text:
Violinist.com - Violin Blogs - Darcy Lewis - Blog Entry
Violin News & Gossip, Op. 2, No. 22
The venerable Shar Music in Ann Arbor, Mich.—one of my favored haunts in high school—has announced that it is seeking to hire 2005 and 2006 college graduates with degrees in either music education or performance. They seek musicians who are customer-oriented and interested in learning about the business side of music.
"This 10 month position offers a competitive base salary, performance bonuses and employee benefits, plus a monthly string supplies allowance, paid practice time and an audition travel allowance. You will be involved primarily with inside sales, by phone, email, and in our showroom, but will also spend time evaluating new products, and traveling either locally, nationally or internationally as part of our Conference and Show team."
To apply, e-mail or send your resume and a letter of interest to:
Erin Salhaney
erins@sharmusic.com
Violinist Susan Kirtz, cellist Leslie Lyons and bassist David Funderburk are the current crop of Shar apprentices.
Travel Woes
Everyone knows the logistics of traveling with a cello or bass have gotten more challenging in recent years. Unfortunately, students from the Cooper High School Orchestra in Minnesota had a nasty surprise when they flew Northwest Airlines on a late-March trip to California, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
At check-in, the orchestra was charged an additional $880 to stow the cases of 13 cellos and three basses. I was hoping we wouldn't be charged at all," said Sarah Chelgren, the orchestra's director. "We limited each of the kids to one bag so we wouldn't be over weight limits, even with the instruments." Northwest says it has a longstanding policy of charging for oversized musical instruments, reports the paper. The policy also says instruments must be in crushproof cases.
Chelgren, a cellist, put the surcharge on her personal credit card and the group boarded. When the plane landed in L.A., students were shocked to discover that four of the 13 cellos were damaged; of those, two were unplayable.
"On return day, Chelgren put another $720 charge on her credit card for transporting the instruments. This time, the airline did better. Only one bass, the zipper on a cello case and one student's suitcase were damaged. 'I've traveled all over the world with my cello, and I've never had a problem,' said Chelgren. 'When you pay through the teeth, you'd think they'd take care of things.'"
Since the return, Chelgren has been learning about the airline's policy regarding busted baggage. She fears that damage to two of the instruments, a cello and a bass, won't be covered because the cases weren't damaged. Total damage will amount to several hundred dollars, she said."
The students are currently back to fundraising to raise enough money to cover the surcharges and instrument repairs.
Orchestra News
The Canton Symphony Orchestra has received a $500,000 anonymous gift to endow the music director chair in honor of Music Director Gerhardt Zimmermann, reports the ASOL. Zimmermann is celebrating his 25th anniversary this season.
The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra will continue its search for a new music director into the 200-07 season, which marks the orchestra's 60th anniversary. The committee had reached unanimous consensus on a candidate who was not able to accept the offer. "Therefore, we are committed to continuing the search and finding the person who will inspire enthusiasm from all constituent groups," the search committee chairperson announced.
4/25/06 - The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has unveiled a new media agreement with Minnesota Public Radio which will allow online listeners to hear a large percentage of the orchestra's 35-year archive of radio broadcasts, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "Still undecided is whether the programs will be free to consumers, but the agreement is likely to get plenty of scrutiny from orchestras and musicians around the country, as the industry continues to debate how best to use new technologies, and how (if at all) musicians should be paid for such distribution."
4/20/06 - The Philadelphia Orchestra has tapped the dean of the Eastman School of Music to be its next president and CEO. James Undercofler is a surprise choice for two main reasons: first, it is very unusual for an orchestra executive to come from the academic world; and second, Undercofler officially took himself out of the running for the position and signed a contract extension with Eastman a month ago, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
From Emily Grossman
Posted on April 27, 2006 at 5:46 AM
Ah, I could have told those orchestra members long ago never, never, never to fly with Northwest airlines. It costs more to fly as a dog than it does as a human. Needless to say, they have received many creative letters expressing my disgust.
From Carolyn Shields
Posted on April 27, 2006 at 3:28 PM
And then Northwest doesn't take care of the dog--they let mine escape from her carrier at LAX, where she was at large for two days.
From Jim W. Miller
Oh, should I be president of Eastman or President of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I can't decide. It sux to be popular. lalala


We love foyers that are filled with color and personalized accents. Your foyer is not just a welcoming transition into your home; with a little planning, you can give guests a preview of what's inside. Even if your home doesn't have a dedicated foyer, you can still create a designated space near your front door that is both beautiful and functional.
If you use your side or back door more often, your foyer becomes a mudroom. Despite the name, this can be every bit as attractive as a traditional foyer — in fact, borrowing from the most useful features of a mudroom makes any foyer an essential space in your home.
You should review your foyer needs before jumping into decorating. Make a wish list of what you'd like in your foyer and what is currently missing. For such an important space, function comes before design. If you walk in the front door every day and set down your keys and mail on a kitchen table, you'll want to add a shelf or small table. If there is consistently a pile of coats and shoes on the floor, then it's time to consider mudroom essentials like hooks and baskets.
Once you identify what changes you may need to make to your foyer design, it's time to focus on color and decor. Here are some of our favorite ways to add color and style to your foyer.
The good news about your foyer color palette is that it doesn't have to be exactly the same as your living room. Like powder rooms, guests expect the foyer to be a little more over-the-top when it comes to color and design. Your color palette should include a color or two from your living room to tie everything together, but it's okay to bring in additional colors that you love. If you do stick with living room colors, go a shade (or two) lighter or darker to get a more customized look.
Your foyer may not have an obvious focal point, but the right wallpaper can create one. Foyers are often small, so wallpapering one accent wall may be enough to decorate without overwhelming your space. Today's wallpapers are available in every popular style. Temporary wallpapers make it easy to experiment with the idea of wallpaper without a long-term commitment, especially in a rental home.
Most people forget to add a rug to their foyer, or they grab a doormat from the store without putting much thought into it. Your foyer rug should be functional, so that you aren't tracking dirt into your home, but it should also be gorgeous. An indoor/outdoor rug could be the right solution for blending style and function in an active home.
We love the (almost) unwritten rule that foyer lighting should be fabulous. Your foyer is the perfect space for a special light fixture. If you have the ceiling height, then a chandelier is a great fit. A chandelier doesn't have to be extravagant; however, it should be more dramatic than your other lighting while staying true to your home's decor.
Not all foyers and entryways have soaring ceilings. A flush or semi-flush light fixture can be every bit as stylish as a chandelier. Wall sconce fixtures are also good options for low-ceiling rooms, or for adding more light to a dark space.
Your foyer may be doing double-duty as a mudroom, or you may just need more storage solutions. Wall hooks and shelving keep coats and shoes from landing in a heap inside your front door. If you're a "shoes-off" home, be sure you provide a place to sit and remove shoes easily. A bench with baskets underneath serves two purposes with seating and storage. Add colorful cabinets and accessories to personalize your mudroom/foyer and balance the practical needs of the space.
Foyers serve as a crucial welcome point to your home. With some thought and careful design, a colorful foyer invites guests in and adds style to your home as a whole. Have you used color in your foyer to create an impact? We'd love to hear about it below!
The post Why Your Foyer Needs Color (And How to Choose It) appeared first on Freshome.com.


My fellow employees kept telling me, "Oh, she's a real dragon." I thought that meant bad, like a temper, or nasty. I pictured some hag with pointy spectacles and avoided going up to Accounts Payable so as not to get my head bit off. I even threw in five bucks when they bought a sack of coal for her birthday.
But then we did fire safety warden class together and she turned out not like that at all. She was a scream. We sat at the back and she kept wafting little puffs of smoke up to set off the alarm. Hank, the trainer, didn't get it.
We were sniggering like crazy. She had such a wicked sense of humour. In the end even Hank chuckled.
As we got drunker it was hysterical. The bartender was serving drinks that don't even combust. A glass of Chardonnay, a beer even. Have you seen a beer in flames? She did that, just with a little puff. Hilarious.
We ended up in Chinatown, eating Szechwan at midnight.
So, to people who knock scales and the other stuff, I just say you give it a go, you'll find out. And, naturally, she can cook. Not just barbeque, either. Besides, if you've been a smoker like me then you get used to the burning pretty quick. It's nothing.
Simon Barker is an Australian living in Sydney although for a number of years he lived in the Bay Area of California. Last year his work appeared in Green Briar Review, Halfway Down the Stairs, Literally Fiction, Fiction On the Web, London Journal of Fiction and Tincture Journal.


Our Customer Reference Group provides us with valuable insights into our customers' changing needs and expectations and we encourage you to participate!
From time to time, but certainly no more than once per month, we will contact you via email and invite you to participate in a short online activity or survey. Your participation will always remain voluntary and you can unsubscribe at any time.
To get involved, simply fill out the form below. Your residential property details are needed to assist us in analysing results.


Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma arising primarily in adrenal gland is an extremely rare variant of extranodal lymphoma. The clinical presentation and the outcome vary depending upon the type of lymphoma and the extent of involvement of the adrenal gland. We report a case of Primary Adrenal Lymphoma (PAL) without adrenal insufficiency in a 62 year old female. The clinical and the routine laboratory evaluation were unremarkable. Serum lactate dehydrogenase was elevated. Computed Tomography of abdomen unveiled right sided heterogeneous adrenal mass extending from D10 vertebra to L2 vertebra. The diagnosis of primary adrenal lymphoma diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL) type was made on biopsy and immunohistochemistry.
Primary malignant lymphoma in endocrine organs as extranodal presentation is rare, accounting for less than 8%. According to the literature review, primary adrenal lymphomas are seen usually in the elderly males and are frequently bilateral [1,2]. Pathologically, majority of cases are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas . About 50% to 70% patients have adrenal insufficiency . Prognosis of primary adrenal lymphoma is poor and majority of patients die within one year of diagnosis . Treatment of adrenal lymphoma is similar to that of other non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which includes surgery, combination chemotherapy and or radiotherapy [4,5]. The case is presented due to its rarity and poor prognosis.
A 62 year old female with unremarkable past and familial history presented to surgical department with abdominal pain of 2 months duration. The patient denied of having any bowel and bladder alteration. The vital parameters and physical examination at the time of admission was non-contributory. No lymphadenopathy, any skin pigmentations or organomegaly were evident on clinical evaluation. The routine investigatory protocol unmasked hemoglobin as 11.2 g/dl, total leucocyte count 7000/mm3, platelets 3,20,000/mm3. On biochemical and microbiological examination liver function tests, kidney function tests were within normal reference range and HIV was negative. Raised serum LDH level was noted (359 IU/L). X-ray chest, ECG were unremarkable. Ultrasonography (USG) abdomen disclosed a right suprarenal mass. Contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) abdomen and pelvis revealed 10.2 × 8.4 × 8.8 cm large heterogeneous mass involving the right suprarenal region (Figure 1a). Serum cortisol levels and urine vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) were normal. USG guided biopsy was carried out from the right adrenal mass. The histopathological examination showed diffuse infiltration of neoplastic lymphocytes into the adrenal tissue (Figure 1b). The tumour cells were large, round with prominent two to three nucleoli, irregular nuclear chromatin and scanty cytoplasm. Mitotic figures were noted (Figure 1c). On immunochemistry, the cancer cells showed diffuse cytoplasmic positivity for LCA (CD45), B-cell markers (CD20) and negativity for CD3, CD5 CD10, synaptophysin, chromogranin, CK, EMA and T-cell markers (Figure 1d). The diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma B-cell type of right adrenal gland was thus established. At present, patient is on cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone based chemotherapy and on regular follow up.
Figure 1: a) CT scan showing well defined right suprarenal mass of 10.2 × 8.4 × 8.8 cm abutting the right hemidiaphragm. b) Normal adrenal tissue with lymphoid cell infiltration (H and E, x 100). c) Infiltration by round lymphoid cells with prominent nucleoli, irregular nuclear chromatin and scanty cytoplasm (H and E, x 400). d) Diffuse cytoplasmic positivity for common leucocyte antigen (IHC, x100). Upper inset showing negativity for pancytokeratin (IHC, x 400) lower inset cytoplasmic positivity for CD 20 (IHC, x400).
Adrenal lymphoma is defined as malignant neoplastic proliferation of lymphoid cells in the adrenal glands . Autopsy study made evident adrenal involvement in disseminated lymphoma in about 24% patients [7,8]. However, primary adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is rare, it constitutes less than 1% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphoma . It is important to differentiate between primary and secondary adrenal lymphomas, as both of them have extremely different clinical course. About 70%of primary adrenal lymphoma cases show bilateral involvement of adrenal gland and are usually associated with adrenal insufficiency [4-7]. Unilateral involvement of adrenal gland is manifested as abdominal pain and marked reduction in weight. The median maximum diameter of these tumors is 8 cm . It predominantly affects elderly males with male to female ratio of 2:1. Clinically, these patients present with constitutional symptoms like fever, local pain, weight loss, anorexia and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency. Adrenal insufficiency is not frequently seen because 90% of adrenal gland have to be destroyed before it becomes clinically evident. In our case, because of unilateral involvement cortisol levels were normal. Primary adrenal lymphoma should be considered in patients with elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). In our case, serum LDH is elevated. The most common type of adrenal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is diffuse large B-cell type (80%) [7,8]. Using cDNA microarray diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are prognostically divided into germinal center B-cell–like (GCB), activated B-cell–like (ABC), and type 3 gene expression profiles. On the basis of immunostains and gene expression studies DLBCL is classified as germinal center B-cell type and non-germinal center B-cell type [3,9] . A drenal DLBCL according to Ann Arbor staging is classified into early stage (stage IE, stage IIE) and advanced stage (stage IIIE, stage IV) . In our case, genetic profile could not be done.
The most common hypothesis for origin of this tumour is haematopoietic tissue rests in adrenal gland [1,8]. Studies have shown that most of the patients are HIV positive and EBV positive. Our case was HIV negative. On immunopheno typing, these tumour usually express BCL-2 gene. BCL-6 gene rearrangement is the most frequently detected chromosomal translocation in diffuse large B-cell lymphomas with non-germinal center B-cell phenotype.
The differential diagnosis included poorly differentiated adrenal cortical carcinoma, metastatic carcinoma and malignant pheochromocytoma. Thus, histopathology remains as the gold standard for definite diagnosis of adrenal tumours . Immunohistochemistry is required for evaluation of lymphoma. These tumours are considered lethal. Old age, large tumour size, initial presentation with primary adrenal insufficiency, elevated serum LDH, non-germinal center B-cell phenotype and involvement of other organs have poor prognosis . The treatment modalities for adrenal lymphoma include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or combination, corticosteroid replacement . The R-CHOP chemotherapy regimen is standard treatment for non- Hodgkin lymphoma . Primary adrenal lymphomas are frequently treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, vincristine and prednisolone (CHOP) or a CHOP-like regimen. However, the prognosis is generally poor with range of survival from 3 days to 26 months . Recently rituximab has been added to the regimen with reports of good outcome for PAL as it prolongs survival and helps in complete remission . However CNS relapses occur frequently in about 2.2% to 5% cases of aggressive non Hodgkin's lymphoma . Thus, rituximab containing chemotherapy regimen combined with CNS prophylaxis is a reasonable option for treatment of primary adrenal lymphomas . Other chemotherapeutic regimens include CVP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone), and MACOP-B (adding methotrexate and bleomycin) .
Primary adrenal lymphoma is extremely rare and majority of the cases are diffuse large B-cell type. The prognosis of PAL depends on extent of involvement of the organ. It is thus important to differentiate between primary and secondary adrenal lymphomas because of variable clinical course.
Dutta P, et al. Primary Adrenal Lymphoma. The Endocrinologist. 2005;15:340-342.
Mozos A, et al. Most primary adrenal lymphomas are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas with non-germinal center B-cell phenotype, BCL6 gene rearrangement and poor prognosis. Modern Pathol. 2009;22:1210-1217.
Ichikawa S, et al. Clinicopathological analysis of primary adrenal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma:effectiveness of rituximab-containing chemotherapy including central nervous system prophylaxis. ExpHematolOncol. 2013;2:19.
Khurana A, et al. Primary non-hodgkin's lymphoma of left adrenal gland – a rare presentation. JClinDiagn Res 2015;9:XD01-XD03.
Kim KM, et al. A case of primary adrenal diffuse large b-cell lymphoma achieving complete remission with rituximab-chop chemotherapy. J Korean Med Sci. 2009;24:525-528.
Ho CH, et al. Primary adrenal lymphoma - a rare entity with grave prognosis. JTUA. 2009;20(4):168-172.
Aziz SA, et al. Primary adrenal lymphoma: Differential involvement with varying adrenal function. Indian J EndocrMetab. 2011;15:220-223.
Yoon JH, et al. A Case of primary adrenal lymphoma. Korean J InternMed. 2003;18:122-124.
Hans CP, et al. Confirmation of the molecular classification of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma by immunohistochemistry using a tissue microarray. Blood. 2004;103:275-282.
Kim YR, et al. Prognostic factors in primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of adrenal gland treated with rituximab-CHOP chemotherapy from the Consortium for Improving Survival of Lymphoma (CISL). J HematolOncol. 2012;5:49.


text:
Cybersecurity CEO Robert Herjavec. PHOTO: Cybercrime Magazine.
17 Sep Cybersecurity CEO: NCSAM 2018 – C-Suite And Boardroom Executives Should Spread The Word
Posted at 12:18h in Blogs, Cybersecurity CEO by Di Freeze
Herjavec Group is proud to be a National Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champion
– Robert Herjavec
Los Angeles, Calif. – Sep. 17, 2018
I remember the first time the President of the United States called a presidential address on cybersecurity – May 2009. This represented a monumental shift for our industry as the world stopped to recognize the evolving threat landscape and the likelihood that wars of the future would be fought in cyberspace. A few years later Herjavec Group had the privilege of being invited to the White House Summit on Cybersecurity. I took part in the day's sessions with global tech leaders, speaking about enterprise and government security practices, improvements in detection, threat intelligence and what a truly proactive practice looks like. It's funny to look back now – today our mainstream media is overloaded with cybersecurity content. Breach headlines are splashed across our screens and the words "cyber breach" have almost desensitized us into a new normal.
I've said it before and I'll say it again – I love cybersecurity. It evolves. It's dynamic. It's innovative and at the end of the day I really feel like we're doing some good to protect enterprises globally from the threat of cybercrime. I am Batman remember??
That's why I take initiatives like Cybersecurity Awareness Month so seriously. As advanced and mature as our industry is becoming, it's our responsibility to ensure digital citizens globally remain acutely aware of cyber risks and how to protect themselves, their families and their businesses.
October is recognized globally as Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM). Initiated by the Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is commemorating its 15th year as an annual campaign. Supporters of this great initiative engage in activities to raise awareness around the importance of cybersecurity by educating businesses and consumers on industry trends, cybersecurity threats, and best practices.
Herjavec Group is proud to be a CSAM Champion! We firmly believe that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. End users, employees, and corporations alike need to band together to become more #CyberAware.
We want to enable your teams to participate in this important global initiative. Join us in the movement and leverage Herjavec Group's Cybersecurity Awareness Month assets to spread the word amongst your colleagues, families and friends. Take our quiz to get Cyber Certified. Join one of our Twitter Chats. Follow our latest weekly blog content.
In October, Herjavec Group will be publishing weekly content tied to the official Cybersecurity Awareness Month Themes:
Week 1 Oct. 1-5:
Make Your Home a Haven for Online Safety
Week 2 Oct. 8-12:
Millions of Rewarding Jobs: Educating for a Career in Cybersecurity
Week 3 Oct. 15-19:
It's Everyone's Job to Ensure Online Safety at Work
Safeguarding the Nation's Critical Infrastructure
Check out our landing page and learn more about how you and your organization can get involved.
It took a Presidential address for the world to truly take notice of the importance of cybersecurity. Do your part and spread the word. Encourage your friends, families and colleagues to join the movement and become more #CyberAware.
– Robert Herjavec, founder and CEO at Herjavec Group, and a Shark on ABC's Shark Tank, provides insights to C-Suite Executives in his Official Blog at Cybercrime Magazine. Herjavec Group is a Managed Security Services Provider with offices and SOCs (Security Operations Centers) globally.
Cybersecurity CEO Archives
Tweets by HerjavecGroup

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Objective This study aimed to understand the attributes of popular apps for mental health and comorbid medical conditions, and how these qualities relate to consumer ratings, app quality and classification by the WHO health app classification framework.
Methods We selected the 10 apps from the Apple iTunes store and the US Android Google Play store on 20 July 2018 from six disease states: depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, addiction, diabetes and hypertension. Each app was downloaded by two authors who provided information on the apps' attributes, functionality, interventions, popularity, scientific backing and WHO app classification rating.
Results A total of 120 apps were examined. Although none of these apps had Food and Drug Administration marketing approval, nearly 50% made claims that appeared medical. Most apps offered a similar type of services with 87.5% assigned WHO classification 1.4.2 'self-monitoring of health or diagnostic data by a client' or 1.6.1 'client look-up of health information'. The 'last updated' attribute was highly correlated with a quality rating of the app although no apps features (eg, uses Global Positioning System, reminders and so on) were.
Conclusion Due to the heterogeneity of the apps, we were unable to define a core set of features that would accurately assess app quality. The number of apps making unsupported claims combined with the number of apps offering questionable content warrants a cautious approach by both patients and clinicians in selecting safe and effective ones.
Clinical Implications 'Days since last updated' offers a useful and easy clinical screening test for health apps, regardless of the condition being examined.
Contributors HW and JT: formulated the study plan. HW, JT, AV, PH and NK: conducted the data gathering and coding. JT, GL and J-PO: conducted the analysis. All authors drafted, edited and approved the final manuscript.


Wonderful transaction! Would definitely come here again!
Fast delivery and perfect condition!
A++ seller. Fast, clean, organized. Will easily shop here again!
All items received promptly and exactly as described - Thank you!
S/B indicates whether DuckDuckBrick was the Seller or Buyer in that transaction.
If you are DuckDuckBrick, you may Reply to comments in this feedback profile.
Show me feedback that DuckDuckBrick left about others.


This blog entry (that I am also submitting as a letter to the Weekly Worker, which as usual will undoubtedly cut it significantly but without distorting my points) is about uniting much of the left in the new broad socialist party Left Unity – with the People's Assembly Against Austerity which also held a conference recently going some way to uniting the left in a single anti-cuts organisation. I argue that we should not just put forward radical (and sometimes revolutionary) demands but consider the implications rather than dogmatically taking up positions which make a socialist revolution less likely.
In ("'Moderate' party takes shape", 3 April), Peter Manson writes about the policy-making conference of Left Unity in Manchester on 29 March: "the obsession with political 'broadness', with anti-democratic constitutionalism, risks disabling the project from the start." As CPGB members in the Weekly Worker have made clear many times, they are in favour of a solely Marxist party (which they sometimes call a "Communist Party"). Apart from the word "Communist" putting people horrified by the crimes of Stalinism (with "Marxist" having similar connotations to many), such a party could never gain mass support. When they actually put that theory into practice, uniting with the Democratic Socialist Alliance and the Critique journal, in setting up the Campaign for a Marxist Party, that campaign completely failed to take off.
I have argued for "a revolutionary platform" within Left Unity, and supported the Socialist Platform, but to make LU more revolutionary and unite together revolutionary socialists in preparation for a potential huge economic crisis (that could even be more severe than the 2007-8 credit crunch) rather than to totally take over LU, which is not practical anyway even if we tried to. I want a "broad socialist party" involving reformists as well as revolutionaries, with at least some members openly mentioning their revolutionary views. Apart from other significant political differences, including the emphasis on "the working class" suggesting that middle class people like Russell Brand (who incidentally plugged Left Unity via Twitter a Guardian article by Ken Loach on the eve of the Manchester conference contributing to the quick recruitment of 200 new members) should be disenfranchised, I wouldn't be keen on joining the Communist Platform due to its name.
The CPGB want a Marxist/Communist party to operate on the basis of democratic centralism as explained in the "Draft rules" at www.cpgb.org.uk/home/about-the-cpgb/draft-programme/draft-rules. I also have problems with that, since I think it important to put forward my own views in public, rather than being limited to the collective decisions of a party (with that party's leadership being particularly powerful).
I actually got myself in a fair degree of hot water at the People's Assembly Against Austerity recall conference (on 15 March) by speaking against a point in a motion (4.1 – go to www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/recall_conference for all motions, supplements and amendments) from the CPB (linked to the Morning Star newspaper) which said that we should "continue to demonstrate that there is no economic need for ANY austerity measures". I argued that there is a need for austerity under capitalism (and there is a possibility of a much greater crisis than at present as I said above) which means that a socialist revolution is the only solution. The continually increasing national debt makes the sort of lofty reforms proposed throughout that conference unaffordable. No-one had mentioned the word "socialism" before me (and it was only during an esoteric speech about canal boat direct action at virtually the end of the conference that it got mentioned afterwards). [Last year was even worse, without socialism being mentioned at all in either of the two plenary (main) sessions, and with Labour MPs (plus that party's members Tony Benn and Owen Jones) and trade union leaders speaking but with LU co-founder Ken Loach refused permission to speak in those sessions.] I was actually a delegate from Left Unity nationally at the recall conference and I made two mistakes, in not clarifying that they were my personal views rather than those of LU as a whole, and that I'm in favour of public ownership (which was the subject of that section of the conference). However, I disagree with LU's Terry Conway who told me later that I should have limited what I said to the collective viewpoint of LU, and that if I was a trade union delegate I should just put forward views of that union or union branch. Such "broadness" would have led to a situation whereby only revolutionary organisations could have mentioned socialist revolution, and quite possibly the only one was Counterfire, the main organisation behind the People's Assembly who want a broad organisation anyway!
Returning to the LU conference, I put forward two amendments via Manchester. The first argued for compensation to be "capped at a certain level so that large shareholders lose most of their investments" when shares are converted to government bonds during nationalisation, and this was accepted into the economics commission document before conference. It had been argued at the commission meeting in London that I participated in that those receiving share bonuses on company boards should not be compensated, but my proposal is surely better, and this "transitional demand" makes our policy on the economy significantly more radical than it otherwise would be.
Peter mentioned Lambeth's motion on Europe, which stated that "demanding withdrawal from the EU … is a British nationalist position, which misidentifies the enemy as 'Europe' rather than the ruling class". The clause Peter omitted, between "EU" and "is" in that quote, was "or opposing British entry into the European single currency", which clearly is not "a British nationalist position" but vital (if any politicians were stupid enough to propose it) for reasons given in a Manchester amendment I wrote: "We oppose British and/or Scottish entry into the European single currency, since the European Central Bank is unelected and unaccountable, nationalisation of it is not a serious option this side of a socialist revolution across the EU, there are considerably different economic conditions in countries that have adopted the euro, and it is part of the troika that has enforced extreme levels of austerity on some countries in the eurozone." In the conference debate, Pete Green called the idea that opposing joining the euro was "left nationalist" is "ridiculous" and argued strongly that you only need to look at what's happened in Greece, Spain and Portugal to see that joining a single currency "under the current regime not in some potential future" is to submit ourselves to "the austerity measures imposed on behalf of the European banks" – my only qualm about what he said is that the "potential future" may lie "decades ahead" rather than there being serious potential for mass revolutionary movements in the coming period that could bring down capitalism (perhaps starting in Britain but spreading across Europe and the rest of the world very quickly).
The Lambeth motion (and therefore my amendment too) was remitted for consideration by the National Council, ostensibly due to a referendum on the other aspect of that motion, about a referendum on withdrawal from the European Union due to such a referendum being years away (somewhat strange because it would still be years away if the National Council considers it!) Although I think that the alternative composite from Milton Keynes and Sarah McDonald, originating from the CPGB, wasn't perfect (in its emphasis on "the working class"), it's good to have such a radical position on Europe, which doesn't include the terrible position in the original Milton Keynes motion of abstention on joining the Euro that was obviously deleted during the compositing process.
For more about the LU conference, concentrating on the discussion around the economy, read my blog entry 29 March #LeftUnity conference: The ongoing struggle between revolutionaries and reformists.
This entry was posted in Benefits, Democracy, Economy, European Union, Internationalism, Poverty, Revolution and tagged austerity, banks, broad socialist party, broadness, Communist Party of Britain, Communist Party of Great Britain, Communist Platform, cuts, democratic centralism, euro, eurozone, Left Unity, Morning Star, referenda, referendum, Revolutionary Platform, Scotland, Scottish independence, Socialist Platform, Weekly Worker. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
package io.github.tjheslin1.westie;

/**
 * A Violation is the result of a static analysis test finding a discrepancy.
 */
public interface Violation {

    void reportViolation();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
// Copyright (c) 2014 Quildreen Motta <quildreen@gmail.com>
//
// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
// obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files
// (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction,
// including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge,
// publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
// and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
// subject to the following conditions:
//
// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
// included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
//
// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
// EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
// MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
// NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE
// LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
// OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
// WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

/**
 * Handles errors thrown in a future computation.
 *
 * @module async/errors
 */

// -- Dependencies -----------------------------------------------------
var curry  = require('core.lambda').curry

// -- Implementation ---------------------------------------------------
module.exports = function(Future) {
  var exports = {}

  /**
   * Reifies some errors thrown by the computation to a rejected future.
   *
   * Ideally you wouldn't care about reifying errors thrown by synchronous
   * computations, but this might come in handy for some lifted computations.
   *
   * @method
   * @summary (γ → Boolean) → Future[α, β] (:throws γ) → Future[α|γ, β]
   */
  exports.catchOnly = curry(2, catchOnly)
  function catchOnly(filter, future) { return new Future(function(reject, resolve) {
    try {
      future.fork(reject, resolve)
    } catch(error) {
      if (filter(error))  reject(error)
      else                throw error
    }
  }, future.cleanup)}

  /**
   * Reifies errors thrown by the computation to a rejected future.
   *
   * **Special care should be taken when using this method, since it'll reify
   * *ALL* errors (for example, OutOfMemory errors, StackOverflow errors, ...),
   * and it can potentially lead the whole system to a unstable state.** The
   * `catch` method is favoured, as you can decide which errors should be caught
   * by this method, and all the others will crash the process as expected.
   *
   * Ideally you wouldn't care about reifying errors thrown by synchronous
   * computations, but this might come in handy for some lifted computations.
   *
   * @method
   * @summary Future[α, β] (:throws γ) → Future[α|γ, β]
   */
  exports.catchAllPossibleErrors = catchAll
  function catchAll(future){ return new Future(function(reject, resolve) {
    try {
      future.fork(reject, resolve)
    } catch(error) {
      reject(error)
    }
  }, future.cleanup)}

  return exports
}


text:
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 08
DVD | Drama | 15 Jul 2009
<H3> CSI Season 8 DVD - On Sale Now With Fast Shipping<H3>
Sin Never Sleeps
The sins of Las Vegas finally take their toll on the team with the CSI's desperately searching for the miniature killer's latest victim, Sara. Although the killer is in custody, the only clues to Sara's whereabouts lie in the miniature model of the desert personally delivered to Grissom at the close of season seven. Catherine faces the ghosts of Sam Braun's past, while Greg revels in the legends of Vegas history. Warrick goes head to head with the remnants of the old Vegas mob and Grissom investigates the causes and repercussions of Colony Collapse Disorder, a global bee epidemic. The soul of the team, Nick senses that his "family" is breaking apart and fights to maintain their unity.
Title: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 08
Release Date: 15 Jul 2009
Actor(s): William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Louise Lombard, Wallace Langham, Paul Guilfoyle, Live Schreiber
Catalogue No: STZ1253
OFLC Rating: MA15+


text:
SKY BET: Family Zone refurbished
Title sponsor pays to refurbish Family Zone affected by the floods
Carlisle United are today [Friday 8 April 2016] re-opening their fully refurbished Family Zone after it was devastated by floods last December.
The work was carried out and funded thanks to a donation from the Football League title sponsor Sky Bet.
Brunton Park, the home of Carlisle United, was left under 10 feet of water when Storm Desmond hit the region in December 2015.
Parts of the ground, such as the dugout, the pitch, the tunnel and the concourses were considered essential and covered by the first round of insurance payments, but others, such as the Family Zone – which only opened last September – were left with an uncertain future.
The area, situated in the Pioneer Foods Stand, provided a fantastic area where families could relax and enjoy pre-match activities in a safe and secure environment.
Sky Bet took up the job of refurbishing the area in March and have kitted it out with x-boxes, a Nintendo Wii, a penalty shootout area, a pool table, a table football table and a new and improved sensory area for Carlisle's disabled fans.
Carlisle United Finance Director Suzanne Kidd, who was instrumental in bringing the Family Zone to Brunton Park first time round said: "We were all really proud of the Family Zone project when we got it up and running at the start of the season and it was extremely well received by supporters of all ages.
"We were obviously devastated when we saw the damage caused by the floods and we cannot thank Sky Bet enough for what they have done in restoring this important match day community facility. It's a huge step towards bringing the club back to normality and it will help to put smiles back on faces after what has been a very tough period for everybody."
Sky Bet Head of Sponsorship Edwin Martin said: "Given the Family Zone's popularity before the flood's struck, we felt it was only right that we stepped in and offered a helping hand.
"We're delighted to have played a part in bringing this back to life and we hope it brings enjoyment to fans for many years to come."
The refurbished zone will reopen for the first time for Carlisle's fixture against Mansfield Town tomorrow [Saturday 9 April 2016].
FAMILY ZONE: Everything you need to know about our match day fun zone
Carlisle United's Family Zone is in full swing again this season with hundreds of children and youngsters making use of what is a fantastic facility in The Pioneer [East] Stand.
FANS: Match day timetable
Match days provide an excellent opportunity for you to meet some of your heroes as they visit designated areas of the ground ahead of kick off.
SKY BET: Title sponsor help out with Family Zone once again
Sky Bet replace TVs and game consoles stolen from Family Zone
CLUB: Family Zone closed due to theft of equipment
Electrical equipment stolen from popular Family Zone


Brackets, bolts and nuts included.
Changzhou Harmonious Import & Export CO.,Ltd. is located in the International Plastic Town of Xinbei District, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China. Our company is professionally to export auto parts.
As a professional supplier of auto accessories, our company has always been committed to the products sourced and the development of new products. We have steady goods source and own production base.
During these years development, we have owned many customers around world and kept long time cooperation.
Our mission is to provide the most comprehensive products and services to our customers.


text:
Permits Filed for 3588 and 3592 Greystone Avenue, Fieldston, The Bronx
6:00 am on December 1, 2017 By Andrew Nelson
Permits have been filed for two residential buildings at 3588 and 3592 Greystone Avenue, in The Bronx's Fieldston neighborhood. The site is located on the top of a steep slope, with no large buildings prohibiting views of the Kingsbridge neighborhood and Van Cortlandt Park below. The 238th Street Station is eight blocks away, serviced by the 1 train. Key Construction will be responsible for development.
Demolition Permits Filed to Make Way for ODA-Designed Tower at 75 Nassau Street, Financial District
8:00 am on November 30, 2017 By Nikolai Fedak
The last time YIMBY reported on plans for 75-83 Nassau Street was back in June of 2015, when we featured a fresh set of renderings for the 40-story tower, which is being designed by ODA New York. Building applications were filed a few months before that, in March of 2015, but the site's old structural occupants remain extant. Now, as of last week, demolition permits have finally been issued, indicating developer Lexin Capital is about to begin work.
New Renderings for Four-Building "Gramercy Square" Development, Gramercy
7:30 am on November 30, 2017 By Andrew Nelson
Today, YIMBY has the reveal for some new renderings of the Gramercy Square residential complex, in Gramercy Park, Manhattan. The Chetrit Group and Clipper Equity are responsible for the project, which is comprised of four condominium buildings: The Tower at 215 East 19th Street, The Prewar at 225 East 19th Street, The Modern at 230 East 20th Street, and The Boutique at 220 East 20th Street. The Modern will be a new seven-story building, while the others will repurpose older structures for condominium use, with concurrent façade alterations. All are connected by way of 20,000 square feet of gardens.
Leasing Begins for Lenox, New Residential Building in Paulus Hook, Jersey City
Lenox, a new residential building at 207 Van Vorst Street, is opening its door for tenants in Jersey City's historic Paulus Hook. The neighborhood is near the Hudson River, and sits across from Manhattan's Downtown skyline.
Permits Filed for 328 and 330 Sackett Street, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Permits have been filed for two four-story residential buildings at 328 and 330 Sackett Street, in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The site sits five blocks from the Carroll Street subway station, serviced by the F and G trains. The project is near plenty of commercial activity, with several bars and restaurants located within walking distance, and Gowanus' nightlife is also just a few blocks to the east. The Brooklyn Home Company will be responsible for the development.
Permits Filed for 271 Mother Gaston Boulevard, Brownsville, Brooklyn
Permits have been filed for a four-story residential building at 271 Mother Gaston Boulevard, in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The project will rise seven blocks away from the Atlantic Avenue Subway Station, serviced by the L train, as well as the East New York Train Station, serviced by eight lines of the Long Island Railroad. A few blocks further is the Broadway Junction Subway Station, serviced by the A and C trains, and the Alabama Avenue Subway Station, serviced by the J and Z trains. Dianping Chen will be responsible for the development.
Historic Domino Sugar Refinery's Revised Redevelopment Plans Approved by Landmarks
The Landmark Preservation Commission has approved a new design for the Domino Sugar Factory Refinery building, which is being redeveloped by Two Trees Management Company, and designed by Vishaan Chakrabarti's Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, aka PAU. The commission made no changes to the proposal, and Two Trees' Managing Director David Lombino said "Thank you to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for engaging in a productive and thoughtful review, and for supporting this exciting new approach to making the Refinery building the centerpiece of the Domino redevelopment."
Morris Adjmi-Designed Mixed-Use Building Coming to 625 Driggs Avenue, Williamsburg
YIMBY has the scoop on a six-story mixed-use building coming to 625 Driggs Avenue, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The project is in one of the most active areas of the neighborhood. The Bedford Avenue Subway Station is five blocks away, which is the first stop in Brooklyn for the L train, and the East River waterfront is another five blocks to the west. Redsky Capital, whose business is a three-minute walk from the site, will be responsible for development.
Renderings Revealed for 111 Willow Avenue, Port Morris, The Bronx
Today YIMBY has the reveal for 111 Willow Avenue, an attractive new development coming to The Bronx's booming Port Morris neighborhood, by Newman Design Architects. The industrial-inspired exterior takes influence from its surroundings. Residential and manufacturing buildings predominate in the vicinity, and the site is six blocks away from the Cypress Avenue Subway Station, serviced by the 6 train.
Demolition Permits Filed to Make Way for Irish Arts Center at 726 11th Avenue, Hell's Kitchen
Demolition permits have been filed for 726 11th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. The site is expected to become the center for a new Irish Cultural Center, as reported by YIMBY in 2014. The Center was established in 1972 and has been operating out of a tenement building on West 51st Street since then, so the new space will offer a major upgrade.
Pages: [encoded data, 11069 characters]
Load Older Posts


On Tuesday, August 26, and Tuesday, September 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Colby College will hold a yard sale featuring used household items collected from student residence halls at the end of the school year. The event is open to the public and will be held in the field house of the Harold Alfond Athletic Center on the Waterville campus. Items for sale will include lamps, dishes, clocks, refrigerators, shelving, sporting goods and more.
The yard sale is sponsored by the Colby group RESCUE (Recycle Everything! Save Colby's Usable Excess). Established in the 2001-02 school year by faculty, students and staff, RESCUE collected a tractor trailer full of reusable household items from students departing campus in the spring. Items were sorted and cleaned and some were donated to local charities this summer. Proceeds from the yard sales will help support the RESCUE program.
This year RESCUE was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency, which included a description of the program in a "best management practices" catalog on the EPA Web site (www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/univ/bmpcasestudies.html). The catalog was designed to help institutions with pollution prevention, resource conservation and environmental stewardship.


text:
Agricultural holdings
Livestock and fishing
Information on the agricultural system, and therefore on the country's capacity to produce goods to meet its own food requirements, is a fundamental element for understanding and guiding development. It is no surprise, therefore, that statistics on production in a strict sense (quantity of cereals, vegetables, meat by animal species, cheese, etc.) are available all the way back to 1861. The surveys performed during the course of the 19th century, however, were not capable of guaranteeing the coherence and completeness that was achieved when the responsibility for agricultural statistics was passed to the Central Statistical Institute with Royal Decree no.1035 dated 02nd June 1927. This transfer ensured improved data quality and structure, thanks to new information taken into consideration in addition to production, such as the areas used for different cultivations and the production methods used, according to a scheme which is still the main reference used for national and European agricultural statistics today.
Important examples of the role played by ISTAT in that period in promoting statistics on the sector are provided by the indications that were implement for the first time to the directors of Travelling agricultural authorities for the performance of the Second agricultural survey, as for the 1927 survey of fertilisers, performed in collaboration with the National Fascist Federation of Industrial Chemical Producers... full text
Eurostat. Agriculture
Inea. Pubblicazioni
Oecd - Fao. Agricultural Outlook


The holidays are approaching and your favorite librarian's favorite library just opened a new online store with must-have items that are perfect for gift-giving, all at 10% off for new customers (use code NEW2018).
How many coffee lovers are on your list? Choose from three uniquely-designed mugs to suit them all. Need to build up your winter wardrobe? We've got some warm, soft hoodies in stock to keep you toasty. For the bookworms that never deviate from their 'jeans and T-shirt' uniform, The Shop has a variety of cute and stylish tees and tanks. And you can never have too many tote bags—get one to match each of your looks.
Wherever the day takes you, let it take you in some Brooklyn Public Library merch! Shop Brooklyn Public Library's new online store and let the world know which borough (and library system) you represent.
All proceeds go to support Brooklyn Public Library's programs and collections throughout the borough.


Congratulations @karlita_medina ♥ You were so amazing today!! Karla was able to complete both my classic + volume course in just 6 hours! 😱 She did a volume cat eye set on her model. I will be updating her page when she makes her lash IG.


The big show is on 12/1/2018 at Last Exit Live in Phoenix, AZ.
Show starts at 6:30pm with a set from G4V Graduates the Acoustic Outcasts!
Bachmann's music blends Americana, Roots, Blues and Country into a sound that stays true to tradition while serving up his own blend of Sonoran Desert soaked good-timin' stonerbilly.
There is plenty of free parking in our area. We have our own on-site parking lots on the north & south side of our building along with an overflow parking lot located on the NEC of Central Ave & Grant Street. There is also free street parking along Central Avenue as well as in the surrounding neighborhood areas.


text:
Ep. 4: Common Core Strategies for Success 0
In the last episode I discussed the origins of the Common Core and its pros and cons. But what if you are a parent or student living in the Common Core world today? I interviewed former high school math teacher Hemant Mehta, and we discussed practical strategies parents, students, and teachers can adopt in learning math. Among the questions we discussed were:
What do I do if I don't understand the "new" way schools are teaching math to my child?
What is "number sense" and how can I help my child obtain it?
How do I form a constructive relationship with teachers?
What do math teachers wish parents knew about teaching and education?
What if my child is bored or the lessons are "too easy"?
What are Hemant's thoughts on the Common Core standards? About standardized testing?
I hope you find Hemant's advice as useful as I did! Interview recorded on December 2, 2015.
Hemant Mehta can be found here:
Friendly Atheist blog: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/
Friendly Atheist podcast: http://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/
The Atheist Voice YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAtheistVoice
Twitter: @hemantmehta
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/friendlyatheist/
Hemant's articles about viral math problems:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/10/21/why-would-a-math-teacher-punish-a-child-for-saying-5-x-3-15/
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/03/07/about-that-common-core-math-problem-making-the-rounds-on-facebook/
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/09/21/the-dad-who-wrote-a-check-using-common-core-math-doesnt-know-what-hes-talking-about/
Additional educational resources for parents and students:
Twitter hashtag: #mtbos
Videos and "tip sheets" made specifically for parents to support their children's study of math
http://greatminds.net/parents
Achieve the Core is a non-profit that offers free tools to help educators understand and teach the Common Core standards
http://achievethecore.org/
A wealth of various practical resources to help students learn everything from "how to take notes" to lesson plans on "giving a speech." Hosted by Oregon's Department of Education.
http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=3907
A short and helpful big picture overview of the Common Core math standards
http://www.vox.com/2014/4/20/5625086/the-common-core-makes-simple-math-more-complicated-heres-why
The National PTA's booklet, "A Parent's Guide to Student Success"
http://www.pta.org/files/Common%20Core%20State%20Standards%20Resources/2013%20Guide%20Bundle_082213.pdf
My contact info:
Please subscribe! :)
Ep. 3: Everybody hates the COMMON CORE 0
TIDBITS:
Like many people, I was very confused about the Common Core. In fact, it's fair to say it was my curiosity about THIS specific topic, the Common Core, that ultimately motivated me to start this podcast.
Special thanks to my PARENTS IN LAW for bringing back my copy of Glenn Beck's book "Conform" to me after I neglectfully left it at their place, about an hour's drive away!
Email: whatjustpodcast @ gmail.com
Read the Common Core standards (if you dare!):
http://www.corestandards.org/
Links to math problems gone VIRAL:
https://coxrare.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/common-core.jpg
Justin Aion, @JustinAion, CCBS, Re-Learning to Teach, March 21, 2014 http://blog.relearningtoteach.com/2014/03/ccbs.html
Christopher Danielson, @Trianglemancsd, "5 reasons not to share that Common Core worksheet on Facebook," Wordpress, April 6, 2014https://christopherdanielson.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/5-reasons-not-to-share-that-common-core-worksheet-on-facebook/#comment-7128
Hemant Mehta, @hemantmehta, "The Dad Who Wrote a Check Using 'Common Core' Math Doesn't Know What He's Talking About," Patheos, September 21, 2015 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/09/21/the-dad-who-wrote-a-check-using-common-core-math-doesnt-know-what-hes-talking-about/
Patrick O'Donnell, @paodonne, "What was that math on the "Common Core" check that went viral?," Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 24, 2015 http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/09/what_was_that_math_on_the_comm.html
Hemant Mehta, @hemantmehta, "Why Would a Math Teacher Punish a Child for Saying 5 x 3 = 15?," Patheos, October 21, 2015http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/10/21/why-would-a-math-teacher-punish-a-child-for-saying-5-x-3-15/
Andy Kiersz, @Andy Kiersz, "The Common Core math quiz that has everyone outraged isn't about Common Core — it's worse," Business Insider, October 26, 2015 http://www.businessinsider.com/common-core-multiplication-quiz-2015-10
Before I share the full bibliography of my research below, there were several education reporters whose pieces were particularly helpful. Special thanks to:
Sarah Garland @s_garl at The Hechinger Report
Lyndsey Layton @lyndseylayton at The Washington Post
Libby Nelson @libbyanelson at VOX and
Valerie Strauss @valeriestrauss at The Washington Post
BIBLIOGRAPHY (in chronological order by publication date)
David Coleman & Jason Zimba, @achievethcore, "Math and Science Standards That Are Fewer, Clearer, Higher to Raise Achievement at All Levels," Carnegie Corporation Institute for Advanced Study, 2007 http://learntochoose.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Math-and-Science-Standards.pdf
"Top State Education Policy Organizations Form Expert Advisory Group on International Benchmarking," Achieve.org, September 8, 2008 http://www.achieve.org/top-state-education-policy-organizations-form-expert-advisory-group-international-benchmarking
National Governor's Association, Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education, December 19, 2008, http://www.nga.org/cms/home/nga-center-for-best-practices/center-publications/page-edu-publications/col2-content/main-content-list/benchmarking-for-success-ensurin.html
National Governor's Association, Forty-Nine States and Territories Join Common Core Standards Initiative, June 1, 2009 http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/page_2009/col2-content/main-content-list/title_forty-nine-states-and-territories-join-common-core-standards-initiative.html
Heather Armonstrong, @dooce, "Clickety Clack," DOOCE, January 17, 2013 http://dooce.com/2013/01/17/clickety-clack-2/
Frederick Hess, @rickhess99, "Straight Up Conversation: Common Core Guru Jason Zimba," EDUCATION NEXT, February 28, 2013 http://educationnext.org/straight-up-conversation-common-core-guru-jason-zimba/
Glenn Beck, @glennbeck, "Exposing Common Core: Kids are being indoctrinated with extreme leftist ideology," Glennbeck.com, March 14, 2013 http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/03/14/exposing-common-core-kids-are-being-indoctrinated-with-extreme-leftist-ideology/
Kathleen Porter-Magee & Sol Stern, @kportermagee & @worstall, "The Truth About Common Core," NATIONAL REVIEW, April 3, 2013 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/344519/truth-about-common-core-kathleen-porter-magee-sol-stern
Glenn Beck, @glennbeck, "The whole story on common core," GLENN BECK, April 8, 2013 http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/04/08/the-whole-story-on-common-core/
Edward Frenkel & Hung-Hsi Wu, @edfrenkel & @HungHsiWU, "Republicans Should Love "Common Core,'" WALL STREET JOURNAL, May 6, 2013 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324482504578453502155934978?alg=y
Maggie Gallagher, @maggiemarriage, "Two Moms vs. Common Core," NATIONAL REVIEW, May 12, 2013 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/347973/two-moms-vs-common-core-maggie-gallagher
Charles Chieppo & Jamie Gass, @charliechieppo, "Why states are backing out on common standards and tests," HECHINGER REPORT, August 15, 2013 http://hechingerreport.org/why-states-are-backing-out-on-common-standards-and-tests/
Sarah Garland, @s_garl, "How does Common Core compare?," HECHINGER REPORT, October 15, 2013 http://hechingerreport.org/how-does-common-core-compare/
Valerie Strauss, @valeriestrauss, "Arnie Duncan: 'White suburban moms' upset that Common Core shows their kids aren't 'brilliant,'" WASHINGTON POST, November 16, 2013 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/11/16/arne-duncan-white-surburban-moms-upset-that-common-core-shows-their-kids-arent-brilliant/
Valerie Strauss & Carol Burris, @valeriestrauss & @carolburris, "Who are the 'enemies' of Common Core?," WASHINGTON POST, November 18, 2013 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/11/18/who-are-the-enemies-of-common-core/
Joy Resmovits, @joy_resmovits, "How The Common Core Became Education's Biggest Bogeyman," Huffington Post, January 10, 2014 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/10/common-core_n_4537284.html
Elizabeth A. Natale, @enataled, "Why I Want To Give Up Teaching," HARTFORD COURANT, January 17, 2014 http://www.courant.com/opinion/hc-op-natale-teacher-ready-to-quit-over-common-cor-20140117-story.html
David G. Bonagura, Jr., "Common Core's Newer Math," NATIONAL REVIEW, January 17, 2014 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/368595/common-cores-newer-math-david-g-bonagura-jr
Rebecca Mead, @Rebeccamead_NYC, "The Defiant Parents: Testing's Discontents," NEW YORKER, January 22, 2014 http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-defiant-parents-testings-discontents
Kathleen Megan, @kathymegan, "A Teacher's Lesson For The Whole Country," HARTFORD COURANT, January 26, 2014 http://articles.courant.com/2014-01-26/news/hc-teachers-unhappy-0123-20140122_1_classroom-teachers-education-reform-randi-weingarten
Allie Bidwell, @alliebidwell, "The History of Common Core State Standards," U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, February 27, 2014 http://www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/articles/2014/02/27/the-history-of-common-core-state-standards
Sarah Garland, @s_garl, "Why is this Common Core math problem so hard? Supporters respond to quiz that went viral," Hechinger Report, March 26, 2014 http://hechingerreport.org/content/common-core-math-problem-hard-supporters-common-core-respond-problematic-math-quiz-went-viral_15361/
Ginia Bellafante, @GiniaNYT, "Standing Up to Testing," NEW YORK TIMES, March 28, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/nyregion/standing-up-to-testing.html?_r=0
Megan Charles, @MeganCharlesIQ, "Parent Posts Facebook Response to 'Ridiculous' Common Core Math Homework," Social News Daily, March 30, 2014 http://socialnewsdaily.com/33189/parent-posts-facebook-response-to-ridiculous-common-core-math-homework/
Monica Bielanko, @MonicaBielanko, "Common Core: Why Are They Making Math Harder?," Babble, April 2014 http://www.babble.com/mom/common-core-math-why-are-they-making-math-harder/
Jessica Lahey, @jesslahey, "Confusing Math Homework? Don't Blame the Common Core," THE ATLANTIC, April 3, 2014 http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/04/confusing-math-homework-don-t-blame-the-common-core/360064/
Rebecca Mead, @Rebeccamead_NYC, "Louis C.K. Against the Common Core," NEW YORKER, April 30, 2014 http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/louis-c-k-against-the-common-core
Libby Nelson, @libbyanelson, "What Louis CK gets wrong on Common Core," VOX, May 1, 2014 http://www.vox.com/2014/5/1/5671286/if-you-hate-standardized-testing-dont-blame-the-common-core
Conform: Exposing the Truth About Common Core and Public Education (The Control Series), Glenn Beck, @glennbeck, May 6, 2014
Motoko Rich, @motokorich, "Common Core School Standards Face a New Wave of Opposition," NEW YORK TIMES, May 29, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/education/common-core-standards-face-a-new-wave-of-opposition.html
Lyndsey Layton, @lyndseylayton, "How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution," WASHINGTON POST, June 7, 2014 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-bill-gates-pulled-off-the-swift-common-core-revolution/2014/06/07/a830e32e-ec34-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html
Motoko Rich, @motokorich, "Math Under Common Core Has Even Parents Stumbling," NEW YORK TIMES, June 29, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/us/math-under-common-core-has-even-parents-stumbling.html
Lindsey Layton, @lyndseylayton, "Glenn Beck takes to the theaters to attack Common Core," WASHINGTON POST, July 23, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/glenn-becks-theatrical-attack-on-common-core/2014/07/23/c59453e4-1270-11e4-98ee-daea85133bc9_story.html
Caroline Schaeffer, "A 'Frustrated' Parent Pens A Brilliant Response To Her Child's Mind-Boggling Common Core Homework," INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, October 2014 http://www.ijreview.com/2014/10/187607-frustrated-parent-pens-brilliant-response-childs-mind-boggling-common-core-homework/
"Parents Hate Common Core and So Do Teachers and Students," American News Report, October 6, 2014, http://americannewsreport.com/parents-hate-common-core-and-so-do-teachers-and-students-8821226
Libby Nelson, @libbyanelson, "Everything you need to know about the Common Core," VOX, October 7, 2014
http://www.vox.com/cards/commoncore/3-what-problems-is-the-common-core-trying-to-solve
Laurie Udesky, @laurieudesky, "Teachers want more Common Core preparation," EDSOURCE, October 19, 2014 http://edsource.org/2014/teachers-want-more-common-core-prep/68454
Valerie Strauss, @valeriestrauss, "Does Arne Duncan think 'suburban moms' are a gullible bunch?," WASHINGTON POST, October 26, 2014https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/26/does-arne-duncan-think-suburban-moms-are-a-gullible-bunch/
Lyndsey Layton, @lyndseylayton, "Common Core math can be a mystery, and parents are going to school to understand it," WASHINGTON POST, November 1, 2014 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/common-core-math-can-be-a-mystery-and-parents-are-going-to-school-to-understand-it/2014/11/01/af57efa0-604f-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html
Lizette Alvarez, @LizetteNYT, "States Listen as Parents Give Rampant Testing an F," NEW YORK TIMES, November 9, 2014http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/us/states-listen-as-parents-give-rampant-testing-an-f.html
Emmanuel Felton, @emmanuelfelton, "Does Common Core really mean teachers should teach differently?," Hechinger Report, December 12, 2014 http://hechingerreport.org/common-core-really-mean-teachers-teach-differently/
Haley Sweetland Edwards, @haleybureau, "The One Issue that Will Complicate Jeb Bush's Campaign," TIME, December 16, 2014, http://time.com/3635791/common-core-jeb-bush-campaign/
David L. Kirp, @DavidKirp, "Rage Against the Common Core," NEW YORK TIMES, December 27, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/opinion/sunday/rage-against-the-common-core.html
Sarah Garland, @s_garl, "Who was behind the Common Core math standards, and will they survive?," HECHINGER REPORT, December 29, 2014 http://hechingerreport.org/behind-common-core-math-standards-will-survive/
Patrick R. Potyondy, @PRPotyondy, "Top Ten Origins: The Common Core Curriculum," ORIGINS OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, January 13, 2015http://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/1132015-top-ten-origins-common-core-curriculum
Leslie Postal, @lesliepostal, "Some students will opt out as new Florida tests debut," Orlando Sentinel, February 27, 2015http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-testing-opt-out-central-florida-20150227-story.html
Libby Nelson, @libbyanelson, "Why the political arguments about Common Core miss the point," VOX, May 14, 2015http://www.vox.com/2014/9/23/6218903/common-core-standards-curriculum-teaching-tests
Elizabeth A. Natale, @enataled, "Why Smarter Balanced Tests Fail Students," HARTFORD COURANT, May 15, 2015 http://www.courant.com/opinion/insight/hc-insight-natale-why-i-hate-standard-testing-0517-20150514-story.html
Jordan Ellenberg, @JSEllenberg, "Meet the New Common Core," NEW YORK TIMES, June 16, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/opinion/meet-the-new-common-core.html
Emma Brown, @emmersbrown, "As states drop out of PARCC's Common Core test, faithful carry on," Washinton Post, July 22, 2015https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/as-states-drop-out-of-parccs-common-core-test-faithful-carry-on/2015/07/22/f31eeb48-2f1c-11e5-8353-1215475949f4_story.html
Mission High: One School, How Experts Tried to Fail It, and the Students and Teachers Who Made It Triump, Kristina Rizga, @KristinaRizga, August 4, 2015
Joy Pullmann, @JoyPullman, "New Math Anxiety Research Knocks Common Core," The Heartland Institute, August 19, 2015http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2015/08/19/new-math-anxiety-research-knocks-common-core
Natalie Wexler, @natwexler, "How Common Core Can Help in the Battle of Skills vs. Knowledge," New York Times, August 28, 2015http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/28/opinion/how-common-core-can-help-in-the-battle-of-skills-vs-knowledge.html
Kristina Rizga, @KristinaRizga, "Sorry I'm Not Taking this Test," MOTHER JONES, Sept/Oct 2015 http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/opt-out-standardized-testing-overload
Emmanuel Felton, @emmanuelfelton, "Think you know a lot about Common Core? A new poll finds you're probably wrong," Hechinger Report, September 8, 2015, http://hechingerreport.org/think-you-know-a-lot-about-common-core-a-new-poll-finds-youre-probably-wrong/
Miriam Hall, @Miriam_Hall, "'At First We Felt Angry': Four Teachers Explain How Common Core Changed Their Jobs," Slate, September 9, 2015 http://www.slate.com/blogs/schooled/2015/09/09/common_core_standards_what_four_teachers_actually_think_about_them.html
Miriam Hall, @Miriam_Hall, "'It's Not Like a Switch That You Can Flick on Overnight': Four Teachers on Adapting to Common Core," Slate, September 11, 2015 http://www.slate.com/blogs/schooled/2015/09/11/common_core_standards_how_four_teachers_are_dealing_with_the_new_standards.html
Valerie Strauss & Caroline Burris, @valeriestrauss & @carolburris, "Her son began hating school. What happened when she found out why.," Washington Post, September 28, 2015 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/28/her-son-began-hating-school-what-happened-when-she-found-out-why/
Emma Brown & Lyndsey Layton, @emmersbrown & @lyndseylayton, "Confusing Ohio test results are latest effort to unravel Common Core's promise," Washington Post, October 3, 2015 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/confusing-ohio-test-results-are-latest-effort-to-unravel-common-cores-promise/2015/10/03/59bb1306-6157-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html
Kimberly Hefling, @khefling, "How Common Core quietly won the war," Politico, October 12, 2015 http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/common-core-education-schools-214632
Kate Zernike, @kzernike, "Obama Administration Calls for Limits on Testing in Schools," New York Times, October 24, 2015http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/us/obama-administration-calls-for-limits-on-testing-in-schools.html
Eric Hoover, @erichoov, "Everything You Need to Know About the New SAT," New York Times, October 28, 2015http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/education/edlife/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-sat.html
Libby Nelson, @libbyanelson, "Obama's flip-flop on standardized tests, explained," Vox, October 29, 2015 http://www.vox.com/2015/10/29/9638652/standardized-tests-obama-duncan
Emmanuel Felton, @emmanuelfelton, "How the Common Core Is Transforming the SAT," The Atlantic, October 29, 2015http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/the-common-core-sat/412960/
Ep. 3 BTS coming soon!
Ep. 0 - The Prequel 0
http://whatjustpodcast.libsyn.com/
SPECIAL THANKS FOR THEIR INSPIRATION:
The Kollabcast with Minji Chang and Marvin Yueh, http://kollaboration.org/
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, http://www.dancarlin.com/
ADDITIONAL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PODCASTS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE:
Slate's Political Gabfest, http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gabfest.html
Vox.com's The Weeds, http://www.vox.com/2015/10/2/9441235/weeds-podcast
Limetown, http://www.limetownstories.com/
The Black Tapes Podcast, http://theblacktapespodcast.com/
TANIS, http://www.tanispodcast.com/
Sound and Fury, Angry Asian Man, http://blog.angryasianman.com/search/label/sound%20and%20fury
Asian America: The Ken Fong Podcast, http://asianamericapodcast.com/
Fresh Air with Terry Gross, http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/
TED Radio Hour, http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/
This American Life, http://www.thisamericanlife.org/
Planet Money, http://www.npr.org/sections/money/
Hidden Brain, http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain
EVEN MORE PODCASTS I DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO MENTION ON THE SHOW BUT WHICH I SUBSCRIBE TO AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND:
The Pollsters with Margie Omero & Kristen Soltis Anderson, https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pollsters/id980260566?mt=2
Millennial, by Megan Tan, http://millennialpodcast.org/
The Weekly Standard Podcast, http://www.weeklystandard.com/author/tws-podcast
KPFA's Letters and Politics, https://kpfa.org/program/letters-and-politics/
National Review's Mad Dogs & Englishmen, http://www.nationalreview.com/media/mad-dogs-englishmen
GE's Podcast Theater, The Message, http://themessagepodcast.com/
Hunt the Truth, https://soundcloud.com/huntthetruth
Book Riot's All the Books, with Liberty Hardy & Rebecca Schinsky, http://bookriot.com/category/all-the-books/
Invisibilia, with Lulu Miller & Alix Spiegel, http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/
Dear Sugar Radio, with Cheryl Strayed & Steve Almond, http://www.wbur.org/series/dear-sugar
Magic Lessons, with Elizabeth Gilbert, http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/magic-lessons/
You Must Remember This, with Karina Longworth, http://www.vidiocy.com/youmustrememberthispodcastblog/
The Tim Ferriss Show, http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast/
Waking Up with Sam Harris, http://www.samharris.org/podcast
EPISODE 3 COMING SOON!
Ep. 2 - Kevin McCarthy, the Freedom Caucus, and Chaos in Congress 0
Today we explain Kevin McCarthy's STUNNING decision not to run for Speaker of the House, why he pulled out, and why this means something far beyond the Beltway.
Ep. 1 - Black Lives Matter 0
What Just Happened? is a podcast about recent history. Today we discuss Black Lives Matter. #blacklivesmatter is more than a hashtag. It's a nuts and bolts organization run by three female activists, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. The group went viral following Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri. They've disrupted campaign events of candidates like Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, and Hillary Clinton. How they got started and what they stand for may surprise you.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whatjustpodcast
Twitter: @whatjustpodcast
Email: whatjustpodcast@gmail.com


text:
Where "observing" also means "interferring" foreign election observers under threat of criminal sanctions
October 26, 2012 By domani spero in Elections, Foreign Affairs, Huh? News, U.S. Missions Tags: Anne Patterson, Daan Everts, Election observers, Greg Abbott, Janez Lenarčič, ODIHR, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, Rick Perry, US Mission Egypt	6 Comments
The Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security organization with 56 participating states from Europe, Central Asia and North America. The member states include the United States. OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is conducting a limited election observation mission in the United States for the 6 November 2012 general elections. According to the OSCE, this is the sixth US elections the ODIHR has observed, without incident, since 2002 (wait until you hear about Texas). They also observed most recently the 2010 mid-term elections. Our US Mission to the OSCE extended an official invitation. Similar invitations must have been extended in the past since the OSCE has observed elections in the United States in the last ten years.
Below via the US Mission to the OSCE:
The United States supports the work of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). ODIHR's election observation methodology remains the standard for election monitoring around the world. The U.S. also supports ODIHR's programs that increase transparency in the democratic process, encourage the rule of law, and develop a democratic culture by facilitating participation in the policy-making process.
The observation mission is headed by Ambassador Daan Everts of the Netherlands. The core team members come from the UK, Germany, the Russian Federation, Greece, Italy, France, Netherlands, Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Poland. Forty-four long-term observers from member states arrived in the US in early October and has been deployed in teams of two throughout the country.
The Dallas Observer reports that it is "not actually clear if monitors will be placed in Texas, though it seems likely, given our state's enthusiasm for voter ID laws."
But if they are — Texas is apparently ready for them.
Via the Dallas Observer:
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is threatening to bring criminal charges against European election observers who may be monitoring the general election process in Texas.
His always-entertaining Twitter feed suggests he would also be willing to throttle them with his bare hands. "UN poll watchers can't interfere w/ Texas elections," he tweeted yesterday. "I'll bring criminal charges if needed. Official letter posted soon." His hashtag added: #comeandtakeit. Delightful.
The AG's letter with the following warning is now posted here:
The OSCE's representatives are not authorized by Texas law to enter a polling place. It may be a criminal offense for OSCE's representatives to maintain a presence within 100 feet of a polling place's entrance. Failure to comply with these requirements could subject the OSCE's representatives to criminal prosecution for violating state law.
And @GovernorPerry cheers:
No UN monitors/inspectors will be part of any TX election process; I commend @TXsecofstate for swift action to clarify issue.
Actually, these are not UN monitors; OSCE is an observer at UNGA and considers the UN its primary partner but is not the UN.
Now — are our Texas folks suggesting that in the very act of watching, the observers affect the observed reality? That these observers can affect these elections? If true, that's like foxtrot bizarre! How did these election observers interfere in the last five elections they've observed in the United States?
Maybe that's the October Surprise? Then maybe we can do recounts from all those five elections instead of suffering through Da Donald and Gloria's hair show?
Meanwhile, over in Warsaw (Poland, not Indiana) Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed his grave concern over the threat of criminal prosecution of OSCE/ODIHR election observers and reportedly wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the following emphasis:
"The threat of criminal sanctions against OSCE/ODIHR observers is unacceptable," Lenarčič said. "The United States, like all countries in the OSCE, has an obligation to invite ODIHR observers to observe its elections."
"Our observers are required to remain strictly impartial and not to intervene in the voting process in any way," Lenarčič said. "They are in the United States to observe these elections, not to interfere in them."
You think Ambassador Lenarčič is saying that unless you're a quantum theorist, observe and interfere are two different things?
ODIHR is scheduled to release an interim report after the election and a formal report a couple of months after their observation mission.
In its latest update, ODIHR reports:
Some OSCE/ODIHR LEOM interlocutors stated that certain issues in administering elections stem from the fact that states cannot obligate the counties to follow some federal regulations. For example, some jurisdictions failed to send ballots to out-of-country voters 45 days before election day, as required by the Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment (MOVE) Act.7 The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP), administered by the Department of Defense, reported to the OSCE/ODIHR LEOM that they are working with state election officials to introduce new state regulations that will require counties to adhere to all provisions of MOVE.
Political advertising continued being a major source for campaigning with large sums of money spent on TV advertisements. Independent organizations have been particularly active in political advertising and, in this respect, the impact of Super PACs and so-called Section 501(c)18 organizations on the outcome of primary and general elections is being questioned by OSCE/ODIHR LEOM interlocutors across the political spectrum. According to the data reported so far to the FEC, by mid-October, Super PACs have spent over USD 350 million in political advertising in the 2012 primary and general election cycle, while political parties have spent only USD 150 million. This excludes spending by 501(c) organizations, which are not reported to the FEC. The majority of election advertising in this election cycle placed on TV by candidates, parties, and independent groups has been negative.
Stop laughing over there. So far, nothing there on Texas' bright stars. And no one has been hauled off as criminals for staring at voters casting their ballots. Well, not yet, anyways …
… for now just enjoy a photo of US Ambassador Anne Patterson observing the polling station in Giza, Egypt in the 2011 elections.
International vote monitors warn Texas: Don't mess with us (reuters.com)
Texas, international election monitors face off (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
Texas Official Threatens Election Observers With Arrest And Prosecution (thinkprogress.org)
« Benghazi: Where the hell were the Marines? Yo! Half our embassies have no Marines
Photo of the Day: Zombies Attack Royal Air Force Lakenheath, No Survivors! »
Federale says:
And for what reason are the OSCE observers here? Is there some problem that needs to be observed? Or is it just a boondoggle for bureaucrats who want a free vacation?
Would it not be a better use of resources for the OSCE bureaucrats to be deployed to Iraq, Iran, Mali, or other Third World country with actual problems with its elections?
And I will bet that these OSCE observers will not be interested in vote fraud by Demoncrats. If they were really concerned with fraud in elections perhaps they should check out East St. Louis and Chicago.
James Schumaker says:
Iraq, Iran, Mali and various Third World countries are not members of OSCE, but the United States is, as are most of the nations of Europe. Other members have agreed to let us observe their elections, and we have agreed that OSCE can observe ours. For example, during last Sunday's elections in Ukraine, U.S. Congressman David Dreier (R – CA) led the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Delegation that was monitoring the elections there. It would be hypocritical for us to deny election observers here when we are so active in observing elections in other countries. OSCE doesn't send a lot of observers to the U.S. elections, but they do spread out, and there is no Republican or Democratic bias.
As a U.S. diplomat, I supported the activities of OSCE/ODIHR when they were observing elections in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine from 2000 until 2008, and plenty of Americans participated in these observation missions. None of these countries liked being observed, for obvious reasons, but they glumly complied in the end. These same efforts were hailed at the time by U.S. lawmakers and various American politicians as a good thing since they supported the spread of democracy and promoted free and fair elections.
It is ironic, therefore, that when ODIHR tries to observe elections in the U.S., some view it as foreign interference, and even make threats against the observers. Hypocrisy and ignorance go hand in hand, sometimes. If our elections are truly free and fair, we have nothing to fear, but maybe there's the rub. Texas, after all, is still under Department of Justice supervision under the Voting Rights Act because of its previous acts of discrimination against minority voters.
cheerfulstoic says:
"Now — are our Texas folks suggesting that in the very act of watching, the observers affect the observed reality? That these observers can affect these elections?"
Maybe they're quantum elections?
I love Texas, I really do, but things like this make me embarrassed for my state.
CheerfulF, we won't count that against you! Wished I thought of that – quantum elections!
I'll bet you don't really love Texas, but just say that so you can imply that Texas needs OSCE observers for some strange reason.