The Vuitton girl will find lots to love in this sweet 40s-inspired collection.
Thanks to this collection, I now need a long coat with fur lapels, preferably this exact one.
Sometimes I wish the whole world wore nothing but Carven.
A preview of what you'll be seeing on many fall runways, we're fairly certain.
This gorgeous, chic collection was inspired by legos. We're kind of obsessed.
She can do no wrong. We're especially loving those suits.
Who else could throw fur, brocade, lace, and every shade of blue and green together and make it look this pretty?
Rochas isn't always totally on our radar, but this beautiful collection of cool, wearable pieces has drawn us in.
A super pretty, yet down-to-earth collection from this designer, who keeps getting bigger and better.
This collection shows Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri can do tailored, wearable separates as well and with as much glamour and femininity as their gowns.
We're so excited about what Humberto Leon and Carol Lim are doing at Kenzo. This collection was awesome.
In our pre-Christmas roundup of the best of the Pre-Fall collections, we shone light up on Chanel, Zac Posen, and many more. Part deux tells a more cohesive story, with a focus on double-faced wool coats and sensible skirts. We know there may be a few more collections to come, but with the men's shows in Paris happening right now and New York Fashion Week launching in less than a month, we felt it was time to say adieu to the world of Pre-Fall. And in some circumstances, place our personal orders.


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AU Museum Summer 2016
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International Art and the U.S. Immigrant Experience
By Rebecca Basu | June 10, 2016
Frida Larios, Underworld Monster (door installation), 2016. Vinyl. 108" x 96."
Summer exhibits at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center are open June 18 through Aug. 14.
Does art exist in North Korea? For many, this has been an open question. Contemporary North Korean Art: The Evolution of Socialist Realism, the first exhibit of its kind in the United States, seeks to broaden understanding of North Korean art beyond stereotypes of propaganda and kitsch to show sophisticated and nuanced expressive achievements. It investigates previously unrevealed evidence of North Korean artistic experimentation, and the nation's particular evolution of Socialist Realism within its own culturally homogeneous context.
Special focus is given to the development of Chosonhwa, North Korea's predominant painting medium that is revered as the nation's most refined. Chosonhwa is traditional Oriental ink-and-brush painting on rice paper that absorbed Socialist Realism influences in the 1950s and has since progressed to become its own distinct art form. While working within prescribed thematic bounds, artists often succeed in conveying profound human emotion. On view will be important Chosonhwa works from the 1960s through the present.
Over the past five years, Curator and Georgetown University Professor BG Muhn made numerous study trips to Pyongyang. His research has been on-site and first-hand, with unprecedented access to the original works and their artists.
Muhn says: "I visited many art studios, including Mansudae Art Studio, the largest state-run art studio in the world, and interviewed numerous artists and art historians. It has been an awakening experience to explore the heart of North Korea's ever-evolving Chosonhwa, the only variety of Socialist Realism that remains in active production today."
Coinciding with the exhibition of North Korean art, Examining Life Through Social Realities documents and examines life and the social realities of people living on the Korean peninsula through the Realist paintings of 10 South Korean contemporary artists. As explained by exhibition curator GimChoe Eun-yeong, definitions of Realism have changed over time, but the Realism of South Korea closely approximates 19th-century French Realist painter Gustave Courbet's use of the term: to manifest artists' perspectives of the world through expressive techniques and methods.
During the slave trade, ten times more Africans were brought in bondage into Brazil than into the United States, and Northeast Brazil has the largest population of those of African descent outside Africa. Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil explores how the ancient cultures of Africa blended with indigenous and colonial Portuguese traditions to form the vibrant and complex cultural mosaic of modern Brazil. Photographs and works of popular art, including sculptures, paintings, prints, religious objects, toys, and booklets of poetry will draw visitors into the complex and vibrant culture of the Northeast of Brazil and introduce the festivals, heroes, and spiritual traditions that give shape and meaning to the daily lives of the Nordestinos, common people of Brazil's Northeast.
This exhibition has been made possible through NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is brought to you by Mid-America Arts Alliance. Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil was organized by Con/Vida–Popular Arts of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI. Curated by Marion E. Jackson, Ph.D. and Barbara Cervenka, O.P., Curators, Con/Vida–Popular Arts of the Americas.
The Alper Initiative for Washington Art presents The Looking Glass: Artist Immigrants of Washington, featuring the work of 10 artists who left Latin America for many different reasons over the last 60 years –primarily for safety, freedom, and opportunity–and made their homes, and their artistic careers and contributions, in the Washington region. They include Joan Belmar and Juan Downey from Chile, Carolina Mayorga from Colombia, Ric Garcia, Lenny Campello, and Jose Ignacio Bermudez from Cuba, Muriel Hasbun from El Salvador, Frida Larios from Honduras, Irene Clouthier from Mexico, and Naul Ojeda from Uruguay. They brought with them artistic traditions that took root and bore fruit here in the United States.
ART CART: HONORING THE LEGACY ties together two cities—Washington, D.C. and New York City—in an inter-generational, inter-disciplinary project. The exhibition includes painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, mixed media and installation by ART CART artists that highlight turning points in the artists' lives and careers, including the Civil Rights and Women's Movements. Eight D.C.-based professional visual artists aged 62 and older are matched with students in art, healthcare, and aging disciplines to document and preserve their artistic legacy. The artists are: Alonzo Davis, Cheryl Edwards, Annette Fortt, Cianne Fragione, Pauline Jakobsberg, E.J. Montgomery, Annette Polan, and Terry Svat. The exhibition is curated by Pamela Lawton and Adjoa Burrowes and sponsored by the Research Center for Arts and Culture at the Actors Fund.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"Owl Tell You About the Fruit of the Spirit, Little Bird"
This is the second children's book in the Little Bird series about a faith based owl family. In this book, Little Bird and Baby Bird learn about the fruit of the Spirit. Mommy Owl shows her birds how the fruit of the Spirit relates to their lives through examples and words of the bible.


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How Many Guns Did the U.S. Lose Track of in Iraq and Afghanistan? Hundreds of Thousands.
"Early this year, a Facebook user in Baghdad using the name Hussein Mahyawi posted a photograph of a slightly worn M4 assault rifle he was offering for sale. Veterans of the latest war in Iraq immediately recognized it. It was a standard American carbine equipped with a holographic sight, a foregrip that was military-issue during the occupation and a sticker bearing a digital QR code used by American forces for inventory control. Except for one detail — an aftermarket pistol grip, the sort of accessory with which combatants of the current generation often pimp their guns — it was a dead ringer for any of the tens of thousands of M4s the Pentagon handed out to Iraqi security forces and various armed militias after toppling Saddam Hussein in 2003. And here it was on the open market, ready for bids."
Source: How Many Guns Did the U.S. Lose Track of in Iraq and Afghanistan? Hundreds of Thousands. – The New York Times
Nika Melia, Georgian opposition leader, is arrested at party HQ
Myanmar coup: Aung San Suu Kyi detained as military seizes control
ArchiveOODA Original
The Red Teamer's Top Ten Books


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Airbus Selects exactEarth as AIS Partner for New Platform
exactEarth Ltd. (XCT:TSX), a leading provider of Satellite-AIS data services, announces that it has been selected by Airbus Defence and Space as AIS partner to support its Ocean Finder maritime service.
Under the terms of this two-year agreement, exactEarth will provide Airbus with live and archived data from exactView RT, the Company's second-generation real-time satellite-AIS data service, including data from exactEarth's high performance AIS payload hosted on the PAZ radar satellite.
"We are very pleased to be chosen by Airbus, one of the world's most recognized aerospace corporations, as AIS partner for their new and innovative maritime applications platform," said Peter Mabson, CEO of exactEarth. "Our exactView RT system offers both world-leading performance and long-term reliability and we look forward to supporting Airbus to utilize this capability as they bring advanced maritime applications to the global market."
"This AIS data will definitively boost our Ocean Finder service. Fused with our satellite imagery and additional intelligence information, it will improve the production of analytics, alerts and reports," said François Lombard, Director of Intelligence Business at Airbus Defence and Space.
The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.


W ould you like to make a difference in the lives of enthusiastic students? Want to work with dedicated, conscientious co-workers? Want to be part of a community that cares about one another? Then you need to consider becoming a part of the J.O. Combs Unified School District.
The community, southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, is within easy commute of the conveniences provided by a large, metropolitan area, yet we retain all the benefits of a friendly, rural lifestyle. Our climate is exceptional, with 330 days of sunshine a year.


Folliculitis Barbae, most commonly known as razor bumps, is a condition that consists of irritated red bumps around the hair follicles, mainly in the beard area. Men suffer from this condition most often due to frequent shaving of sensitive facial areas. If left untreated, these follicles could become severely irritated, which could cause an infection. If swelling persists, the next time you shave, you could be at an increased risk of shaving the bumps too close and causing bleeding, or worse, scaring.
The best way to prevent folliculitis barbae is to ensure your face is clean and wet before starting your shave, as well as use a cream or soap to help lubricate the blade. If you already have this condition, the best thing to do is reduce the frequency in which you shave and use an anti inflammatory cream to reduce irritation. Ultimately laser hair removal is the most effective way to stop folliculitis barbae from developing. By using laser hair removal, the need to shave is greatly reduced, and ultimately your face will experience far less irritation.


Modern conversion of an older pub, now selling a choice of six cask beers, with a similar number of craft keg beers and a large selection of foreign cans and bottles. Floor is bare wood, with large windows overlooking the main thoroughfare in Hockley. Operated by the Pub People Company.


Long-term care includes medical and non-medical care to people who have a chronic illness or disability. Long-term care helps meet health or personal needs in a variety of settings or locations to enable a person to live as independently as possible.
It is important to remember that long-term care could be needed at any age and that most people will receive some form of long-term care services within their lifetime. Consumers of long-term care services include the elderly and adults and children with disabilities.
Understanding long-term care services and your possible need for services can help you maximize your independence and functioning at a time when you may not be fully independent due to a sudden illness, chronic condition or accident.
This training provides a general introduction to long-term care services and options for accessing services and supports in Wisconsin.


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At Kiyomori's Visit to Nunobiki Waterfall, Ghost of Akugenta Yoshihira Strikes Down Nanba Jiro
#JPR-84454
Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861)
Medium: Woodblock Print
Size (H x W): 14 x 30 (inches)
Publisher: Iseya Sanjiro and Daikokuya Heikichi
Seals: Kiwame
Signature: Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga
Condition: Good color and impression, light soiling on bottom left corner of left sheet, repaired binding holes far right edge.
Pickup in Store - FREE!
Select Store to check availability.
Questions About This Piece
Other impressions of this print can be found in the British Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Honolulu Museum of Art.
The son of silk dyer, Kuniyoshi Utagawa was born into the Igusa family in Edo. Little is known about his very early years, though he is said to have shown remarkable talent from a young age. Kuniyoshi began his ukiyo-e career as a pupil of Shunei. At age 14 he was accepted to study the art of woodblock printing under Toyokuni I and, in time, would become one of his most successful students. In 1814, he left Toyokuni's studio to pursue a career as an independent ukiyo-e artist. Initially, he had little success, selling tatami mats in order to support himself. However, his fortunes changed in 1827 with his dramatic series 108 Heroes of the Suikoden. From that point forward, the public hungered for his portrayals of famous samurai and legendary heroes. Kuniyoshi Utagawa worked across all genres, producing some brilliant landscapes and charming bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). He died in the spring of 1861 from complications of a stroke.
In direct contrast to the peaceful views of a scenic Japan provided by Hiroshige and Hokusai, the following decades saw a rise of the fierce, fearsome and fantastical in ukiyo-e. Kuniyoshi welcomed this changing public taste. He had a ravenous imagination and the full scope of his work reveals an aesthetic sensibility capable of capturing almost any experience. No doubt, however, his particular genius felt most at home in the world of martial glory, where epic battles decided the fate of empires and fierce warriors clashed to the death. Kuniyoshi's prints were so popular in his time that he received requests for tattoo designs.


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Sokratis Kokkalis (, * 27. Mai 1939 in Athen) ist ein griechischer Unternehmer.

Er ist Gründer, Präsident und Hauptaktionär des Telekommunikationsunternehmens Intracom sowie Präsident der Kokkalis-Stiftung. Seine Frau ist Elena Farmakis.

Leben
Kokkalis wurde 1939 als Sohn des Mediziners Petros Kokkalis in Athen geboren. Sein Vater war Kommunist und Mitglied der kommunistischen Rebellen im griechischen Bürgerkrieg der Jahre 1945 bis 1949. Nach der Niederlage der Kommunisten verließ seine Familie Griechenland und lebte für kurze Zeit in Rumänien, bevor sie sich in der DDR niederließ. Dort hatte sein Vater Petros Kokkalis eine Stelle als Universitätsprofessor und war zudem Leibarzt von Walter Ulbricht.

Sokratis Kokkalis studierte Physik in Moskau und in Berlin. 1962 beendete er sein Studium an der Berliner Humboldt-Universität. Seine speziellen Wissenschaftsgebiete waren die elektronische Technologie und die Telekommunikation. Kurz darauf, 1963, begann er mit seinen unternehmerischen Tätigkeiten und kehrte 1965 nach Athen zurück, wo er sich niederließ.

Das von ihm gegründete Unternehmen Intracom spielte eine wichtige Rolle im Technologietransfer an Staaten des ehemaligen Ostblocks. 1999 gliederte er die Wettsysteme-Sparte aus Intracom aus und gründete die Firma Intralot.

Kokkalis spricht fließend Griechisch, Deutsch, Englisch und Russisch.

Vorwurf der Stasi-Tätigkeit
Kokkalis soll auch als Agent für die Stasi tätig gewesen sein. Die Diskussionen in Griechenland hielten sich dennoch in Grenzen, da er zum Zeitpunkt des Bekanntwerdens dieser Vorwürfe bereits angesehen war und sie sich auf einen weit zurückliegenden Zeitraum bezogen.

Engagement bei Olympiakos
1991 erwarb Kokkalis das Basketballteam von Olympiakos Piräus. Unter seiner Führung errang die Mannschaft zahlreiche nationale und internationale Erfolge (u. a. 1997 den Gewinn der Europaliga). 1993 erwarb er auch die Mehrheit an der Fußballabteilung von Olympiakos. 2008 verkaufte er die Basketballmannschaft an Giorgos und Panagiotis Angelopoulos und verkaufte 2010 auch die Mehrheit der Anteile an der Fußballmannschaft.

Einzelnachweise

Unternehmer (21. Jahrhundert)
Unternehmer (20. Jahrhundert)
Unternehmer (Griechenland)
Basketballfunktionär (Griechenland)
Fußballfunktionär (Griechenland)
Grieche
Geboren 1939
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The cyclone made landfall Thursday in central Mozambique before moving into Zimbabwe and Malawi.
At least 215 people are dead in southern Africa after a devastating cyclone swept through the region last week.
Cyclone Idai made landfall Thursday in central Mozambique, bringing with it heavy rains and sustained winds measuring more than 100 miles per hour. The storm then moved into both Zimbabwe and Malawi.
In total, the United Nations estimated Cyclone Idai affected at least 1.5 million people across the three countries.
A team of aid workers from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reached the Mozambican city of Beira Sunday. That team reported the city is almost "completely destroyed," describing the damage as "massive and horrifying."
Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, the government declared a state of disaster in affected areas. The country was already suffering from a severe drought that affected its food supply before the cyclone hit.
The IFRC warned that the death toll from the cyclone could rise as the full extent of the damage is investigated. It also warned that more heavy rains are in the forecast for the region.


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Kentucky, Oklahoma teachers join campaign for higher pay
News // Nation
Sean Murphy and Bruce Schreiner
Public school teachers and their supporters gather outside the Senate chambers at the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort.Bill Pugliano / Getty Images
The state Capitol in Kentucky filled with teachers protesting pension changes and demanding generous school funding Monday, and thousands of Oklahoma educators walked out of classrooms in the latest wave of teacher rebellion in some Republican-led states over education cuts.
The demonstrations were inspired by West Virginia, where teachers walked out for nine days this year and won a 5 percent increase in pay. Teachers in Arizona are also now considering a strike over their demands for a 20 percent salary increase.
"Their success has shown us that collective activity can work," Kentucky teacher Corey Sayre said of the West Virginia walkout.
Many Oklahoma schools, including the three largest districts of Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Edmond, were closed Monday. Districts announced plans to keep campuses shut down into Tuesday with teacher demonstrations expected to last a second day.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation last week granting teachers pay raises of about $6,100, or 15 to 18 percent. But some educators say that isn't good enough and walked out.
"If I didn't have a second job, I'd be on food stamps," said Rae Lovelace, a third-grade teacher at Leedey Public Schools in northwest Oklahoma who works 30 to 40 hours a week at a second job teaching online courses for a charter school.
The largest teachers union in Oklahoma has demanded a $10,000 pay raise for educators over three years, $5,000 for support personnel and a $75 million increase in funding this year. The pay hike lawmakers approved last week was the first Oklahoma teachers have seen in 10 years.
Oklahoma ranks 47th among states and the District of Columbia in public school revenue per student, nearly $3,000 below the national average, while its average teacher salary of $45,276 ranked 49th before the latest raises, according to the most recent statistics from the National Education Association.
Shopping 4 affordable ski resorts in Colorado with hotels nearby
Shopping I drank a gallon of water daily for a year. Here's what I...
In Frankfort, Ky., teachers and school employees gathered outside the Kentucky Education Association a couple of blocks from the Capitol, chanting "Stop the war on public education."
"We're madder than hornets, and the hornets are swarming today," said Claudette Green, a retired teacher and principal.
Amid a chorus of chants from teachers rallying in the Capitol, Kentucky lawmakers considered a new state budget that includes higher spending for public education.
Budget negotiators unveiled a spending plan Monday that includes increased spending for the main funding formula for K-12 schools and restored money for school buses that the state's Republican governor had proposed eliminating.
Sean Murphy and Bruce Schreiner are Associated Press writers.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Bedbugs aren't harmful and do not unfold any diseases, however some people experience a reaction to their bites and they can Interior Designer be hectic to dwell with.
However, mattress bug bites should not a transparent indicator of a mattress bug infestation by themselves. Bed bug bites cannot be one hundred% distinguished from different kinds of insect bites. Cushy memory foam or a mattress with a fluffy topper could have essentially the most pressure relief, whereas a very firm mattress will provide the least. Innersprings might have more stress aid than a foam or latex mattress. Test out mattresses lying down to get an actual feel. Here is a listing of 6 of the most typical brands of daybed, with a comparison of those variables in an attempt to show which model is the very best match for you. A freshly-fed mattress bug will squirt blood in all instructions when you crush it, and it bleeds proper by means of the paper towel.
This steel framed bed is a perfect match for any bedroom. The tall headboard is superbly complemented by the coordinating camelback footboard, both showcasing stunning swirling particulars. Round fluted posts create the 4 poster construction and sit atop smooth spherical feet for a sublime visible. Do not use pesticides as a preventative treatment. Modern pesticides often must hit the mattress bugs with a purpose to be effective, fairly than leaving effective residues. Download the PDF file to see the entire lower checklist, which not solely explains the measurements of each piece but in addition serves as a letter-coded key that you can use to check to the corresponding pictures all through the steps.
Bedbugs aren't drawn to dirt, so they don't seem to be a sign of an unclean home, but clearing up any muddle will scale back the number of locations they will cover. pedicel A slender stalk or stalk-like part. It normally occurs at the base of one thing, akin to a flower, the place will probably Rooftop Garden be attaching to the stem. The Pine Ridge Twin Mission Bed with Twin Trundle and three Underbed Storage Drawers by Woodcrest from Lindy's Furniture Company. We proudly serve the Hickory, Connelly Springs, Morganton, Lenoir space. Product availability might differ. Contact us for the most current availability on this product. The most popular type of bed in the UK, a Divan consists of one or two upholstered bases that relaxation on castors or legs.
Following that heat-map analogy, the very last thing a stomach-sleeper in all probability needs is an enveloping memory foam — it could really feel smothering! Instead, a firm prime surface will present the best help. Consider a dense innerspring, air-stuffed, or latex mattress. Here's another free platform bed plan, this one from Sawdust Girl. It doesn't have dedicated storage space like the one from above, but it's simpler to construct and has wheels so you'll be able to move it around with ease. Need Catseye instantly? Call us at 888-260-3980 for prompt service, or fill out the shape under to get started.
Learn More For a safer and sight-restricted facet entry to your truck mattress or optionally available facet device bins, these side doors open awning style and embody a center-mounted drop T-handle lock with three-point engagement for safety. Available on the 100RCC and 180CC Fiberglass Commercial Caps. So different were the two that when beforehand bred together in the lab, the offspring have been much less fertile.


NPCM7xx Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controller.
+Each module has four PWM controller outputs.
+- compatible	: "nuvoton,npcm750-pwm" for Poleg NPCM7XX.
+- reg		: Offset and length of the registers set for the device.
+- clocks	: phandle of pwm reference clock.
+- pinctrl-names	: a pinctrl state named "default" must be defined.
+- pinctrl-0 	: phandle referencing pin configuration of the PWM ports.


Fans of Finn Harps always have more than a passing interest in the form of their two north west neighbours, Derry City and Sligo Rovers, each season.
This year, while Harps have been flying high in Division One, Derry and Sligo have been struggling for form in the top division and amazingly, both clubs are already facing a battle to avoid the drop.
While the most hardened Harps supporter might have little sympathy for either club, the dire situation at Sligo is likely to have a telling impact on Harps' chances of gaining promotion from Division One.
Had Sligo Rovers, in their first year under Owen Heary, been challenging near the top end of the Premier Division, would there have been any need for them to recall Ruairí Keating and Regan Donelon back from their loan spell at Finn Park?
But needs must and the young duo, in particular Keating, are now needed to join the crew of a ship that's not exactly sinking, but is fast taking on water.
So where does that leave Ollie Horgan and Harps? Well they're now preparing for the second half of the season without two players who have played a significant role in the campaign so far.
Donelon, a left sided player, was a quality addition to the panel this year and while he was never really first choice, his contribution has been important. He's a fine player, works hard and would have seen plenty of action in the months ahead, had he been still around.
Keating too, will be a major loss. He was top goalscorer at Harps last year, even though he was there for only half a season. He has already notched five goals in this campaign, including a last gasp winner to deliver the points against Waterford last month.
He's missed the last four games - the two cup meetings with Longford Town, and the defeats to Athlone Town and Wexford Youths in the league. His absence was perhaps most felt on Friday night when Harps played some of their best football of the season so far but still went down at home to Wexford.
Horgan does have options in attack. Kevin McHugh is playing much better this season than he has for some time. His wonder strike on Friday night was his fifth goal of the campaign. But in the games when Keating and Wilfried Tagbo were paired in attack, McHugh made his most telling impact coming off the bench and at times, playing off the front line.
Garbhan Friel's appearances have also been mostly off the bench while last week, Oisin McMenamin rejoined the club.
Speaking after the defeat by Wexford, Horgan did his best to play down the Keating situation but did admit that he's looking for a new striker. And this is where the situation at Derry City comes in.
It's no secret that Derry are struggling financially and given their troubles on the pitch, there could be a chance for Horgan to benefit. Harps have been linked again with Nathan Boyle. Anthony Elding has just been released by Derry and many feel Letterkenny's Cillian Morrison could do a job at Harps having failed to set the world alight at the Brandywell since his move from Cork.
What Horgan has been happy to admit is the fact that he's been doing his best to strengthen his squad - not just in the front line.
The defeats to Athlone and Wexford mean Harps' lead at the top of the table is down to just a single point on Wexford and two on third placed UCD.
A few weeks back, that lead at the top was as much as seven points. And a number of observers might now be wondering if, after two league defeats on the bounce, along with the loss in the FAI Cup, the wheels have come off.
Others however, will argue that the table doesn't lie. Harps may have enjoyed a marvellous start to the campaign and a 12-game unbeaten start. But if truth be told, they were very lucky not to lose long before they did the other week against Athlone Town.
Harps haven't been at their best in matches, but they have been grinding out results.
The plus points far outweigh the negatives as we weigh up Harps' situation at the mid-way point.
Horgan has delivered a much improved squad this year with Raymond Foy and Tony McNamee two excellent additions. The jury might still be out on Wilfried Tagbo's ability to find the net, but there's no questioning his workrate and commitment.
Ciaran Gallagher has been superb this year and Packie Mailey's recent return from injury is also a positive.
In Mailey's absence, Horgan has been able to call on Matty Crossan who has featured in both defence and midfield.
The one other big improvement on last year is in the area of discipline. Okay, Ollie Horgan is currently serving a touchline ban for an indiscretion down in Longford. But 14 games in and the suspensions haven't been too severe so far. Keith Cowan, Damien McNulty and Raymond Foy have served bans, but adequate cover has always been available.
Next Friday, Harps travel to play Shelbourne and the hope is that the mid-season break will have come at a good time. Crucially, Horgan will hope to have added to his panel by then.


Will we stick to Initiatives model?
In June 2016, we switched most of the people inside our company to open allocation. They have the freedom to start their own initiatives that are aligned with the central goal of providing a better user experience and fixing critical problems in Targetprocess product.
10 months have passed, and we can now analyze the experiment results. In this post I'll share my opinion about the experiment and mix it with the opinions of the people who participated.
Here is the current initiatives Roadmap. A very good thing is that almost all initiatives were implemented on time. It means people respected their commitments and did their best to keep promises. A bad thing is that some of the implemented features were still not deployed to production servers due to huge infrastructure changes caused by the microservices approach. Basically, you can't give a promise to release something when the infrastructure is not ready.
Another trivial observation is a struggle to fit R&D activities into the Initiatives model. If a team doesn't know how to attack the problem, it created "Research initiative", thus we timebox research. Then, when a solution is found, the team starts a usual Initiative with the results.
Overall, we wanted to solve the problem of speedy delivery, and we got mixed results. Yes, most features were implemented on time, but the infrastructure held them back.
Small Lesson #1. People don't like deadlines, but... deadlines work (when you have no problems with infrastructure).
Deadlines lead to cut corners, worse quality, and poorer solutions. In my personal opinion, this is not a huge problem, since you always have to balance quality and time. Estimates are not forced and, overall, teams have enough time to complete features with good quality.
It inspires people to take ownership of our product. A good practice for freedom, responsibility, and trust.
People feel more passionate and responsible about what they build, I guess. We finally have kind of deadlines, that we stick to. We have a clear definition of done for features, with clear deliverables such as product demo, blog post, working piece of software etc. It seems we deliver better quality, faster and more often.
Initiatives force you to focus on a single task. It improves timely delivery, but hurts mutual help. You might think twice to dedicate several hours of your time to help someone from another team. Sometimes it is good, but sometimes it can lead to local optimization. Sure, you will have your feature delivered on time, but from a company level your help may be extremely valuable.
I think this trade-off is OK. If you like to help other people, you can act in the Free Agent role rather than join an initiative. Or, you become more creative and try to teach people quickly instead of doing everything yourself.
This got worse. Ideas are quite diverse and I hoped to have an emergent vision as a result. I don't think it happened though. We indeed fixed several important problems, but some of the top problems are still there, like extremely poor notifications. I defined a wide goal to improve UX and increase NPS, but this goal was too broad and almost all features can be stretched to fit this goal. In my opinion, this lead to a slight feeling that our direction is unknown and the product has no vision.
Small Lesson #2: Define a bold goal for the year and quite narrow goals for the quarters.
The scope we do is driven by someone's desire but not by market demand. Sure, there is a filter which guarantees that useless feature won't pass. But this filter doesn't guarantee that necessary feature will go into development (because nobody would like to take them and HEADs cannot force). Important items can be in a backlog for years.
One of the worst decisions we've made is a reward for successful Initiative completion. Teams that complete an Initiative got several Orange Days (which can be converted to Days Off). This immediately downplays the contribution of all people outside Initiatives.
Initiatives violate our core value: trust. A company should trust that their people will do their best to get a job done. Initiatives might give off the impression that "we don't trust you will do great work without a reward, so we give you a bonus that will stimulate you to complete work on time". It is assumed that development speed is low due to lack of deadlines, but in reality, complexity of integration and some external blockers are the cause.
Some one still needs to do the "dirty jobs" and I don't think that it's fair that this work is not rewarded with orange time.
We wanted to stimulate the Initiatives practice with an additional reward, but it was a bad idea. In fact, freedom of choice and regular intrinsic motivation is enough to make great things.
Small Lesson #3: Don't underestimate intrinsic motivation.
Another mistake we've made is poor guidance. Yes, I wrote about the practice, ran clarification sessions, and answered questions. But after this initial kickstart, I did a poor job of supporting and promoting it.
I should have worked with key people and ran educational session about how to define top problems, how to do UX, how to test results, etc. Self-organization requires good skills and great understanding of the business context. I relied on cheap self-organization, but this doesn't work in the complex environment of a B2B SaaS company.
Huge lesson #4: Adaptive self-organization demands high energy costs.
20% of people should be highly experienced, have deep understanding of business context and good understanding of product development practices. If you don't have it, run training programs and maybe in a year people will be ready.
Information transparency is extremely important. You should have a process to collect requests from customers using various channels, aggregate their feedback and help people to distill top problems to focus on.
Be careful with bonuses and rewards. By default it is easier to not have them at all.
Choose own tasks from a story > Choose own stories from a backlog > Choose large features from backlog > Participate in backlog creation > Choose anything you believe is right.
If you jump to complete freedom from the typical Scrum practice of "Choose own stories from a backlog", people will feel frustration. Help them one step at a time.
I think we will go one step back and let people choose features from a backlog and participate in backlog creation, running required training programs for product development in parallel. With more experience we will restart the Initiatives practice. It is fun and works quite nice, but we were unprepared for it as a company, and I was unprepared for it as a leader.


text:
Law Firm Transitions To Digital Library
The NYTimes reported that when the law firm Kaye Scholer moved to Manhattan, it left a lot behind, including most of its library.
"Shelves full of uniformly bound legal volumes — beloved of any photographer, videographer or cinematographer who needs a background that instantly proclaims 'law office' — are headed to oblivion in the digital era. Kaye Scholer's library just got there faster because of the exigencies of the move."
When Kaye Scholer moved, "[n]early 95 percent of a library that numbered tens of thousands of volumes was discarded. Outdated books were recycled. Updated books were donated. Some were kept, like 'New York Jurisprudence, 2d,' which costs $19,963 for a new hard-bound set."
The new library in the Manhattan office has 700 ft of linear shelving compared to 10,000 ft in the old library. As one partner said, "[w]e have an account with an online library. That's all that's used."
From the NYTimes article, it sounds like Kaye Scholer no longer needs the resources, but that is not the case. As the President of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) notes, "[g]iven the author's rhetorical strategy, one might conclude that Kaye Scholer's library was 'left behind' in the firm's move. To the contrary, the law library was transformed into a comprehensive, firm-wide digital repository of legal information and resources."
The AALL President goes on to say in a Letter to the Editor that "[l]aw libraries, like newspapers, are going through major transitions as they adapt to changes in technology and culture. Our members are helping to lead the way—reconceiving the library as a service, a virtual clearinghouse of legal knowledge, not just a physical space.
Kaye Scholer, the first New York-based firm to implement a fully digital legal library, is an important example. Under the leadership of Shabeer Khan, Director of Information Services, the library staff worked to replicate the firm's physical collection in digital format, successfully leveraging technology to support this new law library paradigm.
While not easy, these transformations are necessary. Librarians are meeting the future head on, serving as managers, facilitators, and, most importantly, curators of knowledge."
It is important to note that the library did not get left behind. It merely transitioned to a digital library with the same or similar electronic resources. It's no surprise that bound volumes will become less important as libraries continue to rely on electronic sources and as licensing and ownership gets sorted out. But this doesn't mean that libraries and librarians are any less important. Librarians will continue to be curators of knowledge and navigators of information, whether print or electronic, well into the future.
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In a move that will nearly double its broadcast portfolio, USA Today owner Gannett (NYSE:GCI) inked a $1.5 billion transaction on Thursday to acquire TV company Belo (NYSE:BLC).
The buyout of Dallas-based Belo will push Gannett even further away from the newspaper industry it is most closely associated with in favor of the more lucrative TV business.
The deal will make TV and newspaper company Gannett the fourth-largest owner of major network affiliates in the U.S., with 21 stations in top 25 markets.
Gannett offered to pay $13.75 a share for Dallas-based Belo, representing a 28.1% premium to the company's closing price of $10.73 on Wednesday.
When the assumption of about $715 million in existing Belo debt is included, the value of the acquisition rises to about $2.2 billion.
By getting its hands on Belo, Gannett will increase its number of stations to 43 from 23 and allow the company to reach almost one-third of U.S. households.
"This is an outstanding and financially compelling transaction for our shareholders. It is also a testament to the tremendous value our employees have created over Belo's long history and to the strength of our brand in the media industry," Belo CEO Dunia Shive said.
The companies see the transaction closing by the end of the year, subject to approval from two-thirds of the voting power of Belo shares and a green light from antitrust regulators as well as the Federal Communications Commission.
Gannett said Belo's directors and executive officers, who collectively own about 42% of the voting power of the company's outstanding stock, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the deal.
Wall Street applauded the move by Gannett, bidding the McLean, Va.-based company's shares 25.94% higher to $25.00 in premarket trading. Belo soared 27.87% to $13.72.
The buyout is expected to be financed with cash on Gannett's balance sheet and by tapping capital markets and bank financing.
Despite the deal, Gannett said it has replaced its existing share buyback program with a new one valued at $300 million that expires in two years. The company said it will maintain its existing dividend plan.
J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) served as financial advisors to Gannett, while Belo was advised by Royal Bank of Canada's (NYSE:RY) RBC Capital Markets.


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text:
First, Let's Enslave All the Doctors
Calling Doctor . . . Doctor . . .?
Joseph Rago has an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal today about the Massachusetts universal coverage plan as a miniature preview of the wonders that are in store for us under ObamaCare. A Massachusetts appeals board has just shown surprising sanity in overturning an insurance commission's denial of 235 of the 274 insurance premium increases that had been requested by the state's insurance industry. The insurance carriers had trotted out that stale old free-market argument that the increases were necessary to cover their expected claims over the coming year. They were still operating under the quaint economic principle that an insurance company ought to have sufficient reserves to stay in business, even if that makes them appear unfeeling about their policyholders' household budget strains. As Mr. Rago notes, the insurance commission "was in effect ordering the carriers to sell their products at a loss." He also identifies a key question:
An entitlement sold as a way to reduce costs was bound to fundamentally change the system. The larger question—for Massachusetts, and now for the nation—is whether that was really the plan all along.
Meanwhile, he reports,
Richard Moore, a state senator from Uxbridge and an architect of the 2006 plan, has introduced a new bill that will make physician participation in government health programs a condition of medical licensure. This would essentially convert all Massachusetts doctors into public employees.
(Emphasis supplied.) Or, in other words . . . where did all those doctors go that we used to have in Massachusetts? How come I can't get an appointment?
Weren't there primitive tribes who lamed their doctors so they couldn't leave?
By Texan99 on Wednesday, July 07, 2010 0 comments
I had no idea this even happened.
Amedeo Guillet, who died on June 16 aged 101, was the Italian officer who led the last cavalry charge faced by the British Army.
Early in 1941, following outstanding successes in the Western Desert, the British invasion of Mussolini's East African empire seemed to be going like clockwork.
But at daybreak on January 21, 250 horsemen erupted through the morning mist at Keru, cut through the 4/11th Sikhs, flanked the armoured cars of Skinner's Horse and then galloped straight towards British brigade headquarters and the 25-pound artillery of the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry.
By Eric on Tuesday, July 06, 2010 0 comments
Labels: Amazing Demonstrations of Skill, Combat, Men
Economics As a Mystery Religion
I've felt as if I were drowning in irrationality all day. I've been trying to conduct an online discussion with a bunch of people who believe that Social Security -- indeed, the entire welfare state and debt structure of the United States -- is hunky-dorey. To begin with, I found it virtually impossible to get across the idea that, although this may seem a very, very wrong, unpleasant, and inconvenient result -- Social Security will inevitably be degraded and then dismantled. The first 20 times I tried to say so, I got back the furious reaction that these benefits are a debt, a honorably incurred debt, and it would be wrong if the people expecting their benefits did not receive them.
I don't disagree, of course, but I don't see how that changes the odds that it's going to happen. "But we really are going to need that money," they'd say. Yes, I'd agree, it's going to be bad. And it doesn't change the odds that it's going to happen. "But it wouldn't be fair to expect us to do without them." No progress.
I did, at length, come to a point where we could define the difference between me and them as the belief, or doubt, that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unfunded federal, state, and local pension obligations, which together amount to over $500,000 per American household, can all be absorbed without the U.S. defaulting on a single one of these obligations even in part. I myself doubt whether it can be done, no matter how hard we tighten the screws on the rich people, unless we recklessly risk the health of the economy and the currency and court a fate like that of Greece. They, in turn, believe this is no problem at all, and only a mean person would say it is.
Here's the part I need help with. One commenter had this explanation for why it was all going to be possible, even without raising tax rates. The problem is, I literally cannot understand a word of the following. I'm hoping someone here can help:
I don't think they have to turn the screws on the rich a little harder. I think they can just mark up the account balances to match the needs, and I don't even think that, I know that. It's a factual statement. I don't even think the government needs to tax at all, except for to manipulate the money supply to soak up excess liquidity that might be in the market. In fact, I know that as well. It's not a guess, it's the way it is. We don't operate our policies around those foundational realities, but it doesn't make them any less real. . . . Debt and deficits just don't mean what you think they do in a modern-money world, and they're not indicators of the things you think they are.
I'm certainly no economist. Is this pure nonsense, or something like a respectable branch of the science?
By Texan99 on Tuesday, July 06, 2010 0 comments
Natural Libertarians
"Natural Libertarians"
Some people apparently react from the heart on these matters; these are my people. Not shockingly, the story comes from the Great State of Georgia.
In the radio interviews I did after the publication of my new book, its alarming title, The Next American Civil War, received much attention. Some interviewers thought it was simply wacko. Others were more sympathetic, but argued that I really meant a war of ideas. But this is not what I really meant. I was referring to the clash between two radically incompatible attitudes towards life—a far more serious clash than mere intellectual debate. Ideas can be changed much more easily than our fundamental attitude. In fact, few things are more difficult to change.
On one side of the clash are the people like those who visited the libertarian booth in Tucker, Georgia, and whose attitude was: "Hell, no, nobody owns me." Perhaps some of these people have joined the Tea Party movement, but I suspect most have not. Yet they still remain natural libertarians, who instinctively place their locus of control within themselves. Like Rotter's internals, they resist any effort by others to manage and control their lives.
On the other side of the clash are those who stand to benefit from encouraging others to rely on them instead of relying on themselves. Those who seek to exercise power and influence over others will naturally be hostile to the independent attitude of the natural libertarian, simply because this attitude is ultimately the one thing that stands in the way of achieving their own ambitions to rule, manage, and govern others. Today, far too many people in governmental circles, in our universities, and among the custodians of mass culture all share the goal of encouraging ordinary men and women to stop being self-reliant, cease to think for themselves, embrace their status as victims of circumstances, and to blame others for their own misfortunes instead of rousing themselves to overcome difficulties, as Frederick Douglass did.
The stakes in this clash are enormous. Natural libertarians find themselves in a desperate struggle to keep alive the traditions of independence that have shaped and molded their attitudes. They see themselves battling forces that seek to create a state of helpless codependency among their fellow citizens. Often, like the natural libertarians of the past—for example, our own revolutionary ancestors and the seventeenth-century English parliamentarians who resisted Charles the First—today's natural libertarians display a paranoid tendency to imagine that wicked men are conspiring to rob them of their liberty.
I suggest you read the rest of this piece.
By Grim on Tuesday, July 06, 2010 0 comments
Brains and Killers
Brains and Consciousness:
A Neuroscientist you may have heard of, James Fallon, reveals two things: first, that his family includes a number of murderers, including alleged killer Lizzy Borden. Second, that his brain scan says he's a psychopath.
"And I took a look at my own PET scan and saw something disturbing that I did not talk about," he says.
What he didn't want to reveal was that his orbital cortex looks inactive.
"If you look at the PET scan, I look just like one of those killers."
So he tested this with another marker that reveals murderous behavior.
Along with brain scans, Fallon also tested each family member's DNA for genes that are associated with violence. He looked at 12 genes related to aggression and violence and zeroed in on the MAO-A gene (monoamine oxidase A). This gene, which has been the target of considerable research, is also known as the "warrior gene" because it regulates serotonin in the brain. Serotonin affects your mood — think Prozac — and many scientists believe that if you have a certain version of the warrior gene, your brain won't respond to the calming effects of serotonin.
Fallon calls up another slide on his computer. It has a list of family members' names, and next to them, the results of the genotyping. Everyone in his family has the low-aggression variant of the MAO-A gene, except for one person.
"You see that? I'm 100 percent. I have the pattern, the risky pattern," he says, then pauses. "In a sense, I'm a born killer."
But he isn't, of course, a killer at all. Not only that, he doesn't have the impulse control problems -- one doesn't succeed at neuroscience if one cannot delay gratification, and he has a wife who's known him since he was 12 and feels entirely comfortable with him.
He has a theory that you need a third factor -- abuse.
Significantly, he says this journey through his brain has changed the way he thinks about nature and nurture. He once believed that genes and brain function could determine everything about us. But now he thinks his childhood may have made all the difference.
With respect to the scientist, that's not a convincing answer. It would be adequate to explain the presence of a gene in someone with no wicked impulses; but it doesn't adequately explain the brain scan. A gene may be a predisposition to developing in a certain way; untriggered, that potential may simply not develop.
A brain scan, though, shows what is happening in your brain right now. His brain really is showing low activity in the impulse-control region; and yet his impulse control is perfectly fine.
This suggests that brain activity isn't as closely related to consciousness as we have come to believe. Indeed, the leading theory in "philosophy of mind" is close to his own "genes and brain function... determine everything" about our conscious experience; or as that is put in philosopher-speak, "mental states supervene on brain states."
It may be that we aren't looking at the right part of the brain scan; it could be that "happy childhood" people have another part that is more active than "unhappy childhood" people with the same markers. In that case, his theory could prove out.
The alternative is that there is something to the mind besides the brain. That's always been my sense of where the truth lies; but it will be something of a revolution among both scientists and philosophers if it proves out.
The Government Is Making Us Fat
I'm thinking of putting in for compensatory damages. A Canadian university study finds a correlation between cigarette taxes and obesity. Just as you might have suspected, forcing citizens to stop smoking by making it too expensive merely causes them to gain dangerous amounts of weight. I predict a fat tax next.
Kindness to Widows
Kindness to Widows:
Not always a good idea.
Found today in the tomatillo patch.
Hitch a Ride with the Next Russian Supply Ship
The National Aeronautic
Self-Esteem Administration
Speaking to al-Jazeera on a recent trip to the Middle East, National Aeronautics and Space Administration head Charles Bolden heralded a new age in international space relations:
When I became the NASA Administrator . . . [Obama] charged me with three things: One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, [second,] he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.
Bolden also said that in the past, NASA had worked with countries that were capable of space exploration, but now Obama has
asked NASA to change . . . by reaching out to "nontraditional" partners and strengthening our cooperation in the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia and in particular in Muslim-majority nations.
So we won't be restricted by the need to work with countries that actually can explore space, but can expand to those that can't.
I applaud this escape from hidebound tradition. It's not the Muslim countries' fault they aren't capable of space exploration, and it's time to end the pale male hegemony. If we ever need a landing strip again, we may need one of these countries to provide it. Even if we don't, what's more important: our space program, or helping predominantly Muslim nations feel good about their accomplishments many centuries ago? Also, the diplomatic mission is bound to be cheaper, and it will get NASA out of the way while the private sector knuckles down.
Bankers with Pitchforks
Wall Street and San Francisco Are Revolting
Per today's Washington Post, contributions to the Democrats' House and Senate congressional campaign committees from New York are off 65 % from two years ago. The drop-off is attributed to relentless Wall Street bashing.
Although the overall drop is only 16%, the trend is much sharper among big-dollar ($1,000+) donors, down to under $50 million from over $80 million. The New York area accounts for half of that big-dollar-donor drop: $24 million then vs. $9 million this year. In 2008, 28% of Democratic House and Senate committee donations came from the New York area, including 20% from Manhattan alone. This year, New York accounts for only 10% of the total.
Contributors in San Francisco aren't much happier, with donations falling by 34%. Fundraisers explain the drop there by disaffection with overly conservative Democratic initiatives.
The Romans Took Themselves Out
The Romans Took Out Themselves:
A post from the Anchoress, who is guesting at Hot Air. Eric's point is her own.
It goes with this video.
By Grim on Monday, July 05, 2010 0 comments
Threats and the Tea Party
Threats & the Tea Party:
What I find very interesting about this poll is not the top-line finding, which tells us that the Tea Party is much more concerned than other Americans about the massive debt and the size of the Federal Government. I'm not even interested in what Hot Air notes -- that there is minimal difference in Tea Party supporters' and opponents' opinion on racial matters.
What interests me is the subject of percentages that view a given issue as an "extremely serious threat" to the future of the country. It's worth noting that only 49% -- under half! -- of Tea Party supporters view the size and scope of the Federal Government as an "extremely" serious threat.
What I find more interesting, though, is that there is no issue -- no issue -- that a majority of non-supporters find to be such a threat. Only 44% of those who are neutral feel that the government's debt is a such a threat, and that is the very largest level reported among non-Tea-Party-supporters. Among Tea Party opponents, no issue approaches a majority; only "health care costs" even achieves a third (33%). The Tea Party supporter is even more concerned about that issue! 41% feel that is an extremely serious threat.
Confer all of that with this set of papers on genetics and political leanings. The upshot of these studies is that conservatives are far better at recognizing threats in the environment -- but are also more likely to produce false positives of threats. Liberals are much less likely to correctly recognize that there is a genuine danger, but also much less likely to falsely perceive a threat.
That seems odd in the wake of eight years of hearing about how BushCo was about to overthrow the nation; but it does line up with these polling results. (A further refinement: looking at the table comparing "Tea Party supporters" and "Republicans," we see that Republicans are also much less worried about things -- and therefore, much less conservative on this model.) Tea Party supporters are more deeply concerned than liberals about even the issues that concern liberals. There are only three issues where the numbers flip, and Tea Party opponents are more concerned: the size of corporations (just under a third for opponents, with about half as many supporters being concerned); the environment and global warming (opponents: 30%/ supporters: 13%); and racial issues (17%/13%).
Yet even here, the liberal concerns are not great. On the three issues of greatest concern to Tea Party opponents, only one of them achieves a bare third of respondents. Two-thirds of respondents in the "opponents" category see no extremely serious threats to America at all. Over half of neutrals see no extremely serious threats to America at all.
One is tempted, at this point, to post a whole bunch of graphs that illustrate the deadly dangers to the nation; but the point is, if the conjecture is right, doing so wouldn't matter. People are predisposed to worry about these things or not. If they aren't, they won't worry no matter how ugly the graphs are. If they are, the graphs could be rather less ugly than they actually are, and would still produce concern.
This may illuminate the "incompetence or malice" debate, which is ongoing. Part of the competence issue could be the ability to recognize the harm being done. Another potential anti-malice line of argument: they really just can't see how dangerous their actions are, how badly they're harming the nation and undermining its foundations; or yet another, that at least some of the "malice" readings are false positives.
Den Beste Speaks
Malice or Incompetence? Den Beste Speaks
Everyone who has read blogs for a long time knows the name of Steven Den Beste. He isn't answering the question of malice versus incomptence, but he is raising it.
Poodle:
I wasn't going to say anything about the Gore business, because frankly I don't want to talk about Al Gore; I can't muster the interest. However, I have to admit that this Taiwanese news animation does a remarkable job of conveying the story even when you can't speak the language. I hadn't really thought of animation as a good tool for the news: it's too easy to tell a misleading story even with actual video! Still, as long as you don't put any faith in the notion that things happened as depicted, this depiction does at least convey the content of the accusation in very clear terms.
Since we're doing an animation today, I found this one while following a link from Cassandra's page. Some of you who like animation may find it amusing.
Voters Still Don't Like It
Per Rasmussen, 78% of Republicans believe ObamaCare will be bad for the nation, as do 66% of unaffiliated voters. But 67% of Democrats believe ObamaCare will be good.
I don't understand why the levels of support are veering around so wildly. There's nothing obvious in the news to explain it. The smoothed-out overall trend looks slightly discouraging for ObamaCare enthusiasts who were hoping that voters' initial enraged reaction would moderate when we "find out what's in the bill."
By Texan99 on Monday, July 05, 2010 0 comments
Another Enlightening Fact
Another Enlightening Fact:
From Professor Bainbridge, this:
A 2004 study of the results of stock trading by United States Senators during the 1990s found that that Senators on average beat the market by 12% a year. In sharp contrast, U.S. households on average underperformed the market by 1.4% a year and even corporate insiders on average beat the market by only about 6% a year during that period....
Under current law, it is unlikely that Members of Congress can be held liable for insider trading.
This is a failure of justice -- perfectly in accord with the law, for the lawmakers are the ones who are manipulating the law to their advantage. When law and justice sharply diverge, there are consequences.
By Grim on Sunday, July 04, 2010 0 comments
Fisking The Declaration of Independence
Fisking the Declaration of Independence:
Snide pretentions of superiority and intentional misunderstandings are the order of the day. What if they had been, in Jefferson's time?
Well, you may as well read through it. Just expect to hear the same arguments fielded soon, for we are going to be having many of the same debates in the next few years.
We've begun, actually. Consider:
"You can't simultaneously complain that he's providing too much government and not enough. Pick one."
Who among us hasn't heard one or another on the Left say something like, "Well, this BP thing sure shows the case for Big Government, doesn't it?" The idea of Constitutionalism is ignored: that it is not a case of "big" versus "small" government, but of government restricted to its proper place and role. The seas have always been the Federal government's responsibility: they have the right to maintain a navy, and to set maritime rules, and rules governing letters of marque and reprisal, and so forth. It was clearly the Founder's intent that the deep waters should be a Federal concern.
The government has abandoned all traditional restraints and limits, and as a consequence it cannot, or will not, perform its actual duties. Or, as T99 put it:
"If the entire federal bureaucracy did not exist and not one penny of federal funds was available, the cleanup process would be helped instead of hindered."
Calvin Coolidge
I wouldn't have guessed who said this:
About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.
It was Calvin Coolidge.
By Texan99 on Sunday, July 04, 2010 0 comments
Grand Old Flag
On a Slightly Brighter Note
Here's an obsessive painting project after my own heart. The building covers 3.5 acres and is near Hobby Airport in Houston. It took a couple of weeks to paint.
Mexican Meltdown
When Democracy Blows Up
I failed to find anything inspiring today, other than this nice picture of fireworks. So here goes with the bummer stuff. Today is election day in 14 of Mexico's 31 states. Twelve states will try to elect governors. Things aren't going well.
Last Monday, the man favored to win the governor's seat in Tamaulipas, just south of the Texas border on the Gulf Coast, was killed in an ambush on his campaign car. His brother has replaced him in the election. A mayoral candidate in the same state was shot dead in May. Over 550 electoral officials have resigned. In the state of Sinaloa, on the West Coast of Mexico just off the southern tip of Baja, the campaign headquarters of a candidate for governor were attacked with bombs this week. Nearly 23,000 people have been killed since Mexican President Calderón launched a military crackdown on organized crime over three years ago.
On Thursday, 21 people were shot dead in a battle between rival drug gangs in the state of Sonora, about 12 miles over the border from Arizona, "along a known trafficking route for drugs and illegal immigrants."
What we are seeing in the last couple of years is a much more gruesome kind of killing, beheadings, dismembering, hanging corpses up on highway overpasses, all of that, with messages left by the cartels, all of that to send a message, either to the law enforcement authorities, who would go after them, or to their rivals or to the local government. . . . [W]e're starting to see some Mexicans even talking about, well, maybe it would be better just to make a deal with some of the cartels. . . . A lot of candidates have just stopped campaigning.
The most amazing thing to me is that the news reports generally add that this is the worst violence in Mexican elections "since 1994." Gosh, has it been that long since the last collapse of civilization? Also, I've just about given up trying to figure what might distinguish one Mexican party from another, since concepts like "right" and "left" seem to have lost all meaning down there. Per the Wall Street Journal, the current trend in distinguishing between Mexican parties is to focus on the number of voters who would never consider voting for them:
A survey by the Mitofsky polling group showed the PRI is now the country's "least rejected" political party, with only 19% of Mexicans saying they would never vote for it. Some 30% said they would never vote for the PAN [Calderón's "conservative" party], and 38% would shun the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, which has been hurt by internal divisions and a hard-left faction that has turned off middle-class voters.
This is what it means when we let inmates take over the asylum. Happy Fourth!
There's Always Somebody Better
There's Always Somebody Better:
Via PowerPoint Ranger:
Kittehs
Dogs and Cats Living Together
I'm too bummed to keep reading about the bungled spill cleanup for a while, so, as they would say over at Ace, it's time for kittehs and a little unnatural interspecies action. This is old National Geographic footage; my apologies if you've all seen it before.
By Texan99 on Saturday, July 03, 2010 0 comments
Translation, Technology
Translation, Transliteration, and Technology:
There are two fascinating stories today on the subject of texts of supreme historic importance, and the new things that technology is allowing us to do with them. One is the Declaration of Independence: using spectral analysis, we now know something about a moment of enlightenment in Jefferson's thinking.
"Subjects."
That's what Thomas Jefferson first wrote in an early draft of the Declaration of Independence to describe the people of the 13 colonies.
But in a moment when history took a sharp turn, Jefferson sought quite methodically to expunge the word, to wipe it out of existence and write over it. Many words were crossed out and replaced in the draft, but only one was obliterated.
The word he replaced it with was "citizens."
The second story, which I have from Lars Walker, is to do with translating the Bible. How do you translate the Bible into a language that has no written form? First, you must work with the speakers of that language to develop a writing system.
"Wycliffe missionaries don't evangelize, teach theology, hold Bible study or start churches. They give (preliterate people) a written language," Edwards said. "They teach them to read and write in their mother tongue."
The missionaries develop alphabets. They create reading primers. They translate the Bible.
About 2,200 languages remain without a Bible. About 350 million people, mostly in India, China, sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, speak only these languages.
This work has been going on for some time. Before the age of technology, the motto of the Wycliffe missionaries was, "One team, one language, one lifetime." Now, they say, they can do several languages in a lifetime -- indeed, they expect to finish the rest within fifteen years.
By Grim on Saturday, July 03, 2010 0 comments
Freedom:
Now here is a lesson. You've seen this before: but look at the subtitles, especially in the final moments.
"In anul Domnului 1314."
"Patriotii Scotiei"
"Trubaduri"
"Libertatea."
Every one of you knows enough Latin to understand what is said there, if you didn't know the English at all: "In the year of our Lord, 1314... patriots of Scotland... warrior-poets... freedom."
Yet it's not Latin. It's Romanian. Enough of the old tongue survives.
Our friend Lars Walker is writing about American echoes in Viking sagas. Yet we should also recognize that this Scottish moment was a moment that touched the world, and changed it. 1314 was the battle on the Bannock burn. 1320 was the Declaration of Arbroath, which inspired our Declaration of Independence as much as anything ever written before it. That was written in Latin, addressed to the Pope:
"Non enim propter gloriam, diuicias aut honores pugnamus set propter libertatem solummodo quam Nemo bonus nisi simul cum vita amittit."
That is to say, "It is not in truth for glory that we fight, nor for honors, but for freedom alone: that freedom that a good man lays down only with his life."
And now I will quote a piece from Anthony Kenny's Medieval Philosophy, as regards a document written by certain Franciscan friars in 1324. William of Ockham was with them, and wrote supporting pieces in their train. It does not intend to speak to the Scottish situation particularly, but to the Pope in general. Having published it, they fled to the Holy Roman Empire for protection from the Church. There, in what is now Germany but was then a place of endless free states and cities, these ideas were welcome.
The work, Defensor Pacis ("The Defender of the Peace," 1324) became a classic text of political philosophy.... There are two types of government: rule by the consent of the ruler's subjects, and rule against their will. Only the former is legitimate and the latter is a form of tyranny. The laws of the state derive their legitimacy neither from the will of the ruler nor directly from God: they are given authority by the citizens themselves....
An irregular or incompetent prince should be removed from office by the legislature.
And if the legislature will not do it?
[W]e should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.
Thus they said, in 1320. Four hundred years later, and a bit, they said thus at Philadelphia. Two hundred years later, and a bit, it may be time to say it again.
By Grim on Friday, July 02, 2010 0 comments
A Constitutional Question: How Does This Work?
Dad29 has an interesting report from Wisconsin, which made me recognize a void in my knowledge.
Jackson County District Attorney Gerald R. Fox has declared that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this week that the Second Amendment clearly applies to the states, he will no longer prosecute people for carrying concealed weapons, or certain other gun related offenses.
The high court's ruling in McDonald vs. Chicago, "immediately renders some of Wisconsin's current laws unconstitutional," Fox said in a news release. Therefore, he said, his office won't take any cases police might refer that are solely about violations of concealed carry, uncased or loaded weapons in vehicles, guns in public buildings or where alcohol is sold or served. Nor will Fox prosecute the possession of switchblade and other types of easy-opening knives.
When we've seen other landmark SCOTUS cases -- Lawrence v. Texas, say -- I've always heard that the ruling would overturn laws in many states besides the one where the suit originated. Exactly how that works is not clear to me. SCOTUS presumably does not do the work of identifying similar laws, and sending a note to the state governments; so my guess is that the work is done at the state level -- perhaps by the Attorney General?
Here we have a D.A. making the call, which seems strange. It makes sense that they would not want to prosecute cases that have just been rendered untenable, but it also seems odd that you might have two districts making different calls on whether SCOTUS has just voided the law.
So, my friends who do this for a living -- how does this work? What is the process for recognizing which laws have just been rendered invalid, and harmonizing them with the fundamental right that SCOTUS has just announced that it intends to protect?
More Missing Cat Humor
Not that I want to get everyone started on the kind of physics humor that took over Cassandra's site the other day, but . . . .
By Texan99 on Friday, July 02, 2010 0 comments
Gulf Oil Spill Update July 2, 2010
All Spill, All the Time
This cartoon is about the war, of course, but it seems to apply equally well to the spill. The public conversation about whether the feds are obstructing the spill cleanup is degenerating into a lot of exchanges that amount to "You lie!" "No, you lie!" Here are some links to sites where people are trying to muddle through whether and to what degree EPA regulations, Jones Act restrictions, and other federal laws are part of the problem instead of the solution.
Today's Wall Street Journal opinion piece may give the subject some welcome publicity, and it's a nice summary, but it contains no links to primary sources. The comments section, though, does have some useful links. For instance, here is a Houston Chronicle story about the Dutch consulate confirming that its offer of help was rebuffed. This Christan Science Monitor piece from a few weeks ago is a good summary of the conflicting accusations concerning the Jones Act.
This is the most recent piece I can find by Yobie Benjamin, the San Francisco reporter who's been following the issue and pursuing Freedom of Information Act requests. Ever pursued one of those? "Stonewalling" doesn't begin to describe the usual response. I honor his effort.
Even the AP has begun acknowledging the problem, which can't be a good sign for the White House. This week's article from Tom Breen quotes from the devastating Issa report and adds some more anecdotal complaints of assets kept sitting around. White House Press Secretary continues the usual line of asserting that the accusation has been repeatedly debunked, but providing no information with which to debunk it.
I've just found a useful site collecting these stories, www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill. There I discovered that, three days ago, the Coast Guard and the EPA finally felt enough urgency to alter the rules that kept most of the nation's skimmer fleet away from the Gulf in case they were needed for an emergency elsewhere. The NOLA site reports that the White House is complaining today that a separate congressional panel to investigate the oil spill response is "unnecessary." Tough; the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 15-8 Wednesday to set up one up anyway. It's a 10-member bipartisan panel with subpoena power. "[T]he congressional commission, which would be jointly appointed by Democratic and Republican members, is attached to a bill strengthening regulation of the oil and gas industry. It's uncertain whether the president would veto the bill; a more robust regulatory system has been one of his administration's top priorities since the BP spill."
This editorial in the New Orleans Times-Picayune decries the red tape and speaks to the Jones Act issue, which remains elusive. The feds say it's not a problem, while the players report that it remains one. How about waiving it for a year, just in case?
Here is an SFGate article reporting on the delays caused by Hurricane Alex, including the EPA 15 ppm problem.
And here is a blog charging that the whole "obstruction" issue is Republican propaganda.
The Principled Genius
Former mathematician Grigori Perelman made the news today by deciding, after considerable delay for pondering, to turn down the million-dollar "Millennium Prize" awarded by the Clay Mathematics Institute, which set up these prizes in 2000 for the solutions to a set of seven basic problems that had been bedeviling the field. Perelman's award, for solving the famous Poincaré Conjecture, was the first to be announced.
Perelman is another of those Russian Jews who so often seem to turn up in stories like this. He studied in the USSR, then held posts in several American universities in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He then turned down positions at Princeton and Stanford to return to Russia. He has since ceased working on mathematics altogether and is unemployed, living with his mother in St. Petersburg.
In turning down the $1 million Millennium Prize, Perelman explained that he did not find the process of awards in his field to be just. He already had been awarded the FIelds Medal for his work in 2006, and declined that one, too. In fact, he consistently turns down prizes, saying things like "[the prize] was completely irrelevant for me. Everybody understood that if the proof is correct, then no other recognition is needed." Or "I'm not interested in money or fame. . . . I don't want to be on display like an animal in a zoo. I'm not a hero of mathematics. I'm not even that successful; that is why I don't want to have everybody looking at me." He has expressed the opinion that prize committees are unqualified to assess his work, even positively.
This quotation sums up his alienation: "[T]here are many mathematicians who are more or less honest. But almost all of them are conformists. They are more or less honest, but they tolerate those who are not honest." He has also said, "It is not people who break ethical standards who are regarded as aliens. It is people like me who are isolated."
So what was Perelman's work all about? Wikpedia explains that the Poincaré conjecture claims that if a closed 3-manifold has the additional property that each loop in the space can be continuously tightened to a point, then it is necessarily a three-dimensional sphere. Yeah, that didn't help me either. This is more my speed:
The Poincaré Conjecture says "hey, you've got this alien blob that can ooze its way out of the hold of any lasso you tie around it? Then that blob is just an out-of-shape ball." Perelman and Hamilton proved this fact by heating the blob up, making it sing, stretching it like hot mozzarella and chopping it into a million pieces. In short, the alien ain't no bagel you can swing around with a string through his hole.
The author goes on to explain that mathemeticians classify both 2-dimensional and higher-dimensional shapes. She says that the only 2-dimensional shapes are the surfaces of "doughnuts" with multiple holes:
These surfaces can be classified neatly according to their number of holes. (The picture includes a sphere; does that count as a doughnut with zero holes?) Anyway, it seems the Poincaré Conjecture pertains to the analysis of 3-dimensional shapes, which I guess are like the surfaces of 4-dimensional shapes. Geometer William Thurston (a Fields Medal winner who didn't turn down his prize) "made the daring conjecture that three-dimensional shapes, too, can be classified in a more complicated but equally structured way," which is the kind of thing that makes mathematicians use words like "daring" and really rings their bells. Perelman "proved this conjecture, which has Poincaré as a straightforward corollary" -- once again, using the word "straightforward" in a slightly eccentric sense.
The author of this article readily admits that Perelman's work "won't help anyone build a bridge, aim a rocket, crack a code, or privatize Social Security. " She concludes, a little defensively, that it's nevertheless something worth caring about "if you prefer order to chaos."
This whole thing makes me nostalgic on my father's account. The only time I can remember his expressing an opinion about what I ought to do with my life is when he mused mildly that he'd always thought it would be nice if I studied algebraic topology. That was not, to put in mildly, really in the cards. He must have thought it was awfully boring of me to study law, though he never said so and clearly was pleased that I'd be able to make a living. I still don't know what algebraic topology is. Wikipedia supplies this less-than-helpful definition:
Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics which uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariants that classify topological spaces up to homeomorphism. In many situations this is too much to hope for and it is more prudent to aim for a more modest goal, classification up to homotopy equivalence.
I'm even more prudent and must aim for goals whose modesty makes that goal look positively overweaning.
Some decades ago Fran Lebowitz wrote a piece about being awakened by something unpleasant, a phone call or alarm clock. She said something like, "This is not my favorite method of being awakened. My favorite method is to have my Swedish lover whisper in my ear that, if I don't want to be late to pick up my Nobel Prize, I'd better ring for breakfast." This is a dream I learned to relinquish quite early on, but I'm still pleased to read about people who might reasonably aspire to these things, even if they're too high-minded to accept.
Grim's Hall Book Club: Vikings
I promised you Vikings to follow on this last reading of Plutarch. I was trying to decide between The Saga of Burnt Njal and The Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson. Of the two, Burnt Njal is really the one we ought to read. The lawyers among you will love it particularly; but in Gunnar, it has a Viking fit for the best-bearded and bloodthirstiest of us.
So: let us begin.
I expect this to take a few weeks. For next week, read sections 1-20.
By Grim on Thursday, July 01, 2010 0 comments
Labels: GHBC
Hanging Offenses
"Nice Gulf. Wouldn't Want to See Anything Happen to It."
Is the answer really as simple as the amnesty-vs.-secure-the-border logjam? Are the feds obstructing the oil spill cleanup in order to create leverage for Cap'n'Tax? I know I keep wavering on the malice-vs.-incompetence quandary, but even I didn't expect a report quite this shocking on the federal role in the cleanup to date, per the Washington Examiner:
Phantom Assets
The number of assets claimed [by the White House], however, does not appear to match what is actually in the field. This is corroborated by Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, who shared a similar story with investigators. BP and Coast Guard provided Mr. Nungesser with a map of the Gulf allegedly pinpointing the exact locations of 140 skimmers cleaning up oil. Sensing that the chart may have been somewhat inaccurate, Mr. Nungesser requested a flyover of the assets for verification. After three cancelled trips, officials admitted to Mr. Nungesser that only 31 of the 140 skimmers were ever deployed. The rest were sitting at the docks. According to Mr. Nungesser, the chart appeared to have been fabricated.
Resources Used as Bargaining Chip to Mute Criticism
In some instances, it appears that equipment is provided simply to quiet public criticism. Mr. Nungesser, who has frequently appeared on local and national television, was apparently visited by two White House officials at his office on Fathers' Day. According to Mr. Nungesser, the purpose of their visit was to find a way to keep him from calling attention to the lack of equipment. Specifically, they asked him, "What do we have to do to keep you off tv?" He simply replied, "give me what I need." On another occasion, Placquemines Parish officials requested 20 skimmers at a town hall meeting held by the Coast Guard. According to Mr. Nungesser, "They gave us two skimmers to shut us up." These accounts raise serious questions about whether the Administration is more concerned with fighting a public relations battle than combating the oil spill.
There's more in the Washington Examiner preliminary report, and more to come this afternoon when the full report is released. OK, this report was spearheaded by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calf.), so you might think it was inclined to be harsh. Someone once told me that the best defense against slander was to live so that no one would believe it. I don't believe the Obama administration has lived so that no one would believe it. And if the Republicans take the House and Mr. Issa gets a chance to follow through with a fraction of the investigations he has promised to undertake, the only thing keeping the heads from rolling will be their position on pointy spikes.
On a more positive note, Yobie Benjamin, a San Francisco reporter who has been following the EPA wastewater-discharge-skimmer problem and pursuing Freedom of Information Act requests, reported that the EPA apparently waived its standards for the Dutch skimmers a couple of weeks ago -- a full 50 days after application. The giant A-Whale, however, still has not received a waiver, and is still sitting at the dock in Louisiana.
By Texan99 on Thursday, July 01, 2010 0 comments
A-Whale UpdateThe
This Is Progress, However Criminally Delayed
The A.P. reported about an hour ago that the A-Whale, "the world's largest oil-skimming vessel," had arrived on the Louisiana coast, and that the government was "pinning its hopes" on this new asset. It's supposed to be able to suck up 21 million gallons (500,000 barrels) of oily water a day. (Recall that the Dutch skimmers, which were offered free of charge on Day 3, could pick up 400 cubic meters an hour, which is over 2.5 million gallons a day, or about 180 million gallons -- 4.3 million barrels -- so far. The entire effort of the whole fleet as of three days ago was reported to have picked up 600,000 barrels.)
Without a trace of embarrassment, the A.P. spins this as the fastest result anyone could have expected, and some kind of coup the White House has pulled off, because the A-Whale has "just emerged from an extensive retrofitting to prepare it specifically for the Gulf." In fact, the A-Whale's owners have been fighting the Coast Guard and the EPA since at least June 25, and probably a lot longer than that, for permission to join the clean-up team, having hired a fine firm, Bracewell & Guiliani, to press their regulatory case. The reporter does admit, as an aside, that there still is that pesky little EPA/Clean Water Act problem:
[the vessel] takes in contaminated water through 12 vents on either side of the bow. The oil is then supposed to be separated from the water and transferred to another vessel. The water is channeled back into the sea. But the ship has never been tested, and many questions remain about how it will operate. For instance, the seawater retains trace amounts of oil, even after getting filtered, so the Environmental Protection Agency will have to sign off on allowing the treated water back into the Gulf.
So on Day 73, the EPA is still hung up on that same issue (see 6-27-10 post) of whether the water can be returned before it can be proven to contain no more than 15 parts per million of oil. For the life of me I can't understand why Republican Senators and Congressmen, if not all of them, aren't pounding this issue in Congress and in the press. We should all be calling and emailing our reps relentlessly.
A Revolutionary Battle
A Kindred Spirit?
Njal's Saga, First Week Discussion: Image from her...
You're Bound to Pass Sooner or Later, So Here's Yo...
Yay 10th
Anti-B
Ants & Grasshoppers
Insurgence
I had no idea this even happened. Amedeo Guillet,...
Grim's Hall Book Club: Vikings I promised you Vi...


text:
Lukashenko Shrugs off EU Sanctions, Says It Will 'Defend Itself' Amid Border Spat
By Lora Korpar On 11/15/21 at 11:10 AM EST
News Belarus Migrants Alexander Lukashenko European Union
The European Union agreed Monday to put sanctions on airlines, travel agents and others accused of helping Belarus bring more migrants to its borders with EU countries.
This is the fifth set of sanctions the 27-country EU has put on Belarus, with others being set last year due to the highly disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko and a subsequent security crackdown on protesters.
In an Associated Press report, EU officials said they believe Lukashenko is waging a "hybrid attack" against them, encouraging migrants to cross the border in an attempt to destabilize the EU.
"Today's decision reflects the determination by the European Union to stand up to the instrumentalization of migrants for political purposes," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement to the AP. "We are pushing back on this inhuman and illegal practice."
Lukashenko told state news agency Belta that "we will defend ourselves" against the sanctions. He also denied that he was purposefully letting migrants in.
"These people, I must say, are very stubborn: no one wants to return," Lukashenko said. "And understandably so. They have nowhere to come back to. They have no place to live there, they know there's nothing to feed their children with. Moreover, some are simply afraid for their lives."
There are currently as many as 4,000 migrants at the Belarus-Poland border living in makeshift camps. Polish authorities said Belarusian services led a large group of migrants there, falsely promising they would be transported to Germany. At least nine have died in the freezing weather.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:
European Union foreign ministers are expected Monday to decide to expand sanctions against Belarus to include airlines, travel agents and individuals alleged to be helping to lure migrants to Europe as part of a "hybrid attack" against the bloc by President Alexander Lukashenko. Above, migrants gather in front of a barbed wire fence and Polish servicemen at the checkpoint "Kuznitsa" at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on November 15. Oksana Manchuk/BelTA pool photo via AP
Also Monday, the United Arab Emirates banned travelers from several Middle Eastern countries from boarding flights to Belarus, cutting off one of the last major air routes for would-be migrants there. Thousands of people from around the Middle East, many of them Iraqis and Syrians, have been trying to cross into the EU this year through a backdoor opened by non-EU member Belarus.
At the Belarus-Poland border, hundreds of migrants were gathered in the northeast by the recently closed crossing at Kuźnica, said a spokeswoman for the Polish Border Guard Agency, Anna Michalska.
Live Updates: Poland Builds Wall to Keep Migrants Out of Country
Syrian Travel Agent Says Demand for Flights to Belarus Have Increased
Flights to Belarus Halted for Citizens in 3 Countries by Turkish Airlines
Latvia Hints at Russia Role in 'Blatant Hybrid Attack' on EU by Belarus
"We are expecting an attempt at forceful crossing of the border," Michalska said. She said it is "worrying" that the migrants are under the supervision of Belarus forces, and expressed concern about possible attempts to provoke Polish troops.
Asked at the EU meeting in Brussels about the danger that more sanctions might only make things worse, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said: "I don't have the impression that Belarus behaves constructively without sanctions. That wasn't the case in the past."
"We are far from the end of the spiral of sanctions," Maas added.
Belarus flag carrier Belavia is among the airlines likely to be hit, and Maas warned other companies to follow the example of Turkish Airlines by restricting flights to the Belarus capital.
"Those that don't must expect tough sanctions. The situation is so dramatic that I can no longer rule out the denial of overflight rights or landing permission in the European area," he said.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, "we need to make Minsk airport a no-fly zone." He said the EU must ensure that planes likely to be bringing in migrants bound for Europe "wouldn't land in Minsk, or actually any Belarusian airport. It is very crucial to do that."
The EU said that the authoritarian Belarusian regime has for months invited migrants to Minsk, many of them Iraqis and Syrians, with the promise of help to get them across the borders of the three countries, which form the eastern flank of both the 27-nation EU and NATO.
In an interview Sunday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he and his two Baltic counterparts are discussing whether to call for emergency consultations at the NATO military alliance.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Monday this would not be ruled out "if the situation becomes even more complicated."
There are currently as many as 4,000 migrants at the Belarus-Poland border. Above, migrants make their way to the checkpoint "Kuznitsa" at the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, Belarus, on November 15. Oksana Manchuk/BelTA pool photo via AP


City Arts and Lectures On Arts Series announced!
Beginning in September, City Arts and Lectures will be hosting the 2012/2013 "On Arts" Series. This exciting conversation series serves to not only delight audiences, but also benefit the 826 Valencia Scholarship Program. On Arts has always included a stellar line up, and this year's will not disappoint. Guests like Dave Eggers, David Byrne, Paul Auster, Nick Hornby, and Sherman Alexie (to name just a few) will be in conversation with brilliant thinkers and writers including Adam Savage of Mythbusters, Wired Magazine contributing editor Jonah Lehrer, Daniel Handler, and author/826 Valencia board member Vendela Vida.
Join 826 Valencia and City Arts and Lectures for one (or two…or more!) of eight evenings that promise to be intelligent, insightful, and thought provoking. On top of that, your attendance will directly support the 826 Valencia Scholarship Program. That is what we like to call a win-win situation! Advance ticket sales are available now for members only with general tickets available on Monday. You can visit the City Arts and Lectures website for more information.