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Home » The Secrets of the Great City
CHAPTER II. THE STREETS OF NEW YORK.
Edward Winslow Martin
The City of New York has been regularly laid out and surveyed for a distance of twelve miles from the Battery. It has over two hundred miles of paved streets. Most of the streets in the old Dutch city are crooked and narrow, but above that they are broader, and better laid on; and after passing Fulton street, they become quite regular. Above Fourteenth street, the city is laid off in regular squares. First street is located about a mile and four fifths above the Battery. From this the cross streets extend to Two hundred and twenty-eighth street.
The lengths of the blocks, between First and One-hundred and twenty-first streets, vary from one hundred and eighty-one to two hundred and eleven feet eleven inches.
Those between the avenues (which run at right angles to the streets), vary from four hundred and five to nine hundred and twenty feet.
The avenues are all one hundred feet wide, excepting Lexington and Madison, which are seventy-five, and Fourth Avenue, above Thirty-fourth street, which is one hundred and forty feet wide.
The numerical streets are all sixty feet wide, excepting Fourteenth, Twenty-third, Thirty-fourth, Forty-second, and eleven others, north of these, which are one hundred feet wide.
There are twelve fine avenues at parallel distances apart of about eight hundred feet. They begin about First or Fourth street, and run to the end of the island. Second and Eighth are the longest, and Fifth and Madison the most fashionable.
The most wonderful street in the world is Broadway. It extends, as we have said, the whole length of the island. But its most attractive features are between the Bowling Green and Thirty-fourth street - the chief part of these being below Fourteenth street. The street is about sixty feet wide, and is thronged with vehicles of every description. Often times these vehicles crowd the streets to such an extent that they become "jammed," and the police are forced to interfere and compel the drivers to take the routes assigned them. The scene at such a time is thrilling. A stranger feels sure that the vehicles cannot be extricated without loss of life or limb to man or beast, and the shouts and oaths of the drivers fairly bewilder him. In a few moments, however, he sees a squad of policemen approach, and plunge boldly into the throng of vehicles. The shouts and oaths of the drivers cease, the vehicles move on, one at a time, according to the orders of the police, and soon the street is clear again, to be blocked, perhaps, in a similar manner, in less than an hour. Twenty thousand vehicles daily traverse this great thoroughfare.
It is always a difficult matter to cross Broadway in the busy season. Ladies, old persons, and children, find it impossible to do so without the aid of the police, whose duty it is to make a way for them through the crowds of vehicles. A bridge was erected at the corner of Broadway and Fulton street, which is the most crowded part of the city, for the purpose of allowing pedestrians to cross over the heads of the throng in the street. It proved a failure, however. Few persons used it, except to see from it the magnificent panorama of Broadway, and the city authorities have ordered it to be taken down. It disfigures the street very much, and its removal will be hailed with delight by the native population.
Broadway properly begins at the Bowling Green. From this point it extends in a straight line to Fourteenth street and Union Square. Below Wall street, it is mainly devoted to the "Express" business, the headquarters and branch offices of nearly all the lines in the country centering here. Opposite Wall street, on the west side of Broadway, is Trinity Church and its grave-yard. From Wall street to Ann street, Insurance Companies, Real Estate Agents, Bankers and Brokers predominate. At the corner of Ann street, is the magnificent "Herald Office," adjoining which is the "Park Bank," one of the grandest structures in the country. Opposite these are the Astor House and St. Paul's Church. Passing the Astor House, the visitor finds the Park, containing the City Hall, on his right. Across the Park are Park Row and Printing House Square, containing all the principal newspaper offices of the city. Old Tammany Hall once stood on this Square, but the site is now occupied by the "The Sun," and "Brick Pomeroy's Democrat" -Arcades Ambo.
Beyond the City Hall, at the north-east corner of Chambers street and Broadway, is "Stewart's marble dry goods palace," as it is called. This is the wholesale warehouse of A. T. Stewart &Co., and occupies the entire block. The retail department of this great firm, is higher up town. Passing along, one sees, in glancing up and down the cross streets, long rows of marble and brown stone warehouses, stretching away for many blocks on either hand, and affording proof positive of the immensity and success of the business transacted in this locality.
Opposite Pearl street is the New York Hospital, standing back amidst its noble old trees; the yard is cut off from the street by an iron railing. Crossing Canal street, the widest and most conspicuous we have yet passed over, we see the handsome establishment of Lord &Taylor. rivals to Stewart, in the retail dry goods trade; on the corner of Grand street. The brown stone building opposite, is Brooks' clothing house, the largest and finest in the country. Between Broome and Spring streets, are the marble and brown stone buildings of the famous St. Nicholas Hotel. On the block above, and opposite, is Tiffany's, too well known to need a description. On the corner of Prince street, is Ball &Black's, a visit to which palace is worth a trip to the city. Diagonally opposite is the Metropolitan Hotel, in the rear of which is the theatre known as Niblo's Garden. Above this we pass the Olympic Theatre, the great Dollar store, the Southern Hotel, the New York Hotel, the New York Theatre, and Goupil's famous art gallery. On the corner of Tenth street, is a magnificent iron building, painted white. This is Stewards up town, or retail store. It is always filled with ladies "shopping," and the streets around it are blocked with carriages. Throngs of elegantly dressed ladies pass in and out, the whole scene being animated and interesting. Above this is Grace Church, one of the most beautiful religious structures in the city. On the corner of Thirteenth street, is Wallack's Theatre. At Fourteenth street, we find a handsome square, formerly a fashionable place of residence, but now giving way to business houses and hotels. This is Union Square. Passing around it, Broadway runs in a north-westerly direction, and at the intersection of the great thoroughfare with Fifth Avenue, at Twenty-third street, we see the magnificent front of the Fifth Avenue Hotel. On the block beyond are the Albemarle and Hoffman Houses, with the St. James a little above. Opposite are the Worth Monument and Madison Square. Above this are several minor hotels, and Wood's Theatre. The street is but little improved above Thirty-fourth street.
Below Twenty-third street, and especially below Union Square, Broadway is built up magnificently. Marble, brown stone, and iron warehouses, extend in long rows on each side of the street. There are some old shanties still standing on the great thoroughfare, but they are rapidly disappearing, and in a few years will be entirely gone. The view from any point below Fourteenth street, ranges from Union Square to the Bowling Green, and is grand and exhilarating beyond description. The windows of the stores are filled with the gayest and most showy goods. Jewels, silks, satins, laces, ribbons, household goods, silver ware, toys, paintings; in short, rare, costly, and beautiful objects, greet the gazer on every hand.
There are no railroad tracks on Broadway below Fourteenth street; the public travel is done by means of omnibusses, or stages, as they are called. Several hundred of these traverse the street from the lower ferries as far up as Twenty-third street, turning off at various points into the side streets and avenues. At night the many colored lamps of these vehicles add a striking and picturesque feature to the scene. They are filled with all sorts of people.
The Broadway side walks are always crowded, and this throng of passers- by is, to our mind, the most attractive feature of the busy scene. Every class and shade of nationality and character is represented here. America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and even Oceanica, has each its representatives here. High and low, rich and poor, pass along these side-walks, at a speed peculiar to New York, and positively bewildering to a stranger. No one seems to think of any person but himself, and each one jostles his neighbor or brushes by him with an indifference amusing to behold. Fine gentlemen in broad cloth, ladies in silks and jewels, and beggars in squalidness and rags, are mingled here in true Republican confusion. The bustle and uproar are very great, generally making it impossible to converse in an ordinary tone. From early morning till near midnight this scene goes on.
A gentleman from the remote interior, once put up at the St. Nicholas Hotel. He came to the City on urgent business, and told a friend who was with him, that he intended to start out early the next morning. This friend saw him, about noon the next day, waiting at the door of the St. Nicholas Hotel, surveying the passing crowd with an air of impatience.
"Have you finished your business?" he asked.
"No," said the gentleman, "I have not yet started out. I've been waiting here for three hours for this crowd to pass by, and I see no signs of it doing so."
The friend, pitying him, put him in a stage, and started him off, telling him that crowd usually took twenty-four hours to pass that point.
At night the scene changes. The crowd of vehicles on the street is not so dense, and the "foot passengers" are somewhat thinned put. The lower part of the city, which is devoted exclusively to business, is deserted. For blocks the only persons to be seen are the policemen on their beats. Above Canal street, however, all is life and bustle. The street is brilliantly lighted. The windows of the stores and restaurants, and the lamps of the theatres and concert saloons, add greatly to the general illumination, while the long lines of the red, green, and blue lights of the stages, rising and falling with the motion of the vehicles, add a novelty and beauty to the picture. Strains of music or bursts of applause, float out on the night air from the places of amusement, not all of which are reputable. The street is full of all kinds of people, all of whom seem to be in high spirits, for Broadway is a sure cure for the "blues." One feature mars the scene. At every step, almost, one passes women and girls, and even mere children, seeking for company, and soliciting passers by with their looks and manner, and sometimes by open words. The police do not allow these women to stop and converse with men on the street, and when they find a companion, they dart with him down a side street. This goes on until midnight. Then the street gradually becomes deserted, and for a few hours silence reigns in Broadway.
THE BOWERY.
Leaving the City Hall, and passing through Chatham street, one suddenly emerges from the dark, narrow lane, into a broad square, with streets leading from it to all parts of the city. It is not overclean, and has an air of sharpness and repulsiveness that at once attract attention. This is Chatham Square, the great promenade of that class generally known as "the fancy."
At the upper end of the Square is a broad, well paved, flashy looking street, stretching away to the northward, crowded with street cars, vehicles of all kinds, and pedestrians. This is the Bowery. It begins at Chatham Square, and extends as far as the Cooper Institute on Eighth street, where Third and Fourth Avenues, the first on the right hand, the other on the left, continue the thoroughfare to the Harlem river.
The Bowery first appears in the history of New York under the following circumstances. About 1642 or 1643, it was set apart by the Dutch as the residence of superannuated slaves, who, having served the Government faithfully from the earliest period of the settlement of the island, were at last allowed to devote their labors to the support of their dependent families, and were granted parcels of land embracing from eight to twenty acres each. The Dutch were influenced by other motives than charity in this matter. The district thus granted was well out of the limits of New Amsterdam, and they were anxious to make this negro settlement a sort of breakwater against the attacks of the Indians, who were beginning to be troublesome. At this time the Bowery was covered with a dense forest. A year or two later, farms were laid out along its extent. These were called "Boweries," from which the present street derives its name. Bowery No. I. was bought by Governor Stuyvesant. His house stood about where the present St. Mark's (Episcopal) Church is located. In 1660, or near about that year, a road or lane was laid off, through what are now Chatham street, Chatham Square, and the Bowery, to the farm of Governor Stuyvesant, beyond which there was no road. To this was given the distinctive name of the "Bowery Lane." In 1783, the Bowery again came into prominent notice. On the 25th of November of that year, the American army, under General Washington, marched into the Bowery early in the morning, and remained until noon, when the British troops evacuated the city and its defences. This done, the Americans marched down the Bowery, through Chatham and Pearl streets, to the Battery, where they lowered the British flag, which had been left flying by the enemy, and hoisted the "Stars and Stripes" of the new Republic.
After the city began to extend up the island, the Bowery, which had been eminently respectable in its earlier history, lost caste. Decent people left it, and the poorer and more disreputable classes took possession. Finally, it became notorious. It was noted for its roughs, its rowdy firemen, its courtezans - in short, it was the paradise of the worst elements of New York. The march of trade and improvement along the east side of the city has effected a partial reformation, but still the Bowery is generally regarded as one of the doubtful localities of the city.
The street runs parallel with Broadway, and is about a mile in length. It is much wider than the latter thoroughfare. It is tolerably well built up; and is improving in this respect every year. In connection with Chatham Square, it is the great route from the lower part of the island to the Harlem river on the east side. It is devoted principally to the cheap trade. The Jews abound here. The display of goods in the shops is attractive, but flashy. Few persons who have the means to buy elsewhere, care to purchase an article in the Bowery, as those familiar with it know there are but few reliable dealers along the street. Strangers from the country, servant girls, and those who are forced to put up with an inferior article from the want of a few dollars, and often a few cents, to buy a better one, trade here. As a general rule, the goods sold are of an inferior, and often worthless, quality, and the prices asked are high, though seemingly cheap. Large fortunes are made by the Bowery merchants, who, with but few exceptions, are adepts in the art of swindling their customers.
Pawnbrokers' shops, "Cheap Johns," second class hotels, dance houses, fifth rate lodging houses, low class theatres, and concert saloons, abound in the lower part of the street.
The Sunday law, which, seems to be so rigidly enforced in other parts of the city, is a dead letter in the Bowery. Here on Sunday, one may see shops of all kinds - the vilest especially - open for trade. Cheap clothing-stores, etc., concert saloons, and the most infamous dens of vice, are in full blast. The street, and the cars traversing it, are thronged with the lower classes, in search of what they call enjoyment. At night all the places of amusement are open, and are crowded to excess. Boughs, thieves, fallen women, and even little children, throng them. Indeed, it is sad to see how many children are to be found in these vile places. The price of admission is low, and, strange as it may sound, almost any beggar can raise it. People have no idea how much of the charity they lavish on street beggars goes in this direction. The amusement afforded at these places ranges from indelicate hints and allusions to the grossest indecency.
Another feature of the Bowery is the immense beer-gardens with which it abounds. We refer to those of the better class, which are patronized chiefly by the German element of the city. These are immense buildings, fitted up in imitation of a garden. Some are very handsomely frescoed, and otherwise adorned. They will accommodate from four hundred to twelve hundred guests. Germans carry their families there to spend a day, or an evening. Clubs, parties of friends, and public societies, often pay such visits to these places. Some carry their own provisions; others purchase them from the proprietor. There is no admittance fee: the entrance is free. Beer and other liquids are served out at a small cost. Guests are coming and going all the time. Sometimes as many as five thousand people will visit one of these places in the course of an evening. The music is a great attraction to the Germans. It is exquisite in some places, especially in the Atlantic Garden, which is situated in the Bowery, near Canal street.
The profits are enormous; the proprietors frequently realize handsome fortunes in the course of a few years. Were these places all the Germans claim for them; they would be unobjectionable; but there is no disguising the fact that they encourage excess in drinking, and offer every inducement for a systematic violation of the Sabbath.
Besides these, there are saloons and gardens where none but the abandoned are to be seen. These will be noticed further on.
Respectable people avoid the Bowery, as far as possible, at night; but on Sunday night, few but those absolutely compelled to visit it, are to be seen within its limits. Every species of vice and crime is abroad at this time, watching for its victims. Those who do not wish to fall into trouble should keep out of the way.
THE AVENUES.
The Avenues of New York commence with First Avenue, which is the second east of the Bowery. They are numbered regularly to the westward until Twelfth Avenue is reached. This street forms the western shore of the island in the extreme upper part of New York. East of First Avenue, above Houston street, there are five short avenues, called A, B, C, D, E, - the first being the most westerly. There are also other shorter avenues in the city, viz.: Lexington, commencing at Fourteenth street, lying between Third and Fourth Avenues, and extending to Sixty-sixth street; and Madison, commencing at Twenty-third street, lying between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, and running to Eighty-sixth street. Second and Eighth are the longest. Third Avenue is the main street of the east side, above Eighth street Eighth Avenue is the great thoroughfare on the west side Hudson street, of which Eighth Avenue is a continuation is rapidly becoming the West-side Bowery. Fifth and Madison are the most fashionable, and are magnificently built up with private residences, along almost their entire length. The cross streets connecting them, in the upper part of the city, are also handsomely laid off, and are filled with long rows of fine brown-stone and marble mansions.
The streets of New York are well laid off, and are paved with an excellent quality of stone. The side-walks generally consist of immense stone "flags." In the lower part of the city, in the poorer and business sections, they are dirty, and always out of order. In the upper part they are clean, and are often kept so by private contributions.
The avenues on the eastern and western extremities of the city are the abodes of poverty, want, and often of vice, hemming in the wealthy and cleanly sections on both sides. Poverty and wealth are close neighbors in New York. Only a block and a half back of the most sumptuous parts of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, want and suffering, vice and crime, hold their court. Fine ladies can look down from their high casements upon the squalid dens of their unhappy sisters.
‹ CHAPTER I. THE CITY OF NEW YORK. up CHAPTER III. THE CITY GOVERNMENT. ›


Because their bodies are still developing and their neurological and endocrine systems are more sensitive than those of adults, kids are especially vulnerable to toxic chemicals that pollute food. A recent study in the medical journal Lancet concluded that "children are at high risk of pollution-related disease." Health issues that are linked to toxic chemicals found in food include asthma; reproductive deformities; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); the early onset of puberty; and learning disabilities, lower IQ, and other neurological problems.
Here are four tips for reducing that risk at home.
2. Feed them plenty of fruits and veggies, but avoid pesticides.
When shopping for produce, it's especially important to make your selections free of chlorpyrifos. This common pesticide has been shown to delay development and cause neurological problems, yet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has recklessly approved it for continued use on our crops. To avoid exposure to chlorpyrifos and other pesticides toxic to kids, choose foods labeled USDA Organic.
"Organic food can be more expensive," says Rotkin-Ellman, "but from a health perspective, it's definitely beneficial for those fruits and vegetables your kids eat most." The Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists are helpful guides, especially when making decisions about which items to splurge on from your grocery's organic produce section. Items on the Dirty Dozen list include strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, peaches, celery, grapes, pears, cherries, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, and potatoes.
As an extra precaution, or when it's not possible to buy organic products, wash all produce thoroughly and carefully before eating it, and peel conventionally grown fruits and veggies.
3. Proteins are important, but stay away from those packed with mercury or raised with antibiotics.
When it comes to fish, the top concern is mercury. The toxic metal is often found in high concentrations in the bodies of fish toward the top of the food chain, such as tilefish, bluefish, grouper, king mackerel, swordfish, and tuna. Children with prolonged or repeated exposure to mercury can suffer brain damage and learning disabilities. To avoid mercury contamination, serve smaller varieties of seafood, and look for mercury-free fish sticks for those who prefer finger food.
When buying meat, poultry, and dairy, opt for products from animals raised without the routine use of antibiotics. This helps prevent the spread of drug-resistant bacteria in communities. Look for any of these labels: USDA Organic, USDA Process Verified Never Ever 3, Global Animal Partnership (GAP), American Grassfed, Certified Humane, and Animal Welfare Approved. Note that while animal products bearing labels such as No Antibiotics Administered, No Antibiotics Added, or Raised Without Antibiotics communicate the producer's commitment to responsible use, they are not third-party certified as coming from farms where routine use of antibiotics is prohibited. Fortunately, there are now more affordable options in this category, especially for chicken products.
Scientists estimate that more than 3,000 chemicals are currently being added to foods during processing, often without safety testing first. Consider phthalates, additives that are used to make plastics soft and flexible. These harmful chemicals can make their way into food through packaging and the manufacturing process, and though they are known to disrupt hormones and impair neurological development in children, they "are used in much of the factory equipment that food goes through," says Rotkin-Ellman. "And as foods get more and more processed, their phthalate levels go up." In a recent analysis of macaroni and cheese powders by the Coalition for Safer Food Processing and Packaging, of which NRDC is a member, phthalates were found in all 10 products sampled. The presence of these chemicals in "kid-friendly" foods is particularly troubling given that children's phthalates levels can be double those of adults.
Opt for simple, unrefined foods with as few additives and preservatives as possible. Think melted whole cheese and not cheese powder. "The closer you are to a product as it originated, the better off you are," says Rotkin-Ellman.
Avoid canned foods as much as possible. An estimated two-thirds of food can linings contain bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to behavioral problems in children. And higher levels of BPA can be found in canned acidic foods, like tomatoes. Unfortunately, a BPA-free designation doesn't guarantee safety because companies often replace this chemical with related ones.
Have a baby starting solids? Choose oatmeal or multigrain cereals instead of rice cereal. A recent report found that infant rice cereal contained six times more arsenic than other varieties of infant cereals.


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ULICA Festival
KTO Theatre festival presentations – the inauguration of the season!
Exactly a year ago we practised in KTO Theatre the skill of bilocation. In the third weekend of June, we presented our performances at the Theatre Olympics in Sankt Petersburg, as well as at festivals in Bremen and Vilnius.
Mid-June this year, we inaugurate our festival season. We return (with the fifth title from the KTO Theatre's repertoire) to Romanian Sibiu, which in mid-June becomes the capital of the world theatre. Founded in 1993 by Constantin Chiriac, the festival has grown over the course of almost three decades into an impressive and complementary concept of a theatre festival.
In good company, as always at Festivalul International de Theatre de la Sibiu, we present Jerzy Zon's The Fragrance of Time, which returned our repertoire in 2018. It is one of three Polish performances (next to Krzysztof Warlikowski's The Frenchmen and Grzegorz Bral's Anty-Gone TRIPTYCH) in this year's unique ONLINE edition of FITS.
You'll find the link to the festival website and the full program below. Some of this year's must-see shows include Akram Khan Company, Sasha Waltz & Guests, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Schaubühne Berlin, Needcompany, Odin Teatret – Theatrum Mundi.
https://www.sibfest.ro/fits-online
NextNew dates for the 33. ULICA FestivalNastępny
The 2nd Student Performance Review AKTOMAR
FOUR MORE – a series of stage compositions for four female performers and their bodies, space, sound and light
"Peregrinus" in London
KTO Theater with an award in the competition "Modernization of the Year & Construction of the 21st century"
UNBODY (Hertz Haus) – the winners of the "The Best Off" competition will perform at the KTO Theater
What does The Time smell like?
Short movie "I'll Sell the House in Which I Can Live No More" at Play Kraków
The KTO Theater with the main prize in the 15th edition of the "Krakow Without Barriers" competition
Polish horizon

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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An open letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone
By Lanny A. Breuer
October 15, 2019 at 5:45 p.m. EDT
White House counsel Pat Cipollone at the White House on July 29. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Lanny A. Breuer served as special counsel to President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 1999 and assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's criminal division from 2009 to 2013.
We have never met. But I have also had the heavy responsibility you face today of representing a presidency in an impeachment proceeding, and after reading the letter you sent to Congress last week I felt compelled to write you this letter and offer you some advice.
You are not the first White House official to view an impeachment inquiry as "highly partisan." President Richard M. Nixon's staff called the House Judiciary Committee a "kangaroo court " and charged that it had violated the president's due process. On the day of President Bill Clinton's impeachment, one of my colleagues said that "nothing about this process has been fair."
In 1998, we felt under siege. From the moment that independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr delivered his report to Congress in a convoy of SUVs, we knew Clinton would not receive a fair hearing. A relentless barrage of leaks from Congress and severe partisan attacks against the president followed.
We argued at the time, as you do in your letter, that Congress should provide additional procedural protections to the president. Although the House Judiciary Committee afforded us some measures, we still thought they were wholly inadequate. For example, instead of conducting its own investigation, the committee relied almost exclusively on Starr's report, which had serious flaws. The House took only three months to adopt articles of impeachment, and we had only two days to present our witnesses. The president's personal lawyer, David Kendall, had only 30 minutes to question Starr. We felt this was deeply unfair and a derogation of the House's constitutional duty to investigate thoroughly whether impeachment was warranted.
But we never considered the possibility of refusing entirely to participate in the impeachment inquiry or completely blocking the House's access to documents and witnesses. We understood that, regardless of how partisan the impeachment process was, we had the moral, ethical and legal obligation to operate within the bounds of our constitutional system.
The Constitution grants the "sole Power of Impeachment" to the House of Representatives. Confronted with an exercise of that power, the White House, of course, can and should push for procedural fairness. It is not enough, however, simply to assert, as you have, that the impeachment inquiry is "invalid " and therefore that the president has no choice but to refuse to participate.
A total refusal to respect our constitutional system is without precedent. The founders understood, as Alexander Hamilton wrote , that impeachment, by its nature, "will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused." Nevertheless, the White House cannot reject Congress's authority on the mere grounds that it believes the House of Representatives seeks to "reverse" a past election and "influence" a future one.
If President Trump's White House bears any resemblance to Nixon's or Clinton's, I assume you feel unfairly attacked. Nixon's speechwriter, Pat Buchanan, accused "the big media" of distorting coverage of Nixon during his impeachment process, and we felt that Clinton was subjected to numerous unwarranted attacks. That said, we recognized that Congress's motives for initiating an impeachment inquiry had no bearing on its constitutional authority to do so. We also understood that we had an independent and solemn responsibility to do our part to preserve our system of checks and balances by participating in the impeachment process.
You are not representing just any client. As White House counsel, you have a responsibility to serve the Office of the President, not the president himself. Your letter unfortunately conveys a different understanding.
You should object and make cogent legal arguments to resist what you perceive as congressional overreach. Indeed, we fought hard at times to ensure a degree of fairness to the proceedings, and I advise you to do the same. Be zealous in your advocacy. That's expected and appropriate. But you do not have a right merely to will Congress's authority away. It's wrong to try, and it won't work.
Moreover, such an ill-conceived and extra-constitutional strategy could cause lasting damage to the presidency and to the ability of the branches of government to function the way our founders envisioned. Of particular note, it could also inflict collateral damage on our justice system more generally, sending the message that subpoenas can be disregarded at will.
The White House counsel should convey respect for our constitutional system, not disregard for it, and defend the presidency without seeming to reject wholesale our constitutional system of checks and balances. I have confidence that our system is stronger than any one person, and you should, too.
The Post's View: It's tempting to ignore Trump's unhinged letter to Congress. But this is different.
The Post's View: Trump is betraying his oath of office. If Republicans don't step up, they will be, too.
17 former Watergate special prosecutors: We investigated the Watergate scandal. We believe Trump should be impeached.
Max Boot: Can you take four more years of this?
Harry Litman: Congress might be able to foil the White House's stonewalling


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Within the next two years, one of His Story's greatest goals is purchase the building we currently rent. This will reduce our overhead, freeing up scholarship and administrative dollars. The increased operating funds will allow us to hire more counselors as well as expand our mentorship program.
The building purchase will allow us to increase our mental health capabilities, provide additional counseling rooms, and provide a larger training facility for currently unrealized potential.
Additionally, the new facility will provide His Story with the capability to host large mental health groups and seminars for the purpose of preventing and treating mental health and relationship issues. The growth we experience will facilitate His Story in making a systemic impact on our community at an exponential rate.


Catch up TV on Big Ideas. Watch the latest and all other episodes of Big Ideas now online, broadcasted on ABC1. Catch up on your favorite ABC1 TV show: Big Ideas. Replay tv on its best! Presents the best public talks, debates and lectures from Australia and around the world.
Hosted by Dr Norman Swan, this forum brings together leading international & domestic business & health executives from the private & public sectors to discuss better ways to run the health care system in Australia.
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser joins Simon Longstaff in conversation from St James Ethics Centre in Sydney to gives an interesting insight into what has shaped his values and his politics.
Society would flourish if women ruled the world. That's the premise for this debate. It's rowdy, rude and highly opinionated and very funny. Featuring Kerry Chikarovski, Helen Razer and Jane Caro.
Julian Burnside; barrister, human rights advocate, writer and the winner of this year's Sydney Peace Prize discusses the rights of asylum seekers.
Director for the Centre for Islam & the Modern World - Greg Barton - sets out an historical context for the rise and rapid expansion of the Islamic State.
What does a two and a half thousand year old skeletal DNA tells us about life and death in Africa, 2000 years ago? Vanessa Hayes is a world renowned expeart in African genomes & talks DNA profiling with Simon Longstaff.


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Home/Business/BioNTech CEO says vaccine is effective against new strains
BioNTech CEO says vaccine is effective against new strains
admin 11 January 2021
The CEO of German pharmaceutical company BioNTech has said he remains confident the company's Covid vaccine, developed in partnership with Pfizer, will be effective against the highly-infectious variants of the virus discovered in the U.K. and South Africa."We are confident that based on the mechanism of our vaccine, even though there are mutations, we believe that the immune response which is induced by our vaccine could also deal with (a) mutated virus," Dr. Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, told CNBC's Meg Tirrell on Monday."Last week, we reported another mutation which is present in the U.K. variant and also in the South African variant and this mutation is considered to be important because it could change structurally the protein. But it appears the immune response against our vaccine also neutralizes this mutation."His comments referred to research published Thursday that showed Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine appeared to be effective against a key mutation in the more infectious variants of the virus discovered in the U.K. and South Africa.The study, conducted by U.S. pharma giant Pfizer and not yet peer-reviewed, suggested the vaccine worked to neutralize the so-called N501Y mutation. This mutation has been reported in the coronavirus variants discovered in the U.K. and South Africa.The variants, which originated separately, both share a genetic mutation of the so-called spike protein, which the virus uses to gain entry into cells within the body.Physicians tentatively welcomed the findings of the study last week but cautioned it was important to note the research only focused on the N501Y mutation found in both new variants.BioNTech's Sahin said the company would be able to present more data looking at the full set of mutations in the coming days.New vaccine could be ready 'within six weeks'Like Moderna's, Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid vaccine uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology. In practice, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says this "teaches our cells how to make a protein — or even just a piece of a protein— that triggers an immune response inside our bodies."The resulting immune response produces antibodies that help to protect people from becoming infected with the virus.Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of Biontech, stands on the company premises. Biontech is a biotechnology company that is researching, among other things, vaccines against the coronavirus. (Photo by Andreas Arnold/picture alliance via Getty Images)Andreas Arnold | picture alliance via Getty ImagesWhen asked how quickly BioNTech could pivot if it turned out the existing Covid vaccine was found to be ineffective against new variants, Sahin said "one key advantage" of the mRNA technology was that it would allow the company to adapt the vaccine "relatively quickly.""We can change the sequence of the vaccine within a few days and we could deliver a new vaccine within six weeks in principle. This is technically possible, and if this is needed, we would go for that," he said, noting that this would also require discussions with regulatory authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration."So, we are confident that the technology we would allow us to be extremely fast in responding to a mutation or a to a virus variant that comes with different problems," Sahin said.Public health experts have expressed concern the new mutant strains could pose a threat to inoculation efforts. In recent weeks, optimism about the mass rollout of Covid vaccines has been tempered by the resurgent rate of virus spread worldwide.To date, more than 90.3 million people have contracted the coronavirus worldwide, with 1.93 million deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
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This walk takes you to some of the most historic sites in Beechworth. Wander through the historic town of Beechworth, down to the Hospital Façade, onto Billson Brewery which houses the Carriage Museum, over Ford Street and into Queen Victoria Park with toilets BBQs, an adventure playground and a big granite rock to climb around. Over spring creek and into the Lake Sambell Reserve which was a gold mine in the past.
Sandy Beach has toilets, BBQs an adventure playground and a swimming area. Walk into the Chinese Gardens under the bridge to the signage with information on the Rocky Mountain Tunnel. Walking up the path to Albert Road and back into town.


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Category Archives: Wine Reviews
Wine Articles, Wine Reviews
Grapelive Latest: Jan 25
Grapelive Daily Pick
By Kerry Winslow
2000 Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac-Leognan Red Bordeaux, France.
This is one of the most bright and pretty Bordeauxs I've ever tried and I was intrigued by the length and pure pleasure it delivered, this might be one of the great sleepers of the vintage! The nose is ripe and perfumed with lots of violets, roses and wildflowers mixed with spicy berry and cloves before a elegant array of fruit that comes in layers across the palate. The mouth is raspberry, blackberry, plums and red currants that come out in savory and spicy fashion with mineral, mushroom and leather notes in the background. This is one very pretty wine that is what most people expect of a fine Bordeaux or Claret (in England) and a wine that has plenty of style and depth. Enjoy this wine now, but this wine has plenty of years left to grow and expand, so be patient and enjoy, and if you can get some as it is a great value. I tasted this wine in a line up of six 2000 Bordeaux wines over the course of a few hours and from start to finish it was in my top two the whole time and compared well with wines almost four times its price!
*This small Cru Classe estate, Haut-Bailly, is making wines that according to Parker put it at least at Third Growth level and more recently seen great improvement. The production is pretty small at around 12,000 cases from vines that are close to 40 years old on average with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Haut-Bailly has a long history even if they are considered a newcomer, and the second owner in 1872 thought that adding cognac added dimension to his wines, but quality has really been much on the rise since 1979, though Parker notes that both the '61 and '64 vintages were fabulous.
($65 Est.) 93-94 Points, grapelive
Rancho Cellars
Grapelive Latest: Jan 23-24
Grapelive Weekend Wine Pick
2007 Big Basin Syrah Monterey/Santa Cruz Mountains.
For all those Syrah lovers out there, this wine is one to stock up on as it just might be the best Syrah for the money bar none in the state! I've tried this wine on three separate occasions over the last year and it just continues to develop and fill out in glorious ways with amazing lush fruit and pure Syrah character. With visions of terraced vines, like Cote-Rotie and the fabled Hermitage ran through my mind as I enjoyed this wine and it certainly has charm, vigor and richness in spades. Bradley Brown, winemaker, confessed to me that he was himself how good this wine turned out when I told him of how much I thought of it and that in my opinion it still has even more potential to go before peaking. The nose is all those things that Syrah has to offer, violets, spice, mocha, game, earth and bramble all of which transfers to the mouth and palate with ripe blackberry, boysenberry, currants and plum fruits, while added complexities include pepper, licorice, meat, bitter chocolate and smoke. Everything is balanced and focused in this wine which is a special cuvee of lots of fruit from the Santa Lucia Highlands from a vineyard near the Garys' Vineyard and parts from the Santa Cruz Mountains where the winery is. ($28-30 Est.) 92-93 Points, grapelive
*Coming Soon to Rancho Cellars
www.bigbasinvineyards.com
2008 Salomon Undhof Gruner Veltliner "Hochterrassen" Austrian White.
I have long been a keen fan of Salomon wines and especial the intense and dry Rieslings, but this wine is very nice too, and the Gruner Veltliner, while wine geeky and trendy as it is, makes for a refreshing wine and gives more depth than your average Sauvignon Blanc. This vintage is fresh with lots of citrus and mineral, though it isn't light or too acidic with a round, almost oily body. The palate is full of lime and white peach with hints of rocks and apple peel before a classic nutty array of flavors come to the fore. This Gruner gains a white flower perfume and tangy notes as it gets air and will go with most seafood dishes and makes for a fun sipper as well with cheese. ($20 Est.)
92 Points, grapelive
Available by special order $17.95
1-831-625-5646 (by phone only)
2007 Martin Alfaro Pinot Noir "Lester Family Vineyard" Santa Cruz Mountains.
One of my favorite vintners, Richard Alfaro, Alfaro Family Vineyards and Joe Martin have been putting out wonderful Pinots from top central coast vineyard sites for many years now and this has always been a super vineyard and had been known in earlier vintages as the "Deer Park Vineyard", making dark and rich wines that really pack a punch of flavors. This intense vintage, with an amazingly dark hue, is looking great all ready, and I think it is only just showing its potential, as it still is very young and tight with a huge and powerful palate. The nose is lush and has plenty of fruit, flowers and sweet oak notes before a rich mouth of blackberries, currants, plums and dark cherries, there is also a thick creamy texture that is full and shows silky tannins and balanced acidity. This Pinot Noir has a super long finish with lots of layers unfolding and it just gets better and better with air as the wine opens up. In the background there is cassis, mocha, grenadine and vanilla and it picks up a sweet perfume as it comes to live over a few minutes in the glass. Best to give this Pinot some time to develop with some short term cellaring, though if you like big wines then go ahead and start popping corks! I should also mention the very deep and dark color, as it is beautiful and gives you a big hint as to what will follow when you drink it. This is a wine for those looking for a little secret to impress your friends and a stunning wine for the price. ($35-40 Est.) 93-94 Points, grapelive
www.martinalfaro.com
2008 Bodega Naia "Las Brisas" Rueda, Spanish White.
This fresh and fun white is a blend of Viura and Sauvignon Blanc that seems to be a very good match and making for a bright and interesting wine. The nose is tangy citrus and lime flower before a crisp and mouth-watering palate of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon zest with just a hint of classic "Cat Piss" and gooseberry. This wine is vibrant and pairs well if not perfectly with seafood, but especially white fish or oysters and would be great fun at any picnic or summer afternoon sipping. Less grassy or herbal that straight Sauvignon Blanc can sometimes be and it does give a round easy drinking pleasure while still keeping a racy edge. ($14 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive
*Available at
2007 Domaine Barat Chablis AC, White Burgundy, France.
This small lesser-known Chablis estate has really got it going on, and I'm sure they'll turn some heads with this wine and vintage. If you want a classic and pure Chablis, look no further that this one as it has it all and showcases all the historic character that the region is known and praised for. The nose is steely and chalky, like river rocks and white flower hints to go with some fresh lemon leading to a palate of green apple, white peach and plenty mineral essence that is like savory stones finishing with lots of zingy acidity while not taking away from the balance and elegant nature of this Chardonnay. Anybody dreaming of an old school Chablis done right and well, they should score some of this wine and be rewarded. ($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive
*Available at:
Quick Link to buy Domaine Barat Chablis $19.95
Grapelive Latest: Jan 16 & 17
Grapelive Weekend Review
2007 Big Basin Pinot Noir "Bald Mountain Vineyard" Santa Cruz Mountains.
The talents of Bradley Brown cannot be denied and his cult like following for his Syrah will no doubt chase after him with his new line-up of Pinot Noirs that look set to make a big splash. I had tried early samples of the Big Basin Pinots and had spoke of how I thought they would really turn out to be something special, and I think I got it right, as this wine confirmed. I still think the Santa Cruz Mountains are turning out great Pinot Noir grapes, especially as certain clones come into maturity in some of the new vineyards and areas there, with new talents like Bradley, and Richard Alfaro, Alfaro Vineyards leading the way, along with others, including Windy Oaks and Rhys, the region is making some of the most exciting wines going and look set to join the elite Pinot areas like the Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Rita Hills, Russian River and the Sonoma Coast. This wine shows classic elegant Pinot flavors and silky texture with sublime balance. The nose is beautiful with floral tones of violets and roses with a hint of sweet smoky oak and earth before a lush and richly layered palate of raspberry, plum and currants to go along with the main black cherry core, while there is briar, tea spices, mineral and vanilla in the background. Quality fruit, a subtle touch and talent all show through on this wonderful Pinot Noir, so don't miss out and try it yourself. Very limited and tiny amounts are just now reaching the market. ($40-45 Est.) 93-94 Points, grapelive
*New Release
831-625-5646 to special order
Fermented Travel, Wine Articles, Wine Reviews, Wine Travel
Grapelive Studies: Bordeaux
A Bordeaux 101 Outline Study Guide
(Bordeaux Seminar Summary Notes for a special Bordeaux tasting)
Bordeaux at a Glance:
Bordeaux is not beautiful or heavenly scenic in by any stretch of the imagination and it is not a glamorous travel destination, but it does have vines and noble Chateaux to at least give you something to envy. (With the exception of St. Emilion, which is both historic and graceful) Not too convincing for a region that is known as the world's greatest with some of the most prized wine on the planet. Also, Bordeaux is not a small area either, with some 900 million bottles produced in any given vintage and maybe some 20,000 growers. But, in the world of fine wine, Bordeaux is more known for about 200 estates that make about 100,000 bottles each, which is much more of what you'd expect from a super premium wine region. The "Chateau" name on the label has always added value, though it is largely a meaningless term, much like "Reserve" or such on labels from California and other areas, but there has been a loose guide and rule that if there is a picture of a Chateau on the label it should exist on the property in real life as well.
Another archaic example of Bordeaux hierarchy is the fabled Classification of 1855 by which most all Bordeaux wines and estates have been judged by ever since. (Though it must said, it still works!)
The Classification of 1855 was originally conceived by Exposition Universelle in Paris as a simple guide to Bordeaux wines, both red and white, though it really ended up as an enduring order for the red wines of the Medoc, except for the one Pessac-Leognan or Graves estate Chateau Haut-Brion which was included. Funny enough this class structure was only compiled in a matter of days and was based on prices that estates were getting for their wines on the current market at the time and was never ever meant to be set in stone and was in fact done just for the one single event. Even though the Classification was never intended as a permanent guide it has in fact become one that still holds on today, and only one real change has ever taken place to the original placements, that was when Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was given First Growth status in 1973! The original guide placed the main estates into echelons that were and are known by the old term Growths in five classified levels of prestige. This has given us First Growths (top) through Fifth Growths (lowest) of the best quality winegrowers. It is remarkable how notable and accurate this system has been and still is today.
White wines and sweet wines had separate classifications and these while useful at the time do not have the same meaning at present. The other top wines not from the Haut-Medoc did get some recognition, with Saint-Emilion being the most progressive, as it is updated and re-rated every ten years, but Pomerol still does not have a real classification in place!
Pessac-Leognan:
When you think of Pessac-Leognan or Graves red, you almost always and only think of Chateau Haut-Brion the First Growth of the appellation and one of the very first premier estates in the Bordeaux region and a Chateau favored by Thomas Jefferson, as well as collectors near and far. Besides Haut-Brion there is La Mission Haut-Brion and Chateau Haut-Bailly that impress from this area and a many others that have fans the world over. Pessac-Leognan is almost perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon with lots of well-drained soils and a touch of limestone as well to add character, and the appellation is well known to produce good wines even in terrible vintages. In fact some of the best vintages in the region have come in slightly cooler vintages like 1988 rather than 1982 or more recently 2003. This may be the first area planted to serious vine in all of Bordeaux in the early 1300's and continues to produce great wines.
Margaux:
While for years, the only Margaux was Chateau Margaux; there are now a select few top Margaux wines to choose from including Chateau Palmer and Brane-Cantenac. Margaux is a unique Appellation and always seems the most perfumed and elegant while still having power and structure. That said, Margaux has some questionable properties and may have a bit too much sand and clay in some areas to deliver quality. It seems best to stay with the sloping vineyards more to the north for the best results, even from unclassified estates, though you can't go wrong with the aforementioned Chateaux. Again Cabernet Sauvignon is the main grape here, though there seems to be more combinations of grapes used here.
Pauillac:
Pauillac is the king of Bordeaux Appellations with the most First Growths and is considered the most powerful of the region with top estates Latour, Lafite-Rothschild and Mouton-Rothschild you see the wisdom there. This is one of the top Cabernet Sauvignon sites in the Haut-Medoc and Bordeaux, and with its deep gravelly soils that makes sense. The darker and more powerful wines of Pauillac have always been in favor and still demand the most attention from critics and collectors the world over; in fact China and the Asian market are going nuts for Lafite right now. Apart from the three First Growths Pauillac still has some amazing wines, and Parker is raving about the rise of Chateau Pontet-Canet, who are right across the street from Mouton and rates them close to the First Growths here. I will not forget my first taste of Chateau Latour and I am a real Pauillac fan.
Saint-Estephe:
This area just north of Pauillac has only five classified growths within the commune, but still garners good respect with the top estates being Chateau Montrose, Cos D' Estournel and Calon-Segur. Saint-Estephe has lots of charm and style and depends on a higher percentage of Merlot, as the soil is much more clay influenced and the earlier ripening Merlot and Cabernet Franc do a bit better, though Cabernet Sauvignon still plays a powerful role. There is about 2,822 acres planted to vine in the appellation with Merlot being the most widely planted.
Saint-Emilion:
Saint-Emilion is perhaps the most historic and pretty place in the whole of Bordeaux with its walled medieval city and fortress still an amazing site to see. The two main Chateaux are Cheval-Blanc and L'Angelus these days, though lots of people will remember Chateau Figeac as well. This is a unique and the most progressive of all the Bordeaux appellations with an ever changing rating system and a new judging for classification every ten years with very strict rules and attention to quality. Saint-Emilion also is known as the Cabernet Franc place and in some vintages it will be the grape of choice, and Cheval-Blanc relies on Franc as the main grape more often than not, making for rich and freshly wines that offer more perfume and tannin than a Merlot based wine in general here.
Pomerol:
With no classification or unity Pomerol still has real interest in Bordeaux with powerful and maybe the most expensive wine in the region on release Chateau Petrus, and almost exclusively planted to Merlot! The clay soils here almost beg for Merlot, but there is some Cabernet Sauvignon also planted here as well. Most estates here report that their vineyards are planted to 90-95 percent Merlot and most often use 100% Merlot in their wines. Pomerol succeeds regardless of its grape and classification, in fact Pomerol was allowed an AC only in 1928 and has been snubbed from many historic publications over the years, yet it producing wines that more often than not release at prices that would make Pauillac turn green with envy! This area is known for Merlot with attitude and a track record of success, best not to bad mouth Merlot in this region.
Some Points of Interest, History and Tidbits:
Bordeaux's history is long and has many eras, but it seems to be that the region started not as a wine-producing region, but as a trading post for selling and transporting wines. The Roman outpost there in the first century BC even had a wine negotiant the specialized in supplying the British isles, which has Roman garrisons controlling the local population, both of which enjoyed wine. At that time Bordeaux was named Burdigala and perfectly located as it is today on the estuary of the Gironde River, we know this from the Greek geographer Strabo, who also related in his texts that is was during the reign of Augustus that Burdigala was first known as a store or "emporium" for wine and that it had no vines of its own at that time. Then as vines started to show up and things looked bright for the region everything was thrown into chaos for the next 400 years as the Romans lost control and many tribes and invaders all crashed through the area, destroying and rebuilding the whole time. When the dust settled there was the Gascon era, which at the time used Bordeaux as a the main depot for its then famous Cahors High Country wine, but this didn't last long as then the Vikings showed up and devastated the town, leaving nothing more than rumble after the Gascon leader Sanche Sanchez decided to fight to the last man.
By the middle ages Bordeaux and England basically were married and the region has been connected at the hip to England ever since, this would be the era known for the rise of Claret, the very English term for red Bordeaux wines. Though it should be noted that even up until the 1200's Bordeaux still was not producing that much wine if any and that Gascony was still the big supplier to England, as well as to Germany, Flanders and the Baltics. It seems the Graves area was really the first premium vineyard site in the Bordeaux region, which makes sense, as it was firm ground and close to the city. England finally gave up total rule of Bordeaux in 1453 to France after a 300-year rule. During this time England imported about 50,000 barrels of wine from the merchants in Bordeaux, at the time that worked out to be 6 bottles of Claret for every single man, woman and child in England, a year. Though it must be remembered that the British bought equal amounts from the Rhine producers and may even have favored those sweet Rieslings and also they gobbled up Loire wines as well, but we must also remember this was in the early 1300's and what was maybe Bordeaux's first great Chateau and vineyard was planted in 1300 or there about. It is recorded that Bertrant de Goth, later known as Pope Clement V who moved the papacy to Avignon, had an estate in Pessac that was planted to vine in 1300, this same property is now called Chateau Pape Clement. Some 350 years later the real Bordeaux boom and golden age began, and it started maybe less that a mile away from old' Bertrand's small estate in a place called Haut-Brion.
In the "Dutch" era, the Bordeaux region grew and flourished, with most of the wines going to Holland instead of England, while the Britons bought Spanish, Portuguese and Italian wines to make up for not getting their Claret from France. It was during this time that the locals saw the full potential of the region and were thrilled when the Dutch engineers drained most of the swamp in the Medoc, which made way for neatly trained rows of vines of certain blocks of single types of grapes, a concept that was not really known in France until then. Also, even better still, this newly claimed ground ended up great growing sites; in fact many of the "First Growths" are in this area. Later, with England taking turns fighting, Holland, France and Spain in war after war, there was lots of smuggling by all sides including the growers and merchants themselves to England where there was a great thirst for Claret. In this time, the mid to late 1600's, Chateau Haut-Brion it seems became the world great wine, though there was a lot of funny math regarding the wine that really came from the estate itself, as some records show that while maybe 50 barrels a year was being made on the vineyard, there was sales receipts showing lots of up to 230 barrels of Haut-Brion listed as sold or as cargo to England… The intrigue continues to this day with many scandals and fraud over the years.
Bordeaux has suffered war, plague, many rulers, and two devastating natural disasters that destroyed almost every vine in the region. The first of these was the winter of 1709, one of the coldest on record that froze and killed almost every last vine, all of which had to replanted from scratch, and the second was the phylloxera out break in the 1860's which again caused almost a total loss of vines for the region, this was solved by the use of American rootstock, though many argue that the wines have never been as good as they were before the replanting and that the vineyards were not re-planted with the same combination or make up of grapes. This also led winemakers to leave in droves to other areas around the world, this may have changed the winemaking both at home and abroad, and certainly those that returned brought new ideas back to Bordeaux.
The modern era in Bordeaux started with the Classification of 1855 and more recently by rating of the 1982 vintage by an American lawyer from Maryland! While the Classification helped elevate Bordeaux is still took close to a hundred years before the main Chateau even started blending and bottling their own wine! That had been done by the merchants, shippers and in some cases by the buyers themselves in far away countries. This of course led to much fraud and corruption, in fact Thomas Jefferson, while in France before returning home to Virginia and later becoming the third President of the United States, was very concerned about the process and tried very hard to deal directly with the Chateaux when he was buying wine for himself. Jefferson even went to the source, spending time in each main region of France at the time, but especially in Bordeaux to make sure he got the wine he was paying for. He was fond of Haut-Brion and tried his best to secure great vintages from them, but he also searched out and tasted with many growers, which at the time was way ahead of its time, as most bought the best wines through and blended by the Negociants, who were the so called real wine experts at the time.
Some of the grand Chateau started bottling wines at the estate in the 1920's, but it really didn't take off until after World War Two. Since then Bordeaux has maintain it's place as the most renown growing region in the world and maintaining its noble and exclusive image. That said, Bordeaux had a tough decade in the 1970's and it was losing market and prestige, as the raise of Napa Valley started to challenge common wisdom and terrible weather and vintages didn't help. The notable Judgment at Paris where American wines by far outshone the French added insult to injury! By the eighties things still looked bleak, bad economies, battered reputation and lack of modernization had taken its toll on Bordeaux, but there was a bright side, good vintages and Robert Parker!
I think it is safe to say that Robert Parker helped secure Bordeaux's future and helped the region recover as well as brought a bonanza of new customers and wealth. Parker's rating guide the Wine Advocate became the collectors bible and his notes and scores on the 1982 vintage sparked a buying frenzy that was to influence the whole wine industry and make Bordeaux sales viability forever linked with Robert Parker. There is no question that the world waits with baited breath for Parker's thoughts on a Bordeaux vintage before buying any, and while many argue on the merits of his power over the market, none can say it doesn't have huge reach or that Bordeaux has not thrived because of Robert Parker. Bordeaux adores him and fears him and France has basically given him a knighthood for his efforts! The Parker effect is real and continues today, and it why when we talk about Bordeaux we must give credit where credit is due.
Red Grapes:
Cabernet Sauvignon: There is no question that Cabernet is the most celebrated red grape in the world with its full body and powerful tannins it is the king. Cabernet Sauvignon is thick skinned and develops a dark color also it makes for a great aging wine with deep flavors of black fruits.
Merlot: This grape can make great wines on its own, just like Petrus, but is also a famous blending grape that goes well and adds fruity and freshy elements to the wine. Merlot has the benefit of getting ripe earlier, which winemakers in Bordeaux count on, while giving red berry and cedar flavors that are full, but smoother in tannins.
Cabernet Franc: This is a grape that is gaining in use and popularity adding many exciting flavors and spice to the wines. Cabernet Franc is used on its own in the Loire Valley, but is most often blended in Bordeaux and in California to get the best out of it, though it can be a blockbuster in great years and been the secret in Cheval Blanc and other Saint-Emilion estates.
Petit Verdot: This is a tough grape, it can add color even in tiny amounts and has a beautiful perfume, the problem is that it is high in raw tannins and is very late to ripen making it a tricky devil in most vintages and has lost vineyard space in recent years.
Mabec: Like Petit Verdot, Malbec has become a less planted or replanted grape in Bordeaux in the last decade as it is also tricky to get right there, but it is gaining support and fans worldwide with Argentina and Cahors selling well and making lush cherry flavored wines that are great values.
*Carmenere: While many experts only list the five Bordeaux varietals, there is really a sixth and that grape, which was thought to be extinct at one point in the region, but it was found alive and well in Chile! In Chile it has done very well making for a full and spicy red that does great on its own. It has made a tiny comeback in Bordeaux, but none of the top Chateaux use it at present.
Regional Terroir:
Left Bank soils of the Medoc are gravelly marl with some sand that allows for good drainage, this especially helps Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Right Bank like in Pomerol, has mostly clay and lacks drainage making it better suited to Merlot and in some areas like Saint-Emilion a good home to Cabernet Franc there is also limestone slopes, plus in the far south and in tiny places in Pessac-Leognan there is some limestone, though it is not thought to have much influence overall on the regions red wines. The weather typically is a maritime mild climate with a good amount of rain and storms, though it has hot summers and while there can be disasters, it has had a slight benefit from global warming in recent years.
Featured Chateaux:
Chateau Haut-Bailly, Pessac-Leognan
This small Cru Classe estate, Haut-Bailly, is making wines that according to Parker put it at least at Third Growth level and more recently seen great improvement. The production is pretty small at around 12,000 cases from vines that are close to 40 years old on average with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Haut-Bailly has a long history even if they are considered a newcomer, and the second owner in 1872 thought that adding cognac added dimension to his wines, but quality has really been much on the rise since 1979, though Parker notes that both the '61 and '64 vintages were fabulous.
*First Growth, Chateau Haut-Brion, owned by Dillon family, makes 12,000 to 18,000 per vintage from vines of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc that are on average 30 years old. Haut-Brion is the only First Growth not in the Medoc and the only American owned one, when the Dillon bought the estate in 1935, and Haut-Brion was the first Bordeaux wine to be internationally known and sought after starting back in the seventeenth century.
Chateau Brane-Cantenac, Margaux
This Second Growth has had an up and down long history, but has been improving since 1982, owned by Lucien Lurton, producing between 30,000 to 35,000 cases from vines that average around 25 years with a combination of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This estate was once connected to Mouton, before the Rothschild family and was very highly rated in the nineteenth century.
*First Growth, Chateau Margaux, makes about 30,000 cases from vineyards that are on average 30 years old and made up of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, while still run by the famed Mentzelopoulos family.
Chateau Pontet-Canet, Pauillac
A Fifth Growth estate, across the street from Mouton and owned by the Tesseron family, Pontet-Canet is a still rising star and is a Parker favorite for quality and value with a case production of 25,000 to 40,000 depending on vintage. The vineyards are made up of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc with an average age of 27 years old.
*First Growth neighbor Chateau Mouton-Rothschild has almost the same size vineyard, planted to 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 8% Merlot with vines that average 45 years producing about the same amount of wine in total, close to 30,000 cases.
Chateau Cos D' Estournel, Saint-Estephe
A Second Growth, and the top estate in the appellation Cos D' Estournel is owned by the Prats family making between 28,000 to 32,000 cases, with a vineyard make up of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot that average 35 years of age. Parker has called this estate "Outstanding" and says the quality, since 1982, is equivalent to the First Growths.
Chateau Petit Village, Pomerol
Rated by Parker as Excellent and on par with Third Growths, Petit Village is now considered an estate on the rise in Pomerol with ownership, since 1971, in the hands of Bruno Prats, the owner of Cos D' Estournel, then later AXA Insurance Group. This estate has about 27 acres of vines, 70% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc with a small case production of only 5,000 from vines that average close to 30 years old. (Pomerol does not have a classification system.)
* Chateau Petrus, the top estate in Pomerol, which now fetches over $1,000 a bottle on release, if you can get it, makes somewhere over 4,000 cases and is owned by the famed Moueix family, who also control Dominus Estate in Napa Valley. Petrus is regularly close to 100% Merlot, with vines planted to 95% Merlot and some 5% of Cabernet Franc that are about 35 years on average.
Chateau L' Angelus, Saint-Emilion
A top Premier Grand Cru Classe L' Angelus has been long known as a great wine, even though it didn't make it to Premier Grand Cru Classe until 1995, which it certainly deserves, even Parker noted that he thought they should have got there in 1985, and without a doubt is an estate that ranks with the superstars. Owned by the de Bouard de Laforest family, L' Angelus sits on perfectly facing south slopes with vineyards made up of 50% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot and just 5% of Cabernet Sauvignon, which turn out close to 15,000 cases.
*The historic and heroic Premier Grand Cru Classe estate of Chateau Cheval Blanc which is the standard bearer of prestige and quality in Saint-Emilion makes some 12,000 cases from their 89 acres, with vines that are comprised of 66% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot and 1% Malbec and that have an average age of 34 years.
This information is supposed to give the reader an idea of Bordeaux, an introduction to the wines and the place, and will doubt have a few errors and for that, I'll apologize here and now, but I hope it will also inspire the reader to investigate this region much, much deeper and find their own paths of enjoyment in this subject matter. We in the wine business are learning all the time and everything is ever changing and challenging, which keeps it always interesting and fresh, even as we agonize over the details. In the end it is all about the wine, the people and the place that matter, and that is what we hope to celebrate. Cheers.
(For a special Bordeaux 2000 Vintage Tasting at Rancho Cellars in Carmel, CA For Details Call 831-625-5646 or www.ranchocellars.com)
*My Tasting Notes to follow after the event (Jan. 22, 2010) at grapelive.com
**I would recommend reading Benjamin Wallace's "Billionaire's Vinegar", Robert Parker's "Bordeaux: A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines" Fourth Edition and Hugh Johnson's "Vintage: The Story of Wine"
***This article was helped greatly by the work of Oz Clark, Hugh Johnson, Robert Parker, Benjamin Wallace, Jacques Melac and many others that dropped me details over the years, plus my own notes from many tastings over the last tens years in the wine business. I do not claim to be a Bordeaux expert by any means, so please follow your own guidance and passion to go further and enjoy the wines from this special region.
Kerry Winslow, grapelive.com
Grapelive Latest
2006 Big Basin Syrah "Rattlesnake Rock" Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains.
This is Big Basin's signature wine and it is the wine that caused all the buzz a few years ago when Robert Parker scored it 93 Points and word got out that Bradley Brown, winemaker, had some mentoring from John Alban, of Alban Vineyards. This extreme location and dramatic vineyard is enough to give any winegrower nightmares, but with careful attention and tiny yields makes for some stunning Syrah that has wonderful texture and lovely purple dark color. Bradley, like Ablan, likes to hold his wine back as long as he can, and this wine has just started to unfold and it has turned the corner so to speak, giving thick layers of flavor that I'm sure would not have been on show any earlier than now. It was a bit of a surprise to see just how smooth and lush this wine is, it has an aged Hermitage feel, but with youthful fruit and it is like a Grand Cru Burgundy is class, but much bigger and fuller. The nose has floral notes as well as game, leather and cassis that hints of the pleasures to come on the palate. This Syrah is mouth-coating and ever expanding with blueberry, boysenberry, kirsch like cherry and liqueur all delivered in a sweet and plumy way with touches of graphite, mineral, coca powder, spices and subtle vanilla notes. ($55 Est.) 94-95 Points, grapelive
*Coming Soon to Rancho Cellars 1-831-625-5646
Grapelive Classic
1995 Bodega Condado de Haza "Alenza" Ribera Del Duero, Spanish Red.
After 15 years from harvest and about 10 years since release this wine has become a wonderful and textured red that is as good and is as classy as a top Bordeaux and shows that Ribero Del Duero is one of the great regions of world. This wine, the Alenza, is procuced by the heroic Alejandro Fernandez, owner of this estate as well as the famed Pesquera, is barrel aged for about 30 months in American oak casks, and he says it is for purists. The Alenza is named after his wife Esperenza and himself, if you put their two names together. The nose shows some maturity and has some earthy and leathery notes before giving way to a beautifully layered Tempranillo that shows rich and lively flavors and solid structure. The palate has currant, plum and dark berry fruits all lush and fresh with touches of tobacco, mushroom, mineral, gunpowder and sweet and spicy oak shadings. Even after an hour, it remained fresh and vibrant, still pumping out lovely flavors and intriguing complexity. This is a very impressive effort and proved to me that a little looking for wines of this type will be rewarded and ofter super value for an aged wine. ($50-65 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive
*A few bottle were still at Rancho Cellars as of Jan.14th, 201. Please call 1-831-625-5646
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What's up with all those lines in level 5?
How can I view the "hidden" bricks in the level viewer?
Why does Moktar have an extra level?
On which platforms were the games released?
Level 2: Right where you find the skateboard.
Level 3: Near the end boss.
Level 4: At the top of the stairs with all the worms, try to find a way to go northeast.
Level 5: It's at the top-middle of the level. There are two ways to get there; explore a bit.
Level 6: After the evil babies, when you get the padlock bonus, go down.
Level 8: You need to bring along the first crate you find.
There is no code lamp in levels 9 and 13.
Level 5's data file is a bit messed up in the gate section. This results in a lot of faulty gates in the game; MTF shows those because the game itself also lets you enter them.
By the way, level 6 also has a messed up datafile, but in the bonus section instead of the gate section. This is a lot less noticeable.
Hidden bricks are only visible after you touch them. In fact, when you do this you are just picking up a bonus block that doesn't have any effect. So, to view them just hide the bonuses by pressing "B".
Level 15 in Moktar, "Direction Barbes", was taken out of Titus the Fox because the creators thought this level was too poor. If they had put it in, it would have been called "Arrival in Paris".
Originally on the Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and, of course, the PC. Some years after that a version for the Gameboy came out, but with different levels and gameplay. The Amiga, Atari and PC versions most likely have the same levels (I only checked the first few), while the CPC version has some of these levels plus others I didn't recognise.


text:
package container

import (
	"github.com/control-center/serviced/domain"
	"github.com/control-center/serviced/domain/service"
	"github.com/control-center/serviced/domain/servicedefinition"
	"github.com/zenoss/glog"

	"encoding/json"
	"io/ioutil"
	"os"
	"strings"
	"testing"
	"time"
)

func getTestService() service.Service {
	return service.Service{
		ID:              "0",
		Name:            "Zenoss",
		Context:         nil,
		Startup:         "",
		Description:     "Zenoss 5.x",
		Instances:       0,
		InstanceLimits:  domain.MinMax{0, 0, 0},
		ImageID:         "",
		PoolID:          "",
		DesiredState:    int(service.SVCStop),
		Launch:          "auto",
		Endpoints:       []service.ServiceEndpoint{},
		ParentServiceID: "",
		CreatedAt:       time.Now(),
		UpdatedAt:       time.Now(),
		LogConfigs: []servicedefinition.LogConfig{
			servicedefinition.LogConfig{
				Path: "/path/to/log/file",
				Type: "test",
				LogTags: []servicedefinition.LogTag{
					servicedefinition.LogTag{
						Name:  "pepe",
						Value: "foobar",
					},
				},
			},
			servicedefinition.LogConfig{
				Path: "/path/to/second/log/file",
				Type: "test2",
				LogTags: []servicedefinition.LogTag{
					servicedefinition.LogTag{
						Name:  "pepe",
						Value: "foobar",
					},
				},
			},
		},
	}
}

const logstashContainerDirectory = "/usr/local/serviced/resources/logstash"

func TestMakeSureTagsMakeItIntoTheJson(t *testing.T) {
	service := getTestService()

	tmp, err := ioutil.TempFile("/tmp", "test-logstash-")
	if err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error creating temporary file error: %s", err)
		return
	}
	confFileLocation := tmp.Name()
	// go ahead and clean up
	defer func() {
		os.Remove(confFileLocation)
	}()

	if err := writeLogstashAgentConfig(confFileLocation, &service, "0", logstashContainerDirectory); err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error writing config file %s", err)
		return
	}

	contents, err := ioutil.ReadFile(confFileLocation)
	if err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error reading config file %s", err)
		return
	}

	if !strings.Contains(string(contents), "\"pepe\":\"foobar\"") {
		t.Errorf("Tags did not make it into the config file %s", string(contents))
		return
	}
}

func TestMakeSureConfigIsValidJSON(t *testing.T) {
	service := getTestService()

	tmp, err := ioutil.TempFile("/tmp", "test-logstash-")
	if err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error creating temporary file error: %s", err)
		return
	}
	confFileLocation := tmp.Name()
	// go ahead and clean up
	defer func() {
		os.Remove(confFileLocation)
	}()

	if err := writeLogstashAgentConfig(confFileLocation, &service, "0", logstashContainerDirectory); err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error writing config file %s", err)
		return
	}

	contents, err := ioutil.ReadFile(confFileLocation)
	if err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error reading config file %s", err)
		return
	}

	var dat map[string]interface{}
	if err := json.Unmarshal(contents, &dat); err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error decoding config file %s with err %s", string(contents), err)
		return
	}

	glog.V(1).Infof("encoded file %v", dat)

	// make sure path to logfile is present
	if !strings.Contains(string(contents), "path/to/log/file") {
		t.Errorf("The logfile path was not in the configuration: err %s, %s", err, string(contents))
	}
}

func TestDontWriteToNilMap(t *testing.T) {
	service := service.Service{
		ID:              "0",
		Name:            "Zenoss",
		Context:         nil,
		Startup:         "",
		Description:     "Zenoss 5.x",
		Instances:       0,
		InstanceLimits:  domain.MinMax{0, 0, 0},
		ImageID:         "",
		PoolID:          "",
		DesiredState:    int(service.SVCStop),
		Launch:          "auto",
		Endpoints:       []service.ServiceEndpoint{},
		ParentServiceID: "",
		CreatedAt:       time.Now(),
		UpdatedAt:       time.Now(),
		LogConfigs: []servicedefinition.LogConfig{
			servicedefinition.LogConfig{
				Path: "/path/to/log/file",
				Type: "test",
			},
		},
	}

	tmp, err := ioutil.TempFile("/tmp", "test-logstash-")
	if err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Error creating temporary file error: %s", err)
		return
	}
	confFileLocation := tmp.Name()
	// go ahead and clean up
	defer func() {
		os.Remove(confFileLocation)
	}()

	if err := writeLogstashAgentConfig(confFileLocation, &service, "0", logstashContainerDirectory); err != nil {
		t.Errorf("Writing with empty tags produced an error %s", err)
		return
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Warden Ayers Says Farewell To San Quentin
December 1, 2008 by Kamal Sefeldeen
After a long career in the U.S. military and 38 years in California corrections, Robert L. Ayers Jr., 61, is leaving his Command post as the 33rd warden of San Quentin State Prison.
When Ayers became the warden, many inmates and staff had mixed expectations. His critics would point to his Pelican Bay era while acting warden, but his supporter point to his heroism in rescuing an elderly fisherman, which earned Ayers a Medal of Valor.
Slowly, assurance and enthusiasm replaced the skepticism. Inmates and staff came to find him approachable and his administration has marked an era of encouragement to grow. Good ideas grew as micromanagement diminished, vague rules gave way to sensible and workable practice. Volunteers found a listener in the warden. Programs arose that were never heard off in San Quentin, like the Inmate Film Program endowment by the Discovery Channel, Victim Offenders and Stand-Up.
The warden is a striking figure as he walks unescorted around the prison, dapper in a Panama hat, civilian coat and tie.
As one of the lifer inmates puts it, "When you approach the warden with a question, he would shake your hand and look you in the eyes and give you full attention."
"Even to the last days in office, he defies the term 'Lame Duck,' and gives full attention to the establishment of the San Quentin Museum. I shall miss him." says Don DeNevi, the new director of the San Quentin Museum.
"If there was a Hall of Fame for wardens, Robert L. Ayers Jr. would be inducted on the first go-around. His overall knowledge and experience in managing prison operations is astounding. Staff that have had the opportunity to work side-by-side with him have benefited greatly. As a leader, he instills pride, integrity and has a great sense of vision," says John Curzon, associate warden.
Following is a Q&A interview with Warden Ayers:
Q: There is common knowledge that you have a military background. Would you provide the readers with a brief history.
A: I entered the U.S. Army in 1966 from Infantry 2nd Ranger Battalion. After my discharge, I accepted a direct commission to first lieutenant, Infantry. For the remainder of my Reserve career, I was 91st Division, 7th PSYOP Battalion, and 104th Division, until my final assignment as commander, 1st Battalion, 415th Infantry, 104th Division after which I entered the Retired Reserve and completely retired from United States Army in 2007.
Q: Why did you choose to come back from retirement? Why San Quentin?
A: After my retirement in 2000, I continued to do some work with the department. I simply wasn't ready to completely quit working. In 2005, the CDCR asked if I would be the interim warden at Lancaster State Prison (LAC) for 60 to 90 days. That experience reminded me that it really was fun being a warden. Sometimes vexing, sometimes exasperating but mostly fun. At the end of my tenure with LAC, I was asked if I would consider re-instating to be the warden at San Quentin. I knew SQ was experiencing difficulties  everything from keeping a warden to operational, personnel and litigation issues. Having spent my first 18 years in the department at SQ, I thought it would be a good "parting shot" to do whatever I could to help restore some dignity to SQ.
Q: What is your view on the rehabilitation efforts emphasized by CDCR?
A: San Quentin is widely known as the "program prison." Because of its location, history and name there is no shortage of people wanting to come into SQ and help. Many of the program activities are evidence-based, scientifically designed processes intended to address behavioral, social or ideological issues which make it difficult for many men to stay out of prison. I was disappointed that SQ was not selected as a rollout institution for CDCR's efforts. I know there are significant resources in CDCR trying to put together comprehensive, state of the art, evidence-based program models. I also know a couple of sites (not San Quentin) have been selected to pioneer these models. When (if) they were ever started, I would hope to see an enhancement to public safety. If we can do something with incarcerated people to reduce their proclivity to, upon their release, create new victims then we have done something positive in furtherance of public safety.
Q: With the financial crisis facing the state, in what stage does SQ currently stand on revamping the Prison Health Care System?
A: The receiver's efforts are taking two slightly different tacks: 1. San Quentin and 2. Everywhere else. At San Quentin, building and staffing augmentation continue and are providing solid healthcare infrastructure. By the close of 2009 I expect San Quentin healthcare staff will be able to address 90percent of inmates' healthcare issues on site. If attained, that will be an unqualified success for San Quentin and its inmate population.
Q: Some of your critics believe that you maintain a liberal policy advocated before your administration. What is the major difference in San Quentin before Warden Ayers, and after, as a matter of legacy?
A: I don't know about "liberal policy." I go back to what I said earlier about public safety. About 80 percent of the incarcerated people eventually go back to our communities. Do we want them to return with the same values and thought processes they had when they went to prison? I believe we should do everything we can with incarcerated people to deter them from re-victimizing society (creating new victims) upon their release. THAT IS PUBLIC SAFETY. If that makes me liberal, I guess I am guilty. The question of before and during is simple. San Quentin had built a reputation of being what I described as the epicenter of anarchy. Peoplestaff, inmates, volunteers pretty much did whatever they wanted. If a policy or procedure was inconvenient or unpopular, people just ignored it. Consistency was a relatively unknown practice. Those who did care about following policy and procedure had largely given up as they believed they were a minority. My goal was simple: get people to follow the rules  policy and procedures. And fairness becomes a stable element in the core of our day.
Q: There were many self-help programs born in San Quentin during your administration. Would you highlight some of these programs and the measure of their success?
A: I think most of these programs have been here all along. Our efforts were geared to structuring them into a cohesive and interdependent platform. The most striking example of this is the Stand Up program in H Unit. San Quentin staff has done this on its own. With such significant success there is still much to achieve. Equally important has been our attempts to engage local communities in these efforts. By building a continuum between the institution and the community to which a parolee returns, we strengthen a parolee's ability to succeed and ensure a positive impact on public safety.
Q: What do you see new for Death Row in San Quentin?
A: The funding has been approved. The building plans have been finalized. The plans have gone out to contractors for bids. The tentative groundbreaking is set for early spring 2009.
Q: Many of the prisoners fear a major overhaul coming to educational and self-help programs once you depart. What assurance can you provide them?
A: None. As of this date, Nov. 17, 2008, I have no idea (honestly!!!!!) who the next Warden will be. However, I would expect the new warden to be wise enough to study the terrain carefully before setting off in any direction.
Q: How did you manage to work with the federal receiver in light of constant tug-of-war between the receiver and the state, especially with many healthcare construction projects at stake in San Quentin?
A: We had and have a common goal: improving healthcare delivery systems in a correctional environment. We haven't always succeeded in that regard but we have always been able to come back around to our starting point and get back on track.
Q: Is this a departure to another field, or trip to where the fish are biting, and what advice do you have the next warden, and to the prisoners?
A: I suspect I will do something in or around corrections. I am only sure that it won't be as a warden! I will take my time and see where I can be most useful. Advice for the new warden? If it's a sound policy or procedure follow it consistently. If it's a bad policy or procedure, change it. Don't ignore it. Advice for prisoners? Do your own time. It's that simple. We have far too many inmates who think it's their business to get into other people's business and judge them or tell them how to behave. A bit less of that would do well for EVERYONE'S sense of well-being.
Robert Ayers Jr. may say that he doesn't have a legacy, it's just all "common sense." But Robert Ayers Jr., will, among other things, be remembered as the man who brought the San Quentin News to life after two decades absence.


text:
layout: post
title: Blogger to Jekyll + Github pages
date: 2013-08-20 12:29:00 IST
updated: 2013-08-20 12:29:00 IST
comments: false
categories: blogger jekyll
---

On Aug 15, I moved my whole blog from blogger to jekyll. I thought It will be easy to migrate but restoring the whole urls was really painfull.

## _Getting Started_

So I started with installing jekyll

{% highlight sh %}
  gem install jekyll
{% endhighlight %}

and then initiliased my blog

{% highlight sh %}
  jekyll new blog.revathskumar.com
{% endhighlight %}

## _Importing_

Now I need to import all my existing blog posts from blogger to jekyll.
I used a [import script](https://gist.github.com/kennym/1115810) by [@kennym](https://github.com/kennym).

As per the script instructions I took my feed url from blogger and passed to the script, I thought **oh! ya I am done**. But I was wrong, the feed contained only
half of my blog posts.

I thought I am lost, Then I exported the whole blog from blogger and tried to pass into the import script, but import script didn't accept the exported blog.

So I need a way to convert this exported blog to feeds. Then I put the exported blog in my dropbox and provided the public link to [feedburner](http://feedburner.google.com) and tried to generated a new feed url with all the posts.

**Hooray**, It worked a new feed with all my posts and worked well with the import script.

## _Configuring_

Then I update premalink option the **_config.yml** for custom permalink setting as same I followed on blogger.

{% highlight yaml %}
name: Revath S Kumar
markdown: redcarpet
pygments: true

permalink: '/:year/:month/:title.html'
{% endhighlight %}

## _Pushing to Github_

I created a github repo for my blog with

{% highlight sh %}
  hub create blog.revathskumar.com
{% endhighlight %}

[Hub](http://hub.github.com/) is a command line wrapper for Git. The above command will create a repo in my github account and add the git url to my remote.

Then I created a new branch named [gh-pages](http://pages.github.com/). In order to publish blog with github pages your branch name should be gh-pages.

Then I did my initial commit and push to the gh-pages branch.
Now I can see my blog in [revathskumar.github.io/blog.revathskumar.com](http://revathskumar.github.io/blog.revathskumar.com).

## _Custom domain_

Configuing custom domain is easy. Since I am using subdomain for my blog, I went to domain control panel and set the CNAME for the subdomain `blog.revathskumar.com` as `revathskumar.github.io`.

Then I added a file named CNAME, with content `blog.revathskumar.com` in root directory and pushed.

The more details of custom domain can be found in [Official Github pages doc](https://help.github.com/articles/setting-up-a-custom-domain-with-pages).

After a bit of time `blog.revathskumar.com` started showing my latest blog on github pages. \o/

Then I verified all the exising urls and new urls and make sure no links are broken and went to bed.


Additional restrictions may apply. Reservations suggested. Code SD5DA. Expires 03/31/19.
adventure. It's terrific fun for the whole family and you don't have to get wet!
*Book online and receive $20 off a tandem flight.
Use discount code SDVISITOR. Expires 10/31/18.
*Must be 21 years of age or older. Expires 12/01/18.
*Valid Monday–Friday at listed locations. Must call for availability. Expires 10/15/18.
waterfront museum with 10 historic vessel tours and on-the-water cruises!
*Restrictions: Cannot be combined with any other offer. Limit 1 per person.
Not valid during special events. Expires 12/31/18.
*Cannot combine other discounts or special offers. Use discount code 5SD TA2018 when booking online. Reservations are required. Additional restrictions may apply.
to introduce you to our wines and make suggestions suited to your taste!
* This offer must be used by two guests on the same visit. One guest may not have two tastings.
Not valid with any other offers. Expires 10/31/18.
each cruise is A Truly Memorable Experience.
*Cruises are available weekdays 3p.m.–10p.m. and weekends noon–11p.m. Reservations are required.