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tv [untitled] February 8, 2012 1:18pm-1:48pm EST
whenever that is this overturns two hundred years of domestic law. and it is in the hands of the state and utterly terrifying weapon the obama administration has been very disingenuous that it issued a signing statement saying that they would not use it against american citizens and yet we should remember that nancy nancy pelosi dianne feinstein proposed legislation or passage to be inserted into the legislation that would exempt u.s. citizens and this was rejected by the obama white house and rejected by the democratic party all of the struggles over the wording of the bill with carl levin's office it was co-sponsored by carl levin a democrat and john mccain a republican was over who would decide which american citizens would be swept up in the military dragnet and denied due process and which would be granted exemptions who would have that power the obama white house one of the power for themselves they got it and once they got it they signed the bill into law but it was never
a discussion over whether or not americans should be stripped of due process so these are not the kinds of tools we want to hand to the state especially in times of turmoil and instability i just ask you one last question here to switching gears in regards to the situation in syria and the increasing violence that we see the u.n. security council vote that russia and china vetoed and we saw the russian foreign minister today go and meet with assad what do you think should be done here do you think the international community should intervene you know do you think that there are the people are worried of this might turn out like libya ended up being in the military intervention. no i don't support intervention and i didn't support intervention in libya beyond stopping that armored column from going into benghazi . you have to remember that. you know it's in
a similar situation with libya where you have an alawite minority that still stands firmly behind the assad regime so you're talking about a couple million at least syrians who remain loyal it is unfortunately descending into a civil war i do support sanctions but not intervention all right chris i want to thank you so much for joining us tonight thank you. i just ahead on tonight. there's a lot of spin that goes in selling the war in afghanistan after the break we'll speak with one soldier the just released a report to congress. how that. culture is that so much money and which of course you want to own them so here it is facebook's initial public offering is being called a very big deal and many hope i feel will live the entire tech sector but is the.
we often talk about the difference between the pentagon spent on the war in afghanistan and the council we hear from veterans from journalists from human rights activists and state department workers generals and the secretary of defense will talk about progress and momentum downplaying statistics that show increases of violence and record breaking troop deaths and so now the war is winding down now that leon panetta has announced that troops will end their combat mission in the middle of two thousand and thirteen you can bet that the obama administration is going to attempt to spin this as a success but one man is just a bit of a classified report to members of congress arguing the department of defense has intentionally and consistently misled the american people and congress when it
comes to measuring progress and conduct and what is now america's longest war tonight colonel daniel davis has also written an eighty six page unclassified version which the d.o.d. has not yet allowed to be released to the public so he joins us tonight to give us more details here to discuss this with me is daniel davis u.s. army lieutenant colonel and matthew hoh senior fellow at the center for international policy gentlemen thank you so much for joining us tonight daniel i'm going to start with you or danny and please just tell me why it is that you even wrote a report like this where you were you assigned to something or just after seeing so much experiencing so much you felt the need that you had a story to tell it was the letter i had to do the job that i had there was required me to travel all over the country and to talk to soldiers at every level from the highest commander to the lowest done to your old private. and what are so out there over time especially was beginning to be clear was so different than what the public assertions or that i started to have. problems with it but that turned into
something more when i started seeing the of the results of men dying as a result of this in missions that. made no sense and were then later characterized as big successes going fact they were not in later in the summer a couple of guys in particular that i had met. were killed in action a couple of weeks later and it drives home pretty strong to toward the end of summer so i know that for now this is still classified that has been allowed or they haven't been able to release this eighty six page version that has to be has not classified yet is just not been released is not been released yet but how much how much can you tell us you know you wrote an article a couple of pages today a couple anecdotes so what is it that really you want to share that you can for now with the public well the things that i can share are my personal experiences and you know i was able to see you know how the afghan security forces how they perform i went on combat patrols dismantled trolls mounted patrols virtually everywhere
that i went to so i could see with my own eyes and then i also interviewed literally hundreds of soldiers to see their perspective as well and times that i couldn't see and i saw a very consistent picture everywhere that the afghan security forces are very incapable they display very little desire to be capable and the people of afghanistan after you know now into the eleventh year of war show no inclination to have any desire to be connected with their government and to support their you know the afghan security forces at the expense of the taliban you just don't see that happening anywhere and those are the very pillars of the opportunity of the ability to have a success in a war like this that they have you seen the unclassified version i've seen the classified report i have not seen the classified report. i don't want to go into specifics i don't want danny to get into any trouble of course but it's a collection of his observations it's a collection of a lot of publicly available data that backs up his conclusions you know and this is
cooperated by reports we hear that the national intelligence estimate on afghanistan is saying the wars in the stalemate that we're not achieving our objectives it goes into other information we hear from these leaked reports coming out of kabul that the taliban feel they are winning that we are not having success that's going to last on the battlefield as well as just the. you know any of the media reports you can read you know last week the usa today reported that i.e.d. attacks and revise explosive device attacks were ten percent higher than they were the previous year i mean they want sixteen thousand idea tax against our troops in two thousand that's forty five times a day they have watched attacks a record ok i think the numbers from two thousand and one to two thousand and nine they only lost sixteen thousand i taxi in march as many last year as they didn't previous from two thousand and one two thousand and nine so how can you argue that we're we stop the momentum when they're able to carry out that many attacks and
that's true across the board for whatever metric you want to look at well so to me one of the key ones on that very category is when you look from the twenty four months before the surge started as measured by one january two thousand and ten as you know in the summer of two thousand general mcchrystal says you know man this mission is in danger of failing because all this stuff of the casualties and violence and now we've got a surge one when you measure the u.s. casualties killed and wounded it was about three thousand four hundred and some odd beth about four hundred killed in the rest wounded if you measure the twenty four months after that it's eleven thousand in something nine hundred some odd killed so how can you say it's really just that these numbers are out there so why is that the you felt the need to write a report and to submit it to congress do you think we're being duped by the generals let's face it our generals these days are pretty media savvy. there's an entire spin machine working over at the pentagon or here is kind of a job or your cup here. and here's why you see the reports all the time you see
that this is a cup of water at least that's what you think it is but i'm telling you this is actually a chalice a fine crystal shallots is a wine is a matter of fact and you look at this and you know it's a blue cup of water no no i've been making challenges for thirty some years i've been a combat veteran and i'm telling you this is the shallows and so we tell members of . that despite what you see with these statistics despite what the spot with these leaked reports have said. that he mentioned it all those things are very clear that a normal person using common sense would say every one of these are clear indicators that you're not succeeding but every single one of those has this machine that you're talking about so you have actually that's a positive thing somehow that works out to our advantage and for some reason i guess people think well i mean he's been making crystal shells for a long time so we look like a blue cup of water to me but maybe it is a shot like maybe you're letting members of congress off a little bit there are a lot of people in there that will also have served there
a lot of people that have been to iraq been to afghanistan of course the tour that they get is something that is highly controlled. but at the same time you know for purposes of politics do they just let it keep going we talk about how nobody wants to be soft on defense or soft on terror i mean that's something i can answer but i've been very clear talking about what i have personally done personally experienced and to me whether congress is doing that or not i mean they can someone else can decide that but i'm talking about the guys that i'm part of you know i'm a part of the u.s. army the army you know i love the army seven values that we live in what not and what kills me is that the guys who are making decisions and not square with either congress or with the american people that's got to change so that when congress at least has a chance or the president has a chance to make decisions or the american people have a chance to support or not support on something that's accurate and not this constant spin where they're like i don't know i mean they say this but it looks wrong but they say it's right so it puts you in a dilemma why are they getting away with it isn't it their responsibility if
they're going to be asking us to be foot the bill and they're going to be asking people to sacrifice their lives to be honest about what a war is yeah absolutely it's a responsibility they're constantly constantly charge to do so however there is a lot of elements of this one the american people are calling their offices and asking to get for them be concerned about and stand so if you're a polyp. the best thing to do probably say nothing rather stick your neck out there but the other party too is there's we've lost sight of what the line is between respect for what respect is for the military and what deference is towards the military and so what happens if you go to a senate armed services committee hearing or you go to the house armed services committee hearing all you see are these heads nodding up and down agreement with the generals and so i think what you question is what we've become a society that we're able to send kids overseas have them killed and do the killing and not ask the hard questions that you have got to break but we're going to continue this on for government itself and for you guys at home we'll be right back
. if. russia and then to the bloodshed in syria only be found if both government and opposition forces lay down their arms and that's. regime change rhetoric. from damascus also. the fury in the u.k. terror suspect spiritual leader in europe. the streets of london on the european
court of human rights. the first signs of a rift between the u.s. and egypt as washington. won't change its position. but to bring it up more on those stories in full in. the second part of the show from washington d.c. stay with us for that. more news today. these are the images. from the streets of canada. today.
are we're back for a few more minutes with daniel davis u.s. army lieutenant colonel and matthew hoh senior fellow at the center for international policy all right gentlemen we're talking about this report that you have given over to congress that it's classified for now the unclassified version the d.o.d. hasn't released but something that could be kind of a risky thing if you're saying that the pentagon is lying to the american people they are lying to congress and so i'm just wondering if you think that there's going to be backlash and wondering if anyone has already attacked you already said that you are putting national security at risk or being traitor well i got to say so for you know i got it from the iraq's also going to give credit and so for the senior leaders in my chain of command in particular has said nothing bad is going to happen to you because of this you're not going to be you know your clearances are going to be taken away your continue your job every day so so for everything's been good to go with it continues on you know after shows like this come out and what not is going to be another matter but so far they've done pretty good so
what's your guess. word for danny i mean he's putting his career on the line it's not like he's able to retire next week i mean he's got a few more years of service left and we have seen you know over break you brought thomas drake who was the n.s.a. employee who blew the whistle and they persecuted him for years thomas tamm the justice department lawyer who blew the whistle on the war as wiretapping he was he had to undergo an investigation that took four or five years you know so i'm afraid the same thing happened to danny were because he provided classified information the congress which is his right to do so and he followed all the regulations it's easy to sort of witch hunt it's easy to investigate him to make sure he crossed all the t.'s and dotted all the i's and some afraid he's going to suffer what a lot of guys france cayle the guy who who got us the m. raps in iraq who got us the vehicles that we. in iraq buck the system he went
through years and years best occasions when he did the right thing so this is the knowing of knowing if he is a risk you know why did why did you do it there's a certain way this war needs to be remembered there's no question it's not about that it's about could not morally allow myself to just say you know what don't say anything just finish out your career quietly and no problem knowing that there are men to go outside the wire every day who don't get that opportunity and they're going to risk their lives every day to do the very best they can to accomplish this mission and i think that we owe them to tell the truth about what's going on so that we sent him out there it better be for a darn good know what is the truth there is no mission accomplished no there is not it's it's almost flat line there's been no progress i mean in all things you can measure since the start surge started it's either worse or the same but nothing is better and i got to wrap it up but thank you both so much for joining us tonight thank you very much.
hi guys it's time for show and tell on tonight's program the last time we spoke about the plan troop withdraw in afghanistan we asked you why do you think the u.s. chose to announce of the combat mission in afghanistan would end a full year before was originally planned to go to producer patrice and sente to find out what you had to say. the u.s. announce will be which a substantial number of troops from afghanistan by spring of two thousand and thirteen a full year ahead of schedule leaving behind a lot of questions are the afghan troops really ready to take on security alone is it another sign that the nato alliance is cracking or that president obama is just cracking under election year pressure well we asked our viewers why they thought the u.s. chose to announce the combat in the combat mission in afghanistan would end up a full year before is plan to hold miles said it's because it's an election year the president has promised to bring american forces home from afghanistan chris carol agreed saying it is obama running scared at the polls it's time to buy some
popularity but other people think it's much more serious than just politics don't you brown who said it is because troops are going to be needed somewhere else soon maybe iran or even the pacific region loni said more specifically it is because a war with iran will come a full year earlier them planned and whatever the reason a large withdrawal of u.s. combat troops from afghanistan is a step in the right direction for so many lives lost and billions spent with no signs of success in sight i would draw it may be the only tool left in the u.s. arsenal. thousand always we appreciate your responses and here's our next question for you during the show we spoke to chris hedges about the effect of the black a block on the wall street occupy wall street movement so do you think that they are a cancer as hedges described let us know you think on facebook twitter and you tube videos in response just might make it on their. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke he testified again on capitol hill today telling the senate banking
committee that there is a still a long way to go before labor markets can be said to be operating normally as he said earlier this week despite what was a thought what was thought of as a positive jobs report for the month of january where the official unemployment rate fell to eight point three percent and the economy added two hundred forty thousand jobs the unusually high level of long term unemployment is what remains particularly troubling and we've also heard a chorus of conservative commentators this week saying that the b.l.s. numbers are fake misleading or fox news even posited that the obama administration is cooking the books but in reality so everybody just waking up to the figures that have been there all along joining me to discuss it is edward harrison founder of the web site credit write downs dot com thanks so much for joining us tonight to be here so i heard a key on capitol hill again basically what he said earlier this week is that the progress is frustratingly slow when it comes to the economy now is saying it's going to take a long time to get back to normal so we really need ben bernanke to tell us that i
think that stuff is headed obvious and if you're going to have the you know chairman of the federal reserve come to capitol hill want to hear a little more you do want to hear more but what more can he say because it's the same story that we've had for a long time but you know on the the numbers being cooked and so forth oh well we'll get into that one you know that when one second but so you think that even he can't say more because because everything is just so uncertain definitely and you know there's also the extra europe you know we're in a global synchronized growth slowdown i call it which is meaning that you know things were doing ok in the summer but then growth slowed you see slowdowns in places like china india and brazil but you also see it definitely in europe europe's in a double dip recession right now so really it's not just the united states it's having the problem it's a global problem and so any of those things can affect what happen. in the us what do you say about figure that came out saying that in december consumer credit went up by nineteen billion i mean that's that's kind of insane right that just means
americans are taking on a lot more debt. so it's a one off i think that in general if the economy is not sinking people will take on debt what you really have to be thinking about is mortgage debt whether or not you know the credit will expand as a result of people being able to buy homes and whether you know house prices are going up i'm not really that concerned about you know credit actually increasing at this point because you know the united states has been the leader in terms of deliberate in the household sector if you look across all of the countries that have had very difficult time in the developed economy from a housing bust the united states is leading in terms of the percentage decline in consumer credit all right so you're not concerned about that but there are a lot of people that are really concerned about these b.l.s. numbers that come out every month and so what's your take i mean you see every news channel out there report every single month on the thinkers that come out and my
constant beef with them is that they don't talk about the you six right they rarely ring up the underemployed those that are marginally attached they just give you this official number but suddenly we hear this chorus of conservative commentators i guess a remembering of the you six exists but not even only that they're going further in saying that these numbers are straight up fake. i mean that's completely partisan nonsense the reality is that their use six is a great number because. we've had a systemically declining unemployment rate because they've been changing the way that the unemployment numbers are calculated if you calculate the numbers the. you know you'd probably have more. a lot of people going to be by the old way you know over time you know two or three times since the early eighty's we calculate. the way that the unemployment numbers are down and doing so has legitimately lowered the unemployment rate every single time i see it legitimately i mean it has
actually had a impact to lower the unemployment rate it doesn't lower it doesn't change the situation it just changes the number that gets reported and so what these conservative commentators are saying basically is that not only is this a systemic problem where you know optically this number is lower but in this specific instance we have someone who is cooking the books and i agree with the first part that you know the systemically we're seeing lower numbers than they should be as calculated thirty years ago on the reagan and carter but i don't agree that they're cooking the books i believe that the number is what it is because we've had two thousand and ten census data change and they've updated the numbers according to that if you actually look at the household survey you'll see that the numbers reflect what we've seen all along which is that unemployment is is actually are actually employment is is going up and so finally we're starting to see that
reflected in this survey. i guess just interesting here because like i said they are part of these numbers all the time they don't question them and then suddenly when there's something that might look positive really seems like there's a political motivation behind it you know the thing is the ridiculous part about this is the fact that this is january who cares about what happens in january if you really want to cook the books you've got to start doing it when there is the general election now obama's not even in a primary. i mean if the republicans going off against one another why would they be cooking the books in january when they could actually cook the books in. the campaign. you know with that political strategy i know lastly to one of the things that we heard from burning this week was that uncontrollable deficits might be. huge problem for the u.s. and he went to so far as to signal that we might become the next what's your take.
i think that deficits are you know they are not good i think that they're too high over the longer term in terms of the structural deficit but if you want to take a more nuanced perspective first greece we're not going become the next greece because we have our own currency greece is a completely separate problem if you look at greece compared to the u.k. the u.s. with their own currency is incredibly low rates there's no comparison whatsoever even countries like spain which have a lower debt to g.d.p. have much higher interest rates it's all about the euro it has nothing to do with the problem in the united states for bernanke you to say that is actually irresponsible because he knows that there's a complete difference between the u.s. and greece i would also say that when you talk about the deficit the deficit is the outcome it's not the him put you know we spend whatever you spend in the deficit happens as a result of that according to the unemployment rate the tax that you take in if you target the deficit specifically at the worst time in an economic cycle then what's
going to happen is you have a pro cyclical approach it's going to make the cycle that much more. that much worse you can actually use the euro zone in that particular case because an example of. what's going to happen is just sucking money out of the economy in the deficit actually gets worse they're going to miss all their targets as a result you know i would think there are you know why would. such a thing enter a thanks so much for joining us tonight. i saw it come tonight sean hannity says of the end of the world is near that is if obama gets reelected we'll give you details insights to all time and happy out the morning after pill could be coming to a vending machine near you and voters got support from fellow tanner's of red.
stripe or so it. will be on. the we thank you so you get to the monkey screen if you want to have sex go and have sex.
our guys it's time for tonight's tool time award and tonight we're giving it to one of fox news's finest sean hannity took time on his nightly program to talk about one of the most popular ads from sunday's big football game. i've seen a lot of tough terrace a lot of downturns of my life times when we didn't understand each other seems to be flossed harder times for. discord and blame made it hard to see what
lies ahead all that matters now is what's ahead now do we come from behind. how to recover together now do we win. yeah clint eastwood has definitely had an effect on a lot of viewers out there and the mainstream media now hannity host a discussion about the many metaphors that are hidden in this commercial he has guest tomorrow holder and dinesh d'souza got on the topic of how fixing up the car industry has been a metaphor for fixing america's economic problems if asked me the ad was a straight up indorsement for the auto bailout but of course him he took the time to bash obama by saying that the bailout was crap that hurts the taxpayers in the long run because they have to foot the bill that cetera et cetera and then he decided to have fun with that other metaphor that clint eastwood made the ad when he says it's have time in america ok so let's stop with the blame game let's talk about moving forward let's talk about halftime in america that's what this this is about that obama was reelected in their.
February 8, 2012 1:18pm-1:48pm EST
U.s. 11, Afghanistan 11, Congress 11, American 8, Obama 6, Greece 5, United States 4, Iraq 4, America 4, Danny 4, Pentagon 3, Libya 3, Daniel Davis 3, Fox News 2, Ben Bernanke 2, Sean Hannity 2, Clint Eastwood 2, Matthew Hoh 2, Assad 2, Carl Levin 2


The Mayor's Office, with the support of the Board of Police Commissioners, is working with community groups and institutions to develop a new community model to address safety and the root causes of crime.
Still in development, the initiative will focus on identifying top community safety priorities and creating coordinated plans to address them. More information will be announced in the coming months.


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State Minister visits PTA headquarters
Islamabad: Minister of State for IT and Telecom Ms Anusha Rahman Khan has assured full government support and complete transparency to the prospective investors bidding for upcoming spectrum auction of next generation mobile services in Pakistan.
She stated this during her visit to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Headquarters here on Friday. Secretary IT Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar, Acting Chairman PTA Dr Syed Ismail Shah, Member Finance PTA Tariq Sultan, senior officers of MoI T&T and PTA were also present on this occasion.
Ms Anusha Rahman in her discussions assured PTA of her full support. She said that the ministry had issued the spectrum auction policy and PTA must ensure a timely and successful auction.
On this occasion, Chairman PTA gave detailed presentation about different aspects of spectrum auction in Pakistan. The Minister was informed that PTA is making necessary arrangements for spectrum auction for next generation mobile networks in accordance with the Policy Directive. PTA has constituted a team of senior officers who are working diligently to finalize different aspects of auction process under the supervision of the Authority. The Minister was informed that to hire consultant(s) of international repute, an advertisement was also published in international and national media.
Chairman PTA informed that, with the launch of next generation service Pakistani cell phone subscribers will be able to transmit and receive high speed data through their mobile phones. High speed data means possibility of video calls, internet browsing and downloading at a much higher speed which also includes usage of data intensive applications. Later on the Minister met female officers and staff of PTA and enquired about the work environment. She desired that the female staff should strive to play active role for their employer and the country.
Tags: Local, news, Punjab

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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You are here: Home / Archives for Breeders
Germany May Be Reunited, But German Shepherd Bloodlines Aren't
AP Photo/Franka Bruns
West German shepherd Fjandi stands on the grounds of the German Shepherd Breeders Association in Berlin, Monday, Oct. 1, 2007. As the country celebrates 17 years of reunification on Wednesday, some animosities between the formerly communist East and capitalist West remain and few are as doggedly contested as the fight over whose shepherds are superior.
You'd think they were talking about the North American/European German Shepherd bloodline split: "Our dogs are healthier and have a better personality," Gerlinde Schultze, a 20-year breeder of East German lines, told the Associated Press on Wednesday. "Those overbred shepherds in the West are merely about good looks."
Breeders of West German lines, of course, disagree. Such a rift is not unusual to most breeds in the dog fancy, but whether because of its popularity or in spite of it, the German Shepherd has evolved into several "types," or looks, each preferred by its promoter. Besides the obvious North American and European division and the recent news-making East-West German split, there are strict enthusiasts of overall show or working lines, Belgian lines, Czech lines, British lines and Scandinavian lines; not to mention the long, dilute and white coated dogs, eschewed by most German Shepherd breed standards.
And it turns out, such enthusiasm can devolve into outright ignorance. American Kennel Club spokeswoman Lisa Peterson told the Associated Press for the same story, "In the U.S., there's only one standard and one breed of German shepherd dogs."
Perhaps she's conveniently forgotten about United Schutzhund Clubs of America, which is dedicated to breeding German Shepherds according to the SV (German), not AKC, standard. And how many working police and military dogs are AKC bloodlines? And German breeders on both sides of that country are laughing all the way to the bank as they continue to export hundreds of their dogs to North America each year.
Clearly, there is no single standard to which all German Shepherd enthusiasts will agree. But the founder of the breed, Captain Max von Stephanitz, did have at least one ideal in mind by which he determined future dogs could be measured:
"The shepherd dog is a working dog; he was born so, and only as such can he remain a 'shepherd dog'; the dog which we value and love. His abundance of joy in life must be used and he must be allowed to work even when kept by an amateur."
— von Stephanitz
The relative newness of the breed may also contribute to its current fractured status. Until after World War II, the German Shepherd was used primarily as a working dog — herding and guarding flocks, and most certainly during both world wars as a sentry and messenger dog.
Most breeders in the U.S. who follow the German, or international, breeding standard use a combination of European lines to breed what they hope will be a better dog. But as many buyers continue to clamor for "original" German lines, the furor over breed type is not likely to die down anytime soon.
Filed Under: Breeders, Pedigrees Tagged With: breed, Breeders, breeding, German, import, lines, pedigree, Puppies
Don't buy that puppy in the window
Amid the rolling farmland and scenic sunsets of the Midwest, picture this scene: German Shepherds crammed into tiny cages, elevated over piles of feces. A recent mother sits in one of these cages with pups, her coat filthy, eyes matted and her body thin and dehydrated. Neither she nor the pups have any protection against the elements. The pups wander about on the wire floor, some having already died from disease or exposure. The mother dog cannot bark in protest — a metal rod rammed down her throat has severed her vocal cords. She is bred every heat cycle, and by the time she is four years old will no longer be able to produce more pups. She will be killed, most likely by gunshot or bludgeoning, and one of her daughters will take her place.
Welcome to a puppy mill.
Puppy mills are farms run by dog breeders whose sole intent is to make a living from the dogs they breed.
When breeding dogs becomes a money-making endeavor, both the dogs and the puppy buyers suffer.
German Shepherd owners know that the cost of properly feeding and caring for even a single dog runs in the hundreds of dollars per year. Add to this the necessary preventative care for a pregnant bitch, cost of the stud fee or stud dog (and his care), shots, worming and food for the puppies, and the total can rise to the thousands.
And that cost is the minimum; an ethical breeder will take the time and money required to show her German Shepherds and have both parents screened for genetic diseases, requiring more vet visits, x-rays and blood work.
Suddenly, the money earned from the sale of puppies doesn't look like much of a profit, especially considering a bitch should only be bred once a year for her health.
But the "licensed" or "professional" pet breeders who operate puppy mills are not concerned with the lives of their dogs. The dogs' worth is inherent in whether he or she can produce more puppies, to be sold to the highest bidder, a broker.
Brokers gather puppies from puppy mills to sell to pet stores. Brokers are necessary because of the number of breeds in demand; a pet store likes to have several breeds of dogs available for its customers. In addition, brokers arrange for the shipment of puppies to the store.
For healthy development, no puppy should leave its mother before 6 weeks of age, and should not leave its littermates before 7 weeks. Ethical German Shepherd breeders will keep their puppies until they are at least 7 weeks old, many preferring to wait until the puppy is 8 to 10 weeks. Typically, pet store puppies are shipped between 4 and 8 weeks old to arrive "fresh" in the store windows.
Pet store owners and workers will simply lie to their customers about the dogs' origins, claiming the pups come from "local breeders," "professional breeders," or "licensed pet dealers." While any of the above might be true (after all, anyone who makes a living off his or her endeavor could be considered a "professional"), it does not mean the puppies did not come from puppy mills.
Customers, who up until that point may not have even wanted a dog, do not question what they are told and hand over their money.
Because the puppies were raised in substandard conditions and their parents were not screened for proper temperament or genetic diseases, the customer has just purchased a ticking time bomb.
The 48-hour guarantee that most pet stores offer on their puppies will not cover the life-threatening genetic diseases that won't appear until the dog is six to 24 months old. Nor will it satisfy those customers whose puppy, having contracted parvovirus or distemper during shipping, dies within those 48 hours.
The guarantee also does not protect the consumer from a puppy's questionable temperament. In a pet store where I worked as a high school student, a four-month-old Rottweiler puppy for sale bit and drew blood on several employees who went near his food dish. The dog was sold to a family with a two-year-old daughter. The family was not told about the bites.
In addition, pet stores that sell puppies (purebred or mixed breed) without requiring those puppies to be spayed or neutered only add to the number of unwanted dogs languishing and dying in our nation's shelters.
Never buy a puppy from a pet store. There is no legitimate reason to purchase a puppy from a pet store. Fantastic pets, including purebreds, are available through your local shelter or rescue group, or by searching for dog rescue groups online. If you must purchase a purebred puppy, research information on choosing an ethical breeder.
Educate those around you about the conditions in puppy mills. You can order educational brochures about puppy mills from the Humane Society of the United States. Write to Reader's Digest and Dateline NBC for copies of their investigative reports about puppy mills and pet store puppies.
Support legislation opposing the sale of pet store puppies. Contact your state representative or senator to require all puppies sold by pet stores to be spayed or neutered, or to support legislation banning the retail store sales of puppies.
Write a letter to the editor. Concise and clearly written letters to the editor will let retailers know that potential customers won't buy pet store puppies.
Support your local humane society or Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. These organizations work tirelessly to rescue and rehabilitate the homeless victims of puppy mills.
Filed Under: Breeders, Puppies Tagged With: ethics, pet stores, puppy mill


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This importance is because of sorghum's natural drought tolerance and versatility as food, feed and fuel. Throughout Africa and areas of Asia, sorghum is chiefly consumed as a human food product.
By contrast, the United States uses sorghum mostly for livestock feed and in the growth of ethanol plants.
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This proposed new regulation could allow hospitals, insurance plans, healthcare providers, and even a receptionist to use religion to turn away patients in need of care—no matter how much harm it would cause. Patients could even be denied life-saving care. This threatens the health of countless Americans, especially religious minorities, women, LGBTQ people, interracial couples and others.
The Department of Health and Human Services new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division of the Office for Civil Rights will enforce this sweeping new regulation.
Religious freedom should be a shield that protects, not a sword that causes harm by denying patients the medical care they need.


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ALL Institute: Assisting Living & Learning
ALL Institute /
ALL Perspectives
ALL Research Postgraduate Students
Contact ALL Institute
Project Submission References
Website Accessbility
What is Assistive Technology?
Dr Richard Roche
Psychology, ALL Institute
Location John Hume Building
Room SF15
Phone (01) 7086069
Email richard.roche@mu.ie
I was employed as a Lecturer in Maynooth University's Department of Psychology in 2005 following postgraduate and postdoctoral study in Trinity College Dublin; I have been Senior Lecturer as of October 2016. In Maynooth, I established Ireland's first high-density EEG laboratory, with research interests in memory, spatial representation, psychosis, stroke, and decision-making. To date I have published 29 research articles and two books, and acted as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2014-2016). I have received over €1,225,000 in research funding, and am currently involved in collaborations between Maynooth University and the Stroke Unit of Tallaght Hospital in Dublin, as well as the National Rehabilitation Hospital, Dún Laoghaire. I served on the Neuroscience Ireland committee from 2005-2014, as Vice-President 2010-2012 and President 2012-2014, and was the founding President of the Irish Brain Council in 2013. I have been a staunch supporter of neuroscience advocacy, outreach and engagement with the public for the past number of years.
2009 Pioneering studies in cognitive neuroscience.
Roche, R.A.P., & Commins, S. (2009) Pioneering studies in cognitive neuroscience. : McGraw-Hill. [Details]
2011 'Learning and the brain: An overview'
Roche, RAP (2011) 'Learning and the brain: An overview' In: Affect and legal education: Emotion in learning and teaching the law. UK: Ashgate Publsihing Ltd. [Details]
Peer Reviewed Journals
2015 'Event-related brain potentials reveal correlates of the transformation of stimulus functions through derived relations in healthy humans'
O'Regan, LM, Farina, FR, Hussey, I & Roche, RAP (2015) 'Event-related brain potentials reveal correlates of the transformation of stimulus functions through derived relations in healthy humans'. Journal of Brain Research, 1599 :168-177 [DOI] [IR Link] [Details]
2014 'Psychopathology, Anxiety or Attentional Control: Determining the variables which predict IRAP performance'
Nicholson, E, Hopkins-Doyle, A, Barnes-Holmes, D & Roche, RAP. (2014) 'Psychopathology, Anxiety or Attentional Control: Determining the variables which predict IRAP performance'. Psychological Record, 64 :179-188 [IR Link] [Details]
2013 'Reduced duration mismatch negativity in adolescents with psychotic symptoms: A community based study'
Murphy, J.R., Rawdon, C., Twomey, D., Markey, P., Kelleher, I., Molloy, C., Dr Richard Roche, & Cannon, M. (2013) 'Reduced duration mismatch negativity in adolescents with psychotic symptoms: A community based study'. BMC Psychiatry, BMC Psychiatry, Vol. 13 [IR Link] [Details]
2013 'Reduced P300 amplitude during retrieval on a spatial working memory task in a community sample of adolescents who report psychotic symptoms'
Rawdon, C., Murphy, J.R., Blanchard, MM., Kelleher, I., Clarkes, M.C., Kavanagh, F., Cannon, M., & Dr Richard Roche (2013) 'Reduced P300 amplitude during retrieval on a spatial working memory task in a community sample of adolescents who report psychotic symptoms'. BMC Psychiatry, BMC Psychiatry, Vol. 13 [IR Link] [Details]
2012 'Event related potential reveal language processing abnormalities and reduced lateralisation of language in adolescents with psychotic-like experiences'
Murphy, J.R., Blanchard, M.M., Rawdon, C., Kavanagh, F., Kelleher, I., Harley, M., Clarke, M.C., Dr Richard Roche, & Cannon, M. (2012) 'Event related potential reveal language processing abnormalities and reduced lateralisation of language in adolescents with psychotic-like experiences'. Schizophrenia Research, Schizophrenia Research, Vol. 137 :91-96 [IR Link] [Details]
2012 'Subtle memory and attentional deficits revealed in an Irish stroke patient sample using domain specific cognitive tasks'
Duffin, J.T., Collins, D.R., Coughlan, T., O'Neill, D., Dr Richard Roche, & Commins, S. (2012) 'Subtle memory and attentional deficits revealed in an Irish stroke patient sample using domain specific cognitive tasks'. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol. 34 :864-875 [IR Link] [Details]
2012 'Behavioural and electrophysiological effects of visual paired associate context manipulations during encoding and recognition in younger adults, older adults and older cognitively declined adults'
Hogan, M.J., Kenney, J.P.M., Keane, M.A., Dr Richard Roche, Moore, J.L., Kaiser, J., Lai, R., & Upton, N. (2012) 'Behavioural and electrophysiological effects of visual paired associate context manipulations during encoding and recognition in younger adults, older adults and older cognitively declined adults'. Experimental Brain Research, Experimental Brain Research, Vol. 216 :621-633 [IR Link] [Details]
2012 'An investigation of facial emotion recognition in adolescents with psychotic-like experiences: A school-based sample from the general population'
Roddy, S., Tiedt, L., Kelleher, I., Clarke, M.C., Murphy, J., Rawdon, C., Dr Richard Roche, Calkins, M.E., Richard, J.A., Kohler, C.G., & Cannon, M. (2012) 'An investigation of facial emotion recognition in adolescents with psychotic-like experiences: A school-based sample from the general population'. Psychological Medicine, Psychological Medicine, Vol. 28 :1-10 [IR Link] [Details]
2009 'Prolonged rote learning produces delayed memory facilitation and metabolic changes in the hippocampus of the ageing human brain'
Roche, R.A.P., Mullally, S.L., Hayden, J., Brennan, P., Doherty, C.P., Fitzsimons, M., McMackin, D., McNulty, J., Prendergast, J., Sukumaran, S., Mangaoang, M.A., Robertson, I.H. and O'Mara, S.M. (2009) 'Prolonged rote learning produces delayed memory facilitation and metabolic changes in the hippocampus of the ageing human brain'. BMC NEUROSCIENCE, 10 [IR Link] [Details]
2009 'High-resolution ERP mapping of cortical activation related to implicit object-location memory'
Murphy, J.S., Wynne, C.E., O'Rourke, E., Commins, S., & Dr Richard Roche (2009) 'High-resolution ERP mapping of cortical activation related to implicit object-location memory'. Biological Psychology, Biological Psychology, Vol. 8 :234-245 [IR Link] [Details]
2005 'Hippocampal contributions to neurocognitive mapping in humans: A new model'
Roche, RAP, Mangaoang, MA, Commins, S & O'Mara, SM (2005) 'Hippocampal contributions to neurocognitive mapping in humans: A new model'. Hippocampus, 15 :622-641 [IR Link] [Details]
2006 'Electrophysiological and information processing variability predicts memory decrements associated with normal age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's Disease'
Hogan, MJ, Carolan, L, Roche, RAP, Dockree, PM, Kaiser, J, Bunting, B, Robertson, IH & Lawlor, B. (2006) 'Electrophysiological and information processing variability predicts memory decrements associated with normal age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's Disease'. Journal of Brain Research, 1119 :215-226 [IR Link] [Details]
2005 'Individual differences discriminate event-related potentials but not performance during response inhibition'
Roche, RAP, Garavan, H, Foxe, JJ & O'Mara, SM (2005) 'Individual differences discriminate event-related potentials but not performance during response inhibition'. Experimental Brain Research, 160 :60-70 [Details]
2004 'Behavioural and physiological impairments of vigilant attention after traumatic brain injury'
Dockree, PM, Kelly, SP, Roche, RAP, Reilly, RB & Robertson, IH (2004) 'Behavioural and physiological impairments of vigilant attention after traumatic brain injury'. Cognitive Brain Research, 20 :403-414 [Details]
2004 'Low-level visuomotor learning disrupts higher-order behavioural control'
Roche, RAP, Commins, S & O'Mara, SM (2004) 'Low-level visuomotor learning disrupts higher-order behavioural control'. IRISH JOURNAL 0F PSYCHOLOGY, 25 :16-25 [Details]
2004 'EG alpha power changes reflect response inhibition deficits after traumatic brain injury (TBI)'
Roche, RAP, Dockree, PM, Garavan, H, Foxe, JJ, Robertson, IH & O'Mara, SM (2004) 'EG alpha power changes reflect response inhibition deficits after traumatic brain injury (TBI)'. Neuroscience Letters, 362 :1-5 [Details]
2003 'Behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of visuomotor learning in a visual search task'
Roche, RAP & O'Mara, SM (2003) 'Behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of visuomotor learning in a visual search task'. Cognitive Brain Research, 15 :127-136 [Details]
2002 'Dissociable executive functions in behavioural control: Inhibition, error detection and correction'
Garavan, H, Ross, TJ, Murphy, K, Roche, RAP, & Stein, EA (2002) 'Dissociable executive functions in behavioural control: Inhibition, error detection and correction'. NeuroImage, 17 :1820-1829 [Details]
2015 Cognitive approaches to attentional re-orienting in pseudo-neglect and hemineglect following stroke.
Forte, K. (2015) Cognitive approaches to attentional re-orienting in pseudo-neglect and hemineglect following stroke. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2014 Investigating cognitive processing and cognitive recovery following stroke.
Duffin, J. (2014) Investigating cognitive processing and cognitive recovery following stroke. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2014 Perceptual decision-making in the human brain using electrophysiological assays.
Twomey, D. (2014) Perceptual decision-making in the human brain using electrophysiological assays. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2014 Memory performance in mild cognitive impairment.
Brady, N. (2014) Memory performance in mild cognitive impairment. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2014 An investigation of spatial processing, gait and balance and stroke patients, relating to assessment and rehabilitation.
Walshe, E. (2014) An investigation of spatial processing, gait and balance and stroke patients, relating to assessment and rehabilitation. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2013 Cognitive interventions for acquired brain injury.
Rogan, C. (2013) Cognitive interventions for acquired brain injury. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2009 Behavioural and electrophysiological sequelae of stress during memory encoding, consolidation and reconsolidation.
Moore, J. (2009) Behavioural and electrophysiological sequelae of stress during memory encoding, consolidation and reconsolidation. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2009 Neural bases of spatial learning and memory in humans.
Murphy, J. (2009) Neural bases of spatial learning and memory in humans. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2009 Memory processing in adolescents at risk of schizophrenia.
Rawdon, C. (2009) Memory processing in adolescents at risk of schizophrenia. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2009 Language processing in adolescents at risk of schizophrenia.
Murphy, J. (2009) Language processing in adolescents at risk of schizophrenia. NUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]
2009 Behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of source memory in healthy and abnormal ageing.
Scanlon, P. (2009) Behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of source memory in healthy and abnormal ageing. NAUI Maynooth: Thesis [Details]


Our featured artist series gives us an opportunity to connect with visual creators from all around the world and share their unique stories. I came across Bless Creatics while browsing through Instagram and immediately fell in love with his graphic style. His Instagram profile is a work of art on it's own: the style stays so concise and true to its function as a process-oriented sharing style. Users are able to see the progression from a wireframe to an end-stage mock-up. Bless Creatics has a truly motivational story and I'm happy to share.
I started graphic designing back in 2015, but never took it seriously. Started out with poster designs (Lol, That's how most of us start, right ?). All the while, I was doing it for free for my friends and relatives. Providing zero value to the community. But, thankfully, Logo design hit me in the year 2017, I started taking it seriously. Got some commission works and then I decided to be a full-time freelancer. So technically, I've been a designer for the last one year only.
I'm from India and in my country, it's real hard to be a freelancer. The education system & the culture here, is totally different from that of the western culture. Every parent here dreams of His/Her child to be a Doctor/Engineer/Govt. official. You might be wondering, who thinks like that, right ? But that's how it works in INDIA. So in the same routine, after completing my high school, I did my Bachelor's in Business Administration. If you follow the routine, After a bachelor's degree, a Master's degree is a must. But, things didn't work out the same for me. Cut story short, I was in my home, jobless for few months. That's when I decided, why not do something productive by the time. And I started an Instagram page just to showcase my designs, with no intention to commercialize it. Surprisingly, people liked it. I got decent engagement in the initial days and by God's Grace, things worked out well, I started getting commission works on a regular basis. Got to work with some amazing clients down the road, And I'm happy things are going well.
Yes, at present, I'm a full-time Freelancer.
Inspiration can come literally from anything. From a small pin badge to the huge billboards. I draw inspiration from my day to day observation. It can be a small design I like which is imprinted on an old cassette tape, Or a book, or somewhere while I'm watching a TV series. Digital platforms also play a great role, Instagram, dribble, bechance, Pinterest, google. These are all part of my source of inspiration.
What part of the design process do you like most?
When I get paid, hahaha LOL ! Just kidding. I like the part where I sit down to draw inspiration and execute the client's idea to reality. It not only helps me come up with different ideas, But down the road, I learn a lot of things on the way. And there's nothing better than learning while you're still working. It makes you more productive and efficient at the same time.
What's your favorite design you've created?
It's kinda hard to pick a favorite. but I guess it's a mark I did for a fabric manufacturing company (See Xenon fabrics – image above). I really love the balance of the mark here. It's no rocket science, but I love how being just a simple mark, it's still appealing and up to the point.
What's one piece of advice you'd give to graphic designers who are starting their journey?
Everybody might've heard the phrase, "DO WHAT YOU LOVE". I respect that phrase, but doing what you love isn't necessary, do what brings value to the community. think about the value you bring to the community by what you do, If it's not providing any value, You need to think upon your way of working. Never loose hope, The journey Ain't easy. At some point, you might even feel like quitting, but then think of why You started.
Keep up with Bless Creatics with the links below!
© 2019 Temper and Forge.


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Telling Big Stories from Big Data
By Anthony Kosner April 9th, 2013
Infographics have never been more popular thanks to social media and sites like visual.ly. But popular and credible do not always go hand in hand, and the majority of contemporary data graphics are actually big on graphics, but small on data.
There are really two different kinds of visuals that are considered infographics. The first use minimal means to express maximal data. These are actual data visualizations. The other are really just graphic designs — the aesthetic arrangement of factoids from diverse sources.
Yale professor Edward Tufte, one of the leading experts in data visualization and the author of four of the most important books on every information designer's bookshelf, is clearly in favor of the first kind. "Graphics are at their best for really large data sets," he told Matt Carmichael of AdAge. But not all meaningful data is big, so Tufte advises, "Sensibly designed tables usually outperform graphics for data sets under 100 numbers."
There is nothing inherently wrong with small sets of numbers — if they are compelling. But the more decorated an information graphic becomes, the more the attention goes to the design instead of the data. Getting your hands on "big data" has become easier than ever as all of our connected sensors and devices feed mushrooming global data centers.
"Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data," according to IBM, "so much that 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone."
"I get excited when a client turns over lots of information," says New York designer Tommy McCall, the owner/founder of infographics.com, a data visualization agency. He particularly enjoys "developing data visualizations that lets the reader swim in and explore a vast data set." He points, for instance, to Smart Money's groundbreaking and still massively useful Map of the Market as an example of an immersive big data graphic.
But even McCall admits that sometimes "the best solution may be to simplify thousands of numbers into a few relevant ones. This can actually be harder because you have to find that needle in the haystack and shine a light on it."
The key to successful data presentations is, unsurprisingly, the data. This is why the producers of the best information graphics are as much researchers as they are designers. Tufte explains that at The New York Times, which he considers to produce the best visualizations of any media outlet, the designers are actually "Graphics News Reporters" and are responsible for gathering their own information.
McCall helped redesign the financial pages at the Times and came up with a very simple device that placed a dot towards the left if the stock was trading at a low, or to the right if it was trading at a high giving context for the hundreds of numbers on the page with a minimal device. Great information graphics should strive for this kind of economy and make sure that the graphics do no obscure the information.
It is important for content producers to realize that popular infographics have become a form of "link bait" on the internet and it is not uncommon to see long scrolling "chartoons" (in Tufte's words) about subjects that bear only a passing relationship to the company sponsoring them. Online eduction companies, in particular, have earned a bad reputation as abusers of this trend.
This is significant even for print projects because this style of presentation itself is gaining disreputable associations.
Tufte himself prepared detailed analyses after both the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters that showed how the use of inaccurate information graphics obscured by "chartjunk" led NASA engineers to underestimate the risk of those launches. (The graphics in question were PowerPoint slides, and you don't want to get Tufte going on PowerPoint!)
The same can happen to brands if they produce misleading graphic confections with facts cherry picked to support their own interests, in other words, disinformation graphics.
But even if you have your facts straight, overly illustrated data graphics, "chartoons," trade analytical intelligence for anecdotal "coverage" of a topic. A fanciful image of a floating island in the clouds used by Microsoft to sell its cloud computing services in Asia, for example, is just an armature on which to hang numbers (localized, in fact, for different markets within the Asia Pacific region) where visual scale and quantity bear no relationship to the imposed data.
"I envision a future where we will develop different graphic languages and dialects specialized to a variety of fields."
Contrast the meaningless cloud image with an even more beautiful rendering of the solar system created for National Geographic by Samuel Velasco of 5W Infographics, that renders the history of space exploration as an accumulation of lines from earth that curl around the moon, the planets and the sun. This design device is as stylized as any art nouveau floral motif, but it also communicates a lot of information in an intuitive, efficient and pleasurable way.
It is possible to take Tufte's minimalism too seriously and forget to delight in the pursuit of big data. McCall offers an example of a graphic that he created for Gallup that achieves a density of more than 20,000 data points on a single page and communicates at a glance the historical arc of the presidency from FDR to Bill Clinton.
Contrast this to an attractive but lightweight take on the presidency through the eyes of their pets from veterinary content portal Vetstreet, which contains a whopping 22 facts in roughly twice the space of the Gallup graphic.
"Every day, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data, so much that 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone."
Both Tufte and McCall feel that content producers often underestimate the sophistication of their audience when it comes to information literacy. "Overload, clutter, and confusion are not attributes of information, they are failures of design," Tufte says. "So if something is cluttered, fix your design, don't throw out information. If something is confusing, don't blame your victim—the audience—instead, fix the design. And if the numbers are boring, get better numbers."
McCall explains that the ability to read, comprehend and create data visualizations is an emergent skill called graphicacy. "As the general public becomes more graphically literate, so are the data professionals. I envision a future where we will develop different graphic languages and dialects specialized to a variety of fields."
Whatever your domain, there are visual forms that are well-suited to help your audience metabolize the big data that is now available, and it is your job to find or invent them. Properly formatted, big data can tell big stories. These visualizations "tap into the power of our visual cortex to absorb information at a much higher bandwidth than is possible through words and numbers alone," says McCall. "It's the only way for us to drink from this new fire hose of data."
Tags: Big data, data visualization, ibm, Infographics, Microsoft, NASA, National Geographic, New York Times, visual.ly


New type of nanocomposite materials were produced using a poly(amide-imide) (PAI) matrix and novel organoclay as a reinforcing agent by solution intercalation technique in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). The organoclay was prepared from Cloisite Na+ and protonated form of bis(3-amino phenyl)phenyl phosphine oxide via ion-exchange reaction. It was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction techniques. A new PAI containing phenylacetic acid moiety was synthesized by direct polycondensation reaction of 2,2′-(5,5′-oxybis(1,3-dioxoisoindoline-5,2-diyl))bis(2-phenylacetic acid) as a new diacid and 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfone. Poly(amide-imide)/nanocomposites (PAIN)s containing 4 and 8 % of new organoclay were prepared via solution intercalation method through blending of organoclay with the PAI solution. The nanostructures and properties of the PAINs were investigated using different techniques. Transmission electron microscopy and XRD results revealed the good dispersion nano silicate layers in the polymer matrix. Thermal properties and flame retardancy of the resulting PAINs were investigated by thermal gravimetry analyses and microscale combustion calorimetry techniques. Organoclay shows a good effect on improving the flame retardancy of the PAI, reflecting the decrease in heat release rate (HRR) from 250 W/g for PAI to 185 and 157 W/g for PAINs, while the thermal stability of the PAI nanocomposites only increased slightly compared to the neat polymer.
A new series of aromatic poly(ester-imide)s (PEIs) 8a–f with 1,3-bis[4-aminophenoxy]propane moieties were prepared from the newly synthesized diacid monomer 6 with various aromatic diols 7a–f. The resulting polymers were fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), elemental analysis, inherent viscosity, solubility tests, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and derivative of thermogravimetric (DTG) analysis. The PEIs had inherent viscosity ranging from 0.18 to 0.90 dL/g and were soluble in common organic solvents, such as N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). They exhibited useful thermal properties associated with relatively moderate Tgs (210–220 °C), 10% weight loss temperatures in excess of 380 °C, and char yields at 800 °C in N2 of up to 29%. Dicarboxylic acid 6 was synthesized from the reaction of 1,3-bis[3-aminophenoxy] propane 4 with trimellitic anhydride 5 in a solution of glacial acetic acid/pyridine (Py) at the refluxing temperature. 1,3-Bis[4-nitrophenoxy]propane 3 was prepared by a reaction of 4-nitrophenol 1 with 1,3-dibromo propane 2 in a DMF solution. Dinitro 3 was reduced to diamine 4 using 10% Pd-C, ethanol and hydrazine monohydrate.
New optically active poly(ester-imide)s PEIs were prepared from newly synthesized N,N′-(bicyclo[2,2,2]oct-7-ene-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylic)-bis-l-isoleucine diacid 4 via direct polycondensation with various aromatic diols in a system of tosyl chloride (TsCl), pyridine (Py), and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The reactions with bicyclo TsCl were significantly promoted by controlling alcoholysis with diols, in the presence of catalytic amounts of DMF, to give a series of optically active PEIs, with good yield and moderate inherent viscosity ranging from 0.44 to 0.66 dL/g. The diacid 4 was synthesized by the condensation reaction of [2,2,2]oct-7-ene-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylic dianhydride 1 with l-isoleucine 2 in acetic acid. All of these polymers were highly organosoluble in solvents such as N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) at room temperature. They were fully characterized by means of NMR spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), elemental analyses, inherent viscosity, solubility test, and specific rotation, and thermal properties of the poly(ester-imide)s were investigated using TGA/DTG.


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Are you a gelatinous pool of longing yet? Are you a perfumed garden of madly blooming purple explosions? Are you throbbing and gooey and half-nauseous with that delicious sickness some people called love? If not, I don't know what to tell you. By all astrological reckoning your gut should be swarming with drunk butterflies and the clouds should be taking on the shapes of mating horses. If you're not half-drowning in these symptoms, I implore you to find a way to pry open the floodgates.
You're primed to cancel a jinx in the coming days, Taurus. You could help someone (maybe even yourself) escape a bewitchment, and you might be able to soothe a wound that has been festering for a long time. In fact, I'm playing with the fantasy that you are now the living embodiment of a lucky charm. At no other time in recent memory have you had so much power to reverse the effects of perverse karma, bad habits, and just plain negative vibes. Your hands and eyes are charged with good medicine. Other parts of you are, too, which means sexual healing could be in the works. But as you embark on your mission to cure everyone you love, remember the first law of the soul doctor: "Physician, heal thyself."
The Norwegians used to have a concept called svoermere, which meant something sweetly futile or deliciously unprofitable. While I can see the appeal that your particular version of svoermere has had for you, Gemini, I think it's time to think about moving on. According to my reading of the omens, you have both a right and a duty to seek out more constructive pleasures that not only make you feel good but also serve your long-term goals.
Do you have enough info about yourself for now, or are you curious for more? If you'd like to go further, listen to your EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPE for the week ahead.
It's Freedom from Want Week! For Cancerians only! During this uncanny grace period, you might actually feel perfectly contented. It's quite possible that you'll be free from the obsession to acquire more security, more love, more proof of your greatness, more chotchkes, more everything. You may even make the shocking discovery that you don't need nearly as much as you thought you did in order to be happy; that maybe you have a lot to learn about getting more out of what you already have.
Would you like to spend the next 30 years working your assets off to make your bosses rich? If not, I suggest you start formulating Plan B immediately. The astrological time is not exactly ripe to extricate yourself from the wicked game, but it's ripe to begin scheming and dreaming about how to extricate yourself. Here's a tip to get you in the mood. Assume that there's some validity in the meme that mythologist Joseph Campbell articulated: "Follow your bliss and the money will come." Then ask yourself, "Do I even know what my bliss is? Not my mild joy or diversionary fun but my unadulterated bliss?" Once you know that, you can follow it. And then, inevitably -- although it may take a while -- the money will follow.
As the season of riddles and paradoxes kicks into high gear, I present you with a two-part quiz. Question 1: Since it has taken you your whole life to become the person you are today, is it reasonable to expect that you can transform yourself in a flash? Question 2: On the other hand, since you are more creative than you give yourself credit for, and are also in an astrological phase when your ability to change is greater than usual, is it reasonable to assume that you must remain utterly stuck in your old ways of doing things?
So much to say and do. So little time. Is it OK if I pepper you with pithy hints? It's the only way to fit everything in. Here goes. There's strength in numbers, Libra. So travel in packs. Round up support and whip up group fervor. Always say "we," not "I." Add at least one new friend and bolster at least one old friendship. Think before you act, but always act instead of watching from afar. Avoid doing stupid things in smart ways. To court good luck, do charity work. To ensure that extra favors will come your way later this year, do extra favors now.
The Biblical book of Isaiah prophesies a future time of undreamed-of harmony and cooperation. "The wolf will romp with the lamb," reads one translation. "Cow and bear will graze in the same pasture, their calves and cubs will grow up together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox." I have it on good astrological authority that you're now eligible for a mini-preview of this paradisiacal state. To receive your free introductory offer, you need only meet one condition. You must vow not to harm any living thing -- not even a cockroach. Not even the person you love best.
You Sagittarians are famous for filling your cups too full. Sometimes this is cute. Sometimes it's a problem for those who don't like Cabernet Sauvignon sloshed on their handwoven Persian rugs. This week, however, I predict there will be little or no hell to pay for overflowing. So go ahead and transcend your containers, you beautiful exaggerators. Feel free to express yourself like a fire hose. Now enjoy a few gems from your fellow Sagittarius, the extravagant poet and painter William Blake. 1. "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." 2. "Exuberance is beauty." 3. "The lust of the goat is the bounty of God." 4. "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough."
Constant vigilance, my friend. That's what I advise. Be attentive to details you sometimes gloss over. Wake up a little earlier and prepare for each encounter with greater forethought. Stare a little harder into the hearts of all those whose hidden motivations might detour your destiny. Monitor all communications for hints that all is not as it seems. Most importantly, guard against the possibility that you may be overlooking a gift or blessing that's being offered to you in an indirect way.
"Keep exploring what it takes to be the opposite of who you are," suggests psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of the book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. This advice is one of his ideas about how to get into attunement with the Tao, also known as being in the zone or getting in the groove or being aligned with the great cosmic flow. How would you go about being the opposite of who you are, Aquarius? According to my reading of the omens, that will be an excellent question for you to muse about in the coming weeks. As you stretch yourself to embody the secret and previously unknown parts of you, I think you'll be pleased with how much more thoroughly that allows you to be in sync with the rhythms of life.
Internet addiction has risen to epidemic proportions in China. In early 2009, psychologists in Shandong province began offering an alleged cure that involved the use of electro-shock therapy. Parents of 3,000 young people paid Dr. Yang Yongxin and his team over $800 a month to hook their anesthetized teens up to machines that sent electricity through their brains to induce artificial seizures. After four months, the Chinese government intervened and halted the treatment, noting that there was no evidence it worked. This practice might sound comically barbaric to you, but I think it has a certain resemblance to the way you have been dealing with your own flaws and excesses: with inordinate force. In the coming weeks, I really think it's important not to punish yourself for any reason, Pisces, even if it's in a supposedly good cause. The lesson of the Chinese experiment is: not only is it overkill, it also doesn't even have the desired effect.


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It's time to stop spoiling the SNP or the tantrums will get worse
I keep reading stories about how the SNP are trying to block Brexit. Sometimes they seem determined to stop the whole of the UK leaving the EU. At other times they apparently want Scotland to both remain in the UK and in the EU. There have been all sorts of odd schemes proposed. Some Scottish nationalists find a precedent in the fact that Greenland decided to leave the EU in 1982, but remains a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Couldn't the reverse happen to Scotland? Nicola Sturgeon has come up with five tests that somehow must be fulfilled for her to continue to be content with Scotland being a part of the UK. These amount to Scotland being a full member of the EU and could not be fulfilled in any other way. Sometimes these demands are accompanied with threats of if you don't do what we want, we'll hold another independence referendum. Apparently there may be secret plans to hold one next year. Alternatively there are no secret plans whatsoever. It's all very thrilling and cloak and dagger. Of course, some red meat must be flung to the fanatics from time to time, but the reality is that far from being desperate for independence at the moment the SNP is desperate somehow to stay in the UK.
Why have conditions at all if the SNP really wants independence? Why not simply say we want to leave the UK and stay in the EU. Why try to block the UK from leaving if you don't want to be part of the UK? The SNP have quite a large number of seats in the UK Parliament. Apparently they think they can use these seats to somehow veto Brexit. But why should they want to? If leaving the EU is so intolerable that Scotland will rise up and demand another independence referendum, why is the SNP trying to prevent it? Don't they want independence?
It is becoming ever clearer that the SNP is getting itself into a muddle. Why visit a junior minister in Berlin? He can't give you independence. The key point to grasp is that while the SNP is full of people who are desperate for independence, Scotland isn't. There are people like me who are against Scottish independence under all circumstances. There are people who would support Scottish independence if they thought it would make them better off. Finally there are independence supporters who want independence come what may. But these people are not enough to win.
After the EU referendum quite a lot of Remain voters briefly flirted with support for independence. I've come across people who I considered to be solidly Pro UK who suddenly wrote things that suggested a certain sympathy with the SNP. But people do say silly things in the heat of the moment. These disappointed Remainers are at the very least not SNP fundamentalists. They will look at the argument for Scottish independence and weigh up the advantages and the disadvantages. The problem for the SNP, as I keep arguing, is that it is much harder to make the case for Scottish independence in the context of Brexit. The SNP leadership are going to have to throw out pretty much the whole of their independence White Paper of 2013. Brexit has sent them homeward to think again. But until and unless the SNP can come up with a credible alternative that looks reasonably attractive, they cannot expect to actually win another independence referendum. They need to answer the difficult questions now because they can't win independence without a political campaign. During that campaign Scottish minds would be concentrated and politicians and journalists would keep asking the hard questions. The SNP wouldn't be able to get away with blind optimism and everything would be alright, because while this would satisfy their supporters it won't satisfy the majority of Scots.
It's crucial to realise that SNP threats about a second independence referendum are empty for the moment. The first nationalist condition for the possibility of indyref two is that Nicola Sturgeon thinks she can win it. But there's another condition I believe. If somehow she could persuade a majority in Scotland to vote for independence, but that this led to a significant deterioration in Scottish living standards Nicola Sturgeon knows that she would be blamed. What's more I don't think she is the sort of person that would like to see ordinary Scots made worse off. So while she certainly wants independence one day, it's not at all clear that she wants it right now.
What do the SNP want? They want to make gradual steps towards the goal of independence. This is the crucial point that UK politicians have failed to grasp over the years. Foolishly in the last days of the independence referendum UK politicians made a promise that the Scottish Parliament would gain new powers. I think they should have made it clear that fulfilling this promise was conditional on everyone in Scotland accepting the result. There are two sides to every bargain and the SNP has simply not kept its side. What concessions have they made to the fact that the majority rejected independence?
So we had the Smith Commission which gave lots of new powers to the Scottish Parliament. The SNP wanted more and when they didn't get all they wanted they claimed that the UK Government hadn't kept its promise. Under those circumstances it would have been better simply not to have kept the promise. Granting all those extra powers hasn't helped the Pro UK side of the argument one little bit. The SNP wants independence just as much as they always did. Every new power they gain is a step along the road to independence. UK politicians have to realise that they are feeding whiskies to an alcoholic. It is unlikely that doing this will make him sober.
Don't make concessions to Scottish nationalism. It hurts our side of the argument by gradually making Scotland seem more and more separate. The SNP want to take baby steps towards their goal and then fall over the finish line. Don't help them to do this. On the contrary, what the UK needs is more things that bring us together, more things that we share. We need less division not more.
It is for this reason that the response of pro UK politicians and journalists has been so disappointing since the EU referendum. Some people began writing about federalism as a way of keeping Scotland happy. Others began writing about giving Scotland a special status so that it can retain aspects of EU membership. Some Pro UK MPs even think it is a good idea for Scotland to have its own national news programme at six. Each of these things is just one more gradual step along the way to independence. There is only one lesson from the past twenty years of Scottish politics. Making concessions to Scottish nationalism gradually strengthens it while weakening the UK. Cease making concessions. Instead reassert the unity of the United Kingdom. Make it clear that our country is not splitting. Not now, not ever.
The SNP is a spoiled child that uses the threat of independence to gain concessions. It is happy for the UK to continue to subsidise Scotland. But it always bites the hand that feeds it. It is absolutely crucial that UK politicians begin to understand the SNP mentality and the SNP tactics. No matter what you give to them they are not going to be content. All you do is demonstrate your weakness. So give them nothing. Of course, be friendly and diplomatic. There is no harm in consulting and listening. But never treat Nicola Sturgeon as if she is the leader of an independent sovereign nation state. She isn't. Always remind her that she lost the only vote that mattered.
Brexit is going to happen or else we don't live in a democracy. But it cannot happen unless the whole of the UK leaves and under the same terms. How could Scotland retain free movement of people while the rest of the UK did not? What would stop those people simply crossing the border into England? How could the UK as whole come up with a trade deal with, for example, Australia if Scotland was governed by EU rules? Would that trade deal only apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland? On the other hand what if new EU regulations applied in Scotland, but not in the other parts of the UK? This is a recipe for confusion and chaos. If Scotland somehow stayed in the EU while the UK left it would make Brexit far less beneficial for the other parts of the UK. Instead of the UK Parliament being free to make our own rules we would always have to think of whether it would be commensurate with Scotland being in the EU. We would be constrained, for example, with what we could do with regard to UK VAT because Scotland would still be in the EU and subject to EU rules on VAT. This would apply to any number of issues. Most importantly we couldn't make the UK Parliament fully sovereign because the law in Scotland would still be subordinate to EU law.
There is an interesting debate to be had in the UK at the moment about the type of Brexit we should have. Some people have argued that we should simply leave the EU abolish all tariffs and say to the EU we are open to trade. If they chose to punish us they would in fact harm themselves. On the other side of the argument there are those who argue for a soft Brexit. Some favour a Norway model, some favour a Swiss model. Between a hard Brexit and a soft Brexit there are endless permutations. Let us hear the arguments. Let us weigh up the advantages and disadvantages. I tend towards supporting simply leaving, as I don't want the EU to have any influence at all on our lives in the UK. But I also recognise that this may involve some challenges. There are people I respect who support a soft Brexit. I'm open to persuasion on this. Let's have the debate.
The various parts of the UK have a role in this debate. But no one has a veto. What's more someone representing 5 million people in Scotland should have no more influence over the outcome of the debate than someone representing 5 million people in Yorkshire. We are all equally British citizens. I ought not to have more influence because I am Scottish than if I am someone from the Isle of Wight.
It is vital that no one should even consider making the sort of concessions that Nicola Sturgeon wants. They amount in effect to independence through the back door. If Scotland were in the EU while the other parts of the UK were not, then Scotland de facto would have achieved independence. Scotland's being in the EU while the UK is not is simply incompatible with Scotland being in the UK. Greenland may not be fully independent, but it is as near to independence as it's possible to get while remaining part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The SNP has become too used to having its own way. It's time someone firmly said No and pointed out clearly that Scotland is not an independent sovereign nation state, but rather a part of one. Nicola Sturgeon disgracefully had a meeting with the UK Prime Minister without there being a Union flag on display. She would not have done that if the leader she met had been from China. Why then does she disrespect the leader of the country which includes Scotland? It is time that everyone realises that Sturgeon's threats are empty. She is all over the place at the moment trying to stay both in the UK and the EU. This is a position that is obviously self-contradictory. Why hold such a position if she thought she could win an independence referendum? Look beyond the bluster and the necessity of keeping the SNP fanatics onside and it becomes ever clearer that Sturgeon doesn't even have an argument. No further concessions need be made. Indeed they are the equivalent to giving in to a toddler in the supermarket. I want. I want. I want. It's time to stop spoiling the SNP or the tantrums will only get worse.
Labels: Brexit, European Union Referendum, Hard Brexit, Scottish Devolution, Scottish independence referendum, Scottish National Party, Smith Commission, Soft Brexit
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