After a successful run through the Midwest and Northeast, Phish will head across the country and take over the West Coast for a stretch of performances. That run starts this Friday, July 15th, when Phish takes their jams to The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA.Fans who are making the trek to the storied venue are in for a treat, but for those who cannot – the band has a solution. Phish has just announced webcast live streams for their two-night run! As usual, bundles for both nights in HD and SD are available, as well as merchandise that can be added to whichever webcast package you choose. You can find more information here. read more

October 1, 2000 Gary Blankenship Senior Editor Regular News Bar launches merit campaign Senior Editor The Florida Bar is distributing a half million brochures and making available a videotape to help educate voters and urge them to support switching to selecting trial judges by merit selection and retention instead of election.The Board of Governors reviewed the tape and the brochures at its September 15 meeting.“The video is an excellent video and sends the message across quite nicely,” said board member Alan Bookman, chair of the Merit Selection and Retention Implementation Special Committee, which is overseeing the Bar’s education campaign.He said the video has been distributed to board members and also members of the Bar’s Speakers Bureau, and he asked board members to become more active in informing voters about the referendum on the November general election ballot.The Bar will make copies of the brochure available to Bar members in their efforts to support the referendum, Bookman said, adding he has personally distributed 1,000 brochures in the Pensacola area.Pursuant to a constitutional amendment passed in 1998, voters will be asked in November whether all county and circuit judges should be selected by merit selection and retention, or the present system should be continued. Currently, end-of-term vacancies are filled by election and mid-term vacancies by merit appointment, with all judges standing for election at the end of their terms. Florida’s appellate judges have since 1976 been chosen and retained solely by merit selection and retention.The videotape begins with an explanation of how judges are now chosen and an explanation of merit selection and retention. The narrator then notes there are arguments on both sides over which is the better method of choosing judges.Those arguments include that merit opponents don’t favor taking away the right to elect judges and argue too much political power would be concentrated in judicial nominating commissions and the Governor.Proponents contend the merit system will end judges seeking contributions from lawyers who appear before them, that the merit system has brought more diversity to the bench and that elected judges are far more likely to be disciplined than appointed judges.After that explanation of merit selection, and exploration of the issues, the tape features Bar President Herman Russomanno telling why the Bar is urging voters to support switching to pure merit selection and retention for trial judges.That segment of the tape includes comments from members of the Bar’s Citizens Forum explaining why they advocated that the Bar support merit selection and retention, including that the JNC screening process is thorough and a high quality candidate usually results.In the tape, Russomanno tells voters they actually get a strong voice in retaining judges because all judges will appear on the retention ballot at the end of their terms. Currently, incumbent judges appear on the ballot only if they are challenged, something that rarely happens.He also reported that two-thirds of the nation’s states have some form of merit selection and retention for some or all of their judges, and no state that has switched to merit selection has ever returned to popular election.The tape runs for 14 and a half minutes. There is also a shorter, nine-minute version that does not include the section with Russomanno explaining why the Bar supports the merit referendum.The Bar’s brochure makes the same points as the video, including that the merit process provides the combination of public accountability through retention votes and judicial independence.Bookman told the board the one contested judicial race in the First Circuit this year reinforced his support for switching to the merit system. He said two candidates for an open seat spent a total of $490,000, with the winning candidate spending $190,000 including $100,000 of her own money and the losing candidate spending $300,000, including $250,000 of his own money.Bookman said that as part of the campaign Russomanno will be visiting newspaper editorial boards before election day to present the Bar’s position.The board approved a motion from board member Tod Aronovitz to distribute information collected by the Bar on merit selection to TV stations and newspaper editorial boards.That included a suggestion from board member Hank Coxe to compile the amount of campaign funds raised and spent by judicial candidates, including the totals raised from attorneys. (That information was being compiled as this News went to press.)Anyone interested in assisting in the Bar’s merit campaign should contact Gail Grimes, Speakers Bureau coordinator, at (850) 561-5767. Bar launches merit campaign read more

Sharks once were plentiful in Madagascar’s waters, but a spike in demand for shark fins dating to the 1980s has led to heavy exploitation and a reduction in the fishes’ abundance and size.Madagascar has no national laws that specifically protect sharks. In June, though, the country released a new national plan for the sustainable management of sharks and rays.The plan calls for a shark trade surveillance program, a crackdown on illegal industrial fishing, more “no-take” zones, and a concerted effort to collect better data.Conservationists welcomed the plan as an important step — provided the country can enforce its provisions. MORONDAVA, Madagascar — When older people on Madagascar’s west coast were children, there were so many sharks that they had to be a bit careful when playing in the water. At the time, local fishers would catch some sharks but had little reason to target them, given the low prices they fetched at market.Then, in the 1980s, China’s rising middle class started eating more shark-fin soup, and fin prices skyrocketed. In Madagascar, as elsewhere, industrial vessels and local fishers alike began chasing sharks, and heavy exploitation has continued ever since. The results have been dire, local people say. Fishers in numerous towns and villages in southwest Madagascar told Mongabay that sizable sharks have become harder and harder to catch. The fishers said they now put in more work, with more selective gear, for less reward.Nirina Arson Ranaivoarivony, who works at a western outpost of Madagascar’s fisheries ministry, has seen the changes firsthand. In the early 1990s, when he worked on an industrial shrimp trawler along the coast, he said there would be 3-to-4-meter (10-to-13-foot) sharks “every time we brought the nets up.” But by the time he left that line of work, in 2002, such large “bycatch” had become far less common. Now he keeps track of shark trade data for the region of Menabe as part of his work for the ministry. “There are far fewer sharks being moved today because there just aren’t many left,” he told Mongabay. “They’ve all been taken out of the ocean.”A Malagasy woman, wearing a traditional sunscreen on her face, sells sharks and other seafood at the market in the city of Morondava. She offered these three little sharks to a reporter for 2,000 ariary, about 50 cents. Image by Edward Carver for Mongabay.In all that time, Madagascar has had no laws that specifically protect sharks. Now, the government may finally be set to take action. In June, the fisheries ministry teamed up with the environment ministry to announce a new national plan for the sustainable management of sharks and rays. The plan, which Mongabay reviewed in draft form, calls for a shark trade surveillance program, a crackdown on illegal industrial fishing, more “no-take” zones, and a concerted effort to collect better data.Conservationists are cautiously optimistic about the initiative. “[I]t is an important step towards the sustainable management and conservation of [sharks and rays],” Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana, the international NGO WWF’s country director, told Mongabay in an email. “However, it needs to be implemented and enforced, otherwise it will have little value. Madagascar has many such plans and strategies and many remain on the shelf unfortunately, so let’s hope this one will have a different fate.” read more

A forest reserve outside Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, has shrunk to just 716 hectares (1,770 acres) from its original 1,750-hectare (4,320-acre) span to make way for housing and lifestyle developments.The developments are also pumping sewage into the Chalimbana River, contaminating the fish and water that local communities rely on, and leading to outbreaks of diarrhea.Top government officials have been named among the recipients of some of the plots, including the vice president, chief justice, and ministers.Activists mounting a legal challenge to end the construction and restore the forest to its previous state saw an earlier ruling in their favor overturned, and are skeptical about getting justice in what they call “an engineered case.” LUSAKA – On a chilly August afternoon in Chongwe, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the Zambian capital, Lusaka, a handful of children warm themselves around a small fire on the banks of the Chalimbana River. In the mud near the water rests the mosquito net they have been fishing with, a wriggly mass of tadpole-sized fry too small to eat dying in its folds.One girl, shivering in her wet clothes, proudly shows off a plastic shopping bag filled with her catch. The children have been taught it’s wrong to use these nets but they still do so openly, compromising future fishing by trapping eggs and small immature fish in its fine gauze. One older boy explains the river water is contaminated, so they shouldn’t drink it. When he’s asked why, he shrugs. Worrying about the sewage that might be washing down the river from a posh new development upriver in Lusaka East is left up to the adults.Earlier in the day, village leaders held a strategy meeting at the local clinic, where they expressed their concern over developments in Forest Reserve 27, a 1,750-hectare (4,320-acre) patch of green from which the Chalimbana River flows. In 2017, a 70-hectare (173-acre) triangle in the southeast corner of the reserve was degazetted to allow development of upmarket residential complexes.Over in the northeast part of the reserve, plans are afoot for one of the most luxurious estates Lusaka has ever seen: Kingsland City. Sunshare Estates, a public-private partnership between the Zambian Air Force and three Chinese companies — Datong Construction, Drimtown Investments and Shangria Investments — advertised the development with the slogan “For Your Noble Life.” More than 1,000 homes had already been built for personnel at the Zambian Air Force’s Twin Palms Base. Now a further 380 hectares (940 acres) were targeted to build 2,500 more housing units, a shopping mall, sports complex, hotels, a university, a golf course, an amusement park, and a Zambian Air Force academy.It’s not all been smooth sailing for Kingsland City. In January 2018, Zambia’s Water Resources Management Authority warned that raw sewage had started seeping into the Chalimbana where the new homes have gone up. The authority’s report said the old sewer ponds had been built for a limited number of houses and cautioned that the system will not be able to cope with further development. It warned that contamination had been detected downstream of the discharge point, with reports that some people had gotten sick with diarrhea.But later in 2018 President Edgar Lungu redefined the forest reserve’s boundaries to exclude the Kingsland City area on the Twin Palms Base side and the residential developments in the southeast. In 2019, a further piece on the eastern side was taken out of the reserve, leaving only 716 hectares (1,770 acres) of forest protected. The forestry department was not involved at any point in this degazetting process. read more

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. Gov’t to employ 6,000 displaced by Taal Japeth Aguilar embraces role, gets rewarded with Finals MVP plum The oddly angled ballpark became an echo chamber even before the first pitch. Chants of “Beat LA!” began early, Kershaw got heckled with a sing-song serenade and Dodgers villain Manny Machado heard loud boos all evening.Only one person wearing Dodger blue drew a cheer: Roberts, saluted in pregame introductions for the daring steal that turned the tide in Boston’s 2004 playoff comeback against the Yankees.“I think we had the advantage tonight with the weather and stuff. We’ve been playing through it,” Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi said.It was 53 degrees at first pitch and it dropped into the mid-40s by the end. That was the coldest game for Los Angeles this season and quite a contrast from last year’s World Series, when it was a record 103 degrees for the opener at Dodger Stadium against Houston.“We won Game 1 last year and lost the Series, so maybe we’ll try it out this way. See if we can win one,” Kershaw said.Game 2 is Wednesday night, when it’s supposed to be even colder. David Price, fresh from beating Houston in the ALCS clincher, starts against Hyun-Jin Ryu.Both teams rely heavily on analytics, and it showed: With each manager searching for the most beneficial matchup, the clubs combined to use 12 pitchers and six pinch-hitters.Benintendi scored three times for Boston, trying for its fourth championship in 15 seasons.Matt Kemp homered and Justin Turner had three hits for the Dodgers, aiming for their first crown since 1988. Machado drove in three runs, and his RBI grounder in the fifth inning made it 3-all.Boston retook the lead in the bottom half when Xander Bogaerts hustled to beat out a potential inning-ending double play — Dodgers reliever Ryan Madson seemed to celebrate a little too early. Boston Red Sox’s Eduardo Nunez reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the World Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Boston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)BOSTON — The Fenway Funhouse proved too tricky, too cold and just too much for the beach boys.Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on a chilly, windy Tuesday night.ADVERTISEMENT Price had been 0-9 in 11 postseason starts before pitching six scoreless innings to help close out the Astros in Game 5. Ryu was 1-1 with a 3.40 ERA in three playoff starts this year.Sports Related Videospowered by AdSparcRead Next Benintendi had four hits, Martinez drove in two early runs and pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez golfed a three-run homer to seal it. The 108-win Red Sox got a solid effort from their bullpen after an expected duel between aces Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw never developed.From the get-go, old Fenway Park caused all sorts of problems for the Dodgers.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSGinebra beats Meralco again to capture PBA Governors’ Cup titleSPORTSJapeth Aguilar wins 1st PBA Finals MVP award for GinebraSPORTSGolden State Warriors sign Lee to multiyear contract, bring back ChrissMookie Betts led off for the Red Sox with a popup that twisted first baseman David Freese as he tried to navigate the tight foul space near the stands and gauge the gusts. Lost, he overran the ball and it dropped behind him.“You never really know,” Benintendi said. “The flag will be blowing one way, and the wind is actually blowing the other. You have to be on your toes pretty much.” Underprivileged Filipino kids join int’l football training programs via TM Sports Para sa Bayan Tim Cone, Ginebra set their sights on elusive All-Filipino crown Lights inside SMX hall flicker as Duterte rants vs Ayala, Pangilinan anew Allen Durham still determined to help Meralco win 1st PBA title View comments Lights inside SMX hall flicker as Duterte rants vs Ayala, Pangilinan anew Given a second chance, Betts lined a single that set up a two-run first inning.“It was important for us to score first and kind of put some pressure on them,” he said.In the seventh, newly inserted left fielder Joc Pederson looked hesitant as he chased Benintendi’s soft fly, rushing toward the seats that jut out down the line. The ball ticked off his glove for a ground-rule double, and soon Nunez connected off Alex Wood to break open a 5-4 game.“We didn’t play the defense that we typically do. I thought we left some outs out there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And it didn’t make Clayton’s job any easier.”The crowd and cold temperatures were no picnic for Los Angeles, either.ADVERTISEMENT Rafael Devers followed with an RBI single, making it 5-3 and giving himself an early birthday present. He turned 22 at midnight, three minutes before the game ended.Martinez, who led the majors with 130 RBIs, gave the crowd a scare when his foot slipped rounding second base on a run-scoring double in the third. He fell hard, but soon got up.Steve Pearce, ruled safe at first on a replay review, scored from there on Martinez’s double. The ball hit a metal garage-type grate on the far center-field wall and took a weird carom, giving Pearce extra time to score.A garage-style grate, used for groundskeeping vehicles and such. What other park has that in play?A day before this opener, Kershaw and most of the Dodgers pooh-poohed the prospect that Fenway would cause them trouble. Most of them had never played at the oldest ballpark in the majors, built in 1912, but said they were sure they’d be OK.It didn’t quite turn out that way in their first trip to Fenway since 2010.Besides, clubs coming to Beantown have other things to worry about.“I think the biggest challenge for a team coming in here is you’re playing the Boston Red Sox,” Eovaldi said Monday.The only other time the Dodgers and Red Sox met in the World Series was 1916, when Babe Ruth helped pitch Boston to the championship. Those games were at Braves Field, the bigger home park of the city’s National League franchise.Kershaw and Sale each started out wearing short sleeves, but neither warmed to the possibility of the marquee matchup. In similar outings, both were pulled before getting an out in the fifth. MOST READ Kershaw took the loss in his first appearance at Fenway, tagged for five runs on seven hits and three walks. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner fell to 9-9 in the postseason, his October results falling short of his brilliant regular-season resume.“All the way around it wasn’t a good night,” Kershaw said.Sale threw 91 pitches in his first outing since the ALCS opener. He was hospitalized last week for an unspecified stomach illness.Matt Barnes, the first of six Boston relievers, got the win. Eovaldi pitched the eighth and Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth as the Red Sox bullpen held the Dodgers to one run on three hits in five innings.Boston manager Alex Cora won in his first try guiding a club in the Series. This also marked the first World Series game between teams led by minority managers.YAY FOR YAZRed Sox great Carl Yastrzemski bounced the ceremonial first pitch, and decided that just wouldn’t do. So he called for another ball, and the 79-year-old Hall of Famer threw a strike to injured Boston star Dustin Pedroia.FIRST UPThe Red Sox have won Game 1 in six straight World Series, dating to 1975 vs. the Big Red Machine. … Boston is 8-0 this postseason when scoring first. … The team that wins the opener has won 62 percent of the championships.UP NEXT LATEST STORIES Gretchen Barretto’s daughter Dominique graduates magna cum laude from California college Nadine Lustre’s phone stolen in Brazil Will you be the first P16 Billion Powerball jackpot winner from the Philippines? Carpio hits red carpet treatment for China Coast Guard PLAY LIST 02:14Carpio hits red carpet treatment for China Coast Guard02:56NCRPO pledges to donate P3.5 million to victims of Taal eruption00:56Heavy rain brings some relief in Australia02:37Calm moments allow Taal folks some respite03:23Negosyo sa Tagaytay City, bagsak sa pag-aalboroto ng Bulkang Taal01:13Christian Standhardinger wins PBA Best Player award read more

The Liberian nation has faced many challenges in its 167-year history.But it started long before 1847 when our Declaration of Independence was proclaimed.Remember Elijah Johnson?  After the first shipload of Pioneers were denied landing at Shebro Island, Sierra Leone, the rest of the group said, “Let’s go back to America.”  That is when Elijah Johnson made his historic statement:  “For two long years I have sought a home. Here I have found one, and here will I remain.” That inspiring, forthright utterance stopped the ship from turning back.  It sped southward to an island at the tip end of the Mesurado River, and that is where the pioneers finally landed. In thanksgiving to God who mercifully led them there, they named it Providence Island.  Scarcely a mile up the hill the pioneers found another spot on which they built their first church, naming it Providence Baptist Church.  It was in that church, exactly a quarter century later, on July 26, 1847, that they signed the Declaration of Independence.  A nineteen year-old Liberian genius, Edwin J. Barclay, reminded us in his immortal “The Lone Star Forever,” that it was this Declaration of Independence that proclaimed “to Afric’s sons and sires” and to the world, “the birth of liberty” on the African continent!Then there were the settler-indigenous misunderstandings over land.These included the trouble in faraway Maryland between its settlers and the Grebos.  But all of these were eventually settled, and Liberia continued to expand its territory. They reached as far as Nimba and Grand Gedeh–long before the French colonialists got there.  But because our “Mother Country”–the United States–turned a blind eye to the naked aggression of British and French colonial encroachments, we lost half of Nimba, Lofa and Bong, more than half of Grand Gedeh and Grand Cape Mount counties.The French, in negotiations with the Liberian delegation in Paris in 1958, were close to giving us back some of that land when Sekou Toure said “No” to President Charles De Gaulle’s French Association of African States, and declared Guinea an independent Republic.President Tubman immediately withdrew his delegation from Paris because, he argued, the disputed territory was “no longer French, but African, owned by the newly independent “Republic de la Guinea.”Malaria and other tropical diseases also decimated the small population of settlers and their indigenous siblings.It was amidst this dwindling population scenario that President Daniel B. Warner, author of our National Anthem, sent a delegation to Barbados in the West Indies asking for “new blood” to help repopulate the diminishing Liberian population.  The result was the 1865 Immigration that brought Edwin Barclay’s ancestors here.  His cousin, Arthur Barclay, later President, came on that ship as an 11 year-old.Then came World War One, when Germany gave an ultimatum to the Liberian government to close the French Cable at Front Street, Snapper Hill and expel the French operators.  President Daniel E. Howard refused and the Germans bombed Monrovia, killing many citizens.President Howard immediately called on all the churches to toll their bells, and the people to  their churches to pray for God’s protection amidst this international crisis.That, too, passed.Then came 1930 and the Fernando Po Crisis, when European powers attempted to “mandate” Liberia, meaning colonizing the country.  It was President Edwin Barclay and Secretary of State Louis Arthur Grimes who, through their defense of the nation before the League of Nations in Geneva, saved Liberia’s sovereignty.Then came World War II when Liberia declared war on Germany, our main trading partner,   plunging the nation into economic and financial crisis.  All Germans, including the doctors, had to leave.Then the various political crises, beginning in 1951 when D. Tweh fled to Sierra Leone; and Ben Freeman suddenly died a few hours after the True Whig Party Convention nominated him as Tubman’s vice presidential candidate.  The political crisis of 1955 followed, with the murder of David Coleman and his son John, the arrest of most partisans of Edwin Barclay and Nete Sie Brownell’s Independent True Whig Party and the the mass arrest of its partisans; followed by the untimely death of President Edwin Barclay.Then the 1980 coup d’etat, the HIV Aids epidemic and the 14-year civil war.We have survived all of these.  Who says we cannot survive Ebola, too?We can and by the grace of God, we definitely WILL.  Let us simply do what is required by acknowledging the epidemic and taking all preventive measures to fight it off.And this, too, shall pass.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) read more

Gardai have issued a warning to drivers after a number of incidents of aquaplaning across Donegal.A spokesman has confirmed that there have been a number of crashes as a result of the change in weather and an increase in wetter road conditions.Aquaplaning can occur when the water separates your tyres from the road surface Now local Gardai have issued a series of guidelines to prevent any further incidents.A spokesman said “When weather conditions are dull and wet there will be reduced visibility. Slow down and allow extra distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you.“It takes longer to stop a vehicle on wet roads. We have attended a few collisions lately where aquaplaning almost certainly caused the collison.”The spokesperson added “Should this happen, do not brake fast, do not pull sharply on the steering wheel, do ease off the accelerator, let the car slow down itself until the tyres regain their grip, keep a steady hand and steer with small movements until your vehicle is back on course. “Do not steer or brake until the grip is restored! Be aware of the danger of aquaplaning especially on roads with 100 km/h and 120 km/h speed limits.”Motorists have also been advised to check their tyres regularly.It is recommended that people change their tyres when the tread depth falls below 3mm.And the spokesman added “Take special care when driving behind goods vehicles as they generate a considerable amount of spray which reduces your visibility.“Allow extra space between you and vulnerable road users such as cyclists and motorcyclists. Drive with dipped headlights at all times.” Donegal motorists warned after surface water causes crashes was last modified: September 5th, 2019 by StephenShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Tags:aquaplaningdonegalGardai read more

Rugby league legend Mark Geyer has selected National Rugby League referee Shayne Hayne to be in his touch football team, MG’s Maulers, at the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games.Shayne entered a Games competition to play alongside Mark and his brother-in-law, fellow rugby league premiership winner Greg Alexander, at the world’s largest multi-sport event and was one of the 14 men that Mark picked from a bumper entry.Also in the MG’s Maulers side, which will contest the men’s 40+ category of the Games touch football competition at two St Marys venues from 12-15 October, is former Parramatta Eels and Australia Kangaroos halfback John Kolc.“I’m absolutely delighted with the touch footy team I’ve put together to play as MG’s Maulers at the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games,” said Mark, one of 19 famous Australian and international faces who are ambassadors for the major event.“The Games are as much as about making friends and having fun as they’re about playing hard and winning medals but I’d like to think MG’s Maulers, including Shayne, will have a red-hot go at striking men’s 40+ touch footy gold.”Running 10-18 October, the Games are open to everyone rather than just elite athletes and will see 25,000 people from more than 100 countries compete in 28 sports across 72 Sydney venues, including many renowned Olympic sites.To enter the Games people need only meet their sport’s minimum age, which ranges between 25 and 35 years. Swimming is one of the sports open to people as young as 25, with most of the sports, including touch football, open to people aged 30 plus.But time is fast running out for people to sign up for the Games, with registrations only open at www.2009worldmasters.com until Friday 31 July – two weeks today.Don’t let the Games begin without you! read more

Twitter/@GReilly447Earlier, we shared tweets from UAB linebacker Derek Slaughter, who planned to wear his football helmet during the school’s commencement ceremony to protest the dissolution of the program. Now, we have video of Slaughter crossing the stage, and it doesn’t disappoint for those who agree with his stance. Slaughter snubs president Ray Watts on the handshake as he crosses the stage, and then proudly holds up the helmet, to a big applause from the crowd.Shout out to my boy @dslaughter33 for letting Watts know the fight isn’t over. @SportsCenter #GoBlazers pic.twitter.com/bZUSju3QAs— Sam Curtis (@SamCurtis_36) April 25, 2015A UAB football player just walked at commencement carrying his helmet. He held it up and everybody cheered. He didn’t shake Ray Watts’ hand.— Thacker Rice (@JamesT_77) April 25, 2015pic.twitter.com/86cWbFs6ZG— Thacker Rice (@JamesT_77) April 25, 2015A graduate just held up a UAB football helmet and Bartow Arena exploded with applause that almost held up the graduation. #FreeUAB— Mind of Abram (@MindOfAbram) April 25, 2015You gotta love it. My man @dslaughter33 loves his school and the opportunity they gave him. Proud of you, D. #UAB pic.twitter.com/TqDVFcn6Ix— Graham Reilly (@GReilly447) April 25, 2015Slaughter fired off a few more tweets about the move as well.No i did not shake his hand. I told him I wanted it back and what it ment to me and all he said was I know I know… #freeUAB— Derek Slaughter (@dslaughter33) April 25, 2015Blazer for life #freeUAB pic.twitter.com/3smf5RiOi7— Derek Slaughter (@dslaughter33) April 25, 2015Blazer fans have to be proud of Slaughter for taking a public stand like this. The college football world sure is. read more

Source:http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/pilot-study-suggests-pedal-desks-could Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)Nov 9 2018A recent pilot study by kinesiologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that pedaling while conducting work tasks improved insulin responses to a test meal. Investigators led by Dr. Stuart Chipkin found that insulin levels following the meal were lower when sedentary workers used a pedal desk compared to a standard desk. In addition, work skills were not decreased in the pedaling condition.Chipkin and colleagues conclude that pedal desks “could have the potential to achieve public and occupational health goals in sedentary work environments.” They point out that physical inactivity and sedentary work environments have been linked to higher rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease through insulin resistance and other mechanisms. Results appear in the October issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.Chipkin, an endocrinologist who studies the impact of physical activity and medications on insulin sensitivity and skeletal muscle metabolism at UMass Amherst’s School of Public Health and Health Sciences, explains that instead of approaching the problem by trying to squeeze intermittent activity into a largely sedentary work routine, “we chose to consider integrating physical activity into the workday.”He and colleagues felt that the alternatives now available for office workers – standing desks and treadmill desks – are not feasible to use for whole shifts and may even pose some barriers, such as standing too long. By contrast, a pedal desk can be used in a seated position at the user’s own pace for as little or as much time as the worker chooses.Though there are currently no commercial pedal desks on the market, Chipkin and colleagues were able to use a prototype Pennington Pedal Desk co-invented by UMass Amherst kinesiology researcher Catrine Tudor-Locke, a co-author who did not determine study design or have any contact with participants or study data.Related StoriesDiabetes patients experiencing empathy from PCPs have beneficial long-term clinical outcomesObese patients with Type 1 diabetes could safely receive robotic pancreas transplantDon’t Miss the Blood-Brain Barrier Drug Delivery (B3DD) Summit this AugustFor this work, the researchers recruited 12 overweight/obese full-time sedentary office workers, six men and six women, and tested them in two conditions, pedaling at self-selected light-intensity pace for two hours, and working while seated for two hours at a conventional desk. In both conditions, participants performed computer-based tasks and were tested on mouse proficiency, typing speed and accuracy, reading comprehension and concentration/attention.The participants also provided blood samples after eating a light meal for analysis of metabolic responses of glucose, insulin and free fatty acids, a link between obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.Chipkin and colleagues report that pedal desk use required significantly less insulin to maintain glucose concentrations compared with using the standard desk. He notes, “It took much less insulin to keep their blood sugars the same. This means that the body doesn’t work so hard to maintain blood glucose and fatty acid levels with use of the pedal desk compared to a standard desk. From the metabolic point of view, the pedal desk seems to be helpful and the from the work point of view, work tasks were not impaired.””While there were no changes in blood glucose or free fatty acids, none would be expected in a group of subjects without diabetes,” he notes. In future studies, Chipkin plans to explore the impact of the pedal desk on people with diabetes. read more