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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Dare to Entertain!

Ok, well I'm tardy to the party, as usual, but here we go...

I've participated in Kim of Newlywoodwards 's Dare to DIY holiday series for many years now, even the year I was newly pregnant and grumpy, so I didn't want to fall off the wagon this year.

This week's project was Dare to Entertain, where you DIY something for your holiday table.  I'm a bit Grinchy this year, so I haven't done too much, but I did stick some glitter on something, so it counts (right??).

While not technically on my table, our table sits against this window, so it's a big focal point of the kitchen in general.  It needed some jazzing up, especially with the dreary winter view it holds.

 I found these wooden stars at the thrift store for $.50.  They spoke to me.  They were also wrapped in that wiry tacky garland stuff.  I kind of mangled my hands un-threading it.  But worth it.  I then glittered the edges.  Boom.

They sparkle a lot more in real life.

(Complete with sad broken shade)
I usually do a big table centerpiece, but seeing as how there are 3 of us who actually eat real meals on this table now (we didn't pre-baby), I have to have function over form.  I'm also a sucker for a woodlandy holiday item.  Target is killing it this year! (I only buy clearance holiday stuff, though, so it must wait).

This toned-down but still pretty little winter scene (ha) still makes me happy.  I have gone with all gold/bronze/glittery this year with my decor (what little I can actually put out with grabby mcgrabberson 16 month old), so it fits in nicely.

Oh, and my glitter reindeer plates from last year.  Love them.

Go check out all of the other projects featured this week at Maybe Matilda

Dare to do-it-yourself button 2013

  1. This looks great, friend! So happy you were able to link up. I'm such a glitter fan so I love those plates still. And the stars are too cute! Love them on the window.

    I totally know what you mean about babies changing everything. Let's just say that my table was only set for long enough to take photos.

  2. This looks fabulous- I love those stars on your window!! Actually I love the whole thing. Ummm- please tell me more about those paper stars with music notes? I'm loving those especially!!

  3. Love your twine stars and glitter does seem to make everything better, doesn't it? I really like your feather cone as well. So beautiful!!

  4. I remember loving those plates last year! Your table is beautiful...perfect mix of rustic simplicity and glittery glamour!

  5. Very pretty. Glitter makes even grinches happy, right? ;)

Your comments make me happy!

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Catering To Consumers' Demand For Meaningful Clean Labels Featured

Consumers today are demanding for cleaner labels, but what is meant by that, what do consumers expect, and how can manufacturers cater to this demand? By Donna Richardson, PR and public affairs manager, Aquaculture Stewardship Council (Contractor)

Consumers in Asia are putting more demand on manufacturers to increase quality standards, triggering a trend for transparency within the food industry. As they become more concerned with where their food is sourced, the need for clear information, including labels, sustainability claims and eco-signs, is growing.

The new trends in labels and packaging are a response to these consumers and their desire for straightforward information about what they eat. Packaging now lists exactly what ingredients are contained in the product, including where the ingredients originate from, and aim to provide a clear, complete and accurate description of the package contents.

Going Visibly ‘Clearer’

James Palinsad

In recent years, the food industry has begun using words such as “organic”, “sustainable” and other claims in an effort to further reassure consumers about the provenance of their products. However, despite the fact that these ‘clean labels’ are appealing to consumers, there is considerable doubt that most people actually know what these labels mean. There is also some confusion on what information, beyond the basic ingredients, a buyer can, or should, be able to find on a label.

Most consumers feel that nutritional information is important and have grown accustomed to seeing labels that show calories and ingredients on packaging. In the case of fresh food labelled for sale in markets, the customer may also expect to find information about the country and method of production, the ‘sell by’ date and information about how the product has been handled throughout the supply chain.

Beyond these basics, logos and eco-labels are the most recognisable forms of sustainability claims. They evolved as a market response to the need for effective labels for consumer and are a tool used by many standards systems to help consumers identify products that comply with environmental and social criteria.

In many markets, they are the component most trusted by consumers alongside sustainability claims, which are effectively messages that promote a product or a process. Such claims consist of a combination of a logo, a text claim and access to further information, in addition to the mandatory requirements of food labelling which may vary based on region and according to applicable regulations.

Credibility For Claims

Standards organisations such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) have labels that can offer consumers extra peace of mind when it comes to buying seafood. An independent, international organisation, the ASC aims to transform the aquaculture industry to a higher standard through a global certification and labelling programme.

Their standards focus on good management practices covering the conservation and quality of water resources, no misuse of antibiotics, minimising escapes as well as compliance with strict feed requirements and social responsibilities. The certification system meets international codes of good conduct, including FAO Guidelines for eco-labelling and ISEAL Standard Setting Codes.

Farms voluntarily apply for the certification programme, and if they pass a stringent assessment process, they sell their products as ASC certified. However, to credibly use the council’s logo, systems must be in place to ensure traceability. Therefore a separate assessment for a Chain of Custody certification may be necessary to guarantee that the product was produced in compliance with the council’s standards for responsible aquaculture.

Empowering Consumers With Knowledge

The certifications and labels that manufacturers can use both anticipate and respond to consumer demand by providing them as much information as possible. Because transparency is the foundation of the programme’s process, the label provides a high level of access to information about certified fish. Seafood bearing this label is fully traceable throughout the supply chain, so consumers can follow their fish from its point of origin to the point of purchase.

Traceability is a key component of transparency, but regulations governing food traceability vary from country to country. However, a global traceability standard was built into the ASC certifications at their inception. Certified products must not be mixed with non-certified seafood at any time. These security protocols also include strict rules about the origin of the ingredients, the manufacturing process and the product’s distribution, and the way this information is communicated along the supply chain.

However, global certification models can only work if supply chain matters, such as the reach of certification agencies and cultural barriers in countries where farms are present, have been taken into account. Understanding and anticipating such complexities is an important aspect of maintaining an effective label and can be key to helping consumers make choices that positively influence the marketplace.

Consumers are able to make informed choices about their seafood purchases based on the labels, claims or logos present on them. Once certified, these allow producers and retailers to show their customers that the product originates from a responsible source.

The logo is important to the efforts of standards organisations because consumer choice has a huge impact on our marine environment. Rigorously certified products bearing meaningful labels allow the buyer to support farmers who share their values and gives them confidence that their purchase makes a positive contribution to the health of our oceans, the local ecosystems and workers’ rights. Some certifications, such as that by ASC, also shows the programme’s pledge for commitment to reducing the environmental and social impacts of aquaculture, factors vital to supporting future global food security.

Furthermore, companies have many reasons to participate in the scheme. Businesses benefit from the assurances given to their customers that the products are sourced from responsible farms thus putting pressure on manufacturers and retailers to source responsibly.

It is easy to claim a product is responsibly produced, but it is important that the public is able to ask some questions to test this claim. The International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL), the global association for sustainability standards and labels, asserts that claims must meet the Five Universal Truths; namely, that they are clear, accurate and relevant, and backed up by systems that are transparent and robust. They have also developed a tool called ‘Challenge the Label’ to help businesses who encounter sustainability labels test the credibility of the claim.

Rising Demand Across Asia

The rising consumer demand to understand where their food comes from is reflected in the increased appetite for labelled products. Clean labels and meaningful certifications, including ASC Standards, are present throughout Asia, and they give consumers in the region and across the world confidence they are buying responsibly produced foods and other goods.

In China, consumers can buy a wide variety of ASC certified products for use at home, and this list of products is growing rapidly as more companies commit to the certification programme.

Aeon, one of the largest retailers in Japan, has made a significant commitment to sourcing responsibly produced seafood. It was the first retailer in that country to offer customers ASC certified shrimp and also sells certified pangasius and salmon. The retailer has made a sustained commitment to further expand their range of responsibly produced seafood in the future.

The desire for certified products is also seen at the farm level. The seafood for purchase in stores across the region are frequently sourced at one of the growing number of certified farms across the Asia. In the case of Aeon, the certified shrimp sold in their store comes from CP Vietnam, an ASC certified farm based in the An Giang province of Vietnam.

These examples are but a few in a broader movement. It is quite clear that the interest in clean labels is no trend; what we are seeing now is the beginning of a shift in how consumers make choices about fundamental matters that are important to their health, their families, the community and the environment.

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APFI About Us

Asia Pacific Food Industry (APFI) is Asia’s leading trade magazine for the food and beverage industry. Established in 1985, APFI is the first BPA-audited magazine and the publication of choice for professionals throughout the industry with its editorial coverage on the latest research, innovative technologies, health and nutrition trends, and market reports.

Asia Pacific Food Industry is published by Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd. The company owns numerous trade and consumer titles, including Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News and Industrial Automation Asia.

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The zip file can be deployed anywhere via XCopy deployment. No Installation steps are required.

System Requirements
  • .NET Framework 3.5
  • Windows XP or better.
  • (optional) MS Excel 2003 or better if you want to have Excel output.
  • (optional) symchk.exe in your path if you want to use the pdb download functionality. symchk.exe is part of the Windbg package.

Command Reference

Query And Search

Utility Commands

ApiChange has been designed with top performance in mind. With the YourKit Memory and Performance profiler no glaring
performance inefficiencies can hide in its code base.

YourKit is kindly supporting open source projects with its full-featured Java Profiler.
YourKit, LLC is the creator of innovative and intelligent tools for profiling .NET and Java applications. Take a look at YourKit's leading software products:
YourKit .NET Profiler and YourKit Java Profiler.

First steps

Start ApiChange.exe from the directory where you did unzip it. It is recommended to set the Console window width to 300 characters to see the command line help nicely formatted..

The command line syntax is a bit awkward but powerful. It is basically a pipeline of queries to find the relevant things. The file selection is done by file queries the type and method selection is done by type and method queries. Most commands are of the form

ApiChange <Find Something> -in <Search for matches in these files>

The <Find Something> is a fuzzy query to select one or more types or methods from one or more assemblies. If you see a cryptic command line like

ApiChange -whousesmethod "String(* IndexOf(*))" gac:\mscorlib.dll -in $net35 -excel

you can read it like this:
  1. Load mscorlib.dll from the Global Assembly Cache. This is a file query which you will see very often.
  2. Load from mscorlib all types which match as type name String. It is actually a type query which can be fuzzy.
  3. For each type match select any overload of IndexOf. I have inserted * as placeholders for return type and method arguments to get all overloads.

The following example shows you can track the usage of all String.Index method calls inside the .NET Framework. From there it is easy to make pivot tables to get valuable insights how the code base is really structured and where the hot users are located.

Example Excel Output

Once you have this list you can generate a graph which assembly uses the String.IndexOf methods most of the time:
String.IndexOf Usage

Now you can get all sort of interesting things out. E.g. you can check how the overload usage distribution of the String.IndexOf methods is

String IndexOf Distribution

Source File/Line Number

When you have the pdbs for the assemblies at hand the tool will try to resolve the file and line information for all found matches so you can directly junp to your source file from the excel output:

Source Code Links

  • Download the pdbs for the given binaries from Microsoftsymbol server.
    • ApiChange -getpdbs $net2 c:\net2pdbs
  • Who references System.dll
    • ApiChange -whoreferences $net2dir\System.dll -in $net2
  • Who references System.Configuration.dll located in the GAC.
    • ApiChange -whoreferences gac:\system.configuration.dll -in C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\*.dll
  • Check after building a dll into the NewDll folder for breaking changes and list all affected targets which need potentially a rebuild.
    • ApiChange -showrebuildtargets -new NewBuild\*.dll -old v1.0\*.dll -searchin v1.0\*.dll -cwd \ProjectDir
  • Find all users of e.g an enum type. It can find practically all enum usage locatons (if,switch case, ...). Locations where the enum is casted to e.g. an int cannot be found (e.g. int v=(int) xxx) because the compiler assigns simply the value to it.
    • ApiChange -whousestype "public enum System.IO.FileShare" $net2dir\mscorlib.dll -in $net2 -excel
  • Check who is using all non constant public fields. Note: Const fields are never used directly. The compiler embeds the const value directly into the target location which makes it impossible to track the usage of const values inside IL code. Instead a source code search should be performed. In case of enums you can track their usage with a -whousestype query to find all enum instance declarations.
    • ApiChange -whousesfield "*(public !const * *)" $net2dir\mscorlib.dll -in $net2 -excel
  • Search for subscribers/unsubscribers from all public types with public events. To check for imbalances you can add the -imbalance switch.
    • ApiChange -whousesevent "public *(public event * *)" GAC:\System.Windows.Forms.dll -in $net2 -excel
  • Search for users of the null string constant. It does search simply for null as substring (case insensitive) in all string constants in all files.
    • ApiChange -ws null -in $net2 -excel

Last edited Sep 9, 2010 at 2:04 PM by Alois, version 14

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Edit Sites » Issues / Politics & Ideology / Justice & Courts
Per page:
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Search Results 602 pages

The Case Against Revising Interpretations of the Japanese Constitution

Fitting Okinawa into Japan the "Beautiful Country"

The Japanese Apology on the "Comfort Women" Cannot Be Considered Official: Interview with Congressman Michael Honda

Enshrinement Politics: War Dead and War Criminals at Yasukuni Shrine

The Minefield: An Australian Tragedy in America's Vietnam War

Anatomy of US and South Korean Massacres in the Vietnamese Year of the Monkey, 1968

Who is Responsible? The Yomiuri Project and the Enduring Legacy of the Asia-Pacific War

Japan's Red Purge: Lessons from a Saga of Suppression of Free Speech and Thought

Family, Friends and Furusato: "Home" in the Formation of Japanese War Memories

War Responsibility Revisited: Auschwitz in Japan


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Great Little War Game 2 – FREE V1.0.26

Great Little War Game 2 – FREE V1.0.26 Apk Download [Free]

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
   (Downloads: 742 )
Size:62M     Version: V1.0.26     Requires Android:4.0.3
Updated:    Category : Strategy     Price:Free    by:
  • Descriptions

    “Great Little War Game 2” is a strategy war game. As a sequel, there would have to mention the first “little big war.” Way back when the grand occasion, “Great Little War Game” attracted a total of 2.5 million players to join the war into the game. Game simple and approachable, refined model. In the game, players need to choose the one to start from the red and blue armies confront each other, the game hexagonal cell that is operational bases, produce combat troops, fighting each unit to follow the principle of arms of grams, not the more expensive it stronger.
    Now, the production of more sophisticated second coming, and quickly download it ~
    Fixed some device screen is locked after the game is still in a loud voice problems
    After correcting longitudinal shift into landscape mode text issues
    Adds dynamic positioning support – given now to capture the lateral or longitudinal on demand.
    Increasing the difficulty of selecting three levels
    Correction Auto save – now work!
    High-resolution phone improve unit selection.
    Increase pinch / zoom view range.
    Add to Google Play services for online success.

    Editors Notes：

    Combat game platform is very wide, sea and air no matter how you ride, the whole war cool!

    Video Trailer or Demo

    What's new

    Fix for snow level issue. Fixed device rotation crash. Fixed quit crash. * Fixed end of turn crash! * Misc fixes. * Fixed IAP crash * Added support for Intel devices. * Added 'remove adverts' option via in-app purchase. * Fixed black screen on start up from some devices.

    History Version

    Similar Apps APK

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Thursday, April 17, 2014

I'm here!

I am here and I'd love to post photos of all the knitting and sewing projects I've been working on (they're really cool!) but my computer is on strike right now and no photos will import (sad face).

I hope to post them soon.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I love comments and read every one. It makes my day that you took the time to comment on my blog.


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Monday, January 31, 2011

That Time of Year

It's rainy today in San Francisco, after a week of beautiful, warm-for-January weather.  Sometimes the little teases of Spring make waiting for Spring that much tougher.

This postcard from Zihuatanejo reminds me of a week I spent on this beach, swimming, snorkeling, fishing, swinging in hamacas (hammocks), and playing sand croquet with some locals we met.  Ahhhhh.  It's been too long since I've had my toes in warm sand and swum in a warm or even warm-ish ocean, and I wouldn't mind going back here, even if it is a lot more developed now than it was 25 years ago.

 [Note to friends in snowy climates:  I recognize that a Californian complaining about weather is scoffable at best.  Too bad.]

  1. Hello from Portugal. I like your blog about postcards. Visit mine and send me postcards. Paulo

  2. This friend from the sort of snowy country is happy to be heading to Baja this week!

  3. I remember being in Zihuatanejo when it was so hot that I got a heat rash. I can't even imagine what it's like to be that warm as I sit here shivering.

  4. I have no sympathy even though it's not snowy! I could go into detail about the cold north east wind... It's a long time since I visited Mexico, and it was this time of year that I went. Memories!


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Friday, February 3, 2012

RSA Animate - The Secret Powers of Time

Another moment of your time please...

Rose Marie Raccioppi

What messages do the students I serve bring to me. "I am bored," in such and such a class... "it is a waste of my time." " It takes too much of my time to do that dumb homework. " "That project is just a waste of time, no one is going to really pay attention anyway."

Time is indeed a precious commodity. We each are given a 24 hour day and seek to enjoy a significant part of it. Why do some have what many may consider good time management skills and others fall short of the demands of time? schedules ? time frames?

Here presented are perspectives that call for our consideration. Change is being imposed as here outlined, and at the same time 'a bury your head in sand' mentality may be operative in our present day school room. Time to think ...

1 comment:

  1. Being of Italian heritage I did indeed identify with the discussion of language and the distinctive differences between Northern and Southern Italy. My Italian born mother would repeat, "subito" when I was required to do what she requested. No time to waste was indeed her call. Yes, I do manage my time well and many a task and deed knows completion. The important lesson time has taught me is that of intent, action, resolve and/or completion, to build a sense of purpose fulfilled. Timely action...timely satisfaction...


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Country Head of Thailand and Hong Kong, Wong Chee Wai is Asia’s newest Vice President

Congratulations to Wong Chee Wai who became Asia’s newest Vice President at the Asian Convention 2014!

Over 1,650 people from across Asia, plus visiting guests from 10 countries attended the event of the year to recognise the achievements and success of top performers across Asia’s sales and marketing network.

Chee Wai graduated with an outstanding degree in Finance. Blessed with a great aptitude to learn, he excelled in his education and his first job was working for an investment bank. Though he was still working in the bank, Chee Wai was always on the search for bigger and better opportunities and in September 2002, Chee Wai took a leap of faith and joined Appco Group Asia. He initially worked in the telecommunications division and quickly progressed to other projects.

Chee Wai’s sky-high ambitions and high standards made him a perfect candidate to set up Appco Group Thailand in 2007. Today, Chee Wai’s organisation spreads across four countries, with more than 30 offices and over 1,000 Field Representatives.

What separates Chee Wai from the rest is his strong work ethic, unlimited energy, and a “you-can’t-knock-me-down” attitude. Always an inspirational leader, one who isn’t afraid of challenges and a person who leads by action, Chee Wai is an inspiring example for all.

Chee Wai also won Owner and Marketing Office of the Year award for 2014 together with the Chairmans Club award.

The Asian Convention 2014 was held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Malaysia on 25 November 2014 and was hosted by Executive Director and Vice President James Greaves.

Check out the photos from the event at Appco Group Asia's Facebook profile.


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App features:
- Member registration - register membership to enjoy special deals and promotion
- Check and review month to month bonus information
- Check status and qualification level
- PPV information - review personal and group PV
- Check E-Point balance and transaction history
- Browse for complete products categories and place order through secure checkout process
- Get order tracking status
- Get latest news and events

Visit https://eworld.dxn2u.com for more information.

Content rating: Everyone

Requires OS: 4.1 and up

...more ...less


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The APPIES Malaysia 2017

APPIES Malaysia trophy

Feast here!.

APPIES Malaysia 2017 now open for entries

All smiles from last year's APPIES Malaysia winners.

(– Fame starts here!

Almost all of last year's winners for APPIES Malaysia went on to win big in regional and global awards shows which is why we are bringing back Malaysia's "TED for Marketing" for its second year!

Your campaign will be judged by over 25 leaders in the Marketing industry who will put your knowledge to the test in a unique Live Presentation environment.

“The whole idea of the APPIES is that it’s really transparent because the delegates are here to hold them accountable if the judges actually make the wrong choices.” – APPIES Chief Judge, Adam Wee Abdullah, CMO CIMB Bank.

Last year’s judges include Ben Mahmud- Head of Retail Marketing, Shell Malaysia, Matthew Ho - Regional Digital Marketing Director, Huawei, Adam Wee Abdullah, Group CMO of CIMB Banking Group and more!

We are proud to announce that the Chief Judge for this year’s APPIES Malaysia is Rakesh Mohan - Chairman of Unilever Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia & Laos (pictured). A veteran in the FMCG industry Rakesh is in charge of developing these five markets while maintaining the group’s business goals.

“What also sets The APPIES apart from other events is that each featured campaign is presented Live by the brand marketers and campaign creators themselves before a panel of judges and an industry audience. Only outstanding campaigns that have a unique marketing success story will go on to win the APPIES Gold or Silver trophies,” said Harmandar Singh, President of APPIES Malaysia and Regional Publisher of MARKETING magazine.

“The APPIES goes beyond conventional award programmes, providing a leading knowledge exchange platform as it includes special events such as keynote sessions and panel discussions on relevant industry topics,” says Ms Goh Shu Fen, President of the Institute of Advertising Singapore, the driving force behind APPIES Asia. She is also Advisor of APPIES Malaysia and Principal of R3 Asia Pacific.

The call for entries for APPIES Malaysia 2017 is now open! Entrant campaigns must have run between April 2016 and April 2017 in any of these six categories – consumer durables, consumer services, food and beverage, non-food FMCG, business services, as well as government, cultural, social and environmental campaigns.

Hurry send in your entries before the closing deadline of 30th April 2017. For further details on this year’s APPIES Malaysia click here or visit

This year’s APPIES Malaysia will be held at Eastin Hotel on June 1st & 2nd.

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Comparative Analysis of National Drug Policies - Second Workshop Geneva, 10-13 June 1996 - EDM Research Series No. 025
(1997; 175 pages) View the PDF document
Table of Contents
View the documentExecutive summary
View the documentI. Introduction
Open this folder and view contentsII. Background on the research project
Open this folder and view contentsIII. Second workshop
Close this folderIV. Preliminary findings
Open this folder and view contents1. The methods: What has been learnt?
Close this folder2. National drug policies: what has been learnt?
View the document2.1 Preliminary findings based on NDP indicators
View the document2.2 Preliminary interpretations based on NDP indicators
View the document2.3 Preliminary findings based on the political mapping
Open this folder and view contents3. Cross national analysis: What can be learnt at this stage?
View the document4. Broader capacity building
Open this folder and view contentsV. Conclusions of the workshop and follow-up plans
Open this folder and view contentsAnnex 1: Research proposal
View the documentAnnex 2: List of participants
View the documentAnnex 3: Agenda
View the documentAnnex 4: Questionnaire on NDP performance assessment
Open this folder and view contentsAnnex 5: Achievements of the national drug policies in the 12 countries
View the documentAnnex 6: Consolidated tables
View the documentOther documents in the DAP Research Series

2.3 Preliminary findings based on the political mapping

The workshop participants discussed the main findings of the political mapping analysis, regarding both the process of the analysis and the substance of the analysis. The following preliminary ideas emerged in the discussion.

(a) The process of political mapping analysis

Participants agreed that the analysis in six countries demonstrated that it is possible to examine policy-making processes, using a systematic step-by-step, method, and that the analyses yielded important benefits to both policy-makers and policy analysts. This finding supports the proposal that policy-making is not simply a technical process, but also a political process, and that policy-makers need both technical and political analysis in order to be effective. The method of political mapping is one form of applied political analysis, which can assist the development and implementation of national drug policies.

(b) Policy-making is a continuous process

Policy-making does not stop with the official adoption of a policy (such as the Generics Law in the Philippines), but continues on through the phase of implementation. To assure the effective implementation of a policy requires continuous tending, caring, revising, and weeding, much like a garden. Lack of attention during the phase of implementation can result in a policy falling into disrepair or even reversal. In many ways, the most difficult challenges occur during implementation, when the goals and mechanisms of a policy must be put into practice.

(c) Interest groups are not often monolithic

Several country teams reported instances where the ability to split or unite key interest groups affected the success or failure of adopting a major change in national drug policy. For example, the unification of the domestic and international drug industry in India significantly enhanced the chances of the major changes in the drug laws in that country. In Thailand as well, the proposal of the government united the domestic and international industry, which contributed to the reversal of the policy on drug labelling. Whether the physicians are unified in a single interest group or divided into specialists versus general practitioners can also affect the feasibility of a policy change. Policy advocates need to be aware of these potential splits in interest groups, and the impact on the feasibility of policy change or policy implementation. Often, these splits can be avoided (or created) through effective political strategies and negotiations by policy-makers.

(d) Policy-making has controllable and uncontrollable events

Policy-making involves a complex series of strategic choices about the substance of a policy, about processes for introduction and adoption, and about organizations and mechanisms for implementation. Inevitably, these choices are affected by both controllable and uncontrollable events in the local, national, and international political environments. Policy-makers can improve the likelihood of success of their policies by seeking to identify the controllable events and to use them effectively, and be sensitive to the uncontrollable events and present their policy appropriately. Strategic concessions in the substance of a policy can sometimes improve the chances of success; and the resistance to compromise can help create a coalition of opponents. Sometimes, the appeal to higher authorities can result in failure, as occurred when Thailand's FDA sought the opinion of the Council of State regarding its drug labelling act. The method of political mapping can help policy-makers in identifying both the controllable and uncontrollable events, and can suggest strategies for managing both.

(e) Some common strategies may exist

Some common strategies may exist that can help promote national drug policies. Additional comparative analysis of the six cases of political mapping will be necessary to identify these strategies and assess their effectiveness. Nonetheless, these common strategies would remain as suggestions. It is unlikely that a simple recipe exists for managing the formulation and implementation of all national drug policies. The approaches need to be developed and refined within specific national political contexts, and adapted over time to fit evolving political circumstances and the problems that emerge in transforming the policy into practice.

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The WHO Essential Medicines and Health Products Information Portal was designed and is maintained by Human Info NGO. Last updated: February 10, 2017


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The Impossible Line Level 79 Tips and Strategies

The Impossible Line App Icon

The Impossible Line
By: Chillingo
Genre: Puzzle

Video Tips

This video walkthrough demonstrates how to beat Level 79 without any power ups. Uploaded on TheGameAnswers official channel at September 3, 2013.

Still need help to finish The Impossible Line level 79?

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Y'all, I could probably be certifiable this week. Really. We have been sewing like crazy girls for two weeks now, making MORE Regency gowns for the Jane Austen Ball TONIGHT.

When I went to bed at 3:30 this morning(it's so hard to sew before dark; I should take on these projects in the winter when the nights begin earlier!), I STILL HAVE NOT FINISHED the dresses! C's gown is complete...two out of eight!(If you count each petticoat and overdress as a complete gown.)

What's worse, I totally messed up the sleeves on the Redhead's white chiffon gown, and now am OUT of enough fabric to cut time to run into town today....still brain storming on that one.

Meanwhile, MY dress needs hemming, trimming, sleeves hemmed, and all the fastenings attached.

J's dress needs more fasteners and the sleeves hemmed.

The Redhead's needs sleeves AND buttons.

Another little last-minute number still has to be hemmed.

My son's tailcoat and my hubby's waistcoat are not finished.

ONE reticule has been made.

I need to make finger food to take, and am out of ideas!

My downstairs area looks like we were hit by a whirling thread and fabric scrap dervish...something along the lines of the Tasmanian devil of Looney Tunes fame!

On top of that, we had Doodle the cockatiel at the vet twice in a week; she had surgery and is home recuperating VERY happily, but that was a lot of stress and time spent elsewhere.

Oh, and I decided to do a blog post.

Did I mention I've not been in bed before 2:00 a.m. in about a week?

The cat, at least, has been enjoying our chaos!

Anyway, when it's all done I will hopefully have very tired girls and very many pictures of giggles and smiles.
Detail of C's gown bodice. This sheer cotton was tough, but so FUN to sew!

Can't wait to share it with you!

1 comment:

Gabrielle said...

Gorgeous!! Can't wait to see pictures of all of your finished work!


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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Quote of the Day

Thackeray resented the idea of denouement. He compared it with the residue of tea on the bottom of a cup; it's too sugary. It's obvious to the reader that it is a condensation of unresolved conflicts.

To humor himself, Thackeray wanted his footman to write the ending for him, after he was done cleaning his boots and dress.

So then it appears that denouements are based on the premise that they don't really exist.

This entire thread---this dying thread, is the road of a plot that has been abandoned.
---Victor Shklovsky, Energy of Delusion: A Book on Plot

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Mussel-Inspired Thiol-Ene Polymer Networks: Influencing Network Properties and Adhesion with Catechol Functionality

Document Type

Publication Date

Polymers and High Performance Materials

In this work, we report the synthesis of photocurable, ternary polymer networks prepared by incorporating dopamine acrylamide (DAm) into a cross-linked thiol-ene network based on pentaerythritol triallyl ether (APE) and pentaerythritol tetra(3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP). We systematically evaluate the effect of DAm, in the nonoxidized catechol form, on photopolymerization kinetics and thermal, thermomechanical, and mechanical properties of the modified thiol-ene networks. We show that while DAm only affects photopolymerization kinetics at high concentrations, the presence of the catechol moiety significantly increases the glass transition temperature of the networks across the compositional range (0-50 mol % DAm) due to hydrogen bonding interactions between the catechol and various hydrogen bonding acceptors (ethers, amides, esters) within the network, despite an obvious decrease in cross-link density with increasing concentration of the monofunctional acrylamide. Similarly, trends in the mechanical properties of the DAm-APE-PETMP networks reflect the interplay that exists between competing network design parameters, including the catechol hydrogen bonding interactions and the decrease in cross-link density derived from the use of a monofunctional acrylamide-both of which simultaneously influence network properties. Additionally, we report improved macroscopic adhesion of DAm-APE-PETMP coatings to a range of substrates-including glass, aluminum, steel, and marble-by systematically varying the amount of DAm in the network. Adhesion of the DAm-APE-PETMP coatings were evaluated using two methods, including pull-off and crosshatch adhesion tests.

Publication Title

Chemistry of Materials

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All posts filed under: pudding

holiday baking for the slightly demented

holiday braking

Are you feeling it? Not the amnesiac impulse that leads to you to truly believe you can operate a sewing machine, pastry bag (or whatever instrument is your personal Martha Stewart Waterloo) like a boss, not the bubbly energy that suggests you can mingle cheerfully and with durably good hair at multiple holiday gatherings in a single day, not the vain hope that you can get to (and out of) the post office three days before Xmas with your dignity and errand timetable intact.  Not those things.  We are all (right?) grappling with those demons.  I am wondering if you are feeling what Mrs Wroblewski, my sister’s college-era landlady, called “too much party.” The tiny houses are done.  This year I managed to avoid a 3peat of the ‘Bake Em Wrong First‘ fiasco, which is a significant advancement.  But the process is not automated yet.  It continues to be lunacy. This year it was lunacy in good company, as two friends enabled joined me. Blessings on their heads. So that’s done.  And the little hoggies …

spoon fed

I will not bore or horrify you with further scenes from the front.  No blow-by-blow on the ewe with the prolapse and the vet’s MacGyver-esque repair thereof ( let’s just say he put the “butt” back in buttons), no cataloging of the rest of the week’s adventures with intramural swapping of head cold and stomach flu germs, no tally on the number of dirty towels generated by cold lambs taking a spa break by the woodstove indoors. None of that.  Just a little gooey lamb photography, and a travelogue of cooking fantasies.  You will note my armchair travel was mainly routed through pudding territory.  What I want, when I feel taxed, is something from a spoon. Not pudding, but visually appealing: this blog (I can tell that both her kitchen and her sketchbooks would be very tidy, which is inspirational), and these cake servers, for the casually elegant, hip and funky, mismatched vintage groovy stylish life I lead in my mind. This king of all rice puddings, which I devoured, despite making it absolutely wrong …

baked custard with anise

eating light

I am back. Mostly. I have just spent a week taking care of someone I love who has been very sick for a long time, something a circle of us have been doing in rotation for over a year.  We travel, short distances and long.  We do what we can and often that takes the form of things we thought we couldn’t. This time I crossed an ocean. Now I am in that odd physical state of suspension between time zones, where I want to check my watch when I am hungry to see what meal I should eat, and my heart is in at least two places, too.  And there is what my West Indian friend used to call “ruction” all around me, beyond this gnarly situation of mine: one friend lost her dad two weeks ago, and now her brother is in the hospital facing terrible odds.  Another friend’s mother died, and her brother is in the same condition. Flu and blizzards.  Falls and accidents. I want light, just a morsel of it, …


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More Random Games
Smokin Barrels
Bike Mania 2
Wedgie Toss 2
Turret Pong
Cunning Stunt
Link Fest
Night Time Driving
Web Design Kent
Create a Ride Game
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Create and pimp your very own ride in this car making game.
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Use the mouse to click on the in game controls to modify your car.
Website Designers Kent


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covers Intrinsic!

Intrinsic was recently featured on, where they discuss many of the FCBD books for this year and have high hopes for Arcana’s Intrinsic! Read the entire run-down by CLICKING HERE.

“This is certainly one that fans of the Arcana line should jump on, as well as those of us who have had a passing interest in them. It’s your chance to see what they have and what they have coming up… If you are looking for something different than the regular stuff then I think this is a book you should check out. Even taking into consideration what I’ve just said, this book could easily be the doorway to a whole new universe of possibilities that any reader burnt out on the same old, same old could easily latch on to!”

Pick up a FREE copy of Intrinsic Issue 1 at your local comic book shop THIS SATURDAY, May 5th!

Also, be sure to pre-order a copy of Issue 2 now, which is available in Diamond Previews, order code MAY120836.

You can also print out THIS FLYER, had it to your local comic shop, and ask them to pre-order a copy.

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Public Interest Design forum at UT Austin?

Anybody here been to the summer program?  This year there is a five day workshop offered, as well, I'm thinking about going...I'm interested in hearing other people's experiences?  I'm concerned most of the attendees will be UT students (I'm a recent grad from an arch school in california..)  I'm hoping for a diverse crowd.

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Value of commercial properties used as collateral down by 50%

Commercial properties provided as collateral for development loans to be acquired by Nama have fallen 50 per cent, according to the estate agent hired to value the toxic assets. John Mulcahy, the chairman of auctioneers Jones Lang LaSalle, said Nama would estimate long-term economic value of properties backing development loans based on average seven-year property cycles in the market since 1971. Mr Mulcahy, who has worked as a chartered surveyor for 39 years, said that he had never seen such a heavy decline in property values. Speaking at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, he said the market was at the bottom of the cycle, while Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said it was nearly at the bottom of the property cycle. The Government plans to pay in excess of the current market value of the properties backing the loans – at a long-term economic value – to reflect the current sharp falls in property values in the market.

The Irish Times


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[Caution: Commentary below. No objective stats to be found in this post.]

It's the Christmas season, so it's a fitting time to ponder the concept of love. I've been taught a lot about love this season, mostly by people such as Chris Berman, Steve Mariucci, and Jon Gruden. According to them, Brett Favre plays football for the love of the sport. He loves the game so much, he's willing to go out there and risk severe injury, just so that we can enjoy watching him perform.

Brett Favre himself tells us how much he loves the game. His official personal website is titled For Love of the Game. And in his press conferences, he routinely and openly ponders how much left he has to give. Vikings fans aren't quite sure what he's been giving them, and I'm sure many of his teammates are now wondering what he has left them with.

We're told Brett Favre loves football, but what does that mean? What kind of love is that exactly? Love as in I love my kids? My dog? Pizza? Guacamole? English is a strange language when it comes to the word love. We use the term for so many things, from our desire for some McDonald's french fries right now to our favorite TV show to our undying selfless sacrifice, joy, and pride in our children.

The ancient Greeks had at least four different words which would all fall under our modern umbrella of love. Agápe referred to deep virtuous love or unconditional sacrifice. Éros referred to passionate love, as in "being in love" longingly but was not necessarily sexual. Philos referred to a general love such as for family and close friends. Storge meant natural affection, such as that felt by parents for children. Author C.S. Lewis wrote an entire book titled The Four Loves that explored the nature of love.

Maybe the Greeks could use one more. It would be called Phávros, as in the love Brett Favre has for the sport of football. But what exactly is the nature of this kind of love? Is it selfless sacrifice like agápe, or is it something else?

I have to confess I love donuts. It's my Kryptonite. Put a donut in front of me, and I'll eat it. Put a dozen in front of me, and I won't stop eating until I pass out in a diabetic coma. At the end of the day, neither I nor the donuts are better off. This really isn't love of any kind. It's more like a craving, and I think this is really how Favre loves football and the attention it brings him.

Is Favre really giving anything? Is there truly anything selfless in what he does? Retiring and un-retiring, first on the Packers, then on the Jets, so he can change teams, is that selfless? Does that put the team first? Even his record-smashing consecutive start streak, while at first may seem a selfless devotion to his team, probably isn't. He almost certainly played in games in which he held his team back more than helped due to injury, but played on anyway.

Given what we know now about Favre, I think part of his insistence on playing had to do with keeping the streak going, but I also think he wanted to make sure the spotlight never shone anywhere else but on him. The thing he may have feared most is that Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck, or Aaron Rodgers might get significant playing time and possibly play as well as he did, diminishing his legend. I can't help thinking of Favre's infamous quote about it not being his job to help mentor Rodgers when he was a rookie and his heir-apparent.

This isn't intended to be an attack on Favre so much as it's a critique of the fawning worship by so many members of the media. Favre is human and has his foibles and has made his mistakes, just like the rest of us. I'm sure he's done some wonderful things for his friends and family, and certainly he's given money to charities including breast cancer causes. What I object to is our culture's deification of a man who is so clearly self-obsessed and who rarely passes up an opportunity to put himself first. He undermines his coaches and teammates, viewing his teams as vehicles for his own glory and little more. We've got things backwards. Whether we're talking about football or donuts, it ain't love.

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12 Responses to “Love?”

  1. Casey A says:

    Another hypothesis: Favre, like lots of people facing retirement, cannot figure out what to do with his life after he leaves his job, so he keeps working as long as he can. The transition from to sitting on the couch or puttering around the house all day might be even more jarring for a celebrity athlete than a working stiff, but maybe not fundamentally different. It might not be love that keeps Favre hanging on, but a desire to avoid facing the fact that he just doesn't know what to do next.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Wow, I now wish I had email addresses for every asshole I've ever met. What a perfect 'gift':

  3. Jim Glass says:

    It's also easy to really love/crave some activity that pays you $16 million a year plus endless public idolation (and have a tough time adjusting to what happens after that ends). Not to be too cynical on Christmas day, but in human psychology nothing is easier than to truly believe that what is good for you personally is virtuous, moral, something you love and believe in, all of which shows your own good character.

  4. Fitz says:

    Ancient Greek didn't have a [v] sound.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Good article !

    I have this to say: Favre loves himself. He did the cancer charity only because his wife got it. He is the same "dictator" as Lance Armstrong: Me-Me-Me...

    All his records are cumulative ones (incl. Interceptions), but not effective ones. He won only 1 SB and only played in 2 SB in his career. And that only because he was backed by the best defenses the time he went to the SB.

    That is just 0,8 more SB´s he has played in, than ANY other QB would have, if given the same opportunities to play as long as him.

    All of us don´t know how many careers he destroyed for Backup-QB´s who never got the chance to play because of his selfishness.

    I don´t like people like him who only care about themselves.

    And i never understood how grown up people (fans) could fall in love with a guy they don´t know. People are so easy to be manipulated to follow the next messias, even tough he might be a criminal like, for example, Big-Ben. It´s unintentionally hilarious.

    Some of us (including me) criticized CHFF. But one point they are 100% correct. It´s about the old yeller fever. For me Favre is only famous for all his season ending Interceptions. My favourite is the 6-Int-Game vs SL in 2001.

    But i think Favre will pay the price for his bad behavior: A life long suffering of permanent pain. 2/3 of Ex-Players suffer of it. I feel sorry for those who only were cannon fodder, but i am not sorry for dictators like him, who got rich at the expense of others.

    Greetings from Germany, Karl.

  6. Ed Anthony says:

    I was once a big Brett Favre fan. You have to give him credit for some overcoming some off-the-field hurdles - his addiction to painkillers and his support of Diana when she was dealing with breast cancer.

    We should not judge a person's motivation. It doesn't matter why he did the things he did, the only thing which matters is that he did them. This applies to the good he's done as well as the damage for which he is responsible.

    [As an aside, one can make an argument that he threw the second SB because he wanted Elway to win a SB. In that game the Packers were leading, on the way to victory and Favre threw an interception to a Bronco with no Packer in the vicinity.]

    Allow me now to remind readers of this blog that, even though we don't use the word, the NFL is about entertainment. We have numerous posts here and elsewhere which suggest that the outcome of at least 40% of the games is a result of luck. The NFL strives for this quality called parity. Why might that be? Clearly to sell the product. The skill levels of players in the NFL is incredibly high, so much so that there is little separation between one player and the next. On any given day it is difficult to determine who will dominate. Few players dominate from one year to the next.

    So if you will grant me that the NFL (like WWF, forgive me for this comparison, but I do believe it to be valid) is about entertainment Farve is a great box office draw. The drama in his life, the fact that he has a downhome quality about him, you must admit his smile and deportment is endearing, all contribute to his selling the product. (Recall his acting role in "There's Something about Mary." He's a terrible actor but his appearance was fun.)

    [If you are not yet convinced that the NFL is about entertainment, please explain what happens at the SB. that show has the greatest musical artists available, there is smoke, bright lights, noise, newly-launched commercials and every form hoopla imaginable. If this isn't about entertainment, why isn't there more about football in the show?]

    Perhaps it doesn't matter whether we can identify the type of love Favre has for the game. Of course he should not have returned after he retired, at least he should not have if he truly loved the game for the sport it is. But if we are looking for entertainment then he was right to dance in and out of the league. If the business of the NFL is entertainment then Favre adds the interest the game wants.

    What's more entertaining than the fact that he was the receiver of his first NFL pass. Consider all the discussion he has prompted on this site. He is a great draw and that's what the NFL wants in it's talent pool.

  7. ScoWes says:

    One could make an argument that Favre is 'giving' his body, and years off his life. We do know that the average NFL player lives years less than an average counterpart. Considering that the average male doesn't have access to top-of-the-line medical technology for a good part of his life like NFL players do the reduction in lifespan is truly tremendous.

    I'm not going to say Favre or another player truly 'loves' the game - its easy to criticize someone making millions of dollars and saying they do it for the paycheck. He loves the game likely in the same way you love someone else - usually requires some reflection of that love.

    Love can be quantified in Biology by the release of the hormone oxytocin in the brain as well. If football releases oxytocin (NOT oxycontin) in Favre's brain then he's likely addicted to the sensation an is in 'love'.

    How many people love someone for long who never loves them back? If they do is it real 'love'?

    Maybe the love Favre gets from the game is being around the team, and the preparation. Thats what I miss from my career in college - not the fans, jersey, or games. Its the team, and togetherness.

  8. bigmouth says:

    I believe it was Aristophanes who asked in the Symposium, if Brett Favre loves football, why doesn't he marry it?

  9. Anonymous says:

    i wonder how this myth about a shorter Life-Expectancy for NFL-Players is still alive. It´s not true. What´s true is that a majority of players suffer from permanent pain.

    Greetings, Karl, Germany

  10. James says:

    I'm not so sure about this article and some of the comments. I really think Favre greatly enjoys playing football and personally cares for the players around him and that's why he never wanted to retire. Yes, Favre mishandled his relationship with Rodgers but I think I'd struggle with willingly training my replacement at my job before I was ready. Favre always seemed to have a passion for the game by taking wins and losses personally and running down the field after touchdowns. Sure, jumping on the receiver's back seems a bit canned and tired now, but I can't imagine he would STILL be faking that enthusiasm just for the cameras.

    My impression this season is that Favre never intended on playing this year until begged by his teammates to come back. While there's a possibility that he was being petulant, at the very least it clearly was never about the money. If nothing else, I'd prefer a player who may be self-absorbed but gives it his all on the field than a player like Albert Haynesworth or Randy Moss.

  11. Ethan says:

    It is my belief that Favre loves the game of football. As long as he is physically able to perform as the starting quarterback of the NFL team he will play, regardless of his success. It is for that reason that he played through injuries even though his performance may have hurt his teams chances to win. As long as the coach allows him out on the field he will go.
    He does not love football for the same reason a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady loves football. They love the competitiveness and the euphoric feeling that comes with winning. When a true competitor feels he no longer has competition (either out of excessive success- see Michael Jordan retirement #1 or inability to perform to a competitive standard- see Michael Jordan on the Washington Wizards) he steps away from the game.
    It is unfortunate that Favre had to play to the point where it is possible he can no longer get a starting job in the NFL, but that is what it will take to make him step away from the game.

  12. Brian Burke says:

    Based on the comments, I think some people are missing the point.

    -Favre loves football like I love donuts, not like parents love their kids. It's all about what football gives him, not the other way around.

    -That's fine. Football is not a charity to be given to. However, what is objectionable in the extreme is the the media's fawning all over this guy like he's some sort of saint of the pigskin, sacrificing his own interests for others' benefit. It's the other way around. Favre takes from the game. He doesn't give to it.

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It's one of the great charms of the Boston Marathon that 20,000 ordinary athletes of all ages get to compete in the same race, on the same course, at the same time as the world's best runners. In theory, any of them could win. In reality, however, the winners will come from the ranks of the so-called "elites," world-class athletes who come to Boston to compete for fame and a share of the half million dollar prize purse.

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Justices rule vs. antigay group

On busy final day, high court also OK’s Vatican suit

The flag outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., was flying at half staff yesterday in honor of the late senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, who died earlier in the day. The flag outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., was flying at half staff yesterday in honor of the late senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, who died earlier in the day. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
By Jesse J. Holland
Associated Press / June 29, 2010

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WASHINGTON — A split Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a law school can legally deny recognition and funding to a Christian student group that will not let gays join, with one justice saying the First Amendment does not require a public university to validate or support the group’s “discriminatory practices.’’

The court turned away an appeal from the Christian Legal Society, which sued to get funding and recognition from the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law. The group requires that voting members sign a statement of religious faith, and regards “unrepentant participation in or advocacy of a sexually immoral lifestyle’’ as being inconsistent with that faith.

Gun-control finding may fuel Bay State debate. B1.

► Patent law ruling a relief to area software executives. B5.

But officials at Hastings, which is in San Francisco, said no recognized campus groups may exclude people due to religious belief or sexual orientation.

The court on a 5-to-4 judgment upheld lower court rulings saying the Christian group’s First Amendment rights were not violated by the college’s nondiscrimination policy.

The decision was revealed on the court’s busy final day before a three-month recess. Among a number of decisions, justices refused to halt a lawsuit that accuses the Vatican of conspiring with US church officials to transfer a priest from city to city despite repeated accusations that he sexually abused young people.

In the college campus case, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority, which included the court’s liberal wing and moderate Anthony Kennedy: “In requiring CLS — in common with all other student organizations — to choose between welcoming all students and forgoing the benefits of official recognition, we hold Hastings did not transgress constitutional limitations.

“CLS, it bears emphasis, seeks not parity with other organizations, but a preferential exemption from Hastings’ policy.’’

Writing in dissent, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. stated the majority opinion was “a serious setback for freedom of expression in this country.’’

“Our proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate,’’’ Alito said, quoting a past court ruling. “Today’s decision rests on a very different principle: no freedom for expression that offends prevailing standards of political correctness in our country’s institutions of higher learning.’’

Leo Martinez, Hastings College of the Law’s acting chancellor and dean, said the ruling “validates our policy, which is rooted in equity and fairness.’’

But the decision is a large setback for the Christian Legal Society, which has chapters at universities nationwide and has won similar lawsuits in other courts.

According to a society news release, the group invites all students to its meetings.

“However, CLS voting members and officers must affirm its Statement of Faith,’’ the statement said. “CLS interprets the Statement of Faith to include the belief that Christians should not engage in sexual conduct outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.’’

In his opinion, Kennedy said “the era of loyalty oaths is behind us.’’

“A school quite properly may conclude that allowing an oath or belief-affirming requirement, or an outside conduct requirement, could be divisive for student relations and inconsistent with the basic concept that a view’s validity should be tested through free and open discussion,’’ he said.

Justice John Paul Stevens’s remarks were even stronger, saying that while the Constitution “may protect CLS’s discriminatory practices off campus, it does not require a public university to validate or support them.’’

In the Vatican case, the plaintiff is attempting to force the Roman Catholic Church’s Holy See to bear legal responsibility for priests who molest children.

No one has ever successfully sued the Vatican over sex abuse by clergy, based on laws that hold a sovereign state — including the Vatican — is generally immune from lawsuits. The United States has had diplomatic relations with the Holy See since 1984.

The high court’s decision not to stop the lawsuit means the clergy sex abuse case will go to trial in federal court in Oregon.

“I have known for 25 years that all roads lead to Rome,’’ said Jeff Anderson, a Minnesota lawyer who represents the plaintiff.

John V. Doe v. Holy See was filed in 2002 by a Seattle-area man who said the Rev. Andrew Ronan had repeatedly molested him in the late 1960s at a parish in Portland, Ore.


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Framingham eyes new requirements for General Chemical as hazardous waste facility prepares to close

Posted by Leslie Anderson  April 18, 2012 01:03 PM

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When the General Chemical Corp. announced last month that it would shut down, Framingham officials who had been reviewing the hazardous waste facility's local permission to operate were elated. Now, they want to make sure the company doesn't walk away too quickly and leave a mess behind.

The Framingham Board of Health is considering imposing a raft of new requirements on General Chemical as the company prepares to shutter its site permanently, a process that involves months of extensive cleaning of buildings and equipment that have handled toxic chemicals for decades.

The new requirements could include digging up the Leland Street facility's foundations to look for heavy metals and other toxins in the soil underneath the site, testing trees around the facility to see if they've absorbed contaminated water, and making a website where the public could learn more about the cleanup, said officials at a board hearing Tuesday at the Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, which abuts the facility.

"How do you make it clean and acceptable so no one's affected?" asked Framingham Public Health Director Ethan Mascoop at the hearing. "You maintain systems to make sure the site is working the way it is supposed to work post-closure."

The company's general manager, Steve Ganley, declined to comment.

Health Board Chairman Mike Hugo said he and his colleagues will make a decision on the new requirements at another hearing scheduled to take place at the Woodrow Wilson School at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 30. At that meeting, he expects the board to vote to issue a new permit, called a site assignment, that regulates how the company operates. The company is now governed by a site assignment granted by the board in 1994.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is already reviewing General Chemical's plan to close the facility, said Hugo, a situation that could lead to the DEP and health board both placing new demands on the company before a final cleanup plan is approved.

Hugo hopes DEP officials will adopt many of the new requirements the health board is considering. If they don't, he said, the board will fight to make sure the town imposes them in a new site assignment that governs the cleanup process. "It's a jurisdictional issue that is currently being defined," said Hugo. "If there's anything that affects health, we have great power to act."

Residents who have been attending the health board's hearings for months said they were happy that Framingham officials were willing to put more pressure on General Chemical to be a good neighbor. For years, they said, the DEP didn't adequately address pollution at the site, they said.

"The Board of Health is doing something to get the state to do more," said Sydney Faust, who lives in a nearby condominium complex that could be in the path of a toxic plume that has been emanating from the site since the 1960s, before General Chemical owned the property.

In an e-mail, DEP spokesman Joseph Ferson said the agency would cooperate with the town but he would not comment on the scope of the health board's authority. "We'll continue to work hand-in-hand with the Board of Health to make sure GCC's facility is closed safely," Ferson wrote.

Even though General Chemical technically is slated not to operate in the coming months, its former property will still be owned by the same New Jersey-based parent company. Also, across Leland Street, another General Chemical affiliate that hauls hazardous materials, Clean Venture, is expected to continue operating.

The health board has been holding hearings on General Chemical since last year, after a string of environmental violations were discovered at the company, including workers pouring contaminated water onto the facility's grounds in 2010.

The company is still dealing with violations from that period. Last month, the DEP fined General Chemical $24,575 for a range of violations that occurred at the site in the last two years, including spilling hazardous waste, mislabeling containers, and not following a contingency plan in August when a small fire broke out at the facility.

A geologist and consultant hired by the town, Drew Smyth, said General Chemical's current plan for cleaning up the site is woefully inadequate. The company estimates that the cleanup will cost $1.27 million. But Smyth said that forecast is unrealistic and does not anticipate any surprises during the closure.

"These numbers reflect that everything will be hunky dory, that everything will be clean," he said.

But there are plenty of details that could complicate the cleanup, said Smyth. General Chemical, for example, needs to patch the numerous cracks that crisscross the concrete and asphalt floors of the facility. Otherwise, he said, the water used to clean off the tanks and other equipment encrusted with years' worth of chemicals could simply flow through the cracks and into the soil. "They need to fill the cracks before they work," he said.

Most importantly, General Chemical appears to be planning to clean, but not remove, the massive storage tanks at the facility, said Smyth.

Without removing the tanks, nobody will know if they were ever leaking, he said. For years, the tanks sat on bare ground. In the last decade or two, the company paved the area. Plumes of toxins could be sitting under the pavement, he said. The same principal applies to buildings on the site

"It's a lot easier if that equipment - the tanks and buildings - are gone," Smyth said. "When you remove the tanks and buildings, you'll find the spills beneath them."

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Bucks Draft Watch: Around the world in Bucks picks

Bucks Blog

The Journal Sentinel sports staff brings Milwaukee Bucks fans the latest news, notes and analysis

Feb. 21, 2014

By Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel

Feb. 21, 2014 0

Being glued to the Olympics for work and writing a blog post about Giannis Antetokounmpo's experience at all-star weekend have me thinking globally for this week's edition of Bucks Draft Watch.

International players — who for the purposes of this blog are defined as players from foreign countries who do not play in American colleges before being drafted — are always a question mark because we don't get to watch them play on a daily basis. NBA teams have scouts dedicated to tracking players around the globe in the hopes of finding the league's next big star.

Sometimes it works out, as it did with Toni Kukoc, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Yao Ming, among others. There are also a fair share of flops, like Darko Milicic, Oleksiy Pecherov, Frederic Weis and many others.

Whiile the "Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo has been successful so far, he represents the best success that the Bucks have had with international players in the draft. Here are the other international players Milwaukee has drafted.

  • Dirk Nowitzki from Germany. Taken with the 9th overall pick in the 1998 draft. In a pre-arranged deal, he was immediately traded to the Mavericks for the draft rights to Robert Traylor, who was taken for the Bucks at No. 6 by the Mavericks. Considered one of the biggest draft steals ever.
  • Szymon Szewczyk from Poland. Taken with the 35th overall pick in 2003. Never played for the Bucks or any other NBA team.
  • Andrew Bogut from Australia. Taken with the 1st overall pick in the 2005 draft. Averaged 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in seven seasons with the Bucks. Injuries kept him from being successful and now he's playing a key role in Golden State's success. (EDIT: By my own definition Bogut shouldn't be on this list because he played NCAA basketball.)
  • Ersan Ilyasova from Turkey. Taken with the 36th overall pick in the 2005 draft. Appeared in 66 games for the Bucks in his rookie season, then played in Spain for two years. After coming back to the Bucks, he's averaged 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
  • Yi Jianlian from China. Taken with the 6th overall pick in 2007. He was shipped out of Milwaukee after one lackluster season. The center, who some thought could be the next Yao Ming, never panned out in the NBA and is already out of the league and playing back in China.

Long story short, the Bucks haven't had a ton of success with international players. There are at least two international players projected to be lottery picks this year — Dante Exum of Australia and Dario Saric of Croatia — and I'll talk about both this week.

Since the Bucks are in last place right now, 4 1/2 games behind the 76ers, they are projected to pick no lower than fourth in the draft. Philadelphia should still contest for the worst record after cleaning house at the trade deadline. This week I have my rankings of the top four along with one player who is on my radar.

Last week

1. Jabari Parker, Duke
2. Andrew Wiggins, Kansas
3. Joel Embiid, Kansas
4. Julius Randle, Kentucky
On the radar: Noah Vonleh, Indiana

This week

No. 1

Andrew Wiggins, G, Kansas
6-foot-8, 200 lbs.

Stats (through Feb. 20): 16.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 44.6 FG%, 34.4 3P%, 1.7 APG, 0.8 BPG, 1.1 SPG.

If nothing else, Wiggins has been consistent. As you can see above, he's averaging 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Over his past 10 games, Wiggins has averaged 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds. In those 10 games, he's scored in double digits eight times, including a high of 29 points.

This week, he stuffed the stat sheet while shooting over 50% and even hit a game-winning shot on the road against Texas Tech. The game-winner came on a heads up play when he collected a ball that Joel Embiid lost and quickly laid it in to give the Jayhawks the lead with 1.2 seconds left. Watch the play here.

What makes that play great is that Wiggins had the wherewithal to get into the paint while Embiid was working the baseline. Trailing by a point, he knew he needed to be available in the case of a missed shot and he ended up being in the right place for what he called a "great pass" from Embiid.

Wiggins' postgame remark about the "pass" from Embiid is revealing to me. Obviously it's all smiles when you win, but Wiggins consciously decided to include Embiid in what could have been his own moment of glory. He didn't mention that Embiid lost the ball, though Embiid admitted it himself, but Wiggins instead make Embiid a part of the game-winning play. Those are the kind of things that teammates remember.

Is there any way that the Bucks can get both of these guys? No? Well, that's too bad.

Note: I didn't talk much about Wiggins' 17-point performance against TCU because those stats aren't worth much in my opinion. Kansas has beaten TCU by a combined 52 points in two games this season. Ouch.

Kansas' upcoming schedule: vs. No. 19 Texas, 6:30 p.m. Saturday; vs. Oklahoma 8 p.m. Monday.

No. 2

Jabari Parker, SF, Duke
6-foot-8, 235 lbs.

Stats (through Feb. 20): 19.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 47.9 FG%, 36.0 3P%, 1.2 APG, 1.3 BPG, 1.0 SPG.

At one point in Saturday's game between Duke and Maryland, ESPN broadcaster Dave O'Brien asked his partner Doris Burke, "Has there been a moment in any game we've called of Duke basketball this season where Jabari Parker didn't look like a pro?" Burke's answer was a quick and unequivocal, "No."

If you watched that game, where Parker scored 23 points, had eight rebounds made nine of 10 free throws, hit a pair of threes and put up numbers across the stat sheet, it's hard to answer O'Brien's question differently. If you didn't watch the game, check out the highlights here.

After tallying a double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds) in a win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Parker did it again (17-11) against North Carolina on Thursday night. Parker did most of his damage against UNC in the first half (10 points, five rebounds) and then was held in check in the second half. He also had five turnovers. Those things can't happen, especially in a rivalry game, but overall I believe he still had the best week considering that Duke played three games in six days — a rarity in regular season college basketball.

Parker's defense has always been a question mark, but he's shown improvement in one area of his defensive game recently — shot blocking. In his past five games, Parker's averaged 2.4 blocks per game. It's a small sample size, but that's an improvement.

The downside, however, is that Parker seems to be hunting for blocks and if he's only connecting twice a game, there are many more times that he's missing. Against North Carolina he had multiple swings and misses when he might have been better served moving his feet and getting into better defensive position before the shot went up.

Parker and his teammates don't have much time to rest after playing three games in six days, as Syracuse will visit Cameron Indoor on Saturday.

Duke's upcoming schedule: vs. No. 1 Syracuse, 6 p.m. Saturday; vs. Virginia Tech, 6 p.m. Tuesday.

No. 3

Joel Embiid, C, Kansas
7-foot, 250 lbs.

Stats (through Feb. 20): 11.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 62.3 FG%, 20.0 3P%, 1.2 APG, 2.5 BPG, 0.7 SPG.

As you may have surmised, Embiid was back in action on Tuesday after missing Saturday's win over TCU. The best part was that he didn't miss a beat after sitting out with knee and back injuries, tying his career high of 18 points and pulling down eight rebounds in 32 minutes of action during the win over Texas Tech.

Embiid said that he was about 90% for Tuesday's game. If that's 90 percent, I can't wait to see what he's like when he's back to 100. Wiggins summed up the threat that his teammate poses when healthy saying, "His mobility and everything was back. If he doesn't get double-teamed, he scores or he gets fouled, so it was good to have him back."

Kansas' upcoming schedule: vs. No. 19 Texas, 6:30 p.m. Saturday; vs. Oklahoma 8 p.m. Monday.

No. 4

Dante Exum, PG, Australia
6-foot-6, 188 lbs.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, you might catch a glimpse of Exum, who came to the United States this week to focus on his training ahead of the draft. Then again, you might not notice the quiet, humble teen, who barely even gets noticed in his home country.

It's no surprise that Exum decided to train in Los Angeles. He idolizes Kobe Bryant and hopes to talk with the NBA superstar to get some tips on jumping from high school straight to the pros. Exum has a nice in, too. He and Bryant have the same agent.

One thing that might be viewed as a negative with Exum, though, is that he recently committed to playing for Australia's national team in the upcoming FIBA world championships in Spain at the beginning of September. In a story in the Canberra Times, Exum said, ''I've made it clear to my agent that he's got to put that into any contract I sign with a team that I will be available for those world champs. ... It's been one of my dreams for the longest, playing for Australia in the under-19s and the under-17s the year before was a great honour.''

Training camp doesn't begin until the end of September, but it could be advantageous for Exum — or any other rookie — to arrive early and begin getting acquainted with his new team, coach, staff and city.

On the radar

Dario Saric, F, Croatia
6-foot-10, 220 lbs.

When asked who he might resemble in the NBA, it's not too encouraging to hear that Saric's response was, "Lamar Odom." His reason for drawing that comparison gives more reason for hope, as the 19-year-old Croatian said, "He's a big guy who can create. He can do everything on the court."

While the comparison leaves something to be desired, Saric indeed seems to be a big guy who can create and do everything on the court. He flirted with the draft last year and was projected as a late lottery pick, but decided to stay in Europe in the hopes of moving up in this year's draft.

 This year he's in the mix to be selected somewhere in the lottery. He averaged more than 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists while playing for Cibona in the Adriatic League and the Eurocup this season. The biggest knocks against the "point forward" prospect is that he lacks foot speed and athleticism against small forwards and might not be strong or long enough to be a pure power forward.

I don't know if Saric is likely to end up with the Bucks unless some players decide not to declare for the draft, but Saric looks like he could be a worthwhile project for a lottery team.

Agree or disagree with Matt's take? Make your voice heard in the comments and vote for your top pick in this week's poll. You can also engage Matt directly via email or on Twitter.

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About Matt Velazquez

Matt Velazquez covers Marquette athletics, primarily men's basketball.

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What does it take to become a champion? (long & philosophical)(12 posts)

What does it take to become a champion? (long & philosophical)Slipstream
Apr 19, 2002 6:47 AM
empacher6's post, "Let's hear some success stories," got me to thinking what are the qualities that one needs to become a champion.

I have distilled years of experience at racquetball into three qualities: outplay, outthink & intimidate. Does any of this apply to cycling?

Behind that experience is hours and hours of practice, working on the fundamentals, repetition until you have an instantaneous and broad set of responses to any given situation. This I call, "reflexive" response. It means that you don't have to think about what you do. Because, in the fast paced game of racquetball--as in other sports--you need to develop an instantaneous response, an automatic response. This only comes with a ton of practice and experience in real situations. This is where, over time, you are able to outplay your opponent. In cycling, this would mean to outride them under any condition, I suppose, but doing it over the course of the entire event--knowing where to relax and where to attack based upon your own capabilities and your particluar skill & strength match ups with your opponent.

Reflexive response needs to be combined with "awareness". It is knowing where you are in relation to what your opponent is doing; it is also continuously testing your opponent as well as yourself. It is putting yourself in the most advantageous position to counteract what your opponent is doing as well as giving yourself the opportunity to strike with an offensive parry.

Outthinking your opponent means you are able to immediately adapt to any situation and gain (or regain) the edge. It may mean a bit of deception or a feint, it may require a gamble, it may mean doing just enough to make them think about what you are doing as opposed to you thinking about what they are doing. It means having confidence in yourself and patience over the entire match when what you are doing isn't working, knowing that success often comes in increments. It also means learning from your failures, going back and learning from the lesson a better opponent may have taught you that day.

It is not unlike a chess match. One of my favorite books is, "Chess Traps, Pitfalls and Swindles" that I read as a kid. Outthinking your opponent often becomes the edge, if and only if, you have thoroughly trained, practiced and developed the reflexive and awareness skills. It is what allows you to beat a superior opponent.

Intimidation comes when you can combine all of this and your opponent doesn't have a clue what you are doing, even though they may be a stronger or faster athlete. It does not mean disrespecting your opponent; it is paying them the highest respect because you are prepared for them. It is playing a complete game taking the physical, mental and skill levels into a second order of play--that is the zone--where your play becomes an art form and pure poetry. It is where you feel as if you are flying and everything else is in slow motion.

A personal satisfaction is going into a match against an opponent who has an attitude and seeing how he reacts over the course of the match. I am constantly probing, testing, challenging, deceiving--trying to find a weakness or opening. When I find it, it may only last for a couple of points, because he will adjust, but by then I will have moved on, again, trying to keep him slightly offguard. And often, that single point at a crucial time may make all the difference.

What is enjoyable for me is coaching and to see someone mature from a pure physical player into a complete player who masters all aspects of the game. It is also nice for a player to come back to me years later and tell me, "You know, I finally understand what you were saying, but it took me this
continued (short)Slipstream
Apr 19, 2002 6:50 AM
"You know, I finally understand what you were saying, but it took me this long to finally figure it out."

Sorry for the long post. I can go on, but I would like to hear from others what they think it takes to become a champion.

ride hard; have fun; be safe.
continued (short)netso
Apr 19, 2002 7:28 AM
I was a Professional Athlete. What I felt made me good or better than others was not genetics, even though this is a factor. I was very prepared, I studied my opponents (particularly their weaknesses), I studied my weaknesses (this is hard to do). It also helped to be a little obsessive and compulsive with a tremendous will to win. I left intimidation to others!
a coupla things actually.....Spirito
Apr 19, 2002 7:34 AM
needn't be actual - can be metaphoric!
You got sooo much wit...Slipstream
Apr 19, 2002 7:45 AM
now that you mention it--it does take balls of steel to ride like a champion. and where does that leave the fairer sex since you are so literal, er, graphic? go figuroto, Spiritoto
Balls of steel.Ahimsa
Apr 19, 2002 7:59 AM
Or ovaries of iron.

Just happened to have that picture laying around, eh? (nm)Sintesi
Apr 19, 2002 7:46 AM
was planning a how to post on the topic of shaving ;-) NmSpirito
Apr 19, 2002 8:01 AM
Focus, good peripheral vision, and corporate sponsorship. nm128
Apr 19, 2002 7:49 AM
Focus, good peripheral vision, and corporate sponsorship. nmnetso
Apr 19, 2002 8:53 AM
I forgot the sponsorship (Money). If you worry about money, it is hard to be a champion. I was fortunate that someone aided me along the way financially.
Apr 19, 2002 2:10 PM
I believe you hit right on the head

First of all, it takes preparation, know the course, know the opponents. While you're driving to the race course, think about it, focused on who's to beat, where do you make your move.

Then be prepared and mentally trained to change your game plan on the spot, cause you never know whats going to happen, if you don't react to a changing situation, you'll loose (you try to follow plan, but rarelly, thing goeas as planned). You got to be witty and outsmart the others, look for obvious opportunity to attack, and not so obvious, learn some general weeknesses of people and force yourself to become better at those.

Your mind gives you much ability to perform at high levels. I wont say its all in your head, cause if it was, every Joe Sixpack could win a race if he believes he can, but once that you are trained to a certain level, and race at your level (you know a cat5 will not beat a cat1 racer, you got to be logic in your aspirations), you can win, and get better.

Pain, learn to master the pain. you got to be able to forget the pain and concentrate on what's happening around you. When it hurts, don't worry, your not the only one hurtin, push some more, if you want it bad enough, don't stop.

If you want something bad enough, I sincerly think that you can get it if you put your mind (and body) to it.

I say this very humbly (is this a word?) because my best result was second place in all of my races, but that is how I approach racing, training, and sometimes other stuff.

And sometimes, just don't try to be the champion, just have fun....after all, you got to enjoy life, don't be so serious all the time ;-)

you forget one thing....peloton
Apr 19, 2002 6:28 PM

You can have all the training, skills, genetics, and mindset in the world. If you don't have the luck and then the opportunity to perform you don't have anything. Lots of great athletes are around that you will never hear of.

That said, mindset is HUGE. I've had the opportunity to make my living doing my sport in the past. Still involved at a different level now. If you don't believe you are THE BEST, than you are NOTHING. Cocky, but true.

A lot of professional athletes are also compulsive/obsessive types too. Drives them in training. Also the same qualities that lead to drinking, drug, and gambling problems.


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Utah football: Offense's explosiveness pleases coaching staff

Utah football • Injuries continue to pile up for the Utes.
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

While the Utes aren't calling it an official scrimmage, Saturday's practice consisted of a lot of live work. What the coaches saw — big catches by the receivers, solid runs by the running backs and an efficient pace by the quarterbacks — made Utah's coaches satisfied the team is on the right track.

"Explosive plays by the offense, a lot of explosive plays," was the way Utah coach Kyle Whittingham described the effort.

A lack of such plays in 2012 was one of the main reasons Dennis Erickson was brought on board. His up-tempo offense has been embraced by the quarterbacks, putting the offense ahead of where it was last year, in Whittingham's estimation.

"Only six practices in, I couldn't be more pleased," he said.

With returning back Kelvin York still bothered by turf toe, both backups Lucky Radley and James Poole had solid efforts.

Their success was keyed by an offensive line that Whittingham said is the most improved area of the team.

Backup quarterbacks Adam Schulz and Brandon Cox are keeping the pressure on starter Wilson, with Schulz in particular picking up the no-huddle offense well, Erickson said.

The Utes still are having too many dropped balls and started slower than Erickson would have liked, but they recovered quickly.

"The key is how you react, and we reacted well," he said. "Maybe a year or two ago we wouldn't have reacted like that. This is a fun group. I am excited. We are a lot better than people think we are."

Waiting game: The kicking game continues to be inconsistent with freshman Jamie Sutcliffe and Andy Phillips struggling. Whittingham said he was in no hurry to settle the position.

"We might not know until seven days out," he said about the season opener.

Sidelined: Utah's injury list is a long one with several key defenders out, including defensive end Nate Orchard (back) and linebacker/defensive end Jason Whittingham (shoulder), who had surgeries last week. Defensive end Trevor Reilly and Wykie Freeman already were scheduled to miss practice while recovering from injuries.

Linebackers V.J. Fehoko and Reshawn Hooker also are out.

"Half our starting defense is in the pit," Whittingham said.

Of note: Freshman Justin Thomas, who is competing with junior college transfer Davion Orphey for a starting role at corner, has moved ahead, Whittingham said. ... The Utes are scheduled to practice Tuesday from 3 to 5 p.m. ... Former Ute Luther Elliss spoke to the team after practice. —