A new era for Baker

State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, has kept busy during her first term of office serving the 20th District. She travels 32,000 miles a year, has attended more than 2,000 community events and has helped to pass crucial legislation for veterans within Pennsylvania’s fifth-largest senatorial district.

As the unopposed senator prepares for her second term of office, she will now have another notch in her political belt.

Baker, 49, will be the senior senator from the area, as state Sens. Bob Mellow, D-Peckville, and Ray Musto, D-Pittston Township, are retiring.

“The fact that the two senators who will be retiring have a combined total of probably 75 years of experience, it gives us an opportunity to learn from their service and look to the future as well, with new ideas and new people coming to serve,” she said.

Baker’s government career didn’t just start when she was elected to office in 2006.

She has been working for state government since she was a senior at Shippensburg University, interning for former state Sen. Robert Jubelirer, R-Altoona, which turned into her first job out of college as a researcher in his office.

Baker went on to work for her predecessor, state Sen. Charles Lemmond, R-Dallas, as his chief of staff for 10 years and also served under former GOP governors Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker.

“While I’m relatively new and just finishing my first term, I actually started as a college intern in the (state) Senate in 1983,” she said.

“I think that gives me an advantage in understanding the history of the institution and also having the perspective of ways I think we can change the institution.”

And Baker has pushed for change. She said one of the first bills she sponsored in the state Senate was one the Legislature had been trying to pass for years. The bill, signed into law in December 2007, helped to improve and better coordinate veterans’ programs and outreach assistance throughout the state.

She has also been focused on the juvenile justice system after the “kids-for-cash” scandal, in which former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan were accused of accepting money illegally in exchange for rulings that benefited two for-profit juvenile detention centers.

“All of us believe that in the court system, fundamental fairness is the cornerstone, and (I) felt very troubled by the fact that that was not the case,” she said.

Baker proposed a bill after details of the case noted that more than half of the children who appeared in front of Ciavarella were not represented by an attorney. The bill passed 48-1 in the Senate, and she’s hopeful the bill will become law before the end of the year.
She also is working to include restitutions within the state budget for victims of the scandal.

“It’s important that the original victims’ concerns and rights are taken care of in this process,” she said.

Looking forward, Baker said natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale is the most significant issue within her district, and she is determined to ensure safety for the 119 townships and boroughs she serves.

“I have indicated that I will support a severance tax if it incorporates key principles, and unfortunately the bill that passed the House, the one that the governor has been pushing, is not good for our area,” she said.

Baker said a severance tax, which has not been approved by the state Senate, should benefit the municipalities and counties directly affected by drilling before revenue can be placed into the state general fund.

“I think we all recognize the potential economic impact of this industry and the potential for job growth, but I use the caveat that it has to be done in a responsible manner,” she said.

Kansas star RB, homecoming king dies after 99-72 game

"As a follow up to the National Federation's changes in rules, the KHSAA executive board adopted recommendations and guidelines for all schools about concussions," Bowden told Prep Rally. "I talked about them when we did the rules meetings across the state, to make sure as best we can that everyone knows where to go to get information. That's the procedure we follow to try and get all the official recommendations and guidelines.
"There's a certain amount of responsibility on the part of the schools, to know that they have to try and protect their students and schools are doing that."

For now, the KHSAA is taking a back seat while Spring Hill deals with internal trauma before it tries to learn more about Stiles' death.

"We're working with our schools, trying to find out as best we can what happened," Bowden told Prep Rally. "There are certain privacy matters and we're trying to get information from the school as soon as they can let us know. 

"An investigation implies that somebody was at fault and did something wrong. That has never been the position of the activites association. We're just trying to work with the school to find out exactly what happened. And we may never know exactly what happened."

History of western oil painting

The development of painting through the classical, modern, modern several times and in different times during the painting art of thinking is being affected by control and constraint techniques, showing a different aspect.

Conditions of the early history of oil development has laid a classical realist painting tendencies. 15th century European Renaissance, the humanist thought out criticism of religion, with attention to the positive requirements of social reality, and many famous artists in order to gradually get rid of a single creative theme of the Christian classic, beginning when the characters life , landscape, painted items, and direct observation, so that works with religious themes with a clear and present secular factors, some artists depict real life completely real. Renaissance painters inherited Greek and Roman art the idea that not only focus on work to describe an event or fact, but also to reveal the causes and effects of events or facts, so pay attention to the idea of forming a typical image of a typical plot and the art of shaping the way . At the same time, artists were also exploring anatomy, perspective drawing of the use of science in the picture the role of light and shade, forming the shape of scientific principles. The use of human anatomy so that character has been painting as accurate as the ratio of the real, physical, structural; Focus Lens with the establishment of the composition formed by painting the illusion of deep space, painting in the landscape orientation and the reality of the moment the same visual experience; shading painted the unity of the images sent in one of the main light source, formed by the clear level of near and far. Art theme of humanism and the pursuit of realistic painting style concepts in other species it is not perfect, because the tool material constraints, and painting tools and materials are suitable for the performance of two fully reflected. Thus, classical oil painting after a long-term production, highly realistic look.

Classical oil painting oil painting is the language in the overall factors were the result of the integrated use of the time, but different countries and different periods of the artist on the basis of a special focus on one or several factors, the formation of a different style. Italian Renaissance painter pay more attention to the use of shading, dark objects in a painting of the Ministry of shrouded in shadow, light and dark boundary line was a soft transition, creating a focused and unaware of the effect of the screen. L. da Vinci’s “Madonna of the Rocks” is representative of this style. Netherlands the same period a clear portrait of the artist is all detail objects in a painting, the scene rather than the difference between light and dark color of the transition, R. Campion’s clover altar painting “Annunciation” to detail all the indoor and outdoor show features. Italy, Titian was the first one special focus on oil painting color performance artist, he painted on a dark base, and often close to the brightness, hue, the bright colors slightly different form magnificent golden hue, transparent pigments multiple cascade, suddenly suddenly thin thick strokes, but also the fusion of organic colors and shapes, creating a textured effect.

17th century European classical paintings of the period of rapid development in different regions, the country’s artists live in a society based on their background, national temperament, the painting carried out in different languages to explore the deep, the type of oil paintings by subject matter into historical painting, religion story of painting, group portraits, personal portraits, landscapes, still lifes, genre painting and so on. Painting techniques are also becoming more abundant, and formed a national, regional school of thought.

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Officials: Muslim source turned in terror suspect

WASHINGTON – The tip that led to the FBI's subway bombing sting came from a source in the Muslim community: A Pakistani-born man from a middle-class suburb was trying to join a terrorist group, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Farooque Ahmed, a naturalized citizen arrested Wednesday, was a married father who had a good job with a telecommunications company. Authorities say he also was eager to kill Americans in Afghanistan and committed to becoming a martyr.

Ahmed thought he had found what he wanted, a pair of al-Qaida operatives who would help him carry out an attack on the nation's second-busiest subway, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. But the operatives were really undercover investigators whose meetings at a local hotel room were all staged with the FBI's cameras rolling, law enforcement officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation continues.

What followed was an elaborate ruse in which Ahmed was given intelligence-gathering duties and coded information in a Quran by two individuals posing as al-Qaida operatives as part of the supposed plot to kill commuters.

Ahmed, 34, was taped discussing his firearm, martial arts and knife skills and offering to teach those deadly tactics to others, according to an FBI affidavit. Officials said they took guns and ammunition out of Ahmed's suburban Ashburn, Va., town house during a search Wednesday.

Ahmed was arrested just weeks before, the FBI says, he planned to make the annual religious pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The case represents the latest in a recent string of would-be terrorist attacks that officials say were aided, hatched or carried out by U.S. citizens.

Like the accused gunman in the deadly Fort Hood, Texas, shooting and the convicted terrorist who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York City's Times Square, officials said they believe Ahmed was radicalized inside the U.S. But they do not yet know what sent him down that path.

Like many would-be terrorists and sympathizers, Ahmed was potentially influenced by Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical Muslim cleric who preached in northern Virginia until 2002 and now lives in hiding in Yemen, officials said. But while Ahmed listened to al-Awlaki's Internet sermons, officials said the two were not in contact and they're not sure how influential those sermons were.

Ahmed's lawyer, federal public defender Kenneth Troccoli, declined to comment on the case Thursday.

Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Ahmed arrived in the U.S. in 1993 and became a citizen in 2005, officials said. He worshipped at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, which is known for its mainstream Islamic congregation. Leaders there have decried violence and were quick to call for Ahmed's prosecution. He was not a member of the society, said board member Robert Marro.

"He comes in just for prayer services and then leaves right after," Marro said.

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The schools of oil painting

The schools of oil painting can be divided into two categories. The first are those innovative works that focus on reflecting things objectively; The second are those innnovative works that focus on reflecting things subjectively.(see modern oil paintings)

Among those works of first category,which appeared after the Renaissance such as Baroque, Rococo, classic, college, romanticism, realism, realism, photographic realism, impressionism. All these are based on reflecting the nature so that those paintings can express diffierent thoughts and purposes of artists.

Baroque school – It’s popular in the 17^th and 18th century.The original meaning of “Baroque” is irregular, twisted, eerie.One character of this school is to advocate the distortion of movement, the plump and the strong feeling of body.The representative artist of Baroque is Rubens.
Rococo – The original meaning of ” Rococo ” refers to the shape of shells, Its artistic styles are complicated, delicate, thin, sweet and this style is popular in the 18th century, The representative painters of Rococo are Huaduo and FuLangsuo • Buu o.

The Classic and College school – The Classic is based on respecting the principle of ancient Greece, Rome, In the composition, The painting is balanced, solemn, splendid, noble in the atomosphere.The technique of this school is efficient and its painting is deep, which is also the principle of College. As the founder of College school:Fa Qinuo saying: “Beauty is the highest goal of all arts, it is an objective nature of things and it’s organized by the order, harmony, proportion, and rules.” Its representative artist are Raphael, Ingres, etc.

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Glass painting(cheap oil paintings) belongs to the category of oil painting reproductions,it seemes that the oil painting(Oil paintings for sale) covered in the glass, and the discount oil paintings is framed with timber seat and placed in a long narrow table or on the wall, It is not an elegant device, most of Paintings for sale and Oil Painting Reproductions are also the products of Republic of China in the late Qing Dynasty.

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Subtle displays of wealth and low-income in academia

Along with the disappoint every academic inevitably feels that being a professor is not all about the "life of the mind," the second most taboo subject I've noticed is money/salary amongst faculty. I know in some cases, employees are not allowed to discuss salary, but our public institution makes all faculty salaries public. But there seem to be a huge number of other codes that suggest the socio-economic class people belonged to.
But I was wondering if other people noticed subtle displays of high wealth or low incomes with their colleagues and how did you notice it?
For example, I am from a (lower) middle class family and I had a scholarship for my undergrad degree. It was a fluke that I was in general proximity when the dot com wave hit, which then allowed me to go to a prestigious graduate program, funded by a research assistanship. To be honest, I never knew my family was "poor' until I was much older.
So there was a big learning curve - in addition to the field I was in - to essentially adopt some of the more priviledged ways of knowing (and likewise, being able to make an informed choice if I decided to resist it). For example, I never knew anyone who would hire someone to clean their house when I was growing up. My parents took care of us the best we could but they hadn't save for their children's college fund.
An ex of mine (who's still a good friend) made a nice chunk of change with his business and from a family that had done well, and he would always wear hoodies & tennis shoes, but he never wore slacks that were less than $800-1000 and they were always impeccably tailored and wore very expensive watches. He enjoyed looking casual but he said that other business people would recognize the cost of his wardrobe and accessories without having to point them out and they would immediately know he was successful.
In another case, a friend in grad school was one of the nicest, kindest people I met - she stayed with me for three days after my precious kitty passed to help me through the grief - and she seemed like any other grad student, coming to potlucks to save money, etc. When I had to go to a conference back east in a city that has high hotel rates (and grad students had limited funding), so said I was welcome at a place her family had. When I got to the place, it was essentially a penthouse...although I don't really know, the closest I had ever come to a penthouse before was a publisher's party. Later, another friend said that she was from a hugely wealthy family, but never talked about it.
I had come across some awful, entitled people before and generally thought the rich to be insufferable fools, and it was a major learning lesson for me.
On the other hand, there seems to be a converse situation where people want to display how little they make, as though it's a badge of honor to have a meager salary. I'm not talking about hardworking adjuncts or instructors who are grossly underpaid by the university, even though they do outstanding work with few resources. I'm talking about the loud mouth fellow faculty who loudly proclaim (complain) that they can't afford the cost of repairing their car or they have to clip coupons. I should say the ones who spout out "Well, I could be making more but then I'd be selling out." When I hear them say this, I wonder if they are trying to assert some type of authenticity to being poor or that they are too smart to worry about things so trifling as money.
There's a whole range of people who were rich and creepy/arrogant and had low-income and were nice. I was just thinking of the aberrations that were clear examples. 
What are some of the codes you've noticed?

The protecting skills of oil painting

One painting’s color can be unchangble for several hundred years if it can be properly preserved,On the contrary,Its color layer may occur to cracking, lossing and discoloration. So what can we do to protect your painting from damage?
First, you can draw two layers of natural beeswax in the back of canvas. The beeswax should have been dissolved in turpentine before this step,By doing so we can completely prevent the damage caused by immersion of humid air. (see oil painting landscape)
Second, oil painting should avoid long-term direct sunlight. Because the ultraviolet rays will cause great damage and color fadings and discoloration to the painting.
Third, storage house to deposite oil painting should pay attention to ventilation and humidity prevention,The house should be far away from the bathroom and the kitchen as far as possible. And we should pay attention to protect the dust and damage to canvas caused by lampblack,While the room should be kept in a certain temperature and humidity. Those wet paintings must be dried slowly and we can never put them under the sunlight,or their pictures will be easy to be expose,

Forth, It is forbidden for us to stick two pictures side to side. And we should avoid the picture become worse due to the temperature increases,which will result in the loss of oil paint and damage of picture.
Fifth,When we roll the oil painting, we should make its canva toward inside and its picture toward outside. Then we use a layer of paper roll the painting and wrap it with plastic cloth in order to prevent paint cracking.

Sixth, oil painting hanging on the wall can be gently cleaned with a damp cloth if it is full of dust. If the oil surface has smoke,we can use a little soap to gently scrub, then we use the sponge to dry the screen quickly and finally use shouting fans to blow painting surface gently. If you meet the oil painting that has history of many years and some chaps, we must use less water and dry some parts of picture. If we will use professional glazing oil to maintain the painting,we should use the clean cloth to dry the picture before doing that.
Seventh,In general,oil painting can be saved for two or three hundred years, but over past many years, some oil paintings may have chaps in the upcoming decades. If your collections are so much that you can wrap them with plastic cloth and put them into the wooden box so as to prevent the previous flaws.

Glass painting(cheap oil paintings) belongs to the category of oil painting reproductions,it seemes that the oil painting(Oil paintings for sale) covered in the glass, and the discount oil paintings is framed with timber seat and placed in a long narrow table or on the wall, It is not an elegant device, most of Paintings for sale and Oil Painting Reproductions are also the products of Republic of China in the late Qing Dynasty.