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The End of the Hmong James Pringle, August 27, 1979 While world attention has focused on the ordeal of Vietnam’s “boat people,” thousands of Laotians have made an overland trek into Thailand to escape their country’s Communist regime. Last week, Newsweek’s James Pringle visited two over-crowded Laotian refugee camps in a remote region of northern Thailand. Pringle’s report: The scene at Ban Vinai camp is one of appalling misery. Starved babies, too feeble to cry, lie listlessly on makeshift beds in bamboo huts. Many of them have been grotesquely shrunk by months of malnutrition and now resemble little living corpses. Day after day, children are dying, weakened by the jungle march through Laos and a diet of tree bark, roots and boiled leaves. For many children, the drugs and intravenous feeding they are now receiving come too late to save them. “Malnutrition is a slow process,” said Rene Bollozos, the senior doctor at the camp. “There is nothing immediate medical attention can do.” The 40,000 people crammed into Ban Vanai’s hovels are Meos - remnants of the mountain tribe that the Central Intelligence Agency organized into a secret army in the 1960s. In those days, the Meos, or Hmong, as they prefer to be called, battled the Pathet Lao Communists with the clandestine backing of the CIA and US Special Forces. Now, they are on the run, and they seem a broken people. Pathet Lao forces are bombing and shelling their homeland in the Phu Bia Mountains of central Laos to end Hmong resistance to Communist rule. The Hmong feel abandoned by the world. “Our culture will die,” one refugee said with resignation. An international aid official glumly agreed: “The Hmong have come to the end of the road.” Ordeal The refugees’ long march to Thailand is often an agonizing ordeal. They must make circuitous detours over mountains and through rain forests to avoid ambushes set up by the Pathet Lao and their Vietnamese allies, who have 50,000 troops in landlocked Laos. The journey takes a devastating toll: refugee officials estimate that a third of the Hmong die in the jungle. Those who make it to Ban Vinai usually arrive in perilous condition. “People are digging graves every day,” said a camp doctor. Officials of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees have declared the Ban Vinai camp a medical emergency. Malaria, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases are already rife, and doctors fear an epidemic of typhoid or cholera. “We have no time for preventive medicine,” said Dr. Bollozos. “The majority of the people have had no vaccinations.” The condition of the children, hundreds of whom are suffering from marasmus, or carbohydrate starvation, is causing the greatest concern. In Center Six, where new arrivals are housed, I watched one woman gently fanning her small son. Though less than 2 years old, he looked like a wizened old man. Doctors say half of all infant arrivals have marasmus, and, in all, 3,000 children are ill from malnutrition. For one American, Jack Blalock, 47, a former pilot who flew the Hmong on CIA missions, helping the refugees is a matter of honor. Three weeks ago, Blalock left his importing business in the hands of a partner and came to Thailand, where he built a 33-bed hospital. “The Hmong fought for us and were very pro-American,” he told me. “We lost the war, pulled out and left them holding the baby.” Blalock believes the forgotten people of Laos are more deserving of US assistance than refugees from Vietnam. “The Vietnamese weren’t fighting for us; we were fighting for them,” he said. “And we don’t owe them a thing.” Despair The Hmong face a life in limbo - months and years in camps like Ban Vinai - with just a slim hope of emigrating to a Western nation. More than 12,000 Hmong have already been in the camp for four years, according to refugee officials. The despair and boredom led four Hmong to jump to their deaths from a bridge recently. Pradith, a 29-year-old Laotian woman, has chosen another course. Twice each month, she makes secret forays across the Mekong River into Laos, retrieves her American-made M-16 rifle from its jungle hiding place and continues the guerrilla war against the Pathet Lao. She discounts the dangers - “My hatred is greater than my fear,” she told me. Pradith and the other guerrillas in the Thai camps usually go on ambush or reconnaissance missions. But last week, she was proselytizing, trying to persuade the Hmong and other Laotians not to give up their country. “They are wrong to go,” she said; “they are discouraged and think we shall not succeed.” With the Vietnamese occupation army steadily increasing its control of Laos, there seems little the Laotian refugee groups can do to win back their homeland. The guerrillas may number only a few hundred at most, and they appear to be receiving minimal external help. “We need weapons, uniforms, rice, money and medical supplies,” one guerrilla leader told me. “If we have that, we can finish it in one year.” After my visit to the refugee camps along the Mekong, it seems to me far more likely that even token resistance to the Communists will be all over a year from now.	<urn:uuid:5bcc808e-1282-4d1a-8c0e-3144214044d1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.paulbogdanor.com/left/laos.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.961655	1,209	2.71875	3
People like to draw boundaries. A boundary enables the description of elements that lie within and without the boundary. Drawing boundaries also has other effects: - Boundaries can frame thoughts and hence lead to consideration of the inner or the outer without considering the whole. (are you with us or against us?) - Boundaries allow you to characterise the nature of the boundary, i.e. permeable, semi-permeable, flexible, fixed, etc. Brian Maricks recent exposition on testing metaphors includes a boundary, that between the Agile team and the rest of the world. He uses the following image and says:They - programmers, testers, business experts - are in the business of protecting and nurturing the growing work until it's ready to face the world I thinks the choice of boundary is interesting, Brian's choice is large, solid, horned defenders of the growing work . This team looks independent, defends its young and I imagine it would survive outside of its current host organisation. That doesn't sound like the software projects I'm familiar with. In my experience (which includes software consultancy/service companies and niche product houses), projects tend to not have an existence outside their host organisation. Occasionally teams move to a new host, but it is uncommon. I don't think Brian intends for the team to be independant from its surroundings, but I can see how people may interpret it in this way. This is the problem with drawing boundaries and not discussing the nature of the boundary. Maybe the testing metaphor (which is really a team metaphor) needs to acknowledge the interconnectedness of the team with the host organisation. I think the metaphor needs to conflate team identity, interconnectedness and symbiosis (though it has to be admitted, some projects are parasites that kill the host). Maybe neurons work as a metaphor, they have a strong centre, they are connected via fine tendrils into the host, communications down particular links reinforces communication paths and they work to form a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. Initially attracted to that idea, I don't see it as very successful. Brian's desire seems to be to bring independance, critical thought and error seeking behavior inside rather than outside the team is laudable, and isn't addressed. However, the dinosaur ring metaphor chosen is akin to protecting the child against all comers, seeking to nurture it but not allowing it outside until it is grown. Is this really the right way? Shouldn't the child be encouraged into the open early, supported but not closeted, exposed to new people and ideas and encouraged to explore? Social networks are a better metaphor for software teams. There can be a place for independence, critical thought, error seeking and cohesiveness within social networks. Social networks also capture the lumpy nature of teams and cohesion, within large teams there are clumps of high cohesion and within those clumps there are other clumps, it's fractal in nature (to some extent anyway). Maybe the dinosaur ring is born from the statement that independance and - to some extent - error-seeking are not a natural fit for Agile projects, which thrive on close teamwork and trust . This statement is based on an assumption, that independance and, to some extent, error seeking, restrict close teamwork and trust. I think this assumption is incorrect. Team members can be part of a gelled team and yet have independance of thought and desire to find and fix defects. One of the developers I respect is extremely independant of thought, focuses in on defects with a laser accuracy, but can be seen pulling in the same direction as the other team members. If I had an agile team, there would be a place for this person, I don't want 'yes men', group polarisation and group think. Despite the pro group-think article , most teams that attempt it will fail. The effect on both the teams judgement and the host will be too detrimental. So, I'd like to see a better metaphor, but agree entirely with the article when it talks about testing and Is there an alternate metaphor that we can build upon? One that works with trust and close teamwork, rather than independently of them? Can we minimize the need for the independent and critical judge? . I see trust, close teamwork and independance and critical thought working well in teams already, we don't need to abandon those things, just nurture them at the same time as we nurture the product.	<urn:uuid:0fa59a79-f736-4b2c-ab28-6ea583179369>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://creakingdoors.blogspot.com/2004_10_01_archive.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.959402	910	2.53125	3
Okay — so we like cool visuals (click on the poster image to the right). Envisioning Technology is a technological trend forecasting firm headed by emerging technology strategist Michell Zappa. Zappa and his company focus on explaining where society may be heading by extrapolating on current developments. Granted, futurists in the late 1800s predicted that big cities would soon be knee-deep in horse manure because they didn’t foresee the growth of the automobile, but looking at the road ahead is still a very important exercise, and not just for helping companies figure out what might be coming (and therefore where to focus their resources and attention), but for helping engage the public — for guiding public policy development, getting kids excited about science, and more. To read more about Zappa and his firm, go to www.envisioningtech.com.	<urn:uuid:ca938bf8-e9de-402f-a86c-faf8569677ef>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://nationalscience.org/nsci-focus-areas/science-informatics/science-informatics-news/2012/envisioning-emerging-technology/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.946446	173	2.515625	3
Cable Green likes to say, “When you share your content, good things happen.” I tend to agree, but could one of those “good things” actually be a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars? PC World just published a blog on Open Source Software called “Is Open Source Up to Par? Just Ask the DoD.” When you add the Department of Defense’s Open Technology Development report to the recent decision by the Department of Labor to require a Creative Commons open license on all educational content produced with the $2 billion Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College And Career Training (TAACCCT) grants, you can see the start of a trend in the US government towards using open licensing as a way to increase efficiency. The big idea for the field of education is that government has a new, more efficient option for creating and distributing educational materials: competitive grants that carry an open license requirement. Here’s the old model: College students and K-12 institutions buy textbooks from publishers. Publishers pay authors and editors to develop and maintain the content, so naturally they want to make as much as possible on that investment. The publishers also own the copyright and hold the exclusive rights to distribute, revise, and redistribute the content to schools or college students. Why should government interfere or care? #1) The cost of textbooks has tripled since 1986. #2) Since nearly half of US college students use government grants or loans to pay for their textbooks, rising textbook costs are transferred back to the taxpayer. And by the way, US student loan debt just passed credit card debt, hovering around $830 billion. Yeah, we could use a good idea right about now. The new model Since taxpayers end up paying the bill for textbooks either way, why not launch a competitive grant process and require the winners to include a shareable license to the digital learning materials they produce? That’s exactly what the Department of Labor is doing with $2 billion in funding. Because we are talking about open, digital content anyone will be able to access, modify, adapt, and improve the resulting educational materials. The cost of making a million copies of a digital textbook is not much more than the cost of the first copy. And if you want it printed, no problem. Printed and bound versions of open textbooks end up costing between 5 and 20 dollars per book. Requiring open licenses on digital works created with government grants and contracts allows competition and innovation to continue after the educational content is created. This is because anyone can access the digital content, build on it, and improve it. Print-on-demand solutions, assessment tools, and customized versions can be added to the original at relatively low cost. But publishers who enhance and resell the content will have add enough new value to compete with the original, free version and with other innovators. This competition will help keep prices low, which is good for students, schools, and in the long run, good for taxpayers. The “open” model doesn’t put anyone out of business — it actually allows everyone to compete and innovate indefinitely. So what about the guns and the penguins? Open licenses create efficiencies. This is as true for software as it is for textbooks, as the Department of Defense has learned. From the PC World article: As with Rifles, So with Software The DoD then goes on to provide a nice analogy: “Imagine if only the manufacturer of a rifle were allowed to clean, fix, modify or upgrade that rifle. The military often finds itself in this position with taxpayer funded, contractor developed software: one contractor with a monopoly on the knowledge of a military software system and control of the software source code.” That has a familiar ring to it too, doesn’t it? “This is optimal only for the monopoly contractor,” the document goes on to point out, “but creates inefficiencies and ineffectiveness for the government, reduction of opportunities for the industrial base, severely limits competition for new software upgrades, depletes resources that can be used to better effect and wastes taxpayer-provided funds.” I don’t think I could have put it better myself. Open technology, by contrast, offers increased agility and flexibility, faster delivery, increased innovation, reduced risk, lower cost and information assurance and security, the DoD asserts. There is much more to say on this subject, but I’ll pause here for your comments and critiques. Yes, we should still pay textbook authors fairly to build and maintain learning content, and yes, publishers can still offer useful services. Yet I see no reason for government to directly or indirectly fund proprietary K-12 and college textbook publishing empires when more efficient models and providers are now in place. The bottom line: One way or another, we (taxpayers) pay for textbooks. Let’s do it more efficiently. Or, as David Wiley puts it, “If you buy one, you should get one.”	<urn:uuid:01c7b81a-890d-4396-880b-2f94b509e0a7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://tomcaswell.com/tag/creative-commons/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.939259	1,038	2.65625	3
Have you ever wondered why collectors collect? The mystery has been studied by scholars through the years trying to answer this conundrum. Why collectors collect what they do is another fascinating topic. It has been said that, as the human form developed, there were first hunters, then gatherers, followed by collectors. Almost everyone collects something – but why? One only needs to watch children to see they will pick up and put in their pockets just about anything they find that is bright and colorful. Perhaps that proves that in spite of our numerical age, all collectors are still just kids at heart. Or – possibly there is a hidden collecting gene in all of us that the researchers have not yet discovered! But wait – maybe it is just the basic survivalist instinct in all humans (and many other animals) to save for the hard times in the future. Perhaps it is merely the thrill of the hunt. Some ask if collecting can result from a medical condition or an addiction. After all, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud once said that his collecting was an addiction, rivaled only by his craving for nicotine! Collecting is usually pursued as an interesting hobby, although occasionally, some collectors are known to become obsessed. The majority of collectors ascribe the incentives and stimuli they receive from collecting to one or more of the following: • The knowledge gained by learning about the items they collect. • The networking with fellow collectors. • The pleasure that they derive from finding and acquiring a new and much sought after object that fills a gap in their collection. • Memories and recollections – particularly the fond memories of childhood – may frequently determine what a collector chooses to collect. • Sometimes the collected item may have nothing to do with the collector’s childhood, but rather something that is discovered later in life, and is found to be particularly interesting to the collector. An example might be Civil War memorabilia. Here are the views of three frequently quoted experts: Marjorie Akin, an anthropologist at the University of California, Riverside, has studied the subject of collecting and wrote in her book, Passionate Possession, the Formation of Private Collections that people collect for a connection to the past and memories. Akin wrote, “Objects can connect the collector to the historic, valued past.” Akin also includes four other reasons why people collect. The first is to satisfy a sense of personal aesthetics. Secondly, to please personal tastes. Third, to show individualism. Akin concludes the fourth reason is the collector’s need to be complete, and the sense of completion is one of the main drivers of collectors. She adds that collectors may choose a subject to collect because of the challenge there is to complete the collection. Akin said she has seen people cry out in relief once they find the final piece and their collection is complete. Kim A. Herzinger, a Professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, and an award-winning author and avid collector, provides another twist on obsession with collecting. He wrote, “Collecting is a means by which one relieves a basic sense of incompletion brought on by unfulfilled childhood needs. It functions as a form of wish fulfillment, which eases deep-rooted uncertainties and existential dread.” Herzinger adds that collecting may also become a passion. “Collecting, like most passions, has the capacity to let (the collector) live in another world for awhile. If I could tell you why passion allows us to inhabit another world, I would stop collecting.” He adds that the collector becomes engaged in a kind of worship. “The collector is experiencing the kind of sensory transcendence that we most closely associate with religion or love. Like religion or love, the collection is a kind of security against uncertainty and loss.” New York psychoanalyst, Werner Muensterberger, wrote in his book titled Collecting: An Unruly Passion: Psychological Perspectives, that control of the object collected brings “relief of the child’s anxiety and frustration that comes with feeling helpless and being alone.” He develops the theory that the psychological basis of collecting is the child’s use of a transitional object to relieve anxiety caused by separation from its mother. However, if these reasons seem too implausible or complex, then Kurt Kuersteiner, offers one refreshingly simple reason. In his published article, “Collecting Collections,” Kuersteiner wrote, “I believe the main reason people collect something is a basic interest in the topic.” Walter Annenberg, former publisher, philanthropist, and ambassador to the United Kingdom said simply, “If it moves me, that was enough. Being moved is what collecting is all about.” In reality, there are probably as many different reasons as there are collectors. Collectors are individuals. The debate over the reasons will go on and on, but the one truth that cannot be denied is that people will continue, whatever the reason, and they will continue to collect the items that interest them – whatever that may be. There are collectors for just about any object – everything from buttons, pins, cheap pottery and lunch boxes to exotic automobiles and fine art. For an example, just peruse eBay, which thrives on the desires of collectors around the world. EBay lists 40 different main categories, which are then subdivided into hundreds of sections and subsections. On a typical day, more than 15 million items are listed for sale or auction on their Web site! The collectibles category alone has more than 1.5 million items listed each day! Many of these items, the average person would consider either boringly insignificant or worthless trinkets – but to their collectors, they are rare objects of great beauty. Some collectors have a profit motive, hoping to sell their treasures for a future gain, but perhaps they should be considered investors rather than collectors. To collecting purists, it would seem that the profit motive would take the enjoyment out of collecting. Sometimes significant gains can be realized by collectors by simple luck, without even considering a profit motive. There was a woman that bought an old paperweight for one dollar in a Virginia thrift shop – and then learned it was a rare Saint Louis antique upright bouquet in a basket. She sold it in 1993 at Sotheby’s for $29,000! Advice is frequently given to collectors to collect what they are attracted to – but not to collect solely for profit as the motive. It is reported that Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted, counts.” In addition to being a scientific and mathematics genius, it is clear he also had great wisdom – a very rare trait. What Einstein meant in this fascinating quote can be interpreted differently. I prefer it to mean that, for a collector, what is important should be the personal attraction to the collection, and not its size or value. The enjoyment of the collecting process is what really counts.	<urn:uuid:ef852f1a-e178-429a-aac1-f0c1310a8fc4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.antiquetrader.com/articles/feature-stories/the_collecting_conundrum	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.968857	1,452	2.59375	3
A standard home audio speaker converts electrical signals into sound pulses in the air (via a somewhat cumbersome cone). Those sound waves in turn cause tiny variations in air temperature, as waves disrupt surrounding air. So, scientists reasoned, why not create sound waves through those temperature fluctuations themselves? In 2008 researchers built a loudspeaker from carbon nanotubes that creates sound from this thermoacoustic effect. Now Finnish researchers have created a far more simple thermoacoustic device using tiny aluminum wires suspended over a substrate, opening thermoacoustics to a far broader range of applications.	<urn:uuid:bd12a1ca-1638-4aa5-b24a-15545efb1886>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.popsci.com/category/tags/audio?page=2	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.859744	116	3.890625	4
Approximate extent of East Iranian languages in the 1st century BC is shown in orange. \|Regions with significant populations\| \|Related ethnic groups\| The Sarmatians (Latin: Sarmatæ or Sauromatæ, Greek: Σαρμάται, Σαυρομάται) were an Iranian people of the classical antiquity period, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. They spoke Scythian, an Indo-European language from the Eastern Iranian family. Their territory, which was known as Sarmatia to Greco-Roman ethnographers, corresponded to the western part of greater Scythia (mostly modern Ukraine and Southern Russia, also to a smaller extent north eastern Balkans around Moldova). At their greatest reported extent, around 100 BC, these tribes ranged from the Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south. The Sarmatians declined in the 4th century with the incursions connected to the Migration period (Huns, Goths). The descendants of the Sarmatians became known as the Alans during the Early Middle Ages, and ultimately gave rise to the modern Ossetic ethnic group. Sarmatae is in origin probably just one of several tribal names of the Sarmatians that came to be applied to the entire group as an exonym in Greco-Roman ethnography. Strabo in the 1st century names as the main tribes of the Sarmatians the Iazyges, the Roxolani, the Aorsi and the Siraces. The Greek name Sarmatai sometimes appears as "Sauromatai", apparently through a folk etymology associating them with lizards (sauros). Suggestions for this association include the Sarmatians' use of reptile-like scale armour and dragon standards. Greek authors of the 4th century (Pseudo-Scylax, Eudoxus of Cnidus) mention Syrmatae as the name of a people living at the Don, perhaps reflecting the ethnonym as it was pronounced in the final phase of Sarmatian culture. The Avesta mentions Sairima as a region "in the west". In the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, this appears as "Salm", the reputed ancestor of the European peoples. The Sarmatians emerged in the 7th century BC in a region of the steppe to the east of the Don River and south of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. For centuries they lived in relatively peaceful co-existence with their western neighbors the Scythians. Then, in the 3rd century BC, they spilled over the Don to attack the Scythians on the Pontic steppe to the north of the Black Sea. The Sarmatians were to dominate these territories over the next five centuries. Pliny the Elder wrote that they ranged from the Vistula River in Poland to the Danube. In 1947, Soviet archaeologist Boris Grakov defined a culture flourishing from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, apparent in late Kurgan graves, sometimes reusing part of much older Kurgans. It is a nomadic steppe culture ranging from the Black Sea to beyond the Volga, and is especially evident at two of the major sites at Kardaielova and Chernaya in the trans-Uralic steppe. Grekov defined four phases: - Sauromatian, 6th-5th centuries BC - Early Sarmatian, 4th-2nd centuries BC - Middle Sarmatian, late 2nd century BC to late 2nd century AD - Late Sarmatian: late 2nd century AD to 4th century AD While "Sarmatian" and "Sauromatian" are synonymous as ethnonyms, they are given different meanings purely by convention as archaeological technical terms. In Hungary, a great Late Sarmatian pottery center was reportedly unearthed between 2001–2006 near Budapest, in Üllő5 archaeological site. Typical gray, granular Üllő5 ceramics forms a distinct group of Sarmatian pottery found everywhere in the northcentral part of the Great Hungarian Plain region, indicating a lively trading activity. A 1998 paper on the study of glass beads found in Sarmatian graves suggests wide cultural and trade links. Archaeological evidence suggests that Scythian-Sarmatian cultures may have given rise to the myth of Amazons. Graves of armed females have been found in southern Ukraine and Russia. David Anthony notes, "About 20% of Scythian-Sarmatian "warrior graves" on the lower Don and lower Volga contained females dressed for battle as if they were men, a phenomenon that probably inspired the Greek tales about the Amazons." The Sarmatians spoke Scythian language. The numerous Iranian personal names in the Greek inscriptions from the Black Sea Coast indicate that the Sarmatians spoke a North-Eastern Iranian dialect ancestral to Alanic-Ossetic (see Scytho-Sarmatian). Like the Scythians, Sarmatians were of a Caucasoid appearance, and before the arrival of the Huns (4th century AD) it is thought that few had Asiatic or Turco-Mongol features. Sarmatian noblemen often reached 1.70-1.80m (5ft 7ins-5ft 11ins) as measured from skeletons, and they had sturdy bones, long hair and beards. The Alans who were a group of Sarmatian tribes according to the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus "Nearly all the Alani are men of great stature and beauty, their hair is somewhat yellow, their eyes are frighteningly fierce". Greco-Roman ethnography Herodotus (Histories 4.21) in the 5th century BC placed the land of the Sarmatians east of the Tanais, beginning at the corner of the Maeotian Lake, stretching northwards for fifteen days' journey, adjacent to the forested land of the Budinoi. As seen in Roman depictions of Sarmatians, they are of caucasian types Herodotus (4.110-117) gives a story of the Sauromatians' origin from an unfortunate marriage of a band of young Scythian men and a group of Amazons. In the story, some Amazons were captured in battle by Greeks in Pontus (northern Turkey) near the river Thermodon, and the captives were loaded into three boats. They overcame their captors while at sea, but were not able sailors. Their ships were blown north to the Maeotian Lake (the Sea of Azov) onto the shore of Scythia near the cliff region (today's southeastern Crimea). After encountering the Scythians and learning the Scythian language, they agreed to marry Scythian men, but only on the condition that they move away and not be required to follow the customs of Scythian women. According to Herodotus, the descendants of this band settled toward the northeast beyond the Tanais (Don) river and became the Sauromatians. Herodotus' account explains the origins of the Sarmatians' language as an "impure" form of Scythian and credits the unusual freedoms of Sauromatae women, including participation in warfare, as an inheritance from their supposed Amazon ancestors. Later writers refer to the "woman-ruled Sarmatae" (γυναικοκρατούμενοι). However, Herodotus' belief that the Sarmatians were descendants of mythological Amazons is very likely a fictional invention designed to explain certain idiosyncrasies of Sarmatian culture. Their women, so long as they are virgins, ride, shoot, throw the javelin while mounted, and fight with their enemies. They do not lay aside their virginity until they have killed three of their enemies, and they do not marry before they have performed the traditional sacred rites. A woman who takes to herself a husband no longer rides, unless she is compelled to do so by a general expedition. They have no right breast; for while they are yet babies their mothers make red-hot a bronze instrument constructed for this very purpose and apply it to the right breast and cauterize it, so that its growth is arrested, and all its strength and bulk are diverted to the right shoulder and right arm. Strabo mentions the Sarmatians in a number of places, never saying very much about them. He uses both Sarmatai and Sauromatai, but never together, and never suggesting that they are different peoples. He often pairs Sarmatians and Scythians in reference to a series of ethnic names, never stating which is which, as though Sarmatian or Scythian could apply equally to them all. In Strabo, the Sarmatians extend from above the Danube eastward to the Volga, and from north of the Dnepr into the Caucasus, where, he says, they are called Caucasii like everyone else there. This statement indicates that the Alans already had a home in the Caucasus, without waiting for the Huns to push them there. Even more significantly, he points to a Celtic admixture in the region of the Basternae, who, he says, are of Germanic origin. The Celtic Boii, Scordisci and Taurisci are there. A fourth ethnic element being melted in are the Thracians (7.3.2). Moreover, the peoples toward the north are Keltoskythai, "Celtic Scythians" (11.6.2). Strabo also portrays the peoples of the region as being nomadic, or Hamaksoikoi, "wagon-dwellers" and Galaktophagoi, "milk-eaters" referring, no doubt, to the universal koumiss eaten in historical times. The wagons were used for porting tents made of felt, which must have been the yurts used universally by Asian nomads. Pliny the Elder writes (4.12.79-81): From this point (the mouth of the Danube) all the races in general are Scythian, though various sections have occupied the lands adjacent to the coast, in one place the Getae … at another the Sarmatae … Agrippa describes the whole of this area from the Danube to the sea … as far as the river Vistula in the direction of the Sarmatian desert … The name of the Scythians has spread in every direction, as far as the Sarmatae and the Germans, but this old designation has not continued for any except the most outlying sections .... According to Pliny, Scythian rule once extended as far as Germany. Jordanes supports this hypothesis by telling us on the one hand that he was familiar with the Geography of Ptolemy, which includes the entire Balto-Slavic territory in Sarmatia, and on the other that this same region was Scythia. By "Sarmatia", Jordanes means only the Aryan territory. The Sarmatians were, therefore, a sub-group of the broader Scythian peoples. All Germania is divided from Gaul, Raetia, and Pannonia by the Rhine and Danube rivers; from the Sarmatians and the Dacians by shared fear and mountains. The Ocean laps the rest, embracing wide bays and enormous stretches of islands. Just recently, we learned about certain tribes and kings, whom war brought to light. According to Tacitus, like the Persians, the Sarmatians wore long, flowing robes (ch 17). Moreover, the Sarmatians exacted tribute from the Cotini and Osi, and iron from the Cotini (ch. 43), “to their shame” (presumably because they could have used the iron to arm themselves and resist). By the 3rd century BC, the Sarmatian name appears to have supplanted the Scythian in the plains of what is now south Ukraine. The geographer, Ptolemy, reports them at what must be their maximum extent, divided into adjoining European and central Asian sections. Considering the overlap of tribal names between the Scythians and the Sarmatians, no new displacements probably took place. The people were the same Indo-Europeans they used to be, but now under yet another name. On seeing this a man will say that no less than Greeks are foreigners skilled in the arts: for the Sauromatae have no iron, neither mined by themselves nor yet imported. They have, in fact, no dealings at all with the foreigners around them. To meet this deficiency they have contrived inventions. In place of iron they use bone for their spear-blades and cornel wood for their bows and arrows, with bone points for the arrows. They throw a lasso round any enemy they meet, and then turning round their horses upset the enemy caught in the lasso. Their breastplates they make in the following fashion. Each man keeps many mares, since the land is not divided into private allotments, nor does it bear any thing except wild trees, as the people are nomads. These mares they not only use for war, but also sacrifice them to the local gods and eat them for food. Their hoofs they collect, clean, split, and make from them as it were python scales. Whoever has never seen a python must at least have seen a pine-cone still green. He will not be mistaken if he liken the product from the hoof to the segments that are seen on the pine-cone. These pieces they bore and stitch together with the sinews of horses and oxen, and then use them as breastplates that are as handsome and strong as those of the Greeks. For they can withstand blows of missiles and those struck in close combat. Pausanias' description is well borne out in a relief from Tanais. These facts are not necessarily incompatible with Tacitus, as the western Sarmatians might have kept their iron to themselves, it having been a scarce commodity on the plains. In the late 4th century, Ammianus Marcellinus describes a severe defeat which Sarmatian raiders inflicted upon Roman forces in the province of Valeria in Pannonia in late AD 374. The Sarmatians almost destroyed two legions: one recruited from Moesia and one from Pannonia. The last had been sent to intercept a party of Sarmatians which had been in pursuit of a senior Roman officer named Aequitius. The two legions failed to coordinate, allowing the Sarmatians to catch them unprepared. Decline in the 4th century The Sarmatians remained dominant until the Gothic ascendancy in the Black Sea area. Goths attacked Sarmatian tribes on the north of the Danube in Dacia, what is today Romania. The Roman Emperor Constantine called his son Constantine II up from Galia to run a campaign north of the Danube. In very cold weather, the Romans were victorious, killing 100,000 Goths and capturing Ariaricus the son of the Goth king. In their efforts to halt the Gothic expansion and replace it with their own on the north of Lower Danube (present-day Romania), the Sarmatians armed their captives. After the Roman victory, however, the local population revolted against their Sarmatian masters, pushing them beyond the Roman border. Constantine, on whom the Sarmatians had called for help, defeated Limigantes, the leader of the revolt, and moved the Sarmatian population back in. In the Roman provinces, Sarmatian combatants were enlisted in the Roman army, whilst the rest of the population was distributed throughout Thrace, Macedonia and Italy. The Origo Constantini mentions 300,000 refugees resulting from this conflict. The emperor Constantine was subsequently attributed the title of Sarmaticus Maximus. In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Huns expanded and conquered both the Sarmatians and the Germanic Tribes living between the Black Sea and the borders of the Roman Empire. From bases in modern day Hungary, the Huns ruled the entire former Sarmatian territory. Their various constituents flourished under Hunnish rule, fought for the Huns against a combination of Roman and Germanic troops, and went their own ways after the Battle of Chalons, the death of Attila and the appearance of the Chuvash ruling elements west of the Volga- current Russian territory. Ancient DNA of 13 Sarmatian remains from Pokrovka kurgan burials in the southern Ural steppes along the Kazakhstan and Russian border was extracted for comparative analysis. Most of the mitochondrial haplogroups determined were of western Eurasian origin, while only a few were of "central/east Asian Haplotype which is found among the Turkic speaking nomadic people. This Haplotype is almost (one base pair missing) identical with the Haplotype of the (Kazakh) women from western Mongolia." See also - J.Harmatta: "Scythians" in UNESCO Collection of History of Humanity - Volume III: From the Seventh Century BC to the Seventh Century AD. Routledge/UNESCO. 1996. pg. 182 - (2007). Encyclopædia Britannica, s.v. "Sarmatian". Retrieved May 20, 2007, from [Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9065786] - Apollonius (Argonautica, iii) envisaged the Sauromatai as the bitter foe of King Aietes of Colchis (modern Georgia). - James Minahan, "One Europe, Many Nations", Published by Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. pg 518: "The Ossetians, calling themselves Iristi and their homeland Iryston are the most northerly Iranian people. ... They are descended from a division of Sarmatians, the Alans who were pushed out of the Terek River lowlands and in the Caucasus foothills by invading Huns in the fourth century A.D. - Richard Brzezinski and Mariusz Mielczarek (2002). The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-At-Arms nr. 373). Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-84176-485-6. - Chemical Analyses of Sarmatian Glass Beads from Pokrovka, Russia, by Mark E. Hall and Leonid Yablonsky. - Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05887-3. - Handbuch der Orientalistik, Iranistik. By I. Gershevitch, O. Hansen, B. Spuler, M.J. Dresden, Prof M Boyce, M. Boyce Summary. E.J. Brill. 1968. - Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, 70; cf. Geographi Graeci minores: Volume 1, p.58 - De Aere XVII - Strabo's Geography, books V, VII, XI - J. Harmatta, Studies in the History and Language of the Sarmatians, 1970, ch.1.2 - Germania omnis a Gallis Raetisque et Pannoniis Rheno et Danuvio fluminibus, a Sarmatis Dacisque mutuo metu aut montibus separatur: cetera Oceanus ambit, latos sinus et insularum inmensa spatia complectens, nuper cognitis quibusdam gentibus ac regibus, quos bellum aperuit. - Description of Greece 1.21.5-6 - Amm. Marc. 29.6.13-14 - Origo Constantini 6.32 mentions the actions - Eusebius, Vita Constantini, IV.6 - Charles Matson Odahl, Constantine and the Christian Empire, Chapter X. - Origo Constantini 6.32 mention the actions - Barnes Victories of Constantine page 150–154 - Grant Constantine the Great pages 61–68 - Charles Manson Odahl Constantine and the Christian Empire Chapter X - DNA Results from Pokrovka Warrior Women compared with Meirmgul - Amazon Warrior Women, Secrets of the Dead, PBS, aired 2004 \|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sarmatians\| - Richard Brzezinski and Mariusz Mielczarek, The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-At-Arms nr. 373), Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-1-84176-485-6. - Davis-Kimball, Jeannine. 2002. Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines. Warner Books, New York. first Trade printing, 2003. ISBN 0-446-67983-6 (pbk). - Davis-Kimball, Jeannine, Vladimir A. Bashilov, Leonid T. Yablonsky, Eds. Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in the Early Iron Age. Berkeley: Zinat Press 1995. ISBN 1-85979-00-2 - Tadeusz Sulimirski, The Sarmatians (vol. 73 in series "Ancient People and Places") London: Thames & Hudson/New York: Praeger, 1970. - Alexander Guagnini (1538–1614), Sarmatiae Europeae descriptio, Spira 1581. - Bruno Genito, 1988, The Archaeological Cultures of the Sarmatians with a Preliminary Note on the Trial-Trenches at Gyoma 133: a Sarmatian Settlement in South-Eastern Hungary (Campaign 1985), Annali dell'Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli, Vol. 42, pp. 81–126. Napoli.	<urn:uuid:f431ef7a-84cb-45ce-ac05-51e5a15dafb2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatians	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.928312	4,785	3.25	3
Acne Treatment for Teens Acne is a skin condition. It includes plugged oil glands (blackheads and whiteheads), pimples and deeper lumps (nodules). Acne occurs on the face, neck, chest, back, shoulders and even the upper arms. It is most often is seen during adolescence but it can occur at any age. During adolescence, acne is caused by an increased amount of, or an increased sensitivity to male hormone levels. Acne cannot be cured, but it can be controlled with medicine and treatment. Treating acne will also help prevent scarring. Learn more Watch the following videos to learn about the causes of acne, skin care tips for teenagers and over-the-counter acne medications.	<urn:uuid:142f0e4f-9aad-4a5a-9583-a06618340fb5>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.chw.org/display/PPF/DocID/48702/Nav/1/router.asp	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.950895	150	2.65625	3
Nothing comes as a surprise anymore--at least not in the world of biofuels. When not back-pedaling from yet another controversy, the industry appears to be in a perpetual state of discovery. Not too long ago, shrimp casings were being touted as the next biofuel source. Now it's rutabagas--or turnips, if you prefer. Not as flashy as shrimp, mind you. But, according to researchers at Michigan State University (MSU), their potential is impressive. This question usually gets asked when the root vegetable finds its way onto a dinner plate, followed by a wrinkle of the nose. But this is precisely professor Christopher Benning's point. Rutabagas are not being consumed at a high rate in North America, which makes them perfect for biofuel consideration--hopefully avoiding any food vs. fuel controversy. What's more, rutabagas appear to have a genetic structure that, with some modification, could allow for them to store and produce more oil than other similar plants that store oil in their seeds. "If we could make it (oil) in the green tissues, like the leaves, stems or even underground tissues like storage roots, then we think we can make a lot more," Benning says. Benning and his fellow researchers at Michigan State in East Lansing have inserted a gene into rutabagas to try to get them to accumulate oil instead of starch throughout the plant. "It took about a year to grow the first generation of genetically modified rutabaga in a university greenhouse," Benning explains. "The scientists will analyze seedlings from subsequent generations to see how oil production has been affected. Even if all works as expected, it could take 15 years before rutabaga biofuel becomes a reality." Good News or Bad News? Difficult to say. Nothing has been said about nitrogen oxide or carbon dioxide emissions during rutabaga growth cycles. We all know the controversy surrounding that. And while the concept of producing biofuels from a crop not heavily relied on for food seems good on the surface, it still begs the question. Even if rutabagas aren't widely grown in the U.S. for people to eat, they could still potentially edge out other food crops. For example, if a large amount of land is dedicated for growing biofuel rutabagas, the crops are replacing ones formerly used for food (potentially). Yet another hot topic in the biofuels debate. But this is all early speculation. MSU's research is in early stages. As Benning puts it, "It's not going to happen tomorrow, but the problem won't go away tomorrow." Any opinion contained in this article is solely that of the writers, and does not necessarily shape or reflect the editorial opinions of Energy Boom. Energy Boom content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be advice regarding the investment merits of, or a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of, any security identified on, or linked through, this site.	<urn:uuid:30cf0057-20ef-4553-ba09-20f81f4f8475>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.energyboom.com/biofuels/rutabagas-yet-another-potential-source-crop-biofuels	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95807	629	3.03125	3
Zero Waste SA Zero Waste SA is a South Australian government department which was established to promote waste management practices that as far as possible eliminate waste or its consignment to landfill, and advance the development of resource recovery and recycling. Zero Wastes' vision is to one day achieve zero discharge, zero material waste, and zero atmospheric damage. Zero Waste helped design South Australia’s Strategic Plan, which sets goals for South Australia to improve and measure its progress over time in areas including prosperity, wellbeing, sustainability, creativity, community and opportunity. The Plan makes use of the Ecological Footprint as a tool for setting and monitoring the region’s sustainability targets. Among its objectives is the reduction of South Australia’s Ecological Footprint in order to curb the impact of human settlements and activities within 10 years as well as reducing landfill waste by 25% in this time period.	<urn:uuid:460faf4f-f3a6-4f87-a1ba-5e8e33c8d482>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.footprintnetwork.org/pt/index.php/GFN/page/partner_network/zero_waste_sa	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95131	178	2.796875	3
The following HTML text is provided to enhance online readability. Many aspects of typography translate only awkwardly to HTML. Please use the page image as the authoritative form to ensure accuracy. Beyond the Market: Designing Nonmarket Accounts for the United States factor both in their own direct nonmarket production and in the subsequent development of their children’s capabilities (Leibowitz, 1974). FAMILY INPUTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN’S HUMAN CAPITAL We concluded above that our knowledge base is not yet sufficient to warrant development of a comprehensive human capital satellite account. Having so concluded, however, we believe there is merit in considering what can be said about the magnitude of household investments in children, if for no other reason than to understand what implicitly is neglected when researchers focus on the production of human capital in the educational sector, the production of health capital in the health care sector, and so on. Production of a child possessing any level of human capital typically requires both out-of-pocket expenditures on behalf of the child and inputs of parental time. As is true with other sorts of home production, out-of-pocket expenditures on children already are reflected in the national income and product accounts. What is not reflected is the time that parents and other family members devote to children. Time-use studies from a number of countries indicate that married or cohabiting mothers of children under age 5 average between 2 and 3 hours a day in primary child care, depending on their hours of paid employment, while fathers average about 1 hour a day (Gauthier et al., 2001). In these studies, primary care is defined as time during which caring for a child is the primary activity in which a parent or other adult is engaged. If the reported figures seem small, it is because primary care represents only a small share of total time devoted to (or constrained by) children. Family members often care for children while simultaneously engaging in other activities, such as preparing meals or watching television. Survey results from Australia, a country that collects detailed information on secondary activities as part of its ongoing time-use data program, show that counting secondary activities more than doubles the hours devoted to child care (Ironmonger, 2003). The need to be available or “on call” also imposes significant constraints on parental schedules. Like firemen who spend relatively little of their time fighting fires, parents stand ready to provide attention, even when children are sleeping. In recent cognitive pretesting for the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that participants “strongly suggested that the concept of secondary child care is not intuitively meaningful, because most parents would consider those activities, ‘just part of being a parent’” (Schwartz, 2002, p. 35). That task, “being a parent,” extends well beyond tallies of activity hours. Statistics Canada opted for a national time-use survey that omits consideration of secondary activities but includes stylized questions regarding care time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics adopted a similar strategy for the ATUS, asking	<urn:uuid:94adca07-5446-423f-b403-b357bd96a0b8>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11181&page=88	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.939913	641	2.671875	3
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What Does "Mutawatir" Mean? It is a fact agreed by almost all Islamic scholars that the hadiths reported regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as) are "mutawatir," or absolutely trustworthy. However, we first need to clarify just what "absolutely trustworthy" means. As we briefly described in the "Introduction" section, according to hadith scholars, if a report has been handed down by several people and if it is technically impossible because of their circumstances for these individuals to have come together to invent the account, then that account is known as "Mutawatir." Mutawatir accounts are known as "tawatur." In one source the word "tawatur" is defined as follows: "The meaning of the word 'tawatur' is 'powerful report, a report with no possibility of being false and based on a community of people'." (Hekimoglu Ismail, The Encyclopedic Ottoman Turkish-Turkish Great Dictionary, Turdav Publications p. 3003 [Büyük Lugat,Türdav Yayinları]) The meaning of the word "mutawatir" is set out as follows in various other sources: "A hadith reported directly from the Prophet (saas) directly from the first community and independently by communities which rationally have not been able to combine in a falsehood. It is an expression of certainty. There is no possibility of asking, 'Was this hadith really uttered by the Prophet (saas)?'" (Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Muvazzah alm al-Qalam, p. 53) MUTAWATIR HADITH: A hadith regarding which a group of narrators could not have combined in a lie, which they have transmitted in every generation from a community like themselves, and based on something heard or seen. It expresses certain information, its fulfillment is essential, its denial implies blasphemy, and it is beyond questioning or criticism. Mutawatir in wording: A hadith whose words are the same in all accounts. They are "so few that they almost do not exist". An example is, "Man kadhaba alayya …" When one says, "mutawatir hadith" without being put down on record, it is perceived as "mutawatir according to the wording." Mutawatir in meaning: Provisions expressed in different words but with a common point of agreement among them and narrated in such a way as to bear the conditions necessary to bear a "common meaning." One mutawatir form emerging from a hadith with up to 100 different verbal forms is that the Prophet of Allah (saas) "prayed while lifting his hands." (Ismail Lutfi Cakan, "Forms of the Hadith" [Hadis Usulü], IFAV, Istanbul 1993, p. 105-150) ACCOUNTS BY SCHOLARS THAT THE HADITHS REGARDING HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) ARE MUTAWATIR The views of various scholars on this subject are set out below: RASUL AL-HUSAYN AL-BARZANJI The existence of Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his appearance in the End Times, that he will be descended from the family of our Prophet (saas) and from the sons of Fatima (ra) are described in hadiths that attain the status of being tawatur, and it is meaningless to deny these hadiths … In true and clear hadiths that go beyond the degree of tawatur , it is proven that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be descended from the line of Fatima, that he will appear before the world comes to an end, that he will bring justice and sovereignty to a world filled with cruelty and injustice, that the Prophet Jesus (as) will descend from the sky in his time and will perform the prayer under his leadership. (al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 305) ALA AL-DIN ALI IBN HUSAM MUTTAQI AL-HINDI May the mercy of Allah be upon you, there is no doubt about the existence of the Mahdi (as). It has been proven with three hundred hadiths and works, or even more. (Jasim al-Muhalhil, al-Burhan, Vol. I, p. 339) ABD AL-MUHSIN IBN HAMAD AL-ABBAD Every Muslim must believe in and affirm the unseen knowledge imparted by the Prophet (saas), particularly the prognostication with regard to the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the antichrist. In the face of the majority of the written proofs regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as) being true, it is impossible to consider these as inconsistent. Only the ignorant, those at war with the truth or those unable to examine their written proofs deny this. The fact is that affirming those hadiths is part of believing in our beloved Prophet (saas). Because accepting his words is a necessary part of believing in him. And the unseen belief in which Allah praises believers in the Qur'an (Surat Al-Baqara, 2-4) is the same as faith itself. (Dr. Abd al-Muhsin ibn Hamad al-Abbad, "Majallat al-Jamiah-al-Islamiyya, Year 1, No. 3, pp. 624-627) MUHAMMAD NASIRUDDIN AL ALBANI The essence of the matter is that believing in Hazrat Mahdi (as) is a fundamental belief based on tawatur hadiths transmitted from the Prophet (saas), and belief in this is obligatory. Because under the decree of Allah (Surat Al-Baqara, 2-4), belief in the unseen revealed is a component of faith as one of the features of those having fear of Allah. None but the ignorant deny this. I beseech Allah to die in this belief, regarded as true in the Book and the Sunnah. (Muhammad Nasiruddin Al Albani, "Majallat al-Tamaddun al-Islami, No. 22, p. 646) SHAMSUDDIN MUHAMMAD IBN AHMAD AL-SAFFARANI One of the greatest portents of the Day of Judgment is the appearance of an individual described in hadiths of a certainty exceeding the degree of tawatur. He is the last of the imams. In the same way that there will be no prophets after the Prophet (saas), so there will be no imam after him. This imam is descended from the sons of Fatima. Many scholars of the hadiths have agreed that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be descended from the Prophet (saas), and it is unseemly to turn one's back on such a mutawatir subject. According to the belief of the people of truth, Hazrat Mahdi (as) is independent of Jesus the Messiah. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear before the Messiah. This matter has become so widespread among scholars of the Sunnah as to be regarded as one of their beliefs. (Shamsuddin Muhammad ibn Ahmad Safarani, Lawami' al-Anwar al-Bahiyya,," Vol. 2, pp. 74, 76,86) ABU ABDULLAH MUHAMMAD IBN JAFAR IDRISI AL-KATANI … There are so many hadiths concerning Hazrat Mahdi (as) that they have reached tawatur status and it is inappropriate to reject these… Were I not afraid it would be long, I would collect all the hadiths I know here. (Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Jafar Idrisi al-Katani, "Nadhem al- Mutanathir Fi al-Hadith al-Mutawatir," pp. 145 and 146) AHMAD IBN MUHAMMAD AL-GHUMARI … Belief in the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is obligatory, belief in this is essential to affirm the decree of the Prophet (saas). Indeed, this matter has been recorded and proven in the books of Alh al-Sunnah. (Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ghumari, Ibraz al-Wahm al-Maknun, pp. 3, 4) HASANAYN MUHAMMAD MAKHLUF AL-MISRI We advise Muslims to trust in reliable hadiths and fully believe that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear in the End Times. Because those who say the opposite in fact have no religious knowledge nor any belief in the hadiths. (Hasanayn Muhammad al-Makhluf al-Misri, "al-Syahid al-Basher Yatahadda al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar," Introduction to the book) ABU AL-HASAN MUHAMMAD IBN AL-HUSAIN ABURI Hadiths relating the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as) have been reported from various narrators. These hadiths emphasize that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be from the line of the Prophet (saas), will rule for seven years and fill the world with justice, that the Messiah will appear and help him eliminate the tribulation (fitnah) of the antichrist, and that as Hazrat Mahdi (as) leads the prayer (salat) the Prophet Jesus (as) will perform it behind him." (Abu Abdullah al-Qurtubi, at-Tadhkirah, p. 710) ABU MUHAMMAD AL-HASAN IBN ALI AL-BARBAHARI AL-HANBALI … And believing that Jesus son of Maryam will descend from the sky, will eliminate the tribulation (fitnah) of the antichrist, and will perform the prayer behind Kaim, of the sons of Muhammad… (Qasim Muhalhil, al-Burhan, Vol. I, p. 426) Researchers have shown no disagreement that in the End Times there will be a successor descended from the Prophet (saas). It is unanimously agreed by all that this leader will be none other than he who is known as the Mahdi (as). Accordingly, we believe in the successor [spiritual leader] with these features revealed as coming in the future and intend to be among his supporters when he manifests himself. We beseech Allah to assist us in this intent." (Prof. Said Hawwa, al-Aqaid al-Islamiya," Vol. 2, pp. 1021-1026) MUHAMMAD IBN ALI ASH-SHAWKANI … There is no doubt that these hadiths are mutawatir, provisions of the decree of the Prophet (saas). Because there can be no questioning this subject and individual opinions are invalid… Accordingly, since the accounts regarding the antichrist and the Messiah are mutawatir, so those regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as) are mutawatir. (Al-Muhib ibn Salih al-Buraim, "Iqdud Durar fi Akhbar al-Muntadhar," pp. 14 and 15) SHEIKH HASAN ADWI HAMZAWI The hadiths regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as) have passed the measure of being tawatur, and there is no significance in denying them. (Mashariq' al-Anwar, Vol. 2, p. 115) SIDDIQ KHAN AL-QANUJI The hadiths about Hazrat Mahdi (as) from the sons of Fatima are more than tawatur. They are to be found in the books "Sunan" and "Musnad" and "Mu'jam." (Qanuji, "al-Iza'a …," p. 94) All the hadiths related by our Prophet (saas) about Hazrat Mahdi (as) stating that someone with matching name and personal traits will appear in the End Times and will fill the world with justice, are reliable. (Ibn Taymiyyah, Minhaj as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, Vol. IV, p. 291) In accounts relating that hadiths concerning Hazrat Mahdi (as), the antichrist and the Messiah have attained the degree of tawatur, there are no points giving rise to any doubt on the part of people with a knowledge of the hadiths. Some commentators have doubts about some hadiths on this subject, despite admitting that belief in the portents of the Judgment Day is obligatory. But this indicates that they do not possess deep knowledge of the science of the hadiths, and nothing else. (Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari, Nazrah `Aabirah fee Mazaa`im Man Yunkiru Nuzool `Isa Qabla al-Akhirah , p. 49) MUHAMMAD IBN HASAN AL-HASNAWI In his work (Manaqib ash-Shafi) Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Hasnawi says: on the subject of the Mahdi, the hadiths narrated by our Prophet (saas) have tawatur status … It is stated that he will be descended from the Prophet… (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah) THE REQUIREMENT OF BELIEVING MUTAWATIR HADITHS ACCORDING TO THE AHL AL-SUNNAH BELIEF Many Islamic scholars have emphasized the obligation to believe mutawatir hadiths and the importance in the faith of mutawatir reports. Below are cited the views of various Islamic scholars on this subject: SHIHABUDDIN IBN HAJAR AL-ASQALANI "Tawatur is not one of the subjects of the isnad (chain of transmission accompanying each hadith). Because the isnad reveals whether or not a hadith is true by examining the identity and qualities of the narrator. Yet the narrators of a mutawatir report are not to be questioned, and belief in a mutawatir hadith is obligatory, without questioning it." (Dr. Subhi Salih, Ulum al-hadith pp. 151 and 152) MUHAMMAD JAMAL AL-DIN AL-QASIMI AL-DIMASHQI "Know that a hadith narrated by a number of people whose truth is proven is 'mutawatir'. In other words, there is no possibility of these people cooperating to lie in all classes of narration… These hadiths must be adhered to without entering into debate concerning the narrators. (Muhammad Jamal Al-Din al-Qasimi al-Dimashqi, "Qawaid al-Tahdith, min Funun Mushthalah al-Hadith," p. 151) NUR AD-DIN ITR "Conditions such as justice or truth sought in the narrators of Reliable or Fair hadiths are not sought in the narrators of "mutawatir" hadiths. Because the number of narrators of these hadiths is so great that it is not rationally possible for them to have come together to fabricate them. For that reason, hadith scholars do not take mutawatir hadiths as a subject for inquiry. In their view, the only subject for investigation is the truth or validity of a hadith. Yet there is no such need in the case of mutawatir hadiths… These narrators consist of so many people as to obtain absolute certainty. This is a natural and manifest phenomenon." ( Dr. Nur ad-Din Itr,, Manhaj al-Naqd fi Ulum al-Hadith, p. 405) ABU ABD-ALLAH MUHAMMAD IBN JAFAR AL-IDRISI AL-KATANI "A report the narrators of which cannot normally have cooperated in falsehood in the beginning, middle or end of which, is 'mutawatir.'… Hadith scholars do not insist that the narrators of mutawatir hadiths have integrity, or even be Muslim. In the same way that they need not be adult, have integrity or be Muslims, so there is no need for them to be living. It is lawful for them to be non-believers, impious or not to have reached adulthood. Neither is there any stipulation that they bear a specific title." (Katani, Nadhem al-Mutanathir Fi al-Hadith al-Mutwatir, pp. 5,6,9) ABU'S-SADAT MUHAMMAD IBN MUHAMMAD ABU SHAHBA "There is no need for the narrator of mutawatir hadiths to have integrity or even be a Muslim. Because the criterion for the acceptability of mutawatir status is the large number of narrators. Indeed, if the population of a city report that an event took place, absolutely certain knowledge can be obtained from their words." (Dr. Abu's-Sadat Muhammad ibn Muhammad Abu Shahba, "al-Wasit fi Ulum wa Mustalah Al-Hadith, p. 190) "There are two types of report: Mutawatir and Ahad … A mutawatir report is one transmitted from one group that cannot have combined in a lie to another group like itself, and the two sides (the first stratum and last stratum) and those in the middle (between the two) are equal. This crowd report something not imagined but perceived with the senses, and absolute certainty is attained through that report. The view on which the majority of investigators are agreed is that tawatur status cannot be restricted by a specific number." (Al-Jazairi, Tawjih an-Nazar, p. 33) AHL AL-SUNNAH SCHOLARS WHO HAVE RULED THAT REJECTION OF MUTAWATIR HADITHS IS EQUIVALENT TO DENIAL We have seen from the explanations given by Ahl al-Sunnah scholars we have been looking at that there are mutawatir hadiths regarding a holy individual known as Hazrat Mahdi (as) and descended from our Prophet (saas) who will appear in the End Times. We have also seen that it is obligatory to believe in these accounts, which cannot rationally or logically be groundless or lies. That being the case, some Islamic scholars have stated that, because of their absolutely certain status, denying mutawatir hadiths is equivalent to denying the Prophet (saas) and have unequivocally ruled that this is blasphemy. Some accounts by such scholars read as follows: Know that: As unanimously stated, whoever, by word or deed, denies [mutawatir hadiths] is a blasphemer, unless he knows proof, and leaves the sphere of Islam; they will be grouped with Jews, Christians and groups chosen by Allah. (Abdul al-Ghani al-Haq, "Hujjiyat al- Sunnah, p. 270, from The Key to Paradise) ABU AL-FADL ABD ALLAH IBN MUHAMMAD AL-IDRISI "…Because as a requirement of the decision taken by scholars, after it has been proved that the hadiths transmitted from our Prophet (saas) are mutawatir, he who denies them is a blasphemer unless he can show an acceptable justification of his denial. (Abu al-Fadl Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi, "The Awaited Mahdi," pp. 94, 95) In hadiths reported by reliable narrators the Prophet (saas) has imparted the glad tidings that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear in the End Times, as well as his titles and the signs of his appearance… It is stated by the Prophet (saas) that whoever denies the promised Mahdi (as) or regards him as untrue is a blasphemer. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, Vol. 2, pp. 865-876) The following two hadiths are of such a nature as to confirm the rule imposed by these scholars: "He who denies the emergence of Hazrat Mahdi (as) denies the revelation to Muhammad…" "…he who denies Hazrat Mahdi (as) is without doubt a blasphemer." The Ahl-Al Sunnah sources that transmitted these hadiths are, in order: 1- Abu Baqir Ahmad ibn Muhammad Askafi (dec. H. 260), Fawaid al-Akhbar. 2- Abu Bakr ibn Haythami (dec. H. 279), Jam al-Ahadith al-Warida fi al-Mahdi. 3- Abu al Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Kalabazi Bukhari (dec. 380), Ma'ani al-Akhbar. 4- Abu Qasim Abdurrahman al-Suhayli (dec. 581), Ravd al-Anf, Sharh al-Sira, Vol. 2, p. 431. (narrated by Malik ibn Anas from Muhammad ibn Munkadir from Jabir). 5- Yusuf ibn Yahya Maqdisi al-Shafi (dec. 685), Iqd al-Durar fi Akhbar al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 157, al-Askafi, Fawaid al-Akhbar and Sharah al-Sirah from Abu al-Qasim al-Suhayli. 6- Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Hamwini (dec. 730), Fara'id al-Simtayn, Vol. 2, p. 337, No. 585, Maani al-Akhbar from Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. 7- Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (dec. 852), Lisan al-Mizan, Vol. 4, p. 147, Egyptian edition; p. 130, Haydarabad edition, Maan al-Akhbar. 8- As-Suyuti (dec. 911), al-Arf al-Wardi fi Akhbar al-Mahdi, p. 161, from Fawaid al-Akhbar. 9- Ibn Hajar al-Makki ash-Shafi (dec. 974), Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 56, copy in a manuscript in the Zahiriye Library in Damascus and in the Ayatullah Marashi Library in Qum, (transmitted from Fawaid al-Akhbar and Sharh as-Sira). 10- Ibn Hajar al-Makki, al-Fatawa al-Hadith, p. 37. 11- al-Muttaqi al-Hindi (dec. 975), Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman. 12- Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ahmad Saffarini al-Hanbali (dec. 1188), Lawami' al-Anwar al-Bahiyya, Vol. 2, chapter titled «al-Faidah al-Hamisa» concerning the Mahdi; from Hafiz Askafi. (The reliability of the narrator Jabir ibn Abdullah is praised.) 13- Sulayman al- Qunduzi (dec. 1294), Yanabi' al-Mawadda, Beginning of 78th chapter, transmitted from Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari. 14- Sayyid Muhammad Sıddiq Qanuji al-Bukhari (dec. 1307), al-Iza'a Li Ma Qâne wa Mâ Yaqun al-Bayna Yaday -as-Sa'eh, p. 137, from Jam al-Ahadith al-Warida fi al-Mahdi from Ibn Haythami and Fawaid al-Akhbar from Askafi. 15- Abu al-Fadl Abd Allah ibn Muhammad Siddiq (dec. 1308), Al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 94 and from Fawaid al-Akhbar. Some Examples of Fatwas Issued on the Subject of Hazrat Mahdi (as) As we have seen above, the hadiths regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as) possess a tawatur level of trustworthiness, leaving no room for doubt and revealing the obligation for belief on the matter. One fatwa on the subject issued by the «Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami« (Committee of the Islamic World) headed by Sheikh Muntasir al-Katani and signed by Sheikh Muhammad al-Qazzaz [dated 23 Shawwal 1396 (17.10.1976)] of the Islamic Law Board which is made up of eminent religious scholars reads: "... Many companions have narrated hadiths from the Prophet (saas) regarding the Mahdi. I know some 20, such as Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abu Talib and Ummu Salama, and many other accounts have been narrated from them. In addition, there are decrees from companions with the force of the word of the Prophet (saas). There can be no interpretation and no different opinion on this subject. Such hadiths on this subject have been recorded in Sunan Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ibn Asakir's Tarikh Dimashqi [History of Damascus] and other books. Special books have also been written on the subject of the Mahdi (as): "Akhbar al-Mahdi," "The Book of Abu Nuaim," "al-Wahm al-Maknun" and others … Previous and contemporary eminent figures have agreed that hadiths regarding Hazrat Mahdi (as) enjoy tawatur status: as stated in al-Sakhawi's "Fath al-Mugeeth," Ibni Tamiyya's "Fatawa" and Abu al-Abbas al-Maghrib's "al-Wahm al-Maknun"… Commentators and experts on the hadiths are agreed that hadiths about Hazrat Mahdi (as) enjoy tawatur status. In conclusion, belief that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear is obligatory. It is included among the beliefs of the community and people of the Sunnah. No other Muslim than those ignorant of the Sunnah and heretics can deny this belief." (Muhammad Mahdi al-Khorasan, "Introduction to al-Bayan fi Akhbar - Sahibuzzaman" pp. 76-79) In the same way, Fatwa No. 2844 on Hazrat Mahdi (as) by scholars including Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baaz, Sheikh Abd ar-Razzaq Afishi, Sheikh Abdullah ibn Saud and Sheikh Abd Allah ibn Ghadyan from the "The Permanent Committee of Academic Research and Fatwa," which speaks on Islamic matters on a global scale, reads: "The accounts proving that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear are many, and many leading hadith scholars have reported these in documents. Authorities such as Abu al-Hasan Al-Aburi, Allama Safarani and Allame ash-Shawkani have said that these hadiths are mutawatir according to the meaning. It is inappropriate to regard anyone else than the person the signs of whom have been set out in the decrees of the Prophet (saas) as the Mahdi (as)."	<urn:uuid:156524d9-1dee-4e50-8019-702dc0642834>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://harunyahya.com/en/works/29661/Accounts-regarding-Hazrat-Mahdi-(as)-are-Mutawatir	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.907623	5,950	2.828125	3
This post first appeared on the Bureau of International Information Programs in the United States Department of State's blog Our Planet on March 8, 2013 as part or their Smithsonian Month series. Thank you to the Bureau of International Information Programs in the United States Department of State for permisison to repost. Here is the first guest blog for Smithsonian Month. It was written by Nick Pyenson, Ph.D., Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals for the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. For more information on his research interests, check out this page. Fossils are the direct records of ancient life, and as a paleontologist, it’s always a thrill everyday to hold and study these messengers from the geologic past. At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, we house 42 million specimens in the Department of Paleobiology from every continent in the world, spanning every geologic time period from the last Ice Age (~18,000 years ago) to first squiggles of microbial life (~3.5 billion years ago). Our mission is to study, preserve and continue building these unique collections. But it’s important to recognize that these collections didn’t just appear magically at the museum. They are the culmination of millions of hours of labor spent collecting and retrieving these traces of the distant past. Each specimen undertook a special journey from its discovery in a rock outcrop to a museum drawer. And, often, these journeys take decades, might involve preparation in a laboratory, or re-analysis with new eyes. You never know what secret may be revealed by a careful look in a museum cabinet. Like modern biodiversity, fossils are non-renewable resources. Sometimes, they are plentifully preserved, while other times they are exceedingly rare. Consequently their scientific value is disproportionately large. The commercial interest in selling fossils has been a perennial issue in the history of paleontology, and today’s professional societies take explicit positions on the sale of fossils and their protection on public lands. Technological advancements are also providing new ways to salvage crucial information, especially in time-sensitive circumstances. For example, my Chilean collaborators and I have been able to use 3D digitization tools to save valuable information about entire fossil sites, when details about the position of fossils in rock layers, and their orientation, might have otherwise been lost. These tools give us the potential to share and preserve information in a variety of new ways. Although that is no substitute for the real thing, it’s one of the many reasons why museums continue to be an irreplaceable place to store, share and study the natural world. This entry reflects the author’s personal judgments and does not represent the views of the United States Government or the Department of State.	<urn:uuid:5702ae7b-6f14-473b-b8ad-1ee2f5c02735>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://nmnh.typepad.com/100years/2013/03/all-about-fossils.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.92154	569	2.859375	3
The education of a nation’s youth to a full height of academic rigor and standing is a complex process that nearly always spans more than a decade, requires tens of thousands of dollars, dozens of teachers, and of course, technology. Not always the most recent technology, mind you, but even the oldest Pentium One computer was once new. Technology inside of education is a somewhat problematic premise, an idea that generates controversy from the earliest of primary school grades right through to the top of the academic pyramid, graduate school. As you well know, technology can be a powerful tool for learning, and it can be the same for cheating. It can be used to inform, and to distort. It can boldly open new doors, while flinging open some that were perhaps best left closed; not every topic is appropriate for all age groups. While some elements in the world of education still want to stress cursive penmanship and hand-editing, it is hard not to admit that technology, specifically and mostly the internet and personal computing, have transformed the modern world. These are things that modern students were raised with, so completely that to not give them their due would be to cheapen the impact of what might otherwise be a strong education. Ask yourself this: would you rather a pupil taught how to quickly write in cursive, a full-page of their thoughts, or rather to learn how to adroitly employ any computing station put before their little hands? If you want the pupil to be competitive, you had best pick the second option. Now, the question then becomes just this: what are the identifiable effects of our modern technology on education? Let’s try and get our arms around the topic. Collaboration is becoming a real-time event. While this topic applies mostly today at the collegiate level, it will surely seep backwards down the grade scale to reach younger students. This has the impact that you might guess, increased productivity, but it has a host of secondary benefits that most students do not recognize until they complete their first project in such an environment. What happens? You can’t hide and accomplish nothing if everyone is watching you work. You are also somewhat ‘on display’ while working, meaning that your initial draft of that paragraph you are putting at the top of your team’s business plan had better make sense the first time you pen it, and only improve from then on out. Deadwood beware, it’s easier to hide in document versions bouncing around email accounts than on Skype with three other people working a mere two pages over. Free products like Google Docs are becoming not just accepted, but de facto solutions at a rapid pace, revamping the idea of teams, and team projects. Ask anyone over the age of 50 with a PhD what it was like to get the information that they needed and they will generally begin to swear and discuss how young people these days have it so soft. They are not merely being curmudgeon-esque (well perhaps a few) but on the whole they have a point: nearly every fact is no more than a few taps of the keys from anyone, making the accretion of information, well, child’s play. What does this mean? It has been speculated that this will lead to a decline of respect for intellectuals, but that seems unlikely. Knowing how to search for something is merely the first step to real comprehension, which involves a deeper understanding and critical analysis. On the whole, intellectualism and its pursuits will always command respect. Nothing is free. Everything has a cost. While technology, as we have just seen, can have very positive effects it can also have some very negative impacts. Things such as cheating are now simpler than ever, and I don’t mean writing on your hand. Your class is allowed to use a graphing calculator for the test? Write a program on it that contains all the formulas that you need and presto, you pass the test. Chance of being caught? Zero. Or just take a picture of your homework and send it via SMS to your friend, who copies it on the bus on the way to class. By constantly cutting down on data transfer times (from letter to telegraph and so forth) it has become trivial to share information that is not yet due, but will be graded. To combat this, many classes are slowly ratcheting down their emphasis on graded homework, and pushing harder and more grade-important tests where it can be harder to cheat. Finally, and to wrap up, it may be said that for all the technology we put in the classroom all we do is distract children from actually learning. Are we showing children blinking lights instead of books and so forth? The complaint should be formed into a question: is there a way to employ new technology intelligently avoiding its pitfalls while reaping its rewards? Yes, by having strong and smart teachers who can use the tools that technology offers without falling on their sharp ends. Technology is changing our world, and we have to understand the implications of its use for our children’s education. Education is affected by technology in a very real way, however the timeless goals of education should be respected. This article is supported by Dell	<urn:uuid:12b4a6c3-575c-403a-8dd0-8a24f3b80948>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/01/05/how-technology-has-changed-education/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.968059	1,074	2.65625	3
Pod Cars are automated driverless vehicles that will operate on traditional roadways creating personal rapid transit systems” * use contributes to carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbon emissions * are expensive and if not shared typically are parked for most of there lifetime * uses of cars are for 1-2 people transports * have the technical capability to have small, energy efficient cars * some cases cars with automated drivers are safer than humans * automated shared car system would reduce emissions, decrease grid lock in cities, increase safety, enable faster personalized public transit options, and better utilize vehicles What is your one big idea for cities in 2012? Submit a blog post to firstname.lastname@example.org along with a bio & Pic.	<urn:uuid:76fe2f0c-3bb2-47c5-b250-e0e6d5d9c0ce>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.theurbanvision.com/blogs/?p=911	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.92534	152	2.90625	3
The ingredient of 714-X claimed by supporters to have anticancer activity is camphor that has been chemically modified by the addition of an extra nitrogen atom. Pharmacological and Biological Treatment Learn about other non-traditional therapies sometimes touted to treat cancer, including shark cartilage, laetrile, and homeopathy. Antineoplaston therapy is a complementary/alternative cancer treatment that involves using a group of synthetic chemicals called antineoplastons intended to protect the body from disease. Apitherapy refers to the use of various products of the common honeybee in alternative remedies. Bovine cartilage is promoted as a dietary supplement for the treatment of cancer, osteoporosis, and other conditions. The cartilage is extracted from various parts of a cow, but usually comes from the trachea (windpipe). A dark liquid, the exact makeup of Cancell® is unknown and may have changed over time and varied between manufacturers. In cell therapy, processed tissue from the organs, embryos, or fetuses of animals such as sheep or cows is injected into patients. Chelation therapy most often involves the injection of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), a chemical that binds, or chelates, heavy metals, including iron, lead, mercury, cadmium, and zinc. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is part of an enzyme complex that affects certain chemical reactions in the body. Use of Coley toxins is an early form of immunotherapy, a method of treatment in which a person receives substances designed to boost the immune system and help the body fight off diseases such as cancer. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland. It is a mixture of the drugs somatostatin and bromocriptine, as well as vitamins, melatonin, and sometimes low doses of chemotherapy drugs or other substances combined in varying amounts. Dichloracetic acid and sodium dichloroacetate are man-made chemicals that have not been found in nature. Dimethyl sulfoxide, or DMSO, is an industrial solvent that is a by-product of making paper. Enzyme therapy involves taking enzyme supplements as an alternative form of cancer treatment. Enzymes are natural proteins that stimulate and accelerate many biological reactions in the body. Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is an omega-6 unsaturated fatty acid made in the human body from other essential fatty acids. The Greek Cancer Cure consists of a blood test reportedly used to diagnose cancer and intravenous therapy designed to cure the disease. Homeopathic remedies are water-based or alcohol-based solutions containing tiny amounts of naturally occurring plants, minerals, animal products, or chemicals. Hydrazine sulfate is a chemical commonly used in industrial processes, such as rare metal refining and the making of rocket fuel, rust-prevention products, and insecticides. Immuno-augmentative therapy (IAT) consists of daily injections of a protein mixture made from human blood with the goal of helping the patient's immune system to attack the cancer. Inosine pranobex is a drug that may mimic the actions of immune-stimulating hormones made in the thymus gland. Insulin potentiation therapy (IPT) refers to the use of insulin along with lower doses of chemotherapy to treat cancer. An analysis by several federal agencies found Krebiozen to contain mineral oil and a form of creatine. Creatine is a substance that occurs naturally in the human body and is sold as a dietary supplement. Laetrile is a chemically modified form of amygdalin, a naturally-occurring substance found mainly in the kernels of apricots, peaches, and almonds. Lipoic acid is an antioxidant found in certain foods, including red meat, spinach, broccoli, potatoes, yams, carrots, beets, and yeast. It is also made in small amounts in the human body. Liver flushes are recommended by alternative medicine practitioners to detoxify or drive "harmful chemicals and germs" out of the liver and gallbladder. Livingston-Wheeler therapy was an alternative cancer method that included vaccines, antibiotics, vitamin and mineral supplements, digestive enzymes, cleansing enemas, support group therapy, and a vegetarian diet. Mangosteen is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia that is touted for its antioxidants, especially xanthones, a type of chemical in certain plants. Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by the pineal gland-- a pea-sized gland located just beneath the center of the brain-- in response to darkness. Oxygen therapy introduces substances into the body that are supposed to release oxygen. The extra oxygen is believed to increase the body's ability to destroy disease-causing cells. Poly-MVA is a liquid dietary supplement that contains various minerals, B complex vitamins, palladium, and amino acids and lipoic acid (see Lipoic Acid, and B Vitamins). The "MVA" stands for minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. Pregnenolone is a steroid the body makes as a precursor to other steroid hormones. Some practitioners of alternative medicine who treat cancer using unproven and unapproved therapies -- especially those who market their treatment as a "cure" -- have moved across the Mexican border, where they are still able to attract US patients. It is a chemical therapy that varies for every patient but can include a chemical formula made of varying amounts of lipid alcohols, caffeine, zinc, lithium, and iron or a formula that contains fatty acids, selenium, magnesium, and sulfur. Sea cucumbers are marine animals that have a soft body with the shape and texture of a cucumber. Shark cartilage is extracted from the heads and fins of sharks. Shark liver oil is taken from the liver of cold-water sharks. Urotherapy is an alternative method that involves the use of a patient's own urine to treat cancer.	<urn:uuid:4162c469-d0ed-495e-95a2-97581e887e05>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/index	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.939672	1,267	2.6875	3
A muscle cramp is a strong, painful contraction or tightening of a muscle that comes on suddenly and lasts from a few seconds to several minutes. It often occurs in the legs. A muscle cramp is also called a charley horse. Nighttime leg cramps are usually sudden spasms, or tightening, of muscles in the calf. The muscle cramps can sometimes happen in the thigh or the foot. They often occur just as you are falling asleep or waking up. The cause of muscle cramps isn't always known. Muscle cramps may be brought on by many conditions or activities, such as: You may need to try several different ways to stop a muscle cramp before you find what works best for you. Here are some things you can try: Here are some things you can try for a leg cramp: If you think a medicine is causing muscle cramps: These tips may help prevent If you are taking medicines that are known to cause leg cramps, your doctor may prescribe different medicines. Talk with your doctor if you have muscle cramps that keep coming back or are severe. These may be symptoms of another problem, such as restless legs syndrome. If cramps keep coming back, bother you a lot, or interfere with your sleep, your doctor may prescribe medicine that relaxes your muscles. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) provides information and education to raise the public's awareness of musculoskeletal conditions, with an emphasis on preventive measures. The AAOS website contains information on orthopedic conditions and treatments, injury prevention, and wellness and exercise. Other Works Consulted American Academy of Neurology (2010). AAN summary of evidence-based guideline for clinicians: Symptomatic treatment for muscle cramps. Available online: http://www.aan.com/practice/guideline/uploads/394.pdf. American Academy of Neurology (2010). AAN summary of evidence-based guideline for patients and their families: Drug treatments for symptoms of muscle cramps. Available online: http://www.aan.com/practice/guideline/uploads/395.pdf. Katzberg HD, et al. (2010). Assessment: Symptomatic treatment for muscle cramps (an evidence-based review): Report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology, 74(8): 691–696. Available online: http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/full/74/8/691. Young G (2009). Leg cramps, search date September 2008. Online version of BMJ Clinical Evidence: http://www.clinicalevidence.com. August 28, 2012 Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine & Karin M. Lindholm, DO - Neurology How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions. To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2013 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. We are happy to take your appointment request over the phone, or, you may fill out an online request form. Disclaimer: The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, evaluation or care from your physician or other qualified health care provider.	<urn:uuid:c54650de-c7cd-454f-b538-c31937755f96>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.wakehealth.edu/Health-Encyclopedia/Health-Topics/Muscle-Cramps.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.896906	733	3.171875	3
Redirected from George B. McClellan Born in Philadelphia, McClellan first attended the University of Pennsylvania, then transferred to West Point, graduating second in his class of 1846. Originally assigned to the engineers, he served under Winfield Scott in Mexico, then transferred to the cavalry in 1855. Dispatched to study European armies, he observed the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War. He then adapted saddle[?] used in Prussia and Hungary into the "McClellan Saddle" that was used for many years. McClellan resigned his commission January 16, 1857, and got into the railroad business, becoming chief engineer[?] of the Illinois Central[?] and then the Ohio & Mississippi[?]. He rejoined the military when war broke out in 1861, initially commanding the Ohio Militia[?]. His first combat assignment was to occupy the area of western Virginia which wanted to remain in the Union and later became the state of West Virginia. He defeated there two small Confederate armies in 1861 and became famous throughout the country. After the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run in July 1861, Lincoln appointed McClellan commander of the army of the Potomac, the main Union army located around Washington. He brought a much higher degree of organization to this army, and in November 1861 became supreme commander over all Union armies after General Winfield Scott's retirement. In late 1861 and early 1862 many became impatient with McClellan's slowness to attack while he insisted the troops were still not ready. Lincoln urged McClellan to attack and accepted (with some reluctance) McClellan's plan to advance on Richmond from the southeast after moving by sea to Fort Monroe, Virginia (a fort that stayed in Union hands when Virginia seceded). This campaign is known as the Peninsular Campaign[?]. Lincoln removed McClellan from the supreme command of all Union armies in early 1862 while leaving him in command of the Army of the Potomac. McClellan's advance up from Fort Monroe proved to be slow. He believed intelligence reports that credited the Confederates with two or three times the men they actually had. Critics of his slowness felt justified when some of the Confederate fortifications evacuated after McClellan took the time to bring up siege artillery against them proved to be lined with fake cannons. The Confederates also exploited McClellan's caution by marching a group of men over and over again past places where they could be observed, to give the impression of a long line of troops arriving. McClellan came within a few miles of Richmond, Virginia in June 1862, and his army repelled an attack at Seven Pines[?]. Confederate commander Joseph Johnston[?] was wounded in this battle, and Jefferson Davis named Robert E. Lee commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee ordered a series of attacks in the Seven Days Campaign. While these attacks failed to attain Lee's goal of crushing McClellan's army, they convinced McClellan to move his army further from Richmond to a base on the James River. In a telegram reporting on these events, McClellan accused Lincoln of doing his best to see that the army of the Potomac was sacrificed, a comment that Lincoln never saw (at least at that time) because it was censored by the War Department telegrapher. Urged to remove McClellan from command, Lincoln compromised by taking some of McClellan's men and some newly organized units to create a the Army of Virginia under John Pope[?], who was to advance towards Richmond from the northeast. Pope was beaten spectacularly by Lee at Second Bull Run in August. Lee then advanced into Maryland, hoping to arouse pro-Southern sympathy since Maryland was a slave state. Lincoln then restored Pope's army to McClellan, who even after obtaining a copy of Lee's orders dividing his forces, did not move swiftly enough to encounter the Confederates before they were reunited. At the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, McClellan attacked Lee. Lee's army while outnumbered was not decisively defeated, because the Union forces did not manage to attack together and because McClellan held back a large reserve. After the battle, Lee retreated back into Virginia. When McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, he was replaced by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and was never given another command. McClellan would go on to run against Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 U.S. presidential election. In the summer of 1864 Lincoln feared that he would lose the election because of weariness with the war, as Grant appeared deadlocked with Lee in Virginia. Sherman's capture of Atlanta, Georgia and Sheridan's victories in the Shenandoah valley dispelled much of this weariness and Lincoln won the election handily. While McClellan was highly popular among the troops when he was commander, it appears that they voted for Lincoln over McClellan in greater proportion than the general population.	<urn:uuid:01af85cd-6cd0-4910-bac2-9fd0a6de436d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/ge/George_B._McClellan?title=Saddle	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.978651	1,032	3.28125	3
Heart disease, including stroke, is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Every year, 1 in 4 deaths is caused by heart disease. The good news? Heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions. Communities, health professionals, and families can work together to create opportunities for people to make healthier choices. Make a difference in your community: Spread the word about strategies for preventing heart disease and encourage people to live heart healthy lives. How can American Heart Month make a difference? We can use this month to raise awareness about heart disease and how people can help prevent it — both at home and in the community. Here are just a few ideas: - Encourage families to make small changes, like using spices to season their food instead of salt. - Motivate teachers and administrators to make physical activity a part of the school day to help students start good habits early. - Ask doctors and nurses to be leaders in their communities by speaking out about ways to prevent heart disease. How can I help spread the word? We’ve made it easier for you to make a difference. This toolkit is full of ideas to help you take action today. For example: Get the Word Out Add this free Web badge to your Web site, blog, or social networking profile to show your support for American Heart Month. Take action to promote heart health. - Celebrate National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about women and heart disease. Encourage everyone in your community to wear red on February 1. Visit Go Red for Women for more information. - Host an American Heart Month event at a local school, health center, or library. Work with local recreation and fitness centers to spread the word about the importance of physical activity to prevent heart disease. - Contact your local Red Cross to host a CPR training event in your community. Urge local community members to learn CPR and AED (Automated External Defibrillator). These skills can help save the life of someone who has sudden cardiac arrest. - Host a 20-minute group walk around your office at lunch time. - Conduct a cooking demonstration using a heart-healthy recipe. Adapted from the American Heart Association. Contact the American Heart Association at firstname.lastname@example.org for more information and materials.	<urn:uuid:65eafff5-06f1-401b-b79f-f8820940f093>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://healthfinder.gov/nho/Februarytoolkit.aspx	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.919936	485	3.46875	3
Your child may translate in the beginning, but this process should disappear quickly. The act of translation will disappear as your child’s vocabulary increases. The only time your child will need to translate is when he s asked to do so or needs to explain something to someone who does not understand the language. It is absolutely understandable that your child might show some signs of anxiety when learning a second language during the first few weeks or months of school. Children in a bilingual language program are being placed in a situation where they may have difficulty understanding what teachers tell them or may feel like they are not keeping up with the class. Children may need to use their native tongue to communicate, but the teachers will always try to link this communication back to the second language. Teachers use a variety of methods outside the language, such as using gestures to give clues as to their meaning in order to link the verbal communication with something the child already knows and understands. As a result, your child may sometimes feel confused in the classroom instruction or learning process. In addition, sometimes your child may not understand the reason why (s)he has to learn a second language. We have observed that parental support is extremely important in supporting and encouraging a child through this learning process. What should I do? It is normal for children who are becoming bilingual to switch between languages and occasionally mix the two languages. This is known as code switching. This occurs naturally and depends on the audience and purpose of the communication. Code switching generally occurs when a child is trying to clarify a statement or resolve an ambiguity. It is also used to attract or retain the listener’s attention and to elaborate. Children sometimes mix two languages when attempting to communicate a word or an expression that is immediately accessible to him in one of the languages but not the other. Like monolingual children, bilingual children also play with their two languages by making words rhyme, inventing new words or using certain words in inappropriate contexts. Code switching and language mixing are mostly temporary phenomena in the second language acquisition process. As children become more adept in their two languages, the perceived need or desire to combine them is greatly reduced. Children understand that each language has its own vocabulary and syntax. They also understand that certain people with whom they come in contact do ot speak both of the languages that they speak. Consequently, they learn to use only one of their languages with them. Parents are encouraged to speak to their children in their native language and/or designated “family language,” so as to serve as an appropriate and correct language model.	<urn:uuid:ffe2b291-a85f-4b28-babb-7fea87d958e8>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://imsnc.org/blog/category/frequently-asked-questions/international-montessori-school-faqs/page/2/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.972245	519	3.828125	4
The Revisionaries Premieres on Independent Lens on Monday, January 28, 2013 How Did the Most Influential School Board in the Country Become an Ideological Battleground for the Hearts and Minds of Students? "The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." — Abraham Lincoln (San Francisco, CA) — Every ten years a group of 15 individuals convene to discuss, debate, and rewrite the teaching and textbook standards for the next generation of students. Hugely influential, these decisions mandate how science, history, and other core subjects will be taught. Who are the people who get to shape the textbooks for our nation’s students? In large part it is the members of the Texas State Board of Education, whose decisions about standards for the state’s nearly five million schoolchildren hold enormous financial sway over publishers, who craft their textbooks based on the needs of their biggest buyers. Directed by Scott Thurman, The Revisionaries goes to ground zero in the textbook wars, a moral battleground where every word is a weapon in the fight and no child can be left behind. The film premieres on Independent Lens, hosted by Stanley Tucci, on Monday, January 28, 2013 at 10 PM on PBS (check local listings). Shot over the course of three years, The Revisionaries follows the rise and fall of some of the most controversial figures in American education as they wage tumultuous intellectual battles. Don McLeroy is a dentist, Sunday school teacher, and an avowed young-earth creationist. After briefly serving on his local school board, McLeroy was elected to the Texas State Board of Education and later appointed chairman. During his time on the board, McLeroy has overseen the adoption of new science and history curriculum standards, drawing national attention and placing Texas on the front lines of the so-called “culture wars.” In his last term, McLeroy, aided by Cynthia Dunbar, an attorney from Houston and professor of law at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, finds himself not only fighting to change what students are taught, but fighting to retain his seat on the board. Challenged by Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, a nonpartisan group that supports religious freedom and individual liberties, and Ron Wetherington, an anthropology professor from Southern Methodist University, McLeroy faces his toughest term yet. To learn more about the film, visit The Revisionaries’ interactive companion website (http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/revisionaries), which features detailed information on the film, including an interview with the filmmaker and links and resources pertaining to the film’s subject matter. The site also features a Talkback section, where viewers can share their ideas and opinions, preview clips of the film, and more. About the Filmmakers Scott Thurman (Director), born in Lubbock, Texas, is an M.F.A. graduate in documentary film from the University of North Texas. He has worked as a news photographer for four years and produced three short films at the University of North Texas, including “Smokey,” a short documentary about an Elvis impersonator that was seen in film festivals around the U.S. Thurman originally conceived of a documentary film about the Texas Board of Education for his thesis project “Standing Up to the Experts.” Pierson Silver (Producer), a founding partner of Silver Lining Film Group, has worked with cinematographers such as John Lindley (Reservation Road, 2001), Philippe Rousselot (The Brave One, 2007), John Bailey (When in Rome, 2010), Janusz Kaminski (Munich, 2005) and Matthew Libatique (Inside Man, 2006, Noah, 2013). Pierson has also performed specialty camera work on several other major motion pictures, as well as New York-based television and commercial productions such as The Other Guys (2010), Shutter Island (2010), The Ghost Writer (2010), Fast Five (2011), Men in Black III (2012), RIPD (2012), and Walter Mitty (2012). Pierson shot and produced the film version of the rock opera Screen Test (2009), which premiered at the Museum of Art and Design, and produced the short film Trophy Wife (2010). Orlando Wood (Producer), Since starting Magic Hour Entertainment, in addition to The Revisionaries, Wood has produced One Big Lie, a documentary feature about Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. He developed the feature Welcome to the Punch (with Eran Creevy and Beat Films), which stars James McAvoy and is scheduled for release in 2013. With a background in advertising production, he’s produced over 100 ads for some of the world’s most recognizable brands. He also runs Biscuit Filmworks UK, the international arm of renowned L.A. production company Biscuit Filmworks. Jim Butterworth (Executive Producer), is the founder and president of Naked Edge Films, where he has served as executive producer for films including Gone, Donor Unknown, War Don Don, The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan, and Cape Spin. Seoul Train, which he produced, directed and shot, and which also premiered on Independent Lens, has been translated to more than twenty languages and broadcast on TV globally. In 2007, Seoul Train was bestowed the Alfred I. duPont – Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcast journalism and investigative reporting, and was runner-up for the National Journalism Award. Butterworth is a successful technology entrepreneur and investor, and an advisor to a number of nonprofits, startup companies, and investment funds. He was one of the pioneers in the streaming of audio and video over the Internet, and holds 12 issued U.S. and foreign patents in this field. Vijay Dewan (Executive Producer), is currently a litigation associate at a large New York law firm. After graduating Columbia University, Dewan worked in the regulatory group at the law firm of Davis, Polk, & Wardwell for two years. At Notre Dame Law School, he focused on constitutional law issues, including freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and graduated with honors in 2008. After graduating law school, Dewan played an active role in New York and national politics, including co-organizing Young Lawyers for Obama during Barack Obama's successful presidential campaign. More recently, he worked on Cy Vance's successful campaign for Manhattan District Attorney. He also worked on Kirsten Gillibrand's senatorial campaign. Daniel J. Chalfen (Co-Producer), is a founder of and producer at Naked Edge Films. His most recent documentaries include State 194 (for Participant Media), which premiered at TIFF 2012; Code of the West, which premiered at SXSW 2012; Pretty Old, executive produced by Joe Berlinger and Sarah Jessica Parker; Donor Unknown (produced with ARTE, More 4 and VPRO), which won Audience Awards at both Tribeca and Silverdocs and was broadcast on Independent Lens; GONE, which premiered at Tribeca in 2011 and was broadcast on Discovery ID; War Don Don, which won a Special Jury Mention at SXSW, was broadcast on HBO, and nominated for two Emmys; and Budrus, which premiered at Dubai then screened at Berlin, Tribeca, and Silverdocs, among other festivals, where it won an award at each. Earlier credits include The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan; Meeting Resistance, which won the Golden Award at the Al Jazeera International Documentary Festival; Encounter Point; 39 Pounds of Love, which was produced with HBO Documentary Films and was short-listed for an Academy Award®; and Pulled from the Rubble, which became an ABC Special. Chalfen’s nonfiction television series include Happy France for ARTE and Ordinary People, which was broadcast worldwide. His forthcoming films include Silenced and The Life and Mind of Mark DeFriest. Chandra C. Silver (Co-Producer), After graduating from NYU, Silver began her career in film at Hart Sharp Entertainment (You Can Count on Me, 2000), Boys Don’t Cry, (1999). Silver then worked under Arianna Bocco in the independent feature-packaging department at The Gersh Agency in New York, where she aided in the foundation of the film sales department. After her time at Gersh, Silver began her work with Mary Jane Skalski (Mysterious Skin, 2004, and The Station Agent, 2003) on Tom McCarthy’s film The Visitor (2007), which earned an Oscar nomination for Richard Jenkins. Since beginning her work at Silver Lining Film Group, Silver has developed and produced the short film Trophy Wife (2010), which premiered at OutFest 2010. She is currently pursuing her MFA in film at Columbia University. About Independent Lens Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award winning weekly series airing on PBS. The acclaimed anthology series features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by Independent Television Service (ITVS), the series is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the MacArthur Foundation. The senior series producer is Lois Vossen. More information at www.pbs.org/independentlens/. Join Independent Lens on Facebook at www.facebook.com/independentlens.	<urn:uuid:4ef1397e-a314-4ccf-9144-7bd143170f78>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://itvs.org/films/revisionaries/photos-and-press-kit	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.958352	1,953	2.578125	3
On 31 January 1980, Guatemalan police stormed the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City where protestors had sought refuge. Thirty-seven people inside the building died as a result. Twenty-eight years on, no one has been held to account. Over a decade after the end of Guatemala's armed conflict, many of those responsible for its most brutal crimes continue to evade criminal prosecution. A ruling releasing two former officers from pre-extradition detention in Guatemala is the latest obstacle to justice for the victims of the 36-year conflict, which ended in 1996. In December, former army General Angel Aníbal Guevara Rodríguez and ex-Police Chief Pedro García Arredondo won an appeal to be released from provisional detention pending extradition. Spain has requested the extradition of both men, along with five others (including ex-president Efraín Ríos Montt), and wants to investigate them for crimes under international human rights law committed in Guatemala between 1978 and 1986. 31 January marks the 28th anniversary of one of those crimes: the massacre of 37 people in the Spanish Embassy fire is a brutal act for which no one has been punished. The Guatemalan court's decision in favour of the retired officers wrongly questions the well-established principle of universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity. It also suggests the crimes were political, and interprets this as meaning criminal responsibility could be waived. Amnesty International calls on the new administration - led by President Alvaro Colóm - to tackle the ongoing impunity for crimes under international law committed during the armed conflict. Mr Colóm's government must ensure the investigation and prosecution of these crimes. None of the cases brought against the ex-ruling military regime have advanced, while witnesses and victims with the courage to participate in them have faced intimidation, threats and attacks. The decision to release two of the officers severely undermines the possibility of a future extradition and strengthens the reign of impunity in Guatemala. Until those responsible are held accountable for the 200,000 disappearances and extrajudicial executions committed during the armed conflict, Guatemala’s victims will continue to be denied justice.	<urn:uuid:39513b8b-4c84-4351-b5b8-6c705c970da2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www-secure.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/war-crimes-go-unpunished-guatemala-20080131	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.966357	437	2.796875	3
The importance of having inverse functions leads us to the introduction to logarithms as the inverses of exponential functions. Solving exponential equations often involves using the ideas presented in the introduction to logarithms to simplify or access the variable for manipulation. To take the log of an exponential function helps us to use the exponentiated term. So for this episode what I want to do is take a look at the graph of f of x is equal to 2x. Okay, so I have my exponential function and I have a rough sketch of the graph. So looking at this we know that this graph is a function because for every x there's only one y. We also know that it is 1:1 because for every y there is one x. So because there it's 1:1, we know that the this graph, this function will have an inverse. What I want to do is find out what that inverse is. So if you remember back to our inverses, what we do is f of x is the same thing as y, so that y is equal to 2x and then to find the inverse we just switch our x and our y. So we end up with x is equal to 2 to the y. Okay. Our last step in finding the inverse was to solve this for y. The problem is, is that using the methods that we know there is no way to solve this for y. Okay? So what has been done is we have introduced a new function altogether. A logarithm function, okay? And how that works is this is the log base 2 of x is equal to y. These two statements are exactly the same, okay? This is called exponential form and this one over here is logarithmic form. And I'm a horrible speller, do hopefully I got that right. Key thing to remember, okay, and it's kind of hard to get used to this new log based this is a little subscript, sort of a new form but basically it's the exact same thing as this. What I do to remember this, okay, is two things. First is number 2 is called the base when you're dealing with exponential forms. The base of our exponential form becomes the base of our log, okay? So the base stays the base. The other way I tend to remember this is that if I'm putting something away from log formula. exponential form and we're going to spend some time going back and forth between these two, is that the 2 just sort of comes up and under the y and bumps the y up. So the 2 will come over up the y up and the log falls out, okay? So those are sort of the 2 ways you can remember it. The base stays the base and then then the 2 so that the base sort of comes up and under bumps the other side up, log falls away. Okay? Little bit of lingo to go along with this just so you know how to talk about this form. This is this is log base 2 of x, and obviously the 2 in this case is a completely random number. It could be a 3, it could be a 7, it could be 124 but basically, you say log, base number of whatever your inside function is in order to talk about this, okay. So starting with our exponential graph, we found the inverse. We couldn't solve for y so we invented this new way of writing it, okay? The 2 different ways of writing it and just thought of one other thing I want to talk about this [IB] number over here, is log base a of xy is basically [IB] of x so this side is the power to which you raise a to get x. Okay? Just in sense form I know that often [IB] hard to distinguish especially when I subtract like this but basically this is the same the sense is the same thing as this. We're trying to figure out a to what power will give us x. Okay? So logarithms. Basically it's the inverse of an exponential we cancel out for it so we had to invent this new function in order to deal with it. But hopefully as you deal with it you'll sort of understand how the whole logarithm thing works and it's not something too scary.	<urn:uuid:640aa9be-fca2-493d-bc35-8f3d472ad044>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.brightstorm.com/math/algebra-2/inverse-exponential-and-logarithmic-functions/introduction-to-logarithms--problem-1/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.970126	881	4.15625	4
Australia: workshop aimed at giving health professionals the knowledge to pass onto their community. YOUTH workers across Orange gathered this week to examine ways to stop the spread of the hepatitis C virus among youth in the central west. There are currently more than 3400 cases of hepatitis C in the western region of the state, with Orange youth workers determined to increase people’s understanding of the virus. Project officer on the education and development team at Hepatitis NSW Bruce Cherry said the workshop was aimed at giving health professionals the knowledge to pass onto their community. “It is the most common blood borne virus in Australia ... it’s one of the most common reasons for liver transplants,” Mr Cherry said. “The most common mode of transmission is blood-to-blood contact between people sharing other peoples injecting equipment. “It can also be contracted through unsterile tattooing or piercing equipment, and it is also possible for a hepatitis C positive mother to pass it on to her baby.” He said getting prevention messages to the community before they are exposed to hepatitis C is vital. The workshop saw representatives from various health services across Orange such as alcohol and drug services, rehabilitation services and community mental health. Senior constable Helen Baker attended the training and said the information will be helpful for her work with youth at risk. She said many young people don’t care about the virus, “they think they’re invincible and it isn’t going to happen to them. Many people who are infected with the virus are unaware they have it according to Mr Cherry, with a specific blood test required to look for it. Treatment of hepatitis C is available with a 50 to 80 per cent cure rate, depending on the genotype (sub group) of the virus. He said the government run workshops will continue across the state over the next few monthshttp://bit.ly/n3ZZnx	<urn:uuid:2408deb9-def9-40b3-940b-2f16a1ff35ea>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.worldhepatitisalliance.org/en/news.aspx?nid=58	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.955866	405	2.75	3
Animal Species:Tommyfish, Limnichthys fasciatus (Waite, 1904) The Tommyfish has a series of dark blotches on the back that give the fish a banded pattern.The species occurs in shallow tropical and temperate marine waters of the Western Pacific and Australia. Barred Sand Burrower, Sand-diver, Striped Sand-diver. The Tommyfish is an elongate fish that has a pointed snout and upwardly directed eyes. It can be recognised by its colouration. There is a series of dark blotches on the back that give the fish a banded pattern. It is pale below. This species was described in 1904 by former Australian Museum Fish Curator, Edgar Ravenswood Waite. The syntypes are stored in the Australian Museum Fish Collection (AMS I.5854, I.5855, I.5856 and I.5858). The Tommyfish looks similar to the Elegant Sandburrower, Limnichthys nitidus. They can be separated by the number of soft dorsal fin rays (49-55 in L. fasciatus vs. 44-51) and some of the dorsal saddles reaching a distinct lateral band versus no saddles reaching a lateral band. The Tommyfish grows to 6 cm in length. The species occurs in shallow tropical and temperate marine waters of the Western Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, the Kermadec Islands and possibly Japan. In Australia it is known from southern Western Australia to north-western Western Australia and the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, south to the southern coast of New South Wales and Lord Howe Island. The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Click on the map for detailed information. Source: Atlas of Living Australia. Distribution by collection data It is usually found on sandy or gravely substrates near rocky reefs. Other behaviours and adaptations The Tommyfish can very rapidly bury itself in sandy substrates. - Glover, C.J.M. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992. - Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437. - Nelson, J.S. 2001. Creediidae (=Limnichthyidae). Sandburrowers. p. 3513-3514. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 6. Bony fishes part 4 (Labridae to Latimeriidae), estuarine crocodiles. FAO, Rome. - Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557. Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology	<urn:uuid:53a4406d-25b5-4e53-b254-f543035db50d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/Tommyfish-Limnichthys-fasciatus-Waite-1904/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.83127	669	3	3
Ask the Experts: David Evans on spectrum disorders Posted: November 11, 2010 LEWISBURG, Pa. — Professor of Psychology David Evans, a developmental neuropsychologist, talks about repetitive, ritualistic behavior in children and the interplay between normal development and pathological behavior. Q: You study the relationship between so-called normal behavior and ritualistic and repetitive behavior such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Can you explain more about this relationship? A: There is an often-cited quote by psychologist Dante Cicchetti, who is a professor at the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. He said, "We can learn more about the normal functioning of an organism by studying its pathology, and likewise more about its pathology by studying the normal condition." Traditionally, in psychology and psychiatry, it was thought that the studies of normality and pathology could not inform each other so the idea that someone with a mental illness could be understood by understanding normal processes was pretty radical. I believe in order to study what is abnormal, you need to know what's normal. Some of the early work that drew parallels between normal and atypical development was conducted by one of my mentors at Yale University — Edward Zigler, who was a major figure in research on mental retardation (now referred to as intellectual disabilities). Ed was one of the first people to suggest that children with mental retardation take essentially the same path in their development as do their typically developing age-mates; they just go through development more slowly. There are essential similarities between children who might be considered "abnormal" and typically developing children. This places typically and atypically developing children on a spectrum, rather than viewing them as qualitatively different from each other. So by studying one group we are studying the other. Q: How does your research approach help us learn more about neuropsychiatric disorders? A: My specific interests involve the development of repetitive behavior. I draw parallels between the normal development of repetitive behavior and the kinds of repetitive behavior that appear in disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome and autism spectrum disorders. On the face of it, these disorders may appear to have little in common with normal development. With OCD for example, people feel compelled to engage in repetitive behavior like hand-washing or ordering and arranging, and the behaviors make them confused and upset. Tic disorders like Tourette's syndrome are different from obsessive-compulsive disorder, but they still involve strange habits and uncontrollable movements. And children with autism spectrum disorders have strong preferences for sameness in their everyday routines and are often sensitive to minute changes in the environment. But, interestingly, typically developing children also experience similar behaviors, albeit maybe less severe. For example many two-, three- or four-year-old children "need" to engage in a bedtime ritual or routine; they have strong preferences for certain foods and certain articles of clothing. They might even go through a period of body rocking, or head rolling — behaviors that resemble some aspects of autism. My work examines the parallels between normally developing rituals and habits, anxieties, fears and phobia, and how they relate to normal cognitive and brain development. So far it seems that there are many parallels — much more than previously thought. Q: Awareness of autism and spectrum disorders seems to have increased in recent years. Has there also been an increase in diagnoses of these cases? A: It's indisputable that there's an increase in diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders. The issue is why? Autism was first described in 1943 by Leo Kanner, a psychiatrist. He wrote the first paper on it that identified 11 children who had what we would now call autism. He took the disease entity approach, though. That is, either you have autism or you do not, and the symptoms he identified were restricted or repetitive behaviors, severe social impairment and language delay. In fact, historically about 75 percent of kids diagnosed with autism had no language at all. So the early definition of autism was probably what we would think of now as being pretty severe and limiting, and autism was considered quite rare. During the past 20 years, the concept of the autism spectrum has come into the fore of our culture. With the introduction of the concept of spectrum approach to disorders like autism, we look at things on a continuum. So a child who is a little bit socially awkward, who's got some kind of peculiar interests, we would say is "on the autism spectrum." Thirty years ago, we might have said that same child was kind of geeky or odd, but there would have been no diagnosis of autism. What's happened is that there has been a kind of heightened cultural awareness of the more subtle variants of these kinds of behaviors. Parents more and more are saying, "Something may be wrong. We need and want a diagnosis so my child can get the clinical and educational attention he or she needs." This may lead to over-diagnosis. Q: What are some of the reasons for increased or over-diagnosis? A: Increases in diagnoses of autism are likely due to increased awareness of the signs of autism, parental willingness to look for a diagnosis, and a loosening of the criteria on the part of clinicians to diagnose more subtle versions of what may or may not be autism. Part of the growth in diagnoses — not just of autism but a number of other clinical conditions as well — has been engendered by a growing appreciation for the importance of early intervention. So we want to identify problems as early as possible. By definition, autism has to emerge by age 3. But because it involves things like social development and language development, you are obviously not going to see many of the symptoms until language and social development start to emerge. All of these facts converging have created a cocktail for a movement that has resulted in what seems like an explosion of autism spectrum disorders in the effort to identify the earliest signs and symptoms — some of which may be part of normal development. Our understanding of what constitutes normal language development has far outstripped our understanding of what is normal in terms of other aspects of disorders like autism — repetitive behavior, for example. We don't really know what the standards for normal rituals, habits, routines, or even behaviors like head-banging or self-injury are. There is some risk therefore that we may be taking a child and diagnosing him or her when what we are seeing is normal variation in behavior. Q: In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about whether vaccines cause autism. Do they? Many studies have been conducted testing the "vaccination" hypothesis, and the evidence is clear: vaccinations do not cause autism. The agent that is used to bind multiple vaccines together —Thiomersol — was removed from the vaccinations administered to large populations of children, and the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders continued to increase. Something else is responsible for increases in the prevalence of the disorder, and this "something else" is likely is that there have been changes in the ways that diagnoses are being made and an increased awareness of the disorder. Q: There has been an emergence recently of reality television shows examining the phenomenon of hoarding. What is hoarding and is it a good thing to draw attention to? A: Hoarding is one manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it is not a new disorder. The fascinating thing about hoarding as a form of OCD is that one person can be an animal hoarder; one can hoard meaningless scraps of paper, pieces of string, newspapers, you name it. These are not people who have normal collections, and yet we know very little about what they do (or do not) have in common with "normal" collections. The American Psychiatric Association publishes a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders (DSM), which is the guideline for clinical psychiatrists to diagnose mental illnesses. In order to have OCD, the DSM says you have to have two things: obsessions and compulsions. Whether a given behavior is clinically significant depends less on what the behavior is, and more on the degree to which it interferes with your life. I consider OCD to be a hidden epidemic in that I think it's everywhere, and everyone's got some of it. In fact, I believe that some OC-tendencies may have had some evolutionary advantage in that they favored traits that keep us ordered, organized, clean and free from germs. But in OCD these normal adaptive tendencies have run amok. I think anything that brings public awareness such that people may feel more comfortable identifying that they might have a problem or that someone they know has a problem, is good. New editions of "Ask the Experts" will appear on the Bucknell website on most Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters and on occasion throughout the summer. If you have ideas for future questions or are a faculty or staff member who would like to participate, please contact Sam Alcorn. To learn more about faculty and staff experts who can speak on a variety of news topics, visit Bucknell's searchable Experts Guide. Contact: Division of Communications Next story >>	<urn:uuid:8a29a547-a30b-41b2-a8d8-e85ede4adaf2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.bucknell.edu/x65106.xml	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.97077	1,874	2.671875	3
Andy Kastner’s approach to kosher food is endearing on its face, but some goals of the larger movement to revise the meaning of what is kosher actually work at cross purposes with Jewish law (Oct. 12). Take for instance the movement’s opposition to even well-studied pesticides that are safe when used as approved. This increases the chance one will eat bugs — a serious violation. Products that have not undergone basic and safe steps to avoid infestation (which can be missed by inspection and basic washing) should not be deemed more kosher; they should be considered not kosher. Further, even the most modern methods of organic farming are inefficient compared with modern agriculture. Organic farming requires the use of more land and resources to produce the same amount of food at a higher cost. This violates both the law of baal tashchit (against waste) and the very notion of sustainability. These approaches, if adopted, will make food less kosher, no healthier, more expensive and worse for the environment. The movement should be seen for what it is — a distorted “green” ideology cloaked as adherence to Jewish law. American Council on Science and Health I was surprised that neither Samantha M. Shapiro nor some of the Orthodox experts she interviewed mentioned the fact that tzaar baalei hayyim, causing pain to animals, is a violation of Jewish law. In fact, the Talmud states clearly (Baba Metzia 31a-32b) that this is a biblical ordinance — not just the innovation of humans. RABBI GILBERT S. ROSENTHAL The National Council of Synagogues Sunday, October 26, 2008 A Kosher Exchange	<urn:uuid:40894cf2-a23c-4b23-80f5-f4dc7ab75e20>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.myrightword.blogspot.com/2008/10/kosher-exchange.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.937638	353	2.5625	3
Solingen (ots) - It's not a flashlight that will fit easily in your pocket: The Lichternacht (Festival of Lights) in Solingen, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, saw the unveiling of the world's largest flashlight yesterday. Made by Zweibrüder Optoelectronics, it's four meters long and features 19 high-powered LED lights. Thanks to the flashlight, the company has made it into the Guinness Book of Records. "This flashlight isn't just a high performer, it came about thanks to high performance - 230 hours of work went into its production," says Sven Objartel, managing director at Zweibrüder Optoelectronics. The lamp wasn't just devised with its size in mind - it also makes a strong statement for energy efficiency. Today's LED lights are up to 13 times more efficient than conventional light bulbs, and last 1000 times as long. LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are electronic light sources - based on semiconductors - that give off light when supplied with energy. If a luminous flux of 100,000 lumen is supplied to the flashlight, it consumes 1000 watts of energy. In comparison, 250 conventional 40-watt light bulbs consume 10,000 watts of energy. Facts and Figures on the Record Flashlight: \|Length \|approx. 400 cm \|...roughly equivalent to a VW \| \| \| \|Golf car \| \| \| \| \| \|Energy \|1300 watts \|...equivalent to the energy \| \|consumption \| \|consumption of a typical \| \| \| \|1-liter capacity kettle. \| \| \| \| \| \|LED life \|c. 100,000 hours \|...equivalent to over eleven \| \|expectancy \| \|years of uninterrupted \| \| \| \|illumination. \| About Zweibrüder Optoelectronics: Brothers Rainer und Harald Opolka set up Zweibrüder Optoelectronics in Solingen in 1993. Instead of using conventional light bulbs, the business focuses on LED technology. Today, Zweibrüder Optoelectronics employs over 1000 people in Germany and China and is amongst the world's leading manufacturers of LED metal flashlights. Annabelle Schleder, Manager and Director of Marketing Zweibrüder Optoelectronics Phone: +49 212 5948 156, Fax: +49 212 5948 256 Email: email@example.com	<urn:uuid:ed4b0bca-8959-4c47-9776-eaeef9218b02>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.presseportal.de/pm/50871/2118416/world-record-the-largest-ever-flashlight-is-from-germany-zweibrueder-optoelectronics-unveils-four	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.88588	522	2.640625	3
On March 22, Alaska's Mount Redoubt erupted for the first time in 20 years, a violent event followed by a number of smaller emissions. Last Thursday it again erupted dramatically, this time spewing forth a cloud some 11 miles (18 kilometers) tall, according to pilot reports cited by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO). That day Mount Redoubt was caught in the act by Landsat 5, a 25-year-old workhorse satellite used by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey for Earth observation. The volcano's plume of steam is visible in the center of the photograph; the dark curve leading upward from the plume is lahar (volcanic debris mixed with meltwater) streaming through the Drift River Valley. For more images of the valley following the initial eruption, see our slide show of Redoubt photos from the AVO. Deadline: Jun 29 2013 Reward: $7,000 USD The Seeker for this Challenge desires proposals for chemical methods that could rapidly degrade a dilute aqueous solution Deadline: Aug 31 2013 Reward: $100,000 USD The Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative (GBFAI) is launching the 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge whose Save 66% off the cover price and get a free gift! Learn More >>X	<urn:uuid:96af0698-b44d-4288-891a-914c14fa81e3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.scientificamerican.com/gallery_directory.cfm?photo_id=62A9DD62-0996-6CE5-3639D76BD94567AA	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.88634	275	3.171875	3
One aspect of the Titanic disaster that particularly caught the imagination of the public was the tremendous loss of life. Not only did hundreds die, but included in that number were some of the most wealthy, glamorous, and well-known people of the Western World. The passenger list was a veritable Who's Who of the rich and influential, including: - Mr. and Mrs. John Jacob Astor, wealthy banker. - Major Archibald Butts, Aide to President Taft. - J. Bruce Ismay, managing Director of the White Star Line. - William T. Stead, well-known English editor. - Isidor Strauss, wealthy New York merchant. - Frank Millet, noted artist. The public quickly latched onto tales of upper crust heroism (exaggerated, true and false): Major Butts' allegedly held off panicked men so women and children could enter lifeboats; Mrs. Strauss gave up her seat in a lifeboat in order to remain with her husband on the doomed ship; And Bruce Ismay's alleged cowardice, climbing aboard a lifeboat though women and children were waiting for places. All of these stories, and the accompanying photographs of the dead and living added to the Titanic legend. Some Notable Passengers Who Were on Board the Ill-Fated White Star Liner Titanic; Evening World (Roanoke, Va.), April 20, 1912 Some of the Women Whose Lives Were Saved Through Men's Self Sacrifice; Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 18, 1912 The Hungry Sea/Baltimorean in Titanic Disaster; Baltimore Morning Sun, April 18, 1912	<urn:uuid:1ae4344d-adb7-43e2-8a21-82a92f7d6160>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.lva.virginia.gov/exhibits/titanic/titded.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.936847	334	2.65625	3
In a worst-case scenario, kit foxes could suffer a devastating epidemic… (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ) The first documented outbreak of canine distemper in desert kit foxes has spread beyond its origins at a construction site west of Blythe and could take a heavy toll on the species, state wildlife biologists said Tuesday. Biologists have nearly given up hope of containing the deadly virus. It was first diagnosed in October during construction at the $1-billion Genesis Solar Energy Project site, about 25 miles west of Blythe. Eight of the cat-sized foxes died there. Since then, distemper has been detected in living kit foxes and two dead ones up to 11 miles south of Genesis, said Deana Clifford, wildlife veterinarian for the California Department of Fish and Game. Although 11 miles isn't far in the Mojave Desert, spread of the disease even a few miles shows that efforts to stop it failed and it is now free to spread among the region's large population of kit foxes. "I am hopeful that a certain number of kit foxes will survive and develop a resistance," Clifford said. "We are trying to figure out if the disease will calm down or trigger a new cycle among the next vulnerable group of animals: newborn pups that will wean in May or June." In a worst-case scenario, kit foxes could suffer an epidemic similar to one that nearly wiped out the island fox population on Santa Catalina Island in 1999. Thanks to aggressive steps by the Catalina Island Conservancy, including vaccinations and captive breeding, the wild fox population recovered nicely. Tackling the disease on the mainland presents much greater challenges. So far, nine desert kit foxes have been outfitted with radio collars featuring a mortality signal that pulses twice as fast as normal if the animal has not moved in six hours, biologists said. Twenty-nine desert kit foxes have received a vaccine specifically developed for use in species that are very sensitive to the virus. But Clifford acknowledged that the state lacks the resources to monitor the entire desert. Biologists are certain the outbreak began at Genesis. DNA analyses of tissue from the dead foxes should identify the strain of virus, which could provide clues about the host animal. It could have been a wandering dog or one accompanied by its owner, or possibly a wild badger or some other wild carnivore, biologists said. State veterinarians have speculated that kit foxes at Genesis were more vulnerable to the disease because they were under the stress of hazing techniques used to force them from the site in advance of construction. Workers removed sources of food and cover, sprinkled urine from coyotes — a primary fox predator — around den entrances, and used shovels and axes to excavate about 20 dens that had been unoccupied for at least three consecutive days. The possibility of a link between those techniques and the outbreak should prompt government officials to reevaluate methods of dealing with kit foxes at solar sites, said Lisa Belenky, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. Once the disease was discovered at Genesis, electric wires were installed along the top of knee-high fences to discourage kit foxes from reentering the area where the outbreak occurred. The electric wires were not completely effective, however. On Feb. 1, a biologist tracked the source of electronic signals from a radio-collared female kit fox to a large tool box in the bed of a truck on the work site, California Energy Commission officials said. The biologist asked the driver of the vehicle to open the tool box. The driver said he could not because the keys were locked inside the box. The next morning, the biologist found the dead fox under a water tower about 100 feet from where the transmitter signal peaked the day before. The state took no action because evidence of wrongdoing was inconclusive, commission spokeswoman Sandy Louey said. A necropsy later found that the kit fox died of distemper, Clifford said. Genesis spokesman Steven Stengel said the developer, NextEra Energy Resources, is working closely with state agencies on the outbreak.	<urn:uuid:ee27087a-e9f4-4799-9808-9018698a91b3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/18/local/la-me-0418-foxes-distemper-20120418	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.96399	845	3.125	3
Deep in the perfumed forests of Papua New Guinea By Guy Jowett A repeated sharp knocking sound interrupts the busy chirrups, trills and cackles of a million insects and birds deep in the steamy, dense rainforest of Papua New Guinea. The disturbance comes not from an exotic, newly-discovered woodpecker, but from a machete being brought down on its target by Tony, a local from the East Sepik village of Pukapuki. In a land once famed for its fearsome head-hunters, it’s a relief to report that nowadays the machete-wielding hunters have recently found a rather different commodity to prize — agarwood. Tony delivers a final blow, then holds aloft a rather unimpressive looking chunk of wood. It has been splintered from an equally unimposing tree — certainly unremarkable when compared to the towering forest that surrounds us. However, its discovery was greeted with great excitement. But with the likes of gold, copper, oil and gas already discovered in Papua New Guinea (PNG), not to mention the vast timber resources, why is agarwood considered so important? The sweet smell of resin “What makes it so valuable is its smell,” says WWF’s sustainable resource use trainer Leo Sunari. “When these trees are injured or infected — maybe by certain insects, maybe by other means, we’re not too sure yet — they produce this dark resin in response.” The resin’s long-lasting fragrance has made agarwood (also referred to as eaglewood and aloeswood, and more locally as gaharu) popular for thousands of years throughout Asia and the Middle East, where it’s used for cultural, religious and medicinal purposes, and as a perfume. Worldwide sources are now dwindling, so its discovery in PNG in 1997 spurred intense harvesting. “They were going crazy,” Leo recalls. “The trees were being chopped down and the roots dug up, because that’s where they thought the infection was most likely to be.” To curb the rate of destruction, WWF has been working with local communities in PNG — who own about 97 per cent of the land — offering workshops to help them map their land, predict where the agarwood trees are, and develop ways of managing their resources sustainably. “As part of that work, we’re teaching them how to extract the agarwood resin without killing the trees,” adds Leo. “And, we’re making sure they know its real value, so they’re not ripped off by traders.” WWF is also helping communities designate certain regions as official wildlife management areas, which will help to protect them from being handed over as concessions to loggers and mining companies. All in all, agarwood could provide a long-term sustainable livelihood for some of the poorest people in the country. It will also boost the survival prospects of the world’s third largest remaining rainforest and all the wonders it contains. A strange and beautiful land Alfred Russel Wallace, the Victorian anthropologist and biologist who, along with Charles Darwin, hit upon the theory of natural selection, travelled to the equatorial island of New Guinea in 1858, describing it as “a country which contained more strange and new and beautiful natural objects than any other part of the globe”. So far, I had been focusing — all too unsuccessfully — on avoiding much of this “strange and beautiful” fauna and flora, as I’d battled for three hours in the heat of the day somewhere in the province of East Sepik, in the north-west of the country. Razor-sharp fronds and spiny creepers reached from on high to snare me, and a maze of buttressed tree roots were hell-bent on tripping me up. Sloshing through countless streams resulted in a coating of leeches. Now permitted a short breather, I take in some of the natural wealth for myself. New Guinea has more than its fair share of the stuff, much of it unique to the islands. A huge butterfly flutters by me, like a massive leaf tumbling gently down, and it strikes me that this is truly a land of giants. The Queen Alexandra birdwing butterfly is the world’s largest, with a whopping 30cm wingspan. If lizards are your thing, the longest you’ll find anywhere is here — Salvadori’s monitor lizard, measuring in at 2.5m. And pigeon fanciers are in for a treat. Not only are these the biggest, but they also sport superb crowns of feathers. Or if you’re after weird and wonderful, there’s a mammal that lays eggs — the long-beaked echidna (or giant spiny anteater) which, despite its alias, rather prefers juicy earthworms to ants. And PNG’s marsupials range from many types of kangaroo that have decided it’s better to live up in the trees, to the bronze quoll (or marsupial “cat”), which is the largest marsupial predator here. Not that the quoll is very big. And, it’s precisely this lack of large predators that’s behind the incredible diversity of birds in New Guinea — 762 species were identified in a recent census. Most famous are its 38 of the world’s 42 species of birds of paradise. These extraordinary birds, with their fantastic courtship displays and resplendent plumage, were once considered too magical to be from this planet — it was thought instead that they hovered between heaven and earth. Words from the magistrate After a long day’s hike through some of the country’s most inhospitable terrain, it’s time for a little more of the same before spending the night in a small shack, open on all sides to the elements. Tony wields his machete once more to construct a quick makeshift bed from a few vast palm leaves. His ease in using what the forest has to offer is a sign of how closely connected these people are with their environment. It’s a theme I take up the next day with a Pukapuki elder, introduced to me simply as “The Magistrate”. “The forests are our lives,” says the Magistrate who has donned his traditional dress of feathers, flowers and shells, which highlight a close relationship with nature. “We rely on them not just for building materials, but also medicines, food and fuel.” Transportation too. Pukapuki, like most villages, is right next to a river. Here it’s the April River, a tributary of the mighty Sepik, one of PNG’s two most important waterways, which snakes 1,100km through the north of the country, and is considered the soul of the country. There are no roads in this region. To get around, villagers rely on long, thin canoes carved from tall trees. “Today, we have to go much further to find good trees for making canoes, or to hunt for wild pigs, when before there were many nearby,” adds the Magistrate who has noticed the effects of resources being over-harvested during his lifetime. The next generation Sitting by a small fire, darkness has fallen almost in an instant, giving the insects their cue to beef up the noise to a deafening level. Above it all, I manage a few words with Bernard Sepani, 25, a local who is helping WWF to map local forest resources. “Our needs are limited,” he says. “All we really need is just some money for education and healthcare.” We’re interrupted by a huge insect buzzing around a lantern, which prompts Bernard to add lanterns and kerosene to the list of needs. He’d also like another water filter to safeguard the village freshwater supply. And, when pressed, dreams of an outboard motor for the dug-out canoe, which would improve transportation to neighbouring village markets. It’s a far cry from the satellite TV and brick-built houses promised by some mining and logging companies in return for rights to their land. “That’s a real challenge, trying to convince communities that the sustainable approach is best in the long-term,” notes Ted Mamu, WWF’s conservation science coordinator in PNG. “People go with the wind. When loggers come with hard cash, why wouldn’t they go for that instead?” As well as our ongoing battle with international mining and logging companies, WWF is simply trying to formalize a process that’s been going on for centuries — allowing people to live in harmony with nature. That is why the global conservation organization is working to ensure there are plans in place that will enable them to continue to do so, despite the huge expected population increase, and pressures of development. That night, the magistrate’s wife gives birth to their third child, a boy. When he is Bernard’s age, today’s new nurseries of agarwood trees may be mature enough to produce a steady supply of valuable incense, and along with it a strong income that will sustain his people. In the meantime, there are great hopes for other sources of income — from cash crops to ecotourism, as well as for certified forest management. And, while it’s early days yet, the good news is that WWF is already hard at work here, in one of the very few places on Earth where there’s still an opportunity to save large areas of wilderness. Gazing out into the darkness, I soak up the unforgettable sounds of PNG’s “strange and new and beautiful” nature, and find myself rooting for this land of wonders and its fabulous potential. * Guy Jowett is the Publications Editor at WWF-UK • WWF is collaborating with local authorities and other non-government organizations to provide education and training to local communities about the importance of agarwood as a resource, and encouraging sustainable management of the industry. These training workshops come under a project funded by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. As part of a pilot project, agarwood management teams have been set up in selected locations around PNG to work directly with rural agarwood farmers in practicing and promoting sustainable harvest and trade of agarwood industry. Sites already selected include: the Hunstein Range and Karawari River in East Sepik Province, Vailala in Gulf Province and Cape Rodney in the Central Province, and Maramuni in Enga Province. • PNG forms the eastern half of New Guinea, just above the northernmost tip of Australia. Its geographical location is important, being at something of a tectonic crossroads where Australasia, Asia and the Pacific Ocean floor all meet. The geologically recent jostling between these three has created steep mountains and valleys that form great barriers across the country, leaving neighbouring areas cut off from one another, and unique wildlife developing in splendid isolation. The remarkable array of species, many found only here, put New Guinea among the world’s top 10 places for biodiversity.	<urn:uuid:c868e5a7-dcfa-41de-9a9c-cce5c2161962>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/new_guinea_forests/publications_new_guinea_forests/?24015/Deep-in-the-perfumed-forests-of-Papua-New-Guinea	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.955593	2,380	2.9375	3
By now most well-informed people are aware that global oil production may soon reach its all-time peak, and that the consequences will likely be severe. Already many important oil-producing nations (such as the United States, Indonesia, and Iran) and some whole regions (such as the North Sea) are past their production maximums. With nearly every passing year another country reaches a production plateau or begins its terminal decline. Meanwhile global rates of oil discovery have been falling since the early 1960s, as has been confirmed by ExxonMobil. All of the 100 or so supergiant fields that are collectively responsible for about half of current world production were discovered in the 1940s, '50s, '60s, and '70s. No fields of comparable size have been found since then; instead, exploration during recent years has turned up only much smaller fields that deplete relatively quickly. The result is that today only one new barrel of oil is being discovered for every four that are extracted and used. World leaders are hampered in their ability to assess the situation by a lack of consistent data. Proven petroleum reserve figures look reassuring: the world has roughly a trillion barrels yet to produce, perhaps more; indeed, official reserves figures have never been higher. However, circumstantial evidence suggests that some of the largest producing nations have inflated their reserves figures for political reasons. Meanwhile oil companies routinely (and legitimately) report reserve growth for fields discovered decades ago. In addition, reserves figures are often muddied by the inclusion of non-conventional petroleum resources, such oil sands - which do need to be taken into account, but in a separate category, as their rates of extraction are limited by factors different from those that constrain the production of conventional crude. As a consequence of all of these practices, oil reserves data tend to give an impression of expansion and plenty, while discovery and depletion data do the opposite. This apparent conflict in the data invites dispute among experts as to when the global oil peak is likely to occur. Some analysts say that the world is virtually at its peak of production now; others contend that the event can be delayed for two decades or more through enhanced investment in exploration, the adoption of new extraction technologies, and the substitution of non-conventional petroleum sources (oil sands, natural gas condensates, and heavy oil) for conventional crude. However, there is little or no disagreement that a series of production peaks is now within sight - first, for conventional non-OPEC oil; then for conventional oil globally; and finally for all global conventional and non-conventional petroleum sources combined. Moreover, even though there may be dispute as to the timing of these events, it is becoming widely acknowledged that the world peak in all combined petroleum sources will have significant global economic consequences. Mitigation efforts will require many years of work and trillions of dollars in investment. Even if optimistic forecasts of the timing of the global production peak turn out to be accurate, the world is facing an historic change that is unprecedented in scope and depth of impact. Due to systemic dependence on oil for transportation, agriculture, and the production of plastics and chemicals, every sector of every society will be affected. Efforts will be needed to create alternative sources of energy, to reduce demand for oil through heightened energy efficiency, and to redesign entire systems (including cities) to operate with less petroleum. These efforts will be challenging enough in the context of a stable economic environment. However, if prices for oil become extremely volatile, mitigation programs could be undermined. While high but stable prices would encourage conservation and investment in alternatives, prices that repeatedly skyrocket and then plummet could devastate entire economies and discourage long-term investment. Actual shortages of oil - of which price shocks would be only a symptom - would be even more devastating. The worst impacts would be suffered by those nations, and those aspects of national economies, that could not obtain oil at any price affordable to them. Supply interruptions would likely occur with greater frequency and for increasing lengths of time as global oil production gradually waned. Efforts to plan a long-term energy transition would be frustrated, in both importing and exporting countries. Meanwhile the perception among importers that exporting nations were profiteering would foment animosities and an escalating likelihood of international conflict. In short, the global peak in oil production is likely to lead to economic chaos and extreme geopolitical tensions, raising the spectres of war, revolution, terrorism, and even famine, unless nations adopt some method of cooperatively reducing their reliance on oil. A Plan for Global Powerdown The Oil Depletion Protocol provides a way forward (the text appears at the end of this article). It was drafted by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil; however, the source of the document is of little importance - only its substance is of interest. While it is merely a suggested outline and will require fleshing out and detailed negotiation, the Protocol is inherently simple. As will be clear from the Discussion below, it would be unnecessary for all nations to ratify the Protocol in order for it to have a beneficial effect; if even one nation adopts it, that nation will be benefited. However, if a substantial number of nations sign on this will create a platform for international economic stability and cooperation. The Protocol will be presented at several important international conferences attended by world leaders in late 2005. Efforts will also be made to publicize and communicate it to the general public. It is hoped that a few courageous politicians in each country will understand its importance and bring it before their governing bodies for consideration and adoption. How Would It Work? The idea of the Protocol is inherently straightforward: oil importing nations would agree to reduce their imports by an agreed-upon yearly percentage (the World Oil Depletion Rate), while exporting countries would agree to reduce their rate of exports by their national Depletion Rate. The concept of the Depletion Rate is perhaps the most challenging technical aspect of the Protocol, yet even it is easy to grasp given a little thought. Clearly, each country has a finite endowment of oil from nature; thus, when the first barrel has been extracted, there is accordingly one less left for the future. What is left for the future consists of two elements: first, how much remains in known oilfields, termed Remaining Reserves; and second, how much remains to be found in the future (termed Yet-to-Find). How much is Yet-to-Find may be reasonably estimated by extrapolating the discovery trend of the past. The Depletion Rate equals the total yet-to-produce divided by the yearly amount currently being extracted. Let us explore a few examples: Norway is a country that reports exceptionally accurate reserve estimates. The total produced to-date is 18.5 billion barrels (Gb), and 11.3 Gb remain in known fields, with about 2 left to find, giving a rounded total of 32 Gb. It follows that 13.5 Gb are left to produce. In 2004, 1.07 Gb were extracted, giving a Depletion Rate of 7.4 percent (1.07/13.5). This is a comparatively high rate, typical of an offshore environment. In the case of the US (considering only the lower 48 states and excluding deepwater), the corresponding numbers are: produced to-date, 173 Gb; Remaining Reserves, 24 Gb; Yet-to-Find, 2 Gb - meaning that there are 27 Gb left. Annual production in 2004 was 1.3 Gb, giving a Depletion Rate of 4.6 percent (1.3/27). For the world as a whole, 944 Gb have been produced; 772 remain in known fields; and an estimated 134 Gb is Yet-to-Find, meaning that 906 Gb are left. Production of conventional oil in 2004 was 24 Gb, so the Depletion Rate is 2.59 percent (24/906). These estimates exclude non-conventional oil - oil shales, bitumen (oil sands), extra-heavy oil, heavy oil, deepwater oil, polar oil, and liquids from gasfield plants. Most oil produced to date has been of the conventional variety, which will dominate all supply far into the future, so it makes sense to concentrate on this category. It must be stressed that current Reserves estimates in the public domain are grossly unreliable, and one of the purposes of the Protocol is to secure better information. The assessed Depletion Rate for each country, and eventually for the World as whole, is subject to revision when better information becomes available, but the resulting correction of the Depletion Rate will not be large, probably causing it to vary by less than one percent. The Depletion Protocol would require importers to reduce their imports by the World Depletion Rate (i.e., 2.5 percent) each year in order to put demand into balance with world supply. As stated earlier, exporters would reduce their production according to their national Depletion Rate. Thus Norway would reduce its production by 7.4 percent each year (that country's production is already declining at an even higher rate). The imposition on the producing countries represents no great burden, since few can now increase their rate of production in any case, and many are experiencing declining production for purely geological reasons, as is the case with Norway and the US. Agreeing to produce less oil would not inhibit exploration because new finds would lower the national Depletion Rate, and thus permit a higher rate of export than would otherwise be the case. The main thrust of the Protocol would be to require importers to cut imports, but the inclusion of producers in the provisions would stimulate greater cooperation between the two factions. Any indigenous production in a country that was a net importer would not be likely to provide that country with an unfair advantage, as production within most importing countries is already declining at a rate higher than the World Depletion Rate. How importers dealt internally with the import restriction would be up to them (though strategies both to obtain supplies of alternative fuels and to reduce demand for oil would doubtless be required). Some might wish to introduce an energy allowance as a form of tradable ration (as will be discussed in more detail below). Questions and Possible Objections The Protocol may at first look like merely a good idea with no real chance of implementation. However, closer inspection suggests that its implementation will benefit nearly all important global stakeholders and that objections likely to be raised to it are easily countered. What if forecasts of a near-term peak in global oil production are wrong? Won't there be a cost to preparing for the oil peak too early? In practical terms, won't this mean voluntarily choking off economic growth? Because so much is at stake, it is important that these vital questions be addressed not just by partisan participants in the debate over the timing of the oil-production peak (the so-called "oil optimists" and the "oil pessimists"); some independent assessment is required of the costs of preparing too soon versus the costs of preparing too late. Fortunately, such an assessment has already been undertaken - "Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, & Risk Management," a Report prepared by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for the US Department of Energy, released in February 2005, and authored principally by Robert L. Hirsch (hereinafter referred to as "the SAIC Report"). The SAIC Report concludes that substantial mitigation of the economic, social, and political impacts of Peak Oil can come only from efforts both to increase energy supplies from alternative sources and to reduce demand for oil. With regard to the claim that efficiency measures will be enough to forestall dire impacts, Hirsch et al. note that, "While greater end-use efficiency is essential, increased efficiency alone will be neither sufficient nor timely enough to solve the problem. Production of large amounts of substitute liquid fuels will be required." Further, "Mitigation will require a minimum of a decade of intense, expensive effort, because the scale of liquid fuels mitigation is inherently extremely large." Hirsch, et al., also point out that "The problems associated with world oil production peaking will not be temporary, and past 'energy crisis' experience will provide relatively little guidance." The SAIC Report agrees that mitigation efforts undertaken too soon would exact a cost on society. However, it concludes that, "If peaking is imminent, failure to initiate timely mitigation could be extremely damaging. Prudent risk management requires the planning and implementation of mitigation well before peaking. Early mitigation will almost certainly be less expensive than delayed mitigation." What if the pessimists are right and the world is at its peak of oil production now? In that case, is it too late to implement the Depletion Protocol? If the world reaches the peak of production within the next two years there will be too little time to undertake major mitigation efforts prior to the event, and therefore there are likely to be severe economic, social, and political impacts, as outlined in the SAIC Report. However, in that case the need for the Protocol should quickly and widely become apparent. While all nations will suffer from higher prices and shortages, only a cooperative system of national and international quotas will avert the even more extreme economic and geopolitical crises that would otherwise ensue. Why can't the market take care of the problem? Won't high prices stimulate more exploration and the development of alternatives? Wouldn't interference with market mechanisms be harmful? The SAIC Report's authors dismiss the claim that the market will solve any shortage problems arising from global oil production peak, with higher oil prices stimulating investments in alternative energy sources, more efficient cars, and so on. Price signals warn only of immediate scarcity. However, the mitigation efforts needed in order to prepare for the global oil production peak and thus to head off shortages and price spikes must be undertaken many years in advance of the event. Hirsch, et al., maintain that, "Intervention by governments will be required, because the economic and social implications of oil peaking would otherwise be chaotic. The experiences of the 1970s and 1980s offer important guides as to government actions that are desirable and those that are undesirable, but the process will not be easy." Historically, oil production has often been managed by governments or by cartels. In petroleum's early days, free-market boom-and-bust cycles bankrupted many players (including the "father" of the oil industry, Edwin Drake). Soon John D. Rockefeller brought a certain order to the situation through the creation of the Standard Oil Trust (in doing so he squeezed out many competitors and personally profited to an extraordinary degree). This regime came to an end in 1911, when the US Government broke up Standard Oil after prosecution for violation of anti-trust laws. Starting in the 1930s, with the US in position to control global oil prices, the Texas Railroad Commission capped production levels in order to stabilize the market. After US oil production peaked in 1971 and that nation lost its ability to control global prices, petroleum's center of gravity shifted to the Middle East, and OPEC began mandating production quotas for its members in order to keep prices within a desirable band. While the management of oil prices globally thus has precedents, the situation in the future will be fundamentally different than heretofore, in that previously the problem was too much oil and collapsing prices that offered little incentive for exploration. The situation the world will soon face is that of insufficient supply leading to extreme price shocks, price volatility, and acute shortages. Thus a new kind of management scheme will be required. How will adoption of the Protocol affect importers and exporters differently? Importers: No one doubts that industrial nations will find it difficult to sustain economic growth while using less oil on a yearly basis. Thus the voluntary adoption of the Protocol by importers would seem disadvantageous - a "tough sell." However, it must be recognized that a decline in the availability of oil is inevitable in any case; only the timing of the onset of decline is uncertain. Without a structured agreement in place to limit imports, nations will be inclined to put off preparations for the energy transition until prices soar, at which time such a transition will become far more difficult because of the ensuing chaotic economic conditions. With the Protocol in place, importers will be able to count on stable prices and can then more easily undertake the difficult but necessary process of planning for a future with less oil. Poor importing countries may object that by using less petroleum they will have to forego conventional economic development. However, further development that is based on the use of petroleum will merely create structural dependency on a depleting resource. Without the Protocol, these nations will be financially bled by high and volatile prices. With the Protocol in place and with prices stabilized, these nations will be able to afford to import the oil they absolutely need; meanwhile they will have every incentive to develop their economies in a way that is not petroleum-dependent. Exporters: Economies that are based primarily on income from the extraction and export of natural resources often tend to give rise to governments that are more responsive to the interests of powerful foreign resource buyers than they are to the needs of their own citizens. Thus it is in the interest of resource-exporting countries to develop indigenous industries in order to diversify their economies. Countries that depend primarily on income from oil exports will need to wean themselves from this dependence eventually in any case, as their oilfields are depleted; the Protocol provides them a means of making the transition in a way that will allow for long-term planning. Without the Protocol, smaller exporting nations will likely be at the mercy of militarily powerful importers. The Protocol will provide a means of minimizing external political interference in these nations' affairs. As a result, much international tension and conflict, including the threat of terrorism, can be minimized - which will be a help also to the wealthy importers. How will the oil companies be affected? Without the Protocol, the oil companies may enjoy record revenues - for a time. But they will be demonized for profiting from the misery of the rest of society; meanwhile, they will be hampered in their operations by the destabilization of national economies resulting from wildly gyrating oil prices. As noted earlier, the Standard Oil Trust, the Texas Railroad Commission, and OPEC all provided production-rationing mechanisms that brought order out of what would otherwise have been chaotic situations. The oil companies (sometimes reluctantly) accepted these mechanisms, recognizing that a stable economic environment was more important to them in the long run than the opportunity to make momentary windfall profits. With the Protocol, the oil companies will remain profitable, they will have the incentive to undertake further exploration, and they will be able to plan for decades ahead. They will also be motivated to become more generalized energy companies (rather than remaining merely oil companies) and thus to invest in the development of alternative energy sources. There is already evidence that the oil companies are concerned about a public backlash as gasoline prices soar: ChevronTexaco has initiated an expensive public-relations campaign titled "Will You Join Us?", featuring a web site (www.willyoujoinus.com) and expensive newspaper ads informing readers that "the era of easy oil is over" and asking for public discussion on the issue. The Oil Depletion Protocol will provide more long-term security for the petroleum industry than any PR campaign ever could, and at no cost. Won't both importers and exporters be tempted to cheat? How would the Protocol be enforced? The Protocol will require a system for monitoring production, exports, and imports - which cannot be hidden to a large degree in any case. Enforcement will require the establishment of a Secretariat for adjudication of disputes and claims, and a system of economic penalties to be negotiated by the agreeing nations. How can nations adjust internally to having less oil? Withdrawal from oil dependency will be an immense challenge that will require cooperation and compromise on everyone's part. Efforts will be needed both to create supplies of alternative fuels and to reduce the demand for oil. The latter task will be much easier if systems are designed to make it in individuals' interest not only to reduce their own oil dependency but also to persuade others to reduce theirs. One such system for creating collective motivation and cooperation consists of Domestic Tradable Quotas, or DTQs. DTQs can be used to ration all hydrocarbon energy sources (in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) or specific fuels such as oil. For the sake of discussion, let us assume the use of DTQs for petroleum only, as a way of implementing the Depletion Protocol within nations. First, a national Petroleum Budget would be drawn up, based on the nation's indigenous production and oil imports as mandated by the Oil Depletion Protocol. A segment of the Petroleum Budget would then be issued as an unconditional entitlement to all adults and divided equally among them; the remainder would be auctioned to industry, commercial users, and government. The units could then be bought and sold, so that users unable to cope with their ration could increase it, while others who kept their fuel consumption low could sell and trade their Petro-units on the national market. All transactions would be carried out electronically, using technologies and systems already in place for direct debit systems and credit cards. When consumers (citizens, businesses, or the government) made purchases of fuel, they would surrender their quota to the energy retailer, accessing their quota account by (for instance) using their Petro-card or direct debit. The retailer would then surrender the carbon units when buying energy from the wholesaler. Finally, the primary energy provider would surrender units back to the National Register when the company pumped or imported the oil. This closes the loop. All purchases of petroleum would be made with Petro-units, whether the oil were used as fuel or as feedstock for plastics or chemicals. So long as the petroleum remained fuel, Petro-units would have to be passed back up the line, starting with the end user. However, if the petroleum were incorporated as feedstock into the manufacturing of a product (e.g., plastics), the manufacturer would simply add the cost of the Petro-units into the cost of the product. Thus, in the case of feedstocks, the manufacturer of goods would be the presumed end user. Purchasers not having any Petro-units to offer at point of sale - foreign visitors, people who had forgotten their card or cashed-in all their quota as soon as they received it - would buy a quota at point of purchase, then immediately surrender it in exchange for fuel, but would pay a cost penalty for this (i.e., the bid-and-offer spread quoted by the market). DTQs place everyone in the same boat: households, industry, and government would have to work together, facing the same Petroleum Budget, and trading on the same market for Petro-units. Everyone would have a stake in the system. All would have the sense that their own efforts at conservation were not being wasted by the energy profligacy of others, and that the system was fair. Moreover, DTQs are guaranteed to be effective, because the only fuel that could be purchased would be fuel within the Budget. The Budget would set a long time-horizon so that people would have the motivation and information they needed to take action in the present to achieve drastic reductions in oil use over a 20-year timeframe. What if only a few nations sign on? Won't the Protocol be ineffectual if a few large exporters or importers refuse to do so? At first it might seem that those nations not adopting the Protocol would achieve an advantage. However, any temporary benefit would be purchased at the expense of later economic calamity. As discussed in the SAIC Report, nations that embark on the energy transition sooner will be much better off than those procrastinating. What about natural gas and coal - should there be similar protocols for these? Might countries simply burn more coal to make up for having less oil? The Oil Depletion Protocol will not preclude other agreements aimed at reducing fossil fuel usage in order to avoid impacts to the global climate, but it will be more ambitious in its reduction trajectory than the Kyoto Protocol or the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. If nations' experience with the Oil Depletion Protocol is positive, this will provide motivation for the forging of similar agreements covering these other fossil fuels. How can the process of adopting the Oil Depletion Protocol begin? A program to win implementation of the Protocol must focus on educating both the general public and top-level decision-makers. Adoption of the Protocol will require that a few policy makers champion it and bring it before their national parliament or congress. If even one country adopts the Protocol, this will help to open a global discussion. At the same time, it is important that citizens understand the issues and what is at stake, as pressure on elected officials from below will help focus the latter's attention on the matter. In the near future, a program will be underway to obtain endorsements of the Protocol from prominent organizations and individuals. This article is part of a preliminary effort to inform the public of both the Peak Oil issue and the Oil Depletion Protocol. Please help by copying this article and sending it to family, friends, colleagues, the media, and elected officials. This may be our last, best opportunity to avert resource wars, terrorism, and economic collapse as we enter the second half of the Age of Oil. WHEREAS the passage of history has recorded an increasing pace of change, such that the demand for energy has grown rapidly in parallel with the world population over the past two hundred years since the Industrial Revolution; WHEREAS the energy supply required by the population has come mainly from coal and petroleum, having been formed but rarely in the geological past, such resources being inevitably subject to depletion; WHEREAS oil provides ninety percent of transport fuel, essential to trade, and plays a critical role in agriculture, needed to feed the expanding population; WHEREAS oil is unevenly distributed on the Planet for well-understood geological reasons, with much being concentrated in five countries, bordering the Persian Gulf; WHEREAS all the major productive provinces of the World have been identified with the help of advanced technology and growing geological knowledge, it being now evident that discovery reached a peak in the 1960s, despite technological progress, and a diligent search; WHEREAS the past peak of discovery inevitably leads to a corresponding peak in production during the first decade of the 21st Century, assuming no radical decline in demand; WHEREAS the onset of the decline of this critical resource affects all aspects of modern life, such having grave political and geopolitical implications; WHEREAS it is expedient to plan an orderly transition to the new World environment of reduced energy supply, making early provisions to avoid the waste of energy, stimulate the entry of substitute energies, and extend the life of the remaining oil; WHEREAS it is desirable to meet the challenges so arising in a co-operative and equitable manner, such to address related climate change concerns, economic and financial stability and the threats of conflicts for access to critical resources. NOW IT IS PROPOSED THAT (Note: the Oil Depletion Protocol has elsewhere been published as "The Rimini Protocol" and "The Uppsala Protocol." All of these documents are essentially identical.) On Oil Depletion: On Domestic Tradable Quotas (DTQs): On the SAIC Report: Richard Heinberg is the author of Powerdown - Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World. He is a journalist, educator, editor, and lecturer, and a Core Faculty member of New College of California, where he teaches courses on "Energy and Society" and "Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community." If you wish to republish any of these essays [from MuseLetter} or post them on a web site, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org for permission.	<urn:uuid:290a311e-d5bf-4e18-b2a5-95cd7157ce75>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.energybulletin.net/print/7552	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.958525	5,782	3.53125	4
KANSAS WILD TURKEY POPULATION CONTINUES GROWTH Birds expanding range, increasing hunting opportunity The return of the wild turkey from virtual extirpation to a healthy and growing population is one of the great conservation success stories in Kansas. In the 1950s, wild turkeys were almost impossible to find in the state, but thanks to a trap-and-transplant program beginning in the early 1960s, the Sunflower State's first turkey season was held in 1974. Only a handful of permits were available, and hunting was limited to the southcentral and southwestern parts of the state. Since then, continued management combined with the remarkable adaptability of the wild turkey has created excellent turkey hunting in much of the state. Although turkey populations in portions of western and southwestern Kansas remain limited, most of the rest of the state boasts populations great enough to allow hunting in both spring and fall. (The western region, Unit 4, remains closed to fall turkey hunting.) In fact, the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission recently approved regulations expanding the boundaries of Unit 3 in 2007; multiple turkey permits and tags may be obtained in Unit 3 in the spring season. A separate spring archery-only season was also added for 2007. Kansas is home to two subspecies of wild turkeys -- the Rio Grande and the eastern. The Rio Grande is a plains dweller and can be found in the western three-fourths of the state. Rio Grande turkeys roost in riparian timber and shelterbelts, and they forage in open grasslands or crop field edges. Rio Grandes tend to use open areas that make their keen eyesight a major challenge for hunters. This subspecies can weigh as much as 25 pounds, but 18-21 pounds is more common. Beards on Rio Grandes tend to be thinner than those of their eastern counterparts, and feathers on the tail and tail base have light, buff-colored tips. Eastern turkeys prefer timbered areas in the eastern fourth of Kansas. They have a reputation as the more difficult subspecies to hunt, largely due to the thick cover they prefer. Eastern turkeys are larger than Rio Grandes, weighing as much as 30 pounds. Eastern turkey tail feathers have bronze or caramel-colored tips, and the birds frequently have multiple beards. Where ranges overlap -- generally in northcentral and southeastern Kansas -- cross-breeding can occur. Hybrid turkeys may show characteristics of both subspecies. Kansas is divided into four turkey management units. Unit 1, northwestern Kansas, has unlimited turkey permits, one per hunter. Unit 2 encompasses approximately the eastern one-half of Kansas and provides unlimited permits during spring and fall seasons, plus additional turkey game tags. Unit 3, southcentral and northcentral Kansas, has unlimited turkey permits, one per hunter, plus additional turkey game tags in the spring. Unit 4, in western and southwestern Kansas, has a restricted number of resident-only spring permits and is closed for fall hunting. Due to lack of habitat, bird numbers in this region haven’t kept pace with populations elsewhere. Turkey permits cost $22.15 for residents and $32.15 for non-residents. Additional turkey game tags (depending on season and unit) cost $12.15 for residents and $22.15 for nonresidents. The current fall turkey season in units 1, 2, and 3 runs Oct. 1-Nov. 28, Dec. 11-31, and Jan. 8-31, 2007. The regular spring season runs April 11-31; the spring archery season runs April 1-10; and the spring youth/disabled season runs April 6-8. A valid Kansas hunting license is required of all residents ages 16 through 64. Nonresidents must purchase a $72.15 nonresident hunting license, except that those nonresidents younger than 16 may purchase a youth nonresident license for $37.15. Anyone born on or after July 1, 1957, must have completed a certified hunter education course, except those 15 and younger hunting under direct adult supervision. For detailed information on fall turkey hunting, including a map of unit boundaries, obtain a copy of the 2006 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary wherever licenses are sold or download it from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us.	<urn:uuid:71e9f2cc-4f2c-43a4-aca1-d05004529dbc>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.kdwpt.state.ks.us/index.php/news/KDWPT-Info/News/News-Archive/2006-Web-News/November-2006/KANSAS-WILD-TURKEY-POPULATION-CONTINUES-GROWTH	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.943517	893	3.171875	3
Seeing the Light with NIST's New Noiseless Optical Amplifier From NIST Tech Beat Most devices that amplify light suffer from the same problem: making the image brighter also adds muddying distortion. Scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated that they can amplify weak light signals without adding noise while also carrying more information—more pixels—than other low-noise amplifiers. The new development could improve optical communications, quantum computing and information processing, and enhance biological and astronomical imaging.* Researchers have developed other light amplifiers using "nonlinear" crystals and optical fibers that don't add noise, but they're limited when it comes to amplifying images. Crystals need high laser intensities, which can distort the image. Amplifying light with fibers works well, but the fibers have to be long and the beam is confined to a small area, which constrains the complexity of the image to single pixels. NIST's four-wave mixing technique amplifies images by intersecting the light from three differently colored lasers—two "pumps" and a probe laser carrying the image—at precise angles inside a gas of hot rubidium atoms. After passing through a stencil in the shape of the image they want to amplify, the probe laser, whose color, or frequency, is halfway between those of the pump lasers, bisects the angle made by the pump lasers. The combination of the lasers' color, their angle of intersection, and their interaction with the rubidium gas creates the conditions for noiseless amplification of complex images with potentially thousands of pixels. There is a limitation to this kind of an amplifier—it's "phase sensitive." This means that for the amplification to be noiseless, the pump and signal beams going into the amplifier have to remain stable with respect to each other to within a small fraction of a wavelength so that the beams interfere and add up properly. Such a condition on the beams makes it harder to keep them aligned and stable than for the more common "phase insensitive" amplifiers. According to NIST physicist Paul Lett, this technique can amplify images by a factor of up to 4.6 times the original signal strength. "The light we use is infrared, which is good for biological and astronomical imaging," says Lett. "Now we just need to show that our technique amplifies the image faithfully, pixel by pixel, so that we can be assured that it is fully practicable." * N.V. Corzo, A.M. Marino, K.M. Jones and P.D. Lett. Noiseless optical amplifier operating on hundreds of spatial modes. Physical Review Letters. Published online July 26, 2012.	<urn:uuid:57ae9636-c831-4e54-aff9-4a10e8bbc168>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://jqi.umd.edu/news/seeing-light-nists-new-noiseless-optical-amplifier	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.930206	556	3.390625	3
Medicare is a social program that pays for the health care and prescription drugs of seniors. Forbes magazine explains the basic facts of the Medicare funding situation. First, the facts: Often lost in the campaign rhetoric and obscured by the opinionated news dominating the television and print media are the following background facts about Medicare, America’s most burdensome entitlement program given both the demographics and the growth expected in health care costs: • Medicare is a taxpayer funded, government-run insurance program that is financially unsustainable in its current form. By all estimates, Medicare is spiraling into bankruptcy, with an unfunded liability of almost $38 trillion and a hospital insurance trust fund that will become insolvent in 2024, according to the 2012 Medicare Trustees Report. • Medicare was already the single insurance program most likely to reject a claim, compared to all of the eight comparable private insurance plans studied in the AMA 2008 National Health Insurance Report Card. This rejection rate was double that of the private insurers’ average – those very same insurance companies vilified by President Obama as denying coverage to Americans. • An increasing proportion of doctors are already not accepting Medicare patients. A 2008 report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an independent federal panel, said that 29 percent of its beneficiaries who were looking for a primary care doctor had a problem finding one. A 2008 survey by the Texas Medical Association that found that only 58 percent of the state’s doctors accepted new Medicare patients, and only 38 percent of primary care doctors did, a number shrinking due to government- decreed payment that is lower than cost. In the 2008 HSC national tracking survey, more than 20 percent of primary care doctors accepted no new Medicare patients (only 4.5 percent accepted no new privately insured patients) and about 40 percent of primary care doctors and 20 percent of specialists refused most new Medicare patients. The rest of the article compares the Obama and Ryan plans for reforming Medicare. Here’s a snippet: President Obama’s plan for Medicare will not simply reduce access to doctors. According to the Medicare Trustees, Medicare payment reductions under the new law will cause hospitals, nursing facilities, and home health agencies to operate at a loss - 15 percent lose money by 2019, 25 percent by 2030, and 40 percent by 2050. The Trustees Report concluded the obvious – health care providers “would have to withdraw from serving Medicare beneficiaries, or shift substantial portions of Medicare costs to their non-Medicare, non-Medicaid payers.” Can American families with private insurance who already pay almost $1,800 per year – extra – for the underpayment by Medicare and Medicaid, subsidizing public insurance by more than $88 billion dollars per year, afford to add even more because of the president’s law? Signed into law by President Obama is another nefarious method of reducing Medicare payments. A wholly unaccountable, government appointed 15-member Independent Payment Advisory Board, the IPAB, does not just “recommend” changes to reimbursements. It has unprecedented power to reduce (but not to increase) payments to doctors that the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to implement. To be sure, the IPAB acts independently of the people, immune from Congressional oversight, and even beyond control of the judiciary – ensured in language within the law that isolates it from repeal. The Paul Ryan plan changes nothing about Medicare for Americans 55 and older. Those who are younger than 55 will be given the option of choosing a private plan and then paying for it with a voucher provided by the government.	<urn:uuid:da1c6925-5106-4ed1-82ac-f66dddfb4bf0>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/tag/seniors/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.948328	728	2.546875	3
Beard from a Statue of a God The Egyptian nobility usually shaved their faces during life on earth, although mustaches and square beards occasionally enjoyed popularity. It was only in the sphere of the divine that long, tightly braided beards with an upturned end were worn. Many male gods, such as Osiris, the god of the underworld, are portrayed with this beard. Accordingly, images of the deceased, who became associated with Osiris after being accepted into the afterlife, often include the plaited and curved beard. The dark-blue glass inlays on this beard represent lapis lazuli, because divine hair, beards, eyebrows, and eyelashes were said to be of this semiprecious stone. - Medium: Bronze, glass, faience paste - Place Made: Egypt - Dates: 664-30 B.C. - Dynasty: XXVI Dynasty or later - Period: Late Period to Greco-Roman Period - Dimensions: 7/8 x 9/16 x 3 1/16 in. (2.2 x 1.5 x 7.7 cm) (show scale) - Collections:Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art - Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Special Exhibitions, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor - Accession Number: 16.241 - Credit Line: Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour - Rights Statement: Creative Commons-BY - Caption: Beard from a Statue of a God, 664-30 B.C. Bronze, glass, faience paste, 7/8 x 9/16 x 3 1/16 in. (2.2 x 1.5 x 7.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.241. Creative Commons-BY - Catalogue Description: Bronze beard from a statue of a god. Front surface inlaid with dark blue glass strips. Tip of beard has six grooves for vertical inlays. Cast hollow and made as separate piece. Condition: Over half of the inlays are missing. - Record Completeness: Good (75%)	<urn:uuid:1a0614ec-a0a6-40b8-ac47-e53323d0ad73>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/9505/Beard_from_a_Statue_of_a_God	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.931261	527	2.671875	3
ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. Teacher Resources by Grade \|1st - 2nd\|\|3rd - 4th\| \|5th - 6th\|\|7th - 8th\| \|9th - 10th\|\|11th - 12th\| Reading and Writing About Whales Using Fiction and Nonfiction Texts \|Grades\|\|K – 2\| \|Lesson Plan Type\|\|Unit\| \|Estimated Time\|\|Eight 30-minute sessions\| This lesson teaches first and second grade students how to formulate research questions and write letters. The lesson uses the nonfiction picture book Big Blue Whale by Nicola Davies to present factual information about blue whales and the fiction picture book Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James to demonstrate how a letter can be used to ask questions and foster inquiry about blue whales. Depending on the level of your students, whole class, small group, or individual letters about blue whales are then written, revised, and sent to an online scientist. LeVine, J.E. (2002). Writing letters to support literacy. The Reading Teacher, 56, 232–234. - Letter writing can provide an especially empowering form of writing practice, as young children send meaningful written messages to one another, classroom mascots, pen pals, family members, and even elected officials. - The ultimate purpose of reading and writing is meaningful communication, and letter writing provides an authentic, reinforcing form of written communication. - In addition to supporting basic literacy skills, letter writing also promotes social interaction and develops a competence that children will use throughout their lives.	<urn:uuid:d6a11fee-ce84-4898-87ed-a4f978b6ed58>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/reading-writing-about-whales-196.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.885556	390	3.890625	4
Where is it located? The Tribune Tower is on 435 N. Michigan Avenue, just north of the Chicago Who designed it? The architects of the Tribune Tower were Raymond M. Hood and John Mead Howells. They won a design competition to make the world's most beautiful When was it built? The Tribune Tower was built from Why is it important? The Tribune Tower is important because the offices of the Chicago Tribune newspaper are located How did they decide who was going to build it? The Chicago Tribune newspaper held a contest in 1922 to design the Tribune Tower. They wanted the world's most beautiful office building. Raymond M. Hood and John Mead Howells were the winners of the Is there anything interesting on the Tribune Tower? Yes, there are over 120 stones in the Tribune Tower taken from other sites and structures. Some of them are from Bunker Hill, Mark Twain's "Injun Joe Cave", the Parthenon, and the Taj Mahal.	<urn:uuid:b4d225c1-8f42-4457-8e1b-ebd2951c4401>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://library.thinkquest.org/J002846/b_tribtower.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.955171	217	2.671875	3
THE IMPACT OF COLLECTIONS So why do we keep all this stuff, anyway? Collecting things seems to be a natural human tendency. The first recorded collection by a human is a group of white pebbles gathered by someone who lived in a cave in France about 80,000 years ago. While we will probably never know why this particular collection was made, we know that people collect things out of curiosity, as souvenirs, out of an interest in a particular subject, for aesthetic reasons, and even competitively (the Guinness Book of World Records lists the largest collections of all sorts of objects). The collections described in this issue of UND Discovery are a bit different than your grandma’s collection of spoons from every state, your childhood collection of baseball cards, or my collection of Paul Bunyan figurines. They are collections of objects and records that form the basis for study and research. In most cases, they are made up of items that cannot be replaced or re-collected — at least in the absence of time travel. Scientific collections form part of the infrastructure for science, which is based on the principle of being able to go back and replicate the observations or experiments of another researcher. Collections of seeds are critical to global food security; an international vault in Svalbard, Norway, stores seeds for food crops as a resource for recovery from catastrophic damage to food production. Geologists amass collections of rock and soil cores that are important to science, to agriculture, and to the mining and oil drilling industries. Collections of documents are primary source material for historical research. Collections of art are not only enjoyable to look at, but offer non-verbal expressions of all sorts of ideas and emotions. UND has collections of all these kinds and more. They are vital resources for research and creative activity and for education of future researchers and scholars. Vice President for Research and Economic Development	<urn:uuid:44fb0f14-b4ae-4b49-afab-c6b3aeb43d3f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://webapp.und.edu/dept/our/discovery/the-impact-of-collections	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951642	388	3	3
Allergies are extremely common, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe and even life-threatening. Any allergic reaction to a substance, whether it's a food, pollen, pet, or a medication, begins when your immune system mistakes an ordinary substance for a dangerous enemy. The immune system is designed to repel harmful invaders such as bacteria or viruses. It mobilizes to flag the invading organisms by producing Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies which then call other body chemicals to the scene to fight off the invaders and sweep them up. In an allergic reaction, these chemicals cause the symptoms you feel on your skin, or in your airways, or digestive tract. It's important to understand that people with allergies can live healthy, active lives once they know and understand what triggers their reactions. Effective medications can prevent or lessen symptoms. Those whose reactions are life-threatening can carry medication to reverse the allergic process, giving them time to seek emergency medical care.	<urn:uuid:8ccb80be-ed85-445e-beea-06e426083152>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.njallergydoctors.com/allergies	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938154	197	3.71875	4
PAN Victories: Three Decades of Making a Difference Our commitment is impossible without yours. In each milestone we see a reflection of your energy, support and belief that together, we can build a toxic-free future. The Road to a POPS Treaty 1985 - PAN Targets the Dirty Dozen. The global Dirty Dozen campaign is PAN International’s first joint effort, spurring global attention to pesticide poisonings. 1997 - Global Network Demands Action on POPs. PAN and environmental health movement leaders create a global network to press for creation of a strong POPs treaty. 2001 - POPs Treaty Signed in Stockholm. After several years of negotiation and deep citizen engagement, a strong POPs treaty is signed in Sweden. 2004 - POPs Treaty Becomes Global Law. Pressure from citizen groups spurs rapid ratification around the world, moving the POPs treaty to implementation in just three years - more quickly than any previous environmental treaty. Breaking the 'Circle of Poison': Prior Informed Consent 1982 - PAN Tackles Global Pesticide Trade. At PAN's founding meeting in Malaysia, groups vow to stop the export of hazardous, banned pesticides to the Global South. 1989 - FAO Promotes “Prior Informed Consent.” PAN convinces the UN Food and Agriculture Organization that all countries have a right to at the very least be informed when they import banned chemicals. 1998 - PIC Treaty Born. After a decade of work by PAN activists, one of the network’s founding principles is enshrined in a global treaty: the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC Treaty). 2004 - PIC Treaty Becomes Law. By 2010 the Rotterdam Convention is adopted by 134 countries, and 40 chemicals (including 29 pesticides) are included on the PIC list, requiring notification to importing countries. Shifting Global Aid Away from Pesticides 1996 - PAN Spotlights World Bank Pesticide Spending. PAN leads community monitoring in China, Indonesia and Mexico that documents Bank projects increasing pesticide dependence. 1998 - World Bank Strengthens IPM Policy. PAN's intensive campaign with partners around the world wins improved policies at the Bank. 2003 - PAN's Watchdogging Reveals Bank Failures. PAN confronts the Bank on its failure to implement its stronger integrated pest management policy, with only 9% of projects showing progress. 2003 - UN Asks PAN to Co-author Global Agriculture Report. PAN’s work monitoring World Bank agricultural projects results in an invitation to help design and co-author a UN report on agriculture. This report evolved into the most comprehensive assessment of agriculture to have ever taken place: the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). 2008 - 400+ Global Experts Call for Ecological Farming. The UN-sponsored IAASTD report, Agriculture at a Crossroads, finds that small-scale, agro-ecological farming is most likely to feed the world, while protecting crucial ecological resources without which food production systems around the world are likely to collapse. Communities Demand Pesticide-Free Air 2003 - PAN's Drift Catcher Deployed. Dr. Susan Kegley invents a simple device called a Drift Catcher, designed to document pesticides drifting into communities near agricultural fields. Activists across the country are trained to use the Drift Catcher. 2007 - PAN Measures Pesticides in People & Air. PAN scientists work with partners to combine Drift Catching with measuring pesticides in the bodies of community members. More than 90% of project participants carry above-average levels of pesticides in their bodies. 2008 - California Communities Celebrate Buffer zone. Residents of Tulare County celebrate a new law that bans aerial spraying of the most dangerous pesticides near homes, schools or occupied labor camps. 2008 - Drift Catcher Wins Tech Award. PAN's Dr. Susan Kegley named a Tech Awards Laureate for her work inventing and promoting the Drift Catcher. 2009 - EPA Admits Drift May be Hazardous. PAN’s Drift Catcher data convinces EPA to examine the dangers of pesticides that can drift off farms for days after chemicals are applied. Winning a Global Lindane Ban 2002 - California Bans Lindane Lotions & Shampoos. California legislators ban the use of lindane for lice and scabies control in 2002, leading to cleaner water in the state and reducing risks for children. 2005 - PAN Serves “Lindane Lunch” to North American Officials. PAN partners from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. serve up foods commonly contaminated with lindane to officials from the three countries meeting to develop an action plan for lindane. 2005 - Mexico Proposes Lindane for POPs Treaty. After deciding to ban all uses of lindane at home, Mexican officials propose the addition of the pesticide to the Stockholm Convention target list for global elimination. 2006 - US Withdraws Agricultural Use of Lindane. PAN activists celebrate a long overdue victory as agricultural uses of lindane are withdrawn in the U.S. 2009 - Nations Agree to Ban Lindane Worldwide. More than 160 countries agree to add the pesticide lindane to the Stockholm Convention for global phaseout. Endosulfan Campaign Wins U.S. Ban, Global Phaseout 2008 - U.S. Experts & Advocates Demand Endosulfan Ban. Over 100 environmental health advocacy groups and more than 50 scientists and public health officials publically call on EPA to ban the pesticide endosulfan. 2009 - Bayer Agrees to Stop Selling Endosulfan. The multinational chemical company Bayer commits to end distribution of the pesticide endosulfan in 2010, and to replace the toxic pesticide with safer alternatives. 2009 - Science Panel Recommends Global Action on Endosulfan. An international panel of science experts concludes that endosulfan requires global action to prevent harm to human health and the environment. 2010 - EPA Withdraws Endosulfan. EPA officials announce that endosulfan will be eliminated in the United States. 2011 - Endosulfan Listed for Global Phaseout. 173 countries agree to add endosulfan to the POPs treaty list for elimination. Protecting Communities & Workers from Fumigants 1992 - Methyl Bromide Added to Montreal Protocol. The toxic fumigant pesticide methyl bromide was added to the Montreal Protocol and targeted for global phaseout. 2007 - Fumigant Campaign Gets EPA's Attention. PAN and partners attend hearings across the country and organize farm visits for EPA officials conducting the "fumigant cluster assessement." 2008 - EPA Strengthens Rules for Fumigant Pesticides. After three years of deliberation, EPA proposes new rules for five highly toxic fumigant pesticides. 2010 - New Carcinogenic Fumigant Blocked in California for Three Years. Scientists find that a new fumigant, methyl iodide, registered by EPA in 2008 as a replacement for methyl bromide, cannot be used safely. Washington state refuses to register; a storm of protest keeps it in limbo in California, even after the Schwarzenegger Administration registered it in Dec. 2010. By early 2012 it had been used on only 15 acres. 2012 - Arysta Pulls Methyl Iodide from U.S. Market. On March 20 — faced with a suit filed on behalf of PAN, UFW and a coalition of health, environment and community groups; opposition from California legislators and the public; and stalled sales — the company ends use in this country of what scientists called "one of the most toxic chemicals on earth". Keeping Global DDT Phaseout On Course 2007 - Congress Hears Concerns about DDT Use for Malaria. To mark World Malaria Day, PAN convenes congressional briefing with experts presenting on health harms of DDT use for malaria control and safer alternatives already in use. 2008 - PAN Meets with President's Malaria Initiative. PAN brings experts to meet with the coordinator of the President's Malaria Initiative to discuss how to ensure that U.S. investments go toward long-term, sustainable approaches to malaria control. 2009 - African Leaders Call for DDT alternatives. Following a meeting of experts in Tanzania, dozens of public health and environmental experts adopt the Dar Es Salaam resolution, calling on African governments to shift away from DDT use for malaria control. 2009 - Experts Update Congress on Sustainable Malaria Solutions. PAN co-sponsors a congressional briefing with the American Public Health Association highlighting on-the-ground experiences with safe malaria control solutions. 2009 - WHO Affirms Commitment to DDT Phaseout. WHO announces a rejuvenated international effort to roll back both malaria and the use of DDT. The initiative aims for a 30% reduction in DDT use by 2014, and total elimination of DDT by "early 2020s if not sooner."	<urn:uuid:db12e563-94be-44c6-93f4-ddb797dc006a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.panna.org/about/pan-victories?quicktabs_1=0	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.867673	1,845	3	3
Photograph by Timothy Archibald Forget Freud and his interpretations. Statistics are the key to unlocking the meaning of dreams, says Bill Domhoff, a psychologist and sociologist at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Along with his colleagues, Domhoff has broken thousands of dreams into coded elements such as characters, emotions, settings, and types of social interactions. By performing statistical analyses of these elements, the researchers can study what we dream about and perhaps begin to develop data-driven theories about why we dream. Domhoff discussed his work with Discover associate editor Kathy A. Svitil. Do we know why we dream? I'm unimpressed with any evidence that dreams have a function or a purpose. I think they are an accidental by-product of two great evolutionary advances: sleep and improved cognitive abilities. Dreaming is a kind of freewheeling thinking that the mind goes through when there is no external input to bring it back to reality. If that is true, then is there any value in dream interpretation? I think it is a scam. I recently went through Freud's masterwork, pulling out every assertion and comparing it with the systematic empirical studies conducted over the past 75 years, including my own. I don't find support for a single one of Freud's specific claims. Freud said all dreams are wishful, for instance, but there is a lot of evidence against that. I've given up on Jung as well. It's sad that these theories continue to attract so much attention when they are clearly not adequate. We ought to move on. So what determines the things we dream about? Dreams express our conceptions of ourselves and of people close to us. If I take 100 of a person's dreams, and I study his interaction patterns with his parents, siblings, and friends in those dreams, I can then predict his relationships in waking life. Do you find any larger patterns in the content of people's dreams? There's a lot of overlap, but there are differences by age, by gender, by personality, and by culture. The most striking differences have to do with physical aggression. There is little of it in the dreams of children, but it increases in the teenage years. Men's dreams have more aggression than women's. Almost invariably, smaller societies have more physical aggression in their dreams than do Americans: They are killing animals, being attacked by animals, which is much closer to their daily life. But Americans have more physical aggression in their dreams than do the Swiss and the Dutch. Does that mean our society is more aggressive? It certainly fits with the fact that we kill each other far more frequently. You've found that people have the same basic dreams over and over. What does that tell you? I don't know, but no dream theory can account for it. A person suffers a traumasay September 11and several months later starts having an upsetting dream about it. Five or 10 years later, the same person may be doing well in his waking life, but he is still having that dream. The Freudians would say the dream proves the problem is unresolved. But does it prove anything? Dreams may simply run on their own track. What is the biggest misconception people have about dreams? That they are often about sexuality. Most dreams are about aggression. Only 10 percent or less of dream content involves sexuality. Dreams don't have much eroticism, and certainly not much pleasant eroticism. People dream they are with the wrong person, someone is watching, they feel guilty. When people talk about having great sex dreams, they are usually talking about daydreaming, not actual dreams.	<urn:uuid:06b058b0-5dc4-4f46-9db0-0245f9d6cca2>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://discovermagazine.com/2002/mar/breakdialogue/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.976031	740	2.640625	3
Saint-Étienne is a city in the central eastern part of France, 60 km (40 miles) southwest of Lyon. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Saint-Étienne is the prefecture (capital) of the Loire Department. It is situated in the Massif Central. A legend states that in Roman times, it was a settlement with the name Furanum, from the name of the Furan River. The name was then changed to Furania, a name it would keep until the Middle Ages. The first written traces of the city's history date to 1258 when the town was called Sancti Stephani de Furano after Saint Stephen (Saint Étienne in French). The town, known for its arms industry, was briefly renamed Armeville or Commune d'Armes (Arms Town) during the French Revolution. Saint-Étienne was a long secondary town, less influential administratively and politically than Montbrison or Feurs, which was the prefecture of the Loire Department. It was only in 1855 that Saint-Étienne became the prefecture of the Loire Department due to its rapid industrial development and population growth. However, Saint-Étienne had been an important center for metalworking since the 15th century. Weapons manufacture was predominant with of production of blades transitioning into production of firearms at the time of the Italian Wars of King Francis I. Small metalwork was also present, though, and the manufacture of ribbons and trim also developed in the 16th century. During the industrial revolution, Saint-Étienne developed heavy metalworking and extensive exploitation of coal mining. At the beginning of the 20th century, the local arms industry was dominated by the military production of the Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne (Saint-Étienne Arms Works or MAS) and the Manufacture française d'armes et cycles (French Arms and Cycle Works), or Manufrance, as well as numerous small manufacturers of civilian firearms. Despite the closure of Manufrance many of the small manufacturers remained. The first railroad in France was laid in Saint-Étienne starting in 1823. It linked the Saint-Étienne with Andrézieux to transport coal from the mines along the Loire River. A second line was constructed between Saint-Étienne and Lyon to transport freight and passengers. The city was affected by the Allied Bombing of France on May 26, 1944. After economic difficulties in the 1980's, the city is now in full recovery. Société de Transports de l'Agglomération Stéphanoise, or STAS operates a public transport network and infrastructure in and around Saint-Étienne. Its responsibility is to provide tramway, trolleybus and bus service in the fifteen communes of the Saint-Étienne agglomeration.	<urn:uuid:8cf81693-1d56-4173-b1eb-45f7da5dcf45>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://wikitravel.org/en/Saint-Etienne	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.949836	610	2.796875	3
cokeArticle Free Pass coke, solid residue remaining after certain types of bituminous coals are heated to a high temperature out of contact with air until substantially all of the volatile constituents have been driven off. The residue is chiefly carbon, with minor amounts of hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Also present in coke is the mineral matter in the original coal, chemically altered and decomposed during the coking process. Oven coke (size: 40 to 100 millimetres, about 1 1/2 to 4 inches) is used throughout the world in blast furnaces to make iron. Smaller quantities of coke are used in other metallurgical processes, such as the manufacture of ferroalloys, lead, and zinc, and in kilns to make lime and magnesia. Large, strong coke, known as foundry coke, is used in foundry cupolas to smelt iron ores. Smaller sizes of both oven and gas coke (15 to 50 millimetres) are used to heat houses and commercial buildings. Coke measuring 10 to 25 millimetres in size is employed in the manufacture of phosphorus and of calcium carbide, the raw material from which acetylene is made. Coke breeze (less than 12 millimetres) is applied to the sintering of small iron ore prior to use in blast furnaces. Any surplus breeze coke becomes industrial boiler fuel. What made you want to look up "coke"? Please share what surprised you most...	<urn:uuid:b38ae673-39ea-45b1-8232-35e8d7a9fa3c>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/124831/coke	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938646	311	3.328125	3
The Exosuit Swimmable Atmospheric Diving Suit lets divers go down to 1,000 ft while breathing regular air at atmospheric pressure for up to 3 days. Nuytco Research Ltd. (604) 980-6262, nuytco.com Apart from space, deep water is perhaps one of the most hazardous environments human beings work in. And just like space exploration, working there requires special equipment, extensive training, and careful preparation. One way to protect divers from high pressures at great depths is to put them in atmospheric diving suits (ADS) that function like person-shaped submarines. Nuytco Research Ltd., North Vancouver, B.C., is on the cutting edge of ADS development with its Exosuit Swimmable ADS, due for beta testing later this year. Dr. R. T. “Phil” Nuytten, the company’s founder and chief researcher, has been involved in deep-water diving since the 1960s. In 1987, for example, he developed the “Newtsuit,” an ADS which permits dives of 8 hr down to 1,000 ft. In the past 20 years, Nuytten has been improving the Newtsuit and putting those innovations toward the Exosuit. The new product is more flexible, capable of longer dives, and applicable to more industries. Like all ADS, the suit’s rigid structure withstands immense water pressure. More importantly, it lets occupants breathe air with the same pressure and content as the air at the water’s surface. Saturation dives, in which divers acclimate to underwater environments, change the way gases dissolve in the divers’ blood. Higher pressures below the surface force breathing gases into solution with the blood and body tissues. That’s why deep divers need to surface slowly. As they ascend and pressure around them drops, dissolved gas comes out of solution. If the ascent is slow enough, reformed gas bubbles leave through the lungs. But ascending too fast traps these bubbles in body tissues, causing itching, joint pain, neurologic effects, shortness of breath, and even death. According to Nuytten, a conventional saturation diver would need to undergo “a slow, finely controlled decompression lasting 8 to 10 days” after he had acclimated to pressures equivalent to 1,000 ft below the surface. Atmospheric dives, like those in Nuytten’s Exosuit, only require 3 to 5-min recovery independent of dive depth and duration. In the Exosuit, divers are surrounded by air, 80% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, at atmospheric pressure; they don’t need mouthpieces or oral-nasal masks to breathe. “Oxygen is fed in to match the exact amount metabolized by the diver. Nitrogen acts merely as a diluent,” Nuytten says. Since the atmosphere inside the suit is at 1 atm, divers aren’t susceptible to the bends or nitrogen narcosis. (The latter is impaired perception and judgment a diver can experience as nitrogen or other gases become more soluble in fatty tissue.) A soda-lime chemical absorbent scrubber removes exhaled carbon dioxide from inside the suit. The scrubber and oxygen circulator are battery powered, but carbon-dioxide removal can be done by passive scrubbing if the battery fails. To be classified as an A1 submersible, the lifesupport systems have to last at least 72 hr. Nuytco has timed the Exosuit’s duration at over 85 hr. The suit keeps pressure from getting to its occupant with a combination of rigidity and flexibility. The Exosuit is covered in an A356-T6 aluminium alloy skin cast to an average thickness of 0.375 in. Thicker ribs support high-stress areas of the suit. The suit is cast into molds that can also accommodate titanium alloys that withstand greater working depths. The standard Exosuit is rated to 1,000 ft or 445 psi. Its crush depth is over 2,000 ft (890 psi). Nuytco intends to test each suit to 623 psi, equivalent to 1,400 ft. This lets the suit be certified as an A1 Submersible. The core of the suit encases the diver’s torso and head. Rotary jointed arms and legs permit easy movement. The joints are machined from 6061-T aluminium stock and use silicon nitride bearings and PTFE seals. On some models, specially designed seals preserve joint integrity when pressure switches from being greater outside the suit to being greater inside or back the other way. Joints let divers move the suit’s limbs simply by moving their own limbs. Although the suit’s arms and legs are heavy in air — the suit weighs 260 lb on land — in the water, the force required to move them is similar to that an astronaut needs to operate in a space suit. The confined volume of air, combined with a foam flotation coating, makes the limbs neu- trally buoyant in water. “It’s the syntactic foam which gives the limbs a distinctive scalloped look,” Nuytten says. Limb mobility lets divers propel themselves by walking or swimming using the suit’s swim-fin boots. Nuytten is working on a thruster pack that would allow the diver to “fly” through the water. The arms are just as functional. Instead of ending in gloves like space suits, the Exosuit’s uses an artificial hand Nuytco calls the Prehensor. The Prehensor has three fingers that mimic human hand movements, letting users retain 90 to 95% of their usual dexterity. Previous manipulators had two jaws that worked like pliers when divers squeezed handles inside the suit. Although the Prehensor is still in prototype testing, the finished version will replicate the motions of the diver’s hand inside the suit, including the thumb position, angle and rotation, which make stable grips possible. The final version may also provide proportional sensory feedback that will let users sense and control pressure put on gripped items. According to Nuytco, the Prehensor lets users perform tasks that require coordination and dexterity such as starting a nut on a bolt thread and tightening it. This capability has attracted the attention of NASA, as well as the Canadian Space Agency, as a possible alternative to conventional spacesuit gloves. In addition to protecting divers for up to three days, the Exosuit is also less costly to operate. Divers working at saturation depths often let themselves acclimate to higher underwater pressures. To save time, they will continue living at that pressure, either below the surface or in pressurized quarters on a support vessel, until their underwater job is complete. “Saturation divers require a support crew of 12 to 18,” says Nuytten. “Saturation living chambers and the diving bell that transports saturated workers between living chambers and worksite eat up 1,000 to 1,500 sq ft of critical deck space. With gas storage, the full system can weigh upwards of 100 tons and cost $4 to 6 million.” Saturation diving also requires special breathing-gas mixtures, like oxy-helium. Helium as a diluent does not impair divers the way nitrogen does. According to Nuytten, oxy-helium for a 1000-ft dive costs about $125,000. In contrast, the Exosuit needs only a four-person crew. All its components weigh less than 1 ton and take up only 150 sq ft of deck space. Gas for the diver costs about $35/dive, and the suit itself costs less than $250,000. Better diver safety and lower cost makes the Exosuit attractive for a variety of applications. And Nuytco is making different versions of the suit for different uses. “The basic suit will be totally autonomous,” Nuytten says. The diver will move by walking or swimming with flippers, and he will have life support for three full days.” A commercial version is more bare-bones. The diver would be tethered to the surface with lines to supply air and take away carbon dioxide. This simplifies the design and lets Nuytco beef up the suit for industrial applications. Supplying air and exhausting gas to the surface while keeping the suit at 1 atm does present challenges, but Nuytten says his company has a proprietary method of handling the pressure differentials. A third version is specifically designed to let submarine crews escape disabled vessels. When a sub loses power, it also loses the ability to keep its internal atmosphere at surface conditions, and occupants can start to go into saturation. In that case, crewmembers could wear suits inside the sub to keep their tissues from getting saturated with atmospheric gases while they repair the sub or wait for rescue. “Alternatively, they could allow themselves to gas-saturate. Then as they ascended, the suit could maintain the pressure they had experienced on the sea floor. Once on the surface, the suit could serve as a personal decompression chamber for each crewmember,” Nuytten says. The submarine-escape version has joints that tolerate both external and internal pressure. According to Nuytten, no previous or current atmospheric suits are able to do that. The joints give crewmembers enough flexibility to climb up into a stricken sub’s escape lock, operate valves, and perform other tasks. At the moment, the Exosuit is a prototype; Nuytten hopes beta testing will begin later this year. Nuytco has completed patterns for the torso and limbs and made test castings. It has also tested individual subsystems, like swim-testing the rigid lower torso and flexible legs.	<urn:uuid:781c7696-ca9f-46ea-81ad-6cbf15bc1323>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://machinedesign.com/news/exosuit-diving-suit-stays-flexible-underwater	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.93688	2,048	2.609375	3
13 September 2012 Poland took a step further in its relations with ESA by exchanging Accession Agreements on the ESA Convention on 13 September 2012, to become the 20th ESA Member State. The ceremony took place at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, with the participation of Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, Waldemar Pawlak, Polish Minister of Economy, and Grażyna Henclewska, Under Secretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Economy. Other government officials and dignitaries attended the ceremony, including representatives from the Polish Parliamentary Group in charge of space affairs. Poland’s cooperation with ESA is long-standing. In 1994, Poland was one of the first Eastern European countries to sign a Cooperation Agreement in the field of the peaceful use of outer space with ESA. A second step, the signature of European Cooperating State Agreement in 2007, paved the way for the Polish participation in several ESA research projects. Poland has a long aerospace tradition and has contributed to many scientific and technological projects. Poland has participated actively in several ESA science missions, such as Integral, Rosetta, BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter, and in Earth observation activities with Envisat and GMES. It is also working on ESA microgravity and exploration programmes, on EGNOS for navigation and on the Space Situational Awareness Programme (focusing on space weather), as well as in technology activities and educational projects. PW-Sat – the first Polish student satellite, was launched by a Vega rocket in February 2012. The Government of Poland plans to conclude the ratification process at the earliest and once the ratification instrument is deposited with the Government of France, Poland will become officially the 20th ESA Member State and will participate in the ESA Ministerial Council in November 2012 as a full Member State. About the European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA has 19 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 17 are Member States of the EU. ESA has Cooperation Agreements with nine other Member States of the EU and is negotiating an Agreement with the one remaining (Bulgaria). Poland is in the process of becoming ESA's 20th Member State. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement. ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities. Today, it launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space. For further information, please contact: ESA Media Relations Office Tel: +33 1 53 69 72 99 Fax: +33 1 53 69 76 90 For further information:	<urn:uuid:5dee3945-30b6-4895-979f-550b27909574>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.esa.int/For_Media/Press_Releases/Poland_accedes_to_ESA_Convention	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.940292	649	2.5625	3
WORCESTER, Mass.—The annual migration of monarch butterflies from across eastern North America to a specific grove of fir trees in Mexico has long fascinated scientists who have sought to understand just how these delicate creatures can navigate up to 2,000 miles to a single location. Neurobiologists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have now found that a key mechanism that helps steer the butterflies to their ultimate destination resides not in the insects' brains, as previously thought, but in their antennae, a surprising discovery that provides an entirely new perspective of the antenna's role in migration. "We've known that the insect antenna is a remarkable organ, responsible for sensing not only olfactory cues but wind direction and even sound vibration," said Steven M. Reppert, MD, professor and chair of neurobiology and senior author of the study. "But its role in precise orientation over the course of butterfly migration is an intriguing new discovery, one that may spark a new line of investigation into neural connections between the antennae and the sun compass, and navigation mechanisms in other insects." In a paper to be published in the journal Science, Reppert and his colleagues Christine Merlin, PhD, and Robert J. Gegear, PhD, have demonstrated that the butterflies' antennae —formerly believed to be primarily odor detectors—are actually necessary for sun-related orientation, a critical function commonly thought to be housed solely in the insect's brain. "Previous studies have shown that butterflies use their circadian clock, an internal timing device such as the one that controls our own sleep-wake cycles, to correct their flight orientation and maintain a southerly course even as the sun moves across the sky," Reppert said. The time correction factor of the sun compass mechanism was assumed to reside in the brain, where the sun compass itself is located, although this presumptive role of brain clocks had never been tested directly. Recalling an observation from 50 years ago—made even before the discovery that millions of monarchs fly to specific wintering grounds in Mexico—when it was noticed that migrating butterflies became lost in free flight when their antennae were removed, Reppert and colleagues sought to unravel the role of the antennae in migration. In their studies, the investigators removed the antennae of a number of butterflies and tested their ability to fly south while tethered in an outdoor flight simulator rigged to calculate the insects' flight direction. They found that the antennaeless migratory butterflies could not orient themselves to the proper southerly direction, while butterflies with intact antennae could orient correctly. They also showed that the molecular cycles of the brain clocks were not altered by removing the antennae and that the antennae actually contain circadian clocks that function independently of those in the brain. The researchers next covered the antennae in black paint, effectively blocking light sensing by the antennal clocks. Those butterflies homed in on an incorrectly fixed direction: the insect's brain could sense light but couldn't adjust the timing of the sun's movement across the sky in order to steer towards the proper destination. However, when the team used clear paint—which did not alter antennal light input—the butterflies accurately established the southerly flight orientation, indicating that the antenna's reading of light is key to navigation. The Science paper, "Antennal circadian clocks coordinate sun compass orientation in migratory monarch butterflies," will be published September 25. Reppert, who is also the Higgins Family Professor of Neuroscience at UMMS, has been a pioneering force in the effort to understand monarch butterfly navigation and migration and hopes to trace the neural connection between the antennae clocks and the brain's sun compass. In addition, his team is investigating other functions of the antennae that they believe are critical for successful migration. About the University of Massachusetts Medical School The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest growing academic health centers in the country, has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $200 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. The mission of the University of Massachusetts Medical School is to advance the health and well-being of the people of the Commonwealth and the world through pioneering education, research, public service and health care delivery with its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Health Care. For more information, visit www.umassmed.edu. AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.	<urn:uuid:c41a9f2a-b642-4cca-a81c-7e66663531d3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-09/uomm-mmb091809.php	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.953887	950	3.71875	4
\|Scientific Name:\|\|Centranthus trinervis\| \|Species Authority:\|\|(Viv.) Bég.\| \|Taxonomic Notes:\|\|The Sardinian taxon has been renamed C. amazonum Fridl. & A. Raynal.\| \|Red List Category & Criteria:\|\|Endangered D ver 3.1\| \|Assessor/s:\|\|Buord, S. & Gigot, G.\| \|Reviewer/s:\|\|Hugot, L., de Montmollin, B. & Bilz, M.\| \|Contributor/s:\|\|Fridlender, A., Jeanmonod, D. & Peraza Zurita, M.D.\| Centranthus trinervis is a herbaceous species endemic to Corsica where only a single subpopulation with 140 individuals remains. It is protected at regional, national and international level but a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors could rapidly lead to the extinction of this species in its natural habitat. However, the population and the cliff habitat it survives on are currently stable and the species is therefore assessed as Endangered D. Centranthus trinervis is endemic to Corsica, and is only known from a single population on the granitic boulders of Trinité near Bonifacio in the southwest of the island. It can be found at sea level. The extent of occurrence is 140 km² and the area of occupancy is less than 10 km². \|Range Map:\|\|Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.\| \|Population:\|\|The single locality holds 140 individuals. Habitat and population are stable. There was an extreme population fluctuation in 1994 when a fire destroyed 80% of the population but it regenerated afterwards (Montmollin and Strahm 2005).\| \|Habitat and Ecology:\|\| This herbaceous species grows in the shade of rock crevices and along cliff terraces. Only the woody base of this plant persists throughout the entire year, as other above-ground parts dry up at the beginning of summer or are broken by autumn storms. The single subpopulation grows on a cliff. After a fire, partially burned individuals may regenerate from small suckers at the base. The fruits are dispersed by wind, although regeneration has not been observed outside its present location. It can be found in Habitats Directive listed habitat 8220 "Siliceous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation" (Commission of the European Communities 2009). Grazing by goats is a minor threat in lower occurrences of the population and it tends to decrease. In 1994 a fire destroyed 80% of the population but it regenerated afterwards (Montmollin and Strahm 2005). On the other hand, natural fires have been reported to have positive effects on potential competitive species such as Smilax aspera. Although C. ruber has not yet shown signs of being particularly invasive on Corsica, it could hybridize with C. trinervis in the future. A further potential threat could be human disturbance as the population is not far from already developed urban areas. Climbing was reported as a threat in the past as a "via ferrata" was installed at the cliff but this is not the case anymore. Actions in Place Internationally, it is included in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive and in Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention). This species is legally protected in La liste des espèces végétales protégées en région Corse complétant la liste nationale (Journal officiel du 15 août 1986) and listed in La liste des espèces végétales protégées sur l'ensemble du territoire français métropolitain (Annex I). In situ: This species' habitat is included in the Natura 2000 network, it should be managed in a way that favours the conservation of this species. Climbing equipments on the cliff has been removed, population is regularly monitored. The Conservatoire du Littoral bought the area where this species is present as a way to keep the population protected. Ex situ: Seeds of this species are preserved in several seed banks (e.g. Porquerolles), and cultivated in the botanical gardens of Brest, Porquerolles and in the Jardin Botanique de Lyon (France) and Geneva (Switzerland). Most urgently, the unique site where this species is found needs to be managed to allow the population to increase. It is essential that the habitat be kept open by clearing competing species such as Smilax aspera, and by eliminating the cultivation of Centranthus ruber and other invasive species grown in the area. Climbing associations as well as the general public need to be made aware about the conservation status of rare plant species in the region. More field studies and regular monitoring are needed to understand the effect of vegetation cover and density, fires and storms on this species. A replanting programme from seeds collected in situ and plants grown in botanical gardens should be launched. \|Citation:\|\|Buord, S. & Gigot, G. 2011. Centranthus trinervis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.\| \|Feedback:\|\|If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided\|	<urn:uuid:a820ac53-5ee7-40e3-a7cc-1db8d199692a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/61648/0	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.844408	1,207	3.03125	3
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Causative organisms: Alexandrium spp.,Gymnodinium catenatum, Pyrodinium bahamense Toxins produced: SaxitoxinsParalytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), like ASP, is a life threatening syndrome. Symptoms are purely neurological and their onset is rapid. Duration of effects is a few days in non-lethal cases. Symptoms include tingling, numbness, and burning of the perioral region, ataxia, giddiness, drowsiness, fever, rash, and staggering. The most severe cases result in respiratory arrest within 24 hours of consumption of the toxic shellfish. If the patient is not breathing or if a pulse is not detected, artificial respiration and CPR may be needed as first aid. There is no antidote, supportive therapy is the rule and survivors recover fully. PSP is prevented by large-scale proactive monitoring programs (assessing toxin levels in mussels, oysters, scallops, clams) and rapid closures of suspect or demonstrated toxic areas to harvest. U.S. Finfish, Shellfish and Wildlife Affected by PSP Harmful Algal Species \|\|Northern Atlantic and Pacific Coast of North America Mussels, surfclams, softshell clams, sea scallops, butterclams, ocean quahogs, oysters, gastropods, lobsters, crabs. Herring, salmon, menhaden, sandlance, mackerel, and possibly other fish species. Whales, sea lions+, sea otters+, sea birds. Squid, zooplankton, and other benthic invertebrates. \|*Found to contain algal toxins, or to be adversely affected by toxic or harmful marine algae.\| +Causative algae implicated, not confirmed. Medical CommunityParalytic Shellfish Poisoning Additional Information on PSP including: Background, Clinical Presentation, Diagnosis, Management and Treatment, Chemical Structure, and Molecular Mechanism of Action. » Visit Website Additional ResourcesNon-Traditional Vectors for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Jonathan R. Deeds, Jan H. Landsberg, Stacey M. Etheridge, Grant C. Pitcher, Sara W. Longan » Visit Website Last updated: July 31, 2012	<urn:uuid:033db1fc-bbeb-4d84-b12d-ac2021d9e350>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.whoi.edu/redtide/page.do?pid=14279	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.813974	492	2.546875	3
Mother's vitamin D level linked to birth weightDecember 10th, 2012 in Health Mothers' vitamin D levels at a gestation of 26 weeks or less were positively related to birth weight and head circumference, and, in the first trimester were negatively associated with risk of a baby being born small for gestational age, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The major source of vitamin D for children and adults is exposure to natural sunlight. Very few foods naturally contain or are fortified with vitamin D. Thus, the major cause of vitamin D deficiency is inadequate exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency can result in abnormalities in calcium, phosphorus, and bone metabolism, and there has been recent interest in understanding the role of vitamin D in other health conditions. Previous studies have shown inconsistent associations between maternal vitamin D status and fetal size. "We found that a mother's vitamin D level, in the first or second trimester of pregnancy, was related to the normal growth of babies who delivered at term," said Alison Gernand, PhD, MPH, RD of the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of the study. "If a mother was vitamin D deficient, the birth weight of her baby was 46 g lower after accounting for other characteristics of the mom. Also if moms were vitamin D deficient in the first trimester, they had twice the risk of delivering a baby that suffered from growth restriction during the pregnancy." In this study, researchers examined 2146 women delivering term, live births with vitamin D levels measured at a gestation of 26 weeks or less. Birth weight was measured just after birth and infant head circumference and placental weight were measured within 24 hours of birth. "Our study is an important contribution to the epidemiologic evidence that maternal vitamin D status, especially in early pregnancy, may contribute to both pathological and physiological fetal growth," noted Lisa Bodnar, PhD, MPH, RD, of the University of Pittsburgh and senior author of the study. "Randomized trials that supplement pregnant women with vitamin D are needed to test this finding." More information: The article, "Maternal Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Measures of Newborn and Placental Weight in a U.S. Multicenter Cohort Study," appears in the January 2013 issue of JCEM. Provided by The Endocrine Society "Mother's vitamin D level linked to birth weight." December 10th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-mother-vitamin-d-linked-birth.html	<urn:uuid:a5ef97b4-ec03-415e-ae85-90bf907ade73>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://medicalxpress.com/print274363008.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951163	533	2.875	3
Putting the squeeze on cells By deforming cells, researchers can deliver RNA, proteins and nanoparticles for many applications.CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Living cells are surrounded by a membrane that tightly regulates what gets in and out of the cell. This barrier is necessary for cells to control their internal environment, but it makes it more difficult for scientists to deliver large molecules such as nanoparticles for imaging, or proteins that can reprogram them into pluripotent stem cells. Researchers from MIT have now found a safe and efficient way to get large molecules through the cell membrane, by squeezing the cells through a narrow constriction that opens up tiny, temporary holes in the membrane. Any large molecules floating outside the cell — such as RNA, proteins or nanoparticles — can slide through the membrane during this disruption. Using this technique, the researchers were able to deliver reprogramming proteins and generate induced pluripotent stem cells with a success rate 10 to 100 times better than any existing method. They also used it to deliver nanoparticles, including carbon nanotubes and quantum dots, which can be used to image cells and monitor what’s happening inside them. “It’s very useful to be able to get large molecules into cells. We thought it might be interesting if you could have a relatively simple system that could deliver many different compounds,” says Klavs Jensen, the Warren K. Lewis Professor of Chemical Engineering, professor of materials science and engineering, and a senior author of a paper describing the new device in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, is also a senior author of the paper. Lead authors are chemical engineering graduate student Armon Sharei, Koch Institute research scientist Janet Zoldan, and chemical engineering research associate Andrea Adamo. A general approach Biologists have previously developed several ways to get large molecules into cells, but all of them have drawbacks. DNA or RNA can be packaged into viruses, which are adept at entering cells, but that approach carries the risk that some of the viral DNA will get integrated into the host cell. This method is commonly used in lab experiments but has not been approved by the FDA for use in human patients. Another way to sneak large molecules into a cell is to tag them with a short protein that can penetrate the cell membrane and drag the larger cargo along with it. Alternatively, DNA or proteins can be packaged into synthetic nanoparticles that can enter cells. However, these systems often need to be re-engineered depending on the type of cell and material being delivered. Also, with some nanoparticles much of the material ends up trapped in protective sacs called endosomes inside the cell, and there can be potential toxic side effects. Electroporation, which involves giving cells a jolt of electricity that opens up the cell membrane, is a more general approach but can be damaging to both cells and the material being delivered. The new MIT system appears to work for many cell types — so far, the researchers have successfully tested it with more than a dozen types, including both human and mouse cells. It also works in cells taken directly from human patients, which are usually much more difficult to manipulate than human cell lines grown specifically for lab research. The new device builds on previous work by Jensen and Langer’s labs, in which they used microinjection to force large molecules into cells as they flowed through a microfluidic device. This wasn’t as fast as the researchers would have liked, but during these studies, they discovered that when a cell is squeezed through a narrow tube, small holes open in the cell membrane, allowing nearby molecules to diffuse into the cell. To take advantage of that, the researchers built rectangular microfluidic chips, about the size of a quarter, with 40 to 70 parallel channels. Cells are suspended in a solution with the material to be delivered and flowed through the channel at high speed — about one meter per second. Halfway through the channel, the cells pass through a constriction about 30 to 80 percent smaller than the cells’ diameter. The cells don’t suffer any irreparable damage, and they maintain their normal functions after the treatment. The research team is now further pursuing stem cell manipulation, which holds promise for treating a wide range of diseases. They have already shown that they can transform human fibroblast cells into pluripotent stem cells, and now plan to start working on delivering the proteins needed to differentiate stem cells into specialized tissues. Another promising application is delivering quantum dots — nanoparticles made of semiconducting metals that fluoresce. These dots hold promise for labeling individual proteins or other molecules inside cells, but scientists have had trouble getting them through the cell membrane without getting trapped in endosomes. In a paper published in November, working with MIT graduate student Jungmin Lee and chemistry professor Moungi Bawendi, the researchers showed that they could get quantum dots inside human cells grown in the lab, without the particles becoming confined in endosomes or clumping together. They are now working on getting the dots to tag specific proteins inside the cells. The researchers are also exploring the possibility of using the new system for vaccination. In theory, scientists could remove immune cells from a patient, run them through the microfluidic device and expose them to a viral protein, and then put them back in the patient. Once inside, the cells could provoke an immune response that would confer immunity against the target viral protein. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. Written by: Anne Trafton, MIT News Office	<urn:uuid:4b9d9027-ffc6-4516-9024-09ae266c4c36>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://web.mit.edu/press/2013/putting-the-squeeze-on-cells.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.9533	1,168	3.609375	4
Coia was born in Wolverhampton but grew up in Glasgow. After obtaining a diploma from Glasgow School of Architecture in 1923 he joined the architectural firm of Gillespie, Kidd, and Coia. In the 1930s a series of commissions for Roman Catholic churches cemented Coia's reputation. As the son of an enemy alien, Coia was left vulnerable by the outbreak of war with fascist Italy. He closed his office in 1941, having been elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Coia reopened his office in 1945 and resumed designing churches for the archdiocese of Glasgow. Most of these post-war buildings, however, were severely constrained by limited budgets. During the 1950s Coia's architectural practice expanded and he became a key public figure in Scotland.	<urn:uuid:ff0b63fd-a04f-4ff2-bdf6-46c81f046c4f>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/scottish-artists-a-z/S/5006/artist_name/Benno%20Schotz/record_id/23936	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.987092	156	2.546875	3
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition - n. Someone who takes part in a conversation, often formally or officially. - n. The performer in a minstrel show who is placed midway between the end men and engages in banter with them. Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia - n. One who speaks in a dialogue or takes part in a conversation. - n. In Scots law, a judgment or sentence pronounced in the course of a suit, but which does not finally determine the cause. The term, however, in Scotch practice, is applied indiscriminately to the judgments or orders of any court of record, whether they exhaust the question at issue or not. - n. In negro minstrelsy, the middleman. See middleman, 4. - n. Scotland, law A decree of a court. - n. A person who takes part in dialogue or conversation. - n. A man in the middle of the line in a minstrel show who questions the end men and acts as leader. - n. law An interlocutory judgement or sentence. GNU Webster's 1913 - n. One who takes part in dialogue or conversation; a talker, interpreter, or questioner. - n. (Law) An interlocutory judgment or sentence. - n. the performer in the middle of a minstrel line who engages the others in talk - n. a person who takes part in a conversation - From French interlocutoire, from Latin interlocūtōrium. (Wiktionary) “He hisses at him for being a "banker" (sounds like wanker, get it?) and pulls him up for using the term interlocutor twice (this from the man who brought you indefatigability).” “Two such massive egotists on stage without a disciplinary interlocutor is always a risk: Sinclair begins by claiming that he may have invented Home as a character, or at least some of his ‘psychogeographical’ writings.” “The meme our illustrious interlocutor is faultily remembering is “information wants to be free.”” “Nowadays if you meet a German of a certain age, their families always voted Social Democrat before 1933, they themselves always served on the Western Front (if their interlocutor is Russian or Polish) or the Eastern Front (if you are British or American) and they always surrendered as soon as they could and they never, ever knew about the Holocaust.” “Instead, the interlocutor is saying that the author was himself anti-Catholic, and therefore all of his writings are to be avoided.” “A true interlocutor is willing to accept some level of burden.” “But you are not always in possession of all the information, and no matter how disprespectful your interlocutor is you oughtn’t treat their manner as a reason to disregard their recommendations, dismiss their intentions, or ignore their qualifications.” “That said, do you find, in your own experience, that insulting your interlocutor is the best way to convince them of your own point of view?” “Attacking the intellectual capacity of your interlocutor is a cheap rhetorical device that is useful as a last resort when one has run out of substantive arguments.” “His interlocutor was a big, rugby playing fellow who immediately observed 'don't you worry, we know about terrorism from the Provos'.” These user-created lists contain the word ‘interlocutor’. broker a peace ac..., client state, deadlocked peace ..., embassy, freeze, goodwill ambassador, hinterland, interfere in dome..., intervene personally, maintain technica..., mediation, no business as usual and 670 more... Words that make you go "I know that word...what the heck does it mean?!? Lexicon I likez... in no order whatsoever. ... as in "by James Joyce" Those I've come across and try to keep fresh within my mind. Words to remember from Melville's "The Confidence Man" By David Foster Wallace Looking for tweets for interlocutor.	<urn:uuid:6d0f2ac2-898f-4ea5-b621-26c71d9ad472>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.wordnik.com/words/interlocutor	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.914191	907	3.171875	3
Issue: Heavy debt burdens in the poorest countries continue to draw precious government resources away from critical needs. Many poor countries in Africa are currently confronted with drought and a severe food crisis, which is compounded by a high incidence of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Heavy debt burdens impede the ability of governments to respond to these crises and other development needs of their people. Many poor countries have begun to see their debts reduced through the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, which was adopted in 1996 and expanded in 1999 in response to successful advocacy by the global Jubilee 2000 movement, in which the Catholic Church throughout played a major role. However, as implementation of the HIPC program proceeds, a substantial disparity in the amount of debt relief being received by HIPC countries has become evident. This is because the amount of debt relief under HIPC is determined by a country's export earnings rather than its budgetary resources. Thus, while countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia are receiving relief sufficient to free up substantial resources, most HIPC countries, such as Zambia and Malawi, are receiving much less. USCCB Proposal for Deeper Debt Relief: In order to address disparities and to assure deep debt relief to all HIPC countries, the USCCB developed a proposal calling for all HIPC-eligible countries to receive debt relief sufficient to reduce their annual debt payments during 2003-2005 to no more than 10% of government revenues, or in the case of countries suffering a public health crisis, to no more than 5% of government revenues. Under this proposal, 19 of the 26 countries which have so far qualified for HIPC debt relief would receive new debt reduction, and 16 of these 19 would be eligible for the 5% ceiling. The U.S. budgetary cost of the HIPC amendment for fiscal year 2003 is estimated to be between $50 and $100 million. Legislative Action 2002: In July 2002 this debt relief provision was approved by the Senate (H.R. 2069) as part of a global health bill addressing HIV/AIDS and other health crises in poor countries. A bipartisan debt relief bill incorporating the USCCB proposal had been introduced in the House (H.R. 4524) in April 2002, but intensive advocacy to include the major elements of this bill in the House version of the global health bill were not successful, and the session ended without new debt relief legislation. Given the success in the Senate and the evidence of substantial bipartisan support in the House, efforts to provide deeper debt relief for poor countries are being resumed in the current session of Congress. - To immediately introduce and support bills and/or amendments that would limit debt payments of HIPC countries to no more than 10% of government revenues, and, for countries suffering public health crises, to no more than 5% of government revenues. USCCB Position: The U.S. Catholic bishops urge Congress to introduce legislation to assure deep debt relief for all HIPC countries, especially those suffering public health crises. - the USCCB calls for debt relief sufficient to reduce annual debt payments to no more than 10% of government revenues, and, for countries suffering public health crises, to no more than 5% of government revenues. See the April 2002 letter sent to Senator Santorum on the Debt Relief and Enhancement Act 2002 at: www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/debtleg02.shtml. For More Information:	<urn:uuid:b1c16f93-1c7b-47f1-b95f-eb747281b54e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://old.usccb.org/sdwp/international/dbtbgd.shtml	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95565	709	2.515625	3
Q: Little black bugs are eating the leaves off my corkscrew willow. What can I use to get rid of them? A: Willow leaf beetles are having a feast at your expense! They do great damage to the leaves but rarely kill a willow tree. Adults are oval and have a greenish-blue metallic color. They usually appear in mid-May and are present off and on throughout the summer. Eggs that are laid in early June result in a population explosion a few weeks later. Any insecticide labeled for outdoor use will kill adults and larvae. Look for products containing permethrin, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos or pyrethrin. Spinosad (Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew, etc) or carbaryl (Sevin) are also registered for use on leaf beetles. Spinosad is less toxic; carbaryl is more likely to adversely affect populations of natural enemies or pollinators. Spray when the insects are first seen and repeat in mid-July.	<urn:uuid:7aa8352c-664f-4110-9513-aedc3a427831>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/willow-leaf-beetle-identification/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.947548	212	2.6875	3
American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential world-wide. Its some 148,000 members are mainly American but some are international. The association publishes various journals and pamphlets, as well as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM. The DSM codifies psychiatric conditions and is used world-wide as a key guide to diagnosing disorders. The abbreviation 'APA' is also in common and similar usage by the American Psychological Association and their 'APA style guide' for journal articles. At a meeting in 1844 in Philadelphia, 13 superintendents and organizers of insane asylums and hospitals formed the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII), which later became the American Psychiatric Association in 1921. The group included Thomas Kirkbride creator of the asylum model which was used throughout the United States. The APA emblem, dating to 1890, became more officially adopted from 1921 - a round medallion with a purported facial likeness of Benjamin Rush and 13 stars over his head to represent the 13 founders of the organization. The outer ring contains the words "American Psychiatric Association 1844." Rush's name and an M.D. In 1948, APA formed a small task force to create a new standardized psychiatric classification system. This resulted in the 1952 publication of the first DSM. In 1965 a new task force of 10 people developed DSM-II, published in 1968. DSM-III was published in 1980, after a larger process involving some 600 clinicians. The book was now 500 pages long, including many more disorders, and it sold nearly half a million copies. APA published a revised DSM-III-R in 1987 and DSM-IV in 1994, the latter selling nearly a million copies by the end of 2000. DSM-IV-TR with minor revisions was published in 2000. APA is currently developing and consulting on a DSM-V planned for around 2011. The assembly membership voted against a further proposed name change in 2002, to the American Psychiatric Medical Association amidst increasing concern to differentiate themselves from clinical psychologists. Organization and Membership APA is led by a President (currently Pedro Ruiz) and a Board of Trustees with an Executive Committee. APA reports that its membership is comprised primarily of medical specialists who are qualified, or in the process of becoming qualified, as psychiatrists. The basic eligibility requirement is completion of a residency program in psychiatry accredited by the Residency Review Committee for Psychiatry of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPS(C)), or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Applicants for membership must also hold a valid medical license (with the exception of medical students and residents) and provide one reference who is an APA member. APA holds an annual conference attended by a US and international audience. APA is made up of some 75 district associations throughout the US APA can generally be considered to reflect mainstream, particularly US, psychiatry. In the past it has been predominantly associated with psychodynamic approaches, or the approach exemplified by Adolf Meyer, but more recently has become more associated with a biomedical approach also known as biopsychiatry. The DSM is currently intended to be atheoretical, having moved away from psychodynamic theories to be more widely accepted, and is proposed to not be committed to a particular theorized etiology for mental disorders. The criteria for many of the mental disorders have been expanded and involve a checklist of so-called 'Feighner Criteria' to try and capture the varying sets of features which would be necessary to diagnose a particular disorder. Publications and campaigns APA publishes several journals focused on different areas of psychiatry, for example, academic, clinical practice, or news. - Adolf Meyer rose to prominence as the president of the American Psychiatric Association and was one of the most influential figures in psychiatry in the first half of the twentieth century. - Robert Spitzer was a key figure in the development of later editions of the DSM. - Donald Ewen Cameron is best known for his mind and behavior controlling work for the CIA. Cameron was President of the APA in 1952-1953. Controversies have related to Anti-psychiatry and disability rights campaigners, who regularly protest at American Psychiatric Association offices or meetings. In 2003, activists from MindFreedom International staged a 21-day hunger strike, protesting at a perceived unjustified biomedical focus and challenging APA to provide evidence of the widespread claim that mental disorders are due to chemical imbalances in the brain. APA published a position statement in response and the two organizations exchanged views on the evidence. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, activists campaigned against the DSM classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder, protesting at APA offices and at annual meetings from 1970 to 1973. In 1973 the Board of Trustees voted to remove homosexuality as a disorder category from the DSM, a decision ratified by a small majority (58%) of the general APA membership the following year. A category of "sexual orientation disturbance" was introduced in its place in 1974, and then replaced in the 1980 DSM-III with "ego-dystonic homosexuality", which was later dropped. Some controversy still remains regarding the category of "sexual disorder not otherwise specified" which can include a state of distress about one's sexual orientation, as well as the diagnosis of "gender identity disorder". There was controversy when it emerged that US psychologists and psychiatrists were helping interrogators in Guantanamo and other US facilities. The American Psychiatric Association released a policy statement that psychiatrists should not take a direct part in interrogation of particular prisoners but could "offer general advice on the possible medical and psychological effects of particular techniques and conditions of interrogation, and on other areas within their professional expertise." The APA president caused controversy in 2005 when, although praising the pharmaceutical industry, he argued that American psychiatry had "allowed the biopsychosocial model to become the bio-bio-bio model" and accepted "kickbacks and bribes" from pharmaceutical companies leading to the over-use of medication and neglect of other approaches. - ↑ Barbara De La Torre Declassifying Homosexuality UTMB Magazine, Annals of Medicine - ↑ Psychiatric participation in interrogation of detainees - ↑ Sharfstein, SS. (2005) Big Pharma and American Psychiatry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Psychiatric News August 19, 2005 Volume 40 Number 16 - List of psychiatrists - American Psychological Association - American Journal of Psychiatry - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - American Psychoanalytic Association - Royal College of Psychiatrists - American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology - American Group Psychotherapy Association - The American Psychiatric Association - The American Psychological Association - MindFreedom International Medicine > Psychiatry There is no pharmaceutical or device industry support for this site and we need your viewer supported Donations \| Editorial Board \| Governance \| Licensing \| Disclaimers \| Avoid Plagiarism \| Policies	<urn:uuid:599bb0da-9f63-4235-a01c-4f2576229d20>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.wikidoc.org/index.php/American_Psychiatric_Association	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.944974	1,477	2.84375	3
- Great Lakes - Great Plains - Rocky Mountains - Trophy Catches The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) tested several reservoirs between 2000 and 2003 with most either having no occurrence of LMBV or very slight infection rates. However, in a few reservoirs in North Carolina almost 40% of the largemouth bass tested were positive for LMBV. One of those systems was Shearon Harris Reservoir, which continues to support one of the best largemouth bass fisheries in the state. Recent virus testing coordinated by VDGIF this past August revealed that LMBV was present in about 40% of the bass tested at John H. Kerr Reservoir/Buggs Island Lake and is responsible for the decline in the bass fishery. Largemouth bass from Briery Creek Lake and Sandy River Reservoir (Prince Edward County) were also tested and the virus was detected and confirmed. A small largemouth bass mortality event which occurred at Briery Creek Lake in late June, 2010, was most likely the result of LMBV in the population. Due to the popularity of the largemouth bass fishery at Kerr Reservoir/Buggs Island Lake, anglers have expressed concerns about the LMBV spreading to other area reservoirs. However, some of the area reservoirs already contain LMBV and fish have likely built-up an immunity to the virus. For example, largemouth bass in Lake Gaston tested positive for LMBV in 2000. However, recent surveys at Lake Gaston indicate that the largemouth bass population is doing well. Nevertheless, anglers should follow the precautions listed below to limit the spread of LMBV. FAQ:•Can we cure the disease? No, the virus will have to run its course and hopefully the fish will build up immunity to LMBV. So far, lakes affected by the disease in the southern U.S. have not experienced additional large LMBV outbreaks since the initial ones in the late 1990's. •Are there any risks to humans from the virus? No, fish are safe to eat and the water is safe for drinking water supply and recreation. This virus cannot be passed to humans. •What causes an outbreak of the virus? It is not fully understood what causes an outbreak of LMBV. It is likely that stressful conditions such as low reservoir levels, high water temperatures, or increased handling time make bass more susceptible to LMBV. •How can you tell if a largemouth bass that you've caught has the disease? There are very few external cues that the bass might have the disease. Fish that are very sick from the virus may appear bloated and swim erratically due to the impacts of the virus on the swim bladder. •How does the disease spread? Fish that come in close contact (like in a livewell) can easily infect one another. Transmission through the water and eating infected prey are also ways that the disease is spread. What can anglers do? •Limit fishing, especially tournament fishing, to cooler months. Bass with LMBV are more likely to suffer mortality in the heat of the summer due to stress related to the high water temperatures. Paper tournaments without weigh-ins are always on option that tournaments can explore for summertime tournament fishing. •Cooling livewells with blocks of ice in summer months is highly recommended. But, do not decrease water temperature in livewells more than 20° F from reservoir water temperatures. •DO NOT transfer fish or fish parts from one body of water to another. This can spread the virus. •Land fish quickly and handle them gently to avoid exhaustion and capture stress. Return the fish quickly to the water if you do not plan to keep it. •Sterilize bilge pumps and livewells with a bleach solution to kill the virus. Studies have shown that the virus can survive in water in livewells up to seven days. About 1.5 fluid ounces of bleach added to one gallon of water (1% solution) sprayed on livewell surfaces will kill the virus. Let the bleach solution stand for 5 minutes, rinse thoroughly, and let air dry as chlorine bleach is toxic to fish. •Tournaments should adopt best handling practices at all events. Using release boats, resting stations with oxygen and/or recirculating water, and iced water are all important considerations when planning a tournament. Refer to the conservation pages of the TBF or BASS websites for more information on safe handling practices and tournament organization guidance. For information contact: Dan Michaelson Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Fisheries Biologist 434-392-9645 «Back \| News Home	<urn:uuid:85a81817-b8f2-411d-bb96-080fd87b0699>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.anglerguide.com/outdoors/news/detail.cfm?id=1675	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951985	973	2.90625	3
Spending bill funds NASA mission to the moon Among the budget cuts that President Obama had to agree to in order to avert a government shutdown, Republicans re-gifted him one that he willingly made long ago: $3.8 billion to further NASA's space explorations. The money will fund NASA' s Constellation Program, which was cut entirely under the president's initial fiscal year 2011 budget proposal. The pride of the Constellation Program is the Orion capsule, NASA's most innovative spacecraft, for sending men to the moon. The Orion was a priority of former President George W. Bush's, but plans for construction were halted by the current administration in 2009. Bipartisan pressure from senators from states with a heavy NASA presence revived funding in fiscal year 2010. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., championed the reauthorization of the Constellation Program on October 11, 2010, which led to the unveiling of the first Orion space capsule in March of this year. At a hearing with NASA on April 11, Mikulski applauded NASA's work in creating jobs in the states where space capsules, such as Orion, are built. "Every time NASA lifts off, it takes the American economy with [it]," Mikulski said. "Because [NASA] is about innovation and it is about jobs." The government funding deal for the remainder of fiscal 2011 continues the appropriations authorized in 2010 to continue NASA'S exploration into space with the advancement of the Orion and the creation of a heavy-lift rocket. Following Congress's passage of the spending bill, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement: "We appreciate the work of Congress to pass a 2011 spending bill. NASA now has appropriated funds to implement the 2010 Authorization Act, which gives us a clear path forward to continue America's leadership in human spaceflight, exploration, and scientific discovery." While exploration funding is extended at 2010 levels, some NASA programs, like education outreach, have been cut. NASA is currently formulating its operating plan and has 60 days following the passage of the spending bill to submit the plan to committees.	<urn:uuid:e8c33433-f4c9-4ff5-9b59-08bd0c67d7f1>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.govexec.com/technology/2011/04/spending-bill-funds-nasa-mission-to-the-moon/33828/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.943616	446	2.8125	3
ABOUT LISA BERRY Brown's or Wild Peony Great Red Paintbrush Little Elephant's Head Red Mountain Heather Sierra Shooting Star Scientific Name: Aquilegia formosa Common Name: Crimson Columbine Color: Red to Yellow Five yellow petals form tubes that taper into red nectar spurs with bulbous tips. The spurs alternate between flared red sepals. Many long, yellow stamens protrude beyond the petals. Common up to 9500 ft. in a variety of habitats, including moist forest and woodland openings, stream banks, and rocky slopes and ledges. Although the flowers make a pretty garnish and can be consumed in small quantities, ingestion is not recommended as the rest of the plant, especially the roots and seeds, can be highly toxic. This flower is pollinated by the long proboscises of hummingbirds and bumblebees, though smaller bees often bite through the bulb at the tip of the spur and steal the nectar. Columbine was used historically for many ailments, including heart palpitations, boils, and ulcers.	<urn:uuid:45d55077-8310-48b8-84c3-a8218023274e>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.sierrawildflowers.org/aquilegia_formosa.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.797286	233	3.21875	3
The definitive video game emulation case. In the late 1990's, Connectix created the Virtual Game Station, a commercial emulator designed to replicate the Sony Playstation on a PC. In doing so, they necessarily had to copy elements of the Sony BIOS (built-in operating system (the software that runs the Playstation)), but they claimed fair use. The court agreed, noting that law stated that disassembly could be considered fair use when it is the "only way to gain access to the ideas and functional elements embodied in a copyrighted computer program." Since Sony had provided little information about their BIOS to the public, Connectix could only gain access to it by taking it apart. The court also found VGS to be "moderately transformative"; it transfers the Playstation to a new platform, and thereby expresses the product in a different fashion. And since the VGS is transformative, it is not really a replacement for the Playstation. The court also ruled on the claim that Connectix tarnished Sony's Playstation name. Although the VGS does not play games as well as an actual Playstation, the court did not find that this would result in the VGS hurting Playstation's good name This case follows sound logic, and clearly sets out the argument that emulation itself is perfectly legitimate. It clearly outlines exactly how Connectix copied Sony's BIOS, and explains why that path resulted in VGS being fair use (and in doing so, more or less created guidelines as to how to ensure the legality of an emulator). More importantly, this case made it clear to video game companies that contesting emulation itself would not succeed; if video game companies were intent on stopping piracy, they would have to go after the actual copies of the games, not the emulators. Since ROM files are much more prevalent than emulators, this decision in essence made it much more difficult to stop video game piracy, and forced companies to allow the creation of dozens of free emulators.	<urn:uuid:7908bc69-cb3b-4cd4-ac5a-ad5e4b897299>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://tags.library.upenn.edu/project/35437/virtual_game_station	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.958097	389	2.6875	3
\|This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)\| Executive car is a British term that refers to a car's size and is used to describe an automobile larger than a large family car. In official use, the term is adopted by EuroNCAP, a European organisation founded to test car safety. The term was coined in the 1960s to describe cars targeted at successful professionals and middle to senior managers, often as a company car but retaining enough performance and comfort to be desirable in their own right. Ford identified some of the higher-spec Cortina models as Executives, the 1600E Mk2 becoming something of a cult car in later years for its blend of performance and comparative luxury. The definitive Ford executive car of the 1970s and 80s was the Granada. Larger Triumphs such as the 2000 and 2500 firmly fitted into this category, as did some of the larger Vauxhall models from the VX4/90 and Ventora through to the Carlton. The definitive British executive cars of the 1960s and 1970s though remain the Rover P6 range, superseded by the modern SD1, and the Jaguar XJ6. At the bottom end of the market, executive cars could be luxury versions of family saloons; at the higher end they were often larger models by mainstream manufacturers or the entry-level models by companies specialising in larger luxury vehicles. The executive car was seen as aspirational, hence the emphasis on standing out from the crowd — but also a business tool enabling its users to exploit Britain's evolving motorway network. Early executive cars typically offered engines of between 2.0 and 3.5 litres in size, compared with 1.6 to 2.4 litres of a large family car; these days the average family saloon is more likely to be a two-litre car with executive cars generally starting at around 2.5 litres, although in some markets such as Italy and France where tax structures make large engines prohibitively expensive to own and run there are many 2.0-litre executive vehicles. Body styles Edit In general, executive cars are 4-door sedans. Some manufacturers seek to differentiate their offerings by fitting them with spacious estate variants, or with 5-door hatchback bodies — in particular Rover, Saab, and Citroën have been known to prefer such body styles, with Ford also offering such models through the 1990s. Until the 1990s, some models were also available as 2-door coupés, though such models are often also categorized as sports cars. Some executive-car-based coupés are also marketed under different nameplates, so that the link is not obvious. Market situation Edit While executive cars were quite popular in Europe in the beginning of the 1970s, with most major manufacturers and brands having an entry in this category, the fuel crises hampered their sales. Some models did not achieve sales volume that would justify their development costs and have been cancelled without replacements. Gradually, the executive cars became more premium vehicles, with basic versions with less equipment and smaller engines disappearing from the market. Another problem was steep depreciation, especially concerning cars with less favorable image. On the other hand, large family cars grew in size, being offered with larger engines (including V6 units, considered premium in Europe) and higher equipment levels, taking over the role of less premium executive cars due to still lower prices. In particular, the executive cars from mainstream manufacturers, such as Opel/Vauxhall Omega and Ford Scorpio fell victim to this trend, with the remaining models being positioned mostly as premium cars and coming from brands specializing in larger/more expensive vehicles. Notable exceptions are French manufacturers, Citroën, Peugeot and Renault, who continue to offer executive cars despite having a lineup of vehicles starting with economy city cars and not being considered premium brands. On the other hand, a growing number of Asian manufacturers started offering executive cars, though some of them backed off facing rather slow sales. Other corresponding classes Edit The German equivalent is "upper-middle class (car)" (Obere Mittelklasse) within the classification maintained by Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt. Another designation for the class is "E-Klasse" (E-Class) within the classification assigning a following letter of the Latin alphabet to every class of cars arranged in size, starting with the letter "A" for city cars. Those designations are also often used in several other European countries, especially by automotive media with ties to German publications. German standards generally define such vehicles between 4.8 and 5.0 metres in length and have list prices of between EUR 25-60,000. In France, these vehicles are known as "Grande routière," a class of comfortable long distance cars that first emerged on the French market in the 1930s. The Citroën DS is a prominent example. In the United States and Canada, these vehicles occupy the 1 million vehicle/year Mid-luxury segment. German exports are competitive in this sector and use entry-level-luxury and mid-luxury as the base of their ranges. As has happened in the UK, the market does not reward economy brand cars that branch up into this segment. Because brand perception of value is the key selling proposition, American and Japanese manufacturers have established separate luxury brands like Cadillac, Lincoln, Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura to compete successfully in this segment. Rental car classification segments that generally correspond with it are P (Premium) and L (Luxury), though it has to be noted that these classifications are often applied quite liberally by rental companies. The Australian term for cars this size is simply large car size. Cars bigger than executive in Europe Edit Compact executive cars Edit - Main article: Compact executive car Within the large family car class, premium cars such as Alfa Romeo 159, Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Saab 9-3, and Volvo S60 are sometimes referred to as compact executive cars in the United Kingdom , reflecting their status, equipment amount, materials used and relative size compared to mainstream large family cars and regular executive cars. In North America, such models can be labelled entry-level luxury cars, compact or sometimes mid-size luxury cars, or alternatively near-luxury cars, though this classification depends more on price than on size. See also Edit \|This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Executive car. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons by Attribution License and/or GNU Free Documentation License. Please check page history for when the original article was copied to Wikia\|	<urn:uuid:4adab193-13a2-4cd6-9f88-4d073c475ccd>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://tractors.wikia.com/wiki/Executive_car	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.968769	1,418	2.953125	3
- Mercy Nurse - Symptom Navigator - Levitt Medical Library - Health Information - Body Guide - Multimedia Encyclopedia - In-Depth Health Reports - Complementary & Alternative Medicine - Drug Information Center - Drug Interactions - Wellness Tools - Today's Medical News - Pregnancy Health Center - Recursos EspaÃ±oles De la Salud - Enciclopedia Multimedia - Centro de Information sobre el Embarazo Vancomycin resistant enterococci Enterococcus is a germ (bacterium). It normally lives in the intestines and in the female genital tract. Most of the time, it does not cause problems. But enterococcus can cause an infection if it gets into the urinary tract, bloodstream, or skin wounds. Vancomycin is the antibiotic that is often used to treat these infections. Antibiotics are medicines that are used to kill some germs called bacteria. Enterococcus germs that vancomycin does not kill are called vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). VRE can be hard to treat because there are fewer antibiotics that can fight the bacteria. Most VRE infections occur in hospitals. Who Is at Most Risk for VRE? VRE infections are more common in patients who: - Are in the hospital, especially if they are taking antibiotics for a long time - Are older or who have long-term illnesses and weak immune systems - Have been treated before with vancomycin or other antibiotics for a long time - Have been in intensive care units or cancer or transplant units - Have had major surgery Preventing the Spread of VRE in the Hospital VRE can get onto hands by touching a person who has VRE or by touching a surface that has VRE on it. The bacteria then spread from one person to another by touch. The best way to prevent the spread of VRE is for everyone to keep their hands clean. - Hospital staff and health care providers must wash with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub before and after caring for every patient. - Patients should wash their hands if they move around the room. - Visitors also need to take steps to prevent spreading germs. Urinary catheters or IV tubing are changed on a regular basis to minimize the risk of VRE infections. Patients infected with VRE may be placed in a single room.This prevents the spread of germs among hospital staff, the patient, and visitors. Staff and health care providers may need to: - Use proper garments, such as a gown and gloves when entering the patient’s room - Wear a mask when there is a chance of splashing of bodily fluids Treating VRE Infections Often, other antibiotics besides vancomycin can be used to treat most VRE infections. Lab tests will tell which antibiotics will kill the germ. Patients with the enterococcus germ who do not have symptoms of an infection do not need treatment. Reviewed By: Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc.	<urn:uuid:3607e5df-ceb1-42a3-ba47-d8192557a983>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.mercydesmoines.org/health_questions/HIE%20Multimedia/60/000476.cfm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.891772	716	3.515625	4
The Ultimate Minimalist Five Powerful Lessons from Gandhi “You may have occasion to possess or use material things, but the secret of life lies in never missing them.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi Political and spiritual leader Mohandas Gandhi practiced total simplicity and minimalism, leaving an admirable legacy of how to live. Born into a prosperous family, he enjoyed a privileged upbringing and studied law at University College, London, in England. When he left Earth, he had fewer than 10 possessions. In contrast, most of us tend to spend a lot of time and energy accumulating and looking after possessions; by having less, life naturally becomes simpler. We can take up author Dave Bruno’s The 100 Thing Challenge and start cutting down to bare basics by recycling, refusing to accept more stuff and giving away or selling unwanted possessions. Accumulate little. Gandhi believed in possessing only the clothes, sandals, watch and spectacles he wore and some cooking and eating utensils. He would give away or auction any gift he received. Eat simple food. Gandhi never had a problem being overweight. He followed a strict vegetarian diet and frequently cooked his own simple, locally produced foods. He ate from a small bowl, a reminder to eat moderately and mindfully, often accompanied by prayers. Dress simply. Gandhi wore simple clothes, often just a wraparound cloth, for modesty and comfort. A simple hairstyle can shorten daily grooming. Gandhi shaved off his hair. Lead a simple, stress-free life. Gandhi meditated daily and spent hours in reflection and prayer. Though he was a revered world leader, he led a simple life with few distractions and commitments and would interrupt political meetings to play with children. Gandhi insisted on doing his own simple tasks. He advocated self-sufficiency and simple work. Let your life be your message. A prolific, concise writer and powerful speaker in public; in private, Gandhi spoke quietly and only when necessary. He preferred to let his life talk for him. By living a simple life, Gandhi was able to devote himself to his chosen higher purpose and focus on his commitment to his people and the world. Accordingly, consistent focus determines anyone’s success and the potential for leaving one’s own inspiring legacy. Arvind Devalia is the author of the bestselling Get the Life You Love, an inspirational coach and prolific blogger. Connect at ArvindDevalia.com/blog.	<urn:uuid:8fa5821c-fa34-40f8-9d50-13ff9228a247>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.naturalawakeningsmag.com/Natural-Awakenings/July-2012/The-Ultimate-Minimalist/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.966238	502	2.59375	3
Substances Which Are Both Oxidizing and Reducing Agents Water We have seen that some oxidizing agents, such as fluorine, can oxidize water to oxygen. There are also some reducing agents, such as lithium, which can reduce water to hydrogen. In terms of redox, water behaves much as it did in acid-base reactions, where we found it to be amphiprotic. In the presence of a strong electronA negatively charged, sub-atomic particle with charge of 1.602 x 10-19 coulombs and mass of9.109 x 1023 kilograms; electrons have both wave and particle properties; electrons occupy most of the volume of an atom but represent only a tiny fraction of an atom's mass. donor (strong reducing agent), water serves as an oxidizing agent. In the presence of a strong electron acceptor (strong oxidizing agent), water serves as a reducing agent. Water is rather weak as an oxidizing or as a reducing agent, however; so there are not many substances which reduce or oxidize it. Thus it makes a good solventThe substance to which a solute is added to make a solution. for redox reactions. This also parallels water’s acid-base behavior, since it is also a very weak acid and a very weak base. Hydrogen peroxide, H2O2 In this moleculeA set of atoms joined by covalent bonds and having no net charge. the oxidation number for oxygen is –1. This is halfway between O2(0) and H2O(–2), and so hydrogen peroxide can either be reduced or oxidized. When it is reduced, it acts as an oxidizing agent: H2O2 + 2H+ + 2e– → 2H2O When it is oxidized, it serves as a reducing agent: H2O2 → O2 + 2H+ + 2e– Hydrogen peroxide is considerably stronger as an oxidizing agent than as a reducing agent, especially in acidic solutions.	<urn:uuid:9ce50cd0-1daf-4aa8-aaf5-9d75feefb495>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://chempaths.chemeddl.org/services/chempaths/?q=book/General%20Chemistry%20Textbook/Reactions%20in%20Aqueous%20Solutions/1444/substances-which-are-both-oxidiz	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95773	420	3.71875	4
Check out the most common crochet stitches with this crochet stitch guide. These stitches are the building blocks of crochet. When you’re learning to crochet, you learn those stitches first before moving on to pattern stitches. A pattern stitch consists of ordered stitches that are repeated to make textures, shells and clusters, as well as decorative motifs. You use pattern stitches to create crocheted items such as scarves, hats, baby blankets and more. You can find pattern stitches in crochet books or pattern leaflets, and on the Internet. With practice, you can learn to individualize a written pattern by using different crochet hooks or yarns. A stitch pattern can be as simple as two rows, or as complex as twelve. A row counter can help you keep track of where you are. Texture Crochet Stitches Texture crochet patterns use basic crochet stitches to create a multitude of compact patterns. The alternate stitch is done on a multiple of two chains plus two for turning. Begin by making a chain the length you need, turn it, and after skipping three chains (the turning chain), make two single crochet in the next chain (or stitch, in later rows). Then skip a chain (or stitch) and chain one. Repeat that to the last stitch or chain, make two single crochets in the last stitch, chain two and turn. The second row will make the two crochet stitches in the single chain spaces, and skip and chain over the two crochets in the previous row. Those two rows make up a pattern that looks something like a leaf when it’s made up. The double stitch is similar to the alternate stitch, but instead of making two single crochets in one stitch, it spans two stitches. Insert your crochet hook in the stitch to be worked, wrap the yarn over it so you pull back a loop, then insert the crochet hook into the next stitch. Yarn over so you’ll pull back an additional loop, then pull the yarn through all three loops on the hook. Repeat the double stitch over each pair of stitches in the row. With a soft, washable crochet yarn, this pattern makes a warm baby blanket. Other texture stitches include: Up and down, which alternates single and double stitches. Checker board pattern created by alternating groups of three or four single and double crochet stitches. Woven stitch made by crocheting a single crochet in a chain stitch, chaining one and skipping the next stitch, and then crocheting another single crochet. Repeat this across the first row, then crochet one in the chain space of the previous row, skipping and chaining one over the single crochets in the previous row. Diagonal stitch, which uses long stitches pulled across groups of three single or double crochet stitches. There are many more texture stitches. Once you’ve tried a few, you may start coming up with textures of your own. Shell or Fan Pattern Stitches The shell or fan stitch is one of the most popular designs for baby blankets, throws and afghans. A shell is a group of three to five stitches worked into a single stitch or chain space. The group will be closer together at the bottom and spread out at the top, so each group looks like a fan or seashell. A simple shell has a double crochet in one stitch, then two double crochet, a single chain, and two more double crochets all in the next stitch. Another double crochet is made in the next stitch, but the loop is carried across three skipped stitches, and a smaller fan is made. Each large shell is crocheted into the skipped stitch of the shell below it, creating a scalloped edge. Variations on the shell can be made by crocheting small shells in narrow chain spaces, creating an open, delicate pattern ideal for baby clothes or blankets. By making large shells over large open areas, you can create an arch-like pattern. Make a fan opening upward over one opening down, and you’ll have a beautiful starburst pattern. Cluster Crochet Stitch Patterns The best known cluster stitch is probably the bobble stitch. The bobble is usually between a pair of single crochet stitches, and is created by doing a yarn over, inserting the crochet hook into the bobble’s base stitch and pulling a loop out. You then do another yarn over, pulling the yarn through two of the stitches on the hook. This is repeated five times in the base stitch, resulting in six loops remaining on the hook. The yarn is pulled through all six loops to create the bobble, then secured by making a single crochet in the stitch that follows it. Another popular cluster pattern is the pineapple stitch. Worked on a multiple of two plus four, the pineapple is made by doing a yarn over, inserting the crochet hook in a single stitch, and pulling up a loop four times, making a yarn over. Draw the crochet yarn through eight loops, then make another yarn over and pull the yarn through the last two loops. Unlike bobbles, pineapples aren’t usually anchored with single crochet stitches. Instead, a stitch is skipped between each pineapple, and a chain is made over the skipped stitch. In the next row, the pineapples are made in the chain space between the pineapples on the previous row. The top of the pineapple is skipped and a chain is made above it. You should now have a better idea of the kind of designs you can make with basic crochet stitches. Find some crochet books, search the Web and, after making some patterns, try creating some of your own.	<urn:uuid:6717dd0d-0537-4446-ac46-54a90d1e387d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://patternsforcrochets.info/tag/pineapple-crochet-stitch/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.929087	1,155	3.25	3
Sometimes, something happens that is so awful that we find ourselves rationalizing it, talking as if it had to happen, to make ourselves feel better about the horrible event. For many people, I believe, President Truman's dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, were two such events. After all, if the leader of arguably the freest country in the world decided to drop those bombs, he had to have a good reason, didn't he? I grew up in Canada thinking that, horrible as it was, dropping the atomic bombs on those two cities was justified. Although I never believed that the people those bombs killed were mainly guilty people, I could at least tell myself that many more innocent people, including American military conscripts, would have been killed had the bombs not been dropped. But then I started to investigate. On the basis of that investigation, I have concluded that dropping the bomb was not necessary and caused, on net, tens of thousands, and possibly more than a hundred thousand, more deaths than were What I write below will not come as a surprise to those who are particularly well-informed about the issue: the Gar Wainstocks, and Ralph Raicos of the world. But it did come as a surprise to me and will surprise, I believe, many of the people reading this article. There were four surprises: (1) how Truman himself couldn't seem to keep his story straight about why he dropped the bomb and even whom he dropped the first one on; (2) how strong the opinion was among the informed, including many military and political leaders, against dropping the bomb; (3) how strong a case can be made that the Japanese government was about to surrender and that the U.S. insistence on unconditional surrender had already delayed their surrender for months; and (4) how the proponents of dropping the bomb systematically and successfully convinced Americans that dropping the bomb saved many American lives. On the third issue, in particular, I highlight a May 1945 memo to President Truman from former President Herbert Hoover, the person who founded the Hoover Institution, at which I am proudly, given his views on this, a research fellow. Start with Truman. In a long, rambling speech to the American people on radio on Aug. 9, three days after the Enola Gay dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and hours after Bockscar dropped it on Nagasaki, Truman world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, insofar as possible, the killing of civilians." Actually, of course, it was not a military base, but a city, a fact that Truman must have known before he made the decision. And if he didn't know it, then how horrible is that? Someone who wants to drop a nuclear bomb on a target should surely do due diligence to find out what the target is. That seems like a minimal requirement. Nevertheless, whatever he knew or didn't know, Truman clearly stated above that he wanted to avoid killing civilians. But did he? In response to a clergyman who criticized his decision, Truman wrote: "Nobody is more disturbed over the use of Atomic bombs than I am but I was greatly disturbed over the unwarranted attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor and their murder of our prisoners of war. The only language they seem to understand is the one we have been using to bombard them. When you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him as a beast. It is most regrettable but Here, Truman sounds more like a man bent on vengeance than a man worrying about needless loss of civilian lives. And how regrettable was it to Truman? He later wrote, "I telephoned Byrnes [his secretary of state] aboard ship to give him the news and then said to the group of sailors around me, 'This is the greatest thing in history.'" In response to a story in the Aug. 7 Oregon Journal headlined "Truman, Jubilant Over New Bomb, Nears U.S. Port," Lew Wallace, a Democratic politician from Portland, Oregon, telegrammed Truman: "We on the Pacific Coast and all Americans know that no president of the United States could ever be jubilant over any device that would kill innocent human beings. Please make it clear that it is not destruction but the end of destruction that is the cause of jubilation." Truman replied on Aug. 9: "I appreciated your telegram very much but I think if you will read the paper again you will find that the good feeling on my part was over the fact Russia had entered into the war with Japan and not because we had invented a new engine of destruction." There are two small problems with Truman's version. First, Truman wasn't jubilant about Russia's entry. Second and more important, the timing doesn't work. When Truman claimed to have been jubilant about Russia's entry into the war, Russia hadn't yet entered. Russia entered the war on Aug. 8. The Opposition to Dropping the Bomb Start with this shocking quote – shocking because of the source: "Careful scholarly treatment of the records and manuscripts opened over the past few years has greatly enhanced our understanding of why the Truman administration used atomic weapons against Japan. Experts continue to disagree on some issues, but critical questions have been answered. The consensus among scholars is that the bomb was not needed to avoid an invasion of Japan and to end the war within a relatively short time. It is clear that alternatives to the bomb existed and that Truman and his advisers knew it." The author of the above quote: J. Samuel Walker, chief historian of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But what about the idea that the Japanese would fiercely resist an invasion of their main islands? It is one of those myths that have come about with few apparent facts to support it. The various military men who were close to the action were quite confident that the Japanese had been so thoroughly bombed and their infrastructure so thoroughly destroyed that there was no need for the atom bomb. The literature is rife with quotes to that effect. Take, for example, Curtis E. LeMay, the Air Force general who led B-29 bombing of Japanese cities late in the war. LeMay once said, "There are no innocent civilians, so it doesn't bother me so much to be killing innocent bystanders." And he was as good as his word: in one night of fire-bombing Tokyo, he and his men killed 100,000 civilians. So we can be confident that any doubts he had about dropping the atom bomb would not be based on concern for Japanese civilians. But consider the following dialogue between LeMay and the press. "LeMay: The war would have been over in two weeks without the Russians entering and without the atomic bomb. "The Press: You mean that, sir? Without the Russians and the atomic "LeMay: Yes, with the B-29… "The Press: General, why use the atomic bomb? Why did we use it then? "LeMay: Well, the other people were not convinced… "The Press: Had they not surrendered because of the atomic bomb? "LeMay: The atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war at Nor was LeMay alone. Other Air Force officers, all documented in Alperovitz, had reached similar conclusions. And Navy admirals and Army generals also believed that dropping the bomb was a bad idea. Fleet Admiral Leahy, for instance, the chief of staff to the president and a friend of Truman's, thought the atom bomb unnecessary. Furthermore, he wrote, "in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages." Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, commander in chief of the U.S. Fleet and chief of Naval Operations, thought the war could be ended well before a planned November 1945 naval invasion. And in a public speech on Oct. 5, 1945, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, said, "The Japanese had, in fact, already sued for peace before the atomic age was announced to the world with the destruction of Hiroshima and before the Russian entry into the war." Many Army leaders had similar views. Author Norman Cousins writes of Gen. Douglas "[H]e saw no military justification for the dropping of the bomb. The war might have ended weeks earlier, he said, if the United States had agreed, as it later did anyway, to the retention of the institution of the emperor." Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, was also against the bomb. Eisenhower biographer Stephen Ambrose writes: "There was one additional matter on which Eisenhower gave Truman advice that was ignored. It concerned the use of the atomic bomb. Eisenhower first heard of the bomb during the Potsdam Conference; from that moment on, until his death, it occupied, along with the Russians, a central position in his thinking. "When [Secretary of War] Stimson said the United States proposed to use the bomb against Japan, Eisenhower voiced '… grave misgivings….' Three days later, on July 20, Eisenhower flew to Berlin, where he met with Truman and his principal advisors. Again Eisenhower recommended against using the bomb, and again was ignored." These are a few of the many quotes in Alperovitz from military leaders who thought the bomb's use on Japan unnecessary and/or immoral. Much of what I've written in this section is subject to the criticism that, of course, these leaders wanted to distance themselves from a bad decision, but that that doesn't necessarily mean they were opposed at the time or, more important, expressed their opposition at the time. In short, all these people could be lying. However, Alperovitz gives enough evidence to conclude, at the very least, that not all of them were lying. Some of the documents are memos written well before Aug. 6, 1945. The Weak Case for Using the Bomb Even though it's clear that not all of these opponents lied after the fact about their opposition, assume for a minute that they had. There still would be no good case for using the bomb. Roosevelt and Truman had made clear that they were seeking "unconditional surrender" from Japan. But Truman adamantly refused to clarify what "unconditional surrender" One of the key issues in the U.S. government's call for the Japanese government's unconditional surrender was whether the Japanese would be able to keep their emperor. Former President Herbert Hoover was very active in trying to end the war with Japan. On May 16, 1945, he sent a memo to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, who had been Hoover's secretary of state, outlining his views on the war. On May 28, he met with President Truman and discussed how to end the war. At Truman's request, Hoover wrote a memo in which he urged that the terms of Japan's surrender be clarified. He emphasized that the U.S. government should make clear to Japan's government that "the Allies have no desire to destroy either the Japanese people or their government, or to interference [sic] in the Japanese way of life." Truman gave the Hoover memo to Stimson and undersecretary of state Joseph Grew for comments. On June 14, fully seven weeks before the bomb was dropped, Stimson's staff gave its assessment: "The proposal of a public declaration of war aims, in effect giving definition to 'unconditional surrender,' has definite merit if it is carefully There is ample evidence that the Japanese government was willing to surrender months before Aug. 6 if only it could keep its emperor. Much of this evidence is given in Alperovitz's book and much in Dennis D. Wainstock, The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996). Wainstock (pp. 22-23) tells of many attempts by the Japanese to clarify the terms and to make clear their willingness to surrender if they could only keep their emperor untouched. For example, on April 7, 1945, acting Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mamoru asked Swedish Ambassador Widon Bagge in Tokyo "to ascertain what peace terms the United States and Britain had in mind." Shigemitsu emphasized that "the Emperor must not be touched." Bagge passed the message on to the U.S. government, but Secretary of State Edward Stettinius told the U.S. ambassador in Sweden to "show no interest or take any initiative in pursuit of this matter." So the Japanese government tried another route. On May 7, 1945, Masutard Inoue, counselor of the Japanese legation in Portugal, approached an agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Inoue asked the agent to contact the U.S. embassy and "find out exactly what they plan to do in the Far East." He expressed his fear that Japan would be smashed, and he emphasized, "there can be no unconditional surrender." The agent passed the message on, but nothing came of it. Three times is a charm, goes the saying. But not for the hapless Japanese. On May 10, 1945, Gen. Onodera, Japan's military representative in Sweden, tried to get a member of Sweden's royal family to approach the Allies for a settlement. He emphasized also that Japan's government would not accept unconditional surrender and must be allowed to "save face." The U.S. government urged Sweden's government to let the matter drop. But if you can't at first surrender, try, try again. On July 12, with almost four weeks to go before the horrible blast, Kojiro Kitamura, a representative of the Yokohama Specie Bank in Switzerland, told Per Jacobson, a Swedish adviser to the Bank for International Settlements, that he wanted to contact U.S. representatives and that the only condition Japan insisted on was that it keep its emperor. "He was acting with the consent of Shunichi Kase, the Japanese minister to Switzerland, and General Kiyotomi Okamoto, chief of Japanese European intelligence, and they were in direct contact with Tokyo." On July 14, Jacobson met in Wiesbaden, Germany with OSS representative Allen Dulles (later head of the CIA) and relayed the message that Japan's main demand was "retention of the Emperor." Dulles passed the information to Stimson, but Stimson refused to act on it. Interestingly, Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy drafted a proposed surrender demand for the Committee of Three (Grew, Stimson, and Navy Secretary James Forrestal.) Their draft was part of Article 12 of the Potsdam Declaration, in which the Allies specified the conditions for Japan's surrender. Under their wording, Japan's government would have been allowed to keep its emperor as part of a "constitutional monarchy." Truman, though, who was influenced by his newly appointed Secretary of State James Byrnes on the ship over to the Potsdam Conference, changed the language of the surrender demand to drop the reference to keeping the emperor. The bitter irony, of course, is that Truman ultimately allowed Japan to keep its emperor. Had this condition been dropped earlier, there would have been no need for the atom bomb. Rather than let Japan's government "save face," Truman destroyed almost 200,000 faces. Why did this happen? Why did Truman persist in refusing to clarify what unconditional surrender meant? Alperovitz speculates, with evidence that some will find convincing and others won't, that the reason was to send a signal to Joseph Stalin that the U.S. government was willing to use some pretty vicious methods to dominate in the postwar world. My own view is that Truman and Byrnes wanted vengeance, plain and simple, and cared little about the loss of innocent lives. Let's face it: dropping an atom bomb on two non-militarily strategic cities was not different in principle from fire-bombing Tokyo or Dresden. Why is it that when people talk Hiroshima and Nagasaki today, the standard response from defenders of the decision is that dropping these bombs saved hundreds of thousands and, in some versions, millions, of American lives? The reason is that some of those who had most favored using the bomb, or who had gone along with the decision, participated in a highly successful attempt to craft history. Even Jimmy Byrnes, the aforementioned secretary of state and one of the strongest advocates of using the bomb, claimed in his memoirs only the following: "Certainly, by bringing the war to an end, the atomic bomb saved the lives of thousands of American boys." But, by 1991, President George H.W. Bush was claiming that the decision to use the bomb "spared millions [emphasis mine] of American lives." What happened that made Americans take this kind of claim seriously? Within a year of the war's end, articles started appearing in the U.S. that questioned the need for dropping the bomb or that simply laid out, in very human terms, its devastating consequences. In a June 1946 article in Saturday Review, for example, editor Norman Cousins and co-author Thomas K. Finletter, a former assistant secretary of state and, later, secretary of the Air Force, raised the question of why the bomb was dropped. They speculated: "Can it be that we were more anxious to prevent Russia from establishing a claim for full participation in the occupation against Japan than we were to think through the implications of unleashing atomic warfare?" Other popular articles followed. On Aug. 19, 1946, the New York Times reported that Albert Einstein deplored the use of the bomb and speculated that it was a way of getting to Japan before the Russians did. On Aug. 31, The New Yorker devoted its entire issue to John Hersey's Hiroshima, which laid out the horrible human tragedy. It didn't help the proponents' case that in July 1946, the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey's book, Japan's Struggle to End the War, was published. It concluded that Japan would have surrendered without the bomb, without the Soviet declaration of war, and without even a In the minds of proponents of using the bomb, something had to be done. James B. Conant, for example, Harvard University's president and one of the leading advocates of the bomb's use, concluded that an article was needed to counter this growing wave of criticism. The best candidate for the job, he concluded, was Henry Stimson. Stimson had been in both Hoover's and Truman's administrations and was highly respected. Conant suggested to Harvey Bundy, who had been one of the main overseers of the Manhattan Project that had developed the bomb, that he draft an article for Stimson's signature. The actual author of the article was Harvey Bundy's young son, McGeorge Bundy, who later figured so prominently as a Kennedy administration official in favor of the Vietnam war. Alperovitz tells the story so well (pp. 448-497) that I can't do justice to it here. But here are two highlights of the points the article was to make: - That if the bomb hadn't been used, "thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of American soldiers might be [sic] killed or permanently - That "nobody in authority in Potsdam was satisfied that the Japanese would surrender on terms acceptable to the Allies without further bitter As we have seen, both of these claims were false. Conant, moreover, successfully persuaded Bundy to drop mention of the issue of "unconditional surrender." This is like asking a sports writer writing about football player Terrell Owens' conflicts to drop any mention of his criticism of Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb. Why confuse readers with the facts? The final draft was published in the February 1947 Harper's and widely reprinted. It silenced all but the most-independent critics. If you find yourself making claims about all the American lives saved and about the Japanese intransigence in the face of certain defeat, as I used to, you can probably thank McGeorge Bundy, Henry Stimson, and James B. Conant. But if you want the facts, read pp. 448-497 of Alperovitz. 1. Quoted in Gar Alperovitz, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995, p. 563. 2. J. Samuel Walker, "The Decision to Use the Bomb: A Historiographical Update," Diplomatic History, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Winter 1990), pp. 97-114. (Quoted in Alperovitz, 1995.) 3. Quoted in Alperovitz, 1995, p. 336. 4. William D. Leahy, I Was There, pg. 441, quoted 5. Alperowitz, p. 329. 6. Cousins, Pathology of Power, 1987, p. 71, quoted in Alperovitz, 1995. 7. Stephen E. Ambrose, Eisenhower, Vol I: Soldier, General of the Army, President-Elect, 1890-1952 (New York, 1983), pp. 425-426, quoted in Alperovitz, p. 358. 8. Quoted in Alperovitz, p. 44. 9. Quoted in Alperovitz, p. 44. 10. Quoted in Wainstock, p. 22. 11. Wainstock, p. 23. 12. James F. Byrnes, Speaking Frankly, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1947, p. 264. 13. Quoted in Alperovitz, p. 443. Copyright © 2006 by David R. Henderson. Requests for permission to reprint should be directed to the author or Antiwar.com.	<urn:uuid:269e8fa4-0bbe-4f34-a24c-5be8ec2afa30>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.antiwar.com/henderson/?articleid=9443	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.958644	4,828	2.609375	3
Born: 3 March 1882 Died: 18 January 1949 Birthplace: Lugo, Italy Best known as: The guy behind the Ponzi Scheme Carlo (or Charles) Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who bilked millions of dollars out of thousands of hopeful investors in the 1920s, in what has since become known as a Ponzi Scheme. Ponzi arrived in the U.S. in 1903, then made his way to Canada by 1908. After a jail term for forgery, Ponzi was arrested for smuggling aliens into the U.S. and ended up in a federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia. He settled in Boston and worked as a dishwasher for years before coming up with a plan to get rich. In 1919 he formed the Securities Exchange Company (SEC), promising financial success by converting foreign postage coupons into U.S. currency. Ponzi promised returns too good to be true. And they were: early investors were paid off with money from new investors; there was no real investment going on, just cash distribution. (The approach is also known as a "pyramid scheme.") Beginning in late 1919 and early 1920, Ponzi moved as much as $15 million from thousands of investors, eventually using 35 branch offices. The scheme fell apart eight months later and Ponzi was convicted of embezzlement. His legal troubles dragged on for more than a decade and he was in and out of jail in the U.S. until 1934, when he was deported to Italy. He worked briefly for Benito Mussolini and then landed a job running an airline in Brazil, where he died destitute in 1949. Copyright © 1998-2013 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved. More on Carlo Ponzi from Infoplease: Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.	<urn:uuid:5015fdc0-9ffb-4546-9d8e-e4805c251a88>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/carloponzi.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.978038	388	2.625	3
CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS As already stated earlier, civil and political rights are the rights that generally restrict the powers of the government in respect of actions affecting the individual and his or her autonomy (civil rights), and confer an opportunity upon people to contribute to the determination of laws and participate in government (political rights). Some of the most important rights in this category are: Right to Life Everyone has the right to life, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including: deaths in custody as a result of torture, neglect, the use of force, or life-threatening conditions of detention; killings by state agents, or persons acting in direct or indirect compliance with the State, when the force used is not absolutely necessary and proportionate to the circumstances; expulsion or "refoulement" (illegal return) of persons to a country where their lives are in danger; failure by the state to investigate alleged violations of the right to life and to bring those responsible to justice. International human rights mechanisms also place limits on the use of the death penalty. The right to freedom from torture Everyone has the right to freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. According to the international human rights mechanisms, this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including: the deliberate infliction of severe physical or psychological pain by state agents with the intention of causing suffering; expelling or returning a person to a country in which they face a real risk of being tortured or subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; keeping persons in very poor conditions of detention, even if there is no intention to inflict suffering; corporal (physical) punishment of children in schools. The right to a fair trial Everyone has the right to a fair trial, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: hearing criminal charges before administrative bodies which are not independent and impartial courts; trials in which, from the beginning, one party has a significant advantage over the other (this is said to breach the principle of "equality of arms"); excessive delays in bringing a case to trial and/or in completing court proceedings; secret trials; failing to respect the presumption of innocence by denying procedural protection to accused persons (e.g. information about the nature of the charge, time to prepare a defense, access to a lawyer, the possibility to confront witnesses and (if necessary) access to interpretation). The right to freedom of assembly and association Everyone has the right to freedom of assembly and association. According to the international human rights mechanisms, this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including: preventing peaceful public demonstrations (unless it can be shown that there would be a serious danger to public safety and order if the demonstration took place); restricting possibilities to join voluntary associations; denying persons the right to form and/or join organized unions. The Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching. Coercing people to adopt certain religion and imposing unreasonable restrictions, including criminal penalty, for exercising one’s own religion are the most typical violations of this right. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. The right to freedom of expression Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: restricting access to political, artistic or commercial information and ideas (e.g. denying pregnant women information about abortion facilities); limiting the freedom of the press; placing undue restrictions (excluding reasonable licensing restrictions) on broadcasting. The right to an effective remedy Everyone has the right to an effective remedy if his/her human rights are violated. According to the international human rights mechanisms, this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: failing to provide adequate procedures to complain about, or obtain compensation for, killings by security forces; not carrying out thorough enquiries into alleged ill-treatment by security forces; not establishing complaints procedures regarding the interception of telephone calls; failing to provide means of redress for persons suspended from school on the grounds of their religious affiliation. The right to privacy Everyone has the right to privacy, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: intervening in a person's private life (which includes their right to form relationships and to enjoy sexual autonomy); disrupting family life (which includes the right to marry and to found a family); destroying a person's home or preventing a person from living in his/her home; interfering with private correspondence. The right to liberty and security Everyone has the right to liberty and security and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including: unlawful or arbitrary detention (where there is no legal basis for the deprivation of liberty), for example when a person is kept in detention after the completion of their prison sentence or despite an amnesty law which applies to them; detention of persons because they have exercised the rights and freedoms guaranteed by international instruments, including the ones described in this manual; detention after a trial which did not comply with international standards for a fair trial (see the right to a fair trial). The right to asylum Everyone who has a well-founded fear of persecution has the right to asylum in a country where they will be safe. According to the international human rights mechanisms, this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by: not providing the facilities necessary to enable people to claim asylum (including interpreters and properly-trained immigration staff); failing to give adequate consideration to a request for asylum; expelling a person to a country in which he/she would be at risk of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The right to freedom from discrimination Everyone has the right to freedom from discrimination, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including by discriminating against someone because of: sex, race, color, language, religion, political allegiance, opinions, nationality, social background, association with a national minority. These rights guarantee the positive liberty to contribute to the process of governing the affairs of society in which one lives. Political rights presume that the government processes should be structured so as to provide opportunities for political participation of all eligible citizens. According to the modern concept of political rights, every citizen should have the right and opportunity, without unreasonable restrictions, to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through chosen representatives. While political rights are very much emphasized in the US, the percentage of Americans who choose to actively participate political process is one of the lowest among industrialized nations. This fact alone speaks volumes about the political environment in which American citizens are expected to exercise their political freedoms. For example, in the 2000 presidential campaign, for example, less than 50 percent of the eligible voters cast their ballots. Scholars differ on why this decline in voting has occurred from the high point of the late 19th century, when voting rates regularly ran at 85 percent or better of qualified voters. Some historians attribute the decline to the corresponding decline in the importance of political parties in the daily lives of the people. Others think that the growth of well-moneyed interest groups has led people to lose interest in elections fought primarily through television and newspaper advertisements. When non-voters are queried as to why they did not vote the answers range widely. There are those who did not think that their single vote would make a difference, and those who did not believe that the issues affected them, as well as those who just did not care — a sad commentary in light of the long historical movement toward universal suffrage in the United States. But many people were reminded by the closeness of the 2000 presidential election that the individual's vote does count. A shift of fractions of a percentage point in half-a-dozen states could easily have swung the election the other way. Perhaps as a result, Americans in the future will not take this important right, a right that lies at the very heart of the notion of "consent of the governed," quite as much for granted.	<urn:uuid:6ab5055c-9d85-4ce0-9bd8-25d86d543b04>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.lincoln.edu/criminaljustice/hr/Civilandpolitical.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.95414	1,756	3.875	4
Prevalence of Atopic Disorders and Immunodeficiency in Patients with Ectodermal Dysplasia Syndromes Ectodermal dysplasia (ED) syndromes are a diverse group of disorders that affect multiple ectodermally derived tissues. Small studies and case reports suggest an increase in atopy and primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) among patients with ED syndromes. To determine the prevalence of clinical symptoms suggestive of atopy or immunodeficiency among a large cohort of children with ED syndromes. A 9-page questionnaire was mailed to families who were members of the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias. The surveys were completed by parents of children younger than 18 years with a diagnosis of an ED syndrome or carrier state. Portions of the questionnaire were adapted from previously validated questionnaires developed by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). We received 347 completed questionnaires (41%). When compared with the 13- to 14-year-old children surveyed by ISAAC, we found both all-aged and age-matched children with ED syndromes, respectively, had significantly higher rates of asthma (32.2% and 37.2% vs 16.4%), rhinitis symptoms (76.1% and 78.3% vs 38.9%), and eczema (58.9% and 48.9% vs 8.2%). The prevalence of physician-diagnosed food allergies (20.7%) and PIDs (6.1%) in these ED patients also exceeded known rates in the general pediatric population. This large-scale, retrospective study demonstrates a greater reported prevalence of symptoms suggestive of atopic disorders and PIDs among children with ED syndromes than the general pediatric population. A combination of genetic and environmental factors in ED syndromes may contribute to breaches of skin and mucosal barriers, permitting enhanced transmission and sensitization to irritants, allergens, and pathogens.	<urn:uuid:9635d357-2b6a-4bfa-8207-ba5b06ed2b62>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.nationaleczema.org/prevalence-atopic-disorders-and-immunodeficiency-patients-ectodermal-dysplasia-syndromes/research?page=2	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938493	412	2.578125	3
We’ve learned a lot about how the brain works from functional magnetic resonance images. I should clarify: we’ve learned a lot about the human brain. Thousands of people have volunteered to lie down inside fMRI scanners and have the activity in their brains monitored as they perform different kinds of mental tasks, or even just do nothing at all. We must resist the temptation to look at the pretty fMRI images and think they’re just photographs of the mind. They’re actually more like very complex, statistically worked-over graphs. But even with those caveats, there’s a lot to learn from them. But fMRI only works if you hold very, very still. Having been scanned myself for a story a few years back, I can vouch that this experience takes a lot of patience, and a high tolerance for loud buzzing noises and for narrow, confined spaces. Scientists have managed to take fMRI scans of monkeys and rats, but they’ve either been knocked out cold, or restrained so the images of their brains don’t blur. If you can persuade a gorilla to lie peacefully in the bore of a scanner for half an hour and look at pictures of bananas, do let us know. All of which is to say that it’s delightful to read a paper just published today in PLoS One in which Emory University scientists report the first successful fMRI scan of unrestrained dogs. The dogs they studied were a border collie named McKenzie and a mutt named Callie. The scientists trained the dogs to jump into the fMRI bore and set their chin on a rest, so that they were staring out the open end. A human handler, standing outside the bore, then made a hand signal. If the left hand was raised, that meant the dogs would get a hot dog after the session. If both hands pointed to each other, that meant no treat. Regardless of the signal, the dogs had to stay motionless in the bore for ten seconds. The hanlder would then give the dog a treat if one had been indicated. It turned out that the dogs kept their heads still enough that the scientists could line up scans of different trials. And that meant that they could do some comparisons of the activity inside the dogs’ brains when the handler indicated a hot dog was on the way and when the handler indicated it wasn’t. A huge amount of research on humans and lab animals has pointed to one region in particular as being important for perceiving these kinds of rewards, known as the ventral striatum. It releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which heightens attention throughout the brain. So the scientists focused their attention on the ventral striatum of the dogs. Of course, dog brains are shaped differently than human brains, so finding it took some work. But once they did, they found a satisfying pattern: when the handler made the hot dog sign, the ventral striatum showed higher levels of activity. (In this picture it’s marked CD, standing for the caudate cluster, in which the ventral striatum is located.) When the handler made the no-hot-dog sign, on the other hand, the ventral striatum remained quiet. Interestingly, McKenzie the border collie had a much stronger response than Callie. That may be no coincidence, because McKenzie has had lots of agility training in her life. The pathways for learning rewards and responding to them–particularly from humans–may be stronger in her brain. Which raises an important question: what’s the nature of the reward in a dog’s brain? Is it the prospect of the hot dog alone that triggers the response, or does pleasing a human by doing a drill correctly play a part? As I wrote in this Time story in 2009, a new field called canine cognition is taking shape to address these questions. Until now, canine cognition studies have been limited to basic psychological experiments, such as seeing how well dogs can make sense of a pointed hand. Now we can start to see what’s happening inside the canine brain during some of those experiments as well. Links to this Post - Scanning man’s best friend \| Gordon's shares \| May 11, 2012	<urn:uuid:a7ad78cc-d837-41e8-bcb3-ef8f6b5cdf86>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/05/11/scanning-mans-best-friend/comment-page-1/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.964715	866	2.90625	3
Local Residential Sorting and Public Goods Provision: A Classroom Demonstration This classroom exercise illustrates the Tiebout (1956) hypothesis that residential sorting across multiple political jurisdictions leads to a more efficient allocation of local public goods. The exercise places students with heterogeneous preferences over a public good into a single classroom community. A simple voting mechanism determines the level of public good provision in the community. Next the classroom divides in two, and students may choose to move between the two smaller communities, sorting themselves according to their preferences for public goods. The exercise places a cost on movement at first, then allows for costless sorting. Students have the opportunity to observe how social welfare rises through successive rounds of the exercise, as sorting becomes more complete. One may also observe how immobile individuals can become worse off due to incomplete sorting when the Tiebout assumptions do not hold perfectly. This version: May 2003	<urn:uuid:656754ea-36be-42f3-bed2-96054754af20>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://davidreiley.com/papers/LocalPublicGoods.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.93263	181	2.734375	3
Perry's Bridge sprang up sometime after 1817, when Robert Perry was given a contract by the St. Martin Parish Police Jury to build a bridge across the river. (At that time Lafayette and Vermilion parishes were still part of St. Martin.) Perry moved from Kentucky to Louisiana in 1806, when he was 19 years old. By 1827, he owned stores on each side of the river at Perry's Bridge, maintained a tannery there, and had other landholdings. About the time Vermilion Parish was formed, Father Antoine Megret bought land at what would become Abbeville, and asked the legislature to establish the parish seat at the site of his little church there. He lost that round, but continued to battle for the courthouse, and ultimately won it away from Perry. In fact, a courthouse was never built at Perry even though the seat of justice changed first to Perry, then to Abbeville, then back again. Finally, in 1852, the legislature passed an act making Abbeville the parish seat once and for all. Ambrose Toups was one of the first residents of Perry and the first court session ever held in Vermilion Parish was held in his house. After that, court was held in the Perry Store. In 1844, Perry laid out a little town and gave a lot on Main Street for a Protestant Church. Father Megret talked to Perry about moving his Catholic chapel there, too, but Perry was still miffed over Megret's attempts to get the parish seat. He offered the priest a piece of swampland, which Father Megret turned down. One result of that little tussle has been that there has never been a Catholic Church built at Perry. Perry's Bridge was then part of a circuit served by the Methodist minister Phillip H. Diffenwierth who built the first church at the place. Some local historians think that it was the bridge at Perry's Bridge, more particularly its maintenance, was responsible for the creation of Vermilion Parish in the first place. The first bridge was a crude affair and regular cattle drives across its rickety span did little to improve it. With the beginning of the steamboat era in the middle 1820's the bridge had to be changed to allow steamboat traffic up and down the river. The repairs and renovations cost money and Perry regularly appeared before the Lafayette Police Jury asking for more and more to fix his bridge. By 1902, the Abbeville Meridional reported a steel bridge under construction at Perry’s Bridge, which by then had four stores, a barber shop, the Methodist church, two blacksmith shops, a post office, dance hall, two meat markets, and a population of more than 200 people. Rice and corn mills, syrup mills, and cotton gins were all located in Perry at the turn of the century. There was also a lumber yard alongside the river at one time, with lumber coming up the river by paddle boats that also brought a variety of other merchandise to be unloaded and warehoused at Perry. You can contact Jim Bradshaw at firstname.lastname@example.org or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.	<urn:uuid:d963fc69-237d-4d71-bbf0-cced53df62d3>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://techetoday.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Perry+provided+river+crossing++%20&id=19070954	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.984099	669	2.9375	3
The program recognizes repeated word selections, like uses of the Hebrew equivalents of "if," ''and" and "but," and notices synonyms: In some places, for example, the Bible gives the word for "staff" as "makel," while in others it uses "mateh" for the same object. The program then separates the text into strands it believes to be the work of different people. Other researchers have looked at linguistic fingerprints in less sacred texts as a way of identifying unknown writers. In the 1990s, the Vassar English professor Donald Foster famously identified the journalist Joe Klein as the anonymous author of the book "Primary Colors" by looking at minor details like punctuation. In 2003, Koppel was part of a research team that developed software that could successfully tell, four times out of five, if the author of a text was male or female. Women, the researchers found, are far more likely to use personal pronouns like "she" and "he," while men prefer determiners like "that" and "this" — women, in other words, talk about people, while men prefer to talk about things. That success sparked debate about how gender shapes the way we think and communicate. Research of this kind has potential applications for law enforcement, allowing authorities to catch imposters or to match anonymous texts with possible authors by identifying linguistic tics. Because the analysis can also help identify gender and age, it might also allow advertisers to better target customers. The new software might be used to investigate Shakespeare's plays and settle lingering questions of authorship or co-authorship, mused Graeme Hirst, a professor of computational linguistics at the University of Toronto. Or it could be applied to modern texts: "It would be interesting to see if in more cases we can tease apart who wrote what," Hirst said. The algorithm might also lead to the creation of a style checker for documents prepared by multiple authors or committees, helping iron out awkward style variations and creating a uniform text, Hirst suggested. What the algorithm won't answer, say the researchers who created it, is the question of whether the Bible is human or divine. Three of the four scholars, including Koppel, are religious Jews who subscribe in some form to the belief that the Torah was dictated to Moses in its entirety by a single author: God. For academic scholars, the existence of different stylistic threads in the Bible indicates human authorship. But the research team says in their paper they aren't addressing "how or why such distinct threads exist." "Those for whom it is a matter of faith that the Pentateuch is not a composition of multiple writers can view the distinction investigated here as that of multiple styles," they said. In other words, there's no reason why God could not write a book in different voices. "No amount of research is going to resolve that issue," said Koppel. - 18-year-old musician dies after inspiring... - Photo of inspiring message in Oklahoma rubble... - Salt Lake City has highest rate of same-sex... - Life lessons from 'Toy Story,' 'Up' and 6... - J.J. Abrams dedicates 'Star Trek: Into... - Concert review: Imagine Dragons win over... - Abused parents: Tykes deliver crushing blows,... - Woman uses public punishment to teach a... - Fly a flag for Cody: Army confirms Utah... 10 - French president signs gay marriage... 5 - Former middle-class moms choose new... 5 - Salt Lake City has highest rate of... 3 - Viral photos encourage moms to 'set... 3 - Abused parents: Tykes deliver crushing... 3 - Taking back family dinner: A healthy,... 2 - Psychologist calls doctor accused of... 2	<urn:uuid:a04fd346-9732-4cdf-ad19-84615b5ffe1a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700148033/An-Israeli-algorithm-sheds-light-on-the-Bible.html?pg=2	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.948076	787	3.3125	3
Apple’s iPads are not designed to be submerged in water, but a Navy scientist found a way to use the tablet under the ocean’s surface as part of a recent optics experiment conducted by the Naval Research Lab’s (NRL’s) Oceanography Divison. Due to the nature of their work at sea, the Navy and Marine Corps constantly work to better understand ocean optics -- or the behavior and properties of light under the sea -- to safely and effectively perform functions such as hunting for undersea mines, engaging in dive operations, and creating models for the performance of anti-submarine activities. Most of the US military’s interest to date in using tablets like the iPad -- such as with the Army’s online mobile application store and other initiatives -- has been due to their ability to support custom applications and networking capabilities. Navy researchers drop an iPad attached to a custom-built frame called the "image Measurement Assembly for Subsurface Turbulence, or iMAST" into the ocean near the Bahamas to perform an experiment in ocean optics. (Source: Naval Research Lab) However, for the NRL’s Bahamas Optical Turbulence Experiment (BOTEX) -- conducted by a team from its Stennis Space Center in collaboration with Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute -- it was the iPad’s LCD screen that made it useful for the military’s needs, according to the NRL. The team -- led by Dr. Weilin Hou from the NRL-SSC -- set sail off the coast of the Bahamas for an ocean optics experiment aimed at improving undersea visibility. The team’s goal was to obtain field measurements of optical turbulence structures to determine their impact on underwater imaging and the propagation of light beams.	<urn:uuid:99a35bf3-2cc0-4a23-a317-f8060f84869b>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=242076&piddl_msgorder=asc	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.940836	371	3.671875	4
As the foundational document of our government, the Constitution is not something that should be amended lightly. Indeed, in the more than 200 years since it was ratified, the Constitution has been amended only 27 times (including the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights). Nonetheless, in his single term in the United States Senate, John Ashcroft introduced or co-sponsored no fewer than seven proposed constitutional amendments (none of which was adopted by Congress), including the extremist "Human Life Amendment" discussed above. He publicly supported several other possible amendments as well. Senator Ashcroft was the sole sponsor of a proposed constitutional amendment that would have changed the very framework so carefully constructed by the Framers for amending the Constitution. S.J. Res. 58 (July 31, 1996). Ashcroft’s proposal would have authorized two-thirds of the states to propose constitutional amendments to Congress and required that those amendments be submitted to the state legislatures for ratification unless disapproved by two-thirds of the members of each House of Congress during the session in which it was submitted, a very high hurdle for defeating a proposed amendment. Ashcroft’s measure would have made it easier for the Constitution to be amended, and thus easier for it to become the vehicle for the advancement of political and ideological agendas. In an editorial entitled "Mr. Ashcroft’s Unwise Amendment," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Aug. 10, 1996) called this proposal "unwise, unnecessary and potentially dangerous," and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution (Aug. 10, 1996) termed it "drastic constitutional tinkering."	<urn:uuid:ab0777e8-b9b3-4804-b904-e3a9fe7d8dd6>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.pfaw.org/print/10037	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.975976	322	2.640625	3
The Bonner Münster (Bonn Minster) is a towering Romanesque basilica of harmonious proportions in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. It stands on a site that has been sacred for 2,000 years, first as a Roman temple and then as a Christian church and shrine to the martyrs Cassius and Florentius. The city of Bonn had its start as Castra Bonnensia, a fortress built by the Romans in the 1st century AD. It survived the breakup of the Roman Empire as a civilian settlement, and in the 9th century it became the Frankish town of Bonnburg. Around 235 AD, two Christian Roman soldiers stationed in Castra Bonnensia, Cassius and Florentius, were martyred for their faith. Tradition has it that a small memorial shrine was built over their graves in the 4th century by St. Helen, mother of Constantine. There is no surviving evidence of this first structure, but archaeological excavations have shown that the basilica stands on the site of a Roman temple and necropolis. The original memorial hall was expanded into a larger church in the 6th and 7th centuries, and many people were buried near the martyrs inside and outside the building. Further extensions were carried out in the 8th century. Around 1050 the church was demolished and construction began on the present Romanesque building, which dates from the 11th to 13th centuries. By the end of this period Bonn had grown in importance, becoming the capital of the Electorate and Archbishopric of Cologne, which was then a sovereign state. The new basilica appeared in the city's coat of arms. In 1643, Cassius and Florentius were officially declared the patron saints of the city of Bonn. The basilica suffered significant damage in 1583-89, 1689, and in World War II, but each time it was fully restored. In 1956, the Bonner Münster was granted the status of Papal Minor Basilica. What to See Bonn's Münster lies in the center of the city on the Münsterplatz and Martinsplatz, just a short walk from the train station. It has five towers in all: square flanking towers on the east end, a round central tower 315 feet (96m) high, and two slender turrets on the west end. All are topped with spires. The plain west end is one of the oldest parts of the basilica, dating from the 11th century. Lying in the open plaza on the east end of the basilica are large sculpted heads of the Roman martyrs Cassius and Florentius, the patron saints of Bonn. They were sculpted in 2002 by Iskender Yediler, who also contributed similar sculptures of St. Benno in Munich and St. Gereon in Cologne. The nave of the basilica dates from 1220 and is a blend of Romanesque and Gothic elements. It is illuminated by a matching set of modern stained glass windows, mostly black-and-white with a colorful central scene. At the back (west) of the nave is a larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of St. Helen, donated by Cardinal Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg, Provost of the Collegiate Church (1629-61). Tradition credits Helen with building the first memorial shrine on this site in the 4th century. Most of the interior furnishings date from the Baroque and more recent periods. The baptismal font, however, dates from the 12th century. It is topped with a small representation of Noah's Ark from 1966. Near the font in the northwest corner is a painting of 1704 depicting St. Helen, Cassius, Florentius, and a view of Bonn. The south transept features several modern murals, including a large depiction of St. Christopher. Also here is the Altar of St. John, with an alabaster relief (1608) depicting the Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist and John the Evangelist writing his Gospel. The north transept is home to a mural of 1400 depicting the Three Magi (who are said to rest in nearby Cologne Cathedral), an equestrian sculpture of St. Martin of Tours, and the effigy tomb of Ruprecht, Archbishop of Cologne (1463-78). At the front (east) of the nave are two large Romanesque sculptures(c.1200) depicting an angel and a devil. Stairs under the chancel lead to the crypt, which is normally reserved for prayer. Here a shrine containing the relics of Cassius and Florentius stands on a stone pedestal between the eastern pillars. A locked door leads into a small cave said to be the tomb of the martyrs, but this is only opened on their feast day (October 10). Above the crypt, the chancel dates from the 11th century and is decorated with 19th-century paintings. On the vault near the back is a muralof the Assumption of Mary from c.1300. The high altar dates from 1865 and features sculptures of Sts. Cassius, Florentius, Martin and Helen. The apse mosaic was created in Venice 1894, based on the Byzantine Deesis motif (most notably seen in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul) and the apse windows, depicting the Creation, date from 1951-52. The cloister, entered through a door in the southwest corner, dates from the 12th century, when it was added along with two-story collegiate buildings by Gerhard von Are. These buildings are still occupied by the basilica's clergy. The cloister centers on a tranquil garden with fountain and its arcades feature fine Romanesque carvings of dragons, horses, lions, stylized leaves and more. The northern side of the cloister was removed in the 13th century to facilitate the widening of the basilica's south aisle. Quick Facts on Bonn Münster \|Names:\|\|Bonn Basilica; Bonn Cathedral (incorrectly); Bonn Minster; Bonn Münster; Collegiate Church of St. Cassius and St. Florentius; St. Martin's Basilica\| \|Visitor and Contact Information\| \|Address:\|\|Gerhard-von-Are-Straße 5, Bonn, Germany\| \|Coordinates:\|\|50.733495° N, 7.099721° E (view on Google Maps)\| \|Opening Hours:\|\|Basilica: daily 7am-7pm\| Cloister: daily 9am-5pm No visits during services \|Phone:\|\|0228 985 8810\| \|Lodging:\|\|View hotels near this location\| Map of Bonn Münster Below is a location map and aerial view of Bonn Münster. Using the buttons on the left (or the wheel on your mouse), you can zoom in for a closer look, or zoom out to get your bearings. To move around, click and drag the map with your mouse. - Personal visit (December 3, 2007). - Das Bonner Münster - official website - Bonner Münster - German Wikipedia - Das Bonner Munster - Kirche des Monats (Church of the Month) - Bonn - Encyclopaedia Britannica \|Link code:\|\|<a href="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/bonn-munster">Bonn Münster</a>\|	<urn:uuid:08ccfdfa-db6c-40c1-82c1-1ffdabe84a43>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/bonn-munster	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.933995	1,594	2.984375	3
When starting your house history you may need to search in many different documents and maps. You may find it easier to find out about the various owners and occupiers than about the building structure or exact construction date. To find out when it was built you need to work backwards and identify when a house disappears from maps or other records Census Returns are probably the most useful of all sources for family history in that it is the only resource that brings together a whole household, often including extended family. The ages and places of birth can lead you to an individual’s birth certificate and/or baptism entry. Census returns also enable local historians to obtain a complete record of the inhabitants of a place, and its occupational and social structure. A census has been taken in England and Wales every ten years since 1801, with the exception of 1941, on account of war. The information required on the census has increased over the years. The origin of the Ordnance Survey lies in the appointment of a Trigonometrical Survey in 1791, to provide a complete cartographical survey of the country for military purposes. The first edition 1 inch OS maps for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were published in 1810-1811 and 1811-1817. We hold reproductions of these in The Old Series Ordnance Survey Maps of England and Wales vol. III : South Central England (Harry Margary, 1981). From the mid 19th century, the Ordnance Survey began to compile County Series maps at 6 inches and 25 inches to the mile. These maps were known as the County Series. Hampshire Record Office has a large, though incomplete, collection of County Series maps for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and a few others for adjacent counties. Editions were produced as follows: After the First World War, the Ordnance Survey tended to focus on areas of rapid change, so between 1921 and 1939 some areas have more maps than others. Many towns were also mapped at an even larger scale of 50 inches to the mile. We hold some of these, including a full set of Winchester, c1870. After 1945, all Ordnance Survey maps formed part of one National Grid, rather than using separate references for each county. The scales range from 6 inches, 25 inches and 50 inches. As revisions were made when necessary rather than after a certain time, we may hold more maps for urban areas than we do for rural areas. We hold a large, though incomplete, collection of National Grid maps for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight dating from c1945 to c1980. Tithes were the tenth part of a person's produce which was paid in kind annually to the church. Tithe maps were made following the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836 which provided for the commutation of tithes into a money payment. The maps accompanied an award or schedule. The maps provide a survey of each parish in Hampshire on a large scale prior to the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps. The accompanying award gives details for each individual property including a description, the name of the owner and occupier, its acreage and its cultivation. Often, buildings are coloured pink to indicate dwellings, or grey to indicate outhouses and other buildings. Some properties, shown and numbered on the map, are not included on the award. There could be a variety of reasons for this, the main one being that the land was owned by the tithe owner. There are significant gaps in the Christchurch tithe award for this reason. There is a tithe map and award for every parish in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight except Beaulieu, Binstead (IOW), Chilworth, Corhampton, North Baddesley, Portsmouth, St. Lawrence (IOW), Woodcott and the town areas of Southampton and Winchester. In many parishes, the original statement in the tithe award has been changed subsequently by a document known as an altered tithe apportionment, which was usually accompanied by a map. Many parish collections also include altered apportionments. Most of these duplicate the diocesan series but some supplement the main series. Sometimes certificates of redemption of tithe rent charge are also accompanied by a map. Enclosure of the common fields has gone on from an early date. Generally early enclosures were made by private agreement between the landowners and even when the agreement was formally written down there was usually no accompanying map. However from the mid eighteenth century, enclosure by Act of Parliament became common. The Act appointed Commissioners to allot the common land in a parish to the principal landowners in as fair a way as possible. Their decisions were embodied in an enclosure award for the parish or the affected part of the parish, and a map was drawn up to accompany the text. In rare instances, a pre-enclosure map was also made so that the situation before and after enclosure could be compared. Together, the enclosure map and award provide a wealth of detail about land use, settlement patterns, ownership and tenure, field names and boundaries, rights of way, roads and footpaths, and responsibilities for public places. Unlike the tithe survey, there are a considerable number of parishes in Hampshire which were not covered by enclosure. This could arise if the parish (or a sizeable part of it) was enclosed by private agreement at an early date or if it was never enclosed. Sometimes too the Enclosure Commissioners did not authorise a new map but used and adapted an existing estate map. Sometimes the Tithe Commissioners dealt with enclosure and vice versa. A Guide to Enclosure in Hampshire, 1700-1900 (John Chapman and Sylvia Seeliger, 1997), part of the Hampshire Record Series, gives a comprehensive survey of the evidence for enclosure, parish by parish. If a house was built or extended after 1895 (1850s in Aldershot and Fareham, 1870s in Basingstoke and Winchester), a building control plan should have been submitted to the district or borough council to enable it to check that the building was structurally sound with adequate light, ventilation and drainage. Plans had to be submitted for approval before work could start, and cover structural work, not services. Sale particulars contain details of property and land for sale. They can date from the eighteenth century, but from the late nineteenth century, they often provide detailed descriptions of buildings and land, sometimes including plans and photographs. Some sale particulars give details of the owner’s right to sell, or information about their bankruptcy or death. Sale particulars are sometimes endorsed with the name of the purchaser and the amount paid. Sale particulars can survive for large estates as well as individual houses. Sale particulars of large estates can give details of individual fields and cottages. Sale particulars of houses can include descriptions of each room. Modern sale particulars of large estates can include information on the history of the estate. The land tax was a national tax levied on landowners from the 1690s. The returns for parishes record the names of owners and occupiers and the sum for which they were assessed. They are a valuable source for tracing changes in ownership and occupation of a property and for information about the personal wealth of inhabitants. In 1780, payment of land tax on freehold property annually established voting qualifications and copies of the assessments were kept by the Clerks of the Peace.	<urn:uuid:8d1b1a63-bfa0-437c-bf6b-8de93ca1fced>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www3.hants.gov.uk/mobile/archives/hals-collections/house-history.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.96701	1,509	3.15625	3
One of the most compelling features of many games set in online virtual worlds is that the game world is persistent. That is, life in the game world goes on, even when the player is not there. When the player returns to the world, their character and belongings are as they were when the player left the world, but the state of the world itself will have moved on – buildings may have been constructed, monsters killed, and so on. Any artefacts left by player in a public area of the game when they went offline may have been moved or taken by other players whose characters are still roaming the virtual world. At a technical level, what this means is that the game world must always be available – the computer servers that run the game must be online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, keeping the virtual world running. Even when there is no-one in world, there may be elements of the game physics that require some computation to be carried out. To get an idea of what’s involved in developing the infrastructure that supports a persistent virtual world, read the article Massively multiplayer online games, Part 1: A performance-based approach to sizing infrastructure on the IBM developerWorks website. Don’t worry if you don’t understand all the terminology – the article was written for an audience experienced in the design of large computer systems. There is a still a lot that you can learn from it as a less technical reader. For example, as you read the article, try to answer the following questions: - what does the author mean by the phrase “game platform”? What are the dominant game platforms for Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs)? - what strategies do developers use to cope with large numbers of players, particularly when they come from different areas of the world, speak different languages, and so on? - how does the design of the EVE online game compare with that of most MMOGs? - what is the “response time” of a game, and how is it likely to affect a user’s experience of the game? - what factors are likely to impact on the performance of the game? How might the design of the game’s computing infrastructure address these issues? - the article suggests designing the infrastructure using a “tiered” approach – what tiered levels are suggested, and what does each one do? - what are ‘bottlenecks’ and how are they likely to affect the performance of the game? - what is “latency” and how is it likely to be perceived by a game player? What elements of the system design are likely to affect the latency of the game? Phew… you maybe found that quite a challenging exercise? But hopefully a worthwhile one? When reading a document like that, it’s always worth trying to ask yourself questions about what’s being said to further your understanding of it; and if there’s jargon you don’t understand – don’t worry. Try to read the document “for sense” the first time through. You can always go back to the document after looking up the terms you don’t understand, or asking for clarification from someone who may know via your social network… If you did answer the questions, and maybe even jotted down a few notes, trying writing a blog post (500-1000 words or so – and link back here!;-) to summarise the original article and communicate some of the high level issues and considerations involved in designing the computational infrastructure for an MMOG. And if there’s anything you didn’t understand, try posting a comment back here and then keep an eye on any follow up replies…	<urn:uuid:364a6366-a0b8-4948-8f46-25349153b5c8>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://digitalworlds.wordpress.com/tag/technical-infrastructure/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.953522	775	2.78125	3
In a scholarly paper, an abstract of which was published recently at Medievalists.net, K.F. Werner examines techniques for forging Frankish swords from 700-1000 CE. Werner disputes the generally-accepted techniques. From the abstract: Referring to Anstee and Biek’s ground breaking article H.R. Ellis Davidson posits in The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England a method for forging pattern-welded weapons requiring a skilled sword smith plus two helpers 73.5 hours to produce a single sword. If they are correct, almost twenty years would be required for ten smiths plus assistants working full time to produce just the swords needed for 5,000 heavily armed warriors in Charlemagne’s army (the estimated number of warriors he could put in the field at the time she wrote). Since this book, K.F. Werner and others have estimated his total forces at 30,000 (and, thus, 6.66 million man hours in sword forging). The proposed fabrication procedures are thus seen by the authors as too costly and time consuming. On the strength of initial results, a sword blade will be constructed by other simpler methods, more likely employed in the Middle Ages, which these eliminate numerous time consuming welds that could only be performed by a master craftsman. The method that we propose could provide a better explanation of mediaeval-sword forging than currently exists. The full text of the article is also available online.	<urn:uuid:78f19d93-93d2-42a4-b079-0fdc7f4dc74d>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.scatoday.net/node/23925	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.939996	301	2.59375	3
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome \|Systemic inflammatory response syndrome\| \|Classification and external resources\| Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is an inflammatory state affecting the whole body, frequently a response of the immune system to infection, but not necessarily so. It is related to sepsis, a condition in which individuals both meet criteria for SIRS and have a known or highly suspected infection. SIRS is a serious condition related to systemic inflammation, organ dysfunction, and organ failure. It is a subset of cytokine storm, in which there is abnormal regulation of various cytokines. SIRS is also closely related to sepsis, in which patients satisfy criteria for SIRS and have a suspected or proven infection. \|Temperature\|\|<36 °C (96.8 °F) or >38 °C (100.4 °F)\| \|Respiratory rate\|\|>20/min or PaCO2<32 mmHg (4.3 kPa)\| \|WBC\|\|<4x109/L (<4000/mm³), >12x109/L (>12,000/mm³), or 10% bands\| SIRS was first described by Dr. William R. Nelson, of the University of Toronto, in a presentation to the Nordic Micro Circulation meeting in Geilo, Norway in February 1983. There was intent to encourage a definition which dealt with the multiple (rather than a single) etiologies associated with organ dysfunction and failure following a hypotensive shock episode. The active pathways leading to such pathophysiology may include fibrin deposition, platelet aggregation, coagulopathies and leukocyte liposomal release. The implication of such a definition suggests that recognition of the activation of one such pathway is often indicative of that additional pathophysiologic processes are also active and that these pathways are synergistically destructive. The clinical condition may lead to renal failure, respiratory distress syndrome, central nervous system dysfunction and possible gastrointestinal bleeding. Criteria for SIRS were established in 1992 as part of the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine Consensus Conference. The conference concluded that the manifestations of SIRS include, but are not limited to: - Body temperature less than 36°C(96.8°F) or greater than 38°C(100.4°F) - Heart rate greater than 90 beats per minute - Tachypnea (high respiratory rate), with greater than 20 breaths per minute; or, an arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide less than 4.3 kPa (32 mmHg) - leukocytes less than 4000 cells/mm³ (4 x 109 cells/L) or greater than 12,000 cells/mm³ (12 x 109 cells/L); or the presence of greater than 10% immature neutrophils (band forms) The International Pediatric Sepsis Consensus has proposed some changes to adapt these criteria to the pediatric population. Fever and leukocytosis are features of the acute-phase reaction, while tachycardia is often the initial sign of hemodynamic compromise. Tachypnea may be related to the increased metabolic stress due to infection and inflammation, but may also be an ominous sign of inadequate perfusion resulting in the onset of anaerobic cellular metabolism. In children, the SIRS criteria are modified in the following fashion: - Heart rate is greater than 2 standard deviations above normal for age in the absence of stimuli such as pain and drug administration, or unexplained persistent elevation for greater than 30 minutes to 4 hours. In infants, also includes Heart rate less than 10th percentile for age in the absence of vagal stimuli, beta-blockers, or congenital heart disease or unexplained persistent depression for greater than 30 minutes. - Body temperature obtained orally, rectally, from Foley catheter probe, or from central venous catheter probe less than 36 °C or greater than 38.5 °C. Temperature must be abnormal to qualify as SIRS in pediatric patients. - Respiratory rate greater than 2 standard deviations above normal for age or the requirement for mechanical ventilation not related to neuromuscular disease or the administration of anesthesia. - White blood cell count elevated or depressed for age not related to chemotherapy, or greater than 10% bands plus other immature forms. Note that SIRS criteria are non-specific, and must be interpreted carefully within the clinical context. These criteria exist primarily for the purpose of more objectively classifying critically ill patients so that future clinical studies may be more rigorous and more easily reproducible. As an alternative, when two or more of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria are met without evidence of infection, patients may be diagnosed simply with "SIRS." Patients with SIRS and acute organ dysfunction may be termed "severe SIRS." The causes of SIRS are broadly classified as infectious or noninfectious. As above, when SIRS is due to an infection, it is considered sepsis. Noninfectious causes of SIRS include trauma, burns, pancreatitis, ischemia, and hemorrhage. - Complications of surgery - Adrenal insufficiency - Pulmonary embolism - Complicated aortic aneurysm - Cardiac tamponade - Drug overdose - Polypropylene Mesh Surgical Implant Generally, the treatment for SIRS is directed towards the underlying problem or inciting cause (i.e. adequate fluid replacement for hypovolemia, IVF/NPO for pancreatitis, epinephrine/steroids/diphenhydramine for anaphylaxis). Selenium, glutamine, and eicosapentaenoic acid have shown effectiveness in improving symptoms in clinical trials. Other antioxidants such as vitamin E may be helpful as well. In cases caused by an implanted mesh, removal (explantation) of the polypropylene surgical mesh implant may be indicated. - Parsons, Melissa, Cytokine Storm in the Pediatric Oncology Patient (section "Differential Diagnoses and Workup", Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 27(5) Aug/Sep 2010, 253–258. - "American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine Consensus Conference: definitions for sepsis and organ failure and guidelines for the use of innovative therapies in sepsis". Crit. Care Med. 20 (6): 864–74. 1992. doi:10.1097/00003246-199206000-00025. PMID 1597042. - Rippe, James M.; Irwin, Richard S.; Cerra, Frank B (1999). Irwin and Rippe's intensive care medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven. ISBN 0-7817-1425-7. - Marino, Paul L. (1998). The ICU book. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 0-683-05565-8. - Sharma S, Steven M. Septic Shock. eMedicine.com, URL: http://www.emedicine.com/MED/topic2101.htm Accessed on Nov 20, 2005. - Tsiotou AG, Sakorafas GH, Anagnostopoulos G, Bramis J (March 2005). "Septic shock; current pathogenetic concepts from a clinical perspective". Medical Science Monitor : International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research 11 (3): RA76–85. PMID 15735579. - Brahm Goldstein et al., International pediatric sepsis consensus, Pediatr Crit Care Med 2005 Vol. 6, No. 1 - Goldstein B, Giroir B, Randolph A (2005). "International pediatric sepsis consensus conference: definitions for sepsis and organ dysfunction in pediatrics". Pediatr Crit Care Med 6 (1): 2–8. doi:10.1097/01.PCC.0000149131.72248.E6. PMID 15636651. - Levy MM, Fink MP, Marshall JC, Abraham E, Angus D, Cook D, Cohen J, Opal SM, Vincent JL, Ramsay G (Apr 2003). "2001 SCCM/ESICM/ACCP/ATS/SIS International Sepsis Definitions Conference". Crit Care Med 31 (4): 1250–1256. doi:10.1097/01.CCM.0000050454.01978.3B. PMID 12682500. - "Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome Treatment & Management". Mescape. - Berger MM, Chioléro RL (September 2007). "Antioxidant supplementation in sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome". Critical Care Medicine 35 (9 Suppl): S584–90. doi:10.1097/01.CCM.0000279189.81529.C4. PMID 17713413. - Rinaldi, S; Landucci, F, De Gaudio, AR (2009 Sep). "Antioxidant therapy in critically septic patients.". Current drug targets 10 (9): 872–80. doi:10.2174/138945009789108774. PMID 19799541. - Bulger EM, Maier RV (February 2003). "An argument for Vitamin E supplementation in the management of systemic inflammatory response syndrome". Shock 19 (2): 99–103. doi:10.1097/00024382-200302000-00001. PMID 12578114. - "Emergency abdominal wall reconstruction with polypropylene mesh: short-term benefits versus long-term complications".	<urn:uuid:d59af6b0-2180-4d5a-806d-cea1d68b5dc7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemic_inflammatory_response_syndrome	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.797561	2,025	2.546875	3
(Or B EATRICE ). The name Beatrix has been borne by a certain number of holy persons, but no one of them has attained to any very eminent renown of sanctity. I. Saint Beatrix A Roman virgin and martyr, inscribed in the Roman Martyrologium on 29 July. She is believed to have been the sister of the martyrs Simplicius and Faustinus whom she buried in the Via Portuensi. The legend says that she was then denounced as a Christian by Lucretius to whom she was betrothed, and was strangled by her own servants. Lucretius shortly afterwards died suddenly by the visitation of God. II. Saint Beatrix d'Este Died 1262. Custom seems to warrant the giving the title Saint to one of the two holy nuns named Beatrix d'Este. She belonged to the family of the Norman Dukes of Apulia and was herself the daughter of the Marques of Ferrara. She was betrothed to Galeazzo Manfredi of Vicenza, but he died of his wounds, after a battle, just before the wedding day, and his bride refused to return home, but attended by some of her maidens, devoted herself to the service of God, following the Benedictine rule, at San Lazzaro just outside Ferrara. Her cultus was approved by Clement XIV, and Pius VI allowed her festival to be kept on 19 January. Beatrix seems also to have been accepted as the Latin name of a noble lady of Bohemia, called in Bohemian Bozena, who lived at the end of the twelfth century and became a nun. Her brother was the famous St. Hrosnata, one of the patrons of the Kingdom of Bohemia. From the Bollandist life of Hrosnata (Acta SS., 4 July) it would seem that his sister Beatrix was honoured on 13 November. IV. Beatrix d'Este Aunt of the saint of that name, who is generally known as Blessed Beatrix, seems to have died in 1226 or perhaps in 1246. She was born in the castle of d'Este, became a nun in the convent of Santa Margherita at Solarolo, but not finding herself sufficiently secluded from the world, she founded another religious house in a deserted monastery at Gemmola. Her body after death was translated to the church of Santa Sophia at Padua and it was a tradition that when anything important was about to befall the family of Este, she turned in her grave so that the noise was audible throughout the church. An account of her is given in the Acta SS. under 10 May. V. Blessed Beatrix A Cistercian nun, first prioress of the convent called Nazareth near Lier in Brabant; d. 1269. She came of a wealthy family, but wishing to consecrate herself to God, at the age of seven she went to live with the Béguines. She afterwards joined the Cistercian nuns at Valle Florida whence she was sent to commence the new foundation at Nazareth. She practised very severe austerities, wearing a girdle of thorns and compressing her body with cords. Our Lord is said to have appeared to her and to have pierced her heart with a fiery dart. After Nazareth was abandoned in a time of disturbance, the body of Blessed Beatrix is believed to have been translated by angels to Lier. Her day is 29 July, and a short life of her is included by Henriquez in his "Lilia". VI. Blessed Beatrix of Ornacieux Died about 1306, a Carthusian nun who founded a settlement of the order at Eymieux in the department of Drome. She was specially devout to the Passion of Christ and is said to have driven a nail through her left hand to help herself to realize the sufferings of the Crucifixion. Her cultus was confirmed by Pius IX in 1869. (See "Anal. jur. pont.", 1869, XI, 264.) There are modern lives by Bellanger and Chapuis and a full account in Lecoulteux, "Ann. Ord. Cath." (V, 5). Her feast is on 13 February. VII. Blessed Beatrix da Silva A Portuguese nun, d. 1 September, 1490. In Portuguese she is known as Blessed Brites. She was a member of the house of Portalegre and descended from the royal family of Portugal. She accompanied the Portuguese Princess Isabel to Spain, when she married John II of Castile. There Beatrix seems to have aroused the jealousy of her royal mistress and was imprisoned for three days without food. After a vision of Our Blessed Lady, whom she saw attired in the blue mantle and white dress of the Conception Order which she was afterwards to found, Beatrix was allowed to retire to Toledo where she entered the Dominican Order. There she lived forty years, being specially honoured and frequently visited by Queen Isabel the Catholic . The latter aided her to found an order in honour of the Immaculate Conception, which adopted the Franciscan Rule. It was approved by Innocent VIII in 1480 and with some modifications by Julius II in 1511. Beatrix died ten days before the solemn inauguration of her new order. She is much honoured in Spain, and there is a life of her by Bivar. (See also the "Anal. jur. pont.", III, 549.) More Catholic Encyclopedia Browse Encyclopedia by Alphabet The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes. Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration. No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny. Browse the Catholic Encyclopedia by Topic Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912 Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online	<urn:uuid:cf3de0f1-0f3b-444f-ac88-23ba97af73b4>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=1619	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.975245	1,542	2.671875	3
Most anyone who decides to enjoy a long walk through an area park, or perhaps walks barefoot on the sand at a nearby beach will undoubtedly find a few plastic bags before too long. This is a growing problem which has to be addressed on a global level. Why can't shoppers stop using plastic bags? But the problem does not stop if everyone begins using other kinds of bags. Stronger, heavier bags, whether made of fabric or plastic, have a bigger environmental impact than standard supermarket shopping bags. Single-use bags, both paper and plastic, represent a huge threat to the environment. This threat is not only related to the sheer volume of them ending up in landfill, but also to the resources needed to produce, transport and (occasionally) recycle them, and the emissions resulting from these processes. Single-use plastic bags are also well known for their interference in ecosystems and the part they play in flood events, where they clog pipes and drains. According to published statistics, about 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year alone. That’s more than 1,200 bags per US resident every year. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags and only 1 to 2% of plastic bags in the USA end up getting recycled. Thousands of marine animals and more than 1 million birds die each year as a result of plastic pollution. Marine debris impacts the environment, economy, and human health and safety. The extent of the impacts is determined by the type of marine debris and where it settles in the ocean (e.g., submerged, floating, or within a sensitive habitat). Fishing nets, plastic bags, and tires can sink to the ocean floor and break and smother coral reefs. Fishing line can float along the ocean surface and catch vessel propellers causing costly damage. A syringe can wash up on the beach and be stepped on by a beach goer resulting in a wound and possibly an infection. Regardless of the type or the location of the marine debris, it can have serious impacts. You can Help power CIMAGES Donate through this secure online Web site. Sponsorship opportunities are available on CIMAGES.ME. We regularly average several thousand visitors every month. If you prefer to send a check, please make it out to Imaginus and send it to PO Box 147 City Island Station Bronx, NY 10464	<urn:uuid:17253fed-4887-447c-a65e-880037c097d7>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.cimages.me/content/we-must-stop-using-plastic-bags-now	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.944697	488	3.046875	3
WebMD Health News Brenda Goodman, MA Laura J. Martin, MD Dec. 10, 2011 -- Sebastian Misztal recently cut himself shaving. The bleeding stopped. Such a mundane occurrence wouldn’t usually make medical headlines. But for Misztal, a 31-year-old London businessman, and others with the inherited blood disorder hemophilia, it was a big deal. “It’s huge,” says Katherine Ponder, MD, a professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. In the past, Misztal has given himself regular injections to replace a protein that his body can’t make. The protein is called Factor IX (FIX). It helps blood clot. Those injections have kept him alive. People with the severe hemophilia can bleed even if they are not injured. Spontaneous bleeding in the brain can be fatal. But injections of clotting factors are also inconvenient and expensive. Hemophiliacs generally need the shots two to three times a week. Treatment costs run from $150,000 to $200,000 a year. So Misztal recently became one of six men to try an experimental repair for the genetic defect that causes their condition. Researchers altered the DNA of a common virus so that it would include the instructions for making FIX. They then injected the men with the altered virus. They hoped that it would do what all viruses do: infect cells and hijack their operating instructions. Ordinarily when viruses infect cells, they turn the cells into factories that crank out more copies of the virus. That keeps the infection going. In this case, the infected cells churned out the missing protein. After a single treatment, four of the six men in the study have been able to stop their weekly protein injections altogether. Two others have been able to stretch the time between their shots from days to up to two weeks. “You’ve got people who are maybe not quite cured,” says Ponder, an expert on blood disorders who was not involved in the research. The study and an editorial by Ponder are published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The results are also scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego. So far, researchers have only been able to coax the body to make the protein that helps people with the less common form of the disease, hemophilia B. But researchers say this approach could work for people who have the more common form, hemophilia A, too. They just need to find the right virus to deliver the genes that would help that disease. “I think this approach will lead to a cure. I think it’s not there yet,” says study researcher Andrew M. Davidoff, MD, a pediatric surgeon at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. “We have made a significant impact on the severity of the disease,” Davidoff tells WebMD. “We are looking to cure patients, and I think with improvements in the vector and higher doses, we will be able to cure them.” Before they were enrolled in the study, the six men all had levels of FIX protein that were less than 1%. After the gene therapy, their FIX levels improved to 2% to 11%. That’s high enough to prevent spontaneous bleeding events. But it’s not enough clotting factor to keep them out of danger during surgery, for example, or in the event of other significant trauma. Researchers think they may be able to give people with hemophilia B higher doses of the altered virus to help boost FIX levels even more. But it’s unclear how much people will be able to tolerate. In this study, patients who got the highest doses made the most FIX. But they also saw their liver enzymes spike, a sign of inflammation. “We were able to control this inflammation with a very short course of steroids,” says study researcher Amit C. Nathwani, MBChB, PhD, a hematologist at University College London. After steroid treatment, liver enzymes returned to normal. And patients continued to make FIX protein on their own, though their levels dropped slightly. It’s also not clear how long the treatments may last. All patients who got the gene therapy continue to make FIX protein. Some have been followed for nearly two years. But as liver cells die, the treatment could wear off. In animal studies, results of gene therapies that target liver cells have lasted for 10 years or more. Even if it’s temporary, the gene therapy is likely to save money. If it is approved by the FDA, the treatment is estimated to cost around $30,000 per patient. It may also turn out to be safer than injecting blood products. In the 1980s, many hemophiliacs were infected with HIV after being treated with clotting factors that contained the virus. Nathwani says many people with hemophilia in developing countries continue to face that risk, if they are able to get treatment at all. “Eighty percent of hemophilia patients around the world have no access to treatment,” he says. “This is one of the reasons why we wanted to develop a simple gene transfer approach,” which could be delivered in almost any clinical setting, he says. “This is life changing.” SOURCES:Ponder, K. The New England Journal of Medicine, published online Dec. 10, 2011.Nathwani, A. The New England Journal of Medicine, published online Dec. 10, 2011.News release, University College London.Katherine Ponder, MD, professor of medicine, Washington University, St. Louis.Andrew M. Davidoff, MD, chair, department of surgery, St. Jude Endowed Chair in Surgical Research, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis.Amit C. Nathwani, MBChB, PhD, reader in hematology, University College London Cancer Institute, London. Here are the most recent story comments.View All The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of KOKI FOX23 - Tulsa The Health News section does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.	<urn:uuid:70693425-21f5-4ae7-a0a1-73769bb5f32a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.fox23.com/webmd/blooddisorders/story/Gene-Therapy-May-Reverse-Hemophilia/16wSpxFbRkWYY-R0SJGLsw.cspx	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.958834	1,328	2.71875	3
Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measureme[n]t of time. The measurement acording to celestial time; which, celestial time, signifies one day to a cubit. One day, in Kolob, is equal to a thousand years, according to the measuremet of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Stands next to Kolob, called by the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation, nearer to the celestial or the place where God resides, holding the key of power also, pertaining to other planets; as revealed to <from> God to <to> Abraham, as he offered incenceSacrifice upon an alter, which he had. built unto the Lord. Is made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power & authority; with a crown of Eternal light upon his head; representing, also, the grand Key words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden, as also to Seth, Noah, Melchisedek Abraham & all to whom the priesthood was revealed. answers to the hebrew work raukeeyang, signifying expanse, or the firmament of the heavens: also, a numerical figure, in Egyptian, signifying 1000: Explanation of Facsimile of Papyrus Drawing, Nauvoo Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839... 24 June 1804–11 Mar. 1854. Teacher, lecturer, doctor, clerk, printer, editor, postmaster. Born at Hopkinton, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts. Son of Joseph Richards and Rhoda Howe. Moved to Richmond, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts, 1813. Moved to Chatham, Columbia... ; three pages; Book of Abraham Manuscripts, ca. 1837–1841, CHL. Note: The transcript of the Explanation presented here is used with permission of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. It was published earlier, with some differences in style, in Brian M. Hauglid, A Textual History of the Book of Abraham: Manuscripts and Editions (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2010), 184–193. Explanation of Facsimile of Papyrus Drawing, Early 1842	<urn:uuid:bffd77ab-ec96-4daa-906d-e28de225bb93>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperDetails/explanation-of-facsimile-of-papyrus-drawing-early-1842?tm=expanded&dm=text-only&zm=zoom-right&p=1&s=&sm=none	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.921038	567	2.9375	3
A health professional uses paring to help diagnose and treat plantar warts. When paring, your health professional will trim your skin growth with a small knife and examine it. Paring usually causes little or no pain or bleeding because only the dead outer layers of skin are removed. After paring the outer skin layers of a wart or callus, your health professional can look for signs of plantar wart growth: The skin's creases and lines over a plantar wart "Seeds" (indicating blood vessels) are present in the core of a plantar wart. If pared deeply, the "seeds" will If no "seeds" are visible, the growth may be a callus, corn, or other skin condition. Wart treatments may leave an uncomfortable scar if they are used to treat a callus. Paring can also make some wart treatments work better. Removing thick, dead layers of skin that cover the wart helps medication, cold, or heat to reach deeper into the wart. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.	<urn:uuid:b56ee69e-5982-44af-8e78-bae1a10e93fe>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.cheshire-med.com/health_wellness/health_encyclopedia/tn3042	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.894687	238	2.78125	3
Industrialisation in China and India started almost at the same time. But the rate of industrialisation in China was and is much higher than India because of their former policy ‘grow first, clean later.’ Nevertheless, our neighbours started cleaning up operation in the late twentieth century and have been aggressive in their approach towards environmental cleaning. They strengthened their environmental force, provided legal provisions to punish non-complying industries and devised innovative regulatory instruments. The article briefly summarises some of the best practices adopted by Chinese environmental administration. Figure 1: Regional Institutional Structure for implementing environmental policies Source: Anon 2006, Environmental Compliance and Enforcement in China, OECD, pp17 Institutional framework in China Chinese environmental administration is a multi-layered institutional structure with territorial divisions at the centre, province, city, county, township, and village levels. At the top, is the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), a cabinet-level ministry of the Chinese Government. The primary role of MEP is to guide and coordinate major environmental problems at the regional and local levels, to formulate pollution reduction programmes and supervise the implementation and to manage environmental monitoring, statistics and information. To take forward the vision of MEP on ground level, there is State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) which prepares and implements national policies, legislations and regulations related to water and air quality, solid waste management, etc. In addition they are also in charge of formulating environmental quality criteria and pollutant discharge emissions at national level, organising environmental quality monitoring and initiating enforcement activities with local environmental authorities. SEPA is at the national level. At regional level, there are a large number of organisations for implementing environmental policy at their respective region. According to an OECD report, there are 2000 Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPBs) with approximately 60,000 employees at the provisional, municipal, district and township administration level (see figure 1). The EPBs vary in size: an average provisional EPB employs 59 staff members with the lowest number of 29 in Qinghai and Tibet and highest of 102 in Tianjin. Some of the functions of EPBs are Overseeing environmental impact assessment, Monitoring pollution release from industries, Initiate legal action against firms that fail to meet environmental requirements, Coordinates with different units of local governments in endorsing environmental regulations, Response to environmental complaints, Reviewing environmental protection plan and integrating them into local economic and social development plans. The EPBs have a number of affiliated units through which it delivers its duties. Some of the important units are Environmental Monitoring Centre (responsible for ambient and emission monitoring), an inspection unit (responsible for enforcement and collecting emission charges) and a research institute (responsible for technical analysis and research). The monitoring and inspection of industrial facilities in China follows a precise procedure. Apart from regular inspection activities, complaints made by citizens regarding environmental incidents may raise field inspections. If the polluters are found at fault, various administrative penalties may then be imposed. These may also include pushing the polluter to install treatment facilities. In extreme cases, the plant may be ordered to cease and relocate its operations. On one hand if SEPA prepares policy, National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC) integrates environmental issues into the overall planning system by engaging with different ministries and department. NDRC also prepares five year plan envisaging environmental improvement required in the next five years (see table 1). The five year plan includes major pollutant reduction, improvement of soil, water and air quality, ecological preservation, environmental risk prevention, nuclear safety, environment infrastructure and environmental monitoring. Table 1 details out targets fixed for reduction of COD, ammonia, sulphur and nitrogen oxide in 12th five year plan. In addition a number of ministries such as Ministry of Water Management, Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Supervision and others are also engaged in the implementation of environmental policies. The National Bureau of Statistics coordinates the incorporation of environmental information into China's statistical database, which sums up the achievement of different ministries. Table 1: Environmental targets in China's 12th Five year plan Targeted (decrease in total output) Increase rate (2010/2015) Total emission of chemical oxygen demand (10000 tons) Total ammonia emissions (10000 tons) Total sulfur dioxide emissions (10000 tons) Total nitrogen oxide emissions (10000 tons) Proportion of prefecture-level cities above Grade II air quality (%) 8 percentage points Source: http://www.reach24h.com/en/component/k2/item/450-china-12th-5-year-plan-for-environmental-protection.html, as viewed on April 24 2012 Regulatory instruments in China Like India, China also has ambient standards and industry specific discharge/emissions standards. In addition, they also issue permits for discharge and emissions. This was done in late eighties when it was felt that though national effluent standards are met but quality of river, lakes and other surface water bodies were deteriorating because there were no constraint on the total mass of pollutants discharge into the water body. In response, SEPA introduced permit system. The industries are required to register with EPBs and apply for permit. In turn EPBs allocate allowable pollution loads to industry and issue discharge permits. Chinese government has also increased public participation to improve local environmental enforcement and compliance. The most commonly used channel for public participation in environmental enforcement is the citizen complaints system. The complaints are predominantly lodged at local EPBs. Accepting and responding to citizen's complaints has become the priority of local EPBs. EPBs are required to take complaints 24 hours a day and many EPBs instituted a “rotation system” whereby entire staff of an EPB would rotate taking night shifts to answer phone calls. This has encouraged people participation in environmental governance. According to a USEPA study, the annual number of environmental complaints has increased from 111, 359 in 1991 to 687,409 in 2006 throughout the nation, an increase of about 620 per cent. The court plays a very important role in China when administrative enforcement is insufficient or fails. It includes actions ranging from gaining court assistance in collecting pollution levies or fines to criminal sanctions for serious environmental degradation. Such assistance from court has enhanced EPBs regulatory power by generating deterrent effects on the regulated community. To complement the regulatory system, economic instruments have been adopted to curtail environmental pollution from industries in China. Discharge fee is calculated based on the concentrations and types of the pollutants in the effluents. These are applied to industrial emissions covering discharges of wastewater, waste gases, solid waste, noise and low-level radioactive waste. Pollution levies are collected by local EPBs with jurisdiction and earmarked for environmental protection purposes. The total emission fee charged in 2005 reached 12.32 billion CNY, which has increased significantly since 1995. River pollution issue and high level of air pollution in different cities prompted Chinese government to opt for automated pollution monitoring system. Environmental monitoring is becoming an increasingly important sector of environmental protection industry as government is paying more attention to emission control and reduction. The Chinese government issued National Plan on Environmental Monitoring and Supervision in 2008 to establish an overall automatic air quality monitoring system for all cities, an overall automatic monitoring system for the major rivers and basin, and an automatic system on desert storm and acid settlement and offshore sea areas. A four-level environmental monitoring system has already been established in China, with more than 5,000 professional and industrial-use monitoring stations nationwide. Based upon on analysis done by Frost and Sullivan, the total annual investments on environmental monitoring equipment exceed RMB200 million in recent years within all levels of government and corporations in China. Figure 2 shows online air and water pollution monitoring system for Nanjing Municipal Environment Monitoring Center. For air monitoring, a Field Control Node (FCN) controller is installed in an environmental monitoring vehicle and connected to air quality analyzers and climate instruments. For waste water surveillance, a Field Control Junction (FCJ) controller is connected to a water analyzer. The collected data is sent to a server (3rd party) via a GPRS communications link. Environmental data is transmitted in real time via socket communications. Daily and weekly reports for environment management purposes are sent by FTP. The system for environmental monitoring consists of CEMS (Continuous Emission Monitoring System), hardware components that handle the gathered data from environment analyzers. CEMS and the FCN/FCJ controllers are integrated to provide environmental monitoring and management functions. Communication between CEMS and the FCN/FCJ controllers is done via a GPRS link. Lessons for India There are some similarities in institutional framework between India and China but in terms of functions and responsibilities differences are huge. In India, we have Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) at the central level and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) at regional level. Unlike China, environmental policies of MoEF and CPCB are nowhere reflected in the policies of other ministries and departments; say Ministry of Industries or Ministry of Coal. Ministry of Industries is interested in promoting industries or Ministry of Coal will push for coal mining in the country. These departments do not interact or engage with CPCB or MoEF on environmental issues or try to integrate their policy with policies of MoEF and CPCB. The regulatory agencies can take a cue from China and incorporate environmental provisions in Ministries and departments whose directives can have direct impacts on environment. Environmental governance in our country is carried out by SPCBs at ground level. Compliance assurance is based on whether industry is complying with emission or discharge standards. All the SPCBs in the country have serious shortage of manpower. In some of the states, each technical staff has to monitor a minimum of 150 industries in a year which has 280 days, which means approximately 2 days for each industry. It is however, practically impossible to travel, review past reports, collect and submit samples at laboratory, prepare report or file case against non-complying industry in just 2 days time, assuming the concerned staff has no other official obligation. SPCBs in India need to be decentralised at municipal level to enable them to perform their job effectively and with purpose. Some time back the Ministry of Environment and Forests in India declared 43 areas as critically polluted based upon a CEPI Index developed by IIT Delhi. Soon MoEF put a moratorium on new industries coming up in these critically polluted areas. But it was followed by huge protest by industries complaining why they should suffer for poor performance of other polluting industries. The ministry relented and asked state government to prepare action plan as a precondition for moratorium to be lifted. It said that the action plan should detail what action will be taken by industries to reduce pollution level. Many states submitted their action plan and in response MoEF lifted the moratorium from some of those states. However, an analysis of these action plans discloses the fact that either they are prepared poorly or are talking about technologies to reduce some kind of pollutants from some specific industries. Some of the states have complained that they do not have adequate competency to prepare such plans. Seeing, how effectively China has used load based standards to reduce overall load, such innovative steps can be included in action plans of the critically polluted areas. The purpose of asking boards to prepare action plan is to reduce the environmental load. But all the action plans have suggested new technologies to reduce environmental load. How much load will be reduced by implementing these technologies is not quantified and discussed in these action plans. Ministry of Environment and Forests can take a leaf out of environmental governnace in China and go for load based standards at least for critically polluted areas to achieve quantitative results once action plans are implemented. We are delighted to inform you that the training and capacity building programmes for State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have successfully completed two years.	<urn:uuid:e0ed2343-1d5d-4661-97a4-2512f3452e87>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.cseindia.org/node/4154	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.93167	2,489	3.046875	3
The facts are still staggering, as Kathleen Thompson and Hilary Mac Austin remind us in their new book, Children of the Depression. In 1933, they write, "34 million men women and children were entirely without income. That was 28 percent of the American people then." At this same time, they continue, "a quarter of a million children were homeless . . . . at least one in five were hungry and without adequate clothing . . . [and] In some regions, especially coal-mining regions, as many as 90 percent of the children were malnourished." Thompson's and Mac Austin's book is a testament to what children suffered during this crisis in American cultural life, when the bottom fell out, especially for the poorest in our society. Thompson and Mac Austin have brought this powerful and moving chapter of the history of American childhood back to us through the dozens of photographs that they have collected here from the enormous archives of the Farm Security Administration, the FSA. During the 1930s, the FSA actively documented the plight of children as well as their parents, in rural and small-town America, through the photographs and field notes of a corps of remarkable photographers, including Marion Post Wolcott, Lewis Hine, John Vachon, and Dorothea Lang. Their heart-breaking photographs captured both the physical and emotional states of these beleagured children and their deplorable living and working conditions. The 1930s brought us our first child labor laws, which were finally passed not because of an overwhelming desire to protect children from the harshness and brutality of the workplace, but, rather to keep children from competing with adults for scarce menial jobs. And yet, in these photos, the children continued to work: dragging cotton sacks through the dusty fields, trying to drive a plow through an eroded pasture, harvesting cauliflower and peas, hawking newspapers in the rain. Here is where those myths about hardship were in fact born, the ones that have been passed down from the grandparents and great grandparents, who really did walk to school barefoot and who really wrote the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, to ask her for any old soiled dresses that might fit a seventh grader who had to stay out of school because she had nothing but rags to wear. These are unforgettable and necessary photographs; they remind us just how fragile and how brave the smallest among us always are. Copyright © 2002 by John Cech \|Search the transcripts by date or keyword. Wednesday, 04-Sep-2002 22:19:47 EDT	<urn:uuid:d40ab689-2908-45ed-a1ac-5445347c0833>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.recess.ufl.edu/transcripts/2002/0527.shtml	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.973284	513	2.96875	3
- Sasayama Appeal - Tohoku Disaster - How You Can Help - Osaka ARK - Tokyo ARK - Articles (in Japanese) - Feral Cat Problem (in Japanese) - Newsletter Archive - Pet Care Heartworm is a parasite that lives in the heart and blood vessels. The larvae of this parasite is transmitted by mosquito bites which enter the bloodstream of the dog. Eventually the larvae develop into new worms that find their way into the heart. Signs of an infected dog: Annual blood tests should be done to test if your dog is positive for heartworm, especially in areas were mosquito infestation is common. There is a vaccine against heartworm but before administering the vaccine the test must be conducted. If the test is positive for heartworm, vaccinating your dog can be fatal. The worms infested in the heart and bloodstream will die and clog the flow of the blood, leading to death. Vaccination should only be given if the dog is negative for heartworm. Another way to prevent heartworm is by giving your dog medication monthly, which comes in a pill or chewable form. This medication is much safer, however it is more costly. Vaccinations are administered annually, however it is rarely done in Japan compared to the US and the UK due to the dangers it may present. \|Our priority now is on housing the remaining 16 dogs from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, many of whom have owners, but who are unable to take them back. The area (land) where the Earthquake dogs are now housed, has been rented for many years but now due to changing circumstances of the owners, is due to be returned to them. That means there is some urgency in building new kennels for them in Sasayama. Your continuing support is appreciated.\|	<urn:uuid:ecd50e1b-afe2-4ae1-9420-02a7c14ca35a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://drupal.animalrefugekansai.org/?q=en/node/38	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951796	378	3.171875	3
Seven Steps to Creating and Maintaining a Positive Attitude Whether you like it or not, your attitude affects everything you think about, say and do. Your attitude speaks louder than words; people around you sense your attitude without a grand announcement on your part. If you do all the “right things” but do them with a poor attitude, people will sense the attitude and ignore the proper behavior. Understanding this is essential to delivering world-class customer service. You can learn a gazillion techniques to deliver excellent service, but if you perform them with an air of negativity, boredom or a lack of caring, the attitude is communicated most strongly and the techniques are ineffective. Your customers will perceive you as phony or fake as you go through the motions of providing great service by rote. Developing a positive attitude affects other aspects of your life. When you are optimistic, good things tend to happen to you. The creative power of your mind draws similar experiences to you – positive draws positive, negative draws negative. When you focus on the negative, you notice unpleasant things. You interpret events with a pessimistic twist. Choosing a positive outlook has the opposite effect – you begin to notice the pleasantries of the day and view events with optimism and hope. Your attitude determines whether you will have a happy or a miserable day. What really is a positive attitude? Like many things, you know it when you see it. It is an optimistic outlook on life. It is an appreciative approach to your co-workers and clients. It is being grateful for the present moment. It is feeling like life is full of promise and there are good people everywhere. Some people are innately positive and they don’t need to work at it. They just skip through life with a smile on their face, knowing that the glass is always half full. Other people are not naturally so cheerful and need reminders to choose a positive attitude. The best way to develop a positive attitude is to create structures or habits that support optimism. The morning is a good time for most people to practice a positive attitude habit. You might consider any of the following suggestions to set your intention for a positive attitude that lingers the whole day: - Take some quiet time in the morning to read, meditate, pray, write in a journal, ponder life over a cup of coffee or sit outside for a few minutes. Some people find reading poetry, spiritual writings or a self-help book puts them in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the day. - Sing along with the music on the car radio on your way to work. Sing only happy tunes. - As you walk into the office, remember all the things you appreciate about your customers, your co-workers, your boss and your company. - Count your blessings on the way to work. Make it a habit to acknowledge new things everyday – not just the same old refrain of “I’m grateful for my spouse, my kids, my car, my home, etc.” In looking for something new to appreciate, you will be forced to notice the small moments in daily life that are truly gifts of happiness. Examples of small gifts of happiness include the smile you get from the barista at Starbucks, the kind email you receive from a co-worker, the compliment on your presentation you get from your boss, the appreciation your clients give you when you solve a problem for them, the wisdom that comes from a young child. During the day, you can practice these suggestions to maintain your positive attitude: - Remember to smile often, even when you are grumpy. Smiling tricks the body into thinking that it is happy and counter-acts the fight-or-flight reaction that you have when you are stressed. Try it – it’s amazingly effective. If you talk to customers on the phone, get into a habit of smiling before answering the telephone. Your smile is heard in your voice and sets the tone for the entire conversation. - Take breaks in your day to practice self care: Take a walk outside, eat your lunch away from your desk, remember to take a deep breathe when stressed. Meditate, pray, or do yoga in a quiet corner (sometimes the restroom is the only private place I can find in a busy day at the office). Dr. Herbert Benson, in the “Relaxation Response” calls these moments “mini-relaxation responses” or just mini’s – short moments when you relax by breathing deeply and meditatively calm your mind. - Focus on your heart. Your heart is a stronger oscillating power than your brain, as measured by each organ’s electromagnetic force. When you entrain your brain waves and heart waves to oscillate together, you reduce your stress and enhance your decision-making capacities. Focusing on your heart will draw your over-tired brain into coherence with your heart and enable you to renew your positive attitude. Focus on your heart by putting your hand on your heart, listening to your heartbeat and imagine that you are breathing from that space. Think of something that invokes an appreciative feeling for you, such as your pet, someone who loves you unconditionally (people often think of grandparents) or just sitting in nature. These practices help you achieve and maintain a positive approach to life. In following these suggestions, you will find your day goes smoother and your relations are more harmonious, both at the office and at home.	<urn:uuid:39183e61-267a-4a26-be7d-f8f384b27398>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.brioleadership.com/seven-steps-to-creating-and-maintaining-a-positive-attitude/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.946115	1,124	2.5625	3
WASHINGTON – A Nuclear Regulatory Commission report said more employees at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station need regular training on the plant’s Severe Accident Mitigation Guidelines, and that training exercises are rare. Experts say the report, released Monday, is a good step in evaluating the safety of America’s nuclear plants but shouldn’t be cause for alarm. “I wouldn’t recommend anyone packing up their goods and heading out on the highway,” said David Lochbaum, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ nuclear safety project. The NRC looked at all nuclear power plants in the country and whether they are living up to 10 elements in their voluntary Severe Accident Mitigation Guidelines. Palo Verde met eight of the 10 elements in the review, the median result among plants nationwide in the report released Monday. All U.S. nuclear plants voluntarily adopted such guidelines in the late 1990s, but the guidelines are important because they outline the critical steps that must be taken to contain radioactive material if a reactor core is damaged. “If staff aren’t regularly going through the guidelines in training scenarios, you have less confidence they can carry out their duties in an emergency,” said Scott Brunell, an NRC spokesman. The guidelines are designed to prevent a disaster similar to the one at Fukushima after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. NRC inspectors at Palo Verde found that only one group of employees who would work to contain radiation in a severe accident receives annual refreshers to their initial training. Senior technical advisers at Palo Verde get annual training because they tell other workers what to do during a severe accident, but the NRC wants more workers to know the guidelines that well. “It would be better if a wider range of staff were trained on the guidelines, so if control center staff saw indicators of an emergency, they can act without being told,” said Brunell. The inspectors also found there has been only one training exercise at Palo Verde in the last six years that used the severe-accident guidelines. But plant officials said Tuesday that Palo Verde engages in 50 emergency planning exercises each year, which include elements of the severe-accident guidelines. Despite having room to improve, Palo Verde’s inspection was as good as or better than most American nuclear plants. NRC inspectors at all 65 U.S. nuclear plants did the review at the request of the agency’s task force examining the Fukushima accident. The reports consist of 10 guideline elements, as well as the date that plant guidelines were last updated and a statement describing the training process and frequency. Palo Verde and 18 other facilities had eight elements. Another 19 facilities had nine. Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Mich., and Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant near Glen Rose, Texas, each had only three elements. Most nuclear plants have updated their guidelines in the last five years, but three plants had not updated theirs since 1997. Many nuclear plants struggled when it came to training exercises. Employees at 92 percent of the plants received initial training, but just 60 percent of the plants held routine training exercises using the guidelines. While nearly every American nuclear plant can improve, the NRC in a statement accompanying the report said its efforts “aim to ensure the plants never need to use” severe-accident guidelines. “If you get to severe-accident space, you’ve already gone past NRC regulations,” said Brunell.	<urn:uuid:f8d2d977-8056-4f41-ba20-24274f9f8a08>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/arizona/article_7492fa84-9160-11e0-a756-001cc4c002e0.html	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.951197	735	2.515625	3
This page has been successfully added into your Bookmark. Bookmark of this page has been deleted. This feature is only available for Members, please Sign Up for FREE membership. If you have already signed up, please Log In Gross Profit is the different between the sale prices and the cost of buying or producing the goods. It is calculated as Gross Profit = Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold Gross Profit is the numerator in the calculation of Gross Margin: = Gross Profit / Revenue = (Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue A positive Gross Profit is only the first step for a company to make a net profit. The gross profit needs to be big enough to also cover related labor, equipment, rental, marketing/advertising, research and development and a lot of other costs in selling the products. Gross Profit = Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold Warren Buffett believes that firms with excellent long term economics tend to have consistently higher margins. Durable competitive advantage creates a high Gross Margin because of the freedom to price in excess of cost. Companies can be categorized by their Gross Margin 1. Greater than 40% = Durable competitive advantage 2. Less than 40% = competition eroding margins 3. Less than 20% = no sustainable competitive advantage Consistency of Gross Margin , Cost of Goods Sold , Gross margin	<urn:uuid:bd4f70ff-d945-41ac-a0da-740d8cbfa2ed>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.gurufocus.com/term/Gross%20Profit/RIMM/Gross%2BProfit/Research%2BIn%2BMotion%2BLimited%2B%2528USA%2529	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.933607	290	3.3125	3
Baboons, like people, really do get by with a little help from their friends. Humans with strong social ties live longer, healthier lives, whereas hostility and ''loner'' tendencies can set the stage for disease and early death. In animals, too, strong social networks contribute to longer lives and healthier offspring - and now it seems that personality may be just as big a factor in other primates' longevity status. A study has found that female baboons that had the most stable relationships with other females weren't always the highest up in the hierarchy or those with close family around - but they were the nicest. Scientists are increasingly seeing personality as a key factor in an animal's ability to survive, adapt and thrive in its environment. But this topic isn't an easy one to study scientifically, says primatologist Dorothy Cheney, of the University of Pennsylvania. ''Research in mammals, birds, fish and insects shows individual patterns of behaviour that can't be easily explained. But the many studies of personality are based on human traits like conscientiousness, agreeableness, or neuroticism. It isn't clear how to apply those traits to animals,'' she says. Along with a group of scientists, including co-authors Robert Seyfarth, also at the University of Pennsylvania, and primatologist Joan Silk of Arizona State University, Professor Cheney has studied wild baboons at the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana for almost 20 years. Besides providing detailed observations of behaviour in several generations of baboons, the research has yielded a wealth of biological and genetic data. In previously published research, Professor Cheney and co-workers showed that females lived longer, had lower stress hormone levels and had more surviving offspring when they had close, long-lasting relationships with other females (characterised chiefly by spending time together and grooming). Although dominance rank was significant for male baboons - alpha male baboons may live longer than lower-ranking males - this wasn't true for the females. Nor was an abundance of family the key to longevity. Not all of the longer-lived, less-stressed females had large families. To find out more about how female baboons forge bonds, Professor Cheney and co-authors focused on detailed records of observations of 45 female baboons from 2001 to 2007. As a personality gauge, the researchers used specific behaviours, including how often the females were alone, how often they touched other females, how often they behaved aggressively, how often they were approached by others and how often they grunted when approaching other females of various ranks. Among female baboons, grunting is a sign of good will, Professor Cheney says. Using these criteria, the researchers characterised the baboons as ''nice'', ''aloof'' or ''loner''. The team also tested the baboons for levels of stress hormones known as glucocorticoids. The researchers took particular note of how often a female grunted at a lower-ranking female that didn't have an infant. ''Female baboons are besotted with babies - they love to look at them and touch them,'' Professor Cheney says. The researchers assumed that a female grunting at a lower-ranking animal with no baby had nothing to gain and, therefore, must just be nice. Females who scored high on the ''nice'' meter were friendly to all females, the researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They were approached most often by other females, were most sociable and had stable relationships. ''This is a highly innovative study,'' says anthropologist Sarah Hrdy of the University of California. ''It uses behavioural measures that are meaningful to the baboons themselves to probe the relationship between fitness and personality style.'' Professor Hrdy says the paper clarifies previous works showing that close social bonds - ''friendships, if you want to call them that'', she says - help ensure the survival of a female's offspring as well as her own longevity.	<urn:uuid:a01cd58d-fc64-47dc-b5b7-18fda7aa835a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.parramattasun.com.au/story/375911/for-longevity-its-the-survival-of-the-nicest/?cs=27	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.974217	807	2.640625	3
UGA researchers find that hunting can increase the severity of wildlife disease epidemics University of Georgia 7/14/2006 5:03:38 PM Jul 14, 2006, Athens, Ga. -- A new study by University of Georgia researchers shows that the common practice of killing wild animals to control disease outbreaks can actually make matters worse in some cases. In a study published the August 7 edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, post-doctoral researcher Marc Choisy and Pejman Rohani, associate professor of ecology and UGA Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute researcher, create a detailed mathematical model that demonstrates how the combination of hunting and factors such as birth season and mating season influence disease outbreaks. Their results suggest that wildlife managers and health officials use caution when considering hunting or culling as a means to manage diseases as diverse as rabies, tuberculosis and even avian influenza. "One consequence of hunting that we show in this paper is that it can increase the probability of dying from the disease," Choisy said. "It can give you results that are contrary to what you expect." The reasoning behind killing wild animals to control disease outbreaks is simple: fewer animals should result in reduced transmission of disease. Hunting has been used to control badger populations in England, rabies in European foxes and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk populations in the American West. The researchers note that in each instance, disease outbreaks have worsened in response to the hunting. One reason the policies failed, Choisy and Rohani said, is that they didn't take into account an ecological principle known as compensation. When a portion of the animal population is reduced, those that survive are left with more resources such as food and shelter. As a result of the newly plentiful resources, the death rate decreases and the birth rate increases, compensating -- and sometimes overcompensating -- for the loss. Killing wild animals can also increase the proportion of the population that's susceptible to disease by removing those individuals who have contracted a virus but have developed lifelong immunity as a result of their infection. The researchers found that compensation and lifelong immunity conferred by a virus interact so that the timing of mating and birth seasons determine whether hunting increases or decreases disease prevalence. They found that an outbreak is barely affected when hunting occurs between mating and birth season while an outbreak lessens when hunting occurs during the birth season. An outbreak increases dramatically when hunting occurs between the birth season and the next mating season. The effect can be so dramatic that in some cases hunting can increase not only the proportion of infections and deaths, but also the absolute numbers. For example, their model shows that in the case of swine fever, a highly infectious disease threatening boars and pigs in Europe, hunting can increase the number of infected individuals by twenty five percent. "If we want to preserve the hunted population, we should be careful about when we schedule the hunting season compared to birth season because if it's too early or late, it can drive the population to extinction," Rohani said. "If we want to control a disease in the host population, the timing of the hunting season can be chosen to be optimal for that." Note to Editors: For a pdf of the study, contact Sam Fahmy at 706/542-5361 or email@example.com	<urn:uuid:a4e26a66-b899-4ffb-b61b-eaf18b92115a>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Fishing--Hunting/Hunting/HuntingandDisease.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.947836	684	3.046875	3
Measuring True Impacts By Edwin Piñero, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Veolia Water North America If one were to ask what societies’ most precious resource is, oil may be what comes to mind. Clearly, energy production and mobility would be severely curtailed due to fuel shortages. And, of course, the socio-political ramifications of uneven distribution of world energy resources are clear. Finally, climate implications of fossil fuel use have been in the global dialogue forefront for some years now. But, actually, the far more valuable resource is water – specifically freshwater. Seventy percent of the planet is covered by water, but only 0.7 percent of this global resource is freshwater. And, it is very unevenly distributed across the planet. Unlike oil, for which there are multiple energy options, freshwater has no substitute. And, unlike oil, water needs cannot be sustainably addressed by transporting it from water-rich areas to water-poor, high-demand areas. Within the next three decades, projected population and economic growth levels will, locally, push to the limit the stress on this finite resource. In turn, freshwater availability could become the world’s main growth limitation factor. In reality, future growth of any kind will rely mainly on freshwater availability. For example, water has probably raised more political, economic and national security issues around the world than any other single factor. Just look back in history to see how communities and entire cultures have begun on the shores of some water body. Water is integral to daily life, agriculture and industry. Do not be fooled into thinking this is an abstract topic only affecting isolated parts of the world; there have been issues right here at home. Consider how demand for water, coupled with a 2008 non-historic drought in the Southeastern United States, sparked fighting words between public officials, as well as a legal attempt to relocate a state line to secure more water resources. Concerned that water supplies would be exhausted within three months, Atlanta banned lawn watering, car washing and filling of swimming pools for a period of time. Lack of water has stopped commercial or industrial projects not just in California, but in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Idaho, Arizona and Montana. Interestingly, for all intents and purposes, water is not “running out.” The hydrologic cycle is essentially a closed global system. The problem is how much freshwater is available for use and consumption, when it is available and exactly where it is. For the first time, cities house 50 percent of the world’s population – and by 2050 they are expected to house 75 percent. Locally, this means greater population density and increased economic activity in and around cities, creating more pressure on local water resources through increased consumption and greater pollution from domestic and industrial sources. In the developing world, 2.6 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation systems, and in the developed world the lack of smart management of aging infrastructure leads to growing pollution. Globally, increased populations (literally, more thirsty mouths) prompt a greater water demand. Hence it is clear that the decrease of freshwater resources availability (for both quantity and quality aspects) is recognized as one of the major environmental issue of coming decades. The challenge then – for cities, governments and companies – is to find solutions that make a minimum environmental impact not only in terms of water resources, but also in terms of energy use while maintaining and promoting economic growth. The water availability issue and, specifically, its inherent local nature will require becoming smarter in the way water is managed. This begins with understanding the impact societies are having on this crucial resource. In short, they must become more water-aware. To be smarter in decision-making processes, it is necessary to better understand the specific local nature of water challenges and the specific impacts of activities on freshwater resources. For this, cities, industries and citizens need data, smart-planning tools and more effective best practices to ensure a successful, sustainable future that takes into account new realities. The need for calculation methods and metrics has been largely recognized in order to better understand and manage water resources. Although impacts of water-use could be expressed as a combination of indicators (i.e. aquatic ecotoxicity, eutrophication, scarcity, volume abstracted), there is a need for a composite stand-alone indicator that incorporates multiple variables. Such an indicator can be used for screening water assessment, supporting decision-making or communicating, among other things. Current water footprint assessments tend to focus almost exclusively on volume – a valid indicator to raise awareness but not necessarily sufficient to represent the impact on a water resource. For instance, approximately 2,900 gallons1 of water are required to make one pair of blue jeans. But, what is the related impact on a given water resource – a reservoir, lake, river, etc.? An example to illustrate this point: Looking at two products – tomato sauce and peanuts2 – strictly by volume of water needed, peanuts would appear to have a much higher water-use impact than tomato sauce. However, according to a study3 on water stress-weighted foot printing, the opposite is true. Tomato sauce has a ten-fold greater impact on water resources than peanuts because tomatoes require more fertilizer and are produced in water-stressed areas with significant reliance on irrigation. There has been quite an increase in interest and models being developed to address this integrated approach to management metrics. One example is Veolia’s new Water Impact Index (WII). This variation of such an indicator enables a comprehensive assessment of human activity impact on water resources. It allows an evaluation of how water-use could potentially deprive other water users (both humans and ecosystems) from this resource. As water, carbon and economics become more intertwined, the intent is to couple WII with carbon footprinting tools to provide a first attempt at a new decision-making process grounded in sustainability. It is critical that we build a better understanding of how water resources and human activities can be managed to offset our collective environmental impact. With this tool, for use on any product or process, the physical water balance is weighted by a quality index and a water stress index. This methodology is rooted in life-cycle concepts and methodologies, taking into account both direct and indirect water uses of any process. The index has been tested in what Veolia believes to be the first-ever simultaneous analysis of water and carbon on a major metropolitan area’s water cycle. A study of the greater Milwaukee area’s water and wastewater systems (serving more than one million people) assessed the interaction of carbon (energy) and water, and their associated economic and environmental impacts. The study’s methodology assigned a value to water based on quality, quantity and resource stress. Veolia Water North America’s Technical Direction Group and the company’s global R&D team led the study in conjunction with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Water Council and other local partners and utilities. The study revealed that, in regard to drinking water production, WII is driven by direct water abstraction, as the quality of the resource used is very high. The sewage system contributes to reduce WII as the quality of wastewater collected is improved and becomes more in line with environmental requirements. The study of different scenarios, such as overflows management solutions or potential water treatment processes improvements, has highlighted that direct WII could be easily decreased with a low impact on indirect WII. Finally, comparative cost/carbon footprint/WII studies have shown that select improvements of the wastewater treatment process could add “win-win-win” solutions. The Milwaukee-based water-carbon analysis yielded a number of findings on the local urban water cycle. These are local; results and findings may differ in other locations and for other utilities. However, some key findings include: So why is this relevant? The information provided by multi-variable integrated metrics serves as a critical management input in order to make decisions. In addition, these types of results are important inputs to a broader dialogue about policies and strategies addressing water, energy and the environment. As need for environmental efficiency and resource management intensifies, organizations and communities will be able to use these tools to identify and to support business practices that create minimum environmental impact and pose reduced risks to water and air. Intuitively one knows that a gallon of water is not the same everywhere in terms of its inherent “value.” But, more tangible, quantitative ways to assess this local aspect of water availability are necessary for better decision-making. Societies look at energy, climate, risks and economic factors when making decisions, yet they tend not to put enough emphasis on what may be the most critical factor of all – will we have enough water? Hopefully, tools that measure this aspect will become more commonplace in the near future.Issue No. 9, 2011 1 A.K. Chapagain , A.Y. Hoekstra , H.H.G. Savenije , R. Gautam. The water footprint of cotton consumption: An assessment of the impact of worldwide consumption of cotton products on the water resources in the cotton producing countries. 2 CSIRO – MARS study 2009. 3 Ridoutt, B.G., Pfister, S., 2010. A revised approach to water footprinting to make transparent the impacts of consumption and production on global freshwater scarcity. Global Environ, 20 (1), 113-120 Receive livebetter eMagazine; it’s free. One Earth. One Family. Live Better. Be Part of It.	<urn:uuid:cd757aec-d365-48a8-8847-b7dd5f677905>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://livebettermagazine.com/eng/magazine/article_detail.lasso?id=167	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.938192	1,970	3.078125	3
By Carla Voorhees, Defense Media Activity This is the fourth in a series of 10 technologies integral to the United States military since World War I. The birth of the aircraft carrier dates back to 1910, just seven years after the dawn of modern aviation with the Wright brother’s bi-plane. At first, the U.S. Navy was skeptical as to whether or not aeronautics had a place in naval warfare. The first challenge was to prove that an airplane could take off and land from a ship at sea. The first test was conducted using the cruiser Birmingham at the Norfolk Navy Yard, where a temporary wooden platform was erected. On Nov 14, 1910, in a blanket of clouds and light showers, Eugene Ely flew off from the ship. The second test, whether a plane could land on a ship, was conducted on Jan. 18, 1911, on a second platform attached to the cruiser USS Pennsylvania. A series of 22 weighted lines stretched across the deck of the ship along with hooks attached to the plane, prepared to catch the plane as it landed. This worked like a dream. Even with these successful tests, the Navy focused on sea planes launched from catapults. It took until April 1917 before true aircraft carriers were considered more seriously. German U-boats were sinking many merchant ships and the U.S. used seaplanes for anti-submarine reconnaissance. Since no sea planes of the time could make a trans-oceanic journey with their limited fuel, ships taking planes to the battlefield were necessary. Today the aircraft carrier does more than simply put planes close to battlefields. It allows the U.S. to operate sovereign territory in international waters, reducing the need to build and maintain bases in countries where our presence may cause political or other strains, and it allows the President a unique range of options to respond to crisis quickly.	<urn:uuid:34981579-3d89-495e-b421-32a014fc4a82>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://science.dodlive.mil/2011/11/05/ten-technologies-a-brief-look-at-military-evolution-%E2%80%94-aircraft-carriers/	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.967258	384	4.03125	4
Hysteria — Loaded Word Norwegian painter and printmaker Edvard Munch in his famous “The Scream” (1893) may have depicted what psychiatrists would call “an indeterminate figure” in modern art's most wretched cry of obliterating angst. But Ancient Greeks and more modern men too had the sexist notion that nervous afflictions were peculiar to women and were symptoms of various uterine maladies. Plato imagined that the uterus (Greek hustera or more usually in the Greek plural hai husterai) was a separate spirit and animal part of a woman that only wanted to become pregnant. If it did not, this imaginary uterus-spirit wandered in a fit of mopish pique through the female body causing trouble. When it arrived at the brain, this hystera (womb animal) went totally postal and induced feminine hysterics. An Attack of “The Vapours” In case you have dismissed the above fumblings of ancient medical writers as the quaint folly of a bygone day, remember the Victorian British of only a century ago who, before Freud, termed hysteria “an attack of the vapours.” According to Victorian and Edwardian physicians, just what were the vapours? Uterine emanations seeping up from the vagina into milady's brain where they overwhelmed the female body! So corporal knowledge had not come too far in centuries, had it? Compare the early 19th century “delicate” German word Mutterweh ‘mother's affliction.’ This was not a euphemism for menstruation but for hysterics. Hippocrates: Not the Father of Hysteria Contrary to what is printed in many histories of medicine, the word hysteria was not coined by the so-called Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, who was far more of a physician and clinician than Plato—no matter what Plato imagined. The word hysteria does not appear in ancient Greek and Hippocrates dates (ca. 460 BCE – ca. 370 BCE) are thus too early. Hippocrates taught that the cause of what came to be called hysteria was irregular movement of blood from the uterus to the brain. Although such an etiology is incorrect, there is a shred of Hippocratic clinical observation there that far surpasses Plato’s insupportable myth-making. Hippocrates had perhaps observed a person in the throes of a potent conversion reaction and noted the elevation in temperature and engorging of the facial skin. Plato, on the other hand, probably has his slaves drive away with long sticks any unfortunate Greek who was having “a fit.” Hippocrates celebrated on a modern Greek postage stamp Etymology of the Word Hysteria An Ionian word mostly used in the plural as shown above, so that even in ancient Greek husterai was a euphemism whose literal meaning is “the inferior parts” or “the lower parts” ― very much like the modern evasion used by western parents to describe young girls’ genitalia “down there” or other sexist evasions to name a woman's “privy parts” like the Latin pudendum or pudenda, in form a gerundive of obligation meaning literally ‘that of which one ought to be ashamed.’ Compare one of several creepy periphrases in German, die Weiche ‘the soft parts.’ Creepy but slightly more accurate than some other languages' circumlocutionary bibble-babble. The form hysteria may be Modern Scientific Latin (late 18th-century?) < hustera Greek ‘uterus’ + -ia medical suffix ‘diseased condition of’ <hustera Greek, ‘uterus’ < husteros Greek adjective ‘the latter,the weaker, the inferior’ Etymologist Eric Partridge suggested hustera might have been an elliptical version of hustera metra ‘the lower womb.’ Having examined the uses of husterai in passages of ancient Greek, I think euphemism is a more cogent explanation of the Greek word's origin. The Latin word uterus, adopted into English, may stem from the same euphemistic Indo-European root, *udteros ‘higher,’ as does the Sanskrit comparative adjective uttáras ‘latter, higher, upper, northern.’ Compare the Hindi name of that flood-prone state in northern India, Uttar Pradesh. Uttar means ‘northern’ and pradesh means ‘region’ or ‘state.’ Roman Catholic Church Finds Good Uses for Hysteria Hysterical Witches—Those Bitches! As a disease, hysteria has had a good, lucrative 2,000-year run of popularity. Hysteria worked nicely for the Roman Catholic Church during the pleasantly corrective era of inquisitions. Hundreds of thousands of European women, tortured and burnt at the stake as witches, showed signs of hysteria. So did cheering mobs of Catholic peasants who gathered eagerly around the burning women who screamed in agony as their hair ignited and their fiery clothes seared their already cooking flesh. It was warmly instructive to attend a good people-fire, to watch human legs and arms crisp up nicely as God’s work was conducted by His anointed male fire-brigade of priests and their torch-happy henchmen. All this happened under the benign and divine auspices of what the current pope, a paleoconservative old horror named Ratzinger, has termed the only religious body of believers worthy to bear the name “church.” Ja-wohl, Irhe Hoheit! Let us not imagine that all hysterical witches were burned upright standing at the stake. Pious Roman Catholic onlookers, quite like holy moderns at a decent fireworks display, demanded variety in presentation. So turning a nude woman on a spit was also ordained by those priests in closest touch to their Lord. That way one could watch the human beings’ skin roast and split like pork cracklings. It is recorded that the assembled firewatchers sang hymns to drown out the young girls’ screams of pain. Some ancient version, I imagine, of “Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam.” I have already received emails of outrage that I should even bring up notes from The Inquisition. One little lily of piety who works for CBC TV suggested that we ought to forget such slight past errors. Maybe she's correct? Maybe we should forget the Inquisition and The Holocaust? Yeah, let's be positive for a change and all sit watching steroid-hockey games or some happy television program, like one of the CBC's new contest shows. I hear CBC TV has a winner this fall, “Defecating for Dollars.” Apparently it involves a giant golden winch and a chair, plasticized floor targets and contestants swaying on cables high above the studio floor, all contestants fitted with prune-juice intravenous drips. I know I'll be watching, and thanking my lucky stars that we finally have women and men of vision leading the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation bravely toward a future of maximum sewership...er...viewership. Nevetheless, I think I'll leave our wee televisual Bambi to watch reruns of Mr. Rogers. I will conclude my inquisitory interval with one more historical note. When they were not busy burning young women and buggering altarboys, some of these Roman Catholic inquisitors displayed a zeal for scientific notation that would have made Darwin himself proud. Here is a Spanish priest's notation: “I have observed that the breasts of lactating women tend to explode when the fire is high.” In all the horror of human history, I have never read a more obscene, evil sentence. That it was written by a Roman Catholic priest is all I EVER have to know about our very unholy mother, the Church of Rome. Doubters? Peruse some of the historical record preserved in the following volumes. Books about the Inquisition Hysteria Comes of Age During the Age of Reason there was a decline in attention to hysteria, but this was corrected by a big revival of hysterics at the birth of psychoanalysis. Indeed the first psychoanalytic document is often thought to be the one below. FREUD, Sigmund and Joseph BREUER. Studien über Hysterie. Leipzig and Vienna : Franz Deuticke, 1895. This is Freud's and Breuer's account of their discovery of the profound benefits of "free association," in part a result of their clinical experience with hysterics. This is the founding paper of psychoanalysis. What is Hysteria Called Now? Today it is usually labeled conversion disorder. Be aware that this is an extremely difficult diagnosis to authenticate. Here is one explanation from the internet: "This is a psychological conflict converted into a bodily disturbance. It is distinguished from hypochondria by the fact that sufferers do not generally confuse their condition with real, physical disease. Conversion disorder is usually found in patients with immature, histrionic personalities who are under great stress. Women are affected twice as frequently as men. Symptoms, which are largely symbolic and which relieve the patient’s anxiety, include limb paralysis, blindness, or convulsive seizures. The specific physical disorder usually does not correspond to the anatomy; e.g., an entire limb may be paralyzed rather than a specific group of muscles. The person may also appear to be unconcerned about the illness, a condition French psychiatrist Pierre Janet called la belle indifference (1929). At the end of the nineteenth century, great advances were made in the understanding and cure of hysteria by the recognition of its psychogenic nature and by the use of hypnotism to influence the hysteric patient, who is known to have a high degree of suggestibility. The Austrian physician Josef Breuer ,the French psychologists J. M. Charcot and Pierre Janet, and Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud were pioneers in the investigation of hysteria through hypnosis. Freud concluded that hysterical symptoms were symbolic representations of a repressed unconscious event, accompanied by strong emotions that could not be adequately expressed or discharged at the time. Instead, the strong effect associated with the event was diverted into the wrong somatic channels (conversion), and the physical symptom resulted. Psychoanalysis has had reasonable success in helping patients suffering from conversion disorder.” Even in the reasonably even-handed note above, note that women are still the chief hysterics. The diagnosis of hysteria, which was the most common psychiatric label applied to women up until the 1930s, continues to oink its way through shrinks’ offices. Thank goodness, horrible surgical procedures like clitoridectomy are no longer suggested as methods of treatment! For such reasons, and because its diagnosis had much to do with misogynist feelings on the part of male psychiatrists, nowadays hysteria is not generally accepted as a legitimate term for a mental disorder. The use of hysteria as a diagnostic label has declined in western countries almost to zero grade. Hysteria, for example, is no longer listed as a disease in the DSM IV; This is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, published under the auspices of the American Psychiatric Association. In the seventeenth edition of the Merck Manual, hysteria no longer has a separate entry. But hysteria and its adjective hysterical are still current and widespread in ordinary speech, and met in historical medical literature. The word is on the way out of legitimate medical vocabulary and that is a just victory for those want to purge medical terminology and practice of male chauvinist notions. Today most psychiatrists consider hysteria to be, in the current charming euphemism of the shrink trade, a legacy diagnosis. Translation: Hysteria has become through ignorant overuse an almost clinically meaningless, catch-all term, much like schizophrenia. Two useful books: A. Roy, ed., Hysteria (1982) E. Showalter, Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Culture (1997) © 2012 William Gordon Casselman Any comments, additional word lore or book orders? Please email me at email@example.com My Dictionary of Medical Derivations features the word hysteria and many more fascinating medical etymologies. Sample it by clicking on the cover. copyright © 2012 William Gordon Casselman	<urn:uuid:bdd4ef9a-b2ce-4846-874e-dab26b2de430>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.billcasselman.com/dictionary_of_medical_derivations/fifteen_hysteria.htm	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.949709	2,596	2.765625	3
Did you know that only 2% of the Smithsonian's 137 million artifacts are available to the public at any given time? Two Smithsonian 3D digitilzation coordinators are hoping to change that - by creating a complete digital archive of as many of those 137 million items as possible. And not just photos of them, but complete 3D models made possible by laser scanning of each and every item. "The team working on the Jefferson replica project decided that rather than use a traditional method involving rubber molding and casting, they would utilize modern technologies. Taking a Minolta laser scanner worth well up to $100,000 along, they contracted with Studio EIS to generate an intricately detailed 3D model of the statue that was then turned into the 3D printed replica by RedEye on Demand." Some items, like this Thomas Jefferson statue, can therefore be replicated for museums across the country. Others, can remain as 3D digital models, but available to an infinitely wide audience. There is a concern that as technology and software changes in the future that the digital archive may become obsolete, but the coordinators are apparently ready for the challenge. "If we could leverage the power of 3D to bring a portion of that collection to the world," Metallo said, "that would be incredibly powerful, and definitely worth the expense." Click here to read more about this 3D printing technology	<urn:uuid:e444ffe7-e7c8-4e05-981e-0390437b7537>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.jbknowledge.com/blog/tag/museum	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.960512	283	2.6875	3
Canada is "celebrating" an anniversary of failure to tackle global warming this week. On April 26, 2007, Stephen Harper's government unveiled its "Turning the Corner" plan to regulate greenhouse gases. The media release proclaimed that "Canada's New Government will impose mandatory targets on industry, so that greenhouse gases come down." Two years later, there are no mandatory targets for industry and no regulations; the government has not even published draft ones. The government did publish Canada's latest greenhouse gas numbers last week, and they're higher than ever. Countries are working feverishly to complete a new global climate treaty by year's end, but Canada is still coming to the table empty-handed. Heavy industry accounts for half of Canada's greenhouse gas pollution. A Liberal government first committed to regulate industrial emissions in November 2002, then repeated the promise in April 2005. The Conservative government unveiled its own proposal in October 2006 and revised versions in April 2007 and March 2008. Now it's April 2009, and there are still no regulations. Sure, we have federal grants to retrofit homes, subsidies for renewable energy and investments in research. But in their current form, these programs barely scratch the surface of the problem. Even scaled up, they would at most be part of the solution. The only ways to really "Turn the Corner" on the growth in our emissions is to cap them through regulations or to tax them. Successive federal cabinets have failed to do this because they didn't have the political will. This presents our current Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, with a big opportunity. He can be the one to prove that Canada is finally serious about cutting greenhouse gas pollution. Mr. Prentice has called 2009 a "pivotal year" for action on global warming. Governments will gather in Copenhagen in December to agree a new UN treaty on greenhouse gas reductions. Congress is debating legislation to cap U.S. emissions, and President Obama is moving to regulate them in case Congress can't pass a bill. The truth is that the "Turning the Corner" plan was so flawed that it became a liability the moment the Americans got serious. So Mr. Prentice has promised to unveil new emissions "rules," aligned with the more rigorous U.S. approach, in time for the Copenhagen conference. But if those rules are just another description of a framework - a mere political promise with the actual regulations left for later - why should anyone believe that promise after all the past broken ones? The bar is higher now. Canadians have been let down too often; scientists have warned us that the climate threat is bigger and more urgent; years have been wasted. To have a minimum of credibility when he arrives in Copenhagen, Mr. Prentice needs to have already initiated the legal process required to cap Canadian emissions. To earn Canadians' praise, the regulations will have to exhibit real leadership - not just copy whatever compromise may emerge from the U.S. Congress. This means three things. First, Canada must set an emissions cap tight enough to immediately start moving investments into cleaner technology. And the cap needs to cover as high a proportion of national emissions as possible; this means not just industry but transportation and buildings too. Second, the regulations need to be simple and transparent. Complicated exemptions and giveaways will only delay implementation. There must be no special treatment of Alberta's oilsands and no loopholes that allow firms to cut emissions on paper but not in reality. Third, Canada's approach must reflect the urgency of the climate threat and provide the certainty craved by investors. Alberta was able to have greenhouse gas regulations in place (albeit very weak ones) just four months after announcing them in 2007. With sufficient political will, there's no doubt that a federally regulated emissions cap can be in force by the summer of 2010. Governments worldwide have acknowledged that the economic downturn cannot be an excuse to delay action on global warming. Instead, the downturn is an opportunity to ensure that when growth resumes, it is concentrated in the clean energy, low-emission economy of the future. A well-designed regulated cap on emissions is the main tool we need to get there. This week, Mr. Prentice is in Washington at a meeting of "major economies" convened by President Obama to help advance the global climate negotiations. Our repeated broken promises and failure to act will make it very hard for any of the other countries present to take Canada seriously. Between now and the UN climate conference in December, Mr. Prentice has the opportunity to truly "turn the corner" by finally putting an end to Canada's years of inaction. Let's hope he seizes it.	<urn:uuid:888ba10d-e64c-4563-a7d5-62eb956ec4dd>	CC-MAIN-2013-20	http://www.pembina.org/op-ed/1826	s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz	en	0.959116	945	2.5625	3