We drove a few hundred miles in the rain past many beautiful trees and mountains and parts of Tennessee - from Morrow, Georgia to Hunstville, Alabama- to appear for the Huntsville Chamber Guild at the Trinity United Methodist Church. This engagement has become a regular love-fest - for us, and apparently for them too. Talk about southern hospitality! Basically, though, this time we were 11 guys accompanying Gregory Peebles back home. He comes from Hartselle, down the road, much of whose population was there. His appearance had been heralded in the paper a few days before.
The rain didn't let up. By the time we arrived at warm up a pretty impressive electrical storm was in the making. The primary effect of that on us was that a very large performing troupe which was occupying our whole hotel refused to leave their rooms because the weather was affecting their travel plans. Which meant no rooms for us. We went to another hotel after the concert.
These are the things that happen on the road -fortunately not too often, and fortunately we take just about anything in stride.
We prepare to sing Wondrous Free not so much a cappella, but accompanied throughout by rolling thunder and lightning.
As it turns out, a tornado warning arrived during the performance. We didn't hear it, nor were we particularly aware that this church had been completely destroyed by a tornado 15 years ago.
We carry on, however. Gabe gave his usual greeting with location-appropriate references. Often they involve sporting or meteorological events and/or flora and fauna. This one involved fishing. For some reason.
This is one very warm audience, AND they had come through the pouring rain to fill every seat! There was a lovely reception with afterwards at the beautiful 1902 home of David and Margie Williams. He's President of the University of Alabama at Huntsville.


Who's got the best basic web search engine? One way to approach that question is to conduct an experiment in which subjects rank the results returned by several engines without knowing which is which.
"Type in a search query above, hit search then vote for the column which you believe best matches your query. The columns are randomised with every query.
As of this writing there have been 1679 votes for preferred results with Google getting 39%, Bing 39% and Yahoo: 22%.
Microsoft's new Bing search engine is getting a lot of interest. Glenn McDonald posts about a nice side-by-side Bing vs Google comparator tat he developed. It makes it easy to compare how the two services do on a range of different types of searches. Here are the ones that Glen said he found useful in developing his initial opinion.
I sense form some of these queries that he is probing the systems where an advanced search engine can exploit a little bit of semantic knowledge. For example, recognizing that a user's query "boston to asheville" matches a common pattern " to ", and she probably is interested in information about how to travel from the first location tot he second. It seems like Google has been working on adding more such patterns, at least for the low hanging fruit.
Of course, if everyone hits on this site it may get throttled or blocked by either or both of the search engines. @Glen — would you be willing to share your code?


text:
A horrific crime. One witness—a fifteen year old girl from the wrong side of the tracks, one known for lying and her own brushes with the law.
Is it any surprise no one believed her?
Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn't always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She's worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community.
When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town's most beloved college professors, they're unprepared for the brutality of the scene. This murder is unlike any they've ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she's seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about that terrible night fifteen years ago. The night she'd buried, along with her past and the girl she'd been back then. Until now that grave had stayed sealed…except for those times, in the deepest part of the night, when the nightmares came: of a crime no one believed happened and the screams of the girl they believed didn't exist.
Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop—the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda.
Adult psychological thriller
Connect with Erica Spindler:
Excerpt: The Other Girl
By Erica Spindler
Coming next week is a brand-new thriller about "a ritualistic murder of a college professor that sends a small-town cop back into the trauma she thought she'd put behind her." Shaped by twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night, THE OTHER GIRL is one of this Fall's must-read thrillers and I'm super excited to share the first chapter below!
Share this post on social media and comment below for a chance to win a hardcover of the book too! [U.S. only entrants]
Harmony, Louisiana
Harmony PD Detective Miranda Rader parked behind the two cruisers already at the scene. Their flashing blue lights violated the otherwise still, spring night, bouncing off the trees and surrounding homes, spinning and tilting like a carnival midway on crack.
She closed her eyes and for a moment she was fifteen again. Police lights bouncing off the trees. This knot in the pit of her gut, this sense that nothing was going to be the same, not ever again.
She let out a pent-up breath and flexed her fingers on the steering wheel. Shake it off, Miranda. Focus.
She grabbed the ponytail holder she kept in the car's front cubby and gathered up her shoulder-length brown hair. She couldn't work with her hair in her face and she sure as hell didn't want to leave any behind. She popped a piece of peppermint gum in her mouth and climbed out of her vehicle.
Victim was Richard Stark, an English professor at ULH, and even more important, the university president's son. In a college town like Harmony, that was as close to royalty as you could get.
Miranda breathed deeply, her gaze on the brick two-story and the crime-scene tape stretched across its entrance like a clown's freakish grin, beckoning: Don't be afraid.… Come inside, see what thrills await.
Miranda slammed the car door and started up the walk. Gerald LaRoux, fresh out of the academy, manned the door. Judging by his greenish pallor, this was young LaRoux's first murder.
He straightened as she approached. "Detective Rader," he said and held out the log.
She signed in, then met his eyes. "How're you doin' tonight, LaRoux?"
"Hangin' in there, Detective." He handed her Tyvek booties. "Chief said you'd need these."
That meant blood, blood spatter, or other biological evidence. No wonder LaRoux was green around the gills. "It'll get better," she said. "You get used to it."
"Yes, ma'am. That's what they say."
She took the booties. "Cap's with the vic?"
"Yeah. Master bedroom. Through the great room and to the right."
The chief met her at the bedroom door. Buddy Cadwell, a fireplug of a man, broad and thick but short, filled the doorway despite his lack of height. He exuded confidence and sheer strength of will.
So it had to be the lighting, because Miranda could have sworn the thirty-year veteran of the force looked shaken.
"What've we got?" she asked, bending to slip on the booties.
He cleared his throat. "Stark was stabbed several times in the chest, his throat was slit, and he was—"
He bit it back. She glanced up from the booties. "And what?"
He hesitated, as if searching for the right word. "Let's call it dismembered."
It took her a moment to find her voice. "You've got to be kidding me."
"That's all I'm going to say. I want to get your take, unvarnished."
"Gotcha." She fitted on her gloves. "What about Jake?" she asked, referring to her partner, Jake Billings. "Is he on his way?"
Buddy shook his head. "Just you and me for now."
"You and me?" She cocked an eyebrow. "What's up?"
"Jake has ties to the university community, because of his parents being professors. I think it's best if you and I handle the initial investigation."
She hesitated a moment, still finding it odd that he'd be here instead of one of the other detectives.
As if reading her thoughts, he added, "Ian Stark and I have known each other for a long time. I thought it should be me here first, as a courtesy."
He moved aside and she stepped into the room. The vic lay face up on the bed, naked and spread-eagled, hands and feet tied to the bed rails. As Buddy had described, Stark had been stabbed multiple times; the blood spatter decorating the floor and walls would have done abstract expressionist Jackson Pollack proud. And, as a sort of cherry on the top of this blood-fest sundae, the perp had cut off Stark's penis and stuffed it into his mouth.
It peeked out at her like some one-eyed alien creature and her stomach lurched to her throat. She forced the queasiness back. Getting weak-kneed was a luxury she couldn't afford. It wasn't just that she was a woman in a man's field, needing to prove herself every single day. It went deeper than that, to the essence of who she wanted to be, the person she had crafted her life around: solid and dependable, good under pressure and cool in a crisis.
The person everyone trusted.
She focused, took in the scene; really took it in. The blood—on the ceiling, walls, and bedding. Stark's gaping throat, like an obscene second mouth.
Another wave of nausea threatened her and she forcefully tamped it back. This was a homicide, just like the many she'd worked before. Hell, just last week old Mrs. Tyson had whacked old Mr. Tyson on the head with an iron skillet. She hadn't meant to kill him, she'd tearfully told Miranda, she just couldn't take his criticism anymore. All it had taken was forty-two years of complaining and a chicken-fried steak dinner to cause a sweet old lady to snap.
That Miranda understood. But this bizarro kink-kill? No way. She stopped beside the bed. So, what had precipitated this perp's breaking point? Now, that was a question she could focus on.
Her gaze settled on the neckties that had been used to bind his wrists and ankles. Silk, from the look of them. Looked expensive. And judging by the bright splashes of color and bold patterns, Stark hadn't been the typical buttoned-down English professor. A peacock, she thought.
Miranda shifted her attention slightly. A sailor's knot. She bent, studied the knot. It was good and tight; the perp had known what he or she was doing. And Stark had struggled to get free. Raw skin on his wrists—and ankles, she saw a moment later—where the fabric had rubbed as he fought.
Miranda straightened. Most probably a woman, although they couldn't eliminate a man until they knew Stark's sexual orientation. Crime of passion. Enacted in a frenzy.
Problem. Miranda drew her eyebrows together. Something missing.
She moved her gaze over the scene again, slowly, absorbing. The passion in the crime, she realized. The frenzy in the frenzied act.
She looked toward the doorway, and Buddy waiting. "Where are the footprints? Whoever did this would've been dripping blood. Where's the trail?"
He nodded. "You tell me."
"This perp was mighty pissed off. No doubt it was personal. But being passionate about killing someone doesn't make a crime of passion."
"Our perp's a sailor. This is a bowline knot. Well executed, I might add," she said as the chief crossed to stand beside her. "The beauty with this knot: the harder Stark struggled, the tighter the knot became. He couldn't have escaped even if he'd managed to get, say, a hand free. This baby is impossible to undo when there's tension on it."
"Where'd you learn about sailing knots, Rader?"
"Old boyfriend. From my couple years in New Orleans." Another time in her life that she preferred to leave in the past. "My thinking is, if your bondage game's just for fun, a less serious knot will do. I'm going to call this strike one against the crime-of-passion scenario."
"With you so far," he said.
She motioned to the bed. "This is a king. Stark's in the middle. He's stabbed in the chest, his throat is slit. Perp's got to be on top of him."
Buddy agreed. "That'd be a long reach from the side of the bed, and even if our unsub could, the angle's wrong."
"Pattern of blood spatter seems to bear that out," she said, pointing. "Bet the angle of the wounds will as well." She motioned to the vic again. "So, she's straddling him, all nice and cozy."
"Right. Naked."
"Undoubtedly."
"So, where was the knife?" he asked.
"She hid it beforehand. Maybe in her purse or with her clothes. She ties him up, nice and tight, then goes and gets it. He goes from hot and bothered to begging for his life."
Buddy pursed his lips. "Like you said, she's mighty pissed off. She wants him to be scared, to beg for his life, or cry like a little girl. That's part of the satisfaction for her."
"Strike two."
"Which brings us back to the footprints," he said.
"Exactly. So she does the deed, climbs off him, and heads to the bathroom to shower off the blood."
"And there, her clean clothes are waiting, no doubt neatly folded."
"Right. But she cleans up before she dresses." Miranda smiled grimly, visualizing the crime being carried out. "She's thorough, takes her time. It's the middle of the night and she's not worried about being interrupted."
Miranda made her way to the master bathroom, Buddy behind her. The bath was large and luxuriously appointed. The walk-in shower was big enough for two—or even three—people. Party central. On the floor in the corner nearest the door sat a heap of bloodied bath towels. On the counter by the sink stood a bottle of spray cleaner with bleach.
"Look at the bottle," Miranda said. "It's all but sparkling. She wiped everything."
"One problem—the towels. Why didn't she take them?"
"She didn't take those towels. My guess is the towel she dried herself with is long gone." Miranda crossed to the shower, peered in. "Quite the little housekeeper. I can see practically see myself in the fixtures, they're so shiny."
She looked over her shoulder at Buddy. "This was no crime of passion, Chief. It was a premeditated, thoroughly planned murder."
"Strike three," he murmured, the corners of his mouth lifting, the way a parent's would at a child's achievement. "We'll get her. No way she didn't leave something behind. A hair, a drop of blood, saliva. A missed fingerprint. No matter how careful she tried to be, trace gets left behind."
"What's next?" Miranda asked.
"You're lead on this. Billings assists. You good with that?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Call him in now. And as much as I hate to admit it, this scene is way bigger than the HPD can handle. We're gonna need the Parish's crime-scene unit for the biological and trace collection."
She'd already come to the same conclusion. "You want to call?" she asked. "Or should I?"
"You do it," he said. "I want a report as soon as you and Jake wrap up here."
Copyright © 2017 by Erica Spindler
Emma In The Night
Excerpt: The Other Brother
Review: Love and Other Words
Excerpt: The German Girl
Review + Excerpt: Getaway Girl
Excerpt: Runaway Girl
Review + Excerpt: An Anonymous Girl
Review: The Girl He Used To Know
Milena M said:
Thank you for the chance, I share on twitter. https://twitter.com/mi_mutter/status/897534793520263170
Catherine L Anderson said:
Thank you for the chance and looks like an amazing book

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Members of Western society should understand the full implications of meat consumption and how factory farming effects animals, our health, our environment, and workers employed in the industry.
From a philosophical perspective, we have free will to choose what we eat, but no one, including ourselves, is free from the consequences of our dietary decisions.
The biological structures and processes of nociception are present in both human and animal species, however, a biological basis for conscious experience in either humans or animals has not been found. If we question the existence of consciousness in animals we must question our own consciousness. This is absurd. We must be conscious to deny conscious experience.
Therefore, the lack of objective evidence for consciousness in animals does not eliminate the possibility that they are conscious. If it did, we would have to question human consciousness according to the same criteria.
I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the human spirit goes upwards and the spirit of animals goes downwards to the earth?
Modern factory farming aims to increase the efficiency of producing meat, milk, and eggs by confining animals in unnatural, high density environments. In these intensive environments, manual feeding, cleaning, and care of animals does not occur. Instead, CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) restrict movement and administer large amounts of vitamin supplements, growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, and vaccines.
H.R. 1150: Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2013 lists a tremendous amount of evidence to conclude that the use of antibiotics in factory farming leads to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In 2009, the total estimated health care cost of antibiotic resistant infections in the United States was between $16-26 billion annually.
Intensive factory farming requires intensive agriculture. This method of agriculture produces harmful effects to the environment, such as deforestation, unsustainable land and water use, pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer manufacture and use, as well as soil, water, and air pollution, to name a few.
Below are satellite photos: "Feedlots," a new series of images crafted by British artist Mishka Henner from publicly available satellite photographs.
"The Impact of Industrial Grain Fed Livestock Production on Food Security: an extended literature review." Compassion in World Farming. February 2012.
"Pharmed Food." National Public Radio. April – November 2013.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
This entry was posted in Personal Identity & Consciousness on October 5, 2013 by Fred Eaker.


Jody Birnbaum, is the President of Caterconsult, Inc., a Business Management Consultancy providing core strategies, methods, resources, training and support to entrepreneurs in the catering and restaurant industry. Jody spent twenty-five years in the catering business and was the founder and owner of Pear Tree Catering, Ltd.
At Caterconsult, Inc., Jody helps business owners with everything from strategic direction to social network marketing. She has also consulted on and opened several foodservice start-ups.


text:
Boston Irish local community news, events, information (June 9)
Irish Cultural Centre to host festival in celebration of 25th anniversary
The Irish Emigrant
@IrishEmigrant
The Viking Irish
To mark their 25th anniversary the Irish Cultural Centre (ICC) will host a two day celebration at their campus in Canton. The weekend kicks off early on Saturday morning, June 13 with the ICC Feis competition in association with the Harney Academy. It promises to be a delightful spectacle for all Irish dance lovers. This Feis is registered, sanctioned and governed by rules of An Coimisiún, North American Feis Commission & the New England Region Pat Watkins, President, NAFC. Following the Feis there will be live music all day, entertainment for kids and more. Musicians performing on the day include; Devri, Cat & the Moon and Joshua Tree.
The festival continues on Sunday, June 14 starting with the third annual 5k race at 11am. All levels are welcome including walkers, strollers and wheelchairs. The course is flat, and begins and ends on the grounds of the beautiful Irish Cultural Center. There is free entry to the festival for those signing up for the race. Registration begins is between 9-10.25 am. Following the race there will be GAA games, great music and activities for kids. Included in the lineup this year is "The Viking Irish". The Viking Irish are a local group with a deep interest in Viking history. They will set up a base area on site at the festival so all festival goers can witness a real life world of the legendary Vikings. Music on the day is provided by the Tom Lanigan Band, The Gobshites and Yoke Shire.
The Irish Cultural Centre was founded in 1989 to promote and organize Irish cultural, educational, sporting and social events. The not for profit organization aims to establish and sustain a facility where current and future generations of the New England community can participate in such activities.
Working in collaboration with Irish organizations and the Irish government - as well as with the region's educational, arts, and cultural institutions - the ICC actively supports Irish cultural activities throughout New England. They celebrate this heritage with events and activities that bring Irish culture to life, connecting people of all ages and making the ICC one of the region's most active cultural institutions.
Location: The Irish Cultural Centre of New England, 200 New Boston Drive, Canton. Tickets at brownpapertickets.com. The ICC can be contacted on 781-821-8291.
Frederick Douglass Monument events planned for Boston
The Daniel O'Connell Project (DOP), Museum of African American History (MAAH), and the National Center for Race Amity (NCRA) have joined in collaboration to present a creative, energizing and uplifting program which addresses improving racial perceptions and understanding, while cultivating an atmosphere that reduces the anxiety around race that is being experienced locally and nationally. The activities listed below are planned for Boston from June 12 to 14.
The series of events in Boston include participation by The Frederick Douglass Ireland Project and its, Co-Founder Don Mullan. Mr. Mullan will be accompanied at select events by the Frederick Douglass Ireland Monument, a nearly nine-foot-tall statue depicting Douglass as a young man of 27 years old, the age he was when he left Boston to journey to Ireland for a four-month lecture tour in 1845-6. The monument highlights the story of the relationship between Frederick Douglass, the famed, orator, author, American statesman, and self-emancipated man and Ireland and Irish leaders like Daniel O'Connell, who was a dedicated servant to the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage. The Irish government through the office of Irish Minister for the Diaspora, Jimmy Deenihan, TD, authorized the shipping of the Monument to the United States.
June 12 – 8:30 AM Boston Federal Reserve Bank - Panel Presentation (The event open to the public, seating is limited):
Understanding Race Amity and The Other Tradition and documentary segment Douglass and O'Connell: Two Men Yearn for Freedom– William H. Smith, Ed. D., Founding Executive Director, National Center for Race Amity, Wheelock College
The Connectivity of Struggle and Oppression to Break Racial Barriers – Don Mullan, Author of Bloody Sunday, Co-Founder Douglass/O'Connell Project, Humanitarian, Member of French-Haitian Reparations Initiative
June 11 and 12 Display of Frederick Douglass Ireland Monument at Federal Bank of Boston
June 13 - Lecture: Following The North Star: The Impact of Frederick Douglass and Daniel O'Connell on Liberation by Don Mullan at the Museum of African American History, 14 Joy Street, Boston. The Frederick Douglass Ireland Monument will be on display at this event. Event open to the public, seating is limited.
June 14 - Annual Metro Boston Race Amity Festival on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, (Across from the New England Aquarium. The Festival will open with a short procession of international, state, and local government officials along with representatives of civic, community, and business organizations. It will be headed by the Boston Police Department Color Guard. The family oriented event includes live music and dance performances, martial arts demonstrations, visual art exhibits, face painting for children, Curious George and friends, food tents and trucks, and the popular Race Amity Scavenger Hunt with hundreds of prizes. The Frederick Douglass Ireland Monument will be on display to the general public during the festival. The event is open to the public.
Ulster University program participants attend reception at Boston College
A special reception took place at the Chestnut Hill campus of Boston College last week to celebrate the participants from the Ulster University Developing Management program (UUDM). Those in attendance were honored for their successful completion of the International Module of their developing management program, as well as celebrate the partnership between Ulster University and Boston College.
The UUDN course is specifically geared towards Northern Ireland middle/aspiring senior managers who, as part of their personal development, are keen to pursue a management qualification as well as benefit from a practically orientated management programme.
The Irish Cultural Centre 25th anniversary Gala
To mark their 25th year the Irish Cultural Centre of New England (ICC) held a gala on Saturday, May 30. Entertainment on the night was provided by John Connors & The Irish Express as well as a special performance by the Moffat School of Irish dance. A number of presentations were also made later in the evening. There were a several prominent guests in attendance including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Consul General Breandán Ó Caollaí.
Later this month the ICC will also host a two day festival at their campus in Canton. The festival begins on June 13 with the ICC Feis in association with the Harney Academy followed by live music, entertainment for the kids and more. It continues on June 14 with a 5k race, GAA games, activities for kids and music.
Eire Society of Boston announces 2016 slate of officers and directors
Annual meeting to take place on Wednesday, June 24
Members of the ESB Board of Directors taken at the 2015 Gold Medal Dinner at the Fairmont Copley Plaza on 25 April 2015, from left to right, Cornelia Cassidy Koutoujian, Mary Ellen Mulligan, Cathleen McGrail, Margaret Flagg, Robin Tagliaferri, Thomas Carty and Ann Doherty.
The Eire Society of Boston proudly announces its slate of officers and directors for FY2015-16. The ESB will vote for approval of the slate at its Annual Meeting on Wednesday, 24 June at 6pm at the Forbes House Museum, 215 Adams Street, Milton.
The meeting will feature a recap the organizations achievements over the past year and include a reception with light fare, beverages and Irish music. The event is open to the members of the ESB and the general public. To RSVP, email Barbara Fitzgerald, ESB Corresponding Secretary at barbara.s.fitzgerald@gmail.com or call toll free 1.866.560.1050.
The Eire Society of Boston slate of officers and directors for FY2015-16 are:
President - Thomas W. Carty
First Vice President - Robin M. Tagliaferri
Second Vice President - John P. Connolly
Treasurer - Ann M. Doherty
Recording Secretary – Ann M. Doherty
Membership Secretary - Mary Ellen Mulligan
Corresponding Secretary - Barbara Smith Fitzgerald
Directors: Mary Beth Fitzgerald, C. Maria Hill, Cornelia Cassidy Koutoujian , Patricia Willis
Past Presidents: Edward L. Duffy, Margaret F. Flagg, Edris B. Kelley, Cathleen A. McGrail, John P. McGuire, Michael J. P. Neagle, Philip B. O'Brien, Robert K. O'Neil Ph.D., Catherine B. Shannon Ph.D., Margaret M. Stapleton
Past President Ex Officio: William H. Pear II
Director Ex- Officio: Ann M. Walsh
Nominations to the Board of Directors: Kevin Cloutier, Christian Dupont, Richard B. Finnegan, Denis F. Keohane, Annmarie Tolkoff, Margaret Sullivan, William Smith
For more information on ESB programs and events, see the website eiresociety.org
Kerry GAA legends in Boston
A high-profile delegation, including a number of former Kerry players, spent several days in Boston recently to raise funds for a new Center of Excellence currently being developed in Co. Kerry.
The Kerry County Board and Cairde Chiarraí organized several events to help raise funds for the Center. The International played host to a golf tournament, featuring some of Boston's most prominent business, construction and financial leaders. Some of the greats of Gaelic Football (Oige Moran, Eoin Liston, Sean Walsh, Ambrose O'Donovan, Mick Galway, Donal Daly) also attended a fundraising dance.
The stunning Kerry GAA Center of Excellence will incorporate a co-hosted GAA facility at the Institute of Technology, Tralee, and six playing fields with a training facility, a gymnasium and jogging track on a 48-acre site at Currans near Kerry Airport. To date the Kerry Co. Board have raised over $5M through corporate sponsorship, donations, GAA and Government grants.
Radio Kerry presenter Weeshie Fogarty was also in Boston to record interviews with the local GAA community for his renowned Radio Kerry show myTerrance Talk.
The interviews by Weeshie Fogarty for Radio Kerry will be available to steam live or to download as a podcast at radiokerry.ie/podcast_series/terracetalk/
IrishCentral Community News & Events
The Irish Emigrant - Local News & Events
The Irish Emigrant - Boston/New England Calendar of Events
IrishCentral Community News - NY/Tri State Calendar of Events


163 Summer Camps in for "Delaware, United States (DE)"
Delaware may be small but it is mighty, with pristine beaches, beautiful landscapes, and a fascinating history. Embark on an outdoor adventure, learn about the state's natural history, or check out local museums and historic landmarks.
Grab a paddle and canoe through Trap Pond State Park, where adventure awaits as you glide through the cypress trees. Your kids will love the thrilling, panoramic view they get while zip lining at Go Ape in Lums Pond State Park. If you're looking for more outdoor adventure, search no further than Cape Henlopen. This spot is ideal for families to enjoy swimming, biking, hiking trails, kayaking, fishing, horseback riding, and picnicking. Whether you're looking to stick to a budget or splurge a little, your kids will enjoy the campsites, cabins, cottages, or yurts that are available for a truly rustic adventures.
Dig deep into the layers of the past at the Delaware Museum of Natural History, where Mother Nature's history takes a front seat. Visit the only permanent dinosaur exhibit in the state, and watch your kids feel like real scientists as they examine fossils from millions of years ago. The Shell Gallery is also a unique area, housing the country's top collections. With areas like the Nature Nook, children have the opportunity to immerse themselves in habitats while observing the animals in their natural state.
Plunge into fun at the Delaware Children's Museum, where kids can truly understand the meaning of learning through playing. Whether they're doing arts and crafts or conducting an experiment, your children will explore topics such nature, transportation, and structures in a creative fashion. Walk your young ones down old streets in the distinct colonial area Old New Castle, featuring marvelous Dutch and Federal architecture. Tree-lined streets take you back to Colonial times with historic restaurants and quaint shops. Once they've gotten their cultural fill, hop to Battery Park right next door, where kids can frolic around and learn a lesson or two about gardening along the way.
Act up this summer with Drama Kids!!
Successorize your life at the first annual Career Rally! Don't get left behind in the game of life! Get ready to map your future!
Learn individual and team techniques from NFL player Hank Poteat and his outstanding coaching staff. Great opportunity!
Play baseball at the blue rocks!


The other day I received a leaflet from P&O giving details of planned refits to these three ships over the next 18 months or so. The first thing to say is that I was very pleased to receive this information – I think it's good that P&O should be more transparent about its plans. Many people will already be aware of all of this, but here it is again anyway.
Arcadia: she'll get some single cabins on Deck 2. The room for these will come from the Casino and Elektra, currently the disco. This will disappear entirely, in fact: an enlarged Globe will perform that function. Globe will get better soundproofing via a new glass wall which I would have thought would have created increased noise travel, but obviously I'm wrong. The existing Ocean Grill (the renamed Arcadian Rhodes) will get a makeover, as will the shops. There's a hint that there will be changes to the Orchid restaurant – it wouldn't surprise me if that became another Atul Kochhar restaurant in due course. There will also be changes to the Crows Nest – refurbished seating and some rearrangement of the space – and finally many ordinary cabins will be 'freshened up' (it isn't explained what means).
Oceana: The changes here will mainly be to the cabins and the night club and bar, Le Club, plus general refurbishment (by the sound of it) to a number of her public spaces. There will also be a new Marco Pierre White menu in Le Jardin in the evening, but it does't say if there will be physical changes to that area.
Ventura: a number of changes have already been announced for Ventura. The biggest will be the creation of 18 single cabins in the area currently occupied by (part of) The Exchange, which will therefore shrink. Next, there was some surprise when the replacement of Ramblas by an Azura-style Glass House wasn't announced previously with the cabin changes; however, the Glass House announcement has been made now. Talking of Azura features, there's to be a Retreat on Ventura, and the atrium will get a dance floor similar to the one on Azura. Because Ventura is (or will be) widely wi-fied, there's no longer felt to be a need for a dedicated Cyb@center, and that space will become a library with the current library will become a perfumery. Finally, there's a comment to the effect that East will be changing – I have a feeling that this too is to become an Atul Kochhar restaurant.
I have to say that I don't know whether to be pleased or upset about the changes to Ventura. I think the addition of the single cabins is a plus, and we've always thought that The Exchange is a bit of a barn so any change there is likely to be an improvement. We always enjoyed Ramblas, however – we have happy memories from all three of our Ventura cruises of tapas + Tempranillo in there – and we'll be sorry to lose that. (As an aside, I always enjoyed the music in there, even if the tape they generally played was by a couple of Mexican musicians – Rodrigo y Gabriella – not Spanish, whose inspiration is more heavy metal than flamenco; their twin-accoustic guitar version of Stairway to Heaven is outstanding.) But now Ramblas will disappear, and I feel a bit sad about that. However everyone says that the Glasshouse on Azura is excellent, so we'll look forward to enjoying that when we're on her next year.
If I've got mixed feeling about the replacement of Ramblas, I haven't got any doubts about the next change: the Retreat. This just has to be a bad idea: I am completely opposed to reserving any general part of a ship to people who have paid. Bah! Humbug!! I don't think the one on Azura has been a great success so why they've decided to replicate it on Ventura I don't know. Except, of course, that it will bring in some revenue…. Finallylet me say that the switch of the Cyb@center to a library sounds like an excellent idea, and I'll look forward to seeing that as well.
Not pleased at all with the changes , regardless of your feelings on the Exchange , it is a very popular bar that on some evenings was difficult to get a table / seat in , the retreat – no thanks , why should you pay extra to get a sunbed , tensions only going to rise due to less sunbeds for everyone else , Ramblas I enjoyed as well , why add what will be an over priced pretentious wine bar named after some B rate tv personality , finally don't change East , it was the best Restaurant on the ship – Rant over !!
Fair point on The Exchange, Iain – it was always popular whenever we've been on Ventura. It's not the 'pub' aspect that we didn't like, more just the amount of space. We enjoyed the one on Arcadia (the Red Lion?), but that's divided into smaller areas – rooms, almost.
Thanks for the rant – err, comment.
We went on the Oceana for the second time at Christmas 2012, just after the refit and the leclub was great, fantastic sound system, great chairs and the bar with sit up chairs was really modern.
The cabins had new carpets, curtains and bedding, but the lift areas have been over looked and we thought they needed a face lift at least.
The downside was the leaks, toilets in the public areas, Magums Bar was closed on Christmas day due the "waterfall" from the casino, and the public toilets outside leclub finally gave up on day 3 of our 7 day holiday.
Ah – someone on the first post-refit cruise! Well, I hope there aren't any glitches like they seem to have been on Oceana. But I'd very much welcome a report back afterwards, Shaun, especially as you've been on Ventura before and will be able to compare before & after.
We were on Oceana 3 years ago and thought it needed a general referb then so that should be good.
Making Ventura more like Azura though – hmmm. I like the differences between the two so I'm not sure about the changes on the whole. I do prefer the Glass House to Ramblas (though I don't drink wine) and I agree that The Exchange is big but also that it does get full. I like the retreat on Azura but it's too big and that's the only pool I can get my disabled adult son into so on Ventura we could use it when we wanted to but on Azura we have to pay, grrr.
We were on Azura in June and we're on her in just over a month but we booked Ventura next Sept for a b2b for a change but by the sounds of it she'll be quite like Azura by then.
How do you get the leaflets that tell you this??
They came from P&O, and were mailings to members of P&O's 'Peninsular Club' – that's the current name for their loyalty scheme. There's a website but I'm afraid it doesn't have this information on it.
Having read a Lot of articles, reviews etc recently in order to choose our first cruise, I had heard about the Ventura refit and am another who disagrees with putting a retreat onboard. Azura already has one and there are of course two adults-only ships in the fleet, why change another ship? Cannot believe there is the demand for it but I guess they wouldn't be doing it unless they are happy they will sell it to people.
I have also read that Ventura is getting an outdoor cinema screen, have you heard of this, Tom?
This definitely won't be happening. The sea screen would interfere with the operation of Ventura's sliding pool roof; or to put it another way, the sliding pool roof would slice the sea screen in two when it closed!
Ventura was quite different from the Princess sisters (Crown Princess, Ruby Princess) when she first went into service, but Azura is much more like the Princess ships. They have an open pool, a sea screen ('MUTS' – aka Movies under the Stars) and a Retreat (The Sanctuary), and these features are simply repeated on Azura. Maybe the differences on Ventura cost too much to incorporate a second time.
Just returned from 3 wks on Azura which was very enjoyable.Sad to learn about changes to Ventura,Brodies(Azura) very noisy & cramped & those big seats! cant see a thing & what a waste of space .Exchange(Ventura) much better.Why does every venue have "music" (& I use the term loosely) playing, conversation impossible at times.On the whole an enjoyable cruise; must be- we just booked another.
Thanks for the comment, Ian. As I mentioned in the post we've never been fans of The Exchange on Ventura, so we had been hoping the changes might improve it. On Ventura we always preferred bars such as Ramblas, the Red Bar, and Metropolis. But we'll go with an open mind.
Just as a matter of interest: whereabouts in Azura are the casino tables in relation to Brodies? Are they on the side with Brodies in the middle, or is Brodies over to the side with the casino in the middle?
Have to echo what has already been said about Ventura. I really like Ramblas and preferred the openness of it in comparison with The Glass House, which I never visited for a meal. Also, they must be crazy to get rid of East – the best restaurant on the whole ship in my view. However, what they need to do with this venue is charge half price during the first few days to draw people in. This will then ensure greater take up during the cruise as a whole. Having a half price sale after the first week of a 2 week cruise just means no one in there for the first week to being full up during the second.
I have been on both ships and I too prefer the Ramblas to the Glass House and I think charging to go into the adult only pool is disgusting . On a family friendly ship there should be somewhere yuan go without having to pay extra.
I have been on both ships and I too prefer the Ramblas to the Glass House and I think charging to go into the adult only pool is disgusting . On a family friendly ship there should be somewhere you can go without having to pay extra.
Maybe I'm the only one, but the improvements seem good to me. As we have to go on our cruises during school holidays, we like to book into the Retreat for a bit of peace and quiet (my daughter disappears to the Teens Club, she loves it) and my husband and I chill !!!


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It has a fairly good coverage and speeds for African standards. 2G is mainly on 900 and some 1800 MHz, 3G/UMTS on 2100 MHz and 4G/LTE has started on 1800 MHz (band 3) with all 3 providers.
Wide areas of the country are not covered by the mobile network, in towns and villages you can expect some coverage. The map for the two main providers is improving each year, but when deciding whether to get a local SIM card, remember that there's simply no mobile coverage across large parts of the country (including much of the Kalahari and Okavango Delta). That said, the main highway system is generally covered.
Since 2008 all SIM cards need to be registered. So be prepared to show a photo ID for purchase. Nano SIM cards may need to be cut to size if not available.
Beginning in 2017, strict registration laws have been set place. Data services, and outgoing calls and SMS will not take place without physically going to an Orange shop with an identification (e.g passport) and registering your SIM card though incoming calls and SMS work without registration.
Mascom Wireless, a private Botswanan mobile company controlled by Portugal Telecom is the market leader in the country. It has the best 3G coverage and in 2014 their 3G covered 70% of the population. In 2015 Mascom started with 4G/LTE in Gaborone: coverage map.
Their prepaid SIM card is called 'Flexi Plan'. It used to be sold on the streets, but for registration you should better go to one of their shops (list). Top-up vouchers you can find everywhere in the country.
All bundles can be activated by *123# <call> and choosing the appropriate bundle. This is how to check data credit too.
Orange by French Télécom is the second operator in the country with a 27% market share. It has a lower coverage, but they were the first to start with 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz to be available in Gaborone and some other towns in 2015: 2G/3G/4G coverage map.
Their prepaid starter kit is sold for P 9.90 and including P5.00 cross-net and P5.00 on-net worth of airtime plus 10 domestic SMS. You can get it on the street or in their shops (list) for registration.
Night bonus is valid 11pm-6am.
For all offers to activate, type *148# and choose the bundle.
BTC Mobile (rebranded from be Mobile) is the brand name of the state-owned Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC), that combines the operations of fixed line operator BTCL and wireless operator be Mobile. It's the third operator with 16% market share. 4G/LTE has started in 2016 in Gaborone, is rolled out in the country and it claims the best 4G coverage right now (coverage map).
Their prepaid starter set called SIM+ can be found in their shops (list) for P 10. It contains P 10 airtime, 10 MB data per month and 10 SMS per month both valid for 6 months.
For activation type code *180#. Bonus data stays always valid for 1 month.


Enter your name, phone and email. You can Recommend a Friend now, or later. Click the "Print Invitation" button to print your personalized Recommend a Friend Invitations.
Ask friends to present your Invitation at ABC Motors at time of arrival. If they buy a new or preowned vehicle, you earn $200! It's that easy!!


3G power line signal booster is a high-performance repeater for calls / data which covers areas up to 1000 sq. ft. Great package for poor coverage areas (1-2 bars outside) to boost overlarge house offices warehouse etc. This model has got both automatic and manual gain control giving you very stable signal for the frequency 900 MHz. Model is coming with a powerful Yagi antenna.
Don't Worry OrwinD® is here, to save you from the bad signal problems!!!


text:
Goldman Sachs joins growing band of businesses snubbing Saudi conference
Matt Scuffham
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Thursday joined the growing list of high-profile businesses snubbing a Saudi investment conference next week amid mounting pressure on Riyad over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
FILE PHOTO: David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, at the Bloomberg Global Business forum in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
A number of top bankers and business leaders, including the CEOs of JP Morgan Chase & Co, Blackstone Group LP, BlackRock Inc and the chairman of Ford Motor Co, have pulled out of the event in recent days.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday also abandoned plans to attend.
In an interview with CNBC, Goldman CEO David Solomon said the bank was not sending any senior executives. He said that Dina Powell, a Goldman executive who rejoined the bank earlier this year after serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump, had initially planned to attend but would not go.
"This incident is unacceptable and clearly they have to answer questions specifically regarding this incident," Solomon said. "How they answer those questions and how more information becomes apparent will have an impact on how we all interact."
Other chief executives are still torn over whether to attend. Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser on Tuesday said he had not yet made up his mind whether to attend the event in a country where his company has almost 2,000 employees and had some 1.4 billion euros in sales in 2017.
"There is a person missing… there is a massive concern. On the other hand, if we skip communicating with countries where people are missing, I just can stay home because I cannot talk to anybody anymore," he said at an event in Toronto.
Media outlets are also boycotting the event. On Thursday, Fox News said it had canceled its sponsorship of and participation in the event, joining outlets such as CNN, the New York Times and Bloomberg LP.
Goldman began operating in Riyadh in 2009 and obtained new licenses in 2014 and 2017 that have allowed it to expand. It bought a portion of oil giant Aramco's $10 billion credit facility last year in an attempt to secure a role in the company's IPO, which is delayed.
The bank was recently hired by the Saudis' main sovereign wealth fund, PIF, to advise on the sale of its majority stake in Saudi petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) to Aramco, sources have told Reuters.
Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar in Dubai, Jarret Renshaw in New York; Editing by Paul Simao and Dan Grebler


text:
RAB8A () – білок, який кодується однойменним геном, розташованим у людей на короткому плечі 19-ї хромосоми.  Довжина поліпептидного ланцюга білка становить 207 амінокислот, а молекулярна маса — 23 668.

Задіяний у таких біологічних процесах як транспорт, транспорт білків, біогенез та деградація війок.
Білок має сайт для зв'язування з нуклеотидами, ГТФ.
Локалізований у клітинній мембрані, цитоплазмі, цитоскелеті, мембрані, клітинних відростках, війках, цитоплазматичних везикулах, апараті Гольджі, ендосомах.

Література

Примітки

Див. також
 Хромосома 19

Некатегоризовані білки

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Fifty-four year old Joyce Mukuya of Mariannridge has gained a new lease on life since becoming involved with CAST late last year. As a member of the Apostolic Church, Joyce recalls a frightening encounter with 'Madlozi', a spirit believed in Traditional Zulu African culture to be a sign or calling to become a sangoma. Joyce turned to her pastor who, together with members of her church, prayed over her for protection. Shortly after this, Joyce dreamt of her late mother, calling her to pray and continue going to church.
As a widow, and mother of three children, two of whom are unemployed with children of their own, Joyce has suffered financial struggles since her ex-husband's passing caused by a stroke at the age of 58. Joyce has also had health problems of her own. She spent three weeks in hospital after suffering a mild stroke. She currently lives with ongoing heart problems and battles with arthritis. A few years prior, she was involved in treating a young boy in her area who was stabbed several times, and, in doing so, contracted HIV. Joyce did not receive any form of counselling after this incident. The social grant she receives from the government has been her main source of income.
For four years, her family lived without electricity due to unpaid electricity bills, and had to go through the task of collecting water and carrying it to their home. Through the generosity of a member of her community, their bill of R4900 was settled, and electricity restored.
Her daughter, Candy, aged 22, mother of 2 toddlers, earns some money from hair styling, cooking and sewing. Her son, Ian, 39 has experience with electrical work, vehicle mechanics and security services, but his problem with drug abuse has thwarted his opportunities for employment. Joyce has two other children, a daughter living in Shongweni and a son in Cape Town who do not offer any means of support.
Joyce heard about the Relief Services that CAST administers in the Mariannridge community, and got in touch with the Community Co-ordinator, Ralph Williams. She now receives a monthly food parcel and is able to earn additional income through door-to-door sales of clothing supplied by CAST. Her daughter, Candy has also found a new avenue to earn money from her talent for sewing through CAST's Business Development programme, which has sold her handmade goods locally to visiting mission teams from the USA. Both Joyce and Candy are also a part of the Savings Club, a new branch of the Business Development Programme which aims to develop the practise of saving and investing in business ideas.
Since recommitting her life to Christ this year, and becoming involved with CAST, Joyce has managed to overcome a long-time drinking problem and now has renewed hope for the future. Going forward, she would greatly appreciate help with getting a new sewing machine to increase her family's earning potential.


My wife bid & won this CD for my birthday. I would just like to say thank you for putting this signed CD up for auction. It is one fantastic birthday present to get as I have been a quo fan since the 70's. I am also glad that the money has gone to a great cause. So I wish you all the best for the future and I hope your charity goes from strength to strength.
I'm very glad the DVD was able to raise some funds and gratified that I could be of some help for such a worthwhile cause.
During 2010, after a successful 2009 which saw over £1,600 raised, I am now going to go carry on raising money for six charities (the RNIB have been replaced by the Macular Eye Society and the National Tremor Foundation have been added) by auctioning off various signed or unique items donated by authors, bands, celebrities, sporting people etc. via EBay in the Great Bid 'n' Buy Fundraiser. As charities are seeing declining donations due to the current economic climate I thought one way to get in vital funds is by charity Ebay auctions as people get an item they want whilst helping the nominated charity, who get funds they may not have otherwise have got.
* Signed copy of 'Tie Me To The Mast' by David Johnson, a 'must read' for any Stoke City supporter and football fans in general as it covers Stoke's promotion season 2007/08 and what is like to support a club that brings joy and frustration in equal measure!
Good luck. Great charities to support. I'll have a looksee and bid on something.
Have you seen the MDCC auctions on eBay? MDCC is Monthly Daft Charitable Coalition, a group of ebayers who list items for their chosen charities and good causes once a month and bid on each others auctions (well, bidding is not compulsory!) We each list a maximum of 5 auctions on the last Sunday of the month for 7 days, to end on the 1st Sunday of the next month, including 'MDCC' in the titles (without the quotes) to make them easily searchable- so we start this Sunday if you'd like to join in, or maybe just have a look for this month!
How do you get such great items to auction? I need tips!


WASHINGTON — Sen. Rob Portman said he "strongly" supports President Donald Trump's decision Friday to withdraw from a pact with Russia that bans intermediate range nuclear missiles unless the Russians comply with the terms of the three-decade agreement.
Although the administration held out the possibility that the threat of suspending the 1987 pact would induce Russian to observe the treaty's terms, there has been a growing demand among Republicans to adopt a tougher line against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Portman said, "We cannot have an effective treaty when only one party is following the rules." But the Ohio Republican expressed hope that "continued engagement and dialogue will bring the Russians back to the table and into compliance with the treaty."
Ohio GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Dayton backed the decision as well, saying Russia has "flagrantly and deliberately violated (the agreement by) developing, testing, and fielding intermediate range cruise and ballistic missiles."
He said the administration of former President Barack Obama "refused to recognize the reality of Russia's actions, leaving us to comply with a treaty while our highly aggressive adversary violates it" Turner said he looks forward to working with the" the Trump Administration "to hold Russia accountable."
Signed in 1987, the agreement banned the United States and the then-Soviet Union from deploying ground-launched cruise missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,420 miles.
In a statement, Trump said he would formally end U.S. involvement in the treaty in six months "unless Russia comes back into compliance by destroying all of its violating missiles, launchers, and associated equipment."


text:
Starhammer
A sheep in wolf's clothing...
Pretentious is a word which seems to have lost its true meaning in recent years. It gets bandied about and applied to situations of experimentalism, evolution and sometimes virtuosity, which, within the world of prog covers just about everything. However, its definition actually lies within the world of false claims and ostentatiousness. Just because something is that little bit different, or over the top, does not necessarily mean its pretentious. The key is the success or failure to produce something that actually has substance, and is not just smoke and mirrors. This is of course entirely subjective, but I will cite the guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen as an personal example of an extremely talented technician masquerading as an extremely talented musician.
On this particular album dredg pop up at the other end of the pretension scale. El Cielo tries to be deep and meaningful, subtle and even grandiose at times. In reality you just get an hour of dronotonous alternative rock with a few bells and whistles and the occasional ambient interlude. With song titles like Δ and Brushstroke: dcbtfobaaposba, and lines such as "It was inspired by the clarity of consciousness, rather than the vividness of dream, and was the self-proclaimed pinnacle of broken bridges and chest pressure", it would be hard to find anything more pretentious.
Whilst El Cielo is certainly more progressive than its successor Catch Without Arms, it somehow also manages to be less enjoyable, and less engaging. The painfully cruel Sorry But It's Over lures you into thinking that it might just be that, but alas there are another ten tracks yet to come. There are some redeeming features, but one song (Same ol' Road) and generally interesting lyrics aren't enough to recommend this to anyone but fans.
The Verdict: Catastrophically tepid.
Starhammer | 2/5 | 2011-12-11
Send comments to Starhammer


text:
Can You Find the Name and Family of a Nameless Hiker the Internet Can't Identify?
3 Nov 2020 9:30 AM | Anonymous
The man on the hiking trail went by "Mostly Harmless." He was friendly and said he worked in tech. After he died in his tent, no one could figure out who he was.
In April, 2017, a man started hiking in a state park just north of New York City. He then headed south on the Appalachian Trail and then continued on a series of hiking trails in Florida. He seemed pleasant, talked with many people he met along the trails, but apparently never told anyone his true name or even his origins. He became known as "Mostly Harmless," a reference to Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
He said he didn't have a cell phone or any other high-tech device even though he told some people he had worked in the tech industry and he wanted to detox from digital life. He didn't carry credit cards but always seemed to have a lot of cash in his pocket.
On July 23, 2018, two hikers in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve found "Mostly Harmless" dead in his tent. Investigators were unable to understand how or why he died. There were no indications of foul play, an autopsy was unable to determine his cause of death. He had more than $3,500 cash in the tent. He had food nearby, but he was very slender, weighing just 83 pounds on a 5'8" frame. He had no tattoos or other unusual markings. His fingerprints didn't match those of anyone else on file. His DNA didn't match any in the Department of Justice's missing person database or in CODIS, the national DNA database run by the FBI.
The case of identifying the mysterious man soon spread like wildfire on the internet. Even GEDMatch, a database of DNA samples that people have submitted voluntarily, was consulted but there was no close relative found of "Mostly Harmless."
This sounds to me like a good challenge for genealogists. We are all experienced searchers looking for unknown people. Usually, we search for our unknown ancestors but the same skills often can be used to find other unknown individuals as well.
You can read much more about "Mostly Harmless" in an article by Nicholas Thompson published in the Wired web site at https://www.wired.com/story/nameless-hiker-mostly-harmless-internet-mystery/ as well as in hundreds of other websites.
Can you determine who "Mostly Harmless" really was?
Historic Rhode Island Newspapers Digitized, Available Online
Posted by Anonymous on
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text:
Q: Derivative of area of sphere
Possible Duplicate:
Why is the derivative of a circle's area its perimeter (and similarly for spheres)?

The derivative of the area $\pi r^2$ of a disk is the perimeter $2\pi r$ of the circumference. I know some explanations of this link.
1) Does there exist a explanation of this fact using Stokes's formula?
2) Does there exists a more general statement for some class of manifolds?

A: For part 1 at least, let
$$
F(x)=x
$$
Then the Divergence Theorem, a case of Stoke's Theorem, says that when $\mathcal{D}$ is a ball of radius $r$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$,
$$
\int_{\partial\mathcal{D}}F\cdot\vec{n}\;\mathrm{d}s=\int_{\mathcal{D}}\nabla\cdot F\;\mathrm{d}x
$$
$$
\int_{\partial\mathcal{D}}r\;\mathrm{d}s=\int_{\mathcal{D}}n\;\mathrm{d}x
$$
$$
r|\partial\mathcal{D}|=n|\mathcal{D}|
$$
Thus, $|\partial\mathcal{D}|=\frac{n}{r}|\mathcal{D}|$. Since all spheres are geometrically similar, and the volume of similar objects in $\mathbb{R}^n$ grows as their size to the $n^{\text{th}}$ power, $|\mathcal{D}|=cr^n$. Therefore,
$$
\begin{align}
\frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}r}|\mathcal{D}|
&=cnr^{n-1}\\
&=\frac{n}{r}|\mathcal{D}|\\
&=|\partial\mathcal{D}|
\end{align}
$$

A: Certainly nothing that has to do with Stokes theorem and with manifolds this has at first glimpse nothing to do as well. What we are dealing with here is firstly submanifolds that are embedded in some Euclidean space. Then, for the calculation, one has simply used a coordinate transformation. Please note that Stokes' theorem (one of the most beautiful theorems) expresses the duality between cohomology and homology (mostly in the de Rham sense). If you would like to establish some relationship between the volume of an n-disk and the volume of its boundary, then you will have to calculate both separately and afterwards compare the two results.
This may sound a bit harsh, but I really appreciate your questions because it is exactly what you have to think about when you work in the field of differential geometry and read more advanced books and research papers.

A: The size of the boundary times the rate at which the boundary moves equals the rate at which the size of the bounded region changes.
There appears to be no conventional name for this fact.  I've called it the boundary rule sometimes.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
filed: July 29, 2012 • Texas
Gulf turbine plan sparks wildlife debate
Credit: By Colin McDonald | San Antonio Express-News | www.mysanantonio.com 29 July 2012 ~~
The 300 offshore wind turbines proposed for the Gulf of Mexico near South Padre Island would rival the Tower of the Americas in height, with 280-foot blades longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747.
They would be almost twice the size of any turbine currently in the United States. The electricity produced could meet the demand of millions.
But the towers, blades and transmission lines could also mar an iconic Texas landscape, restrict fishing and impair endangered species, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
They would also stand in the middle of one of the most important migratory flyways in the Western Hemisphere, according to the American Bird Conservancy.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now working on how to evaluate this unprecedented proposal and if it should grant permits for construction.
With no model to follow for this large of a development in the Gulf of Mexico, the corps has no proven methodology for examining the potential consequences and benefits. It also has no system to monitor the project once built.
"The answer scientifically is, we don't know because it has never been done," said Greg Stunz, professor of marine biology at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "There are a lot of unknowns because you are dealing with the ocean."
Race for first in the U.S.
Only two offshore wind projects in the United States have received the state and federal permits required to start construction, according to the American Wind Energy Association. One is a small demonstration project with six towers off the coast of New Jersey. The other is Cape Wind off Massachusetts with 130 towers. None has started construction.
The proposal by Austin-based Baryonyx Corp. has more than twice the number of towers and three times the electricity output of Cape Wind. It would be the first in the Gulf.
"Baryonyx is the real deal," said Jim Suydam, spokesman for the Texas General Land Office. "They know what they are doing."
From the beach, the blades would be easy to spot, like a city of pinwheels five miles offshore. On a clear day, they would be visible from Harlingen, the spinning blades poking above the horizon more than 20 miles away.
The Baryonyx development could produce almost twice as much power as the 800-megawatt Rio Nogales gas plant in Seguin, which CPS Energy bought this spring.
And at full power, the output from the 300 5- to 6-megawatt turbines would exceed that of each nuclear reactor at the South Texas Project plant near Bay City.
The GLO, eager for the potential revenues, has been working with and leasing state-owned submerged land off the Texas coast to wind companies for almost a decade in attempts to get the industry started.
So far, Baryonyx is the closest to building and has paid Texas more than $450,000, according to the GLO.
The state estimates that, if built, the project would generate a minimum of $338 million for the school fund during the 30-year lease.
Baryonyx is leasing four sections of Texas owned sea floor but is moving forward with only the southern two, called the Rio Grande and North Rio Grande sections, after the Navy said the northern sites near Mustang Island would interfere with its flight training based out of Kingsville.
Ian Hatton, CEO of Baryonyx, estimates putting 150 or more towers in place on each of the Rio Grande sections would cost about $8 billion.
The biggest benefactor of that construction would most likely be the 40,000-acre Port of Brownsville, the closest major port.
Manuel Ortiz, spokesman for the port, said the port's purpose is to create jobs. Becoming a staging ground for the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms would be welcome. The port's main business of serving the shrimp fleet and oil and gas industry, and bulk import and export shipping, are not growing.
Such support is why Hatton chose to set up shop in Texas.
After starting and selling a company with the permits needed for a wind development off the west coast of England, which is now built and operating, Hatton chose to come to Texas.
"You got all the logistics and engineering," he said. "Plus, you have extremely good wind resources that are as good as anything you would get in North America."
He also added the "tremendous demand for energy" and "very, very business friendly environment."
Such support also is what opponents of the project fear.
With the potential for a financial windfall and a push for cleaner energy sources as global temperatures and sea levels rise, they worry their concerns will be brushed aside.
The huge blades would be turning in the middle of one of the largest migratory flyways in North America.
The towers also could close 41,000 acres of some of the best fishing grounds for shrimp and game fish in South Texas, create a hazard for passing ships and planes, and generate electromagnetic fields that could hinder the movement of marine species such as sea turtles.
The U.S. Coast Guard also has concerns about the project but would not make them public.
Audubon Texas says there is little information at this point to evaluate, explained Iliana Peña, director of conservation for the organization.
"The lack of science makes it more difficult," she said. "We just don't know, and that argument does not win in this state."
In spring and fall, waves of migrating birds along the Gulf can be tracked by radar. The flocks are so large and dense they look like bands of storm clouds, said David Newstead, an environmental scientist with the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program based in Corpus Christi.
Europe already has several offshore wind projects in the North Sea and Atlantic, with close to 4,000 megawatts installed since 1991, according to AWEA, but because the avian and marine life is much different, the comparisons to the Gulf are difficult to make, Newstead explained.
In the Gulf, most of the birds are migrating and do not behave or react the same way they would when they reach their feeding and breeding grounds.
It is not known is how these migrants would react to a forest of steel and rotating blades in the Gulf.
"To just build it, I don't think that is the way to learn about it," Newstead said, "because I don't think you will actually learn. It will be years, and you may see a decline and then it will take years to figure out if that is the cause."
On land, if a bird or bat is hit by or crashes into a wind turbine, researchers can recover the carcass to study it.
That's how scientists discovered the internal organs of bats were exploding after they flew into the vacuum created behind the moving blades.
In the Gulf, the bodies of birds and bats killed or injured by the turbines would be eaten, sink or drift away before there would be any chance for recovery.
Scientists also want to see if forcing birds and bats to fly higher or farther to avoid the turbines would be stressful to the creatures. But measuring that change would take years of study.
A similar issue is at stake with sea turtles and fish species such as sharks, which use the electromagnetic field created by the earth to navigate.
It is not know how they would react when swimming past 300 turbines, each creating its own electromagnetic field.
"There is no information to draw on because this whole thing is unprecedented," said Kenneth J. Lohmann, a professor of biology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, who has studied sea turtles' ability to navigate based on the earth's electromagnetic fields for 20 years.
Cumulative effect
TPWD asked the Army Corps of Engineers to look at not just the Rio Grande project but the cumulative effect of the wind projects both on and offshore.
According to TPWD, 10 onshore projects are proposed between Corpus Christi and Brownsville, in addition to the five already built.
"Construction of the proposed North Rio Grande and Rio Grande offshore wind energy development sites in South Texas would result in a nearly contiguous string of wind energy developments within a 35-mile wide corridor from San Patricio County southward to Cameron County," wrote Ross Melinchuk, deputy executive director of natural resources at TPWD.
Fishing guides would love to fish around the enormous artificial reef the turbines would create. But fishermen are not allowed near oil rigs now, and there is little hope among fishing guides they would have access to the turbines.
"I would say most of us are against it," fishing guide Bubba Garst said. "I can't imagine they would let us get close to them."
Hazard to boaters?
In Massachusetts, one of the most powerful arguments against the wind turbines is the hazard they pose to boaters.
The Lower Laguna Madre Foundation, an environmental group that has opposed land wind projects based on their unknown effect on bird populations, is most likely going to be fighting the offshore wind projects from a boater safety standpoint, said Walt Kittelberger executive director and cofounder of the nonprofit, who is also a fishing guide.
"Take it from a person who has spent a lot of time in the Gulf in rough weather," he said. "You don't want to bump into something."
The shrimp industry simply does not want to lose fishing grounds.
"These sites lie in the heart of the historical South Texas fishing grounds and would result in the removal of some of the most productive shrimping grounds in the Gulf of Mexico," wrote Wilma Anderson, executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association.
Hatton is familiar with all of these arguments. He faced similar ones in Europe.
"We will have to justify the projects to those who have competing use of those waters," he said.
For now, that judgment is up to the Army engineers.
The Galveston District aims to have the draft of its report available for public comment by next year. It plans to have the final report done in 2014. Construction could start soon after that.
Source: By Colin McDonald | San Antonio Express-News | www.mysanantonio.com 29 July 2012


text:
Millenium Group Assassin
By Guest Homer B. Petty
August 30, 2006 in Mythology - Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions
Guest Homer B. Petty
Exactly who is the Group execution squad leader (Innocents & Exegesis), shape-shifting, Frank Black baiting (Seven And One) Multilingual (Bardo Thodol)????? He appears without any real explanation. Is he Homer B. Petty groups D.I.Y. man? How can they (Namely Carter) reconcile him with the character of Peter Watts. Owl or Rooster or just all round dirty job guy? If Carter had wanted to pull back from Morgan & Wong's near genius curve ball that was season 2 then this character seems wholly out of place. Surely the group would have had a lot of use for him in the episodes Owls & Roosters. Furthermore as sombody who has no qualms about killinghe never seems to finish the job on Frank despite having ample opportunity (Skull And Bones & Bordo Thodol).
Guest Moriarty
Mabius (the hitman) = Legion. You see, Legion was always after Frank but never got to him. I think that the group got infected with Legion somewhere bewteen season 2 and 3. Maybe just before the events of "The 4th hourseman". Legion = many. Lucy, All Pepper, The Judge, they are all manifestations of Legion. And they all offered Frank a deal to join him (them) but as he never gave in ultimate evil found its way into the group itself. The shape-shifting Mabius in 7+1 was just a metaphoric way to let the audience know that the group has been infected by Legion. No better way to get to Frank than to join his greatest enemy: the group. Why he did not kill him in S&B and BT is obvious for me: it feeds on his passion to destroy evil in the world. No evil without good. What is also important is that the actor who played Ricardo Clement in Gehenna (2nd episode of season 1), plays the role of Mabius in season 3. And Ricardo Clement was the first manifestation of Legion that we saw in the series. Hope I helped you a bit Homer.
4th Horseman
Known Aliases: Mark
Located: Simi Valley, California
Moriarty - I would have disagreed with your viewpoint of Mabius, (as we see him in the first several episodes as a group hitman) until Seven and One, when Boxer morphs into Mabius...if you recall, just before killing the doctor he states that he is there to show her that Frank's fear is real, and that all her understanding and science are helpless or useless against it...(something like that)....ALSO, i believe that this was the first episode where Emma becomes truely initiated into Frank's struggle with evil when she thinks she is seeing the mirror image of herself. If you also noticed, as she is squatting down holding her mirror image's head, Frank walks up behind her and calls her name. He obviously does not see what she sees, because his reaction is one of curiousness..."What is this woman squatting down for?"..But he distracts her enough that when she turns around the body isnt there anymore...is it possible to believe that Frank's struggle with evil is so great that from time to time it "bleeds" over into those whom he forms the closest relationships with? Remember, Catherine was privy to it in Lamentations, and Bletch unfortunately was as well in the same episode. I also think the line the Father speaks in the church is one of the better lines..."Let your strength equal his fear, when it comes for you"....When it comes for you...what an ominous prediction. Not if, but when....and it certainly gave Emma a first hand look at the world Frank sees daily....
Now, whether or not Peter knew that the Mabius was using the group remains to be seen. What i noticed was in the beginning of S3, Bob Wilde, the actor who protrayed Mabius and Ricardo Clement was used only as an assassin or hitman, there was never a reference to his work for the group as a representative of Legion...I dont think that in Bardol Thodol that Mabius had any intent of killing Frank. He was still being used solely as a hitman with no inclusion with Legion, yet...Peter was still in the picture and i dont think he would have allowed Wilde's character to kill Frank..His putting the gun up to Frank's head was just a simple warning, most likely at Peter's insistence..Peter also took an extremely hard line towards Frank and his reluctance to join the group...but towards the end, i think his friendship began to take precedence over group intent...when he tells Frank "I have been protecting you from them" in GTAT, you dont know if its been from day one or just recently. The dossiere on the groups plans for Frank and Jordan, he knew it existed, yet why give it to Frank? And why give it to him with the understanding that it meant the protection he had been providing had broken down? You dont warn someone of another's nefarious intent without a true concern for that individual...
anyway, thats my take...
4th Horseman....
"And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him." REV 6:8
Guest ___ L@the_of_Heaven___
If Carter had wanted to pull back from Morgan & Wong's near genius curve ball that was season 2...
Hey Homer, WELCOME!!!
By the wonderful quote above it is quite obvious that we have yet ANOTHER intelligent, insightful, imaginative, latteral thinking, intuitive, deep, & highly brilliant new member...
Hey Homer, get ready to kick some SERIOUS WUSSY @SS!!!
Guest MillenniumIsBliss
I second that!! Homer B. will fit in very nicely here. Opening things up by making note of the genius of Morgan & Wong gives us some some insight into the genius of Homer B.
Guest RodimusBen
I had another bit of input on this issue to offer after re-watching the Season 3 DVDs recently.
Carter puts a very thin veil over his dissatisfaction with what Morgan & Wong did in Season 2 with the Millennium Group mythology. Whether he's right/the merit of the various seasons is not something I wish to debate here. My point is that in the S3 documentary, he talks about trying to figure out what to do with "the show he was given."
Without putting words in their mouths, I would speculate the Carter's and Lance's biggest problem with Season 2 was the way that the Millennium Group was re-cast as a cult. I think both of them went into the series thinking of the group as a fictional parallel of the Academy Group, and the abrupt change in the MM Group in S2 flew in the face of that.
So, to me, Mabius was a way to "explain" why the MM Group became what it did. Over the course of S3 we are meant to learn two major things about the Group: that it has been infected by Legion from the inside and that Watts is a prisoner in this scenario. And really, both are brilliant plotting moves: it explains a lot about what happens to Watts in The Time Is Now, and it allows Carter to continue the Group mythology that Morgan & Wong established while still giving deference to S1 fans (by establishing that the group wasn't ALWAYS evil; it just became that way as it grew close to the Millennium).
I see Matryoshka as another example of this attempt at reconciliation. It's a connector between S1 ad S2 visions of the MM Group. In S2, the Group has been around for over a thousand years. Matryoshka proffers the idea that the centuries-old group was co-opted in the 50s in the US and re-directed as a law enforcement group by Hoover, thuse making possible the S1 style group.
Maybe that was a little confusing. I hope it made sense.
Guest Jim McLean
Beautifully put RB. Really love that post.
I must confess I always feel a bit sorry for M&W. In light of the circumstance, and the need for the show to really consolidate its audience for a second season, moving into X-Files territory is totally the logical choice. If there is a wide spread fanbase for the "other" show which is stylistically similar, you can see why MM moved down that line to woo an audience that hadn't really embraced it.
Of course, I think the mistake was that the X-Files core support were as much about the powerful chemistry of the leads than of the style within the show. That's not meant to demean the X-Files fangroup - or imply Lance didn't have what it took compared to David and Gillian, simply MM wasn't quite filled with the components to pull the X group as I imagine M&W intended. I think the suspicion and protectiveness from some of the hardcore fanbase of X, probably also bore a reluctance to adopt M, and again, that may have presented an issue. Retrospectively, the key to MM success might have been to separate it from X, and move as season three did, and keep the show firmly in reality with a pinch of horror. Easy to say with hindsight.
I agree, 3 did a great deal to reconcile the differences between 1 and 2.
Guest Laurent.
Very well said RodimusBen.
I also thought it was clear, in Seven and One anyway, that Mabius was the manifestation that Legion had infected the MM group.
I would simply had, about his reluctance to kill Frank, that it was never Legion's intention to harm Frank. It wanted to seduce him so that he would eventually join the "dark side". Furthermore, I believe that Mabius would have pulled the trigger in Bardo Thodol if Frank had insisted on having answers. I think that because Frank understood that what really matters was that the dying man could leave this world in peace; his life was spared. As long as Frank isn't a direct threat to Legion, they won't harm him in the hope that he'll join them/it before the "end time" comes. Whatever and whenever the end time may be.
"Understand and you are liberated"
If Legion wanted Frank dead, he would have been dead before the series even began. They clearly wanted to possess Frank. True evil doesn't want to destroy, it wants to infect, conquer and enslave.
Earthnut
Known Aliases: Darlene
Located: Mt Ventoux
"If Legion wanted Frank dead, he would have been dead before the series even began. They clearly wanted to possess Frank. True evil doesn't want to destroy, it wants to infect, conquer and enslave. "
I totally believe this. That is why we are told to resist the devil and he will flee. True evil wants you to destroy yourself when it no longer has any use for you.
"Time is too slow for those who wait; too swift for those who fear;
too long for those who grieve; too short for those who rejoice.
But for those who love, time is eternity."
(Jane Fellowes)
ethsnafu 9 posts
IHaveGoodInstincts 9 posts
Earthnut 5 posts
ty7du 2 posts
ethsnafu
The issue of why Mabius didn't kill Frank could be extended to any of the avatars of Legion. The question would be equally valid if one were to ask why didn't Lucy Butler kill Frank Black? She had mor
IHaveGoodInstincts
In brief, I was just kind of piggy-backing off some of the ideas behind "Somehow Satan," where the devil himself does not literally kill, but has great influence to make it happen, depending on a numb
With the greatest of respect this a fan-forum dedicated to Millennium. Upon visiting it you shouldn't be surprised to encounter individuals mooning over it. If you feel this is a perfunctory pursuit a
#MLM-422 Revelation (2/2)
422. "Revelation" (2/2) Air date: 12/24/99 Written by Dan Owen and Matt Asendorf Reeling from bad news, Frank makes surprising connections between Ryan's murder case, the terrorist attack on Washington D.C., and Alexander Le Saux. And as Le Saux's intentions become clearer, Mabius's shipments arrive.
14 hours ago in VS4 - Millennium Virtual Season 4
virtual season 4
revelation (2/2)
#MLM-421 The Swords of Armageddon (1/2)
421. "The Swords of Armageddon" (1/2) Air date: 12/17/99 Written by Dan Owen and Matt Asendorf While Frank is sidetracked from a murder investigation by a mysterious caller with a vendetta against the Millennium Group, a covert operation in Russia gets underway... and it may prematurely bring about the end of the world.
the swords of armageddon (1/2)
#MLM-420 Diabolus Ex Machina
420. "Diabolus Ex Machina" Air date: 12/10/99 Written by David Klein Frank returns to Seattle at the behest of a former associate to apprehend a killer, while, in Baltimore, the Black household begins to feel the presence of evil more strongly.
diabolus ex machina
#MLM-419 In Adventu Dominae
419. "In Adventu Dominae" Air date: 12/03/99 Written by Jason Walsh The death of an old family friend stirs traumatic memories in Emma as she makes surprising connections to her own sister's murder and her father... who is hiding a terrible secret.
in adventu dominae
#MLM-418 The Third Eye
418. "The Third Eye" Air date: 11/26/99 Written by Kevin Patterson As the FBI investigates the abduction and murder of two individuals who had been subjected to highly unusual brain surgery, Frank and Emma begin to uncover the Millennium Group's agenda for the approaching new year.
the third eye
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text:
Space Odyssey: Why Does Israel Need a Blue-and White Communications Satellite?
The government will soon decide between an Israeli and an American-manufactured one
Hagai Amit
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Inside the Batav Plant of the Israel Aerospace IndustriesDavid Bachar
When Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman arrived at a giant Israel Aerospace Industries hangar Monday morning, there was a large delegation of Defense Ministry and IAI officials there to greet him and show him the Heron TP drone that is the subject of a giant contract with Germany that was approved last week.
Yair Katz, the head of the IAI workers committee, was on hand, too, and made sure to stay close to Lieberman and to be included in every photograph — until IAI Chairman Harel Locker asked him to step aside.
Asked by TheMarker whether he supports buying a communications satellite from state-owned IAI, the defense minister replied: "The question isn't whether I support buying the satellite from IAI or not. The decision to purchase is a professional one. We need to see in detail the satellite being offered and its price and compare offers. ... There's no room for protectionism."
As much as anyone, the answer was directed as much to Katz, who was standing nearby. Lieberman then added, "Right now it looks like we will buy a blue-and-white satellite A to Z, and not just for the sake of IAI."
Satellites became a political issue after Spacecom in March opted to buy its next satellite, dubbed the Amos 8, from the American company Space Systems Loral, instead of its traditional supplier, IAI. A private company, its satellites are used by the Defense Ministry as well as a host of businesses in Israel and overseas.
Stealth tanks and sniper drones: Israel reveals the future of military technology
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Faced with the loss of the contract, IAI said it would build and operate its own satellite and asked the government to back it. The security cabinet is due to weigh in on the satellite issue Sunday.
The debate ostensibly pits economic considerations against national security, but in fact the Israeli satellite Lieberman talked about falls short by both standards.
Lieberman hinted in his remarks Monday that a decision to go with IAI is in any case based on national security considerations. It's hard to know what those are since by definition they are secret, but an industry source dismissed them as an "instance of national security being cited with no justification."
In fact, there are good national security reasons to stick with Spacecom. A dedicated satellite used solely by the Defense Ministry makes a more tempting target for terror groups than one shared with a variety of customers, such as Deutsche Telekom.
Moreover, IAI will be operating a single satellite while Spacecom operates multiple ones, so that the Defense Ministry has a backup in case of technical or other failures.
For IAI, the satellite business is nonstarter. Already 15 years ago, a consulting firm recommended that IAI get out of the satellite business because it made no business sense.
When Spacecom took bids from IAI and Loral there was no competition at all: The U.S. company said it would build the Amos 8 for $112 million and deliver it in two years, while IAI said it would cost $200 million and take three years to complete.
As it is, IAI is under pressure to improve profitability and efficiency; a satellite contract will simply make it more difficult for other divisions of the other company to succeed. The satellite unit, which employs just 50 people, enjoys the protection of the Defense Ministry, but other parts of IAI face the full brunt of competition from U.S. and European rivals for international contracts.
In all events, when the Amos 8 contract is completed, what will happen to the satellite unit? To keep it going, it needs to win an order once every three or four years, which means building more satellites than the Defense Ministry can use.
What's really at the heart of the decision is neither business nor security, but politics — in particular the powerful role the IAI workers committee plays in the Likud party primaries.
Katz signaled as much in an interview with Channel 10 News last month.
"I laud all of those who are helping us keep to keep satellite production in Israel. Among other things, it's due to our ability to reach government decision makers. If they disappoint us, they can assume they won't have the trust of the workers in the Likud primaries."
If that isn't enough, IAI retains the services of Policy, one of the most effective lobbying firms in Israel. Policy is headed by Boris Krasny, who is close to Lieberman. Indeed, even if IAI executives take credit for it, it's almost certain that Krasny is the one who dreamed up the term "national satellite" as a label for the IAI product.
Israel intelligence


Preacher: Bobby Lee (42), Kevin Hu (2), Min Tak (2).
Book: Joshua (2), Hosea (1), Matthew (2), Mark (2), Luke (4), John (21), Acts (1), Ephesians (1), Philippians (10).
Series: John (24), Lent (4), Philippians (11), Miscellaneous (7).
Preached by Bobby Lee on December 4, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on November 27, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Kevin Hu on November 20, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Kevin Hu on November 13, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on November 6, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on October 30, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on October 23, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on October 16, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on October 9, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Min Tak on October 2, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on September 25, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on September 18, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on September 4, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on August 28, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on August 21, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on August 14, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on August 7, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on July 31, 2011 (Sunday Morning).
Preached by Bobby Lee on July 24, 2011 (Sunday Morning).