The overwhelming sense that one gets on first viewing John Ziegler’s new documentary, Media Malpractice, is deja vu. I’d call it nostalgia, except John doesn’t relive “Happy Days”, but a constant drumbeat of advocacy for Barack Obama on the part of the media. On top of that, John also documents a blistering, biased attack on Sarah Palin that occasionally veered into the pathological, as well as an ancillary attack on Joe Wurzelbacher, who happened to ask Obama the right question at the exact wrong time.
Happily, or perhaps unhappily, I recalled each incident and attack quite clearly, as I had spent most of the last two years documenting them here at Hot Air or at Captain’s Quarters before that. In that sense, it’s difficult to predict how many eyes Media Malpractice will open. At its premiere last night, the audience comprised mostly conservative activists and writers, the very people who could have quoted chapter and verse from the media Obama hymnal. The compilation of so much material into the span of this documentary may prove very shocking to the people who paid less attention, or who took media reports at face value during the campaign.
John has made this an entertaining trip into the heart of Obama as media creation. It runs a little long for a documentary, and starts off less organized thematically than it ends, with a strong, organized finish — but that may be from the very nature of the widespread effort by the media to run interference for Obama. Skeptics will find openings for criticism, as John casts a wide net; for instance, Palin herself notes that commentators have a place in news media while John focuses heavily on pundits like Chris Matthews and Campbell Brown for criticism. John also uses Saturday Night Live events for both support and criticism, which weakens his argument slightly regarding NBC.
No matter. The sheer weight of the evidence John expertly documents, and the clever and telling juxtaposition of the widely varying treatment Obama and Joe Biden received from the media from Palin will have even the skeptics admitting that John has a point. In fact, John saves his best evidence for last, in two widely-remarked polls showing and confirming that Obama voters were significantly less knowledgeable about politics and the specifics of the election. That is John’s entire point; the media served the nation poorly in one of its most important functions and left an electorate drowning in ignorance. John claims that he bears no ill will towards Barack Obama and hopes he succeeds, but that the media failed — utterly.
The most affecting moments of this documentary come when John shows Palin watching the specific clips he documents in this film, some of them the first time Palin had seen them. When the topic runs to Bristol, Trig, and maternity, Palin is unable to hide her pain, at least momentarily. John has also included in the DVD the entire unedited interview with Sarah Palin, which we did not have time to watch last night.
John told me last night that he will hold showings of the movie in selected cities over the next few weeks. Keep an eye on John’s website for more details, or better yet, buy your own copy n
Ed McMahon Hospitalized in Serious Condition With Pneumonia
Ed McMahon has been hospitalized for a month fighting pneumonia and other medical problems, his rep, Howard Bragman, confirms to Usmagazine.com.
See the day's top news photos.
The TV personality, 85 -- who has also faced foreclosure on his home in recent months -- is in serious condition, according to TMZ.com, which first reported the news.
Bragman told Us that McMahon is "not at Cedars-Sinai," the L.A. hospital he's suing for malpractice and elder abuse after they allegedly discharged him with a broken neck in 2007.
See the day's top news photos.
The TV personality, 85 -- who has also faced foreclosure on his home in recent months -- is in serious condition, according to TMZ.com, which first reported the news.
Bragman told Us that McMahon is "not at Cedars-Sinai," the L.A. hospital he's suing for malpractice and elder abuse after they allegedly discharged him with a broken neck in 2007.
Lito Sheppard traded to the Jets
It looks like the Eagles will be losing at least one player from their secondary today. No, there is no confirmation yet that Brian Dawkins has signed with the Broncos. Instead, disgruntled cornerback Lito Sheppard, who has been on the trading block for about a year, is about to be traded to the New York Jets. Sheppard has wanted out of Philly ever since the Birds brought in Asante Samuel, and with the recent signing of Joselio Hansen to a long-term deal, the writing was on the wall that Sheppard was a goner.There is no word yet on what the Eagles would receive in return for Sheppard. Anything above a third round pick would be a surprise. Sheppard would step right in and be a starter in New York. I guess one team's garbage is another team's gold.Updated: It's now official. Lito to the Jets for a 2009 5th round pick and a conditional 2010 pick. That's even less than I thought they would get for Lito.
It’s hands-on fun at Medieval Times
Welcome to Medieval Times!” shouts wench Jessica, straining to be heard in the large, loud room. Maintaining both a smile and throat-shredding volume, she bellows out instructions: Eat your roast chicken with your fingers since no utensils are provided, and be sure to boo the Green Knight, ‘cause he’s bad.
Throughout the Medieval Times dining room —- 1,100 seats arrayed in an oval around an arena of sand —- other serving serfs and wenches are yelling out the rules to their own cloisters of customers.
Despite rough economic times and a steep price tag, Medieval Times is more than 90 percent full on a recent Saturday night, as families and church groups pack into the faux castle at Discover Mills Mall in Lawrenceville for an evening of sword-fighting, jousting, stunts on horseback, falconry, blasting music and messy eating. You’re either the type of person willing to wear a cheesy cardboard crown for a couple of hours or you’re not, and this crowd is full of folks who can sustain such a hit to their dignity.
Attendance is down about 20 percent from a year ago, says marketing and sales manager Katrina Stroup, but promotional deals on tickets have kept crowds coming. “We’re the escape from reality, from all the bad news,” she says.
The Lawrenceville Medieval Times opened in 2006, the ninth in a chain that started in Spain in 1973. The Gwinnett castle recently switched over to a new show, one that adds more of an overall story, with some extra romance. There’s now a newlywed prince and princess, the prince gets kidnapped, and everyone is fretting over whether he will return.
Throughout the Medieval Times dining room —- 1,100 seats arrayed in an oval around an arena of sand —- other serving serfs and wenches are yelling out the rules to their own cloisters of customers.
Despite rough economic times and a steep price tag, Medieval Times is more than 90 percent full on a recent Saturday night, as families and church groups pack into the faux castle at Discover Mills Mall in Lawrenceville for an evening of sword-fighting, jousting, stunts on horseback, falconry, blasting music and messy eating. You’re either the type of person willing to wear a cheesy cardboard crown for a couple of hours or you’re not, and this crowd is full of folks who can sustain such a hit to their dignity.
Attendance is down about 20 percent from a year ago, says marketing and sales manager Katrina Stroup, but promotional deals on tickets have kept crowds coming. “We’re the escape from reality, from all the bad news,” she says.
The Lawrenceville Medieval Times opened in 2006, the ninth in a chain that started in Spain in 1973. The Gwinnett castle recently switched over to a new show, one that adds more of an overall story, with some extra romance. There’s now a newlywed prince and princess, the prince gets kidnapped, and everyone is fretting over whether he will return.
The Iceman Cometh
The great man recently declared, must to the dismay of the Gaia contingent, "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers," and not necessarily in that order. Thus it is disturbing that last week is being regarded as a holy week by leading adherents of our nation's great religions and nonreligions. Where they saw saintliness and nirvana, we saw suffering and unaccountability and a coldness of spirit you would not believe.
For instance, the new president's opening words, "My fellow citizens." Was this a cruel joke? Twelve million undocumented immigrants in our midst, and they're being excluded this way? Or has an executive order already naturalized and registered them as voting Democrats? Perhaps the great new One was simply signaling his preference for the French national anthem and its revolutionary summons of the citizenry (citoyens) to arms. Like nobody in recent memory, our leader speaks to one and all in multi-layered mis-direction.
If only he had learned from Katrina -- how many countless thousands of loyal, vetted, and certified supporters were coldly abandoned in the Third Street tunnel and other approaches to the holy grounds of Capitol Hill while a heedless government went about its self-congratulatory business? While Yitzak Perlman fiddled (or pretended to, as the Obama-Biden team looked up at him and pretended to listen), a breakaway nation of Obamists burned. No mean feat in a deep freeze.
Let them eat change, the inaugural committee chairman and master of ceremonies Dianne Feinstein told the huddled masses. Or more precisely, she injected an unprecedented doctrinal note in the proceedings that could keep her from being spied on by CIA director Leon Panetta. Said Ms. Feinstein, "future generations will mark this morning as the turning point for real and necessary change in our nation."
Picking up on Dianne's subtlety, the distinguished Rep. Dennis Kucinich showed that he too is ready to get with the program when he managed to be among the first to greet, congratulate, and whisper something to the new president. Just the other day we received a secret communiqué alerting us to the menacing new book Dennis has authored, "35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush." At the risk of becoming an indicted co-conspirator, you can check it out here. We assume he's being paid by the count.
The loony-bin contingent's tentacles extend to the Oval Office, if New York Times coverage of the new president's knuckle-headed chief of staff is even remotely accurate. We can't wait for the follow-up report on the chatty new veep. What's an indicator of meaningful change? According to the Times, it's when Rahm Emanuel is said to be "trying to…cut down on his use of profanity." And he worries that he's not being a good father to his three young children. No word if he also feels bad for saying Republicans are "bad people who deserve a two-by-four upside their heads." Which perhaps explains the White House's second thoughts on shutting Gitmo down for good, not that there's aren't Republicans happy to claim they fed Rahm that line.
Republicans will not be cowed, regardless. Two of them actually voted against confirming Hillary Rodham Kissinger as our nation's latest secretary of state, one day after Sen. John Cornyn felt the wrath of Sen. John McCain for delaying the vote. Oddly, in the final tally Cornyn was not among the two who voted no.
Republican resistance will have to build in other ways. Here was a squandered opportunity. Several days before his initial swearing in, the then-President-elect dropped by the offices of the Washington Post, one of many follow-up visits in which Mr. Obama has reminded reporters not to waste their questions. Coming across a reportedly pregnant news aide, he proceeded to violate her privacy and to stereotype her situation by asking her when she was due. Then he interfered with her naming rights, saying, intimidatingly, "I hear Barack's a good name."
For instance, the new president's opening words, "My fellow citizens." Was this a cruel joke? Twelve million undocumented immigrants in our midst, and they're being excluded this way? Or has an executive order already naturalized and registered them as voting Democrats? Perhaps the great new One was simply signaling his preference for the French national anthem and its revolutionary summons of the citizenry (citoyens) to arms. Like nobody in recent memory, our leader speaks to one and all in multi-layered mis-direction.
If only he had learned from Katrina -- how many countless thousands of loyal, vetted, and certified supporters were coldly abandoned in the Third Street tunnel and other approaches to the holy grounds of Capitol Hill while a heedless government went about its self-congratulatory business? While Yitzak Perlman fiddled (or pretended to, as the Obama-Biden team looked up at him and pretended to listen), a breakaway nation of Obamists burned. No mean feat in a deep freeze.
Let them eat change, the inaugural committee chairman and master of ceremonies Dianne Feinstein told the huddled masses. Or more precisely, she injected an unprecedented doctrinal note in the proceedings that could keep her from being spied on by CIA director Leon Panetta. Said Ms. Feinstein, "future generations will mark this morning as the turning point for real and necessary change in our nation."
Picking up on Dianne's subtlety, the distinguished Rep. Dennis Kucinich showed that he too is ready to get with the program when he managed to be among the first to greet, congratulate, and whisper something to the new president. Just the other day we received a secret communiqué alerting us to the menacing new book Dennis has authored, "35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush." At the risk of becoming an indicted co-conspirator, you can check it out here. We assume he's being paid by the count.
The loony-bin contingent's tentacles extend to the Oval Office, if New York Times coverage of the new president's knuckle-headed chief of staff is even remotely accurate. We can't wait for the follow-up report on the chatty new veep. What's an indicator of meaningful change? According to the Times, it's when Rahm Emanuel is said to be "trying to…cut down on his use of profanity." And he worries that he's not being a good father to his three young children. No word if he also feels bad for saying Republicans are "bad people who deserve a two-by-four upside their heads." Which perhaps explains the White House's second thoughts on shutting Gitmo down for good, not that there's aren't Republicans happy to claim they fed Rahm that line.
Republicans will not be cowed, regardless. Two of them actually voted against confirming Hillary Rodham Kissinger as our nation's latest secretary of state, one day after Sen. John Cornyn felt the wrath of Sen. John McCain for delaying the vote. Oddly, in the final tally Cornyn was not among the two who voted no.
Republican resistance will have to build in other ways. Here was a squandered opportunity. Several days before his initial swearing in, the then-President-elect dropped by the offices of the Washington Post, one of many follow-up visits in which Mr. Obama has reminded reporters not to waste their questions. Coming across a reportedly pregnant news aide, he proceeded to violate her privacy and to stereotype her situation by asking her when she was due. Then he interfered with her naming rights, saying, intimidatingly, "I hear Barack's a good name."
The Large and Spacious Bloggernacle
There is an interesting little catfight going on as a result of an article about how LDS blogs were started. It really got me thinking about the whys and wherefores of blogging. Hearing the "authorities" of LDS blogs—those who have been around for some time, (and ironically often show dissatisfaction with the way LDS priesthood is run) bicker with the rather younger, more vital (and arguably more mainstream) "Mormon Mommy Blogs" over who played in the playground first has been illustrative.Why blog? It seems that there are a few reasons. First, some blog because they think they have something important to share. They believe their perspective is important, and others should hear it. This tends towards "scholarly" sort of blogging. Or, maybe they just want to share their testimony with any who care to read it. Second, networking. Many blog because they want to stay in touch with friends and family. Blogging is a great way to go about it. Mommy blogs are largely of this sort. As another type of networking, some may have business networking blogs. I have one of this sort, which I've not yet used. Third, chronicling. Some may merely want to record events in their lives, whether good or bad. I have one public, but little-publicized journal-blog of that nature, and one private one. Fourth, a blogger may want to get his or her ideas out there so they can be discussed and mulled over. Maybe a person thinks better by typing, or maybe they want feedback on what they are thinking. Fifth, some blog for support. They are seeking for a community they can't find offline. This is a sort of offshoot of networking, but backwards. Rather than keeping track of those they already know offline, they are seeking others of like mind, often to get to know later.
WEEKEND READING: Peter Gillis, Buck Rogers, Teen-Age Sex Club and Howard Nostrand
From our friends the mechanical men to missing comic book creators, a teenage sex club and a takedown of Buck Rogers, there’s lots of great stuff to keep you occupied until Monday morning.
PETER GILLIS: If you still recall your 1980s comic books enough to run a Jeopardy category on the subject, then you probably remember Peter Gillis who wrote for Marvel, DC and First Comics. You might’ve seen his work on Shattered (the first digital comic, with Michael Saenz), Warp, Strikeforce: Morituri (which he co-created with artist Brent Anderson), Micronauts: The New Voyages, Strange Tales, What If…?, The Defenders, The Eternals, Gammarauders and Tailgunner Jo (with Tom Artis). After that long-running stint in comics, he seems to have disappeared. Well, not for long – lots of missing people turn up on the internets and Gillis is no exception. He’s anxious to plunge back into writing and he’s got a website with something to free-read. As he puts it: “I’ve recently completed a fantasy novel, and am hard into the sequel. Since my literary agent had the bad taste to die, I’m seeking representation for it/them. In the meantime, I’ve written a short story set in the world of these novels, and decided in the interest of shameless self-promotion, to put the story up here for free download.”
ROBOTS: These mechanical freaks come in all sizes and shapes and all manner of deadliness. Friend or foe, they will one day rule us all. They’ve already taken over mail sorting, manufacturing and telephones.
PETER GILLIS: If you still recall your 1980s comic books enough to run a Jeopardy category on the subject, then you probably remember Peter Gillis who wrote for Marvel, DC and First Comics. You might’ve seen his work on Shattered (the first digital comic, with Michael Saenz), Warp, Strikeforce: Morituri (which he co-created with artist Brent Anderson), Micronauts: The New Voyages, Strange Tales, What If…?, The Defenders, The Eternals, Gammarauders and Tailgunner Jo (with Tom Artis). After that long-running stint in comics, he seems to have disappeared. Well, not for long – lots of missing people turn up on the internets and Gillis is no exception. He’s anxious to plunge back into writing and he’s got a website with something to free-read. As he puts it: “I’ve recently completed a fantasy novel, and am hard into the sequel. Since my literary agent had the bad taste to die, I’m seeking representation for it/them. In the meantime, I’ve written a short story set in the world of these novels, and decided in the interest of shameless self-promotion, to put the story up here for free download.”
ROBOTS: These mechanical freaks come in all sizes and shapes and all manner of deadliness. Friend or foe, they will one day rule us all. They’ve already taken over mail sorting, manufacturing and telephones.
Skateboard heroes A group of friends, a few legends and a Saturday on the streets of Sacramento
We’re addicts, really.
People call skateboarders all sorts of names: slackers, loiterers, vandals, nuisances, extreme athletes. But only one word accurately describes the craving we’ve felt inside from that first moment on a skateboard.
Addicts. Twenty-four-seven skating: We watch skate videos, talk boards, think up moves—textbook addiction.
But we’re lucky. There’s an entire city, Sacramento, at our disposal—a complex and sprawling grid of art and architecture where we feed our dependence, often to the point of overindulgence, sacrificing health of body and bank account for mere seconds of levity.
That moment, rolling away from a trick, is a high few things can compete with.
And while skateboarding is at the height of its popularity, too, the average Sacramentan really doesn’t have any idea how the local scene came about. MTV and ESPN have fooled the masses into believing skateboarding is Life of Ryan, gold medals and mega ramps, but the soul of skateboarding is and always has been in the streets.
A day trip of Sacramento’s most popular skate spots: Southside Park.
PHOTO BY DON BUTTON
For local professional skateboarders John Cardiel, Matt Rodriguez and Omar Salazar, the streets of Sacramento led to successful careers.
For they and many others, skating is rock ’n’ roll, their movement. But what people don’t realize is that Sactown has been fanning this revolution’s flames since the beginning, standing on its own, a tear-jerking peppercorn on skateboarding’s palate.
My buddies and I are Davis locals, so planning a day in Sactown begins the night before, when we map out where we’ll skate. “Set alarms for 9 a.m., be on the road by 10!” is usually the plan, but that wake-up call never feels reasonable the next morning amid blissful slumber.
We call this hour “skate AM.” I think most people just call it being late.
But no matter: We’ll spend the entire day outside in this great city doing something we love more than anything. Our bodies will ache, our clothes will be soaked and dirty, and our elbows and hands will be bloody. But that’s skateboarding, and that’s how Sacramentans have been doing it for years.
People call skateboarders all sorts of names: slackers, loiterers, vandals, nuisances, extreme athletes. But only one word accurately describes the craving we’ve felt inside from that first moment on a skateboard.
Addicts. Twenty-four-seven skating: We watch skate videos, talk boards, think up moves—textbook addiction.
But we’re lucky. There’s an entire city, Sacramento, at our disposal—a complex and sprawling grid of art and architecture where we feed our dependence, often to the point of overindulgence, sacrificing health of body and bank account for mere seconds of levity.
That moment, rolling away from a trick, is a high few things can compete with.
And while skateboarding is at the height of its popularity, too, the average Sacramentan really doesn’t have any idea how the local scene came about. MTV and ESPN have fooled the masses into believing skateboarding is Life of Ryan, gold medals and mega ramps, but the soul of skateboarding is and always has been in the streets.
A day trip of Sacramento’s most popular skate spots: Southside Park.
PHOTO BY DON BUTTON
For local professional skateboarders John Cardiel, Matt Rodriguez and Omar Salazar, the streets of Sacramento led to successful careers.
For they and many others, skating is rock ’n’ roll, their movement. But what people don’t realize is that Sactown has been fanning this revolution’s flames since the beginning, standing on its own, a tear-jerking peppercorn on skateboarding’s palate.
My buddies and I are Davis locals, so planning a day in Sactown begins the night before, when we map out where we’ll skate. “Set alarms for 9 a.m., be on the road by 10!” is usually the plan, but that wake-up call never feels reasonable the next morning amid blissful slumber.
We call this hour “skate AM.” I think most people just call it being late.
But no matter: We’ll spend the entire day outside in this great city doing something we love more than anything. Our bodies will ache, our clothes will be soaked and dirty, and our elbows and hands will be bloody. But that’s skateboarding, and that’s how Sacramentans have been doing it for years.
Gwyneth Paltrow Stole Idea for GOOP
Gwyneth Paltrow is a talented actress, a beautiful woman, a lauded fashionista -- and an idea thief? She's being accused of stealing the idea for her GOOP website. Owner of The Beet, another alternative and healthy living site, says that she e-mailed one of Gwyneth's friends to show off her idea and shortly after that, GOOP appeared.The woman, Mary Kate Hearon, says, "I never thought in a million years she'd . . . create her own site very similar to The Weekly Beet . . . (Goop has) the therapies I've tried, the foods I love, the detoxes that work! A lot of the same stuff!"Mary Kate adds that when she met with Gwyneth and her husband, "the way she treated me was so scary! She was sooooooo nasty to me, it was scandalous! Chris [Martin] the utmost gentleman, stood to shake my hand, but she smirked and was silent when I asked how her dinner was."Gwyneth's people say she's never even heard of Hearon, let alone met her, and that the claims are ridiculous.Stealing is a serious Stylefoul! Gwyneth might be respected amongst the fashion industry but ripping off another person's idea isn't going to win her any credibility with the holistic living set.That being said, the idea in general for GOOP really isn't that original -- healthy living -- bet you've never heard of that before. So we don't think that Ms. Hearon will have much of a copyright claim. But, all the same, this is just another reason for the Gwyneth haters of the world to keeping on hating.
Pasadena-based plan for online university draws interest
Still, the University of the People, a Pasadena-based venture envisioned as the first global, online, peer-to-peer university, will be a real institution of higher education, complete with students, teaching and learning, its founder says.And Shai Reshef, the Israeli entrepreneur behind the idea, said the response has been overwhelming since news of his in-the-works university spread last month. Hundreds of students from all over the world have e-mailed wanting to apply, and hundreds of professors want to volunteer -- and admissions won't even open until April."We're unable to answer all these people," Reshef said in a recent interview, throwing his hands apart to indicate the explosion of interest.
For now, the nonprofit University of the People is sharing office space with Cramster, an online study community that Reshef also heads. In fact, it was through Reshef's work with Cramster, in which students and others work together to solve math and science problems, that he decided the peer-to-peer model might also work for online college classes.Through Cramster "I learned how powerful social networking can be for learning," he said. "It was like a great revelation for me and I said, 'Wow, we can use it for academic study.' "A Tel Aviv resident who commutes about once a month to his Pasadena office, Reshef said his latest venture involves using open source technology, free course material from such universities as MIT and the lure of social networking to offer college degrees to people who might not otherwise have access to them.Students who apply are likely to be those who cannot afford university tuition, whether they are in Africa, South America or Los Angeles, he said.Reshef has two decades of experience in international education. Starting in 1989, he served as chairman of Kidum, a for-profit educational services company in Israel that he later sold to Kaplan, the test preparation and education company.From 2001 to 2004, Reshef lived in the Netherlands and chaired KIT eLearning, the online partner of the University of Liverpool. He said his experience there taught him how powerful online learning can be and how well it can simulate a traditional university setting, but also showed him that it remained too expensive for many students.
For now, the nonprofit University of the People is sharing office space with Cramster, an online study community that Reshef also heads. In fact, it was through Reshef's work with Cramster, in which students and others work together to solve math and science problems, that he decided the peer-to-peer model might also work for online college classes.Through Cramster "I learned how powerful social networking can be for learning," he said. "It was like a great revelation for me and I said, 'Wow, we can use it for academic study.' "A Tel Aviv resident who commutes about once a month to his Pasadena office, Reshef said his latest venture involves using open source technology, free course material from such universities as MIT and the lure of social networking to offer college degrees to people who might not otherwise have access to them.Students who apply are likely to be those who cannot afford university tuition, whether they are in Africa, South America or Los Angeles, he said.Reshef has two decades of experience in international education. Starting in 1989, he served as chairman of Kidum, a for-profit educational services company in Israel that he later sold to Kaplan, the test preparation and education company.From 2001 to 2004, Reshef lived in the Netherlands and chaired KIT eLearning, the online partner of the University of Liverpool. He said his experience there taught him how powerful online learning can be and how well it can simulate a traditional university setting, but also showed him that it remained too expensive for many students.
A new centre will generate the scientists needed for Britain's future
The new Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in NanoScience will equip the next generation of researchers with the skills and experience to become nanoscience entrepreneurs by turning basic science research into future applications.The DTC offers a unique opportunity to bring together research expertise and best training practise. The EPSRC funding, of more than £6 million, will support over 50 PhD students over the next five years for a four-year postgraduate training programme spanning a range of disciplines.By integrating MPhil-level training, including highly rated enterprise components, students will be stretched in new directions. The DTC will provide postgraduates with a broader experience than currently possible in either graduate research or technological innovation.The training includes a first year of taught nanoscience courses across physics, engineering, chemistry and material science with mini-projects and nano-lab practicals. This is followed by an interdisciplinary PhD placement in one of the nanoscience research groups around the University.An important element of the programme is exposure to innovation and business courses through the University's Judge Business School.Drawing together a team from the Physics, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, and Chemistry Departments, it will be led by Professor Jeremy Baumberg and co-directed by Professor Mark Blamire.Commenting on the announcement, Professor Baumberg said: "This is a wonderful investment in young researchers, complementing the strong nano-fabrication infrastructure and world-class interdisciplinary groups across the University of Cambridge".Professor Peter Littlewood, Head of the Department of Physics, said: "Cambridge University has a strong track record in taking innovations in Nanomaterials and converting them into commercial endeavours. Here we will expose PhD students at an early stage to innovation, and grow the next general of entrepreneurs to feed the Cambridge phenomenon."Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, announced the £250million initiative which will create 44 training centres across the UK and generate over 2000 PhD students. The students will tackle some of the biggest problems currently facing Britain such as climate change, energy, our ageing population, and high-tech crime.Lord Drayson said: "Britain faces many challenges in the 21st Century and needs scientists and engineers with the right skills to find answers to these challenges, build a strong economy and keep us globally competitive. EPSRC's doctoral training centres will provide a new wave of engineers and scientists to do the job."He continued: "These new centres will help to develop clean renewable energy, fight high tech crime, assist in reducing carbon emissions, and discover new healthcare solutions for an ageing population. This is an exciting, innovative approach to training young researchers and will help build a better future for Britain.EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training are a new approach to training PhD students, creating communities of researchers working on current and future challenges. 17 of the new centres will be industrial training centres that will equip their students with the business skills they need to turn pioneering ideas into products and services, boosting their impact on the UK's economy.The multidisciplinary centres bring together diverse areas of expertise to train engineers and scientists with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle today's evolving issues. They also create new working cultures, build relationships between teams in universities and forge lasting links with industry.Students in these centres will receive a formal programme of taught coursework to develop and enhance their technical interdisciplinary knowledge, and broaden their set of skills. Alongside this they will undertake a challenging and original research project at PhD level.
DECLINING SIBELIUS.
Geoff Pullum has an odd post at the Log in which he claims that "a completely uneducated monolingual Finnish speaker" knows better how to say Sibelius's name than the composer himself. Judging by the end of his post, he's trying to make a point about prescriptivism; at any rate, it inspired a very interesting comment by Roger:
A Finnish friend of mine said that she would pronounce it as Si.bé.li.us. in the nominative with stress on the second syllable and a /b/, but as Sí.pe.li.uk.sen with stress on the first syllable and /p/ in the genitive (and all other cases), presumably because once you use any non-nominative case the word is Finnicized to a greater extent. She also said that she only learned how to pronounce /b/ as an adult, even though she had always thought she could. Only after hearing herself on tape could she be convinced that her b was in fact identical to her p.That difference in pronunciation between the nominative and the other cases makes sense but is not something I would ever have guessed in advance.
A Finnish friend of mine said that she would pronounce it as Si.bé.li.us. in the nominative with stress on the second syllable and a /b/, but as Sí.pe.li.uk.sen with stress on the first syllable and /p/ in the genitive (and all other cases), presumably because once you use any non-nominative case the word is Finnicized to a greater extent. She also said that she only learned how to pronounce /b/ as an adult, even though she had always thought she could. Only after hearing herself on tape could she be convinced that her b was in fact identical to her p.That difference in pronunciation between the nominative and the other cases makes sense but is not something I would ever have guessed in advance.
Stingray
This article is about the family of marine fish. For other uses, see Stingray (disambiguation).
StingraysFossil range: Late Cretaceous–Recent
PreЄ
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O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
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[1]
Bluespotted stingray, Taeniura lymma
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Chondrichthyes
Subclass:
Elasmobranchii
Order:
Rajiformes
Family:
Dasyatidae
Genera
DasyatisHimanturaPastinachusPteroplatytrygonTaeniuraUrogymnus
A stingray buried in the sand in Saba. Stingrays can be hard to see when they cover themselves with substrate.
Dasyatidae is a family of rays, cartilaginous marine fish, related to skates and sharks.
Dasyatids are common in tropical coastal waters throughout the world, and there are freshwater species in Asia (Himantura sp.), Africa, and Florida (Dasyatis sabina). The "typical" freshwaters rays in South America, while superficially similar to stingrays, are members of another family, Potamotrygonidae.
While most dasyatids are relatively widespread and unlikely to be threatened, there are several species (for example Taeniura meyeni, Dasyatis colarensis, D. garouaensis, and D. laosensis) where the conservation status is more problematic, leading to them being listed as vulnerable or endangered by IUCN. The status of several other species are poorly known, leading to them being listed as Data Deficient.
A group or collection of stingrays is commonly[citation needed] referred to as a "fever" of stingrays.
StingraysFossil range: Late Cretaceous–Recent
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Bluespotted stingray, Taeniura lymma
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Chondrichthyes
Subclass:
Elasmobranchii
Order:
Rajiformes
Family:
Dasyatidae
Genera
DasyatisHimanturaPastinachusPteroplatytrygonTaeniuraUrogymnus
A stingray buried in the sand in Saba. Stingrays can be hard to see when they cover themselves with substrate.
Dasyatidae is a family of rays, cartilaginous marine fish, related to skates and sharks.
Dasyatids are common in tropical coastal waters throughout the world, and there are freshwater species in Asia (Himantura sp.), Africa, and Florida (Dasyatis sabina). The "typical" freshwaters rays in South America, while superficially similar to stingrays, are members of another family, Potamotrygonidae.
While most dasyatids are relatively widespread and unlikely to be threatened, there are several species (for example Taeniura meyeni, Dasyatis colarensis, D. garouaensis, and D. laosensis) where the conservation status is more problematic, leading to them being listed as vulnerable or endangered by IUCN. The status of several other species are poorly known, leading to them being listed as Data Deficient.
A group or collection of stingrays is commonly[citation needed] referred to as a "fever" of stingrays.
American Idol Top 12 Performances, Eliminations: Allison Iraheta Rocks 'Alone'
Jasmine Murray was first and performed 'Love Song', but she sang completely off-pitch. She thought she did "really well".
Jeanine Vailes sang 'This Love' and pretty much blew her chances before begging the viewers through the camera to give her another chance.
'Nick Norman' performed 'You're Gonna Love Me' and while he was comical, he wasn't a true singer. Simon obviously couldn't stand him - and suggested that Ryan has feelings for him!
Allison Iraheta Rocked 'Alone' and blew the roof off. At just 16-years-old, she hit it right out of the park.
Jeanine Vailes sang 'This Love' and pretty much blew her chances before begging the viewers through the camera to give her another chance.
'Nick Norman' performed 'You're Gonna Love Me' and while he was comical, he wasn't a true singer. Simon obviously couldn't stand him - and suggested that Ryan has feelings for him!
Allison Iraheta Rocked 'Alone' and blew the roof off. At just 16-years-old, she hit it right out of the park.
It's A Dogs Life For Simon Cowell
The next instalment of American Idol rolls into the Sunshine State – Florida, as the judges see the best – and worst - from Jacksonville. In tonight’s episode, there are the ever weird and wacky auditionees to look out for – and there is also the surprising sight of Simon Cowell BABYSITTING A SHIH-TZU.
Sharon Wilbur brings her dog, Sasha and gives it to Simon, to look after as she sings. It’s not just a gimmick though, as she sails through without the sympathy of the dog to rely on.
There are some spectacular failed auditions including an initially very confident 16 year-old Kaneswe Finnie – before Simon Cowell brands her ‘terrible’. Kaneswe, however, doesn’t take this lying down and promptly brings in her mother to help her out. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help her either and she fails to get the Golden Ticket to Hollywood.
Comment on this Article
Other highlights include 19 year old Latino beauty queen Julissa Veloz, who comes in wearing a tiara and is completely out of tune. Cowell criticizes her and also makes fun of her laugh, before Paula Abdul is reduced to tears and LEAVES. Julissa manages to bring her back and to the horror of Cowell, gets through to Hollywood.
The show finishes with Paula Abdul SAT ON SIMON COWELL’S LAP while host Ryan Seacrest also sits on Kara DioGuardi’s lap as they watch an audition from a big Randy Jackson fan, while Paula and Kara almost share a KISS as the judges threatened to sizzle over in the summer heat.
The show also sees a new seating arrangement with Simon now sat next to new judge Kara DioGuardi – the latest in the line of Cowell’s sexy co-stars, who was also sporting an eye-popping dress.
The show airs on Thursday 30 January at 8pm on ITV2.
Sharon Wilbur brings her dog, Sasha and gives it to Simon, to look after as she sings. It’s not just a gimmick though, as she sails through without the sympathy of the dog to rely on.
There are some spectacular failed auditions including an initially very confident 16 year-old Kaneswe Finnie – before Simon Cowell brands her ‘terrible’. Kaneswe, however, doesn’t take this lying down and promptly brings in her mother to help her out. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help her either and she fails to get the Golden Ticket to Hollywood.
Comment on this Article
Other highlights include 19 year old Latino beauty queen Julissa Veloz, who comes in wearing a tiara and is completely out of tune. Cowell criticizes her and also makes fun of her laugh, before Paula Abdul is reduced to tears and LEAVES. Julissa manages to bring her back and to the horror of Cowell, gets through to Hollywood.
The show finishes with Paula Abdul SAT ON SIMON COWELL’S LAP while host Ryan Seacrest also sits on Kara DioGuardi’s lap as they watch an audition from a big Randy Jackson fan, while Paula and Kara almost share a KISS as the judges threatened to sizzle over in the summer heat.
The show also sees a new seating arrangement with Simon now sat next to new judge Kara DioGuardi – the latest in the line of Cowell’s sexy co-stars, who was also sporting an eye-popping dress.
The show airs on Thursday 30 January at 8pm on ITV2.
Joe McDonald filling in for Remy tonight
Tuning in to NESN tonight for the Red Sox-Twins exhibition game? That voice you hear with Don Orsillo won't be Jerry Remy's.
It will be our own Joe McDonald's.
Remy is sick and unable to make the broadcast, so McDonald -- one of the Journal's two Red Sox beat writers -- will in as a guest color analyst for the first two innings. He and Orsillo have known each other for years; Joe was a frequent guest on Don's "Talking PawSox" television show when Orsillo was the voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox and McDonald was covering the team for the Journal.
It will be our own Joe McDonald's.
Remy is sick and unable to make the broadcast, so McDonald -- one of the Journal's two Red Sox beat writers -- will in as a guest color analyst for the first two innings. He and Orsillo have known each other for years; Joe was a frequent guest on Don's "Talking PawSox" television show when Orsillo was the voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox and McDonald was covering the team for the Journal.
Study Abroad
First Annual Summer Session In International and Comparative Law in Giessen, GermanyJuly 19 through August 14, 2009
A joint offering of Marquette University Law School, the University of Wisconsin Law School and the University of Giessen Law SchoolSummer of 2009 will see the inaugural session of the joint Marquette, University of Wisconsin, University of Giessen Summer Session in International and Comparative Law on the campus of the University of Giessen in Giessen, Germany. Through these three law schools and their friends world wide, the program will bring together students from all over the world to study comparative and international law for a one-month session lasting from July 19 through August 14. Faculty will be drawn from all three schools and students will select two two-credit hour classes from a curriculum of four classes. The curriculum will be supplemented with day and overnight field trips to courts and other legal institutions in Germany and neighboring countries. Classes will be held only during the day and only four days each week, Monday through Thursday, in each of the four weeks of the program. The schedule thus leaves students with time to explore the countryside around Giessen and nearby Frankfurt and enjoy long weekends in Germany and the countries surrounding Germany. Paris to the west and Berlin to the east are a mere 300 miles from Giessen.
A joint offering of Marquette University Law School, the University of Wisconsin Law School and the University of Giessen Law SchoolSummer of 2009 will see the inaugural session of the joint Marquette, University of Wisconsin, University of Giessen Summer Session in International and Comparative Law on the campus of the University of Giessen in Giessen, Germany. Through these three law schools and their friends world wide, the program will bring together students from all over the world to study comparative and international law for a one-month session lasting from July 19 through August 14. Faculty will be drawn from all three schools and students will select two two-credit hour classes from a curriculum of four classes. The curriculum will be supplemented with day and overnight field trips to courts and other legal institutions in Germany and neighboring countries. Classes will be held only during the day and only four days each week, Monday through Thursday, in each of the four weeks of the program. The schedule thus leaves students with time to explore the countryside around Giessen and nearby Frankfurt and enjoy long weekends in Germany and the countries surrounding Germany. Paris to the west and Berlin to the east are a mere 300 miles from Giessen.
People: Sharon Stone; Simon Cowell and Camilla Morton
Perrin prepares to rise before us once more
I didn’t get where I am today . . . by messing with a classic. Can the BBC get away with a remake of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin without its hero actually “doing a Reggie”?
Martin Clunes is to take the Leonard Rossiter role in an update of the 1970s classic, co-written by Simon Nye and David Nobbs, the author of the original Perrin books.
The 1976 series ended with the disillusioned sales executive faking his suicide by drowning and then returning to his wife after assuming the identity of a man just arrived from Latin America. The BBC is keen to dispel any similarities to the case of John Darwin, the canoe fraudster. “We leave the series before Reggie’s escape,” explains Nye. “We linger longer over his search for a way out, so we don’t see his return.”
Nobbs adds: “The Darwin case was an insurance scam. Reggie is undergoing a real existential crisis.”
The insufferable boss CJ is retained with his catchphrases while Wendy Craig returns to sitcom as Reggie’s mum. Will Perrin’s torments prove to be a TV recession tonic?
— Sharon Stone won’t be caught out by the British winter weather. After dazzling in a Galliano gown on the red carpet at the Bafta Awards on Sunday, the actress headed to Heathrow in what we can only imagine is her eight-year-old son’s football beanie and a long Louis Vuitton coat. Or is that a wrap, folks?
I didn’t get where I am today . . . by messing with a classic. Can the BBC get away with a remake of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin without its hero actually “doing a Reggie”?
Martin Clunes is to take the Leonard Rossiter role in an update of the 1970s classic, co-written by Simon Nye and David Nobbs, the author of the original Perrin books.
The 1976 series ended with the disillusioned sales executive faking his suicide by drowning and then returning to his wife after assuming the identity of a man just arrived from Latin America. The BBC is keen to dispel any similarities to the case of John Darwin, the canoe fraudster. “We leave the series before Reggie’s escape,” explains Nye. “We linger longer over his search for a way out, so we don’t see his return.”
Nobbs adds: “The Darwin case was an insurance scam. Reggie is undergoing a real existential crisis.”
The insufferable boss CJ is retained with his catchphrases while Wendy Craig returns to sitcom as Reggie’s mum. Will Perrin’s torments prove to be a TV recession tonic?
— Sharon Stone won’t be caught out by the British winter weather. After dazzling in a Galliano gown on the red carpet at the Bafta Awards on Sunday, the actress headed to Heathrow in what we can only imagine is her eight-year-old son’s football beanie and a long Louis Vuitton coat. Or is that a wrap, folks?
Scientists Solve Mystery of See Through Barreleye Fish
Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have solved an over 50-year mystery behind the Barreleye fish, finding that the fish can rotate its eyes, but only after discovering that the front of its head is see through.
The see through Barreleye Fish (Macropinna microstoma) was first discovered in 1939, but the transparent nature of the fish wasn’t known. The fish had previously been caught in nets, but the see through part is destroyed when the fish dies. The eyes on the fish are unique, facing upwards, so it was thought that it couldn’t see in front of itself. The Monterey Bay team sent remotely operated vehicles to the ocean floor to study the fish, only to make the remarkable discovery.
The team managed to capture a live specimen, and over several hours observed the fish rotating its eyes. The see through portion of the Barreleye allows the fish to literally see through itself when looking for food at different angles above it.
What ever the science, the see through fish is simply a marvel of nature.
The see through Barreleye Fish (Macropinna microstoma) was first discovered in 1939, but the transparent nature of the fish wasn’t known. The fish had previously been caught in nets, but the see through part is destroyed when the fish dies. The eyes on the fish are unique, facing upwards, so it was thought that it couldn’t see in front of itself. The Monterey Bay team sent remotely operated vehicles to the ocean floor to study the fish, only to make the remarkable discovery.
The team managed to capture a live specimen, and over several hours observed the fish rotating its eyes. The see through portion of the Barreleye allows the fish to literally see through itself when looking for food at different angles above it.
What ever the science, the see through fish is simply a marvel of nature.
President Vows to Lead Nation To Brighter Future
President Barack Obama promised a nation shuddering in economic crisis Tuesday night that he would lead it from a dire "day of reckoning" to a brighter future, summoning politicians and public alike to shoulder responsibility for hard choices and shared sacrifice. "The time to take charge of our future is here," Obama declared, delivering his first address to a joint session of Congress.
Offering words of reassurance to an anxious nation, he declared, "Tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."
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"We are a nation that has seen promise and peril," he said. "Now we must be that nation again."
Cheered robustly as he entered the House chamber, Obama grinned, shook hands and kissed lawmakers and stopped for a lengthy embrace with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, back on the bench only this week after surgery for pancreatic cancer.
To deal with the current crisis, deepening each day, the president said more money will be needed to rescue troubled banks beyond the $700 billion already committed last year. He said he knows that bailout billions for banks are unpopular - "I promise you, I get it," he said - but he also insisted that was the only way to get credit moving again to households and businesses, the lifeblood of the American economy.
Along with aid for banks, he also called on Congress to move quickly on legislation to overhaul outdated regulations on the nation's financial markets.
"I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary," Obama said. "Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession."
Offering words of reassurance to an anxious nation, he declared, "Tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."
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"We are a nation that has seen promise and peril," he said. "Now we must be that nation again."
Cheered robustly as he entered the House chamber, Obama grinned, shook hands and kissed lawmakers and stopped for a lengthy embrace with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, back on the bench only this week after surgery for pancreatic cancer.
To deal with the current crisis, deepening each day, the president said more money will be needed to rescue troubled banks beyond the $700 billion already committed last year. He said he knows that bailout billions for banks are unpopular - "I promise you, I get it," he said - but he also insisted that was the only way to get credit moving again to households and businesses, the lifeblood of the American economy.
Along with aid for banks, he also called on Congress to move quickly on legislation to overhaul outdated regulations on the nation's financial markets.
"I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary," Obama said. "Because we cannot consign our nation to an open-ended recession."
fat tuesday 2009
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Jindal's response: Panned, seared
Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) hoped to step into the national spotlight Tuesday night to sound a hopeful yet defiant note in countering President Barack Obama as the GOP’s fresh and exciting face. Instead, he got panned. “I think he had a really poor performance tonight, I’m sorry to say,” National Public Radio’s Juan Williams said on a Fox News panel immediately following Jindal’s remarks. Williams went on to call the governor’s remarks “sing-songy” and said Jindal looked “childish” compared to Obama. “This was not the best from the young man from Louisiana,” he said. Fortune Magazine’s Nina Easton added flatly, “The delivery was not exactly perfect.” "The delivery and microphone distracted from him, as did the hurried pace," noted Erick Erickson on the conservative Red State blog. "Reading the speech, it was great. Delivery? Not so much." While Jindal may have missed a prime opportunity to establish himself as a leading Republican presidential contender in 2012, he didn't exactly lay an egg. And it's widely understood among political professionals that the rebuttal to the president is a difficult endeavor, one that almost never matches the speech that precedes it. Democratic governors who have delivered similar presidential responses in recent years also took their share of post-speech criticism—and it doesn't seem to have altered the arc of their careers. Former Gov. Gary Locke (D-Wash.) is expected to be announced as Obama's Commerce Secretary Wednesday. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is thought to be the frontrunner to become the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services Secretary. Gov. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was tapped this year to become the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Both Sebelius and Kaine drew wide mention as possible running mates for Obama. Still, the Louisiana governor was expected to deliver a higher caliber performace given his sterling political resume and his appearances on Sunday talk shows, and he did little that showed off the talents that have excited so many Republicans. “Obama gave a polished performance, as usual. Jindal’s act needs a lot of work,” said John J. Pitney Jr., a political science professor at California’s Claremont McKenna College. “His basic message was sound but his language was hackneyed and his performance was wooden. Fortunately he has a lot of time to improve his delivery. In the year 2040 he will still be younger than McCain was in 2008.” Thomas Schaller, a political scientist at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said, “Someday, when scholars are trying to fingerpoint the nadir of the post-Bush Republican Party, they may arrive at Jindal's speech tonight,” he said. “Though it was a tough moment for any Republican to give the opposition response, his speech came across as unserious in content and condescending in its tone.”
The Republican Response: Americans Can Do Anything
Good evening. I'm Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana.
Tonight, we witnessed a great moment in the history of our Republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African-American President stepped forward to address the state of our union. With his speech tonight, the President completed a redemptive journey that took our nation from Independence Hall ... to Gettysburg ... to the lunch counter ... and now, finally, the Oval Office.
Regardless of party, all Americans are moved by the President's personal story - the son of an American mother and a Kenyan father, who grew up to become leader of the free world. Like the President's father, my parents came to this country from a distant land. When they arrived in Baton Rouge, my mother was already 4 ∏ months pregnant. I was what folks in the insurance industry now call a 'pre-existing condition.' To find work, my dad picked up the yellow pages and started calling local businesses. Even after landing a job, he could still not afford to pay for my delivery - so he worked out an installment plan with the doctor. Fortunately for me, he never missed a payment.
As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country - and they instilled in me an immigrant's wonder at the greatness of America. As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad. Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty. And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: 'Bobby, Americans can do anything.' I still believe that to this day. Americans can do anything. When we pull together, there is no challenge we cannot overcome.
As the President made clear this evening, we are now in a time of challenge. Many of you listening tonight have lost jobs. Others have seen your college and retirement savings dwindle. Many of you are worried about losing your health care and your homes. And you are looking to your elected leaders in Washington for solutions.
Republicans are ready to work with the new President to provide those solutions. Here in my state of Louisiana, we don't care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people. We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation's capital. All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper. So where we agree, Republicans must be the President's strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.
Today in Washington, some are promising that government will rescue us from the economic storms raging all around us.
Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina, we have our doubts.
Let me tell you a story.
During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I'd never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: 'Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!' I asked him: 'Sheriff, what's got you so mad?' He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go - when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn't go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, 'Sheriff, that's ridiculous.' And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: 'Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!' Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people.
There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens. We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes - and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.
To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you - the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.
That is why Republicans put forward plans to create jobs by lowering income tax rates for working families ... cutting taxes for small businesses ... strengthening incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new workers ... and stabilizing home values by creating a new tax credit for home-buyers. These plans would cost less and create more jobs.
But Democratic leaders in Congress rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history - with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest. While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a 'magnetic levitation' line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring.' Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, DC.
Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It's irresponsible. And it's no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.
In Louisiana, we took a different approach. Since I became governor, we cut more than 250 earmarks from our state budget. And to create jobs for our citizens, we cut taxes six times - including the largest income tax cut in the history of our state. We passed those tax cuts with bipartisan majorities. Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences, and worked together to make sure our people could keep more of what they earn. If it can be done in Baton Rouge, surely it can be done in Washington, DC.
To strengthen our economy, we need urgent action to keep energy prices down. All of us remember what it felt like to pay $4 at the pump - and unless we act now, those prices will return. To stop that from happening, we need to increase conservation ... increase energy efficiency ... increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels ... increase our use of nuclear power - and increase drilling for oil and gas here at home. We believe that Americans can do anything - and if we unleash the innovative spirit of our citizens, we can achieve energy independence.
To strengthen our economy, we also need to address the crisis in health care. Republicans believe in a simple principle: No American should have to worry about losing their health coverage - period. We stand for universal access to affordable health care coverage. We oppose universal government-run health care. Health care decisions should be made by doctors and patients - not by government bureaucrats. We believe Americans can do anything - and if we put aside partisan politics and work together, we can make our system of private medicine affordable and accessible for every one of our citizens.
To strengthen our economy, we also need to make sure every child in America gets the best possible education. After Katrina, we reinvented the New Orleans school system - opening dozens of new charter schools, and creating a new scholarship program that is giving parents the chance to send their children to private or parochial schools of their choice. We believe that, with the proper education, the children of America can do anything. And it should not take a devastating storm to bring this kind of innovation to education in our country.
To strengthen our economy, we must promote confidence in America by ensuring ours is the most ethical and transparent system in the world. In my home state, there used to be saying: At any given time, half of Louisiana is under water - and the other half is under indictment. No one says that anymore. Last year, we passed some of the strongest ethics laws in the nation - and today, Louisiana has turned her back on the corruption of the past. We need to bring transparency to Washington, DC - so we can rid our Capitol of corruption ... and ensure we never see the passage of another trillion dollar spending bill that Congress has not even read and the American people haven't even seen.
As we take these steps, we must remember for all our troubles at home, dangerous enemies still seek our destruction. Now is no time to dismantle the defenses that have protected this country for hundreds of years, or make deep cuts in funding for our troops. America's fighting men and women can do anything. And if we give them the resources they need, they will stay on the offensive ... defeat our enemies ... and protect us from harm.
In all these areas, Republicans want to work with President Obama. We appreciate his message of hope - but sometimes it seems we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you - the American people. In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government. We oppose the National Democrats' view that says -- the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government. We believe the way to strengthen our country is to restrain spending in Washington, and empower individuals and small businesses to grow our economy and create jobs.
In recent years, these distinctions in philosophy became less clear - because our party got away from its principles. You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility. Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington. Republicans lost your trust - and rightly so.
Tonight, on behalf of our leaders in Congress and my fellow Republican governors, I say: Our party is determined to regain your trust. We will do so by standing up for the principles that we share ... the principles you elected us to fight for ... the principles that built this into the greatest, most prosperous country on earth.
A few weeks ago, the President warned that our nation is facing a crisis that he said 'we may not be able to reverse.' Our troubles are real, to be sure. But don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover - or that America's best days are behind her. This is the nation that cast off the scourge of slavery ... overcame the Great Depression ... prevailed in two World Wars ... won the struggle for civil rights ... defeated the Soviet menace ... and responded with determined courage to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The American spirit has triumphed over almost every form of adversity known to man - and the American spirit will triumph again.
We can have confidence in our future - because, amid today's challenges, we also count many blessings: We have the most innovative citizens ...the most abundant resources ... the most resilient economy ... the most powerful military ... and the freest political system in the history of the world. My fellow citizens, never forget: We are Americans. And like my dad said years ago, Americans can do anything.
Thank you for listening. God bless you. And God bless America
Tonight, we witnessed a great moment in the history of our Republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African-American President stepped forward to address the state of our union. With his speech tonight, the President completed a redemptive journey that took our nation from Independence Hall ... to Gettysburg ... to the lunch counter ... and now, finally, the Oval Office.
Regardless of party, all Americans are moved by the President's personal story - the son of an American mother and a Kenyan father, who grew up to become leader of the free world. Like the President's father, my parents came to this country from a distant land. When they arrived in Baton Rouge, my mother was already 4 ∏ months pregnant. I was what folks in the insurance industry now call a 'pre-existing condition.' To find work, my dad picked up the yellow pages and started calling local businesses. Even after landing a job, he could still not afford to pay for my delivery - so he worked out an installment plan with the doctor. Fortunately for me, he never missed a payment.
As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country - and they instilled in me an immigrant's wonder at the greatness of America. As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad. Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty. And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: 'Bobby, Americans can do anything.' I still believe that to this day. Americans can do anything. When we pull together, there is no challenge we cannot overcome.
As the President made clear this evening, we are now in a time of challenge. Many of you listening tonight have lost jobs. Others have seen your college and retirement savings dwindle. Many of you are worried about losing your health care and your homes. And you are looking to your elected leaders in Washington for solutions.
Republicans are ready to work with the new President to provide those solutions. Here in my state of Louisiana, we don't care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people. We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation's capital. All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper. So where we agree, Republicans must be the President's strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.
Today in Washington, some are promising that government will rescue us from the economic storms raging all around us.
Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina, we have our doubts.
Let me tell you a story.
During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I'd never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: 'Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!' I asked him: 'Sheriff, what's got you so mad?' He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go - when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn't go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, 'Sheriff, that's ridiculous.' And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: 'Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!' Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people.
There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens. We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes - and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.
To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you - the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.
That is why Republicans put forward plans to create jobs by lowering income tax rates for working families ... cutting taxes for small businesses ... strengthening incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new workers ... and stabilizing home values by creating a new tax credit for home-buyers. These plans would cost less and create more jobs.
But Democratic leaders in Congress rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history - with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest. While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a 'magnetic levitation' line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring.' Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, DC.
Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It's irresponsible. And it's no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.
In Louisiana, we took a different approach. Since I became governor, we cut more than 250 earmarks from our state budget. And to create jobs for our citizens, we cut taxes six times - including the largest income tax cut in the history of our state. We passed those tax cuts with bipartisan majorities. Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences, and worked together to make sure our people could keep more of what they earn. If it can be done in Baton Rouge, surely it can be done in Washington, DC.
To strengthen our economy, we need urgent action to keep energy prices down. All of us remember what it felt like to pay $4 at the pump - and unless we act now, those prices will return. To stop that from happening, we need to increase conservation ... increase energy efficiency ... increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels ... increase our use of nuclear power - and increase drilling for oil and gas here at home. We believe that Americans can do anything - and if we unleash the innovative spirit of our citizens, we can achieve energy independence.
To strengthen our economy, we also need to address the crisis in health care. Republicans believe in a simple principle: No American should have to worry about losing their health coverage - period. We stand for universal access to affordable health care coverage. We oppose universal government-run health care. Health care decisions should be made by doctors and patients - not by government bureaucrats. We believe Americans can do anything - and if we put aside partisan politics and work together, we can make our system of private medicine affordable and accessible for every one of our citizens.
To strengthen our economy, we also need to make sure every child in America gets the best possible education. After Katrina, we reinvented the New Orleans school system - opening dozens of new charter schools, and creating a new scholarship program that is giving parents the chance to send their children to private or parochial schools of their choice. We believe that, with the proper education, the children of America can do anything. And it should not take a devastating storm to bring this kind of innovation to education in our country.
To strengthen our economy, we must promote confidence in America by ensuring ours is the most ethical and transparent system in the world. In my home state, there used to be saying: At any given time, half of Louisiana is under water - and the other half is under indictment. No one says that anymore. Last year, we passed some of the strongest ethics laws in the nation - and today, Louisiana has turned her back on the corruption of the past. We need to bring transparency to Washington, DC - so we can rid our Capitol of corruption ... and ensure we never see the passage of another trillion dollar spending bill that Congress has not even read and the American people haven't even seen.
As we take these steps, we must remember for all our troubles at home, dangerous enemies still seek our destruction. Now is no time to dismantle the defenses that have protected this country for hundreds of years, or make deep cuts in funding for our troops. America's fighting men and women can do anything. And if we give them the resources they need, they will stay on the offensive ... defeat our enemies ... and protect us from harm.
In all these areas, Republicans want to work with President Obama. We appreciate his message of hope - but sometimes it seems we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you - the American people. In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government. We oppose the National Democrats' view that says -- the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government. We believe the way to strengthen our country is to restrain spending in Washington, and empower individuals and small businesses to grow our economy and create jobs.
In recent years, these distinctions in philosophy became less clear - because our party got away from its principles. You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility. Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington. Republicans lost your trust - and rightly so.
Tonight, on behalf of our leaders in Congress and my fellow Republican governors, I say: Our party is determined to regain your trust. We will do so by standing up for the principles that we share ... the principles you elected us to fight for ... the principles that built this into the greatest, most prosperous country on earth.
A few weeks ago, the President warned that our nation is facing a crisis that he said 'we may not be able to reverse.' Our troubles are real, to be sure. But don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover - or that America's best days are behind her. This is the nation that cast off the scourge of slavery ... overcame the Great Depression ... prevailed in two World Wars ... won the struggle for civil rights ... defeated the Soviet menace ... and responded with determined courage to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The American spirit has triumphed over almost every form of adversity known to man - and the American spirit will triumph again.
We can have confidence in our future - because, amid today's challenges, we also count many blessings: We have the most innovative citizens ...the most abundant resources ... the most resilient economy ... the most powerful military ... and the freest political system in the history of the world. My fellow citizens, never forget: We are Americans. And like my dad said years ago, Americans can do anything.
Thank you for listening. God bless you. And God bless America
Obama Speech February 24 | Presidential Address to Congress
The Obama speech, February 24 schedule has pushed back some other show’s schedule for the night. The American Idol was rescheduled to accommodate the Presidential Address to Congress. American Idol fanatics were a bit disappointed that the Obama speech, Feruary 24 overlapped the American Idol’s sheduled Group 2 performances. The Obama speech (February 24) or the Presidential Address to Congress has been was covered live by several television stations in the United States of America.
The Obama speech (February 24) or the Presidential Address to Congress was designated tonight to a Joint Session in Congress. This February 24 Obama Speech isn’t an official State of the Union speech since he hasn’t been serving as president for at least a year. The Presidential Address to Congress started at 6pm PST or 9pm EST. The Obama speech (Presidential Address to Congress) was aired live both in radio and television. For those unable to witness the Obama speech (February 24), here is a video of a Barack Obama’s Presidential Address to Congress.
The Obama speech (February 24) or the Presidential Address to Congress was designated tonight to a Joint Session in Congress. This February 24 Obama Speech isn’t an official State of the Union speech since he hasn’t been serving as president for at least a year. The Presidential Address to Congress started at 6pm PST or 9pm EST. The Obama speech (Presidential Address to Congress) was aired live both in radio and television. For those unable to witness the Obama speech (February 24), here is a video of a Barack Obama’s Presidential Address to Congress.
Sheriff releases worthless check list
Lincoln County Sheriff Murray Blackwelder released a list Friday of more than 200 individuals who have outstanding worthless checks here.
"The money is owed to the merchants of Lincoln County, and it is the Sheriff’s Department’s job to serve this process," said Blackwelder. "Any help anyone can give us in locating these individuals would be greatly appreciated."
The sheriff published notices in The Times earlier this month, urging those with bad checks out to make good on them or risk having their name published in the newspaper. And while many have made good on their bad checks, more than 200 haven’t, and this week, the sheriff released the list to The Times.
"By the time it reaches this point, the merchant has sent out a notice – usually they’ve made several attempts to collect it – and the bank has sent out a notice," said Blackwelder. "So these individuals have been notified … In rare cases, there are situations where checks have been forged, but if you keep up with your checking account, you know something is going on.
"This is not an attempt to embarrass people," he added. "It’s an attempt to help us in this process that we’re bound by law to do."
If you have information regarding the whereabouts of those listed, please contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department at (931) 433-9821.
Being sought on the worthless checks are the following:
Tim Allen, Angela A. Allen, Laquita E. Amos, Carla Arnold, Charles Adams, Julia Anderson, Felicia Armstrong, Shamatra Askins;
Kevin Allen Bennett, Delbert Bohm Jr., Maxie Butler, Shirley D. Beard, Jeff Britt, Billy Brooks, Natalie K. Ball, Dianna Bryan, Aubrey Browning, Brian Baggett, Andy Baudgarat, Thomas R. Brown, Elson Leshum Binford, Justin Baker, Jerry Beard Jr., Virginia Boyette, Elnora Bolin, John Bryson Jr., Ryan Biller;
Michael D. Chandler, Ricky Cushing, Jeffery L. Craig, Judy Counts, Mindy D. Clements, Shannon M. Craig, Rayeann Cooke, Marlin Clark, Christy Cabrillo, Maya D. Cameron, Jerry O. Clardy, Tina L. Cagle, Trey Crowsey, Kristin M. Cleveland, Regina L. Cole, Tamara S. Crowe, Lisa D. Clem, R. Alan Cornelison, Jessica Cunningham, Sheryl Colbert, Darlene Crane, Joshua Corley, Heath Cox, Morris Cobb;
Rewa Deel, Betty D. Duncan, Ronnie Davis, Lisa M. Drake, Johnnie L. Davis, Cathy Doster, Travis Dalton;
Teresa Edwards, Vanessa Earls, Joyce Eason, Jo Eddings;
Thomas J. Franz, Tracey Fleming, Ann Ford, Marilyn Flynt, Thomas S. Farris, Deborah Flanery, William T. Fox;
James Gaines, Lona M. Gunter, Matthew V. Goodwin, Glynnis Gerstenkorn, Melissa Gurley, Carissa Grayson, Terrance Gilbert, Lois Goff, Amanda Goggin, Topeka Gregory, Nathan Gilliam;
Loretta Henderson, Tamara L. Henry, Jewell Hardin, Ronald C. Hines, Angela L. Hewitt, Priscilla Hines, Connie Hayes, Ronnie Holland, Martin Hrecin, Ron Hardin, Michelle Hicks, Stephanie Holman, Brenda Hargrove, Kevin Hardin, Michael Henley, Barry Houk, Sandy Hargrove, James Harrison, Angela Harney, Freddie Hall, Rebecca Havens, Alphonso Henderson, Robert Harper, Cathy Henderson, Jamie Sharp-Hedgcoth;
J.D. Iddings;
John Thomas Jones, Stephanie Johnson, Elizabeth D. Johnson, Dorthy Justice, Raymond Jones, Sam Jones, Davis Jacobsohn;
Gary Kimbrough, David Kilgore, Jacqueline J. Kelley, Leonard Kent, Shelia Kidd, Doreene Kohman, Cindy Kent, Rebecca Koonce, Kathryn Kent, Donald Kent, James Kelly III;
Scott Lumley, Ernest Lish, Tiffany Lindelof, Travis Layne Lins, Bobby J. Layne, Margaret Lounsbem, Mary Jo Lake, Donald Key, Danny Lindsey Jr., William Lasater, Tosha Lindsey;
Rachel Marsh, Chris Moyers, Edward A. Manning, Brandy C. Swords May, Kevin C. Moore, Steven Maxwell, Amanda McBride, Pamela Metcalf, Laurence Merlo, Billy Joe Mason, Velma Mayfield, Jana Dell McBay, Anthony McDaniel, Wilma J. Metcalf, Randall Moorehead, Sharleen Marin, Shylo Moore, Antoney Mastin, Susi Mungall, Richard Marks, Jason Moorehead, Samuel R. Morris, Tonya Marie Mcbay;
Wesley Nichols;
Denise Primm, Karen Renee Posey, Tommy Perry Jr., Jonathan Puhek, Shirley Pershall, Melody L. Porter, Amanda Patterson, Christy Pollitz, Daniel Lee Price, Kristin Amber Pope, Etta R. Prentice, David Perry, Jeffery Patten, J.M. Peden, Trent Price, Ferdinard Paris;
E.S. Rice, Paula Russell, Bobby Rucker, David Lee Robertson, Lisa Rose, Francisco Ramos, Timothy Rigsby, Nancy Rader, William Randles, Shane Reid;
Billy Shockley, Chad Smith, Cecelia Slattery, Brandy L. Swesey, Alena Svandrlikova, Charles Kevin Starnes, Jed Smith, Julie L. Saltsman, Wilma Jean Sells, James B. Sharp, Steven Shelton, Brian O. Stewart, Noelle Stephenson, Larry Shilling, Cathy Slayton, Ricky Slatton, Christopher Sisk ;
Cheryl Tate, Margaret L. Taylor, Jack Thornton, Godson T. Tennyson, Darnell Taylor, Penny Tucker, Jennifer Thomson, Dorothy Talley, Rebel Towry, Christina Teal;
Joseph F. Van Hise, Chris Vickers;
James T. Watson, Malinda J. West, Patti White, Angela Walker, Terry L. Weeks, Johnny Whitworth, Donnie Winston, Joshua Wahlmeier, Jason White, Lewis Walker, Brandi Whitehouse, Kelli West, Conona Wells, Betty Williamson, Karen Wade, and Mary Ann White.
"The money is owed to the merchants of Lincoln County, and it is the Sheriff’s Department’s job to serve this process," said Blackwelder. "Any help anyone can give us in locating these individuals would be greatly appreciated."
The sheriff published notices in The Times earlier this month, urging those with bad checks out to make good on them or risk having their name published in the newspaper. And while many have made good on their bad checks, more than 200 haven’t, and this week, the sheriff released the list to The Times.
"By the time it reaches this point, the merchant has sent out a notice – usually they’ve made several attempts to collect it – and the bank has sent out a notice," said Blackwelder. "So these individuals have been notified … In rare cases, there are situations where checks have been forged, but if you keep up with your checking account, you know something is going on.
"This is not an attempt to embarrass people," he added. "It’s an attempt to help us in this process that we’re bound by law to do."
If you have information regarding the whereabouts of those listed, please contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department at (931) 433-9821.
Being sought on the worthless checks are the following:
Tim Allen, Angela A. Allen, Laquita E. Amos, Carla Arnold, Charles Adams, Julia Anderson, Felicia Armstrong, Shamatra Askins;
Kevin Allen Bennett, Delbert Bohm Jr., Maxie Butler, Shirley D. Beard, Jeff Britt, Billy Brooks, Natalie K. Ball, Dianna Bryan, Aubrey Browning, Brian Baggett, Andy Baudgarat, Thomas R. Brown, Elson Leshum Binford, Justin Baker, Jerry Beard Jr., Virginia Boyette, Elnora Bolin, John Bryson Jr., Ryan Biller;
Michael D. Chandler, Ricky Cushing, Jeffery L. Craig, Judy Counts, Mindy D. Clements, Shannon M. Craig, Rayeann Cooke, Marlin Clark, Christy Cabrillo, Maya D. Cameron, Jerry O. Clardy, Tina L. Cagle, Trey Crowsey, Kristin M. Cleveland, Regina L. Cole, Tamara S. Crowe, Lisa D. Clem, R. Alan Cornelison, Jessica Cunningham, Sheryl Colbert, Darlene Crane, Joshua Corley, Heath Cox, Morris Cobb;
Rewa Deel, Betty D. Duncan, Ronnie Davis, Lisa M. Drake, Johnnie L. Davis, Cathy Doster, Travis Dalton;
Teresa Edwards, Vanessa Earls, Joyce Eason, Jo Eddings;
Thomas J. Franz, Tracey Fleming, Ann Ford, Marilyn Flynt, Thomas S. Farris, Deborah Flanery, William T. Fox;
James Gaines, Lona M. Gunter, Matthew V. Goodwin, Glynnis Gerstenkorn, Melissa Gurley, Carissa Grayson, Terrance Gilbert, Lois Goff, Amanda Goggin, Topeka Gregory, Nathan Gilliam;
Loretta Henderson, Tamara L. Henry, Jewell Hardin, Ronald C. Hines, Angela L. Hewitt, Priscilla Hines, Connie Hayes, Ronnie Holland, Martin Hrecin, Ron Hardin, Michelle Hicks, Stephanie Holman, Brenda Hargrove, Kevin Hardin, Michael Henley, Barry Houk, Sandy Hargrove, James Harrison, Angela Harney, Freddie Hall, Rebecca Havens, Alphonso Henderson, Robert Harper, Cathy Henderson, Jamie Sharp-Hedgcoth;
J.D. Iddings;
John Thomas Jones, Stephanie Johnson, Elizabeth D. Johnson, Dorthy Justice, Raymond Jones, Sam Jones, Davis Jacobsohn;
Gary Kimbrough, David Kilgore, Jacqueline J. Kelley, Leonard Kent, Shelia Kidd, Doreene Kohman, Cindy Kent, Rebecca Koonce, Kathryn Kent, Donald Kent, James Kelly III;
Scott Lumley, Ernest Lish, Tiffany Lindelof, Travis Layne Lins, Bobby J. Layne, Margaret Lounsbem, Mary Jo Lake, Donald Key, Danny Lindsey Jr., William Lasater, Tosha Lindsey;
Rachel Marsh, Chris Moyers, Edward A. Manning, Brandy C. Swords May, Kevin C. Moore, Steven Maxwell, Amanda McBride, Pamela Metcalf, Laurence Merlo, Billy Joe Mason, Velma Mayfield, Jana Dell McBay, Anthony McDaniel, Wilma J. Metcalf, Randall Moorehead, Sharleen Marin, Shylo Moore, Antoney Mastin, Susi Mungall, Richard Marks, Jason Moorehead, Samuel R. Morris, Tonya Marie Mcbay;
Wesley Nichols;
Denise Primm, Karen Renee Posey, Tommy Perry Jr., Jonathan Puhek, Shirley Pershall, Melody L. Porter, Amanda Patterson, Christy Pollitz, Daniel Lee Price, Kristin Amber Pope, Etta R. Prentice, David Perry, Jeffery Patten, J.M. Peden, Trent Price, Ferdinard Paris;
E.S. Rice, Paula Russell, Bobby Rucker, David Lee Robertson, Lisa Rose, Francisco Ramos, Timothy Rigsby, Nancy Rader, William Randles, Shane Reid;
Billy Shockley, Chad Smith, Cecelia Slattery, Brandy L. Swesey, Alena Svandrlikova, Charles Kevin Starnes, Jed Smith, Julie L. Saltsman, Wilma Jean Sells, James B. Sharp, Steven Shelton, Brian O. Stewart, Noelle Stephenson, Larry Shilling, Cathy Slayton, Ricky Slatton, Christopher Sisk ;
Cheryl Tate, Margaret L. Taylor, Jack Thornton, Godson T. Tennyson, Darnell Taylor, Penny Tucker, Jennifer Thomson, Dorothy Talley, Rebel Towry, Christina Teal;
Joseph F. Van Hise, Chris Vickers;
James T. Watson, Malinda J. West, Patti White, Angela Walker, Terry L. Weeks, Johnny Whitworth, Donnie Winston, Joshua Wahlmeier, Jason White, Lewis Walker, Brandi Whitehouse, Kelli West, Conona Wells, Betty Williamson, Karen Wade, and Mary Ann White.
Trade in the works . . .
The Kings tried to get Nate Robinson from the Knicks and offered to take Jared Jeffries' contract as incentive. The Knicks would have taken back Kenny Thomas' deal, which expires in 2010. So the Knicks could have saved $6.8M off the cap in 2010-11. But in the end, as close as this one came to happening, Donnie Walsh turned it down.
Robinson stays, which should keep fans happy.
The Knicks were still very busy today.
They acquired Larry Hughes for Tim Thomas, Anthony Roberson and Jerome James.
Mike D'Antoni is going to need an extra ball in the offense now. But the Knicks get two extra roster spots opened up, which could signal another deal is in the works.
Check out this entertaining web site created by Cleveland Cavaliers fans while Hughes played for the Cavs. It might be the longest domain name in HTTP history:
Robinson stays, which should keep fans happy.
The Knicks were still very busy today.
They acquired Larry Hughes for Tim Thomas, Anthony Roberson and Jerome James.
Mike D'Antoni is going to need an extra ball in the offense now. But the Knicks get two extra roster spots opened up, which could signal another deal is in the works.
Check out this entertaining web site created by Cleveland Cavaliers fans while Hughes played for the Cavs. It might be the longest domain name in HTTP history:
Supreme Court will hear illegal immigrant ID theft case
Many illegal immigrants steal social security numbers and use them as their own. They can not easily get a real social security number assigned to them. They must give something to their employer when they are hired. They may be using yours. Under a new law that was intended to strengthen efforts to combat identity theft, some prosecutors are taking these illegal immigrants to court on a charge that could bring two years in jail. Immigrants' rights groups have cried foul and took one of these cases to the Supreme court. They argue these criminals don't know they are using someone's social security number and have no intention of identity theft. If you are using someones social security number, you have already stolen their identification. That is the primary number used for credit, health insurance and taxes. Hopefully, the "Supremes" will rule on the side of protecting law abiding citizens this time.
Ricky Steamboat/2009 HOF Confirmed, Cena/SD!, SD! Tonight
As announced on Raw, wrestling legend Ricky Steamboat will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2009. "The Dragon" will be joining The Funks and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in Houston, Texas one night before WrestleMania. WWE also announced that Ric Flair will be at the Hall of Fame ceremony to induct Steamboat into the Hall.John Cena will be on SmackDown! this week as they announced on RAW. The show was already taped last week.WWE already taped SD! last week so there is no TV taping this week. We do have another TNA iMPACT! taping though.
Prized possessions lose value
craigslist tulsa, craigslist tallahassee, greensheet houston, oklahoman, craigslist kansas city In suburban Chicago, Ron Anderson put his treasured 1985 Bears’ Super Bowl game ball up for sale online through Craigslist. “Instead of sitting around
Kashi Initiates Nationwide Recall of Select Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Granola Bar Flavors And Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Cookie Flavors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- February 2, 2009 -- Kashi, La Jolla, CA – As a result of the expansion of Peanut Corporation of America’s recall to include all peanut ingredients produced in their Blakely, Georgia facility since Jan. 1, 2007, a voluntary nationwide recall has been issued for the following products:
Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Granola Bars in Trail Mix and Honey Almond Flax varieties, 7.4-ounce box with a “Best If Used Before” date prior to September 19, 2009 and followed by the letters CD (SEP 19 2009 CD), with the following UPC codes: 1862703000, 1862703001, 1862723959, 1862728409, 1862731567.
Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Granola Bars Peanut Butter, 7.4-ounce box with a “Best If Used Before” date prior to August 8, 2009 and followed by the letters CD (AUG 08 2009 CD), with the following UPC codes: 1862703002.
Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Cookies in Oatmeal Dark Chocolate, Happy Trail Mix and Oatmeal Raisin Flax varieties only, 8.5-ounce box with a “Best If Used Before” date prior to July 30, 2009, with the following UPC codes: 1862732467, 1862742593, 1862762001, 1862762002, 1862762003.
These products are also included in some Club assortment and variety packs of Kashi TLC products.
These products are sold nationwide in retail and club stores. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection to these products. Consumers can also visit the following Web site for information on this recall: www.kashipeanutbutterrecall.com.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. For more information on Salmonella, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website at http://www.cdc.gov.
Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged to destroy them. Consumers with questions or who would like a refund may contact the Consumer Response Center at 877-701-5868. Consumers with questions or concerns about their health should contact their doctor.
For a list of various company recalls and for more information on FDA’s ongoing investigation, visit FDA’s Web site at www.fda.gov.
Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Granola Bars in Trail Mix and Honey Almond Flax varieties, 7.4-ounce box with a “Best If Used Before” date prior to September 19, 2009 and followed by the letters CD (SEP 19 2009 CD), with the following UPC codes: 1862703000, 1862703001, 1862723959, 1862728409, 1862731567.
Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Granola Bars Peanut Butter, 7.4-ounce box with a “Best If Used Before” date prior to August 8, 2009 and followed by the letters CD (AUG 08 2009 CD), with the following UPC codes: 1862703002.
Kashi™ TLC™ Chewy Cookies in Oatmeal Dark Chocolate, Happy Trail Mix and Oatmeal Raisin Flax varieties only, 8.5-ounce box with a “Best If Used Before” date prior to July 30, 2009, with the following UPC codes: 1862732467, 1862742593, 1862762001, 1862762002, 1862762003.
These products are also included in some Club assortment and variety packs of Kashi TLC products.
These products are sold nationwide in retail and club stores. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection to these products. Consumers can also visit the following Web site for information on this recall: www.kashipeanutbutterrecall.com.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. For more information on Salmonella, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website at http://www.cdc.gov.
Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged to destroy them. Consumers with questions or who would like a refund may contact the Consumer Response Center at 877-701-5868. Consumers with questions or concerns about their health should contact their doctor.
For a list of various company recalls and for more information on FDA’s ongoing investigation, visit FDA’s Web site at www.fda.gov.
Free Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday at IHOP
Over the years, the Tuesday prior to the beginning of Lent (known as Shrove or Fat Tuesday in most areas of the country - New Orleans knows it as Mardi Gras) has become recognized as a day to eat pancakes. To quote myself from last year, this is because "pancakes were a good way to use up the ingredients in your cupboards that were prohibited during Lenten austerity." For as long as Pancake Day been part of our modern cultural vernacular, the International House of Pancakes (aka IHOP) has been giving away a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes to all comers on this most holy of breakfast days. Last year, they tried to move their free giveaway one week later so as not to have their business reduced by Super Tuesday, but they experienced more than a little backlash as a result, owing to the fact that those who observe Lent aren't going to disrupt their fast so that IHOP can have a better day at the till. Happily, IHOP's pancake giveaway is back where it belongs this year. They'll be giving out free short stacks (one per customer, three pancakes per stack) tomorrow, February 24th between the hours of 7 am and 10 pm. In conjunction with the giveaway, they are conducting a fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network, so if you go in for some pancakes, consider making a donation. Oh, and just because the pancakes are free doesn't mean you should skimp on tipping your servers!
Preview of 'House M.D.' 5.16: The Softer Side
House hides something from his colleagues and is forced to tell the truth after he is found not breathing. In the next episode of "House M.D.", Cuddy and Wilson suspect something is wrong with House when he starts acting way too nice. When they discover the shocking answer, they must face the prospect that House may be changed forever. Meanwhile, the team encounters a teenage boy who collapsed from severe pelvic pain after playing basketball. Tests reveal the boy has genetic mosaicism, or both male and female DNA, and the boy's parents inform House and the team that the boy is unaware of his condition. They consciously chose a gender for him when he was born and raised him accordingly, never telling him about his unique condition. However, when his condition worsens and his life is threatened, the parents wonder whether they made the right decision.
Another Honor For Brittney
HOUSTON -- The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced that Nimitz High School senior Brittney Griner has been named as the 2009 State Farm/WBCA High School Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-8, 200-pound. post player averaged 27.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 10.7 blocks, 3.0 steals, and 2.8 assists in route to a 31-1 regular season record. She also had 52 dunks through 32 games this season.
The WBCA presents this award annually to the top player in each of the five WBCA collegiate divisions (NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA and JC/CC) and high school.
Griner is currently ranked No. 1 in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz and many other publications. She holds the national record for most blocks in a single game with 25, which was set on November 11, 2008 versus Alief Hastings.
"Being named the 2009 WBCA Player of the Year is very special," Brittney Griner stated. "There are a lot of great high school basketball players across the country, and to be named the best of the best is very humbling."
Griner, who has been on the cover of ESPN Rise Magazine, is often seen firing up the crowd with one of her signature dunks. She set a record for the number of dunks in a game this season with seven vs. the Aldine Mustangs on January 23.
The 6-foot-8, 200-pound. post player averaged 27.4 points, 13.2 rebounds, 10.7 blocks, 3.0 steals, and 2.8 assists in route to a 31-1 regular season record. She also had 52 dunks through 32 games this season.
The WBCA presents this award annually to the top player in each of the five WBCA collegiate divisions (NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA and JC/CC) and high school.
Griner is currently ranked No. 1 in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz and many other publications. She holds the national record for most blocks in a single game with 25, which was set on November 11, 2008 versus Alief Hastings.
"Being named the 2009 WBCA Player of the Year is very special," Brittney Griner stated. "There are a lot of great high school basketball players across the country, and to be named the best of the best is very humbling."
Griner, who has been on the cover of ESPN Rise Magazine, is often seen firing up the crowd with one of her signature dunks. She set a record for the number of dunks in a game this season with seven vs. the Aldine Mustangs on January 23.
Examining the issues confronting the African-American community
President Barack Obama said, “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.”
This quote was one of many written behind photos picturing students arm in arm smiling and laughing eagerly into the camera. The photos were placed as a center piece on a round table, where parents sat with their teenagers waiting to start the workshops.
This marked the fifth annual Harmabee High School Conference held at CSUN by Harambee Student Association (HSA), an organization dedicated to recruiting African-American high school seniors to accept CSUN as their choice of college.
HSA is the only organization on campus that is solely dedicated to promoting higher education within the African-American community, said Niki Dixon director of Educational Talent Search and co-founder of the HSA.
These families come from different parts of Los Angeles, many strangers to each other. The pictures were there to provide a sense of belonging, a feeling that the HSA works actively to provide to their African-American organization members.
The idea of a family is what they use to target students who are thinking about attendingCSUN and to retain the students already enrolled.
“The conference is community based, in order to make the parents and children more comfortable,” said Dixon.
“We want to build that family type of environment, it allows us to have a support system,” said Ryan Mason, president of HSA. A support system that Mason believes helps keep students in college.
This year marks the student association’s second year on campus and is comprised of about 40 CSUN students.
“We needed a student group on campus where our students could feed into. We wanted to provide them a place where these students feel like family while providing them crucial leadership skills,” said Dixon.
“Some of my colleagues and I noticed that there was no effort on behalf of the campus being made to bring more black students,” said Gigi McGuire, assistant director of Student Outreach and Recruitment Services.
“How could we do this with out being in violation of Proposition 209? We had to be very creative, the efforts that we are doing now are more out of a creative way that would not get us in trouble, and we don’t want to break the law,” said McGuire.
The passage of Proposition 209 in 1996, an amendment to the California constitution, made it illegal to have affirmative action on college campuses.
While the election of the country’s first African-American president has signified one of the greatest accomplishments within the African-American community, as the country celebrates Black History Month, it also takes place in a bittersweet context.
With President Obama’s newly signed $787 billion economic stimulus package, some hope of alleviation to the problems facing the country exist, although the tangible effects of the stimulus package will take time to be seen.
Incorporated into the economic stimulus package is a $500 increase in the maximum Pell Grant for eligible low-income college students who are making $5,350 in 2009.
The consequences of the nation’s economic crisis have resonated with students and faculty at CSUN.
“The lack of education and resources is an issue facing the black community,” said Eboni Blanche president of the Black Student Union. “Many of us come from environments where things are really scarce or it’s just that there is no one there to inform us about what is actually available. This has always been a problem and is one that continues to exist.”
At CSUN in the fall of 2007 out of about 4,100 students that were admitted, about 600 of them were black students. Out of those students about 200 did not make it past the first year according to the Office of Institutional Research at CSUN.
“Resources are a big problem, even before the economy took a downturn it has always been a challenge for our students to get higher education,” said Dr. Tom Spencer-Walters, chair of the Pan African Studies department at CSUN.
“With out money our students can’t come to school. There is a fear among African-American educators that a good proportion of those students who will be rejected from the California State University will be minority students,” said Walters.
On a larger scale, events such as the “CSU Super Sunday” that began in 2006 by the CSU as an effort to recruit more African-American students onto the 23 campuses and to provide more information about resources available to them.
During this event presidents of every CSU campus attend a predominantly black mega-church and speak for a few minutes to family members and students.
Regardless of all the issues affecting the black community John Wilson, Education Enrichment Director of the West Angeles Church of God and Christ, thinks that despite the economic downturn and because there is so much effort being put on educating the black community that more students will eventually attend college.
“It is one thing to be accepted, but you got to learn how to stay here,” said Michael Odom a junior psychology major and member of HSA.
Retention is the second and possibly the most important issue facing the community, said Mason.
Currently the graduation rate for a black student within six years of entering college is 30 percent as opposed to whites with 45 percent according to a CSU report.
“Don’t give up, it pays off in the end. Keep going, don’t stop. Out of seven of my friends I came here from high school I am the only one left,” said Mercedes Robertson a sophomore CTVA major and a HSA member.
“It can’t be said enough. You got to keep on fighting,” said another HSA member Arielle Osei, a junior kinesiology major.
For the HSA members, being involved in working to teach students about higher education helps them stay motivated.
“Unity is what keeps us together,” said Moranda Glasper, a sophomore communication major.
One method that HSA members use to stay focused is holding study sessions to keep each other on track, said Odom.
“For now we are trying to build a family type of environment, create a support system, study groups and working with other organizations,” said Mason. “That is all we can afford to do, since we do not have the funds to do more.”
Other efforts have been taken place to continue the recruitment and retention for African-American students, said Dixon.
With efforts such as the African-American Outreach Initiative being implemented by the CSU system, Super Sunday, and organizations such as the Black Student Union, and the HSA there has been an increase in black student enrollment.
Between the fall of 2004 and 2007 black student enrollment increased to 3,650 students on CSU campuses according to the CSU Analytic Studies report.
“You make your life. Because at the end of the day there is no one else but me and no one else is going to pay your bills. Who cares how long you take just as long as you finish,” said Jarred Causley, a music major who also works for outreach and recruitment.
This quote was one of many written behind photos picturing students arm in arm smiling and laughing eagerly into the camera. The photos were placed as a center piece on a round table, where parents sat with their teenagers waiting to start the workshops.
This marked the fifth annual Harmabee High School Conference held at CSUN by Harambee Student Association (HSA), an organization dedicated to recruiting African-American high school seniors to accept CSUN as their choice of college.
HSA is the only organization on campus that is solely dedicated to promoting higher education within the African-American community, said Niki Dixon director of Educational Talent Search and co-founder of the HSA.
These families come from different parts of Los Angeles, many strangers to each other. The pictures were there to provide a sense of belonging, a feeling that the HSA works actively to provide to their African-American organization members.
The idea of a family is what they use to target students who are thinking about attendingCSUN and to retain the students already enrolled.
“The conference is community based, in order to make the parents and children more comfortable,” said Dixon.
“We want to build that family type of environment, it allows us to have a support system,” said Ryan Mason, president of HSA. A support system that Mason believes helps keep students in college.
This year marks the student association’s second year on campus and is comprised of about 40 CSUN students.
“We needed a student group on campus where our students could feed into. We wanted to provide them a place where these students feel like family while providing them crucial leadership skills,” said Dixon.
“Some of my colleagues and I noticed that there was no effort on behalf of the campus being made to bring more black students,” said Gigi McGuire, assistant director of Student Outreach and Recruitment Services.
“How could we do this with out being in violation of Proposition 209? We had to be very creative, the efforts that we are doing now are more out of a creative way that would not get us in trouble, and we don’t want to break the law,” said McGuire.
The passage of Proposition 209 in 1996, an amendment to the California constitution, made it illegal to have affirmative action on college campuses.
While the election of the country’s first African-American president has signified one of the greatest accomplishments within the African-American community, as the country celebrates Black History Month, it also takes place in a bittersweet context.
With President Obama’s newly signed $787 billion economic stimulus package, some hope of alleviation to the problems facing the country exist, although the tangible effects of the stimulus package will take time to be seen.
Incorporated into the economic stimulus package is a $500 increase in the maximum Pell Grant for eligible low-income college students who are making $5,350 in 2009.
The consequences of the nation’s economic crisis have resonated with students and faculty at CSUN.
“The lack of education and resources is an issue facing the black community,” said Eboni Blanche president of the Black Student Union. “Many of us come from environments where things are really scarce or it’s just that there is no one there to inform us about what is actually available. This has always been a problem and is one that continues to exist.”
At CSUN in the fall of 2007 out of about 4,100 students that were admitted, about 600 of them were black students. Out of those students about 200 did not make it past the first year according to the Office of Institutional Research at CSUN.
“Resources are a big problem, even before the economy took a downturn it has always been a challenge for our students to get higher education,” said Dr. Tom Spencer-Walters, chair of the Pan African Studies department at CSUN.
“With out money our students can’t come to school. There is a fear among African-American educators that a good proportion of those students who will be rejected from the California State University will be minority students,” said Walters.
On a larger scale, events such as the “CSU Super Sunday” that began in 2006 by the CSU as an effort to recruit more African-American students onto the 23 campuses and to provide more information about resources available to them.
During this event presidents of every CSU campus attend a predominantly black mega-church and speak for a few minutes to family members and students.
Regardless of all the issues affecting the black community John Wilson, Education Enrichment Director of the West Angeles Church of God and Christ, thinks that despite the economic downturn and because there is so much effort being put on educating the black community that more students will eventually attend college.
“It is one thing to be accepted, but you got to learn how to stay here,” said Michael Odom a junior psychology major and member of HSA.
Retention is the second and possibly the most important issue facing the community, said Mason.
Currently the graduation rate for a black student within six years of entering college is 30 percent as opposed to whites with 45 percent according to a CSU report.
“Don’t give up, it pays off in the end. Keep going, don’t stop. Out of seven of my friends I came here from high school I am the only one left,” said Mercedes Robertson a sophomore CTVA major and a HSA member.
“It can’t be said enough. You got to keep on fighting,” said another HSA member Arielle Osei, a junior kinesiology major.
For the HSA members, being involved in working to teach students about higher education helps them stay motivated.
“Unity is what keeps us together,” said Moranda Glasper, a sophomore communication major.
One method that HSA members use to stay focused is holding study sessions to keep each other on track, said Odom.
“For now we are trying to build a family type of environment, create a support system, study groups and working with other organizations,” said Mason. “That is all we can afford to do, since we do not have the funds to do more.”
Other efforts have been taken place to continue the recruitment and retention for African-American students, said Dixon.
With efforts such as the African-American Outreach Initiative being implemented by the CSU system, Super Sunday, and organizations such as the Black Student Union, and the HSA there has been an increase in black student enrollment.
Between the fall of 2004 and 2007 black student enrollment increased to 3,650 students on CSU campuses according to the CSU Analytic Studies report.
“You make your life. Because at the end of the day there is no one else but me and no one else is going to pay your bills. Who cares how long you take just as long as you finish,” said Jarred Causley, a music major who also works for outreach and recruitment.
Fish pedicures banned by Florida Board of Cosmetology
Fish pedicures — the use of tiny, live carp to clean feet — have been made available in several Florida cosmetology salons in recent months.
Now, Florida is banning the practice.
The Florida Board of Cosmetology, housed within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, determined that fish pedicures are not permitted in salons because they violate two previously standing rules: one that prohibits animals or pets (excluding animals trained to assist the hearing impaired, visually impaired or the physically disabled) in salons and another that sets the standards for pedicure sanitation requirements.
If salons are found performing fish pedicures, the salon and the cosmetologist may be subject to citations and fines, a release said.
In the months since the pedicure practice first became popular, several states have banned it, including Texas, Washington, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Now, Florida is banning the practice.
The Florida Board of Cosmetology, housed within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, determined that fish pedicures are not permitted in salons because they violate two previously standing rules: one that prohibits animals or pets (excluding animals trained to assist the hearing impaired, visually impaired or the physically disabled) in salons and another that sets the standards for pedicure sanitation requirements.
If salons are found performing fish pedicures, the salon and the cosmetologist may be subject to citations and fines, a release said.
In the months since the pedicure practice first became popular, several states have banned it, including Texas, Washington, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Dancer sets Carnival record for baring nearly all
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It's a record that can only be broken in Rio de Janeiro. A samba dancer has worn the smallest scrap of clothing ever in a Carnival parade. The O Globo newspaper said model Dani Sperle sported a sparkly silver headdress, a necklace, matching arm bands — and nothing else but a 3 centimeter (1.2-inch) long patch of cloth.
All in front of 80,000 Sambadrome specators early Monday morning.
That breaks the record set last year by Viviane Castro, whose covering was all of 4-centimeters (1.5 inches) long.
Judges last year penalized Castro for violating nudity limits. There's no word yet if Sperle's samba school will also lose points.
All in front of 80,000 Sambadrome specators early Monday morning.
That breaks the record set last year by Viviane Castro, whose covering was all of 4-centimeters (1.5 inches) long.
Judges last year penalized Castro for violating nudity limits. There's no word yet if Sperle's samba school will also lose points.
100_0570-Danube River on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The Danube (In German: Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow, run", Slovak and Polish Dunaj, Hungarian Duna, Romanian Dunărea, Old Norse Duná, Turkish Tuna, ancient Greek Istros, Slovenian Donava, Croatian Dunav, Serbian Дунав/Dunav, Bulgarian Дунав (Dunav), Ukrainian Дунай, Arabic and Farsi دانوب) is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.It originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance of some 2850 km (1771 miles), passing through several Central and Eastern European capitals, before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine.
Gary Locke reportedly Obama's Commerce pick
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke is in line to become President Obama's latest choice for Commerce secretary, according to an administration source quoted by Associated Press.
Gary LockeLocke, who served as governor from 1997-05, could well fit the old adage about the third time being the charm, at least when it comes to the Commerce post.
Obama's first choice, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, dropped out amid allegations regarding the improper awarding of state contracts. And his second pick, New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, backed away from the post citing "irreconcilable conflicts" with the president.
Locke, the first Chinese-American to head a state government, doesn't have Richardson's flair but there was never any hint of corruption surrounding him either. And Locke is a Democrat who is a comfortable ideological fit with the Obama administration.
While Commerce is not regarded as one of the top-tier power posts in the Cabinet, Locke could serve as a voice for the globalists in the new administration. He comes squarely out of the free-trade mindset of the mainstream business community in the Northwest and, since leaving the governorship, has cemented his ties with Chinese leaders as a lawyer at Seattle-based Davis Wright Tremaine.Check out this 1998 speech in Hong Kong, in which Locke said:
Working families need to know that the path to prosperity leads outward-not inward.
To those of us who are engaged in promoting international trade, this seems obvious. But to many Americans, the world of international trade is murky, mysterious, and frighteningly foreign.
Personally, Locke seems like he would fit in with the "No Drama Obama" approach to governing. In Olympia, he was a wonkish, pragmatic figure who was not unnecessarily combative. Even his election races were boring. He won his first race for governor by 16 percentage points and his re-election race by 18 points
Gary LockeLocke, who served as governor from 1997-05, could well fit the old adage about the third time being the charm, at least when it comes to the Commerce post.
Obama's first choice, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, dropped out amid allegations regarding the improper awarding of state contracts. And his second pick, New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, backed away from the post citing "irreconcilable conflicts" with the president.
Locke, the first Chinese-American to head a state government, doesn't have Richardson's flair but there was never any hint of corruption surrounding him either. And Locke is a Democrat who is a comfortable ideological fit with the Obama administration.
While Commerce is not regarded as one of the top-tier power posts in the Cabinet, Locke could serve as a voice for the globalists in the new administration. He comes squarely out of the free-trade mindset of the mainstream business community in the Northwest and, since leaving the governorship, has cemented his ties with Chinese leaders as a lawyer at Seattle-based Davis Wright Tremaine.Check out this 1998 speech in Hong Kong, in which Locke said:
Working families need to know that the path to prosperity leads outward-not inward.
To those of us who are engaged in promoting international trade, this seems obvious. But to many Americans, the world of international trade is murky, mysterious, and frighteningly foreign.
Personally, Locke seems like he would fit in with the "No Drama Obama" approach to governing. In Olympia, he was a wonkish, pragmatic figure who was not unnecessarily combative. Even his election races were boring. He won his first race for governor by 16 percentage points and his re-election race by 18 points
Sean Penn (I)
Overview
Date of Birth:17 August 1960, Santa Monica, California, USA more
Contact:View agent and publicist contact info on IMDbPro.
Mini Biography:Powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work who has gone... more
Trivia:Brother-in-law of Aimee Mann. more
STARmeter: Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Awards:Won 2 Oscars. Another 42 wins & 46 nominations more
NewsDesk:(966 articles) Oscars 2009: The Winners (From digitalspy. 23 February 2009, 12:51 AM, PST) Oscar Results (From Twitch. 23 February 2009, 12:34 AM, PST)
Date of Birth:17 August 1960, Santa Monica, California, USA more
Contact:View agent and publicist contact info on IMDbPro.
Mini Biography:Powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work who has gone... more
Trivia:Brother-in-law of Aimee Mann. more
STARmeter: Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Awards:Won 2 Oscars. Another 42 wins & 46 nominations more
NewsDesk:(966 articles) Oscars 2009: The Winners (From digitalspy. 23 February 2009, 12:51 AM, PST) Oscar Results (From Twitch. 23 February 2009, 12:34 AM, PST)
Watch Spielzeugland (2007) movie online, watch Spielzeugland
Cast : (Credited cast) , Tamay Bulut Özvatan as David Silberstein, Claudia Hübschmann as Frau Silberstein, Gregor Weber as SS-Mann Werner, Jürgen Trott as Schutzpolizist, Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann as Blockwart rest of cast listed alphabetically: , David C. Bunners as Obersturmführer, Cedric Eich as Heinrich, Julia Jäger as Marianne, Torsten Michaelis as Herr Silbertein, Heike Reichenwallner as Nachbarin
Plot : 1942: what on earth happens as soon as a German infant believes that his Jewish neighbors are progressing to Toyland? A account just about lies in addition to guilt.
Run Time : Germany:13 min
Country : Germany
MPAA :
Language : German
Filming Locations : Berlin, Germany
Company : Mephisto Film
Trivia :
Goofs :
Tag Lines :
Plot Summary :
Watch Trailer Online for toten hosen Spielzeugland enl. subs
Plot : 1942: what on earth happens as soon as a German infant believes that his Jewish neighbors are progressing to Toyland? A account just about lies in addition to guilt.
Run Time : Germany:13 min
Country : Germany
MPAA :
Language : German
Filming Locations : Berlin, Germany
Company : Mephisto Film
Trivia :
Goofs :
Tag Lines :
Plot Summary :
Watch Trailer Online for toten hosen Spielzeugland enl. subs
SMILE PINKI -- and an interview with filmmaker Megan Mylan
Just yesterday, in TrustMovies' post on Gomorrah, I posited the notion that this film's utter lack of hope had ruled it out of consideration for a Best Foreign Film "Oscar." Now, I find myself covering a new short documentary chock-a-block with hope -- and, sure enough, it has been honored by the Academy with that much sought after Oscar nomination.SMILE PINKI, produced and directed by Emmy-nominated/Guggenheim fellow Megan Mylan, follows two rural kids from India -- the title character, a little girl named Pinki, as well as a boy called Ghutaru -- both of whom have cleft lips. In completely straight-ahead fashion, the film moves along, first via the recruiting people announcing the availability of the free operations and ferreting out likely candidates (including Pinki and Ghutaru) from the hinterlands and explaining the situation to their families, after which we all make the trip to the hospital, get ready for the operations -- and see their results.Within this fairly standard format, Mylan packs in a lot of interesting detail, from the way in which the recruiters work to the look and feel of rural family life, the hospital procedures, and especially the feelings of the children themselves about this operation and what it might mean to them. I remember (from my own childhood in the early 1950s) one of my school mates who had a cleft lip, the reactions to which ranged from polite appearing-not-to-notice to outright, often rather nasty, teasing. These Indian children seem to suffer the same. One young man, who has teeth growing directly out of his nostrils, appears especially hard hit. There is no getting around the particularly grotesque look that this defect lends those whom it afflicts, and so, when help finally comes, the change is so quietly spectacular that you can expect your tears to flow. Mine certainly did, and I don't think Ms Mylan can legitimately be accused of jerking them. The response is simply part of our -- viewers' and subjects' -- shared humanity.I could do without, however, the tag line on the Smile Pinki poster (shown above), "A Real-World Fairy Tale." This is no fairy tale. Yeah, yeah -- I know this is just a "marketing" ploy, but the term somehow cheapens the hard work of India's G.S. Memorial Hospital, the outreach staff, and the efforts of the world's leading cleft charity The Smile Train, which, since the year 2000, has provided more than 309,000 free surgeries for children who would otherwise have gone wanting. Each surgery costs $250 and takes around 45 minutes. That's a pittance of time and -- considering how important is the operation to the life of the recipient -- money. So get out your checkbook. Whoops-- I'm living in the past again. These days you can do all -- or most -- of your contributing online. (If, that is, anyone has any money left.)Since I haven't seen any of the other nominated documentary shorts, I can't make a legitimate comparison in terms of content, style or results. Smile Pinki is certainly worth seeing, and for those readers interested in doing so prior to the Academy Awards presentation, the film will screen this month at the following locations:Today, February 13, in Boulder, Colorado, Film FestivalSunday, February 15 at MoMA in NYCTues and Wednesday, February 17-18, in San Francisco at the Kabuki TheaterSaturday, February 21, at the Writer's Guild in Los AngelesSunday, February 22, at the Paley Center, NYCSunday, February 22, at the National Archives in Washington DCThursday through Saturday, February 26-28, in Columbia, MO, at the True/False Film Festival.You can also access the Smile Pinki web site for info on further screenings in March.
Oscar 2009 Buzz: Kate Winslet, Oscar Ceremony Secrets
John Harlow in The [London] Sunday Times:
"The favourite for best actress was Kate Winslet, for her role in the controversial film The Reader. Though Winslet has been attacked for appearing in a film that arguably commits the unthinkable and humanises a Nazi, it has brought her a sixth Oscar nomination.
"She may be defeated only by the fear of her making a winner’s speech as incoherent as her emotional ramble at the Baftas."
"The favourite for best actress was Kate Winslet, for her role in the controversial film The Reader. Though Winslet has been attacked for appearing in a film that arguably commits the unthinkable and humanises a Nazi, it has brought her a sixth Oscar nomination.
"She may be defeated only by the fear of her making a winner’s speech as incoherent as her emotional ramble at the Baftas."
A ‘Slumdog’ Kind of Night at the Oscar Ceremon
Monica Almeida/The New York Times
By MICHAEL CIEPLY and DAVID CARR
Published: February 23, 2009
LOS ANGELES — “Slumdog Millionaire” and its director, Danny Boyle, with their modern-day fairy tale about hope and hard times in the slums of Mumbai, pushed aside big-studio contenders to sweep top honors at the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday.
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By MICHAEL CIEPLY and DAVID CARR
Published: February 23, 2009
LOS ANGELES — “Slumdog Millionaire” and its director, Danny Boyle, with their modern-day fairy tale about hope and hard times in the slums of Mumbai, pushed aside big-studio contenders to sweep top honors at the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday.
Skip to next paragraph
Colin Farrell's Sex Tape - Friday Night with Jonathan Ross - BBC One
Colin Farrell's Sex Tape - Friday Night with Jonathan Ross - BBC One. Colin Farrell's Sex Tape - Friday Night with Jo... 2:00. 12. Colin Farrell Turned Down by Dame Eileen Atkins - Friday Night with Jonathan Ross - BBC
Spanish Town parade draws colorful crowd
Downtown was awash in a sea of Mardi Gras green, purple and gold as well as flamingo pink Saturday. Women and men donned wigs in varying shades of pink and wore zany get-ups.
Empty beer cans piled up along the curbs, and music could be heard blaring on every street corner. It could only mean one thing: the annual Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade was about to roll.
While waiting for the parade to start, some people danced along to the music. Others lounged in folding chairs and ate. Sherry Cheek and Delton Richard, however, used the time to get married.
The couple, who have been together for four years, chose the parade as their wedding venue because it is where Delton first introduced Sherry to his family when they began dating.
The theme for this year’s parade, “Buy Yeaux Bailout,” gave the krewes the opportunity to tear into local and national politicians and make light of current economic woes.
Thousands stood in crowds two-to-four people deep, flailing their arms and hands hoping to get the attention of float riders busily tossing beads and trinkets.
Some in the crowd stepped up their efforts to get beads by arm-waving and yelling at the floats or even jumping up and down. Others hoisted their young children in the air or erected targets daring the throwers to try and hit the bull’s-eye.
Ted Rockett didn’t do any of those things, though. He said he comes to the parades to please his wife, Sybil, who is admittedly one of the more bead-crazed parade-goers.
“My stool is over there,” Sybil Rockett said as she pointed to a stepladder set up in front of the couple’s RV.
Sybil Rockett said she and her husband arrived at the parade route around 6:30 a.m. They parked in a lot along Convention Street. The Rocketts are Baton Rouge natives who now live in Springfield. They’ve been coming to the Spanish Town Carnival parades for 10 years.
“It’s still the same,” Ted Rockett said. He said there has been no change in the parades’ notorious levels of crudeness over the years.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time children don’t notice,” he said. “When they start reading, that’s different.”
Sybil Rockett said the parades remain family-friendly events.
“Most people are very friendly and they’re not aggressive,” she said as she relaxed in the shade. “This is just so pleasant.”
In some areas, playpens and strollers were clustered along the parade route. Little boys and girls played catch with their adult companions or perched on their parents’ shoulders to catch prized stuffed animals.
A few blocks away on Spanish Town Road, the scene was completely different. One rowdy crew set up a table laden with alcoholic beverages at the corner of Spanish Town Road and 6th Street.
There were colorful characters like Thomas Schulze and Tiffany Reine, a pair who dressed up in black wigs, pink tops and bottoms and striped pink socks.
Schulze had picked out the outfits. “It’s a Wal-Mart special,” he explained.
“And they’re fabulous,” a friend shouted as he pointed to the word “Fabulous” printed on the couple’s pants in rhinestones.
Four people were taken from the parade by ambulance, EMS spokesman Mark Olsen said. Three of the incidents were fall-related, and the other was the result of a fight.
Street sweepers may have hit the streets immediately after the parade to wipe away broken beads, discarded food containers and drinking cups, the usual remnants of Spanish Town Mardi Gras.
But the big trucks could not wipe out memories of the parade — equal parts off-color amusement and wholesome family fun.
Empty beer cans piled up along the curbs, and music could be heard blaring on every street corner. It could only mean one thing: the annual Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade was about to roll.
While waiting for the parade to start, some people danced along to the music. Others lounged in folding chairs and ate. Sherry Cheek and Delton Richard, however, used the time to get married.
The couple, who have been together for four years, chose the parade as their wedding venue because it is where Delton first introduced Sherry to his family when they began dating.
The theme for this year’s parade, “Buy Yeaux Bailout,” gave the krewes the opportunity to tear into local and national politicians and make light of current economic woes.
Thousands stood in crowds two-to-four people deep, flailing their arms and hands hoping to get the attention of float riders busily tossing beads and trinkets.
Some in the crowd stepped up their efforts to get beads by arm-waving and yelling at the floats or even jumping up and down. Others hoisted their young children in the air or erected targets daring the throwers to try and hit the bull’s-eye.
Ted Rockett didn’t do any of those things, though. He said he comes to the parades to please his wife, Sybil, who is admittedly one of the more bead-crazed parade-goers.
“My stool is over there,” Sybil Rockett said as she pointed to a stepladder set up in front of the couple’s RV.
Sybil Rockett said she and her husband arrived at the parade route around 6:30 a.m. They parked in a lot along Convention Street. The Rocketts are Baton Rouge natives who now live in Springfield. They’ve been coming to the Spanish Town Carnival parades for 10 years.
“It’s still the same,” Ted Rockett said. He said there has been no change in the parades’ notorious levels of crudeness over the years.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time children don’t notice,” he said. “When they start reading, that’s different.”
Sybil Rockett said the parades remain family-friendly events.
“Most people are very friendly and they’re not aggressive,” she said as she relaxed in the shade. “This is just so pleasant.”
In some areas, playpens and strollers were clustered along the parade route. Little boys and girls played catch with their adult companions or perched on their parents’ shoulders to catch prized stuffed animals.
A few blocks away on Spanish Town Road, the scene was completely different. One rowdy crew set up a table laden with alcoholic beverages at the corner of Spanish Town Road and 6th Street.
There were colorful characters like Thomas Schulze and Tiffany Reine, a pair who dressed up in black wigs, pink tops and bottoms and striped pink socks.
Schulze had picked out the outfits. “It’s a Wal-Mart special,” he explained.
“And they’re fabulous,” a friend shouted as he pointed to the word “Fabulous” printed on the couple’s pants in rhinestones.
Four people were taken from the parade by ambulance, EMS spokesman Mark Olsen said. Three of the incidents were fall-related, and the other was the result of a fight.
Street sweepers may have hit the streets immediately after the parade to wipe away broken beads, discarded food containers and drinking cups, the usual remnants of Spanish Town Mardi Gras.
But the big trucks could not wipe out memories of the parade — equal parts off-color amusement and wholesome family fun.
Shirley Ardell Mason was Sybil
If you don't know what Sybil is, it is actually about a psychiatrist who treated a young woman with multiple personality disorder developed as a result of childhood trauma in the hands of her mentally-disturbed, mentally-ill mother. The first airing of Sybil was way back in 1976, that I wasn't able to see for I was not born yet at that time. Sybil will be seen on Lifetime- Sybil remake.Sybil Dorsett is the name of the Character suffering a dissociative identity disorder due to psychological trauma. In real life Sybil Dorsett is Shirley Ardell Mason.
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