prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What was the conclusion of the study?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 1: consumption influences mercury: Topics by WorldWideScience org
Sample records for consumption influences mercury
Epidemiologic confirmation that fruit consumption influences mercury exposure in riparian communities in the Brazilian Amazon
Sousa Passos, Carlos Jose; Mergler, Donna; Fillion, Myriam; Lemire, Melanie; Mertens, Frederic; Guimaraes, Jean Remy Davee; Philibert, Aline
Since deforestation has recently been associated with increased mercury load in the Amazon, the problem of mercury exposure is now much more widespread than initially thought  A previous exploratory study suggested that fruit consumption may reduce mercury exposure  The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of fruit consumption on the relation between fish consumption and bioindicators of mercury (Hg) exposure in Amazonian fish-eating communities  A cross-sectional dietary survey based on a 7-day recall of fish and fruit consumption frequency was conducted within 13 riparian communities from the Tapajos River, Brazilian Amazon  Hair samples were collected from 449 persons, and blood samples were collected from a subset of 225, for total and inorganic mercury determination by atomic absorption spectrometry  On average, participants consumed 6 6 fish meals/week and ate 11 fruits/week  The average blood Hg (BHg) was 57 1Â±36 3 Î¼g/L (median: 55 1 Î¼g/L), and the average hair-Hg (HHg) was 16 8Â±10 3 Î¼g/g (median: 15 7 Î¼g/g)  There was a positive relation between fish consumption and BHg (r=0 48; P 2 =36 0%) and HHg levels (fish: Î²=1 2, P 2 =21 0%)  ANCOVA models showed that for the same number of fish meals, persons consuming fruits more frequently had significantly lower blood and HHg concentrations  For low fruit consumers, each fish meal contributed 9 8 Î¼g/L Hg increase in blood compared to only 3 3 Î¼g/L Hg increase for the high fruit consumers  In conclusion, fruit consumption may provide a protective effect for Hg exposure in Amazonian riparians  Prevention strategies that seek to maintain fish consumption while reducing Hg exposure in fish-eating communities should be pursued
Influence of mercury bioaccessibility on exposure assessment associated with consumption of cooked predatory fish in Spain 
Torres-Escribano, Silvia; Ruiz, Antonio; Barrios, Laura; VÃ©lez, Dinoraz; Montoro, Rosa
Predatory fish tend to accumulate high levels of mercury (Hg)  Food safety assessment of these fish has been carried out on the raw product  However, the evaluation of the risk from Hg concentrations in raw fish might be modified if cooking and bioaccessibility (the contaminant fraction that solubilises from its matrix during gastrointestinal digestion and becomes available for intestinal absorption) were taken into account  Data on Hg bioaccessibility in raw predatory fish sold in Spain are scarce and no research on Hg bioaccessibility in cooked fish is available  The aim of the present study was to evaluate Hg bioaccessibility in various kinds of cooked predatory fish sold in Spain to estimate their health risk  Both Hg and bioaccessible Hg concentrations were analysed in raw and cooked fish (swordfish, tope shark, bonito and tuna)  There were no changes in Hg concentrations during cooking  However, Hg bioaccessibility decreased significantly after cooking (42 Â± 26% in raw fish and 26 Â± 16% in cooked fish), thus reducing in swordfish and tope shark the Hg concentration to which the human organism would be exposed  In future, cooking and bioaccessibility should be considered in risk assessment of Hg concentrations in predatory fish  Copyright Â© 2011 Society of Chemical Industry 
Intake of mercury through fish consumption
Sarmani, S B ; Kiprawi, A Z ; Ismail, R B ; Hassan, R B ; Wood, A K ; Rahman, S A 
Fish has been known as a source of non-occupational mercury exposure to fish consuming population groups, and this is shown by the high hair mercury levels  In this study, hair samples collected from fishermen and their families, and commercial marine fishes were analyzed for mercury and methylmercury by neutron activation and gas chromatography  The results showed a correlation between hair mercury levels and fish consumption patterns  The levels of mercury found in this study were similar to those reported by other workers for fish consuming population groups worldwide  (author)
Fish consumption limit for mercury compounds
Abbas Esmaili-Sari
Full Text Available Background and objectives: Methyl mercury can carry out harmful effects on the reproductive, respiratory, and nervous system of human  Moreover, mercury is known as the most toxic heavy metal in nature  Fish and seafood consumption is the major MeHg exposure route for human  The present study tries to cover researches which have been conducted on mercury levels in 21 species of fish from Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea and Anzali Wetland during the past 6 years, and in addition to stating mercury level, it provides recommendations about the restriction of monthly fish consumption for each species separately  Material and methods: Fish samples were transferred to the laboratory and stored in refrigerator under -20oC until they were dissected  Afterwards, the muscle tissues were separated and dried  The dried samples were ground and changed into a homogenous powder and then the mercury concentration rate has been determined by advanced mercury analyzer, model 254  Results: In general, mercury contamination in fishes caught from Anzali Wetland was much more than fishes from Caspian Sea  Also, from among all studied fishes, oriental sole (Euryglossa orientalis, caught from Persian Gulf, allocated the most mercury level to itself with the rate of 5 61ml per kg , therefore, it exercises a severe consumption restriction for pregnant women and vulnerable groups  Conclusion: Based on the calculations, about 50% of fishes, mostly with short food chain, can be easily consumed during the year  However, with regard to Oriental sole (Euryglossa orientalis and shark (Carcharhinus dussumieri, caught from Persian Gulf, special consideration should be taken in their consumption  On the other hand, careful planning should be made for the high rate of fish consumption among fishing community 
Hair Mercury Concentrations and Fish Consumption Patterns in Florida Residents
Adam M  Schaefer
Full Text Available Mercury exposure through the consumption of fish and shellfish represents a significant public health concern in the United States  Recent research has demonstrated higher seafood consumption and subsequent increased risk of methylmercury exposure among subpopulations living in coastal areas  The identification of high concentrations of total mercury in blood and skin among resident Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL, a coastal estuary in Florida, alerted us to a potential public health hazard in the contiguous human population  Therefore, we analyzed hair mercury concentrations of residents living along the IRL and ascertained their sources and patterns of seafood consumption  The total mean mercury concentration for 135 residents was 1 53 Â± 1 89 Âµg/g  The concentration of hair mercury among males (2 02 Â± 2 38 Âµg/g was significantly higher than that for females (0 96 Â± 0 74 Âµg/g (p < 0 01  Log transformed hair mercury concentration was significantly associated with the frequency of total seafood consumption (p < 0 01  Individuals who reported consuming seafood once a day or more were 3 71 (95% CI 0 84â€“16 38 times more likely to have a total hair mercury concentration over 1 0 Âµg/g, which corresponds approximately to the U S  EPA reference dose, compared to those who consumed seafood once a week or less  Hair mercury concentration was also significantly higher among individuals who obtained all or most of their seafood from local recreational sources (p < 0 01  The elevated human mercury concentrations mirror the elevated concentrations observed in resident dolphins in the same geographical region  The current study is one of the first to apply the concept of a sentinel animal to a contiguous human population 
Fish consumption and bioindicators of inorganic mercury exposure
Sousa Passos, Carlos Jose; Mergler, Donna; Lemire, Melanie; Fillion, Myriam; Guimaraes, Jean Remy Davee
Background: The direct and close relationship between fish consumption and blood and hair mercury (Hg) levels is well known, but the influence of fish consumption on inorganic mercury in blood (B-IHg) and in urine (U-Hg) is unclear  Objective: Examine the relationship between fish consumption, total, inorganic and organic blood Hg levels and urinary Hg concentration  Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 171 persons from 7 riparian communities on the Tapajos River (Brazilian Amazon), with no history of inorganic Hg exposure from occupation or dental amalgams  During the rising water season in 2004, participants responded to a dietary survey, based on a seven-day recall of fish and fruit consumption frequency, and socio-demographic information was recorded  Blood and urine samples were collected  Total, organic and inorganic Hg in blood as well as U-Hg were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry  Results: On average, participants consumed 7 4 fish meals/week and 8 8 fruits/week  Blood total Hg averaged 38 6 Â± 21 7 Î¼g/L, and the average percentage of B-IHg was 13 8%  Average organic Hg (MeHg) was 33 6 Â± 19 4 Î¼g/L, B-IHg was 5 0 Â± 2 6 Î¼g/L, while average U-Hg was 7 5 Â± 6 9 Î¼g/L, with 19 9% of participants presenting U-Hg levels above 10 Î¼g/L  B-IHg was highly significantly related to the number of meals of carnivorous fish, but no relation was observed with non-carnivorous fish; it was negatively related to fruit consumption, increased with age, was higher among those who were born in the Tapajos region, and varied with community  U-Hg was also significantly related to carnivorous but not non-carnivorous fish consumption, showed a tendency towards a negative relation with fruit consumption, was higher among men compared to women and higher among those born in the region  U-Hg was strongly related to I-Hg, blood methyl Hg (B-MeHg) and blood total Hg (B-THg)  The Odds Ratio (OR) for U-Hg above 10 Î¼g/L for those who ate > 4 carnivorous fish
Methyl mercury exposure in Swedish women with high fish consumption
Bjoernberg, Karolin Ask [Division of Metals and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77, Stockholm (Sweden); Vahter, Marie [Division of Metals and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77, Stockholm (Sweden); Grawe, Kierstin Petersson [Toxicology Division, National Food Administration, Box 622, SE-751 26 Uppsala (Sweden); Berglund, Marika [Division of Metals and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77, Stockholm (Sweden)]  E-mail: Marika Berglund@imm ki se
We studied the exposure to methyl mercury (MeHg) in 127 Swedish women of childbearing age with high consumption of various types of fish, using total mercury (T-Hg) in hair and MeHg in blood as biomarkers  Fish consumption was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), including detailed information about consumption of different fish species, reflecting average intake during 1 year  We also determined inorganic mercury (I-Hg) in blood, and selenium (Se) in serum  The average total fish consumption, as reported in the food frequency questionnaire, was approximately 4 times/week (range 1 6-19 times/week)  Fish species potentially high in MeHg, included in the Swedish dietary advisories, was consumed by 79% of the women  About 10% consumed such species more than once a week, i e , more than what is recommended  Other fish species potentially high in MeHg, not included in the Swedish dietary advisories, was consumed by 54% of the women  Eleven percent never consumed fish species potentially high in MeHg  T-Hg in hair (median 0 70 mg/kg; range 0 08-6 6 mg/kg) was associated with MeHg in blood (median 1 7 {mu}g/L; range 0 30-14 {mu}g/L; r {sub s}=0 78; p<0 001)  Hair T-Hg, blood MeHg and serum Se (median 70 {mu}g/L; range 46-154 {mu}g/L) increased with increasing total fish consumption (r {sub s}=0 32; p<0 001, r {sub s}=0 37; p<0 001 and r {sub s}=0 35; p=0 002, respectively)  I-Hg in blood (median 0 24 {mu}g/L; range 0 01-1 6 {mu}g/L) increased with increasing number of dental amalgam fillings  We found no statistical significant associations between the various mercury species measured and the Se concentration in serum  Hair mercury levels exceeded the levels corresponding to the EPA reference dose (RfD) of 0 1 {mu}g MeHg/kg b w  per day in 20% of the women  Thus, there seems to be no margin of safety for neurodevelopmental effects in fetus, for women with high fish consumption unless they decrease their intake of certain fish species 
Bjoernberg, Karolin Ask; Vahter, Marie; Grawe, Kierstin Petersson; Berglund, Marika
We studied the exposure to methyl mercury (MeHg) in 127 Swedish women of childbearing age with high consumption of various types of fish, using total mercury (T-Hg) in hair and MeHg in blood as biomarkers  Fish consumption was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), including detailed information about consumption of different fish species, reflecting average intake during 1 year  We also determined inorganic mercury (I-Hg) in blood, and selenium (Se) in serum  The average total fish consumption, as reported in the food frequency questionnaire, was approximately 4 times/week (range 1 6-19 times/week)  Fish species potentially high in MeHg, included in the Swedish dietary advisories, was consumed by 79% of the women  About 10% consumed such species more than once a week, i e , more than what is recommended  Other fish species potentially high in MeHg, not included in the Swedish dietary advisories, was consumed by 54% of the women  Eleven percent never consumed fish species potentially high in MeHg  T-Hg in hair (median 0 70 mg/kg; range 0 08-6 6 mg/kg) was associated with MeHg in blood (median 1 7 Î¼g/L; range 0 30-14 Î¼g/L; r s =0 78; p s =0 32; p s =0 37; p s =0 35; p=0 002, respectively)  I-Hg in blood (median 0 24 Î¼g/L; range 0 01-1 6 Î¼g/L) increased with increasing number of dental amalgam fillings  We found no statistical significant associations between the various mercury species measured and the Se concentration in serum  Hair mercury levels exceeded the levels corresponding to the EPA reference dose (RfD) of 0 1 Î¼g MeHg/kg b w  per day in 20% of the women  Thus, there seems to be no margin of safety for neurodevelopmental effects in fetus, for women with high fish consumption unless they decrease their intake of certain fish species
Fish Consumption and Mercury Exposure among Louisiana Recreational Anglers
Lincoln, Rebecca A; Shine, James P; Chesney, Edward J
Background: Methylmercury (MeHg) exposure assessments among average fish consumers in the U S  may underestimate exposures among U S  subpopulations with high intakes of regionally specific fish  Objectives: We examined relationships between fish consumption, estimated mercury (Hg) intake      , and measured Hg exposure among one such potentially highly-exposed group, recreational anglers in Louisiana USA  Methods: We surveyed 534 anglers in 2006 using interviews at boat launches and fishing tournaments combined with an internet-based survey method  Hair samples from 402 of these anglers were       collected and analyzed for total Hg  Questionnaires provided information on species-specific fish consumption over 3 months prior to the survey  Results: Anglers' median hair-Hg concentration was 0 81 Âµg/g (n=398; range: 0 02-10 7 Âµg/g), with 40% of participants above 1 Âµg/g, the level that approximately   
Umbilical cord blood and placental mercury, selenium and selenoprotein expression in relation to maternal fish consumption
Gilman, Christy L ; Soon, Reni; Sauvage, Lynnae; Ralston, Nicholas V C ; Berry, Marla J 
Seafood is an important source of nutrients for fetal neurodevelopment  Most individuals are exposed to the toxic element mercury through seafood  Due to the neurotoxic effects of mercury, United States government agencies recommend no more than 340 g (12 oz) per week of seafood consumption during pregnancy  However, recent studies have shown that selenium, also abundant in seafood, can have protective effects against mercury toxicity  In this study, we analyzed mercury and selenium levels an   
Factors that negatively influence consumption of traditionally    
Factors that negatively influence consumption of traditionally fermented milk     in various countries of sub-Saharan Africa and a number of health benefits to human     influence consumption of Mursik, a traditionally fermented milk product fromÂ    
Mercury exposure as a function of fish consumption in two Asian communities in coastal Virginia, USA 
Xu, Xiaoyu; Newman, Michael C
Fish consumption and associated mercury exposure were explored for two Asian-dominated church communities in coastal Virginia and compared with that of two non-Asian church communities  Seafood-consumption rates for the Chinese (36 9Â g/person/day) and Vietnamese (52 7Â g/person/day) church communities were greater than the general United States fish-consumption rate (12 8Â g/person/day)  Correspondingly, hair mercury concentrations for people from the Chinese (0 52Â Âµg/g) and the Vietnamese church (1 46Â Âµg/g) were greater than the overall level for United States women (0 20Â Âµg/g) but lower than the published World Health Organization exposure threshold (14Â Âµg/g)  A conventional regression model indicated a positive relationship between seafood consumption rates and hair mercury concentrations suggesting the importance of mercury exposure through seafood consumption  The annual-average daily methylmercury intake rate for the studied communities calculated by Monte Carlo simulations followed the sequence: Vietnamese communityÂ >Â Chinese communityÂ >Â non-Asian communities  Regardless, their daily methylmercury intake rates were all lower than the United States Environmental Protection Agency reference dose of 0 1Â Âµg/kg body weight-day  In conclusion, fish-consumption patterns differed among communities, which resulted in different levels of mercury exposure  The greater seafood and mercury ingestion rates of studied Asian groups compared with non-Asian groups suggest the need for specific seafood consumption advice for ethnic communities in the United States  Otherwise the health benefits from fish consumption could be perceived as trivial compared with the ill-defined risk of mercury exposure 
Feather growth influences blood mercury level of young songbirds 
Condon, Anne M; Cristol, Daniel A
Dynamics of mercury in feathers and blood of free-living songbirds is poorly understood  Nestling eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) living along the mercury-contaminated South River (Virginia, USA) had blood mercury levels an order of magnitude lower than their parents (nestling: 0 09 +/- 0 06 mg/kg [mean +/- standard deviation], n = 156; adult: 1 21 +/- 0 57 mg/kg, n = 86)  To test whether this low blood mercury was the result of mercury sequestration in rapidly growing feathers, we repeatedly sampled free-living juveniles throughout the period of feather growth and molt  Mean blood mercury concentrations increased to 0 52 +/- 0 36 mg/kg (n = 44) after the completion of feather growth  Some individuals had reached adult blood mercury levels within three months of leaving the nest, but levels dropped to 0 20 +/- 0 09 mg/kg (n = 11) once the autumn molt had begun  Most studies of mercury contamination in juvenile birds have focused on recently hatched young with thousands of rapidly growing feathers  However, the highest risk period for mercury intoxication in young birds may be during the vulnerable period after fledging, when feathers no longer serve as a buffer against dietary mercury  We found that nestling blood mercury levels were not indicative of the extent of contamination because a large portion of the ingested mercury ended up in feathers  The present study demonstrates unequivocally that in songbirds blood mercury level is influenced strongly by the growth and molt of feathers 
High mercury seafood consumption associated with fatigue at specialty medical clinics on Long Island, NY
Shivam Kothari
Full Text Available We investigated the association between seafood consumption and symptoms related to potential mercury toxicity in patients presenting to specialty medical clinics at Stony Brook Medical Center on Long Island, New York  We surveyed 118 patients from Aprilâ€“August 2012 about their seafood consumption patterns, specifically how frequently they were eating each type of fish, to assess mercury exposure  We also asked about symptoms associated with mercury toxicity including depression, fatigue, balance difficulties, or tingling around the mouth  Of the 118 adults surveyed, 14 consumed high mercury seafood (tuna steak, marlin, swordfish, or shark at least weekly  This group was more likely to suffer from fatigue than other patients (pÂ =Â 0 02  Logistic regression confirmed this association of fatigue with frequent high mercury fish consumption in both unadjusted analysis (ORÂ =Â 5 53; 95% CI: 1 40â€“21 90 and analysis adjusted for age, race, sex, income, and clinic type (ORÂ =Â 7 89; 95% CI: 1 63â€“38 15  No associations were observed between fish intake and depression, balance difficulties, or tingling around the mouth  Findings suggest that fatigue may be associated with eating high mercury fish but sample size is small  Larg
Context 2: Ann's Mega Dub: 12/19/10 - 12/26/10
Got o have a penis to be an expert
Thursday on NPR's Fresh Air, Terry Gross wanted to talk film and music  Since women don't know a thing about either and aren't interested in either, Terry had to find men who were 'experts 'This is C I 's " Iraq snapshot Friday, December 24, 2010  Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's incomplete Cabinet continues to receive criticism, a father offers an 'excuse' for killing his own daughter, and more Marci Stone (US Headlines Examiner) reports, "Friday afternoon, Santa is currently in Baghdad, Iraq and on his next stop is Moscow, Russia, according to the 2010 NORAD Santa Tracker  The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has been tracking Santa as he makes his annual journey throughout the world " Gerald Skoning (Palm Beach Post) quotes Santa saying, "We send our special wishes for peace and goodwill to all  That includes the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea " Please note that this is Santa's seventh trip to Iraq since the start of the Iraq War and, as usual, his journey was known in advance  No waiting until he hit the ground to announce he was going to Iraq -- the way George The Bully Boy Bush had to and the way US President Barack Obama still has to  In the lead up to Santa's yearly visit, many 'authorities' in Iraq began insisting that Christmas couldn't be celebrated publicly, that even Santa was banned  Gabriel Gatehouse (BBC News) quotes Shemmi Hanna stating, "I wasn't hurt but I wish that I had been killed  I wish I had become a martyr for this church, but God kept me alive for my daughters " Shemmi Hanna was in Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad when it was assaulted October 31st and she lost her husband, her son, her daughter-in-law and her infant grandson in the attack  The October 31st attack marks the latest wave of violence targeting Iraqi Christians  The violence has led many to flee to northern Iraq (KRG) or to other countries  Zvi Bar'el (Haaretz) notes, "This week the Iraqi legislature discussed the Christians' situation and passed a resolution in principle to help families who fled  However, the parliament does not know where the Christians are, how many are still in Iraq, in their homes, and how many have found asylum in Iraqi Kurdistan " John Leland (New York Times) reports:The congregants on Friday night were fewer than 100, in a sanctuary built for four or five times as many  But they were determined  This year, even more than in the past, Iraqi's dwindling Christian minority had reasons to stay home for Christmas  "Yes, we are threatened, but we will not stop praying," the Rev  Meyassr al-Qaspotros told the Christmas Eve crowd at the Sacred Church of Jesus, a Chaldean Catholic church  "We do not want to leave the country because we will leave an empty space " Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Rimon Metti's family will go to Christian services on Christmas Day, but his relatives will be praying for their own survival and wondering whether this is their last holiday season in Baghdad  If they had any grounds for optimism about the future of their faith in Iraq, it vanished this year amid repeated attacks on fellow believers " Shahsank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) adds, "Nearly two months after a shocking assault by Islamist militants, Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church will commemorate Christmas quietly, with daytime mass and prayers for the dead, under security fit more for a prison than a house of worship  It is the same at Christian churches across Baghdad and northern Iraq, where what's left of one of the world's oldest Christian communities prepares to mark perhaps the most somber Christmas since the start of the Iraq war "Meanwhile Taylor Luck (Jordan Times) reports on Iraqi refugees in Jordan:Although the calendar will say December 25, for Theresa, Saturday will not be Christmas  There will be no cinnamon klecha cooling on the dining room table, no outdoor ceramic nativity scene, no readings of hymns with relatives  The 63-year-old Iraqi woman has even refused to put up Christmas lights in the crowded two-room Amman hotel apartment she has called home since fleeing Baghdad last month "There is no holiday spirit  All we have is fear," she said This holiday will instead mark another year without news from her 46-year-old son, who was kidnapped outside Baghdad in late 2006 From Turkey, Sebnem Arsu (New York Times -- link has text and video) notes the increase in Iraq refugees to the country since October 31st and quotes Father Emlek stating, "I've never seen as many people coming here as I have in the last few weeks  They also go to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria but it seems that Turkey is the most popular despite the fact that they do not speak the language " Jeff Karoub (AP) reports on the small number of Iraqi refugees who have made it to the US and how some of them "struggle with insomnia, depression and anxiety "One group in Iraq who can openly celebrate Christmas are US service members who elect to  Barbara Surk (AP) reports that tomorrow Chief Warrant Officer Archie Morgan will celebrate his fourth Christmas in Iraq and Captain Diana Crane is celebrating her second Christmas in Iraq: "Crane was among several dozen troops attending a Christmas Eve mass in a chapel in Camp Victory, an American military base just outside Baghdad " Marc Hansen (Des Moines Reigster) speaks with six service members from Iowa who are stationed in Iraq  Sgt 1st Class Dennis Crosser tells Hansen, "I certainly understand from reading the paper what's going on in Afghanistan and the attention definitely needs to be on the troops there  But everyone serving here in Operation New Dawn appreciates a little bit of attention as we finish this up "Today Jiang Yu, China's Foreign Minister, issued the following statement, "We welcome and congratulate Iraq on forming a new government  We hope that the Iraqi Government unite all its people, stabilize the security situation, accelerate economic reconstruction and make new progress in building its country " James Cogan (WSWS) reports:US State Department official Philip Crowley declared on Wednesday that Washington had not "dictated the terms of the government"  In reality, constant American pressure was applied to Maliki, Allawi, Kurdish leaders and other prominent Iraqi politicians throughout the entire nine-month process to form a cabinet  The US intervention included numerous personal phone calls and visits to Baghdad by both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden The key objective of the Obama administration has been to ensure that the next Iraqi government will "request" a long-term military partnership with the US when the current Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) expires at the end of 2011  The SOFA is the legal basis upon which some 50,000 American troops remain in Iraq, operating from large strategic air bases such as Balad and Tallil and Al Asad  US imperialism spent billions of dollars establishing these advanced bases as part of its wider strategic plans and has no intention of abandoning them Cogan's only the second person to include the SOFA in his report  Some are impressed with the 'feat' of taking nearly ten months to form a government, stringing the country along for ten months while no decisions could go through  The editorial board of the Washington Post, for example, was full of praise yesterday  Today they're joined by Iran's Ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Danaiifar  The Tehran Times reports that Danaiifar was full of praise today hailing the "positive and final step which ended the 10-month political limbo in Iraq " However, Danaiifar was less pie-in-the-sky than the Post editorial board because he can foresee future problems as evidenced by his statement, "We may witness the emergence of some problems after one and half of a year -- for example, some ministers may be impeached " Of course, there are already many clouds on the horizon, even if Iranian diplomats and Post editorial boards can't suss them out  For example, Ben Bendig (Epoch Times) noted the objection of Iraq's female politicians to Nouri al-Maliki's decision to nominate only one woman (so far) to his Cabinet: "Some 50 female lawmakers went to the country's top leadership, the United Nations and the Arab League to voice their concern and desire for increased representation " BNO notes that protest and also that a group of Iraqi MPs are alleging that Iraqiya bought seats in the Cabinet via money exchanged in Jordan  UPI adds, "Maliki, a Shiite who has a long history of working with Tehran, has named himself acting minister of defense, interior and national security, three most powerful and sensitive posts in the government he is stitching together  Although Maliki appears to be bending over backward to accommodate rivals among Iraq's Shiite majority as well as minority Sunnis and Kurds in his administration in a spirit of reconciliation, he is unlikely to relinquish those ministries that dominate the security sector " DPA reports, "Sheikh Abdel-Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a confident of influential Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said that the new cabinet is 'below the standards' Iraqi citizens had hoped for and suggested it could prove to be weaker than the previous government " Ranj Alaaldin (Guardian) also spots clouds on the horizon:Lasting peace and stability depends on resolving outstanding disputes with the Kurds on oil, revenue-sharing, security and the disputed territories (Kirkuk in particular)  The Kurds, rather than exploiting their kingmaker position to take a stronger proportion of ministries in Baghdad (they are taking just one major portfolio – the foreign ministry), are instead banking on guarantees from Maliki to implement their list of 19 demands that includes resolving the above disputes in their favour They may have been naive, though  With their historical and federalist partners, the Islamic supreme council of Iraq in decline, the Kurds may be isolated in the new government – a government dominated by the nationalistic and centrist characteristics of the INM, the Sadrists and indeed State of Law Maliki may, therefore, turn out to be unable to grant concessions even if he wanted to and could use Osama Nujayfi, the new ultra-nationalist speaker of parliament and Kurdish foe, to absorb the Kurdish criticism and insulate himself from any attacks AP reports that Iraqi police sought out a 19-year-old woman because of rumors that she was working with al Qaida in Mesopotamia only to be greeted with the news that her father allegedly killed her and the father showed the police where he buried the woman       last month  The story begs for more than it offers  The most obvious observation is: what does it say that a woman's allegedly killed by her father and no one says a word for over a month? After that, it should probably be noted that there are many men in Iraq killing women who, no doubt, would love to also be able to pin the blame on al Qaida  In other violence, Reuters notes a house bombing in Haswa which claimed the life of Mohammed al-Karrafi, "his wife, two sons and a nephew" -- as well as injuring four more people, and a Samarra roadside bombing which claimed the lives of 2 police officers  DPA notes it was two homes bombed in Haswa and that the Samarra roadside bombing also injured four Iraqi soldiers  Jomana Karadsheh (CNN) reports, "Another policeman was wounded in Baghdad Friday night when a roadside bomb detonated by a police patrol, an Interior Ministry official told CNN "And we'll close with this from Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan's latest Al Jazeera column:The recent repeal of the US military policy of "Don't ask, don't tell" is far from being the human rights advancement some are touting it to be  I find it intellectually dishonest, in fact, illogical on any level to associate human rights with any military, let alone one that is currently dehumanising two populations as well as numerous other victims of it's clandestine "security" policies Placing this major contention aside, the enactment of the bill might be an institutional step forward in the fight for "equality"; however institutions rarely reflect reality Do we really think that the US congress vote to repeal the act and Obama signing the bill is going to stop the current systemic harassment of gays in the military?While I am a staunch advocate for equality of marriage and same-sex partnership, I cannot - as a peace activist - rejoice in the fact that now homosexuals can openly serve next to heterosexuals in one of the least socially responsible organisations that currently exists on earth: The US military It is an organisation tainted with a history of intolerance towards anyone who isn't a Caucasian male from the Mid-West  Even then I'm sure plenty fitting that description have faced the terror and torment enshrined into an institution that transforms the pride and enthusiasm of youth into a narrow zeal for dominating power relations And we'll close with this from Francis A  Boyle's "2011: Prospects for Humanity?" (Global Research):Historically, this latest eruption of American militarism at the start of the 21st Century is akin to that of America opening the 20th Century by means of the U S -instigated Spanish-American War in 1898  Then the Republican administration of President William McKinley stole their colonial empire from Spain in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines; inflicted a near genocidal war against the Filipino people; while at the same time illegally annexing the Kingdom of Hawaii and subjecting the Native Hawaiian people (who call themselves the Kanaka Maoli) to near genocidal conditions  Additionally, McKinley's military and colonial expansion into the Pacific was also designed to secure America's economic exploitation of China pursuant to the euphemistic rubric of the "open door" policy  But over the next four decades America's aggressive presence, policies, and practices in the "Pacific" would ineluctably pave the way for Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec  7, 194l, and thus America's precipitation into the ongoing Second World War  Today a century later the serial imperial aggressions launched and menaced by the Republican Bush Jr  administration and now the Democratic Obama administration are threatening to set off World War III  By shamelessly exploiting the terrible tragedy of 11 September 2001, the Bush Jr  administration set forth to steal a hydrocarbon empire from the Muslim states and peoples living in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf under the bogus pretexts of (1) fighting a war against international terrorism; and/or (2) eliminating weapons of mass destruction; and/or (3) the promotion of democracy; and/or (4) self-styled "humanitarian intervention " Only this time the geopolitical stakes are infinitely greater than they were a century ago: control and domination of two-thirds of the world's hydrocarbon resources and thus the very fundament and energizer of the global economic system – oil and gas  The Bush Jr / Obama administrations have already targeted the remaining hydrocarbon reserves of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia for further conquest or domination, together with the strategic choke-points at sea and on land required for their transportation  In this regard, the Bush Jr
Context 3: Eagle in Atlanta -- atleagle com: July 2012
Why Spaz's recruiting doesn't matter anymore
After BC picked up another below the radar recruit, Spaz's most vocal critics were out again disparaging his recruiting class  I don't trust the recruiting rankings, but it does concern me that our commitments aren't drawing more interest from BCS teams  There is a similar concern on the Penn State front  There's plenty of speculation, but BC is not a factor among the rumored PSU transfers  But really none of it matters  Spaz is going to wrap up most of the recruiting this summer and then focus on the games come fall  While not inspiring, the plan is practical  There are two outcomes:
1  Spaz has a losing season and gets fired  If this happens, our 2013 recruiting class will be a hodgepodge of current commits, a transfer or two and whatever our new coach can uncover  For a new guy Spaz's lower profile recruits might be an advantage  If they aren't valued, they are less likely to be poached by other programs  A new Head Coach can then exert a little effort in getting the Spaz commits to stay committed and spend more time on filling out the class 
2  Spaz has a winning season and keeps his job  In this scenario Spaz stays off the hot seat and has to finish filling out the 2013 recruiting class  With a little more job security he can use his last few scholarships on bigger names  He may even luck into a decent prospect who suddenly becomes available due to another school's coaching change (like he did with Rutgers last year)  In this case Spaz doesn't waste time recruiting during the season and then picks up some low-hanging fruit 
Spaz is never going to recruit an elite class  There are many contributing factors as to why, but mostly it is because Spaz is not a salesmen  And we shouldn't care  He's not going to change  It is just a matter of who will finish out this class four months from now 
Labels: fire Spaz, Recruiting, Recruiting Rankings, Speculating with Spaz
Key Players for 2012: Chase Rettig
Junior Quarterback, Chase Rettig
What he's been: We all hoped Rettig would be a phenom  That he would some how save the Spaz era from its offensive funk and lead BC to unexpected glory  Instead, he's been mediocre  He completed just over half of his passes last year and never put together back-to-back great games nor enough sustained drives  Apologists for Rettig like me blame the system, the talent around him and of course the way his Spaz has screwed up the offense  But even the biggest Rettig cheerleaders have to admit he's yet to have a memorable BC moment or done anything to get on an NFL radar 
What he needs to be: Someone who can put the team on his back  I know the offensive line has been terrible, leaving Chase running for his life  I know plenty of passes have been dropped and no one is making big plays  But a truly great QB would show more by now  He's started 21 games  He's finally is a simplified offense that will get the ball out of his hands  If Chase does have an accurate arm, if he is as cerebral as people say, if he can get off throws in a collapsing pocket, now is his chance to show it 
Why I like his chances to shine: I don't know if Doug Martin is going to be a miracle worker, but QB's can make huge leaps with a new offense  Just look at Dominique Davis  He went to East Carolina and became one of the most accurate passers in the country 
Last year I thought Rettig would be great  I thought his toughness and preparation would overcome the offensive limitations  Here I am a year late thinking the same thing  But the difference is Doug Martin  We finally have an experienced OC running a current, simple offense  Rettig will be asked to make quick decisions and get the ball out fast  I think he can do it  I also think that throwing 400+ passes will give him a rhythm and a confidence that he's never had at BC 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Chase Rettig, Doug Martin, Key Players, Season Previews
Rich Thompson will cover BC football this Fall for the Herald
There is some news on the BC media front  The Herald assigned Rich Thompson to the BC beat for this Fall's football season  Rich has covered BC on occasion over the years, but mostly on the basketball side  Thompson is a welcome addition, as the Herald's focus has been spotty since Steve Conroy started splitting his time on hockey  Hopefully a new voice on the BC scene will also spark Blauds to improve his work 
For many years, BC fans' main source of news was Mike (Vega at the Globe) and Mike (Shalin at the Herald)  We complained about their identical features and soft touch on the BC coaches  Little did we know how good things were  Since Vega's move in 2007, we've been left with a beat writer who seems to loathe his job and also makes excuses for our Head Coach  Blauds also rarely writes or tweets during the college offseason  That sort of editorial decision may have been fine 20 years ago, but now college sports is a year round news cycle  When you look at all the work produced by college beat writers around the country, it makes the Boston media look lazy or oblivious 
Thompson also plans to tweet regularly once the season starts  I hope he makes the most of this opportunity  It is a shame to see the beat neglected like it is across town 
Labels: blauds, Boston Herald, Boston media, Media Criticism, Rich Thompson
Revisiting a Boston (BC) Olympics using London as an example
During the 2010 Winter Olympics I tossed around the idea of Boston hosting a summer or winter games  My point then remains that the same: Boston is ideal because the local universities could already supply many of the venues  The big obstacle would always be the main stadium for Track & Field and the opening and closing ceremonies  Nearly every city that hosts is left with a White Elephant that costs hundreds of millions of dollars  But London may provide a solution  They built their Olympic Stadium as a temporary venue  It looked great on TV, holds enough for the games and can be shrunk as soon as it all wraps up  Londoners haven't decided what they will do with the space  There are a few different bidders looking to take over the remains of the stadium  Boston would probably have similar suitors depending on the location  I would guess that UMasss Boston would want a small stadium or maybe the Revolution would want to convert it to a soccer only facility  The possibilities are endless 
I would still love to see Boston host the games and wish our partner Fenway Sports Group would get behind it  I am practical too  This wouldn't just be a vanity project for BC  It would be a backdoor way to get the IOC to fix the air conditioning in Conte!
Labels: Alumni Stadium renovations, Boston Olympics, Conte Forum renovations, Fenway Sports Group, renovations
New soccer Eagles and other links
BCeagles com released the bios of the six new freshmen and two transfers for the men's soccer team  Four of the newbies hail from New York 
It feels like every ACC team returns a starting QB  While the depth gives the conference advantages that other conferences don't have, I think some of the talent is overrated  In fact, I can't believe that Rettig is considered the 10th best  I would rank him 5th and think he could be even better by the end of the year 
Despite shoulder surgery, Alex Albright is healthy heading into his second NFL season  He's also ready to move to inside linebacker 
In case you missed it, BC will play Baylor in the Charleston Classic this Fall  That gives all the Boston media, the college basketball writers and the BC bloggers a chance to rehash the Donahue-Heslip situation again 
Labels: Alex Albright, Brady Heslip, Chase Rettig, Links, Steve Donahue
Can BC sell a faceless program?
As the team prepared for the poster photo shoot, I started to think about some of the current challenges BC faces marketing the program  Who will be the focus of the poster? Can a casual BC fan name our best players? With the team coming off its worst season in over a decade, it would be nice to have a focal point  A person who fans could rally around  With Kuechly gone, BC doesn't have that player or coach 
Spaz is not a compelling public speaker  BC uses coordinators in their Youtube videos  No BC player made the ACC's preseason all conference team  They have two likeable but rather unknown Seniors on the cover of the media guide 
Perception matters in college football  Obviously tickets sales are part of that, but lacking a star player hurts when TV networks are selecting our games  Even if some of our players have breakout years, they will have a hard time winning national awards 
BC created some new and unique ticket packages to help attendance for the less attractive games  If we are play well, TV networks might pay attention during the last month of the season  But if the team struggles, it will be hard to sell anything  You can't force players to be great or be dynamic personalities  Even if players aren't well known, I am consistently proud of how they handle themselves  But BC can ask its coach to sell the program  Spaz doesn't and won't  But I hope that when we hire a new coach that sales and marketing aspect are not ignored  Coaching is primary, but representing BC should always be a factor 
Labels: BC marketing, emmett cleary, Fenway Sports Group, Kaleb Ramsey, Spaziani
Phil Steele talks ACC and other links
Here is Phil Steele previewing the Big East and the ACC 
Former Eagle Tim Bulman signed with New England His teammate Ricky Brown is hanging on too and is now with the Ravens 
Did anyone else hear this comment from Spaz?
"We've tied Chase's hands behind his back his first two years  He's at the point now where he's ready to cross the line "
I know this sort of thing is off the cuff, but why is he saying that he's held a QB back? Am I the only one who gets frustrated by this stuff?
VCU hired BC grad Ed McLaughlin as their new AD  If and when Gene retires McLaughlin will be one of top targets to replace him 
This is from earlier in the week, but I am glad Kimble is confident  I think he could have a big season 
Emmett Cleary provides some insights into how the offense will change 
Labels: BC women's soccer, fire Spaz, Links, Ricky Brown, Spaz, tim bulman
Viva Espana: what you need to know about the basketball team's trip to Spain
NCAA rules allow a basketball team to take an overseas summer tour once every four years  These trips are a huge advantage as they allow the team to play together and at a high level during a dead period  In addition to improving skills, the trips also bond teams together and help the coaches experiment with different rotations and lineups  In the past BC has traveled to France, Switzerland and Australia  In a little less than a month, BC will take its first trip to Spain  This is our first tour under Donahue and a critical chance for this team to get better  Below are some of the facts, figures, schedules and nuggets about the trip 
All players can and will attend, including new freshmen Joe Rahon, Olivier Hanlan and incoming Senior Andrew Van Nest  Transfer Alex Dragicevich cannot go 
Aside from the players, the rest of the travel party includes the coaching staff, a trainer, a sports information director, and two managers 
Some of the schedule is still being finalized, but here are BC's current plans for games:
August 27 Madrid - Game 1
August 29 Valencia – Game 2 (ACB Team - Valencia Basket)
August 31 Barcelona - Game 3 (ACB Team - Penya or Manresa)
September 1 Barcelona - Game 4 (LEB Team)
The team leaves Boston on August 25  In each city they will practice and see some of the local sights  They also have community service time scheduled  The team returns on September 3  Classes begin back in Boston the next day 
The games will be played with international rules, courts and FIBA balls 
BC doesn't know if the referees will speak any English (but they're hoping) 
For any Eagle fans in Spain, try to catch a game or two  It should be fun  For those of us stateside, there are presently no official broadcasts but I imagine an internet feed will pop up for some of the action 
Labels: BC basketball, spain trip, Steve Donahue
Key Players for 2012: Dominic Appiah
Sophomore Defensive Tackle, Dominic Appiah
What he's been: Appiah surprised many last year  Playing for the first time after redshirting his freshman year, Appiah ended up starting most of the games  He made his presence known quickly with the ability to get an inside push and make plays in the backfield  Appiah was new to the inside but he showed natural ability and moved very well considering he played nearly 30 pounds lighter in high school 
What he needs to be: We need Appiah to be like B J  Raji or Ron Brace  We don't have as many difference makers in other areas of the defense  If Appiah and Ramsey partner to become a dominant force -- like Brace and Raji -- it will create all sorts of opportunities for the rest of the defense  If the two of them can control the line of scrimmage we can become one of the elite DLines in the ACC 
Why I like his chances to shine: It feels like I am head of the Appiah fan club  Spaz doesn't even have him at the top of the preseason depth chart  Of all the guys I have profiled, he would probably be viewed as the least likely to make an impact  He's still young  He's still learning the position and he's still getting used to moving with his added bulk  But I saw enough moments that I believe Appiah can be a great DT  He has the push, the leverage and surprising speed for big guy  Other teams had trouble handling him last year  If Appiah remains focused and works hard, he is going to dominate every interior lineman in the conference  And if Ramsey and Appiah both play well, BC will be a bowl team again 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Dominic Appiah, Kaleb Ramsey, Key Players, Season Previews
ACC Media roundup and other links
The ACC Media voted BC 5th overall in the Atlantic Division  That's not particularly surprising since the majority of the reporters are from Carolina and still view us as a secondary program  Although I teased him on twitter, even Meter avoided his usual "BC: 1st" vote 
The recurring question for Spaz was regarding Kuechly  He handles it well and points to Ramsey as the type of player who can fill the void  Not too many asked Spaz about the "Hot Seat " (I didn't embed that video due to the auto play issues )
It will be interesting to see if BC benefits from the looming exodus at Penn State  We are positioned well since we have scholarship space and recruited many of their kids  But I wonder if Spaz will have any hesitation in taking advantage of his alma mater 
Virginia Athlete Atem Ntantang committed to BC 
The ACC Digital Network is running a countdown of great moments  Of course they included BC comeback against Virginia Tech  It doesn't have Chris Fowler yelling "Lane Stadium goes silent" but it does have Meter losing it 
BC is one of the schools to leverage the transfer up phenomenon in college football 
Labels: ACC Media Day, basketball transfers, Links, Meterparel, Recruiting, Spaz, Video
ACC Kickoff, Day 1 -- UPDATE
UPDATE: I took down the video since it was auto playing for people  You can listen to Ramsey and Cleary here 
I hoped that Spaz would address the Penn State situation  Knowing that those types of questions were coming, the ACC coaches released a joint statement on Penn State and Paterno  Someone should still ask Spaz on Monday since he does know Sandusky and played under Paterno 
This is a shot of Kaleb Ramsey talking to the media  And here is all the players together  Cleary also fielded questions, including those about biology and chemistry 
I expect more on Monday when Spaz talks  I also think all the newspaper guys (including Blauds) will write up their interviews from Sunday into Monday posts 
Labels: ACC Media Day, emmett cleary, Kaleb Ramsey, Video
The field is finished
Reader Doug took these pictures yesterday  I think the field and wall look great  The next step will be hearing how the players like the look and feel 
Labels: Alumni Stadium renovations, Astro Turf, pics
Questions I want asked at the ACC Media Days
The ACC convenes this weekend in Greensboro for the annual ACC Media Days  I am not going  But I do have questions I would ask 
Questions for Frank Spaziani
-- Is he aware of the "hot seat" talk? Does he feel the pressure  How does he get the team and staff to focus? Is it impacting recruiting?
-- What are his expectations for the season? Does he see the team competing for a division title?
-- What attracted him to Doug Martin's offense? What are his expectations for the offense? Does he think the increased tempo will impact the defensive side of the ball?
-- What will Bollman's role be as "running game coordinator"? Is Bollman using different techniques and or approaches to the offensive line play?
-- What traits was he looking for as he hired new coaches to replace the departed?
-- As a Penn State alum and former player, what are his thoughts on the Freeh report? Are the former players talking among themselves about what they can do to help rebuild the Penn State football reputation? What does he want done with the Paterno statue?
-- When did the staff approach him about moving to the left side? How is he preparing for the new position?
--Who is leading the OL drills in the offseason?
-- How are things different with a new position coach? What will fans see?
-- What aspects of his game is he focusing on this year?
-- How is Chase Rettig adjusting to the new offense?
-- Which offensive player will surprise BC fans this year? Who is going to make a big leap?
-- What are his expectations for the season? How important is it to the Seniors to get back to a winning record and a bowl game?
-- How is his health?
-- What was it like to sit out a season?
-- Earlier in his career there was speculation that he might transfer from BC  How does it feel to be a 5th year senior at BC now?
-- Last year BC played more three man fronts than ever before  Will we see more of that this year?
-- Does the talk of an NFL career add any extra motivation?
We know Blauds and HD will be in Greensboro  Hopefully they or others will slip in one or two of these questions  I don't expect anything particularly revealing, but I would like to hear Spaz talk about the pressure of the season 
Labels: ACC Media Day, emmett cleary, fire Spaz, Kaleb Ramsey, Speculating with Spaz
Willis commits, decommits and then commits, and other links
It was a strange night if you follow BC recruiting on Twitter  First Rivals reported Georgia running back Myles Willis' commitment  Then Willis himself took to twitter to say that he didn't commit  Later in the night he clarified that he did commit  Regardless, it seems like it is over and he seems like a good pickup  He plays for local Atlanta power Marist  I will try to check out one of his games this fall 
One of the great under-appreciated aspects of BC sports is "For Boston " However, the bloggers at Atlantic Coast Convos have great taste as they listed our fight song as the best in the ACC  (Am I the only one singing "For Boston" to himself right now?)
BCeagles com put out another player Q&A, this time with basketball transfer Alex Dragicevich  Dennis Clifford is one of the players who has made an early impression on Alex 
Labels: Alex Dragicevich, BC Marching Band, For Boston, Myles Willis
Wey Q&A and other links
BCeagles com posted a Q & A with Patrick Wey  He talks about his summer training and trying to win another National Championship 
BC basketball fans will enjoy this pic of the early '90s stars 
Although she still has two more years of High School volleyball player Brittany Pavich committed to BC 
From earlier in the week, here is an article on new commitment Matt Milano 
Baseball player John Nicklas is ready to make an impact 
Labels: BC Hockey, Bill Curley, Links, malcolm huckaby, Matt Milano, Patrick Wey
Key Players for 2012: Ian White
Junior Center, Ian White
What he's been: The redshirt JR has played a lot and almost all of it at guard  What's been frustrating is that White would be very, very good in some games and then off in others  Because he is playing primarily inside, the issues usually involve getting overpowered by bigger DTs  Like most of the olinemen the past few years, White's flashed moments of greatness but lacked consistency 
What he needs to be: In my opinion the offensive line play really started falling apart after Matt Tennant left  I think Centers are underappreciated   at times even by their own coaches  It seems like the Spaz/Devine MO was to put the best five on the field regardless of positional fit and not to worry about rejiggering the lineup  The way the staff yo-yo'd Mark Spinney and others at Center the past two years hurt our consistency  And it impacts the QB position too  White's new to the role, so this could lead to more chaos  I hope not  We need him to be good from Day 1  He needs to set the tone for the OL and communicate with Rettig  Other players are important, but White -- or whoever starts at Center -- will be the keystone to the offense 
Why I like his chances to shine: Like Cleary, I think White is one of those guys who would have thrived under old BC regimes  He's been smart and tough from the minute he was eligible to play  He might not be as powerful as needed, but now as a redshirt JR, he should be fully matured  Plus playing Center doesn't require as much power and is more reliant on smarts and quickness 
I don't know if White will be our starting Center for Miami or even later into the season  Under Devine positions and the depth chart were constantly being tweaked  I pray things are different with Bollman  Let White learned to be a Center  He has a chance to be a great one 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Ian White, Jim Bollman, Key Players, Preseason, Sean Devine
How I talk myself into thinking we are going to be good   
You can see it on the BC message boards  You can see it on twitter and on the blogs  Optimism is rising  People are looking forward to the BC Football season  On Eagle Outsider they sarcastically call this "10-2 season " It is that time of year when every aspect of the team and season still has hope and promise  Despite my best judgement and spending half of my posts speculating on Spaz's future, I am falling into this same trap  The closer we get to kickoff and the more I read, the more I think BC might surprise people this year  I am not ready to post my predictions for the season, but here are a few reasons why I do think this team should be bowl bound 
It looks tougher on paper than it really is  Our toughest opponents come to us  We play three of our first four at home  Playing FSU and Georgia Tech on back-to-back weeks is a bit rough, but playing Georgia Tech any time forces a team to regroup  If you have to play a gimmick offense, you might as well do it after facing a top 10 team  Maybe it will serve as a rally point after playing the 'Noles 
Underrated talent
Look at that depth chart again  It is not an all star lineup, but I think our front seven will be better than last year  I love some of the young DBs (Keyes, Asprilla) and think with a healthy Noel and improved ALJ, we can be solid defensively  I still think Chase Rettig can be great  I have real hope for Doug Martin and think our WR and TE talent is good enough  The biggest question is the offensive line  But as someone who has preached for a OL coaching change, I keep telling myself that Bollman will make a difference 
Emotion and Pride
Football is an emotional game and emotional sport  Point fingers at whomever you like, but BC had awful team and coaching chemistry last season  When I see Al Washington posting on Facebook about his excitement, when I hear about the 5th year Seniors wanting to end their careers on a high note, when I look at the new field, I think that positive energy and emotion will carry us to an extra win or two 
As long as these two (see pic below) stay out of the way and Spaz coaches to win, I think this might be a fun season  Is anyone else talking themselves into a big year?
Labels: 2012, 2012 Preview, 2012 Schedule, Chase Rettig, Doug Martin, fire Spaz, Speculating with Spaz
Key Players for 2012: Jim Noel
Senior Safety, Jim Noel
What he's been: A contributor since day one, Noel has grown from back up to fill in starter, to a full time starter over three years  While primarily a safety, BC has also used him at corner  He missed a good portion of 2011, leaving our already depleted secondary without an impact player  Noel has never been a big hitter or ballhawk, but he's been good in coverage and done what's been asked 
What he needs to be: Noel needs to take over  Our defense is at its best when we have safeties with great anticipation  If you design your defense to exploit QB mistakes, you need a smart and athletic Safety to be in the right place at the right time  One of the reasons we struggled ending drives last year and giving up big plays to teams like Central Florida was because our safeties just couldn't make plays  Noel was doing his best filling in at Corner, while Syvlia, Hughes and Rositano kept getting burned  Hopefully Noel can focus on one area this year, stay healthy and have a big season 
Why I like his chances to shine: Look back on the interceptions Noel has made  They are often really great athletic plays  Few are gimmes that just landed in his hand  If he can be that great for 12 games and get even a little help from his other safeties, he will have a big year 
Last season BC only had 13 interceptions  It was our lowest output since the TOB years  If Noel can help end a few drives with big takeaways, BC could be a strong defensive team again 
Labels: Jim Noel, Key Players, Preseason
Precamp Depth Chart and other links
BC updated the depth chart in time for preseason camps to begin  This should be viewed as temporary and not who will start Labor Day weekend  There will be injuries and position switches that will alter things a bit  Hopefully no one is kicked off the team between now and the start of the season 
Florida DB Matt Milano committed to BC over the weekend  Milano also had offers from Arizona and Air Force 
Andy Katz listed BC among the possible destinations for BU transfer Jake O'Brien  Rumor is Providence is his most likely destination  I hope he gives BC a long look  He'd be another no risk big man for Donahue and give us some nice depth 
Labels: Jake O'Brien, Links, Matt Milano
Coaches to Watch this fall Part 4: Current Offensive Coordinators
Since everyone has Spaz on the Hotseat List, now is as good a time as any to look at future BC head coaching candidates  Unlike our past profile series, the timing and style on these posts will be a little different  Instead of being weeks or days away from a potential change, we have the benefit of a whole season to evaluate these guys  Some stocks will rise, while others will fall and it will make our usual scoreboard watching that much more interesting 
The natural inclination would be for BC to replace Spaz with an offensive guy  Unfortunately there is not a great pool of candidates among current college offensive coordinators  There are plenty of good coordinators, but I don't know how many are ready to be head coaches or coach at a place like BC  These are some of the more prominent names  After the 2012 season, we'll have a better idea of if they are ready to take on an FBS head coaching job 
Chad Morris
Offensive Coordinator, Clemson
Chad Morris was coaching high school football three years ago  His meteoric rise to Clemson's playcaller is another example of how much college football has changed  Gus Malzahn and guys like Chip Kelly and Art Briles before him shot from relative obscurity to changing college football within a few season  Pedigree and climbing the ladders doesn't mean as much anymore  All that matters is how you score and Morris showed that he could give new life to Clemson's attack  Like the others mentioned Morris emphasized tempo and a no huddle  His track record is impressive, as is his reputation for teaching and implementing this offense 
What to Watch for in 2012: Can Clemson keep it up? The ACC now has a chance to adjust to his scheme  It will also be interested to know what Morris wants to do  All these guys want to be head coaches, but is he willing to roll the dice on a job like BC? Would he even fit in? BC's very different from coaching high school in west Texas 
Offensive Coordinator, Wisconsin
The Badgers have been a good proving ground for coordinators  I like the fit for BC since Wisconsin tends to develop and recruit like we do  They also have run "pro style" offenses with an emphasis on OL and the running attacks  Canada will be new there this fall, but he's got BCS experience and led explosive offenses in the MAC too  If Canada became a candidate for BC, I would have hesitation about his time at Indiana  They threw it a ton while he was calling plays but didn't win much 
What to Watch in 2012: Will Canada keep throwing it at the more conservative Wisconsin? If Wisconsin keeps up their recent success will he emerge as a candidate elsewhere?
Bill Lazor
Offensive Coordinator, Virginia
Lazor's been a good coordinator at Virginia  He's not changing the game but they've been better than they were before he got there and they've been consistent  Lazor's ACC experience -- especially at a school like UVA -- translates well to BC (as it did for TOB years ago)  He can also sell his NFL ties to recruits  He played at Cornell and is from Scranton, so geography and academics wouldn't be an issue 
What to Watch for in 2012: How will UVA handle their pending QB controversy  Will they also move up within the ACC or stay middle of the pack offensively?
Offensive Coordinator, Alabama
Nussmeier moves from Washington to being the playcaller at the Defending National Champions  He's got a good profile for a rising coach in that he played professionally, coached in college, the NFL and Canada, and is now at an elite program  He runs a pro-style west coast offense, so the transition to BC would be relatively easy  Nussmeier lacks any obvious ties to BC or the northeast 
What to Watch in 2012: How will Nussmeier adjust to the pressure cooker of Saban and Alabama? Saban's offensives have been bland but effective  I expect more of the same this year  It doesn't make for compelling football but working for Saban can be good training for future head coaches 
Labels: Bill Lazor, Chad Morris, Coaches to Watch, fire Spaz, Matt Canada
ICYMI: Links from the past week
Phil Steele thinks we will score more points this season 
Kevin Pierre-Louis was named to the Nagurski watch list 
Pennsylvania Tight End strongly considered BC but verballed to UConn instead  BC's interest seemed to fade as other Tight Ends/Defensive Ends committed



ground_truth: The conclusion was that fruit consumption may provide a protective effect for mercury exposure in Amazonian riparians.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What is the main topic of the text?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 2:  administration announced the establishment of the U S  Pentagon's Africa Command (AFRICOM) in order to better control, dominate, and exploit both the natural resources and the variegated peoples of the continent of Africa, the very cradle of our human species  This current bout of U S  imperialism is what Hans Morgenthau denominated "unlimited imperialism" in his seminal work Politics Among Nations (4th ed  1968, at 52-53): The outstanding historic examples of unlimited imperialism are the expansionist policies of Alexander the Great, Rome, the Arabs in the seventh and eighth centuries, Napoleon I, and Hitler  They all have in common an urge toward expansion which knows no rational limits, feeds on its own successes and, if not stopped by a superior force, will go on to the confines of the political world  This urge will not be satisfied so long as there remains anywhere a possible object of domination--a politically organized group of men which by its very independence challenges the conqueror's lust for power  It is, as we shall see, exactly the lack of moderation, the aspiration to conquer all that lends itself to conquest, characteristic of unlimited imperialism, which in the past has been the undoing of the imperialistic policies of this kind…  On 10 November 1979 I visited with Hans Morgenthau at his home in Manhattan  It proved to be our last conversation before he died on 19 July 1980  Given his weakened physical but not mental condition and his serious heart problem, at the end of our necessarily abbreviated one-hour meeting I purposefully asked him what he thought about the future of international relations  iraqbbc newsgabriel gatehousethe new york timesjohn lelandhaaretzzvi bar'elthe jordan timestaylor luckthe associated pressjeff karoubthe los angeles timesraheem salmancnnjomana karadsheh
Terry thinks she's a man
Yesterday on NPR's Fresh Air the hour went to a male TV critic  It's always a man with Terry  Always  And somebody tell her that a snotty, snooty TV critic really doesn't make for good programming This is C I 's "Iraq snapshot:" Thursday, December 23, 2010  Chaos and violence continue, Iraqi women make clear their displeasure over the Cabinet make up, Daniel Ellsberg and Veterans for Peace get some recognition, and more  Last Thursday a protest held outside the White House  One of the organizers was Veterans for Peace and Pentagon Papers whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg participated and spoke  Juana Bordas (Washington Post) advocates for both of them to be named persons of the year: Veterans for Peace and Daniel Ellsberg should be this year's person of the year because of their courage and bravery to stand up for all of us who believe that "war is not the answer " Moreover in a time of economic recession, the war machine is bankrupting our country  As John Amidon, a Marine Corps veteran from Albany asked at the White House protest, "How is the war economy working for you?"While unemployment rates hover near 10 percent, there is no doubt that the U S  economy and quality of life is faltering  Worldwide we are 14th in education, 37th in the World Health Organization's ranking on medical systems, and 23rd in the U N  Environmental Sustainability Index on being most livable and greenest benefits  There is one place we take the undeniable world lead  The US military spending accounts for a whopping 46 5 percent of world military spending--the next ten countries combined come in at only 20 7 percent  Linda Pershing (Truthout) reports, "Responding to a call from the leaders of Stop These Wars(1) - a new coalition of Veterans for Peace and other activists - participants came together in a large-scale performance of civil resistance  A group of veterans under the leadership of Veterans for Peace members Tarak Kauff, Will Covert and Elaine Brower, mother of a Marine who has served three tours of duty in Iraq, sponsored the event with the explicit purpose of putting their bodies on the line  Many participants were Vietnam War veterans; others ranged from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans in their 20s and 30s to World War II vets in their 80s and older  They were predominately white; men outnumbered women by at least three to one  After a short rally in Lafayette Park, they formed a single-file procession, walking across Pennsylvania Avenue to the solemn beat of a drum  As they reached the police barricade (erected to prevent them from chaining themselves to the gate, a plan they announced on their web site), the activists stood shoulder to shoulder, their bodies forming a human link across the 'picture postcard' tableau in front of the White House " Maria Chutchian (Arlington Advocate) quotes, participant Nate Goldshlag (Vietnam veteran) stating, ""There was a silent, single file march around Lafayette Park to a drum beat  Then we went in front of the White House,  There were barricades set up in front of white house fence  So when we got there, we jumped over barricades and were able to get right next to the White House fence " Participant Linda LeTendre (Daily Gazette) reports: At the end of the rally, before the silent, solemn procession to the White House fence, in honor of those killed in Iraq and Afghan wars of lies and deceptions, the VFP played taps and folded an American flag that had been left behind at a recent funeral for the veteran of one of those wars  Two attendees in full dress uniform held and folded the flag  I had the image of all of the people who stood along the roads and bridges when the bodies of the two local men, Benjamin Osborn and David Miller, were returned to the Capital District  I thought if all of those people were here now or spoke out against war these two fine young men might still be with us I was blessed enough to be held in custody with one of those in uniform; a wonderful young man who had to move from his hometown in Georgia because no one understood why as a veteran he was against these wars  Even his family did not understand  (He remains in my prayers )Our plan was to attach ourselves to the White House fence until President Obama came out and talked to us or until we were arrested and dragged away  I don't have to tell you how it ended Mr  Ellsberg was one of 139 people arrested at that action  We've noted the protest in pretty much every snapshot since last Thursday  If something else comes out that's worth noting on the protest, we'll include it  We will not include people who don't have their facts and it's really sad when they link to, for example, Guardian articles and the links don't even back them up  It's real sad, for example, when they're trashing Hillary (big strong men that they are) and ripping her apart and yet Barack? "Obama's inaccurate statements"??? What the hell is that? You're inferring he lied, say so  Don't be such a little chicken s**t  It's especially embarrasing when you're grandstanding on 'truth ' Especially when you're the little s**t that clogged up the public e-mail account here in the summer of 2008 whining that you were holding Barack to a standard, then admitting that you weren't, then whining that if you did people would be mean to you  Oh, that's sooooooo sad  Someone might say something bad about you  The horror  You must suffer more than all the people in Iraq and Afghanistan combined  While the action took place in DC, actions also took place in other cities  We've already noted NYC's action this week, Doug Kaufmann (Party for Socialism & Liberation) reports on the Los Angeles action: Despite heavy rain, over 100 people gathered in Los Angeles on the corner of Hollywood and Highland to demand an end to the U S  wars on Afghanistan and Iraq  People came from as far as Riverside to protest, braving what Southern California media outlets have dubbed the "storm of the decade " The demonstration, initiated and led by the ANSWER Coalition, broke the routine of holiday shopping and garnered support from activists and even passers by, who joined in chanting "Money for jobs and education -- not for war and occupation!" and "Occupation is a crime -- Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine!" Protesters held banners reading, "U S /NATO Out of Afghanistan!" and "Yes to jobs, housing and education -- no to war, racism and occupation!"Speakers at the demonstration included representatives of Korean Americans for Peace, ANSWER Coalition, KmB Pro-People Youth, Veterans for Peace, Party for Socialism and Liberation and National Lawyers Guild  Tuesday, Nouri al-Maliki managed to put away the political stalemate thanks to a lot of Scotch -- tape to hold the deal together and booze to keep your eyes so crossed you don't question how someone can claim to have formed a Cabinet when they've left over ten positions to be filled at a later date  One group speaking out is women  Bushra Juhi and Qassmi Abdul-Zahra (AP) report, "Iraq's female lawmakers are furious that only one member of the country's new Cabinet is a woman and are demanding better representation in a government that otherwise has been praised by the international community for bringing together the country's religious sects and political parties " As noted Tuesday, though represenation in Parliament is addressed in Iraq's Constitution, there is nothing to address women serving in the Cabinet  Aseel Kami (Reuters) notes one of the most damning aspects of Nouri's chosen men -- a man is heaing the Ministry of Women's Affairs  Iraqiya's spokesperson Maysoon Damluji states, "There are really good women who could do wel       they cannot be neglected and marginalized " Al-Amal's Hanaa Edwar states, "They call it a national (power) sharing government  So where is the sharing? Do they want to take us back to the era of the harem? Do they want to take us back to the dark ages, when women were used only for pleasure " Deborah Amos (NPR's All Things Considered) reports that a struggle is going on between secular impulses and fundamentalist ones  Gallery owner Qasim Sabti states, "We know it's fighting between the religious foolish man and the civilization man  We know we are fighting like Gandhi, and this is a new language in Iraqi life  We have no guns  We do not believe in this kind of fighting " Deborah Amos is the author of Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East  Meanwhile Nizar Latif (The National) reports that distrust is a common reaction to the new government in Baghdad and quotes high school teacher Hussein Abed Mohammad stating, "Promises were made that trustworthy, competent people would be ministers this time around, but it looks as if everything has just been divided out according to sectarian itnerests  No attention has been paid to forming a functioning government, it is just a political settlement of vested interests  I'm sure al Maliki will have the same problems in his next four years as he had in the last four years " Days away from the ten months mark, Nouri managed to finally end the stalemate  Some try to make sense of it and that must have been some office party that the editorial board of the Washington Post is still coming down from judging by "A good year in Iraq " First up, meet the new Iraqi Body Count -- an organization that provides cover for the war and allows supporters of the illegal war to point to it and insist/slur "Things aren't so bad!" Sure enough, the editorial board of the Post does just that noting the laughable "civilian deaths" count at iCasualities  As we noted -- long, long before we walked away from that crap ass website, they're not doing a civilian count  They're noting how many deaths Reuters reports 
Context 3: 
Temple closed on Jersey prospect Jarred Alwan  That's a big coup considering how hard BC went after him 
Former Eagle Steve Hailey now coaches on the Boston AAU circuit  Maybe that will help us with local talent 
BC still has interest in Ohio RB Keith Watkins 
Labels: Kevin Pierre-Louis, Links, Phil Steele, Steve Hailey
No King at BC may be a good thing
Nearly everything that needs to be said about Penn State and Joe Paterno has been said  But one point that Bruce Feldman made regarding College Football's King culture reminded me of how different BC is from most FBS schools  We don't and never have had a "King " I've often longed for that iconic winner that could serve as the face of the program, but maybe it is better that we don't  For whatever we miss by not having a "Woody" or a "JoePa" or "Bear" we also avoid the power struggles and corruption that often comes with an all-powerful Head Coach 
What does a King really provide anyway? Branding   a little nostalgia   someone to embrace  But it doesn't really win you football games or make you a better school  Florida State's losing in the final Bowden years proved that and Penn State has a permanent stain on their whole community because of their Kingdom 
BC's had some dynamic leaders, but none have ever stayed long enough to reach statue status  Our winningest coach and longest tenured even left and no one put up a fight to keep him  TOB could have been our icon  A little more fire and one or two more critical wins and we would have celebrated him like other schools have done with their biggest winners  But it wasn't to be and that's probably a good thing 
When I've profiled coaching candidates in the past, I've hoped that one would stay for a long time  That's changed  I don't want a guy who want to be bigger than the University  Things are better that way 
Labels: Bruce Feldman, college football, penn state, TOB
Key Players for 2012: Emmett Cleary
This is a series on the key players for the 2012 season  Big things are expected for some, while others will need to improve over their previous performances  If 2012 is a good year, it will be in part to the key players overachieving 
Senior Offensive Tackle, Emmett Cleary
What he's been: A long-time starter and one of the leaders on offense  Cleary has played on both sides of the line and at both guard and tackle  When he first arrived, Jags said that he could be the next Costanzo  Tall and lean (for a lineman) Cleary's been a consistent contributor like Costanzo (playing in 36 games and starting 26) yet he's never been the consistently great like Costanzo  How much of Cleary's occasional mistakes or setback are due to talent, coaching or the offense? I think it's been a bit of everything 
What he needs to be: Good isn't good enough anymore  Cleary takes on the big responsibility of left tackle this year  Rettig has been running for his life the past three years  If the offense is ever going to take off, they need to improve pass protection  That will start with Cleary  And in the ACC, he'll be facing some of the top defensive linemen in the country on a weekly basis  Cleary's always been good with speed guys on the edge  He'll also need to improve on run blocking  If Martin uses more stretches and zones like Logan, that will leave Cleary often sealing off edges on run plays 
Why I like his chances to shine: We've seen offensive lineman make huge leaps from season to season before  Part of it is maturing into their bodies and understanding the position  But a lot is coaching  I think Cleary has been underserved in that department  Even if Bollman is not some OL guru, I think Cleary playing in a more pass happy, up tempo offense will play to his strengths  I think his leadership position and the coaching staff's confidence in him will make him shine at LT  I think he will live up to his potential and have multiple games where he dominates and plays mistake free football  Plus he still has the NFL on his horizon  If he can perform at an elite level, he can jump up from a late round afterthought to a high-round pick 
I think if Cleary stays healthy, he shoot up draft boards  If BC's offense breaks out of its doldrums he'll be named an all conference player 
Labels: 2012 Preview, emmett cleary, Jim Bollman, Key Players
BC using coordinators as face(s) of the program?
BC posted this "thank you" video as an invite to a special practice for season ticket holders  Notice anyone missing? It is just a silly Youtbue video but I find it very telling that the school left out the Head Coach  This is college football  Your head coach is the face of the program  Ours isn't even mentioned in a direct marketing message to our most loyal customers 
There are many likely explanations for Spaz's absence  He's not particularly good on camera  He's never really shown any sort of enthusiasm for this sort of thing  And I think BC has heard enough to know that Spaz is not very popular with our fan base  No reason to trot him out when it will just dampen excitement about the upcoming season 
I like Bill McGovern and Doug Martin  Both are capable coordinators and leaders  Martin's been a head coach and I know McGovern wants to be one, so giving them face time is not a bad idea  Let's hope they are also given autonomy this year (which hasn't been Spaz's strong suit with coordinators)  If these two are given real power, season ticket holders will probably be happy they renewed 
Labels: BC marketing, Bill McGovern, Doug Martin, fire Spaz, Speculating with Spaz, Video
Optimism from Football Outsiders and other links
I am a sucker for football analytics and I also really respect CBS's Matt Hinton  So when his ACC preview piece on Football Outsiders listed BC with a  500 record and a 3rd place finish in the division, I was pleasantly surprised  FO is betting on our returning players and the positive trends of the last few games of 2011  I still don't know what to think about the upcoming season, but my love for BC and articles like this have me looking on the bright side 
BC is sending Emmett Cleary and Kaleb Ramsey to Greensboro to represent the school during ACC media days  I think this is actually a great sign for BC and for both players  I expected Cleary to have a break out season last year  He was good, but not all conference  Maybe this year is his chance to shine and get on NFL radars  Ramsey has always had the talent  His health and attitude have been bigger issues  If he is healthy and focused this year, he will be a game changer on D 
Here is more on our newest recruit out of Cincinnati Truman Gutapfel 
Chris Pantale is on the Mackey watch list  The award is given annually to the country's best Tight End 
Beaver Country Day big man Jacquil Taylor is generating local interest  BC has yet to offer, but is following him 
BCeagles com posted a Q&A with Bobby Swiggert yesterday  I found his talk about paring down the offense encouraging  We need to work on execution not diversity of plays 
HD put out this offseason filler piece ranking coaching jobs in the ACC  I don't really care where she perceives us  When the job changes we will be very attractive to the right guy for us 
Labels: Bobby Swigert, Chris Pantale, emmett cleary, Heather Dinich, Kaleb Ramsey, Links, Recruiting, Truman Gutapfel
Where is the one that got away?
While we've struggled recruiting Massachusetts players this year, we've cleaned up in Connecticut and in Ohio  Those local kids (or other lay-up recruits) we miss generate plenty of frustration but they happen every year  What's fortunate about our misses though, is that very few have come back to haunt us  When was the last time a great recruit spurned BC and became a star? I can think of a few over the years, but most of the recruits that "got away" had middling careers elsewhere 
Some recent examples of guys who spurned us include Graham Stewart, Arthur Lynch and Joe Boisture  All three committed to BC at one point only to rethink their decisions and go to bigger programs  Stewart washed out at Florida and is now sitting out a transfer year at UConn  Boisture is out of football altogether  Lynch has been a backup at Georgia  He has a chance for a bigger role this season, but so far has not lived up to the hype that surrounded his recruitment  Even with our terrible offense, Chris Pantale has had a much more productive Tight End career 
The closest thing I can think of to a recent recruit who had success elsewhere is Virginia OT Oday Aboushi  But should he even count? He didn't spurn BC  Our admissions office turned him down after he verbaled to BC  Prior to that, you would have to go back to Dorian Bryant  But like Aboushi, his case was less about being seduced by a bigger, flashier program and more about not meeting BC's minimum standards for admissions at one point in time 
Where these guys all over-hyped by the recruiting services? Where they wrong fits at their post-BC choices? I don't know  I do think a program like BC is probably more patient with players than some of the bigger programs  We won't rush a guy out of the program to free up a scholarship  We prefer to redshirt  And I think the nature of a program -- with good academic support and less of a big school mentality -- keeps kids from falling through the cracks  Every recruit thinks they are going to be a star, so selling them on development and a safety net doesn't sway many, but it should  If anything BC should use a guy like Marcus Grant -- a local kid who left a Big Ten program to come "home" as an example to Massachusetts recruits  Massachusetts kids keep leaving to play at the "highest level " Our counter should be that we will develop them for life and the NFL (the real highest level) and not chew them up and spit them out like a football factory 
I am sure that there will be a guy in the near future who decommits from BC and becomes a star  Or a guy we should have had who leads another team to glory  Right now I am just glad that we have very few regrets when it comes to old recruits  Our recruiting still has major challenges, but that's one area where things have broken our way 
[Note to commentors: let me know if you think I missed any recruits who "got away "]
Labels: Graham Stewart, Joe Boisture, mike siravo, Recruiting, Spaz recruiting
Key Players for 2012: Kevin Pierre-Louis
Junior Linebacker, Kevin Pierre-Louis
What he's been: BC's second-leading tackler  On most teams KPL would already be a star  But he played next to college football's tackling machine  There wasn't much room for headlines or an extra tackle with Luke Kuechly doing so much  Pierre-Louis also missed three games last year and played through pain in others  When healthy, he showed great anticipation and was a very solid tackler  In a way, he's a lot like Kuechly 
What he needs to be: KPL needs to be more of a game changer  He's got the speed and instincts to do it  Also, his role won't be in the middle, so he can take chances that Kuechly could not  Ideally he'd have a season like Herzy's 2008  Where on one play he's blitzing the QB and on the next he's running a fumble back  While our scheme has defined much of the defensive success the past five years, we've also benefited from great individual performances  To be great again, we need someone with the tools like KPL to become elite 
Why I like his chances to shine: KPL played really well in the first half of 2011  If he had stayed healthy, he would've been all conference  There's no reason he can't be even better this year  We'll miss Kuechly, but the defensive line might be better this year -- that will create more opportunities for big plays from Pierre-Louis  I also like his stats  His tackles for loss and pass break ups in a shortened season give me hope that he'll do even more when playing in all games and playing at 100% 
I think KPL takes off this year  I think he'll be first team ACC, lead BC with over 110 tackles, and have at least two INTs and two fumble recoveries 
Labels: 2012 Preview, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Key Players
Montel Harris to Temple now officially official
Although it's been rumored and reported multiple times over the past few months, Montel Harris finally enrolled in Temple over the weekend  Supposedly the delay was due to Harris completing his academic commitments to BC  To be eligible at Temple, Montel must have completed his BC degree 
All the past comments hold true for me  I hope Montel has a great end to his career and gets his shot at the NFL  He was a pleasure to watch the past four years 
Labels: Kevin Rogers, Montel Harris, Ryan Day, Temple
What would Spaz need to do to hold on?
I've been speculating about new coaches all summer, but what if Spaz actually pulls through? Crystal Ball Run thinks it could happen  Ultimately it will come down to our record  In my opinion, this is how it would play out  Let me know your thoughts in the comments 
4-8 or worse   
Spaz is gone  Back to back 8 loss seasons would be too much  The diehards are already calling for his head  Another embarrassing and hard to watch season would kill goodwill among the casual BC fans 
8-4 or better   
Spaz is safe  We have the talent and the schedule to be this good  I don't think it will happen, but if it does we will see Year 5 of the Spaz era 
6 or 7 wins   
Spaz "retires " He gets his money  He gets to go out with a winning record  He saves face  This is probably the best outcome for everyone 
This is the unknown in my opinion  I could see the powers that be wanting to keep him one more year  Especially if we end on a high note 
Labels: Coach Flip is running the show, fire Spaz, Speculating with Spaz
Coaches to Watch this fall Part 3: Current Defensive Coordinators
BC has turned to college coordinators in the past to step up as Head Coach  While there is risk with any hire, the nice thing about a rising coordinator is that they've usually proven themselves adapt at one phase of the game and you have the chance to hire the next great football mind  Plus most coordinators come in hungry and hard working, looking to make the most of their first chance as a head coach  Because Spaz is a a defensive coach, I am sure BC fans will want a replacement with an offensive background, but that doesn't mean we should overlook these guys 
Pat Narduzzi
Defensive Coordinator, Michigan State
Until Bruce Feldman dropped his name as a Spaz replacement, I don't think many BC fans were even thinking about Narduzzi  On paper he's a very solid candidate  He's got BCS experience at Michigan State  The Spartans love him and recently gave him a huge raise  While they haven't been elite, I like what Michigan State has done under Dantonio (and Narduzzi)  They overachieve given their talent base and work hard on the recruting front  Because of his stops in Cincinnati and growing up in northeast Ohio, Narduzzi has ties to our important midwest recruiting territories  What I like most about him as a candidate is his time at Rhode Island  I don't think our new head coach needs ties to BC, but I do think it helps if he comes in with an understanding of what BC is and can be  If you've coached at URI, you know what New England football is like  You know about the difference in fan interest and the space crunch BC is under  And you'll know that BC can be successful with the right coaching 
What to Watch for in 2012: How high Narduzzi's profile rises  He interviewed for head coaching jobs last year  If Michigan State continues to improve and Narduzzi earns more accolades, other schools will have interest 
Mark Stoops
Defensive Coordinator, Florida State
Normally I would worry about the fit of a guy like Stoops  He's coming from a football factory  His last name brings some good and bad baggage  But I do think there are some strong pluses in his candidacy at BC  Like Narduzzi, Stoops has deep ties to the Ohio Catholic high school circuit  He also has a good understanding of the ACC landscape after stops in Miami and Florida State  His FSU defenses still begin with the 4-3, so he could take our current roster and install his own system  Although the Stoops name isn't a household name in Boston, his track record, name and personality would be an easy sell to the BC faithful 
What to Watch for in 2012: How Florida State handles their expectations  If this is the year they finally return to being "Florida State" Stoops will get much of the credit and be a hot name  Even if they are good, not great, he's still viable at BC 
Defensive Coordinator, Texas
Due to his unusual path into coaching and his sudden rise, Diaz is a very hot name among coordinators  Aside from his time coaching at other ACC schools, there's not much tying him to BC  But I think his ability to recruit, his Xs and Os and the ability to be the face of the program deserve consideration  Diaz is young, but serving as a coordinator at Texas is a good proving ground  Mack Brown is in CEO mode, so his coordinators do much of the heavy lifting  It's great preparation for making the jump to head coach 
What to Watch for in 2012: TOB's potential retirement  Diaz is one of the names on many NC State wish lists  If TOB steps down, some in their fan base will make a big push for Diaz to return to Raleigh 
Defensive Coordinator, Notre Dame
Diaco is one of the most relentless recruiters in college football  If he took over at BC, I think we could upgrade our talent quickly  The New Jersey native has plenty of ACC experience and has recruited at schools with academic restrictions  I don't love his scheme (3-4) and have a few concerns about his defenses being good but never dominant  But he would be a very good fit at BC and worth the risk 
What to Watch for in 2012: An Irish implosion  Although his seat is not as hot as Spaz's, Kelly needs to win this year  If he's fired, we can't hire his fired defensive coordinator  The perception would be terrible among fans and recruits 
Labels: Bob Diaco, Coach Flip is running the show, Coaches to Watch, fire Spaz, Manny Diaz, Mark Stoops, Pat Narduzzi, Speculating with Spaz
More people to follow
A little over a month ago, I posted a few BC related names that you should follow  Now, I have a few more   
BC Hockey Blog: twitter and blog  The diehard hockey fans already follow, but for those more casual BC hockey fans, this is a good place to keep up with our best team 
Warren K  Zola: twitter  BC's Assistant Dean of Graduate programs is pretty plugged into the student athlete scene at BC  He contributes to the Huffington Post on Sports Law, sports news and College Sports 
Lou Imbriano: twitter  The former Patriots executive and current BC professor tweets about a variety of sports and sports marketing news  In my opinion, BC should be leaning on him more with regards to how we market our programs 
BC Che Chi's: twitter  A parody account that only a BC alum would understand  Parody accounts are tough to sustain, but I look forward to Che Chi's contributions come football season 
Justin Rowland: twitter  The Rivals recruiting writer is breaking more and more BC news lately  If you follow recruiting, you should probably follow Rowland 
Labels: BC Hockey, BC voices, follow, twitter, Warren Zola
Pass the Van Nest koolaid and other links
The Globe's feature on 5th year basketball transfer Andrew Van Nest has me fired up  Aside from being a good story, what if this kid can actually play? I know he didn't see the court much at Harvard, but do you trust Tommy Amaker when it comes to managing a roster? The best part of the Van Nest situation is that there is no risk to BC  If he doesn't pan out, he is gone within a year  But who knows, maybe he can give us 10 minutes a game  We need another big body and 6'11 with shooting touch translates into most leagues 
Earlier in the week, the ACC locked in a deal with the Orange Bowl  There is still plenty of conjecture about what it means but there are some strong points in the deal  First the ACC will be able to sell the media rights  That gives us the chance to earn similar dollars to the Big Four conferences  Second, the Orange Bowl will be a New Year's Day game  That's huge as it should help travel and ticket sales  Finally Notre Dame will have an affiliation to the game  One more tie to the Irish is a good thing from a TV standpoint 
Connecticut WR Dave Coggins supposedly verbaled to BC the other day  Rivals says it is not a sure thing yet  BC offered a scholarship to Ohio Dlineman Truman Gutapfel  BC is hoping to get two Florida targets as a packaged deal 
Another Cincinnati-area BC target Evan Jansen committed to Indiana  BC also lost out to California offensive lineman Alex Redmond  Florida LB Nick Internicola seemed like a solid BC target, but he committed to Rutgers earlier this week 
Matt Humphrey is adjusting to his third college team 
Parker Milner has impressed the Bruins at their developmental camp 
Labels: Andrew Van Nest, Dave Coggins, Links, Matt Humphrey, Orange Bowl, Parker Milner, Truman Gutapfel
History Lesson: the Eagle
In honor of the 4th of July, I thought it might be a good time to revisit one of the symbols BC shares with our great nation: the eagle 
Although the Eagle is now synonymous with BC through statues and other references on campus, we were without an official mascot during our first few decades  In 1920 the Heights published a cartoon showing a cat licking a plate of its sports rivals  Yes, we could have been the "Cats " While that would have inspired plenty of nicknames and unique imagery, Father McLaughlin didn't think a cat was the proper representative for our university  He suggested the eagle due to its majesty, power and freedom  We officially became the "Eagles" that same year 
Contrary to millions of sports writers' work, we are not the "golden eagles " And despite Baldwin's looks and name we are not the "bald eagles" either 
Two other FBS programs also use the eagle as their mascot  Like us Eastern Michigan is just the Eagles  Southern Mississippi uses Golden Eagles 
I can't find any evidence that McLaughlin wanted to tie BC's symbols to those of the United States, but it is a nice connection 
Labels: Angry Chicken Logo, Baldwin, bc history, BC logo, U-S-A, We are BC
More Turf news
This is bordering on overkill, but I am going all in   
The good people at AstroTurf have premiered a live video feed of the Alumni Stadium turf installation  Now instead of spending your holiday week outdoors with family and friends, you can watch as synthetic grass is laid down in Chestnut Hill 
Labels: Alumni Stadium renovations, Astro Turf, grass, Turf
Keep fighting the good fight Lax diehards!
AJ's tweet brought the following comments on BC's Facebook page to my attention  After BC posted an update on the new field, Gene and Spaz's critics took to Facebook to vent  The usual complaints about both guys, tailgating and the state of the program filled the discussion  But what stood out to me was one simple comment from Connor Wilson: "bring back lacrosse " I don't share the BC Lax community's mission, but I respect their passion  Lacrosse is never coming back, but that doesn't mean BC shouldn't hear about it every day 
Labels: bring back lacrosse, Coach Flip is running the show, Gene D, Lacrosse
Anderson interview and other links
BCeagles com posted a Q&A with Ryan Anderson  He talked about his summer break and his new teammates  Hopefully the new guys are as far along as Anderson feels they are 
HD is banking on our experience as a reason we could surprise people this year 
BC keeps hitting Ohio prospects hard  The latest target is Cinci LB Marcus Oliver 
Here is more on future Eagle Dan Monteroso  Monteroso also generated some interest from basketball schools  Maybe Spaz will let him play basketball in the Spring 
This matrix took a different look at the Hot Seat issue  With regards to losing and underachieving, Spaz is not as bad as some of the bigger names on the list 
Former eagles Carolyn Swords and Molly Schaus discussed how Title IX impacted their sporting careers 
Labels: Carolyn Swords, Dan Monteroso, fire Spaz, HD, Hot Seat, Links, Marcus Oliver, Ryan Anderson
NFL attendance problems a lesson for BC
BC's faced some attendance issues the past few years  We like to blame the tailgating or Spaz or the schedule, but the reality is there are multiple factors  Just look at the attendance issues facing the most popular league in American sports -- the NFL  If they can't get butts in the seats, how can BC? The NFL has a few different solutions in play  Perhaps, BC can learn from them 
Fewer Seats
The NFL is lowering the bar, so that blackout rules don't require sellouts  Blackouts are not an issue in college, but perhaps few seats will help demand and make Alumni seem full  I don't want to tear out seats, but maybe we can replace the bleachers with actual seats  That would take up more space, eliminate seats and improve the watching experience 
The internet has added fluidity to the ticket market  It used to be BC fans would buy season ticket packages to assure themselves Notre Dame tickets or some other desirable game  Now most know that they can buy the game they want without committing to others they don't  One way to win them back is to lower the investment  BC will miss out on the mark up of the premium games, but at least they will have more people invest in a whole season  BC is indirectly doing this already with their discounts of the less desirable games  If the NFL is lowering prices on parking and concessions, BC should also explore it  Like the NFL we are getting more and more money from TV  Why not make the ingame experience more affordable 
In-game experience
This has been discussed ad nauseum, but needs to be looked at again  I don't think it is as simple as the NFL's push for wireless  We need the game day experience to be inviting from the moment the gates open to the moment the last fan is leaving  It is about the music, the ushers, the video boards, the halftime, the activities during commercial breaks  I don't want BC to turn into a barrage of nonsense, but we can do more 
I don't go to many BC games  That's mostly because of my location  But I also like the watching the game in my home  The convenience, the visuals, and the costs all factor into my decision  But live sports is still a great experience   especially college football  I just hope BC doesn't wait around until the Alumni is empty 



ground_truth: The main topic of the text is Iraq's politics and current situation.

prompt_front: Now, answer the following question based on the text below, only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: When will BC leave Boston?

Read the following text and answer briefly.

Context 4:  (he wrote to his mother, and referred to his one-year old son Houston and the baby his wife Mabel was about to have: they were staying with his mother in the US)    That night, L  started to feel chilled as the fever came on  He never went to sleep but worked at his desk all through the night, trying to get all the information about the mosquitoes organized  By morning, he showed all the signs of a severe attack of yellow fever  The camp doctors made the diagnosis, and L  agreed to go to the yellow fever ward    L  was carried by litter out of the two-room, white pine board house in which he had lived since he and Mabel first arrived in Cuba    (In the yellow fever ward, in a separate one-room building), Lena Warner (the immune nurse who had survived the yellow fever in 1878, when she was nine, and was found in her boarded-up house by a former slave who first thought she was dead, and carried her to safety) nursed J L , recording his vitals  (I put up a link to his case record and vital signs last week  The surgeon general required that this record be made for every yellow fever patient )    (On September 25,) Lena Warner braced L's arms with all of her weight, shouting for help  Still he bolted from the bed, darting around the small frame-wood room as wildly as a trapped insect beating against glass  Two soldiers ran into the ward, pinning L to his bed, tying restraints around his wrists and elbows    Warner sponged his body with iced whiskey and water  She recorded his temperature, which had held at 104 degrees for days, on the chart beside his bed    (Warner watched him sleep ) But the quiet did not last  L's body began to lurch, and black vomit rolled from his mouth; through the bar hanging above his hospital cot  He writhed in the bed, and his skin grew deep yellow  His 104 temperature slowly fell, leveling out 99 degrees, and JL died at 8:45 p m  at the age of thirty-four "
As is obvious, there are many problems with vaccines  But, that being said, most of them usually work for a period of time to prevent the targeted diseases  The basic science behind vaccines is correct  Why do you think that within a few years (not many) of the introduction of the vaccines for them, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, Hib disease, and chickenpox (and others) almost entirely disappeared? In the case of the routine childhood diseases, this was a bad thing, but it is a true thing 
Vaccines usually don't cause any obvious reactions  While they usually prevent the diseases, and that's why people continue to get them  With the increasing vaccination schedule, more and more are severely and permanently damaged, and it is immoral to mandate any vaccine for anyone for this reason  But it would also be immoral to prohibit vaccines for those who want them enough to take the risk 
Your article said as though it had any probative value that 90% of those who get pertussis had been vaxxed  The old DPT vaccine was MUCH more effective at preventing pertussis, but it was so dangerous (again, not to most, but to many), that developed countries replaced it with the acellular version, DTaP  From the beginning about twenty years ago, it was clear that it was not very effective and that huge numbers of vaxxed people got pertussis anyway, including my daughter who got pertussis at eight month old after having gotten three DTaPs  The pertussis vaccine continues to be very dangerous, and I do not recommend that anyone get it  It used to be a killer disease, but evolved to become much milder, to the extent that the disease is very rarely dangerous (usually only to newborns under three months old), while the vaccine is very dangerous  And they're trying to see how they can go back to the old DPT  This does not show that vaccine science has collapsed, but rather that the vaccine they developed to replace the DPT turned out to be much less effective than they first thought, while continuing to be much more dangerous than they first thought 
Your article extrapolated from that that modern medical science in general has collapsed, but that, again, is going too far  A older woman in Mexico City who is like my mother to me had a pacemaker inserted about two months ago to aid her failing heart, and it has restored her to optimism and energy, when she was despondent, weak, and close to death  I took my daughter to the dentist yesterday, who said she has three wisdom teeth coming in and that she said that the lower right one was sore  So, although I am cautious about X-rays, I made an appointment for a panoramic X-ray in a month to assess the wisdom teeth, and, if it seems appropriate, I'll take her to an oral surgeon to have one or more extracted under IV sedation, in his office, if possible (the dentist thought that it would be)  And I am confident that there will be no serious problems, but this is thanks to technology and training in modern medicine that haven't been available for that long 
I think that everyone should inform himself on all medical procedures before agreeing to anything, but I also think that he should have access to any medical procedure which is reasonable (and opinions can differ as to that) 
One problem is that you have not said how you think people should protect themselves against tetanus, bacterial meningitis, and yellow fever in the relevant cases, for example  These are diseases which healthy, well-nourished people used to die from very readily 
If most people stopped vaxxing and the mortality from these diseases rose to something like pre-vaccine levels, do you think they should just accept dying from them?
I put that in a separate paragraph because it is the crucial issue 
balinaheuchter Air Traffic Control You Tube - Colin Campbell example of - How to "Fudge a Nudge" -"Deal" or "No Deal" "Not in a month of Sundays" "No exceptions/no compromise?" -make a trade off -do an exception- everyone get's a good deal /good outcome!
Hans, you are right that we are looking at one of the biggest crimes in all history  When I read the story of that poor girl who was so healthy and is now confined to a wheelchair after getting her third Gardasil shot I could not believe that Merck could produce such a toxic vaccine and give it out to girls like it was something they absolutely had to have only to be mislead and made into cripples  Merck should be prosecuted for the damage they have done to so many girls who got the Gardasil vaccine and were physically debilitated for life  There is a place for the people who perpetrated this crime on young girls and women and it is called hell  They have destroyed people's lives and gotten away with it  My heart goes out to those who have suffered this damage for no damn good reason except to help make huge profits for Merck!
Here is the reason that the germ theory is nonsense 
1) Everyday we are bombarded with billions of germs  Presumably at least some of them are of the kind that germ theorists believe are dangerous (otherwise we would have to conclude that none of them are dangerous)  So how do we survive?
2) Let's just say that we ignore 1 and imagine that, by way of magic, none of the billions of viruses we get bombarded with are pathogenic but all those that are are tucked away somewhere  Ok  But presumably they reside in sick people right? So where are there lots of sick people? Doctor offices and hospitals! So everybody must be dying the moment they enter these places right?
3) I love this one because I have never seen anybody else ever raise it  Under the germ theory there are no negative feedbacks  This makes a stable biological system by definition impossible  The immune system is *not* a negative feedback it is the opposite  It actually reinforces our math problem because the immune system will weaken as the number of pathogens increase 
There is no way of resolving this problem without a discontinuity  A Deus ex Machina as The Almighty Pill so beautifully put it  So the germ theory is quite literally, mathematically impossible 
There is as much chance of it being true as 2+2 = 5 
There are plenty of other massive problems with germ theory such as why did things like SARS and bird flu magically disappear? Why do we have the symptoms that we do? Is our body controlling the symptoms to help fight the germs and if so, why would suppressing the symptoms with antibiotics or Tamiflu be considered a good idea? If the virus is causing the symptoms then why would it cause these kinds of things?



ground_truth: August 25.