launch Live Video
Link: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/windows/liveevent.aspx
Alt link: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/presskits/windows/liveevent2.aspx
Microsoft guys said this is the biggest change in Windows since Windows 95. True?
The Official Windows 8 Preview
The upcoming version of Windows will include the all new interface, including the classic ones. The interface is almost similar to the Windows Phone 7 interface. Check it out in this video from Microsoft.
New Android 3.1 Honeycomb featured in Motorola Xoom
Here's the video demo of Motorola Xoom, with the latest version of Android Honeycomb, the only version specially designed for PC tablets. New features including the compatibility of USB game controller, UI refinements, bug fixes, improved performance, etc. Further information provided here.
GLaDOS Reboot Imminent!
The actual release of the most anticipated sci-fi puzzle-platform game "Portal 2" is on April 19, 2011. But there's another way to change the release date; by providing enough computational power to "reboot GLaDOS". But how? All you have to do is to play and complete various challenges in the Potato Sack games to release Portal 2 on Steam before the planned April 19, 2011 date. So, if you can't wait until the next Tuesday, then hurry and visit this site and play the Potato Sack games to revive the long-abandoned GLaDOS. "Still Alive", isn't it?
EDIT: Here's the video showing the final moments when Chell was encountering with GLaDOS from the first Portal game. Warning for those who are new to this game or haven't passed this part yet, this may contain spoiler so 'watch it on your own risk'. I like the "Still Alive" ending song very much.
New Windows Explorer UI in Windows 8
Here's another leaked screenshots of the Windows 8 pre-release version found at Softpedia, showing Windows Explorer with the new Ribbon feature that is already implemented in some applications in Windows 7, Windows Live Essentials and also in Microsoft Office 2010.
Another Upcoming Windows 8 Leaked
I had read this recent article from win.softpedia.com and I wanna show you the another leaked screenshots of the upcoming Windows 8 a.k.a Windows vNext. This time, the screenshots showed the installation process of the upcoming OS. Looks like it's … Continue reading