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Music industry ▪ July 1

I’m not expecting here to replicate my rather extensive Apple Watch diary series – I doubt this one will run to four pieces. I’m also not starting out here as an Apple Music skeptic. I’ve been using Spotify for years, and – from a brief trial of Beats Music – started out pretty confident I would be jumping ship once Apple Music launched.

But I do think Apple Music has one thing in common with the Watch: I don’t think it’s possible to judge it without a reasonable amount of usage. So I thought I’d begin with my first impressions and then follow up once I’ve used it long enough to have more to say.

I’m not going to dwell on the launch-day glitches, like the welcome screen (above) left over from the beta, the rather belated iTunes updateBeats 1 outage, frequent spinning beachballs in iTunes and the tracks that either refused to play at all or took an age to do so. Half the planet was simultaneously using the service yesterday, so these things will only become issues if they persist. So leaving those aside, what were my first impressions … ?  expand full story

Music industry ▪ June 23

Metallica haven’t always been the greatest fans of Apple’s music, criticizing iTunes’ track-based sales model as “contributing to the demise of the album format” and only allowing the band’s music to be sold on the service in 2006 – some three years after its launch. iTunes sales outside the U.S. didn’t happen until 2008.

But while Taylor SwiftAnton Newcombe and others have been attacking Apple Music (something which may or may not now be resolved), Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has been singing the praises of the new service, reports the NY Post.

Speaking at Cannes Lions, drummer Ulrich said he and his Metallica bandmates were excited about the launch of Apple Music’s streaming service. “I think that Apple is just about the coolest company in the world. I am a huge supporter of Apple and all their products, and I have been fortunate enough to meet most of the people there, a lot of the people who make key decisions, and I feel very safe with them,” Ulrich said.

Ulrich said that the band had good relationships with the Apple team, including Tim Cook and Jimmy Iovine …  expand full story

Music industry ▪ June 21

Apple Music iPhone

Update: Apple has responded to Swift’s blog post.

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Taylor Swift’s latest album ‘1989’ will not be available on Apple Music, Apple’s streaming music service launching on June 30th with iOS 8.4. She has written a blog post on Tumblr explaining her position.

We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.

Swift explains that she respects Apple for their innovation but says the terms associated with the Apple Music free trial are ‘unlike this historically progressive and generous company’. Swift says that under the 3 month free trial period, artists and rights holders are not paid at all for the duration and notes Apple has plenty of money to reimburse the artists for their work. Swift says that she is holding back 1989 not because she cannot support herself but as a retaliation for ‘the new artist or band that has just released their first single’.

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Music industry ▪ December 9, 2014

We may get to see the two-hour video of Steve Jobs giving pre-trial evidence in the iPod antitrust case, if the judge approves a motion jointly filed by AP, Bloomberg and CNN to make it public. CNET reported:

“Given the substantial public interest in the rare posthumous appearance of Steve Jobs in this trial, there simply is no interest that justifies restricting the public’s access to his video deposition,” attorney Thomas Burke, who is representing all three media organizations, wrote in the filing Monday

The video currently has the same status of live testimony given in the case, meaning that it can be reported on but the video cannot be broadcast …  expand full story

Music industry ▪ July 4, 2014

Apple’s presumed plans for an on-demand music service as part of its Beats acquisition is looking increasingly well-timed as Nielsen data shows that U.S. on-demand music consumption climbed 50.1 percent year-on-year, while music downloads fell by 12 percent in the same timeframe.

“With On-Demand streams surpassing 70 billion songs in the first six months of 2014, streaming continues to be an increasingly significant portion of the music industry,” says David Bakula, SVP Nielsen Entertainment …

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Music industry ▪ May 13, 2014

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Belief Revision with Unreliable Observations

Craig Boutilier, Nir Friedman, Joseph Y. Halpern

Research in belief revision has been dominated by work that lies firmly within the classic AGM paradigm, characterized by a well-known set of postulates governing the behavior of "rational" revision functions. A postulate that is rarely criticized is the success postulate: the result of revising by an observed proposition * results in belief in *. This postulate, however, is often undesirable in settings where an agent’s observations may be imprecise or noisy. We propose a semantics that captures a new ontology for studying revision functions, which can handle noisy observations in a natural way while retaining the classical AGM model as a special case. We present a characterization theorem for our semantics, and describe a number of natural special cases that allowease of specification and reasoning with revision functions. In particular, by making the Markov assumption, we can easily specify and reason about revision.

This page is copyrighted by AAAI. All rights reserved. Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of all of AAAI's terms and conditions and privacy policy.

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Causal Emergence of "Soft" Events

Myriam Abramson

Some events, like moods or qualitative evaluations, are not grounded in any particular observations or actions but can emerge as the result of internal or external interactions. "Opinion" rules extracted from diverse sources such as blogs, newspaper articles, chat rooms, etc. can be synthesized together into a fuzzy cognitive map linking event nodes together. We explore in this paper how to learn fuzzy cognitive maps with dynamic programming techniques.

Subjects: 3.5 Qualitative Reasoning; 9.1 Causality

Submitted: Aug 30, 2007


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Friday, January 13, 2012

Journal Articles Now Available Ahead of Print

The February issue of Comparative Medicine (CM) is now available under the FastTrack option through Ingenta. This means that the articles will now be available ahead of print on the journal website. This new system enables AALAS to accelerate the exchange of scholarly information by publishing content before it has been published in the traditional journal issue.

The FastTrack articles are accessible from a link on the CM homepage. Title, authors, and abstract information are presented in the same way as articles within an issue. A subscription is required to access these articles. Once you are logged in to the AALAS website, go to the CM issues page ( and the new articles will be available through a link right above the newest volume (see arrow in image below):

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Saieef ahmdya said...

Good and another post from you admin :)
I hope to visit my Site : Business Articles


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Home » Bio

Aaron Alon’s music has been performed around the world by such acclaimed musicians as Leone Buyse, Ian Davidson, Andrea Ceccomori, Catherine Branch, Daniel Neer, Michael Fennelly, Mark Whatley, and new music groups Sounds New and the Vientos Trio. His concert works have been released on four labels and awarded numerous national and international composition honors, including those from ASCAP; the National Association of Composers; the National Federation of Music Clubs; the Society of Composers, Inc.; Meet the Composer; the Lotte Lehmann Foundation; the Renée B. Fisher Composer Awards; and Mu Phi Epsilon. He is a member of ASCAP and DGA and a past chapter president of Mu Phi Epsilon.

Alon is also highly active as a teacher. He is an Associate Professor of Music and Lead Faculty for the Music and Drama Department at Lone Star College-CyFair, where he was named a 2014 Distinguished Faculty member. He is also the Director of the Composition program at the American Festival for the Arts. He has also taught for the Women’s Institute of Houston, Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and their School of Continuing Studies, the University of Texas “Road Scholar” program, and Alvin Community College. Current projects include an opera with librettist Michael Remson and a new musical (BULLY).

Since 2009, Alon has also been highly active as a playwright and musical theatre composer-lyricist. His plays and musicals have been read or performed in New York City, Houston, and Galveston, as well as in the UK. In a review of a concept cast highlights recording of his musical BULLY, David Clarke of BroadwayWorld.com said, “I was instantly impressed with Aaron Alon’s ability to write Broadway style pop ballads with such dexterity.” He is a founding member and president of the Board of Directors of Thunderclap Productions, a theatrical company dedicated to presenting new and underrepresented works.

Alon holds a DMA from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, an MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a BA from the University of Chicago. His past teachers include Karim Al-Zand, Anthony Brandt, Shih-Hui Chen, Jean Milew, Marta Ptaszynska, and Orianna Webb.

Download CV   Download Bio

© 2011-2015 Aaron Alon. All Rights Reserved.


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Shop Mobile More Submit  Join Login

To be perfectly honest, I usually am not a fan of the majority of what is labelled as artistic nude. The female form is the subject of much of my photography, but much of the nude work i see gives me the impression of substituting nudity for actual art and composition. This image strikes me as an exception. The symmetry of the form, and definition of the body is beautiful. And the emotional feel from the subject is pure and artistic. Im quite fond of it. Technically, i find myself wishing that you had been a few more feet away from the background, and an aperture setting around 2.5 had been used to have just your body be in focus, and everything else, falling away out of focus. Other than that, at least for me, the image is really beautiful.
6 out of 6 deviants thought this was fair.

melannc Featured By Owner Nov 15, 2012  Professional Artist
Thank you for the detailed critique, your perspective is much appreciated. :)

You should have a look at my "favorites" gallery- If you like this image, I think you may find several more art nudes you can appreciate.

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Man struck by train in South Houston, dragged

Railroad tracks in South Houston where officials say a man was struck by a train
January 6, 2013 6:26:09 AM PST
A man is in the hospital after being hit by a train overnight in the city of South Houston.

The accident happened on South Richey near Old Galveston Road.

Authorities say the victim was hit while trying to cross between the cars. We're told he may have been dragged for 50 yards.

The man was transported to an area hospital in serious condition.

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Strawberry growers gear up for holiday season

October 23, 2012 12:00:00 AM PDT
California strawberry growers are stepping up their efforts to give back to their local communities this holiday season.

The California Strawberry Commission says its members are launching new initiatives to cultivate strong ties with their communities. The roughly 500 family farmers in California who grow strawberries are teaming up to organize holiday gift drives, and scholarship programs.

The events are attracting large numbers of volunteers and donations.

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Celebrity divorces, breakups of 2013 / 2012

David Arquette and Courteney Cox, who share a daughter, announce in October 2010 that they were on a 'trial separation.' The two, who wed in 1999, remained friends. Arquette filed for divorce on June 8, 2012. It was finalized on May 28, 2013.  (Pictured: David Arquette and Courteney Cox gave a joint video interview to OTRC.com in March 2011 to promote their film 'Scream 4,' provided by Dimension Films.) (Dimension Films)

November 4, 2013 4:33:27 PM PST


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29 tickets sold in Calif. match 5 of 6 Mega lottery numbers

March 31, 2012 12:00:00 AM PDT
Five players who bought MEGA Millions lottery tickets in the Bay Area -- along with 24 other tickets bought in California -- won nearly $230,000 each by matching five of six numbers in Friday night's record-setting $640 million draw, according to state lottery officials

Click here for the winning Mega Millions lottery numbers

The tickets worth $227,955 each were sold at Sunnyvale's Liquor Tobacco & More on South Mary Avenue, a San Jose 7-Eleven on Blossom Hill Road, Fremont's Fast & Easy Mart on Ardenwood Boulevard, Al's Food & Liquor on Medway Road in San Rafael, and San Francisco's Fox Liquors on Larkin Street, lotto officials said.

The winning numbers for the multistate game were 46-23-38-4-2 and a Mega number of 23.

The other tickets matching all but the Mega number were sold across the state, with 11 winning tickets sold in Los Angeles County, three sold in Sacramento County, and two sold in Bakersfield, among other locations.

Because three tickets sold nationally -- in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois -- did match all six numbers in Friday night's draw, Tuesday night's Mega Millions jackpot will be worth $12 million.

The largest Mega Millions jackpot previously ever won was $390 million in March 2007.

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2 teens arrested in fatal shooting of Newark cabbie

July 13, 2012 7:43:35 AM PDT
Police have made two arrests in the fatal shooting of a cab driver in Newark last weekend.

Officers were responding to a report of a multi-vehicle accident in the predawn hours of July 7 when they found 49-year-old Rochenel Guerrier, of Irvington, shot to death in his cab.

Two teenagers are now charged in his murder.

On Wednesday, 19-year-old Jeshon Johnson was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service. Alchane Mayes, 18, was arrested Friday by detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force.

"These arrests should send out a clear message to those who choose to embrace the criminal element that the police department and its partners will do everything within our powers to apprehend and assist in the prosecution of those who insist on criminal activity," Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said. "Removing these dangerous criminals from our streets while assuring the safety of our citizens was the top priority of all the agencies involved."

Mayes and Johnson are charged with robbery, felony murder, conspiracy and weapons offenses. They are both being held on $1 million bail at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark.

WAKE UP WITH EYEWITNESS NEWS! Click here to download the WABC Eyewitness News Alarm Clock app from iTunes. or search WABC or 7online in the app store.

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Feds Race to Trace Boston Marathon Pressure Cooker Bomb

PHOTO: Images provided to law enforcement regarding Boston Marathon bombing.

Bombers who killed three people at the Boston Marathon Monday used a pressure cooker pot that's widely available for as little as $140 from major retail stores to house at least one of the explosives, officials told ABC News.

Investigators said Tuesday they had recovered a mangled Fagor brand pressure cooker pot, shrapnel, a circuit board and wiring from what they said was a partially exploded device near the finish line. The evidence has been sent to FBI's lab in Quantico, Virginia, where law enforcement sources said the parts could provide a break in the case.

Investigators will use every clue, from the pressure cooker's manufacturer and retailers to the types of nails used in the shrapnel, to try and find out from where the bomb parts were purchased and by whom, the sources said.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Terror at the Boston Marathon

Richard Clarke, former White House counter-terrorism advisor and now ABC News consultant, said that while pressure cooker IEDs have been found in Afghanistan and Pakistan, that doesn't necessarily point to foreign involvement, as the pots are so widely available and instructions for how to build the bombs are easily accessed online by anyone.

"It doesn't tell you much about who did it... But it does give you a lead perhaps of where it came from," Clarke said. "They [investigators] may be able to trace back a pressure cooker."

Two bombs exploded Monday, but investigators said there was not enough evidence to determine if the second bomb was also built from a pressure cooker.

Along with tracking down the origin of the bomb parts, authorities are painstakingly going through hundreds of pictures and videos from the site of the bombing, hoping, as Clarke put it, to "stitch" together a picture of what exactly happened.

Adding to the pile of potential evidence in this case, a local news station, WHDH, has come forward to give investigators footage that shows a large sack in front of a metal fence just seconds before one of the bomb detonates, after which the large bag had disappeared. Then there's a series of still images taken by witness Ben Thorndike from a nearby office building. In those, Thorndike said he can see one man with tattered, seemingly burned clothes, sprinting from the scene immediately after a blast.

CLICK HERE to see the images from the site.

Authorities have not said that man -- or any other individual -- is a suspect in the case, but they have repeatedly urged any witnesses to come forward with any potential piece of evidence. They are currently looking for any information on someone who was carrying an unusually heavy dark backpack in the area before the race. The FBI requests anyone with potential information call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

"Assistance from the public remains critical in establishing a timeline of events which leads to swift conclusions through due diligence and strong investigative activity," FBI special agent in charge Richard DesLauriers said Tuesday. DesLauriers said then investigators have received "voluminous" tips and brought in additional evidence response teams to help deal with the massive workload.

READ ANALYSIS: How Feds Will Investigate Boston Marathon Bombing

At approximately 2:50 p.m. EST Monday, twin explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 170 more, more than a dozen critically. No group, domestic or international, has claimed responsibility.

Despite more than 36 hours passing without a suspect named, Clarke said he's confident the authorities will get their man.

"It may take a while, but this will be solved," he said.

Have a tip related to this or another investigation? CLICK HERE to send it in.

ABC News' Randy Kreider and Rym Momtaz contributed to this report.

CLICK HERE to return to The Investigative Unit homepage.

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Seven Wacky Consumer Products

Photo: Weird Consumer Products

Is underwear for your hands on your holiday shopping list this year? How about a golf club that doubles as a weed whacker or a Snuggie … for your dog?

This holiday season, even as consumers say they're pulling back on spending, experts like Tod Marks, senior editor at Consumer Reports magazine, expect that purchases of unusual products will stay strong.

VIDEO: We test Slap Chop, Shuffles, Strap Perfect and Bumpits against their claims.

"A lot of people laugh at them but a lot more consumers actually pay attention to these things," he said. "There's some either underlying curiosity or promise or implied performance that underlies these things … it's putting a piece of bait on a hook and dangling it in front of some very hungry consumers."

For the most part, strange products come at relatively low price points and that too, of course, is appealing to shoppers, Marks said.

"At best, these products maybe do something useful," he said. "At worst, you're not out a lot of money and you get something to talk about." took a look at some unusual merchandise available in the last few years. Are these products more than just conversation pieces? Decide for yourself.

VIDEO: Becky Worley tests out the Snuggie, ShamWow, Mighty Mend-It and other products.

"Talk about sexy. You'll have to hold the ladies back after they get a glimpse of these tighty-whities."

So goes the infomercial for Handerpants, the "underpants for your hands."

The sales pitch for the $11.95 product -- which looks like fingerless gloves made in the same design of traditional men's briefs -- may be tongue-in-cheek, but the Handerpants Web site and infomercial also list specific uses for the product, including as a liner for gloves that might prevent chafing.

Trekkie Makes Man Cave into U.S.S. Enterprise
Inside a Basement Transformed Into the USS Enterprise

Courtesy Archie McPhee

Handerpants manufacturer Archie McPhee & Co. said thousands of Handerpants have been sold since the product debuted in August.

Of Bears and Pups

The Tiddy Bear

A stuffed teddy bear that attaches to seat belts, the Tiddy Bear may have a snicker-worthy name, but its makers say it tackles a real problem: the discomfort associated with the pressure a seat belt strap puts on a person's shoulder and neck. One of the product's creators is a breast cancer survivor.

But the Tiddy Bear's makers are well aware of the product's humor value.

"Obviously you get some people that laugh," said spokesman Scott Singer. "It certainly gets a lot of people's attention."

An infomercial for the $14.95 product -- which has received more than 1.5 million views on and inspired a bit on the talk show "Ellen" -- shows several women and one man strapping the bear onto their seatbelts and centering it on their chests.

"That teddy is a real ladies man," one YouTube commentor wrote.

Pup to Go

Courtesy Pup to Go, LLC

Need to carry your dog places but want to keep your hands free for running errands? The makers of the Pup to Go dog carriers say they've got the solution for you: a dog carrier that straps onto a person's chest and abdomen.

Pup to Go co-founder Meena Mansharamani says that using the Pup to Go carrier, which sells for $125, should not be a replacement for walking. Rather, it allows dog owners to take their dogs to places where it might be difficult to walk them, such as a crowded street fair.

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The New Frontier of Digital Education A university with an audacious purpose.
5:18 | 02/08/12

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Transcript for The New Frontier of Digital Education
Every glad I'm Tory Johnson and this is app -- Tuition hikes in the sky rocketing cost of higher education motivated three -- for professors. To develop an online university -- -- -- dot com offers the ability to take online courses from anywhere in the world for free. Jesse professor David Evans joins us now with details and -- you can take advantage of this new -- of education welcome. Thanks starts going to be here Sentelle about the premise behind you -- -- So the idea behind -- -- is that we can use the Internet to provide world class education. Makes the cost low and -- per student that we can make it free for students. And deliver quality of education that's comparable to what students can get it over universities. So who's paying the bills. So there's no cost to students. We are structured as a for profit company so there are plans to collect revenues. The main way that we plan -- that is from recruiters that the students that we. Will produce as they go through our courses will become very valuable to recruiters and will be able to turn triggers a -- -- had access to those students. Got it RA and you had a whole lot of momentum from the very start I read in the -- -- 160000. Students. -- -- nearly 200 countries and -- in your first class the introduction to artificial intelligence. So why so much excitement who is eligible to sign up and tell us about some of the court's options -- -- that that's right there's a huge excitement and I think there's huge demand for higher education. And it's become so expensive and inaccessible that that there -- millions of people that want it they can't -- the traditional way. We're starting to new courses in February. One of the courses will be as CS one -- one course -- on teaching that's an introductory course. That anyone can take there's no back -- -- expected. On anyone who wants to learn that computing as long as you can play video and web browser. -- ready to take that class and that will focus around doing a search engine and learning the key ideas about computer science as we do that. The other course the starting February 20 is when -- stressed teaching. That will focus on programming a self driving car and some -- as the world's expert in how to do that. And so anyone's eligible. Anyone can -- out. Anyone anyway Canada website sign up there's no cost to you that. The intro course is open to anyone there's no back aren't expected. To take the self driving -- course you're expected already have some experience with programming but anyone who wants to sign up the courses are are free for anyone in the world. Most of the classes it's not all my -- are offered in some forty different languages so how is -- -- city. Now and certainly going forward in the future get -- -- fact higher education both. Domestically and abroad what's the hope. So the hope is that we can serve a huge population of students that is not being served well. By traditional universities. If you have the money to afford to pay tuition if you can spend four years of your life. With no other obligations if you can go to Palo -- -- Charlottesville and spend your time there that's great to have that experience but the vast majority of the world's population can't do. And we want to open up higher education tallest people that aren't able to have -- -- spend the time that's required to do a traditional university. For the purposes of then being able to meet the demands of the workforce. So that's one of the goals that's certainly not only -- that there are many people -- will take the course is just for personal empowerment and that's great. For many students and certainly developing skills that will help them get jobs and we're focusing on computer science right now -- there's a huge demand. For people with skills in computer science. Tell me that the feedback that you are hearing even through the great -- from. Higher education institutions where nothing is free. So most of it is overwhelmingly positive there's a lot of excitement about this there's lots of factly universities that want to find -- stick to teach course -- us. There is some negativity and the negativity often comes from people not really understanding. What our mission is that we're not out -- -- place that traditional on campus universities. We think those are wonderful places all of that people working in -- -- spent a lot of time traditionally universities and love them. The problem is that they're becoming so expensive and there's such a small fraction of the world's population can actually take advantage of that so for those who can't. You know we're we're definitely supportive traditionally -- -- -- -- that they exist and they provide a wonderful experience for the students who can do that. The problem is that there and many more students who want higher education and -- university's cancer shore. And finally US -- hiring. You've got some job openings eight to come. Work with you. We are we're growing fast we're looking both for that the best teachers to help develop new courses. We also need technical staff to help run our systems. And we need people to help produce courses and -- courses there's a lot more details on the job openings on on the casting what's. Are right so we'll leave it there so if you're -- -- -- that taking -- course are joining. The organization and you can find a whole lot more at -- assi dot com thanks so much David for coming him. Thank you.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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Weight Watchers Most Popular Diet of 2012; Jillian Michaels Is Top Workout

PHOTO: Jillian Michaels attends The Power Walk for Dress For Success on May 12, 2012 in New York City.

Michael Phelps' 12,000-calorie-a-day training diet and Beyonce's maple syrup cleanse may top Google's list of the 10 most-searched diets of 2012, but the popular website Diets in Review.com found that when people want to get serious about weight loss, they rely on more conventional plans.

For the fifth year in a row, Diets in Review tracked its overall traffic to determine which weight loss plans received the most page views and provoked the most user discussion. The site followed hundreds of diet trends over the course of the year and has now listed the 25 most trafficked.

This year Weight Watchers, a well-established brand, was the most popular diet on the Diets in Review site, generating more than 5 percent of the sites' two million page views per month and more than 35 pages of comments from users. The 17-Day Diet and Medifast claimed the next two spots.

Brandi Koskie, director of publishing for Diets in Review, said she believes the list is indicative of which weight loss plans people are actually using, since the site tracks unique visitors and number of page views rather than simple searches.

"Search behavior doesn't always mirror actual behavior. Sometimes people are just curious -- no one is really going to eat or train like Michael Phelps but they are likely to try something sensible after they've run through all the quick fixes and fads," she said.

The only weight loss brand that makes a top 10 appearance on both lists is The P.I.N.K. Method. No. 4 on Google and No. 5 on Diets in Review, the plan is designed exclusively for women; it includes DVD workouts and a three-phase approach to nutrition.

Koskie said a strong marketing campaign pushed The P.I.N.K. Method into the public mind early in the year. The site saw a huge bump in traffic for the diet when the TV talk shows "Dr. Phil" and "The Doctors" devoted several episodes to it. Reviewers on the side called the plan "kinda silly but sensible" and gave it a solid 80 percent approval rating. However, unlike Weight Watchers, which has been in Diet in Reviews' top two all five years, Koskie said she doesn't think P.I.N.K. has staying power.

"After its initial spike it fell off the radar. I don't expect it to make an appearance next year," Koskie said.

There were a couple of big surprises on the Diet in Review list. For the first time, no acai berry products cracked the top 25 in popularity. Koskie said she thought consumers are weary of hearing about the fruit's mystical fat burning powers that somehow never seem to pan out. It's also possible that another berry supplement -- raspberry ketones, making their first appearance at No. 18 -- bumped acai off the charts.

"Raspberries dominated traffic in February right after the 'Dr. Oz' segment promoting the supplement. It was one of our biggest weeks of the year," Koskie said.

Another unexpected entry: Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, a workout DVD released more than five years ago. The workout moved up two spots from last year to No. 8 and is the only program on the list dedicated exclusively to exercise. Michaels' Detox and Cleanse kit holds the ninth spot and her online support group holds the 20th spot.

"It's amazing to see how much loyalty users have for Michaels," said Koskie. "Our people continue to rave about her."

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Donald Trump Runs Second in Poll: Can He Win Republican Nomination?

Trump previously considered presidential bids in 1988 and again in 1999, but eventually decided not to run both times. This time around critics remain skeptical about his intentions, speculating that he is just trying to garner favorable publicity for his many media and business ventures.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie expressed skepticism ove a Trump presidential candidacy during an interview Wednesday with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer.

"Donald's a really good friend of mine. I don't know that Donald really wants to be president," he said.

"We've spoken about it, and all I can say to you is that, you know, I'll believe it when I see it," Christie said. "I think he likes what he does. I think he likes building things. And I think he likes being on TV, and you know, he does that well."

Referring to Trump's hints about running, Christie added, "I wouldn't call it stunt, but I think he's very outspoken and... he loves to be on the stage and to express his opinions."

Even so, Trump has scheduled speaking appearances in two important early nominating states -- Iowa and New Hampshire -- in June, the same both he has said he will announce his decision about the 2012 race.

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Review: 'Michael Phelps: Push the Limit' for Kinect

PHOTO: A screen grab from the Michael Phelps swimming game for Xbox.

At first thought, a Michael Phelps-headlined swimming game seems like a no brainer. Swimming has always been something we've dreaded to do with our video game controllers; it requires too much angling and is always a slow, tedious process.

With Kinect, you can finally trade pressing a button for the most natural of movements, actually pushing water away with your arms. So where would this fascinating technology take us in our first swimming game, Michael Phelps: Push the Limit?

How about to one side of the pool and back?

No, Michael Phelps is not leading us on an underwater adventure or even headlining an Olympic Games title. Instead, America's favorite goof-ball gold medalist is sticking to his events, the 200 and 400 meters, which unfortunately no amount of Xbox graphics can make interesting.

Not that the game's makers, 505 Games, didn't try. They've included roof deck pools set above city skylines, indoor pools with huge windows that display massive thunderstorms raging in the background and a system of pumping up the crowd by pumping your first in the air before the race begins.

Then the race begins and you're stuck attempting to swim in a very strict rhythm for 400 short meters. Go too fast and your stamina will deplete, then get ready to receive sixth place in a swimming video game.

The entire game consists of variations of strokes and course lengths. It feels like the title would have been better as cheap downloadable content or packaged in a larger Olympic sports world. At least keep with the swimming theme and give us diving as an option.

We may never see a game in which Michael Phelps stars as the Aquaman-style superhero that we all know he is, and it's a shame. That is the sort of Phelps title I'd love to play.

-- This embed didnt make it to copy for story id = 15201303.
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'Bonk' Writer Offers Hubby for Sex Research

Mary Roach goes all the way for scientific research.

In 2007, she had sex with her husband while a British doctor waved an ultrasound wand over their private parts testing their genital responses to the soundtrack of "Les Miserables."

Her compliant husband — innocently lured to London with the promise of "an all-expense paid trip" and a day at Stonehenge — rose to the occasion with a dose of Viagra, she says.

"It was a weird mix of medical procedure and sex," Roach, who took copious notes throughout, told ABCNEWS.com. "Ed said afterward, 'I was really creeped out that I did this.'"

It was all for the sake of Roach's new book — "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex" — which reached #10 on the New York Times bestseller list this spring.

"He's such a good person," Roach said of her husband, a graphic artist. "Mary needs this for her book, I will ejaculate."

Not since Masters and Johnson wrote "Human Sexual Response" in 1966 has the physiology of sex been explored in such detail. Until their groundbreaking study with married couples, researchers would "simply, quietly do it themselves."

In the case of London's Dr. Jing Deng, who studied Roach's sexual response, he wanted to capture "real-time, two-party human coitus," but he couldn't find takers. She volunteered.

"It's one of those things you agree to, and you're not really thinking it all the way through," said Roach. "If my husband had been thinking it through, he would have said, 'No!' The burden of performance was on him."

She even participated in an arousal study at the University of Texas at Austin. "It was not particularly demanding," Roach said. "I had to sit in a chair in a room with no pants on with a seismograph and was a control subject watching porn."

The 49-year-old is no stranger to strange topics. She has written about Eskimo food, flatulence, vaginal weight-lifting, carrot addiction and amputee bowling leagues. Her two previous books also explore oddities with humor: "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" (2003) and "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife" (2005).

Curious is the operative word. Roach stuck her nose in a Taiwanese lab where penises culled from cadavers were skinned like snakes in an effort to find a cure for impotence. She also witnessed a Danish pig farm where sows were stimulated with vibrators to improve their conception rates.

Roach has discovered the term "boner" is also a misnomer. Unlike dogs and other mammals, men don't have penile bones. The walrus sports the largest one, and Inuits use it for war clubs.

It took Roach two years to research and write the book. "Sex is so intimate and personal and emotional, and science is so clinical," she said. "How you bring it into the lab and study it is a conundrum."

The daughter of a Dartmouth College professor and a secretary, Roach was raised in New Hampshire, where she "didn't quite fit in" at the local high school where most kids were "jocks."

She went to Wesleyan University in Connecticut, which has a reputation for open-minded inquiry. [At one time, the college was proud of its all-nude dorm.] "It gave me a kind of ridiculous hubris to do whatever I wanted," she said.

Roach's writing career began as a part-time PR person, working next to the Gorilla House at the San Francisco Zoo. Off hours, she wrote humor columns that appeared in national magazines and even on "The Colbert Report."

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Bigfoot Spotted In Idaho?

VIDEO: High school students filmed a possible Bigfoot walking through the forest.

                                                                                (Image Credit: ABC News)

A group of high school students may have come close to Bigfoot during a class project in the Idaho wilderness.

A dark, mysterious creature was caught on tape for a few seconds near Mink Creek before it retreated into the treeline.

"It just didn't look human-like. I don't know what that is, it's not a bear, it's not a moose or anything. It was big and bulky and black," said the student who captured the video. He spoke to ABC News' Idaho affiliate but did not want want to be identified on camera.

The students climbed to where they saw the potential Sasquatch and photographed the large footprints it left in the dirt.

"I'm not going to say yes it was a Bigfoot or no it wasn't, because I don't know., and nobody knows," the student told the news station.

The Animal Planet show "Finding Bigfoot"  plans to visit Pocatello, Idaho in June to investigate claims that Bigfoot could be in the area.

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White House Warns Tax Hike Will Curb Consumer Spending

An Obama administration report out today says the typical American household will pay $2,200 in additional taxes next year if the so called Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class are allowed to expire.

The findings from the President's Council of Economic Advisers also states that the net result would be a slowdown in consumer spending by $200 billion in 2013, stunting the economic recovery by 1.4 percent. A decline of $200 billion in consumer spending is roughly equivalent to four times the amount spent by Black Friday shoppers last year, the report said, or the entire sum of domestic auto sales.

The White House's findings are a clear grab for leverage in the impending " fiscal cliff" talks on Capitol Hill, in which the previous administration's cuts have been a negotiating point. But it also largely echoes similar research from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office out earlier this month. Economists warn the automatic spending cuts and tax increases that would be triggered if Congress fails to pass a budget by the end of the year would plunge the country back into recession.

President Obama and congressional Democrats have taken the position of continuing the cuts for households making under $250,000 a year, while allowing those same breaks to expire for higher income earners. The Republican caucus has largely fought to keep those cuts in place across the board, but since this weekend several key members of the GOP signaled they were open to breaking a long-standing pledge not to raise taxes.

"The only pledge we should be making to each other is to avoid becoming Greece. And Republicans should put revenue on the table," Sen. Lindsey Graham, S.C.-R, said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday.

If negotiations are successful, the report claims the economy could still see an immediate negative impact: Uncertainty over possible future tax hikes on the middle class could lead to a slowdown in holiday shopping, stunting the economic recovery.

The White House report hits as millions of Americans turn to "Cyber Monday" for online holiday shopping deals, and coincidentally as Congress returns to session from its Thanksgiving break.

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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Labour drug strategy another paper tiger

Commenting on the Government’s 10-year drug strategy announced today, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

“The Government has already been through one ten-year drugs strategy and a failed drugs tsar, but drug addiction is still the most significant contributor to crimes against property with 35 per cent of those arrested testing positive for opiates such as heroin or cocaine, including crack.

“Cutting benefits for addicts is a gimmick that is more likely to increase crime than reduce it, and the police already have the powers to freeze the assets of anyone who is arrested for serious crime.

“This is a medical and social problem which must be addressed with effective treatment programmes, yet the Government is lamentably failing to fund programmes that can cut reoffending rates by half. The Department of Health and the Home Office do not coordinate their efforts, and the result is a continuing public health and crime crisis.”

The situation is no better in Wales. A member was recently appalled to see illegal drug transactions taking place openly in the centre of Swansea, in a supposedly tightly-policed zone.

The Home Office's own figures show that between a third and a half of all acquisitive crime is estimated to be drug-related, and that 35 per cent of those arrested tested positive for opiates or cocaine.

Winter Fuel payment losing its value

Gordon Brown boasted at Prime Minister's Questions this week of Labour's introduction of the Winter Fuel Payment. What he neglected to mention was how far its original value has been eroded by inflation and recent extreme price rises.

In fact, it now it only just pays for a quarter of a pensioner’s fuel bills.

The amount of the Winter Fuel Payment has been frozen at £200 for
five years.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Danny
Alexander said:

“As fuel bills rise, thousands of older people won’t be able to afford to
heat their homes this winter.

“While the cost of heating homes has rocketed and the value of the basic
state pension has plummeted, the Government has frozen the Winter Fuel Payment at £200 for five years.

“The Liberal Democrats would restore the earnings link to pensions to ensure older people would be better off.”

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Government knew for years of council tax overcharging

Commenting on the reports that ministers and officials might have known for years that tens of thousands of householders were paying too much council tax, Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said:

“Many people are already struggling to pay for their council tax bills, and this comes as a bitter blow to those people whose homes have been placed in the wrong tax bands.

“If the situation were reversed, you could guarantee these people would have had the taxman breathing down their neck demanding the money to be repaid.

“The Lyons Review made it perfectly clear that the current council tax system was not fit for purpose, yet Gordon Brown has done nothing more than kicked the report into the long grass.

“This makes it clearer than ever that we need to replace the unfair council tax with a local income tax based on people’s ability to pay.”

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Prison system heading for meltdown

A series of revelations highlighted the current crisis caused by prison overcrowding:

· The Government has ordered that dangerous criminals on
indeterminate sentences be moved to lower-security prisons

· Figures from a ministerial written statement show that the
Government is asking for an extra £35m to cope with the costs of Operation
Safeguard (Previous parliamentary questions by the Liberal Democrats revealed that
the Government spent £28 million on Operation Safeguard in 2007)

· A report published today last Wednesday by the BMA says that ‘prisoner safety is being put at risk by the Government’s inhumane, expensive and overstretched use of temporary prison accommodation’

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Heath said:

“This marks a new low in the Government’s mishandling of our penal system. Britain’s mismanaged prisons are in a state of complete disarray and the Government is having to take increasingly desperate measures to prevent a complete meltdown.

“The decision to move dangerous criminals into lower security prisons highlights how the Government introduced indeterminate sentences in a blaze of publicity but with scant regard for how they would work in practice.

“The Prison Service is having to take drastic action now because Government legislation has driven prison numbers to record levels.

“Holding prisoners in police and court cells has left forensic physicians
unable to cope, prisoners at risk, and contributes directly to reoffending. The answer is not to further burden the police or court services but to take people out of prison who should not be there, such as those with mental health problems and drug addictions, and move them to more appropriate accommodation.

“We used to say that the Government was spending more on keeping prisoners in police cells than it would cost to have them stay at the Ritz. But now Jack Straw could have used the £35 million extra he’s been given for Operation Safeguard to buy his own chain of hotels.”

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

New Labour wants doctors to join the social police

Commenting on Alan Johnson’s speech today in which he set out plans to change Britain’s ‘sick note culture’ into a ‘well note culture’, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary for England, Norman Lamb said:

“This serious issue deserves a more sophisticated approach, but we should
be wary of moving to a system where doctors find themselves policing the
benefits system rather than treating the sick.

“If Alan Johnson is serious about helping the large number of people on
long term sick leave back to work, he should focus on providing better
access to effective treatment for the huge numbers of people on incapacity
benefit with mental health problems.”

We await Edwina Hart's take on this. While Westminster controls both the benefits system and doctors' contracts in England, the Assembly Government has responsibility for health matters in Wales.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Belated Northern Rock nationalisation the right decision

Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement that Northern Rock bank is to
be temporarily nationalised, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince
Cable said:

“Belatedly the Government has made the right decision.

“This is the option the Liberal Democrats have argued for from the outset,
unlike the Tories who have no alternative to offer.

“In an issue of such major national interest the focus must now be on the
next steps.

“The first priority must be to work out the seriousness of the problems at
the bank with an independent audit of its loan book. This must be
conducted under the auspices of the Bank of England, not the FSA.

“Secondly, the bank must stop irresponsible lending at more than the value
of property, and aggressive deposit-taking.

“Thirdly, there will be difficult times ahead, especially for the
employees, as the bank is downsized. However, there is now hope for the
long-term future of the bank when it is eventually sold in more
satisfactory conditions.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions, about who for example is paying
the expenses for the long detour exploring the Branson bid, but at least
the Government has now made the first move towards tackling this mountain
of a problem.”

Frank Little adds: “George Osborne's knee-jerk reaction is evidence that the Conservatives are still dominated by Thatcherite thinking. He should realise that Brown & Darling's decision, late though it is, is a pragmatic one on a par with Edward Heath's action to keep Rolls-Royce Engines viable.

“These decisions were taken in the long-term interests of the country, can only be taken by government, and cannot be left to the short-term mechanism of the market. RR's position, having been returned to private ownership, as one of the two top aero-engine manufacturers in the world, vindicates Heath's action. One anticipates that Northern Rock will return as one of the top five mortgage lenders in the UK, in rather less time than the sixteen years it took Rolls-Royce”.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Coroner's remarks sum up treatment of armed forces

Commenting on today’s remarks by Coroner Andrew Walker, accusing the
Ministry of Defence of breaching soldiers' trust by sending them to
Afghanistan without basic equipment, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence
Secretary, Nick Harvey said:

“These stinging comments sum up the way our armed forces have been
consistently betrayed by the Government.

“For years soldiers have been left overstretched and under-equipped. How
many more tragedies like this must there be before ministers stop
rewarding bravery with incompetence?”

Thursday, February 14, 2008

A Real Referendum

In the next few weeks Parliament will be voting on whether to hold a European referendum. The Conservatives are proposing a restrictive referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. My colleagues and I are campaigning hard for the British people to be given a real choice through a referendum on our membership of the European Union as a whole:

In British politics, only the Liberal Democrats have argued consistently that Britain's place is at the heart of Europe.

While Labour and the Tories have torn themselves apart over the issue, we have been steadfast for decades in our support for Britain's membership of the European Union.

Why then, you may ask, are the Liberal Democrats now alone among the main parties proposing a referendum on whether to stay in the European Union or get out?

The answer is because the European debate has poisoned British politics for too long. If we as a nation are to stride forward confidently into the 21st century and tackle all the new global issues like climate change and terrorism we need to decide once and for all whether that future lies within the European Union, or outside it.

Like most people, I want to see a reformed, liberal Europe where decisions are taken at the most appropriate level. That is why the Liberal Democrats are in favour of the Lisbon Treaty. It will make the EU more effective, more efficient and more accountable, enabling us to cope better with enlargement. It will help us to tackle issues such as cross-border crime and climate change and it will give the EU a stronger voice on the world stage.

The old, abandoned Constitution would have scrapped and replaced all the previous treaties. The Lisbon Treaty is just an amending treaty. So our proposal is closest to the commitment made by all three parties at the last election for a referendum on a European constitution.

Over the next few weeks we will be stepping up our campaign to demand that the government honours that commitment to the British people:

The Conservatives are conspiring to deny the public a real choice over Europe. Over the years their Euroscepticism has hardened into outright hatred of everything to do with the European Union. In Government they denied the British people a referendum on really important Treaties like Maastricht and the Single European Act. In opposition they call for a referendum on even the smallest change.

We must not let the Tories con the British people again. Their call for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is a side show to the real debate on Europe which they are afraid to have with the British people.

We want that real debate. We want a referendum on Europe that really matters. In that referendum we will argue long and hard for Britain's vital place in the EU, and, I believe, defeat the Eurosceptics for a generation.

I would relish the chance to lead the Liberal Democrats at the forefront of that campaign.

Please support our campaign for a real referendum by clicking here and signing up to our petition:

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg
Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Sending Welsh Children to Prison Fails to Cut Reoffending

Claire Rayner once said that statistics showed that crime rates could be halved by the simple expedient of locking up the male population between the ages of 18 and 25.

It seems from Jenny Willott's latest research that the government has already embarked on this scheme. The next stage is to lock children up for longer. ;-(

The alternative may be more expensive in the short term, but will surely save money and contribute to a better society in the long. As Jenny says: "We should focus our efforts on restorative justice programmes where communities have the powers to establish panels which would require offenders to face up to their crimes and engage in community work as reparation.

"We need to provide more effective non-custodial punishments and preventative work based in the community. Young offenders should be given full access to education and training opportunities so that they have the skills to break out of the cycle of reoffending."

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Government only talking tough on Northern Rock

Responding to reports that the Treasury has told the Virgin-led consortium
that it is the frontrunner to take control of Northern Rock but
nationalisation is currently regarded as the better outcome for the
taxpayer, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said:

“I would like to believe that the Government has finally seen sense and
recognised that in the current market conditions temporary public
ownership is the best way to safeguard taxpayers' interests.

“I fear however that the Government is determined to make a private sale
to Richard Branson's consortium and may just be talking tough in order to
extract some last minute concessions.

“These will then be used to camouflage a bad deal in which the Virgin
consortium takes the profits and the taxpayer is left with most of the

Those of us who signed a petition, headed "No City Bail-Out", to 10 Downing Street last year received a dry and rather sparse reply. However, it did contain the important sentence:
It is not the role of taxpayers to protect directors and shareholders from the consequences of their decisions.

Vince Cable and the parliamentary party will be holding the Chancellor to that.

Non-Doms: Cable derides government proposals

Responding to the Government’s clarification this afternoon of their
policy towards non-domiciled residents, Liberal Democrat Shadow
Chancellor, Vince Cable said:

“The Government has made an unholy mess of this issue and is being made to
look thoroughly foolish, now it has been demonstrated that ministers
haven’t thought through the implications of their own policies.

“However, there has been some outrageous special pleading from the City
with wildly exaggerated accounts of the damage that would be done by
taxing non-domiciled residents.

“British taxpayers do not understand why they should pay 40% top rate tax,
while the super-rich may pay little more than council tax on houses worth
tens of millions.

“The Liberal Democrats have argued that non-domiciled status does provide
some unjustified tax loopholes, but the flat-rate charge proposed by the
Government and the Conservatives is not the way to end this scandal. It
will hammer many useful non-doms of moderate means, whilst super-rich
Russian tax exiles will regard it as no more than a fleabite.

“We believe that the best way forward is to allow non-dom status for seven
years, but after that treat them in the same way as all other British

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Incapacity: Labour & Tories just as rigid

James Purnell is following in Peter Hain's footsteps as Work and Pensions minister in more ways than one. His approach to incapacity benefit is equally prescriptive, no doubt dictated by the Treasury.

Commenting on last week’s Public Accounts Committee report, "Helping
people from workless households into work", Liberal Democrat Shadow Work
and Pensions Secretary, Danny Alexander said:

“This report highlights problems that have been evident for a long-time:
the Government’s one-size-fits-all programmes are ignoring hard to reach
groups that must be supported back into work.

“A fifth of Incapacity Benefit claimants suffer mental health problems,
yet the Government has done nothing to support this group back into work.
Ministers seem content to leave them stagnating on sick pay for six months
before getting involved.

“Rather than threatening to evict people from workless households, the
Government should start by getting its own house in order.”

The Conservatives also proceed from the assumption that people on benefits are scroungers. But when was the last time a Tory knocked on a door in Croeserw?

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Peter Black has long been known as a campaigner against fluoridation of our water supply. (See his entry "The fluoride state" for February 9th on his blog)

He is not alone. One of our own members wrote recently:
Once again, I have read that there is a call from some politicians, and so-called “professors” to introduce fluoride to the water supply, but only in deprived areas. This is a quote taken from this BBC link

Of course this isn't for everyone - it won't be necessary in the wealthier home counties for instance.

I am extremely concerned about this proposal, as I have done extensive research into the affects of fluoride in children. The fluoride that’s added to the water supply is a highly toxic waste product from the fertilizer industry, and its affects on children can be devastating. (But, hey, as long as they die with no cavities, what’s the problem?)

Friday, February 08, 2008

"Faceless Britain" campaign

Are you happy with dealing with Job Centres, Tax Credit or other public service queries over the phone?

Or would you prefer to sort out your problem face to face?

Why not browse the campaigning pages just launched by Julia Goldsworthy and Danny Alexander?

Thursday, February 07, 2008

90 years of women's suffrage

Never mind that we were 25 years behind New Zealand, and that the franchise was limited to those women over 30 with a certain standing in the community, we - under Liberal PM, David Lloyd George - gave the vote to women the vote in 1918.

The trouble now is over equal representation. The Liberal Democrats in Wales can take satisfaction from the 50/50 split, right from the start, in the Welsh Assembly. But more needs to be done in Westminster and in local councils. The message needs to go out that this party has always insisted on equal treatment of the sexes in its selection processes, right up to the final short-list.

Women who subscribe to our principles, and want to make a difference to their communities by standing for council (in May this year) or for the UK parliament (whenever Gordon Brown dares to call a general election), will find that they are pushing at an open door with the Liberal Democrats.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

This blog has drifted into too much of an ego-trip for me. My excuse is that it has been necessary to keep the thing going, and it is so easy to fill the space with personal reflections.

However, things have come to a head with an interchange, on the subject of the future of power generation, with Councillor Ioan Richard. My own views are not entirely on-message. I don't want to embarrass fellow-moderators by arguing them here, nor be constrained. Therefore I have revived an old internet nickname, ffranc sais, for a more personal and wide-ranging blog.
Frank Little

Friday, February 01, 2008

Targetting the vulnerable

Elected representatives (councillors, MPs) have recently noticed an increase in their postbag from parents claiming disability living allowance. It seems that allowances which have been paid without quibble for many years are now being abated or cut completely.

This target-driven government has clearly set target reductions to each of its spending departments across the board, in an attempt to fill the huge hole in its finances. DWP has cut where it is easiest, which unfortunately means hitting those who are least able to fight back.

Sentenced to death for an interest in women's status

The greatest enemies of organised religion are those who feel uniquely qualified to interpret their sacred writings, usually imposing their interpretation with violence. Christianity and Judaism are not blameless, but few will contest that Islam currently carries the heaviest burden.
Frank Little


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Monday, November 15, 2010

Christmas Shopping

I love getting formed in Christ!

This year, I got inspired by the Holy Spirit to completely reverse my gift giving strategy. I just bought the "hardest to please" difficult people on my list FIRST with money from my husband's November paycheck.

I'm also spending money this month to get beautiful holy Holiday Cards this year. I'm even creating extra special pre-printed Spiritual Bouquet cards for all the priests and religious in our lives.

I told God that this year, for the first time, I'm not going to worry about my FOUR kids Christmas gifts. My own kids will get the last minute Target run with whatever money is left over from my grocery budget on December 23.

I just figured out finally that my kids are easy to please. They are with me all the time. They get almost everything they want every day. They've got Jesus in their heart already during this Christmas season.

I'd like to use most of our limited holiday budget to bring gifts of LOVE to other lonely people this year.

(In the past I've obsessed over buying my kids gifts first and then use the money left over to buy really lame other "obligation" gifts for other friends and family members.)

St. Nicholas, please pray for us!


text:
Ben Wittes, Law Professors, Law Reviews, Law Schools, Media and Journalism, Non-Sequiturs, Partner Issues, Prostitution, Technology

Non-Sequiturs: 09.25.12

* The Village Voice is stepping away from Backpage due to its ties to sex trafficking. “This so unfair! Everyone loves online prostitution,” said no one ever (okay fine, a lot of people probably say that). [paidContent]

* Cybersecurity, drones, and smackdowns, oh my! [Lawfare]

* Right now, millions of taxpayer dollars fund legal scholarship. Considering how expensive law review articles seem to be, it’d be nice if law professors could techcite their own material before turning it over to law review peons associate staff members for further review. [PrawfsBlawg]

* We actually needed 25 volumes of things you can’t do on a plane? Apparently common sense is a relic these days. [Legal Blog Watch]

* Should you go to law school? That’s apparently the question on everyone’s mind, so Professor Deborah Merritt of Ohio State Law and Kyle McEntee of Law School Transparency are here to help you out. [NerdWallet]

* Wherein the five worst law partners known are discussed. Oh, whatever, partners should be able to act however they want to anyone. [Greedy Associates / FindLaw]

(hidden for your protection)

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Showing results 1 to 25 of 271 Search: Posts made by ilovetocuddle
Forum: Music 01:58 PM - 06/15/11
Replies: 186
Views: 11,313
Posted By ilovetocuddle
My Morning Jacket
Forum: News 12:13 PM - 05/04/11
Replies: 156
Views: 16,241
Posted By ilovetocuddle
that was annoying. what happened to this band? both new songs sound cheesy as fuck.
Forum: News 06:58 PM - 05/02/11
Replies: 157
Views: 55,354
Posted By ilovetocuddle
I'm in love with this album.

Anyone else getting a Built To Spill vibe from some tracks? I know Andy has said they've always been a strong influence, but I'm hearing it more on this album I think.
Forum: News 08:51 PM - 05/01/11
Replies: 459
Views: 52,334
Posted By ilovetocuddle
Forum: News 09:18 PM - 12/28/10
Replies: 107
Views: 13,511
Posted By ilovetocuddle
this. most people who commend travis barker as "one of the greatest" usually know nothing about drums. his technique is horrendous and he knows nothing of dynamics. there is alot more to drums than...
Forum: News 05:35 PM - 12/20/10
Replies: 13
Views: 1,991
Posted By ilovetocuddle
i have a feeling this album is going to be awesome.
Forum: News 02:36 PM - 10/04/10
Replies: 16
Views: 1,702
Posted By ilovetocuddle
i feel like i haven't heard anything from this band in ages. sounds good though.
Forum: News 01:21 AM - 07/13/10
Replies: 18
Views: 2,366
Posted By ilovetocuddle
so good. i can't wait to hear some new music from these guys. it's been too long.
Forum: News 10:14 AM - 03/25/10
Replies: 27
Views: 2,859
Posted By ilovetocuddle
this band rules.
Forum: News 07:01 PM - 02/26/10
Replies: 86
Views: 8,828
Posted By ilovetocuddle
this song sounds amazing live. definitely not sleeping until i hear this. march 9th can't come soon enough.
Forum: News 10:25 AM - 02/23/10
Replies: 15
Views: 1,555
Posted By ilovetocuddle
Forum: Music 08:53 PM - 02/16/10
Replies: 11
Views: 700
Posted By ilovetocuddle
nice! love these guys.they played Houston Calls' last show which wasn't too long ago. it would be great to hear some new music though.
Forum: News 06:35 PM - 02/09/10
Replies: 30
Views: 5,985
Posted By ilovetocuddle
this is going to rule.
Forum: Entertainment 10:15 PM - 01/21/10
Replies: 112
Views: 8,786
Posted By ilovetocuddle
i7gIpuIVE3k seriously.
Forum: Music 07:08 PM - 01/20/10
Replies: 16
Views: 1,043
Posted By ilovetocuddle
one of them most underrated bands around. i really hope to hear more stuff from them this year.
Forum: News 09:26 PM - 01/18/10
Replies: 154
Views: 15,456
Posted By ilovetocuddle
four year strong is going to blow up after this album is released. the new songs sound fucking sweet.
Forum: News 09:01 PM - 01/18/10
Replies: 55
Views: 4,187
Posted By ilovetocuddle
this years lineup looks promising already. a major improvement from last year.
Forum: Music 04:24 PM - 01/17/10
Replies: 1
Views: 381
Posted By ilovetocuddle
that guy is so lucky. i often dream of being in this same situation.
Forum: Music 07:58 PM - 01/14/10
Replies: 20
Views: 1,081
Posted By ilovetocuddle
this band rules.
Forum: News 11:06 AM - 01/14/10
Replies: 54
Views: 3,669
Posted By ilovetocuddle
so unbelievably stoked for this.
Forum: News 11:30 PM - 01/13/10
Replies: 22
Views: 2,363
Posted By ilovetocuddle
NO. kind of saw this coming, but its still sad to see them go. definitely have to make it out to some shows.
Forum: News 11:35 AM - 01/08/10
Replies: 76
Views: 6,126
Posted By ilovetocuddle
oh my god, fuck yes.
Forum: News 09:07 AM - 12/23/09
Replies: 336
Views: 19,195
Posted By ilovetocuddle
what a joke.
Forum: News 01:22 PM - 12/07/09
Replies: 48
Views: 5,546
Posted By ilovetocuddle
now i'm kind of glad i waited this long to buy tickets.
Forum: News 01:21 PM - 12/07/09
Replies: 44
Views: 5,794
Posted By ilovetocuddle
can't get enough of this man.

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text:
Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Late Night Costa Mesa Hijinks

"So, where ya been Pot Stirrer?", you ask. Well, last night's council meeting just flat wrung me out and by the time I finally left City Hall at 1:20 a.m. I was so disappointed and angry about the events of the evening/morning and so physically thrashed that I just couldn't sit down and write... so I took a mini-hiatus for a few hours. I'm back.

By the tim
e that meeting ended in the wee hours of Wednesday it seemed to me that we'd had an entire week's activities jammed into two days. With Interim Police Chief Steve Staveley's abrupt departure and the letter he left in his wake; Tom Hatch's angry response to that departure; the last-minute presentation by the OCEA of the results of their audit and then the events of the meeting itself, I found myself getting a giant brain cramp. Some might say it couldn't have been too big, considering what was involved...

The shortest shorthand version of last night's meeting - we have a budget, we barely have a Police Department left and a couple members of the city council majority have demonstrated again that they don't really care what the residents - those fine folks they are supposed to serve - have to say. In fact, they are more than willing to spit back at folks who criticize them - a totally unacceptable behavior for a municipal leader. That's all you need to know, but there are those nasty details to deal with.

I thought we might be in for an interesting evening when I found five (5) television news vans parked outside the council chambers more than an hour before the event was scheduled to begin. I was right. By the time I dragged my weary old body to my car more than seven hours later I'd had about all the political rhetoric and staged sound bites that I could take. You can watch the entire painful proceeding via streaming video HERE. To navigate the site be sure you use the "jump to" feature, then drag the scroll bar to the specific point of interest.

The auditorium was packed, with the overflow crowd watching and listening to the proceedings from the porch. They could be heard clapping and cheering occasionally following more than a few of the speakers before the council. There were many employees in the building, including a large contingent of police officers, eager for a last minute reprieve to the destruction of their organization. They went home disappointed.

Early on, when the crowd clapped and cheered
for a couple of the early speakers during Public Comments, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer blew a gasket and scolded the crowd for their boisterousness. He told them that folks were afraid to speak for fear of jeering and that school children who came to the meetings were ashamed of the adults acting like children. Later he gave us a demonstration of what he meant when he and non-elected councilman Steve Mensinger chided and berated members of the OCEA from the dais. Talk about lack of professionalism! The hypocrisy was so deep you almost needed hip boots in the chambers! More on that later.

The Public Comments segment took almost 90 minutes, with 33 speakers stepping up to address the council on a variety of issues. I'm not going to try to comment on every one, but Helen Nenadal led off with a passionate thank you to the residents of the city for their support in these troubled times.

g city mechanic, Gant Corum - one of those "Jiffy Lube Guys" that Colin McCarthy vilifies - stepped up and hit one out of the park, also thanking the residents of the city for their support. He's one of those waiting to hear the results of the RFP process to unfold - and the clock's ticking.

Retired police lieutenant Clay Epperson, who recently had a long commentary published in the Daily Pilot, stood to speak on behalf of recently-departed Interim Police Chief Steve Staveley, and to beg the council to not destroy our excellent police organization. As it turned out, the council was wearing ear plugs.

The council, with relatively little
debate, approved CEO Tom Hatch's plan to gut the Costa Mesa Police Department, ignoring the best professional advice available. He, and the council, chose to use as the cornerstone of their decision the pulled-from-the-air number of 125 sworn officers imposed on the process by "two members of the city council". We know that's the genesis of the number because Staveley told his troops that fact during his meeting with them a week ago. April 12, 2011, Staveley wrote a report to him defining his views on the staffing of the police department - he felt 160+ was a good number, but that 140 would be the barest minimum number that should be considered. Hatch's hand-picked consultants, Management Partners - which included in its stable of experts the former Police Chief in Brea, Mike Messina, a veteran cop with more than 35 years in law enforcement under his belt - suggested a minimum number of 136 sworn. And yet, here we are, with 125, to which will be added 5 positions via federal grant for 3 years and one restored Lieutenant slot for a total of 131. The department has not seen staffing numbers that low since the mid-1980s - when the population was nearly 40% smaller.

The discussion of how this reduction was to be executed was wishy-washy at best. Hatch seemed either unwilling or unable to describe how this plan will be executed, so they just moved on, apparently assuming it would just happen. I was seated near many members of the CMPD, who had a very troubled, confused look on many of their faces. It's bad enough to have their lives so affected by the decisions made at that moment, but to see the indecisiveness at the end of it certainly must have been frustrating for them.

Again, with relatively little discussion on the budget - especially considering t
he magnitude of the issue and the lengthy multiple-meetings that have been held on it in the recent past - the council voted to approve Hatch's plan, but with the alternatives offered up to meet the capricious demands made by Righeimer at the Study Session last week. We now have a General Fund budget of just over $95 million - a number that is almost certainly going to get massaged with a sledgehammer in the second quarter of the fiscal year once the whole outsourcing debacle begins to kick in.

There seems to be absolutely no doubt about just who's running the show on the dais these days - regardless who signs the paperwork. Yep, the carpetbagger has taken over and, as resident and former council candidate Lisa Reedy stated so clearly, is running wild. Mayor Gary Monahan appears to have abdicated the power seat, if not officially, at least in practice, to Righeimer. There must be some OC GOP marching orders at play here. Righeimer may not have snatched the crown off Monahan's head yet, but he certainly is messing with it.

Here's an irony for you. They approved the version of the budge
t that reduced the allocation for the legal fees from $1 million to just over $800,000, but earlier approved the Warrant in the Consent Calendar that showed the most recent bill to Jones & Mayer to be just over $120,000 - an annualized rate of $1.4 million. I doubt anyone in the room expects the legal fees to go down any time soon. Do these guys actually think nobody is watching this? Geez!

An amusing, and pa
thetic, sidebar occurred last night as Mensinger got into a discussion with Hatch about Park Rangers and Community Service Specialists (CSS). Over the past couple years, in an effort to balance earlier budgets, several of the non-sworn CSS positions were vacated and the incumbents laid off. Mensinger wanted to know how many were in the new budget and how they can be used. Hatch told him there was one Park Ranger slot filled and one vacant, plus 5 CSS slots approved. Mensinger wanted to know how many could be used as Park Rangers. There is no "Park Ranger" job - they are CSS slots filled to be Park Rangers and the pay grade and requirements are the same. For some reason, Mensinger just could not grasp the concept that there were 7 position and would remain 7 no matter how you sliced them. I wanted to stand up and yell for him to take off his shoes and count the toes, for goodness sake! And we wonder how his division of SunCal ended up in bankruptcy!

After midnight (!), before the budget was approved, the rem
aining 60 or so observers in the audience were forced to endure two irrelevant and unnecessary presentations. The first, by the smarmy Colin McCarthy in his role as the president of the Costa Mesa Taxpayer's Association - the vocal chords for the OC GOP in Costa Mesa - was a PowerPoint presentation showing a bundle of inaccurate and biased numbers with which they've been attempting to whip confused residents into a fiscal frenzy. There was NO reason for this presentation, particularly since it interfered with the real business of the council - to discuss and approve a budget!

The second was a lame presentation by a representative of the Orange County Employee's Association of the Executive Summary of their recently-completed audit. There was no good reason for this to have been presented since it was only released the day before and the final audit was only made available to the City Tuesday morning. Yes, it should have been acknowledged and, yes, the announcement of a study session to discuss it should have been made, but the presentation should not have been approved. As is turned out, it was disastrous for the OCEA. In yet another tactical blunder, in my view, they chose not to fly down the author from San Francisco for the presentation and the nice young woman who made the pitch was shredded by Righeimer in an aggressive, unprofessional attack. He was joined, like a second mutt in a brace of pit bulls, by his pal, Mensinger, who took the opportunity to castigate OCEA spokeswoman Jennifer Muir. And, in an interesting bit of piling on, McCarthy stood to further denigrate the OCEA presentation when public comments were invited. It was like a bully convention, for goodness sake.

So, dear readers, we've got a budget, but at the expense of the police depart
ment and public safety in our city. I know the men and women of the CMPD are going to continue to do their best to provide safe streets for all residents and visitors. I hope Hatch does, as he said was his plan, hire a new Police Chief shortly so the troops will not be operating with a leadership vacuum much longer. I have no idea how the latest Interim Police Chief, Dennis Kies, will do for the short time he will be around. Certainly, he will not try to implement any new initiatives during his short tenure. He'll be like a substitute teacher - here today, gone tomorrow. We'll see.

On the positive side, I no longer have to plan my every waking moment around Tuesday meetings at City Hall. With the budget approved, that requirement gets reduced to every other Tuesday. Ah, like a vacation...

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Blogger valan2 said...

Pot Stirrer: Great summary, but at the end you forgot your own advice: "Don't take your eyes off these guys." Yes, there won't be a meeting on the 28th, but there will still be study sessions, and there's a lot more to come, even with an adopted budget. More consultants, more studies, outsourcing proposals, and on and on.

And, of even greater concern are the days when there are no public meetings, providing more opportunities for individual Council members to "direct" or "order" the City Manager to carry out their wishes. It may be "like a vacation" but don't nap too long!

Thanks for your continued vigilance and informative updates.

6/22/2011 08:13:00 PM
Blogger The Pot Stirrer said...

Sadly, you're probably correct! Thanks to you for YOUR activism and wisdom. Too bad it's not appreciated by people in "high" places - if you can call the dais a "high place". :-)

6/22/2011 08:16:00 PM
Anonymous Mike O'Reilly said...

McCarthy looks like the first one eaten in the lifeboat.

6/22/2011 08:17:00 PM
Anonymous barewire said...

so it's a bully convention when one side speaks and it's something entirely different when the other side does? When they (union greedies) speak, they should be listened too and policy enacted on what they said? It's fine to listen to them but do we really want Genis, Leffler, Ridge, and Brenneman calling the shots and influencing policy? Maybe some do. In the recall election put them up as the replacement candidates and see what happens. I am prepared to accept what a majority of RESIDENT VOTERS want.

6/22/2011 08:30:00 PM
Blogger Gericault said... forgot, Dimel,Ahlf, Martin, Claytor, Thunell,Epperson,Humphries, Foley ,Brooks , Garcia, Evers , Valantine, Reedy, and many others I don't know all their names, ALL RESIDENTS .........It's not just a few of the same residents. We're not even organized.....we don't receive marching orders , or talking points. Sometimes there might be an e-mail reminding people that a city council meeting is that evening but that is sporadic at best. Fact is , all those residents are showing up because they care and are disgusted. It's not just a few gadfkys......and we aren't going away.

6/22/2011 08:52:00 PM
Anonymous Adam Henry said...

Barewire: I think one person who might run as replacement candidate DURING THE RECALL may send shock waves through the Improver Ranks. He will start our city on the road to repair the damage the current council majority has caused. He was a very highly respected police chief here for many years and many believe he will consider a run against these egotists if asked to do so. Many on your list could viable candidates as well.
STAND BY. May be a great reason to start gathering signatures.

6/22/2011 11:08:00 PM
Anonymous MONGO said...

Pot Stirrer: Awesome summary (much appreciated). I watched the meeting on T. V. and was worn out myself. Great turn out of speakers. Perry Valentine said it best, "In God we trust" as I too agree that those on the Dais can't be trusted (except for Wendy Leece). I was amazed (but should not have been) when Riggy said we have a serious motel problem, and the City should just write a check and demolish the motel's. The last I heard IF there are "problem motels" so long as they are properly zoned to be there, which I am sure they are you can't just "force them out" by writing a check. On the one hand he say's the City is broke, and on the other he's ready to write a check. My question is with what money? That aside IF there is a motel problem there is a system in place to address these types of complaints. It's called the Motel/Hotel task force comprised of various members of City Staff I.E Police Dept., Code Enforcement, Fire Dept. Health Dept. City Atty. Office. The last I heard this task force has not met in many year's as a result of PROACTIVE involement with the Police and Code Enforcement staying on top of the situation. Of course if the task force gets involved there is a procedure and Rules of Law must be followed. Then again apparently the Law does not apply to this council(minus Wendy) and in all probability they would not follow the rules anyway. In the end if everyone is outsourced/layed off/short staffed etc. it won't matter and we are stuck with crack heads & prostitues potentially getting out of hand. And that's just the beginning...And we the residents will be left with a city devastated by these guy's after they are gone from office.

Than you for your blog.. If you (or anyone else) could attach any future staff reports, memo's etc as they become availeable it would be appreciated. For whatever reason Hatch/Lobdell keep the general public in the dark. So much for transparency. Truly a said state of affair's for the residents, business owners and ALL City Employees..

6/22/2011 11:10:00 PM
Blogger The Pot Stirrer said...

Thanks... yes, Perry was on his game last night - and it cost him re-appointment to a city committee.

Actually, the city has done a much better job of providing access to information. Staff report are readily available on the city web site and they're easier than ever to find these days. I do link to the ones that are pertinent to the subject at hand to make it easier for you to locate.

Thanks for reading - and for writing, too.

6/22/2011 11:31:00 PM
Anonymous Never Happen said...

Keep dreaming Adam Henry/Car44

6/23/2011 12:14:00 AM
Anonymous Adam Henry said...

Never happen: I think the current actions are so destructive to our city and its reputation that it will bring out many qualified and QUALIFIED candidates. The chief for one as well as some former council members and, hopefully, Perry Valantine. Maybe even our former City Manager.
Let the recall begin!!!!!

6/23/2011 07:04:00 AM
Blogger Joe said...

Q. If the "Motel Problem" is solved Riggy/Menssy style, who do you think would benefit?

A. The people of Costa Mesa with "pocket parks!"

Correct Answer:
The developer friends of the above-mentioned POS.

6/23/2011 07:20:00 AM
Blogger Joe said...

Thanks for a great post about this cluster-meeting. Yours truly only made it till the vote gutting our excellent police force; then I was too disgusted and tired to stay.

Of course Riggy's running the show. Mayor Kilt's been ordered to stand down. (As if he could get any smaller).

The Bever HAD to have another outburst, this time whining about "revisionist city history." (Last time it was by attacking Wendy Leece's daughter in the infamous "I didn't sign on for this" rant).

Yea, right, Baby Eric. It's much easier to talk tough every couple of months than to stand up to your masters and do the right thing, as several long-time residents ASKED you to do.

"Colon" McCarthy and Riggy pony-boy Fitzpatrick were practically dancing in the aisles. What's up with "commissioner" Fitzpatrick- he looked like he'd spent the last week sleeping with the homeless in Lions Park. Is he there trying to find solutions to the homeless problem?

6/23/2011 07:44:00 AM
Blogger Joe said...

Thank you Genis, Leffler, Ridge, Brenneman,Dimel, Ahlf, Martin, Claytor,Thunell,Epperson,Humphries,Foley,Brooks,Garcia,Evers, Valantine, Reedy, Flores, and many other of my fellow Costa Mesans for your activism in trying to keep our city on the right path.

In the last 21 years I've not been able to participate as much as I should have in city government, but when the Recall starts I'll be there with my checkbook.

6/23/2011 07:49:00 AM
Anonymous Mike said...

Is a recall realistic, or more importantly, on the drawing board? It sure would be interesting to find out where the citizens of Costa Mesa truly stand amid all the back and forth, because it's hard to get a read on which side the majority stands among the shouting.

And I'm guessing the chatter about the Attorney General and all that is merely chatter at this point, but it's hard to believe the shenanigans in Costa Mesa aren't on her radar, or the Governor's, considering other outstanding issues like the Fairgrounds. Stay tuned is really all the hope I have at this point.

6/23/2011 09:30:00 AM
Blogger Katie Flores said...

I have been checking your blog since 8 AM on Wednesday morning - thank you for your great summary, Pot Stirrer! You rock - although I was hoping you were going to post the lyrics to the scathing "song" that was sung to the CC - classic Costa Mesa moment right there! Where are we at with a Recall? Is it in the works - what do we need to do?

6/23/2011 10:01:00 AM
Blogger The Pot Stirrer said...

Katie Flores,
Thanks for reading... I am planning to post the lyrics of Terry Koken's great song from Tuesday night. You're correct, it was a true "Costa Mesa" moment.

I don't, personally, have any knowledge of a recall effort. I just reviewed the requirements to launch such an effort and will be getting a clarification on some segments of it today. I'll post about it when I have more information.

6/23/2011 10:09:00 AM
Blogger Flo Martin said...

I was passed over for a city committee, also, several times, actually...sigh...

6/23/2011 11:28:00 AM
Blogger Colin said...

I was there Tuesday night and had to leave after the police vote for work the next day. From what I saw, it's time to start recalls, with some boycotts of businesses thrown in. In listening to these CC people, the only thing they care about is money and power, not actual people. So it's time that they started feeling the eceonmic pressure others are feeling, and the only way to do that is to hit their pocketbook.

6/23/2011 12:33:00 PM
Anonymous Karma says.... said...

Pam H. the Telecommunications Manager position was cut due to reorganization of the Police Department. Has nothing to do with your blogging on here and your war you have waged since leaving the City of Costa Mesa employ.

Your type of behavior is why you no longer work for the City.

Seriously, get over yourself and get back to work!

6/23/2011 01:34:00 PM

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