WMU Archaeological Project Open House.
This year's open house will be Saturday, August 13, and Sunday, August 14. 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
The annual Archaeology Open House spans two days, when the public is invited to visit the site to see ongoing excavations and talk with archaeologists, view artifact displays and interpretive panels, interact with historical reenactors interpreting the time-period of the Fort's occupation, and listen to lectures given by public scholars.
http://www.supportthefort.net/events.html
Sunday, July 31, 2011
On her birthday, J.K. Rowling offers advice to young writers (WRITER's ALMANAC)
from the Garrison Keillor list serv (Writer's Almanac -- Minnesota Public Radio dot-org):
Today (July 31) is the birthday of the British author of the "Harry Potter" series: J.K. Rowling (books by this author), born in Yate, near Bristol, in 1965. She was born Joanne, with no middle name; when the time came to publish her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), her publishers wanted initials rather than her first and last name. She needed a middle initial, so she took her grandmother's name: Kathleen. She studied French in college, and after college she went to work for Amnesty International as a secretary. She was on a train coming home to London from a weekend looking at flats in Manchester in 1990, when she suddenly got the idea for a novel. "I was looking out of the window at some cows, I believe and I just thought: 'Boy doesn't know he's a wizard -- goes off to wizard school,'" she said in an interview with Stephen Fry. "I have no idea where it came from. I think the idea was floating along the train and looking for someone, and my mind was vacant enough, so it decided to zoom in there." She found a publisher in 1996, and was paid an advance of £1,500, about $2,500. Six more books followed. Her rags-to-riches story is legendary: In five years' time, she went from being on public assistance to being a multimillionaire. She's now one of the richest women in Britain, even richer than the queen, and Forbes magazine estimates her net worth at 1 billion U.S. dollars.
Her readings are wildly popular now, and people come to them in costume, but that was not always the case. At her first reading, attendance was so sparse that the bookstore had to have their employees fill some of the seats. She appeared a few years ago at the Royal Albert Hall, and told the audience, "This is the nearest I'll ever get to being a Beatle, hearing you all shouting. It was very nice. I see myself as the George Harrison."
She's often asked to give advice to aspiring young writers, and her answer is always the same: "Read as much as you possibly can. Nothing will help you as much as reading and you'll go through a phase where you will imitate your favourite writers and that's fine because that's a learning experience too."
Today (July 31) is the birthday of the British author of the "Harry Potter" series: J.K. Rowling (books by this author), born in Yate, near Bristol, in 1965. She was born Joanne, with no middle name; when the time came to publish her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), her publishers wanted initials rather than her first and last name. She needed a middle initial, so she took her grandmother's name: Kathleen. She studied French in college, and after college she went to work for Amnesty International as a secretary. She was on a train coming home to London from a weekend looking at flats in Manchester in 1990, when she suddenly got the idea for a novel. "I was looking out of the window at some cows, I believe and I just thought: 'Boy doesn't know he's a wizard -- goes off to wizard school,'" she said in an interview with Stephen Fry. "I have no idea where it came from. I think the idea was floating along the train and looking for someone, and my mind was vacant enough, so it decided to zoom in there." She found a publisher in 1996, and was paid an advance of £1,500, about $2,500. Six more books followed. Her rags-to-riches story is legendary: In five years' time, she went from being on public assistance to being a multimillionaire. She's now one of the richest women in Britain, even richer than the queen, and Forbes magazine estimates her net worth at 1 billion U.S. dollars.
Her readings are wildly popular now, and people come to them in costume, but that was not always the case. At her first reading, attendance was so sparse that the bookstore had to have their employees fill some of the seats. She appeared a few years ago at the Royal Albert Hall, and told the audience, "This is the nearest I'll ever get to being a Beatle, hearing you all shouting. It was very nice. I see myself as the George Harrison."
She's often asked to give advice to aspiring young writers, and her answer is always the same: "Read as much as you possibly can. Nothing will help you as much as reading and you'll go through a phase where you will imitate your favourite writers and that's fine because that's a learning experience too."
Ramadan -- mosques need staff (reciters & hafiz )
from July 31 WASHINGTON POST dot-com online feature article (area mosques and Ramadan preparation)
With Muslims coming to worship night after night during Ramadan, mosques aiming to enthrall their biggest crowds of the year look to one person in particular: their reciter.
His is the voice chanting the Koran, leading worshipers in prayer. And during the month of Ramadan, which begins at sunset Sunday, the special late-night prayers last two hours, which makes a beautiful singing voice and a powerful sense of soulfulness especially important.
The Koran emphasizes the value of a sweet voice, said Hatim Yousef, one of the reciters at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) in Sterling, where 3,000 people come each night of Ramadan to the mosque’s seven branches.
“The Ramadan prayers are long, so it makes it that much nicer,” he said.
Even Muslims who tend to be less observant usually come to mosque at some point during Ramadan, a month when Islam teaches that the power of prayers and good deeds are amplified. It’s believed to be the time when the Koran was revealed. But many American Muslims don’t understand Arabic, and Islam teaches that the poem-like Koran is only truly understood in that language. So the reciter’s transmission is essential.
In addition to reciters with a melodic voice, mosques also seek a hafiz, someone who has memorized much or all of the Koran. Because the American Muslim population is small and relatively new, many American mosques have to hire a hafiz for Ramadan from overseas or elsewhere in the United States.
But the Washington region has one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, and leaders have focused in recent years on producing homegrown spiritual leaders. Part of the drive to get U.S.-trained clergy, including Ramadan reciters, is because of tighter, post-Sept. 11 visa restrictions, local Muslim leaders said.
An increasing number of mosques that have in-house reciters are in the Washington area. Some are older Muslims who came back to study after establishing secular careers; others are U.S.-born youths who lead hundreds of people during Ramadan.
Yousef, 35, grew up studying Islam’s sacred music in Dubai and then English literature, focusing in graduate school on Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Now, he leads some of the regular prayers during the year at ADAMS and teaches Koran at the mosque’s school.
Speaking in a soft, melodious voice, Yousef says his goal in leading prayer is for listeners to be engrossed in scripture.
“I feel success if people have more presence of prayer, if they are more connected to God, if they sort of don’t focus or don’t mention or think about anything but the Koran,” he said in the upstairs prayer hall, where his students sat on the green carpet before floor-to-ceiling windows, studying texts propped up before them on small wood stands.
One of his students, a 14-year-old who has become a hafiz, will sit beside him during the Ramadan prayers and follow along to correct him if he makes any errors. Yousef’s regular work schedule will be shorter during Ramadan so he can practice for reciting during the nightly prayers, which run from about 10 p.m. until midnight, after the daily fast is broken at sunset.
In the Middle East, Koran recitation is a profession, with people hired to sing at weddings and funerals. Here, most people have other careers.
The roles of all Islamic spiritual leaders are in huge flux in this country as a largely immigrant population builds uniquely American Muslim institutions. While mosques and imams in Muslim-majority countries tend to be about meeting people’s basic prayer needs, their counterparts here are just starting to look more like American churches or synagogues and offering more.
ADAMS, for example, now does a 10-minute lesson in the middle of each Ramadan night’s prayer, and during the year holds lectures and concerts of spiritual music.
New imam-training programs offer preaching, including the first accredited program in the country, at the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, which began last year and has a preaching course taught by an Episcopal priest.
But during Ramadan, the focus is on worship and, of course, the voice.
One of the world’s most famous Koran reciters will lead worship this month at the Islamic Center Northern Virginia in Fairfax. Sheikh Mohammad Alraee is in the area from Saudi Arabia to get his PhD in systems management, and for the last couple years has been leading Ramadan worship at the center.
“Once you listen to his voice, it’s a whole different spiritual experience,” said Muhammad Farooq, president of the mosque. Muslims aim to read the entire Koran during the month of Ramadan, and when Alraee gets to the end,Farooq said, “thousands of people are crying, listening to him.”
With Muslims coming to worship night after night during Ramadan, mosques aiming to enthrall their biggest crowds of the year look to one person in particular: their reciter.
His is the voice chanting the Koran, leading worshipers in prayer. And during the month of Ramadan, which begins at sunset Sunday, the special late-night prayers last two hours, which makes a beautiful singing voice and a powerful sense of soulfulness especially important.
The Koran emphasizes the value of a sweet voice, said Hatim Yousef, one of the reciters at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) in Sterling, where 3,000 people come each night of Ramadan to the mosque’s seven branches.
“The Ramadan prayers are long, so it makes it that much nicer,” he said.
Even Muslims who tend to be less observant usually come to mosque at some point during Ramadan, a month when Islam teaches that the power of prayers and good deeds are amplified. It’s believed to be the time when the Koran was revealed. But many American Muslims don’t understand Arabic, and Islam teaches that the poem-like Koran is only truly understood in that language. So the reciter’s transmission is essential.
In addition to reciters with a melodic voice, mosques also seek a hafiz, someone who has memorized much or all of the Koran. Because the American Muslim population is small and relatively new, many American mosques have to hire a hafiz for Ramadan from overseas or elsewhere in the United States.
But the Washington region has one of the largest Muslim populations in the country, and leaders have focused in recent years on producing homegrown spiritual leaders. Part of the drive to get U.S.-trained clergy, including Ramadan reciters, is because of tighter, post-Sept. 11 visa restrictions, local Muslim leaders said.
An increasing number of mosques that have in-house reciters are in the Washington area. Some are older Muslims who came back to study after establishing secular careers; others are U.S.-born youths who lead hundreds of people during Ramadan.
Yousef, 35, grew up studying Islam’s sacred music in Dubai and then English literature, focusing in graduate school on Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Now, he leads some of the regular prayers during the year at ADAMS and teaches Koran at the mosque’s school.
Speaking in a soft, melodious voice, Yousef says his goal in leading prayer is for listeners to be engrossed in scripture.
“I feel success if people have more presence of prayer, if they are more connected to God, if they sort of don’t focus or don’t mention or think about anything but the Koran,” he said in the upstairs prayer hall, where his students sat on the green carpet before floor-to-ceiling windows, studying texts propped up before them on small wood stands.
One of his students, a 14-year-old who has become a hafiz, will sit beside him during the Ramadan prayers and follow along to correct him if he makes any errors. Yousef’s regular work schedule will be shorter during Ramadan so he can practice for reciting during the nightly prayers, which run from about 10 p.m. until midnight, after the daily fast is broken at sunset.
In the Middle East, Koran recitation is a profession, with people hired to sing at weddings and funerals. Here, most people have other careers.
The roles of all Islamic spiritual leaders are in huge flux in this country as a largely immigrant population builds uniquely American Muslim institutions. While mosques and imams in Muslim-majority countries tend to be about meeting people’s basic prayer needs, their counterparts here are just starting to look more like American churches or synagogues and offering more.
ADAMS, for example, now does a 10-minute lesson in the middle of each Ramadan night’s prayer, and during the year holds lectures and concerts of spiritual music.
New imam-training programs offer preaching, including the first accredited program in the country, at the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, which began last year and has a preaching course taught by an Episcopal priest.
But during Ramadan, the focus is on worship and, of course, the voice.
One of the world’s most famous Koran reciters will lead worship this month at the Islamic Center Northern Virginia in Fairfax. Sheikh Mohammad Alraee is in the area from Saudi Arabia to get his PhD in systems management, and for the last couple years has been leading Ramadan worship at the center.
“Once you listen to his voice, it’s a whole different spiritual experience,” said Muhammad Farooq, president of the mosque. Muslims aim to read the entire Koran during the month of Ramadan, and when Alraee gets to the end,Farooq said, “thousands of people are crying, listening to him.”
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Reaching 60 votes in the U.S. Senate (Breaking News) - CNN dot-com update
Saturday July 30 -- what will happen if 53 Democrats and 4 Republicans (Collins, Snowe, Murkowski, Brown - of Maine, Alaska, Maine) don't find the others to add up to 60 needed to squelch the threatened Filibuster? Will the Rules be over-riden?
Despite the House's pre-emptive rejection of the Reid plan, Senate Democrats say they are moving forward with its consideration. The Senate is tentatively scheduled to take up Reid's proposal beginning at 1 a.m. ET on Sunday -- part of that chamber's arcane procedural path required to get something passed before the Treasury runs out of funds.
Any proposal put forward by Reid will ultimately need the support of at least seven Senate Republicans in order to reach the 60-vote margin required to overcome a certain GOP filibuster.
In debt fight, what's the next move?
Who's to blame for debt ceiling debacle? Forty-three of the Senate's 47 Republicans sent a letter to Reid Saturday promising to oppose his plan as currently drafted. Maine's Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, Massachusetts' Scott Brown, and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski declined to sign it.
McConnell urged Reid early Saturday afternoon to hold a quick vote on his bill in order to clear the way for new talks.
Your plan "will not pass the Senate. It will not pass the House It is simply a nonstarter," McConnell told Reid on the Senate floor. "Hold the vote here and now" and let's "not waste another minute of the nation's time."
Reid responded by accusing the Republicans of wasting time on the Boehner plan, and criticized the Senate GOP for not allowing his plan to be considered with a simple majority vote.
"The two parties must work together to forge an agreement that preserves this nation's economy," Reid said. "My door is still open."
Democratic leaders vehemently object not only to the balanced budget amendment, but also the GOP's insistence that a second debt ceiling vote be held before the next election. They argue that reaching bipartisan agreement on another debt ceiling hike during an election year could be nearly impossible, and that short-term extensions of the limit could further destabilize the economy.
Despite the House's pre-emptive rejection of the Reid plan, Senate Democrats say they are moving forward with its consideration. The Senate is tentatively scheduled to take up Reid's proposal beginning at 1 a.m. ET on Sunday -- part of that chamber's arcane procedural path required to get something passed before the Treasury runs out of funds.
Any proposal put forward by Reid will ultimately need the support of at least seven Senate Republicans in order to reach the 60-vote margin required to overcome a certain GOP filibuster.
In debt fight, what's the next move?
Who's to blame for debt ceiling debacle? Forty-three of the Senate's 47 Republicans sent a letter to Reid Saturday promising to oppose his plan as currently drafted. Maine's Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, Massachusetts' Scott Brown, and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski declined to sign it.
McConnell urged Reid early Saturday afternoon to hold a quick vote on his bill in order to clear the way for new talks.
Your plan "will not pass the Senate. It will not pass the House It is simply a nonstarter," McConnell told Reid on the Senate floor. "Hold the vote here and now" and let's "not waste another minute of the nation's time."
Reid responded by accusing the Republicans of wasting time on the Boehner plan, and criticized the Senate GOP for not allowing his plan to be considered with a simple majority vote.
"The two parties must work together to forge an agreement that preserves this nation's economy," Reid said. "My door is still open."
Democratic leaders vehemently object not only to the balanced budget amendment, but also the GOP's insistence that a second debt ceiling vote be held before the next election. They argue that reaching bipartisan agreement on another debt ceiling hike during an election year could be nearly impossible, and that short-term extensions of the limit could further destabilize the economy.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Speaker Boehner's law passes 218 - 210 but at Senate fails 59 - 41; compromise sought
from "Breaking News" posted article = www.cnn.com/ -- mid-evening July 29, 2011
Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the nation's the debt ceiling and slash government spending narrowly passed the House on Friday and then was blocked by Senate Democrats, setting up a weekend of negotiations to seek a deal that would avoid a potential federal default next week.
The Senate vote was 59-41 to table the measure, which effectively kills it unless Democrats decide to bring it up again.
Earlier, Boehner's proposal was approved by the House in a sharply polarized 218-210 vote that was delayed by a day while the speaker rounded up support from wary tea party conservatives. No Democrats supported the measure, and 22 of the 240 members of the Republican majority also opposed it.
Even though it was blocked in the Senate, the Boehner plan now is the Republican negotiating position for hammering out a deal with congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama to avert a possible government default next week.
Friday's House vote was a critical test of Boehner's control over his tea party-infused GOP caucus. The speaker was forced to quell a right-wing revolt over the measure after a number of members complained that it doesn't do enough to shrink the size of government and stem the tide of Washington's red ink.
Boehner, R-Ohio, managed to sway several of those members by including a provision requiring congressional passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution before the debt ceiling can be extended through the end of 2012.
Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the nation's the debt ceiling and slash government spending narrowly passed the House on Friday and then was blocked by Senate Democrats, setting up a weekend of negotiations to seek a deal that would avoid a potential federal default next week.
The Senate vote was 59-41 to table the measure, which effectively kills it unless Democrats decide to bring it up again.
Earlier, Boehner's proposal was approved by the House in a sharply polarized 218-210 vote that was delayed by a day while the speaker rounded up support from wary tea party conservatives. No Democrats supported the measure, and 22 of the 240 members of the Republican majority also opposed it.
Even though it was blocked in the Senate, the Boehner plan now is the Republican negotiating position for hammering out a deal with congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama to avert a possible government default next week.
Friday's House vote was a critical test of Boehner's control over his tea party-infused GOP caucus. The speaker was forced to quell a right-wing revolt over the measure after a number of members complained that it doesn't do enough to shrink the size of government and stem the tide of Washington's red ink.
Boehner, R-Ohio, managed to sway several of those members by including a provision requiring congressional passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution before the debt ceiling can be extended through the end of 2012.
Summer Festival 2011 -- Three Oaks, MI -- Saturday 7/30
from online Publicity Poster (www.threeoaksvillage.org/ )
Three Oaks, Michigan's streets come alive at the Inside Out Summer Festival.
The Village showcases the local business community, and visitors
enjoy a full day of live music, art, food, games and activities –
all on three blocks of downtown Elm Street. FUN FOR ALL AGES!
Saturday July 30, 2011 : 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Eastern Time Zone
Live Performance Stage • Michael Kennedy and the Concerns
Venitia Sekema • Ol’ Style Band • James the Magician • Drumming
Jane Pellouchoud • Jim Partrick – organ-grinder • Stewart’s Music Zoo
Radio Harbor Country WRHC 106.7fm - Live Broadcast • Artist Demos
Sandcastle Building • Farmers Market • Culinary Tastings
Games • Arts & Crafts • Followed by Music in the Park
Three Oaks, Michigan's streets come alive at the Inside Out Summer Festival.
The Village showcases the local business community, and visitors
enjoy a full day of live music, art, food, games and activities –
all on three blocks of downtown Elm Street. FUN FOR ALL AGES!
Saturday July 30, 2011 : 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Eastern Time Zone
Live Performance Stage • Michael Kennedy and the Concerns
Venitia Sekema • Ol’ Style Band • James the Magician • Drumming
Jane Pellouchoud • Jim Partrick – organ-grinder • Stewart’s Music Zoo
Radio Harbor Country WRHC 106.7fm - Live Broadcast • Artist Demos
Sandcastle Building • Farmers Market • Culinary Tastings
Games • Arts & Crafts • Followed by Music in the Park
The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord (LITANY during Govt. Crisis AUGUST 2011)
Prayer Litany posted at NCCUSA (National Council of Churches website) Poverty Initiative website:
Ecumenical Advocacy Days is the nation's largest annual gathering of faith-based activists from the United States and around the world. Some 700 participants attended the conference to show their concern, not just about the budget, but about development, security and economic justice, especially as they affect women and girls in the U.S. and abroad.
Addressing the prayer vigil this afternoon were J. Herbert Nelson, Director of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Washington Office; Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK; Rev. David Beckman, President of Bread for the World; and Ambassador Tony Hall, Director of the Alliance to End Hunger.
Leading a litany of prayer were Sandy Sorensen, Director of the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries Washington Office; Jennifer DeLeon, Advocacy Director of Lutheran Services in America’s Chicago office; Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach, Director Of the Mennonite Central Committee’s Washington Office; and Rev. Michael Livingston, Director of the National Council of Churches Poverty Initiative.
The text of the litany:
Sandy Sorensen: Holy One, we thank you for gathering us this day as your people, women and men committed to loving you in one another. We thank you for entrusting us with the care of your precious creation and for calling us to be doers of justice and makers of peace. We seek your grace to be the church you call us to be, even as we acknowledge our frequent failure to live into that call.
Jennifer DeLeon: Your people suffer dear God. In a world you created with abundant food sources, people go hungry.
The waters you called into being are diverted for uses you never intended and the poor of the earth go thirsty. Your people suffer and call out to you. Hear the cry of the poor Oh God!
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach: In this land of plenty many live in scarcity. Countless have no work and many of those who do, still live with anxiety and need. We lay before you their concerns as we pray for those who are able to address them. Hear the cry of the poor Oh God!
Michael Livingston: We pray for those who have power; may they have compassion as well.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: We lift up to you our lawmakers; may they hold your law in their hearts.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: We commend to you those who have influence; may they use it on behalf of those who feel forsaken.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: For our sisters and brothers who hunger for bread and justice, we ask the fullness of your mercy and pledge our best efforts to obtain the fullness of justice.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: For the poor of the earth who sustain our extravagance with their labor and whose environment we devastate with extractive industries and with our waste, may they be lifted out of poverty as we repent and make amends.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: We surrender all of these concerns to you, Holy One, mindful of your mercy and of our responsibility. Amen.
Ecumenical Advocacy Days is the nation's largest annual gathering of faith-based activists from the United States and around the world. Some 700 participants attended the conference to show their concern, not just about the budget, but about development, security and economic justice, especially as they affect women and girls in the U.S. and abroad.
Addressing the prayer vigil this afternoon were J. Herbert Nelson, Director of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Washington Office; Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK; Rev. David Beckman, President of Bread for the World; and Ambassador Tony Hall, Director of the Alliance to End Hunger.
Leading a litany of prayer were Sandy Sorensen, Director of the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries Washington Office; Jennifer DeLeon, Advocacy Director of Lutheran Services in America’s Chicago office; Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach, Director Of the Mennonite Central Committee’s Washington Office; and Rev. Michael Livingston, Director of the National Council of Churches Poverty Initiative.
The text of the litany:
Sandy Sorensen: Holy One, we thank you for gathering us this day as your people, women and men committed to loving you in one another. We thank you for entrusting us with the care of your precious creation and for calling us to be doers of justice and makers of peace. We seek your grace to be the church you call us to be, even as we acknowledge our frequent failure to live into that call.
Jennifer DeLeon: Your people suffer dear God. In a world you created with abundant food sources, people go hungry.
The waters you called into being are diverted for uses you never intended and the poor of the earth go thirsty. Your people suffer and call out to you. Hear the cry of the poor Oh God!
Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach: In this land of plenty many live in scarcity. Countless have no work and many of those who do, still live with anxiety and need. We lay before you their concerns as we pray for those who are able to address them. Hear the cry of the poor Oh God!
Michael Livingston: We pray for those who have power; may they have compassion as well.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: We lift up to you our lawmakers; may they hold your law in their hearts.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: We commend to you those who have influence; may they use it on behalf of those who feel forsaken.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: For our sisters and brothers who hunger for bread and justice, we ask the fullness of your mercy and pledge our best efforts to obtain the fullness of justice.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: For the poor of the earth who sustain our extravagance with their labor and whose environment we devastate with extractive industries and with our waste, may they be lifted out of poverty as we repent and make amends.
All: The Lord hears the cry of the poor; blessed be the Lord.
Michael Livingston: We surrender all of these concerns to you, Holy One, mindful of your mercy and of our responsibility. Amen.
Michigan cherries, blueberries, peaches, grapes, and apples -- Crop Report - Forecast
posted at WSBT dot-com (local CBS affiliate TV news - website):
The USDA will release its latest fruit and tree nuts outlook Friday July 29, 2011. It forecasts the effects of changing conditions on fruit farms. As with any crop, having a bountiful harvest can be largely out of one’s hands.
"There's not going to be a win every year," said Herb Teichman, owner of Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm near Eau Claire, Michigan. "Most years we're diversified and most years we come through and have enough to make a living."
But 2011 looks to be a big win. Michigan's fruit crops are expected to surpass last year's production. Cherries, blueberries, peaches and grapes are forecast to bring in big yields. And the state's apple orchards are projected to have a near record year.
"We're hopeful that all these crops that we have, we have 7 main crops, will come through on the plus side," said Teichman.
The peach season is expected to run through Labor Day, which is when early apple harvesting begins. Conditions have been almost perfect for crops like wheat in Michigan. But the wet spring has put corn and soybeans nearly a month behind in some places.
The USDA will release its latest fruit and tree nuts outlook Friday July 29, 2011. It forecasts the effects of changing conditions on fruit farms. As with any crop, having a bountiful harvest can be largely out of one’s hands.
"There's not going to be a win every year," said Herb Teichman, owner of Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm near Eau Claire, Michigan. "Most years we're diversified and most years we come through and have enough to make a living."
But 2011 looks to be a big win. Michigan's fruit crops are expected to surpass last year's production. Cherries, blueberries, peaches and grapes are forecast to bring in big yields. And the state's apple orchards are projected to have a near record year.
"We're hopeful that all these crops that we have, we have 7 main crops, will come through on the plus side," said Teichman.
The peach season is expected to run through Labor Day, which is when early apple harvesting begins. Conditions have been almost perfect for crops like wheat in Michigan. But the wet spring has put corn and soybeans nearly a month behind in some places.
Muslim Kurdish teen -- funeral - memorial of Bano Rashid (Oslo, Norway) July 29
from AP story posted at Yahoo! dot-com
Norway honored the memory of 76 people killed in the nation's worst peacetime massacre on Friday, with the prime minister calling on the nation to unite around its core values of democracy and peace.
An 18-year-old Muslim girl was the first victim to be laid to rest. After a funeral service in a church, Bano Rashid, a Kurdish immigrant from Iraq, was buried in a Muslim rite in Oslo.
Police said all those killed in the terror attacks have been identified and that those who had been reported missing have been accounted for.
"Today it is one week since Norway was hit by evil," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said at a memorial service in the assembly hall of the "People's House," a community center for Norway's labor movement.
The bullets struck dozens of members of the youth faction of his Labor Party, but they were aimed at the entire nation, Stoltenberg said, on a stage adorned with red roses, the symbol of his party.
"I think July 22 will be a very strong symbol of the Norwegian people's wish to be united in our fight against violence, and will be a symbol of how the nation can answer with love," he told reporters after the ceremony.
Members of the audience raised bouquets of flowers as each speaker took the stage, and some of them fought back tears as they spoke.
Labor Party youth-wing leader Eskil Pedersen, who was on the island retreat when the gunman started his shooting spree, said the attack would not destroy Norway's core values, such as democracy, tolerance and fighting racism.
"Long before he stands before a court we can say: he has lost," Pedersen said. He vowed that the youth organization would return to Utoya island — where the shootings occurred — next year for its annual summer gathering, a tradition that stretches back decades.
Another memorial service was being held at a mosque in an immigrant district of Oslo later Friday.
Anders Behring Breivik, a vehement anti-Muslim, was questioned by police Friday for the second time since surrendering to an anti-terror squad on Utoya, where his victims lay strewn across the shore and in the water. Many were teens who were gunned down as they tried to flee the onslaught.
Police attorney Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby said the 32-year-old Norwegian remained calm and cooperative during the questioning session, in which investigators reviewed with him his statements from an earlier session on Saturday. Investigators believe Breivik acted alone, after years of meticulous planning, and haven't found anything to support his claims that he's part of an anti-Muslim militant network plotting a series of coups d'etat across Europe.
Police also said they have identified all of the victims, 68 of whom were killed on the island and eight who died after a car bomb exploded in downtown Oslo. Breivik has confessed to both attacks but denies criminal guilt because he believes he's in a state of war, his lawyer and police have said.
Police have charged Breivik with terrorism, which carries a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison. However, it's possible the charge will change during the investigation to crimes against humanity, which carries a 30-year prison term, Norway's top prosecutor Tor-Aksel Busch told The Associated Press.
Norway honored the memory of 76 people killed in the nation's worst peacetime massacre on Friday, with the prime minister calling on the nation to unite around its core values of democracy and peace.
An 18-year-old Muslim girl was the first victim to be laid to rest. After a funeral service in a church, Bano Rashid, a Kurdish immigrant from Iraq, was buried in a Muslim rite in Oslo.
Police said all those killed in the terror attacks have been identified and that those who had been reported missing have been accounted for.
"Today it is one week since Norway was hit by evil," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said at a memorial service in the assembly hall of the "People's House," a community center for Norway's labor movement.
The bullets struck dozens of members of the youth faction of his Labor Party, but they were aimed at the entire nation, Stoltenberg said, on a stage adorned with red roses, the symbol of his party.
"I think July 22 will be a very strong symbol of the Norwegian people's wish to be united in our fight against violence, and will be a symbol of how the nation can answer with love," he told reporters after the ceremony.
Members of the audience raised bouquets of flowers as each speaker took the stage, and some of them fought back tears as they spoke.
Labor Party youth-wing leader Eskil Pedersen, who was on the island retreat when the gunman started his shooting spree, said the attack would not destroy Norway's core values, such as democracy, tolerance and fighting racism.
"Long before he stands before a court we can say: he has lost," Pedersen said. He vowed that the youth organization would return to Utoya island — where the shootings occurred — next year for its annual summer gathering, a tradition that stretches back decades.
Another memorial service was being held at a mosque in an immigrant district of Oslo later Friday.
Anders Behring Breivik, a vehement anti-Muslim, was questioned by police Friday for the second time since surrendering to an anti-terror squad on Utoya, where his victims lay strewn across the shore and in the water. Many were teens who were gunned down as they tried to flee the onslaught.
Police attorney Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby said the 32-year-old Norwegian remained calm and cooperative during the questioning session, in which investigators reviewed with him his statements from an earlier session on Saturday. Investigators believe Breivik acted alone, after years of meticulous planning, and haven't found anything to support his claims that he's part of an anti-Muslim militant network plotting a series of coups d'etat across Europe.
Police also said they have identified all of the victims, 68 of whom were killed on the island and eight who died after a car bomb exploded in downtown Oslo. Breivik has confessed to both attacks but denies criminal guilt because he believes he's in a state of war, his lawyer and police have said.
Police have charged Breivik with terrorism, which carries a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison. However, it's possible the charge will change during the investigation to crimes against humanity, which carries a 30-year prison term, Norway's top prosecutor Tor-Aksel Busch told The Associated Press.
Friday July 29 -- 10:20 Presidential Statement (Debt Ceiling Crisis)
as posted at POLITICO dot-com
The White House announced Friday morning that President Obama will speak about the deficit debate at 10:20 a.m. Here's the announcement from the White House:
"This morning, the President will deliver a statement to the press on the status of debt ceiling negotiations in the Diplomatic Reception Room. This statement is pooled press."
The White House announced Friday morning that President Obama will speak about the deficit debate at 10:20 a.m. Here's the announcement from the White House:
"This morning, the President will deliver a statement to the press on the status of debt ceiling negotiations in the Diplomatic Reception Room. This statement is pooled press."
Juno Spacecraft to Jupiter (Launch window begins Aug. 5) -- NASA dot-gov
NASA's Juno spacecraft completed its last significant terrestrial journey today, July 27, 2011 with a 15-mile (25-kilometer) trip from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., to its launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The solar-powered, Jupiter-bound spacecraft was secured into place on top of its rocket at 10:42 a.m. EDT (7:42 a.m. PDT).
Juno will arrive at Jupiter in July 2016 and orbit its poles 33 times to learn more about the gas giant's interior, atmosphere, and aurora.
"We're about to start our journey to Jupiter to unlock the secrets of the early solar system," said Scott Bolton, the mission's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "After eight years of development, the spacecraft is ready for its important mission."
Now that the Juno payload is atop the most powerful Atlas rocket ever made -- the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 -- a final flurry of checks and tests can begin and confirm that all is go for launch. The final series of checks begins Wednesday, August 3 with an on-pad functional test. The test is designed to confirm that the spacecraft is healthy after the fueling, encapsulation and transport operations.
"The on-pad functional test is the first of seven tests and reviews that Juno and its flight team will undergo during the spacecraft's last 10 days on Earth," said Jan Chodas, Juno's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "There are a number of remaining pre-launch activities that we still need to focus on, but the team is really excited that the final days of preparation, which we've been anticipating for years, are finally here. We are ready to go."
The launch period for Juno opens Aug. 5, 2011, and extends through Aug. 26. For an Aug. 5 liftoff, the launch window opens at 11:34 a.m. EDT (8:34 a.m. PDT) and remains open through 12:43 p.m. EDT (9:43 a.m. PDT).
Juno will arrive at Jupiter in July 2016 and orbit its poles 33 times to learn more about the gas giant's interior, atmosphere, and aurora.
"We're about to start our journey to Jupiter to unlock the secrets of the early solar system," said Scott Bolton, the mission's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "After eight years of development, the spacecraft is ready for its important mission."
Now that the Juno payload is atop the most powerful Atlas rocket ever made -- the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 -- a final flurry of checks and tests can begin and confirm that all is go for launch. The final series of checks begins Wednesday, August 3 with an on-pad functional test. The test is designed to confirm that the spacecraft is healthy after the fueling, encapsulation and transport operations.
"The on-pad functional test is the first of seven tests and reviews that Juno and its flight team will undergo during the spacecraft's last 10 days on Earth," said Jan Chodas, Juno's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "There are a number of remaining pre-launch activities that we still need to focus on, but the team is really excited that the final days of preparation, which we've been anticipating for years, are finally here. We are ready to go."
The launch period for Juno opens Aug. 5, 2011, and extends through Aug. 26. For an Aug. 5 liftoff, the launch window opens at 11:34 a.m. EDT (8:34 a.m. PDT) and remains open through 12:43 p.m. EDT (9:43 a.m. PDT).
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Andrew, Alex, Tanner Skelton (missing brothers) -- imprisoned father pleads no contest
from M-Live press summarization (www.mlive.com/ )
Television station WDIV in Detroit is reporting that John Skelton, the father of three missing boys from Morenci, Michigan has pleaded no contest to three charges of unlawful imprisonment in Lenawee County Circuit Court.
Andrew, 9, Alex, 7 and Tanner Skelton, 5, have been missing since Thanksgiving day when they did not return with their father from a court-ordered visit.
John Skelton has maintained that his boys are safe and were given to an underground sanctuary group and that he does not know their whereabouts. Hundreds of people have searched areas southern Michigan and northern Ohio with no results.
The Detroit Free Press reports that Skelton is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15 and could receive up to 15 years in prison.
Television station WDIV in Detroit is reporting that John Skelton, the father of three missing boys from Morenci, Michigan has pleaded no contest to three charges of unlawful imprisonment in Lenawee County Circuit Court.
Andrew, 9, Alex, 7 and Tanner Skelton, 5, have been missing since Thanksgiving day when they did not return with their father from a court-ordered visit.
John Skelton has maintained that his boys are safe and were given to an underground sanctuary group and that he does not know their whereabouts. Hundreds of people have searched areas southern Michigan and northern Ohio with no results.
The Detroit Free Press reports that Skelton is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15 and could receive up to 15 years in prison.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Political Trivia (August 10) event at Des Moines, IA - - Chris Cillizza THE FIX
as announced in The DesMoines Register dot-com online edition (http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/ )
The pre-straw poll burst of political activity in Iowa will include “Politics & Pints,” a Washington Post-sponsored political trivia event featuring columnist Chris Cillizza, author of The Fix blog.
The event will be Wednesday, Aug. 10, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Quinton’s, 506 E. Grand Ave., in the East Village of Des Moines.
It’s part of a blitz of events leading up to the Republican Party of Iowa’s straw poll in Ames on Saturday, Aug. 13. The state party, with Fox News, is also sponsoring a debate on Thursday, Aug. 11. A number of candidates are also planning Iowa State Fair appearances that week.
This is the first time Politics & Pints has traveled outside Washington, D.C. More than 20 teams will participate for prizes in the trivia contest. The event is free, but potential participants are encouraged to come early to register because of limited space. There will also be an opportunity to tour the new C-SPAN political bus, which will be parked outside from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The pre-straw poll burst of political activity in Iowa will include “Politics & Pints,” a Washington Post-sponsored political trivia event featuring columnist Chris Cillizza, author of The Fix blog.
The event will be Wednesday, Aug. 10, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Quinton’s, 506 E. Grand Ave., in the East Village of Des Moines.
It’s part of a blitz of events leading up to the Republican Party of Iowa’s straw poll in Ames on Saturday, Aug. 13. The state party, with Fox News, is also sponsoring a debate on Thursday, Aug. 11. A number of candidates are also planning Iowa State Fair appearances that week.
This is the first time Politics & Pints has traveled outside Washington, D.C. More than 20 teams will participate for prizes in the trivia contest. The event is free, but potential participants are encouraged to come early to register because of limited space. There will also be an opportunity to tour the new C-SPAN political bus, which will be parked outside from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Michael Moore - Traverse City Film Festival - ArtServ Michigan Award (Saturday, July 30, 2011)
from Michigan-Live coverage -- www.mlive.com/
Film maker Michael Moore will be honored Saturday during the Traverse City Film Festival with ArtServe Michigan's 2011 Arts Legacy Award. Moore, the founder and president of the State Theatre and Traverse City Film Festival, is being recognized for his contributions as a filmmaker, author and advocate for arts and culture and his leadership in art house theater restoration initiatives in Michigan. ArtServe Michigan’s Arts Legacy Awards honor individuals or organizations significantly contributing to the support and empowerment of arts, culture and arts education in Michigan.
“Michael Moore’s dedication to Michigan arts is unmistakable,” said Jennifer Goulet, president of ArtServe Michigan. “Michael’s depth as a writer and filmmaker, passion for the Michigan film industry and dedication to restoration of Michigan’s art house theaters are just a few of the many reasons we selected him to receive this year’s Arts Legacy Award.” Moore’s nonprofit Traverse City Film Festival and its art house, the State Theatre, have brought millions of dollars to the Traverse City area since 2005.
His statewide State Theatre Project is assisting other Michigan communities in renovating, reopening and reviving their own art house theaters, funded by State of Michigan tax incentive rebate funds from the Michigan production of Capitalism: A Love Story.
Michael Moore is the Oscar-winning filmmaker of Bowling for Columbine, Roger & Me, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko and Capitalism: A Love Story.”Four of the eight top-grossing documentaries of all time are Michael Moore films. He won the Emmy Award for his NBC-TV show, TV Nation. He won the British Book of the Year award for his political humor book, Stupid White Men, which spent more than a year on the New York Times best seller list, and has written five other New York Times bestselling books.
Film maker Michael Moore will be honored Saturday during the Traverse City Film Festival with ArtServe Michigan's 2011 Arts Legacy Award. Moore, the founder and president of the State Theatre and Traverse City Film Festival, is being recognized for his contributions as a filmmaker, author and advocate for arts and culture and his leadership in art house theater restoration initiatives in Michigan. ArtServe Michigan’s Arts Legacy Awards honor individuals or organizations significantly contributing to the support and empowerment of arts, culture and arts education in Michigan.
“Michael Moore’s dedication to Michigan arts is unmistakable,” said Jennifer Goulet, president of ArtServe Michigan. “Michael’s depth as a writer and filmmaker, passion for the Michigan film industry and dedication to restoration of Michigan’s art house theaters are just a few of the many reasons we selected him to receive this year’s Arts Legacy Award.” Moore’s nonprofit Traverse City Film Festival and its art house, the State Theatre, have brought millions of dollars to the Traverse City area since 2005.
His statewide State Theatre Project is assisting other Michigan communities in renovating, reopening and reviving their own art house theaters, funded by State of Michigan tax incentive rebate funds from the Michigan production of Capitalism: A Love Story.
Michael Moore is the Oscar-winning filmmaker of Bowling for Columbine, Roger & Me, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko and Capitalism: A Love Story.”Four of the eight top-grossing documentaries of all time are Michael Moore films. He won the Emmy Award for his NBC-TV show, TV Nation. He won the British Book of the Year award for his political humor book, Stupid White Men, which spent more than a year on the New York Times best seller list, and has written five other New York Times bestselling books.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Birthday of Aldous Huxley - July 26
from Writer's Almanac (Minnesota Public Radio - Garrison Keillor list serv)
Today (July 26) is the birthday of English author Aldous Huxley (1894), born in Godalming, Surrey. He was the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, a scientist and man of letters who was known as "Darwin's bulldog" for his defense of the theory of evolution. Huxley wrote a few of novels that satirized English literary society, and these established him as a writer; it was his fifth book, Brave New World (1932), which arose out of his distrust of 20th century politics and technology, for which he is most remembered. Huxley started out intending to write a parody of H.G. Wells' utopian novel Men Like Gods (1923). He ended by envisioning a future where society functions like one of Henry Ford's assembly lines: a mass-produced culture in which people are fed a steady diet of bland amusements and take an antidepressant called Soma to keep themselves from feeling anything negative.
It's natural to compare Brave New World with George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), since they each offer a view of a dystopian future. Cultural critic Neil Postman spelled out the difference in his 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death: "What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture. ... In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that our desire will ruin us."
Today (July 26) is the birthday of English author Aldous Huxley (1894), born in Godalming, Surrey. He was the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, a scientist and man of letters who was known as "Darwin's bulldog" for his defense of the theory of evolution. Huxley wrote a few of novels that satirized English literary society, and these established him as a writer; it was his fifth book, Brave New World (1932), which arose out of his distrust of 20th century politics and technology, for which he is most remembered. Huxley started out intending to write a parody of H.G. Wells' utopian novel Men Like Gods (1923). He ended by envisioning a future where society functions like one of Henry Ford's assembly lines: a mass-produced culture in which people are fed a steady diet of bland amusements and take an antidepressant called Soma to keep themselves from feeling anything negative.
It's natural to compare Brave New World with George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), since they each offer a view of a dystopian future. Cultural critic Neil Postman spelled out the difference in his 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death: "What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture. ... In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that our desire will ruin us."
Monday, July 25, 2011
On raising the federal budget's debt ceiling: 9 p.m. News/Addresses
9 p.m. (Major media coverage)
Addresses by President Barack Obama followed by Speaker of the House John Boehner
MORE about this to be posted after transcripts made available at print media (online)
E-Notification from WWW. Whitehouse. gov =
BREAKING: President Obama Addresses the Nation Tonight at 9
Tonight at 9 p.m. EDT President Obama will address the nation on the stalemate in Washington over avoiding default and the best approach to cutting deficits.
Addresses by President Barack Obama followed by Speaker of the House John Boehner
MORE about this to be posted after transcripts made available at print media (online)
E-Notification from WWW. Whitehouse. gov =
BREAKING: President Obama Addresses the Nation Tonight at 9
Tonight at 9 p.m. EDT President Obama will address the nation on the stalemate in Washington over avoiding default and the best approach to cutting deficits.
Paul McCartney CONCERT Comerica, Detroit, MI (Sunday 24 July)
part of Detroit Free Press online posted review of Sunday night concert:
Comerica Park, one of five stops on McCartney’s summer stadium tour, was host to an evening of musical thrills and rich nostalgia for a spirited crowd of more than 30,000.
They’d gathered under the Detroit skyline for a long night of hits from the man who helped design the blueprint.
McCartney, trim and reciprocated with perhaps the most elastic and generous set he’s ever played here, steering through a staggering array of Beatles classics, Wings hits and solo tunes.
Foreboding clouds and rumbles of thunder had greeted the multigenerational audience of families, older couples and young friends as they streamed into the stands ahead of the show. But in the minutes before McCartney took the stage at 8:30 p.m. — as “With a Little Luck” fittingly played over the PA — the sun began to break out in the distance.
A little luck, a little magic, a lot of smiles, even a few tears, as McCartney served up a set that launched with a bright “Hello Goodbye” and wound through nearly half a century of music.
The 69-year-old star, looser and chattier onstage than he’s been in years, was a dependably delightful presence, pulling out the vintage Paul moves — fists pumping, fingers pointing, eyes winking at the audience.
“This is so cool,” he said, pausing early to scan the crowd. “I’m gonna take a moment here to drink in these Detroit vibrations.”
With fireball drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. an unmistakable presence in back, McCartney’s veteran band provided the crisp ooohs on “All My Loving” and dark ahhhs on “Eleanor Rigby,” wrapping their voices together for “Paperback Writer.”
There was highlight upon highlight: There was a sterling “Maybe I’m Amazed,” rousing “Let It Be,” winsomely brisk “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” punchy “Jet,” jaunty “The Night Before,” a charming “I Will,” a racing “Back in the USSR.”
The crowd roared as the regular set closed out with the reliable fanfare of "Hey Jude" and "Live and Let Die," punctuated with fireworks. As the show rolled past its 2-1/2 hour mark, McCartney led the band through an uptempo encore that included "Day Tripper" and "Get Back."
A second and final encore stayed on the Beatles theme, with the lilt of “Yesterday” rolling into the scalding energy of “Helter Skelter” into a glorious, show-wrapping run through the close of “Abbey Road”: “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and a crackling “The End.”
McCartney was energetic and versatile, heading to a piano when he wasn’t with his Hofner bass or tapping a yummy collection of vintage guitars.
The performances were roundly top-notch, the occasional cracks in McCartney’s voice more like little marks of ebullience, as on the high notes of “Let Me Roll It” and “Maybe I’m Amazed.”
With a mix of enthusiasm and reverence, he talked about his visit to the Motown Historical Museum — the former studio complex on West Grand Boulevard that he called “the holy grail.” (He’d spent about two hours there today, according to a museum official.)
“That took me back,” he said, going on to recall his younger years studying Motown records to learn parts. He and his band then launched into a lively cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike,” picked “especially for Detroit,” McCartney said.
He was in a reflective mood, dishing up anecdotes about Jimi Hendrix and late band mates John Lennon and George Harrison — including a ukulele-led rendition of the latter’s “Something.”
McCartney also referenced his first-ever trip to Detroit, with the Beatles in 1964.
“I was just thinking today about the first time we came over,” he said. “The people of Detroit gave us a beautiful welcome -- just like you’re giving us tonight.”
http://www.freep.com/article/20110724/ENT04/110724017/Paul-McCartney-concert-little-luck-lot-smiles-even-some-tears
Comerica Park, one of five stops on McCartney’s summer stadium tour, was host to an evening of musical thrills and rich nostalgia for a spirited crowd of more than 30,000.
They’d gathered under the Detroit skyline for a long night of hits from the man who helped design the blueprint.
McCartney, trim and reciprocated with perhaps the most elastic and generous set he’s ever played here, steering through a staggering array of Beatles classics, Wings hits and solo tunes.
Foreboding clouds and rumbles of thunder had greeted the multigenerational audience of families, older couples and young friends as they streamed into the stands ahead of the show. But in the minutes before McCartney took the stage at 8:30 p.m. — as “With a Little Luck” fittingly played over the PA — the sun began to break out in the distance.
A little luck, a little magic, a lot of smiles, even a few tears, as McCartney served up a set that launched with a bright “Hello Goodbye” and wound through nearly half a century of music.
The 69-year-old star, looser and chattier onstage than he’s been in years, was a dependably delightful presence, pulling out the vintage Paul moves — fists pumping, fingers pointing, eyes winking at the audience.
“This is so cool,” he said, pausing early to scan the crowd. “I’m gonna take a moment here to drink in these Detroit vibrations.”
With fireball drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. an unmistakable presence in back, McCartney’s veteran band provided the crisp ooohs on “All My Loving” and dark ahhhs on “Eleanor Rigby,” wrapping their voices together for “Paperback Writer.”
There was highlight upon highlight: There was a sterling “Maybe I’m Amazed,” rousing “Let It Be,” winsomely brisk “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” punchy “Jet,” jaunty “The Night Before,” a charming “I Will,” a racing “Back in the USSR.”
The crowd roared as the regular set closed out with the reliable fanfare of "Hey Jude" and "Live and Let Die," punctuated with fireworks. As the show rolled past its 2-1/2 hour mark, McCartney led the band through an uptempo encore that included "Day Tripper" and "Get Back."
A second and final encore stayed on the Beatles theme, with the lilt of “Yesterday” rolling into the scalding energy of “Helter Skelter” into a glorious, show-wrapping run through the close of “Abbey Road”: “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and a crackling “The End.”
McCartney was energetic and versatile, heading to a piano when he wasn’t with his Hofner bass or tapping a yummy collection of vintage guitars.
The performances were roundly top-notch, the occasional cracks in McCartney’s voice more like little marks of ebullience, as on the high notes of “Let Me Roll It” and “Maybe I’m Amazed.”
With a mix of enthusiasm and reverence, he talked about his visit to the Motown Historical Museum — the former studio complex on West Grand Boulevard that he called “the holy grail.” (He’d spent about two hours there today, according to a museum official.)
“That took me back,” he said, going on to recall his younger years studying Motown records to learn parts. He and his band then launched into a lively cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike,” picked “especially for Detroit,” McCartney said.
He was in a reflective mood, dishing up anecdotes about Jimi Hendrix and late band mates John Lennon and George Harrison — including a ukulele-led rendition of the latter’s “Something.”
McCartney also referenced his first-ever trip to Detroit, with the Beatles in 1964.
“I was just thinking today about the first time we came over,” he said. “The people of Detroit gave us a beautiful welcome -- just like you’re giving us tonight.”
http://www.freep.com/article/20110724/ENT04/110724017/Paul-McCartney-concert-little-luck-lot-smiles-even-some-tears
Opposition to Breivik, his slaughter, his manifesto / screed (Wash. Post columnist)
www.washingtonpost.com/ JOEL ACHENBACH op-ed column "We are all Norwegians"
Anders Behring Breivik’s medieval crusade
By Joel Achenbach
I’ve been unable to shake thoughts of the Norway massacre. So I won’t try. We are all Norwegians now. This could have happened here, because it HAS happened here, in different forms, perpetrated by different monsters.
What happened Friday in Norway had the suddenness of 9/11. The Anders Behring Breivik borrowed a page from Oklahoma City and Timothy McVeigh. And he stole from the Unabomber: His manifesto, 1,500 pages long, apparently lifted passages from the Unabomber rant (Breivik’s lawyer has acknowledged that his client wrote the manifesto.) And the gunslinging terror spree on the small island, with its teenage victims, seemed to be inspired by Columbine.
It is perilous to try to divine meaning from the crimes of an evil man. Breivik lived in a fantasy world — a world like a video game, almost — in which he was some kind of knight, or one-man commando cell, poised to help liberate Europe from Muslims and Marxists. This is a guy who thinks Hitler was a sell-out. He has been described in the media as a “Christian fundamentalist” but that seems to be missing the point: He’s a violent racist. He doesn’t like people who don’t look like him. One doesn’t even want to credit his thinking as ideological, since an ideology ought to have some superstructure of reason and coherence and his writings indicate someone with extreme delusions of grandeur.
His actions echo 9/11 most of all, because they represent an attack on the modern world and, specifically, multiculturalism. But in Norway, in most of Europe and in America that is our present and our future. Building a multicultural society is something we should be proud of, and fight for. The haters are not going to win that battle.
Anders Behring Breivik’s medieval crusade
By Joel Achenbach
I’ve been unable to shake thoughts of the Norway massacre. So I won’t try. We are all Norwegians now. This could have happened here, because it HAS happened here, in different forms, perpetrated by different monsters.
What happened Friday in Norway had the suddenness of 9/11. The Anders Behring Breivik borrowed a page from Oklahoma City and Timothy McVeigh. And he stole from the Unabomber: His manifesto, 1,500 pages long, apparently lifted passages from the Unabomber rant (Breivik’s lawyer has acknowledged that his client wrote the manifesto.) And the gunslinging terror spree on the small island, with its teenage victims, seemed to be inspired by Columbine.
It is perilous to try to divine meaning from the crimes of an evil man. Breivik lived in a fantasy world — a world like a video game, almost — in which he was some kind of knight, or one-man commando cell, poised to help liberate Europe from Muslims and Marxists. This is a guy who thinks Hitler was a sell-out. He has been described in the media as a “Christian fundamentalist” but that seems to be missing the point: He’s a violent racist. He doesn’t like people who don’t look like him. One doesn’t even want to credit his thinking as ideological, since an ideology ought to have some superstructure of reason and coherence and his writings indicate someone with extreme delusions of grandeur.
His actions echo 9/11 most of all, because they represent an attack on the modern world and, specifically, multiculturalism. But in Norway, in most of Europe and in America that is our present and our future. Building a multicultural society is something we should be proud of, and fight for. The haters are not going to win that battle.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Norway's worst atrocity since World War II
from CNN Coverage of the July 2011 bombing and shooting =
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/23/norway.explosion/index.html
Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- Police in Norway have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person was involved in Friday's twin attacks that left at least 92 dead, officials said Saturday.
"We're not sure it's just one person... based on statements from witnesses, we think there may be more," Acting Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim said.
A 32-year-old Norwegian was arrested and charged with terrorism, but police have not officially released his name. Local media has identified the man as Anders Behring Breivik, who has been described as a right-wing Christian fundamentalist.
"It's very difficult at this point to say whether he was acting alone or whether he was acting as part of a larger network," Sponheim said. On Saturday the suspect has been talking to authorities, but Sponheim described the day-long interrogations as "difficult." The fragility of the damaged structures have made it a slow process, he said.
"We know that there are remains of bodies in the ruins of the buildings. And it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle and a very difficult search. There are body parts in the buildings," Sponheim said.
Seven have been confirmed dead from the bomb attack. Police said that the explosive was in a car.
At least 85 others were killed in a shooting at a youth camp in nearby Utoya island.
Norway's prime minister called it the country's worst atrocity since World War II.
Norway's King Harald also spoke in a televised address. "There is still a lot that we do not know about yesterday's situations," he said. "This we do know, that the situations in Utoya and Oslo is an attack on the nation. It's an attack on the core of the Norwegian democracy."
Official sources and social media indicate that Breivik might be a right-wing Christian fundamentalist who may have had an issue with Norway's multi-cultural society. The attack may have been politically motivated, one official said.
"I think what we have seen today is that politically motivated violence poses a threat to society and I commend the police for carrying out a very swift and effective investigation, but that is still ongoing," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/07/23/norway.explosion/index.html
Oslo, Norway (CNN) -- Police in Norway have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person was involved in Friday's twin attacks that left at least 92 dead, officials said Saturday.
"We're not sure it's just one person... based on statements from witnesses, we think there may be more," Acting Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim said.
A 32-year-old Norwegian was arrested and charged with terrorism, but police have not officially released his name. Local media has identified the man as Anders Behring Breivik, who has been described as a right-wing Christian fundamentalist.
"It's very difficult at this point to say whether he was acting alone or whether he was acting as part of a larger network," Sponheim said. On Saturday the suspect has been talking to authorities, but Sponheim described the day-long interrogations as "difficult." The fragility of the damaged structures have made it a slow process, he said.
"We know that there are remains of bodies in the ruins of the buildings. And it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle and a very difficult search. There are body parts in the buildings," Sponheim said.
Seven have been confirmed dead from the bomb attack. Police said that the explosive was in a car.
At least 85 others were killed in a shooting at a youth camp in nearby Utoya island.
Norway's prime minister called it the country's worst atrocity since World War II.
Norway's King Harald also spoke in a televised address. "There is still a lot that we do not know about yesterday's situations," he said. "This we do know, that the situations in Utoya and Oslo is an attack on the nation. It's an attack on the core of the Norwegian democracy."
Official sources and social media indicate that Breivik might be a right-wing Christian fundamentalist who may have had an issue with Norway's multi-cultural society. The attack may have been politically motivated, one official said.
"I think what we have seen today is that politically motivated violence poses a threat to society and I commend the police for carrying out a very swift and effective investigation, but that is still ongoing," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters.
Antiques Roadshow -- 5 old carved cups brought for estimate = $1 million
On Sunday, appraisers from the PBS hit show "Antiques Roadshow" recorded the highest-value collection ever appraised in the show's 15-year history.
The big ticket item: five Chinese carved rhinoceros-horn cups dating to the late 17th or early 18th century, which are worth between $1 and $1.5 million. An Oklahoma resident bought the cups inexpensively in the 1970s, according to a press release from the show's producers. The reason the value of the cups is so high is due to China's growing demand for Chinese antiquities.
The episode will air as part of "Antiques Roadshow's" 16th season in 2012. The name of the lucky owner of the cups was not released.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/24/your-antiques-roadshow-fantasy-those-old-cups-1-million/?hpt=hp_t2
The big ticket item: five Chinese carved rhinoceros-horn cups dating to the late 17th or early 18th century, which are worth between $1 and $1.5 million. An Oklahoma resident bought the cups inexpensively in the 1970s, according to a press release from the show's producers. The reason the value of the cups is so high is due to China's growing demand for Chinese antiquities.
The episode will air as part of "Antiques Roadshow's" 16th season in 2012. The name of the lucky owner of the cups was not released.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/24/your-antiques-roadshow-fantasy-those-old-cups-1-million/?hpt=hp_t2
Mars Science Laboratory -- destination / climb to a peak
from July 23 -- NY TIMES dot-com posted story "Space & Cosmos"
Mission scientists announced Friday that the rover, a nuclear-powered vehicle the size of a small S.U.V., would head to Gale Crater, a 96-mile-wide depression near the Martian equator. What attracted them there is a mountain that rises upward nearly three miles at the center, making it taller, for example, than Mount Rainier outside Seattle.
“The thing about this mountain is it’s not a tall spire,” John P. Grotzinger, the project scientist, said at a news conference at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington. “It’s a broad, low, moundlike shape. What it means is we can drive up it with a rover. So this might be the tallest mountain anywhere in the solar system that we could actually climb with a rover.”
Scientists initially identified 100 possible landing sites, which were narrowed down to four finalists. All of the four were intriguing, Dr. Grotzinger said, and getting the scientists to agree on one was like getting a group of people to decide on one flavor of ice cream. “In the end, we picked the one that felt best,” he said.
Scheduled to launch after Thanksgiving, the Mars Science Laboratory — less formally known as Curiosity — is to arrive on Mars the following August, landing on the flat portion of the crater. The
area is covered by sediments that were probably washed there by flowing water long ago.
As the rover climbs upward during its two-year mission, it will pass different geological layers, much like those at the Grand Canyon. “It’s like reading a novel,” said Dr. Grotzinger, a professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology, “and we think Gale Crater is going to be a great novel about the early environmental evolution of Mars.”
In particular, the rover will look at outcrops of clays and sulfates, minerals that form in the presence of water. If the rover continues to operate after two years, it could keep climbing up the mountain to investigate even more rocks.
The Mars Science Laboratory is much bigger and heavier than the last two rovers NASA sent to Mars, Spirit and Opportunity. Unlike those two, which were solar-powered, Curiosity will generate its electrical power from heat produced by 10 pounds of plutonium. That will make it less susceptible to the changing Martian seasons and to dust storms that block sunlight. And it will mean that the rover can carry more sophisticated instruments, like a laser to vaporize pieces of rocks and machinery to identify elements of the resulting smoke.
The Mars Science Laboratory was originally scheduled for launching two years ago, but it could not meet that target because of technical problems. NASA then had to wait until the orbital positions of Mars and Earth lined up again. In the meantime, the cost of the mission, originally estimated at $1.6 billion, has continued to rise: NASA announced in June another infusion of $44 million, bringing the current cost to $2.5 billion.
Mission scientists announced Friday that the rover, a nuclear-powered vehicle the size of a small S.U.V., would head to Gale Crater, a 96-mile-wide depression near the Martian equator. What attracted them there is a mountain that rises upward nearly three miles at the center, making it taller, for example, than Mount Rainier outside Seattle.
“The thing about this mountain is it’s not a tall spire,” John P. Grotzinger, the project scientist, said at a news conference at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington. “It’s a broad, low, moundlike shape. What it means is we can drive up it with a rover. So this might be the tallest mountain anywhere in the solar system that we could actually climb with a rover.”
Scientists initially identified 100 possible landing sites, which were narrowed down to four finalists. All of the four were intriguing, Dr. Grotzinger said, and getting the scientists to agree on one was like getting a group of people to decide on one flavor of ice cream. “In the end, we picked the one that felt best,” he said.
Scheduled to launch after Thanksgiving, the Mars Science Laboratory — less formally known as Curiosity — is to arrive on Mars the following August, landing on the flat portion of the crater. The
area is covered by sediments that were probably washed there by flowing water long ago.
As the rover climbs upward during its two-year mission, it will pass different geological layers, much like those at the Grand Canyon. “It’s like reading a novel,” said Dr. Grotzinger, a professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology, “and we think Gale Crater is going to be a great novel about the early environmental evolution of Mars.”
In particular, the rover will look at outcrops of clays and sulfates, minerals that form in the presence of water. If the rover continues to operate after two years, it could keep climbing up the mountain to investigate even more rocks.
The Mars Science Laboratory is much bigger and heavier than the last two rovers NASA sent to Mars, Spirit and Opportunity. Unlike those two, which were solar-powered, Curiosity will generate its electrical power from heat produced by 10 pounds of plutonium. That will make it less susceptible to the changing Martian seasons and to dust storms that block sunlight. And it will mean that the rover can carry more sophisticated instruments, like a laser to vaporize pieces of rocks and machinery to identify elements of the resulting smoke.
The Mars Science Laboratory was originally scheduled for launching two years ago, but it could not meet that target because of technical problems. NASA then had to wait until the orbital positions of Mars and Earth lined up again. In the meantime, the cost of the mission, originally estimated at $1.6 billion, has continued to rise: NASA announced in June another infusion of $44 million, bringing the current cost to $2.5 billion.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
General / Joint chiefs died today
Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili DiesBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE (AP) — Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who counseled President Bill Clinton on the use of troops in Bosnia and other trouble spots, has died, the Army said in a statement. He was 75.
Shalikashvili died Saturday morning at Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington state following complications from a stroke suffered on August 2004 that paralyzed his left side.
President Barack Obama said Saturday that the United States lost a "genuine soldier-statesman," adding in a statement that Shalikashvili's "extraordinary life represented the promise of America and the limitless possibilities that are open to those who choose to serve it."
The native of Poland held the top military job at the Pentagon in the Clinton administration from 1993 to 1997, when the general retired from the Army. He spent his later years living near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and worked as a visiting professor at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.
Clinton pointed out that "Gen. Shali" made the recommendations that sent U.S. troops into harm's way in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf and a host of other world hotspots that had proliferated since the end of the Cold War.
"He never minced words, he never postured or pulled punches, he never shied away from tough issues or tough calls, and most important, he never shied away from doing what he believed was the right thing," Clinton said.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement that he relied on Shalikashvili's advice and candor when he served as Clinton's chief of staff during the foreign policy crises in Haiti, the Balkans and elsewhere.
"John was an extraordinary patriot who faithfully defended this country for four decades, rising to the very pinnacle of the military profession," Panetta said. "I will remember John as always being a stalwart advocate for the brave men and women who don the uniform and stand guard over this nation."
In a farewell interview with The Associated Press in 1997, Shalikashvili said American military and civilian authorities need to cooperate more when they decide to get involved in such trouble spots, because so much of what the military is asked to do involves humanitarian or peacekeeping operations. For example, he said, the military might need assistance from the Justice Department to help set up police forces, or advice from the State Department on economic aid.
"We know the agencies, but who is responsible for coordinating it, bringing it all in at the right time?" he said. "Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda, even Somalia, showed us these things go forward from the first day, and there is no coordinator."
Shalikashvili was head of the Joint Chiefs when the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military was adopted. He had argued that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would hurt troop morale and undermine the cohesion of combat units. Years later, though, he said that he changed his mind on the issue after meeting with gay servicemen.
"These conversations showed me just how much the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers," Shalikashvili wrote in a January 2007 New York Times opinion piece.
Earlier in his career, under the first President George Bush, Shalikashvili served as NATO's supreme allied commander and also commander in chief of all U.S. armed forces in Europe. At the end of the first Gulf War, he was in charge of the Kurdish relief operation in Iraq.
In 2004, Shalikashvili also served on a senior military advisory group to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, as did another former NATO commander, Gen. Wesley Clark.
Not long before his stroke, Shalikashvili spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, saying, "I do not stand here as a political figure. Rather, I am here as an old soldier and a new Democrat."
Shalikashvili was born June 27, 1936, in Warsaw, the grandson of a czarist general and the son of an army officer from Soviet Georgia. He lived through the German occupation of Poland during World War II and immigrated with his family in 1952, settling in Peoria, Ill.
He learned English from watching John Wayne movies, according to his official Pentagon biography, and he retained a distinctive Eastern European accent.
Shalikashvili, who studied engineering at Bradley University in Peoria, enrolled in the Air Force Reserve ROTC, but his eyes were not good enough to be a pilot, according to a Defense Department biography.
He became a U.S. citizen in 1958 and was drafted months later. In addition to being the first foreign-born Joint Chiefs chairman, he was the first draftee to rise to the top military job at the Pentagon, the Defense Department said. "He knows how to put combat power together, understands policy options and will also be highly regarded by the troops," retired Col. Roy Alcala, who worked with Shalikashvili in the Pentagon, said in 1993.
Shalikashvili was the 13th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The current chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, said Shalikashvili "skillfully shepherded our military through the early years of the post-Cold War era, helping to redefine both U.S. and NATO relationships with former members of the Warsaw Pact."
SEATTLE (AP) — Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, the first foreign-born chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who counseled President Bill Clinton on the use of troops in Bosnia and other trouble spots, has died, the Army said in a statement. He was 75.
Shalikashvili died Saturday morning at Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington state following complications from a stroke suffered on August 2004 that paralyzed his left side.
President Barack Obama said Saturday that the United States lost a "genuine soldier-statesman," adding in a statement that Shalikashvili's "extraordinary life represented the promise of America and the limitless possibilities that are open to those who choose to serve it."
The native of Poland held the top military job at the Pentagon in the Clinton administration from 1993 to 1997, when the general retired from the Army. He spent his later years living near Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and worked as a visiting professor at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.
Clinton pointed out that "Gen. Shali" made the recommendations that sent U.S. troops into harm's way in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf and a host of other world hotspots that had proliferated since the end of the Cold War.
"He never minced words, he never postured or pulled punches, he never shied away from tough issues or tough calls, and most important, he never shied away from doing what he believed was the right thing," Clinton said.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement that he relied on Shalikashvili's advice and candor when he served as Clinton's chief of staff during the foreign policy crises in Haiti, the Balkans and elsewhere.
"John was an extraordinary patriot who faithfully defended this country for four decades, rising to the very pinnacle of the military profession," Panetta said. "I will remember John as always being a stalwart advocate for the brave men and women who don the uniform and stand guard over this nation."
In a farewell interview with The Associated Press in 1997, Shalikashvili said American military and civilian authorities need to cooperate more when they decide to get involved in such trouble spots, because so much of what the military is asked to do involves humanitarian or peacekeeping operations. For example, he said, the military might need assistance from the Justice Department to help set up police forces, or advice from the State Department on economic aid.
"We know the agencies, but who is responsible for coordinating it, bringing it all in at the right time?" he said. "Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda, even Somalia, showed us these things go forward from the first day, and there is no coordinator."
Shalikashvili was head of the Joint Chiefs when the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military was adopted. He had argued that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would hurt troop morale and undermine the cohesion of combat units. Years later, though, he said that he changed his mind on the issue after meeting with gay servicemen.
"These conversations showed me just how much the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers," Shalikashvili wrote in a January 2007 New York Times opinion piece.
Earlier in his career, under the first President George Bush, Shalikashvili served as NATO's supreme allied commander and also commander in chief of all U.S. armed forces in Europe. At the end of the first Gulf War, he was in charge of the Kurdish relief operation in Iraq.
In 2004, Shalikashvili also served on a senior military advisory group to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, as did another former NATO commander, Gen. Wesley Clark.
Not long before his stroke, Shalikashvili spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, saying, "I do not stand here as a political figure. Rather, I am here as an old soldier and a new Democrat."
Shalikashvili was born June 27, 1936, in Warsaw, the grandson of a czarist general and the son of an army officer from Soviet Georgia. He lived through the German occupation of Poland during World War II and immigrated with his family in 1952, settling in Peoria, Ill.
He learned English from watching John Wayne movies, according to his official Pentagon biography, and he retained a distinctive Eastern European accent.
Shalikashvili, who studied engineering at Bradley University in Peoria, enrolled in the Air Force Reserve ROTC, but his eyes were not good enough to be a pilot, according to a Defense Department biography.
He became a U.S. citizen in 1958 and was drafted months later. In addition to being the first foreign-born Joint Chiefs chairman, he was the first draftee to rise to the top military job at the Pentagon, the Defense Department said. "He knows how to put combat power together, understands policy options and will also be highly regarded by the troops," retired Col. Roy Alcala, who worked with Shalikashvili in the Pentagon, said in 1993.
Shalikashvili was the 13th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The current chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, said Shalikashvili "skillfully shepherded our military through the early years of the post-Cold War era, helping to redefine both U.S. and NATO relationships with former members of the Warsaw Pact."
Captive Nations (Pres. Proclamation 2011): 3rd Week of July annually
White House dot-gov PROCLAMATION (more than 50-year tradition):
Presidential Proclamation--Captive Nations Week
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK, 2011
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
There are times in the course of history when the actions of ordinary people yearning for freedom ignite the desires of people everywhere. Such brave actions led to the birth of our Nation, the fall of the Soviet Union, and countless other achievements that have shaped our world. During Captive Nations Week, we remember the men and women throughout the world still suffering under oppressive regimes, and we underscore our commitment to advancing freedom's cause.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Captive Nations Week Proclamation in 1959 amidst an escalating Cold War, affirming America's support for the individual liberties of those living under Communist oppression. Our world has transformed dramatically since President Eisenhower first proclaimed Captive Nations Week. The burst of freedom following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the emergence of new democracies that are now steadfast allies of the United States and key contributors to the expansion of human rights worldwide.
With each generation, people have breathed new life into democratic ideals, striving for personal freedom, political and economic reform, and justice. The United States stands firmly behind all those who seek to exercise their basic human rights. We will continue to oppose the use of violence and repression and support the universal rights of freedom of religion, expression, and peaceful assembly; equality for men and women under the rule of law; and the right of people to choose their leaders.
This week, we rededicate ourselves to promoting democratic values, economic development, and respect for human dignity, and we express our solidarity with freedom seeking people everywhere whose future reflects our greatest hope for peace.
The Congress, by joint resolution approved July 17, 1959 (73 Stat. 212), has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the third week of July of each year as "Captive Nations Week."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim July 17 through July 23, 2011, as Captive Nations Week. I call upon the people of the United States to reaffirm our deep commitment to all those working for human rights and dignity around the world.
Presidential Proclamation--Captive Nations Week
CAPTIVE NATIONS WEEK, 2011
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
There are times in the course of history when the actions of ordinary people yearning for freedom ignite the desires of people everywhere. Such brave actions led to the birth of our Nation, the fall of the Soviet Union, and countless other achievements that have shaped our world. During Captive Nations Week, we remember the men and women throughout the world still suffering under oppressive regimes, and we underscore our commitment to advancing freedom's cause.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Captive Nations Week Proclamation in 1959 amidst an escalating Cold War, affirming America's support for the individual liberties of those living under Communist oppression. Our world has transformed dramatically since President Eisenhower first proclaimed Captive Nations Week. The burst of freedom following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the emergence of new democracies that are now steadfast allies of the United States and key contributors to the expansion of human rights worldwide.
With each generation, people have breathed new life into democratic ideals, striving for personal freedom, political and economic reform, and justice. The United States stands firmly behind all those who seek to exercise their basic human rights. We will continue to oppose the use of violence and repression and support the universal rights of freedom of religion, expression, and peaceful assembly; equality for men and women under the rule of law; and the right of people to choose their leaders.
This week, we rededicate ourselves to promoting democratic values, economic development, and respect for human dignity, and we express our solidarity with freedom seeking people everywhere whose future reflects our greatest hope for peace.
The Congress, by joint resolution approved July 17, 1959 (73 Stat. 212), has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the third week of July of each year as "Captive Nations Week."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim July 17 through July 23, 2011, as Captive Nations Week. I call upon the people of the United States to reaffirm our deep commitment to all those working for human rights and dignity around the world.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Borders "closes the book" -- Jeffrey Brown (Newshour PBS take on demise of Michigan corporation)
from www.pbs.org/newshour -- The Borders stores are closing as of July 2011:
From humble beginnings -- the first Borders, a used bookstore, opened in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1971 -- the company became a pioneer of the big-box bookseller concept.
Borders Prepares to Close Nearly 400 Bookstores
At its peak in 2003, Borders had more than 1,200 stores around the country, each with thousands of new titles. The company says a host of factors led to its demise, including the turbulent economy, the move away from brick-and-mortar stores to online retailers, and the rise of e-readers, like Amazon's Kindle, Apple's iPad, and the Nook of rival Barnes & Noble.
From humble beginnings -- the first Borders, a used bookstore, opened in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1971 -- the company became a pioneer of the big-box bookseller concept.
Borders Prepares to Close Nearly 400 Bookstores
At its peak in 2003, Borders had more than 1,200 stores around the country, each with thousands of new titles. The company says a host of factors led to its demise, including the turbulent economy, the move away from brick-and-mortar stores to online retailers, and the rise of e-readers, like Amazon's Kindle, Apple's iPad, and the Nook of rival Barnes & Noble.
Hemingway's 112th Birthday Anniversary - Oak Park festival 2011
from www.oakpark.com/ Facebook page on July 2011 events:
Star billing
The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park will celebrate what would have been Hemingway's 112th birthday (Friday July 22) with a talk by Kansas City Star journalist and editor Steve Paul. Paul will speak on Hemingway's earliest journalism experiences, many of which played a role in his later fiction. The talk will include reading of his published and unpublished journalism. Paul has been a staff writer and editor at the Kansas City Star since 1975. Currently senior writer and arts editor, he manages staff and freelance critics and writes about books, music, architecture, the arts, the city and restaurants.
In 1999, the year of the Hemingway centennial, he edited a special commemorative section at The Star, which was Hemingway's first employer. That began Paul's immersion into the Hemingway world. His conference papers have been published in The Hemingway Review, in Key West Hemingway (University of Florida Press) and in two forthcoming books. In 2003 he gave a conference paper at a Hemingway Colloquium in Havana, Cuba. He was site director of the 13th Biennial International Ernest Hemingway Society Conference in Kansas City in 2008 and is co-editor of War + Ink, a collection of essays from that conference, which will soon be published by Kent State University Press. He serves as the Hemingway Foundation's liaison to the Hemingway/PEN Award for first fiction, administered by New England PEN and celebrated annually at the JFK Library and Museum. A native of Boston, he is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Birthday Lecture at 8 p.m. at the Hemingway Museum, 200 N. Oak Park Ave. Admission is $15/$10 for EHFOP members, and tickets may be purchased at the door. Advance reservations are not required.
Star billing
The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park will celebrate what would have been Hemingway's 112th birthday (Friday July 22) with a talk by Kansas City Star journalist and editor Steve Paul. Paul will speak on Hemingway's earliest journalism experiences, many of which played a role in his later fiction. The talk will include reading of his published and unpublished journalism. Paul has been a staff writer and editor at the Kansas City Star since 1975. Currently senior writer and arts editor, he manages staff and freelance critics and writes about books, music, architecture, the arts, the city and restaurants.
In 1999, the year of the Hemingway centennial, he edited a special commemorative section at The Star, which was Hemingway's first employer. That began Paul's immersion into the Hemingway world. His conference papers have been published in The Hemingway Review, in Key West Hemingway (University of Florida Press) and in two forthcoming books. In 2003 he gave a conference paper at a Hemingway Colloquium in Havana, Cuba. He was site director of the 13th Biennial International Ernest Hemingway Society Conference in Kansas City in 2008 and is co-editor of War + Ink, a collection of essays from that conference, which will soon be published by Kent State University Press. He serves as the Hemingway Foundation's liaison to the Hemingway/PEN Award for first fiction, administered by New England PEN and celebrated annually at the JFK Library and Museum. A native of Boston, he is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Birthday Lecture at 8 p.m. at the Hemingway Museum, 200 N. Oak Park Ave. Admission is $15/$10 for EHFOP members, and tickets may be purchased at the door. Advance reservations are not required.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
6 a.m. July 21 -- historic moment -- safe landing SHUTTLE ATLANTIS -- ends era for NASA vehicle usage
posted as Bulletin as Space Shuttle brings astronaut crew to Florida landing --
Shuttle Ends Its Final Voyage and an Era in Space
The last space shuttle flight rolled to a stop at 5:58 a.m. on Thursday, closing an era of the nation’s space program.
It was the 19th night landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to end the 135th space shuttle mission. For Atlantis, the final tally of its 26-year career: 33 missions, accumulating just short of 126 million miles during 307 days in space.
A permanent marker will be placed on the runway to mark the final resting spot of the space shuttle program.
sent as an email -- from NY TIMES dot-com
Shuttle Ends Its Final Voyage and an Era in Space
The last space shuttle flight rolled to a stop at 5:58 a.m. on Thursday, closing an era of the nation’s space program.
It was the 19th night landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to end the 135th space shuttle mission. For Atlantis, the final tally of its 26-year career: 33 missions, accumulating just short of 126 million miles during 307 days in space.
A permanent marker will be placed on the runway to mark the final resting spot of the space shuttle program.
sent as an email -- from NY TIMES dot-com
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
French contacts with Native American Culture: Fort St. Joseph Colonial period lecture
Hosted at the Niles District Library Wed. July 27, evening FREE lecture
Michigan State Archaeologist Dean Anderson will present the second summer Archaeology Lecture on Wednesday, July 27 at the Niles District Library, 620 East Main St.
In keeping with this year’s theme, the topic of his presentation will be “Trade Between Cultures: The French Period in the Western Great Lakes Region.” The meeting of Native Americans and French immigrants during the early 1600s launched a complicated relationship that involved politics, alliances and importantly, trade. Anderson will examine how that trade relationship worked by focusing attention on the Indians’ side of the trade.
The location for the lecture is the downstairs community room in the library at 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided. The event is free.
www.nilesstar.com/
Michigan State Archaeologist Dean Anderson will present the second summer Archaeology Lecture on Wednesday, July 27 at the Niles District Library, 620 East Main St.
In keeping with this year’s theme, the topic of his presentation will be “Trade Between Cultures: The French Period in the Western Great Lakes Region.” The meeting of Native Americans and French immigrants during the early 1600s launched a complicated relationship that involved politics, alliances and importantly, trade. Anderson will examine how that trade relationship worked by focusing attention on the Indians’ side of the trade.
The location for the lecture is the downstairs community room in the library at 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided. The event is free.
www.nilesstar.com/
Today is the birthday of Cormac McCarthy
from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, Minnesota Public Radio list serv):
Today is the birthday of Cormac McCarthy (1933), born Charles McCarthy Jr. in Providence, Rhode Island. His novels tend to follow the Southern Gothic tradition, and he's been compared to William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote. Richard Woodward, of the New York Review of Books, wrote, "A man's novelist whose apocalyptic vision rarely focuses on women, McCarthy doesn't write about sex, love or domestic issues." He's known for his "Border Trilogy": All the Pretty Horses (1992), The Crossing (1994), and Cities of the Plain (1998). Blood Meridian (1985) commonly turns up on "Best Novels of the 20th Century" lists, and The Road (2006) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
He grew up outside Knoxville; his dad was a lawyer who used to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority. The McCarthys lived in a big white house on a fair-sized bit of land and were considered rich, since most of their neighbors lived in shacks. He had a remarkable number of hobbies as a kid, but reading and writing weren't on the list until his early 20s. He sent his first novel, The Orchard Keeper (1965), to Random House, because that was the only publisher he'd ever heard of. Somehow, the manuscript found its way to William Faulkner's former editor, Albert Erskine. Erskine bought the book and was McCarthy's editor for 20 years.
McCarthy likes to be left alone, and he grants very few interviews. When he does, he rarely wants to talk about his work, preferring one of the hundreds of other subjects he's interested in. "Writing is way, way down at the bottom of the list." He's said that he doesn't understand authors who don't want to tackle "life and death" themes, and that he much prefers the company of scientists to that of writers.
Today is the birthday of Cormac McCarthy (1933), born Charles McCarthy Jr. in Providence, Rhode Island. His novels tend to follow the Southern Gothic tradition, and he's been compared to William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote. Richard Woodward, of the New York Review of Books, wrote, "A man's novelist whose apocalyptic vision rarely focuses on women, McCarthy doesn't write about sex, love or domestic issues." He's known for his "Border Trilogy": All the Pretty Horses (1992), The Crossing (1994), and Cities of the Plain (1998). Blood Meridian (1985) commonly turns up on "Best Novels of the 20th Century" lists, and The Road (2006) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
He grew up outside Knoxville; his dad was a lawyer who used to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority. The McCarthys lived in a big white house on a fair-sized bit of land and were considered rich, since most of their neighbors lived in shacks. He had a remarkable number of hobbies as a kid, but reading and writing weren't on the list until his early 20s. He sent his first novel, The Orchard Keeper (1965), to Random House, because that was the only publisher he'd ever heard of. Somehow, the manuscript found its way to William Faulkner's former editor, Albert Erskine. Erskine bought the book and was McCarthy's editor for 20 years.
McCarthy likes to be left alone, and he grants very few interviews. When he does, he rarely wants to talk about his work, preferring one of the hundreds of other subjects he's interested in. "Writing is way, way down at the bottom of the list." He's said that he doesn't understand authors who don't want to tackle "life and death" themes, and that he much prefers the company of scientists to that of writers.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Space Station & Shuttle Atlantis news (Monday July 18)
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 06:14:35 AM EDT
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
From the International Space Station's cupola, astronauts Sandy Magnus and Doug Hurley have grasped the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module with Canadarm2, the station's robotic arm.
Raffaello's hatch was closed at 1:03 a.m. EDT today and the Harmony side of the hatch was closed at 3:23 a.m. Raffaello, which was attached to the Harmony node at 11:07 a.m. on July 10, will be transported through space back to Atlantis' cargo bay for its return to Earth.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
From the International Space Station's cupola, astronauts Sandy Magnus and Doug Hurley have grasped the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module with Canadarm2, the station's robotic arm.
Raffaello's hatch was closed at 1:03 a.m. EDT today and the Harmony side of the hatch was closed at 3:23 a.m. Raffaello, which was attached to the Harmony node at 11:07 a.m. on July 10, will be transported through space back to Atlantis' cargo bay for its return to Earth.
Japan Women's Soccer Team unfurls banner & wins title -- U.S. Women score 2 goals and 1 penalty kick only
Japan stunned the Americans in a riveting Women's World Cup final, beating them 3-1 on penalty kicks Sunday after coming from behind twice in a 2-2 tie. Goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori made two brilliant saves in the shootout.
After each game, the team unfurled a banner saying, "To our Friends Around the World -- Thank You for Your Support." On Sunday, they did it before the match and afterward they had a new sign to display: Champions -- and the first Asian country to win this title.
The Americans found it all too hard to grasp. They believed they were meant to be World Cup champions after their rocky year -- needing a playoff to qualify, a loss in group play to Sweden, the epic comeback against Brazil. They simply couldn't pull off one last thriller.
"The players were patient, they wanted to win this game," Sasaki said. "I think it's because of that the Americans scored only two goals."
While Japan celebrated at midfield, the Americans stood as a group and watched.
"There are really no words," Abby Wambach said. "We were so close."
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Family worships at church nearby -- St. John's -- readings on Genesis, Romans, Matthew
First family attends church service
By STACY A. ANDERSON -- reporter for the WASHINGTON EXAMINER
President Barack Obama walks with his family, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha, left, to St. John's Church Sunday, July 17, 2011, in Washington. President Barack Obama took his family to worship services on Sunday, walking out of the White House and to a nearby church often frequented by presidents.
Accompanied by his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, Obama walked through Lafayette Square to attend the 10:30 morning service at the historic St. John's Church.
Obama wore a dark grey suit, while the first lady and Malia wore shades of purple and Sasha a floral green and white dress.
The hour-long service included readings from the books of Genesis, Romans and Matthew, and the singing of several hymns. The congregation also prayed for family, friends and neighbors, including "for Barack, our president, the leaders of Congress, the Supreme Court and all who are in authority."
The first family participated in holy communion before walking back to the White House.
Obama has worshipped at St. John's previously, including Easter services in 2009. He has also attended other churches in the nation's capital.
A pew nine rows back from the altar at St. John's carries a small brass plaque designating it as "The President's Pew." Church history claims that every president since James Madison has visited.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/07/first-family-attends-church-service#ixzz1SOCRlRYm
Meeting with the Dalai Lama -- Map Room, White House, USA
from POLITICO coverage (www.politico.com/ )
President Obama spent 44 minutes of his Saturday morning with the Dalai Lama at the White House.
The meeting, announced late Friday, finally put an end to mounting speculation about whether the Tibetan religious leader would get an invite to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“The President reiterated his strong support for the preservation of the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions of Tibet and the Tibetan people throughout the world,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a readout of the meeting. “He underscored the importance of the protection of human rights of Tibetans in China.”
Obama reiterated to the Tibetan leader the U.S. policy that Tibet is a part of the People’s Republic of China and that the administration does not support Tibetan independence, Carney added.
The timing of the weekend meeting, which took place in the Map Room of the White House, suggested the administration’s determination to attach as little pomp and publicity to the visit as possible. Until Friday, the White House had kept silent about a possible meeting after the exiled leader arrived in Washington on July 6; Saturday marks the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s last day in the nation’s capital.
President Obama spent 44 minutes of his Saturday morning with the Dalai Lama at the White House.
The meeting, announced late Friday, finally put an end to mounting speculation about whether the Tibetan religious leader would get an invite to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“The President reiterated his strong support for the preservation of the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions of Tibet and the Tibetan people throughout the world,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a readout of the meeting. “He underscored the importance of the protection of human rights of Tibetans in China.”
Obama reiterated to the Tibetan leader the U.S. policy that Tibet is a part of the People’s Republic of China and that the administration does not support Tibetan independence, Carney added.
The timing of the weekend meeting, which took place in the Map Room of the White House, suggested the administration’s determination to attach as little pomp and publicity to the visit as possible. Until Friday, the White House had kept silent about a possible meeting after the exiled leader arrived in Washington on July 6; Saturday marks the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s last day in the nation’s capital.
FIFA World Cup - Women's Championship (Sunday 7/17/2011)
from ESPN dot-go dot-com article (Five Things to Know):
Sunday's matchup, the United States versus Japan, is likely to carry a lot of emotion. Both teams are fan favorites, thanks to showing their heart and determination to reach the final.
Here are five storylines you need to know for the World Cup final:
1. Playing for a cause
This is unknown territory for the Japanese. This is their first World Cup final, and they are only the second Asian team to reach the championship. China in 1999 was the first. Interestingly, as most soccer fans know, the Chinese also had to face the U.S. for the World Cup, with the Americans taking the title in penalty kicks.
The Japanese are quite excited to have made it this far. Before the tournament began, in wake of the March 11 tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disasters that struck their homeland, the players decided to play as a source of inspiration and pride for Japan. The emotion has been clear in the Japanese, as they really want to bring happiness back to their country. Winning the World Cup would make them national heroines.
2. Keeping calm
Japan and the U.S. have shown quite the survivalist flair to get to the final.
Japan had to defeat Germany on its home turf, scoring in extra time to advance out of the quarterfinals.
The U.S. had to get a last-second goal in extra time from Abby Wambach to get to penalty kicks against Brazil in the quarters. The Americans surged ahead in the PKs, but it was a nerve-racking ride.
Both had easier finishes in the semifinals, showing off a killer instinct. These are two teams that know how to keep calm, think clearly and go for the win when the pressure is the highest.
But the stress and nerves will be even higher in the final. Who will respond the best?
3. Watch the stars
The final will have a slew of talented women to keep your eyes on. Watch U.S. goalie Hope Solo make big saves, Wambach go for her headers and midfielder Megan Rapinoe's play to match her spiky-cool hair with a flair for the dramatic.
Japan's captain, Homare Sawa, plays with a keen savvy and grace, and midfielders Aya Miyama and Nahomi Kawasumi have both demonstrated dangerous scoring ability.
It's going to be the athleticism of the Americans versus the aggressive midfield pressure of the Japanese.
But as we've seen in many a big game, there's always room for a new star to be born. Who will step up? Or will someone crack under the pressure?
4. Go, team!
The U.S. and Japan have their share of amazing individual stars, but in the end, the onus remains squarely centered on the team effort as a whole. U.S. coach Pia Sundhage continually talks (and sometimes sings!) about the team winning together, enjoying each other and being supportive of the collective effort. Japanese coach Norio Sasaki preaches along the same lines, asking his players to always play as one.
Both squads have bought into their coaches' all-for-one philosophies. These houses are definitely not divided, with their sound foundations and team construction leading them into the finals.
5. Making history
U.S. captain Christie Rampone is the only player in the final to already have won the World Cup.
No matter the outcome, there will be a new crop of freshly minted champions, from coaches down to players. As Solo put it, "It's the once-in-a-lifetime chance you want to seize."
Only three teams have had the privilege of winning the Women's World Cup since its inception in 1991: Germany (2007 and '03), U.S. (1991 and '99) and Norway (1995).
Expect a packed FIFA Women's World Cup stadium in Frankfurt, with sizable support for both the Japanese and the Americans. It's going to be a rollicking finish to a wild 22-day ride.
Sunday's matchup, the United States versus Japan, is likely to carry a lot of emotion. Both teams are fan favorites, thanks to showing their heart and determination to reach the final.
Here are five storylines you need to know for the World Cup final:
1. Playing for a cause
This is unknown territory for the Japanese. This is their first World Cup final, and they are only the second Asian team to reach the championship. China in 1999 was the first. Interestingly, as most soccer fans know, the Chinese also had to face the U.S. for the World Cup, with the Americans taking the title in penalty kicks.
The Japanese are quite excited to have made it this far. Before the tournament began, in wake of the March 11 tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disasters that struck their homeland, the players decided to play as a source of inspiration and pride for Japan. The emotion has been clear in the Japanese, as they really want to bring happiness back to their country. Winning the World Cup would make them national heroines.
2. Keeping calm
Japan and the U.S. have shown quite the survivalist flair to get to the final.
Japan had to defeat Germany on its home turf, scoring in extra time to advance out of the quarterfinals.
The U.S. had to get a last-second goal in extra time from Abby Wambach to get to penalty kicks against Brazil in the quarters. The Americans surged ahead in the PKs, but it was a nerve-racking ride.
Both had easier finishes in the semifinals, showing off a killer instinct. These are two teams that know how to keep calm, think clearly and go for the win when the pressure is the highest.
But the stress and nerves will be even higher in the final. Who will respond the best?
3. Watch the stars
The final will have a slew of talented women to keep your eyes on. Watch U.S. goalie Hope Solo make big saves, Wambach go for her headers and midfielder Megan Rapinoe's play to match her spiky-cool hair with a flair for the dramatic.
Japan's captain, Homare Sawa, plays with a keen savvy and grace, and midfielders Aya Miyama and Nahomi Kawasumi have both demonstrated dangerous scoring ability.
It's going to be the athleticism of the Americans versus the aggressive midfield pressure of the Japanese.
But as we've seen in many a big game, there's always room for a new star to be born. Who will step up? Or will someone crack under the pressure?
4. Go, team!
The U.S. and Japan have their share of amazing individual stars, but in the end, the onus remains squarely centered on the team effort as a whole. U.S. coach Pia Sundhage continually talks (and sometimes sings!) about the team winning together, enjoying each other and being supportive of the collective effort. Japanese coach Norio Sasaki preaches along the same lines, asking his players to always play as one.
Both squads have bought into their coaches' all-for-one philosophies. These houses are definitely not divided, with their sound foundations and team construction leading them into the finals.
5. Making history
U.S. captain Christie Rampone is the only player in the final to already have won the World Cup.
No matter the outcome, there will be a new crop of freshly minted champions, from coaches down to players. As Solo put it, "It's the once-in-a-lifetime chance you want to seize."
Only three teams have had the privilege of winning the Women's World Cup since its inception in 1991: Germany (2007 and '03), U.S. (1991 and '99) and Norway (1995).
Expect a packed FIFA Women's World Cup stadium in Frankfurt, with sizable support for both the Japanese and the Americans. It's going to be a rollicking finish to a wild 22-day ride.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
On this date in 1951: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger published
On July 16, 1951 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was published. After he finished the manuscript, Salinger sent a copy to Robert Giroux, who was then a young editor at Harcourt, Brace. Giroux thought the novel was brilliant and agreed to publish it. He showed Catcher in the Rye to his boss, Eugene Reynal, who didn't like it at all. Giroux described their meeting: 'Gene said, The kid is disturbed. I said, Well, that's all right. He is, but it's a great novel. He said, Well, I felt that I had to show it to the textbook department. The textbook department? He said, Well, it's about a kid in prep school isn't it? I'm waiting for their reply. I said, It doesn't matter what their reply is, Gene. We have a contract for the book. [...] The textbook people's report came back, and it said, This book is not for us, try Random House.' The whole situation upset Robert Giroux so much that he quit Harcourt, Brace, and got a job with Farrar, Straus, & Company — which is now known as Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Salinger had to find a new publisher, and Little, Brown made him an offer. Salinger turned out to be a difficult author to work with. He wanted his friend Michael Mitchell to design the cover. He wanted the jacket redone because he thought his photograph on the back was too large. He told Little, Brown that they couldn't sent out any promotional copies because he didn't want any publicity. They eventually managed to convince Salinger to change his mind on most counts, but he wasn't happy about it.
Despite Salinger's hesitations about publicity, The Catcher in the Rye was a sensation. It became a best-seller almost immediately, reaching No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list after two weeks. It has sold more than 65 million copies.
The Catcher in the Rye begins: 'If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.'
Salinger had to find a new publisher, and Little, Brown made him an offer. Salinger turned out to be a difficult author to work with. He wanted his friend Michael Mitchell to design the cover. He wanted the jacket redone because he thought his photograph on the back was too large. He told Little, Brown that they couldn't sent out any promotional copies because he didn't want any publicity. They eventually managed to convince Salinger to change his mind on most counts, but he wasn't happy about it.
Despite Salinger's hesitations about publicity, The Catcher in the Rye was a sensation. It became a best-seller almost immediately, reaching No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list after two weeks. It has sold more than 65 million copies.
The Catcher in the Rye begins: 'If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.'
Friday, July 15, 2011
NASA flight observer (Dawn) to orbit asteroid (Vesta): July 16
used from Scientific American (periodical article July 15) as posted at www.pbs.org/newshour/
At 1 A.M. Eastern time on July 16, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will become the first man-made probe to enter orbit around a so-called main-belt asteroid. The spherical body, Vesta, circles the sun in a stretch of asteroids known as the Asteroid Belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
As Dawn approaches Vesta, it is taking detailed photographs, such as the July 9 image shown here at a distance of about 42,000 kilometers with a resolution of 3.8 kilometers per pixel. Vesta is large for an asteroid, leading to its classification as a "protoplanet," a celestial body that, it is thought, could have developed into a planet.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., supervises the Dawn mission, which launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in September 2007 and flrst flew by Mars for a gravity boost.
After circling Vesta for about a year, Dawn will depart for Ceres, which is larger than Vesta, and the only dwarf planet in the Asteroid Belt; it will enter orbit there in 2015.
At 1 A.M. Eastern time on July 16, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will become the first man-made probe to enter orbit around a so-called main-belt asteroid. The spherical body, Vesta, circles the sun in a stretch of asteroids known as the Asteroid Belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
As Dawn approaches Vesta, it is taking detailed photographs, such as the July 9 image shown here at a distance of about 42,000 kilometers with a resolution of 3.8 kilometers per pixel. Vesta is large for an asteroid, leading to its classification as a "protoplanet," a celestial body that, it is thought, could have developed into a planet.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., supervises the Dawn mission, which launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in September 2007 and flrst flew by Mars for a gravity boost.
After circling Vesta for about a year, Dawn will depart for Ceres, which is larger than Vesta, and the only dwarf planet in the Asteroid Belt; it will enter orbit there in 2015.
Further information: July 18 Forum (Niles District Library)
source: Niles Daily Star story -- www.nilesstar.com/
The top two vote getters will advance to the general election in November.
The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties spearheaded the effort to bring the forum to Niles.
“We have some members who live in Niles and are eager to have us do a forum there,” said co-president Elizabeth Ennis. “Our central purpose is to help voters become informed.”
The two-hour forum will be moderated by Katie Rohman, managing editor of the Niles Daily Star, and will feature questions formulated by the League of Women’s Voters and from the audience.
The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties, a nonpartisan political organization, was formed 54 years ago in Niles. The group organizes political forums throughout the two counties to inform voters before elections.
The top two vote getters will advance to the general election in November.
The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties spearheaded the effort to bring the forum to Niles.
“We have some members who live in Niles and are eager to have us do a forum there,” said co-president Elizabeth Ennis. “Our central purpose is to help voters become informed.”
The two-hour forum will be moderated by Katie Rohman, managing editor of the Niles Daily Star, and will feature questions formulated by the League of Women’s Voters and from the audience.
The League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass Counties, a nonpartisan political organization, was formed 54 years ago in Niles. The group organizes political forums throughout the two counties to inform voters before elections.
Niles, Michigan Mayoral Candidates (August 2 primary) - Forum Monday July 18
The League of Women Voters along with Leader Publications and Four Flags Chamber of Commerce will hold a Forum on Monday July 18 at the Niles District Library -- It will begin at 7 p.m. and will follow a "Meet the Candidates" format. As a non-partisan event, it is not meant to be an endorsement of a political party of affiliation. Those listed on pre-publicity are four eligible candidates:
Bruce Edward Leach
Mike McCauslin
W. Tim Skalla
Michael Squier II
It is timed during mid-summer so that voter education may take place ahead of the Primary elections that are held August 2, 2011 (a first Tuesday) which precedes the November General Election (2011).
Bruce Edward Leach
Mike McCauslin
W. Tim Skalla
Michael Squier II
It is timed during mid-summer so that voter education may take place ahead of the Primary elections that are held August 2, 2011 (a first Tuesday) which precedes the November General Election (2011).
Planned "drawdown" -- Troops coming home from Afghanistan
Reuters (AP) News service press statement/article:
The first U.S. troops have left Afghanistan as part of President Barack Obama's planned drawdown of about a third of the 100,000 U.S. forces there during the next year.
Facing growing political opposition to the nearly decade-old war, Obama announced in June the withdrawal plan, which was a faster timetable than the military had recommended. The first 10,000 troops will come home by the end of the year, but Obama left the details up to his commanders.
U.S. Lt. Col. Wayne Perry, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said about 650 troops who had completed their rotation in Afghanistan left on Wednesday as scheduled, and would not be replaced. "As part of the drawdown the first U.S. troops have left Afghanistan," he said.
The units that left were the Army National Guard's 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry Regiment, based in Kabul, and the Army National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, which had been in neighboring Parwan province.
Afghan security forces are to take over security responsibility from foreign forces in seven areas of the country this summer. Afghan forces will then take the lead in securing the entire country by the end of 2014.
The first U.S. troops have left Afghanistan as part of President Barack Obama's planned drawdown of about a third of the 100,000 U.S. forces there during the next year.
Facing growing political opposition to the nearly decade-old war, Obama announced in June the withdrawal plan, which was a faster timetable than the military had recommended. The first 10,000 troops will come home by the end of the year, but Obama left the details up to his commanders.
U.S. Lt. Col. Wayne Perry, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said about 650 troops who had completed their rotation in Afghanistan left on Wednesday as scheduled, and would not be replaced. "As part of the drawdown the first U.S. troops have left Afghanistan," he said.
The units that left were the Army National Guard's 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry Regiment, based in Kabul, and the Army National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, which had been in neighboring Parwan province.
Afghan security forces are to take over security responsibility from foreign forces in seven areas of the country this summer. Afghan forces will then take the lead in securing the entire country by the end of 2014.
July Full Moon -- Old Farmer's Almanac information - background
posted at Almanac dot-com
Full Moon Names
July is the month of the Full Buck Moon.
Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.
July 2011 Moon and Moon Facts
Two new Moons occur in July; one on July 1 and the other July 30 at 2:40 P.M.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon. He also placed the U.S. flag there.
On July 31, 1999, The ashes of astrogeologist Eugene Shoemaker were deposited on the Moon.
Full Moon Names
July is the month of the Full Buck Moon.
Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.
July 2011 Moon and Moon Facts
Two new Moons occur in July; one on July 1 and the other July 30 at 2:40 P.M.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon. He also placed the U.S. flag there.
On July 31, 1999, The ashes of astrogeologist Eugene Shoemaker were deposited on the Moon.
"Good Day Sunshine" -- wake-up tune to Shuttle Atlantis July 15 -- McCartney
from NASA dot-gov report-news (Friday, July 15 developments):
HOUSTON – Sir Paul McCartney awakened the crew of Atlantis today with a special message and the song "Good Day Sunshine," starting a day for the final shuttle crew that will be highlighted by a call from President Barack H. Obama.
"Good morning guys!" McCartney said in a message recorded pre-launch for the final space shuttle crew. "Wake up! And good luck on this, your last mission. Well done!"
McCartney’s wakeup call came at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, 30 minutes later than Atlantis’ crew had been scheduled to wake up. It was delayed to give the crew time to make up sleep they lost over the course of the night due to a failure of one of the shuttle’s five general purpose computers.
At 5:07 p.m. on Thursday, a failure alarm rang on board Atlantis, tripped by a problem with general purpose computer 4. Only two of the shuttle’s computer are needed when the shuttle is orbiting the Earth, so the functions that computer had been responsible for were simply transferred to another computer. But the crew spent 40 minutes of their sleep time working through the procedures to do so, and elected to make that time up by sleeping in for 30 minutes. Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Doug Hurley have an hour set aside this morning to work with the computer and get it back up and running.
HOUSTON – Sir Paul McCartney awakened the crew of Atlantis today with a special message and the song "Good Day Sunshine," starting a day for the final shuttle crew that will be highlighted by a call from President Barack H. Obama.
"Good morning guys!" McCartney said in a message recorded pre-launch for the final space shuttle crew. "Wake up! And good luck on this, your last mission. Well done!"
McCartney’s wakeup call came at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, 30 minutes later than Atlantis’ crew had been scheduled to wake up. It was delayed to give the crew time to make up sleep they lost over the course of the night due to a failure of one of the shuttle’s five general purpose computers.
At 5:07 p.m. on Thursday, a failure alarm rang on board Atlantis, tripped by a problem with general purpose computer 4. Only two of the shuttle’s computer are needed when the shuttle is orbiting the Earth, so the functions that computer had been responsible for were simply transferred to another computer. But the crew spent 40 minutes of their sleep time working through the procedures to do so, and elected to make that time up by sleeping in for 30 minutes. Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Doug Hurley have an hour set aside this morning to work with the computer and get it back up and running.
Steve Ford, Richard Norton Smith anecdotes - remarks about Betty Ford
Detroit News follow-up coverage after 2 p.m. Funeral at Grand Rapids, MI (July 14):
When Steve Ford told his mom he was an alcoholic, she didn't react like an august first lady or the founder of the Betty Ford Center that helped thousands of people deal with substance abuse.
Betty Ford reacted like a mom. She told her flabbergasted son that he was only imagining his trouble with alcohol, Steve Ford recalled during his mother's funeral Thursday. "I said, 'Mom, stop, you can't be in denial,'" Ford said to laughter from the crowd. " 'You're, like, Betty Ford. You're, like, the poster child for this thing.' "
But that's just the way she was, said other speakers. Betty Ford was just a mom, a wife, a common girl from Grand Rapids who never allowed Washington or any other vast public stage to change her, they said.
She left the public arena for the final time Thursday after the funeral at Grace Episcopal Church, where she married President Gerald Ford 63 years ago.
"Her reputation wasn't the type that needed cultivating," said Lynne Cheney, wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney. "Just the mention of her name brings hopeful and good things to mind."
Among the 300 people attending the service were former President Bill Clinton, Gov. Rick Snyder, Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former first lady Barbara Bush.
Hundreds of people gathered near the church and along the route that took Ford to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, where she was buried next to her husband in a private ceremony.
During the service, historian Richard Norton Smith praised Ford for not only confronting her demons but helping others to do the same.
At a time when people hid their troubles with cancer or substance abuse, Ford bravely talked about both, said Smith. While most political wives shied away from talking politics, especially about views that differed from their husband's, Ford loudly championed women's rights and other liberal causes.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110715/METRO/107150368/Betty-Ford--A-first-lady-—-but-a-mom-first#ixzz1SAqBmMiL
When Steve Ford told his mom he was an alcoholic, she didn't react like an august first lady or the founder of the Betty Ford Center that helped thousands of people deal with substance abuse.
Betty Ford reacted like a mom. She told her flabbergasted son that he was only imagining his trouble with alcohol, Steve Ford recalled during his mother's funeral Thursday. "I said, 'Mom, stop, you can't be in denial,'" Ford said to laughter from the crowd. " 'You're, like, Betty Ford. You're, like, the poster child for this thing.' "
But that's just the way she was, said other speakers. Betty Ford was just a mom, a wife, a common girl from Grand Rapids who never allowed Washington or any other vast public stage to change her, they said.
She left the public arena for the final time Thursday after the funeral at Grace Episcopal Church, where she married President Gerald Ford 63 years ago.
"Her reputation wasn't the type that needed cultivating," said Lynne Cheney, wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney. "Just the mention of her name brings hopeful and good things to mind."
Among the 300 people attending the service were former President Bill Clinton, Gov. Rick Snyder, Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former first lady Barbara Bush.
Hundreds of people gathered near the church and along the route that took Ford to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, where she was buried next to her husband in a private ceremony.
During the service, historian Richard Norton Smith praised Ford for not only confronting her demons but helping others to do the same.
At a time when people hid their troubles with cancer or substance abuse, Ford bravely talked about both, said Smith. While most political wives shied away from talking politics, especially about views that differed from their husband's, Ford loudly championed women's rights and other liberal causes.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110715/METRO/107150368/Betty-Ford--A-first-lady-—-but-a-mom-first#ixzz1SAqBmMiL
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Tolerance, Equity, Awareness: Counter-protest to form protective chain during public event (July 14)
as expected/forecast in M-Live (Michigan / Grand Rapids news online) dot-com
EAST GRAND RAPIDS -- Police do not expect any trouble from protesters with Westboro Baptist Church at former first lady Betty Ford's funeral and, in fact, are not sure anyone will show.
The church announced plans to protest Ford's funeral because she had been divorced when she married former President Gerald R. Ford and, according to a statement, encouraged pre-marital sex.
East Grand Rapids Public Safety Chief Mark Herald said Westboro members failed to show Tuesday for Betty Ford's funeral in California as they promised and he said there is a good chance they will not show up in Grand Rapids.
"That's what they do. They get the publicity over protest plans and then don't show," he said.
If they do surface, another group already is planning to block them with a "peaceful human chain."
Members of the Tolerance, Equity and Awareness Movement in Grand Rapids plan to be near the church to "protect the Ford family from the hate of this group."
Herald said some members of Westboro were in East Grand Rapids for former President Ford's funeral in 2006, but there were no problems. They were given a designated place to protest.
"They are very attune to the law. They know the rules," he said.
In 2006, police were stationed with the group, essentially to protect them, Herald said. He expects the same arrangement Thursday, if protesters show.
www.mlive.com/
EAST GRAND RAPIDS -- Police do not expect any trouble from protesters with Westboro Baptist Church at former first lady Betty Ford's funeral and, in fact, are not sure anyone will show.
The church announced plans to protest Ford's funeral because she had been divorced when she married former President Gerald R. Ford and, according to a statement, encouraged pre-marital sex.
East Grand Rapids Public Safety Chief Mark Herald said Westboro members failed to show Tuesday for Betty Ford's funeral in California as they promised and he said there is a good chance they will not show up in Grand Rapids.
"That's what they do. They get the publicity over protest plans and then don't show," he said.
If they do surface, another group already is planning to block them with a "peaceful human chain."
Members of the Tolerance, Equity and Awareness Movement in Grand Rapids plan to be near the church to "protect the Ford family from the hate of this group."
Herald said some members of Westboro were in East Grand Rapids for former President Ford's funeral in 2006, but there were no problems. They were given a designated place to protest.
"They are very attune to the law. They know the rules," he said.
In 2006, police were stationed with the group, essentially to protect them, Herald said. He expects the same arrangement Thursday, if protesters show.
www.mlive.com/
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Visitation - viewing Betty Ford -- memorial funeral at Grand Rapids
from M Live (Grand Rapids media outlet) dot-com -- coverage continues
Wednesday postings (added to online updates)
• 8:19 p.m. Nearly two hours before a procession for former first lady Betty Ford, area residents began to gather along the route, as a way to honor the Ford family, offer their support, and be part of history.
• 7:18 p.m. Calling Betty Ford "extraordinary," Gov. Rick Snyder paid tribute to the many contributions of the former first lady in her lifetime after her casket arrived today at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in downtown Grand Rapids.
• 6:16 p.m. Honor guard places Betty Ford's casket at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, where the former first lady will lie in repose and the public may pay their respects between 7-11 p.m. Wednesday and 7-10 a.m. Thursday.
• 6:03 p.m. The motorcade carrying the body of Betty Ford has arrived at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
• 5:23 p.m. As the motorcade carrying the body of Betty Ford leaves Gerald R. Ford International Airport, crowds are gathered along the route to watch the motorcade pass. Read more about the arrival
• 5 p.m. Much of West Michigan's legislative delegation has arrived at the Ford airport to greet the Ford family as it arrives with the casket bearing the remains of first lady Betty Ford.
While Gov. Rick Snyder is the official greeter, standing by are state Sens. Dave Hildenbrand and Mark Jansen, state Reps. Roy Schmidt, Brandon Dillon and Dave Agema and Grand Rapids City Commission member Rosalyn Bliss. The state Senate majority leader and speaker of the house also are on hand to greet the plan, which arrived just before 5 p.m.
Wednesday postings (added to online updates)
• 8:19 p.m. Nearly two hours before a procession for former first lady Betty Ford, area residents began to gather along the route, as a way to honor the Ford family, offer their support, and be part of history.
• 7:18 p.m. Calling Betty Ford "extraordinary," Gov. Rick Snyder paid tribute to the many contributions of the former first lady in her lifetime after her casket arrived today at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in downtown Grand Rapids.
• 6:16 p.m. Honor guard places Betty Ford's casket at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, where the former first lady will lie in repose and the public may pay their respects between 7-11 p.m. Wednesday and 7-10 a.m. Thursday.
• 6:03 p.m. The motorcade carrying the body of Betty Ford has arrived at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
• 5:23 p.m. As the motorcade carrying the body of Betty Ford leaves Gerald R. Ford International Airport, crowds are gathered along the route to watch the motorcade pass. Read more about the arrival
• 5 p.m. Much of West Michigan's legislative delegation has arrived at the Ford airport to greet the Ford family as it arrives with the casket bearing the remains of first lady Betty Ford.
While Gov. Rick Snyder is the official greeter, standing by are state Sens. Dave Hildenbrand and Mark Jansen, state Reps. Roy Schmidt, Brandon Dillon and Dave Agema and Grand Rapids City Commission member Rosalyn Bliss. The state Senate majority leader and speaker of the house also are on hand to greet the plan, which arrived just before 5 p.m.
"Rocket Man" -- plus taped message from Elton John himself
posted at NASA dot-gov site on Shuttle "News"
Today’s wakeup song was Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” played at 2:29 a.m. EDT, followed by a special message from Elton John: “Good morning, Atlantis, this is Elton John. We wish you much success on your mission. A huge thank you to all the men and women at NASA who worked on the shuttle for the last three decades.”
Atlantis and Expedition 28 crews will spend much of the day transferring equipment and supplies from the Raffaello multi-purpose module to the International Space Station.
Today’s wakeup song was Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” played at 2:29 a.m. EDT, followed by a special message from Elton John: “Good morning, Atlantis, this is Elton John. We wish you much success on your mission. A huge thank you to all the men and women at NASA who worked on the shuttle for the last three decades.”
Atlantis and Expedition 28 crews will spend much of the day transferring equipment and supplies from the Raffaello multi-purpose module to the International Space Station.
Wed. 7 p.m. -- Thursday 7 a.m. Before Memorial Service (Betty Ford)
from website -- Betty Ford Memorial dot-com
Beginning Wednesday night, July 13th, former First Lady Betty Ford will lie in repose at the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Public viewing will begin at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday and end at 11:00 p.m., then start again at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday and end at 10:00 a.m. For more details link to http://media.mlive.com/grpress/news_impact/other/betty-ford-map.pdf
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor are offering extended hours in their lobby areas for those who wish to express their sympathy to the Ford family, including signing a condolence book.
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Museum lobby will be open 24 hours a day in order to enable the public to sign a condolence book. The condolence books will remain in the lobby area until noon on Wednesday. After that time they will be relocated to DeVos Place for the remainder of the repose.
The Museum's other areas, including all exhibit galleries and the gift store, are presently closed but will reopen at 9:00 on Saturday, July 16th and resume normal hours.
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Library lobby will be open 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Beginning Wednesday night, July 13th, former First Lady Betty Ford will lie in repose at the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Public viewing will begin at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday and end at 11:00 p.m., then start again at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday and end at 10:00 a.m. For more details link to http://media.mlive.com/grpress/news_impact/other/betty-ford-map.pdf
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library in Ann Arbor are offering extended hours in their lobby areas for those who wish to express their sympathy to the Ford family, including signing a condolence book.
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Museum lobby will be open 24 hours a day in order to enable the public to sign a condolence book. The condolence books will remain in the lobby area until noon on Wednesday. After that time they will be relocated to DeVos Place for the remainder of the repose.
The Museum's other areas, including all exhibit galleries and the gift store, are presently closed but will reopen at 9:00 on Saturday, July 16th and resume normal hours.
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Library lobby will be open 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tribute to a First Lady (she was housewife in Washington, DC before Husband had to act as President following Nixon Resignation Aug. 1974)
Transcript at ABC News Com -- http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/07/cokie-roberts-eulogy-for-betty-ford-the-hard-work-of-a-house-wife.html
Former First Lady Betty Ford asked Cokie Roberts, ABC News political commentator and NPR analyst, some five years ago to be one of the speakers at her funeral. Today in Palm Dessert, California, Roberts delivered the eulogy below for Ford, who passed away Friday at age 93. Former President Gerald Ford, a Republican, was House minority leader when Roberts' father, Democratic congressman Hale Boggs of Louisiana, was majority leader. They had known each other since Ford's election to Congress in 1948. Boggs died in a plane crash in 1972 and Roberts' mother, Lindy Boggs, now 95, took his seat in Congress after a special election.
When Mrs Ford assigned me the daunting honor of speaking at her funeral, it will surprise none of you to learn that the assignment came with instructions. Mrs. Ford wanted me to remind everyone of the way things used to be in Washington. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she timed her death to make sure she could convey the message of comity this week, when it seems so badly needed.
A couple of months ago when the statue of President ford was unveiled in the regal, though republican (note the small R) rotund of the United States Capitol, the Ford “children” happily recalled their days playing hide and seek under the watchful gaze of George Washington in heaven high above.
Times roaming the secret spaces of the Capitol, sometimes coming upon something truly spooky, formed some of the most vivid memories for many of us Congressional brats – as we are not so kindly called. But there are many others we share. We all, for instance, have Strom Thurmond stories – after all, he was there most of our lives. Al Gore tells about Senator Thurmond stepping on his truck when he first met him. We girls have ‘different’ stories.
Since she came up in the 60s rather than the 50s, , Susan, I don’t know if you had to parade down runways at the fashion shows Congressional wives staged for good causes. (One time one of the women snagged Robert Goulet to croon ‘If Ever I should Leave You.’ much to everyone's delight) But Susan’s mother escaped none of those 1950s rituals. My mother remembers that the reason she and Betty Ford performed in every fashion show was that they were the same size the models were – that is small. Looking at those retrospectives over the weekend, didn’t you gasp, "Betty Ford was beautiful!!”
Since our mothers were all involved in the Congrssional Club, many of us put in time at its dancing school - Lynda Johnson Robb, Tricia Nixon Cox – even some of the boys had to do that – and we all got copies of the Congressional Club Cookbook as wedding presents. Mrs. Ford’s carrot vichysoisse doesn’t look bad. More wedding presents we all received: glass items with the names of members of Congress etched into them. It’s nice in a way. I think of Tommy Kuchel every time I serve cake, even though it looks like I stole the plate from his office. The worst present: the Department of Agriculture Yearbook.
We all had fathers who were away a lot and mothers who ran everything and we all grumped and giggled together about it because we were all friends. And that’s what Betty Ford wanted me to talk about here today.
A couple of years before he died I came here to the desert to interview President Ford for a series on former presidents and the constitution. When we turned the cameras off, the President turned to me and sighed, ‘You know, Cokie, I just don’t understand what’s happened in Washington. When your father was Majority Leader and I was Minority Leader, we would get in a cab together on the Hill and we would go downtown to some place like the Press Club and we’d say ‘Ok, what are we going to argue about?’ Now, it was a real debate. We had different views about means to an end. We genuinely disagreed with each other, we were certainly partisans. But after we went at it, we’d get back in the cab together and be best friends.”
(They actually had drivers by that time and I think the cab part is an exaggeration and we all remember Douglas Frazier and Roger Brooks, the drivers, would be horrified – but the point is the same.)
That friendship made governing possible – they weren’t questioning each other’s motives, much less their commitment to the country. Underlying many of those Congressional relationships across the aisle, and even more remarkable, across the dome, was the relationship among the wives.
Over the last few days we have appropriately celebrated Betty Ford for her incredible courage in the face of her own challenges and the impact that courage has had on hundreds of thousands of lives. In her wisdom, she knew that the part of her life that would be given little notice would be her many years as a partner of a member of the House of Representatives. That’s why she asked me to talk about it.
It was a tough job, more often political widow than political wife. The duties ranged from showing visiting constituents around the Capitol – it was a big deal when someone travelled all the way from Michigan or Louisiana – to helping run the social service programs in the District of Columbia.
In the days before home rule in Washington, it was the political wives working with the African American women who lived there, who stitched together a safety net for the citizens of the nation’s capital. There was always the challenge to the political wife of figuring out how to entertain on no money at all. And of course, she was expected to be the perfect wife and mother. Mrs. Ford played all of those roles – and I tell you, Cub Scout Den Mother sounds so sweetly innocuous, unless you’ve actually tried it - and Sunday School Teacher, Leader in the Congressional Wives Prayer Group.
And yet her official “title,” as it was for most political wives, was housewife. It was a title she shared with many American women and it gave her a great understanding of what women's lives were like. She said once: “Being a good housewife seems to me a much tougher job than going to the office and getting paid for it,” she was giving words to the dirty little secret men always knew.
Over the years, as she spoke out more forcefully for women’s rights, Mrs. Ford strongly defended the housewife’s role: “Downgrading this work has been part of the pattern in our society that downgrades individual women’s talents in all areas.”
No wonder women all over the country have spent this past weekend loving her anew.
One talent political wives were expected to cultivate that they didn’t share with most women was that of first rate campaigner, especially wives of House members – the House wives – who faced an election every two years. By the time he ran for president, Ford supporters sported “Elect Betty’s Husband” buttons, but people in Michigan had been doing that for decades. It was another activity that brought political wives together – even if they were on different sides, they had the same complaints – and forged tightly joined connections that extended ot the men as well. They would bring the men together, serve them some drinks and a good meal, listen to their stories and make them behave. And some of that good behavior carried over to the corridors of Congress. It was a role political wives had played since the beginning of the republic and it worked.
The friendship between my mother and Betty Ford spanned more than 60 years. But it became especially close when the Ford and Boggs couples made their historic trip to China in early 1972. I asked my mother yesterday about what she and Mrs. Ford did on that trip. At first she joked, “I’m not sure I want to tell all those people.”
But then she lit up, remembering one day when just the two of them were off without a good interpreter – this was 1972 remember. They were getting frustrated at their inability to communicate when Mrs. Ford turned to Mamma and said with a shrug, ‘What difference does it make?”
As Mamma laughed at the memory, she added, “Of course she was right, as she was about everything.” It was only a few months later that my father was lost in that airplane over Alaska. Betty Ford was devastated, but she put her own grief aside to stand by my mother, who said softly yesterday, “She was a great help to me.”
That’s what these women did – they helped each other, they helped their husbands, they helped and hounded us children and they helped the nation. They regularly conspired to convince their lawmaker mates to pass legislation that would help educate and care for children, house old and poor people, improve health outcomes for all and yes, give equal rights to women. Betty Ford’s support of the Equal Rights Amendment did not arise full blown after she became First Lady. She had been pushing it for years – and making sure her husband got the message.
As President Ford told me years later: “I had a lot of pressure not only politically on the outside but inside my own family. Mrs. Ford was a very ardent supporter of equal rights for women and I used to get a lecture quite frequently and I got pushed to act on the floor of the House in favor of it and I did, I voted for it and I think it’s a good approach but it was a very controversial provision.”
There’s your Midwestern understatement. As Susan said in an interview, being First Lady, didn’t change her mother, rather it gave her a “podium to stand on” to express the views she had formed in her years as a Congressional wife.
But Betty Ford always knew when to step off the podium, how to avoid that worst of labels for any woman of that era, especially the political wife – she was never “strident.” She could use her candid good humor to diffuse any discussion about whether she was overstepping her bounds as First Lady.
At the National Press Club she told the men assembled (the women in the press were consigned to the balcony) that they had often heard her say, “Whatever makes Jerry happy makes me happy. If you all believe that you’re indeed unworthy of your profession.”
She had them. And she made it look easy. Of course, it wasn’t easy and through Betty Ford’s courage we later learned just how hard those years were. But Mrs. Ford had something very important going for her: she knew who she was.
Before her sudden ascension to First Lady she said, “I’ll move to the White House, do the best I can, and if they don’t like it, they can kick me out, but they can’t make me be somebody I’m not.”And she knew, like her friends the other Congressional women, she knew that her husband could not be who he was if she were not who she was. President Ford gave me a glimpse of the importance of that strength when he told me, “The night before I took the oath of office, I held Betty’s hand and we repeated together our proverbs.”
I made the unforgivable reporter's mistake of failing to ask which proverbs, but I know which one he, and all of us, say today. It is, of course, The Good Wife:
“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looks to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but you excel them all.
Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”
Your works – all of them – over many years – praise you Betty Ford. And this Congressional brat along with the rest of the country, especially the women who have been keeping this republic, thank you.
Former First Lady Betty Ford asked Cokie Roberts, ABC News political commentator and NPR analyst, some five years ago to be one of the speakers at her funeral. Today in Palm Dessert, California, Roberts delivered the eulogy below for Ford, who passed away Friday at age 93. Former President Gerald Ford, a Republican, was House minority leader when Roberts' father, Democratic congressman Hale Boggs of Louisiana, was majority leader. They had known each other since Ford's election to Congress in 1948. Boggs died in a plane crash in 1972 and Roberts' mother, Lindy Boggs, now 95, took his seat in Congress after a special election.
When Mrs Ford assigned me the daunting honor of speaking at her funeral, it will surprise none of you to learn that the assignment came with instructions. Mrs. Ford wanted me to remind everyone of the way things used to be in Washington. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she timed her death to make sure she could convey the message of comity this week, when it seems so badly needed.
A couple of months ago when the statue of President ford was unveiled in the regal, though republican (note the small R) rotund of the United States Capitol, the Ford “children” happily recalled their days playing hide and seek under the watchful gaze of George Washington in heaven high above.
Times roaming the secret spaces of the Capitol, sometimes coming upon something truly spooky, formed some of the most vivid memories for many of us Congressional brats – as we are not so kindly called. But there are many others we share. We all, for instance, have Strom Thurmond stories – after all, he was there most of our lives. Al Gore tells about Senator Thurmond stepping on his truck when he first met him. We girls have ‘different’ stories.
Since she came up in the 60s rather than the 50s, , Susan, I don’t know if you had to parade down runways at the fashion shows Congressional wives staged for good causes. (One time one of the women snagged Robert Goulet to croon ‘If Ever I should Leave You.’ much to everyone's delight) But Susan’s mother escaped none of those 1950s rituals. My mother remembers that the reason she and Betty Ford performed in every fashion show was that they were the same size the models were – that is small. Looking at those retrospectives over the weekend, didn’t you gasp, "Betty Ford was beautiful!!”
Since our mothers were all involved in the Congrssional Club, many of us put in time at its dancing school - Lynda Johnson Robb, Tricia Nixon Cox – even some of the boys had to do that – and we all got copies of the Congressional Club Cookbook as wedding presents. Mrs. Ford’s carrot vichysoisse doesn’t look bad. More wedding presents we all received: glass items with the names of members of Congress etched into them. It’s nice in a way. I think of Tommy Kuchel every time I serve cake, even though it looks like I stole the plate from his office. The worst present: the Department of Agriculture Yearbook.
We all had fathers who were away a lot and mothers who ran everything and we all grumped and giggled together about it because we were all friends. And that’s what Betty Ford wanted me to talk about here today.
A couple of years before he died I came here to the desert to interview President Ford for a series on former presidents and the constitution. When we turned the cameras off, the President turned to me and sighed, ‘You know, Cokie, I just don’t understand what’s happened in Washington. When your father was Majority Leader and I was Minority Leader, we would get in a cab together on the Hill and we would go downtown to some place like the Press Club and we’d say ‘Ok, what are we going to argue about?’ Now, it was a real debate. We had different views about means to an end. We genuinely disagreed with each other, we were certainly partisans. But after we went at it, we’d get back in the cab together and be best friends.”
(They actually had drivers by that time and I think the cab part is an exaggeration and we all remember Douglas Frazier and Roger Brooks, the drivers, would be horrified – but the point is the same.)
That friendship made governing possible – they weren’t questioning each other’s motives, much less their commitment to the country. Underlying many of those Congressional relationships across the aisle, and even more remarkable, across the dome, was the relationship among the wives.
Over the last few days we have appropriately celebrated Betty Ford for her incredible courage in the face of her own challenges and the impact that courage has had on hundreds of thousands of lives. In her wisdom, she knew that the part of her life that would be given little notice would be her many years as a partner of a member of the House of Representatives. That’s why she asked me to talk about it.
It was a tough job, more often political widow than political wife. The duties ranged from showing visiting constituents around the Capitol – it was a big deal when someone travelled all the way from Michigan or Louisiana – to helping run the social service programs in the District of Columbia.
In the days before home rule in Washington, it was the political wives working with the African American women who lived there, who stitched together a safety net for the citizens of the nation’s capital. There was always the challenge to the political wife of figuring out how to entertain on no money at all. And of course, she was expected to be the perfect wife and mother. Mrs. Ford played all of those roles – and I tell you, Cub Scout Den Mother sounds so sweetly innocuous, unless you’ve actually tried it - and Sunday School Teacher, Leader in the Congressional Wives Prayer Group.
And yet her official “title,” as it was for most political wives, was housewife. It was a title she shared with many American women and it gave her a great understanding of what women's lives were like. She said once: “Being a good housewife seems to me a much tougher job than going to the office and getting paid for it,” she was giving words to the dirty little secret men always knew.
Over the years, as she spoke out more forcefully for women’s rights, Mrs. Ford strongly defended the housewife’s role: “Downgrading this work has been part of the pattern in our society that downgrades individual women’s talents in all areas.”
No wonder women all over the country have spent this past weekend loving her anew.
One talent political wives were expected to cultivate that they didn’t share with most women was that of first rate campaigner, especially wives of House members – the House wives – who faced an election every two years. By the time he ran for president, Ford supporters sported “Elect Betty’s Husband” buttons, but people in Michigan had been doing that for decades. It was another activity that brought political wives together – even if they were on different sides, they had the same complaints – and forged tightly joined connections that extended ot the men as well. They would bring the men together, serve them some drinks and a good meal, listen to their stories and make them behave. And some of that good behavior carried over to the corridors of Congress. It was a role political wives had played since the beginning of the republic and it worked.
The friendship between my mother and Betty Ford spanned more than 60 years. But it became especially close when the Ford and Boggs couples made their historic trip to China in early 1972. I asked my mother yesterday about what she and Mrs. Ford did on that trip. At first she joked, “I’m not sure I want to tell all those people.”
But then she lit up, remembering one day when just the two of them were off without a good interpreter – this was 1972 remember. They were getting frustrated at their inability to communicate when Mrs. Ford turned to Mamma and said with a shrug, ‘What difference does it make?”
As Mamma laughed at the memory, she added, “Of course she was right, as she was about everything.” It was only a few months later that my father was lost in that airplane over Alaska. Betty Ford was devastated, but she put her own grief aside to stand by my mother, who said softly yesterday, “She was a great help to me.”
That’s what these women did – they helped each other, they helped their husbands, they helped and hounded us children and they helped the nation. They regularly conspired to convince their lawmaker mates to pass legislation that would help educate and care for children, house old and poor people, improve health outcomes for all and yes, give equal rights to women. Betty Ford’s support of the Equal Rights Amendment did not arise full blown after she became First Lady. She had been pushing it for years – and making sure her husband got the message.
As President Ford told me years later: “I had a lot of pressure not only politically on the outside but inside my own family. Mrs. Ford was a very ardent supporter of equal rights for women and I used to get a lecture quite frequently and I got pushed to act on the floor of the House in favor of it and I did, I voted for it and I think it’s a good approach but it was a very controversial provision.”
There’s your Midwestern understatement. As Susan said in an interview, being First Lady, didn’t change her mother, rather it gave her a “podium to stand on” to express the views she had formed in her years as a Congressional wife.
But Betty Ford always knew when to step off the podium, how to avoid that worst of labels for any woman of that era, especially the political wife – she was never “strident.” She could use her candid good humor to diffuse any discussion about whether she was overstepping her bounds as First Lady.
At the National Press Club she told the men assembled (the women in the press were consigned to the balcony) that they had often heard her say, “Whatever makes Jerry happy makes me happy. If you all believe that you’re indeed unworthy of your profession.”
She had them. And she made it look easy. Of course, it wasn’t easy and through Betty Ford’s courage we later learned just how hard those years were. But Mrs. Ford had something very important going for her: she knew who she was.
Before her sudden ascension to First Lady she said, “I’ll move to the White House, do the best I can, and if they don’t like it, they can kick me out, but they can’t make me be somebody I’m not.”And she knew, like her friends the other Congressional women, she knew that her husband could not be who he was if she were not who she was. President Ford gave me a glimpse of the importance of that strength when he told me, “The night before I took the oath of office, I held Betty’s hand and we repeated together our proverbs.”
I made the unforgivable reporter's mistake of failing to ask which proverbs, but I know which one he, and all of us, say today. It is, of course, The Good Wife:
“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looks to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but you excel them all.
Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”
Your works – all of them – over many years – praise you Betty Ford. And this Congressional brat along with the rest of the country, especially the women who have been keeping this republic, thank you.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Shuttle - ISS watch space junk and get ready to move out of way
from ABC News science summary (http://www.abcnews.com/)
NASA has been notified that space debris will pass close to the space station/space shuttle Tuesday, when the one spacewalk of this mission is scheduled. Mission Management Team Director Leroy Cain says it is too early to tell what, if any, evasive maneuvers are required. They have teams working around the clock to determine whether there's a real threat to the spacecraft
The space shuttle would use its thrusters to move the space station out of harm's way.
Mission managers have an imaginary safety zone around the two spacecraft. It's shaped like a pizza box, 25 kilometers by 25 kilometers by 2 miles.
"There is a lot of junk in orbit, there are a lot of objects being tracked," Cain said. "Fortunately we have a good process for dealing with it, we have a number of spent rocket bodies, and over time these things drag down from their original orbits."
This news came after an emotional, complicated rendezvous by Atlantis with the station, the last the two are scheduled ever to make. With shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson at the controls, Atlantis pulled up beneath the station, did a slow back flip so that station astronauts could photograph its heat shield for possible damage, and then came in for docking.
The astronauts' job was complicated by a computer glitch. One of Atlantis' five main computers unexpectedly turned itself off during the rendezvous. NASA said it did not threaten the mission, but there might be trouble if a second computer quit.
There is no word yet on the size of the object, or if it is related to a close call two weeks ago, when the ISS crew had to shelter in their Russian Soyuz return capsules. That debris came within 1,000 feet of the space station.
NASA expects any maneuvers would be made Monday night and doesn't know yet how this will affect Tuesday's spacewalk.
The item NASA is tracking is from a Soviet 1970s rocket -- its orbital debris catalog number is 4664. The incident from two weeks ago caught NASA by surprise -- and mission managers are uneasy about having 10 people on board the space station with only two Soyuz escape vehicles that seat three crewmembers each.
The space shuttle can't undock and escape that quickly and its size and sensitive heat shield make it a vulnerable target.
It is a mess up there in orbit -- there are approximately 19,000 objects larger than 10 cm, and about 500,000 particles between 1 and 10 cm in diameter. The number of particles smaller than 1 cm is probably in the tens of millions.
Junk larger than 10 cm is tracked routinely by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network. Objects as small as 3 mm can be detected by ground-based radar, providing a basis for a statistical estimate of their numbers Most of the space junk orbiting up there came from satellite explosions and collisions.
NASA has been notified that space debris will pass close to the space station/space shuttle Tuesday, when the one spacewalk of this mission is scheduled. Mission Management Team Director Leroy Cain says it is too early to tell what, if any, evasive maneuvers are required. They have teams working around the clock to determine whether there's a real threat to the spacecraft
The space shuttle would use its thrusters to move the space station out of harm's way.
Mission managers have an imaginary safety zone around the two spacecraft. It's shaped like a pizza box, 25 kilometers by 25 kilometers by 2 miles.
"There is a lot of junk in orbit, there are a lot of objects being tracked," Cain said. "Fortunately we have a good process for dealing with it, we have a number of spent rocket bodies, and over time these things drag down from their original orbits."
This news came after an emotional, complicated rendezvous by Atlantis with the station, the last the two are scheduled ever to make. With shuttle commander Christopher Ferguson at the controls, Atlantis pulled up beneath the station, did a slow back flip so that station astronauts could photograph its heat shield for possible damage, and then came in for docking.
The astronauts' job was complicated by a computer glitch. One of Atlantis' five main computers unexpectedly turned itself off during the rendezvous. NASA said it did not threaten the mission, but there might be trouble if a second computer quit.
There is no word yet on the size of the object, or if it is related to a close call two weeks ago, when the ISS crew had to shelter in their Russian Soyuz return capsules. That debris came within 1,000 feet of the space station.
NASA expects any maneuvers would be made Monday night and doesn't know yet how this will affect Tuesday's spacewalk.
The item NASA is tracking is from a Soviet 1970s rocket -- its orbital debris catalog number is 4664. The incident from two weeks ago caught NASA by surprise -- and mission managers are uneasy about having 10 people on board the space station with only two Soyuz escape vehicles that seat three crewmembers each.
The space shuttle can't undock and escape that quickly and its size and sensitive heat shield make it a vulnerable target.
It is a mess up there in orbit -- there are approximately 19,000 objects larger than 10 cm, and about 500,000 particles between 1 and 10 cm in diameter. The number of particles smaller than 1 cm is probably in the tens of millions.
Junk larger than 10 cm is tracked routinely by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network. Objects as small as 3 mm can be detected by ground-based radar, providing a basis for a statistical estimate of their numbers Most of the space junk orbiting up there came from satellite explosions and collisions.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Mid-July Funeral for Betty Ford, Grand Rapids Museum
Details in WASH. Post online story -- www.washingtonpost.com/
Public and private memorial ceremonies will be held in California and Michigan this week for former first lady Betty Ford before she is laid to rest alongside her husband in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Family attorney and spokesman Greg Willard said Saturday that Ford, 93, died of natural causes at Eisenhower Medical Center at 3:30 p.m. Friday, and ceremonies are proceeding according to her wishes. A private family prayer service will be held Tuesday at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert. On Wednesday morning, her coffin will travel by motorcade to the Palm Springs airport, destined for Michigan. Ford’s coffin will be met at Gerald R. Ford International Airport by Gov. Rick Snyder (R), according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
Ceremonies will be held in Grand Rapids on Wednesday. A funeral service at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids is scheduled on Thursday, followed by the burial at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
Ford chose former first lady Rosalynn Carter, Lynne Cheney, wife of former vice president Dick Cheney, and Cokie Roberts as eulogists, among others. Also speaking will be Betty Ford Center board member Geoffrey Mason, according to the Free Press.
Public and private memorial ceremonies will be held in California and Michigan this week for former first lady Betty Ford before she is laid to rest alongside her husband in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Family attorney and spokesman Greg Willard said Saturday that Ford, 93, died of natural causes at Eisenhower Medical Center at 3:30 p.m. Friday, and ceremonies are proceeding according to her wishes. A private family prayer service will be held Tuesday at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert. On Wednesday morning, her coffin will travel by motorcade to the Palm Springs airport, destined for Michigan. Ford’s coffin will be met at Gerald R. Ford International Airport by Gov. Rick Snyder (R), according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
Ceremonies will be held in Grand Rapids on Wednesday. A funeral service at Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids is scheduled on Thursday, followed by the burial at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.
Ford chose former first lady Rosalynn Carter, Lynne Cheney, wife of former vice president Dick Cheney, and Cokie Roberts as eulogists, among others. Also speaking will be Betty Ford Center board member Geoffrey Mason, according to the Free Press.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Niles Fort St. Joseph (Colonial Era Archaeology Site) -- 21 Undergrad students & WMU Faculty
details given in Niles Daily Star (www.nilesstar.com/) article on July 2011 Course on Archaeology
Western Michigan University archaeology students and staff will once again arrive in Niles to begin on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 their excavations and research at the site of Fort St Joseph in Niles. WMU professor Michael Nassaney is beginning his eighth season for archaeological excavations and field school activities in the Niles area.
Sixteen students are participating in this year’s program. Ten are women and six are men. Most are full-time WMU students, but some are pursuing degrees at other institutions. In addition to Nassaney there are five staff members, all of whom are pursuing or have earned archaeology degrees.
The students will perfect their digging skills at the Lynn site near the Fort St. Joseph Rock and then move to the fort site after the de-watering process has dried out the soil enough to resume work closer to the St. Joseph River.
This year the students will be housed at Niles High School in order to immerse themselves fully in the life of the community. The students are in the field five days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day; and several nights a week they have lab work after dinner.
This six-hour credit, summer school course is not for someone who does not like to get his or her hands dirty and likes to rush through things. Archaeological excavation is often done with a small trowel and brush and no power tools. A great deal of patience is needed and great attention is paid to the smallest details. Measurements and drawings and photographs are made of each pit and item found. Careful recordkeeping is essential. All dirt removed is wet screened to find minute particles or artifacts that might give the researchers a clue about life at the fort between 1691 and 1781. Items found are then carefully bagged and labeled for study before being returned to the Fort St. Joseph Museum.
http://www.nilesstar.com/2011/07/05/wmu-to-begin-fort-st-joseph-dig-today/
Western Michigan University archaeology students and staff will once again arrive in Niles to begin on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 their excavations and research at the site of Fort St Joseph in Niles. WMU professor Michael Nassaney is beginning his eighth season for archaeological excavations and field school activities in the Niles area.
Sixteen students are participating in this year’s program. Ten are women and six are men. Most are full-time WMU students, but some are pursuing degrees at other institutions. In addition to Nassaney there are five staff members, all of whom are pursuing or have earned archaeology degrees.
The students will perfect their digging skills at the Lynn site near the Fort St. Joseph Rock and then move to the fort site after the de-watering process has dried out the soil enough to resume work closer to the St. Joseph River.
This year the students will be housed at Niles High School in order to immerse themselves fully in the life of the community. The students are in the field five days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day; and several nights a week they have lab work after dinner.
This six-hour credit, summer school course is not for someone who does not like to get his or her hands dirty and likes to rush through things. Archaeological excavation is often done with a small trowel and brush and no power tools. A great deal of patience is needed and great attention is paid to the smallest details. Measurements and drawings and photographs are made of each pit and item found. Careful recordkeeping is essential. All dirt removed is wet screened to find minute particles or artifacts that might give the researchers a clue about life at the fort between 1691 and 1781. Items found are then carefully bagged and labeled for study before being returned to the Fort St. Joseph Museum.
http://www.nilesstar.com/2011/07/05/wmu-to-begin-fort-st-joseph-dig-today/
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