barred other professors from offering them guidance, lest they get perplexed. But even a number of Ms. Frei’s allies were being doubtful.

A existing Trainer said she was so scared of a “wardrobe malfunction” that she wore only custom made suits at school, her tops invisibly secured to her skin with double-sided tape.

Ms. Frei been promoted to dean of college recruiting, and she or he was on a quest to bolster the amount of female professors, who produced up a fifth in the tenured college. Feminine teachers, especially untenured types, had faced many difficulties through the years: uncertainty around maternity go away, an absence of chances to jot down papers with senior professors, and learners who ruined their self-assurance by pelting them with math concerns they could not solutionequity markets Monday and also sizeable falls in oil prices.

The Toronto Stock Exchange thus far Monday has also been experiencing crushing losses, as fears of a U.S.-led recession continue to mount.

The Canadian dollar, as a commodity-sensitive or cyclical currency, is commonly sold off whenever concerns about flagging global growth proliferate, though currency players may limit the Canadian unit's losses ahead of some major announcements for the Bank of Canada this week.

The central bank will announce its latest interest rate decision early Tuesday, followed two days later by its monetary policy report update.

Until then however, the Canadian dollar will likely continue to suffer from concerns that Canada's economy is being undermined by slowing growth emanating from the U.S.

"Everybody's feeling very doom-and-gloom about the North American economy," said Steve Butler,


By EUobserver

Some 1,600,324 people spent time in prison in Europe in 2014, down seven percent from 2013, according to a Council of Europe report. The rights watchdog said there were 94 inmates per 100 prison places, down from 96 in 2013. It added that one in four prisons remained overcrowded.School News

The challengers for places on the Mount Vernon ISD Board of Trustees were successful in unseating the incumbents in the May 2018 elections.

A total of 1,424 ballots were cast. Robert Taylor was the winner in the race for the Place 1 seat. Scott Newsome was the victor for Place 2, and Lynda Baird was the winner in the race for the Place 6. For voting totals, see the May 10 edition of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald.


row) to join the lead group mid-way through the first lap. From then on, he remained calm and collected, and in all honestly, rather anonymous. But with a few hundred meters left, he took the inside line through the final corner, coming around Myerson to take the win. He clearly has good form and his first UCI win will be a certain confidence boost. Perhaps he’ll venture onto the podium more times than we would have expected?

2. Adam Myerson – Myerson seemed to be in the perfect position to pick-up the win on Saturday. Leading up to the race he talked about how he felt the course suited him, and of his desire to take his first-ever UCI win. Myerson took control in the last half lap andupon his third place position. Look for Scherz to take at least one victory in Baltimore this weekend as he dials in his form for Vegas.

4. Ryan Knapp – Knapp has quietly become the King of the Midwest. He’s bounced around podiums across the country, but has rarely had consistent success outside of his home region. His best result last year was fourth at the Charm City Cross in Baltimore—his fifth place Saturday was nothing short of spectacular considering he had four mechanicals. If he can solve his technical issues, he could be a serious podium contender as the season continues.

Looking ahead, our biggest questions will be answered in Vermont this weekend where the NECCS begins with a pair of UCI races. Tim Johnson will be making his


immoral because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for everybody. Means and ends are inseparable. The means represent the ideal in the making; in the long run of history destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The road to devastation begins long before war does: it begins when nations and groups equip themselves for war. Preparing for war ensures that it will happen (though it may not be the war that's being prepared for). You might as well try preventing a forest fire by pouring petrol over the trees and then standing by with a box of matches." -Peace Pledge Union

"In fact aggression and revenge are deliberately incited to fuel war. Every war is backed by political and military propaganda which fires anger,hatred and impulses to attack and retaliate. This serves at least two purposes: it allows armies to believe in what they're doing, and seduces people into supporting their leaders' war policies." -Peace Pledge Union

"Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. This call for a world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men and women." -From The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King Jr.

"It would be some time before I fully realized that the United States sees little need for diplomacy. Power is enough. Only the weak rely


on diplomacy... The Roman Empire had no need for diplomacy. Nor does the United States." -Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former UN Secretary General

"Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception." -Mark Twain, "The Mysterious Stranger"

"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity." -Dwight David Eisenhower

"If it's natural to kill, why do men haveand author

"There have been periods of history in which episodes of terrible violence occurred but for which the word violence was never used...Violence is shrouded in justifying myths that lend it moral legitimacy, and these myths for the most part kept people from recognizing the violence for what it was. The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they though of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness. The same can be said of most of the violence we humans have ever committed." -Gil Bailie

"Youth is the first victim of war; the first fruit of peace.It takes 20 years or more of peace to make a man; it takes only 20 seconds of war to destroy


nonviolent actions in our century (the Philippines, South Africa . . . the independence movement in India . . .) the figure reaches 3,337,400,000, a staggering 65% of humanity! All this in the teeth of the assertion, endlessly repeated, that nonviolence doesn't work in the 'real' world." -Walter Wink

"God help those that bear the unfathomable sorrow of battle." -Unknown (Courtesy of Walt Cronin)Faculty and students of the Program in Applied Linguistics at Boston University seek five years of funding to support the Boston University Conference on Language Development, which takes place at Boston University during the first weekend each November from 2002 through 2006. Now in its 26th year, the conference is internationally recognized as the most important annual meeting for researchers in the areas of language acquisition and development, including first and second language acquisition, language disorders, bilingualism, and literacy development. The meeting comprises 90 submitted papers selected through peer review, as well as invited keynote and plenary speakers and a publisher exhibit. Attendees include some 400-500 researchers in language development from around the world, involving undergraduate students up through senior researchers. With this application, we seek funding to


American, a mom, and an artist, I knew I needed to do something,” she says.

So last fall, she went to Our Lady of Guadalupe in west Charlotte and offered the papalote workshop to members of the congregation. The following week, 13 children and their families showed up. As glitter and glue began to fly, a volunteer circulated around the room, typing the children’s stories on a laptop. Participants were encouraged to bring a piece of clothing that belonged to their deported family member, which they would then tear into strips to create the tail of their kite.

The delicate kites, made from sticks and tissue paper, are on display in the exhibition El Papalote Mágico / The Magic Kite at Levine Museum of the New South through February 3.among gay men and lesbians also argue against Carson’s thinking—finger length for instance. In heterosexual men, the index finger is significantly shorter than the ring finger. In straight women, the index and ring fingers are close to the same length. Lesbian finger length is often more similar to that of straight males. This, too, had been informally observed for a long time, but in 2000 a study at the University of California, Berkeley, seemed to validate it.

Lesbians also seem to have differences in the inner ear—of all unlikely places. In all people, sound not only enters the ear but leaves it, in the form of what are known as otoacoustic emissions—vibrations that are produced by the interaction of the cochlea and eardrum and can be detected by instruments.


Thibaut Courtois and his father have opened "criminal indemnification proceedings for libel and defamation" against former Belgium coach Marc Wilmots for claiming they leaked team news.

Wilmots was speaking on Qatari television when he suggested he had been told the Chelsea goalkeeper's father, Thierry, had revealed Belgium's team selections to journalists at Euro 2016.

Full screen Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois JOHN SIBLEY (REUTERS)

The former striker was dismissed after the tournament, as they were surprisingly eliminated by unfancied Wales in the quarter-finals, ensuring the talented Belgium squad were seen as having underperformed.

Wilmots, who left his role with Ivory Coast in November after failure to qualify for the World Cup, now faces a court battle, with Courtois and his father angered by the 49-year-old's claims.

Courtois wrote on Instagram: "Mr Wilmots - not forThis story appears in Wednesday's Birmingham News:

AUBURN -- Josh Bynes knew something was wrong with his teammate when he tried to help Zac Etheridge up after a tackle.

"The only thing I saw was his eyes moving," Bynes said.

Etheridge lay on the Jordan-Hare Stadium turf temporarily paralyzed and scared during Saturday's win over Ole Miss. But, three days later, the Auburn defensive back was back with his team mates in a harness-like neck brace he said he'll have to wear another three or four months because of torn ligaments and a cracked fifth vertebra.

Tuesday, he said he felt lucky he could walk.

He says he plans to play next season.

Auburn coaches have juggled their lineup since Saturday, moving cornerback Demond Washington to Etheridge's starting safety spot. But there's a lot


of experience lost and there is even more leadership gone, say his teammates.

But Tuesday wasn't for that worry.

"I played a video game with him last night," said defensive back Walter McFadden. "He's still talking trash. He's still the same Zac."

But Etheridge, a recognized voice of the team, was introspective and thankful Tuesday for a series of events that prevented a bad situation from turning worse.

It has, Etheridge said, "been a miracle."

"We feel like we can play in his honor," McFadden said.

It was an uneventful event on the play-by-play sheet. Rodney Scott ran for a yard late in the first quarter, the same Rodney Scott who committed to Auburn last year but picked Ole Miss following Auburn's coaching change.

Etheridge and Bynes made the tackle. But Etheridge had collided withMedical Center in Opelika with his parents following the ambulance.

"All moms, they don't like to see their child on the ground," Etheridge said.

Etheridge said "they were trying to hold me down" at the hospital, but showed everybody he was bouncing back. Against advice, he walked to the rest room. The doctors wanted to be sure he was OK, so they sent him to a Birmingham hospital by ambulance.

Etheridge put an optimistic spin on what he heard.

"At first the doctor gave me that 'they don't know," Etheridge said. "We got some pretty results from the MRI and the X-rays and the CAT scan -- things look up and I'll be able to play again."

Coach Gene Chizik and some teammates went to Birmingham on Sunday and visited him. He's been


texting his teammates throughout.

Tuesday, he surprised them by walking in on a team meeting.

Then he volunteered to talk to the media to thank the fans who had expressed their concern.

"I told my mom that I got messages from a lot of people," Etheridge said. "I want the world to know that I'm fine. I want to thank everybody for their prayer requests. That helped my family out."

Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs called his Ole Miss counterpart Monday to praise Scott.

Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone said he's also heard from a lot of Auburn fans.

Etheridge tried to call Scott on Tuesday to thank him for not doing anything. He missed on his first call, but did talk to Nutt and thanked him for the Rebels' sportsmanship.

Chizik said Sunday"it was one of the most amazing things I've seen" the way Scott knew not to move.

Etheridge was with his team as Tuesday's practice began. He says he's under doctor's orders not to attend Saturday's homecoming game against Furman.

"They want me on bed rest," Etheridge said.

That may be a hard pill to swallow.

"I will definitely be at the Iron Bowl," he said.


Need a fancy new book to sit on your coffee table and want to raise some money for a damn good cause while you’re at it?

Then look no further than the special percussion book, which is being released to raise money for not-for-profit mational music organisation SoundSchool. The organisation regularly holds a series of Australian music events and initiatives aiming to raise money in order to purchase musical instruments, teaching aids and tuition.

The book is the brainchild of Heath Media founder Larry Heath, who joined several delegates in a visit to an orphanage associated with SoundSchool in Delhi, India in November last year. Spurred on by his experiences, Heath was the brainchild behind a 50-page book about instruments, which has now been created to raise funds for SoundSchoolPARIS--Thousands of police protested outside France's justice ministry for the first time in decades on Wednesday to denounce a lack of resources and what they say is insufficient support from the judiciary in their daily law enforcement work. The protest was billed as the broadest showing of discontent within the police since 1983, when then Justice Minister Robert Badinter faced similar protests and accusations of laxity after gangsters killed two policemen. This time, too, the discontent came to a head a week after a prisoner who was granted a brief out-of-jail permit seriously wounded a policeman in a shootout in Seine-Saint-Denis on the northern edge of Paris. "There's real anger here," said police union representative Gregory Goupil. The police no longer felt they had the understanding of the


judiciary, and a string of recent decisions to let criminals out of jail or free suspects from custody had brought frustration to the boil. The fact that the protest was supported by the whole range of police unions and grades was interpreted by local media as a sign that Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, often accused of refusing to adopt a harsh-enough line on law and order, was in danger of losing her job. Beyond the protest in Paris' chic Place Vendome square - home to the justice minister's office and occasionally the scene of heists at luxury jewellery shops - rallies were also being organised in other parts of the country. Former Prime Minister Francois Fillon joined the fray to take a dig at Socialist President Francois Hollande.than tranquilizers. In fact, games offer dramatic benefits for all children, but especially for children who are ill and have restricted opportunities for benefits from other sources. Child's Play, Ben's Game, game designers, and gamers across the world are showing that video games help people.

The Penny Arcade webcomic artists Gabe and Tycho started Child's Play. Child's Play sponsors children's hospitals so that gamers, geeks, and other involved citizens can directly purchase games for children in hospitals. Certainly a noble cause in its own right, what's even more impressive is that Child's Play has raised nearly a million dollars over the past three years and it collects no administrative fees-all of the money and games go directly to children in hospitals. Child's Play is expanding this year to include


requested an online game to help other children who were battling cancer like him. LucasArts software engineer Eric Johnston worked with Ben to develop a game and the game, entitled "Ben's Game" was subsequently released online. "Ben's Game" has now been downloaded by over a hundred-thousand people and translated into nine languages. The Dalai Lama even honored Ben and Eric on November 6 as two "Unsung Hero of Compassion."

Where Child's Play and Ben's Game focus on sick children in particular, video games offer benefits for all players in general. As gamers we already know this, but we need to spread the word so that nongamers also know about the benefits that games offer. Getting involved with Child's Play or sharing the benefits of gaming with a friend orWasps have announced the signing of hooker Tommy Taylor from Aviva Premiership rivals Sale Sharks.

Taylor will join the Ricoh Arena outfit ahead of next season after the Sharks acquired Rob Webber from Bath.

The 24-year-old has made 93 appearances for Sale and also represented England in the non-cap games against the Barbarians in 2014 and 2015.

"We're really pleased to be able to add Tommy to the squad for next season. He is a really exciting English prospect who has impressed in the Aviva Premiership and in Europe this season with his dynamic physicality," Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said.

"At 24, he is a young front-row forward who has a bright future ahead of him, with huge potential to develop and push his international ambitions.

Taylor added: "I'm really pleased


machine and the combustion engine. The stored electric power is used later for operation of the vehicle.
A gearbox in a hybrid vehicle may comprise a planetary gear. The planetary gearbox usually comprises three components, which are rotatably arranged in relation to each other, namely a sun wheel, a planetary wheel carrier and an internal ring gear. With knowledge about the number of cogs in the sun wheel and the internal ring gear, the mutual speeds of the three components may be determined during operation. One of the components of the planetary gear may be connected with an output shaft in a combustion engine. This component of the planetary gear thus rotates with a rotational speed corresponding to the rotational speed of the output shaft in the combustion engine.successful at being used as a money launderer)

Tim Cook is just doing what he needs to do for his company.

Now that the world is laughing at us, feels pity for us, or are just smirking as they watch what Trump is doing to our country, events are turning for the worse as the man in the White House is loosing his mind.

The shocking thing is not that Trump is what he is, this world is full of crazy people, it is that there is a political party willing to sell out their party, and country, to back whatever Trump does and says.

offering to buy a sovereign nation of Greenland on a crappy social media site

insults Prime Minister of Denmark

silent on North Korea shooting missiles

one week after attempting to


according to the Dove Promotions homepage.

I last wrote about my concerns about Open Doors and Dove Promotions in March 2015: https://dralexmay.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/stafford-or-stamford-lincs/. There I summarised multiple unsuccessful attempts to discover fundraising costs, including contacting Andy Pilley, the chairman of Fleetwood Town Football Club, who has conducted prize draws for Dove Promotions. (Dove Promotions is based in Thornton-Cleveleys, part of the Blackpool Urban Area.) How much of the £2.50 prize draw ticket price goes to charity Open Doors? Mr Pilley also declined to answer the legitimate question, not replying to emails at the end of 2014.

On 16 March 2015, I sent a reminder to Col Owen after hearing nothing four weeks later. Still no reply. I then wrote for the third and last time, 10 June 2015. There I stateda DEA expert.  The results of both tests indicated that appellants were truthful in denying the assaults.  The agents refused to submit to polygraph examination.  The DEA concluded that further investigation was not necessary and that a case of perjury had not been made.  The trial judge was advised of the foregoing, and appellants' motion for new trial was granted.  On retrial before a different judge, Hitchmon and Fussell again were convicted of the assault offense.  This appeal followed.

4
Fussell was an employee of Pan Am at the Miami International Airport; Hitchmon was an acquaintance of Fussell.  The DEA learned that a large shipment of marijuana had arrived at the airport and was being stored in Pan Am's cargo warehouse.  A


narcotics surveillance was ordered in an attempt to apprehend and arrest the owners, who were unknown to the DEA.  During the early morning hours of April 25, 1975, DEA special agents Herbert Williams and John Andrejko were watching the warehouse from their car parked nearby.  To avoid detection, they were lying on the car seats.  According to the agents' testimony, three black males, appellants and a Vincent Hall,1 drove up in a green Volkswagen and parked approximately ten feet away.  Hitchmon and Hall, they said, got out of the Volkswagen and approached the agents' car, while Fussell remained behind.  Hall, their testimony continued, tapped on their car window with a shotgun and ordered them to get out at gunpoint; Hitchmon, meanwhile, stood infront of the DEA car with a .380 automatic pistol leveled at the agents.  Fussell, still in the Volkswagen, also pointed a revolver at them, according to the agents.

5
Agent Andrejko then heard someone say " '(t)hat's not who we thought it is,' " and Hitchmon and Hall ran back to the Volkswagen and drove off.  Record, vol. 6, at 278.  The agents gave pursuit with drawn guns, identified themselves, and ordered the Volkswagen driver to stop.  When the three occupants got out, the Volkswagen slowly rolled forward, revealing on the ground the weapons we have described.  Hitchmon, Fussell and Hall were placed under arrest for assault on federal officers.

6
The appellants had a different account of the events.  Fussell testified that they went


to the airport to help one of Fussell's Pan Am coworkers fix his automobile.  Fussell had been informed earlier that night that a cargo of marijuana was in the Pan Am warehouse, and the appellants and Hall went there hoping to discover who might claim it.  Their plan was to follow the shipment and steal it the moment that it was left unguarded.  Shortly after arriving at the surveillance point, Fussell made a nature call near the DEA car (the three had been drinking beer earlier in the evening).  When Fussell got back into the Volkswagen, the DEA agents gave chase and made the arrests.  The appellants vehemently denied ever brandishing or pointing any weapons at the agents, claiming that the agents' storysurveillance at the Miami airport, and Ostrowsky had the assignment of coordinating the DEA and customs radio frequencies during the surveillance.  He testified at trial that he heard a transmission from the DEA agents' car indicating that someone was tapping on the window with a shotgun.  In his report made a short time after the appellants' arrests, however, he made no mention of any such transmission.  It was not until the DEA investigation, nearly two years later, of appellants' allegations of perjury that Ostrowsky said anything about this radio transmission.

9
The trial judge permitted defense counsel to ask Ostrowsky, on cross-examination, why his initial report contained no account of the transmission and why the fact of the transmission did not surface until two years had passed.


of the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
II. Application of the tax to these receipts would be violative of the equal protection provisions of both state and federal Constitutions, as broadcasters similarly situated are tax exempt.
We affirm the decision and order of the Commissioner.

I.

VIOLATION OF COMMERCE CLAUSE
Stipulated facts relevant to taxpayer's first argument are:
(1) Taxpayer is a New Mexico corporation engaged in the publication of a newspaper in Farmington, New Mexico.
(2) Taxpayer maintains no office or other place of business outside New Mexico.
(3) Part of taxpayer's income is derived from printing advertisements which are part of national advertising campaigns by foreign marketers of goods and services.
(4) Taxpayer's receipts from advertisements as in (3) are received pursuant to contracts made outside New Mexico, between advertisers and solicitation representativesfrom the sale of advertising space to advertiser not engaged in business in New Mexico as the radio and television broadcasters in the state are presently granted."
By reference to the stipulation of facts, taxpayer says that it derives its income partly from advertisements placed by advertisers not engaged in business in New Mexico. Radio and television broadcasters in New Mexico likewise derive their 1income partly from broadcasting programs supplied to them by national network broadcasting companies from outside New Mexico, under circumstances where the advertising sponsor is not engaged in business in New Mexico, and also from spot advertising programs supplied to the stations by advertisers and their agencies located outside the state. The Commissioner imposes gross receipts tax on taxpayer upon these receipts but does not impose


such tax on the particular receipts of radio and television broadcasters.
Taxpayer argues that it and the radio and television broadcasters of the state are similarly situated in all respects pertinent to their tax liability, and are in direct competition with each other. Upon this basis, taxpayer contends that imposition of the tax upon its receipts, while the receipts of radio and television broadcasters are not taxed, constitutes arbitrary and discriminatory treatment or classification of the taxpayer in violation of the equal protection clauses of the state and Federal Constitutions. The taxpayer claims no discriminatory classification in the language of the statute. The discrimination claimed and violation of the equal protection clauses according to it rests in the interpretation and enforcement of the law by the Commissioner.
Section 72-16A-14.10, N.M.S.A.Excel macros in support of gene array analysis were conceived by PW and written by Nithya Raveendran. The creation of the mice was supported in part by the Intramural Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health. Breeding and shipping of *Slc26a4*^+/+^and *Slc26a4*^-/-^mice from Emory University was funded by grant NIH-R01-DK52935 to SW. Breeding of the mice at KSU and the work reported in this paper was supported by grant NIH-R01-DC01098 to PW from the National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health. The Confocal Core and the Molecular Biology Core at KSU were funded by NIH-P20-RR017686 from the National Institute for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health.


Over 1,000 vehicles on display at Chicago Auto Show

This year's Chicago Auto Show features nearly 1,000 cars, trucks, SUVs and crossovers on display throughout one million square feet.

It also features three indoor test tracks (Jeep, Toyota, Kia) and six outdoor ride-and-drives.

Chairman of the Chicago Auto Show John Hennessy stopped by ABC 7 to talk about everything happening at this year's show.

According to one manufacturer executive, "The Chicago Auto Show not only jumpstarts car sales for the region, but it helps stimulate automotive purchases across the entire country." Chicago outperforms other shows in reaching car buyers.

Chicago Auto Show Date: Feb. 10-19, 2018Hours: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. (except the final day when the show closes at 8 p.m.)Address: McCormick PlaceAdmission: Tickets are available at our McCormick Place ticket boothsKruger National Park

General Birding

Kruger has a list of over 500 species, some of which are not to be found elsewhere in South Africa. Hornbills, Starlings, Vultures, Rollers, Bee-eaters and Shrikes typify the ubiquitous avi-fauna and birders can look forward to pursuing the big 6 (Saddle-billed Stork, Kori Bustard, Martial Eagle, Lappet-faced Vulture, Pel's Fishing-Owl and Ground Hornbill). The far north of the park (Pafuri and Punda Maria regions) is regarded as one of the birding Mecca's of the country (with many regional rarities to be found), yet birding throughout the entire park is excellent. Eagles are common: Bateleur, Martial, Black-chested Snake, Brown Snake, African Hawk, African Fish and Tawny are all regularly seen, and in summer: Wahlberg's, Steppe, Lesser Spotted. The Park's numerous water points make for excellent


looked for in the camp and like most camps in the central and northern parts of the park Mourning Dove is particularly prominent. The camp's Red-headed Weavers are unusually bold (they nest adjacent the petrol station and in front of the restaurant. The riverbed usually hosts a wide range of herons, storks and waders. Look carefully for Greater Painted Snipe.

The Matambeni Bird Hide on the northern bank of Engelhard Dam is a good place to watch water birds. On the south bank of the dam, near the dam wall Collared (Redwinged) Pratincoles appear annually and can sometimes be seen from the rest camp.

The Masorini Ruins close to the Phalaborwa Gate is a good venue to view Yellow-throated Petronia (Sparrow), Mocking Cliff-Chat and Red-headed Weaver. The nearby Sable Damspecies in the park. It has resident Mocking Cliff-Chats as well. The small pan on the N'watimhiri road is a regular haunt of Lesser Moorhen in summer.

Mopani

The camp overlooks the Pioneer Dam where a plethora of water birds are to be seen. Storks, egrets, kingfishers and African Fish Eagles are ever present while Collared (Red-winged) Pratincole, African Spoonbill, Black-winged Stilt and White-winged Tern are some of the more uncommon species to watch for. Mosque and Wire-tailed Swallow breed in camp (the former should be looked for at the camp's huge Baobab Tree). Mocking Cliff-Chats should be looked for from the ladies bar.

Also worth visiting are the Shipandani and Pioneer Dam Hides, that allow visitors to get very close to the water's edge and a perspective from the other


side of the dam.
At the nearby Nshawu Pans look for Kittlitz's Plover, Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark (Finchlark) and Collared (Red-winged) Pratincole.

Olifants

Two birds to look out for on the Olifants River are White-fronted Plover and White-crowned Lapwing (Plover), both of which can be seen in the riverbed. The bridges on the main tarred road and at Balule are the places to look for these species. Search the riparian trees on the Olifants River near Balule for the Pel's Fishing-Owl. It is occasionally seen on night drives from the low level bridge here, while it has also been seen infrequently from the high level bridge on the main tar road. This low level bridge adjacent Balule is an extremely productive venue. During the day one will get close encounters with several stork,heron and kingfisher species while the lure of the Fishing Owl by night is a big incentive. It is usually seen on the same sand-bank adjacent the same river pool. Only a few metres away, a White-backed night heron is sometimes seen. Then, at dusk in November 2002 a Black Egret (very rare in the park) was watched from only 5m away as it employed its definitive umbrella-wing fishing technique.

Camp bird-life in Olifants, like all camps is busy. Red-winged Starlings are particularly prominent. Trumpeter Hornbills and Acacia Pied Barbet are regularly seen in camp, and when the many aloe plants in camp are in flower, they act as a magnet for sunbirds. Rufous-bellied Heron has been recorded on the Olifants River a little downstream of the camp. Unconfirmed


reports of Woodward's Batis offer an exciting possibility

Orpen (by Errol Pietersen)

Orpen and the surrounding area is a good region for general bushveld birds and 5 of the "big 6" are regularly seen and breed in the area, with only the Pel's Fishing Owl being absent.

The plains immediately east of Orpen Camp are one of the more reliable places to see the nomadic Senegal (Lesser Black-winged) Plover (Search at the turn off to Tamboti and Marula Camps). Montagu's Harrier has also been recorded on a few occasions in this grassland area.

White-faced and Comb (Knob-billed) Ducks, Little Grebe (Dabchick) and Lesser Moorhen breed in the flooded vegetation at Rabelais Pan. 1999 saw the first Kruger breeding record of Painted Snipe here.

African Rail and African Crake are regularly recorded in dense,marshy areas, particularly on the dirt roads around Talamati. These species early in the morning or late afternoon or on overcast, rainy days when they are foraging on the edge of the road. Fairfield Waterhole near Talamati is a regular haunt. Also just outside Talamati Camp Saddle-billed Stork breed. Of the other storks, Wooly-necked, Open-billed (African Openbill), White and Black may be seen, the latter two being locally common when food is abundant. Marabou Stork is regularly seen at the waterhole outside Orpen Camp.

The Orpen area hosts a wealth of raptors, especially in the summer months. Tawny (breeding outside of the camp), African Fish (at Rabelais Pan), Wahlbergs, Lesser Spotted, Steppe, African Hawk and Brown Snake Eagles, Bateleur, Black-shouldered Kite, Gabar and Dark Chanting Goshawk, Little Sparrowhawk and


Amur and Red-footed Falcons (Eastern and Western Redfooted Kestrels) are all regularly seen. Less frequently seen are African Goshawk, Martial and Black-chested (breasted) Snake Eagles and African Harrier Hawk (Gymnogene). Five vulture species may be seen in the area, although the Cape Griffin is least often observed despite a breeding colony near the Strydom Tunnel at Manoutsa.

Night drives, and dawn and dusk produce Pearl-spotted and African Barred Owlets, Scops, Verreaux's (Giant) Eagle, Spotted Eagle and Barn Owl, as well as Fiery-necked, Square-tailed (Mozambique), Freckled and European Nightjars. Less common are Marsh and Grass Owl and Rufous-cheeked and Pennant-winged Nightjar.

Rarities to come out of the area include Plain-backed (Blue-throated) Sunbird at Orpen Camp, Long-crested Eagle on the Timbavati River, Olive Bush Shrike at Tamboti Camp and in the incrediblewet season of 1999-2000 plenty of Black Coucal. In 2001 a Narina Trogon (not previously recorded in the area) flew into the window of one of Talamati's cottages and killed itself.

Pafuri Region

The drives along the banks of the Levuvhu River via the Nyalaland Drive (S64) or the picnic site/Crook's Corner loop (S63), take visitors through some of the most potentially productive birding territory in South Africa. One can simply spend several hours in the Pafuri Picnic Site itself, with Trumpeter Hornbill, Purple-crested Turaco (Lourie), Black-throated Wattle-eye (Wattle-eyed Flycatcher), Tropical Boubou, Meve's (Long-tailed Starling), Narina Trogon, Thick-billed Cuckoo (summer only), Gorgeous, Grey-headed and Orange-breasted Bush-shrike and several different species of robin, sunbird and firefinch all potentially swelling one's list. Other rarities for the Park recorded at the picnic site


the camp is excellent. Birds of prey are common overhead. Verreaux's (Black) Eagle is sometimes seen, while in winter the White-necked Raven is a regular visitor. The Mahonie Loop, (the 25km circular drive around the camp) is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding birding drives in the Park. One should give oneself plenty of time to cover the distance, and travel with windows down and stop frequently, particularly for calls. On a good day one could record several of the following ‘specials': White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Arnot's Chat, Crowned Hornbill, Grey-headed (Chestnut-bellied) Kingfisher, Crested Guineafowl, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Grey-headed Parrot, African and European Golden Oriole (both summer), Eastern (Yellow-spotted) Nicator, Stierling's Wren-Warbler (Barred Warbler) and Dickinson's Kestrel. Narina Trogon has also been recorded on the loop, but is shy andelusive. On the drive from Punda Maria to Pafuri via the Klopperfontein Dam, Racket-tailed Roller and Southern (Mashona) Hyliota have been recorded. This is also one of the best areas to search for Yellow-billed Oxpecker. This species was absent in the park for many years, but returned in the 1980s and their numbers are still increasing. Buffalo are the preferred hosts.

Satara

Satara, like other camps, has a plethora of resident birds. Particularly prominent are Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Burchell's Starling and Mourning Dove. At night Verreaux's (Giant) Eagle, Barn, Scops Owls (which roost in the trees outside reception) and Pearl-spotted Owlet can be seen and heard in camp, along with Square-tailed (Mozambique) Nightjar. The open plains to the north of the camp are perhaps the best place in the park


to record Montagu's and Pallid Harrier.

The N'wanedzi Picnic Site (24 km from Satara) is worth visiting. Violeteared Waxbill, Yellowbellied Greenbul (Bulbul), Mocking Cliff-Chat are regulars here, while Shaft-tailed Whydah has been seen nearby. Golden Pipit has been seen on the S100. There is also a viewing platform that provides an elevated view down on the N'wanedzi River. About 2 km from N'wanedzi on the S37 Road the Sweni Bird Hide is well worth stopping at. In winter, when water levels are low, and rocks, mud-banks and reeds are exposed, the site is exceptionally active bird-wise, with many passerines coming to drink and joining the ubiquitous Hamerkop, Green-backed Heron and Great (Great White) and Little Egrets. In summer, after heavy rain, the high water levels reduce the bird-life. Howeverit is an excellent venue to see Blue-cheeked Bee-eater that is regularly in attendance here.

Shingwedzi

Shingwedzi has abundant bird-life and, aside from the ubiquitous squabble of hornbills, starlings, weavers and Mourning Doves, the camp is a good place to see Bennett's Woodpecker, Natal Robin, European Hobby (hawking prey at dusk in summer), Grey Penduline Tit, Dusky and Village Indigobird (Black and Steelblue Widowfinch) and African Scops-Owl (at night). Verreaux's (Giant) Eagle Owl is also regularly seen in the large riverine trees on the road approaching the camp. One should keep a careful lookout for Bathawk. Although not easy to see, they are around and the lucky birder could see them catching bats and swifts at dusk. In summer Eurasian Hobby do the same thing. The highwater bridge is a


Mosque Swallow and Dusky Lark (summer) are other species that should be searched for in the Shingwedzi area.

Skukuza

Although Skukuza is a large and busy camp, the camp hosts an excellent avi-fauna. Scanning the Sabie River from in front of the restaurant can produce Finfoot and Half-collared Kingfisher. In summer this venue is a hub of activity with a massive nesting colony of Lesser Masked and Village (Spotted-backed) Weavers. Green Pigeons are abundant in the Riverine fig trees. In taking a walk along the river's bank there is a strong chance of encountering Red-faced Cisticola and Spectacled Weaver and, in early the morning, Little Sparrowhawk. The river walk and a stroll around the rest of the camp could yield Collared Sunbird, Red-backed and Bronze Mannikin, Purple-crested Turaco (Lourie) andThe charged politics of abortion have returned with a vengeance in the Senate, creating a bitter impasse over a human trafficking bill that has galvanized outside groups ahead of the 2016 elections.

Senators for two weeks have debated a provision in an anti-trafficking bill that Democrats charge would expand the Hyde Amendment, which for decades has restricted the use of federal funds for abortions.

The debate over the provision has been unusually rancorous, with Democrats accusing Republicans of misleading them about whether the language was in the bill.

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Republicans have denied that charge, and at least one Democratic staffer has admitted knowing the provision was in the legislation.

The war of words has spilled over onto the floor of the Senate, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMomentum growing among


split was among Republicans.

In January, the House was forced to abandon a once-popular bill banning late-term abortions. Several Republicans, including Reps. Renee Ellmers (N.C.) and Jackie Walorski (Ind.), threatened to vote against the bill because exception for rape would only apply to women who reported the crime to police.

The shelving of the bill was an embarrassment for House Republicans and for anti-abortion groups, who were in the middle of their annual “March for Life” in Washington.

Several of the anti-abortion groups have threatened to turn their grassroots army against the Republicans who balked at the bill in the next elections.

“I believe in political retribution, otherwise you might as well close up shop,” SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser told The Hill in January.

— Sarah Ferris contributed.its economy.

Oil and gas fields on offer in the first bidding round are: Kirkuk and Bai Hassab oil fields in the north, Rumaila, Zubair, West Qurna Phase 1 and Maysan oil fields--Buzurgan, Fauqa and Abu Ghirab--in the south, and Akkas gas field in western Iraq and Mansouria gas field in the east.

Oil and gas fields on offer in the second bidding round are: Majnoon, West Qurna Phase 2, Halfaya, Gharraf, Badra oil fields and Siba gas field in the south. East Baghdad, and the group of Kifl, West Kifl and Merjan in central.A group of Qamar, Gullabat and Naudman oil fields and Khashm al-Ahmar gas field in the east and Qayara and Nejma in the north.

“We called it our Berlin Wall,” said Saad Khalef, 41, told The NYT


the monarchs of this earth. Remember, Sir, that it behooves kings to set an example to their subjects."

And the worthy rector, taking courage from the fact that he had known Leopold II for thirty years, preached him a long sermon. The penitent, adopting an air of contrition, listened to the homily without moving a muscle. When, at last, the priest had exhausted his eloquence:

"What a funny thing, monsieur le cure!" murmured the King, fixing him with that cold glance of his, from under his wrinkled eye-lids. "Do you know, people have told me exactly the same thing about you! Only I refused to believe it, you know!"

That was a delicious sally, too, in which he indulged at the expense of a certain Brazilian minister, who was paying hisobservant mind, was marvellously familiar with the character of his people, its weaknesses and its vanities and played upon these with the firm, yet delicate touch of a pianist who feels himself to be a perfect master of his instrument and of its effects. His cleverness as a constitutional sovereign consisted in appearing to follow the movements of public opinion, whereas, in reality, he directed and sometimes even provoked them...

He had idiosyncrasies, like most mortals. For instance, he used to have four buckets of sea-water dashed over his body every morning, by way of a bath; he expected partridges to be served at his meals all the year round; and he had his newspapers ironed like pocket-handkerchiefs before reading them: he could not endure anything like a fold


or crease in them. Lastly, when addressing the servants, he always spoke of himself in the third person. Thus he would say to his chauffeur, "Wait for him," instead of, "Wait for me." Those new to his service, who had not been warned, were puzzled to know what mysterious person he referred to.

A strange eccentric, you will say. No doubt, although these oddities are difficult to understand in the case of a man who displayed the most practical mind, the most lucid intelligence and the shrewdest head for business the moment he was brought face to face with the facts of daily life. But, I repeat, to those who knew him best, he appeared in the light of a constant and bewildering puzzle; and this was shown notonly in the peculiarity of his manners, but in the incongruity of his sentiments. How are we to explain why this King should feel an infinite love for children, this stern King who was so hard and sometimes so cruel in his treatment of those to whom by rights he ought never to have closed his heart nor refused his indulgence? Yet the tall old man worshipped the little tots. They were almost the only creatures whose greetings he returned; and he would go carefully out of his way, when strolling along a beach, rather than spoil their sand-castles. How are we to explain the deep-seated, intense and jealous delight which he, so insensible to the softer emotions of mankind, felt at the sight of the fragile beauty


a sentimental idyll in the evening of his life....

...(A) single and decisive love, which he preserved until his death was soon to fill his thoughts exclusively and graft upon his... heart a belated bloom of disconcerting youth. When Leopold II made the acquaintance of Mlle. Blanche Caroline Delacroix, whom he afterwards raised to the dignity of Baroness Vaughan, he had just reached his sixty-fifth year....The humbleness of her birth prevented her from raising her eyes to a throne. She was the thirteenth child of a working mechanic and was born at Bucharest, where her father had gone to seek his fortune. She was brought up, therefore, in courts which were very different from royal courts; and I need not say that her education had hardly prepared her forthe brilliant destiny which her chequered life held in store for her...

To what did Blanche Caroline Delacroix owe her success with Leopold II: to her vivid conversational powers, to the dazzling youthfulness of the fair-haired divinity that she was, or to her genuine intelligence? I cannot tell; but this much is certain, that, at her first audience, she succeeded in arousing in the old man's heart a love which was manifested at first in a polite flirtation and consecrated later in a union the mystery of which was never fully solved. Both the King and Mme. de Vaughan carefully refrained from making the smallest confidence on the subject of their marriage even to those in whom they confided most readily. Nevertheless, I have always believed that a secret


religious ceremony did take place, so as to regularise their situation, if not with regard to Belgian law, at least in respect to the Church and their consciences. This conviction on my part was strengthened by the pastoral letter which Mgr. Mercier, Archbishop of Mechlin addressed to the Belgian Catholics after the King's death and in which the primate declared that the sovereign had died at peace with the Church of Rome. Allowing for the legitimate susceptibilities of the royal family, it was impossible to confirm the existence of a morganatic union in a more diplomatic manner. Some have said that the marriage was celebrated at San Remo, during the time when the King and Mme. de Vaughan were staying at Ville- franche, near Nice. I cannot certifyat Nice and to the carnival masquerade and abstained from taking the very childish and rather ridiculous precautions which the King had prescribed during the period of flirtation and "engagement" on the score of "saving appearances!"

Ridiculous and childish they were, as the reader can judge for himself. For instance, although the Baroness Vaughan shared all the King's journeys and accompanied him wherever he went, she was never to address a word to him in public or appear to know him. They took the same trains, got out at the same stations, put up at the same hotels in adjoining rooms, lunched and dined in the same dining-room, but ignored each other's existence, he with an imperturbable composure, she with a charming awkwardness...

The Baroness Vaughan was not a bad


sort of woman on the whole. In the early days, she used to put up with the violent outbursts to which the King occasionally treated her: she would light a great, big cigar and think no more about it. Afterwards, when she grew accustomed to look upon herself as the King's morganatic wife, her ambition increased and she insisted on being treated with deference. She complained to me that the Princess Clementine, whom she had met on the road or in some path in a garden, had not condescended to return her bow; and she added, in a regretful tone:

"To think that, if I had lived in the days of Louis XIV, I should have had a stool at Court !"

In the absence of a stool, she managedto achieve a most luxurious existence. The King, who now never left her, had installed her, when he was in residence in Brussels, in a charming villa which communicated directly with the grounds of the Chateau de Laeken by means of a bridge that spanned the road and led into the Baroness Vaughan's garden. Every day, before paying her his visit, he sent her the choicest flowers from his hot-houses and the finest fruit in his orchard...

He was very thrifty in his personal expenditure and ended by imparting his habits of economy to his fair friend. Baroness Vaughan used to scrutinise the kitchen accounts as closely as any middle- class housewife. True, the housekeeping books sometimes took excessive liberties. I remember, one year at the Chateau de Lormois


near Fontainebleau, which the King had hired for the season... there was a violent scene with the cook, who had had the temerity to charge for seventy-five eggs in six days. Mme. de Vaughan was justly annoyed, dismissed him on the spot and refused to pay him the usual wages instead of notice...

Great as was the influence which Mme. de Vaughan had gained over the King's mind, I am bound to confess that it was never exercised in political matters nor in any of Leopold's financial undertakings. The baroness knew nothing about those things and made no attempt to understand them. The King was grateful to her for this discretion, which in reality was only indifference, for he never allowed any outsider to interfere in his affairs, whetherpublic or private. He discussed none of his schemes before they were completed or before he had drawn up his plan of execution down to the minutest details.

"It shall be so," he used to declare; and no one ever dreamt of opposing his will so plainly expressed.

It was in this way that he conducted his enormous Congo enterprise entirely by himself. The different phases of this business are too well known for me to recapitulate them here. One of them, however—the first phase—has been very seldom discussed and deserves to be recalled, for it throws a great light not only upon the king's conceptive genius, but also upon his diplomatic astuteness and his amazing cynicism.

In 1884, Leopold II, who had for years been obsessed by the longing to


lay hands upon the Congo territory, promoted an international conference in order to frustrate the West African treaty which had lately been concluded between Great Britain and Portugal and which stood in the way of the realisation of his secret ambitions. The King of the Belgians now conceived the subtle and intelligent idea of inducing the congress to proclaim the Congo into an independent state, with himself as its recognised sovereign.

There was only one person in Europe possessed of sufficient authority to bring about the adoption of this daring plan; and that was Bismarck. Bismarck was the necessary instrument; but how was he to be persuaded? Faced with this difficulty, Leopold II hit upon the idea of sending to Berlin a mere journalist, whom he knew to bea clever and talented man, and instructed him to capture the Iron Chancellor's confidence. Leopold coached this journalist, a gentleman of the name of Gantier, to such good purpose that, as the result of a campaign directed from Brussels by the King himself, M. Gantier managed, within a few months, to insinuate himself into Bismarck's immediate surroundings, to interest him in the Congo question and to prove to him that Germany would derive incomparable benefits from proclaiming the independence of the Congo and entrusting its administration to a neutral sovereign like the King of the Belgians.

The stratagem was successful from start to finish. The Congress of Berlin, on the motion of the chancellor, proclaimed the Congo an independent territory with Leopold II, for its sovereign. We know the


About Me

I am a native of Illinois and grew up in Wilmette, a northern suburb of Chicago. I have one sibling, an older brother.
After dropping out of college, I moved to California in 1973 with my first husband. I married my present husband, Butch, in 1977 and got 4 children in the deal. They have gone on to make me a grandmother 24 times over and a great-grandmother of 13.
Three years after I married Butch I returned to school. I got my bachelors and masters degrees in speech communication and was a professor in that field for 13 years. I retired in 2001 to return to school and get my doctorate in folklore. Now I meld my two interests - folklore and genealogy - and add my teachingbackground, resulting in my current profession: speaker/entertainer of genealogically-related topics. I play a number of folk instruments, but my preference is guitar, which I have been playing since 1963. I am a Board Certified genealogist and more information on all this, as well as direct contact info, is on my Circlemending website.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Memorial for my Friend, Pernell Roberts (1928-2010)

One of my oldest friends has died. I am heartsick, but know that he is finally released from his pain and suffering. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer almost 3 years ago & fought it with every fiber of his being. Now he is at peace . . . and his loved ones left behind are mourning and hurting.

I first met Pernell Roberts in 1966. By 1969 we


& knew I was going to be serious about the guy, I took him to meet Pernell (to get approval?). In fact, as I have made many changes and adjustments throughout life, I have talked them over with Pernell. He was a mentor as well as a friend. Pernell's interest in my own father's past and Dad's involvement in the field of mathematics at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study gave me greater appreciation of my own roots.

Our last visits took place in 2008, after his surgery. We sang, shared stories, I shared some of his genealogy with him (showing him a census record that had his name on it - something not everyone gets to see in his/her life), and cried together. A few months later I returnedthat was good about the 1960s, with its promise and re-assesment along with its tragedy and heartache. Pernell should be remembered as one of that decades brightest lights. I never knew him, but that never stopped him from being one of my cherished heroes.

Jean,Thanks for sharing this lovely remembrance. Pernell was a wonderful man, a good friend, and a big part of my life, especially when I was just beginning as an actor. He was a true inspiration to me, as he was to many actors over the years. I was so lucky to have shared the screen with him for nearly eight seasons, and am deeply saddened at his passing. Fortunately, he lives on in the memories of his fans, and in the hearts of the lucky


Hong Kong Survey and Mapping Office

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China on a double-sided topographic map at 1:50,000 from its official Survey and Mapping Office, with bilingual place names and English language map legend. Current edition was published in 2017.

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Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on a topographic map at 1:100,000 from its official Survey and Mapping Office, with bilingual place names and English language map legend. Current edition was published in 2015.

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Ten years. It will be eleven come next April and May when the season reaches its business end. That is how long ago it was that all three clubs promoted to the Premier League the preceding season were relegated straight back down to the Football League. 1997/1998’s victims were Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace. But since their demise, almost every subsequent season has seen a team who could have confidently thought of themselves as Established At The Top Level disabused of the notion. In 1999 it was Blackburn, spat out by the league they had won just four years previously after a 7-year stay. 2000’s victims could not point to Rovers’ success, but Sheffield Wednesday (8 years) and Wimbledon (14) were both fairly ubiquitous


sights on Match of the Day. Coventry City followed in 2001 after thirty-four seasons, with Leeds United (14) and Southampton (27) joining them in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Indeed, 2001/2002 was notable for the fact that none of the promoted sides (Fulham, Blackburn and Bolton) felt the need to be excused – Ipswich Town feeling the pinch of UEFA Cup involvement and succumbing to second-season syndrome and Derby County and Leicester departing after 6 years apiece.

It’s not a particularly brave statement to make, but it does benefit from being true – unless you are Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal, you’re really not guaranteed a place in the top flight next season until mathematics decrees it. Even our beloved Big Four’s positions are parlous ones, with rafts ofhigh school seniors graduating in spring 2015. The only restaurant offering the burger is located on Market Street, which is along the route of the city's pride parade.

"Guests who ordered the Proud Whopper sandwich were surprised because it is in fact, the same iconic fire-grilled Whopper sandwich beloved since 1957, but wrapped in rainbow-colored paper inscribed with a message reading: “We Are All The Same Inside," the company wrote in a news release.

In addition, a digital film launched Wednesday on Burger King's YouTube channel (WARNING: Some foul language use). The filmmakers created it at the same San Francisco restaurant located along the city's Pride Parade route.

It captures the spirit of brand's new tagline, "Be Your Way," according to the release.

“We are always looking to engage our guests on


"When we observed the bees for some time, the ones that were alive, we found that they walked around in circles, often with no sense of direction," said San Francisco State University's Andrew Core lead author on the bee parasite study in the journal Plos One.

Bees usually just sit in one place, sometimes curling up before they die, said Core. But the parasitised bees were still alive, unable to stand up on their legs.

"They kept stretching them out and then falling over," he said. "It really painted a picture of something like a zombie."

And while the parasite may be causing immense damage to the honey bees population, there is an upside to their discovery, according to the Mirror, "Scientists discovered the parasite by accident but they believe itprovided Martoma with material nonpublic information concerning the Phase II trial of bapi. They coordinated their expert network consultations around scheduled safety monitoring committee meetings, and during their phone calls they discussed PowerPoint presentations made during the meetings and Dr. Gilman provided Martoma with his perspective on the results. Dr. Gilman developed a personal relationship with Martoma, eventually coming to view Martoma as a friend and pupil.

The SEC alleged that Martoma caused hedge funds managed by CR Intrinsic as well as hedge funds managed by an affiliated investment adviser to trade on the negative inside information he received from Dr. Gilman.

Although Elan and Wyeth's shares rose on June 17, 2008, on the public release of top-line results of the Phase II trial, market participants were disappointed by the


Phase II trial of bapi. They coordinated their expert network consultations around scheduled safety monitoring committee meetings, and during their phone calls they discussed PowerPoint presentations made during the meetings and Dr. Gilman provided Martoma with his perspective on the results. Dr. Gilman developed a personal relationship with Martoma, eventually coming to view Martoma as a friend and pupil.

The SEC alleged that Martoma caused hedge funds managed by CR Intrinsic as well as hedge funds managed by an affiliated investment adviser to trade on the negative inside information he received from Dr. Gilman.

Although Elan and Wyeth's shares rose on June 17, 2008, on the public release of top-line results of the Phase II trial, market participants were disappointed by the detailed final results issued on July 29, 2008.District of New York today announced criminal charges against Martoma and a non-prosecution agreement with Dr. Gilman.”

Martoma, who lives with wife Rosemary in picturesque Boca Raton in Palm Beach County, Florida, allegedly illegally obtained confidential details about the clinical trial from Dr. Gilman, who served as chairman of the safety monitoring committee overseeing a clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s drug called Bapineuzumab (Bapi).

Dr. Gilman was selected by Elan Corporation and Wyeth to present the final drug trial results to the public.

“In phone calls that were arranged by a New York-based expert network firm for which he moonlighted as a medical consultant, Dr. Gilman tipped Martoma with safety data and eventually details about negative results in the trial about two weeks before they were made public in July 2008.


managed by CR Intrinsic as well as hedge funds managed by an affiliated investment adviser to trade on the negative inside information he received from Dr. Gilman.

Although Elan and Wyeth's shares rose on June 17, 2008, on the public release of top-line results of the Phase II trial, market participants were disappointed by the detailed final results issued on July 29, 2008. Double-digit declines in Elan and Wyeth shares ensued. After Martoma was tipped, the hedge funds not only liquidated their combined long position in Elan and Wyeth of more than $700 million, but went on to hold substantial short positions in both securities.

This massive repositioning allowed CR Intrinsic and the affiliated advisory firm to reap approximately $82 million in profits and $194 million in avoided losses forleave seven days. The government also recommends against foreign school trips and urges older citizens to refrain from going on cruises.

By contrast, countries like Italy and Ireland have closed schools and restricted public gathering. The Czech Republic followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead and enacted a travel ban, stopping entry of foreigners from 13 countries.

The prime minister has also decided to not close the House of Commons despite a junior minister being diagnosed with coronavirus. The outbreak is starting to affect aspects of British political life, however, with the government announcing on Thursday that planned UK-EU negotiations set to take place in London next week have been cancelled. Both parties are exploring options to continue talks over the telephone or video conferencing.

Minster Michael Gove has said that delays


Seo In Gook and A Pink's Agencies Clear Up The Dating Rumors Between SIG And Eunji

By Staff Writer | July 20, 2012 02:32 AM EDT

seo in gook eunji dating (Photo : seo in gook eunji dating)

On July 19 both Seo in Guk and A Pink Jung Eunji's agencies announced, "The two are simply close friends," denying any possibility of them dating.

The rumor began with Eun Ji Won's comments.

On the July 19 broadcast of tvN "Taxi," Eun Ji Won exclaimed, "I smell something fishy starting between Seo In Gook and A Pink Eunji. The two have been playing the role of lovers in the tvN drama, 'Respond 1997,' and I sense something sprouting in reality, as well."

In response, Seo In Gook stated, "At first I didn't have any feelingsPlatinum Jewellery Business Review

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defense motion to move the trial out of Irwin County because of pretrial publicity. The county of about 9,500 people is located roughly 180 miles (290 kilometers) south of Atlanta.

Before his arrest in February 2017, Duke gave a written confession and revealed details of the crime in a videotaped interview with authorities, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Jason Shoudel testified.

Duke's confession, read in court, said: "Words are useless, but I'm burdened with the murder of Miss Grinstead."

Duke was a former student at the school where Grinstead taught history. Shoudel said the suspect told the GBI he broke into Grinstead's house to steal money for drugs, and when she confronted him he struck her with a fatal blow. The agent said Duke admitted to enlisting a friend to helphim burn Grinstead's body in a pecan orchard.

Shoudel also revealed that investigators found a latex glove outside Grinstead's home. Tests on the glove found DNA from both Duke and Grinstead.

Duke's attorneys told the judge the confession was false and given while Duke was under the influence of drugs.

"All they've got is an inconsistent statement from someone who was under the influence of drugs," said defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant.

Shoudel said investigators asked Duke several times if anyone else was with him at Grinstead's home when she was killed.

"Each time he indicated he was by himself the entire time, nobody helped him," Shoudel said.

A second man arrested in the case, Bo Dukes, was a friend of Duke. He has been charged with concealing a death, tampering with evidence, and hindering


the apprehension of a criminal.

But attorneys for Duke said it was actually Dukes who killed Grinstead, while the only role Duke played was helping to burn the body.

Ryan Duke's brother, Steven Duke, testified that his sibling was afraid of his co-defendant.

"He was scared of what Bo was capable of and he would take the fall or say that he did it to ... make sure that Bo didn't do anything to anybody," Steven Duke told the judge.

Bo Dukes, who had been freed on bond in the Grinstead case, was arrested again in January on charges of rape and false imprisonment. Police in Warner Robins said Dukes threatened two women with a gun and other violence and forced them to his home, where he raped them and held themthe flight for early the next morning. They provided a bus transfer to Reykjavik along with a nice hotel and a lovely free dinner. So we enjoyed seeing the city for free and flew to Greenland with no problems early the next day.

Day 2

The views from the plane as we approached Narsarsuaq were spectacular. The plane had to manoeuvre at close range to the mountains, and our excitement grew as icebergs came in to view along with glaciers and snow covered peaks. The landing was a little alarming as the runway is a few feet from the edge of the Fjord.

We stepped off the plane and into the cold crisp morning air taking stock of the tiny airport and finding our bearings. Blue ice the Greenland travel agency


revealed Trump is finally lined up to meet Putin, reports in the US claimed the new President might try and reunite Kraft with his treasured Super Bowl ring.

In 2005, Kraft was on a business trip to Russia when he showed his ring to Putin.

The Premier apparently tried it on and then took it without giving it back.

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instafan

Dundee student haunted by 'stalker' lookalike who copies her social media post

‘BULLIES’

Rangers fan caught up in fight at Benidorm pub as bouncers punch and kick puntersAccording to Lt. Jerry Brewer with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, detectives began investigating after two suspects entered an apartment in the 7100 block of Cape Harbor Drive at around 2 a.m. on Dec. 31 and robbed a teenager at gunpoint. The two stole cash, drugs, and an iPhone from the 16-year-old victim, then drove off in an older model Cadillac.


In 2017,two former Miami-Dade School District students discovered that their Social Security numbers, test scores and other personal information was posted on one of the district’s public web pages. In fact, the personal information of hundreds of students was published online and was very easy to find simply by Googling their names. The two students have sued the school board and reported the incident to authorities, and now the school faces a thorough audit from U.S. Department of Education regarding its possible breach of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).

In 2018, the Palo Alto Unified School District discovered that an employee was storing the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of area residents on his personal laptop. This was especially shocking because that same employee had alreadyof adulthood. DuckTales isn’t one, and returning to it as an adult reveals that there are hidden pleasures there that go beyond memories of what it was like to watch as a kid. For a show so breathless and action-packed, DuckTales takes its time, and that makes all the difference.

When Disney began its foray into TV animation, it started with Wuzzles and Adventures Of The Gummi Bears. Both programs had higher-quality animation than TV was known for, but both were also Saturday-morning cartoons. While there was money to be made in those, the profit margin was lower than in the world of weekday syndication, a largely untapped market that was mostly dominated by reruns of kid-friendly sitcoms and old Hanna Barbara productions. The reason there was more money


less interested in the duck programming, with the company’s television-animation division switching more and more to creating TV extensions of popular theatrical hits, like Aladdin. It also didn’t help that the animation syndicated market collapsed with the rise of cable competitors like Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, competitors that began producing their own animated content aimed at the DuckTales fan base in the early ’90s. The factors squeezed out the market for this sort of more sophisticated animated product almost as quickly as it was established. DuckTales went on the air in 1987. When it produced its last new episode in 1990, the syndication market was already being squeezed out of existence.

Stones was at the meeting in 1984 where Eisner and Wells articulated their bold new strategy for TVmissed to Austin vs. The Giants in the first game is the difference in my opinion. Maybe it's luck...hell it probably is, seeing as how the ball bounced the Giants way in so many games. But at the end of the day. Romo was whathe always was, a statistically great QB that faltered in various moments of the season.

Blame the defense, blame the line, blame Austin in the Giants game, Blame Dez in the Jets game, blame Special Teams for giving up a easy FG against arizona, or a punt block, blame whoever you want to...but at the end of the day....The Boys needed a play or two to make the playoffs, and they didn't.
Romo is partially responsible for at least a few of those plays.

With that said...Romo


World Heritiage site since 1985.

A león de Athletic in Ávila.

As I am prone to do, I took time to admire the beautiful sunset from just outside the walls. It was a special moment as I reflected on the amazing week I had just had and on my future as the sun said adiós to Friday, August 28th, 2015.

Ávila Sunset

On Saturday morning, I had a quick tostada con tomate y café con leche at a bar near the train station before catching a bus to Salamanca. The bus was pretty empty, as I like buses to be, and it went through the small towns and villages between the two capital cities. I arrived to Salamanca around noon, and at first, my impression was the same as before: overrated.

After droppinga particular diet that is adhered to so that the creatures can enjoy maximum health.

Dieske, a mammoth donkey was my favorite of the bunch. He had a nobility that suggested a deep consciousness of his surroundings. At nearly 600lbs he was also the largest of the group but Robert informed me that he was not “the king” of the other animals.

Sometimes donkeys have pack leaders but at Stichting De Ezelsociëteit that role has not been filled since the passing of Isabelle, the donkey queen who ruled the other animals. Robert chuckled at the remembrance of this special animal. I really wish I would have had the opportunity to meet her.

We spent a few hours strolling through the grounds and chatting about the animals and their lives at the


Rentcostadelsol Marbella-El Faro

Rentcostadelsol Marbella-El Faro

The apartment features a designated area for smoking and an elevator. This property offers airport transfer, shuttle service and ironing service.

The property is located 1050 meters from Teatro Ciudad de Marbella. A 10-minute walk to the center of Marbella. The venue is set next to a bus stop and 100 meters from Scubies Restaurant & Bar and Skandies where guests can dine.

Rentcostadelsol Marbella-El Faro has guestrooms appointed with climate control, a private safe, pay television, multi-channel TV and a CD player and provides ideal lodging in Marbella. The rooms come with hardwood furnishings. There are pillow-top mattresses and feather pillows available. A marble bathroom offers a hairdryer, soft bathrobes and towels.

Guests can make use of a microwave, an electric kettle, a dishwasher, a toasterand a washing machine.

Rooms & Availability

Rentcostadelsol Marbella-El Faro

The apartment features a designated area for smoking and an elevator. This property offers airport transfer, shuttle service and ironing service.

The property is located 1050 meters from Teatro Ciudad de Marbella. A 10-minute walk to the center of Marbella. The venue is set next to a bus stop and 100 meters from Scubies Restaurant & Bar and Skandies where guests can dine.

Rentcostadelsol Marbella-El Faro has guestrooms appointed with climate control, a private safe, pay television, multi-channel TV and a CD player and provides ideal lodging in Marbella. The rooms come with hardwood furnishings. There are pillow-top mattresses and feather pillows available. A marble bathroom offers a hairdryer, soft bathrobes and towels.

Guests can make use of a microwave, an electric kettle, a


dishwasher, a toaster and a washing machine.

Rooms & Availability

Rentcostadelsol Marbella-El Faro has guestrooms appointed with climate control, a private safe, pay television, multi-channel TV and a CD player and provides ideal lodging in Marbella. The rooms come with hardwood furnishings. There are pillow-top mattresses and feather pillows available. A marble bathroom offers a hairdryer, soft bathrobes and towels.Italian painters of the early 15th century—to make it when he was visiting his hometown about 1420. The commissioning group probably came through the church of San Francesco (St. Francis) in Fabriano, where the paintings were held into the early 1800s.

Most likely it was the religious confraternity that commissioned the standard. Such organizations were common features of life in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Laypeople prayed together and carried out acts of devotion and charity, such as sponsoring masses, conducting burial rites for the citizenry, and commissioning music and art. In the case of The Coronation, the group was probably made up of devotees of the Virgin Mary who would have carried this standard on her feast days.

In 15th-century Italy, so-called processional standards—often double-sided panels with religious images—were


among the assortment of objects carried in Catholic processions. They were affixed to a pole and carried above crowds. A scene from a detached, 15th-century fresco gives us a glimpse of how this might have looked, showing a kneeling man amongst other kneeling men and confraternity members holding up a standard depicting the Madonna of Mercy.

At the time, many terms were used for these standards. But Getty paintings conservator Sue Ann Chui told me that the Italian word segno was used specifically “to describe an object that consists of a pole surmounted by a depiction directly related to the organization to which it belongs” (see this article for details).

Standards were designed to be seen from both sides: The painting on one side would honor significant events in Christian2016 is shaping up as the year when countless conspiracy theories will be confirmed to be non-conspiracy fact: from central bank rigging of capital markets, to political rigging of elections, to media rigging of public sentiment, and now, commercial bank rigging of silver.

In short, tinfoil hat-wearing nutjobs living in their parents basement have been right all along.

Two weeks ago we reported that "In A Major Victory For Gold And Silver Traders, Manipulation Lawsuit Against Gold-Fixing Banks Ordered To Proceed," however one bank was exempt: Deutsche Bank. The reason why was known since April, when we first reported that Deutsche Bank had agreed to settle the class action lawsuit filed in July 2014 accusing a consortium of banks of plotting to manipulate gold and silver. Among the charges that


Deutsche Bank effectively refused to contest were the following:

employment of a manipulative device claims

bid-rigging, and unjust enrichment.

price fixing and unlawful restraint

price manipulation claims

aiding and abetting and principal-agent claims.

Briganti's affidvait provides some more information on the settlement process:

The negotiations with Deutsche Bank over the material terms of the Settlement took place over several months starting in December 2015 and continuing until the Deutsche Bank Settlement Agreement was executed on September 6, 2016. Following initial phone calls with Deutsche Bank’s counsel in December 2015, Lowey and Grant & Eisenhofer engaged in lengthy negotiations with Deutsche Bank’s counsel over the material terms of the settlement, including the amount of the settlement consideration, the scope of the cooperation to be provided by the Deutsche Bank Defendants, the scope of the releases, andassault.

Jawawdah had come to the diplomatic premises to install furniture, and his father has described him as “not a trouble-maker or a terrorist” and not affiliated with any political party.

The father of 17-year-old Mohammed Jawawdeh, who was killed by an Israeli embassy guard in Amman, mourns over his son’s body in the Jordanian capital, July 25, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Jordan initially barred the staff of the mission from leaving the country pending a probe, but it later decided against looking into the incident after intervention by the United States, sending the guard alongside other embassy personnel back to Israel.

Read more:

The intervention saw Trump dispatching his Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, to Israel on Monday, and then to Jordan to address the incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu later thanked Trump


at the first level, switch to the second level in order to avoid an obstacle to the first level routing, and then switch back to the first level after the obstacle has been circumvented.
As any conductive lead is routed from its first terminal to its second terminal, it will make a number of turns. After all of the river routing turns have been ascertained, the maximum y-coordinate of the river routing turns is used to determine the y-coordinate of each of the second terminals. This causes the river routing section thus created to be "squeezed down" from an arbitrarily large dimension in the y-direction to the minimum dimension required to effect the river routing.
For complex arrays, the river routing may be divided into a right block and aScott Butner and Jenni Conner share their North American Soccer League Seattle Sounders photos with www.goalWA.net, bringing the past back to life for multi-generational fans in the Northwest.

by David Falk

Scott Butner emailed me a while back and said he was having some color transparencies of Sounders shots from the 1970’s converted into digital files. I was excited at the prospect. When I started getting the photos from Scott I was even more excited: they turned out to be from the fabled 1977 season. Even better, over half of them were from the Soccer Bowl ’77 match between the Sounders and New York Cosmos, hosted at Portland Civic Stadium in August of that year!

I talked with Scott about the history behind how the photos were taken.

“I was working for


Geranyllinalool (Diterpene Alcohol) : An insecticidal component of pine wood and termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in four European ecosystems.
Geranyllinalool is an insecticidal component of pine wood and of the defensive secretion ofReticulitermes species. Lethal doses (LD50) were calculated for termites and various ant species. Termite workers were very resistant (10,000 ppm). Ant resistance varies among species according to their trophic strategy and attack mode. The geranyllinalool acts as a natural insecticide against some ant predators (LD50=6 ppm), which use raid or chemical crypsis to invade termite nests. In contrast, predators laying the venom on the cuticle of their termite prey were very resistant (10,000 ppm). Generally, ants acting as space competitors could detoxify the quantity emitted by one termite soldier (18 ppm).under what circumstances she should (or should not) engage in sexual activity. Amnesty International is concerned that this regulation condones and encourages female genital mutilation, a practice which inflicts pain and suffering on women and girls, and hence violates the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment. Female genital mutilation also encourages discriminatory stereotypes about women’s sexuality.

As documented in a 2010 report, Left without a choice: Barriers to reproductive health in Indonesia, Amnesty International was told by many women and girls that they chose female genital mutilation for their own baby girl in recent years. The practice is generally undertaken by a traditional birth attendant within the first six weeks after the baby girl is born. The women said they had asked that their baby girl have female genital


circumcision, and ensure that they comply fully with the provisions that are contained in CEDAW.

Jakarta, 23 June 2011

This joint statement endorsed by :

Aliansi Pelangi Antar Bangsa

AMAN foundation Kalkata India

Amnesty Internasional

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development (APWLD)

Asian Moslem Action Network (AMAN) Indonesia

Barisan Perempuan Indonesia

BITES

CEDAW Working Group Initiative

Evelyne Accad (Professeur Emerite, University of Illinois, Lebanese American University)Kris Vallotton

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Kris is the senior associate leader of Bethel Church in Redding California and has served on Bill Johnson’s apostolic team for more than thirty-three years. He has written seven books including the best selling, Supernatural Ways of Royalty. Kris Vallotton’s revelatory insight and humorous delivery make him a much sought after international conference speaker. Kris is the co-founder and senior overseer of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, which has grown to more than thirteen hundred full time students in thirteen years. He is also the founder and president of Moral Revolution, an organization dedicated to cultural transformation. This podcast is a collection of his sermons that he's made available to the public

Esther – Extending The Royal Scepter: Part 1

Kris shares a prophetic word


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Connacht sitting pretty at summit

Connacht moved six points clear at the PRO12 summit after they won an enthralling fixture against the Ospreys 30-22 on Saturday.

Two tries within the first ten minutes from Bundee Aki and AJ MacGinty gave Connacht the best possible start, but they were pegged back before the break through Ben John and Dan Baker.

Matt Healy put the home side further ahead in the second-half, though Rhys Webb immediately pegged them back.

It was an action-packed first 40 minutes at the Sportsground, with 32 points shared at the interval.

In the worst possible start for the visitors, they fell to the opening try after just the first attack. Aki went over for it almost straight from the kick off, capitalising on a knock on and goingover after the ball broke out of the scrum. Craig Ronaldson's conversion made it 7-0 before the scoreboard had even warmed up properly.

Sam Davies cut that lead to four almost instantly, kicking through with the first penalty of the night as the visitors bounced back within two minutes.

But the narrow gap lasted barely any time, as a rampant Connacht went over for try number two on ten minutes. MacGinty it was who snuck inside the left corner, Niyi Adeolokun feeding the USA international. Ronaldson converted superbly to ensure an early 13 point gap had been formed.

But after what was an incredible beginning, Ospreys did pull themselves into the game. It took only three more minutes before they got themselves into the try scoring groove as John was the


finisher to a slick passing move which saw Connacht cut open. Davies couldn't drag his side to double figures, seeing his conversion cannon back off the posts.

But within the next ten minutes, an incredible first 25 minutes saw the game turn on its head. Baker went through for try number two after Ospreys went through the motions, eventually finding a gap after a couple of fine last ditch tackles momentarily denied the Welsh side. Davies converted, giving his team a one point advantage.

Such was the unpredictability of this first-half, Connacht stole it back within two more minutes. Ronaldson marked his 50th appearance with three more points, and a rare ten minute scoreless spell saw the hosts go in 17-15 to the good.

The hosts dominated the first ten minutesof the second-half, though they couldn't extend their lead thanks to some stern defending metres from the Ospreys line.

But eventually the wall was broken down as Connacht stretched the scoreline a little more. After turning possession over at the line out, Ronaldson slipped the ball into Healy, and he did the rest after averting a couple of challenges. Ronaldson converted again, with the lead now up to nine.

But yet again Ospreys emerged from conceding to going right up the other end. Webb it was who grabbed the sixth try of the night, flying under the posts and instantly seeing Davies send over a simple conversion.

Davies thought he'd gone from two pointers to fives when he crossed the line as the clock ran down. But the TMO deemed he


for next season? 2010's racing is over.

Heroic my a$$. He fell off a bike. And Red Bull treats their drivers equal. So how could he have weakened his position. One paragraph in a book and now we have a LEGEND in the making. Webber was only covering his a$$ by not telling the team he was biking while leading the championship. He put his own job in jeopardy by doing it and now he is heroic. Second time in a year he was knocked off a bike. The dumba$$ cant drive and can't bike.

i watch moto gp at times, and there, rossi raced for half the year with a badly damaged shoulder. bike riding is far more physical, yet rossi got on with the job, and was quiteNation still wrestling with race

Last year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the nation's celebration was inevitably linked to the election of Barack Obama, who would be sworn in as the nation's president the next day. The moment was cast as one of King's dreams fulfilled: A black American had been elected president roughly a half-century after many blacks had been denied the right to vote. Some analysts speculated America had become "postracial." Of course, the country continues to wrestle with race. But Obama's tenure remains a useful barometer, both for realizing progress and work left undone.

Related News/Archive

Obama has resisted being defined by race, often to the great frustration of many who believe he should do more to advance minority causes. But it's a testament to the country's


progress and his own appeal across different races that the greatest challenge he faces in pushing his agenda is largely a partisan divide — not an overtly racial one.

To be sure, Obama's tenure has not been without racial incident — from a provocative speech by Attorney General Eric Holder encouraging Americans to talk frankly about race to Obama's clumsy reaction when a white police officer arrested a black Harvard professor in his own home. Then this month, a new book revealed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2008 suggested Obama's light complexion and lack of a "Negro dialect" meant he was a black politician most Americans could embrace. The use of such outdated language provoked a predictable backlash.

Minorities, as a group, still struggle to fully realize the Americandream, including its economic offerings, from good-paying jobs to education. And black Americans, in particular, are vastly overrepresented in our prisons.

That is where Obama may yet make his biggest contribution in creating more opportunities for blacks and other minorities. His Race to the Top competition is aimed at closing the achievement gap between white and minority public school students. Success — insuring that more minorities overall leave school as well prepared as white classmates — could rewrite the economic profiles of the nation's minority communities. It would improve minorities' employment options and help lessen income and incarceration disparities. That is the ultimate prize, and today the country should recommit itself to reach for it.

But the country should also celebrate how far it has come since King's campaign for


during the year had not yet completed their journey to the “otherworld,” and at Samhein they were able to mingle with the living. Accordingly, to placate these ghosts and other spirits the Celts offered sacrifices and lit bonfires to aid them on their journey. It has been suggested that the origin of wearing costumes was to disguise oneself from any lost soul that might be seeking vengeance on the living before moving on the next world. Some, believing that the souls of those who had died recently were still wandering in a sort of purgatory set a place for them at dinner. Many of these ancient traditions have persisted to this day.

In 601 Pope Gregory I issued an edict, the gist of which was that missionaries were tothe year with the World Series in progress, I feel it is appropriate to blog about our “National Pastime,” baseball. The focus of this blog will be on the origins of the sport.

Until recently, the widely held belief was that baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, NY in 1839. This myth appears to have originated in 1905. Apparently, at the time there was some controversy as to whether the sport, which had become known as the “American Pastime” had originated in the US or had been descended from an English game called “rounders.” Influential baseball people, such as Abraham Mills, the President of the National League, and Albert Spalding, the President of the Chicago Cubs, formed a commission to research and study the matter. Mills and


Spalding had a great stake in the Commission deciding that the game had originated in the US, and they packed the Commission with persons who agreed with them. Predictably, the Commission determined that baseball had, in fact, originated in the US and was not related to or descended from the English game of “rounders” or any other game. Furthermore, the Commission promulgated the myth that Abner Doubleday had invented the game. Supposedly, in 1839 he had a “eureka” moment. In a flash, he laid out the diamond and set forth the rules. The first game was said to have been played in Cooperstown, NY in 1839. This story held sway for many years despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

Abner Doubleday was born on June 26, 1819 in BallstonSpa, NY. He was a career US Army officer who had fought in the Civil War. There is no record that he ever claimed to have invented baseball. Furthermore, neither his private letters, his diaries nor even his obituary so much as mentioned the game. He was not even in Cooperstown in 1839. He was stationed at West Point. Although I can see how the Mills Commission could want to claim that baseball was invented in America by an American, it is unclear how it came up with the name Abner Doubleday. It could be that the Commission relied on a certain witness, one Abner Graves, whose credibility was, to put it mildly, questionable. Another theory is that Abner Doubleday was confused with another Doubleday who was living


in Cooperstown at the time. In any event, at the time the myth was accepted as truth.

Now, thanks to continuing research, we know better. It is clear that baseball evolved over hundreds of years from other bat and ball games, rather than from a “eureka” moment. For example, a French manuscript from 1344 depicts French clerics playing a game with similarities to baseball. In addition, for many years the English played various games called “rounders,” “tut-ball,”and “stoolball,” which exhibit similarities to baseball. Some sports historians believe “cricket” may also have descended from those games, although there is contrary evidence that suggests it may been imported from Flanders. In any event, by the 1830s many varieties of bat and ball games were being played in America.

Most sports historians creditAlexander Cartwright with promulgating the first rules of the game in 1845. Cartwright was born on April 17, 1820 in NYC. In the 1840’s He was a volunteer fireman with the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company in NYC. At that time, they were playing an informal bat and ball game called “town ball.” With the help of others, he codified some 14 rules of the game. For example, he stipulated that the field be laid out in a diamond shape; there were nine fielders and three outs per inning. He has long been recognized as the “father of baseball” and was officially designated as such by Congress in 1953. He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1938, 46 years after his death. Furthermore, it is believed


that the first officially recorded game was played on June 19, 1846 at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, NJ. Some of the early rules were weeded out over time, to wit:

1. One of the ways to record an “out” was for a fielder to throw at and hit a runner with the batted ball.

2. The ball was required to be pitched underhanded.

3. A batted ball caught on a bounce was an “out.”

4. Fielders did not wear gloves.

5. Foul balls were not counted as strikes.

Baseball’s “modern era” began in 1901 when the American League was formed to join the National League, which been established in 1876. Most baseball records are counted from 1901. The oldest professional team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings, which was formed in 1869 and went undefeatedme out to the Ballgame” was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert Van Tilzer, who, ironically, had never attended a game prior to writing the song. It was not sung at a ball game until 1934. The version we all sing is merely the chorus. (Incidentally, crackerjacks may own its very survival to the song. Have you ever eaten them other than at a ball game?)

2. It is highly statistical, which enables fans to compare the abilities of current players with those who played 50 or 100 years ago with some reliability.

3. Its records have more meaning and familiarity than those of other sports. Most fans know who has the lifetime hits record, Pete Rose, who had the highest lifetime batting average, Ty Cobb, who hit


After all, the movie, “Field of Dreams” was not about football.

Every once in a while one of my followers requests that I publish a blog on a particular topic. So, Michael, my friend, this one’s for you.

The Barbary pirates, aka Barbary corsairs, operated primarily in the western Mediterranean Sea, however, on occasion, they ranged as far as Iceland and South America. Their primary bases of operation were the ports of Tripoli, Algiers and Tunis, which, collectively, were known as the Barbary Coast. Piracy in the Mediterranean can be traced back to the Emirate of Crete in the 9th century, but its peak was from the 16th to early 19th centuries. The pirates would not only hijack ships but they would also raid coastal towns ala the Vikings ofsecondary consequence, which was that coastal areas of Italy and Spain, among others, became abandoned as people were afraid to live in those areas. During the aforementioned peak period, it is estimated that as many as 1.2 million people were captured and sold into slavery. During much of this period the pirates operated, for the most part, with little organized opposition as the European powers had not yet developed naval power sufficient to oppose them. European military forces consisted primarily of mercenaries, not professional, well-trained, soldiers.

Interestingly, not all the pirates were Muslims or North Africans as one might assume. For example, about two-thirds of their ships captains were Europeans, no doubt motivated by financial gain, who had “taken the turban.” The pirates’ power began to wane at the