With its Massachusetts election coverage and distinguished on-the-ground reporting in Haiti, the network has once again become the news leader. Sir Harold Evans on why straight reporting does, after all, beat spin.
The big win of the week isn't just Scott Brown ousting Martha Coakley in Massachusetts, despite the appeal of two Democratic presidents. Score a double triumph for CNN. On the election and on Haiti, I'd say CNN has come into its own, once again justifying its slogan "The Worldwide Leader in News" and founder Ted Turner's faith in his innovation.
I come from the antideluvian branch of journalism (print), but I'd still argue that even in the whizz-bang age of electronic journalism straight reporting beats spin every time. The cable news channels were so busy canceling each other out with talking heads putting either left or right slants on what might happen in the Massachusetts Senate race, they let CNN steal a march with precinct-by-precinct reporting of the actual results. That's what we were waiting for.
Covering news live as it unfolds transformed television journalism, and Haiti has shown that CNN still leads, not simply by dispatching teams but by giving them airtime.
The networks, of course, were nowhere. They stayed with their prime-time specials. I guess NBC judged that it might set pulses racing more by parading the obese in The Biggest Loser (a useful slogan for the channel as a whole?).
• Cyril Wecht: Haiti's Grisly Problem • Who's Giving the Most to Haiti? • The Daily Beast's full Haiti coverage The real drama night after night has been in joining with the CNN crews and the admirable search and medical teams in the nightmare rubble of Haiti and in the pestilential streets among the broken bodies. Whose heart could not miss a beat as we wait tensely with Anderson Cooper and his CNN cameraman in Haiti as the search dogs go into the ruins and the microphones are snaked through the cracks for any sound of human life? On Tuesday, we saw a 70-year-old woman pulled out alive after seven days buried—and when she was, Cooper didn't hype it. We got another glimpse of the magnitude of the disaster when he told us that she was retrieved but not yet rescued, for there was no field hospital close for the surgery and rehydration to save her life.
Who could not start getting mad as CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tracks a tent full of infected children bound to die without treatment and discovers from the Harvard doctors there that the only field hospital that can save any of them is one set up by the Israelis, who came from the other side of the world?
And who could forbear to salute CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, who turned down a chance to be U.S. surgeon general to stay in journalism? When a Belgian medical team of a score or more, fearing for their own security, fled their tented field hospital, abandoning the patients, there was Dr. Gupta on the scene to treat an injured child. And there was Dr. Gupta practicing his profession as a neurosurgeon aboard the USS Vinson, safely extracting a lump of concrete from a broken skull.
Other major domestic news networks have doctor-reporters in Haiti. There's NBC's Nancy Snyderman, another surgeon who has been treating and reporting; Jennifer Ashton at CBS, who helped with an amputation of a young woman's arm; and ABC's Richard Besser, who helped in the safe delivery of a premature baby. But it was CNN and Sanjay Gupta that set the pace—just as CNN did in 1991, when Peter Arnett stayed in Baghdad, after all the other correspondents had gone, and broke the news to the world that bombs were falling and the Gulf War had started. Covering news live as it unfolds transformed television journalism, and Haiti has shown that CNN still leads, not simply by dispatching teams but by giving them airtime.
It is a fair point. We may be ill-served if journalists become part of the story in the sense of taking sides or grandstanding. Truth to tell, I had an uneasy feeling when I watched Anderson Cooper run up a street and bring out a young boy with blood streaming from his head. It looked like a stunt, but it wasn't. The boy had been hit on the head by looters hurling blocks into the street, and amid the chaos and the misery nobody was giving a damn about the boy.
Cooper's impulse was that of a human being first, evidence of an empathy that seems to me to be the impulse informing CNN's distinguished coverage.
Harold Evans, author of two histories of America, just published his memoir, My Paper Chase . Editor at large of The Week, he was editor of The Sunday Times from 1967-81 and The Times from 1981-82, founding editor of Condé Nast Traveler, and president of Random House Trade Group from 1990-97.


text:
News | Featured
The latest news in the consulting industry in Australia. An overview of consulting news, research and firm updates.
Career 34 Consulting sector 26 CSR 15 Events 12 Fees & Rates 11 Financial data 18 Freelance 1 Interim Management 1 Interviews 14 M&A in consulting 94 Milestones 18 Models & Methods 1 New firms 15 New offices 34 Partnerships 25 People 203 Rankings & Awards 33 Remarkable 3 Salary & Bonus 10 Sponsoring 2 Training & Education 11 Women in consulting 5
Agile 2 Business Intelligence 2 Change Management 12 Cloud Computing 15 Corporate Finance 15 Corporate Governance 2 Customer Relationship Management 5 Cyber Security 10 Data Science 9 Digital 47 eCommerce 3 ERP Systems 8 Finance 15 Forensic and Litigation 2 Human Resources 33 Innovation 21 IT Architecture 3 IT Strategy 12 Lean & SixSigma 3 Management 21 Marketing 23 Mergers & Acquisitions 25 Mobile & Apps 5 Outsourcing 4 Payments 1 Process Management 4 Procurement 3 Project Management 4 Property Management 6 Public Services 3 Recruitment 6 Restructuring 24 Risk & Compliance 12 Sales 14 Social Media 2 Software 2 Strategy 18 Supply Chain 6 Sustainability 14
Accounting 11 Aerospace 4 Agriculture 4 Arts & Culture 1 Automotive 5 Aviation 8 Banking 20 Construction 6 Education 8 Energy 21 Family Business 1 Financial Services 19 Food & Beverage 21 Football 3 Government 53 Healthcare 18 Hospitality & Travel 9 ICT 19 Insurance 7 Legal 7 Local Government 16 Luxury Products 3 Manufacturing 7 Maritime 3 Media 14 Mining 13 Non Profit 5 Oil & Gas 8 Online 6 Pension 5 Pharma & Life Sciences 1 Private Equity 3 Public Safety 9 Public Sector 24 Public Transport 7 Real Estate 8 Retail 25 SME 7 Sport 8 Technology 31 Telecom 6 Transport & Logistics 8 Utilities 7
Artificial Intelligence 10 Big Data 2 Blockchain 7 Compensation & Benefits 7 Crisis 69 Diversity 21 Economy 53 Fraud 4 Housing Market 4 Labour Market 25 Robotics 4 Tax 5 Tips 3
Sayers hires Big Four seniors to kickstart new Technology unit Australian investment and advisory firm Sayers has launched a new Technology & Platforms business unit.
NSW tourism takes $3 billion hit over Christmas-New Year period Australia's tourism industry has suffered an unprecedented blow over the festive period.
Brisbane council spent $100 million on professional services Brisbane's council has spent almost $100 million on professional services companies in the financial year, raising the eyebrows of a number of opposition parties.
BCG appoints Paul O'Rourke as global cybersecurity leader Global consulting giant Boston Consulting Group has named Paul O'Rourke as head of its global Cybersecurity practice.
Sydney and Melbourne in Kearney's top 25 global cities Two of Australia's largest cities have been listed among the world's best places to live and work.
Drones can boost Australia's GDP by $15 billion over 20 years The drone economy is vibrant in itself, while also bringing myriad potential savings to other key sectors in Australia.
The top brands in Australia for customer service & experience Over the summer months, professional services giant KPMG surveyed over 2,500 consumers across the country to shed light on which brands provide the best service and customer experience.
The customer experience imperative for trust in governments In a new report, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Salesforce have established a "clear link" between the customer experience in government digital services and overall trust in the government.
Nous Group expands into Canadian consulting market Nous Group has launched a presence in Canada, its second market outside of Australia following its earlier expansion into the United Kingdom.
Sydney's bushfires costing $50 million a day, finds consultancy As Australia's blistering heat wave continues to unfold, the cost of Sydney's bushfires has reached up to $50 million worth in economic damages per day.
NAB hires Bain & Company for strategic planning review The new chief executive officer of National Australia Bank (NAB) Ross McEwan has brought in consultants from Bain & Company to assist with a four month strategic planning review, as the bank's new bo
Australia's consulting industry revenue to breach $6 billion in 2020 Australia's management consulting industry is expected to continue its strong growth in the coming years, riding on the wave of continued high demand for growth and digitisation services, in both the
Australian firms lead in world's largest mining companies list Australia is one of the globe's most important countries in the mining industry.
Nous Group opens an office in Darwin, eighth in Australia Australian-origin management consultancy Nous Group has opened a new office in Darwin, its eighth in the country and ninth globally.
McKinsey and KPMG lead strategic design of Services Australia The Australian government has hired consulting giants McKinsey & Company (lead consultant) and KPMG to lead the design of its new Services Australia department.
Investments in Australia's FinTech sector plummet by 50% Investments in Australian companies in the financial technology (FinTech) sector has plummeted by more than 50% in the first half of this year, from US$223 million in the same period last year to $10
Australia's cloud market booms as productivity benefits unfold Cloud technology has proven to be just as popular and effective in Australia as it has across the globe, according to new analysis from Deloitte Access Economics.
Growing male engagement key for gender equality in Australia While upping male engagement is an essential part of improving gender equality, there remains an apparent mismatch between men and women on what needs to be done in the workplace to make change happe
BDO merges in East Coast and aims for nationwide integration BDO has merged three of its east coast offices in Australia to form an integrated operation, enabling the mid-tier accounting and consulting firm to take a significant step towards a single national
Internet advertising in Australia inches closer to $10 billion mark Australia's advertising market is set to grow substantially in the near future, driven primarily by growth in the online advertising space.
Stellar year for Boston Consulting Group Australia and New Zealand Boston Consulting Group (BCG) looks back at a stellar year in Australia, with revenues up by over one third to nearly $400 million.
Australia's M&A outlook shows reasons for optimism, says Deloitte Merger & acquisition (M&A) activity in Australia is not only on the rise in tandem with the global economy, but also appears to be undergoing significant changes in composition and priorities.
Australia a leading destination for migrant millionaires Australia has openly welcomed twelve thousand special category migrants in 2018 – those who are classed as millionaires.
Deliveroo to boost Australian labour market by 31,000 jobs The dining sector has been irrevocably changed by the disruptive force of bicycle-based delivery apps such as Deliveroo.
M&A in mining & metals sector reaches highest point in 5 years Australia is becoming an increasingly popular destination for investment in the global mining & metals sector, which has been expanding throughout the course of last year.
Partners in Performance launches digital transformation unit Australian-origin consulting firm Partners in Performance (PIP) has launched a new unit dedicated to digital transformation, bringing together offerings for technology and human capital.
Commonwealth Bank working with McKinsey on massive job cuts The Commonwealth Bank could be set to cut up to 10,000 jobs and around $2 billion in costs according to reports, with the bank working on the plan with McKinsey.
Chinese investment into Australia plunges to eight-year low Chinese investment into Australia plunged to US$6.2 billion last year according to the latest KPMG analysis, down by more than 35 percent to an eight-year low.
KPMG picks up insolvency and forensics specialist Ferrier Hodgson
Oceania set for lowest real wage growth globally in 2019 A forecast by human capital consultancy firm Korn Ferry predicts stormy seas for professionals in Oceania, with the region expected to experience a paltry 0.3% increase in real wages in 2019.
Deloitte Digital expands into New Zealand market Deloitte has expanded its range of digital services into New Zealand to make it the nation's largest and most expansive digital advisory firm.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


3207 days since last revision. Details are possibly out of date.
I'm running a iPhone 3GS at present and I have to say that based on early usage, the latest OS release (iOS4) that came out last night is a cracking update. Everything seems that little bit faster, the multitasking is great (for apps that support it) and the unified inbox makes it heaps easier to handle multiple email accounts.
Other nice little additions are the ability to have a wallpaper behind your icons and the digital zoom on the camera.
Beginners guide to HTML5, what you need to know and how to use it.


Dr P is the top drawer of providers! She and her team are concerned with your comfort, pain level, throughout your procedure. Love this group of professionals!!
Teeth cleaning 4/20/19; prep for crown; other issues. Follow up.
excellent service. Very attentive. Staff on top of their game. Been going to Dr Pinedo's office for 20+ years. Need I say more?
I wish people were this sweet & polite everywhere I go.
Great dental place. Very professional and helpful staff. It's my 2nd time to visit their clinic. Definitely i will recommend Dr. Pinedos.
This was my first time back to a dentist after 4 years. I had a poor experience years ago and decided to give her office a try based on a recommendation. They were great! I had the massage chair, the stress ball, the headphones, and not once did they make me feel silly about having anxiety. I need a bit more work but we are going to do it in small increments as I build my confidence again. Made an appointment for other family members before I left.
My first time in their dental chair and I could not have been offered a better experience. Warm and caring, very high standards of cleanliness and ensuring my comfort and well-being I recommend five stars!
Courteous, professional, latest equipment, on-time and clean. Highly recommend!
I highly recommend Dr Pinedo. Her staff is wonderful. I broke my crown from another dentist one evening around 7pm. I called Dr Pinedo's office and they stayed late to temporarily repair my tooth. It is hard to find that kind of service these days. I returned to get a new crown Dr. Pinedo and her assistant were very accommodating. The whole experience was excellent. I was even provided a discount for first responders. I would highly recommended Dr Pinedo.
While most people dont like visiting their dentist, i will always come back to Dr. Pinedo's clinic. They care for their patients and all the staff are friendly and professional. I appreciate their honesty w/ diagnosis of my teeth by recommending how to take care of my teeth. I have recommended them and never been disappointed.


text:
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority (also known as the Peace Bridge Authority and the Public Bridge Authority) is the agency established to regulate the Peace Bridge, which crosses the Canada–United States border. This bridge is designed to handle vehicle traffic between Buffalo in the American state of New York and Fort Erie in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The authority is a bi-national agency, incorporated as both a Class D public benefit corporation in the State of New York and a Crown corporation federally in Canada, governed under the terms of an agreement between New York and the Canadian federal government.

Board of directors

The Bridge Authority is led by a ten-member board, five from each country. The chairmanship alternates annually between a Canadian representative and an American representative.

Two of the five US members are appointed by the Governor of New York with confirmation by the New York State Senate. The remaining members are the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation, Chairman of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, and the Attorney General of New York (or their delegates).

All five of the Canadian members are appointed by the Governor-in-Council as per recommendation by the federal Minister of Transport.

See also
 Detroit International Bridge Company - private, Ambassador Bridge
 Niagara Falls Bridge Commission - public, Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and Rainbow Bridge
 Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority - public
 Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - public
 Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Company - private, railway bridge
 Thousand Islands Bridge Authority - public, Thousand Islands Bridge
 Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority - public, Gordie Howe International Bridge

References

Federal departments and agencies of Canada
Public benefit corporations in New York (state)
Transport in the Regional Municipality of Niagara
Transportation in Buffalo, New York
Canada–United States border
Canadian federal Crown corporations
1923 establishments in New York (state)
1923 establishments in Canada

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Corey J. Lavallee
clavallee@piercedavis.com
Corey J. Lavallee is an Associate with Pierce Davis & Perritano LLP.
His practice focuses on the defense of asbestos, toxic tort, and product liability actions. Mr. Lavallee assists with all phases of litigation, from deposition attendance to the preparation of dispositive motions and settlement negotiations. In addition, he also assists in the nationwide defense of an equipment manufacturer in asbestos litigation.
While in law school, Mr. Lavallee worked as a legal intern where he gained experience in legal research, drafting documents and preparing attorney-client correspondence. He also completed an internship at the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office where he assisted with discovery motions and observed arraignments, pre-trial conferences, motion hearings, and trials in District and Superior Court. In addition, Mr. Lavallee has worked as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. where he attended legislative hearings, composed political policy memoranda, and conducted research for his Congressman.
Mr. Lavallee received his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School (cum laude, 2016) and his Bachelor of Arts from Stonehill College (cum laude, 2013).
Suffolk University Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2016
Stonehill College, B.A., cum laude, 2013
Bar & Court Admissions
State of Rhode Island


I just want to be a mom: update.
I don't even know where to begin. Part of me knew that my last post, 'I just want to be a mom' would be read by quite a few people (mostly family and friends) but I don't think I realized just how many people (especially strangers) would come read what I had wrote. My natural wallflower tendencies is a little embarrassed to have even said anything, but mostly I am so so grateful I was brave and shared a little piece of my soul because never in my life have I felt so loved and so humbled.
I received so many messages, comments, emails and text messages and I just thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for the wishful thoughts, the prayers, the kind words and the encouragement. Thank you for giving me hope, peace and comfort. Thank you to all who opened up to me, a total stranger, and for sharing your experiences, your pain, your worries. It helped to not feel alone, to not feel different, but most of all I think it helped me realize that my worries are so small compared to others. I've never said so many prayers. I just want us all to be mommas and have as many rugrats running around as we can handle. I love you guys and am constantly praying and thinking of you all.
For those of you who wanted to know, the doctor visit went fine. It was kind of pointless, a conversation that probably could have taken place over the phone, but I was told to buy an ovulation predictor kit (man those can be freaking expensive) to check to see if I'm ovulating or not. And if I'm not, to check back in the office right away. But if I am, to give it another four months. So we'll just see how things go.
For those of you struggling with this, know that you are not alone and that there's always hope. And know that I am always here for you. We all have different paths in life but everything happens for a reason and it will all work out in the end.
I'm just going to keep working at taking better care of myself, eating healthy and stressing less. Just take a deep breath, and keep living my life, not allow this consume me anymore. I have so much to be grateful for and so much happiness around me. Life is good my friends. Hopefully someday soon I'll be a momma but until then, I'm just going to enjoy the rest of summer and get ready for the fall. Anyone else already insanely excited for the holidays? My husband had to talk me out of watching Elf the other night because I'm already that excited about Christmas. I blame my etsy shop, always thinking a season or two ahead ha ha.
Much love my dear sweet friends! I'm always here if any of you need me.


To these in-the-know about all issues Search engine optimization, black and white are quite meaningful terms, as in black hat Search engine optimization and white hat Search engine marketing. Decide if you need to use a sub-domain vs. sub-folder method as you redesign your site. Finally, you also risk to get penalized on organic search final results, as artificial methods to improve website's hits are noticed as a black hat Seo behaviour. Broken Link checker: Rating (four.2/five) As the name says broken link checker, this plugin assists in discovering and fixing all internal and external broken hyperlinks and missing pictures.


text:
- [ ] Ensure the documentation is up to date, particularly the changelog
- [ ] Merge the `develop` branch into the `master` branch (`git checkout master; git merge develop`)
- [ ] Push the code changes to GitHub (`git push`)
- [ ] Double-check the [Travis CI results](https://travis-ci.org/davejamesmiller/laravel-breadcrumbs)
- [ ] Tag the release (`git tag 1.2.3`)
- [ ] Push the tag (`git push --tag`)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Title Capitalization Doubt: "If" or "if?"
Possible Duplicate:
Which words in a title should be capitalized?

Suppose I'm going to write an article/essay with the following title:
"What To Do If You Believe Space Aliens Shot JFK"
Does the word "if" get capitalized, like above, or not?

A: The word if is typically capitalized in titles.
According to Wikipedia:
In English, the first word and the last word of titles should be capitalized. In addition, all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions should be capitalized. Articles and coordinating conjunctions are not capitalized, while sources disagree on the capitalization of prepositions.
"If" is a subordinate (also, subordinating) conjunction and as such should be capitalized.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


One hefty chick trying to defy the laws of gravity! Depicted in graphite on 100% cotton Bristol board. Professionally, framed with a double mount and Lahrs Johnson gunmetal finish wooden moulding to a size of approximately 20.5"x23".


Rain, rain, go away – come again some other day!
The skies were offering a light show on the trip into Red Wing this morning. And the weather app was showing not only clouds, but also precipitation, moving through the area. Part of me was hoping to get a long-exposure shot of lightning from the vantage of the Bluff. Aggressive skies are fascinating for their electrical activity and roiling cloud patterns, and that's a facet of photography that just calls out for greater exploration.
No, really. I'll be in the basement. Where it's safe.
Moving on. The lower path is sheltered from wind and rain, even when the trees aren't leafed out; all the same, the patter of light drizzle was audible on last year's dried, dead leaves. But it was sporadic – it would stop, then start, then stop again until it wasn't clear if the sound was caused by scurrying animals or actual raindrops.
Steady drizzle started in earnest while I was walking the topline of the ridge. Putting the raincoat on the camera was definitely going to be necessary once to the eastern overlook. I'd foregone my heavy winter coat in favor of my lighter but warm, lined rain jacket – and a good thing, too, but I'd need the umbrella from the camera back as well, since I'd have to keep the camera sheltered while putting its raincoat on!
It's a great little invention, the Rainsleeve! Cost-effective, reusable, it works well and it's simple to install.
I'm still sure I presented a very entertaining sight, trying to manage the umbrella, the camera, keep the lens clear long enough to get the requisite photographs and still stay… well, no more than damp.
See, once the camera was set up on the tripod with the rainsleeve in place, it was time to add the cable release. That was when I noticed how wet the exposed side of the camera backpack was getting. So I zipped it up and put it back on so it would be sheltered under the umbrella. Then had to take it back off to get the cable release!
And the lens cloth – because once the cable release was in place inside the rainsleeve, it was time to clean off the lens and take a setup shot. Doing that, my attention was off the umbrella, which got caught by a stray gust on the wrong side and popped inside out. Well, got the shot taken, the lens shielded with the cap, and the umbrella turned right side down, and then it was time to take the dawn photographs. Had to turn the ISO way up and the aperture wide open to get a decent shutter speed, the skies were so dark.
But by then the rain was slanting almost directly at the lens – and who wants water spots on their shots? So I tried to position the umbrella against the wind to protect the camera's viewing area without being in the field of view… which meant I (and the camera bag) was getting wet again.
Then the memory card filled up. And my hands were wet., which could have introduced moisture into the actual guts of the camera itself.
It was a very entertaining morning. And as Bobbie pointed out, a good dry run for future rainy days.
Despite the weather trying to hamper your efforts, you guy some good shots.


The Channel Island of Sark has been designated as the world's first dark sky island by the International Dark-Sky Association. Sark is a delightful holiday island and this recognition will bring its unique beauty to a wider audience. The latest BBC series on Astronomy - Stargazing Live, has already caused an upsurge in interest. If you would like to know more about Sark's dark skies please contact us.
Sark has no public street lighting and some residents and businesses have altered their lights to ensure as little light as possible is spilt upwards, creating light pollution, which has such an adverse effect on viewing celestial sky at night. A rich Milky Way is visible from Sark.
Astronomy has become a very popular pastime and at La Sablonnerie we aim to ensure that our visitors can encompass their hobby with good food and a comfortable, welcoming stay on the dark sky island of Sark.
Elizabeth Perrée was interviewed about Sark Life by BBC Radio 4 - Saturday morning Live - 24th August 2013.
The Island Parish - You can watch BBC 2 at 8:30 on Friday or catch the entire series on BBC iplayer. Click here for the link.
Oh! What a lovely time we had...the Sark folk festival musicians having fun at La Sablonnerie. This was a truly memorable weekend due to their terrific talent.
La Sablonnerie's Tea Garden has just been awarded the cup for the best large garden on Sark in the Sark midsummer garden show. The beautiful flowers and well tended shrubs certainly make an 'al-fresco' teatime very pleasant indeed!
The perfect present for everybody all year round and especially for those that really enjoy life. Whether it is for Christmas, Easter, a special birthday or a big thank you, our unique Gift Vouchers offer real memories and can be purchased for any value.
You can choose from a celebratory luncheon, an afternoon Cream Tea, a Gourmet Dinner, Champagne and canapés or a memorable overnight stay.
To get your gift voucher fill in the enquiry form or call Elizabeth direct. Sark is simply perfect for lasting memories.


text:
Gomez Trial Attorneys » Living with Traumatic Brain Injury
Living With Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery and Realities
When someone suffers a traumatic brain injury, it's common for that person's loved ones to rally around him or her in any and every way possible. People will come to the hospital to visit; they will help that person's family by babysitting or brining food over… A number of things can happen that remind everyone of the good that exists in people. Unfortunately, and despite people's best intentions, living with a traumatic brain injury and TBI recovery is difficult in ways that people who have not been through it can hardly imagine. The person who survived the brain injury may go through some behavioral and personality changes that are impossible to foresee and almost as difficult to contextualize. The traumatic brain injury lawyers at Gomez Trial Attorneys would like to provide a bit of insight into what living with a traumatic brain injury is like below.
Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery – Don't Dwell On What's Lost
Unfortunately, people who suffer a traumatic brain injury, and their loved ones tend to focus immediately on abilities or skills that have been lost as a result of the trauma. These losses can be temporary or permanent in nature, and if temporary the duration of these losses can be impossible to define. What all of this leads to is a growing sense of uncertainty on the part of the person fighting for TBI recovery and his or her support system. Uncertainty in this regard breeds stress, and stress can lead to both internal and external conflict.
Clearly, someone who is fighting through a TBI recovery and his or her support system will need to take an accounting of what has been lost in order to put together goals for that recovery's progress. However, people in these positions should not dwell on these losses or make them the focal point of every moment of every day. Instead, progress should be measured in small increments and positives should be stressed as much as possible. Neither the person dealing with TBI recovery nor his or her support system should concern themselves with timeframes, as this will only lead to negative emotions and perhaps negative reactions.
Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery – Maximizing Gains and Efficiency of Focus
Every traumatic brain injury is different. Every patient is different. Every prognosis is different. All of this means that every set of goals and measurement of progress is different. For many people dealing with TBI recovery, there will be some skills that will be lost permanently and others that can be regained over time. Every patient, his or her doctor and his or her support system will need to objectively define which skills can be regained and which ones cannot. Doing so will allow the patient to focus on those recoverable skills and not waste time and build frustration working towards regaining skills that will never be regained. This will allow for a system of maximizing gains and promoting positivity.
Stigmas Attached to Traumatic Brain Injuries
Sadly, the recent focus on traumatic brain injuries as a public health problem has also led to the development of certain stigmas that are attached to patients who are fighting through a TBI recovery. Many of these stigmas exist even though there is no malicious intent whatsoever present in those who are unknowingly furthering them. Examples of these stigmas include:
The tendency to minimize the injury, since many TBIs cannot actually be seen
Thinking that the TBI patient is simply dealing with "emotional problems"
Assuming that a brain injury survivor simply "must be better by now, as it's been a long time"
Thinking that someone who suffers from a brain injury is simply "not right in the head"
If you notice any of these statements, feelings, or opinions, one way that you can support a person who is fighting through a traumatic brain injury is to help those people understand the scope, breadth, and gravity of the challenge before that patient.
Living With Traumatic Brain Injury Resources – Additional Information
The traumatic brain injury attorneys at Gomez Trial Attorneys have a very deep perspective when it comes to head trauma and TBI recovery. This perspective comes from both professional and personal experiences and struggles. We'd like to provide anyone who needs it with resources that can help them deepen their own perspectives when possible. As such, you'll find the following information on the following pages:
Traumatic Brain Injury and Family Members – TBI recovery can be very difficult for loved ones of the person who has been injured. Every family member wants to provide as much support to the brain injury survivor as possible but knowing what to do, what to say and when to do or say these things can be difficult.
The Cost of a Traumatic Brain Injury – Even though every traumatic brain injury situation is different, there are certain costs and losses that the brain injury survivor and his or her family should be prepared to face. These losses generally concern medical costs, lost income, and several other financial challenges that will present themselves.
Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnostic Tools – One of the scariest aspects of the traumatic brain injury problem is the number of people who never have them diagnosed. Way too many people are currently living with a traumatic brain injury and do not realize it. Unless the head trauma is correctly diagnosed, no recovery is possible.
Treatments for Traumatic Brain Injury – The world of medical science is working tirelessly to advance its knowledge of the treatments for a traumatic brain injury. Progress is being made at an exciting pace, and here you'll find the latest information regarding what types of treatments are being tried, which treatments are showing promise and the like.
Living With Traumatic Brain Injury – Help Fight Back
One of the best ways anyone can help a brain injury survivor and his or her family is to help them understand that there are options for fighting back if that person was harmed because of the faulty actions of someone else. If you or a loved one is facing this difficult situation, for this reason, contact traumatic brain injury attorneys who have been fighting successfully for people forced into this difficult situation for several years. Contact Gomez Trial Attorneys today to schedule a free initial consultation.


text:
Catalytic properties, densification and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline yttria-zirconia-based materials
Cui, Jianyi
DownloadFull printable version (28.25Mb)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.
Jackie Y. Ying.
Alumina, titania, ceria and manganese oxide were either coated onto or doped in cubic 7 mol% Y203-ZrO2 (7YZ) nanocrystals to form nanocomposites for methane combustion. These novel catalysts were very active and thermally stable. In particular, 25 wt% Mn203-coated 7YZ and 25 wt% Mn203-doped 7YZ showed remarkably low light-off temperatures of 3750C and 3580C, respectively. These catalysts were highly attractive as they were competitive with the much more expensive supported noble metal catalysts. Their catalytic activity could be attributed to the availability of active surface oxygen species, which facilitated the methane activation at low temperatures. Nanocrystalline 3 mol% and 8 mol% Y203-ZrO2 (3YZ and 8YZ) were successfully densified with an ultrafine grain size of < 90 nm by pressureless sintering at 11000C and 11500C, respectively. The low-temperature sinterability could be attributed to the well-defined nanocrystalline particles obtained via hydrothermal synthesis, and the effective elimination of secondary porosity through the dry compact processing. Submicron-sized 3 mol% Y203-ZrO2 ceramics with a grain size of - 150 nm was also obtained with commercial TOSOHC powders. Grain growth during densification of TOSOH© powders was successfully suppressed by presintering to 93% density under an argon atmosphere, followed by hot isostatic pressing at a temperature lower than the presintering temperature. The grain sizes of dense 3YZ and 8YZ ceramics were controlled between 100 nm and 5 glm. This allowed for the systematic study of 3YZ and 8YZ in indentation hardness, Young's modulus and fracture toughness as a function of grain size through micro-indentation and instrumented nano-indentation.
(cont.) The Hall-Petch effect was found to be extended to the nanocrystalline regime for 3YZ. 8YZ showed the Hall-Petch effect only in the micrometer and submicrometer regime. Maximum Hv values of 19 and 20 GPa were achieved for 3YZ and 8YZ, respectively. A continuous decrease in Young's modulus with decreasing grain size was observed in both 3YZ and 8YZ. This could be partially explained by the percolation theory. Transgranular fracture was observed in 3YZ as the grain size approached - 100 nm. This was in contrast with the dominant intergranular fracture mode observed in ceramics with fine grain sizes. Transgranular fracture was found in 8YZ over an even broader range of grain sizes (150 nm to 5.0 glm). A significant reduction in fracture toughness from 7.9 MPam-1/2 to 3.1 MPa-m1/2 was observed as the grain size was reduced from 1.1 im to 100 nm in 3YZ. Fracture toughness was much lower for 8YZ than for 3YZ, and showed little dependence on grain size. The stability of tetragonal phase at small grain sizes could account for the considerable reduction in the fracture toughness in 3YZ, and the transgranular fracture mode as grain size approached 100 nm.
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2007.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering.


text:
Šavrinke (, singular: ;  or ) were girls and women from the hinterlands of northern Slovene Istria as well as Croatian Istria who sold crops and other minor goods in town markets.

Active especially around the city of Trieste, now in Italy, Šavrinke supplemented their household income by selling agricultural products to nearby towns. The main product sold by the Šavrinke was eggs. In order to procure them, they sometimes brought products such as needles, threads, pins, and scissors back to the village.

Like many other forms of female work outside the household, Šavrinke were normally engaged in this form of trade as young adolescents. In particular, they would learn the trade from their mothers after completing six grades of primary school and would cease work upon marriage. Only in dire economic situations did married women continue working in this trade, which sometimes required multiple days of walking between urban and rural centers, or at least three hours of walking a day. The Šavrinke mostly sold eggs and bread, but also collected berries and nuts on the road.

The households in which women worked as Šavrinke were mostly very poor. The men of the household, thus, often sought paid work as well by walking around villages in the area of Trieste with a hoe on their shoulders. The hoe on a man's shoulder, thus, marked one as being available to work and also as being poor. The equivalent mark for the Šavrinke was their feet, which were marked by dust, mud, and animal excrement that filled the roads. In the Slovene dialect spoken in this area (known as Bržanija or Kraški rob), this type of road dirt was called šavre, hence name given to these women. Most dictionaries, though, translate šavra as an "awkward, clumsy" woman. It is uncertain whether Slovenia's Šavrin Hills are named after the Šavrinke or vice versa.

This form of labor was mostly a phenomenon of the late nineteenth century, and it has largely disappeared by the end of the World War II. A key economic institution in the Istrian countryside in peacetime, the work of the Šavrinke was curtailed by government regulations aimed to regulate the sale of eggs in Austria during World War I and in Italy, to which the region belonged after the war, under Fascism. The subsequent introduction of egg-selling licenses, which were quite expensive, turned the vast majority of the Šavrinke into de facto smugglers, who put themselves and their children at risk. Under Italian rule, the punishment for engaging in illegal trade of eggs was mostly carried by the local police forces, who confiscated the eggs and sometimes arrested the smuggler for one night. Their adaptation to the illegal status of their work added other highly desired goods to the repertoire of the Šavrinke, such as grappa and cigarettes. This was the case even when their trade was not necessarily criminalized in post-WW2 Italy and Yugoslavia, partly under the Treaty of Rome of 1955.

In contemporary Slovenia, the Šavrinke became part of local folklore. They are remembered as women who brought enviable income to their villages through hard work, which also made them at some point a valuable marriage partner. A symbol of Istria, their lives were commemorated in novels like Marjan Tomšič's Šavrinke (1986) as well as poems by Alojz Kocjančič (collected in Šavrinske pesmi, 1962). South to the village of Hrastovlje in the Slovene Littoral is a sculpture by the famous painter and village-native Jože Pohlen, erected in 1990, that depicts a Šavrinka carrying a basket of bread over her head. A local cultural association, "Šavrini inu anka Šavrinke", often reenacts scenes from the life of these women for the public as a form of heritage conservation. The rediscovery and enshrinement of the Šavrinke is seen by some scholars as part of the development of a regional Istrian identity that crosses state borders but emphasizes the Slovene national element, if not dominance, in the region.

References

Slovenian women
Istria
Gendered occupations


Richard B. Hays completed his new book Echoes of Scripture in Gospels (Baylor University Press, 2016) in record time thanks in large part to the heavy-lifting done by Carey Newman and his staff at Baylor University Press. Hays was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2015 and underwent successful surgery in the fall. He stepped down from his role as dean of Duke Divinity School for medical treatment and used part of his recovery to finish up this book.
This book extends an earlier project, Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness (Baylor University Press, 2014). It echoes an even earlier bit of research written up in Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (Yale University Press, 1993). In the book under review Hays turns his attention to the four New Testament Gospels with similar method and surprising results.
Hays is influenced by Eric Auerbach's approach to "figural interpretation" in his book Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature (Princeton University Press, 2013). Figural interpretation involves linking two texts so that a past person (or event) signifies that person as well as another in the future. The interplay between those two texts brings greater insight to both texts. Each sheds light on the other. It is a way of "reading backwards." This has nothing to do with past predictions which are "fulfilled" in the future, although there are places when Gospel writers make those kinds of connections as well. At the heart of it is the notion that a text might mean more than a human author ever intended. Once a writer has released his text, later audiences are able to read backwards through significant events/persons in order to see connections to these earlier texts. The NT is awash in figural readings of the OT.
Hays does not spend his time working out and fine tuning a method. In a sense he has done that already in earlier books mentioned above. What he does do is work carefully through many Gospel texts listening for the echoes and helping his readers see and experience these in fresh and exciting ways. One of my favorite examples is in the episode when Jesus walks on the sea of Galilee (Mark 6). Although Mark does not make any explicit biblical allusions, the way he tells the story conjures up certain images from the first part of the Christian Scriptures. In particular, he notes how Mark says Jesus appears to intend to pass them by and ends the pericope with the hanging question: "who is this that the winds and the seas obey?" As Hays says, there is only one right answer to that question. It is found in Job 9, particularly the Greek version (LXX). I won't spoil the ending completely but Hays and I both think there is a not-so-subtle identification of Jesus with the God who created the land and seas in the first place. Go back and read Job 9 in the Greek and it is apparent.
Hays is an advocate of an early high Christology, compared to the late, slow and low crowd. This means that the earliest evidence we have (the letters of Paul and the NT Gospels) are best read to include Jesus within the identity of Israel's God. As a charter member of the early high Christology club, I'm glad to make him a full-fledged member.
This is an amazing book. I cannot recommend it any higher. I'm so glad to have it in hand as I'm thinking about a future book I'm working on entitled Matthew through Old Testament Eyes (Kregel, forthcoming 2018 or 2019).
By David B. Capes in Uncategorized on October 3, 2016 .


text:
Midterm Elections: Overall Spending Inches Up in 2014
The 2014 election cycle will cost at least $3.67 billion, or slightly more than the 2010 election, which cost $3.63 billion.
By opensecrets.org | Via opensecrets.org
(Photo by Keith Jenkins, Creative Commons License)
The 2014 midterms may well mark the election cycle in which the small donor got left behind. Revised projections by the Center for Responsive Politics for the total cost of these congressional races suggest they may be only slightly more expensive than those in 2010, but outside money will have played an outsized role. And the number of identified individual donors will shrink, meaning more money will have come from fewer people.
Taking into account new disclosures made in the last week and adjusting our projection models, CRP now predicts that the 2014 election cycle will cost at least $3.67 billion, or slightly more than the 2010 election, which cost $3.63 billion. That figure takes into account only spending disclosed to the Federal Election Commission and does not include funds spent early in the cycle (more than 30 days before a primary or 60 days before Nov. 4) by outside groups on so-called issue ads that don't ask the public to vote one way or another, or on certain other activities. There is no reliable accounting of such unreported spending, but CRP estimates it is likely well over $100 million.
Despite the fact that these elections will cost only a bit more than those in 2010, according to CRP projections, a major difference between the two is where the money has come from and how it was spent.
In 2010, when voting occurred just nine months after the Citizens United decision, disclosed outside spending amounted to $309 million – roughly 8.5 percent of the total spent. So far this cycle, with six days before the election and the possibility that runoffs will extend the campaigning, $480 million in outside money has already been spent. Even if outside groups don't spend another dime, that figure is already more than 66 percent higher in terms of actual dollars. Proportionally, outside groups will account for 13 percent of this cycle's total spending, CRP projects.
Seen from another angle, CRP's latest projection shows that the increased spending by outside groups has meant less money spent by candidates and parties — proportionally and in terms of real dollars.
In the 2010 cycle, all House candidates spent just over $1 billion, and this cycle they will likely spend $945.9 million, CRP projects. Similarly, Senate candidates spent $779.9 million in 2010, and will spend only $636.2 million in 2014.
An analysis of the number of individual donors also shows that — despite the overall cost of this election inching up — there are fewer people donating to political organizations.
In every midterm election cycle leading up to the last one, the number of individual donors of more than $200 to candidates, parties and regular PACs increased, from 275,013 in 1990 to 817,464 in 2010. That cycle may turn out to have been the apex of their strength, measured by numbers. So far this year, there have been only 666,773 individual donors — a number that will certainly increase by Election Day but may well not match the 2010 figure.
The takeaway: Despite only a slight increase in the cost of the election, outside groups, which are overwhelmingly fueled by large donors, are picking up more of the tab, candidates are cutting back on their spending, and there are fewer large (over $200) individual donors contributing overall to candidates and parties. (One caveat: Many Senate filings continue to roll in at this time, since Senate candidates aren't required to file electronically; this may have a small effect on CRP's projections.)
"As the post-Citizens United campaign finance system matures, we're seeing evidence that the traditional campaign apparatus has been overtaken by shadow counterparts," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "These unaccountable actors give lie to the notion that they are independent of the candidates, and the negative nature of their participation will likely further suppress turnout that is already expected to be low."
Party breakdown
When all is said and done, Team Red (all Republican candidates) will spend $1.75 billion on this election. Team Blue (all Democratic candidates) will spend a total of $1.64 billion — still a significant amount, but definitively less than the conservative side.
In terms of overall numbers, CRP projects Republicans will hold the advantage when it comes to money spent on this 2014 midterm election. When all is said and done, Team Red (all Republican candidates, parties, committees and conservative outside groups) will spend $1.75 billion on this election. Team Blue (all Democratic candidates, parties, committees and liberal outside groups) will spend a total of $1.64 billion — still a significant amount, but definitively less than the conservative side.
Breaking the partisan numbers down by spending type, there are a handful of areas where Democrats will outspend Republicans, but in most categories, Republicans or conservative groups will dominate.
In the House, Republican candidates are projected to spend $523.9 million, substantially more than the $417.4 million spent by Democratic candidates. That's actually an increase over the GOP's spending in 2010, when its candidates spent $505.4 million. Democrats, on the other hand, have tumbled from 2010, when they spent $501.2 million — comparable to the Republicans' outlays.
On the Senate side, Democratic candidates overall will also be outspent. As a group, CRP projects they will spend $295.5 million (down from $351.2 million in 2010), compared to $335.7 million by Republican candidates. That's a significant decline for both parties, as Republican Senate candidates spent $408.9 million in 2010. A likely partial explanation for the smaller numbers has to do with the particular states in play in the Senate this election.
The Democratic National Committee will spend $148 million this cycle, CRP projects, a steep decline from the $176.5 million it spent in 2010. It will also be outstripped by the Republican National Committee, which CRP projects will spend $164.9 million. That will be a drop from the $185 million it spent in 2010.
One bright spot for Democrats is the spending by all other party committees, mainly the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. These Democratic party groups are projected to spend $437.5 million, far more than their counterparts on the other side of the aisle who are projected to spend $349.6 million this cycle. For both sides, this will be an increase from 2010.
Candidate spending
With the election just days away, current Democratic House candidates are, on average, running far behind their Republican opponents, while in the Senate, the situation is reversed.
On the House side, candidates have raised, on average, $987,000 and spent slightly more than $798,000. But the 375 Democratic candidates fall below those numbers, having raised, on average, $952,000 and spent $790,000. The 387 Republican candidates, in contrast, are running far ahead, having raised, on average, $1.2 million and spent $929,000.
On the Senate side, it's Democrats who lead, both in fundraising and in spending. The 35 current Senate Democratic candidates have brought in an average of $7.1 million — substantially more than the 39 Republican candidates who have raised $5.6 million, on average. Some of that difference is likely due to the fact that Democrats are defending more seats than Republicans and incumbents have an edge in fundraising.
Democratic Senate candidates have spent, on average, $5.6 million, compared to Republican candidates who have spent an average of $5.1 million.
The incumbent advantage is stark: House members running for re-election have raised an average of $1.5 million — more than twice the $648,547 raised by the average current challenger. In the Senate, incumbents have raised an average of $9.3 million, more than double the $3.2 million raised, on average, by Senate candidates.
Wall Street is top dog again, and more conservative than ever
As in previous cycles, the Securities and Investment industry has dominated the giving in the 2014 elections, in large part due to the large checks that individuals in the industry have written to outside spending groups.
Wall Street as a whole has contributed $171.1 million, more than any other industry or interest group that CRP tracks. Of that total, $100.8 million has gone to candidates and party committees, with an overwhelming 62 percent of it winding up in the hands of Republicans and just 38 percent in the hands of Democrats.
Wall Street as a whole has contributed $171.1 million, more than any other industry or interest group that CRP tracks. Of that total, $100.8 million has gone to candidates and party committees, with an overwhelming 62 percent of it winding up in the hands of Republicans and just 38 percent in the hands of Democrats. The remaining money, more than $70 million, went to outside groups, and $45.8 million of that went to conservative-leaning organizations.
But while securities and investment was the top donor industry for GOP candidates, for Democrats the No. 1 slot was occupied by lawyers and law firms. Overall, that was the third-ranking industry this election cycle, giving $66.4 million to Democrats and $28.4 to Republicans through the third quarter.
One grouping new to the top 10 is Environment — a category that includes a number of fairly small-spending groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council. What made the difference this year were contributions from Tom Steyer, a billionaire who made his money in hedge funds; he has contributed $73.7 million this cycle to outside groups, all focused on the environment or aligned with Democrats.
Outside spending
As of Oct. 29, 429 outside groups (excluding party committees) had spent $497 million. The bulk of it – $305 million — was spent by 200 super PACs, but other groups in this category include politically-active nonprofits and 527 organizations.
That's a dramatic under-representation of the total spent by outside groups so far this year, since it doesn't include spending on ads that run within a specified "window" before an election and don't explicitly ask for a vote for or against a candidate, nor other voter mobilization efforts that could be considered nonpartisan. Conservative estimates suggest that at least another $100 million has been spent on such ads, the majority of which have leaned toward the GOP.
CRP's outside spending tallies include disclosed spending by groups that fall into one of three categories — those that are completely transparent about their donors, those that disclose some donors but accept some money from opaque sources (such as political nonprofits or shell corporations that cannot be traced), and those that don't disclose the identities of their donors at all.
CRP projects that all outside groups will spend $689.3 million. Team Red (composed of conservative or Republican-aligned groups) will spend $329 million, besting the (liberal and Democratically-aligned) groups in Team Blue, who are projected to spend $314.6 million.
But the relative parity of the spending by the two sides does not mean they will spend the same way.
Many outside groups are classified as "fully disclosing" by CRP, meaning they identify all of their donors. In theory, all super PACs must disclose their donors, but CRP classifies some of them as "partially disclosing" if they list as donors any groups that don't reveal their contributors or corporations that are opaque about their ownership. Politically active nonprofits (usually 501(c)(4) or (c)(6) groups under the tax code, which are not required to publicly list their donors), as well as some super PACs that receive all their funding from secret sources, are categorized by CRP as "non-disclosing".
With that in mind, there is a clear difference between Team Red and Team Blue in each category.
CRP projects that fully disclosing outside groups will spend a total of $243.3 million. Groups in this category from Team Blue will account for $142 million of the spending — almost twice as much as was spent by all groups in this category in 2010. Team Red groups in the disclosing category will spend $83.9 million.
But Team Blue loses its advantage in other categories.
Total spending by all partially disclosing outside groups has more than quadrupled since 2010, from $25.2 million to $121 million. But in this category of semi-secretive outside groups, there is no equality between the two sides. Team Red will spend 72 percent of the money — $87.4 million — and Team Blue will spend 28 percent — $33.4 million, according to CRP projections.
Among outside groups that do not disclose their donors at all, Team Red will crush Team Blue, spending $111.7 million to $29.7 million, CRP projects.
In short, there is a sharp contrast in terms of the spending on each side in this post-Citizens United system: After being outmatched in 2010, Team Blue's outside groups caught up, but within that category Team Red has a strong lead when it comes to groups whose donors are hidden.
Top outside groups
Team Blue managed to force its way into the top echelon of big-spending outside groups – but Republican-leaning groups still occupy the majority of the slots at the top of the list of big spenders.
The outside group with the highest outlays this cycle is Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC closely affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.); it has spent $42.6 million. But Senate Majority falls to second on the list when super PAC American Crossroads and politically active nonprofit Crossroads GPS — the tandem of outside groups associated with Karl Rove — are considered together. These two – legally separate organizations, each of which have reported less spending than Senate Majority PAC — work closely; when their efforts are combined, their total spending comes to $46.8 million, giving them the title of top-spending outside organization this cycle. In 2010, this same pair was the top-spending organization, reporting a total of $38.2 million.
House Majority PAC, a super PAC backing House Democratic candidates, is fifth on the list, with $21.5 million; the environmentally-focused NextGen Climate Action super PAC is seventh ($20.3 million) and the League of Conservation Voters super PAC is ninth ($17.8 million).
The remaining six members of the top 10 outside spending groups are conservative (including American Crossroads/Crossroads GPS). The Chamber of Commerce has disclosed spending $33.5 million this cycle and the National Rifle Association has spent $27.2 million, according to reports filed with the FEC.
Freedom Partners Action Fund, a super PAC that emerged from a network of dark money groups connected to the libertarian political financiers David and Charles Koch, received its first donation just four months ago, but rocketed to eighth on the list of top-spending outside groups, with $18.9 million. David and Charles Koch each gave $2 million to the group.
More reliance on outside money
As noted earlier, CRP's projected total cost of the election has only inched up from previous cycles, but the portion of the bill picked up by outside groups has grown. In some races, while candidates and party committees are spending tremendous amounts, there has been a deluge of outside cash, ostensibly unconnected to the candidates.
The single race that has attracted the most outside spending is easily Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan's bid for re-election against Republican challenger Thom Tillis in North Carolina. As of Oct. 29, outside groups had reported spending $58.1 million – shattering the record of $52.4 million spent in the 2012 Virginia Senate race. Twelve different Senate races have seen eight-digit spending by outside groups.
Tillis is the No. 1 target of outside groups. They have spent a combined $34.1 million on his election — $11.3 million supporting him and $19.4 against him (including money spent by conservative super PACs during the primary). Among those targeted for attack ads by outside groups, the top two candidates in the Colorado Senate race are close behind. Outside organizations have spent $16.4 million to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Udall (and $5 million to boost him). His challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner, has attracted slightly more spending against him — $16.5 million — but also slightly more in his support — $5.9 million.
The mega-outside donor
What are the implications for the average American?
According to CRP data, most Americans do not give money to federal candidates or committees. Donations of $200 and under are not "itemized" in disclosures (meaning candidates or committees don't say how many of these small donors they have or how much each gives), but just 0.19 percent of the estimated 310 million Americans give more than that $200 amount. And the bulk of campaign cash from individuals is from those who give more than $200 (at least 66 percent of the total this cycle).
Just three-one-hundredths of one percent of Americans wrote a check larger than $2,600 — the maximum one individual can give to a candidate each election — during this cycle.
But those are numbers based on the system of so-called "hard money" donations — money given to candidates or committees, which is strictly limited. Outside groups rarely deal in sums so small. While it's true that there have been a handful of outside groups that have raised money from small donors, most outside groups rely heavily on large donors. Very large donors.
So, as outside groups have taken on a bigger share of the election tab, it necessarily means small donors — those who cannot write six, seven or even eight-figure checks — will have less say in the election.
To give an idea of the influence these large outside donors wield, consider the donations made by just the top 20 individual donors to outside groups and the top 20 organizations donating to outside groups. This elite list of individual donors have given a combined $168.6 million and the top 20 organization have ponied up a combined $116 million.
All told, these two groups of donors have combined to give $284.7 million — a princely sum that far exceeds the projected spending of the RNC or DNC this cycle.
The number one donor of disclosed outside money is Steyer, followed by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has given $20 million to super PACs, of which 98 percent went to liberal or Democratic recipients. But despite those top two donors, conservative donors dominate the top 20 — 15 of them are conservative. The three other liberal donors are: Fred Eychaner ($7.9 million), George Soros ($3.5 million) and hedge-funder James Simons (and his wife Marilyn), who have given $3 million.
The top conservative donor to outside groups is Paul Singer, of hedge fund Elliott Management, who has given $9.3 million. Last cycle's top donor — both to outside groups and overall — was Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Venetian casino in Las Vegas, who with his physician wife Miriam gave $92 million. This cycle, the Adelsons have given $5 million. Other prominent conservative donors include Linda and Vince McMahon, who have given $2.6 million, and Robert McNair, the owner of the Houston Texans football team who together have given $3 million.
Topping the list of organizations contributing money to outside groups is the National Education Association, which has given a whopping $22.4 million to outside groups. Following the NEA are a slew of other labor unions — the Carpenters & Joiners Union ($11.2 million), the AFL-CIO ($7.6 million) and AFSCME ($6 million). These unions gave almost exclusively to liberal outside groups.
There are, however, a handful of conservative organizations on the list of big organizational donors, including the No. 3 group, the National Association of Realtors, which gave to its own super PAC; it has spent the money in support of Republicans by a two-to-one margin.
An important caveat: These lists of top donors (individuals or organizations) do not include donations made to dark money groups, which in some instances pass money on to super PACs.
The big McCutcheon donor
While very large outside donors will clearly have a new and much larger role in paying for this midterm election, small donors will take on a diminished role in another way.
In April, the Supreme Court tossed out aggregate limits on how much an individual can donate every election cycle when the justices handed down a decision inMcCutcheon v. FEC. There had long been limits on how much an individual can give to a campaign, PAC or party organization and those limits have stayed in place, but prior to April the FEC also enforced an overall limit on how much one individual could donate to all of those groups. This cycle it was $123,200.
The decision was seen by some as giving traditional hard-money and national party fundraisers a weapon to fight back against outside groups with their unlimited fundraising and spending abilities. While all of the decision's consequences are not yet clear, at least one is: the creation of "super joint-fundraising committees". These super JFCs consist of partnerships between multiple campaigns, PACs and party committees which allows an individual donor to write one very large check and see the donation split among the member groups. Smaller JFCs existed previously, but the size of checks donors could write were curbed by the aggregate limits.
CRP spotted several of these super JFCs in third-quarter filings last week, including one on the Democratic side which consisted of 26 different members (campaigns and party committees) and collected at least one check for $150,000 — the largest check for a non-outside group ever. Republicans have their own super JFC, which consists of 14 committees banded together that collected numerous checks of $130,000 or more.
While these super JFCs are, for now, an exception, they may help explain a changing dynamic in the demographics of donors.
The 2014 cycle is not complete and the most recent data from a sizable number of Senate candidates is still not available for CRP analysis, meaning more individual donors could be identified, but comparing the numbers of individual donors so far this year to the total in the entire 2010 cycle suggests that a general decline in nearly every category may occur.
Already, there are more donors giving more than $95,000 than there were in the entire 2010 cycle.
Comparing the 2014 cycle to the 2010 cycle, this time around there are fewer individual donors by a fairly wide margin in every category except two. In 2010 there were 746 donors of more than $10,000, giving a total of $88 million. Already this cycle, there have been 785, who have contributed a total of $107.2 million. The majority of that money donated so far by these affluent donors — $60.3 million — has gone to Republican recipients, compared to $41.8 to Democratic recipients.
"This latest research again shows further compression of the process," CRP Senior Fellow Bob Biersack noted. "More and more of the relevant participation is happening among fewer and fewer actors, both people and organizations. In a world where vibrant democracies are a function of real participation by as many people as possible, the system we have now seems to be encouraging the opposite, where more and more impact comes from fewer and fewer players."
CRP added a new category of spending for analysis this year — PAC overhead. This is money spent by a political committee other than a campaign – whether it's a political party, a traditional PAC, a leadership PAC or a super PAC — that did not go for outside ads. It might have been used for salaries or fees for advisers or consultants, opposition research, polling or other expenses.
While some PACs tracked by CRP have a reputation for spending their money on nearly everything but the election, some of the money is also spent in a way that is influential in a race, but hard to quantify. A prominent example would be American Bridge 21st Century, a liberal super PAC which can spend money on attack ads, but mainly focuses on conducting opposition research which is then passed to other liberal groups who go on to make attack ads. The organization serves as a type of clearinghouse for information useful to Democratic causes — an outsourcing of a sometimes dirty task to one efficient hub.
In 2010, PAC overhead was $225.8 million, and CRP projects that for 2014 it will be $285.9 million.
Much of the data cited in this report is available on OpenSecrets.org, however a selection of data used here is available in a spreadsheet here.
Note: For several reasons, including the fact that we double-counted some party expenditures, our projection of the cost of the 2014 elections is lower than the number we previously released.
This article first appeared in opensecrets.org. Click here to go to the original.
This Center for Responsive Politics report is part of #Money14, a series of independent reports exposing the role of money in American politics. Join us for an event around the fifth anniversary of Citizens United to hear more about the participating organizations' innovative research and work together for a more inclusive, transparent, and participatory democracy.
Contact: Viveca Novak, press@crp.org (202-354-0111); Russ Choma, press@crp.org (202-354-0108)
Center for Responsive Politics Citizens United Cory Gardner Democratic National Committee Democrats Harry Reid JFCs Karl Rove League of Conservation Voters midterm elections National Rifle Association Republicans Sen. Kay Hagan Sheila Krumholz Super PACs Team Blue Team Red	2014-11-01
Previous Why a Third Intifada May be About to Kick Off
Next Pakistan: Polio, Politics, Polemics & Personal Profit
Limiting the size of gatherings helps reduce the potential for exposure. Controlling indoor environments in other ways can also be a highly effective strategy for reducing risk. This includes increasing ventilation rates to bring in fresh air and filtering existing air to dilute aerosol concentrations.
Why one man waved an Indian flag during the January 6 attack on the US Capitol remains a mystery.


text:
'Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite' Earns John Williams 25th Grammy
25th Grammy For John Williams
Serious question. What does John Williams do with all his awards? Does he have a dedicated room for all the Oscars, Grammys and other numerous awards? Or does he store them away in storage? Well whatever he does, he has to add another one to the collection. Another Grammy to be specific which makes it 25 for the composer. He won the award for the 'Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Symphonic Suite' which apparently he penned after being inspired by a Disneyland theme park attraction. That must have been some inspiration!
The Grammys were the 62nd incarnation and it was 58 years ago that John Williams received his first nomination.
You can listen to the five minute suite below which was recorded at Abbey Road, London with the London Symphony Orchestra. The piece was a collaboration with composer William Ross who said:
"We wanted to enhance the immersive theatre quality of the land with a new composition, and that seemed to intrigue him. He signed on for it and it's been a fantastic adventure. One of the things we're trying to inspire in our guests is this sense of awe and wonder. There's an optimism, a sense of adventure; you go on a journey in this five minute piece."
John Williams also received a nomination at the 65th Grammys for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for 'Hedwig's Theme', which he recorded with virtuoso violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.
galaxy edge john williams star wars
Labels: galaxy edge john williams star wars


Your organization's iCalendar Feeds are continuously synced with the most up-to-date calendars on your website, keeping subscribers aware of the latest additions and updates. You can select multiple teams and levels, using the the Calendar Tag Menu, to create a custom cumulative iCal Feed …... How do I add an internet calendar in Microsoft Outlook 2007, 2010, 2016 and outlook.com (iCalendar feed)? This article explains how you can sync your Microsoft Outlook calendar 2007, 2010 or 2016, outlook.com with GroupCamp for Milestones and Tasks.
iCal.NET is an iCalendar (RFC 5545) class library for .NET aimed at providing RFC 5545 compliance, while providing full compatibility with popular calendaring applications and libraries.... Embed a live updating iCal (ICS) feed in any page using a shortcode.
Your organization's iCalendar Feeds are regularly synced (every 30 minutes) with the most up-to-date calendars on your website, keeping subscribers aware of the latest additions and updates. You can select multiple teams and levels, using the the Calendar Tag Menu, to create a custom cumulative iCal Feed specific to your own family.
How to create an iCalendar Feed from a Lotus Notes database Mat Newman May 14 2012 16:00:14 One thing coming up over and over again on Twitter recently is how much users hate Lotus Notes because it can't provide them with an iCalendar Feed that they can sync with another service like Google or OSX iCal.


text:
Justice Dept.'s Public Integrity Section Could Be Screwing Up Another Public Corruption Case in Ala.
The Justice Department's Public Integrity Section which blew the case against Sen. Ted Stevens, may be screwing up a big public corruption case in Montgomery, Ala. Both cases involve allegations of withholding evidence from the defense.
The Associated Press reports that an angry U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. is fed up and said at a pretrial hearing on Friday that he may impose sanctions against the government for repeatedly failing to hand over all the documents pertaining to FBI wiretaps in a gambling case involving alleged payoffs to politicians to pass legislation.
"This is supposed to be some elite group coming down from D.C., and how this case has been conducted is ridiculous," the judge said at a pretrial hearing, according to AP. The trial is set for June 6.
The judge did not say what sanctions he might impose, but the defense is asking that the judge toss the case because the government failed to share certain documents.
AP reported that Casino owners Milton McGregor and Ronnie Gilley, four present and former legislators, and four others are charged with buying and selling votes on legislation. The votes would have kept opened Gilley's and McGregor's shuttered electronic bingo casinos.
Prosecutor Steve Feaga said in court, according to AP: "In the course of this case, there have been some mistakes made by the government."
But AP reported that Feaga said the mistakes were unintentional, such as handing over computer disc without the passwords to access data.
The government has conceded that it has made mistakes, but they weren't intentional, AP said.
The Public Integrity Section convicted then-U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens in Oct. 27, 2008 of public corruption charges shortly before his re-election. Stevens lost the election, but the Justice Department subsequently moved to vacate conviction because its Office of Public Integrity failed to turn over evidence to the defense.
Posted: 4/4/11 at 8:41 AM under FBI, News Story.
Tags: Alabama, Justice Department, montgomery, public integrity section, wallace capel