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By John Emsley2015-05-11T00:00:00+01:00
It's salt, soda and street lights, but also much more, explains John Emsley
Most people have heard of sodium, and those who haven't are generally familiar with its application, although they may not know the vital role it plays.
It is most visible in street lighting. Sodium-vapour lamps are good for night-time illumination because of their high efficiency and because the light they produce penetrates mist and fog particularly well. As the bulb warms up, the sodium vapour becomes excited, emitting a characteristic yellow light of wavelength 589 nm. Today, however, LED street lighting is becoming more popular because of the long lifespans associated with the lamps. It may not be long before the familiar, warm yellow glow of sodium-vapour street lighting becomes a thing of the past.
Despite the bad publicity in recent years (excessive sodium intake increases blood pressure) salt (NaCl) is vital for life. You have around 100 g in your body right now. Around 3 g is lost each day in urine and sweat, which is why it's a vital part of our diet. In the body, sodium works in conjunction with potassium. As the ions move in and out of nerve axons, they generate waves of electrical pulses that travel through the nervous system.
But there's much more to sodium than these familiar occurances.
Salt is a major resource of the chemical industry. Fortunately, there's plenty of it: the Earth's crust is 2.3% sodium by weight, the sixth most abundant element. Most is still mined as halite (rock salt) or extracted as brine (see The lion, the wich and the waller, p26), but a growing amount is produced from seawater, which on average has about 35 g of salt per litre. At Dampier, on the northwest coast of Australia, there are vast evaporation ponds that yield 5 million tonnes of salt per year. This represents only a few percent of annual world production, which exceeds 250 million tonnes. Of this, 60% goes to making chlorine and sodium hydroxide, both of which are used by industry.
Salt is a blessing in some developing countries, where it saves lives. Diarrhoea and dehydration kill millions of babies and children every year, but a drink of glucose and salt helps, and Unicef distributes millions of sachets for making up such solutions. Each contains 20 g of glucose, 2 g of salt, 3 g of sodium citrate and 1.5 g of potassium chloride to be dissolved in a litre of boiled water.
Any old ion
Switching the anion from chloride to carbonate gives another important sodium compound: sodium carbonate, also known as soda. It can be produced industrially or mined and is used in glass production, water treatment and fizzy drinks, where it increases the solubility of carbon dioxide.
What about the pure metal? It is highly reactive and does not occur naturally, but it can be produced by electrolysis, the method devised by Humphry Davy in 1807. He used moist sodium hydroxide, whereas today it is produced from molten sodium chloride, mixed with calcium and barium chlorides, in a Downs cell.
Liquid sodium metal is used as heat exchange coolant in some nuclear reactors. The metal is also needed for the manufacture of various chemicals and for extracting other metals – beryllium, thorium, titanium and zirconium – which it does when it is heated with their halide salts. Other chemicals are produced from it, such as: sodium borohydride (NaBH4), used for bleaching paper pulp; sodium azide (NaN3), the explosive in car airbags; sodamide (NaNH2), used in dye manufacture; and sodium methoxide (NaOCH3), used to make biodiesel from plant oils.
Finally, an unusual coordination compound with a single electron as an anion – called an electride – can be formed by dissolving sodium in liquid ammonia. This gives a deep blue solution that gradually becomes metallic looking as the amount of sodium increases. Sodium truly is a versatile metal.
Atomic number 11, atomic weight 22.99, melting point 98°C, boiling point 883°C, density 0.97 g cm-3. Sodium oxidises rapidly when cut and has to be stored under paraffin. When it burns in air, the main oxide it forms is sodium peroxide, Na2O2. It is a member of group 1 of the periodic table.
Making ethanol from lignin
A new method can produce ethanol from rewnable lignin and carbon dioxide
Sometimes beautiful, sometimes useful, always deadly
John Emsley investigates the halogen we love to hate, but can't live without
John Emsley looks at a low profile element with some valuable applications


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Night Flight Launches 24/7 Independent Music Video Channel
February 12, 2021 February 13, 2021 106 Views
Pioneering music TV series Night Flight has launched a 24/7 TV channel dedicated to independent artists and labels on its popular streaming platform Night Flight Plus. The new channel coincides with the arrival of revered reissue label Dark Entries on the apps, who will join the current Night Flight label partners that include Sub Pop, Dais, and Rvng Intl. Drag City will be arriving next, with more labels to come in 2021.
From Night Flight founder and CEO Stuart S. Shapiro: "From Day One, Night Flight has been a beacon for the creativity and innovation of independent musicians and artists. It's in our DNA. NFTVi now celebrates this art form which is so vibrant today and culturally important. I am so proud to launch our second 24/7 TV channel on the Night Flight Plus platforms."
NFTV and the new independent music platform, NFTVi, are available exclusively to Night Flight Plus members to enjoy on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Online. Like a "Punk Criterion Channel," the Night Flight streaming app is the exclusive home to original Night Flight episodes, and an eclectic mix of cult films, music documentaries, concert films, and video rarities.
Beginning in early 2020 with a partnership with Sub Pop, Night Flight has created new episodes of Night Flight with over 50 artists from its independent label partners. Featuring introductions from the show's original host, Pat Prescott, and exclusive visuals from select artists, these new episodes uphold and further the iconic series original mission: exposing its audience to the diverse and eclectic sounds from across the musical landscape.
At launch, the new Night Flight channel will feature Video Profiles from an eclectic mix of independent music videos from independent artists including Clipping., Kate NV, Orville Peck, Drab Majesty, Weyes Blood, J Mascis, Genesis Breyer P-orridge, King Khan, Patrick Cowley, ADULT., Peter Ivers, and many more..
Memberships for the streaming app are $4.99/month and $39.99/year.
← The Fall Share "Rowche Rumble"
Global Merchandising Services and Motörhead joins with Alt Smokes for New Ace of Spades Hempettes Line →
Announcing the launch of The Belafonte Family Foundation
Banksy's "Destroyed" Spy Booth Mural is Found, Will Be Auctioned as Hybrid NFT
Helping a Hero's Lee Greenwood Patriot Awards Gala Raises Over $500,000 for Wounded Warriors
Global Merchandising Services and Motörhead joins with Alt Smokes for New Ace of Spades Hempettes Line
Ruby Mazur, Cosmic Wire, and Launchpad by Byt Partner for AI-Generated NFT Release
William Shatner To Be Featured Guest On The T.G. Sheppard Show Friday, October 29th at 3 pm ET On SiriusXM's Elvis Radio
Omar Apollo Announces North American Tour
2021 Nashville Comedy Festival Returns In Full Force With Comedy Superstars Sebastian Maniscalco and Leanne Morgan This June
Vans Announces Grand Opening of Permanent House of Vans Mexico City

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
using Abp.Samples.Blog.Application.Dtos;
using Abp.Samples.Blog.Categories;
using Shouldly;
using Xunit;

namespace Abp.Samples.Blog.Tests.Categories
{
    public class CategoryAppService_Tests : SampleBlogTestBase
    {
        private readonly ICategoryAppService _categoryAppService;

        public CategoryAppService_Tests()
        {
            _categoryAppService = Resolve<ICategoryAppService>();
        }

        [Fact]
        public void Should_Get_All_Categories()
        {
            var output = _categoryAppService.GetAll(new DefaultPagedResultRequest());
            output.Items.Count.ShouldBe(2);
            output.TotalCount.ShouldBe(2);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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You are here: Home About Me
Regional Surgeries
Lewis has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament since it was first established in May 1999. He was re-elected as MSP for North East Scotland in May 2016.
Lewis has served on the Labour Front Bench since his appointment as Deputy Minister for Transport and Planning in March 2001. He is currently a member of the Public Services and Wealth Creation team in the Shadow Cabinet.
Other policy areas on which Lewis has spoken for Labour at Holyrood include enterprise, energy, tourism, infrastructure, capital investment, housing, rural development, environment, water, lifelong learning, health and community care and justice. He has served on parliamentary committees for audit, education, culture, sport, health, the economy, energy, tourism and the Referendum Bill.
Lewis served for twelve years as constituency Member for Aberdeen Central, and he lives in Aberdeen with his wife Sandra, who works in the oil industry, and his daughters Sophie and Iona.
Lewis was born on New Year's Day 1957 in Stornoway, where his father Roddy was minister of St Columba's Parish Church. The family moved to Insch at the end of 1967, and Lewis later went to Inverurie Academy, and then to Aberdeen University, where he completed an MA in History and a Ph.D. in African Studies.
Before his election, Lewis worked for what is now Grampian Regional Equality Council, Grampian Regional Council, and energy advice agency SCARF, taught history at Aberdeen University, and was a parliamentary researcher both in Scotland and at Westminster. He contested the 1997 general election in Moray, and was a member of Labour's Scottish Executive Committee in the late 1990s.
Lewis is a member of Unite the Union and the Co-operative Party. At Holyrood, he is a member of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee as well as being co-convener of the cross-party group on oil and gas. Outwith politics, Lewis enjoys exploring the countryside, the culture and the history of Scotland.
Scottish Parliament - RSS feeds
The Scottish Parliament


Conflict is a problem for individuals and teams alike. But, when handled constructively, conflict can spark important conversations.
We created this 10-course Conflict Resolution series to train your employees "What to Say When™" conflict arises and how to resolve disagreements in a positive way.
In each scenario-based course, human resources expert Hugh Murray will share tactics for overcoming arguments and tense situations in a way that benefits your whole organization. He'll explain how to use conflict as a way to improve upon ideas, strengthen bonds with coworkers and become a higher-performing organization overall.
Sometimes, your team will be confronted with ethical dilemmas. This course will teach your team know what to do when they are faced with a decision that conflicts with their ethical standards.
Disagreement can be a good thing—when handled well, it can lead to a better solution. This video course teaches your team how to approach disagreements from a place of understanding, and use them as a chance to test the original idea against potential alternatives.
Feedback is an important aspect of any work environment. We'll teach your team members how to ask for feedback, and how continual feedback can actually lead to heightened job performance.
Finger pointing doesn't solve anything. This course teaches the importance of working to solve the problem, rather than getting caught up in assigning blame.
Criticism—though not fun to hear—can actually provide great insight into how to do a job better. Your employees will learn our effective 3-step process for diffusing negative emotions and focusing on the facts of the situation.
When a team member isn't pulling their weight, your employees need to know how to guide a constructive discussion about the issue. This course will teach your team when it's appropriate to confront a co-worker, and how to facilitate the discussion.
Employees should not break commitments lightly. But, when they inevitably need to cancel a meeting or ask for an extension on a deadline, there are certain steps they can take to minimize the inconvenience to the rest of the team. This course tells them what to say—and do—in the case that they need to break a commitment.
Your employees will also, on occasion, find themselves on the receiving end of a broken commitment. This video goes over how to courteously, yet assertively, address inconveniences caused by canceled meetings or late projects.
Excessive talking can negatively impact productivity throughout your organization. We'll give your employees ways to approach chatty co-workers in a friendly, yet firm way.
If a manager is constantly changing priorities, it can cause undue stress on the team. This course gives employees actionable advice on staying organized, prioritizing to-do lists and, if it becomes too much, respectfully bringing the issue up to the manager.


The U.S. Postal Service is cutting back service to save money and those cuts seem to be affecting rural communities more than the cities.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the Postal Service is closing two sorting centers in Eastern Kentucky and more than 20 small post offices. As a result, by January, sending a letter from rural Eastern Kentucky to the state capitol of Frankfort will take two days instead of the one day it takes now.
• The population center of the country is 2.9 miles east of Plato, Missouri, an Ozarks town of 109, the Census Bureau announced. In 2000, the population center of the country was near Edgar Springs, about 23 miles northeast of Plato.
After the nation's first Census, in 1790, the population center was in Kent County, Maryland, 873 miles away from Plato.
• First, 130,000 acres were flooded to save Cairo, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blew up levees on the Mississippi. Now Morgan City, Louisiana, is getting ready for the flood waters as officials prepare to open the Morganza Floodway, spilling the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River and into Morgan City.
Genachowski prefers to focus on the issue that could define his tenure: extending high-speed Internet service to every corner of the country. To that end, he wants broadcasters to volunteer to give up some of their airwaves and auction them off to the highest bidder in the wireless industry. He also wants to reform a nearly $9 billion-a-year subsidy program to help build broadband networks in rural and low-income areas.
Both parties in Congress support those broader goals.
• People in ranching country are mourning the death of Johnny Smith, who died over the weekend in Fort Pierre, South Dakota.
Smith was president of the South Dakota Livestock Auction Markets Association and was one of the founders of R-CALF, a cattleman's group. On Saturday mornings, he reported the livestock news on the radio in central South Dakota. Every July 4th, he was the announcer of the rodeo in Fort Pierre.
His funeral services Thursday will be held at the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center in Fort Pierre.


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Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands District Office
SBA.gov » Local Assistance » District Office List » Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands District Office » Success Stories » Dolly's Dreams Opens Door to World of Fashion with help from SBA and Partners
Dolly's Dreams Opens Door to World of Fashion with help from SBA and Partners
Dorca had a dream – to one day become a successful business owner.
Fashion had always appealed to her and, when this single mother of three was compelled to resign from her job a few years ago, due to a neck affliction, she began selling a line of sophisticated magnetic jewelry. With her home as an office, Dorca became an entrepreneur.
During her first weekend Dorca sold $1,800 in jewelry and within months had recruited eight representatives for the jewelry line, becoming a leading consultant in Puerto Rico's eastern region.
Realizing her talent, Dorca's dream of entrepreneurship became even stronger. She had a business degree from the University of Puerto Rico, where she had majored in Accounting. Dorca went through her old school papers and found a guide on how to write a good business plan.
"I then started adapting the business plan model to the type of business I wanted to establish," says Dorca.
Aware that some time had passed since her college days, Dolly –as she is affectionately called by friends and family-- searched online for business resources until she came across SCORE. Supported by SBA, SCORE is a nonprofit association of thousands of volunteer business counselors throughout the U.S. and its territories, including Puerto Rico. SCORE members are trained to serve as counselors, advisors and mentors to aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners.
"I read success stories of businesspeople that had received SCORE assistance, and decided to call and make appointment with the local chapter," she says. "I was assigned to counselor Humberto Cuebas, a very nice man with plenty of business experience; he helped me a lot."
After Dorca's initial meeting with counselor Cuebas, she began her search for a locale in Humacao –her hometown—and later in Fajardo, a neighboring municipality. She found that Fajardo did not have a woman's boutique. When she found a location that was suitable, Cuebas helped Dorca put together a business plan and then referred her to the Puerto Rico Small Business & Technology Development Center's Fajardo office for a second look.
The Puerto Rico SBTDC is one of nearly 1,000 small business development centers throughout the nation. Administered on the island by the Inter American University of Puerto Rico under a cooperative agreement with the SBA, the Puerto Rico SBTDC provides training, individual counseling and technical assistance to aspiring and existing entrepreneurs.
Unable to obtain financing at the time, Dorca invested all of her savings and was soon opening the doors to Dolly's Dreams Closet in Fajardo, becoming the first boutique to have presence in that town. Nevertheless, a few months later the business next-door began construction that prevented Dolly's Dreams Closet to be seen by passersby. Her search for a new location began, leading her to find her current spot on Avenida Conquistador, Fajardo's most transited road.
"My savings ran out, and I went to SCORE again for help," Dorca says. "Humberto took my business plan over to COFECC for a Micro-Loan consideration."
Corporación para el Financiamiento Empresarial del Comercio y las Comunidades –better known by its acronym COFECC— is the only SBA-approved Micro-Loan intermediary in Puerto Rico.
The SBA's Micro-Loan program provides starting and existing entrepreneurs with loans from $500 up to $50,000 to meet a variety of small business needs, such as purchasing inventory or supplies, furniture or fixtures, machinery or equipment, and working capital. In Dorca's case, it was the latter, first with a $25,000 loan and then an additional $5,000.
Dorca used the loan proceeds to purchase inventory such as clothes, fashion jewelry, shoes, and handbags. She bought so many handbags, in fact, that fearing she wouldn't be able to sell them all on site, she decided to hold a private sale on Facebook, and within four hours she had sold $800 worth of merchandise, including to clients in the U.S. mainland. Soon after, Dorca signed a contract with a woman's apparel company to manufacture clothing with styles and fabrics selected specifically for her boutique, and also got permission to sell a high-end line of shoes.
While sales have been stable at Dolly's Dreams Closet, Dorca considers social media her "best ally" and continues to sell online and through Facebook, designing a route every Monday to make personal deliveries throughout the region and in the San Juan metro area.
With the conviction that "you reap what you sow", Dolly's next dream is to design her own line of shoes and apparel to manufacture locally, creating jobs for single mothers like her who are searching for light at the end of a tunnel. And, she would like to become a SCORE volunteer.
"I want to help other women become small business owners. I want to do for them what Humberto did for me. He was my coach."
article Microloan Program


Bethesda released a fan compilation video which features some of the more interesting assassinations in their recently released supernatural stealth action game. The Dishonored killer moves video showcases brutal assassinations mixed with the soundtrack ofEddy Charlton (Drunken Whaler Remix). Check it out.


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EMINEM in real life !!!
By jjm001
@jjm001 (48)
From EMINEM's song...with that typical lyrics, we get the only image of SLIM-SHADY as a Drug-addict, Dirty, Explicit and a violent person. Do you think he would be such person in his real life ?
@darkness01 (1303)
Maybe, maybe not. I dont care about his personal life, i dont know him personally and dont want to. I admire him because of his talents in writing music and rapping. His personal life is of no interest to me. You ask a good question though, is he really just a nice guy away from the spotlight? I dont think he is, i think he wears his heart on his sleeve.
fellowlife
@fellowlife (988)
• Nigeria
well he must have passed through those stages for him to have rapped about it. Now i think he's more matured and only sings like that cause its his unique style of passing the message across
LadyFenix
@LadyFenix (110)
I'm sorry but I have to disagree it's music about his life or just fun who he is in real life is not what should be mirco-ed just enjoy the music take from it what you can learn to better yourself and know what's there just to be heard
i am whatever you say i am
jbshorty
@jbshorty (66)
Obviously he had a difficult childhood himself. I think he wants to make sure his own daughter has a better life than he did. I think most of the "bad guy" attitude is just an image. I think deep down he is a kind, caring and genuine person. He tried to make his marriage work a few times, so at least he had hope. Not all famous people "live happily ever after!" I would love to get to know EM better. I think he would make a cool "best friend!"
JerryPicasso
@JerryPicasso (23)
I have no idea since i have never met him.But i want to know him eagerly.He was the one singer who had made me know that Rap,in another style ,also can represent one man's emotion, no metter he is sad or happy. He once said ,"there are two kinds of people who came to visit me.one man is for purpose of getting my signature,the other comes especially to seeking a fight." no metter who he really is,i 'll be his faithful fan.
hackvish
@hackvish (17)
I dont think that Eminem is such kinda person even though his lyrics are of that type.He is a very kind and family loving person.He appears in every other rappers video to promote them.Now dont you think he is a nice guy.
Dirtysauce
@Dirtysauce (50)
If you really listen to the music, even if you really don't, he lets you know what's fiction and what's fact. The guy is a very good business man. Create contraversy and your music will sell! It's an age old selling technique!
tgreen80
@tgreen80 (171)
I dont think he is anything like his lyrics in real life I think he writes lyrics like that to get record sales and for publicity. In my opinion I think he is a normal parent who tries to spend time with his daughter Hailey and has every day issues like anyone else.
@natalie1981 (2000)
• Singapore
I don't really think so. Sometimes I think it's just an act, though I haven't really seen 8 mile, his supposed biography. But I've seen the way he cares for his kid on TV and some of his songs are even about his kid. I think a person who's capable of really caring for their child isn't really half that bad. Besides, there his relationship with Kim is on-and-off for the sake of Hayley, I really think deep down he's a good guy.


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By Kevin Devaney Jr. on February 27, 2020 • ( 3 Comments )
The Top 50 rankings of games during Championship Week of the 2010s (semifinals and finals only, whether they're at the County Center or not) has been an overwhelming success. And it's been unbelievably fun to retell the stories and reshare all of the video highlights and full games.
Below are the next 10 best games. There's one word to describe this installment: Atmosphere. Many of the games listed below featured some of the largest and rowdiest crowds of the decade.
And after reading, you'll appreciate just how great the Top 20 games will be.
Here's the schedule of release for the Top 50:
Feb. 19: Nos. 50-41 – READ HERE
Feb 23: Nos. 40-31 – READ HERE
Feb. 25: Nos. 30-21
March 1: Nos. 10-1
TOP 50 CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK GAMES OF THE 2010s: Nos. 30-21
30. 2018 – SECTION 1 CLASS A GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP: RYE 45, HARRISON 42
Site: Westchester County Center
Video highlights from LoHud here
Game recap: Rye captured its second Gold Ball in three years by knocking off its rivals in heart-stopping fashion. The third-seeded Garnets lost twice in the regular season to Harrison but locked in defensively on star Avery LaBarbera. The game was tied 16-16 at half and Rye went into the fourth ahead by 5. LaBarbera carried Harrison in the fourth as she and Ashley Stagg hit back to back 3s to the game at 36-36 with 3:27 left. Harrison then took a lead with under 2 minutes to go on a LaBarbera pass for a layup. Teaghan Flaherty, then a sophomore, responded with a go-ahead 3 with 1:03 to go and then made it a 43-40 game with a layup. Harrison was down 1 with 2 seconds left when Niamh Carty hit two free throws for Rye. LaBarbera's halfcourt shot the buzzer missed as Rye celebrated the win.
The Hero: Teaghan Flaherty. The sophomore had missed almost all of her freshman season but came back with a vengeance in 2017-18. She averaged over 20 points per game and dropped 17 in the final to earn MVP honors. Her play down the stretch in this game was jaw-dropping.
Why it's Top 50: What more can you say here than Rye-Harrison in a championship; it doesn't matter the sport. This game was a nail-biter from the opening tip. Avery LaBarbera was phenomenal in the fourth despite heavy defensive pressure from Rye. And her shot at the buzzer sent the arena completely silent because, with her, you felt it had a chance to fall.
Lasting image: This game at Pace University followed the McGarvey Miracle. I remember the fans from both teams coming in and standing around the top of the gym, watching the final seconds in total disbelief. Then this game failed to disappoint. These teams will now open the decade back at the County Center with a semifinal matchup next week.
29. 2014 – SECTION 1 CLASS A SEMIFINAL: PANAS 39, TAPPAN ZEE 38
Video highlights from MSG Varsity:
Game recap: It was clear early on that this game would ultimately come down to a final play — and it sure did. TZ and Panas matched hustle and wits for four quarters. The game was deadlocked at the half and entering the fourth quarter. The Dutchmen seemed to pull away a minute into the final period, going up by five before Timmy McCauley carried the Panthers back. Luke McLaughlin's 3-pointer with under 3 minutes to play gave TZ the one-point lead before Ryan McWilliams scored to put TZ up 37-34 with two minutes to go. Again, McCauley answered with an and-one to tie. Tappan Zee had a basket taken away by a jump ball and then a missed a shot at the buzzer to win it
The Hero: Tim McCauley. The senior point guard struggled to get shots in the first half before rising to the occasion in the second. He had 14 of his 16 points at the break and also grabbed seven rebounds. He also hit the winning basket in the final minute.
Why it's Top 50: Panas was probably the least respected No. 2 seed in the decade. Many predicted they'd get upset before the County Center and nobody gave them a chance against a seasoned Tappan Zee squad. But this Panas group proved to be deep, athletic and poised behind McCauley, the catalyst on both ends of the floor. The composure in the late-game pressure was impressive.
Lasting image: The empty stands. Tappan Zee had its entire student section removed in the third quarter for chanting offensive language (it wasn't that bad if you ask me). It probably didn't change the outcome of the game. But it certainly created a strange environment for a team accustomed to having a rowdy crowd in support.
28. 2013 – SECTION 1 CLASS AA SEMIFINAL: NEW ROCHELLE 47, MAHOPAC 42
Game recap: New Rochelle was dreadful offensively in the first half of this game and found itself in an 11-point deficit in the second quarter. Derek Dorn (15 points) carried the Huguenots in the first half before Joe Clarke took control in the third. His long 3-pointer late in the third to cut Mahopac's deficit to three. Playing with star guard Brendan Hynes in foul trouble, Mahopac couldn't hold Clarke and Co. late, hitting his final four free throws to seal the win.
The Hero: Joe Clarke. Nobody delivered in big games in the 2010s in football or basketball better than Clarke did in 2012-13. Clarke finished this contest with 20 points, seven blocks and seven rebounds and beat a Mahopac team that had won 15 games in a row.
Why it's Top 50: This was the game before "the game" at the County Center. New Rochelle was a No. 9 seed that went .500 in the regular season, albeit against a grueling schedule. But the Huguenots were being prepared to be considered underachievers before knocking off No. 1 seed Spring Valley convincingly in the quarters.
Lasting image: Khalil Edney was our MSG Varsity Football Player of the Year that fall. He wasn't a consistent contributor that season despite being the team's second leading scorer. Edney missed this game because of an injury. Afterwards I found him in the hallway at the County Center. "I'm playing in the championship. I'm definitely playing." And I remember thinking that, against Mount Vernon, it probably won't matter.
27. 2019 – SECTION 1 CLASS A GIRLS FINAL: TAPPAN ZEE 45, SOMERS 44
Site: Pace University
Video game replay from LocalLive
Game recap: Tappan Zee captured their first championship in heart-stopping fashion. Kaleigh Beirne snapped the tie with a free throw with 3.6 seconds to play as the Dutchies overcame a five-point deficit in the final two minutes. Somers had the ball with the game tied on the previous possession but turned it over on a shot clock violation with 20 seconds left.
The Hero: Beirne. She not only hit the winning free throw, she finished the night with 15 points and 11 boards to earn tournament MVP honors.
Why it's Top 50: Tappan Zee trailed almost the entire game, going down by as many as 8 at the half, before the final run to close it out. Somers got a heroic effort of its own from Dani DiCintio, who twice came back from what looked like painful injuries and limped around to score 22 points, including five 3-pointers. TZ won despite shooting 3 of 27 from 3-point range.
Lasting image: Tappan Zee coach Riley Chevrier entered rarified air by winning a Gold Ball as both a player and a coach. And she did it in the same decade after leading Irvington to a 2010 Section 1 crown, as well as a state and Federation championship. And best of all, she won it while 7 months pregnant (as the coach, not the player).
26. 2011 – SECTION 1 CLASS AA CHAMPIONSHIP: MOUNT VERNON 64, POUGHKEEPSIE 58
Game recap: Two future Division I players in Jabarie Hinds and Nate Gause squared off as these programs again renewed their big game rivalry. Mount Vernon again came away with the Gold Ball in a game that saw several lead changes and ties in the third quarter. Poughkeepsie trailed by a point entering the fourth but went over five minutes without scoring. Gause (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Elijah McLaurin provided some fireworks late with 3-pointers but it wasn't enough as Mount Vernon walked away with its sixth straight title.
The Hero: Jamell Walker. The senior won MVP honors with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the final. Hinds managed just nine points and seven rebounds.
Why it's Top 50: There was some serious talent on both sides of this game. Mount Vernon didn't get the best performance from their star Hinds, who went on to play at West Virginia and UMass. But they overcame it with stellar defense.
Lasting image: The dunk. Jabarie Hinds went on a break in the second quarter and threw down a posterizing dunk on a defender, getting fouled in the process and listening to the County Center explode around him. "I remember he was going down the court," Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino said, "And he was looking back at the defender. He knew he was going to throw it down on him."
25. 2014 – SECTION 1 CLASS A SEMIFINAL: EASTCHESTER 56, HARRISON 51
Game recap: These were the two best teams these programs had in this decade and maybe any year dating back to the early 1980s. Jack Daly moved the Eagles to within a victory of their first title since 1955 with a 14-point performance. He hit three free throws in the final minute and Nick Campana (14 points) iced it with a basket to close it out. Andrew Schultz added 12 in the win. Nick Esposito led Harrison with 14 and Matt Stein scored 10.
The Hero: Jack Daly. The four-year starter for the Eagles filled the stat sheet as he did so often in his career; 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while also playing terrific defense. He was clutch, as well, with the go-ahead free throws with 27.9 seconds to go.
Why it's Top 50: You'll often see some photos a capacity-packed County Center on Twitter. I promise you those pictures were taken before this game. One of the greatest pregame atmospheres of the decade, the fans on both sides never let up. Harrison took a 19-2 Eastchester squad down to the wire after losing twice in the regular season behind a veteran group. The Huskies got behind by seven after one quarter and trailed 34-25 at the half before a third quarter run. A tense fourth quarter and an insanely loud arena
Lasting image: As an Eastchester High School graduate, we never came close in my time to reaching the County Center. I remember walking across the stage before tipoff and stopping in my tracks to marvel at the capacity crowd. I snapped a photo that has been shared on Twitter countless times since then.
24. 2011 – SECTION 1 CLASS A SEMIFINAL: PEARL RIVER 60, TAPPAN ZEE 57
Game recap: If you want atmosphere, you certainly got it with this game – before, during and after. The bitter Rockland County rivals engaged in a heart-pounding contest that was downright deafening at times. After splitting in the regular season, Pearl River staked a 26-18 lead at halftime. TZ closed it to a one-possession game in the third before the Pirates found some breathing room again, going into the fourth up 8. Luke Houston (20 points) and Anthony Calise were there to hold off the defending section champs down the stretch and lead the Pirates into the final.
The Hero: Luke Houston. The senior star ran the show as he did throughout his brilliant senior season. He had 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and made all six of his free throws down the stretch despite reinjuring his ankle early.
Why it's Top 50: Rivalry games at the County Center tend to be the best environments and this game proved why. Fans filled the arena on what might have been the best night of semifinals in the decade (Byram Hills-Kennedy was before it). Calise provided some serious fireworks in the third quarter with his clutch 3-pointer to stave off a TZ run, and Houston was the closer you expected him to be in this type of game.
Lasting image: The Pearl River community rallied so passionately behind the Houston family. Luke lost his mother to cancer two years earlier and he was among the most popular athletes in his community that I've ever seen. After winning the game, we interviewed Luke on camera and the fans came over and put him up on their shoulders. An unforgettable moment.
23. 2014 – SECTION 1 CLASS AA SEMIFINAL: SPRING VALLEY 67, CLARKSTOWN SOUTH 66
Video highlights courtesy of MSG Varsity:
Game recap: Another showdown of Rockland County rivals, Clarkstown South and Spring Valley split their regular season matchups. This game was very rarely more than 1-2 possessions the entire game despite the fact the Tigers were consistently ahead. South tied the game in the fourth quarter before just could never get over the hump, largely in part due to foul trouble. Joe Zayer dropped 24 for South and Kevin Martinez added 17 and eight rebounds. South made a few shots in the final minute to put a scare into the Tigers but time ran out on the comeback bid.
The Hero: Rickey McGill. The two-time all-state pick began to build his resume as a big-game performer in this contest. McGill posted 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists and knocked down clutch late free throws to secure the victory.
Why it's Top 50: After losing as the No. 1 seed the year before in the quarters to eventual champion New Rochelle, Spring Valley took another step towards a title with this momentous win. McGill played so confident and Kai Mitchell (14 points, 14 rebounds) showed great poise after foul trouble forced him to the bench in the first half. Spring Valley went on to lose to Mount Vernon in the final before breaking through the following season.
Lasting image: There was so much pressure on Spring Valley after the previous season to at least get to a championship game. What I realized this game was that all the hype around Rickey McGill was being proven real. McGill came back the next year and became the school's all-time leading score, won a section title and earned a Division I scholarship. He continued to blossom at the next level, leading the Gaels to four MAAC titles and NCAA Tournament berths and he's now playing professionally overseas. To me, this game was when he matured into the man.
22. 2018 – SECTION 1 CLASS A GIRLS SEMIFINAL: RYE 50, SOMERS 49
Video highlights of the final play here:
A lot can change in two years, this was an incredible moment @KDJmedia1 pic.twitter.com/jOkhD7Vqv5
— KGMADEIT (@kgmadeit1) February 27, 2020
Game recap: We love buzzer-beaters. And if this was a championship, it would be higher on the list. But then-freshman Amanda Latkany provided one of the most memorable moments of the decade when she banked in a shot as time expired to lift Rye to unthinkable win over defending champion Somers. Rye had a good on the possession prior but back a missed shot. Teaghan Flaherty started the wild final minute with a four-point play with just over a minute left to get Rye within two. Latkany tied the game in the final minute with a pair of free throws. Somers led by a point with 7.8 seconds to go when Hannah Angelini sank a free throw to make it 49-48. That led to the final possession where Rye pulled off the dramatics.
The Hero: Amanda Latkany. Flaherty scored a team-high 24 points but it was Latkany off the bench who put the Garnets over the top. She scored 15 points, knocking down 7 of 8 from the line. Rye went on to win the section title.
Why it's Top 50: You don't argue with buzzer beaters. This one, according to then head coach Dennis Hurlie, a County Center vet, was among the most exciting finishes he'd ever been a part of or seen in person.
Lasting image: There was as much disbelief on the Rye bench as there was on the Somers side. The Tuskers players were rightfully devastated by the defeat. But when the 3-pointer in the closing seconds, there was a moment of disappointment on the Rye side. Then Latkany came in and saved the day.
UPDATE: It's scary how similar this game was to the Section 1 Class A quarterfinal last night, which was streamed on LocalLive.tv. Watch the final sequence here:
Natasha Meyer putback at the buzzer for Rye. @RyeAthletics is going to the County Center. (This is a screen recording with an early devastating text message at the wrong time 😬) pic.twitter.com/jgeL0Bu1ob
— Kevin Devaney Jr. (@KDJmedia1) February 26, 2020
21. 2019 – SECTION 1 CLASS A SEMIFINAL: TAPPAN ZEE 67, HORACE GREELEY 60 (2OT)
Site: Tappan Zee High School
Watch the game highlights on LoHud
Game recap: An epic showdown was built as a bit of blood war leading in. This game was expected to be played at the Westchester County Center before top seed Tappan Zee opted to host it in their gym, which was their right — although it was widely criticized. The game itself delivered some of the most dramatic moments of the season before a sell-out crowd. Greeley trailed by 10 in the second half before storming back. The Quakers momentarily thought they had won it when Michael Salore hit a 3 but it was ruled after the buzzer. In overtime, Connor Maloney stole the ball for TZ at halfcourt and made a layup to put the Dutchmen ahead with 20 seconds to go. But Christopher Melis beat the buzzer to force a second OT. Tappan Zee pulled away then as Danny Linehan scored 6 of his 25 points in the second OT. Melis scored 25 with 15 rebounds.
The Hero: Danny Linehan and Charlie Garrison. They accounted for 11 points combined in the second OT and clamped down defensively to hold Greeley to just two.
Why it's Top 50: If this game was played anywhere else but at the home venue, it would have been Top 10, maybe Top 5. Those around Greeley still lament a year later having to go to the hostile TZ gym, which is understandable. What might have happened on a neutral floor will never be known.
Lasting image: There's no better high school gym in this area than Tappan Zee. So if you got one of the 1,200 tickets available, you were very fortunate to watch one of the truly great basketball games of the decade.
Check back soon for the next installment of Kevin Devaney Jr.'s Top 50 Championship Week Games of the Decade.
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Wok Xpress offers authentic and delicious tasting Asian cuisine in Murphy, TX. Wok Xpress's convenient location and affordable prices make our restaurant a natural choice for dine-in and take-out meals in the Murphy community. Our restaurant is known for its large serving and freshest ingredients. Come and experience our friendly atmosphere and excellent service.
Note: During dinner peak time the deliver time frame MAY take longer than an hour.


Move over white! Choose a bright color for the ceiling because it needs some attention too. If you want to give a bold makeover to a room, add some drama by giving a pop of color to the ceiling. Learn a few ceiling painting ideas and get ready to add some beauty to the fifth wall aka the ceiling of your home.


*This post is sponsored by Savings.com. All opinions are mine and aren't influenced by anyone else.
Do you have hair goals? I am blessed with more hair than I actually care for (don't we all want what we don't have?). My hair is very thick and wavy and I would prefer thin and straight hair. You'll often find me with my hair straightener trying to get my hair as flat as possible so that it appears thinner. All of the extra heat applied to my hair takes its toll. I like to use products that rescue my hair and make it look shiny and healthy.
Have you heard of the Elvive Total Repair 5 line of products from L'Oreal Paris? The products are formulated to repair and recharge damaged hair. They make a huge difference for my hair. I use the Repairing Shampoo and Rapid Reviver Deep Conditioner each time I wash my hair. I use also the Protein Recharge Leave in Conditioner if my hair is feeling extra stressed. The shampoo has a light, clean scent which I like. However, I love both of the conditioners because they have sweet almond oil, which is one of my all time favorite fragrances and they leave my hair smelling great.
The Rapid Reviver has become a favorite deep conditioner for me. It has just a 60 second leave-in time, so you can put it in your hair, rinse and go pretty fast. It makes detangling quick and easy too. End result = shiny healthy hair.
These products are readily available at your local drugstores, big box stores and grocers. The pricing is extremely affordable and the products can often be found on sale.
Great news! I have a coupon below for you to print and save $2 on any TWO (2) L'Oréal Paris® Elvive haircare or Advanced Hairstyle products (excludes any 1 oz. product, 3 oz. shampoo & conditioner, twin packs or value packs). Coupon expires 3/31/19.
I also encourage you to go enter the L'Oreal #StopWaiting sweepstakes for a chance to win the Grand Prize trip to the City of Lights, Paris! The trip includes airfare, lodging and money toward meals and expenses. See the entry form for additional prizes and complete rules.
Whether you've damaged your hair by overstyling, coloring, etc, healthy hair is within your reach with Elvive Total Repair 5. I think you'll love these products as much as I do.
This sounds like an effective range for damaged hair!
I love the smell of almond in haircare so I will try these out. I'm ready for a change in what I've been using so it's great to read such nice things about this.
Your hair looks wonderful and so glossy! I wish I had better luck with L'Oreal and Kerastase haircare. I love almond scent.
You can have my straight, thin hair if I can have your thick, wavy hair! We always want we don't have! I love the scent of almond in anything!
Your hair looks beautiful! My ends are getting a little frayed so I think I will give this collection a try!
I keep intending to try this line. Once I get some of my shampoo/conditioner excess used up, this is going on my list!
I definitely could use some hair repair! I love your red lip also!
I've wanted to try this line but haven't yet. Your hair looks amazing so this will for sure be my next shampoo try.


Within few years its inception, Omni-Net has carved a niche for itself in the IT industry by acquiring many major projects. It has been possible because of its ability to successfully implement the Information Technology Projects and a commitment to ensure the utility to the customer by delivering quality work on right time and in a right manner.
Omni-Net provides high quality on-site services for software operation by proven re-engineering creating master data, entry of transactional data, operational training and support to the end-users on a broad range of hardware and software platforms and latest technologies. Our modules are flexible, scalable, secure and custom defined, based on specific individual needs of our customers from time to time.
We have expertise handling very large databases, often numbering in hundreds of lakhs of record, and digitizing it for use in customized software for Government, Education and Corporate Sectors including Admission/ Examination/ MIS/ Recruitment /Selection, Sale, Purchase and other uses.
Functioning since two decades, today Omni-Net is a well-known name in development of GIGW (Guidelines for Indian Government Websites) Websites, STQC Certified Websites, Database management for top Universities and Engineering Institutes, Mobile Application development, Software development and much more. We understand the market needs and possess the ability to deliver our IT Services comprehensively to accomplish our clients' needs.
Our driving motivation is our ability to help clients build digital businesses, while optimizing their core operations. We are here for the long-term IT support of our clients by offering innovative and customised solutions catering their overall IT needs.
Flexibility by putting together a team to customise the solution to accomplish the task.
Commitment to ensure 100% client satisfaction.
Zero-tolerance to ensure quality delivered on time.
The combination of 'Our Commitment' and 'Our Philosophy' has witnessed saw our client list crossing one milestone after the other in a very short span of time making us the Leading IT Company in Uttar Pradesh.


Blackberry from RIM (Research In Motion), a Canadian based mobile manufacturer is famous for its security that being widely used in corporate and enterprise world. While we seldom hear complaint on its quality and reliability, just recently NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile network service provider has halted its sales of Blackberry Bold mobile phones due to device overheated issue. The BlackBerry Bold high end mobile units have just been sold in Japan market since last week with about 4,000 units already in consumer hands and so far both RIM and DoCoMo have received 30 complaints with keypad overheated issue during recharging.
Surprisingly the issue only happened to BlackBerry Bold mobile devices being sold in Japan market but not to other regions. According to RIM spokesperson, the issue may not related to battery malfunction that being rumored earlier but could potentially due to software or specific customization being done since it only happens on Japanese version. Some of the customizations are around Japanese character keypad entry and the device is claimed to be supporting quad-band instead of tri-band in other regions for better reception in rural area for Japan market. Despite all these speculations, they are still in progress to investigate further before publishing an official report.
Nevertheless, none of the consumers have experienced serious burning or fire incident up to date and the temporarily halting action is definitely better than recall action which could affect the company reputation in long run.


Deadpool has some pretty famous friends.
In "Deadpool 2," Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) gathers together his own ragtag group of heroes to save a fellow mutant.
The X-Force, as Deadpool names them, consists of Domino (Zazie Beetz), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard), and a regular guy named Peter (Rob Delaney).
Or, at least, some of these guys.
But that's not it. There's supposedly a guy named Vanisher who also made the team.
The problem? Vanisher's invisible. He conveniently doesn't seem to be big on speaking either.
Naturally, it seems like Deadpool is pulling the audience's leg when he reveals a photo of the guy to be nothing more than a blank headshot. Surely, this will be the end of this gag.
The X-Force team then gathers together to jump out of a plane. It's a scene that's been teased in most of the film's trailers.
As the team skydives, keep an eye on the sky. You'll peer a tiny parachute floating down to Earth by itself.
Did you notice this while watching the movie?
It's a pretty funny sight.
I'll admit I was chuckling to myself to see the lengths Deadpool was going through to keep up with this gag. But then the cord on the parachute was pulled.
As each of the X-Force members quickly met terrible fates (it was a bit windy out), our attention is turned to the seemingly empty parachute.
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-moment, the chute flies into a wire, electrocuting the Vanisher and bringing him momentarily into focus.
Not only is he very real, but the Vanisher is none other than Brad Pitt.
If you thought that was Pitt, you were right.
If you weren't sure if it was actually Pitt, the credits confirm it's indeed the "World War Z" actor.
Vanisher was actually a character briefly seen in "X-Men: The Last Stand."
In the comics, the character was actually an X-Force villain and thief.
Why it's interesting to see Pitt in "Deadpool 2"
Pitt was actually in talks to play the movie's antihero, Cable, played by Josh Brolin.
In March 2017, concept art of Pitt as the character appeared online which matches with the final look of the character. "Deadpool 2" director David Leitch confirmed to ComicBook.com that they had met with Pitt for the movie, but it ultimately didn't work out.
"He was incredibly interested in the property," said Leitch. "Things didn't work out schedule-wise. He's a fan, and we love him, and I think he would've made an amazing Cable."
While Pitt's schedule may have conflicted, it looks like they were able to find just enough time to squeeze in a small cameo.
According to "Deadpool 2" screenwriter Rhett Reese, Ryan Reynolds reached out to Pitt.
"Brad's kids loved the first movie, and so he jumped at the chance. He did it for scale, and a cup of coffee," Reese told Fandango. "[Pitt] insisted Ryan deliver [the coffee] to him on set, which happened. It was a real treat."
When you think about it, Pitt has never played a superhero. Yes, he did play a character in animated movie, "Megamind," but he has never starred as a Marvel or DC superhero or villain.
Brad Pitt poses with his Metro Man character at the "Megamind" premiere.
A representative for Pitt and Fox didn't immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.


The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber's Annual Membership Meeting provides an overview of the Chamber's many activities and successes throughout the year and is one of the our largest annual events.
Gary Bolton, the Chamber's 2018 Board Chair and ADTRAN's Vice President of Global Marketing, will pass the gavel to Chair-Elect Kimberly Lewis, CEO of PROJECTXYZ, Inc. The Distinguished Service Award will also be presented. This is the highest honor the Chamber bestows to a deserving volunteer in the Huntsville/Madison County area.
Our special keynote speaker is Chris Voss, former FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator and author of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It. In his fascinating work, Voss explores radical techniques and strategies for negotiating in both business and everyday life.


Is their any chance of cheaper iPhone plans this time around?
I was wondering, do you guys think there is any chance that apple will force At&t and rogers to have cheaper iPhone plans so they can sell more with the new one coming out this summer? In Canada I know we get screwed over. $50 dollars for every other smart phone gives you data, and my 5 canada wide or other great options and you can select cheap add ons, but with the iphone the plans start at $60 and you cant have Canada wide my 5 and you only have two add-on packages. The $20 or $40 addons, which don't include long distance. For long distance you have to pay $80 and the caller i.d is in both those add on. I know some people will say if i cant afford it I don't deserve it or something, but there is no need for this kind of price difference.


From the list above, you should discern that your priorities should be the site-wide techniques of Domain name Optimization, URL name Optimization, File extension Optimization, the page technique of Title and Heading Optimization and promotion techniques of Article Submission and Blogs and RSS. Ok, I know that's six, but who's counting? These methods produce the best return on investment overall.
So you have followed my advice and built a totally new site. However, your old site is not totally without merit, right? Some sites link to it and some customers have bookmarked it. You might even have a modest Pagerank on one or two pages. So how do you migrate to your new site without losing these hard-won benefits?
Meet 301 and 302 Redirects. When a browser/agent/spider requests a page or URL, the web server where the page is hosted checks a file called '.htaccess'. The '.htaccess' file can be modified to tell spiders that the page has either temporarily moved (302 redirect) or permanently moved (301 redirect).
It is usually possible to implement redirects without messing with the '.htaccess' file directly, using your web host's control panel instead. From a search engine perspective, 301 redirects are the only acceptable way to redirect URLs. Although Google can handle 302s, the other engines struggle with it.
In the case of moved pages, search engines will index only the new URL, but will transfer link popularity from the old URL to the new one so that search engine rankings are not affected.
So where you have pages with decent PageRank, use your control panel to place a 301 redirect to the equivalent new page. I would let this run for 6 months or so, then delete or archive the old pages altogether.
I hope you have found my SEO Expert Guide useful and enjoy some positive effects over time in your search engine results and web traffic. Be patient! Results can take a while to feed through (particularly as search engines take longer and longer these days between major updates). Do send any feedback you have to david@viney.com and check back every so often for updates. I plan to make available for download a copy of the guide in eBook format later in 2005 (at a nominal price).


text:
$:.unshift(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', 'lib'))
require 'post'

#Clear the data
Post.clear

#Create tree posts
3.times do |i|
  Post.new(:title => "Post Title #{i}", :body => "body#{i}", :id => i).save
end

#List them
Post.all

print Post.all.size, " posts: ", Post.all.map(&:title).join(', ')


[Disasters like Katrina present a thick layer of horror that makes it difficult to analyze them. But Stan Goff, who has seen his share of such things, perceives beyond the hurricane's material impact an unfolding dynamic of state-failure. No longer able to arbitrate disputes among competing factions of the ruling class, the state has lost its autonomy. And as the general public reels from the infernal privatization of disaster response, the state is losing its legitimacy. When both are gone, the mythology that keeps the flag waving may explode in a terrific intensification that will mark its permanent failure.
Hardly part of our daily discourse, is it? But all of us have given and received the popular wisdom, "Stop worrying. You're going to give yourself ulcers." Even though Australian pathologists Barry Marshall and Robin Warren have just won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their discovery (20 years ago!) that ulcers are not caused by stress at all, but by a bacterium with the Latinate name at the beginning of this commentary.
Not only does the popular belief persist that ulcers are brought about by "stress," the medical community itself resisted this discovery for years. Entire medical protocols, as well as entire lines of symptom-amelioration pharmaceuticals and commercialized stress-management schemes, had been developed and deployed based on this false belief. The stress ulcer proved to be no more valid than the Medieval European certainty about "humors" or the persistent New Age confidence in astrology.
The Helicobacter discovery process is interesting because it was an accident. Marshall was tired before Easter weekend in 1982. He forgot to wash out a Petri dish at the lab. When he came back, a colony of Helicobacter pylori had grown out. Marshall and Warren gazed at the critter long enough to imprint its microscopic morphology into their own neural pathways, and then noticed that the same curly creature was present every time they studied inflamed gastric tissue.
Two morals to this story are (1) that our most treasured and erroneous beliefs are often based on unexamined and widely-accepted premises and (2) that the law of unintended consequences can be our friend if we retain a healthy skepticism about our premises and prepare to follow-up on new information.
For me, the most significant lesson here is that we need new language if we are to think about things in new ways. The categories, symbols, and meanings extolled in our usual chatter don't just structure what we DO know. They structure what we CAN know.
So a blissful monk might fight off this little bacterium without a moment's inconvenience, but the most beleaguered anxiety patient (say, Robert MacNamara's wife) will not get an ulcer without it. Stress management cannot treat ulcers effectively. That didn't stop anyone from treating ulcers ineffectively for decades.
The reverberations from Hurricane Katrina (and Rita in its wake) are too numerous to know or name. Identifying some of the illusions about this so-called aftermath, however, and applying unfamiliar ways of understanding it, will put us on ground high enough to see over the puerile nonsense we hear from the oral formulaic news models of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox.
Seven years ago, when I first moved to where I live now, I lived in a neighborhood surrounded by a deciduous forest. My oldest son and I used to walk in the woods past our cul-de-sac, and there was a stream there. One day, we sat quietly long enough for a beaver and two of her kittens to come paddling up that stream, whereupon they disappeared into a den that we hadn't noticed before. Throughout the woods, there were orange plastic ribbons tied onto the trees. They marked future streets for future subdivisions and for commercial lots.
Raleigh needs to increase tax revenue to promote "growth," and it has to "grow" to increase tax revenue. The annexation happened on schedule. The trees were toppled, the soil graded into flat terraces by giant diesel-powered machines, and last year I was driving down a new road near the stream, where I saw a dead beaver – run over by a car.
Now we have an industrial park, a monster strip mall, a Super Wal-Mart , and hundreds of new Masonite houses with vegetation purchased from the Lowes' and Home Depot's Garden Departments. There are orange plastic ribbons tied to the trees that remain in the shrinking ribbons of forest that were bypassed by the bulldozers.
When I first moved here, I saw another curious thing. A worm die-off. For several weeks one late Spring, as I strolled on the asphalt walking trail in my neighborhood and along the concrete sidewalks, thousands and thousands of earthworms emerged after each rain and crawled out onto the sidewalks in writhing masses, where they would be picked off by gluttonous robins or left to shrivel and harden into curly fries under the next sun. Rain frequently drives worms aboveground for the robins, but the scale of this was different. I suspect a landscaping chemical, but I can't know for sure.
Just weeks ago, my younger son, Jeremy, observed a hit and run that knocked a young doe off the road. He called me on his cell phone, distressed because the deer was alive with two obviously broken legs, lying in a ditch completely conscious and terrified. I drove out to where he was and put his and the deer's minds at ease the only way I knew how – I shot her in the head with a .22 target pistol. She died instantly. The shot must have nicked the spinal cord because her neck momentarily convulsed around as if she were trying to reach up into a thicket for a morsel before she convulsed and lay still.
Compared to those who drowned in their own homes during Hurricane Katrina, this little doe actually had a merciful death. The shock of the car hitting her, fifteen minutes of pain and fear, then the relief of death. We don't have the willingness to think about what it is like to die slowly, trapped in a sweltering attic with putrid floodwaters climbing at us. We don't know how to think about this misery and terror… times millions. But such is the world.
Katrina exposed us to images of misery and fear – unique to us, just as 9-11 was – that are experienced by millions, by hundreds of millions of people every day. Much of the world routinely lives in conditions as dire as Katrina's deadly wake.
"Progress," or "growth" chews threw the world like a feral pig – just as it chewed through the forest around my house. No one intentionally killed the deer or the beaver. Their deaths were simply a by-product… a statistical probability… the collateral damage of a social system reproducing itself.
Exterminism is this process writ large – writ worldwide. Exterminism is the final stage of imperialism.
We cannot know the true meanings of Katrina in the familiar language of the Imperium; and we cannot link Katrina to either ecocide or the seemingly maniacal devotion of the neocons to the Iraqi bloodbath by simply comparing the costs of Katrina and the costs of the war. This goes well beyond shopkeeper logic.
Ecocide – a terrifying danger often ignored on the left and the right – permanent war, and the malignant neglect of Katrina's victims, are intimately and structurally related.
It is, in other words, the tacit or open acceptance of the necessity for mass exterminations or die-offs (often beginning with mass displacements) as the price for continued accumulation and the political dominance of a ruling class.
"Shock and Awe" doctrine is an expression of exterminism. Refusal to intervene in the AIDS crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa is equally an expression of exterminism.
Exterminism is not totally, or even most often, characterized by offensive action against whole populations, but frequently accomplished by calculated neglect – the instruments of which are poverty, disease, malnutrition , and "natural" disasters… and frequently facilitated by economic isolation and the mass displacement of populations.
Imperialism is not merely the oppression and control of nation by nation. It is a system of inter-dependency in a very specific form – of capitalism. There is no ideal and universal form of capitalism but only transient forms, bounded by changing externalities and driven by changing internalities. Today's form is both imperial and exterminist. It requires the plunder of nation by nation, and it necessitates mass displacement, mass neglect, and eventual death as part of its inexorable logic.
This is what we saw on a relatively small scale, even if we did not know it, with the spectacle of people starving and dehydrated on flood-besieged rooftops while a smiling George W. Bush cut a birthday cake for a smiling John McCain. This is what we don't see – because it is not displayed in our cultural production – in the wasting away of tens of millions with HIV-AIDS in Africa.
In fact, many in the US – whether they will say it aloud or not – find this African die-off perfectly acceptable.
The externalities include resource limitations and the laws of thermodynamics, and are dramatically determined by how we consume of fossil hydrocarbons. The internalities include the tendencies within the capital accumulation regime – the tendency of population to grow as part of the expansion of capital; the tendency of the rate of profit to fall; and the twin-tendencies of expanding technological mass and urbanization.
The results of interaction between externalities and internalities can be seen from Tal Afar, Iraq to New Orleans, Louisiana. War and neglect are two faces of exterminism.
The Port of New Orleans is central to the world's busiest port complex – the Lower Mississippi River. It is at the terminus of 14,500-mile inland waterway system for the export transshipment of steel, grain, containers, and manufactured goods. It is the only deepwater port in the US connecting to six class one railheads. It is also the import point for most of the nation's imported steel, natural rubber, plywood, tropical produce, and coffee. In the last 10 years, contrary to the pure free-market ideology, the government has invested almost half a billion dollars in this facility to "externalize" (i.e., socialize) the costs of the corporations who reap the profits passing through this port.
This "externalizing" is not the same as an externality. It means that public funds are provided to capitalist enterprises via critical infrastructure, research, and development, to ensure their expansion and profitability.
Externalities, on the other hand, refers to the material world and its processes outside the direct gaze of economic activity. The quantity and disposition of the earth's remaining oil is an externality. The social process that determines how it is extracted, refined, and sold constitutes an internality.
The interactions between externality and internality can be measured in numerous ways – from steel shortages, to fishing harvests, to oil production, to climate-change weather patterns… the list of indices is very long.
In January 2004, business journals were abuzz with the news that steel prices had risen 66% in six months because of a global shortage. Externally, it doesn't take a rocket scientist, as they say, to understand that iron is a finite resource. Internally, demand for steel was on a rocket-like rise based on the rapid industrialization of China, and less so but significantly India, and the continued demand from industrial metropoles like the United States.
It must also be noted, and not incidentally, that the mining and smelting and forging of steel depend on tremendous inputs of fossil hydrocarbons – steel for cars, steel for ships, steel for corporate office buildings, steel for weapons. In the aggregate, it is not overstating the case to say that the world is in the early stages of a steel famine.
As the resources are depleted, the strongest will lay claim to the remainder and let the rest shrivel and die if necessary. Exterminism has a seagull ethic.
Hydrocarbon-powered super trawlers, the direct outcome of capitalist competition in the fishing industry, have laid waste to the world's fisheries, exploiting two-thirds of them beyond their capacity, toppling coral reefs with their drag nets, and wrecked entire ecosystems by killing "by-catch" – non-saleable sea life that is simply thrown overboard.
By-catch is environmental exterminism. There is also human "by-catch." It might be called Africanization. Kill everything. Take what you want. Throw the rest overboard. In the "reconstruction" of New Orleans, who will be the by-catch?
Coastal development, agricultural runoff (mostly petrochemicals), and the percolation of heavy metals, PCBs, and other toxins, have killed plant life and contaminated fish. Galveston Bay, which Hurricane Rita barely missed, has already lost over 90% of its sea grass from pollution. The coastal wetlands that are critical to ocean habitats are being destroyed at a rate of 20,000 acres a year.
The levees in and around New Orleans were originally built to keep the port clear of silt. This worked, but the problem then became the build-up of silt on the high-water side of the levees, which required periodic additions to the tops of the levees, weakening the overall structures.
"You put five feet on and three feet sink," a Corps engineer remarked to me one day. This is especially true of the levees that frame the Atchafalaya swamp, so the Corps has given up trying to fight the subsidence there with earth movers alone, and has built concrete floodwalls along the tops of the levees, causing the largest river swamp in North America to appear to be the world's largest prison. It keeps in not only water, of course, but silt. Gradually, the swamp elevations are building up. The people of Acadiana say that the swamp would be the safest place in which to seek refuge in a major flood, because the swamp is higher than the land outside the levees.
As sediments slide down the continental slope and the river is prevented from building a proper lobe – as the delta plain subsides and is not replenished – erosion eats into the coastal marshes, and quantities of Louisiana steadily disappear. The net loss is over fifty square miles a year. In the middle of the nineteenth century, a fort was built about a thousand feet from a saltwater bay east of New Orleans. The fort is now collapsing into the bay. In a hundred years, Louisiana as a whole has decreased by a million acres. Plaquemines Parish is coming to pieces like old rotted cloth. A hundred years hence, there will in all likelihood be no Plaquemines Parish, no Terrebonne Parish. Such losses are being accelerated by access canals to the sites of oil and gas wells. After the canals are dredged, their width increases on its own, and they erode the region from the inside. A typical three-hundred-foot oil-and-gas canal will be six hundred feet wide in five years. There are in Louisiana ten thousand miles of canals. In the nineteen-fifties, after Louisiana had been made nervous by the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Corps of Engineers built the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a shipping canal that saves forty miles by traversing marsh country straight from New Orleans to the Gulf. The canal is known as Mr. Go, and shipping has largely ignored it. Mr. Go, having eroded laterally for twenty-five years, is as much as three times its original width. It has devastated twenty-four thousand acres of wetlands, replacing them with open water. A mile of marsh will reduce a coastal-storm-surge wave by about one inch. Where fifty miles of marsh are gone, fifty inches of additional water will inevitably surge. The Corps has been obliged to deal with this fact by completing the ring of levees around New Orleans, thus creating New Avignon, a walled medieval city accessed by an interstate that jumps over the walls.
"The coast is sinking out of sight," Oliver Houck has said. "We've reversed Mother Nature." Hurricanes greatly advance the coastal erosion process, tearing up landscape made weak by the confinement of the river. The threat of destruction from the south is even greater than the threat from the north.
Exterminism does not recognize the precautionary principle.
By all economically disinterested accounts, two major events are now coinciding that combine externality and internality: Peak Oil and global warming. The accelerated burning of fossil hydrocarbons to fuel capitalist expansion has expanded humanity itself to almost 7 billions souls and parked us at a tunnel on the top of a mountain – the Hubbert Peak of oil extraction – and in the process, released enough of the carbon that was captured inside the earth to abruptly (in geological time) raise the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere. On the other side of this tunnel, the only direction is down, and the road is very, very rough.
In the wake of Katrina and the damage it inflicted on US oil platforms and refineries, Saudi Arabia – the world's largest oil patch – reluctantly announced that it could not increase production sufficiently to offset the losses. This is the third time in the last two years that Saudi Arabia has made excuses for not raising production. Matthew Simmons, energy investor and author of Twilight in the Desert – The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy – who actually served on Cheney's energy panel (but who is now the equivalent of Benedict Arnold… or Joseph Wilson) – has been warning that Saudi production projections (which Hubbert advocates said would push Saudi's peak production past 2012) are inflated, and that Saudi Arabia itself may have already peaked… meaning that the world has passed its Hubbert Peak and will go into permanent decline in the face of increasing demand from the US, India, and China, and in the face of Western Europe's near total dependency on oil imports. This is externality and internality pressing in contrary directions like the two faces of the San Andreas Fault.
For a "dematerialized" economy, the United States certainly needs a lot of that material oil. We have allowed market forces (the valorization of capital under competitive pressure) to design our entire society in ways that trap thousands inside New Orleans during a storm, and will trap millions in the unsustainable suburbs of the not-too-distant future. Our whole society is now developed around the private automobile – the colossal stupidity of which will astonish future historians for centuries.
Joel Kovel, author of The Enemy of Nature, calls the United States "Automobilia." In the same book, he publishes an interesting list of figures.
In 1972, when Earth Day was first declared, the earth was home to around 250 million automobiles. That number now is around 800 million. In the same period, oil extraction has gone from 46 million barrels a day to around 80 million; natural gas extraction from 34 trillion cubic feet per year to 95 trillion; coal extraction from 2.2 billion metric tons annually to 3.8 billion; air traffic has multiplied by six, tree harvesting (the cutting down of carbon buffers and oxygen producers) has more than doubled (destroying approximately half the remaining forests of the word); fish harvests doubled; 40% of agricultural soil was degraded; half the wetlands were destroyed; half of the coastal areas in the US were declared unfit for swimming or fishing; the hole in the atmospheric ozone over Antarctica opened to half the size of the continental Untied States; almost 8 billion tons of pollutants are now released annually in the US (disproportionately onto the communities of African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans); and not surprisingly annual carbon emissions into the atmosphere have increased from 3.9 million metric tons to 6.4 million.
In that same period, the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere rose one degree Fahrenheit. That doesn't sound like much, since we see fluctuations of one degree in our personal lives every few minutes. But what this degree has done is begin melting the permafrost, melting the iconic snowcap on Mount Kilimanjaro, raising the temperature of the oceans… the effects have been well documented. Here we will talk about only one effect. The increased water temperature and slight elevation in sea level that fed energy into and ramped up the landfall of Hurricane Katrina.
The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Although we cannot say at present whether more or fewer hurricanes will occur in the future with global warming, the hurricanes that do occur near the end of the 21st century are expected to be stronger and have significantly more intense rainfall than under present day climate conditions. This expectation is based on an anticipated enhancement of energy available to the storms due to higher tropical sea surface temperatures.
In this steady accumulation of contradictory forces, external and internal, the Almighty Market – with its field of vision no longer than the next business cycle (or even the next online trade) – fuels the inertia of this runaway train and produces the dog-eat-dog evacuation plan that strands the flooded poor atop their roofs or dying in their attics.
This is the essence of exterminism – which accepts massive displacements and die-offs of human beings and of whole sections of the biosphere. It is the recognition by the ruling class that there are now too few "resources" (note how this term removes these things from the web of life) to support the valorization of capital through "development" of all human society, and the deliberate decision to sacrifice as many as are necessary to perpetuate that class' power. The biosphere is collateral damage.