The Samsung Galaxy S III was revealed in London and at CTIA, let's review what the reviewers have said about the new reigning king of smartphones which some are calling the iPhone of the Android crowd.
Best-Reviewed Features: Gorgeous 4.8" Super AMOLED touchscreen, new voice features, faster processor, good call battery life, Android 4.0 ICS, new camera tricks and nifty new software.
Least-Liked Features: Plastic "vanilla" case, size may be too large, web browsing drains battery and pricing/carriers not set yet.
CNET's Jessica Dolcourt found the design of the Samsung Galaxy S III to be compelling with an appealing touchscreen and nice feel in the hand. She called it a worthy upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S II in every way and looks forward to using it in the summer when it comes in a world tour.
GSM Arena tested the Samsung Galaxy S III battery and found that the 2100 mAh battery lasted 10:20 hours for talk time, 5:17h for web browsing and 10:01h for video playback. When compared to other smartphones the poorest performance was for web browsing.
The Samsung Galaxy S III looked very good indeed to Pocket-Lint. Although heavier than the Samsung Galaxy S II due to a clear 306PPI 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, it's still thin and looks better than an iPhone 4S retina screen. There's a solid home button and the smart screen that doesn't dim while you are looking at is called a stand-out feature as well as Direct Call. The S Voice wake-up feature is secure and most voice functions work very well. because of the thin bevel the screen feels even bigger than 4.8 inches. The only thing not liked is the plastic feel which keeps it light. It should make iPhone 4S fans sick with envy.
CNET's Scott Webster wrote after viewing the launch event, that the Samsung Galaxy S III was worth the wait for incredible specs, Samsung software additions, especially Direct Call and Android 4.0 ICS.


Download newest working Cut the Rope 2 1.19.2 MOD APK Unlimited Money free by iTechMirror. We've shared the direct obtain hyperlinks for Cut the Rope 2 1.19.2 MOD APK Unlimited Money. Earlier than downloading, be sure you learn all the directions rigorously. When you have any doubt you may remark under. Bookmark this web page to get extra Updates on Cut the Rope 2 1.19.2 MOD APK Unlimited Money. We've additionally hooked up the methods to set up Apk + Mod + Knowledge file inside the attachment. Learn the directions and set up the Recreation in your android cell phone.
The second installment of the legendary puzzle collection Cut the Rope. Download it without cost!
Cut the Rope 2 is a part of Zeptolab's cult franchise, which options the adventures of Om Nom, an cute inexperienced creature who loves sweet.
Meet Om Nom's buddies, Nommies, and embark on an journey by means of greater than 160 ranges that can take you to lush forests, bustling cities, landfills and underground tunnels all for one objective: Eat some candies !
Simple to grasp however troublesome to grasp, Cut the Rope 2 gives twisted challenges and new obstacles to the recreation phenomenon that fascinates younger and outdated!
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A roadway used by miners for walking to and from the face, that is, from the shaft bottom or main entry to the workings.
25136(d)(2)(C) dealing with a traveling road show or opinion surveying, indicate that personal services shouldn't be construed that narrowly.
Treasurer Phil Angelides, a likely 2006 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, has led his party's highest-profile officeholders in a traveling road show of their own.
Members of FFA put together a traveling road show that involved a series of interactive workshops and a chance for DC students to learn how agriculture provides them with almost everything they eat, wear and use of a daily basis.
In a major show of support, Dairy Fresh Farms' logo will be displayed on traveling road show booths, and the company will be featured in an article to be published in the Canola Council of Canada's trade magazine in 2006.
The traveling road show called the Tennessee Titans under a Taft High graduate, coach Jeff Fisher, made a thrilling game of it right down to the final play.
Tonight, they open a new traveling road show called ``Light Magic,'' a huge sort of moving stage production crawling with pixies and classic Disney characters, singing new and familiar songs, and using more than 2,500 miles of fiber optics for a new, detail-happy light look.
We candidates had a traveling road show that went to the public and usually outnumbered our audience two-to-one.
The AOL tour, a traveling road show stopping at 30 cities in 30 days, is designed to show off AOL's latest software and to attract new customers.
Tom Kasanda, Senior Project Manager from the Ontario Science Centre, has invited the Company to participate in the development of a presentation which will feature the unique properties of the BITEM material which is to become part of the Ontario Science Centre Traveling Road Show presently being developed.
The portability of the combined reader and card allows the traveling road warrior or remote worker access to secure digital information across the enterprise.
The ad was part of the traveling road show the Michigan pathologist and his legal sidekick, Geoffrey Fieger, brought to Washington on Monday during their joint appearance before the National Press Club.


We know what you ate last summer... and it wasn't pretty. Make this year different with these 8 secrets to backyard braai immortality.
The Aztecs had the life. These guys could hang out on their temple patios honing their summer cooking skills all year round (when they weren't sacrificing one of their guests). We aren't so lucky. Most modern men are too busy (or too lazy) to get much practice wielding the old braai tongs. The result: we waste valuable pool time toiling over food that ends up requiring its own sort of human sacrifice to choke down.
But that's ancient history. Turning our pens into pickaxes, we did some excavating and unearthed something that'll help you out: the long-lost 'Secrets of Summer Cooking'.
There are eight, and they cover everything from preparing perfect mielies to grilling the most tender steak on the block. And because you'll eventually get full, there are also low-kilojoule, low-fat recipes for turning the leftovers into backyard legends in their own right. Now get out there and celebrate the start of the summer season.
For burgers that sizzle, add four tablespoons of ice water to each half-kilogram of lean chopped sirloin. The heat from the coals will seal in the extra moisture, making your homemade monster macs juicier than your usual hockey-puck patties.
The sweetest ears will be slightly immature (just like you) with kernels that don't go all the way to the end of the cob (uh, not like you). Toss them, husks and all, onto a medium-hot braai fire. Cook for 10 minutes and then peel back all but the last layer of husk. Braai five more minutes for that just-smoked flavour.
Left-overs? Make this grilled corn salsa: 2 cups grilled corn, removed from the cob, 1 finely chopped red bell pepper, 1 finely chopped jalapeno chilli pepper, 1 large diced tomato, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper and a dash of chilli powder or ground cumin.
Directions: Mix it all together and serve. Makes three cups.
Hold two skewers half a centimetre apart. Proceed to impale your meat and vegetables so that both skewers are threaded through each piece. Repeat for all of your kebabs. The meat won't spin as it would on a single skewer (and end up cooking unevenly), and the vegetables won't be able to take a suicidal leap into the coals.
Before you buy strawberries or raspberries, flip the carton over. You're looking for nature's expiration date: juice stains. See, dripping fruit is one step away from rotten fruit. If you've already bought berries that are going soft, place a single layer of them on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.
Directions: Mix the honey with the milk, and microwave until the honey melts. Add the berries and rum, and blend until smooth. Fill four dessert bowls, freeze, and serve.
Skip the deli variety and the after-dinner angioplasty. Instead, make this better-tasting and less artery-plugging mac salad: mix one diced boiled egg, one diced onion, one diced tomato, 115 grams kidney beans, one tablespoon light mayonnaise, and two tablespoons each relish and white vinegar into 1.5 cups cooked macaroni. Sprinkle with paprika, chill, and serve.
Before you can hold a proper seed-spitting contest, there needs to be an official weigh-in. Grab a few similar- size watermelons and plop them down on the scale. Heaviest melon wins. Why? Because the extra weight means the melon has more water, and water is what gives a melon its flavour.
Here's something you can do with an overripe banana that doesn't involve a tailpipe. Peel, put in a plastic container, and mash. When you've got half a cup, mix in a dash of lemon juice and freeze. You have six months to use in the daiquiri or margarita of your choice.
Everything tastes like it, but nothing takes as long to cook through. To speed up the process, spread your chicken in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate and nuke it for six minutes on medium- high heat, or until the meat just begins to turn white. Brush with barbecue sauce and slap on the braai.
Left-overs? Make this chicken tortilla casserole: 2 cups chopped, grilled chicken, 1 can rinsed and drained black beans, 1 bottle drained chile peppers, 1/2 cup Old El Paso enchilada sauce, 3/4 cup crumbled nachos chips, 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheese.
Directions: Stir together the chicken, beans, peppers, and enchilada sauce. Now place it all in a 20x20cm baking dish, top with the crushed chips and bake at 200.


text:
Bill Would Prioritize Repairs at NYCHA Senior Developments
September 28, 2016 | by Samar Khurshid
Council Member Torres, right (photo via NYCHA on Flickr)
A new report by City Council Member Ritchie Torres' office found a vast backlog in necessary repairs of sidewalks outside New York City public housing, particularly developments for senior citizens. Torres, a Bronx Democrat who chairs the Council's Committee on Public Housing, believes this is a serious issue of public safety and will introduce a bill on Wednesday that would require the Department of Transportation to prioritize sidewalk reconstruction at senior-only developments within the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).
At the end of the fiscal year, NYCHA provides DOT with a list of sidewalks to be repaired outside housing developments. DOT has access to limited capital funds for these repairs, which leaves many sidewalks broken for years. Last year, in an effort to expand repairs, the DOT increased its annual commitment to NYCHA sidewalks from $1 million to $3 million. Torres' report, which was previewed by Gotham Gazette, points out that senior-only developments tend to be low on the priority list provided by NYCHA.
"The city's policy to senior citizens, concerning sidewalks, is essentially, 'break a leg,'" Torres said in a phone interview. He stressed that seniors are particularly susceptible to trip-and-fall hazards, and at greater risk from the resulting injuries, and that NYCHA needs to give special consideration to senior housing developments when determining which sidewalks should be repaired.
Currently, there are more than 61,500 New Yorkers, age 65 and older, living in NYCHA developments. Of the city's 328 total public housing properties, 41 are senior housing developments and 15 are senior-only buildings within mixed population developments. "Common sense would dictate you give special consideration to senior citizens who have special needs," Torres said. "The city's policy is basically a rejection of common sense."
The report notes recent increases in DOT's budget for NYCHA property reconstructions that should first go to senior developments. It is estimated that roughly $327.2 million of DOT's $8.9 billion ten-year capital budget is meant to be allocated towards sidewalk and ramp repair for approximately 28.6 million square feet of citywide. The eight-page document from Torres' office also includes pictures (left) of sidewalks from senior developments across the five boroughs and estimated costs for repair, with some of them relatively easy fixes. Only one senior development, Cassidy-Lafayette Houses on Staten Island, was ranked at the top of DOT's priority list for repairs.
So far this year, the DOT has repaired sidewalks outside 11 NYCHA developments, nine of which have on-site senior centers, according to a NYCHA spokesperson. These nine include Melrose Houses in the Bronx, Reid Apartments in Brooklyn, Vladeck Houses in Manhattan and South Jamaica Houses in Queens. The spokesperson also said the DOT was aiming to complete repairs at three more sites with senior centers before the end of the construction season.
"NYCHA and DOT maintain a strong partnership – and we are committed to working together with the Council Member to address these issues, ensuring improved quality of life and safe sidewalks for all of our residents," read a joint statement emailed to Gotham Gazette. "We look forward to reviewing the legislation."
Torres will introduce his bill at Wednesday's City Council meeting, it may then be heard in committee.
The de Blasio administration has not weighed in on the proposal yet. "We'll review the bill upon introduction," said Aja Worthy-Davis, deputy press secretary in the mayor's press office.
Note: this article has been updated.
Tags: Department of Transportation • Ritchie Torres • Senior Housing • NYCHA

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Rise Above Movement Arrested: An FBI Amateur Hour
October 27, 2018 / Gunner Q
Barely four posts ago, I covered liberals claiming Trump was a pathological liar because they didn't see any literal riots happening in California cities. Simultaneous with that claim is the arrest of a purported white supremacist cell in Los Angeles that specializes in orchestrating politically motivated riots. Charlottesville makes the news again! And perfectly timed for midterm elections, too. What a coincidence.
U.S. white nationalist leader, three others charged with inciting riots
https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-white-nationalist-leader-three-others-charged-conspiracy-185306121.html
By Dan Whitcomb, 24 October 2018
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The leader of a California-based white nationalist group and three others have been charged with attacking demonstrators and conspiring to incite riots at political rallies across the state, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday,
Robert Rundo, 28-year-old founder of the Rise Above Movement, was taken into custody on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport.
Note, he was arriving at LAX from out of country. He was not attempting a flight from prosecution.
Two other members of the group, Robert Boman, 25, and Tyler Laube, 22, were arrested on Wednesday morning, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. Aaron Eason, 38, remains at large.
"The allegations describe an orchestrated effort to squelch free speech as members of the conspiracy traveled to multiple locations to attack those who hold different views," U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement.
Nick should check out this group called "Berkeley Antifa". It's probably the group he's thinking of.
Rundo, Boman, and Laube are accused of attacking counter-protesters and two journalists at a March 25, 2017 "Make America Great Again" rally in Rundo's hometown of Huntington Beach, California.
Regular readers may recall that Huntington Beach is one of the California cities vocally opposing the sanctuary state crimes of Sacramento. A quick quote:
https://gunnerq.com/2018/03/30/battle-lines/
"Travis Allen, an assemblyman from Huntington Beach, said Attorney General Xavier Becerra's warnings of prosecution and fines for voluntarily cooperating with the U.S. government were so egregious that federal officials should consider bringing charges of their own against the Democratic official."
The prosecution of RAM might not only be a midterm election ploy, it may be a flanking attack on Huntington Beach gov't for not toeing Sacramento's party line.
Rundo, Boman and Eason are also charged with violence at a demonstration in Berkeley on April 15, 2017 and an "Anti-Islamic Law" protest in San Bernardino.
They are also charged with using the internet with the intent to "organize promote, encourage, participate or carry on riots."
They used the Internet to participate in rioting? The organizing accusation is sketchy, too, because criminals don't advertise their crimes in advance by getting city permits for them.
Rundo was ordered detained pending trial at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles earlier this week, Mrozek said. Boman, of Torrance, and Laube, of Redondo Beach, were still awaiting court appearances.
Sounds like they scheduled Rundo's hearing for when they knew he'd be out of town. The following brackets are my personal comments:
Earlier this month, four other California men described by prosecutors as members of the Rise Above Movement — Benjamin Drake Daley, Michael Paul Miselis, Thomas Walter Gillen and Cole Evan White — were indicted on federal riot and conspiracy charges stemming from violence they were accused of instigating during last year's Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Neo-Nazi sympathizers and counterprotesters clashed at that event [when the counterprotesters' ally ordered the police to stand down] and President Donald Trump was criticized at the time for appearing to equate the actions of the white nationalists, who carried Nazi flags [one flag, IIRC], with those of counterprotesters. [relevance of this criticism?]
On Wednesday, Trump denounced the suspected bombs mailed to former U.S. President Barack Obama, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and other high-profile Democrats.
Yes, this is the same article. It switched midstream from "Neo-Nazi rioters indicted" to "Trump denies bombing all of his opponents immediately before his massive election win." TDS for six more years.
"And I just want to tell you that in these times, we have to unify, we have to come together, and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America," he said at a White House event.
Earlier this year, Rundo and two of the men charged in the Charlottesville case traveled to Europe to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday and to meet with members of other white supremacy extremist groups, according to prosecutors.
Is this an attempt at establishing an international conspiracy? Sheesh.
So, what's this Rise Above Movement? I haven't heard of them despite living in Commiefornia myself.
Gymbros in skull masks. Hmm, you never see Antifa go shirtless. Where are the guns? The tattoo sleeves of swastikas? The OK salute? Pepe? Neo-Nazis are called skinheads for a reason but these guys have hair.
Most of their social media stuff has been taken down but they appear to have operated openly on twitter, gab and youTube until recently.
I've seen scarier groups at the airsoft field.
"Ultraviolent Neo-Nazis wear masks to conceal their identities"
This must be the Ben Daley mentioned above. That's not a Nazi slogan.
Same Mr. Daley. Okay, we're getting fringe but I'm not seeing a smoking gun anywhere. I can see the news crews in the background of the left image so he's got to be posturing, not making credible threats.
His ears are very, very pointed and backswept. In Chinese face reading, that means he's had severe emotional trauma as a child. Divorced parents is very likely. His nose flange is also pronounced enough to opine on: the creased flange means he's much more willing to offer help than to accept help. A group identity is common for such people because "helping the group helps myself" and they can appeal to the group's ideals instead of straight-up begging.
RAM's "Rise Above" brand of merchandise. Odd they don't wear it themselves.
The only "Nazi" part of this picture is the sign on the traffic pole "Smash Alt-Right Nazis". RAM is displaying a flag of the Christian crusades, which historically were defensive actions against unproved Muslim aggression… therefore appropriate in the context of the alt-Right, which is not any form of fascism.
For a terrorist Neo-Nazi racist white supremacist international organization of riotous evil, they posted a lot of public group photos and selfies.
Let's look at the incidents RAM was allegedly involved in.
San Bernardino anti-Islamic law rally and counter-protests trigger violence
https://www.sbsun.com/2017/06/10/san-bernardino-anti-islamic-law-rally-and-counter-protests-trigger-violence/
By Joe Nelson, 10 June 2017
A "protesters clash" photo from linked article. Looks like some tug-of-war going on. Antifa versus RAM. One of the participants is hiding his identity and the other is Mr. Daley of RAM.
A San Bernardino rally against Islamic law being implemented in the United States drew hundreds of protesters and counterprotesters Saturday near the site of the Dec. 2, 2015, terrorist attack, but also sparked violence and acts of vandalism, police say.
Sponsored by the nonprofit group ACT for America, the Inland March Against Sharia was one of numerous rallies held nationwide. Sharia is Islamic law as derived from the Quran and the traditions of Islam.
In San Bernardino, protesters gathered at the memorial to the terror attack victims on the southeast corner of Waterman Avenue and Orange Show Road; counterprotesters assembled on the opposite corner.
Sharia, the protesters say, oppresses women and is a gateway to radicalization and terrorism. Protesters fear the establishment of Sharia in the U.S., which they say would erode the Constitution and American values and culture
The demonstrations were meant to be peaceful. But emotionally charged language — as well as water — was hurled.
At one point, a group of protesters crossed the street and cut a path through counterprotesters, which erupted into a fracas that immediately drew a swarm of police officers who had guns drawn and batons at the ready.
"It's my understanding that one of the groups crossed over with the intent to antagonize. We got officers involved," said Police Chief Jarrod Burguan, who arrived at the protests shortly after the incident. "There was a little bit of shoving or something of that nature. We got folks involved pretty quickly and were able to break it up. There were no arrests that stemmed from the incident."
He said one officer was struck by a soda can, but the officer wasn't injured. The person who threw the can was not identified, Burguan said.
Later in the day, three men were arrested on suspicion of vandalism for smashing out the windows of a car. Their names were not immediately available, but Burguan said the men were from San Diego, San Clemente and Torrance.
This doesn't sound like a riot.
Protesters say Sharia is incompatible with American law. They say Sharia condones, among other things, genital mutilation, domestic violence and stoning.
This is true. Anybody who cares about the welfare of women opposes Sharia.
"It's a religion where you have the potential to become radicalized. If you become radicalized, you commit jihad," said Gregory Maximus, clad in a black bandana with white skull imprint covering the lower half of his face as he stood in line to buy snacks at a gas station.
The cashier told him he had to remove his bandana if he wanted to buy something.
Maximus complied.
Maximus said he was with a group calling themselves Rise Above, and that about 30 of them attended Saturday's March Against Sharia demonstration.
Either Greg violated the sacred Omerta code for a 7-11 hot dog or these aren't the professional troublemakers the FBI looking for. Although he did give the media a false name. I doubt his family name is "Maximus".
Counterprotester Alex Sanchez, a business agent for Teamsters Local 896 in Los Angeles, said he was offended by ACT for America's choice of location for their protest, the IRC, where on Dec. 2, 2015, 14 people, including 13 San Bernardino County public health employees, were fatally shot and 22 others wounded in a terrorist attack implemented by radicalized Muslim spouses Syed Rizwan Farook, a county health inspector, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik. They were both killed in a shootout with police hours after the massacre.
Opposing RAM was a professional Teamsters agitator who was offended that they protested against Islam at the site of a Muslim terrorist attack. Here's your professional troublemaker, prosecutors: Alex Sanchez of Local 896.
On to the Huntington Beach "riot".
Pro-Trump Rally in Huntington Beach Turns Violent
http://laist.com/2017/03/25/trump_rally_violent.php
By Annie Lloyd, 25 March 2017
A pro-Trump rally in Huntington Beach Saturday morning erupted in violence, according to the LA Times. A man protesting the rally pepper sprayed a female organizer of the rally, after which other pro-Trump supporters tackled and punched him. Video of the fight shows the counter-protestor getting assaulted and running from pro-Trump supporters. Members of the rally followed him and other counter protestors with chants of "USA," "America First," and cries for them to "get out." The counter protestor eventually fled and ran along Pacific Coast Highway before getting detained by California Highway Patrol officers. The other counter-protestors fled the scene.
Violence instigated by "counter-protestors". What a surprise. I left in the video link; between 20-25 seconds, look for an Antifa goon in the top left corner. There seemed to be a shoving match of some kind prior to the twerp deploying pepper spray. But shrug, nobody is getting beaten by an ugly stick or anything. And this is being handled as Federal-level rioting?
Wow, there were a LOT of cameras at that event. It reminds me of the time I went to the Hollister motorbike rally and every other biker was an undercover cop.
The Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally is already notorious so I'll leave off with this instead: Heavy.com has located the actual indictment of RAM and while I'm not a legal expert, it looks like amateur hour at the FBI.
Rise Above Movement: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
Archived locally:
Click to access cole-whte-indictment.pdf
4. Title 18, United States Code, Section 2101, provides that "Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including, but not limited to, the mail, telegraph, telephone, radio, or television, with intent 1) to incite a riot; or 2) to organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot; or 3) to commit any act of violence in furtherance of a riot; or 4) to aid or abet any person in inciting or participating in or carrying on a riot or committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot" shall be guilty of a federal offense.
This is the crux of the Federal case against the RAM members. As I've shown on this post, "riot" is a gross exaggeration of the incidents RAM members have been involved in, to say nothing of what its members intended.
10. Through open-source research by the FBI, it was learned that RAM maintained a publicly viewable Twitter page. RAM represents itself to be a positive influence on those who join their ranks, as evidenced in the following statement posted to their publicly viewable Twitter…
"Open-source research." Yep, this elite FBI Special Task Force LEO got his incriminating evidence from publicly available, highly opinionated websites, just like I do at no cost to the taxpayer. Said incriminating evidence consisting of:
11 . Through Twitter and other social-media platforms, RAM promotes "clean living," physical fitness and mixed martial arts (MMA) street fighting techniques. According to an article published to http://www.nocara.blacklogs.org on 7/06/2017, entitled "DIY Division: The Violent neo-Nazi Group Central to the California Alt-Right and Alt-Light Protest Movements," DIY, which later re-branded itself as RAM, subscribes to "equal parts Identity Evropa's flaccid identitarian discourse … and the fetishization of masculinity, physical fitness, and violence mixed with the shallow anti -corporate and anti -consumerist themes of the film Fight Club. Propaganda by the group .. . contains … fascistic themes of emasculated young white men needing to reclaim their identities through learning to fight and engaging in purifying violence." Accordingly, the group regularly meets in public parks in the southern California area and trains in physical fitness, boxing, and other fighting techniques. The following photographs were obtained from RAM's public Twitter page: [amateur kickboxers].
Seriously? A activist blog of no significance is the basis for a sealed grand jury indictment?
13. RAM and its members openly identify themselves on various social media platforms as "alt-right" and "nationalist" and frequently posts videos and photographs of its adherents engaged in vigorous physical training and mixed martial arts (MMA) street-fighting techniques in order to prepare to engage in fighting and violence at political rallies.
They prepare in broad daylight and public areas, physical and Internet both, for low-level terrorism?
14. …In this video, an individual believed to be DALEY can be seen attempting to kick and/or punch a counter protestor, while wearing a half-skull face mask consistent with those depicted in RAM's group photo previously noted.
Because half-skull masks are very rare and not $5 apiece at the local army surplus store.
15. GILLEN was also present during last year's unrest in Berkeley, California, and can be seen in the same video repeatedly punching a counter protestor who has fallen to the ground. GILLEN, in an apparent effort to prepare to engage in physical violence, has taped his fists in the manner of boxers or MMA style fighters, as evidenced photo above, right.
The picture is so grainy that I have no idea how the FBI can tell his hand is taped. Taping the hand doesn't make your fist hit harder; it just makes wrist injury less likely. It's a defensive preparation, like having a first aid kit. I'd tape up, too, if I was stupid enough to go to an Antifa rally, because a padded hand & forearm can deflect thrown objects with less danger of skin cuts.
By the way, none of the "counter-protestors" referred to in the indictment are named. The FBI built this major indictment by combing through social media for a preponderance of circumstantial evidence.
The FBI should be ashamed of this.
Drain the swamp already, Mr. Trump!
25. In other video footage from the violence, WHITE can be seen headbutting a
female counter protestor, while DALEY assists him in the assault. (Photo: below, left). The
headbutt results in a severe laceration. (Photo: below, right).
Nobody wins in a headbutt. If White was trained in martial arts then a headbutt is more likely to have been the female's choice, not his. A couple cell phone pics doesn't do much to establish who the aggressor is.
29. After returning to Southern California, Daley made various admissions about
committing acts of violence in Charlottesville and at other rallies in California.
But no actual statements. One would think an admission of interstate violence would be exactly what belongs in a request for an arrest warrant.
30. Based on the information set forth in this affidavit, I submit that there is probable
cause to believe:
31. On or about August 11 , 2017, Defendant BENJAMIN DRAKE DALEY, MICHAEL MISELIS, COLE WHITE, and THOMAS GILLEN traveled in interstate commerce from California to Charlottesville, Virginia, within the Western District of Virginia, with intent (a) to incite a riot, (b) to organize, promote, encourage, participate in, and carry on in a riot, (c) to commit an act of violence in furtherance of a riot, and (d) to aid or abet any person inciting and participating in or carrying on in a riot and committing any act of violence in furtherance of a riot; and during the course of such travel or thereafter performed or attempted to perform multiple overt acts, including but not limited to: inciting, promoting, encouraging, participating in, and carrying on in a riot, committing acts of violence in furtherance of a riot, and aiding and abetting other persons inciting and participating in and carrying on in a riot and committing acts of violence in furtherance of a riot, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2101 , 2.
Was the Unite the Right rally ever formally declared a riot? The police didn't lose control, they were ordered away by the mayor.
Based on the forgoing, I request that the Court issue the proposed arrest warrant.
Respectfully submitted, *signed* Dino P. Cappuzzo, Special Agent/Task Force Officer, FBI, 27 August 2018
And then sealed two months until the midterm elections were nigh. At a bare minimum, the FBI should have waited to unseal until after the elections to prevent credible accusations of political shenanigans.
There's a lesson to be learned here. You should already know not to go to these rallies. If you do go, and there's a male personality type that honestly is compelled to go, then don't wear skulls & other death imagery for a uniform and don't brag about the combat you've committed in self-defense after the fact. It is very, very easy for such comments to be used against you by rogue law enforcement.
RAM will get through this unharmed if they rigorously lawyer up and remain silent. All the evidence thus far is circumstantial and taken from sources in which the victims don't look or act like victims.
← UWE James Knight, Fake MRA
The Exorcist (Of San Jose) →


Each every year, DEF organizes a Children's Mela where Deaf children are given every opportunity to forget their disability and enjoy themselves through games and fun filled activities. Free lunch and snacks are provided for the children here. This is a great opportunity for them to interact with other children and it also expands their horizons and interact with students from other institutions. DEF ensures that the Deaf children have a good time by including entertainment such as puppet shows, mime or theatre shows for them.


text:
Meeting the Andrews Sisters at the Manhole
The Andrews Sisters
Yesterday's celebration of Manhole Cover Monday, plus the passage of nearly 40 years and a certain don't-give-a-damness that settles upon a man in his late 50s, permits me to tell this story, which I used to love to recount to friends.
Participants in what used to be called, with antique specificity, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism were expected to spend time working at a real newspaper. This was a central attraction of the place, if I recall. No hazy theorizing, no mucking about in sandboxes and playpens. Junior year, an entire academic quarter, booted into the real world to sink or swim.
There were options across the country—some tantalizingly in Florida—but those all required the student to own an automobile. And I did not, nor would my parents buy me one or let me use one of theirs. I don't think I even asked.
That left one choice: the Green Bay Press Gazette in Green Bay Wisconsin, a town compact enough to cover on foot and by bus. It was where all the carless students went.
I arrived in early January—it was 17 degrees below zero when I arrived at the airport, which resembled, I would write my parents, "an abandoned bus station." Passengers got off the plane, ran to their cars and were gone. I dragged the steamer trunk I was carrying by its handle as luggage and went to the area in the airport labeled "Taxis" where a ruddy security guard was gazing out the window.
"Where are the taxis?" I asked him.
"It'll be back in a moment," he said. The "moment" was 30 minutes, while I mused at his used of the singular. As if the city had one cab, which did eventually pull up, the cabbie got out, walked over to the security, started to talk like the old friends they were. Then the driver noticed me. Oh, do you need a lift? He said. Yes, yes I did
I went to the YMCA, to a dingy, loud room out of a Nelson Algren story. "Over fifty years old," I wrote my parents. "Smelly and dark, and really depressing, and not extraordinarily clean." But soon found residence a few blocks from downtown, the upper floor of an older couple named Schwartz. He had lost his larynx and spoke in an incomprehensible buzz by pressing a device to his throat. She took pity on me, and welcomed me with a basket of good apples and use of an electric frying pan. The apartment had a Murphy bed—the kind that swung out of the wall.
I helped out on the police beat. My first story was on a bank bag of $1,700 that was lost but recovered. Life fell into the pattern of daily journalism, which for me involved visiting the local police and fire stations, on foot and by bus, and collecting the records of their ambulance runs.
"I don't understand why every time an old woman has trouble breathing we have to put it in the newspaper," I remember griping. What I really wanted to write about was Wisconsin's state rock—I was charmed to find the state had a rock. The story grew and grew, but was never printed, despite my efforts. Like all interns, there was much screwing off. In my ample spare time, I used my computer to write short stories, which I thought would be my true career. They tended to be long, and in trying to print one out, managed to crash the Green Bay Press Gazette's entire computer system.
Needless to say, I was not a popular person.
When not at work, being 20 and an alcoholic-in-training, I went to bars, but those bars I recall as small, brightly lit places with the same gathering of flannel-clad Wisconsonites watching the same sporting events. It was early 1981, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Double Fantasy" album had just come out. The first single was "Starting Over" and was on the juke box. The B side was "Kiss Kiss Kiss," a classic bit of unlistenable Yoko Ono screeching, and my habit would be to visit a bar, have a beer, establish that this was the deadest place on earth and I would never return to it, pop a quarter in the Juke box, punch up "Kiss Kiss Kiss" three times ,and then head outside just as its opening shriek began.
But then one night, as I trudged around what passed for a downtown in Green Bay, I saw a different sight. From a distance, I could hear the whump of dance music. Lights were strobing. I paid a cover and went inside, The dance floor was packed. The air hummed with sweat and life. I beamed—finally!—and went to the bar and ordered a glass of red wine, slid into a booth, looked around the room. My happiness curdled and I said to myself, through gritted teeth: "There are ... no women ... here."
I had never been to a gay bar; I probably had never have imagined their existence. The thing to do was to flee but a)I had paid a couple dollars to get in and b) I had a full glass of wine before me. There seemed no harm in finishing it.
At that moment three men walked up, all dressed in identical white blousy untucked shirts, blond wigs, make-up and dangly earrings. They identified themselves as "The Andrews Sisters" and slid into the booth around me. We had a conversation the nature of which is lost to me—no letters to my parents describing that— except when the guy to my right asked me to dance.
"I don't know how to dance," I said quickly, in one breath, instantly thinking of every girl who had ever told those exact words—I heard that a lot—and uttering a sincere and spontaneous prayer to the Lord in Heaven: "Please God, I hope I didn't seem to them the way this guy seems to me." I looked at him closely, at his sideburns under the makeup. He looked like the singer Joe Cocker. In drag.
Time passed. I finished my wine. We all looked at each other. The only way to exit the booth would be to either climb over Joe, or ask him to let me out, and that seemed somehow ... rude.
Instead, polite to a fault, I said, "Okay, let's dance."
He sprang up and started dancing, eyes closed, head back, not really engaging with me at all, thank God. I surveyed the dance floor around me in a kind of wonder, and had a thought that stayed in mind. Usually specific thoughts at specific moments in your life don't remain, crystal clear, after decades. But this one did. The thought was:
"Here you are, Neil Steinberg, Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism, Teaching Newspaper Program, Green Bay Press Gazette, Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the gay bar, dancing with the homosexuals ... what is it like?"
I looked around at the crowded dance floor. And the truth, the honest, unvarnished truth, is I couldn't quite believe it, couldn't believe these men were sincere. I thought that, if you turned the lights up, and clapped each one on the shoulder and said, "Hey buddy, you're in a gay bar. What are you doing here?" that each would have a tale similar to mine, of confusion, of finding themselves in the wrong place.
I was 20.
The song continued, and I danced away from Joe Cocker, toward the exit, then turned and fled into the cold Wisconsin night. Walking away, I turned and saw, for the first time, where I had been, spelled out, "The Manhole." I don't know how I missed that going in. Maybe I read it and missed its significance. That sounds right.
Of course on Monday I told this story to my colleagues at the Green Bay Press Gazette, who did not take it with the humor that I did. They seemed sort of aghast. Part of the trick to being a writer is knowing whether the tale you have to tell will amuse your audience or horrify them, and I hadn't figured it out. Maybe I never did.
The coda to the story is this. I am on the elevator at the Press-Gazette building, some time later. The Swedish janitor gets on, rolling a wringer bucket with a mop in it. The doors close. He turns to look at me and says, "Zo, you vent to de 'Manhole, eh?'
The Manhole, at 207 S. Washington Street opened in 1976, and was "probably the first gay leather bar in Northeast Wisconsin" according to the History of Gay and Lesbian Life in Milwaukee Wisconsin web site. It closed in 1981, and is now a parking lot.
Les August 13, 2019 at 7:24 AM
Juke box vandalism, and I thought I was the only one. Senior year in high school and my buddy and I are on our way home, late at night, from fishing off a bridge. We stop at Royal Castle. On the juke box was the Royal Castle theme song (catchy ditty used in their commercials). We poured all the change we had into the machine and played that tune as many times as we could. Not proud of that moment but it was funny at the time.
Coey August 13, 2019 at 9:27 AM
Eh, wouldn't call that vandalism, since you put money in the machine. Just garden variety jerkiness.
sanford August 13, 2019 at 8:30 AM
Green Bay is a lot different today than it was back in 1981.
Private August 13, 2019 at 9:05 AM
heydave August 13, 2019 at 9:20 AM
And??? How did things go with that crazy janitor?
Finish the story, please!
(Or is that Finnish? ....sorry)
Neil Steinberg August 13, 2019 at 12:57 PM
That IS the end of the story. I've never ended it any other way. I was naive then, I suppose I'm still naive. The thought that it was a pick-up line never occurred to me ... until now (I think. It was so long ago at this point, who knows?)
Grizz 65 August 13, 2019 at 2:47 PM
Actually, Mr. S, I am somewhat surprised. By the time you served your time in Green Bay, you had already lived in Chicago for a couple of years...well, Evanston, actually, but it's just an 'L' ride away. And you had never been to a gay bar? Not even with gay (or straight) friends? As I said, I am somewhat surprised. Perhaps you didn't go to bars at all?
From reading your book, I know you later lived in Oak Park, Logan Square, and finally near Wellington and Broadway (as did I, but twenty years earlier). I do recall you writing about having stopped at some gay watering hole while you lived in East Lakeview, so you aren't as naive as you think.
There were...and maybe even still are...other gay bars called The Manhole. Not a chain...it's just a very...um...well...catchy...name. One that tells you right away that the place is what it is. And if the strobe lights and the thumpa-thumpa dance music weren't also clues...the name of the joint should have been. But hey...like you say, you were twenty. And from just outside of Cleveland.
As a native Chicagoan who now calls Cleveland home, I do understand why a suburban Ohio 20-year-old, even in 1981, could be unaware that gay bars existed. Chicago is not only a much larger city, but it also has a history of being a gay mecca, with a more open and obvious gay life, especially since Stonewall.
Don't misunderstand...gay men in Northeast Ohio are neither closeted nor invisible, but forty or fifty years ago, when you were a kid, it was probably a different story. I have to think that coming to Chicago to go to college had to be quite an eye-opener. Me? I couldn't wait to get the hell out of Daley's Dodge, which I did, and go to someplace quiet. Too quiet.
Al August 13, 2019 at 10:12 AM
That is the kind of story best told in print. Am I the only one that had the punch line sneak up on them? Had me LOL.
tate August 13, 2019 at 2:07 PM
During my long long adolescence (it's not quite over yet, while senescence is knocking on the door), I've often envied gays and women who, it seemed to me, could have sex any time they wanted it, whereas I, a lover of women, was often thwarted in my sexual desires by all the rigmarole required to persuade a woman to sleep with me, so that when confronted with a situation where a gay person was obviously trying to get me in his bed, I was not so much tempted as amused to see myself adopting the "I don't know how to dance" routine familiar to all spurned lovers.
That said, I hope that Neil's lgbq readers aren't offended by anything contained herein or above.
Neil Steinberg August 13, 2019 at 2:39 PM
Do you think they might be? By what? The notion that, at 20, I was unfamiliar and a bit disbelieving at the whole idea of homosexuality? That seems like a stretch. Certain attitudes are self-indicting, and I think that anyone who would take vigorous offense at the above would dismiss their opinion by the very expressing of it. One is permitted a past. I didn't know how to read or write at one point, too. That isn't an endorsement of illiteracy.
Grizz 65 August 13, 2019 at 11:58 PM
The "I don't know how to dance" gambit is the easy way out. Ask the man who knows. At twenty, I was physically cornered by a huge former biker and gangbanger who had 'switched teams' while doing time in Joliet (for arson). It was almost a scene out of a bad TV movie or pulp paperback--he even went by the name of "Tiny"--and after trying to talk me into having sex, he begged and pleaded, and then got more physical.
I had three options...do what he wanted, talk my way out of the situation, or try to clock him over the head with a wine bottle, which could have resulted in my being assaulted, or even killed.
I chose the second option and left, shaken but not stirred. Ann Landers claimed that this scenario is common for most straight men, but I don't believe that for a New York minute.
Every female who hears this story says the same thing: "Now you know how women feel. Especially women who come close to being raped." And they're right.
Who knows? I frequently anticipate reactions that don't happen, thank God. Though the minute I saw that Epstein had committed suicide, I thought, "Poor Hillary, another notch in her imaginary pistol." But I guess that one was too easy.
Tom August 13, 2019 at 4:00 PM
The 'rigamarole' Tate refers to brings to mind some famous lines.
"Sexual intercourse began in 1963
(Which was rather late for me)
Up to then there's only been
A sort of bargaining'
A wrangle for the ring.
A shame that started at sixteen,
and spread to everything."
Larkin did overstate the matter of course. I recall some years before 1963 a fellow scholar and I losing our respective virginities late one summer night. That it was not particularly memorable was due in part to the venue, a dampish patch of lawn on the Midway Plaisance, and more to the fact that, although we both knew what goes where, we were, neither of us practiced in the arts of love. Still, I like to think I ushered her into a lifetime of sensual pleasure. I could ask her, but we have long lost touched. Probably just as well.
Baruch August 13, 2019 at 6:38 PM
I suspect Neil was waiting for a softball like this to hit out of the park. His response is pitch perfect.
Mike August 16, 2019 at 9:01 PM
I'm guessing you made quite a sensation at the Manhole--I've seen your leather jacket photo!
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text:
Mainstream Morality
While sitting in my Ethics class, performing conceptual gymnastics over the ideology of John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, and Aristotle, something truly surprising happened. My professor made a reference to one of my favorite shows on network television, NBC's "The Good Place." My ears perked up with excitement, having heard my "low-brow" comedy indulgence celebrated. "The Good Place" follows a gang of beautifully diverse, and recently deceased humans as they navigate the afterlife, forging friendships, building romantic connections, and most importantly trying to become better people. Basically like Dante's Inferno, but with far less Europeans and much more frozen yogurt.
Having garnered the attention of many, I realized that despite its being a mainstream sitcom, "The Good Place" really isn't low-brow at all. In 3 seasons of punchy 22 minute episodes, creator Mike Schur, does something particularly special by fusing comedy with philosophy exploring the fundamental question: what does it mean to be a good person? And as if covertly sneaking an ethics lesson into primetime wasn't impressive enough, "The Good Place," doesn't rely on the offensive comedy tropes embedded in the genre's past. The philosophy, the clever writing, and the shirking of offensive stereotypes, ensures that one can feel really good about watching "The Good Place"!
The debut of "The Good Place," made a timely arrival on the scene - Americans are demanding more from the entertainment industry: More diversity, more character depth, and the opportunity to learn something from our entertainment. Fortunately for us audiences, filmmakers, and television producers are answering this call. Our desire for entertainment that is informative, entertaining, and aesthetically beautiful has led to a recent boom in documentary series and films. But these qualities don't have to be reserved for documentaries and streaming platforms alone. The recent success of "The Good Place" and other shows like "Jane the Virgin," "black-ish," and "Master of None," prove that the relationship between the content creators who subvert offensive, biased or outdated norms, and the audience is a two way street.
In an interview with "The Good Place" creator Mike Shur, "ArmChair Expert" host Dax Sheppard expresses concern that nothing is safe to make fun of any more. Shur counters with the important fact that most people concerned about the limitation of comedy are not those who are marginalized in the wake of offensive humor. Shur calls it a more than justified tradeoff to ensure that "entire groups of people don't feel marginalized and ridiculed."
Shur's philosophy of "punching up" against damaging features of the comedy genre, the diverse and stereo-type negating cast, and the morality-infused plot make "The Good Place," pure heaven.
By Hali Woods, NY Intern
Hali is a Film Research and Marketing intern at Picture Motion. She majors in Film and Media Studies at Columbia University and is passionate about the power of art and entertainment to do good and spark change in our society.
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Get a standing ovation with a great presentation.
Ever been to a really bad presentation? You know, the kind where the speaker stands behind the podium, uses slides that mirror what he is saying directly, and includes lots of data tables to validate his position.
But. "What's so bad about that?" you ask. "Isn't that how most presentations are given?" Yes. That is how most presentations are delivered, but that doesn't mean that's the most effective way to deliver them. This kind of presentation risks boring your audience to the point where they start wishing for a fire alarm to go off so they can escape. And once you lose someone, it is next to impossible to bring her attention back.
If the information you are presenting is important enough for you to deliver orally, then it demands an appropriate amount of planning and preparation so that the information you present is memorable – for the right reasons. Give a bad presentation and you'll be remembered all right: it just won't be the type of impression you want to leave in anyone's mind.
When someone presents well, it sends the message that the person is capable, confident, intelligent, and competent. These people get noticed and that type of attention bodes well for your career. Even if you don't make formal presentations in your current position, think about the future and keep in mind that you do have to present your ideas and opinions on a daily basis. The same basic principles of effective delivery apply.


text:
Tag: Economic Freedom of the World Index
How Auburn kept its campus Koch-free
Published on March 10, 2016 April 1, 2016 by Jacque KochakLeave a comment
The other day a researcher with an organization called UnKoch My Campus contacted me. "That article has quickly become a favorite of mine, as I am compiling all known oversteps of the Charles Koch Foundation," he said, referring to a piece I wrote in 2008. As it turns out, very few campuses have successfully deflected overtures by the billionaire Koch brothers—so stay tuned.
By Jacqueline White Kochak
The article was first published Sept. 18, 2008, in The Auburn Villager
For months, controversy has swirled around Auburn University's new Center for International Finance and Global Competitiveness, with critics raising questions about the source of funding and the procedure used to hire the center's director, Dr. Robert M. Lawson. Now, Rep. Craig Ford, a Democrat from Gadsden, has requested documents pertaining to the new center, housed in AU's College of Business.
The center is being funded by an initial $300,000 grant from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, with a total of $5.5 million requested over five years, according to a memo distributed to AU deans by College of Business dean Paul M. Bobrowski on Jan. 10.
"…the Kochs share the conviction that the advancement of their philosophy is contingent upon investment in academia."
Charles G. Koch and his brother David between them control three family foundations, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation.
The foundations have contributed so much money to advance conservative causes that they have caught the attention of liberal watchdogs such as the People for the American Way, which says that the Kochs share the conviction that the advancement of their philosophy is contingent upon investment in academia.
Koch is chairman of the board and chief executive of Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries, the largest privately held company in the U.S. with annual revenues of about $90 billion. According to Forbes Magazine, his personal fortune totaled some $17 billion in 2008, placing Koch at number 37 on the magazine's list of the world's billionaires.
A NETWORK OF CONSERVATIVE THINK TANKS
Koch is also a libertarian whose foundation funds a network of conservative think tanks nationwide and is a growing presence in the academic world. In addition, he is the founder of the influential libertarian Cato Institute, based in Washington, D.C.
Koch is the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation's one and only benefactor. According to the foundation's IRS form 990, accessed at guidestar.org, the foundation received $40,021,911 in 2006. Charles G. Koch is listed on the form as contributing exactly the same amount.
In 2005, according to tax forms, Koch contributed $30,020,760 to the foundation, and again was its only contributor. The form 990 for 2007 is not yet available online. Directors include Koch's wife, his children and Koch Business Holdings, making up a majority.
"I have worked for some of these foundations and came up with the answers they wanted," said one former AU professor who is concerned about the center. "I don't have a problem with that, though I realize I wouldn't have been asked back if hadn't come up with those answers."
To underscore his point, the professor pulls out a quote from the 2007 book "Radicals for Capitalism," a 700-page tome that traces the lineage of the libertarian movement in the U.S.
"If we're going to give a lot of money, we'll make darn sure they spend it in a way that goes along with our intent," David Koch told author Brian Doherty. "And if they make a wrong turn and start doing things we don't agree with we withdraw funding. We do exert that kind of control."
"If we're going to give a lot of money, we'll make darn sure they spend it in a way that goes along with our intent."
Although the public generally identifies libertarianism with politics, its ideas have actually been much more important in economic theory. In fact, the story of the American libertarian movement has been a combination of small numbers and big influence, to quote a review of "Radicals for Capitalism" that appeared in the New York Times.
"Why is a university working with a foundation like this?" the professor asked. "It might be a good idea to study the stuff they want to study, but if you don't get the results they want, what happens?"
THE 'ECONOMIC FREEDOM INITIATIVE'
AU President Jay Gogue was apprised of the proposed institute in a memo dated Dec. 12, 2007, from Provost John Heilman, who said he had been briefed about the project several times. He said the center had the support of his office, and he recommended approval.
According to the memo, the center would "promote understanding of the concept and measurement of economic freedom, and the interaction of economic freedom, political freedom, individual liberty and economic growth and prosperity" through its "Economic Freedom Initiative."
Key to that mission, the memo said, is "enhancing the research and teaching efforts around the Economic Freedom of the World Index." The index ranks 123 countries on measures including size of government, top marginal tax rates, interest rate controls and freedom of citizens to use alternative currencies.
The index is published by Canada's Fraser Institute, a libertarian think tank that has received funding from both the Charles G. Koch Foundation and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation, according to the Web site Sourcewatch. The Cato Institute, founded by Koch, co-publishes the index as do more than 70 think tanks around the world, according to the Cato website.
Co-authors of the index are Lawson and economist Dr. James Gwartney of Florida State University, where Lawson received his doctorate in economics. Also receiving his doctorate in economics from Florida State is Dr. Dan Gropper, associate dean of AU's College of Business and one of three people proposed to serve on the center's board of directors.
The others are Dr. John Jahera, head of the College of Business finance department and Colonial Bank Distinguished Professor; and Dr. James Barth, the Lowder Imminent Scholar in Finance, who will also serve as co-director of the center.
Research efforts would include yearly production of the index, as well as a series of business case studies and academic symposia, perhaps in conjunction with the West Virginia University Center for Entrepreneurship or the Independent Institute. Both the West Virginia University Foundation and the Independent Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Oakland, Calif., were the recipients of Koch largesse in 2006, according to the foundation's tax filing.
According to the memo, some of the center's activities would involve marketing the Economic Freedom of the World Index. The center would produce high-quality Economic Freedom of the World maps to disseminate to schools and other organizations, as well as high-school-level materials. The center would also host a comprehensive Web site and produce a one-minute video series called "Freedom Minutes," as well as other video projects.
Finally, a speaker's bureau would offer a "cadre of well-trained faculty" to communicate with the press and general public about "economic freedom issues," would invite seminar speakers, host lectures on campus, offer seminars for finance professionals and support a number of undergraduate, masters and doctoral level assistantships or fellowships.
DISSENT PERCOLATED THROUGH RANKS
Concern started percolating up through the ranks of the College of Business in January of this year, when many faculty members first learned of the proposed center after the memo to deans.
Key to the existence of the center, obviously, was recruiting someone associated with the Economic Freedom of the World Index, around which most of the center's proposed activities would initially revolve. That someone was co-author Lawson, then George A. Moor endowed chair at tiny Capital University, an institution of fewer than 4,000 students in Columbus, Ohio.
According to the memo from Heilman to Gogue, the proposed budget called for a $95,000 supplement to the director's salary, as well as $95,000 in salary from AU starting Aug. 16, 2008. It is unclear how much the director will actually receive in salary, but it appears that at least part of it would come from grant proceeds, straight out of Charles G. Koch's pocket.
When they learned of the center, some faculty members asked if a national search had taken place and started looking for the job announcement. The job was not advertised on the AU Web site or on any of the recognized venues where economics faculty are usually recruited, they say.
"So we think that we have, and we will have, enough protections in order to ensure that it's without strings."
One professor said he finally found the job advertised only once on a Web site called Social Science Research Network. The advertisement was posted Nov. 4, 2007, with enquiries to go to Jahera. Review of applications was to take place Dec. 1, 2007. On Nov. 9, however, Lawson was already going to be on campus to give a seminar, according to e-mail to a College of Business faculty member on Nov. 5, one day after the job was advertised.
According to a faculty recruitment checklist posted online by AU's Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity, a search committee is mandatory. The search committee reviews the advertisement and sets a timetable to review applications. The search committee then screens applications on the basis of advertised criteria, requests letters of reference and prepares a short list of candidates to be interviewed. Then candidates are interviewed and a candidate is selected.
'PEOPLE OUT TO DESTROY PROPOSED CENTER'
After learning of the center in December and finding out that many senior faculty did not even know about the project in January, Gogue purportedly urged more openness. On Feb. 12, the center was included on the agenda for that month's University Senate meeting.
At that time, Bobrowski told faculty members that the College of Business had looked at other universities, both public and private, that had engaged with the Koch Foundation, which he described as an umbrella organization including many charitable organizations.
"So we think that we have, and we will have, enough protections in order to ensure that it's without strings," he said. "Therefore, it is not any kind of strategy that guarantees a certain outcome based on funding source."
The College of Business has been troubled by dissension within the economics department for years, and Gropper told senators there were people out to destroy the proposed center.
"They're out to get the provost, and they're out to get the dean," he said. "I've seen the emails. I've seen the schemes for the last few years."
"I don't know if it would hold up in court, but it sure looks suspicious for Auburn."
Gropper said the college had the opportunity to move forward, bring in money, build programs and support graduate students.
"At a time where we have a chance to bring in potentially millions of dollars, it's sort of incredible to me that somebody would say, 'Well, let's slow that up. Let's not do this. Let's cast aspersions and so on,'" he said.
By that time, however, Lawson had already been hired and the center was a fait accompli. He is now an associate professor in the department of finance.
'LOOKS SUSPICIOUS'
The state representative, Craig Ford, did not respond to several calls from The Villager. In his letter, however, he asked for an array of documents pertaining to the creation of the center and the hiring of Lawson, as well as copies of all announcements of the position of director and the dates and outlets where they were published.
He also asked for all responses to the advertisement, the dates they were submitted, the list of final candidates and the dates they visited campus. He also asked for e-mail traffic related to the center, the position of director and the hiring of Lawson between the office of the president, the office of the provost, Bobrowski, Gropper, Jahera, Barth and others.
"…it has been brought to my attention, by persons both inside and outside the university, that there may have been a number of administrative 'irregularities' in both the creation of the center, the design of the center's administrative structure, the funding of the center, and in the hiring of its director," Ford wrote in his May letter to Gogue.
"Given current investigations into the two-year college system in this state, I am deeply troubled and concerned by potential improprieties at Alabama's largest universities and specifically in the College of Business at Auburn University (my alma mater)," he wrote.
According to the June 10 minutes of the College of Business executive committee, the Koch Foundation memorandum of understanding had been signed, with provost Heilman signing for AU. Sometime in July, the college would receive $300,000 as called for in the memorandum.
At the time, Gropper noted that Florida State had just signed a memorandum of understanding, as well.
"The center is fine as long as they produce independent research," said one of several professors interviewed by The Villager, none of whom wanted to be named.
"I don't know if it would hold up in court," he said, "but it sure looks suspicious for Auburn."
Categories My old articles•Tags academic freedom, Auburn University, Economic Freedom of the World Index, Koch brothers
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About Jacque Kochak


Who's buying UK SMEs and why?
Cash-rich major acquirers are fuelling increased activity in the sub-£50m deal-space.
I was recently interviewed on camera at the offices of The Daily Telegraph in London.
"We're just going to turn the lights out and lock the door behind us" That's what one business owner told us recently when we asked him about his future plans for his company.
Award winning M&A advisor BCMS has enhanced its international reach even further following the opening of a new office in Bahrain this week to serve clients in the Gulf States.
Why is a fall into deflation good news for M&A volumes?
Recent figures published by the Office for National Statistics have indicated that the UK economy has fallen into deflation for the first time since 1960. ...and that means good news for business owners seeking to sell.


New and improved design! Extra high ankle with elastic strap to keep water out. Nylon inner and outer 5mm neoprene booties with no sole to fit more comfortably in your fins. They also come with a built in fin tether made of velcro. Double blind-stitched for minimum water penetration for cold to frigid water temps.


I took time today to prepare for the worship session that I will be leading this Saturday. We will not have enough time to practice due lack of access to the hall, what with it being the Holy Communion Sunday and thus will have more songs to do.
I've heard it all before: "We need to be more contemporary, and not keep using those old-fashioned hymns….The young people don't understand them…We need to be more up-to-date" (etc. etc.). C. S. Lewis called this dismissal of the traditional, and the tried-and-true "chronological snobbery"!


Dyed Soundorom had an unusual entrée into dance music. The owner of infamous Paris nightspot Les Bain Douches spotted something in the hyper, perma-smiling party kid and approached him with a request: "he wanted me to put on a party with an underground sound," says Dyed with a grin. And that is what he has been doing ever since – as a promoter, DJ and especially as a gifted producer.
Dyed is as adept at juggling beats as he was dribbling basketballs, and he approaches every club with the verve and energy of an athlete rushing into competition. From the cutting edge dancefloors of Batofar and the Rex Club in Paris, his DJ career has gone global. In recent months Dyed has racked up an eye-watering number of air-miles and brought his deft touch to the hottest parties on the planet, including Berlin's Panoramabar, to Warehouse 702 in Tokyo, Fabric London, Goa in Roma, NYC Blk market and Ushuaia beach, the most talked-about party of Ibiza 2009. What he brings to every club is a winning mix of style and enthusiasm. He oozes cool but Dyed never makes the mistake of taking himself seriously. His only priority is to keep the party rocking.
Dyed discovered the power of pure entertainment as a kid listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller and, like a great pop star, he understands that giving people what they want doesn't mean compromising on quality. The past two years have seen Dyed devote himself increasingly to production with impressive results. Freak n' Chic label boss Dan Ghenacia, a close friend, spotted Dyed's talent immediately, encouraging him to do remixes for FnC's first label compilation 'Rendez Vous 01'. Since then Dyed has released 12"s and EPs on labels including Spectral Sound, Freak n'Chic, Crosstown Rebels, Adult Only, Supplement Facts, Safari electronique and Tsuba Records, and added his remix skills to projects including 'Eyelights' and the 'Tsuba Remixes Vol 3' compilation along with Pier Bucci, Daniel Stefanik and D'Julz.
Given his deep roots in the electronic music scene it is hardly surprising Dyed's career is blooming. If anything the mischievous twinkle in his eye that led to his first gig as a promoter in Paris is brighter than ever, and his irrepressible urge to be at the heart of the party is just as strong. With an ever-broadening network of clubs and labels clamouring for his music there is hardly a corner of the world left that is immune to the charms of Dyed Soundorom's underground sound.


144669, This architectual traditional in Brentwood just sold for just under $21 million. The 6 bedroom, 8 bathroom home located near the Brentwood Country Club has nearly 9,500 square feet of living space and sits on a 0.56 acre lot in the heart of Brentwood. Los Angeles California – November 6, 2015.


Some great feedback from our satisfied clients in Cheshunt and across the country.
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Acting is a tough business. Acting like you're an ethereal, centuries-old being innately aware of the turn of the cosmos and with a mastery of time and space? Even tougher! But you too can pull it off if you have an iPhone, a box of wires, and the 13-year professional acting career of Jodie Whittaker. Some of which might be easier to acquire than others.
Whittaker met with Chibnall and other Who producers for initial auditions and then was asked to film herself coming to grips with the most Doctor Who problem of all: the made-up sci-fi nonsense that has served as the basis for the Doctor's vast cosmic knowledge since 1963.
I had an iPhone, wires, in a box. I pretended to defuse something, and I loved it.
I'm willing to believe, in my heart, that she reversed the polarity of the neutron flow, and I will not hear otherwise. The good news is, it won't be that much longer before we get to see just how well the new Doctor can spout off some fictional nonsense as she saves the day: The very first trailer for Doctor Who's eleventh season is set to air during the World Cup final this Sunday, July 15. Here's an extremely brief, non-footage teaser they released today.


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UK Weather: Met Office forecasts a cold but mainly dry day
Here's what to expect over the next few days
Kate WilsonPolitical Editor
It's going to be a crisp day (Image: Getty)
Many parts of the UK will enjoy dry but cold weather today (Sunday), according to forecasters.
This will be welcome to many who faced a very wet day particularly across the West Country and the Midlands yesterday.
The Met Office has suggested that while there is a chance of showers in the south and east of the country, expected to happen first thing, most places will remain dry and there will be plenty of sunny spells throughout the day.
Extinction Rebellion campaigners target Bristol city centre
But the temperature is expected to remain pretty cold with maximum temperatures around 10C.
The wet and windy weather is set to return on Monday however, with the start of the week heralding blustery showers.
The heaviest and most frequent showers are forecast for the west, it will be generally drier and brighter in the east. Often windy and feeling cold.
Tuesday will be similar, though showers are expected to be less frequent. Then a brief respite from the unsettled conditions is possible on Wednesday - although the wind and rain is expected again in the evening.
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