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Good Karma Rope Toys "Larry the Lion"
Price: From $14.50 to $16.50

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My name is Larry the Lion and I am king of the jungle. It is my job to instill courage and protect all animals from harm. The Rescue Train has decided to help me in my mission and find homes for all the abandoned dogs and cats in their care. When I ROAR people listen! So I ask you to make adoption your first option, and help the Rescue Train do this important work.

Voted Best Pet Toy by Pet Product News in 2008 as one of the best toys for puppies and dogs!

These adorable toys come in 2 sizes and are offered in a variety of animal shapes. The toys are 100% ECO-FRIENDLY and are made from natural dyed cotton thread. The toys are hand tied and naturally fray to act like doggie dental floss. These toys are recommended for puppies who are teething or for dogs who like to CHEW, PLAY, TUG or FETCH. Each rope toy comes with a story of how it was rescued and Jax and Bones donates part of the proceeds to benefit The Rescue Train, a nonprofit 501c3 organization. These toys bring good karma!

Since all dogs have different chewing habits, we recommend the following:
* Always choose a LARGE SIZE if you know you have an aggressive chewer (even if you have a 10 lb. dog)
* Always supervise the pet during play and never let the pet eat or ingest any part of this toy.

TIP: Place the tips of the toys in h2o and freeze. h2o + freezer = happy gums!

Offered in 2 sizes: small (dogs under 20 lbs) and large (dogs under 60 lbs).

Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.

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26 Books to Read in Preparation for the Movies of 2013 [Part Two]

Yesterday we took a look at the comic books, graphic novels, plays and news articles that were being adapted into films set for release in 2013 (find that article here) and today we dig a little deeper and take a look at over 25 books that will make the leap from page to screen in the new year and it is a list with some titles you are surely going to want to add to your reading list over the coming months.

The list is filled with recognizable authors such as Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, Orson Scott Card, Suzanne Collins, Tom Clancy, Stephenie Meyer, Nicholas Sparks and F. Scott Fitzgerald. After that you have J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Hans Christian Andersen and even Stanislaw Lem.

Cassandra Clare, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Joseph Delaney, Rick Riordan and Isaac Marion deliver some young adult flavor while Ron Rash and Jordan Belfort deliver the two titles that look as if they are the must reads of the bunch.

The films we’re talking about include directors such as Martin Scorsese, Susanne Bier, Marc Forster, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Ari Folman, Kimberly Peirce, Baz Luhrmann and even James Franco. The films range from animation to fantasy to drama to horror and I’ve done my best to leave no stone unturned.

By the time you’re done here, if you haven’t found something to read then I really don’t know what to say. I’ve included all the purchasing links necessary and noted a couple of deals if you own a Kindle. Hopefully you find something to check out… I know I did.

Beautiful Creatures

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful CreaturesKami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s popular young adult novel is coming to the big screen this year. Beautiful Creatures stars Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson and hits theaters on February 13.

Here’s the synopsis for the book it is based on.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

by Stephen King

You all know about Stephen King‘s “Carrie” and I suspect many of you have already read it and/or seen Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of the film about a young girl with telekinetic powers. Well, this time around Chloe Moretz is stepping into the shoes of the powerful 17-year-old and why not revisit the novel that got it all started and put Stephen King on the map.

Child of God

by Cormac McCarthy

Child of GodI’m going to bet not many of you even knew James Franco was directing an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy‘s “Child of God” in which Franco stars alongside Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parrack, Fallon Goodson and Elena McGhee. There’s no guarantee the film will hit theaters this year, but a McCarthy novel is always worth a read.

Here’s the book synopsis:

In this taut, chilling novel, Lester Ballard–a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape–haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.

FRANCO BONUS: Franco is also directing and adaptation of William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying” (buy it here), but while I’m not quite sure Child of God will hit theaters this year, I’m even more in doubt As I Lay Dying will, but if you need another novel to read, you can’t go wrong with Faulkner.

The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy

by Stanislaw Lem

Ari Folman made a lot of noise a couple years back with Waltz with Bashir, but his follow-up, The Congress, has taken some time to get the animation just right and it’s looking like 2013 may finally be the year it hits screens, most likely beginning with the festival circuit.

The story is a loose adaptation of Stanislaw Lem‘s “The Futurological Congress,” a 1971 black humour science fiction detailing the exploits of the hero of a number of his books, Ijon Tichy, as he visits the Eighth World Futurological Congress at the Costa Rica Hilton. The book is Lem’s take on the common sci-fi trope of an apparently Utopian future that turns out to be an illusion.

Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three

by Mara Leveritt

We’ve had three Paradise Lost films and 2012 saw the release of the West Memphis Three documentary and now Mara Leveritt‘s “Devil’s Knot” is getting a feature film adaptation with Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Mireille Enos and Alessandro Nivola starring and Atom Egoyan directing.

If you haven’t yet watched any of the documentaries then Leveritt’s book may be a good place to start, but if you’ve been paying any kind of attention, this story may have already worn itself out.

Ender’s Game (Ender, Book 1)

by Orson Scott Card

Ender's GameOrson Scott Card‘s “Ender’s Game” is the winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards and, from what I have heard, is one hell of a book series. The film adaptation of the first book doesn’t hit theaters until November 1 so you have more than enough time to start reading not one, but maybe several of the installments.

Here’s the synopsis for the first book:

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut–young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender’s skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

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NBC will air a three-hour live special on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the iconic franchise “Saturday Night Live.”

Past and present cast members, as well as special and musical guests from the show’s incredible five-decade run, will appear on the telecast, with the specific lineup of guests to be determined in the coming months.

“‘Saturday Night Live’ is an institution unlike anything else in television history,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “The many brilliant ‘Not Ready for Primetime Players’ over the years is a who’s who of film and television comedy for the last two generations. The roster includes everyone from the iconic first cast in 1975 to household names ranging from Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, and Adam Sandler, to Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers  to name only a few. This brand, which is still one of the highest-rated comedies on television, was the brainchild of Lorne Michaels, who still presides over the whole enterprise today. This special is just one of the many ways we plan to celebrate SNL’s historic 40th season next year.”

“Saturday Night Live” has won 40 Emmy Awards, the most for any show in television history. “SNL” also holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 171 nominations. “SNL” has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as “truly a national institution.”

“Saturday Night Live” was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters. The show continues to garner the highest ratings of any late-night television program, entertaining millions each week.

Broadcast live from NBC’s famed Studio 8H in New York Citys Rockefeller Center, “Saturday Night Live” premiered Oct. 11, 1975. The program is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. Lorne Michaels is the executive producer.


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Prison officers failed to record risk posed by Stewart

Prison officers failed to record the risks posed by Zahid
Mubarek’s killer Robert Stewart as he was transferred between
prisons, an inquiry heard today, writes Maria

The public inquiry into Mubarek’s death at Feltham Young
Offender Institution heard that nine separate prisoner escort
records were “defective” when Stewart was transferred
from Hindley YOI to other establishments prior to the murder.

Dexter Dias, counsel for the Mubarek family, said that the
records showed no assessment of the “vulnerabilities and
risks” posed by Stewart, including threatened suicide and
self-harm, even though his behaviour was “well-known”
at Hindley.

Stewart went on to kill Mubarek –his cellmate – at Feltham
in March 2000 after being transferred from Hindley in January the
same year.

The prisoner escort records were introduced in 1999 to highlight
potential risks any inmates might pose when they were transferred
from one establishment to another, the inquiry heard.

Giving evidence to the inquiry, Harold Dunne, the then principal
officer at Hindley agreed with Dias that the failure to fill in the
records properly was an “important and serious

Dias pointed out that the medical section of the escort record
for Stewart’s transfer from Hindley to Feltham in January
2000 had not been filled in at Hindley.

He asked Dunne:”Would you agree if that is what has
happened, that is a serious breach of prison service

Dunne replied: “It is a breach of those instructions,

The inquiry continues.

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Wide Range: 7 Mainstream Foundations That Might Actually Fit Your Skintone

The beauty industry has long been called out for their lack of diversity in foundation. Walk down the makeup aisle at the drugstore or take a spin around Sephora and it’s not hard to see: nearly every brand carries at least 10 shades of beige, but only one or two that fit people of color.

I could rant and rave forever about the absurdity of brands not producing foundation colors that fit the majority of the world, but I’ll spare you. Instead, here are seven of my favorite foundations made by more well known brands whose creators are woke enough to produce them in a wide range of colors. Enjoy!

Makeup Forever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation - $43

This foundation was formulated for the most advanced film and TV technology, so you get a flawless finish while maintaining a lightweight texture. It’s comfortable, long-wearing, and comes in 40 different shades all over the spectrum.

Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24H Long Wear Foundation - $47

This formulation is oil-free and longwearing, with a medium-to-full coverage.  It leaves the skin with a matte finish and contains SPF 15 so you can keep enjoying the summer sun. Thanks to the perlite and silica ingredients, you won’t run into any excess oil throughout your day. It comes in 35 shades that were created based on real skin tones.

Sephora Collection 10 HR Wear Perfect Foundation - $20

If you’re looking for a natural finish, you’ve found it. The Hyaluronic Acid in the foundation smooths the skin and the Vitamin E protects against external stressors. Formulated without parabens and not tested on animals, it’s gotten fantastic reviews. Check out which of the 36 shades is for you.

Cover FX Pressed Mineral Foundation - $36

Love what a good mineral powder does for you? The Cover FX foundation boasts a sheer-to-full buildable coverage with a matte finish. It’s clinically tested, vegan, and free of a bunch of concerning chemicals that can be found in other powders. Moisturizing and never cakey, this powder foundation comes in 40 different shades, all of which take into account natural undertones (pink, golden, or neutral).

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick - $46

I know what you’re thinking,

“What’s with foundation sticks?”

But hear me out: Bobbi’s got you. This foundation is creamy, weightless in texture, and contains skintone correcting pigments that’ll even out any discoloration. Light-diffusing powders and oil-controlling minerals give the skin a flawless finish and the nifty packaging is super portable for touch-ups during the day.

Maybelline Fit Me! Matte and Poreless Foundation - $7.99

The unique formulation of Maybelline’s Fit Me! line makes this foundation transform to match your skin tone. On top of that, the Matte and Poreless foundation fits unique texture issues of normal to oily skin. Oil free, allergy tested, and 24 shades? Check, check, and check.

NYX Cosmetics Hydra Touch Powder Foundation - $19.99

There may only be 15 shades of this foundation, but the selection of harder-to-find colors is noteworthy. It is a weightless pressed powder, and—get this—it can be applied to dry or wet skin. It also contains botanical extracts to leave the skin feeling soft and fresh.

Allison (she/her/hers) is currently a graduate Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is a double major in Creative Writing and Journalism, and loves to write (which she should,
because that’s basically all she does). She is a Dallas, Texas native and adores travelling. She loves all things beauty and if anyone knows people at Sephora, they
should definitely hook her up.


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Appropriate Technology

Fetch Headings.ExtraData
Below are groups and resources (books, articles, websites, etc.) related to this topic. Click on an item’s title to go its resource page with author, publisher, description/abstract and other details, a link to the full text if available, as well as links to related topics in the Subject Index. You can also browse the Title, Author, Subject, Chronological, Dewey, LoC, and Format indexes, or use the Search box.
Particularly recommended items are flagged with a red logo:

Connexions Library

The AT Reader: Theory and Practice in Appropriate Technology
Carr, Marilyn
An introduction to appropriate technology, both as an explanation of the concerpt and extensive examples and applications.
Connexions: Volume 7, Number 1 - March 1982
Serial Publication (Periodical)
Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change
Papanek, Victor
While two-thirds of the world's population lives in poverty, valuable human and natural resources are used to produce: fur-covered toilet seats, electronic nail polish dryers, diapers for parakeets, a...
Guide to Convivial Tools
Directories, handbooks, bibliographies. Published as Library Journal Special Report No. 13, this guide was produced as a selection and reference tool by the librarian who founded Centro Intercultural ...
How Things Don't Work
Papanek, Victor and Hennessey, James
Pananek and Hennessey focus on appliances, tooks, and devices that are at the nub of modern living. They show how some of our most cherished possessions, ranging from simple household fixtures to soph...
Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered
Schumacher, E.F.
Schumacher argues that mainstream economics is incompatible with the long-term ends of humanity.

Connexions Directory of Groups & Websites

To provide insightful environmental research and opinion from Canadian scholars, professionals and activists through publishing a quarterly environmental journal.
Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade
COAT is a national network of individuals and organizations in Canada that began in late 1988 to organize opposition to ARMX '89, which was the country's largest weapons bazaar. COAT has continued to ...
Connexions Information Sharing Services
Connexions provides information and services for advocacy groups, voluntary and non-profit organizations, and individuals, who are working for social and economic justice, environmental responsibility...
Ecologist, The
Online environmental affairs magazine covering a wide range of issues, ranging from the environmental costs of industrial agriculture, the health effects of toxins, the effects of economic globalizati...
Farm Radio Weekly
Campaigns against hunger and disease in Africa and elsewhere through informative, educational radio information broadcasts.
New Society Publishers
New Society Publishers' mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact upon the e...
WaterCan is a leading Canadian charity dedicated to fighting global poverty by helping the world's poorest people gain access to clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene education.

Sources Library

The Malawian who harnessed the airwaves
Keita, Mohamed Hassim; Clarke, Caitlin


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Conserve Wildlife Blog

Posts Tagged ‘horseshoe crab spawning’

Shorebirds lift off to an uncertain end from Delaware Bay

Thursday, June 8th, 2017

By Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates, LLC

Red knot by James Fiorentino.

I am reviewing a new paper by Sjoerd Duijns, a student working on the benefits of being a fat shorebird. Still, a draft, the paper analyses data from radio-tagged red knots leaving the Bay in good condition (i.e. fat) and finds they may leave later from Delaware Bay than lighter birds but arrive earlier in the breeding grounds because they can pick the best time to leave. They are also more likely to breed successfully and survive the Arctic breeding season to the following fall. In other words, being a fat knot on Delaware Bay makes life good.

So, in light of this new information, how did the red knots and other shorebirds fare in this year’s Delaware Bay Stopover?  One must not be firm, with so many unknowns, but here’s a working biologist’s best guess.

By all accounts it was one of the worst years in recent memory, but with a twist that offers a glimmer of hope.

First, the Bay’s water reflected an unusually cool May and never really warmed to the levels necessary for a really good horseshoe crab spawn until the very end. This caused odd occurrences of crab spawning. For example, crabs bred in greater densities at the southern beaches this year, more than in previous years. The spawn at Norburys Landing, just south of the commercial oyster aquaculture development zone (ADZ), was one of the best this year, and knots and other shorebirds used the area in great number. One can only guess the water temperatures warmed over the wide inter-tidal flats provided just enough to elicit spawning. The same process was true of all the creeks on the Bay.

Laughing Gulls and shorebirds feast on horseshoe crab eggs at Norbury’s Landing just south of the Aquaculture Development Zone. (below)The southern portion of the bay was much more important this year because waters warmed faster on the large inter tidal shelf of this portion of the bay.

Second, the knot numbers never really climbed to the levels of the last three years. I’m guessing this was illusory, a consequence of the count being done on two days at the peak. It’s likely many more birds came to the Bay and seeing many birds for too few eggs, left for better resources elsewhere. Those that left were probably short distance winterers – those from relatively close in Florida and other nearby areas. The Bay’s horseshoe crab eggs would help them too, but they can get by on Atlantic Coast clams and mussels. The long-distance birds are the ones that need the Bay’s resources.

Third, when finally, the spawn got underway, a freak concurrence of wind and tide killed many thousands of crabs, potentially damaging the population and very likely ending any possibility of a really great spawn. The cobblestone road of crabs on the water’s edge. We saw none of that this year. Not once.

The upper graph compares predicted high tides ( in blue) with the actual high tide (in Red). On the night of 26 May. This occurred during the lunar spring tide, the highest in May. Finally, a brief burst of NW wind pushed the abnormally high tide into waves breaking across the beach berm, carrying with it tens of thousands of horseshoe crabs.

In a freak concurrence of wind and tide, waves pushed horseshoe crab over the beach into the marsh by the thousands.

Grim results, but here’s the twist. In good years, knots leave near the 27th of May. One day they jam the beach gobbling up eggs, the next day there gone. In bad years, they linger. In 2003, we caught birds on the June 10th.  There’s a cost to this of course, in lower survival and failing production. This year was a new in between. By the time of departure on May 27th, less than a quarter of the knots were prepared to leave. But they hung on until the 30th, blessed with a new flush of horseshoe crab eggs created by a middling spawn and a northwesterly wind churning up the beaches and exposing deeply buried eggs. Did the birds gain enough weight?

It’s hard to say, our last catch of just 33 knots suggests they might have, but an end-of-the-season catch makes a poor assessment. Once birds start leaving, the ones behind could be the light birds not ready to leave, or the heavy birds waiting for better weather. We won’t really know until the fall counts in the southbound stopover or the winter count in Tierra del Fuego.

This, our 21st season of intense research and conservation on Delaware Bay by all accounts will be like no other. Throughout all of it, the team of scientists and volunteers remained inspired, energetic and resourceful. In this one month, we conducted more scientific investigation and conservation than most projects do in an entire year. Whatever the outcome of this year’s stopover season, our team can look hopefully to the north and know that all that could be done for the birds was done.

Those of us that were paid for our time sincerely thank those who volunteered their time including; the stewards that manned the closed beaches helping hundreds of people understand why closures were needed; the volunteers in the banding team who endured long hours of preparing equipment, making bands, sewing nets and keeping cages and of course counting, catching and processing birds; the volunteers who doggedly pursue opportunities to resight flagged birds to estimate numbers and yearly survival; the volunteers that provided meals every single night, a welcome relief from a hard day’s work; and finally, the volunteers that went out all over the Bay to save horseshoe crabs in weather both good and bad. We all did our best. God help the birds and horseshoe crabs.

Our banding team on a catch at South Reeds.

Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.

Scarcity and Abundant – Shorebirds Near the Finish Line on the Delaware Bay

Wednesday, May 31st, 2017

By Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates, LLC

Our latest catch of red knots and ruddy turnstones two days ago (May 27) suggests 2017 to be one of the most challenging years for our 20 years of work on Delaware Bay. It challenged the birds for certain.

For example, as of two days ago (May 27), the average weights of red knots remain mired in the mid 160’s when it should be in the 180-gram range. This seems a minor difference but to red knots it means a flight through the cold and often inhospitable north country of Canada and dropping out of the sky never to be seen again or landing and never attempting to breed. We really don’t know for sure what happens to ill-prepared shorebirds, except they are less likely to be seen ever again. In 2017 most birds will be ill prepared.

This histogram of the red knot catch made on May 27, 2017 shows the range of weights and the number of birds in each weight category. The average of 168 is far lower than the 180-gram threshold necessary for a successful flight to the Arctic.

This season also challenged our understanding because it lies so far outside the norm. To be sure the cause of this dramatic scarcity of horseshoe crab eggs springs from the cold weather this May. We started with a good crab spawn in the first week of May, when water temperatures rose somewhat faster than normal, a consequence no doubt of one of the warmest winters on record. Then cold and wet weather dogged the Bayshore until the day of this post. Today, temperatures will rise no higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the prospects for warmer weather are unlikely for the rest of the week. The cold air temperatures forced down the bay temperature in the second week and although it has gradually improved it is still low by normal standards.

The Delaware Bay water temperature as measured by the bour off Lewis Delaware. The Bay warmed early until the second week of May when cold weather chilled the Bay.

All of this led to generally diminished horseshoe crab eggs especially on the beaches, the mainstay of most stopovers of the past. This year crabs mostly spawned in the creek mouth and outer creeks shoals, mostly spurred to spawn by tidal waters warmed by the movement in and out of the small estuarine systems. Water moves in with the tide and out again to the creek mouths twice a day warming the shoals.

The Importance of Tidal Creek Mouths and Shoals

A shoal at the mouth of BayCove creek and the crab spawn on Reed creek.

The creeks also accumulate sand leaving them loose and perfect for crab spawning. Even in good years, egg densities in the creeks top all beaches, no matter where they occur. The sands of the shoals loosen by the waves of the Bay and release more buried eggs than those buried in the beaches, making more available to the birds. The creek mouths on the Cape May peninsula from Green Creek to Moores Creek saved the birds from an even worse fate this year and the best were those that benefited from the restoration of Reeds, Cooks, Kimbles and Pierce Point Beaches. As it happens a major portion of the Bay’s knots stayed in this area throughout the entire month but flying widely in search of pockets of good spawning in other places. This year Norbury’s in the south and Goshen in the north stood out, and extended the core stopover area.

Horseshoe crabs breeding at Reeds South shoal.

Spawning Starts Again

Then in the last three days all changed. The new moon tides, reaching around 8 feet for four nights in a row, spurred spawning despite the relatively cool water. Today, May 29, the crabs shifted into high gear.

It takes a lot of crabs breeding to bring eggs to the surface on the beaches, there must be enough breeding for one crab to dig up the eggs of another. For the first time, this occurred in the last few night and we finally saw green eggs on the sand. A welcoming sight for the birds, who could barely stand still and gobble up the fat producing eggs. With most of these Arctic nesting shorebirds remaining in the Bay and apparently feeding right into the night, they still might reach the fat gain finish line and only lose a few days reaching the Arctic. The next few days will tell.

Horseshoe crab eggs litter the surface of North Reeds Beach.

A close up of the same beach. The immense number of eggs on the surface of the beach is in part due to the number of crabs spawning and the wave action of the Bay.

Shorebirds and Gulls feeding near dark in the intertidal flats and creek shoals of Reeds, Cooks, Kimbles and Pierce Point Beaches.

Can they though? A good question and just one of the many that have challenged our team’s knowledge of this well-known stopover. With literally centuries of combined experience (many of our team, including this author, are long in the tooth as the Brits would say) we still kept guessing what would happen next throughout the season. Would the birds suffer mighty declines as a consequence of the generally diminished spawn of horseshoe crabs?  Or will they build weight in time to get to the Arctic in good condition? This is usually the central question.

Why Are There Fewer Knots?

An equally intriguing question, however, is why have red knot numbers in Delaware Bay declined this year? We estimate shorebird numbers in two ways, direct observation by aerial and ground counts and a statistically derived estimate based on the resighting of birds flagged with unique IDs. Our aerial and ground counts tell us how one year compares to another because we have been doing shorebirds counts by airplane, boat and on the ground since 1981. This year the number fell dramatically.

Guy Morrison, Christian Friis and Joe Smith survey shorebirds by airplane near Egg Island Point.

At the start of our project on Delaware Bay in 1986, we had nearly 100,000 knots on the Bay and nearly 1.5 million shorebirds of all species. The number of knots declined to around 15,000 in the mid-2000’s, then jumped to over 24,000 over the last four years. This year our best estimate is around 17,969, a 5,000-bird decline. Why did this happen?

One must always consider the possibility of a large group of birds dying. But this is not likely.

More likely, some portion of the knot flock came to the Bay, and on finding too few eggs or too much competition, moved on to better places. The ones moving on could have been the short distance migrants, those who spent their winter in Southeast US or the Caribbean. These birds travel a shorter distance and so have a longer time and lower energy needs than those that winter in South America. These long-distance migrants would have a very difficult time gaining weight on anything other than crab eggs (I explained this in a previous post). There are two reasons to believe the short distance birds moved on from the Bay this year.

The first is the discovery of birds banded in Delaware Bay this year and reported elsewhere. I reported on Mark Faherty’s Ebird report of a knot he saw in Cape Cod, that was flagged by the Delaware Bay Shorebird Team on May 16, 2017. The second line of evidence is the 1,300 birds seen by our team feeding on a 10-mile stretch of the Atlantic Coast marsh from Cape May to Stone Harbor. Play this out over the entire coast of New Jersey and other places with sand and marsh, like Cape Cod, and one could easily imagine 5,000 knots using other places.

About 200 knots feeding and roosting on the inter-tidal shoal of Hereford Inlet on the Atlantic coast.

But this reduction in population also suggests an explanation for the sudden rise in numbers found in 2013. Did the restoration of habitat on the Delaware Bay coast bring back knots that once used the Bay but stopped because of the lack of available eggs? In other words, did the increase in numbers seen in the Bay reflect a return of birds and not a population increase? This year’s loss may simply be a result of those returning birds, leaving once again.

Let’s hope so. At any rate, eggs are now available to all birds in the Bay and we should start seeing them leave for the Arctic. Let’s hope for that too.

Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.

In Dangerous Territory on the Delaware Bay

Wednesday, May 24th, 2017

By Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates, LLC

Four days ago, the shorebirds of Delaware Bay could look forward to a bright future. But in the last week their chances for survival and good production have diminished. In fact, they are as dismal as the cold drizzle pockmarking the murky water in front of our house on Reeds Beach.

The following two graphs tell the story. We captured red knots on May 12 and 16 that showed a normal, although not spectacular progression. Then we made a catch of knots on the 19th and again today on the 23rd, and in total they gained only 2 grams of fat per day. With an average weight of 144 grams at this late date and only 7 days to go before they must leave for the Arctic, their future looks bleak. If current conditions hold, the knots will suffer their worst year in 14 years. Turnstones fared no better gaining less than a gram per day on average.

The graph plots all the average weights of all the catches of red knot our team has made since 1997. The average weight of our catch on May 23 suggests trouble is brewing for these birds.

The graph plots all the average weights of all the catches of ruddy turnstones our team has made since 1997. The average weight of our catch on May 22 suggest trouble for both species.

So why this dismal report? Several factors are at work that were covered in my last post. The water temperature of the bay has only just exceeded the threshold for horseshoe crabs to start breeding in earnest. But the nights are cold and the water temperature remains cold. Last night was the first good crab spawn since the birds arrived and it was lackluster. Although there is some spawning in the creek mouth shoals and the lower beaches near Norburys Landing and Villas, our most productive beaches remain nearly devoid of crabs and crab eggs.

The second problem is still a mystery. At this stage only about half of the red knots have found their way into the bay. Weather patterns in the southern US could have been blocking migration for the last 5 days because adverse winds, poor visibility and rain impedes birds progress and could stop northward movement. The conditions have finally let up, so it possible a new cohort of birds might arrive any day. If so they will face a true food fight with many birds already here and desperate for eggs.

Laughing Gulls, Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings and Semipalmated Sandpipers struggle to find horseshoe crab eggs on the shoals of South Reeds Creek. Eggs are scarce because cool water temperatures prevent crab spawning.

However, it may not be the adverse weather but choice that is keeping the population down. Today we learned of a red knot banded on May 16 this year by our counterparts in Delaware that was resighted in Cape Cod by Mark Faherty, the senior scientist for Massachusetts Audubon in Cape Cod. In other words, red knots and other shorebirds are coming to the bay finding too little food or too much competition for the food now available and choose to move on. This is very possible for the short distance migrants because they arrive earlier and have less weight to gain before leaving for the Arctic. Knots wintering in Tierra del Fuego, arrive later and in much worse condition, often times lose muscle mass to get here. They cannot recover that loss and still gain an extra 80 grams on their normal diet of mussels and clams.

We tried to test this second possibility today (May 23) after our red knot catch this morning. Humphrey Sitters, Amanda Dey and I surveyed the intertidal mud flats of the Atlantic Coast from Cape May to Stone Harbor looking closely at the mussel beds. We know that every year red knots, especially short distance birds, use mussels and to some extent clams, rather than come to the bay and feast on horseshoe crab eggs – simply because they can. We found 1700 knots, so it possible even more are spread out further up and down the coast.

In the end, it may turn out to be both explanations. The short distance knots are using the Atlantic Coast and the long-distance birds have yet to arrive. One should remember that the knot is federally listed in both Canada and the US primarily because of the dramatic declines in the long-distance winters. There is still a small window for a successful outcome. The next few days will tell the full story.

Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.

The Importance of water temperatures, windstorms and shoals on the Delaware Bay

Friday, May 19th, 2017

By Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC

As we begin our field work on Delaware Bay shorebirds, our 21st season, oddly enough we are once again faced with extraordinary circumstances. As usual, the birds, after various flight of up to 6 days of nonstop flying, arrive in emaciated conditions. For example, in one catch this week we caught several red knots at around 86 grams far lower than normal weight of 130 grams. Putting that into perspective, a woman of 145 pounds would tip the scale at 93 pounds while a male of 175 pounds at 113 pounds! In other words, these birds are desperate to feed on the only prey on which they can build weight fast, the eggs of Delaware Bay horseshoe crabs.

But the various impacts of climate change and destructive forces of sea level rise, storm surge and out of normal weather patterns can wreak havoc on the timing of the horseshoe crab spawn. It messes with the heating and cooling of the bay and when combined with the normal variation one expects in an estuarine system, it creates almost unpredictable consequences.

Adding more uncertainty to this mix is the ongoing harvest of crabs for bait and the irresponsible bleeding by international medical companies. Both kill hundreds of thousands of crabs every year while doing nothing to create new crabs. Their combined impact has put the brakes on any recovery of the population after they both nearly mortally wounded the Bay population in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Higher numbers of crabs would overcome a lot of early season uncertainty; lower numbers exacerbate them.

And thus, the story of this early part of the shorebird stopover. It starts with the odd weather this April and May. Can everyone remember how warm the weather of this winter? The map below is a reminder that it was one of the warmest on record. The figure below that shows how the Bay’s water warmed early reaching the threshold temperature for horseshoe crab breeding by early May. We trapped sanderling in the first week and were surprised to see a truly great crab spawn on May 4. Thank God for that.

The bays water temperature as measured at the Lewis DE buoy, increased earlier than normal until the first week of May. By that time it reached the threshold for horseshoe crab spawning. But by the second week it plunged as a consequence of the cooler than normal weather.

By the second week of May and yesterday (May 16) temperatures plunged in horseshoe crab world. We generally consider water temperature of near 59 degrees necessary for crabs to spawn in great numbers. We reached 62 degrees on May 4, then it went down to 58 degrees, lingering there for five crucial days.

At the same time, we suffered brutal westerly winds. Wind from this direction gins up waves on Delaware Bay that crash against many of the important crab spawning beaches. Crabs don’t spawn in waves.

Westerly winds turn the Delaware Bay into a tumult of breaking waves because of its relative shallow depth. Horseshoe crabs won’t breed in breaking waves

And just as the first flush of shorebirds came to the Bay, over 5,000 red knots on the New Jersey side, all the spawning shut down. All tried desperately to find enough horseshoe crab eggs to regain lost weight and begin the process of doubling their body weight.

Fortunately, breaking waves and cold water will prevent crabs from spawning on the beaches but not in the intertidal creeks. One of the key features of the New Jersey bayshore are its abundant tidal creeks. Most drain only tidal watersheds, draining and filling marshes twice every day. Naturally they build sand shoals because sand moves around the Bay generally in a south to north direction along the Cape May peninsula. When sand encounters the currents of the creeks, it settles forming shoals.

A small creek just north of Dennis Creek on Delaware Bay. The tidal creek mostly drain tidal marsh, the daily ebb and flow warming the waters making crab spawning possible when the bay waters are too cold

These shoals support most shorebirds during these early days. This is so because the intertidal flow of water into the marsh and out again warms the water that flows over the shoals. The shoals themselves are practically paradise for breeding crabs because of the loosely consolidated and large grain sand. They breed with abandon laying eggs in the shifting sands that brings many of the eggs to the surface where shorebirds can prey upon them. And they do.

This diagram by Joe Smith shows how the creeks of Delaware Bay create superior spawning and shorebird foraging habitat. Sand movement on the Cape May section of the bay moves northward because of tidal currents. This moves sand from south to north. When the American Littoral Society and CWF placed sand on Pierces, Kimbles and Cooks beaches, some part moved northward to the adjacent beaches. Ultimately it ended up on south Reeds making it a great spawning site. But on the way the sand falls out of the current and settles on the creek shoals. These shoals are large grain sand, loosely consolidated, making them perfect for crab spawning. At the same time the shoals shift exposing eggs to the sea, thus making them available to the birds. This is why the shoals are among the most important habitat on the bay.

This is what happens in the early days of this season. It was nip and tuck for most of the scientists, not knowing if the shoal resources would hold up to an ever-growing number of shorebirds arriving in desperate condition.

But today (May 19) we enjoyed warmth with the promise of the season back on track.

In the last 5 days, we were able capture enough knots, turnstones and sanderlings to track conditions and add new flags to the population for a later determination of population size. Despite adversity, so far so good. The data for each species is below.

Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.

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The Consortium

Iraqgate Cover-Up Goes After Defense Lawers

WASHINGTON -- Outside the view of the national media, the federal government is escalating its now-bipartisan war against the Iraqgate allegations and those who made them. According to legal sources, federal charges are being weighed against attorneys and a former Reagan administration official for publicizing claims that the CIA authorized covert military aid to Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the 1980s.

A closed hearing was scheduled Dec. 14 in Miami for possible sanctions against lawyers, who defended Teledyne Inc. and one of its salesmen in a criminal case earlier this year. That hearing was postponed. But sources said a federal grand jury has begun hearing testimony on a related complaint over submission of a defense affidavit in that case.

"There's something going on," said federal prosecutor Frank Tamen. "I can confirm that." But Tamen refused to provide anything more specific about the pending investigation.

Last January, defense attorney Gerald Houlihan angered the federal prosecutors by publicly filing a sworn affidavit from Howard Teicher, a staff aide on Ronald Reagan's National Security Council. Teicher asserted that CIA Director William J. Casey and his deputy, Robert M. Gates, "authorized, approved and assisted" the delivery of cluster bombs to Iraq as part of a covert strategy to bolster Saddam Hussein in his war with Iran.

But both the Bush and Clinton administrations have denied that any such policy to arm Iraq existed. Immediately, the federal government sealed Teciher's affidavit as a state secret, whileassailing his credibility. Teicher's statements were kept fromthe jury on grounds of relevance, and he was blocked from testifying.

With Teicher's claims excluded, a Teledyne salesman named Edward Johnson was convicted last April of illegally selling explosive zirconium pellets to Chilean arms manufacturer Carlos Cardoen, who then shipped them to Iraq as part of cluster bombs.

Though Johnson's appeal is expected to challenge the decision to exclude Teicher's testimony, the Teledyne salesman must begin serving a 3 1/2-year prison sentence on Jan. 4. Meanwhile, the federal government is taking aim at those who came to Johnson's defense. The possible criminal complaints against them range from perjury to violation of federal secrecy rules.

Some defense attorneys expressed concern that the government's strategy could intimidate lawyers who defend clients in national security cases. "It scares you," said one lawyer close to the defense. "It's intended to scare you." The lawyer spoke only after an assurance of anonymity.

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text: Albourne Estate | We worked closely with the founders as they formed the Albourne Estate vineyard overlooking the South Downs. The bespoke brand identity and visual language combined an established feel monogram with a contemporary colour palette. Inspired by the natural beauty of the flora and fauna regularly seen within the vineyard we commissioned a local artist to create pieces of art to differentiate these distinctive wines.


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VI. The Trilateralists' Road To Power

America's Unknown Enemy: Beyond Conspiracy

Editorial Staff of the
American Institute for Economic Research

The conspiratorial link between the archaic conspiracy of Cecil Rhodes and the alleged present plot to dominate the world has centered in most of the related literature on the activities of the Council on Foreign Relations.[1] Founded in 1919 as the American branch of the "Roundtable Group" (the successor to the Rhodes Secret society), this organization gained increasing influence in U.S. power circles from 1920 to 1960. Much evidence supports Gary Allen's assertion in None Dare Call It Conspiracy that by the 1950's, the CFR had become "the most influential group in America" in regard to the development of American foreign policy, even though it hardly proves a conspiracy. Views circulated by the CFR often became the policy of the State Department. Every U.S. Secretary of State since 1949 has been a member of the CFR.

Proponents of conspiracy theory have compiled dozens of lists of thousands of CFR members (past and present) in positions of authority in the Executive branch, in Congress, in the U.S. military, in international banking, in multinational corporations, in academic professions, and in the media industries. Indeed, with past and present membership numbering in the thousands, it is a simple matter to find CFR members in virtually all spheres of public life. By the early 1970's nearly everybody who was deemed "anybody" in Washington was invited to join the CER. Active membership in the organization increased from 1,200 to 1,800 in 1970 alone.

It seems doubtful that membership in the CFR today is restricted to those who subscribe to a rigid set of narrowly similar views. Rather, the recent history of the CFR provides a textbook illustration of what happens when an elite organization exceeds "manageable" size. That is, the greater the membership, the greater the chance that the views of the members will diverge. For example, it is likely that William F. Buckley, Jr. and John Kenneth Galbraith -- both past CER members -- disagree at least as much as they agree on foreign policy and economic issues. Equally important, the value that members attach to their association with an organization (and hence, their willingness to do its bidding) decreases as membership in the organization grows and becomes less "exclusive." (Nobody wants to join a club that lets anyone in.) Over a period of time, the organization ceases to inspire either "consensus" or "concerted action." Although the CFR may still exert considerable influence in government, business, and intellectual circles, its power has apparently declined.

The once-powerful international "Bilderberger" organization apparently has also suffered a loss of influence in international political and economic affairs. Often mentioned in works on the conspiracy as a group of "super-secret internationalists," the Bilderbergers -- whose member-ship included leading international bankers such as David Rockefeller and Baron Edmond de Rothschild, and political figures such as Sir Alec Douglas-Hume and Helmut Schmidt -- became the focus of media attention in 1976. At that time Bilderberg Chairman Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands was publicly disgraced by the disclosure that he had accepted a $1.1 million bribe from the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation while serving as purchasing agent for the Dutch government.

For exclusivity and probably influence, both the Bilderbergers and the Council on Foreign Relations apparently were eclipsed in the 1970's by the "Trilateral Commission." With "commission" in its name, some may infer the Trilateral commission has some official status, but it does not. It was first organized at a meeting held at Pocantico Hills, New York (the location of the Rockefeller retreat), on July 23-24, 1972. At this organizational meeting, David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski outlined a plan for a "high-level consultative council for global cooperation" such as had been described by Brzezinski in his 1970 work entitled Between Two Ages -- America's Role in the Technetronic Era. According to this plan, "a private organization whose primary objective ... would be to bring the best brains in the world to bear on the problems of the future" could manage international affairs more effectively than could sovereign nations.[2] The resulting Trilateral Commission, which first convened formally in July 1973, has a membership of some 200 individuals from the three "Trilateral regions": North American (United States and Canada), Europe, and Japan. From this group, an Executive Committee of 36 (11 from the United States, 2 from Canada, 9 from Japan, and 14 from the European community) plans the Commission's agenda. The full commission meets once every 9 months in one of the regions to consider reports from its "task forces."

However, the ascendancy of the Trilateral Commission has not left the Council on Foreign Relations without function. U.S. members for the more selective Trilateral commission are largely drawn from the Council on Foreign Relations. Expanded membership in the CFR has enlarged the "talent pool" from which Trilateralist leadership can choose new members.

Until a few years ago, the CFR was the Trilateral Commission's exclusively "American" mouthpiece. Although the CFR claims not to "represent any consensus of beliefs" and professes "a broad hospitality to divergent ideas," the published "disputes" are confined within a narrow range. (The questions debated were not whether "managed" wealth transfers advance genuine and lasting progress, but how much, how soon, and in what form such transfers ought to be made; or not whether increased trade with the Communist bloc was advised, but how much and when.) Through articles in the CFR publication Foreign Affairs, Trilateral views (some of which may conflict with the interests of the United States) can be packaged especially for the American audience and provide the seemingly objective intellectual support for the planned changes.

It seems futile to try to ascertain whether or not the Trilateralists have a "secret Agenda" for promoting world government with its leadership at the head. Regardless of what secret plans the Trilateralists may or may not have, enough of their practices and objectives are known to assess the probable effects of Trilateral plans. Membership in the Trilateral Commission is not kept secret, and the Commission's proposals are widely distributed in written reports (formerly called Triangle Papers). Anyone can purchase these reports by writing to their publisher: New York University Press, Washington Square, New York, NY 10003. The Trilateral Commission until recently published occasional numbers of the journal, Trialogue. We emphatically do not subscribe to the views proffered in these publications, but print their addresses simply to dispel the idea that the Commission's declared work is not accessible to the public. More recently the Institute for International Economics has served as a vehicle for disseminating Trilateralist views. Headed by Trilateralists C. Fred Bergsten and Peter G. Peterson, since 1983 this organization's publications have to some degree eclipsed the Trilateral Commission's publications. As with Trilateral Commission publications, IIE publications are available to the public. The Institute's address is 11 Dupont Circle, N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

The published objectives of the Trilateral Commission are in themselves vitally important. Policies implemented or proposed by Trilateral countries and international organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank often were presented and argued earlier in Trilateral Commission publications. In general, these reports advocate more central planning and control of economic activities as a way to achieve more stability, equity, and employment.

Who "Commissioned" the Trilateralists?

As mentioned above, the Trilateral Commission has no official standing, in spite of the appearance of "commission" in its name. To the contrary, Trilateral Commission membership may breach U.S. law for some of its members. This is not because, as some assert, the Trilateral Commission is an "illegal super-secret political party." But neither is it, as David Rockefeller claimed, merely a group of "private citizens of Western Europe, Japan, and North America to foster closer cooperation among these three regions on common problems."

The Trilateral Commission is not super-secret; its publications are publicly available and its membership records are available also. It is not a "political party" in the conventional sense of that name; no candidates for office are fielded under the Trilateral banner. Nevertheless, for some such as Henry Kissinger, Paul Volcker, and Caspar Weinberger, Trilateral connections unquestionably were a conduit to official positions, even though many of its members expressed strong contempt for elective "politics." It professes to be nonpartisan, with seeming justification Former Presidents George Bush, a Republican, and Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, have both served as "Commissioners."

But it is not just agroup of "private citizens" either. After the inauguration of Jimmy Carter as President of the United States, numerous articles appeared in newspapers and magazines citing the new President's former membership in the Trilateral Commission. In addition to Mr. Carter, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Chairman of the National Security Council, the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chief Arms Negotiator, and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations had all been Trilateral Commission members.

When President Reagan assumed office, Trilateral Commission "representation" in the Executive branch diminished, but it did not disappear. Vice (now President) President Bush was a member, as was Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. William E. Brock, III, the U.S. Trade Representative was, and so was Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker. The Trilateral Commission's "parent," the Council on Foreign Relations, was more widely represented. CFR members in the Reagan Administration included the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and the Secretary of the Navy. Of 1984 Democratic Presidential contenders, Mondale, Glenn, and Cranston were Trilateralists. Members of the Bush Administration who were members of the Trilateral Commission or the Council on Foreign Relations included: President Bush, Secretary of Defense Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas F. Brady, and Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. Many recent appointees to the Clinton State Department, including Secretary of State Warren Christopher, have been members of the Trilateral Commission or the Council on Foreign Relations.

The statutory legality in the United States of membership in the Trilateral Commission is a more serious matter for some members. Rockefeller's assertion that members of the Trilateral Commission are all "private Citizens" is false. U.S. Executive appointees have resigned from the Commission when they entered public office, but other public officials have retained their membership. Senators William S. Cohen, William V. Roth, Alan Cranston, John Glenn, and John C. Culver; Representatives John Brademas, Barber B. Conable, Jr., and Thomas S. Foley; and Governor James R. Thompson all retained their Commission memberships while in office.

Crucial to the question of American legality is the membership of many officials of foreign governments in Europe and Japan. More than 20 European government officials (among them Edward Heath, member of Parliament and former Prime Minister of Britain, and Gerhard Schroder, member of the Bundestag and former Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany) and several Japanese government officials (Kiichi Miyazawa, member of the Diet; Euchi Nagasue, member of the Diet; and Nobuhiko Ushiba, Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) were on the Trilateral Commission while they held office. The Logan Act explicitly prohibits U.S. citizens not in appropriate government positions from attempting to deal with foreign government officials on aspects of foreign relations. Yet, this is precisely what the Trilateral Commission focuses on. Although the private U.S. citizens on the Trilateral Commission have not been challenged in court, their activities would appear to be a violation of the basic principle of the Logan Act (so long as foreign government officials remain on the Commission).

An Elitist Bureaucracy

An analysis of North American membership in the Trilateral Commission confirms that three distinct professional elites dominate its membership: the international banking establishment, the think-tank intelligentsia, and the multinational corporate leadership. The membership of the Commission is constantly changing as its members move in and out of government and business positions, but a pattern of representation seems fairly constant. Excluding active political officeholders, representation on the Commission is divided roughly this way:

Think-tank academics 40%
Bankers and related legal executives 25%
Multinational corporate executives 25%
Labor union representatives 5%
Mass media representatives5%

The higher percentage of "intellectuals" (think-tank members) on the Commission may or may not reflect their relative influence on its positions and recommendations. Just as easily, they could unwittingly be the pawns of the moneyed interests on the Commission, doing most of the Commission's intellectual "work." It is the think-tank members who actually do the "research" and write the drafts of the Commission's various reports. In these tasks they are "guided" in varying degrees by other members as to what avenues of approach seem most fruitful. The studies' "conclusions" can thereby be molded in advance. The full Commission then purportedly reviews all work. The Commission itself describes this as the "Trilateral Process," and for each policy report there is a specific "Schedule of Task Force Activities."

The "Schedule of Task Force Activities" for a representative Triangle Paper (see the box on page 46) suggests the extent to which the Trilateralists pay tribute to the appearance of objective inquiry and scholarship. It also reveals a bureaucratic mentality of grandiose scale. Participants fly at Commission expense to New York, then to Paris, and then to Tokyo an itinerary that must surely reinforce their own self-esteem. But it is bureaucracy nonetheless -- a global bureaucratic elite carefully selected from other sub-elites (such as the CFR) by like-minded bureaucrats.

The Trilateral Commission's selection criteria for banking and multinational executives are fairly obvious. Generally, these people are at the very "top" of their professions (or are selected for their potential to reach the top) and have an obvious interest in promoting international stability and market expansion. The chairmen of Lehman Bros.; Brown Bros., Harriman; Chase Manhattan; Coca-Cola; John Deere; Hewlett-Packard; and Texas Instruments have been or are Trilateral Commission members. If the thinking of high-ranking businessmen such as these can be shaped along certain lines, it is but a short step to influencing much of U.S. international business practice and -- insofar as such persons also have political clout -- to influencing Government policy toward U.S. international business.

The process of Trilateral selection from the academic professions is less clear. "Ascent" to Trilateral Commission membership does not seem to depend on membership in any secret order, such as "Skull and Bones" at Yale, as some writers assert. Rather, it seems an offshoot of the academic mentor system, through which promising students receive special attention and professional sponsorship under the tutelage of one or more established academic patrons -- who themselves advance their reputations and spread their viewpoints by manipulating (guiding) the careers of their proteges. This system, which often does involve some unannounced quid pro quo, has functioned in one form or another since the Middle Ages. It is commonly referred to as the "old boy network," and it is the way power often has been pursued in many walks of life.

The careers of two of the leading Trilateralists are illustrative. Phyllis Schlafly and Chester Ward's Kissinger on the Couch chronicles Henry Kissinger's rise to power through the ranks of academia. In 1942, Henry Kissinger was a private in the U.S. Army. His initial introduction to the academic old boy network came when he caught the attention of Col. Fritz Kraemer, twice a Ph.D., who became his first mentor. Kraemer interested Kissinger in philosophy, political theory, and international relations and helped arrange a scholarship at Harvard for his protege after the war. His second mentor was William Yandell Elliot, who sponsored his graduate career and an instructorship at Harvard. In this position Kissinger came to the attention of Hamilton Fish Armstrong, editor of The Council on Foreign Relations' publication Foreign Affairs. Armstrong agreed to publish several of the young Kissinger's articles.

This ought not to seem too surprising, since the senior faculty members at schools such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are generally the "best connected," most faculty members having made the rounds of many other institutions before receiving "the call" to one of the Ivies. Senior faculty often promote the careers of their junior colleagues by introducing them to likely publishers. But as Schlafly and Ward observe: "A simple article in Foreign Affairs will not make a career -- but three or four will launch one off to a good start."

From Harvard, the next step was an invitation to join the CER as "Director of Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy Studies." Here, Kissinger met the Rockefellers, Nelson and David. They appointed him director of the "Special Studies Project" for the Rockefeller fund in 1956, from which position he could direct the flow of financial support to those who -- like himself -- showed intellectual promise and espoused a viewpoint consistent with his own and that of leading CFR thinkers. From there, Kissinger had but a short step to "public service."

This pattern: university faculty member, to think-tank fellow (any one of dozens), to CFR-Trilateral membership -- then in and out of government or quasi-government positions and private positions with multinational corporations, commercial banks, or investment banks (Kissinger served on the board of Shearson/American Express) -- is typical of the careers of Trilateral intellectuals.

Zbigniew Brzezinski's career somewhat paralleled Kissinger's. Brzezinski received first-class honors at McGill University, went on to the graduate school at Harvard (Ph.D., 1955), joined the Harvard faculty (Assistant Professor of Government, 1956-60), became Director of the Research Institute on International Change (1962-77), joined the Trilateral Commission as its first Director (1973-76), and then entered government as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (1977-81).

For those who want to exercise authority over their fellow men (many academics seem less interested in accumulating wealth than in leading others) there is an established path to power. The degree to which secrecy -- or conspiracy -- plays a part in it cannot be reliably ascertained. But there is much about it that ought to invite closer scrutiny. As events have turned, the Trilateral Commission-CFR alliance between the money brokers and the intellectuals has been and is a potent persuasive force for global mischief making.

  1. See Glossary of Organizations for brief descriptions of a number of organizations frequently associated with conspiracy theories and global "management" policies.
  2. From information in "The Trilateral Commission," The Freeman Digest, Vol. VI, No.7, January 15, 1978, published by the Freeman Institute.


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Who Is At Risk for COPD?

Who Is At Risk for COPD?

Most people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are smokers or were smokers in the past. People with a family history of COPD are more likely to get the disease if they smoke. The chance of developing COPD is also greater in people who have spent many years in contact with lung irritants, such as:

  • Air pollution
  • Chemical fumes, vapors, and dusts usually linked to certain jobs

A person who has had frequent and severe lung infections, especially during childhood, may have a greater chance of developing lung damage that can lead to COPD. Fortunately, this is much less common today with antibiotic treatments.

Most people with COPD are at least 40 years old or around middle age when symptoms start. It is unusual, but possible, for people younger than 40 years of age to have COPD.

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About Brazos Valley Design

Brazos Valley Design is a forward-minded design firm located in College Station, Texas that specializes in web design and web development. We also have broadened our capabilites to print design, and multimedia design.

Our Philosophy

The Brazos Valley Design Philosophy is simple; Create high quality design for small businesses at an affordable rate with personalized care. It may sound a little corny, but we are actually here to help you and we want to give you the personal care that you deserve!

With Brazos Valley Design, unlike many design firms, you will meet directly with the designer and have direct communication with him. With most design companies, you will only meet with a sales person and they will usually be your only contact. We believe this just breaks down the communication channels between us and you, so you will always have the personalized care of the designer. This speeds up the design process as well as giving you the design that you want. And if it is not exactly the way you want it, we will change it. It is just that simple!

Our Vision

In partnership with other small businesses, Brazos Valley Design will be recognized for providing excellent care to each and every client and will provide outstanding design services.

  • Integrity First
  • Excellence in all that we do
  • Service before self


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Mini LED Strobe with Thunder

Mini LED Strobe with Thunder

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Add some special effects with this strobe! Includes 1 mini LED strobe light with sound effects that measures approximately 3.5" wide x 2" high (4" with mounting bracket up) x 5" deep, a mounting bracket for hanging or standing and (3) "AA" batteries. For indoor use only. 3 Modes to choose from: strobe only, sound and strobe or OFF. ETL Listed Unit.
Various sound effects include:

  • Wind and thunder
  • Doors slamming
  • Electricity
  • Scary laughter
  • "Help Me!"
  • Bubbling
  • cauldron
  • Witch cackling
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La Briere, Mougins

What’s On and Things to Do

4 Bedrooms, Sleeps 8

Air Con, Sea View

Book Now Make an Enquiry

Beautiful family villa fully renovated in 2011 to a high standard. Villa La Brière is located in a quiet residential domaine in Mougins with stunning views over the bay of Cannes.

A magnificent family villa with stunning views over the bay of Cannes situated close to the prestigious Parc de Mougins domaine on the outskirts of the pretty hilltop village of Mougins - one of the most well-known villages in the Cote d'Azur.

Completely renovated to a very high standard, the villa comprises of four bedrooms and three bathrooms with a separate office. It features quality fittings such as - underfloor heating, fully double-glazed hardwood windows, travertine stone and wooden floors as well as a bespoke fully fitted kitchen with island. All bedrooms have air-conditioning and wooden or electric shutters. The private landscaped garden offers an area for children to play along with plenty of space for dining and lounging. There is a private free form mosaic pool with removable fencing.

The villa is located a few minutes from the A8 and the Cannes-Mougins pro-golf course and not far from the Royal Mougins Golf Club. The villa is near local shopping facilities and just 15 minutes to Cannes, the beaches of the coast and half an hour from Nice International airport

More details

Kitchen - Fully equipped with direct access to the outdoor terrace.

Living Room - Leading from the dining room with direct access to the outside terrace. Nicely decorated with quality furnishings and modern fireplace.

Dining Room - Leading from the kitchen with direct access to the outdoor terrace. Dining table comfortably seating up to 8 people.

TV den - TV with international channels.

Bedroom 1 - 1 Large Double Bed, with ensuite bathroom including Toilet, Shower Enclosure

Bathroom 1 - Seperate WC - Toilet

Office - With seaview.

Bedroom 2 - 1 Double Bed
seaview & A/C

Bedroom 3 - 1 Double Bed
with A/C

Bedroom 4 - 1 Extra Large Double Bed, with ensuite bathroom including Toilet, Bath With Shower, Shower Enclosure, shared between bedroom 3 and 4
with A/C

Bathroom 3 - Full - Bath Without Shower, Shower Enclosure, Toilet, Bidet
Shared by bedroom 2 and 3

Pool Alarmed
Parking for 3 cars
Activities include : Cycling, Golf, Hiking, Mountain Biking, Sailing, Swimming, Tennis
Suitable for : Children
Location: Rural, Sea View, Village

La Briere, Check Availability and Pricing

Check Now
Mar 2018 AAAAAA


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Polish Zloty trends

Trends on 7 days
USD0.2932 (+2.7%)
EUR0.2397 (+0.2%)
GBP0.2130 (+0.9%)
CNY1.8886 (+1.4%)
JPY32.4599 (+1.0%)
CAD0.3643 (+2.7%)
CHF0.2828 (+0.8%)

Convert 640 Polish Zloty (PLN) to Danish Krone (DKK)

For 640 PLN, at the 2018-01-16 exchange rate, you will have 1142.92619 DKK

Convert other quantities from Polish Zloty to Danish Krone

1 PLN = 1.78582 DKK Reverse conversion 1 DKK = 0.55997 PLN
Back to the conversion of PLN to other currencies

Did you know it? Some information about the Danish Krone currency

The krone (plural: kroner; sign: ,- or kr.; code: DKK) has been the official currency of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, since 1 January 1875.Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common use; the former precedes the value, the latter usually follows it. The currency is sometimes referred to as the Danish crown in English, since krone literally means crown.
One krone is subdivided into 100 øre (singular and plural), the name deriving from the Latin aureus.
All-together there are eleven denominations of the krone, with the smallest being the 50-øre coin, which is valued at one half of a krone. Formerly there were more øre coins, but these were discontinued due to inflation.

Read the article on Wikipedia


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Russian Ruble trends

Trends on 7 days
USD0.0177 (+1.1%)
EUR0.0145 (-1.4%)
GBP0.0129 (-0.7%)
CNY0.1141 (-0.2%)
JPY1.9616 (-0.6%)
CAD0.0220 (+1.0%)
CHF0.0171 (-0.8%)

Convert 320 Russian Ruble (RUB) to New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

For 320 RUB, at the 2018-01-16 exchange rate, you will have 7.79218 NZD

Convert other quantities from Russian Ruble to New Zealand Dollar

1 RUB = 0.02435 NZD Reverse conversion 1 NZD = 41.06681 RUB
Back to the conversion of RUB to other currencies

Did you know it? Some information about the New Zealand Dollar currency

The New Zealand dollar (sign: $; code: NZD) is the currency of New Zealand. It is divided into 100 cents.
It is normally written with the dollar sign $, or NZ$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.
In the context of currency trading, it is often informally called the "Kiwi", since kiwi are commonly associated with New Zealand and the $1 coin depicts a kiwi. It is one of the 10 most-traded currencies in the world being approximately 1.6% of global foreign exchange market daily turnover in 2010.

Read the article on Wikipedia


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US Dollar trends

Trends on 7 days
EUR0.8177 (-2.4%)
GBP0.7266 (-1.8%)
CNY6.4415 (-1.3%)
JPY110.7114 (-1.6%)
CAD1.2424 (-0.0%)
CHF0.9644 (-1.9%)

Convert 93 US Dollar (USD) to Brazilian Real (BRL)

For 93 USD, at the 2018-01-16 exchange rate, you will have 298.86991 BRL

Convert other quantities from US Dollar to Brazilian Real

1 USD = 3.21365 BRL Reverse conversion 1 BRL = 0.31117 USD
Back to the conversion of USD to other currencies

Did you know it? Some information about the Brazilian Real currency

The real (pron.: /reɪˈɑːl/; Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁeˈaw]; pl. reais) is the present-day currency of Brazil. Its sign is R$ and its ISO code is BRL. It is subdivided into 100 centavos ("hundredths").
The modern real was introduced in 1994 as part of the Plano Real, a substantial monetary reform package that aimed to put an end to three decades of rampant inflation.
In Portuguese the word real means both "royal" and "real". The name of the historic real derived from the first sense. The name of the modern currency is generally understood to refer both to the historic unit and to the second sense.

Read the article on Wikipedia


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Sympathy Bouquets

At Country Orchids we understand the difficulty of sending sympathy and funeral flowers and are here to help you send your condolences with a tasteful funeral arrangement or sympathy flowers for the home. We have a wide variety of sympathy flower arrangements, as well as plants. We offer sympathy and funeral flower delivery in Fulton, IL and nationwide to the recipients home or to funeral homes.


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Cronin and Company shines at Ad Club awards

Reminder News

Cronin and Company, LLC, the largest full-service independent marketing communications agency in Connecticut, as well as the state's "Top Shop" as declared by Adweek Magazine, was a big winner at the Ad Club | CT 61st Annual Award Show held May 20. Cronin captured 30 awards (22 of them gold) for its outstanding work, including the prestigious Gold Pen award for excellence in copywriting and the Gold Brush award for excellence in design on the consumer posters series campaign for Stubborn Beauty Brewing Company, as well as a Best of Industry award for Liberty Bank.

"It is always a great honor to be recognized by our peers and to know that our work is getting noticed," said Steve Wolfberg, principal and chief creative officer at Cronin. "We are fortunate to have great clients that allow us to do truly remarkable work on their behalf."

Cronin and Company received 22 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze "pencil statues" that are distributed to winners. Many clients were recognized, including television spots for Amica Mutual Insurance Company, Liberty Bank, and CT Children's Medical Center; print work for Stubborn Beauty Brewing Company; online ads for Amica Mutual Insurance Company and Liberty Bank, and Cronin's own Remember to Laugh holiday campaign.

"This industry is passion-based. Everything we do starts with insightful strategy, which leads to break-through creative and impressive results for our clients," said Kim Manning, Principal and Chief Operating Officer at Cronin. "These awards are a testament to the outstanding talent we have at Cronin, as well as to our client partners who allow us to do such great work on their behalf."

Cronin and Company, LLC is located at 50 Nye Road in Glastonbury.

The "Oscars of Connecticut Advertising," the Ad Club of Connecticut Award Show is the oldest and most prestigious award show in Connecticut. It rewards excellence in creativity, strategy, execution, copy and design. For more information, please visit

New Board members announced at CRIS Radio

CRIS Radio, a 36-year-old nonprofit and Connecticut's only radio-reading service for people who are blind or print challenged, recently named Gail Lebert, Kay S. Long and Nyema R. Pinkney to its board of directors.

Lebert, a Glastonbury resident, is the former publisher of the Hartford Business Journal and currently is the director of partnership development at Klingberg Family Centers in New Britain.

Long, also a Glastonbury resident, is a retired educator who worked in public education for 46 years. She is past president of several state counseling organizations, serves on the board of directors for the Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation and is a volunteer for Bureau of Education and Services for the Blind.

Pinkney is an employee of United Technologies Corp, and was appointed to the State Rehabilitation Council by Gov. Dannel Malloy. A resident of Vernon-Rockville, she also serves on the boards of The Links Incorporated and Achievement First

For more information about CRIS Radio, which is located at 315 Windsor Ave. in Windsor, email or phone 860-527-8000.

Couzens achieves Circle of Success recognition

Matthew Couzens, Jr. a private wealth advisor with Ameriprise Financial, has qualified for the company's 2014 Circle of Success annual recognition program and will be honored for this achievement in 2015.

To earn this achievement, Couzens established himself as one of the company's top advisors by consistently demonstrating exceptional commitment to financial planning and superior client service. Only a select number of high-performing advisors earn this distinction.

Couzens' offices are located at 95 Glastonbury Blvd, STE 408 in Glastonbury and 129 Tolland Stage Road in Tolland.

Wasabi Modern Japanese Cuisine & Lounge to hold grand opening

On Thursday, June 25, from 5-6 p.m., Wasabi Modern Japanese Cuisine & Lounge will be celebrating its Grand Opening at1155 Tolland Tpke in Manchester. The South Windsor Chamber of Commerce will celebrate with a ribbon-cutting at 5:30 pm. All are welcome to attend.

For this special event, Wasabi will be providing an open salad bar, refreshments, and live music and entertainment for those who attend the Grand Opening.

Wasabi Modern Japanese Cuisine and Lounge offers a wide array of authentic Japanese food such as Chicken & Vegetables Tempura, Hibachi, Filet Mignon, Wasabi, King Roll, Boston Roll, and more. Wasabi is open Monday through Sunday for lunch and dinner. Check out their website for lunch and dinner hours at, or just order online.

For more information about Wasabi Modern Japanese Cuisine & Lounge call 860-432-4665, or visit their website at

Copyright © 2018, Courant Community


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Tom Sizemore as Leroy Lowe in CELLMATES, a film by Jesse Baget. Picture courtesy White Knight Films. All rights reserved.

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* Most external filmography links go to The Internet Movie Database.

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Cellmates (2011/2012)

Opened: 06/01/2012 Limited

Quad Cinema/NYC06/01/2012 - 06/07/20127 days
NoHo 7/LA06/01/2012 - 06/07/20127 days

Trailer: Click for trailer

Websites: Home, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Rated: Unrated

Set in 1970s Texas, CELLMATES tells the story of hardened Ku Klux Klansman, Leroy Lowe (Tom Sizemore), who has risen through the ranks to be crowned 'Grand Dragon' of the local Klan chapter. Unfortunately for him, the government has started cracking down on the organization's activities and it isn't long before Leroy is sent to the Low Lee Tuna Prison Work Farm to serve time...harvesting potatoes. Worlds quickly collide when farm owner Warden Merville (Stacy Keach) forces Leroy to share a prison cell with eccentric Mexican field laborer Emilio (Hector Jimenez) as part of his penitence. None too happy with the arrangement, Leroy sets out to make things very difficult for Emilio in the cramped quarters, but Emilio's chatty disposition slowly chips away at Leroy's gruff exterior. When an unlikely friendship develops, Leroy comes to realize how his ignorant past has distorted his view of the world, and what he must now do to make things right.

An offbeat comedy with heart, CELLMATES is co-written, directed and produced by Jesse Baget. The film stars veteran actors Tom Sizemore and Stacy Keach; Mexican actors Hector Jimenez and Olga Segura; and a guest appearance by comedic actor Kevin Farley.

Director's Statement

Not many films tackle the subject of racism with humor. And, that was my main objective with the film Cellmates. I also wanted to be unforgiving in presenting Klansman Leroy Lowe's convictions and not create a world of black and white as is often seen in films. Sure, Leroy is a flawed character and you might loathe his point of view, but hopefully you grow to appreciate his desire to change in the end. And that was another challenge I wanted to give myself--to create an unlikable character that you end up rooting for.

Of course, when you pitch a comedy about the Klan around Hollywood you tend to get a lot of rejections. But I really believed in the message of the film and was dead set on making it. I realized quickly that if I wanted to get Cellmates made, I would have to produce it myself.

The first thing my writing partner and I set out to do, was write a small enough script that would allow me to raise the funds to make the project a reality. That is why we decided to write a script with only five actors and a handful of locations.

The difficulty of writing something that "small" is that you don't have big scenes, explosions or car crashes to fall back on. You are forced to create layered characters, interesting dialogue and a unique story to keep the audience interested. In a world of special effects and super heroes, it's by no means an easy feat.

When it was all said and done, the script for Cellmates ended up being 114 pages of mostly dialogue. We only had a 13 day shoot and I knew it was going to be a hell of a challenge. Incredibly, and thanks to veteran actors like Tom Sizemore and Stacy Keach, we were able to knock out close to 10 pages a day.

In the end, putting the film together was an arduous process, only made possible by close friends who put everything on hold to lend a hand, and an amazing cast who truly believed in the message of the film and rallied behind the project from day one.

-- Jesse Baget, Writer/Director

Origins of the Project

Writer/director Jesse Baget and his co-writer set out to tackle the very sensitive topic of racism through the humor of a buddy comedy. The idea of CELLMATES spawned from a challenge. "I wanted to start the film with a character you couldn't possibly sympathize with and, hopefully, by the end of the story you would grow to root for," Baget says. He knew it would be a very difficult task. "You see films humanizing serial killers and assassins but racism is usually shied away from," said Baget. "While I understand it is a very difficult topic to deal with, I feel the more people are afraid to confront, discuss and expose this aspect of our culture, the more racism can drive us apart." Baget felt it would be easier to create a venue for conversation by exploring the story through a comedic lens. Another reason Jesse Baget wanted to tackle the subject matter was because growing up in Arizona, he was aware of the prejudice and controversy concerning immigrants.

The idea of confining two opposite personalities in a small space laid the ground for Baget to showcase his flair for the quirky dark comedy. At one point in the movie Leroy Lowe, played with passion and great comedic timing by Tom Sizemore, draws a line down the middle of the prison cell and proclaims, "This side is the United States of America and that side is Mexico. Me, the Gringo, I don't go to Mexico, and you, don't come to America." Unfortunately, as Emilio Ortiz, played by the always funny Hector Jimenez, points out, "America has the toilet."

To further develop the comedy aspect of the story, the writers sentenced their characters to a working prison farm run by an eccentric warden obsessed with growing prize-winning potatoes. Warden Merville, played by veteran actor Stacy Keach, spends his time enumerating various types of potatoes and all the delectable recipes one can concoct with the tuber. In fact, the warden admonishes, "Cultivating potatoes teaches a man all he needs to know about living a moral life!"

The writers also wanted for Leroy Lowe to find a love interest in the confined enclosure of a prison work farm. Somebody who could break through his harsh exterior and reveal the emotions buried underneath. Enter a beautiful Mexican maid who is hired to clean the warden's office. Leroy's weekly meetings with the warden take on a different meaning when, with the help of Emilio, an unconventional love story develops between Leroy and Madalena--opening the hardened racist's eyes to the possibility of a different life.

Co-writer Stefania Moscato, fluent in several languages, has lived in Texas for many years and developed a love for the swaggering Southern drawl. Her love for the state drew them to set the film there, in the fictitious Texas town of Tuna.

Cast of Colorful Characters

Casting the film was one of the easiest parts of the project. "I was fortunate enough to work with the exact people we envisioned while writing the script," says Baget. He wanted an established dramatic actor to play the part of Leroy Lowe, as opposed to the more obvious choice of a comedian. Baget believed the script to be inherently funny, so to lend credibility to the character of Leroy, Baget wrote the role specifically for Tom Sizemore. "Sizemore embodies the perfect combination of tough yet vulnerable qualities I was looking for," said Baget. The immediate on-set chemistry between Sizemore and Jimenez was also one of the most delightful surprises of the film.

Sizemore's touching portrayal of a conflicted racist faced with a chance at redemption was among the actor's most challenging performances of his long career. "It was hard to find the balance between humor and drama when dealing with such sensitive subject matter," says Sizemore. He blended the two brilliantly to create a riveting character that is sure to garner attention from both audience and critics alike.

Hector Jimenez, a personal acquaintance of Baget, was strongly committed to the film from the beginning. "Hector played an active role in the development of the character of Emilio Ortiz, including the character's comical obsession with his hair," Baget recounts. "My character has a real problem with his hair," says Jimenez. "It's unruly hair, and this guy really wants to have hair like an American! For some reason my character got it in his head that Americans have great hair. We used my real hair in the film. We brushed it and teased it so much that it hurt! I had to cut it off after filming!" Also, being a native of Mexico, Jimenez found the underlying theme of the film about overcoming prejudice and finding common ground a cause worth championing.

"While we had Stacy Keach in mind for the warden, I had no idea if we could get him," Baget recalls. Luckily for the project, Keach immediately responded to the material and agreed to do the film. As a seasoned actor of television, film and theater, Keach brought an extra layer of validity to the film. Stacy Keach has played the role of a warden on film and TV before, but Warden Merville was one of his favorites. "I've played a lot of wardens in my day, but this character is fabulous, he loves potatoes and has an agenda whereby he uses everybody in his prison to make sure that his potato fields produce the finest potatoes in the south," Keach laughs.

Baget, a big fan of Kevin Farley, approached the actor and comedian with the role of Bubba McCarthy, Leroy Lowe's best buddy and fellow Klansman. Farley imbued the role of the slow-witted Klansman with such heart and charm, he is almost impossible to dislike. "Bubba is not a real leader," Farley says of his character. "I think he was born into the Ku Klux Klan and I don't think he really knows anything other than that."

When Hector Jimenez read the script he immediately suggested Baget meet Olga Segura for the role of Madalena. Because Madalena's character has no dialogue in the film, Baget wanted an actress with a great expressive face who could be extremely funny without speaking a single word. He found those qualities in Segura. He felt that Madalena could say more with a glance or a smile than with any amount of dialogue. Without words getting in the way, Madalena can clearly see past the gruff exterior of a lifelong racist and into his redeemable soul.


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Events Calendar

2017 Cowlitz Tribal Health Walk
Saturday 16 September 2017, 09:00am - 12:00pm
Hits : 266

Have registered for this year's Annual Health Walk?
Join us Saturday, September 16, 2017 for the 13th Annual Cowlitz Tribal Health Walk.
  Family friendly 5K fun run and walk around Lake Sacajawea.
Check-in/Registration starts at 9:00a.m.
Run/Walk Starts at 10:00 a.m.
Free T-Shirt for the first 300 to Check-In


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Thank You for the forum. I love CPAHero and all its members. Their posts are very helpful.
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Gigabyte GA-8I875 478 Motherboard- 875P Intel

Front Side Bus 800 / 533 / 400 MHz FSB

Memory Type: Dual Channel DDR 400 / 333 / 266 ECC support
Max capacity: 4 GB
DIMM slots: 6 *
*Note: Through GIGABYTE innovation of supporting 6 DIMMS memory on Intel chipset motherboard. However, due to chipset limitations there will be a frequency downgrade of memory modules when 6 DIMMs are fully loaded.
Internal I/O Connectors 4 x Serial ATA connectors
2 x IEEE 1394 pin headers
2 x USB 2.0 (supports 4 ports by cable)
2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 Bus Master IDE (For HDDs only)
2 x UltraDMA 100/66 Bus Master IDE
1 x FDD
1 x S/P-DIF input/output pin header
1 x Game port pin header

Expansion Slots 1 x AGP Pro slot
5 x PCI slots (PCI 2.3 compliant)

Back Panel Connectors 4 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x RJ45 LAN port
1 x LPT port
2 x COM ports
3 x Audio ports (Line-in / Line-out / MIC)
2 x PS/2 ports (Keyboard/Mouse)

Form Factor ATX
30.5cm x 24.4cm

H/W Monitoring ITE 8712F
System health status auto-detect and report by BIOS
Hardware detecting and reporting for case open, power-in voltage, CPU voltage, and fan speed.

BIOS 2 x 4M bit flash ROM, Award BIOS

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  • Model: GA-8I875
  • 100 Units in Stock

Processing Time
  • Ships in 24 hours: Processing Time is guaranteed to be shorter than 24 hours.
  • Typical Processing Time: 1 - 3 days
Shipping Time
  • Expedited: 3-6 business days
  • Standard: 10-12 business days

We ship to over 200 countries worldwide!