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The Latest from Dr. Doom
Never heard of him? No, I don't mean Dr. Demento. "Dr. Doom" is the monniker borne (probably proudly) by NYU economics professor Nouriel Roubini, famous for foreseeing – among other things – the gigantic collapse in the US housing market beginning in 2007 that kicked off this worldwide Great Recession. Back then Roubini kept adding to his fame by forecasting further disastrous developments in one aspect of national or international economic performance after another; people would never believe him that things could get that bad, yet most times events proved him to be spot-on.
Now he has further comments which he contributed to the Financial Times. Unfortunately, that paper has a rather restrictive readership policy – i.e. it likes to force you to pay – but luckily we can resort to Denmark's business newspaper Børsen instead. There it's a brief piece, and Roubini's message is clear, simple, and expressed in the title: The catastrophe commences on Tuesday.
Tuesday? That's election day in the USA, of course, and according to Roubini that will unleash a new economic crisis because the Republicans are expected to make significant gains, recapturing control of the House of Representatives and maybe the US Senate as well. This will inaugurate paralysis in Congress as Democrats and Republicans block everything the other side tries to do, even as the US economic situation remains dire and in need of fiscal initiatives of one sort or another.
True, this insight is hardly blindingly original, and it has also certainly been advanced recently by other commentators, and then even rather more eloquently. ("In fact, future historians will probably look back at the 2010 election as a catastrophe for America, one that condemned the nation to years of political chaos and economic weakness.")
Then again, everyone knows that Paul Krugman is a liberal (Nobel Prize-bearing) attack-dog. But this is the FT, Børsen – Dr. Doom, no less!
Terror Threat Today in Sweden
While most of the world's media is preoccupied today with the seemingly coordinated package-bombs shipped by air-freight from Yemen to the US and the UK, Sweden's second-largest city, Göteborg on the country's western coast, seems just barely to have escaped its own serious terrorist attack. This is according to reports appearing in the Danish press from the press-agency Ritzau, including in the opinion newspaper Information.
It's all still very unclear, but the essence of the plot apparently involved setting off a massive truck bomb sometime today in the center of downtown Göteborg. "Several" suspects were arrested, this (Saturday) morning, but local police are not yet ready to say how many, who they are, or what lead to their being detained – only that a tip was received in time, from a trusted source, warning of the attack. That was enough to draw the Säpo – basically, the Swedish FBI – into the case as well, although it's the local police who hold the suspects in custody and who are now beefing up their presence in town over the weekend.
Retirement Reform – For Some
As various forms of unrest continue to percolate throughout France – as always, the website of Humanité, the Communist Party newspaper is probably the best place to go for news about that – the fundamental fact remains true that the retirement reform at the center of contention is becoming law regardless. Yes, word is that it has to be formally approved a couple of times by the two houses of the French legislature and then signed by President Sarkozy, but there's no indication that there will be any hitch in that process despite any strikes and demonstrations going on in the world outside.
The result: Even as the masses out on the streets shriek NO! the government goes ahead with "Yes" – and this in a liberal democracy. Of course, things are actually not quite so clear-cut as that. All the people out demonstrating often make an impressive sight, but do they really represent the political will of the majority of France's citizens? And even if they do: France is not a direct democracy where the people vote directly on laws – no modern society is a direct democracy – but rather a representative democracy, where according to one section of the rules of the game (somewhere; I believe it's in Aristotle) the elected law-makers do have the right to go against the will of their constituents if they believe doing so better serves the nation. And it would seem raising the retirement age from what is financially a completely unsustainable age to one slightly less unsustainable qualifies.
Ah, but even as the Assemblée Nationale and French Senate undertake to do so, they make a mess of it. For while they were passing this retirement reform, they chose not to pass amendment 249 – that's the one that would have subjected their own even-more-generous lawmakers' pension system to the same conditions they were about to impose on everyone else's!
Pretty outrageous, no? (Then again, the US Congress also almost routinely exempts itself from the laws it passes for the rest of the country.) I heard about this little bit of chicanery in the first place from an editorial in today's Le Monde: You're making me take to the streets – me, a moderate! It's written by one Gregory Kapustin, who calls himself an "entrepreneur" and "former moderate." (Check out his public LinkedIn page!) His message is basically expressed in his title; the actual article fills in the details about how, yes, he understands why pensions must be reformed, and he wishes the French nation would grow up and face the real world of globalization – but really, in exempting themselves the legislators have simply gone too far with their cynicism and he'll be off to join the nearest street-demonstration. (With gasoline, bottle, and rag-stuffing in hand? He doesn't say; he still seems to be too much of a professional dude to go that far.)
One can gain a similar feel for what he is fed up with from another article, from Le Point: Sarkozy will take some time to reflect on the situation after retirement reform. The lede:
Nicolas Sarkozy declared on Friday that he will announce when "the time is ripe" for initiatives in response to the French people's worries and that he first intends to "take some time" to reflect on them.
As becomes clear as the article goes on, however, don't expect him to start that thinking anytime soon, he's a busy man. The Chinese president will be visiting Paris soon, then it's off to Seoul for the G20 summit. Sarkozy made it clear that, when it comes to addressing the concerns of his countrymen he won't "confuse speed with haste" but will take "time to reflect serenely, calmly, profoundly." Hey – merci bien, monsieur le président! I bet your own pension is rather more generous than that of the man-on-the-street as well!
Schwarzenegger: "I'll Be Back!"
As always, the electoral race for governor of the US' largest state, California, is attracting considerable media attention both within the country and outside, what with the contest turning out to be a winner-take-all struggle between that state's "Governor Moonbeam" of the 1970s, Jerry Brown, and the former eBay executive Meg Whitman. On the other hand, 2 November will also mark the beginning of the term's end of the current California governor, a fairly interesting figure in his own right. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has himself been the subject of concentrated attention over the course of his original election campaign in 2003 (as a result of the recall of then-Governor Gray Davis) and then subsequently, particularly by the German-speaking press as the classic "local-boy-makes-good-in-Hollywood" story. And so we have this interesting piece in the German news-magazine Focus on the "Governator's" possible follow-on acts.
(As you'll see, if you'd like to click through, the piece's title is "Hasta la vista, Governator!" and I can't pretend to condemn that as trite or clichéd – actually, I had wanted to use just about the same phrase as the title for this post!)
Ah yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger, survivor of two terms as California governor – meaning he did manage to win re-election, in 2006, although his current 28% approval rating means he wouldn't be able to bet on doing it again, even if the law allowed – and the ultimate RINO. That's "Republican in name only," as he famously clashed with the Bush administration over environmental policies. Plus, it's quite clear – even though he won't admit it – that he'd prefer Democrat Brown to succeed him over Republican Whitman. The former is after all still his State Attorney General and in fact an enthusiastic fellow-warrior for a number of measures he advocates, most especially reform to the state budget process.
But anyway, where does the Governator go from here? What does the man say himself? He'd like to write "a book or two," he has stated, but of course he's already written a number of books, about body-building but also an autobiography. It so happens that someone else has a book out – entitled The Governator, natch, by Ian Halperin, in which he alleges that Arnold has long had a "master plan" to first persuade the American nation to amend the Constitution to allow the President to be foreign-born, and then of course to run for the office himself – not as a Republican, this time, but supposedly as an Independent appealing more to a right-wing Democratic political base. But the Focus piece is quick to add that the Governor's official spokesperson was quick to dismiss The Governator as "trash."
One thing does seem sure: He has long been interested in alternative energy, in particular his "Hydrogen Highway" project of bringing about a widespread automotive infrastructure based upon hydrogen-powered fuel cells, and this is something he has pledged to assist whether in or out of office. Otherwise, another clue to how he might occupy his time is contained in the recent Sylvester Stallone movie "The Expendables," in which Schwarzenegger takes a cameo role as a mercenary-team leader. Then again, the Focus writer has clearly seen the film and was paying close attention: at one point Schwarzenegger's character exclaims "only an idiot would take this job!"
Scatologist Alert! (German version)
Those entrusted with supervising the Internet have in recent times made explicit efforts to keep it from being an exclusively Western/English/Latin alphabet phenomenon, resulting earlier this year in the acceptance of Cyrillic (e.g. Russian) and even Arabic words as Internet addresses, or URLs. Now the Süddeutsche Zeitung informs us (The "ß" becomes even sharper) that German has achieved its own mini-triumph for Internet inclusiveness: from 16 November a new character to be allowed in URLs will be the "ß" or "Eszett," an historical letter in the German language that traditionally has denoted a double-s.
Ah, but note that "traditionally," that "historical": nowadays the ß is actually not used so much, ever since the spelling-reform agreed to in 1996 (implemented over the following ten years) that sharply restricted its approved cases for use. In olden days you would be sure to see it all the time when reading German if only for daß, which is the German "that" or "which," i.e. the subordinate-clause conjunction (e.g. "I would have to conclude that . . ."), but all that you see anymore these days is of course dass instead. Often you don't see it in Straße, or "street," even when used as part of a street-name; and, indeed, in this same article announcing that one can use it in URLs the letter in question is barely used it all unless in direct reference to the "ß" itself: otherwise I find only a heißt and a ließe, and then a größten in the caption to the (rather irrelevant) accompanying illustration.
Well OK, I also found it somewhere else: in the "www.scheißhoppenheim.de" sort of URL which the piece's author, Hermann Unterstöger, facetiously suggests it will now be possible to register. That word-construction is based upon Scheiße – a word proudly featuring its very-own "ß" but otherwise not very nice or polite; I assume its similarity to the corresponding English profanity allows me to decline giving you its meaning outright. But you have to wonder about the many other things German delegates to ICANN (in charge of internet addresses and protocol generally) should be addressing themselves to, instead of this barely-useful development which seems to offer scope to the flowering of the creative talents only of German dirty-words specialists.
EU's Hardline Serbia Stance Falters
In her new commentary on the EU and Serbia in Die Zeit (Europe threatened by Humiliation), Andrea Böhm posits the sort of counterfactual you would expect:
Suppose there were relevant indications that the leader of an Islamic terror-group, responsible for the murder of several thousand people, were hiding himself in a high-rise apartment in a European capital. How long would it take before a multinational army of secret services and investigators would come swarming to observe every garbage-dumpster, illuminate every floor, and if necessary evacuate half the building? Two months? Three weeks? Ten days?
But what is really at issue is not Islamic terrorists at all, it's rather the high Serbian government officials responsible for war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars of some 15 years ago, in particular General Ratko Mladic. According to Ms. Böhm, he's clearly somewhere in Belgrade and it shouldn't be too difficult to find out exactly where. Yet not only is no one going after him (nor after the other wanted Serbian official, one Goran Hadzic, former leader of Serbs in Croatia – him I did not know about), but there has just been alarming signs of weakening in what had been the EU's insistence that Serbia would be allowed no further progress along the road to becoming an EU member-state until these two fugitives were delivered up to the UN Yugoslavia Tribunal in The Hague.
Granted, the Serbs are still far from EU membership, just as they seem equally far from agreeing to do anything to deliver up Mladic and Hadzic. Nonetheless, EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg last Monday did agree to at least open Serbia's formal application process. And that is the "humiliation" Ms. Böhm speaks of in her piece's title – Europe once again exposing itself as a softy on the world stage by unilaterally climbing down from what had been it's ironclad insistence on seeing the two fugitives in jail at The Hague (actually, at Scheveningen, if you want to be technical about it) before the Serb government would even be allowed inside the door. What happened to the Dutch? she wonders – they were the ones single-handedly (well, with occasional Belgian support) holding out on this insistence. She speculates that it all began to seem too much like some sort of Dutch "obsession" – an irrational thirst for revenge against the Serbs for the humiliation suffered by the "Dutchbat" troops who had been assigned to protect the civilians who were massacred at Srebrenica in 1995, so that the Netherlands government finally became self-conscious and too embarrassed to insist anymore.
In point of fact, the situation seems quite a bit more subtle than all that, as explained in a recent entry on the Economist's "Charlemagne" weblog (in English, of course). Why did the EU foreign ministers budge in the first place? Because they wanted to reward the Serbian government for recently agreeing to meet with leaders of Kosovo, which ordinarily Serbia regards as a renegade break-away province (much as the People's Republic of China views Taiwan). More to the point, it seems that they made that concession yet at the same time they didn't: at least according to the Economist analysis, unanimity among governments (meaning the renewed potential for a Dutch veto) will be necessary again soon for Serbia to make any further forward progress.
EU officials are skillful at this sort of sleigh-of-hand, whereby they seem to give something away while in reality doing nothing of the sort (while still retaining the option of giving it away again sometime in the future, should that be viewed as necessary). But all this is hardly to Ms. Böhm's taste. The EU needs to remember, she writes, that it bears a share of the blame for the horrors of the Yugoslav War; it happened in its own backyard, it was Europe's big geopolitical test – and, of course, it failed it, having to rely in the end on American diplomacy and military power to rein in both Serb depredations in Bosnia and Croatia and the Milosevic government's attempt to ethnically cleanse Kosovo. So fancy procedural games for her won't cut it – much better a full-court military/police press, as if tracking down some Islamic terrorist-leader were what was at issue.
France: Annoying Neighbor
Tired of hearing about all the French strikes (even if you haven't been living/traveling there and so had to deal with them directly)? Finding it hard not to snort when you recall that the main point at issue is a raising of the official retirement age from 60 to 62? Consider it rather too convenient that that month-long wave of street-demonstrations has now dovetailed nicely with the week of Autumn vacation for French students?
Well then, you're not alone, for much of the Fifth Republic's recent behavior is attracting unfavorable notice among its neighbors, including that big one across the Eastern frontier marking the area of so many of the 19th and 20th centuries' great battles. The lede paragraph of a recent article in the German newsmagazine Focus (Always annoyed with the French) sums things up well:
They strike like there's no tomorrow, provoke Siemens with unfair attacks and undercut the German European Central Bank candidate behind his back. Is France doing away with herself?
Well, it sums things up well with a little unpacking:
Provoke Siemens: The French government reacted rather badly to news of a few weeks ago that Eurostar, which runs high-speed trains from Paris and from Brussels to London, had decided to buy new equipment from the German firm Siemens rather than – as usual – the French firm Alstom. Of course, public procurement contracts such as this within the EU are supposed to be awarded based purely on cost/quality considerations, not nationality – but the French Transport Minister, Dominique Bussereau, did conveniently mention that the Siemens trains were not long enough and posed other safety risks, as he made his announcement that he was using his authority to invalidate the sale.
Undercut the German ECB candidate: Everybody knows (doesn't everybody?) that the successor next year to Jean-Claude Trichet at the head of the ECB is supposed to be Axel Weber, currently president of the German Central Bank, the Bundesbank. Actually, regardless of whether that really is the consensus among EU officials and European politicians who decide these things, it's particularly important these days to elevate the Bundesbank president to ECB president, for political reasons: the Germans have been those mostly called-upon to come up with the money to bail out Greece and the whole Eurozone monetary system, and the same would be true if help were to be needed for Portugal, Ireland, and the rest. They know that, they're getting tired of it, so it's a very good idea at least to put one of their own in a banking/monetary decision-making position as vital as that of ECB president. Then again, nowadays French authorities profess to know nothing about any "consensus"; they have started pushing for the current head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), to succeed Trichet. This might also have something to do with the fact that, if DSK is not immobilized in a new job at the ECB, he may well challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the French presidency in 2012.
Oh, and there's one remaining bit: Focus writer Uli Dönch finishes that lede-paragraph I've quoted with the question Schafft Frankreich sich selbst ab? and that's a clever allusion to Deutschland schafft sich ab, which is the title of a current raging best-seller in Germany (written by a former member of the Board of the Bundesbank, Thilo Sarrazin) which posits that Germany is weakening itself fatally through a combination of its low birth-rate and readiness to accept non-Western immigrants (with their high birth-rates).
There you have it: this Uli Dönch hepcat manages to compress just about all he has to remark on into his one, short leading paragraph. I mean, is this journalism or is it poetry? All that remain to be considered are some speculations as to why unsere Lieblingsnachbarn – that is, "our favorite neighbors," expressed with an ironic tone – would be acting this way.
This comes at the end, in a section headlined "Arrogance or Inferiority Complex?" Here Herr Dönch drops the ball, yielding to rhetoric better-suited to the dueling of rival fans on football commentary websites. It can't be arrogance, he proclaims, because the times are long gone when France was "the clearly dominating Power on the European mainland. But now? La Grande Nation? Like how. La Grande Illusion! Only: who's going to tell them?"
Senators for Sale (Euros Accepted)?
(This blogpost has been slightly revised from the form in which it first appeared in response to a useful suggestion e-mailed in from a reader.)
Let's say you're a big European polluter, content with the status quo you've been used to for decades that allows you to pump out as much CO2 into the atmosphere as you like at virtually no cost to your bottom-line. In 2010, though, it's easy to see how this sort of laissez-faire is not long for a world ever-more aware and convinced of the detrimental effects of such emissions on the global climate. And while local/national measures to make you pay for your pollution are always unwelcome, the authorities who impose them will always be constrained by the fact that hampering companies under their jurisdiction this way raises their costs and so cuts down on their international competitiveness as long as other countries refrain from doing anything similar. No, the real threat to pollution-as-usual is any global anti-climate change accord.
What to do? Launching an appeal to your national or EU-level representatives – "Hey, could you slow it down a bit with the climate change stuff?" – isn't going to work, since their job-description is the furthering of common interests over the parochial, and you and your CO2-emitting technology are definitely on the wrong side of History. But maybe there are some more imaginative measures available . . .
Consider today's report from the French press-agency AFP (discussed among other places on the Swiss news website 24heures), on some innovative lobbying efforts being undertaken on the part of a consortium of leading European industrial firms – within the US federal government! Specifically, the article details how representatives in their employ have approached four US Senators famous for being global warming deniers to contribute money to their political funds, totalling $306,000 this year, to support their anti-climate change efforts – in the first instance their fight against any sort of "cap-and-trade" pollution-control regime. And then, in a nice cynical twist, these companies have then turned around to argue to European authorities that it makes no sense to push for any global climate-change measures now, because it is by no means certain that the US government will come on board!
Naturally, these firms – among which the largest monetary contributions come from the German companies Bayer and BASF – wanted to do this all secretly, but their dastardly deeds have now been exposed by the Climate Action Network (CAN), a international umbrella-organization encompassing around 500 climate/ecology NGOs, whose researchers took the trouble simply to read the mid-October report from the US Federal Election Commission that details which candidates got how much money from whom, and then to do a little arithmetic. The CAN report even pins the blame for the failure of the COP15 climate summit last December in Copenhagen on a reluctance for any accord on the part of President Obama and his administration that supposedly had been cultivated by these underhanded lobbying efforts.
That last assertion, of course, is rather doubtful; I'll need much further proof than that before I'll start believing that Obama was, in effect, on the take at that Copenhagen summit. Beyond that, though, these CAN charges as publicized by the AFP ultimately fall rather flat under any sort of closer examination. For starters, that alleged amount of $306,000 in combined campaign contributions to four Senators in 2010 (an average of $76,500 per Senator) is rather low on the Washington political-contribution scale. It's highly doubtful that they really got much in exchange for that amount, besides maybe a brief visit to the lawmaker's Capitol Hill office, a post-on-your-wall photo shaking hands with the politico, and maybe a set of state-seal-embossed ink-pens. (Admittedly, there's no mention in the article of the amounts they may have paid in previous years.)
Secondly, it's clear that the lobbyists in the employ of these European companies are behind the times, that they have not kept up with the new political rules resulting from last January's Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case that declared corporations equivalent to private persons when it comes to political speech, and thereby enabled unlimited and anonymous contributions to political campaigns – if not directly to candidates, then to "independent" political advocacy organizations ready to spend money and advertise on specific candidates' behalf. The European companies could have given as much as they wanted to their favorite US senators, albeit indirectly, and would never have had to worry about anyone from the general public (European or American) hearing about it, if they only had been better-advised. For heavens' sake, gentlemen, call Karl Rove!
The impact these CAN revelations should ultimately have is therefore much like watching a youngster steal from the Church collection-plate: it's a trivial offense in itself, but does indicate in the perpetrator the sort of crooked disposition and intent that definitely bear further monitoring.
UPDATE: Look, Europolluters, let me help you out – or rather let former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson do so (in Foreign Money, National Security, and the Midterm Elections). He's writing here about the Citizens United decision, of course; here are some extracts to give you a flavor:
We have effectively enfranchised foreigners in US elections. This is clearly and absolutely not what the drafters of the Constitutions [sic] had in mind. . . . And however you prefer to define our legitimate national security interests, how are they consistent with letting foreign citizens influence or even determine the outcome of our elections?
Posted in Switzerland | No Comments »
Enjoy Novaya Gazeta While You Can
The Berliner Zeitung tipped us off a few days ago: Last Warning for Novaya Gazeta. "Whazzat?" you may ask. Oh, it's just about the only remaining Russian newspaper worth taking seriously. By this point Vladimir Putin has had 10 years to snuff out independent voices among the country's government and media, so that now only a handful of outlets remain which still resist singing along with the party line. There are actually none such when it comes to TV broadcasters (naturally, the medium with the greatest reach by far); on the radio there is still Echo Moscow; and among newspapers the most prominent independent name has been Novaya Gazeta ("new newspaper"), which among other things had been the employer of Anna Politkovskaya, the investigative reporter murdered four years ago in a still-unsolved case.
At least up until now. But now BZ reporter Daria Afonina (definitely a Russian female name) tells us how the paper just received it's "first warning" from the Ministry for Communication for allegedly spreading "fascist propaganda" through a piece it published back in January on extreme-right nationalists from an organization whose name translates to "The Russian Way." A second warning means that the paper will have to shut down.
What Editor-in-Chief Sergey Sokolov thinks he sees in this development – if not sheer stupidity from a rogue bureaucrat, always a possibility – is an effort by the authorities to finish Putin's work by rubbing out such independent media voices as remain. But he also vows to appeal any close-down order to "Strasbourg," presumably meaning to the European Court of Human Rights located there (of which Russia is a member, not that that means there is much to hope for any such move).
Those still interested in the paper – while it is still a going concern – should realize that it does have an accompanying English-language version. Don't expect a full-blown English translation of the Russian website, by any means, as the English material is much scarcer and generally out-of-date. When I visited today the left side of the homepage was dominated by an interview with Russian President Medvedev entitled "Medvedev's declaration, 2009 year" which, yes, bore the dateline "18.04.2009." But the tone of the questioning directed at the head-of-state was refreshingly challenging, and the rest of the slim pickings available on that homepage similarly showed why the state apparatus of which he is the head may not be too fond of the newspaper. There were namely two pieces on the Politovskaya murder case ("'The State is showing a complete lack of interest in solving the murder of our mother,' Vera and Ilya Politkovsky [yes, her children]," and "Second time around: The Politkovskaya murder case."
Posted in Germany, Russia | No Comments »
French Strike Violence: A View from the Left
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Back now to the French strikes and street-demonstrations, still ongoing, in protest at the raise in the French national retirement age – and this time we're off to L'Humanité, official organ of the French Communist Party.
Long-time readers of EuroSavant (Hi Mom!) will recall that this blog has certainly not been averse in the past to checking out what L'Humanité has to say from time to time – after all, the paper has a constituency to represent (one whose political views I do find hard to understand, particularly in light of the failure of Communism towards the end of the preceding century), and it represents that political cohort consistently and well. But now is a particularly good time to check out their site – well, if you're comfortable reading French. For while the national powers-that-be might want to give off an impression that the demonstrations are petering out, with maybe a little police intervention here and there mainly to unblock the oil refineries, this Communist paper gives quite a different view, with its headline article at the present time a bona fide hour-by-hour, blow-by-blow listing of various violent demonstrator-police confrontations happening throughout the country.
Typical is this account of such a confrontation at an industrial-zone near the Northern French city of Amiens, which apparently doesn't even have any sort of refinery facility (but was at the center of violence of a different sort almost a century ago when it was on the front lines of the Western Front during World War I). From L'Humanité correspondent Jean-Marie Faucillon:
The forces of repression were sent to the industrial zone north of Amiens, on Thursday, 21 October at 23.00 hours, to brutally charge the demonstrators. . . . The charge was brutal with the firing-off of tear-gas at more than 100 meters, whereupon the demonstrators left the premises. "It's truly a punitive expedition," declared an official for the Somme departmental [i.e. local] union of the CGT [that's the Communist-run trade union confederation].
But that's not all! Attached to that piece with a link is a picture-series of the late-night confrontation. To be sure, there's nothing nice and bloody here that would draw those interested in that sort of thing away from their World Wrestling Federation TV broadcasts, but it's interesting to see the policemen marching up along the highway, and in the later pictures there is certainly a thick fog of what must be tear-gas seemingly everywhere.
Money vs. Happiness in China
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
One piece of news now much in circulation is the "slowdown" in GDP growth for the (mainland) Chinese economy. "Slowdown" in quotes, because statistics still showed an annualized 9.6% rate of third-quarter growth (year-on-year) – still impressive, if a bit less than the 10.3% y/y growth recorded for QII. This news-item's appeal to those reporting it is clear, as it enables them to combine that "slowdown" irony with an underlying concern that it might turn out to be a serious matter after all, if most of the rest of the world is mired in recession and waiting on eventual Chinese demand to pull it out.
Typically, though, most news outlets fail to carry the story through to its deeper layer of meaning, in this case the fact that such a slowing of economic growth is actually a good thing and precisely what the Chinese authorities hope to achieve. For a more profound level of sophistication such as that one has to resort to publications such as the New York Times to read how, in fact, Beijing is concerned about runaway inflation and maybe even a property-price crash, so that if anything they were disappointed not in the slackening of third-quarter growth but rather the smallish magnitude of that slackening, and in fact recently went so far as to raise interest rates to gain more of precisely that result. (For the ultimate in detailed analysis of this predicament, from a Chinese professor at Peking [sic] University no less, the blog Naked Capitalism graciously provides us with this.)
Then there is an even deeper treatment of the phenomenon, brought to us today in the FT Deutschland: The Chinese cannot grab hold of their happiness. Sure, for decades now the Chinese economy has consistently shown explosive growth, is this piece's message (written – note well! – by a journalist named Luo Xu), but it seems clear that this has failed to make the Chinese any happier.
Since he writes for the FTD, Luo is naturally far too intelligent to base such a contention merely upon any set of anecdotal impressions – from a population in excess of 1.3 billion! – that he and his acquaintances may foster. No, he has academic reports to cite:
The Erasmus University study, using a "People's Happiness Index" on a 1 (most unhappy) to 10 (most happy) scale, that returns 6.64 in 1990, 7.08 in 1995, but then 6.60 in 2001. (Nothing more recent mentioned);
The University of Michigan study of 2009, which doesn't provide numbers but merely concludes that yes, the Chinese are on the whole unhappier now (i.e. 2009) than they were ten years before;
The study published just last August at the Conference for Positive Psychology that took place in China, according to which 90% of respondents to a survey described themselves as lonely, 46.9% were dissatisfied with their lives and 19.1% were very dissatisfied.
It seems, then, that the Chinese have finally bumped up against the folk-wisdom that money does not (always) make you happy. But why exactly is that? And what, if anything, can be done about it? Remember, though, that this is but an article in a business newspaper and not the detailed psychological study – or, better, Nobel Prize-winning novel – that would be a more-appropriate means for addressing this dilemma. Mr. Luo is game to do the best he can to explain, though, and that turns out to be the following summary of seven factors behind this mysterious society-wide gloom, as compiled from the studies already-cited and others:
Competition: The old, familiar comparative motive: you might be sitting happy, but that can swiftly change once your neighbor buys a fancy car which you don't have.
Lack of ideals: That is, when people discover that money is not enough to give life a true purpose.
Negative thinking: Looking on the cloudy side, not the sunny side, of life.
Fading altruism: Apparently, helping other people is one key to happiness, but modern Chinese society is steadily forgetting this.
Dissatisfaction: With what one already has, that is. Luo cites a Chinese proverb – "The satisfied man is usually happy" – and observes that there are ever-fewer truly satisfied Chinese left, because of what they see is available if they just had more money, because of what they see their neighbors have, etc.
Distrust: People are increasingly estranged from each other.
Worry: Also known as stress, resulting from a host of new concerns originating from work, children, old-age provision, and the like.
Tracking Down France's Essence
As anyone following European news knows, a wave of strikes has afflicted France for the last couple weeks.* Today in particular is the sixth in a (non-consecutive) series of days meant to heighten protest on the country's streets to a nationwide level, all with the general aim of putting a stop to a planned raising of the national retirement age from 60 to 62 – a measure which nonetheless continues its procedural way through the two houses of the French national legislature despite the turmoil in the rest of the country.
For France, certainly, such an outbreak of widespread strikes and demonstrations is certainly nothing new, although the current spate does feature a couple of intriguing aspects. One is the relatively recent outpouring into the protestors' ranks by both secondary-school and university students, even as the relevance to them of the retirement age issue remains questionable. (I suppose that, if anything, it involves moving their elders out of jobs and into retirement sooner rather than later, so that those positions can open up for them – but is that really even a remotely-accurate description of how the employment market works there? In a static economy like that of the USSR, maybe; in modern France, certainly not.)
More engaging to this observer is the way the strikes are shutting down the country's petroleum distribution system, swiftly leading to the sort of ugly petrol station-mobbing and hoarding behavior by motorists seeking precious essence (French for "gasoline") of the kind last seen in the West way back at the time of the second great "oil shock" (occasioned by the Iranian Revolution) of 1979. Indeed, it's precisely this (and seemingly not, say, the half-million people marching through the streets of Paris) which so far has really engaged the French leadership. President Nicholas Sarkozy had to issue a statement from his summit with German and Russian leaders that he would make sure that the blockades of the oil refineries end, and his prime minister, François Fillon, is in fact meeting with key fuel sector executives at his palace, the Matignon, later today.
It's now a very different world than back in 1979, although you might be fooled considering the similar sort of manic craze that can be raised in today's society by uncertainty in gasoline supplies. But today we have the Internet, and greatly-expanded communications possibilities generally, and Le Figaro (the President's newspaper, essentially) has stepped into the breach with a new article detailing how those savvy on-line can gain an advantage to filling up, or at least avoiding empty stations. You can follow along yourself at home for your own amusement (but it does help to know French): at this discussion-board, for example, or with this map of empty stations or maybe this one here.
What's intriguing to me is that smartphone penetration among French consumers is assuredly nowhere near high enough to result in panicked motorists careening around to find an open gas station guided by the telephone-screen they hold in one hand as they hold the steering-wheel in the other. Not yet, at least; but that day will surely come.
*To those who have already sent inquiries or might become so inclined: NO, EuroSavant has not been participating in this strike, and in fact we hold absolutely no sympathy for it or its aims.
You are currently browsing the EuroSavant weblog archives for October, 2010.


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Movies/Tv Shows
PlayStation Now Debuts January 13 with Subscription Service
Posted bymaxo9	 January 5, 2015 April 15, 2018
Sony announced in a press release today that its game streaming service PlayStation Now will be officially available Jan. 13 in the U.S. and Canada with subscription pricing and over 100 games.
Rather than going with the per-game plan they used during testing, Sony is going with a more standardized subscription plan: $19.99 per month or $44.99 for three months. There's also a seven day trial period so that you can make sure your Internet connection can handle the service before you commit to it.
The list of games, as listed on Sony's community forum, features a variety of games of differing quality levels. There's some Telltale stuff, including Back to the Future and Sam and Max, both Infamous games, both Darksiders games, and some less popular but still interesting stuff like El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. There's also some pretty generic stuff like Truck Racer and Wakeboarding HD.Whatever your preference, though, there looks to be something available to satisfy your need for PlayStation 3 games.
If you have a PlayStation 4, Sony will be making available a free PlayStation Now theme. If you download it before Jan. 31, you'll be automatically entered into a drawing for a chance to win a year subscription to the service.
If Sony keeps adding more games to the service, PlayStation Now could justify the purchase of a PlayStation TV device better than the somewhat limited list of Vita games available for the device. In addition to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation TV, the service will also be available on PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3, and is planned to come to other devices (such as Sony and Samsung television sets) a bit later.
With a subscription price replacing the per-game plan they used before ($3 for four hours, $6 for a week, $8 for 30 days, and $15 for 90 days with one game), is Sony doing enough to get you into the PlayStation Now service?
SCEA Announces Subscription Service for PlayStation™Now, Providing Unlimited Access
to Over 100 PS3 Games
Launching January 13, subscriptions will be available in two plans – $19.99 per month, or a three month package for $44.99 / about $15 per month
Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) today announced that a subscription for the streaming game service PlayStation™Now will launch on January 13 across US and Canada. The subscription, available first on PlayStation® 4 (PS4TM) systems followed by other PlayStation Now enabled devices, will offer unlimited access to over 100 PlayStation®3 (PS3TM) games. That includes titles from major publishers like SCE Worldwide Studios, Warner Brothers, Bandai Namco Games America Inc., SEGA, and more. Gamers will be able to choose from a monthly subscription plan for $19.99 per month or a three-month plan for $44.99, breaking down to about $15 per month. A free seven-day trial that provides access to all games in the subscription service will also be offered at launch.
"Users have been able to rent games through PlayStation Now for several months, and one of the top requests we get is for an overall subscription to the service. We're excited to formally announce it today, as the PlayStation Now subscription service will deliver a ton of value by providing instant access to a large and diverse catalogue of games for one low price," said Phil Rosenberg, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Publisher Relations, SCEA. "We know there are lots of PS4 owners that never owned a PS3, and this is a great way to catch up on games they may have missed."
PlayStation Now provides the ability to stream PS3 games without game downloads, installs, or patches. Users can save their game progress on PlayStation Now proprietary cloud servers and seamlessly resume their progress on any PlayStation Now-enabled device. For instance, users can start playing a game through PlayStation Now on their PS4 system in their living room and continue playing on their PlayStation Vita handheld system in their bedroom. Users that have subscribed to PlayStation Now will also receive entitlements to access the games included with their subscription on other devices at no extra charge.
To celebrate the launch of the subscription service, a free PlayStation Now theme will be available for PS4 owners to download starting in early January. Those who download the theme before January 31 will be automatically entered into a drawing for a chance to win a one-year subscription to PlayStation Now.
Additional details on the PlayStation Now subscription service, including the full list of games included, is available here: http://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/psnow/
Posted bymaxo9 January 5, 2015 April 15, 2018 Posted inGaming
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Some have questioned the appropriateness of talking about such matters as 'metta' (loving-kindness) and 'thissa' (truth) in the political context. But politics is about people, and what we had seen... proved that love and truth can move people more strongly than any form of coercion.
War is not the only arena where peace is done to death. Wherever suffering is ignored, there will be the seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages.


A region of many similarities as well as distinct differences, Southeast Asia undoubtedly offers some of the most exciting travel destinations. A wide range of activities and unique sights can all be had in this part of Asia. Southeast Asia has long been a favored destination for adventurous travelers.
Southeast Asia comprises Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. With the exception of East Timor, they are all members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
When you think of South East Asia, what immediately comes to mind are breathtaking pagodas, temples and monuments, a pristine cultural heritage of civilizations dating back thousands of years, beautiful people dressed in colorful ethnic attire, traditional warm hospitality, delectable gourmet dishes, pleasant weather. Popular attractions in the region include the complex of temples and citie around Angkor wat, cambodia. Kingdom of Thailand with its irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty and inspiring temples. The limestone cliffs and islands of Halong bay, the Night Safari in Singapore,the multitude of Buddhist pagodas of Pagan, travel to the beautiful island of Penang in Malaysia and the petronas towers, visit highland plantations, a Kuala Lumpur orchid farm and antique shops in historic Malacca.
Cambodia - Savour the splendour of Angkor Wat - the most important archeological site in Southeast Asia is truly one of the wonders of the world, with 105 square kilometers of temples and other ancient structures. Explore the charming capital of Phnom Penh or relax on a near deserted island off the Cambodian coast.
Thailand - From steaming Bangkok to the swaying palms of Ko Phi Phi, Thailand hits the spot. Be it a sleepy beach bungalow or a challenging hilltribe trek, the ornate Buddhist temples in Bangkok, ride an elephant to hilltribe villages, relax on stunning island beaches, you will get all kind of experience.
Vietnam - Regardless of if you're sailing through the magnificent Ha Long Bay, wandering the mountains by Sapa, exploring the battlefields across the DMZ, or just lazing on a laidback tropical beach, the famous tunnels of Cu Chi will give you a new perspective on the Vietnam War, cruise exquisite Halong Bay with its limestone peaks and floating villages, marvel at Imperial Hue. Vietnam has something for everyone.
Singapore (Little India) - Hear the word Singapore and you can't resist yourself from shopping. Its just shop till you drop. But give quintessentially Asian and gleamingly clean Singapore a chance and you'll see she really has much more to offer than duty-free shopping.
Indonesia - This is a country of fantastic cultural diversity, made up of over 300 ethnic groups and 17,000 islands. With attractions ranging from rainforests to volcanoes, sophisticated resorts to deserted white sand beaches, the world's largest archipelago really does have it all to offer to an adventurous visitor.
laos - A fascinating culture, stunning natural beauty and a wealth of activities make Laos a superb holiday destination.
Myanmar (Burma) - is home to exquisite temples and pagodas spectacular scenery and fascinating culture.
In short, a breathtaking mix of natural beauty, culture, and cuisine! Nothing would be better than a perfect vacation package to enjoy each of these lovely countries in South East Asia!


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Thank you for registering! We can't wait to get you started on your build! Remember to submit your material fee using the PayPal button on this page!
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Social Media Camp
If You Get It, Share It
Camps Scheduled
Prior Camps
Staff Spotlight: Richie Edquid
The Social Media Camp San Diego Schedule is up
Panel Spotlight: Calvin Lee, Alana Joy, Garick Chan, Jonathan Nafarrete, Sven Johnston, Paul Meyers, Mike Prasad, Sukhjit
Speaker Spotlight: Sukhjit
Jennifer Boyd on Panel Spotlight: Calvin Lee, Alana Joy, Garick Chan, Jonathan Nafarrete, Sven Johnston, Paul Meyers, Mike Prasad, Sukhjit
Jim Wendt @jimmywendt on Panel Spotlight: Calvin Lee, Alana Joy, Garick Chan, Jonathan Nafarrete, Sven Johnston, Paul Meyers, Mike Prasad, Sukhjit
sukhjit on Panel Spotlight: Calvin Lee, Alana Joy, Garick Chan, Jonathan Nafarrete, Sven Johnston, Paul Meyers, Mike Prasad, Sukhjit
richieedquid on Panel Spotlight: Calvin Lee, Alana Joy, Garick Chan, Jonathan Nafarrete, Sven Johnston, Paul Meyers, Mike Prasad, Sukhjit
shocm on Panel Spotlight: Calvin Lee, Alana Joy, Garick Chan, Jonathan Nafarrete, Sven Johnston, Paul Meyers, Mike Prasad, Sukhjit
Social Media Camp Organizer
SM Camp San Diego Sponsors
Speaker Spotlight: Chris Husong
Posted by richieedquid
Chris Husong is an expert in the field of Social Networking and Online
Marketing. As a media strategist and business advisor to Large Brands, TV shows,
Sports teams ,speakers and authors, Chris has over
two decades of sales and technology experience. When he served as an
enterprise account manager at Sprint, Chris was directly involved with
the launch of their original wireless campaign in California. He
served as a technical consultant to Worldcom when their new Black Berry
devise was just a monochrome pager and when Sandisk was developing
their fledgling line of memory peripherals, Chris was the expert. He
was the expert then and he has remained vital to this industry to this
Chris has been involved in telecommunications since before there was
an internet. As a young teen, he split his free time between his
duties as a varsity football player and writing processing code for
his TI 99/4A home computer. At 16, when he was given the opportunity
to move to Europe, Chris spent the next four years in a constant state
of culture shock. By learning how to drive in Germany, how to ski on
a glacier in Switzerland, and how to barter with locals in the markets
of Tunisia, he began to understand that it is not language that binds
or separates us. Communication is both dynamic and constant and social
mediums like networking sites are the new trusted confidants that
essentially and daily, balance the intimate with the infinite.
With this understanding, Chris has become a much sought after social
media strategist. He understands the importance of reputation when
building new communities and can explain the process of humanizing a
brand. Chris brings to San Diego and Social Media Camp over 20 years of innovative,
social media networking resource experience and his online engagement
plans offer his clients the tools they need to close the gap between
the product and the consumer.
Chris Husong will be the MC for Social Media Camp San Diego
Social Media Camp: San Diego is April 30th from 9am-5pm at Sony Electronics. You can purchase your tickets at our EventBrite Page.
San Diego - April 2011, Social Media Camp, Upcoming CampsSony, Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Denise Scatena and Arika Daniels
Denise Scatena
As founding partner of Scatena Daniels Communications, Denise has extensive experience creating and implementing effective public relations strategies to achieve successful results for various types of organizations. With more than 15 years of experience working in the communications industry, she has seen how news and information consumption as evolved, which has provided immense challenge in how to communicate with constituents — reporters, editors, donors, volunteers, government officials, and other target audience members. This is why she is passionate about non-profits using social media effectively and strategically as part of an overall communications/public relations program.
She has previously been a panelist for PRSA San Diego, IABC San Diego Chapter, and Non-Profit Management Solutions. Denise is a San Diego native, graduated from SDSU with a Masters in Communications, and publishes her own personal blog The Twin Set. Connect with her on Twitter @DeniseScatena.
Arika Daniels
Arika Daniels, a founding partner of Scatena Daniels Communications, is a public relations generalist who can do it all – from strategic planning to media relations to social media promotion and grassroots outreach. With over a decade of marketing communications expertise, she is especially skilled at helping clients big and small put their visions to work, as well as guiding them through tough issues. Arika is a strong believer of integrating communications strategies, including social media, within non-profit organizations to maximize awareness and fundraising results.
Arika graduated from San Diego State University and received an MBA from Chapman University She has been a presenter for PRSA San Diego, PRSA Orange County and the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce to name a few. In her downtime, Arika enjoys DIY projects on her home, and spending time with her husband and five-month old daughter. Connect with her on Twitter @arikadaniels.
They will be presenting the following session:
Time Suck or Smart Connections? Social Media Strategy For Non-Profits
The use of Twitter and Facebook has created a fantastic opportunity for non-profit organizations to communicate and connect with their audience members. The tools are often free but is it worth the time to invest in a social networking strategy? Join us for a discussion to weigh the pros and cons, as well as a streamlined strategy to get up and running (or reinvigorate) your organization's social media program.
San Diego - April 2011, Social Media Camp, Upcoming CampsNon-profit, PR, Scatena Daniels, Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Downtown Rob
Rob is a serial entrepreneur and technology early adopter, with social media being no exception. He owns a web development company, Web Wizards, and is also involved in business development at Fandom Marketing, a social media marketing company, with his latest venture being MingleStream, a live social stream display for events and venues.
He has previously spoken at North Park Music Thing on their social media panel, at the Cool Twitter Conference in Los Angeles, and at various user groups and college classes. Rob is a San Diego native, graduated from SDSU in Information Systems, and publishes the blog DowntownRob.com.
Rob will be presenting the following session:
Be the Talk of the Town: Event Promotion Done Right
This session will discuss the three phases of event promotion: the pre-event promotion, during the event, and the post-event follow-up, as well as tactics and strategies for each one. It will also go over the major contributors to generating event buzz… iBat (influencers, benefits, audience, theme), as well as mistakes to avoid.
You can follow him on Twitter @DowntownRob
San Diego - April 2011, Social Media Camp, Upcoming CampsDowntown Rob, Minglestream, San Diego, social media
Key Note Speaker Spotlight: Becky Carroll
Becky Carroll is president and founder of Petra Consulting Group. The San Diego based management consultancy is focused on growing businesses through customer conversation, social media, and the customer experience. Becky founded the company on the firm belief that the best way to achieve organic growth is to successfully build on a rock-solid customer base. Her focus has consistently been on customer loyalty and retention. Becky knows what it can mean for organizations to impact their bottom line through customer relationships.
Becky is a highly-regarded international speaker and provides speeches ranging from keynotes to workshops to webcasts. She teaches at UC San Diego Extension on Marketing via New Media. In addition, she is a social media contributor for the NBC San Diego Morning Show on KNSD TV. Becky authors the Customers Rock! blog, listed as #2 in the Top 20 customer service blogs.
Prior to founding Petra Consulting Group, Becky was a senior consultant with industry-leading Peppers and Rogers Group. Previously, she worked at Hewlett Packard for 13 years including positions as Director of Marketing for the UK and Ireland and as Worldwide Customer Loyalty Marketing Manager for HP Services in the US.
Becky Carroll is the Community Program Manager for Verizon. She is responsible for developing the strategy for the Community forums as well as working with her team to integrate the community with other Verizon social media.
Becky's new book, The Hidden Power of Your Customers, will change the way you think about your customers. Find out how to grow your business using your existing customer base. Learn the principles that make Customers Rock! companies successful by using four key essentials to unlock the hidden power of your customers.
Becky will be presenting Social Media Camp's Key Note.
Follow Becky on Twitter @bcarroll7
San Diego - April 2011, Social Media CampKeynote, social media, The Hidden Power of Your Customers
Speaker Spotlight: Steve Eisenberg
Steve Eisenberg brings together nearly two decades of experience in the
diverse fields of technology, marketing and education. His roles have included
web marketing strategist, web developer and designer, niche publisher, small
business adviser, instructional designer and college instructor.
Prior to founding Angecom Media Group, Mr. Eisenberg held positions at several
large organizations, including AT&T, the County of San Diego and UCSD
Healthcare. He is a sought-after trainer with a reputation for clear and
simple explanations of complex subjects. He has taught Computer, LAN
Networking, Operating Systems, Internet, Business, Marketing and Web
Technologies classes for community colleges and university extension and has
presented marketing seminars at industry events.
From his San Diego base Mr. Eisenberg divides his time between building and
marketing authority web sites and niche blogs, teaching, consulting projects,
organizing tech & social media events and providing guidance to and working
with students and clients to create and market successful small business Web
Follow Steve @Northlight on Twitter
Steve Eisenberg will be presenting the following session:
Internet Marketing For Beginners
This session is a brief introduction to the world of Internet Marketing (for beginners). Topics include domain names, web hosting, keywords, blog platforms, social media marketing, pay-per-click and more…
San Diego - April 2011, Social Media Camp, Upcoming CampsInternet Marketing, Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Susan Payton
Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an internet marketing firm specializing in blogger outreach, social media, and PR. She uses her entrepreneurial drive to help small businesses realize their potential through smart marketing.
Susan is an avid writer. She is the blogger behind The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and has written for Brandweek, Adweek, Mashable and Lead411. She's written two books: 101 Entrepreneur Tipsand Internet Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs.
Susan will be presenting the following session:
Using Social Media for Marketing
You're on Facebook; now what? This session gives you more strategy for using Facebook and Twitter to market your business. You'll learn what you should post on these sites, as well as how often. You'll discover how to connect with potential clients, and why it's not about pushing your product. You'll not only understand the benefits to using social media to grow your business, you'll also get hands-on experience in setting up Twitter and Facebook Page accounts. (Leave with social media profiles for your company, as well as a plan for how you'll use it to reach new customers.
You can follow Susan (@eggmarketing) on Twitter
San Diego - April 2011, Upcoming CampsSan Diego, social media, Sony, Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Jed Sundwall
Jed Sundwall is the president of Measured Voice. At Measured Voice, he has developed and managed new media strategies for USA.gov, GobiernoUSA.gov, PayPal, and Unilever.
A proud and committed San Diegan, he is also the founder of Open San Diego, a group working to make data about San Diego freely available for anyone to use. Launched late in 2009, Open San Diego has quickly developed a vibrant community of volunteer software developers, journalists, and citizens interested in leveraging the power of data to improve the quality of policymaking, journalism, and overall decision making in San Diego. The first key project of Open San Diego is Open San Diego Maps, an extremely powerful free open source data mapping tool. Prior to Measured Voice, Jed worked at Eventful.com where he developed and managed social media outreach initiatives for Barack Obama for President, John Edwards for President, Mike Huckabee for President, and Ron Paul for President. His work at Eventful.com yielded coverage in CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times, The Politico, Wired.com, Slate.com, and the Associated Press.
He has also worked as a researcher and consultant for NetSquared, an organization that helps non profit organizations use social media tools to enhance their operations. At NetSquared, he works with executives from Creative Commons, Flickr, Mozilla Foundation, and Wikipedia to identify and codify best practices for non-profits seeking to use social media.
Jed will be presenting the following session:
Finding your Social Media Voice
He will talk about how social media encouraged USA.gov to develop a new voice and build a stronger brand online.
You can follow Jed (@jedsundwall) on Twitter
San Diego - April 2011, Social Media Camp, Upcoming CampsGovernment, Jed Sundwall, Open SanDiego, Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Kara DeFrias
With a passion for creating engaging user experiences, Kara
DeFrias is currently Senior UX Writer for TurboTax.
According to her 2nd grade report card, Kara "likes to talk. A lot ." Which makes sense that she'd take to social media, where she's part of a team that proactively helps customers via @TeamTurboTax on Twitter (#makesherhappytohelp). In her role on the web creative team in marketing, Kara balances usability know-how with an A/B testing discipline to create highly converting user experiences on TurboTax.com. Prior to joining Intuit, this long-time Toastmaster (DTM) and former journalist worked on the Oscars, Super Bowl XXXVII, and directed TEDxSanDiego 2010. A 3-time cancer survivor, Kara writes about fertility preservation at CasaDeFrias.com (where her tagline is, "Cancer can take my uterus, but not my sense of humor!). Kara received her masters from Penn State University, and studied social behavior while bartending at the Fish & Fiddle pub during her junior year abroad at University of Gloucestershire in England. Her secret superhero identity: saving the world from bad PowerPoint, one slide at a time.
Kara DeFrias will be presenting the following session:
"The Art of Woo"
(30mins)
Social Networking 2.0: Find out how sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook can help — or hurt — your career. Perfect for beginners, recent grads, job seekers, and those in between jobs.
You can follow Kara (@CaliforniaKara) on Twitter
San Diego - April 2011, Social Media Camp, Upcoming CampsKara DeFrias, Speaker Spotlight, The Art of Woo
Speaker Spotlight: Melonie Gallegos
Melonie Gallegos is the founder of Fandom Marketing, a San Diego based social media marketing company, and is the social media director at Geary Interactive, a full-service digital media agency.
Melonie will be presenting the following session:
"OMG Your Audience"
Melonie will be teaching the art of social media campaigning from planning to execution. She will cover the OMG campaigns that have worked and the secret sauce behind challenging your brand to take risks to engage your audience.
With over ten years of industry experience, she now helps national brands integrate social media into their business road map. Melonie is a Northern California native, CSUS alumni, and publishes the Interactive Marketing Cafe blog.
You can follow (@melonie) on Twitter
San Diego - April 2011, Upcoming CampsSpeaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Deepak Wadhwani
Deepak Wadhwani has over 16 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 40 countries. Deepak has been a founder of Technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing expert on many facets of online advertising and affiliate marketing including managing major publisher portals with leading brands such as beauty advertisers, Nike, eharmony, Zappos, Stubhub, Turbotax and many more
San Diego - April 2011
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Do you feel like God's still working on you? Do you feel "unfinished" like Mandisa does? We probably all can relate to this feeling. There are times we want to give up—but God says the best is yet to come—now is not the time to give up. He is still at work and his plan is good. It takes time to make a masterpiece, right? Along with Mandisa, let's celebrate the TRUTH —- we are all a work in progress. And God is not finished—we are just unfinished at the moment, and that is ok. When he starts something good, he always plans to complete it—this is good news! Be strong and have hope—he's still working on you and on me!
Questions: When was the last time you felt "unfinished?" How did God show you how he was working through that set of circumstances? How can you celebrate the truth that God is still working in your life and that he will complete that work in his perfect timing?
Prayer Power: Dear Lord, thank you that I can know it's ok to be a work in progress. When I am feeling "unfinished," please remind me that you are with me and that you are still working on me to create something good. Thank you that you always finish the good work you start. Amen.


Welcome to the blog space for the University of Cambridge's initiative in public policy. This site is focused on the MPhil in Public Policy (MPP) which was launched in 2013 but also provides overviews and links to our growing activities in research and teaching.
Our blog contains postings from students, faculty and our admissions team.
Other parts of this site highlight our new initiative in public policy research and the continuing work of the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) which links policymakers directly to knowledge and expertise across the University of Cambridge through its innovative Fellows programme.
The Master's course in Public Policy offers an exciting opportunity to pool Cambridge's expertise across a range of sciences, engineering, the humanities and social sciences, and contribute to improved policy making in Britain and the EU.


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starsdiary.com
'RHONJ' Stars Caroline Manzo and Dina Manzo's Dad Dies
18:14, April 21 122 0 usmagazine.com
Caroline and Dina Manzo Roger Wong/INFphoto.com; Andy Kropa/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Caroline Manzo and Dina Manzo's father, Joseph Laurita, died on Monday, April 20. The sisters mourned their dad via social media but have yet to speak about his cause of death.
"His favorite song was 'My Way' and that's exactly how he lived his life. His way," Caroline, 58, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, April 21, talking about the Frank Sinatra song her father loved. "A tougher man there never was, and in his final days he showed that strength over and over again."
The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum added: "May God bless you always, Dad, and grant you eternal peace. Know that you were loved. Forever in our hearts. ????"
Dina, 48, shared a video of her late father walking outside in her touching post on Tuesday. "I'll love you forever and always Daddy ❤ You can rest now 4•20•20," she wrote.
The sisters are two of Joseph and Nettie Laurita's 11 children. The couple shared five daughters, Caroline, Dina, Ann Ricks, Angela Rooney and Francesca D'Annunzio and six sons, Jamie, Chris, Anthony, Joseph, Michael and Dominick Laurita.
The former reality TV stars' brother Chris, 50, who is married to RHONJ alum Jacqueline Laurita, paid tribute to the family's patriarch as well.
"Yesterday we lost the strongest man I've ever known. Right up until the last breath he taught me how to fight and to NEVER give up," he wrote via Instagram on Tuesday. "He encouraged me to face all the challenges life throws at you head on! I'll keep fighting Dad and I promise you I will never give up. I'm sure you're already watching over all of us."
Fellow Bravo star Teresa Giudice, who is still close to Dina, commented on the Dina's Party alum's post, sharing her love and support during the family's tough time.
"[Our] Daddy's are together drinking wine ???? Love you ❤????????," Giudice, 47, wrote.
The mother of four lost her father, Giacinto Gorga, earlier this month.
"My father, my protector, my hero, God took you early this morning to be with Mommy," she wrote via Instagram on April 3, announcing her dad's passing. "Thank you for being the best husband, father & Nonno. Your devotion to mommy was one for the record books, you were the true example and a gentleman and devoted husband. You visited mommy every single day & would go twice for the days you missed while traveling or if you were to sick to go, my silver lining is knowing you'll be together now."
At the time, Dina, who is godmother to Giudice's youngest daughter, Audriana, replied, "Reunited with his love ❤ what a truly remarkable love story. We will miss seeing your bright smile Nonno ????."
Caroline and Dina have had a rocky relationship over the years. As of 2018, the two hadn't been spoken for two years. "People become [caricatures] of themselves," Dina told Jeff Lewis on SiriusXM radio in August 2018 about her sister. "A little part of what people say that they liked, they tend to put it on."
British QC prosecuting activists in Hong Kong fought to be allowed to take case
For 50 years, zero tolerance to drugs has failed – yet Britain refuses to change
Government rejects report it will lower workers' rights post-Brexit
MPs question Tory donor tipped for CPS inspector post
The US Capitol riot risks supercharging a new age of political repression
Three victims of trafficking and modern slavery to sue Biffa
'White Fright' author discusses historical lynch mobs and the attack on the Capitol
The Guardian view on lockdown law: democracy must keep up
Jimi Hendrix family dispute escalates over use of name for music school


Discover how SMP can help your company with getting more opportunities to sell to NYC.
With 10 plus years of government experience in NYC, NY State and the federal government, SMP Global Consultants has built relationships and contacts that can help guide you through securing M/WBE opportunity.
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text:
Dunwoody UMC Preschool 2022-2023 Admissions Tours
Date(s): Nov 11, 2021 - Jan 11, 2022
Prospective families are invited to tour Dunwoody UMC Preschool in anticipation of the 2022-2023 school year. Attend an information session with Amy Rohan, Preschool Director, and tour the preschool area. Tour Dates: Thursday, Nov. 11, Nov. 18, Dec. 2, Dec....
Virtual Israel tours – Re-Discovering the Land of Israel with the Atlanta Israel Coalition
The Atlanta Israel Coalition in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeastern U.S., and the Atlanta Jews of Color Council present RE-DISCOVERING THE LAND OF ISRAEL, a series of five virtual tours of Israel with tour guide David Sussman. Register...
Spruill Art's 2021 Holiday Artists Market
Date(s): Nov 17, 2021 - Dec 23, 2021
SPRUILL ARTS' 28th ANNUAL HOLIDAY ARTISTS MARKET OPENS! Spruill Center for the Arts and Spruill Gallery will showcase the 28th Annual Holiday Artists Market at Spruill Gallery from November 17 through December 23. The market features high-quality art and crafts...
A Christmas Carol at Stage Door Theatre
Date(s): Dec 03, 2021 - Dec 19, 2021
It's Christmas Eve 1850, and the melancholy Scrooge finds himself alone at home when he sees before him the ghost of Jacob Marley, his long-time friend and business partner who died seven years earlier. Marley warns Scrooge that he will...
Veteran Bravery Nomination
From now through the end of the year, we want to recognize soldiers who have selflessly served our country and have kept us safe over the years. If you or a loved one has served our country, we encourage you...
Date(s): Dec 09, 2021 - Feb 05, 2022
Between December 1 and February 5, Dunwoody will become a "Souper Bowl of Caring" City, pledging to collect 55,000 pounds of food for the Community Assistance Center and Malachi's Storehouse . This community food drive is presented by Dunwoody Parks...
Auditions for SDPA Jr Company
Date(s): Dec 13, 2021 - Jan 03, 2022
Step into the spotlight and audition for Stage Door Performing Arts Academy's Spring 2022 production. Join our Jr Company of actors as we put on one of Broadway's beloved musicals! Ages 6-18 Auditionees will be seen one at a time....
Dunwoody Nature Artist Market Oct. 1 – Dec. 31 Prices: $50-300, depending on piece Purchase beautiful pieces of art made by local artists at the Dunwoody Fine Art Association's Artist Market. From a showcase piece for your home to an...
Between December 1 and January 17, Dunwoody will become a "Souper Bowl of Caring" City, pledging to collect 55,000 pounds of food for the Community Assistance Center and Malachi's Storehouse . This community food drive is presented by Dunwoody Parks and...
Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber goes from Clunky to Funky join our annual Meet Up
As 2021 draws to an end, we're flipping the switch and taking things from clunky to funky. That's right, it's time for a change. Why not do something different and USEFUL all at the same time? Our job is to help...
Holiday Lights at Brook Run Park Hollywood Holidays
See Brook Run Park come to life in over 75,000 lights for this year's Holiday Lights display. Enjoy sets from classic holiday movies: Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story. Don't miss the perfectly positioned...


Romance is on the agenda this month. If you're single, pay close attention to dating opportunities between December 4 and 30. Venus will move through your true love sector so if you're looking for love, there's every chance that it'll find you. December 11, 17, and 24 are all glittering for you in this regard and will be ideal for date nights. Be out and about so that you put yourself in the best possible position to meet someone special.
If you're looking for new work, polish up your resume and send it out after December 11. A New Moon in your workaday sector will make it easy for you to secure a new job or extra freelance assignment. If you're a business owner, this will be a great time to hire staff.
Communication between you and a business partner might be fragile around December 19 and December 20. This may be a time where the two of you have a difficult time making important decisions together. Or, you might be quarreling about several things that all have to do with power and control. Remember that you are partners. If you're married this might be a time of argument between you and your spouse.
Thankfully, all will be well by December 25. A Full Moon in your sign will be extra sweet promising emotional fulfillment for you and beautiful holiday moments with the ones you love.


Kitchen Cabs Direct LLC is the leading Wholesale Supplier of Kitchen cabinets in Hoboken, New Jersey. The experts of Kitchen Cabs Direct have been working closely with homeowners in Hoboken, New Jersey for many years to help them select the right kitchen cabinets to suit their needs. Need help deciding which cabinets to choose from? Swing by our kitchen cabinet showroom today.
Are you debating on which kitchen cabinet to select? If so, call us at (201) 655-2240 to consult with one of our expert kitchen cabinet specialists and they will give you a professional recommendation. Many of our kitchen cabinets are fast sellers in Hoboken because our quality is so high and our prices are better than other kitchen cabinet showrooms in Hoboken.
There are many beautiful and luxurious homes with modern, top of the line kitchens in Hoboken. You need to make sure that you are selecting the best kitchen cabinets to compliment your home. Are you struggling to figure out which kitchen cabinet will best compliment your kitchen? You can consult with one of our leading specialists at Kitchen Cabinets Direct and they will give you a professional recommendation. We know the residents of Hoboken and what they need. We have been doing kitchen cabinet work in Hoboken for several years.
Call us today at (201) 655-2240 for a free kitchen cabinet estimate as well as a free demo of what your kitchen will look like anywhere in Hoboken!
Above is our line of Cinnamon Glaze kitchen cabinets, which has been one of our most popular choices of kitchen cabinets by customers in Hoboken, NJ.
Kitchen Cabs Direct has just moved most of their operations to Clifton, NJ which is less than 10 miles away from the great culturally diverse city of Hoboken, NJ. There is a lot of history in this city and we love doing business here.
We have our main showroom conveniently located for customers to come visit at 269 Parker Avenue in Clifton. Lots of street parking is available.
Kitchen Cabs Direct has been providing different kitchen cabinet services for residents all around Hoboken. Over time, the residents have gotten to know us and have recommended us several times for many different types of kitchen cabinet projects.


St. Casimir's Church was founded by the Jesuits and dedicated to Lithuania's patron saint Prince Casimir Jagiellon (1458-1484). The construction of the glorious building began in 1604 and was completed in 1635. Burnt to the ground just 20 years later when the Russians invaded in 1655, conflagration visited twice again within the next century in 1709 and 1749 before the architect, mathematician and astronomer Tomas Žebrauskas (Pol. Thomas Zubrówka, 1714-1758) restored it to more or less the form it's seen in today.
Over the centuries the church fell into the hands of the Augustinians, Napoleon's Grande Armée, the Russian Orthodox Church (who significantly altered its appearance), the Lutherans (who used it as the garrison church for the occupying German Army during WWI) and others, including the Soviets who turned the whole place into a museum of atheism no less. Returned to the Catholic Church in 1988, the building was consecrated in 1991 and has since undergone a massive renovation project, restoring its predominantly Baroque style with Gothic and Renaissance touches. Of particular interest inside are three late Baroque altars and a recently discovered 17th-century crypt containing dark bas-reliefs featuring miscellaneous religious motifs.
Beautiful church, big and spacious from inside, nice ornaments and paintings on the walls, worth a look.
The construction of this church is impressive, the atmosphere is pleasant and full of peace. I really enjoyed this visit.
Beautiful church and worth visiting if you are in Vilnius. Free to enter. The pipe organ inside is beautiful (wish we'd gotten to hear it!). The front of the church features really cool columns with ornate gilded tops, and these columns and the paintings stand out all the more because the side walls of the church are relatively unadorned.
Nice baroque church featuring a luminous painting of Christ rising and a wonderful organ that everyone should hear at some point.
Beautifuly detailed interior. Welcomes locals and tourists every day all day. There are pamphlets available inside with the Church's hystory in several different languages.


It is with great enthusiasm I pen this testimonial for the work of JWB&CO. In my capacity of Director of Development and Brighton Grammar School I have worked with JWB&CO on a number of assignments over the last three to four years. My role entails a range of responsibilities in the fields of fundraising, marketing, community relations and alumni relations. JWB&CO has been involved in each of these areas creating a range of materials that are eye catching, innovative, effective and memorable. They are particularly talented at working through the process of analysing the challenge at hand, collaborating with various stakeholders and ultimately designing the solution.
Finalist - Marketing Communications Campaign / advertising campaign including both print and cinema.
Website Development and design: - Highly Commended: Fintona Girls School, Vic Judges' Comment: Refreshing, easy, quick links, great budget. Effective submission.


text:
Q: why is a bash read prompt not appearing when a script is run? I have a bash script that prompts the user for different information based on what they're trying to do. The prompts are usually done with read -p. Usually it works just fine, the user sees what is being asked, enters what they need to enter, and everything does what it needs to do.
See the following (sanitized) snippet of a function in the script:
#!/bin/bash
function_name() {
if [ "$this_value" == "default" ];then
    echo "Value set to default."
    read -p "Enter desired value here: " desired_value
    desired_value=${desired_value^^}
        if [ "${#desired_value}" != 3 ] ;then
            echo "$desired_value is an invalid entry."
            exit 1
        fi
        if [ "$desired_value" != "$(some command that returns something to compare against)" ];then
            echo "$desired_value is an invalid entry."
            exit 1
        fi
    read -p "You entered $desired_value. Is this correct? [y/N] " reply
    reply=${reply,,}
    case "$reply" in
        y|yes)
            $some command that does what I want it to do
        ;;
        *)
            echo "User did not enter yes"
            exit 1
        ;;
    esac
fi
}

Usually the Enter desired value here and is this correct? lines appear just fine. But in a few instances I've seen, for some reason the read prompt is just blank. A user will see the following:
./script.bash
##unrelated script stuff
##unrelated script stuff
Value set to default.
user_entered_value_here

User did not enter yes. Exiting.

This is a real example that just happened that finally made me come here to ask what is going on (and I modified appropriately to make it an SO post).
What's happening is these two blank lines appear instead of the read -p text. For the first one, the user entered user_entered_value_here because they already know what is supposed to be entered there even without the read prompt. The second one, the Y/N prompt, they don't know, so they see it apparently hanging, and hit Enter instead of y, causing it to trigger the * case option.
I don't understand why the read -p text is not appearing, and especially why it's appearing for most users but not all users. I suspect there's some kind of environmental setting that causes this, but for the life of me I can't figure out what. This is being run only on RHEL 6.2, under bash 4.1.2.

A: I looked at the man of bash to catch some kind of detail about the read built-in. It is specified that -p option displays the "prompt on standard error, without a trailing newline, before attempting to read any input.  The prompt is displayed only if input is coming from a terminal".
Let's consider the simple script input.sh:
#!/bin/bash
read -p "Prompt : " value
echo The user entered:  "$value"

Example of execution:
$ ./input.sh
Prompt : foo
The user entered: foo

*

*If stderr is redirected:

$ ./input.sh 2>/dev/null
foo
The user entered: foo

*If the input is a pipe

$ echo foo | ./input.sh
The user entered: foo

*If the input is a heredoc

$ ./input.sh <<EOF
> foo
> EOF
The user entered: foo

A: Rewrote your script with shell agnostic grammar and fixed some errors like comparing the string length with a string comparator != = rather than a numerical comparator -ne -eq:
#!/usr/bin/env sh

this_value=default

toupper() {
  echo "$1" | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]'
}

function_name() {
  if [ "$this_value" = "default" ]; then
    echo "Value set to default."
    printf "Enter desired value here: "
    read -r desired_value
    desired_value=$(toupper "$desired_value")
    if [ "${#desired_value}" -ne 3 ]; then
      printf '%s is an invalid entry.\n' "$desired_value"
      exit 1
    fi
    if [ "$desired_value" != "$(
      echo ABC
      : some command that returns something to compare against
    )" ]; then
      echo "$desired_value is an invalid entry."
      exit 1
    fi
    printf 'You entered %s. Is this correct? [y/N] ' "$desired_value"
    read -r reply
    reply=$(toupper "$reply")
    case $reply in
      'y' | 'yes')
        : "Some command that does what I want it to do"
        ;;
      *)
        echo "User did not enter yes"
        exit 1
        ;;
    esac
  fi
}

function_name

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Transitioning to a Wheelchair with MS: When and How?
Those with multiple sclerosis (MS) can experience mobility difficulty as the disease progresses. Among several symptoms include decreased balance, increased spasticity, sensation changes, vision impairment, muscle weakness or a combination of these symptoms, which can affect mobility. When your lower extremities aren't functioning optimally, you may need to seek out assistance in the form of walkers, wheeled walkers, crutches, braces, canes or even a wheelchair. If you opt for a wheelchair, sometimes it's a difficult decision because you're wrestling with the perception that only severe cases of mobility warrant a wheelchair. Not true.
the first consideration is your functional status and whether you have recently experienced an increase in accidents due to muscle fatigue or loss of balance. A second reason might be if you are self-sufficient enough to function with daily living. A decrease in fine-motor skills and general fatigue may begin to take its toll on you, and those everyday functional tasks may not be so easy anymore.
Choosing the right wheelchair for your needs can be an interesting proposition. The process begins when your physician prescribes you one. But doctors don't always know the best and latest in wheelchairs, so it's important to go through the selection process with someone who has experience with MS wheelchairs. A physical or occupational therapist is the best one to ask. They are, by far, the most experienced on the subject. They'll measure and fit you for your wheelchair, measure your house to be sure the wheelchair fits and compare wheelchair options from various wheelchair manufacturers. Another option is to go to a wheelchair clinic with your therapist. These clinics have seating experts with special equipment to evaluate what kind of extra wheelchair features you may need, such as recline and tilt mechanisms, pressure-relieving cushions, brake extensions, seating systems and other accessories to help with your specific MS symptoms and mobility.
decision should rest on your current symptoms, finances and lifestyle. Obviously a motorized wheelchair is significantly more expensive.
Motorized wheelchair- If you don't have enough strength to operate a manual wheelchair, you'll need a motorized version to maintain your independence. Today there are a ton of choices, which are both fast and powerful. If you have significant impairment, such as paralysis, breath-activated devices are available.
Motorized wheelchairs are usually heavy, so you'll need to consider a van with a wheelchair lift or ramp for getting around away from home. Also, because motorized wheelchairs are a lot more pricey, it's important to see what your insurance covers for reimbursement purposes.
Manual wheelchair- This is a good choice if you have enough upper body strength to operate the wheelchair yourself. A manual wheelchair is lighter and easier to transport. The lightest manual wheelchairs are made of titanium (vs. aluminum) and are often used by disabled athletes.
Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers will usually cover the cost of a wheelchair if your MS symptoms necessitate the use of one. Your physician will need to detail your specific needs for insurance approval. Additionally, wheelchair vendors will sometimes offer financing or cover the cost, should your insurance policy not provide coverage. If all else fails, and you aren't able to get covered for a wheelchair, you can buy second-hand models, which are half the cost, and most likely tax-deductible.
David Novak is a international syndicated newspaper columnist, appearing in newspapers, magazines, radio and TV around the world. His byline has appeared in GQ, National Geographic, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, USA Today, among others, and he has appeared on The Today Show, the CBS Morning Show and Paul Harvey Radio. David is a specialist at consumer technology, health and fitness, and he also owns a PR firm and a consulting company where he and his staff focus on these industries. He is a regular contributing editor for Healthline. For more information, visit http://www.healthline.com/.


Wouldn't a magnet moving at high speed damage the yeast?
would be used to periodically rouse the yeast off the bottom.
yeast, I would smash them to bits.
assumed that this device is used to prevent damage to the yeast.
We received a total of 64 entries from 13 states.
Show and the $500 that goes along with it!!!
Dave Perez comes out of lurking mode and asks about an underfermented IPA.
carefully open each bottle to release pressure and then re-cap.
the club meeting Friday night and we'll try it and talk about it again.
> 1 - Shut up and drink it!
> pitch some more yeast (1056 in this case).
> 4 - Same as 3 but use one Prime Tab.
> Options 3 and 4 seem like potential pyrotechnics.  Any thoughts???
yeast viability comes up between homebrewers.
thought the beer was bad... In retrospect, I through out "good" beer).
think that anyone ever brewed before hand or that it was any good!
from it!  Where was all the bad stuff, then?
we've evolved into greater than purists.
Nuf said.  I'll go back to just responding to other poster's issues!
rates, and does this occasional event encourage oxidization?"
it differ, depending if I was using a corney keg or real 16 gallon keg."
calculated in the formula below.
Example 1: faucet is 1 foot above the keg, line is 5 feet of 3/16 beer line.
lb/ft or 0.5 pounds) = 15.5 pounds.
Answer: set regulator to 15 pounds.
Example 2: faucet is 5 feet above the keg, line is 15 feet of 1/4 beer line.
lb/ft or 2.5 pounds) = 15.2 pounds.
Line Resistance by beer line I.D.
Use with the ballance instructions above.
>it out". I'm thinking tettnang, hallertau or something similar.
You've pretty well described my McGinty's Irish-American Red Ale.
Your suggestion of German hops would work fine.
Hope this fits the bill (Buffalo Bill, that is).
several years ago.  I've received good feedback from happy brewers.
Feel free to substitute ingredients or modify procedure, of course.
worked fine.  I used gelatin to clear the beer before kegging.
which is no longer produced.
may have made the beer clearer.  Irish moss might not hurt.
4 - Same as 3 but use one Prime Tab."
by No.4 (if No.3 doesn't work), short of forced carbonation in a keg.
ol'e cardboard flavor may result.
>almost overflowed the priming bucket.
>rates, and does this occasional event encourage oxidization?
superheated water can start a violent, sometimes explosive, boil.
enough to release the excess CO2 as foam.
few days before bottling violently rouse the yeast morning and evening.
dissolved CO2.  Surprisingly it has been my experience that the "gunk"
that the green beer is starting at.
days can be allowed to fill with air.
>cold water, stir, and let it sit.
step up in a starter for later pitching.
the same solution I don't know.
Well it figures, I fell into that newbie trap of not giving enough info.
Harpoon IPA clone from Clone Brews.
and fermentation lasted about 4 days.  Bottled early at 8 days.
Carbonation is fine.  Hops are fine.  It just tastes cloyingly sweet.
more complete picture helps you help me.
>regurgitating readings and the mean value of some repeated readings.
mentioned in his posting). And that is only with a new buffer solution.
does not make any sense to include a third decimal.
>paying attention to the pitfalls will be in the right ballpark!
solutions within 0.1 degree Celcius, as Hubert requires for his accuracy?
That seems to be an achievement in itself, even in a water bath!
anybody can repeat your experiment, and will come up with the same results.
is, I'm sure there is a lenghty apology in the next issue.
remains for the most part unexplored.
[I should note two prominent exceptions to this last comment.
of favor, I guess because people did not like boiling in plastic.
looks spectacular, but is expensive.
brewing system  with temperature controllers, pumps, and the like.
Steinhart noted that he has not had trouble with scorching in the kettle.
experience using electric heating elements that they want to share?
Glen A. Pannicke asked about silica gel.
You CAN get it in big tubs, Glen, but I recommend not.
drop in an conventional oven at 250ish for 12 hours.
way up there on the list of sickest things I've ever seen.
It expands in water, see... like in a stomach.
That's why the packets are so nice - they're pre-sealed.
expects me to point Him out?"
this brew for my opinion.  I just tasted it and sent him this note.
a "pocket beer engine" (a syringe), which really opened it up.
sweetness vying with lingering bitterness.
"In other words, I like this beer!"
Hope this adds additional encouragement to brew this.
help you with the problem.  What makes you think the beer is underfermented?
What was the Original Gravity(OG)?  What was the Final Gravity (FG) ?
Or do you mean it is undercarbonated in the bottles?
How much priming compound did you use at bottling time?  What did you use?
Sugar? Honey? Malt Extract?  How long has it been in the bottles?
because of too little yeast, but rather too little yeast food.