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Last modified: 2010-09-24 by jonathan dixon
Keywords: west coast | eyre peninsula | map | colour gradient |
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Valentin Poposki has pointed out this report of a flag competition. The competition is for a flag for the West Coast and Eyre Peninsular region of South Australia, to "give the region an identity". The region is not a formal entity, and the competition is sponsored by a local member of state parliament, Liz Penfold, although the intended region seems to include the whole Eyre Peninsular, not just the parts that are contained in her electorate of Flinders.
While entries can be "quirky, fun or serious", there is a single required component - an outline of the coastline from the Western Australia border to the top of the Spencer Gulf.
Has a map on the flag ever been a requirement in another competition? It
seem slightly strange, although this particular outline could work well.
Jonathan Dixon, 23 October 2008
In the Port Lincoln Times, 4 December 2008, Stacey Davidson presents the winner of the Eyre Peninsula flag competition. Shaun Thomas, the winner of the competition explained his design as follows:
I found it impossible to convey the breadth and diversity of the Eyre Peninsula in a simple composition of traditional symbols," he said. "My design incorporates three graphical elements ... the land mass, the ocean and the coastline.
"The colour of the land ranges from the traditional ochres and rich oxides of our northern soils through to the warm golden yellows of our expansive grain fields.
"Similarly, the deep navy blues of the fish-rich Southern Ocean blends in to the softer cyans of our sheltered bays and estuaries."
A stark white line separates the land from the sea and also represents the peninsula's pristine sandy beaches and pounding surf breaks. [...]"
There shall be next Tuesday a people's choice, with the presentation of 20 proposals in the "Port Lincoln Times".Ivan Sache, 7 December 2008
Given the competition conditions, I would have expected a flag like this.
The details which would have made the entry stand are are the particular
stylisation of the coastline, and the use of fading colours rather than
Jonathan Dixon, 7 December 2008
As reported at the last Flags
Australia (FSA) meeting in Sydney, Tony Burton of Flags Australia had
been in touch with the MP (member of parliament) responsible for this
contest after the contest and made several suggestions, including a
simplified version of this one, which she was happy with. It removed
the shading, used straight lines and I think a wider white
fimbriation. This version was made up and apparently used by the MP,
which would make it as "official" as the idea of a flag was in the
Jonathan Dixon, 17 August 2009 | <urn:uuid:7551dfc8-9923-4801-a153-0a3b134e57f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fahnenversand.de/fotw/flags/au-sa-wc.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941293 | 609 | 1.804688 | 2 |
If we are really going to try to spark innovation in students, we need to make sure that educators deeply understand innovation. Scott Anthony from Harvard Business Review has provided a great overview of Ten Innovation Myths. They aren’t the end all, be all, but they are a good starting point. Innovation is about a lot more than providing art classes or STEM programs. There’s a large space in between the two in which we need to coach students toward real innovation. Read up. | <urn:uuid:d0a4e815-5a16-434b-813d-d47a63bdcd32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://esk12.com/esk12-blog?p=585 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961094 | 100 | 1.84375 | 2 |
'Transparent Loft Design'
This is copper house seems from outside, but when you look inside you’ll see the modern interior this house design is closed and privacy is safety. Copper house is project of Jared Della Valle and Andrew Bernheimer. Located in Hudson valley, it is in the woods far from the city so the designer built this [...]Read More
Height buildings in the downtown scene must have been very ordinary. Apartment, elite housing, and this time it is situated at an altitude loft. Which can be obtained from this loft is a typical view of downtown from the top. Downtown transparent loft is a design for a simple residence with modern interior. Glass material [...]Read More
There are some design ideas of floral conservatory to create a pretty garden room. Some ideas of floral conservatory design can be an inspiration for you who have conservatory space and want a cool design like an indoor garden. These ideas can applied with swing made from rattan for reading place and lounge chairs with [...]Read More
In between the primary colors are the three secondary colors made from mixing two primary colors together. Orange (mix of red and yellow), green (yellow plus blue), and purple or violet (blue plus red), expand your choices. While orange appeals immediately and green is soothing and popular, you may find purple a bit somber for [...]Read More
Caramel Valley Residence is located in the district of Santa Lucia. In the midst of dealing with the prairie farms make this house is designed like a house in ranch. This house was built with logs arcade with some features as well as interior and exterior board recycling. Also on the floor made from recycled [...]Read More
This is a new breakthrough for the design of environmentally friendly homes. Tafoni Floating Home Design is a floating model home with all the ingredients and healthy thinking. The design of this house is also intended to house a multi-pavilion as a permanent home. Design and unique location can also be used as a home [...]Read More | <urn:uuid:4b97c04a-81f9-41a9-b852-d00ad759c92b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bhousedesain.com/tag/transparent-loft-design | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959197 | 408 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Now Would Be a Great Time to Get Serious About Safety
Some people don't get close calls to change their thinking about farm safety.
Published on: September 20, 2010
Today marks the beginning of Farm Safety Week. Folks love to recite statistics when it comes to safety.
Seems to me there’s only one real statistic you need to worry about. Will you get a close call to wake you up, or will it be too late?
My dad’s has always been a safe person in his work. Still, I remember an incident that ratcheted up his safety thinking. Up till then, he'd taken a "common sense" approach to safety.
One weekend about ten years ago, he was cutting back tree branches that were getting too close to the house. One branch fell just right and knocked the ladder out from under him (apparently this is fairly common). He hit the ground hard and had to crawl to the front door to call for help.
After several weeks of recovery, I had to help him fix forklifts for a bit while he got back on his feet. Like you, he couldn’t just call it in. He had customers to keep. Since the accident, he learned the proper way to cut tree limbs is to actually climb the tree with a harness.
Though he still has back pain from time to time, he’s fully recovered from the accident. From that day forward, he’s been a lot more safety conscious. In helping him with projects, I’ve seen him stop and consider safety implications several times. Dust masks and eye protection are must-haves in the toolbox.
The fall was a precarious time, but the recovery and change in attitude did something very important. It got the next generation (me) to get serious about safety before I had my own close call.
My point is, get serious now. Don’t wait until you get older. Be sure to take time for teaching moments during harvest. We’ve got to be sure the younger generation gets the point.
Registered users may comment on this blog. | <urn:uuid:2d5d4dc0-7a89-49e1-8646-27541c23c9dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://farmprogress.com/blogs-now-would-be-a-great-time-to-get-serious-about-safety-1658 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976224 | 440 | 1.625 | 2 |
Architect Andrea Peschel Swan designed an updated cabin on Lake Mille Lacs where her family can get away and do what they love - fish for walleye.
Andrea Peschel Swan and her husband, Bret Swan, have always had strong connections to water.
Andrea grew up on the Mississippi River, where she fished for carp using Cheetos as bait. Bret spent his summers at a family cabin in Hayward, Wis. From the Coon Rapids home they now share, they can launch their kayaks on the Mississippi River and fish for smallmouth bass.
But Lake Mille Lacs is their favorite place to catch their favorite fish: walleye.
For years, they were content to rent timeworn trailers or make day trips to Mille Lacs. But when Andrea's brother bought a cabin just north of the lake, it sparked a desire to have their own place. On a whim, the Swans called a real estate agent to help them scout out "the cheapest lots for sale" on Mille Lacs.
Andrea and Bret were drawn to one narrow lot. It had 100 feet of shoreline that was part rock, part sand. Even better, it was on the east side of the lake, which would give them amazing sunsets. The price was right. And so was the timing. Andrea was pregnant with their first child, so their lake home could be designed and built while she was on maternity leave.
They dubbed their 2,000-square-foot, modernist structure Swan Fish Camp because Andrea, owner of Swan Architecture in Minneapolis, designed it to evoke the essence of waterside summers.
"We wanted it to feel fun, like going back to summer camp," she said.
To make the structure simple both inside and out, Andrea decided on an A-frame design.
"We loved the fact that you see the A-frame form on all different types of buildings: schools, chapels, even birdhouses," she said. "You can dress it up and down, and it's timeless."
The cabin's long linear shape was dictated in part by the 100-by-300-foot lot. But the placement was all about capitalizing on the site: It exposed the south side to the sun, gave the family privacy and created a lower profile for the structure.
"It's a more respectful approach in terms of how it's viewed from the lake," said Andrea. "It looks like a modest chapel you might see on the Maine coast."
Inside, she kept the design simple, too, with an open floor plan that allows for views of the lake from just about every room.
"We love to sit on our deck and watch the sun fall over the horizon," said Andrea. "It's the closest thing we have to the ocean and it's less than 100 miles away."
That ocean motif extends to the kitchen, where Bret installed a backsplash made of recycled oyster shells. "It wasn't in the original plan," admitted Andrea, "but we needed a focal point on that wall. It looks celestial when the light hits it."
The living room fireplace, another potential focal point, was a topic of great debate. They wanted something that would give the back-to-camp feel but wouldn't block the view. Instead of a traditional fireplace, their solution was to install a Scandinavian gas stove on an interior wall; it warms the entire cabin with the flip of a switch.
Andrea designed an upstairs loft for additional sleeping space. Though it overlooks the living room, it has an arched opening that lets in natural light but gives the loft plenty of privacy. The highlight of the space is a circular nautical window, which reminds Andrea of a captain's spotting scope. "The center of the window is where the water meets the sky," she said.
Swan Fish Camp was completed a year ago last spring, in time for a very auspicious day.
"Having our own cabin on the fishing opener made the day absolutely perfect, " said Bret. "Plus we caught 10 walleye."
Since then Bret, Andrea and toddler Emilia head up to the lake just about every weekend.
"I designed Swan Fish Camp," Andrea said, "to feel like a breath of fresh air, where we can get away from our daily jobs and focus on what's important: family -- and fishing."
Lynn Underwood • 612-673-7619 | <urn:uuid:cbe1bbd5-6b50-40d0-93d8-411599adf797> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/97700159.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967917 | 917 | 1.5 | 2 |
In yet another scandal for the Catholic Church, Italian authorities are investigating the Vatican Bank on suspicion of money laundering:
The Bank of Italy investigation was prompted by two wire transfers which the Vatican Bank asked Credito Artigiano to carry out, the Bank of Italy said.
The Vatican Bank did not provide enough information about the transfers -- one for 20 million euros (about $26 million), and one for 3 million euros (about $4 million) -- to comply with the law, prompting the Bank of Italy to suspend them automatically, it said.
The Vatican Bank is subject to particularly stringent anti-money laundering regulations because Italian law does not consider it to operate within the European Union.
This is not the first time the bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion, has been under suspicion. The bank has been accused in the past of laundering money for the Sicilian mafia and the Gambino crime family as well as helping Croatia's pro-Nazi wartime government steal the assets of Holocaust victims.
The current investigation could add more fuel to the current debate over Vatican sovereignty, which was prompted by the pope's recent visit to Britain. Anti-pope campaigners like the British LGBT activist Peter Tatchell argue that the Holy See's officially recognized sovereignty and observer status at the United Nations give it unwarranted authority in international debates over subjects like birth control, abortion and homosexuality while protecting priests and Vatican officials from prosecution.
As I wrote in a recent explainer piece, the Holy See has worked hard to cement its sovereign status since it was first recognized under a treaty with Benito Mussolini's Italy in 1929. It currently enjoys diplomatic relations with 176 countries in spite of the fact that has no fixed population and controls virtually no territory, usually prerequisites for statehood.
But in light of the fact that Vatican sovereignty can be used as a tool to protect both accused pedophiles and money launderers, it might be time to consider whether the Catholic Church deserves a special recognition under international law not granted to any other religion.
Passport, FP’s flagship blog, brings you news and hidden angles on the biggest stories of the day, as well as insights and under-the-radar gems from around the world. | <urn:uuid:f9f4eaef-f7e0-434a-bd3b-612c28f25f7a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/09/21/vatican_bank_investigated_for_money_laundering | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951264 | 450 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Online games hit by 3.4m malware attacks per day
Market in stolen games accounts and items still thriving says Kaspersky
The online gaming sector continues to be plagued by cybercrime, according to a report from Kaspersky Lab.
The security company says there are over 3.4 million malware attacks per day which target online games, as cyber criminals attempt to steal accounts and in-games items from popular games.
Use of malware to attempt to hijack accounts reached a peak in the first half of 2008, but Kaspersky warns that the launch of the new expansion pack for World of Warcraft, and the game Diablo 3, are likely to create a resurgence in the sector.
The most common form of attack targeting games are phishing mails that attempt to harvest login data, along with trojans that also target login details. Kasperksy said it has records of over 1.2 million trojans that target games.
Thieves access accounts and then sell on valuable items or whole accounts on the black market, with games that are popular in Asia being the primary target. In the report, ‘Online Gaming Fraud – the Evolution of the Underground Economy,’ Kaspersky virus analyst Christian Funk points out that while the market in stolen gaming items has declined recently due to oversupply, it is still a lucrative market for cybercriminals.
“Online gaming has evolved into a fully-fledged economy with well-developed demand, specific customer requirements and different sectors, including ‘premium’. Trading in-game objects is now an essential part of any game in itself,” said Funk.
“Game developers by no means neglect this market and are constantly busy developing new updates and extensions that include new tradable items. It therefore comes as no surprise that fraud and overtly deceiving online gamers has long since become popular among cybercriminals,” he added.
954 days ago
Gratz, you just stated the obvious. Everyone that games knows about trojans unless they're a child or computer illiterate. Hardly anyone falls victim to a trojan, and more accounts are lost through users trying to sell their own accounts to others. Literally fear mongering to promote kaspersky.
955 days ago
There are plenty of security measures to prevent accounts from being stolen. Common sense is the biggest tool. haven't had a problem in any of my accounts. | <urn:uuid:367da06e-e59e-4e9a-9ecd-c51e81aeb354> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itp.net/582097-online-games-hit-by-34m-malware-attacks-per-day/?tab=article | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946311 | 497 | 1.835938 | 2 |
A Philadelphia nightclub party was where 28-year-old Jessica Scott made her video-dating debut.
In front of a camera at the party, sponsored by the cable company Comcast Corp., she was asked about her worst date. Her ideal date. If she had a superpower, what would it be and why?
Then Scott set up a profile on Comcast's partner in the dating service, hurrydate.com. About a week later, her profile was on television, and the e-mail started flooding in.
Scott found that watching videos of potential dates gave her a true sense of their looks and personalities.
It's not like the Internet, she said, where singles may be tempted to post photos of their younger, slimmer selves.
"You know that that video was taken pretty recently," Scott said. "You can tell right off the bat, you can tell somebody's character."
This might not be what comes to mind when you think of television programming, but it's an example of how media companies are increasingly catering to the new way Americans use their television sets.
On the most basic levels, viewers want to be able to watch their favorite programs on their own schedule, hence the popularity of TiVo and on-demand movies.
Beyond that, though, media businesses are now tailoring new content, from exercise routines to karaoke, to an on-demand audience.
On Thanksgiving, Americans ordered more than 100,000 songs from Comcast's karaoke on demand, a service that plays music while the lyrics are displayed on the TV screen so viewers can sing along. In the past year, viewers in the Maryland-Washington area have looked at more than 1.5 million singles' videos through Comcast's dating on-demand service, where short personal videos of singles are aired on television and viewers can e-mail someone they like through a partner Web site.
"We have created an on-demand culture, and the quicker and better we can feed that demand, the more popular we're going to be with our customers," said Michael Ortman, vice president of programming for Comcast.
It's a change that dates back a quarter-century, to the invention of the videocassette recorder, said Robert J. Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television.
Before the VCR, "if you wanted to watch the Wizard of Oz with your kids and you missed it, you missed it. Until the VCR, you couldn't rent movies, you had to go to the theater," Thompson said. "The VCR really was the thing that changed everything. All of a sudden it allowed us to store television shows like we could store books."
The problem with the VCR was that most Americans never labeled their tapes, Thompson said. Even if they wanted to watch a program with the kids, they couldn't always find it.
Enter the digital video recorder. With the push of a button, viewers can easily access the programs they want to watch. Thompson said the technology has refined an entitlement Americans have felt since the VCR came into play.
The digital video recorder company TiVo saw its subscriber base nearly double to 4 million in the third quarter of last year, from 2.3 million in the third quarter of 2004. And the company is taking entertainment out of the home, offering technology that lets consumers transfer video from their DVR to their laptops.
And as Verizon Communications rolls out its new television service, FiOS TV, it's also offering karaoke on demand as well as an on-demand library of more than 1,900 programs, said Shawn Strickland, vice president of product management for FiOS TV. While the phone company was expecting less than a fifth of its new television customers to order a DVR with their service, nearly a majority of them are, Strickland said.
"That has been a surprise for us," Strickland said, "and the concept of TV on your terms really resonates with consumers: the ease of recording, the ease of using the DVR to sort through all the choices in the system and provide a more personalized viewing experience."
Experts say cable operators must offer on-demand programming to be competitive. Some types of programming, such as music videos and fitness, benefit from being liberated from a schedule, said Josh Bernoff, a principal analyst who follows television for Forrester Research in Boston.
Last week, for instance, Comcast launched exercisetv, an on-demand cable network for fitness, sports instruction and motivational programming. The station, in which the New Balance athletic footwear company and Time Warner Cable are equity partners, lets viewers watch their favorite exercise videos any time.
"If I feel like working out at 6:22 a.m. and the workout I want is the pilates workout ... that's not possible with a linear channel," Bernoff said.
On demand also gives consumers access to niche programming that might not otherwise garner enough viewers to merit a channel, Bernoff said. Viewers in the Maryland-Washington area watched 129 million on-demand programs last year through Comcast, the region's leading cable provider, compared with 73 million in 2004. | <urn:uuid:9d235f45-83e0-45ee-b2ec-1d85b238cc77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-01-29/business/0601280070_1_on-demand-comcast-viewers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968236 | 1,060 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Harvard in Realm of President Faust Makes A.J. Example of Service
Aaron J. Garcia, a 2009 graduate of Harvard College, passed up offers from consulting and marketing companies paying $20,000 more than he gets teaching chemistry and physics in Brownsville, Texas on the Mexican border.
The 24-year-old Garcia, who prefers to be called A.J., says Harvard University President Drew Faust had a lot to do with his decision to work with disadvantaged students. She champions public service over private gain in her speeches, which affected him when he was defraying some of the cost of his tuition as an assistant in her office in Massachusetts Hall.
“She said that it was the responsibility of educated people and scholars to shape the world in meaningful ways, and this is what’s most meaningful to me,” said Garcia, who joined Teach for America, a New York-based nonprofit group that recruits the brightest college graduates for low-income communities.
Faust, 63, tells students they didn’t come to Harvard just to get rich. She announced plans this month to return the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps to campus after more than 40 years, invoking her gratitude to those who serve in the military. Last year, she appointed Nitin Nohria, a leadership specialist who urges management students to take an ethics oath, as dean of Harvard Business School and Martha Minow, an expert in human rights and equality, to lead Harvard Law School.
From the eight U.S. presidents among its alumni to the professors who invented the iron lung and performed the first kidney transplant, Harvard has a rich tradition of serving society that Faust wants to restore, said David Gergen, director of the Kennedy School of Government Center for Public Leadership.
Too Much Materialism
“She came in with a view that too many Harvard students were aspiring to financial-services careers that emphasized materialism,” Gergen said in a telephone interview. “She didn’t villainize Wall Street, but she wanted to get more balance in what the student body was doing, and she’s encouraged more graduates to give back through public service.”
About 18 percent of the class of 2010 applied to Teach for America and 14 percent of graduates with jobs were headed into education. In 2007, the year she took over, 6.1 percent of seniors applied to the teacher training program.
To be sure, the focus on public service coincided with a Wall Street panic caused by speculative bubbles in housing and leveraged lending that plunged the economy into the worst recession in 80 years. Harvard graduates bound for financial services and consulting fell to 20 percent in 2009, from 47 percent in 2007, according to a survey of graduating seniors by the Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper.
Similar trends were taking effect across the U.S., as the number of college seniors planning to go into nonprofit or teaching careers after graduation rose to 22 percent in 2010, from 14 percent in 2008, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The share planning to work in the private sector fell to 36 percent from 45 percent.
Faust is putting her stamp on the university by changing the leadership of the richest endowment in education and halting the biggest construction project in Harvard’s history, the $1.2 billion science center that her predecessor, Lawrence Summers, envisaged as the cornerstone of an expansion in the neighboring Boston community of Allston.
To bring stability to the budget after the $26.9 billion endowment lost almost a third of its value in 2009, she cut funding for junior-varsity hockey, basketball and baseball teams, reduced shuttle-bus schedules and stopped hiring of exam proctors. A budget deficit at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, its biggest unit, was reduced to $35 million from $220 million in April 2009, and the endowment rose 11 percent to $27.4 billion in the year ended June 30.
Faust restructured the governing board, often called the Corporation, in December. The oldest incorporated body in the country and Harvard’s highest authority, the board was criticized by faculty for its secrecy. In the first substantive change in the institution’s government in 360 years, the corporation will be expanded to 13 members from seven, and Harvard may name three new members at the end of this academic year, and three more the following year.
The first woman to be president of Harvard, Faust is a career academic who emerged from relative obscurity to lead Harvard, compared with Summers, who served as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton and later was President Barack Obama’s economic adviser.
“She isn’t tied to Harvard’s traditions and wants to push in some new directions, which I still think she will when we come out of this,” said Lizabeth Cohen, a professor of American studies at Harvard and Faust’s friend for 30 years. “It would be a tragedy if her whole presidency was damage control.”
While she has courted alumni as the college rolls toward a major fund-raising campaign, she hasn’t improved academic rigor or increased political diversity among faculty, said Harvey Mansfield, a professor of government in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
“There’s a lot at Harvard to be done and she’s not doing any of it,” Mansfield said. “We need to make Harvard more demanding. It’s academically too easy right now. Students are not worked hard enough.”
Faust has worked to ensure that the broadest possible spectrum of views is represented at Harvard, and that students are prepared to examine those diverse viewpoints with the best intellectual training, the university said in an e-mail. Harvard has increased access to freshman advising and implemented a curriculum, called General Education, aimed at connecting classroom experience to the world beyond, the statement said.
“Without question, our students are driven in their out of class pursuits, just as they are driven in their coursework,” according to the statement. Faust has also reached out to conservatives to speak at Harvard, including Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the statement said.
Faust said her efforts resonate beyond the university.
“The power of the president of Harvard is complex,” Faust said, sitting on a cream-colored couch that contrasts with the crimson walls of her office in Massachusetts Hall. “It’s a job that gives you a voice and a platform and an occasion to accomplish a great deal.”
Faust has been politically active since childhood. Born in New York City in 1947, she was raised in Clarke County, in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where Democratic Senator Harry Byrd Sr. said he’d rather close public schools than integrate them. At age 9, she wrote U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower a letter to protest segregation. She skipped freshman midterm exams at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania to make a 16-hour drive to Selma, Alabama, and join the protest marches there in 1965.
In 2001, Faust, by then a prize-winning Civil War historian, joined Harvard to run its Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study. Six years later, she became president of the university.
“I don’t think it was a totally ‘jump for joy’ situation,” recalled her friend Christine Ramsey, whom Faust visited soon after her appointment. “There was almost a sober awareness that her life was about to change.”
In her inaugural address, Faust stressed a relationship to the public, pledging an “unwavering belief in the purposes and potential of this university and in all it can do to shape how the world will look another half-century from now.”
Military service is one way for students to contribute, Faust said. Harvard announced March 4 it would bring back a naval ROTC program, after Congress voted in December to rescind the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibited open homosexuality among service members. Harvard ended its relationship with the officer-training program in 1969 after protests by students against the Vietnam War.
“‘Serve’ is the word you use when you talk about the military,” Faust said. “These students make sacrifices while they’re here, because it’s a challenging program, and they know in this day and age that they’re likely to be sent to war zones. We’re all dependent on them, and I have tremendous admiration for them.”
Faust, whose father, grandfather and brother served in the military, said she had her sights set on ROTC’s return from the time she became president. She lifted the image of military service at Harvard for the first time in years, said retired U.S. Navy Captain Paul E. Mawn, chairman of Advocates for Harvard ROTC.
Value of Service
“She has an understanding and recognition of the value of service,” said Mawn, a 1963 graduate of Harvard College. “It’s a form of public service that goes beyond yourself.”
Stressing public service doesn’t mean being anti-business, Faust said.
“I believe in engagement of the public and private sector,” Faust said. “Business is about generating prosperity, and we have a number of students who are developing investment projects, devices or other programs that may ultimately serve society. Public service is a big tent and I don’t mean to leave anyone out of it.”
Undergraduates now discuss their options for public-service careers more openly, said Jonathan Warsh, student director of the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.
“One night I walked into my dining hall at Lowell House and they’re organizing a volunteer week. Something like that wouldn’t have happened even a couple years ago,” Warsh said.
Garcia has no regrets about taking less money to teach at IDEA Frontier College Preparatory charter school in Brownsville, 50 miles south of his hometown, Raymondville, Texas, he said.
Two weeks ago, a 15-year-old told him she was interested in a career in chemistry, perhaps as a pharmacist. Garcia was surprised because the girl, whose parents and siblings have been jailed on drug charges, had said earlier she wanted to drop out of high school.
“She became invested in herself as a result of being in my classroom,” Garcia said. “I’m convinced that my legacy and imprint will be felt for many, many years among the students and in the community. I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
To contact the reporter on this story: John Lauerman in Boston at firstname.lastname@example.org.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonathan Kaufman at Jkaufman17@bloomberg.net.
Bloomberg moderates all comments. Comments that are abusive or off-topic will not be posted to the site. Excessively long comments may be moderated as well. Bloomberg cannot facilitate requests to remove comments or explain individual moderation decisions. | <urn:uuid:d9fab9ab-9b8c-4076-a3f9-837bf1b3d137> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-17/harvard-in-realm-of-faust-makes-a-j-example-of-public-service.html/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968542 | 2,358 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Every race starts with a single step. Whether you are training for a place in the Olympic games 100 metres final, or if you’re just taking to the track to get in shape after the holidays, you put on your gear, you go out and you do it. You don’t question or doubt yourself, you just put one foot in front of the other, who knows where your journey will take you.
In a world gone mad, in an evermore complicated layering of modern complexities, it s through the simple challenges of sport that we maintain our equilibrium, hold close to our hearts the truest values of life, of aspiration, courage, determination and grace, and it is the beauty of sport that we hold fast to the ancients and their values which we often ignore so readily today.
The inspiration for the new fragrance Dolce&Gabbana The One Sport is these very values that you find inherent in sporting endeavour. The Ancient Greeks and the Romans understood the value of sport both for the individual and for society as a whole. From the very first Olympians to the gladiators of the Colosseum the best and most athletic became the most adored, the most loved of icons, their status elevated to that of demigod.
Our sporting heroes are held above all others in our hearts and affections and that is as true today as has always been. For when we see someone strive with all their being to surpass their limitations and achieve against the odds we hold them in incomparable admiration, we identify in them our own daily struggle, small and big, against he obstacles life sets before us we can see, we have living proof the impossible is possible, if we only put one foot in front of the other.
Dolce&Gabbana have had a long a rich association with all types of sports, but particularly with football, boxing, swimming and rugby union. They sponsor their beloved AC Milan and Chelsea FC, the Milano Thunder Boxing team and have sponsored the Italian national rugby and swimming teams, they were also sponsors of the Italian National Football Team when they won the World Cup in Germany in 2006. So for Dolce&Gabbana, the creation of the fragrance The One Sport, was a natural extension of their passion for sport.
Sport is always at the centre of Italian life, whether it is the red-blooded passion of support for local football teams, or the weekly gathering of men to play together as a way of keeping fit or the routine excursions to the gym, from ancient times Italians have always worked hard to keep their body in shape and their spirit joyful. The old Italian saying ‘mens sana in corpore sano’, which means ‘a healthy body means a healthy mind’ is an axiom for all times. Health and happiness go hand in hand and sport is the healthiest of pursuits, there is nothing sinister or negative about it. Sport teaches you how to win, but more importantly, it teaches you how to lose.
The lessons we learn on the training ground as children are the lessons we take into battle in our adult lives. For this is the reason DolceGabbana’s The One Sport campaign centres on the crumbling ruins of a Sicilian theatre, the model is Adam Senn who flexes his toned muscles in a series of Greek style sporting exercises which bring to mind the ancient Greek sculptures such as the Discobolus of Myron.
The One Sport campaign is a modern reimagining of the Greek sporting concept. One that blends the barriers between sport and art, the body and the spirit, the physical and the philosophical. The sculpture is not white marble, but the living, breathing body of an Adonis-like athlete juxtaposed against the decaying history of ancient civilisation the effect is one of celebration, of art, of the body, of life.
How better to package the fragrance than in a clear glass geometrically shaped bottle? The transparency and simplicity of the bottle reflect the genuine and true nature of sport along with a very masculine practicality. On the field there are no untruths, everything is measurable, counable what you see, as they say is what you get. Sport is what it is. The One Sport is what it is…
The fragrance itself is a fresh, clean fragrance with light and energetic top notes accompanied by an unmistakable Mediterranean aroma of rosemary, the freshness of water and saltiness of the sea. The middle notes feature sequoia wood enhanced with the energy of cardamom. Patchouli and musk naturally compliment the fragrance’s base notes. The overall effect is evocative of life on the Greek islands in ancient times and The One Sport transports us to an era when the greatest civilisation thrived upon the shores of the Mediterranean and young men competed for the attention of their gods through sacrifice in training, offering up their pain to their deities.
It is entirely appropriate that The One Sport will realised in this, the year of the XXX Olympiad or the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. The greatest sorting spectacle that has ever existed will be on show for the whole world starting July this year. It is fitting too, that the Games which will capture the imagination of billions aspire to the same values as that of the first Olympians in 776 BC. The first steps taken by the first athletes in Olympia nearly three millennia ago have taken us to this point, the race continues and Dolce&Gabbana have taken up the baton with The One Sport.
by Hugo Mc Cafferty | <urn:uuid:e0e38539-11ac-4f6b-84fe-84539fdedb79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.swide.com/celebrities/star-style/the-one-sport-adam-senn-vivanco/2012/1/9/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951098 | 1,141 | 1.726563 | 2 |
South Korea's first female president Park Geun Hye will take office on Monday in the shadow of two giants -- the first is the specter of a nuclear-armed North Korea and the second is the legacy of her father, former military dictator Park Chung Hee.
The daughter of the assassinated strongman of South Korea, Park, 61, will be sworn into Seoul's presidential Blue House promising a conservative policy of "trustpolitik" with its volatile northern neighbor -- a concept that emphasizes what she has called "mutually binding expectations" between the two sides.
The policy stands in contrast to that of former President Lee Myung-bak, who demanded an end to Pyongyang's nuclear arms program as a condition of economic aid.
His hard line stance came under fire towards the end of his tenure for having achieved little, and for even having further strained relations between the two Koreas.
It's hoped that Park's softer carrot-and-stick approach will tease concessions from Pyongyang at a time when relations have reached an all-time nadir.
In 2010, the North shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong leaving two marines and two civilians dead. Pyongyang claimed Seoul provoked the attack by holding a military drill off their shared coast in the Yellow Sea.
That same year, North Korea was also accused of sinking a South Korean warship, killing more than 40 sailors. The incidents caused widespread anger in the South.
"As one Korean proverb goes, one-handed applause is impossible. By the same token, peace between the two Koreas will not be possible without a combined effort," Park told Foreign Affairs magazine before winning December's elections.
"For more than half a century, North Korea has blatantly disregarded international norms. But even if Seoul must respond forcefully to Pyongyang's provocations, it must also remain open to new opportunities for improving relations between the two sides.
"Precisely because trust is at a low point these days, South Korea has a chance to rebuild it. In order to transform the Korean Peninsula from a zone of conflict into a zone of trust, South Korea should adopt a policy of 'trustpolitik,' establishing mutually binding expectations based on global norms."
Fiscally conservative and advocating tax cuts for business to boost investment and jobs, Park also has plans to restructure welfare programs and boost the country's flagging birth rate.
Regarded as a cold and somewhat distant figure, the 61-year-old president-elect is no stranger to politics and personal tragedy.
Although she was well-known in South Korean politics -- she was effectively the de facto first lady after North Korean agents killed her mother in 1974 -- Park only launched her political career in 1998.
In the wake of the disappointments of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, she took a seat in the National Assembly on a wave of nostalgia for her father who was assassinated in 1979. Park -- one of the founders of modern Korea who assumed power in a coup d'etat -- was shot by his own intelligence chief.
The memory of Park Chung Hee still divides South Korea -- some regard him as the cornerstone of South Korea's present prosperity, others as a dictator who ignored human rights and crushed dissent.
While she has apologized for human rights violations during his rule, Park has been criticized for not doing enough to distance herself from his legacy.
Park, who is unmarried, has won plaudits for being the first woman to win an election in a deeply patriarchal South Korea.
"I have no family to take care of and no children to pass wealth to. You, the people, are my family and your happiness is the reason that I stay in politics," Park told a press conference after winning the election.
However, David Kang, professor of international relations and business at the University of Southern California, told CNN her long-held position as a star in the firmament of South Korean politics may have carried more weight at the polls.
"That a woman could be elected in South Korea is historic and important. At the same time, what you basically have to do is be political royalty. I think gender roles are changing in South Korea. It's a step forward, but let's also remember how unique she is as a person."
While relations with North Korea play better overseas than on the domestic stage, where many voters are now inured to the daily threats that emanate across the border, analysts say Park may be better equipped than her predecessor at coaxing concessions -- especially in its nuclear program -- from the North.
Park visited Pyongyang and met with former leader Kim Jong Il in 2002.
She is considered among a small coterie of South Korean insiders who have the confidence of Pyongyang, and analysts believe Park will pursue a policy of economic concessions with the North, promoting commercial ties and promoting trading zones in a bid to ease tensions. | <urn:uuid:df78cf0f-d956-4cfa-9ce7-824ea80fd5f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kxly.com/news/S-Korea-s-president-elect-faces-challenges/-/101270/19031632/-/ca9qgo/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970529 | 991 | 1.578125 | 2 |
New Players Aid the Enterprise
New companies are cropping up to help social work within an enterprise setting. These include Bright Idea, which manages innovation for companies using social media technology; Lithium Technologies, which creates online community sites for companies to use as customer-support vehicles; and NewsGator, which uses RSS and data services to leverage knowledge inside a community at an enterprise.
Part of the reason for the boom lies in the financial results achieved. Fair Isaac Corp., a credit-reporting agency, achieves higher sales from members of its community. Its MyFICO experienced a 41% increase in spending from online community members as a result of implementing a customer community from Lithium Technologies. Communities also informally communicate what companies sometimes cannot. By law, credit agencies cannot give out advice on boosting your credit score, but members of the community on a site have no such restrictions, so users can find the advice they seek without leaving the FICO community.
In addition, companies see a significant reduction in call center volume because customers find answers to their support questions online through customer forums, helping enterprises to save an estimated $5 to $10 per call. HP, Caterpillar, Barnes & Noble, and Pitney Bowes all are Lithium customers with customer help forums.
Sanjay Dholakia, CMO of Lithium, points out that there is a high level of enthusiasm at companies for the medium, saying it is not uncommon to see a corporate press release about a new community they have launched. “A lot of folks know they need to do it, but not how,” says Dholakia. Once a community is deployed, says Dholakia, “Content creation follows a 100 to one rule at some sites,” meaning that 1% of the people build as much as 100% of the content. He explains, “Because we know that, we have built a Reputation Engine, which helps grab and elevate that content.” He points out that the primary goal is to make it useful to the customer, concluding, “You are only part of a community if it’s useful to you.”
Bright Idea’s mission is to unlock the good ideas that get sidelined by the structural problems inherent in a large organization. Deploying an online brainstorming tool known as WebStorm, the company gathers ideas from within an enterprise and from its customers, filters them through a voting engine, creates an idea pipeline, and serves up the best ideas for management to consider. Customers include Cisco, American Express, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bosch, Astra Zeneca, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Matt Greeley, Bright Idea’s CEO, says, “The silos in companies are not as connected as we’d like them to be … and [companies] want people to talk with people outside of their silos or organizations.” Greeley says that once a new idea portal is launched, “It’s really amazing as you start to see people inside and outside the company just talking.” He points out that to keep them informed, “Employees get an email with the new ideas created, and it is just like a morning cup of coffee.” The talking leads to some concrete concepts that enter a real product development pipeline. He has seen at least one client in the pharmaceuticals industry take the pipeline of new projects to the Wall Street analysts to argue for a higher company valuation.
The benefits of using new social media technologies often relate to the management of new content by getting it to the right people at the right time. J.B. Holston, CEO of NewsGator, decided years ago that it was important to build a smarter RSS feed: “We took a look at it and realized that RSS was just slinging content around the internet.” So they set to work on a system that would deliver a real return on investment to the enterprise and came up with a piece of technology that Microsoft has licensed to become part of SharePoint. The system builds profiles that make it easier for employees to learn about one another, tracks trends in news and feeds that are moving around the enterprise, and enables social bookmarking. The social bookmarking allows people to track one another’s blogs and feeds to be certain everyone on a team has access to the same knowledge.
Areas where companies save thanks to NewsGator offerings include lower licensing fees from the need for fewer seats on such tools as Salesforce.com or Factiva because the system will transmit the information employees need on sales leads or transmit interesting articles found by a single user on one of these paid systems. Holston further explains that a drop in email volume is not an insignificant cost savings; on average, “A 1% drop in email volume saves as much as $1.3 million per year.” In addition, NewsGator reduces the need for people who administer portal content, saving on company intranet labor costs.
Part of the reason enterprises need the services of a company such as Newsgator is companies such as Associated Content, which has a user-generated content model enabling it to churn out new content faster than anyone at a whole department of people would ever be able to read it. Taking the promise of Web 2.0 to the next level, CEO Luke Beatty says, “Associated Content is like eBay for content. We allow anybody to create content and then we create an economy around that.” Taking content for pay from wide array of contributors, the company then sells that content to expand the online presence of newspapers, beef up the web presence of corporations looking to expand their brands, and provide content to a wide array of special interest sites serving communities that need more content.
The idea seems to be gaining traction; Associated Content is taking on a dominant position not only in social media but also in media in general. Boasting 8 million unique visitors a month, Beatty says the company is among the top 100 media sites, and the fourth fastest-growing media property.
Rules of Engagement
Alan Scott, SVP and CMO of Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group, says that using social media for marketing was truly necessary to keep the company close to the customer. Scott says that the Dow Jones philosophy follows an “outside-in approach … we go where the customers are.”
Scott, who is a frequent speaker at conferences on the subject of new marketing, sounds a bit bothered when he relates hearing the question, “How much of my budget should be in social media?” He quickly points out that it is important not to go into social media without a customer-centric plan. “Otherwise, you are just doing social media for the sake of saying you are there,” he states, going on to refer to a type of rodent that is known for jumping off cliffs en masse. However, he admits that Dow Jones too has had to refine its approach over the years from covering every “cool site” to finding a focus that is geared primarily toward the specific sites where wealth managers or public relations managers congregate.
Scott says that using social media has changed the way he views markets today: “We see conversations as markets.” With that logic, any missed conversation is a missed market. Hence, for Dow Jones one opportunity is focused on creating and marketing tools to help in the monitoring of conversations that occur in the social web. Scott continues, “For example,
in February 2009 Dow Jones was mentioned more than 188,000 times.” He estimates that it would take five full-time employees to keep track of these monthly mentions and flag any upcoming media problems as they appear on blogs. So the company created another tool, Insight, that covers “social media metrics and measurement.” In addition, through the Business & Relationship Intelligence division, Dow Jones markets g2, which crawls millions of websites every day, extracting information about people, products, companies, and news.
According to Scott, Dow Jones social media approach was “unleashed” as early as 5 years ago, when the company issued a policy on blogging, not unlike the company policy covering use of email created more than a decade earlier. With bloggers such as Glen Fannick and Daniela Barbosa, both Dow Jones employees who blog and Tweet on technology topics such as semantic search or data visualization with the company’s blessing, Dow Jones is subtly extending its brand through the talents of its employees. “This blog policy opened the floodgates for our presence on the web as bloggers,” observes Scott.
Through all of the efforts in the Enterprise Media Group aimed at distilling and managing the new information now available through the social media, for product development and for internal purposes, Dow Jones estimates it has added 3,150 jobs located in 84 offices. | <urn:uuid:9b186ebf-8423-4d38-a210-5d580f9afe56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=54518&PageNum=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961892 | 1,820 | 1.554688 | 2 |
|Barbara Robertson is a contributing editor of Computer Graphics World and a freelance journalist specializing in computer graphics, visual effects, and animation. She can be reached at: BarbaraRR@attbi.com.
A guy, a girl, and a car. Ah, the stories you could tell, the movies you could make, if only...if only you could afford to hire the cast, crew, a director of photography, location scout, costume designer, and, and.... But wait! Maybe you can. Maybe anyone can—anyone, that is, willing to substitute animated characters for live actors.
That's the promise and, for some, already the reality of Machinima. A combination of the words "machine" and "animation," this new genre is frequently defined as filmmaking within a real-time 3D environment, although, in practice, it's usually filmmaking within a game engine.
"Machinima is the convergence of filmmaking, animation, and game development," explains Paul Marino, co-founder of the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences (AMAS) and of the Machinima-making studio, ILL Clan. An outgrowth of game movies and game mods, Machinima has been compared to puppet shows, animated films, improvisational theater and interactive fiction.
In fact, Machinima is all those things. "You can set up a camera and use the models in a game," says Jake Hughes, who made his Machinima movie Anacronox within a Quake 2 game. "It might take a half-hour to set up your first camera, but then it's quick. You can try a close-up or a dolly or a zoom using models in the game. You can access the characters' animations, and after learning the process, you can create an entire scene. The levels are essentially different sets. It's a blast."
|Anachronox: The Movie, created by Jake Hughes within a Quake 2 game, won Best Picture at the first Machinima Film Festival.
Hughes made his film from cinematics he created for and within the game Anacronox. "As you play Anacronox, suddenly your character is telling a story in the cinematics," he says. After the game was released, Hughes realized he could create a narrative from the cinematics. So, he output scenes to AVI files, edited them in Adobe System's Premiere and produced the 2-1/2 hour animated film.
"It's a gift to be able to see new media being created; it's like watching Gutenberg as he invented the printing press," says Henry Lowood, curator for the history of science and technology collections at Stanford University Libraries. "One idea is that you can make movies without mortgaging the house, but it's interesting to think about it more as performance. Machinima offers a new production process for what is possibly a new medium."
|Lenny and Larry Lumberjack star in ILL Clan's award-winning Machinima short, Hardly Workin'.©2001 The ILL Clan, Inc.
That's exactly what ILL Clan is doing. At press time, the studio was planning a Machinima-based performance for the Florida Film Festival that would feature the animated characters Lenny and Larry Lumberjack from their award-winning short film Hardly Workin'. "We'll have a predetermined idea for a story, but we'll elicit suggestions from the audience," Marino says. "It will be animated improvisational theater."
The stage is Mom's Truckstop, a set (or level) inside a Quake 2 engine, where Larry, Lenny, and Mom's cook will be puppeteered by three members of ILL Clan using computer keyboards. "A camera person will set up the shots, and then he or I will jump from one camera to the next," says Marino. He plans to record the performance so it can be edited later into a short film that could then be distributed on DVDs and released on Web sites.
"It's hard to get the real industry to notice Machinima because the graphics don't look so good and the film industry doesn't understand games and their look, but the graphics are getting better," says Hughes. "Five years from now, we'll have games that look more like Toy Story, and the Machinima tools will be adapted into those games."
Indeed, most Machinima characters look and move like game characters, and facial animation is a far cry from Toy Story. "It's like previz on steroids," says Marino, alluding to studios such as ILM, which used a game engine to give Steven Spielberg a previz playground for A.I. (see "Inside Moves," July, 2001, pg. 43).
But simplicity is not a problem for Machinima aficionados. "One of the things we're doing with our next film is completely abandoning photorealism," says Hugh Hancock, chairman of the Edinburgh-based Machinima studio Strange Company and editor of the www.machinima.com Web site. "We're giving it a comic book feel."
Characters will be created in NewTek's LightWave and imported into either a game engine or new Machinima software under development in a secretive Cambridge-based start-up company.
The question is, if the result will be a linear narrative, why work within the limitations of an interactive medium? "Machinima is spontaneous," Hancock says. "You can try things out, play about, and there's no penalty. It's the playfulness of it that's really important."
Tommy Pallotta, producer of the animated feature Waking Life, also finds Machinima fascinating. "I thought that working within the limitations in this world would be interesting," he says. So, when the British band Zero 7 asked him to direct its latest music video, he decided to use Machinima, and enlisted help from Fountainhead Entertainment. "It probably would have been quicker to do the film in a 3D animated program," he says. "But now, we can reuse the assets in an improvisational way."
|Zero 7's "In the Waiting Line," by Waking Life producer Tommy Pallotta, was the first music video created with Machinima tools.
"Everything has been done," says Katherine Anna Kang, Fountainhead founder and co-founder of AMAS. "We can take elements from this storytelling music video and apply them to a game." They could also churn out episodes for a TV series.
Like most Machinima studios, Fountainhead has developed tools to help set up lights and cameras for real-time filmmaking. The studio plans to offer AMAS members a "sandbox" version of its Machinimation software to capture animations. "It will be like a consumer camcorder," Kang says.
In addition, although Kang can't imagine doing Machinima in anything other than a game engine, some Machinimists are considering real-time tools such as Kaydara's MotionBuilder, which offers clever animation tools and the possibility of including media such as video within the real-time environments.
Animator Randy Cole, who worked with Pallotta, notes, "Machinima was like doing normal 3D animation, but with lots of limitations." Cole used Caligari's Truespace and Alias|Wavefront's Maya to create models, which were imported into Fountainhead's Machinimation tools in Quake 3. The resulting music video, which has played on www.mtv.com, looks more like traditional 3D animation than most Machinima films
So why bother? "I was asking myself that," Cole says. "But you could actually see in real time how everything would look. And you could record the animation as you moved the camera around, so it was like being on a set. When I went back to 3D animation, I missed that."
And that's why Kang prefers working inside game engines. "I want characters that react to the environment and that affect the environment," she says.
"While many of the Machinima people talk about it as a new way to make films, I think there's something very prescient about it," says Carl Goodman, curator of digital media for the American Museum of the Moving Image (Astoria, NY). "It's telling us what films in the future might be like. The camera is reduced to a construct, to one's perspective onscreen rather than a physical object. It's truer to the notion of digital cinema than using digital cameras."
And it's more accessible if people can make films for the price of a game or by using Kaydara's $100 personal limited edition. AMAS hopes to create an asset library for budding filmmakers, says Marino, so they aren't limited to game models.
"That would give people who are not modelers or animators access to a world they otherwise couldn't access," says Cole. "It would be fascinating to see what people would do... they could grab a guy, a girl, and a car, and make a movie."
For his part, Pallotta now plans to use a game engine for his next film. "I'm interested in straddling the line between film and gaming," he says. "Interactive narrative has failed for the last 20 years. That's a challenge I'd like to tackle." | <urn:uuid:3af5bf52-1772-47d3-a718-cf83f7f13187> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cgw.com/Publications/CGW/2003/Volume-26-Issue-4-April-2003-/Films-of-the-Future.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970446 | 1,941 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Most modern shortboard surfboards feature a single to double concave bottom shape and three fins (thruster set-up) although quad and five fin set ups are also widely surfed. These boards are thinned down as much as possible, creating a board that lacks floatation and offering poor paddling ability. To the novice surfer, shortboards can be very difficult to catch waves on and unless you’re an experienced surfer, shortboards can be very difficult to ride in weak/small surf. These boards are designed for performance minded surfers and are designed for quality surf.
Shortboards need to be turned continuously to generate speed and if you posses this kind of ability, you’ll likely be able to do any type of manoeuvre you can imagine including airs, tail slides, floaters, reverses, etc. The shortboard design is definitely meant for the intermediate to advanced level surfer rather than for a beginner. | <urn:uuid:9ca0b020-6db4-42e5-9821-4d4a4ee8d3b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.surfinghardware.co.uk/shortboards/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957308 | 194 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Dispatch from the Edge
By Peter Anderson
Everybody needs a story (or stories) to live by. Lately doom and gloom narratives have been hot – you know, government conspiracy, Mayan prophecy, endtime and rapture, zombies on the doorstep. Wonder why.
To find out, I thought maybe I should get a little more apocalyptic. I didn’t have to look too far. Here along the edge of the great Rio Grande Rift, a geological feature which extends from Leadville to Mexico, our planet’s outer crust may look and feel solid, but in fact, it’s thin and taut, fractured and fracturing. Some day, our local fault will slip and slide and the ground as we know it will rearrange itself.
Walking underneath my house to look over the flimsy cinder block piers that hold it up, I couldn’t deny the truth any longer. When I was less apocalyptic, I didn’t worry much about the ground. Now I realize it’s only holding up our house temporarily. When the big one comes, the ground will up and move and our seemingly solid house will slide off those piers and fall out from underneath our feet. Who knows which beams will crack or where the roof will fall? We’ll just have to duck and cover and ride it out.
Truth be told though, I am less apocalyptic than I used to be. In Salt Lake City, I lived next to a fractured piece of earthcrust that was due for a heavy duty shake and bake. Those who know such things said the interval between quakes was about 1,400 years (give or take 300) and it had been about 1,400 years since the last one. After we felt an earth shimmy one night, I couldn’t get my mind off that six-story apartment building just west of us. The shadow it cast across our little house each day became darker, more sinister.
Here the impending geological apocalypse is less menacing. Yes, it’s been 7,500 years since the last big quake shook this mountainside, but they only happen every fifteen thousand years or so (give or take a few thousand). In other words, the end of the ground as I know it probably won’t happen on my watch, which bodes well for my health, but doesn’t do much for my apocalyptic status. The only doom and gloom stories that deliver much meaning are the ones that promise action in our own life spans. Otherwise, ho-hum.
Well, there’s always fire season.
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The e Sri Lanka project has been implemented by Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka with the objectives of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to foster social integration, peace, economic growth and poverty reduction. Re-engineering Government Program (Re-Gov) is one of the key programmes of ICTA which implements the e-Sri Lanka project. There are number of projects already implemented by the Re-Gov and e-Samurdhi is one of such projects.
This document outlines
(1) Concept of the e-Samurdhi project where it contains scope, objectives, deliverables, time lines, cost estimation and envisaged benefits
(2) Implementation Approach
(3) Current Status of the project
a) The Background
The Samurdhi Authority of Sri Lanka (SASL) is the primary stakeholder of the e-Samurdhi project where there are other stakeholders such as Samurdhi beneficiaries, Samurdhi Commissioner General’s Department (SCGD) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL).
The Samurdhi Authority of Sri Lanka as an organization has number of functional divisions and the activities are carried out at different levels of the organization such as National level, District level, Divisional Secretariat level and Wasam level. The following diagram illustrates the information flow and organization structure of the SASL.
Figure 1-Organization structure
According to the above diagram (figure 1) functions of the SASL have been distributed for the local government level with different authority levels. There are subsidiary organizations of SASL at local government level such as Samurdhi Banks, Maha Sangams and beneficiary organizations.
b) Key problems related to existing Samurdhi activities
The numbers of welfare activities directed towards the citizens who are below the poverty line are very high in Sri Lanka. The number if organizations which are involved in the welfare activities are also high hence duplication of works is also evident. As a result of poor coordination between organizations involved in this activity and the lack of a common mechanism to monitor and evaluate the activities, the information on such activities at national level has not been made available for decision making. Due to this fact even the activities are planned and carried out without proper coordination.
The main problems in related to Samurdhi activities are listed below.
i. Problems relating to development projects
The lack of proper mechanism for management information in relation to development projects – All work related to development projects are carried out manually. Since currently there is no mechanism to manage such information in a coherent manner, it is difficult for SASL to use the information efficiently for decision making. Due to the absence of a MIS to support activities in the areas of live hood improvement, income generation and social development projects, the organizational decision making, monitoring and evaluation processes have become inefficient.
ii. Problems relating to human resource management of SASL
a. SASL manages 24,000 Samurdhi personnel who are involved with Samurdhi activities.
b. Lack of human resource information for efficient deployment, monitoring and evaluating the performance is an obstacle for achieving the objectives of Samurdhi program
iii. Problems relating to Financial Management
All financial activities are based on paper based manual accounting system, hence delays have been observed in the areas of payments, reimbursements and recovery of funds. SASL needs to have a more reliable financial management system.
iv. Problems relating to Samurdhi beneficiaries
a. SASL provides direct social benefits to 1.7 Million Number of citizens. Various Divisional Secretariats (DSs) use different databases built by them for carrying out their functions related to Samurdhi. SCGD also has a moderately advanced electronic system to manage the Samurdhi lottery information. However neither SASL nor SCGD has a reliable mechanism to keep track of the Samurdhi beneficiaries and their activities. This is one of the main problems that SASL and SCGD are facing. Data redundancy is another problem since the details of Samurdhi beneficiaries are maintained at various locations in different formats. Though the information related to Samurdhi beneficiaries are maintained in various electronic forms and formats, the lack any information security measures in current systems has created another problem that should be addressed urgently.
b. All Samurdhi Societies are working in isolation; therefore the absence of a mechanism to exchange knowledge and experience among the various society groups has become a limitation for improving Samurdhi societies.
c) Project Development Objective and Scope of the Project
To establish an ICT based Management Information System for SASL for
i. Providing better services to Samurdhi beneficiaries
ii. improved, effective, transparent and accountable management in the areas such as
• Beneficiary information management
• Programme and Project Management
• Human Resource Management
iii. Better control over the financial activities with respect to the beneficiary or development projects
a. Software development
eSamurdhi system is being developed through an architecture driven solution based on the Service Oriented Architectural principles. Therefore, high level business architecture was prepared following the system study to provide a clear picture for the software vendors.
In order to phase out the project activities rationally, the project was modeled based on the Rational Unified Processes (RUP). All the software development activities are aligned with the RUP disciplines that are stated in the below diagram (figure 2).
Figure 2 – RUP based approach to solution development
In contrast to the widely adopted water-fall software development approach, Software Development Services Approach (SDSA) was used to solution procurement and development, as illustrated in figure 3. The focus was on procuring vendors who would provide implementation capabilities to build the solutions according to a predefined enterprise architectural design. The key steps which were followed in this approach were,
(1) procuring a vendor to do a high-level BPR/systems study,
(2) formulating an overall enterprise architectural view, including identification of major software modules, the grouping of the modules into projects/phases (including a logical systems architectural view), the deployment architectural view and the overall implementation timeline,
(3) procuring vendors to develop the software components within each project, in an iterative manner,
(4) procuring a vendor to provide software maintenance and support services for 3-5 years
(5) procuring a Software Quality Assurance vendor for ensuring the quality of all software modules and integration of those
(6) obtaining the services of Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team to assure the security of the system
Similar to the original approach, ICTA is involved in overall project management. However, in addition, ICTA would also drive the formulation of the overall enterprise architectural viewpoint, and other disciplines such as strategic re-use of software components. ICTA typically completes these aspects with the assistance of a Software Architecture Group of Experts (SAGE) for obtaining the assistance of industry experts for ensuring the accuracy of the design, architecture, user interfaces and coding.
Figure 3 Software Development Services Approach to solution development
SDSA naturally reduces the risk for the vendor, since their overall responsibilities are reduced. Likewise, this approach significantly reduces the overall risk for ICTA since the project complexity and duration is highly reduced. Furthermore, this approach provides a huge advantage to the government stakeholders since they receive their solutions iteratively, quicker, and in a more flexible manner, thereby allowing for agile deviations from the original plans.
A typical SDSD driven project would be 3-4 months in duration. The primary selection criteria is the vendor's capabilities in developing solutions according to a given architecture, whilst leveraging specified technologies.
Major re-engineering government program initiatives under e-Sri Lanka, such as the LankaGate and e-Samurdhi were procured according to this new SDSA.
As per the RUP discipline business analysis was taken place at the beginning and established the business requirements for the project. According to the business requirement study nine modules were identified. However due to time and money constraints stakeholders decided to prioritize the modules depending on the urgency of the Samurdhi Authority. Therefore, mainly three modules were identified for implementing under eSamurdhi project. Such as,
a. Beneficiary Relationship Management module (CRM)
b. Program and Project Management module (PPM)
c. Human Resource Management module (HRM)
Figure 4 illustrates the high level business architecture that was envisioned after the business analysis.
Figure 4 – High level Business Architecture of eSamurdhi Project
The eSamurdhi solution has been architected as represented in the figure 4 business architecture diagram. According to above diagram eSamurdhi architecture has three layers such as Information Portal, Business Functions and System Integration layer.
Business Functions Layer
Business layer provides services relating to operations of the SASL which are grouped as applications such as PPM, CRM, HRM and other business functions should also be able to plug in subsequently.
The following companies won the contracts to develop the 3 main modules.
a. CRM – Delloite of India
b. HRM- hSenid of Sri Lanka
c. PPM - PWC of Sri Lanka
Further to the above modules that were identified during the initial system study, the Subsidy Management System of SCGD was also included under eSamurdhi scope based on the request from the Ministry of the Economic Developmet. This module is referred as Improving Monitoring and Evaluation System of Samurdhi Safety Net Program. (IMESSP)
Currently the SCGD is implementing the IMESSP with the following objectives.
Objectives of IMESSP
a. To ensure the recipients of the Samurdhi subsidy are selected based on the regional indicators and in a transparent manner
b. To ensure on-going information in relation to recipients and their families are captured on a regular basis into the System.
c. Creating and managing of (a) Subsidy Schemes and (b) Distributors within the Samurdhi Program.
d. Managing the beneficiaries within a Subsidy Scheme including the Issue and Recall of Subsidy Stamps.
e. Managing the disbursement of the benefit to the beneficiary and to receive re-imbursement for the benefits disbursed.
Development of IMESSP module has also been awarded to Delloite
In this layer it is required to define web services to expose and consume data with other related services of the individual applications in the Business Functions layer hence all the services are loosely coupled with each other.
According to the available similar freely deployable tools, multiple tools and frameworks used to develop applications within the business functions layer. Further within one application even different types of tools and frameworks were suggested to use to build different functions and services required.
The tools and frameworks that are used in the Business Functions Layer should be platform independent and free to use.
However each application in the Business Functions Layer should be integrated in the Integration Layer as per the above architecture.
Further individual application which provides services to citizen (G2C), government (G2G) and business organizations (G2B) should contain web services to be included in the Country Portal (www.srilanka.lk) as portlets.
Information Portal Layer
The end user should see the complete set of applications as a unified ‘portal’. This can be achieved by:
• Creating a similar look and feel across all applications.
• Sharing identity management across all the applications.
• Sharing session management across all the applications.
Therefore, this is the user interface layer of the eSamurdhi solution where different types of users interact with.
This layer should consist of data capturing interfaces as well as reporting interfaces of different applications.
The information portal should cut across the entire Business Applications layer and should interact with the integration layer in relation to sharing identity management and ‘Single Sign On’ (SSO) requirement. The each application in the Business Functions Layer should use identity management system of the Information Portal through Integration Layer.
The applications within the business layer should be integrated with the interfaces defined with each application. For example PPM should have services to interact with HRM and CRM where every each other application needs not to access the database the other application.
Therefore, simplified Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) was used to govern the architecture of the eSamurdhi solution.
Integration layer cut across Business Applications layer and Information Portal layer to provide seamless integration of business functions and user interfaces.
b. Software Quality Assurance (SQA)
This is a key process with respect to the project governance model. SQA is used as an independent audit team to review entire software development process as stated in the RUP model. Therefore, the key objectives of this process are as follows,
1. To ensure that SWDs have followed industry accepted SQA process for developing the eSamurdhi solution
2. To ensure that the eSamurdhi solution is developed with the acceptable quality standards.
3. To ensure that the eSamurdhi should have smooth and successful User Acceptance Test (UAT) and signing off.
The SQA assignment has been awarded to a JV led by KPMG and 99x.
This is a metrics based monitoring method where measurement metrics were defined for each and every phase in the software development process. Metrics were defined based on the software testing best practices.
According to the Automated testing process, every development activity is mirrored by a test activity. The testing process follows a well-proven testing methodology called W-model. Following Figure-5.0 explains, the way of testing activities of W-model involve with the standard software development life-cycle.
Figure 5.0 – The W-model
While the execution of the project, either developers or SQA team can generate the related metrics.
Skills required to generate Metrics
During these development stages, several roles and parties will be involved with development and testing activities. In Figure 6.0 shows the development stages, the activities which should perform during the stages, the roles or the parties should involve and the metrics which derive and maintain in the stages.
Figure 6.0- Skills required to generate Metrics
Evaluation of similar tools
World Bank approval for procurement plan
Procurement of software developers
Procurement of independent software quality assurance consultant
Oct/2010 to May 2012
User Acceptance Testing
System live run | <urn:uuid:a51ff211-f169-4b95-b43d-cf5edd222dc7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.icta.lk/programmes/re-engineering-government/131-main-projects/894-esamurdhi-solution.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935054 | 2,961 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Japan mobilises fighter jets after China plane over disputed islands
- From: AFP
- December 13, 2012
JAPAN scrambled eight fighter jets after a Chinese state-owned plane breached its airspace for the first time, over islands at the centre of a dispute between the countries.
It was the first incursion by a Chinese state aircraft into Japanese airspace anywhere since Tokyo's military began monitoring in 1958, the defence ministry said.
The move marks a ramping-up of what observers suggest is a Chinese campaign to create a "new normal" - where its forces come and go as they please around islands Beijing calls the Diaoyus, but Tokyo controls as the Senkakus.
It also comes as ceremonies mark the sensitive 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre, when Japanese Imperial Army troops embarked on an orgy of violence and killing in the then-Chinese capital.
F-15 jets were mobilised after a Chinese Maritime Surveillance twin turbo-prop aircraft ventured over the islands just after 11am (0200 GMT), Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters.
"It was a fixed-wing Y-12 aeroplane belonging to the Chinese State Oceanic Administration. We confirmed that this aeroplane flew in our country's airspace," he said.
"It is extremely regrettable. We will continue to resolutely deal with any act violating our country's sovereignty, in accordance with domestic laws and regulations," he said, adding a senior Chinese diplomat had been summoned.
Japan mobilised eight F-15 jets and an E2C early-warning aircraft, the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing a defence ministry source. But the incident appeared to have passed off without any direct confrontation.
In Beijing, China's foreign ministry said the flight had been routine.
"China's maritime surveillance plane flying over the Diaoyu islands is completely normal," said spokesman Hong Lei.
"China requires the Japanese side to stop illegal activities in the waters and airspace of the Diaoyu islands," Hong said, adding they were "China's inherent territory since ancient times".
The incident came as Japan's coastguard chief told reporters he was digging in for a protracted dispute.
"As China has publicly said it will make this a permanent situation, we are preparing to be better equipped for this long, drawn-out contest," Takashi Kitamura, the commandant of Japan Coast Guard, told a news conference.
"Because we have various other responsibilities other than patrolling for border security, we are asking government to consider building up our capacity," he said.
Chinese government ships have moved in and out of waters around the islands for more than two months - four vessels were there for several hours.
Such confrontations have become commonplace since Japan nationalised the East China Sea islands in September, a move it insisted amounted to nothing more than a change of ownership of what was already Japanese territory.
But Beijing reacted with fury, with observers saying the riots that erupted across China had at least tacit backing from the Communist Party government.
Mitsuyuki Kagami, an expert in Chinese politics at Aichi University said there would be no let-up from Beijing.
"China will keep sending official ships and probably aeroplanes to undermine the status quo of Japan's control over the islands," he said.
He said it would be more alarming if it began to send military vessels or aircraft, but he believed Beijing had no interest in a war with Tokyo.
"China hopes to draw Japan to the negotiating table," he said, adding that the likely victory of the hawkish Shinzo Abe in Japan's general election on Sunday might make any Japanese compromise more difficult.
THE soldier slain in London has been named as officials say both suspects had featured in previous investigations by security services.
SHOCKING video emerges of the moment the two men who butchered soldier in a London street were gunned down by police. Warning: Graphic video
LOOKING drained and distraught, Cory Ryther cradled his cat as he prepared to spend his first night alone in the house he shared with his wife.
SOME 2500 cleaners have lost their jobs after the firm they worked for ran out of money to pay their wages and went into voluntary administration on Wednesday night. | <urn:uuid:416ff827-4e1d-4ea3-8ecb-256053bfbd3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/world/japan-mobilises-fighter-jets-after-china-plane-over-disputed-islands/story-fnd12peo-1226536463197 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973472 | 871 | 1.742188 | 2 |
By Harry van Versendaal
“In Greece, a liberal is called a ‘neoliberal’ and is perceived as a ‘neoconservative’,” says Constantinos Alexacos, an architect who ran as a candidate with the Drasi party in the May 6 elections.
Big shocks change perceptions but the spectacular meltdown of Greece’s two-party system, dominant since the end of the military dictatorship in 1974, has failed to shake off at least one: mainstream distrust in liberalism.
Socialist PASOK and the New Democracy conservatives suffered a drubbing on Sunday, seeing their combined share of the vote sink to an all-time low of 32 percent. Nevertheless, none of the country’s liberal parties — Democratic Alliance, Drasi (which merged with Liberal Alliance ahead of the vote), or Dimiourgia Xana (Recreate Greece) — won enough votes to make it into Parliament. The three garnered a combined 6.5 percent, or 411,536 votes, as a huge chunk of support went to the anti-bailout parties away from the center of the political spectrum.
The poor showing has prompted a fair deal of frustration and soul-searching among self-described liberals in this debt-wracked nation. If there is one thing they all agree on it’s that their doctrine is a perennial victim of bad publicity. For a wide range of reasons, liberalism is still a dirty word for many, particularly those on the left.
“Like capitalism, liberal ideologies in Greece have been defined by their opponents, not their supporters. We’ve allowed others to tell the Greek population what we are, what we believe, who we are aligned with,” says Emmanuel Schizas, editor of the LOL Greece blog.
“Essentially, if you call yourself a liberal, the reasoning goes, you are pro-war, pro-monopolies, a corporatist, unfeeling and uncaring, and have a casual tolerance for corruption, inequality and the suppression of political rights,” adds Schizas.
It’s quite an exasperating situation for people who have traditionally espoused such values as individual freedom, rule of law, active but accountable government, free but responsible markets, and mutual toleration.
Most liberals have called for a smaller government, fewer civil servants, privatizations and further deregulation of closed professions. But the fact that liberal parties chose to back the deeply unpopular austerity policies attached to the EU-IMF bailout deal didn’t do much to promote their ideas. Worse, some liberal commentators say, the parties paid the price of endorsing ideas that were not, in fact, related to their political religion.
“Most liberals around the world have strongly opposed policies like those included in the memorandum,” says Tilemachos Chormovitis, a contributor for the liberal Ble Milo (Blue Apple) blog. “You can’t solve a debt crisis by accepting more loans. Instead of putting forward their own program against the tax-heavy policies of the memorandum and the stubborn statism of the left, liberals tagged along with the worn-out parties that backed the program,” he says.
To be sure, allergy to liberal ideas goes further back and has systematically been fed by the system of nepotism, clientelism and corruption that took hold of Greek society after populist PASOK rose to power in 1981. Any attempts to contain the country’s gigantic and profligate state ran against the interests of the ruling parties and their voters. Over time, liberal reforms were seen as coming together with a self-destruct button.
“There comes a point on the road to serfdom where so much of a country is dependent on government subsidies, government-sanctioned rents and government-upheld false economies, that liberalizing it will simply kill it,” says Schizas with a mention of F.A. Hayek’s 1944 classic.
Implementing liberal economic reforms, he says, was bound to take a hefty toll on the well-being of hundreds of thousands of people — at least in the medium term. “In an aged and inflexible society such as ours, people don’t bounce back from such setbacks; they stay down,” he says.
It’s hard to miss the uncomfortable truth at the core of the liberal creed: “The liberal parties are in the business of pointing out trade-offs; telling people they can’t have everything. That’s been a widely unpopular way of thinking in Greece since the ‘change’ of 1981,” says Schizas, referring to the late Andreas Papandreou’s famous campaign slogan which heralded the massive, but often misguided, program of wealth redistribution which was to follow.
The trade-off idea is a far cry from the populist, pie-in-the-sky idealism that has animated Greek parties seeking to appease an audience that had grown increasingly spoiled during the past 30 years. Furthermore, this cold, instrumental approach to politics, observers say, is out of synch with the all-too-human qualities of politicking. “Politics is not engineering. It’s chaotic, it does not follow a straight line. Just like life,” Kathimerini commentator Nikos Xydakis says, acknowledging SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras’s deft timing and political opportunism. “Politics requires Machiavellian ‘virtue,’ the ability to adapt to any given situation by doing whatever is necessary,” he says.
Wrong leaders, wrong audience
Analysts also voice reservations over whether Drasi leader, veteran politician and ex-minister Stefanos Manos and former New Democracy heavyweight Dora Bakoyannis, who now heads Democratic Alliance, are the right people for the job.
The biggest handicap, journalist and urban activist Dimitris Rigopoulos suggests, is that the vast majority of voters see them as part of the problem, not the solution. “Manos and Bakoyannis are both associated in the collective consciousness with Greece’s discredited political establishment,” he says.
Parallel to this, experts say, there’s an issue with the audiences that these parties have chosen for themselves. Drasi, which likes to see itself as the ‘orthodox’ libertarian party, tanked outside the main urban centers while drawing a disproportionate share of the vote from the alumni of elite schools. One of the most common criticisms against liberals is that they are haughty and elitist.
“You get the impression that many of these people feel unfortunate to have been born in Greece and often treat their compatriots with disdain. Naturally, they have failed to identify with the masses and the biggest chunk of support comes from posh districts like Filothei or Kolonaki,” Chormovitis says.
Meanwhile, most of the support for Democratic Alliance appears to come from the reservoir of voters connected to Dora Bakoyannis’s family — which includes her father and ex-Premier Constantine Mitsotakis and her late politician husband Pavlos. “If we’re being charitable, it would be best to say that not all of them care about liberal this and liberal that; they have personal loyalties,” says Schizas.
Still far from tipping point, but…
Some observers are rather reserved about the future of Greece’s liberal movement. “Greeks — at least those who did not vote for the leftovers of the old system and those who didn’t abstain — voted for sterile reaction and conservatism,” says journalist and blogger Thodoris Georgakopoulos.
The ballot, he says, shows that Greece’s creative minority — those who find solutions to the challenges, which others then follow — is still far from reaching what writer Malcolm Gladwell calls “the tipping point” – “that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire,” bringing about disproportionate change in society.
“If Greece’s creative minority had really reached the tipping point, the country wouldn’t have gone bankrupt in the first place,” Georgakopoulos says.
But true to their creed, liberals remain optimistic about the future. For Rigopoulos, a journalist with Kathimerini and founding member of the Atenistas citizens’ group, Greece is for the first time witnessing the conditions for the emergence of a genuinely liberal, reformist movement.
“Until five years ago, the so-called liberal front was reduced to a mostly isolated, demonized faction inside New Democracy plus a few scattered voices inside PASOK — the legacy of Costas Simitis, as it were,” he says in reference to the former modernist-minded premier. As intense polarization fades, new forces are being unleashed — “for better or for worse,” he says.
But unless they decide to join forces, liberals will find it hard to reach the tipping point. Ironically, although they are proud of their pragmatism and consensual habits, Greek liberals were in these elections represented with three distinct groupings. While bigger parties are struggling to form a unity government, liberal party officials have over the past few days been in talks to cooperate ahead of possible new elections. “Working with other people and parties has always been part of the solution as far as Drasi is concerned,” says Alexacos.
Others are less sure about the prospect. Chormovitis, for one, questions whether a liberal coalition would in fact succeed in even amassing the combined 6.5 percent won by the three parties on May 6.
“I am not so sure that Bakoyiannis’s election base in Crete or Evrytania would vote for a liberal coalition party that would not feature herself as leader, or that the fans of Manos and Tzimeros would throw their weight behind one of the most worn-out politicians of the post-1974 period,” says Chormovitis in reference to Thanos Tzimeros, the young advertiser who led Dimiourgia Xana, the surprise package among smaller parties.
Schizas insists parties should call on their supporters to discuss and approve a common platform first. “The liberal parties have never tried to develop a potential common policy platform and are instead focusing on horse-trading among themselves,” he says.
But whether they choose to cooperate or not, Schizas says, Greece’s liberals must above all reach a point where they are defined not by association, but by their actual program. “As long as we are the pro-banker people, the pro-gay people, the pro-bailout people, the pro-privatization people, the anti-minimum-wage people, we are easy prey.” | <urn:uuid:9b272717-b141-48cf-814f-95b1d837ac7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://voxversendaal.wordpress.com/tag/new-democracy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959239 | 2,290 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Nestled among canopies of mesquite along the desert foothills of Mingus Mountain in Clarkdale, Ariz., the Yavapai College Verde Valley Campus is cultivating a bright and sustainable future for Northern Arizona’s emerging grape and wine industry.
Surrounded by 80 acres of undeveloped, available land the campus’ high desert setting is judged by viticulture experts as an ideal location for wine and table grape vineyards.
The vision for a future Viticulture and Enology program took root following several brainstorming Charrettes hosted by the college. After reviewing the costs, benefits, and job creation potential of the region’s wine and grape industry with community members, business professionals, educational partners, and special interest groups such as the Verde Valley Wine Consortium a vision was launched and Yavapai College’s Verde Valley Vineyards project was born.
Yavapai College has educated Yavapai County residents in the areas of general education, arts, business, agriculture, lifelong learning and community education for more than 40 years. The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NCACHE) accredit Yavapai College. The college’s agriculture and science programs are ranked in the top 10 for community colleges nationally.
Development of 21st Century | <urn:uuid:c3d21c42-8ea4-4f8b-97d5-0694507785fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://verdevalleywineconsortium.com/education_sustain.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939341 | 276 | 1.585938 | 2 |
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|Home > Life in Japan > Features|
Thursday, Aug. 1, 2002
THE ZEIT GIST
Isles trampled in white elephant stampede
Instead of bidding tearful farewells to island life, Japan should save it from government projects
By AMY CHAVEZ
Japan's islands have long been a source of tearful TV documentaries that focus on aging populations and families abandoned by children who have left for the cities.
So when I moved to a small island in the Seto Inland Sea five years ago, I expected to find a withering population of people just barely getting by. What I didn't expect was huge, government-funded projects.
In a place where the population loses 25 people a year to death or emigration to one of Japan's larger islands, you wouldn't think the government would be spending money on new buildings with little long-term benefit or innovations only a small percentage of a progressively smaller population could benefit from. But, this is Japan. Despite the dwindling population on this island, there has been amazing, and often inexplicable development here over the past few years.
When I came to the island in 1998, there were 13 kindergarten students. This year there are four. We have 34 elementary school students, 22 junior high. The 27 high school students that live on the island have to take a ferry to the mainland. If they want to participate in extra-curricular activities after school, they have to either live in the school dormitory or with relatives on the mainland because the last ferry back to the island leaves at 5:55 p.m.
Despite the fall in numbers, in 2000, a new elementary and junior high school was built on our island, to replace the old wooden school. The island people were so full of nostalgia for the old school that they held a party for it the night before it was to be torn down.
Many people wondered why the old school had to go. After all, it had remained perfectly functional for over 100 years.
By 2001, they were already combining grades and teaching them together because there weren't enough students. Now, in 2002, there are some grades with no students. And for the past two years, there has been discussion of closing down the new school altogether and just ferrying the students to a neighboring island.
For over a hundred years, the main businesses here were stone mining and fishing. But now, most of the stone used in Japan comes from China, so the stone factories on the island have closed. The fishermen still make their living from the over-fished Seto Inland Sea. They have adapted by learning to grow seaweed and produce fisheries so they no longer only rely on the sea. Nonetheless, two years ago the entire side of a mountain was blasted out to make room for a second port. The new port has been finished for a year, yet there is rarely, if ever, a boat in it, and certainly no need for it.
A handful of ryokan and minshuku stand along the small stretch of public beach. Again, although the amount of people on the island who make a living from tourism is small, a new beach was installed this year. Large ships brought in new sand and machines were employed for six months to move the sand, reshape the coastline and widen the beach to accommodate more tourists.
Thanks to massive government grants every 10 years, the island can continue to build new projects according to its wants rather than its needs, in a pattern that's been repeated in struggling communities around the country for years. Meanwhile, the island's future and welfare is suffering in ways the government has failed to recognize, or has just plain ignored.
Japan's islands provide a safe, close community and a healthy environment, something mainland-living rarely offers. Rather than dumping government money into white elephants, they should be working on ways to bring people to the island.
Just one plainly obvious and easy solution would be to improve the ferry service, which stops just before 6 p.m. daily. For years, the service has catered to people who live and work on the island. Adding even one late ferry would allow more people to live on the island and have jobs on the mainland, thus encouraging the development of a new community. Surely that would be better than becoming fodder for another tearful TV documentary. | <urn:uuid:b28f3305-baa7-4cac-a589-523cb1a51a88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://info.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20020801zg.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970311 | 944 | 1.765625 | 2 |
I see so many people taking pictures in same position – standing, with the camera at shoulder level, facing their subject head-on. The trouble is, their pictures all look the same! So the next time you’re out shooting, try varying your position. Kneel. Sit. Lie down. Or go in the opposite direction and stand on a stairway or look down from a parking garage. Varying your position will put variety into your photos and give you a bit of exercise as well.
In addition to changing your own position, you can change the camera’s position. There are reasons you might not want to lie on the ground: ticks, poison ivy, and arthritis among them. But today’s pocket cameras make it easy to change your angle by moving the camera up and down without scrunching too much.
The cityscape, right, was taken with my Canon Powershot G12. I have had several Canon point-and-shoot cameras, and really appreciate their variable-angle viewing screen, which rotates to almost any angle so I can hold the camera at odd angles and still see what I’m doing. This feature is great when I?m taking crowd shots. I hold the camera high over my head, point it at the crowd, and adjust the screen so I can see the composition.
Lately I’ve been using a smaller Lumix camera without the variable screen. It’s small enough to fit in my pocket, and it has a macro lens that focuses an inch from my subject. I?m learning how to shoot blind, review the picture, and try again until I get it right. It takes some practice but it’s good for subjects like small flowers. I slide the camera right under the leaves and shoot. I used this camera at the Boston Flower Show in March and got unique, interesting pictures that would have been very disruptive if I used my DSLR. I’ve also been using it for an ant’s-eye view of spring flowers.
When you put your camera close to your foreground, the foreground becomes larger in your picture and takes on more importance. The three pictures of the George Washington statue and its spring tulips show what I mean. The first was taken standing in the normal position. I was on the ground for the second. Then I inched forward a few inches at a time until I got the third composition. It’s not my favorite, but it’s a good illustration of the effect of being really close to your foreground. It’s really a picture of tulips, not the statue. A wide-angle lens accentuates this effect.
I really enjoy changing my angle of view, and I hope you have fun trying it, too.
Change shooting angles for better photos – http://www.digital-photography-tips.net/digital-photography-tutorial-angle.html
High and Low Camera Angles – http://www.fodors.com/travel-photography/article-high-and-low-camera-angles-54/
Low angle photography: Tips and tricks http://www.fotoflock.com/index.php/learn-photography/how-to/32-shoot-how-to/7231-low-angle-photography-tips-and-tricks | <urn:uuid:752a3896-15e6-4853-8237-4263721cd954> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/photography-blogs/getdown | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937067 | 700 | 1.65625 | 2 |
When you are retired, but still have your physical and mental health, you should take a fresh look at your financial plans, your estate plan and will, and how you and your spouse communicate. Health changes can be sudden in one's later years, and in bad cases can have a very negative impact on your ability to think through and deal with issues.
This article contains details specifically for Canadians, but the concepts will work for couples in many countries.
What follows is not a comprehensive review of all possible issues; it is a summary of some key issues to provoke thought.
In many older households, one spouse tends deals with financial matters like investments and tax returns. This can put the other spouse at risk as you grow older, because if the one who does the finances becomes ill or impaired, both spouses may lose knowledge of the "what and how" of the family finances. A good first step is to sit down and have a detailed discussion.
Take a look at all significant assets. Make a detailed list of those assets, including their location. If some are tracked via computer, add to the list the passwords and user account names for all such accounts. As much as possible, try to also record when every asset you hold in a non-registered account was purchased and how much was paid. This information will be needed when assets are sold or on the death of the person in whose name the assets were bought, because gains or losses will need to be calculated for tax purposes.
If you have non-registered investment and bank accounts, consider holding them in joint ownership with right of survivor instead. This will allow the surviving spouse to have quicker access to money, will defer taxes, and will avoid the probate procedure for these assets.
If you have RRSPs, RESPs, Registered Income Funds, and/or Tax-Free Savings Accounts, check who is listed as the beneficiary. If your estate is listed as the beneficiary, the money goes into the estate, taxes must be paid, and whatever remains will be disbursed according to the terms of the will. This could create significant problems for the surviving spouse.
Check if either spouse made the capital gains election on the 1994 income tax return (when the $100,000 capital gains exemption was eliminated and one could claim, tax-free, up to that amount of gains). If you did make the claim in 1994, note the details on your list of assets because if you sell the asset or assets in future you will be able to pay capital gains on just the increase since 1994 and not all the way back to when you first obtained the asset.
Once you have done the above, each of you should take this opportunity to review your individual wills, keeping in mind the points raised above. Be aware that a bequest written into the will years ago may have had significant changes in value over the years. If you want your estate to be distributed evenly among heirs, you might need to make some adjustments. | <urn:uuid:53631b93-d012-4f1f-a84d-5885f088a7db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.self-counsel.com/news/law/wills-and-estates/502-financial-planning-for-older-couples.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968563 | 602 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Women hate swimsuit shopping, am I right? And we all know why: Because swimsuits do not disintegrate when buried underground for 180 days. Luckily, designer Linda Loudermilk has come out with the world's first line of compostable swimwear.
Yes, they're hideously unflattering (warning: image mildly NSFW, definitely NSFA where A is aesthetic sense). But they achieve the thing women really care about in a swimsuit: disposability. Plus, they look like garbage bags, so their compostability is never far from your mind — because when people look at you in a bikini, you want their first thought to be about decomposition.
Loudermilk suggests that you give the disposable suits to your guests, something like the paper thong at a tanning salon. So in addition to disappearing when buried, they also make your guests disappear! | <urn:uuid:90c11e86-a2bd-497a-880d-b47d7383fe3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://grist.org/list/2011-07-28-introducing-the-worlds-first-compostable-bikini/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963651 | 179 | 1.679688 | 2 |
October 4th, 2005, 08:02 AM
A typical fantasy setting? What's that??
Just been poking around on one of the other forums here, and noticed a lot of comments along the lines of Robin Hobb's new book is "not your usual fantasy setting." By which, one assumes, they mean mediaeval - castles, swords, horse travel etc. Or possibly Dark Ages King Arthur/Celtic stuff. And, quite frankly, I wonder where the people who posted those comments have been over the last 10 years or so.
If you ask me, very little of today's fantasy is actually set in mediaeval times - neither on a mediaeval Earth, nor on some mediaeval-type alternative earth. And most of it is not Celtic/Dark Ages setting, either. But somehow, some readers have failed to notice! Just look at some of the award winning fantasy of late - Susannah Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Dr Norrell ; Gaiman’s American Gods; Harry Potter; Mieville’s work; Jo Walton’s Tooth and Claw; I could on and on. And on.
Even fantasy that superficially seems to be mediaeval – in that there is not much sophisticated technology and everyone fights with swords – often has very little resemblance to the mediaeval. (Magic often renders the idea of mediaeval concept superfluous anyway– is a world like Robert Jordan’s mediaeval when people can travel around it magically with an ease that makes airlines look slow?) And yet still readers will insist that “typical” fantasy settings are somehow homogenous. This is not true now, if it ever was.
My Isles of Glory trilogy was quite obviously set in an alternative world at a time that approximates to our 1780-1830. There were scientific expeditions on sailing ships, open ocean navigation by people who knew what they were doing, 19th century type colonialism, the beginnings of modern medicine and democracy and countless other clues to the period. And yet I have had reviewers refer to it as a mediaeval fantasy. I’m not sure what book they were reading! Were they so mired in this tired idea that fantasy has to be mediaeval, that they didn’t read what was on the page?
These days, fantasy has as many settings as there are fantasy books; some are brilliantly realised, some aren’t. Some are cliched, some aren’t. So please, none of this “not your typical fantasy setting” – there ain't no such thing!
November 26th, 2005, 08:43 AM
I did wonder about that. I believe that when they read the word 'sword' they immediately associate it with kings and queens, castles, a knight and a princess, very superficial things.
I believe it's better to let the writer tell the story and paint the entire world for you, then try to match it to a pre-conceived notion of fantasy and suddenly go, "oooh this is one thats not expected!". To be honest, if it IS of the type that's expected, it's not exactly breaking any moulds or taxing the imagination, and won't be appealing to certain audiences.
PS: Glenda, I think the depth of your work is fantastic. Havenstar has been my favourite for the past four years, and no other has beaten it - and I read a lot of books! You have a gift for introducing a person to a whole new world, new people and concepts, and making every moment believable and enjoyable.
I've read a couple of your other posts and would just like to add:
Favourite heroines of mine (and I'm a woman, so I demand them to be a certain way or I simply won't take to them) are a mix of Keris and Blaze - battling with a certain circumstance they are in, not 'perfect' looking, almost dismissible except that they have a quality of courage and ability, with a mix of spirit and humour and just the right amount of goodness that makes them stand out.
Last edited by Elisaria; November 26th, 2005 at 08:59 AM.
November 27th, 2005, 07:11 PM
Thank you Elisaria!
That was just what I needed as I struggle with the final stages of my next book...somewhere along the way I always pass through this stage of "nobody loves me", or rather, nobody loves my work, this is **** ...and then I read something like that and I am re-energised. Thanks!!
The new trilogy is set in a Roman-style world - at least no one will think this one is mediaeval! - but I am wondering if I shall get some flak because it deviates in many things from the Roman model. And I hope you like the heroine! Unfortunately, so far, I don't have a UK publisher for it, but the first book comes out in April in Australia.
October 29th, 2009, 06:10 AM
A fantasy world is a type of imaginary world, part of a fictional universe used in fantasy novels and games. Typical worlds involve magic or magical abilities and often, but not always, either a medieval or futuristic theme. Some worlds may be a parallel world tenuously connected to Earth via magical portals or items; a fictional Earth set in the remote past or future; or an entirely independent world set in another universe.
[EDIT: links to other website removed.]
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Haven't you ever known something deep in your heart without reason? Primrose Squarp is an eleven-year-old girl living in Coal Harbour, British Columbia, where the only big businesses are fishing, whaling, and the Navy. Everything on a Waffle is a story about what happened to Primrose after the loss of her parents. One day, her father is out on a fishing boat when a big storm hits the area. Mrs. Squarp puts on her rain gear and proceeds to take Primrose to the local babysitter so that she can go look for her husband. Primrose's parents don't return, but she knows that they will return someday.
Meanwhile, Primrose must navigate her life without her parents. Her babysitter, Mrs. Perfidy, agrees to babysit her. The town pays Mrs. Perfidy for her duties by using Primrose's parents' bank account. However, when money runs short the town must find someone that she can live with. They find her only known relative, Uncle Jack, to take on the responsibility of watching her. They have an interesting relationship that leaves them mutually satisfied with each others' company. | <urn:uuid:fdb63c88-cf16-4f15-b039-4878bc6d6398> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.librarypoint.org/taxonomy/term/27?page=8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97209 | 238 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Mays, King, Belafonte are Beacon honorees
Trio to be feted by MLB prior to Civil Rights Game in May
CINCINNATI -- The Major League Baseball Beacon Awards aim to honor not only titans of sports, entertainment or politics, but those who have also fought for change, equality and civil rights.As part of the weekend leading up to the May 15 Gillette Civil Rights Game between the Reds and Cardinals, the MLB Beacon Award Luncheon at the Duke Energy Center will honor Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays, tennis legend and women's sports pioneer Billie Jean King and entertainer Harry Belafonte. The announcement was made during a press conference on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park. Former United Nations ambassador and congressman Andrew Young will deliver the keynote address during the luncheon. Young, who befriended Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement and became one of his top aides, helped encourage African Americans to vote in Alabama and Georgia during the 1960s and organized peaceful protests. Young was with King when he was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis. ESPN anchor Sage Steele will serve as master of ceremonies during the Beacon Awards luncheon. The MLB Beacon Awards recognizes individuals "whose lives are emblematic of the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement." Past winners include Vera Clemente, Spike Lee, Buck O'Neil, John H. Johnson, Ruby Dee and Rachel Robinson. Last year, which was the first time the event was held in Cincinnati, Muhammad Ali, Bill Cosby and Hank Aaron were the Beacon Award honorees while former President Bill Clinton gave the keynote address. "The bar had been raised. The Commissioner [Bud Selig] wanted to keep it and maintain it," said Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB's executive vice president of baseball operations. "He gave us that leadership and vision but also support. He said 'I support you to get the top-level people that we can get.' Cincinnati has gone all out to support this event. The Castellini family has gone beyond the call of duty for support. The Commissioner directed us to do the same thing at the same level of diligence." Mays, who was named the MLB Beacon of Life recipient, compiled 3,283 hits, 660 home runs and was a 24-time All-Star in 22 seasons while being considered by many as the greatest all-around player of all time. After he began his career in the Negro Leagues, Mays became a superstar for the New York and San Francisco Giants. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1951 and the NL Most Valuable Player in 1954 and 1965. During the '51 season, Mays was part of the first all African American outfield in Major League history with Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson. Mays became the Giants' first African American captain in 1964. Reds great and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, who emceed Wednesday's press conference, shared a personal memory of getting to know Mays, who like him, lived in Northern California. At the time, Morgan was completing his rookie season with Houston. "He gave me a telephone number and I couldn't wait," Morgan said. "When I got home, right away after I packed all my stuff and got back to California, I called. He said 'Come on over.' It was unbelievable. I spent the whole day at Willie Mays' house. Not only that, he gave me my first set of golf clubs. He took me out to his garage and said 'Pick a set.' We have been very close since that time. I spent as much time with him as I could. He is truly my hero." King was named the MLB Beacon of Change recipient not just for being one of the first stars of women's tennis but for her efforts at gender equality. In 1971, King became the first female athlete in sports to earn $100,000, and two years later she successfully lobbied to get equal prize money for both men and women at the U.S. Open. In a watershed moment for equality between the genders, an estimated 50 million people watched on television when King defeated former men's tennis champion Bobby Riggs in three straight sets during a 1973 match at the Astrodome in Houston. Since retiring from competitive tennis, King became the commissioner of World Team Tennis, the first woman to ever hold such a post. In 2009, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor available in the United States. The MLB Beacon of Hope Award will go to Belafonte for being an individual who influences the future through his support of children. Belafonte's album, "Calypso," made him the first artist in history to sell more than one million albums. He won a Tony award for his Broadway debut in "John Murray Anderson Almanac" and an Emmy for "An Evening with Belafonte," in which he was also the first black producer in television. Entertainment wasn't the only area of excellence for Belafonte, who became well known for his work in social justice and has been honored with numerous awards. He has worked with King, the late President John F. Kennedy and South African president Nelson Mandela. Belafonte was a force behind the 1985 "We Are the World" project to help those affected by famine and war in Africa. Belafonte also has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors for excellence in the performing arts. Proceeds from the Beacon Awards Luncheon will benefit the MLB Urban Youth Foundation, the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. | <urn:uuid:1ad4cacf-8cd8-44e9-91d9-788c1db34eba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100407&content_id=9123900&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981269 | 1,166 | 1.585938 | 2 |
To get some idea of how the Amen phenomena can build on itself, consider the Woodmansees--Jack, a retired general and businessman, and his wife Patty--who live in a suburb of Dallas. The Woodmansees heard about Amen a decade ago from a friend who felt the SPECT scan and his treatment had dramatically improved her life. Because the Woodmansees had a grandson diagnosed with AD/HD, who was doing very poorly on Ritalin, they sent for an Amen video about AD/HD. Watching it as a family, their adult son (the father of the AD/HD child) came to the conclusion that he probably had AD/HD, too. The senior Woodmansees made appointments for the son and grandson to get scanned, and then decided to take their granddaughter, who had behavioral problems. Eventually, three different branches of the family trooped out to California to be scanned.
Soon they were all talking about the temporal lobes, cingulate gyrus, prefrontal cortex and noting the interesting family resemblances in their brain-perfusion patterns. They also became advocates for Amen, sending along friends, neighbors, and members of their congregation, and even financing scans for people who couldn't afford them. They brought Amen to Dallas to give lectures, and have been trying to convince him to open a clinic there.
Two years ago, Richard and Sarah Mitchell took their 10-year-old daughter, Terry, in for a scan. Always a difficult child, Terry was now throwing herself on the floor in explosive temper tantrums, harassing her siblings, causing classroom disruptions, and failing in school. Diagnosed with AD/HD and oppositional defiant disorder, she'd been prescribed a stimulant, which she vociferously fought taking, and which only made her worse. After the scan, Amen prescribed an antidepressant, a mood stabilizer, and a handful of supplements. He also recommended several therapists. But not one of the three therapists worked out, and the drugs didn't help much, either.
So Amen shifted course. He took Terry off meds, cranked up the supplements, including large doses of over-the-counter omega-3 fatty acids, GABA, and other amino acids (believed to reduce anxiety), recommended a high-protein diet, and helped her parents learn some techniques for handling their daughter better. Now, about two years later, Terry still tends to be bossy and overbearing, has a hard time picking up on social cues, and is emotionally immature. But she's much better than she was--her grades are now high Bs, she likes school, and her mood has generally improved. "She isn't raging anywhere near as much," her mother reports, and she clearly feels more at peace with herself. | <urn:uuid:4b47b41a-8d77-4dff-904e-5a38bf2bced9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/populartopics/brain/467-visionary-or-voodoo?start=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984755 | 567 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology (VCBB) was created to investigate diseases of bone and mineral metabolism. It is located in the Light Hall building in a 4689 sq. ft open laboratory space. Investigators associated with VCBB study the mechanisms regulating embryonic bone development, adult bone remodeling and repair, as well as cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, which frequently affect the skeleton. Our goals are to unravel novel biological mechanisms and to develop new treatments and diagnostic tools that can eventually change the quality of life for patients with bone diseases.
We are fortunate to have access to multiple state-of-the-art instruments and cores at VUMC to perform molecular, cellular and biochemical studies, and to thoroughly quantify changes in bone volume, architecture, biomechanical properties and histology upon gene alterations, growth, aging, disease or pharmacologic treatments. We also have access to state-of-the-art equipment in the Institute of Imaging Science for multiple imaging modalities applicable to in vivo small animal models.
from multiple departments, including Medicine, Cancer Biology, Pharmacology and Engineering are actively involved in this research activity.
The active VCBB research program is detailed in the tabs above. Feel free to contact the project leaders or associated students/post-docs if you have questions about projects and if you have interests in joining our group.
Florent Elefteriou, Director
Want to improve your manuscript reviewing and writing skills? Join the review Journal Club. Students, post-docs and faculty can join by contacting Dr. Elefteriou. | <urn:uuid:c0bb918e-ed5a-4622-8781-bb54d3d150cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=CenterForBoneBiology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931142 | 316 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.
After high school graduation, some students get an itch to venture from their home state, or set their heart on a school on the other side of the country. Attending an out-of-state public school may lead to care packages replacing actual visits from parents, and paying for college may be tougher when facing out-of-state tuition.
However, while an in-state public education is usually one of the cheapest routes to higher education, many schools offer out-of-state prices that let students bloom far from where they're planted at an affordable price.
Of the 414 ranked public colleges and universities that submitted 2011-2012 total cost data to U.S. News in an annual survey of undergraduate programs, the average cost of out-of-state tuition and fees was $17,785—almost $10,000 less than the average cost among private schools. In addition, 94 public colleges and universities surveyed did not report tuition data.
[These are the 10 least expensive private schools.]
New Mexico Highlands University, which charged the least for out-of-state students in the 2010-2011 school year, tops the list again this year with its tuition and fees totaling $5,328. This year's 10 public schools with the least expensive tuition and fees for out-of-state students have an average cost of $6,674 for tuition and required fees—nearly $1,000 cheaper than the average among the 10 least expensive public schools for out-of-state students for the 2010-2011 school year. The six least expensive public schools for out-of-state students last year are on the list again this year.
Five of the 10 schools on this year's list fall into the Midwest Regional Universities ranking category, including three Minnesota schools: Minnesota State University—Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota State University, and Bemidji State University. The remaining five are ranked as Regional Universities either in the West or South, except for the lone school ranked among National Liberal Arts Colleges: Louisiana State University—Alexandria.
The five military academies, which charge $0 in tuition in return for postgraduate service, were excluded from this list, as were schools designated by U.S. News as Unranked. U.S. News did not calculate a numerical ranking for Unranked programs because the program did not meet certain criteria that U.S. News requires to be numerically ranked.
These are the 10 least expensive public schools for out-of-state students, based on tuition and required fees (figures do not include room and board, books, transportation, and other miscellaneous costs):
|School name (state)||Tuition and fees (2011-2012)||U.S. News rank & category|
|New Mexico Highlands University||$5,328||RNP*, Regional Universities (West)|
|Peru State College (NE)||$5,648||RNP, Regional Universities (Midwest)|
|Southern University—New Orleans||$5,678||RNP, Regional Universities (South)|
|Minot State University (ND)||$5,763||110, Regional Universities (Midwest)|
|Eastern Oregon University||$6,639||RNP, Regional Universities (West)|
|Minnesota State University—Moorhead||$7,378||81, Regional Universities (Midwest)|
|Southwest Minnesota State University||$7,624||108, Regional Universities (Midwest)|
|Bemidji State University (MN)||$7,796||91, Regional Universities (Midwest)|
|Midwestern State University (TX)||$7,810||RNP, Regional Universities (West)|
|Louisiana State University—Alexandria||$7,978||RNP, National Liberal Arts Colleges|
*RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one fourth of its rankings category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find information about financial aid and scholarships, as well as complete rankings and much more.
U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2011 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While the data comes from the schools themselves, these lists have no influence over U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools. | <urn:uuid:e1965b49-e6c9-4882-b060-6b4ac13456a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2012/02/07/10-least-expensive-public-schools-for-out-of-state-students | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945999 | 1,047 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Dorgan to Tackle New Initiative
By Beth Wischmeyer, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
Aug. 6–During a town hall meeting in Dickinson Monday night, Senator Byron Dorgan announced $1.9 million he secured to create the North Dakota Energy Workforce Training Initiative and spoke out about the needs of businesses to compete with salaries offered to those who work in the oil industry.
“The average salary in the oil patch is $80-86,000 a year, and if you have half a chance and have some small skill and someone else will train you, you’re gone in search of better money,” Dorgan said. “Businesses have to compete with that. How do we match resources with skills on the labor market?”
A collaborative effort between Dickinson State University, Williston State College, Bismarck State College and Minot State University, the initiative will help “address the growing need for skilled energy workers due to rapid expansion of oil drilling and production in the Williston Basin,” according to a press release.
As part of the initiative, DSU and Minot State will each host two symposiums to study and evaluate energy issues, concerns, possibilities and solutions, including short- and long-term strategic planning in North Dakota.
During the meeting, Dorgan also discussed the potential use of oil revenues.
“I was calculating what we make in oil revenues the other day, and we make five or six million dollars of revenue coming into the state,” Dorgan said. “It’s a wonderful thing to have money, but it’s also a challenge to decide what kinds of investments are needed for the state.”
Dorgan also said he would like to see North Dakota set its sights higher when it comes to spending oil revenues.
“I think that because of who we are and where we come from, we don’t aim high enough,” Dorgan said. “I’ve watched the legislature and I’m not very happy with a group that does nothing. I think our state should aspire to accomplish goals and build something bigger and better. That’s what this oil revenue will give us the opportunity to do.”
During the meeting, Dorgan gave citizens the opportunity to voice their opinions on matters.
Water was a topic of concern, as one citizen noted the concern of a shortage of water due to the vast amounts needed to fracture potential Bakken wells.
Dorgan said he plans on ensuring good water for the people of North Dakota.
“When I became chairman of the funding committee for Water and Energy issues, I tripled the funding for North Dakota,” Dorgan said. “That’s what the federal government promised us when they built that dam. I’m a position to force the federal government to keep their promises. The people of North Dakota deserve good quality water across the state.”
Dorgan also discussed the recent $500,000 he put into doing a feasibility study in regards to new refinery, and the farm bill.
“All of these things represent opportunity for us,” Dorgan said.
Dickinson was the third town meeting for Dorgan on Monday. He stopped in Hettinger and Bowman earlier in the day.
To see more of The Dickinson Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thedickinsonpress.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email firstname.lastname@example.org, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. | <urn:uuid:b4089d59-13b6-4259-8284-82a48fe95685> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1512382/dorgan_to_tackle_new_initiative/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949304 | 821 | 1.648438 | 2 |
KALAMAZOO -- Kalamazoo City Attorney Clyde Robinson is expected Wednesday to answer some of the thorny legal questions posed by potential adoption of a city ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
But Robinson's report to a three-member subcommittee of the Kalamazoo City Commission that is grappling with finding a potential "middle ground" in the controversy about a local gay-rights ordinance isn't expected to bridge the gulf between the two major opposing views.
Opponents say a local ordinance banning discrimination against gays in employment, housing and public accommodations inside the city limits could force some residents to violate their religious beliefs.
Proponents say gender identification should not be allowed to disqualify someone from a job, a home or a hotel room.
The subcommittee meets at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the community room on the second floor of City Hall to hear Robinson's report and a final round of public comment before the issue returns to the full commission later this month.
Commissioners Don Cooney and Stephanie Moore have already indicated they favor recommending the full commission readopt an anti-discrimination ordinance similar to one it unanimously passed in December. The commission in January rescinded the ordinance in response to a petition challenge.
Commissioner David Anderson, the third member of the subcommittee and its chairman, asked for more clarification from Robinson before preparing a recommendation for the commission's June 15 session.
Meanwhile, commissioners must act by late June or early July if opponents are to have a chance at putting the measure up for a citywide vote in November.
Contact Kathy Jessup at firstname.lastname@example.org or 388-8590. | <urn:uuid:131985d5-88af-4c2d-a13a-59e274c41f8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/06/kalamazoo_attorney_to_answer_q.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941521 | 336 | 1.585938 | 2 |
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As the name clearly states, Whole Life Insurance remains in force (so long as premium payments are made) for the insured's entire life. Whole Life actually was developed as an insurance option after people with Term Life coverage discovered they were outliving their coverage term, leaving them with nothing for all the years of premium payments.
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Cash values of Whole Life policies are sometimes also available to the owner as investment capital and/or loan collateral. Of course, death benefits to survivors are reduced by any outstanding loan balances in the event the insured dies. | <urn:uuid:b42d63ff-6332-43e1-9ead-6be58b2f6412> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seniorstrong.com/life-insurance/whole-life-insurance.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972619 | 259 | 1.78125 | 2 |
[Twisted-Python] Web Proxy that does something different once a day
m.hubbard at imperial.ac.uk
Thu Sep 20 09:08:54 EDT 2007
Fred Trotter wrote:
> I am new to python and I am potentially interested in writing
> a new protocol with Twisted. However I wanted to start with a simpler
> problem that I have been working on, so that I can understand better
> how twisted works.
> A particular client wants to enforce a home page for the first
> internet connection each day. They have a intranet portal that gives
> messages to employees and they want to be sure that each employee, no
> matter how they have their homepage set, will see the messages the
> first time they connect. After the first connection they want the
> proxy to simply forward requests to the internet without filtering.
> Since I need to understand this issue for my other project
> too, how do I get the python loop do one thing based on a "new day"
> for an IP address and then do something else after that action has
> been completed. Example code that addresses my problem would be great,
> but I would be happy to have links to examples that do this...
To effectively achieve what you've outlined is really quite involved, and the answer to your question is heavily tied to the implementation.
You will be controlling access by clients to the internet. You will make that decision based essentially three factors:
- Client IP Address making access request.
- When the client IP address last accessed what version of the Required Reading.
- What is the current version of the Required Reading / when did it renew.
In order to provide some example code, the frame work of the implementation needs to be known.
More information about the Twisted-Python | <urn:uuid:cd9a8de1-70ff-4ade-9119-829010cafb42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://twistedmatrix.com/pipermail/twisted-python/2007-September/016063.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944082 | 382 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Not many people noticed but yesterday Pakistani and Indian soldiers shot at each other and, according to the Pakistanis, Indian forces raided a Pakistani outpost. Remember that Kashmir is the site of the world’s most dangerous standoff between nuclear powers. The Hindustan Times reports:
Pakistan on Monday lodged a protest over what it described as an “unprovoked Indian attack” on one of its military posts along the Line of Control, a claim which the Indian Army has rejected.
The incident had resulted in the death of a Pakistani soldier and injuries to another, [Pakistani foreign office spokesman Moazzam Khan] said. The Pakistan Army had claimed on Sunday that Indian troops had allegedly crossed the LoC and “raided” a border post. An exchange of fire continued across the LoC for some time.
However, Indian Army headquarters in New Delhi have said “no such incident has taken place where our soldiers have attacked any Pakistani post.”
Despite the sparse reporting and ambiguity over who did what, this is a big deal. Every few years flare-ups like this spin into major crises and confrontations, and between battles, Pakistan’s attention remains fixed on what it sees as its most dangerous and determined foe. America’s steadily warming relations with India make a chill in our relations with Pakistan inevitable; that problem haunts our Afghan withdrawal strategy and the unstable relationship between these two angry and hostile powers continues to pose very large problems for the rest of the world. | <urn:uuid:02baab1e-30e7-4422-954c-49525d868017> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2013/01/07/war-drums-in-the-mountains-of-kashmir/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968648 | 306 | 1.601563 | 2 |
December 7, 2000
Voila News. December 7, 2000
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - - An international band of programmers is about to release software that will bypass World Wide Web restrictions imposed by various countries, including China, Cuba and Iran.
The programmers, who call themselves "The Cult of the Dead Cow," are a 16-year-old international group of anonymous "hackers" -- so named because of their expertise in breaking into computer networks.
The technology will work much like Napster, the software that allows users to pass digital music files among themselves via the Internet, bypassing mainframe computers.
According to "Oxblood Ruffin" -- a pseudonym for one of the group's founders -- the as-yet untitled software will allow users to bypass local servers that block access to certain Internet sites.
Cindy Cohn, an attorney with San Francisco's Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet free speech organization, said the software will help break through government censorship.
"Governments are, more and more, blocking access to the Internet to guard against information that's critical of them or offensive to the culture," said Cohn. "Tools like this can counteract that trend."
Since 1996, the Chinese government has banned access to some 100 websites, ranging from those carrying outside news reports to sexually explicit pictures. Cuba, Iran and other countries also limit access to various websites they deem inappropriate to their citizens.
Ruffin said the program is small enough to be stored on a single floppy disc, and will be distributed by human rights organizations.
"We're not doing anything illegal," said Ruffin, who cites the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a 1948 UN declaration urging access to information, among other rights, as his motivation for creating the software.
Ruffin said the program should be available by March after final testing.
©2000 AFP All rights reserved.
© France Telecom 1999 Powered by ECHO
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How Jiang Zemin Encouraged Bo Xilai’s Atrocities, Part I
By Wen Hua On October 21, 2012 @ 10:12 pm In Regime | No Comments
Bo Xilai’s ambition for power came through even in his love poetry.
When the now-disgraced former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chief of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, was courting his first wife, Li Danyu, he wrote her a love poem.
The 26 year-old’s poem mimicked the style of Mao Zedong’s poem “Snow—To the Tune of Chin Yuan Chun.” Bo titled his poem, “Forward—To the Tune of Chin Yuan Chun.” Following the strict form of the Song Dynasty Chin Yuan Chun lyric, Bo Xilai wrote at one point, “Reading the brilliant history, [I] ask the Chinese people, who will take over the succession?”
Growing up, Bo Xilai experienced being near the top of the CCP’s hierarchy and also experienced plummeting to the bottom.
Bo Xilai was born in July, 1949, the son of one of the most powerful members of the CCP. He attended the elite No. 4 High School in Beijing.
His father, Bo Yibo, was the vice premier of the CCP State Council from 1957-1966. In the 1980s and 1990s, he came to be known as one of the eight immortals, the aged founders of the CCP who assisted Deng Xiaoping in ruling China.
But before Bo Yibo climbed back in the company of Deng to the heights of the Party, he was struck down during the Cultural Revolution. Identified in 1966 as a “capitalist roader,” Bo Yibo was accused of many crimes and spent the decade of the Cultural Revolution in prison.
His son Bo Xilai was an enthusiastic Red Guard who at one point beat his father, breaking three of his ribs, something Bo Yibo would later recall with pride as a sign Bo Xilai had what it took to succeed in the CCP.
But Bo Xilai’s fanaticism did not save him. He was eventually imprisoned and served five years, released in 1976 along with the other members of his family after the Cultural Revolution collapsed.
The cruelty Bo suffered in prison made him shady, manipulative, and tyrannical. He believed power was the only truth in this world.
When Bo got out of jail, he started working as a repairman at an auto shop, and he began courting his childhood friend Li Danyu.
In terms of status, all of the advantages were on the side of Li Danyu. Li Danyu’s father had before the Cultural Revolution been the Party secretary of Beijing. He lost that post, but did not fall as far as Bo Yibo. Li’s father was not branded an enemy of the people; he remained a “revolutionary comrade.”
Li Danyu herself was a military doctor at the prestigious 301 People’s Liberation Army Hospital in Beijing—the hospital where all of the Party leaders were treated.
For his part, Bo Xilai was handsome, charming and, like Li herself, intelligent. Bo won his suit and married the plain-looking and hot tempered Li in September, 1976.
Bo Yibo was rehabilitated in 1978, and Bo Xiali and Li Danyu moved into Zhongnanhai, the CCP leadership’s compound in Beijing.
Bo Xilai was admitted to study history at Peking University and then became a graduate student at the newly established Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, meant to be the premier institution for research in the social science in the People’s Republic of China.
On their 4-year-old son’s birthday, June 20, 1981, Bo and Li’s marriage experienced a drastic change. As Bo Xilai cried holding his wife and son in his arms, he announced he was divorcing Li, because he had “no feelings for her anymore.”
No one knows when exactly Gu Kailai barged into Bo’s life.
Gu Kailai’s father was the deputy director of the PLA General Political Department, second secretary of the Xinjiang District—he was the Party’s second in command in the army based in Xinjiang.
In 1978 Gu Kailai enrolled at Peking University School of Law, then transferred to International Politics and studied for 3 years to get her Master’s. She is 11 years younger than Bo Xilai.
Gu Kailai tells the outside world that the first time she met Bo was an accident, after he arrived at Jin County in Liaoning. This is no doubt a lie. Many of Gu’s classmates from Peking University confirm that Gu and Bo already had a relationship while they were still at Peking University.
In addition, Li Danyu told the New York Times that she began accusing Gu of being the third party in the divorce Bo Xilai had requested and thus guilty of damaging a military marriage, which is illegal in China. In 1984 Li was forced by Bo Yibo’s pressure to divorce Bo Xilai officially. In 1986, Gu Kailai married Bo Xilai.
Bo Xilai had become mayor of Dalian in 1993, and Gu Kailai opened a law firm in 1995. Any enterprises that wanted to invest in Dalian had to follow an unspoken rule and hire lawyers from Gu’s firm for consulting. Consulting fees could run into the millions, but only in this way could the firms be sure of having Bo’s support.
Around this time, Bo and Gu met the English businessman Neil Heywood, who had come to Dalian looking to get wealthy. Heywood not only helped their son Bo Guagua with English, but started to help them launder money overseas.
Bo looked to move up from Dalian and thought he should move up. He was highly regarded, popular, politically savvy, and capable. He had brought new construction to Dalian and beautified the city with parks and boulevards. Moreover, his father as one of the eight immortals was extremely well connected.
At the 15th Party Congress in 1997 Bo did not get a single vote for a seat on the Central Committee. Nor was he promoted to a province-level position somewhere—longstanding CCP officials of Bo’s rank are often moved from one spot to another, climbing the ladder of promotion, but not Bo.
What disappointed Bo most was that his family had a special relationship with Party head Jiang Zemin, but that relationship wasn’t paying off.
In the spring of 1995, then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping received a letter from seven officials at the provincial level reporting on Jiang. Deng gave it to Bo’s father, Bo Yibo, and asked him to take care of it.
Bo’s father took the letter to Jiang. Jiang was terrified after reading the letter. Bo’s father had always wanted his son to be promoted to the top of the political chain and he made a deal with Jiang. Bo’s father agreed to conceal Jiang’s crimes, and Jiang agreed to promote Bo Xilai.
But Jiang was not holding up his end of the bargain. Then, in 1999, Bo Xilai found a way to get Jiang’s enthusiastic support.
Next ... Jiang launched the persecution of Falun Gong
On July 20, 1999, disregarding objections from the other six members of the Politburo Standing Committee, Jiang launched the persecution of Falun Gong. From then on, the basic human rights of the one hundred million Falun Gong practitioners were taken away.
According to an informed source, Jiang was opposed even at home. Both his wife Wang Yeping and his grandson Jiang Zhicheng were Falun Gong practitioners.
In order to make the other six Standing Committee members agree with his decision, Jiang had Zeng Qinghong order a Chinese special agent in New York send back a phony intelligence report, saying that the U.S. CIA gave Falun Gong tens of millions of dollars every year and that Falun Gong had a political background and support outside China.
Jiang had his reasons for going to war with Falun Gong: the CCP could not tolerate an organization that had more members than the CCP and was not controlled by the CCP. In addition, Jiang wanted to use the campaign against Falun Gong to increase his own power.
Jiang had not gained the top job because he had courage and insight like Mao Zedong or the brainpower of Deng Xiaoping. Jiang was raised up by Deng because of the hard line Jiang took on the 1989 democracy movement. Jiang knew that many cadres were not convinced that he deserved his position. He wanted to launch a political movement as massive as the Cultural Revolution to force others to submit to him.
Jiang did not understand the power of spiritual belief. His initial plan was to “eliminate Falun Gong in three months,” but the suppression was resisted by state officials and civilians nationwide. Most people knew that Falun Gong is good.
In September, 1999, two months after Jiang launched the persecution, Bo Xilai added the title of general secretary of the Dalian CCP to that of mayor of Dalian. Bo desperately wanted to please Jiang and would do anything Jiang wanted as long as Jiang agreed to promote him.
According to the former Dalian journalist Jiang Weiping, Bo’s trusted driver, Mr. Wang, said that Jiang Zemin told Bo, “As long as you are tough on Falun Gong, you will have the chips to be promoted.”
When Bo’s wife Gu heard what Jiang Zemin had to say, she told Bo that only if the city of Dalian performed an outstanding job in suppressing Falun Gong, would Bo stand out and be promoted.
Bo quickly intensified the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian. With the financial help ordered by Jiang, Bo renovated and expanded a lot of prisons in Dalian. Falun Gong practitioners from all over the country arrested in Beijing whose home cities were unknown were shipped to Dalian.
A source familiar with the matter told Epoch Weekly that Bo’s efforts to build his authority in Dalian prior to the persecution had made Jiang Zemin suspicious and unwilling to promote him. Jiang Zemin changed his mind, however, when he saw that Bo actively followed him. Jiang started to rely on Bo and promoted Bo step by step while making him rich.
After Jiang’s visit of Dalian in August 1999, Bo was made deputy secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee. He was assigned as acting provincial governor in 2000 and provincial governor in 2001. He became Minister of Commerce in 2004.
Dalian and Liaoning became the pioneers for the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
According to Minghui, a Falun Gong website, in the fall of 1999, in order to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from going to Beijing to petition, Bo figured out a way to pick out Falun Gong practitioners from crowds.
He ordered train stations and bus stations to put the photo of the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi, on the ground so that anyone who got on and off the train or bus had to step on the photo. Those who refused to tread on it would be considered Falun Gong practitioners and taken away. In this way, Bo Xilai arrested a lot of practitioners.
Under Bo, Liaoning became notorious for its abuse of practitioners.
The UN Commission on Human Rights reported the case of Wang Jieyun, female, 40 years old, a resident of Dalian City, Liaoning Province. Arrested while working at a shopping mall in 2002, she was abducted to Masanjia Labor Camp in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province. Because she refused to give up practicing Falun Gong, she was brutally tortured. Electric shock clubs were used on her breasts, causing festering and subsequent infection. She died in July 2006.
Similar instances of torture and abuse were happening in Masanjia almost every day. On Feb. 12, 2001 Minghui reported two typical cases.
Female Falun Gong practitioner Qi Yuling was shocked with electric batons on her nipples and Zhang Xiujie was beaten up and electrically shocked, including on her vagina, causing her to pass out.
Because of the brutal torture, Masanjia was recognized by the CCP Organization Department and six other ministries as an “excellent unit” for “reforming” Falun Gong practitioners. The prison guards who committed such atrocities were rewarded by Jiang Zemin and Bo Xilai, called “heroes” and “models,” and given the 2nd class achievement award along with pay raises.
Luo Gan, then a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (the Party organ that controls almost all aspects of law enforcement in China) and Minister of Public Security Liu Jing personally went to Masanjia to inspect what was being done there.
In October 2002, the Ministry of Justice allocated 1 million yuan (approximately US$160,000) to Masanjia to “improve the environment.” Other forced labor camps in the same city that were notorious for their use of brutal torture were awarded as well: Zhangshi Labor Camp received 400,000 yuan and the Longshan Labor Camp 500,000 yuan.
Bo Xilai benefited personally as well. The more actively he persecuted Falun Gong, the faster he was promoted by Jiang Zemin, and the more money he got from state treasury that he could embezzle.
In 2003 Bo approved Liaoning Province spending 1 billion yuan (US$160 million) to renovate prisons. On Masanjia alone he spent a half billion yuan to turn it into a prison city that occupies nearly 300 acres.
Before the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, Masanjia ran a deficit every year—it could hardly pay its electricity bills. Since the persecution began, the local provincial government has allocated 10,000 yuan (US$1,600) for each Falun Gong practitioner sent there from Liaoning Province.
While visiting Washington, D.C., Bo Xilai, who by then was Minister of Commerce, was served on April 22, 2004 with a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. for torture, genocide, and crimes against humanity
Bo was eventually sued 14 times in 13 countries on these charges.
In November, 2007, the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Australia found Bo guilty in absentia for torture in the case of Falun Gong practitioner Pan Yu.
The lawsuits brought against Bo Xilai disturbed some in the Party, but Jiang Zemin was encouraged by the lawsuits and by Bo having been found guilty outside of China.
He also was encouraged that Bo was so inhuman as to have initiated the forced, live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.
Jiang Zemin understood that those like Bo who were most guilty in carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong would be most loyal to Jiang’s faction. Jiang was determined to see that Bo Xilai would gain control of the Party after the 18th Party Congress in 2012, assuring that Jiang’s faction could not be challenged by others for its crimes against Falun Gong.
Read the original Chinese article.
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Editor’s Note: When Chongqing’s former top cop, Wang Lijun, fled for his life to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu on Feb. 6, he set in motion a political storm that has not subsided. The battle behind the scenes turns on what stance officials take toward the persecution of Falun Gong. The faction with bloody hands—the officials former CCP head Jiang Zemin promoted in order to carry out the persecution—is seeking to avoid accountability for their crimes and to continue the campaign. Other officials are refusing any longer to participate in the persecution. Events present a clear choice to the officials and citizens of China, as well as people around the world: either support or oppose the persecution of Falun Gong. History will record the choice each person makes.
Copyright © 2012 Epoch Times. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:a26d1894-7154-4f41-8061-cb60027af79c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/how-jiang-zemin-encouraged-bo-xilais-atrocities-part-i-305794-print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98004 | 3,450 | 1.835938 | 2 |
WALKER — When Anya Maciulewski was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 2, she wasn’t expected to live six months.
She not only beat those odds, she overcame two more bouts with cancer at 11 and 12. She learned to walk and talk again after a quarter of her brain was removed, leaving her right side paralyzed.
Now 27, with lungs so damaged she barely has any breathing room, Maciulewski is again hoping to beat the odds. On Sunday, she will move with her mother to Pittsburgh to wait for a double-lung transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
“I’ve been waiting and waiting, and now it’s like it’s going to happen or not,” Maciulewski said. She spoke in a soft voice as she sat in her living room, connected by a 50-foot tube to her life-saving oxygen supply.
“I’m trying to stay calm because it doesn’t do any good to get upset. I don’t try to think too far ahead because I don’t know what’s going to happen when.”
As a result of her cancer treatments, Maciulewski is a petite 4-foot-11, having stopped growing in the third grade. But she radiates a calm optimism and powerful courage that are an inspiration to her family and friends.
A group is working to raise money to help her handle the housing, transportation and medication expenses involved in the transplant.
“Anya is so sweet. She just wants to live,” said Jen Betteridge, one of the fundraiser organizers. “She has a lot on her plate, and it is just heartbreaking.”
The group is seeking donations through the National Transplant Foundation website and is planning a benefit in May.
Maciulewski’s mother, Nancee, has quit her housecleaning jobs to make the move to Pittsburgh with Anya. She is looking for an apartment to rent near the medical center where they will live while waiting for the transplant – which is expected to take six months to two years.
And after the operation, they will stay for several months of follow-up treatments.
25 years of overcoming challenges
The Maciulewskis are hoping the lung transplant will be just one more chapter in a 25-year story of medical miracles.
Anya, the oldest of Tom and Nancee Maciulewski’s three children, was diagnosed in 1987 with a malignant brain tumor, a mixed glioma, when she was 2.
She underwent surgery to remove the tumor, which was in the front, left area of her brain. Her parents were warned that the surgeons would likely not be able to remove the entire tumor, and that Anya might end up paralyzed and unable to speak or hear.
After the operation, the surgeon came to the waiting room and told them he had removed the whole tumor. He said, “You better thank your God the tumor was not where the angiogram located it the day before,” Nancee recalled.
In recovery, Anya called for her mother, showing her speech and hearing were unaffected.
The surgery was followed by a year of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation treatments to Anya’s brain and spine. She remained cancer-free until she was in fifth grade.
In math class one day, Anya felt numbness and tingling in her right hand, which reminded her of the symptoms she had felt years ago. She went to the school office and asked to call her parents because she thought she had another tumor.
She was right. Anya underwent a second surgery at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. While still undergoing chemotherapy treatments the next year, she again felt she had a tumor.
She underwent a third operation at age 12 and, this time, the surgeon removed a quarter of her brain in an effort to prevent the cancer from returning, Nancee said.
Anya’s right side was paralyzed, and she spent eight weeks at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital learning how to walk and talk and regain as much function as possible.
The recovery period was difficult for the entire family, Maciulewski said. She had a younger brother and sister at home, but her mother was at her side every minute.
“She is the most courageous person I have ever met,” Nancee said. “She fights to the end.”
After missing nearly two years of school, Anya started eighth grade. The treatment slowed her processing and affected her short-term memory, but she received special education help and graduated from high school in 2003.
Along the way, Anya helped others through church mission trips, traveling to Atlanta, Mexico, Romania and Ecuador. She began working at a nearby store, Just Bargains, and later provided day care for the store owner, Jen Betteridge – who is now helping to lead the fundraiser.
Maciulewski was in her 20s when her lung problems surfaced. She was diagnosed with asthma six years ago and began to use an inhaler.
Two years ago, she went to the hospital because she had problems breathing and was diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia. She also had fibrosis in her lungs, which her mother believes was caused by the chemo and radiation she received when she was younger.
Maciulewski was put in a drug-induced coma and was on life support. She recovered, but underwent a second episode of life-threatening pneumonia in October.
On the doctors’ recommendation, the Maciulewskis began looking into a double-lung transplant.
“If she gets another pneumonia, it will easily be her last chapter,” said Dr. Ronald Hofman, the pediatrician who has cared for her all her life. “She barely made it through that last one.”
Hofman said Maciulewski has faced an extraordinary number of challenges with a positive attitude.
"She’s totally upbeat. There is no bitterness,” he said. “It’s amazing.
Maciulewski’s transplant is especially complicated because she is so small: She needs child-sized lungs. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center was the only place her family found that was willing to perform the transplant.
On Sunday, Nancee and Anya Maciulewski will leave for Pittsburgh, accompanied by her dad and her 25-year-old brother, Alek.
When she is within a four-hour drive of Pittsburgh, Maciulewski will be added to the transplant list.
Although she knows many more challenges lie ahead, Maciulewski said she is eager to face them. Why? “So I can have a life again. So I can go places and do more things.”
A grin crossed her face. “So I can go shopping,” she said.
“Despite everything else, she has led a full life,” her mother said. “She has a zest for life and wants to live her life and tell her story.” | <urn:uuid:ec789156-a986-468d-950f-8a8cc46d5ee4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/04/waiting_for_new_lungs_hoping_f.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983003 | 1,519 | 1.539063 | 2 |
At 30, Duncan Bannatyne had no money and was enjoying life on the beaches of Jersey. He saw a story of someone who had made himself a millionaire, and decided to do the same himself. Five years later he had done it, and now he is worth 168 million. In this remarkable book, Bannatyne relives his colourful path to riches, explaining how anyone could take the same route as he did - if they really want to. In the book, we see how he started out as an ice cream salesman, and built up that business, before moving on to other areas. Hugely articulate, and with numerous fascinating and revealing stories to tell, this is an autobiography and a business book unlike any other - but then Bannatyne isn't like any other businessman, either. | <urn:uuid:e146461d-be04-4936-b937-7838c695a798> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anyone-Can-Do-It-Story/dp/0752875639 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987853 | 163 | 1.695313 | 2 |
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The economy hits Las Vegas hard
Traditional travel destinations like Orlando and Las Vegas feel the heat worst. So much of their local economy is based on tourists visiting, spending and investing in their economy that the effects of a market downturn are pronounced.
Subtly, I saw these effects first hand as a recent visitor to Las Vegas: high end clubs that were empty late into the night, low wager tables in the nicest casinos on the strip and long taxi lines waiting to pick up stray passers by.
On my way out of town I hailed a cab at the front of the Palms under the hot, late summer heat. Driving down Tropicana on the way to McCarran airport I asked the driver how business was.
"Slow," he told me. Over the course of the year, more hotel rooms had progressively gone unbooked, tables been deserted and taxis roamed the streets empty, searching for fares. This was the last year driving for this cabbie. He told me at the end of the next season he was leaving the city where he had spent the last twenty years to head for greener pastures in Portland.
As we pulled into the terminal, he pointed over at "the pit," the loading zone through which cabs filter into the airport. The line stretched back through the gates, around the corner and out of sight. Like that queue, the Las Vegas economy has a long hard road ahead. | <urn:uuid:0c06fd74-1144-43ad-9315-5c09b884e427> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gadling.com/2008/09/18/the-economy-hits-las-vegas-hard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970493 | 308 | 1.5 | 2 |
TAHOE/TRUCKEE and#8212; Athletes are planners. We set our goals, determine our race schedule for the season, and develop a training plan in order to achieve those goals. Planning ahead is a critical part of being a top-tier athlete. We work hard throughout the year to stick to our plan as closely as possible so we can perform at our best when the big day comes.
But also important, and much less talked about, is the ability to steer away from the plan. There will be times when, for a number of reasons, itand#8217;s just not feasible and#8212; or appropriate and#8212; to and#8220;stick to the plan.and#8221; For example, in the case of injuries or illness, it doesnand#8217;t make sense to do the interval sets or over-distance workouts you had planned for the week. In fact, it will only do you more harm than good.
There are a whole range of circumstances in life that and#8220;the planand#8221; cannot foresee, and itand#8217;s crucial that we as athletes can adjust to those circumstances. Whether itand#8217;s a nagging injury that just wonand#8217;t go away, a head cold that keeps us from sleeping at night, too much going on at work, an outside emotional stress, or weand#8217;re just overtired or even feeling mentally burnt out, we need to be able to recognize these circumstances and make the appropriate changes to accommodate them.
Sometimes the best workout is not the one you had planned. In fact, sometimes the best workout is not a workout at all. Sometimes, what we need to do is slow down, put our feet up and take a break. Sometimes we just need to take off our watches, grab some friends, and get outside simply for the sake of being out there, rather than with the primary purpose of training. Sometimes, the best and#8220;workoutand#8221; may even be a concert in the park or a night on the town.
These are the things not written in our training plans. And often times, they are the hardest to do. As athletes who are used to being and#8220;on the grindand#8221; all the time, maintaining a and#8220;work hard and reap the rewardsand#8221; attitude, backing off or even just letting go of the plan for a day or two can be extremely difficult. It is often said among athletes, in fact, that the off day (or rest day) is the most challenging day of the week. We like to move, we like to sweat, and we like to push our limits. And generally, this is what we need to be doing to be at our best. But there are exceptions.
Sometimes itand#8217;s hard to recognize these exceptions and know the right thing to do. But Iand#8217;m a big believer in listening to your body. It knows what it wants, and generally it will tell you. When it can be pushed harder, it will let you know. And when itand#8217;s maxed out and ready for a break or a change, it will tell you that too. The key is to be able to listen, and to trust what your body is telling you. And then, of course, you have to be willing to accommodate. Determine what it is you really need to feel at your best. Sometimes it may be something entirely different than what you had planned for and#8212; and that is OK!
In the end, there are many of us willing to put in hard work. But a willingness to adjust, and adapt, to lifeand#8217;s circumstances is one of the key things that separates a great athlete from a good one. The athlete who can recognize when they need to take a step back, re-evaluate their needs, and be okay with moving forward in a different direction than planned is the one who will prevail.
So, yes, plan to stick the plan. But also know that the plan is always evolving, and plan to make some adjustments along the way. Aim to listen closely to your body, and respond appropriately, even if itand#8217;s not as you expected. Lifeand#8217;s challenges can impact our training, but they donand#8217;t have to stop us from reaching our destination. We can face challenges and still arrive just where we wanted to, but not always on the exact route we planned and#8212; and only if weand#8217;re willing to make those adjustments; only if weand#8217;re willing to listen to our bodies, trust and respond.
and#8212; Kara LaPoint is an elite amateur triathlete competing for LUNA bar, and working up to the pro ranks. She has earned numerous overall amateur podium finishes and age-group wins across distances from Olympic to Ironman, and finished the 2011 season ranked as an All-American nationally among her age group (25-29). Read more about her racing and training at www.karalapoint.wordpress.com. She may be reached at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:1869a910-f112-488e-bf23-406eb034625d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20120817/NEWS/120819924 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95742 | 1,112 | 1.5625 | 2 |
As promised last week, this week’s topic is mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) and its impact on the U.S. and Canadian pork sectors.
While not the “worst of times,” I think a par-plus Canadian dollar wins that award in spades. COOL is not a good development for Canadian producers. In the long run, I don’t believe it is a good development for U.S. producers either, especially if it precipitates a trade action by Canada and all of the ill-will that will engender.
Mandatory COOL seems to be playing out much as I expected. A few U.S. packers will not purchase pigs with any Canadian ties. Most notable among those is Smithfield Foods and its midwestern subsidiaries, John Morrell and Farmland. Vertically-integrated Triumph Foods and Seaboard Foods will not buy Canadian-sourced pigs and neither will Hatfield Quality Meats nor Indiana Packing. The other companies among the top 10 U.S. slaughter firms (Tyson Foods, Excel, Swift, Hormel Foods and J.H. Routh) all plan to slaughter Canadian-sourced pigs. Only Tyson has said it plans to slaughter Canadian market hogs, however. The top 10 companies account for 88% of all U.S hog slaughter capacity.
The U.S. packers that have decided not to take Canadian-origin pigs have done so for, I think, one or more of these reasons:
They don’t need them. That might mean they haven’t needed them in the past or that they believe they can find U.S.-origin pigs easy enough to adjust.
They think that not buying Canadian-origin pigs will force the Canadian sector to contract, thus driving up pig prices.
They want to avoid the costs of duplicate stocking units (sku), segregation, logistics, etc. that buying pigs with Canadian ties will allow.
The packers that plan to use Canadian-origin pigs may believe any or all of those reasons, too. They have just decided that the reasons are trumped by the economic realities of large plants with high fixed costs that require high throughput. They will, consequently, find a way to efficiently use at least some Canadian pigs.
Under the original 2003 mandatory COOL rules, product from any pig with a Canadian tie could have carried the same label, simplifying the segregation process. Not so under the most recent set of rules. Products from pigs born in Canada and raised and slaughtered in the United States will carry a “Product of the United States and Canada” label. Product from pigs imported from Canada for immediate slaughter (i.e. born and raised in Canada) will carry a “Product of Canada and the United States” label.
The class that is most in question is Canadian market hogs shipped to the United States for slaughter. As can be seen in Figure 1, that number has dropped from 3.28 million head in 2007 to a projected volume of just under two million head this year. The weekly numbers (Figure 2) have been falling all year, but they have moved sharply lower since Oct. 1, when the rules went into effect. Further, the drop in market hog imports has coincided with a noticeable increase in Canadian hog slaughter (Figure 3). Canadian slaughter during the five weeks prior to COOL’s Sept. 30 start-up had averaged 205 head/week less than one year ago. The five weeks since then have seen those numbers rise to 11,504 head/week more than one year ago. Imports of these hogs could be headed to zero. I don’t see any way for packers to handle three labels efficiently.
I think the real question is what will happen with Canadian weaned pigs and feeder pigs? Those numbers (Figure 1) are about even with last year. The weekly data trended downward early this year, but have recently been in the 110,000 to 120,000/week range. Currently, there is a lot of interest on the part of U.S. finishers in securing sources of U.S.-born pigs. That has understandably put negative pressure on prices of Canadian pigs. Much of this shift, though, is based on fear of the unknown – just how will U.S. packers play this thing out? Will there be problems when USDA’s six-month “education” period ends March 30, 2009?
The ultimate answer will be two-fold. First, how will U.S. consumers react to the “Product of the United States and Canada” label? My guess is that U.S. consumers will not mind that at all. We have a pretty positive view of things “Canadian” and I’m sure the product will not be visibly different from U.S. product. This will probably not be the case for the beef industry, where there will be countries other than Canada added to the list. I think U.S. consumers’ views of labels including Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, etc., will be somewhat more negative.
Second, how will the logistics work out and what will be the ultimate costs of segregation, additional skus, etc.? That will be highly dependent on how much of the product can be merchandised through exports and foodservice where it does not have to be labeled. It will also depend on any technological solutions that can be brought to bear. For example, will labeling application, bar-coding or some other technology be developed to make the multi-label solution less onerous? My guess is yes. Necessity is still the mother of invention, and anyone who has been through modern packing plants knows that these people can be pretty clever with machinery.
Again, COOL is certainly not a good thing for Canadian producers. It is worse for those who are currently shipping market hogs to the States. At present, it is certainly bad for sellers of weaned pigs and feeder pigs, but I think that will get better when the fear factor subsides a bit. COOL will benefit Canadian packers and the product from any pigs left in Canada, by COOL restrictions, will still compete directly with U.S. product either in the U.S. market or an export market common to the United States and Canada. In the long run, that will be bad for U.S. producers, too.
But this whole thing is better for Canadians with the loonie (Canadian dollar) at $0.80 or even $0.85 than it was at $1.02. | <urn:uuid:ed70f374-1641-4249-926b-057da73b9834> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalhogfarmer.com/print/marketpreview/cool-fallout-hits-canadian-producers-hardest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962581 | 1,369 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The following pages are for anyone interested in learning more about studying abroad while at Barnard College.
To supplement the information provided by this website, one of the best ways to learn more about what study abroad can offer you academically and personally is from other Barnard students who have studied abroad. We invite you to contact Barnard students who have studied abroad and are eager to share their experiences with other Barnard students. These students would be more than happy to answer questions you might have about the programs they attended and how they integrated study abroad into their Barnard education.
Please be sure to consult the list of Barnard approved programs.
Still deciding on a program? Check out www.studyabroad101.com, a new feedback website with study abroad program reviews from students all across the country (including our very own Barnard students.) You can search by country, city, top 10 programs etc.
Barnard has a rich history and tradition of study abroad dating back to the 1930s. Every year, over 200 students study abroad in more than 35 countries. Students are currently studying in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Ghana, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, Mali, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Scotland, Senegal, South Africa and Spain.
After you have attended a General Information Session (Study Abroad Calendar) you can make an individual appointment with Dean Young. Instructions for using her online calendar can be found here: http://barnard.edu/global/study-abroad/contact.
For general inquires about Study Abroad, please contact (212) 854-1777 or email@example.com. Our office is located in 10 Milbank Hall. | <urn:uuid:22d5fb40-e0b3-41a9-9369-046caf618372> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sfein@barnard.edu/global/study-abroad | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95081 | 357 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Michigan getaway vacations to
Michigan attractions and Terrific Towns
This project is set up to demonstrate techniques for
timber improvement, forestry and sustainable nature areas.
It is a 40 acre forest with almost 3 miles of well marked trails through hardwoods and conifers. There is a pond, many varieties of birds and no motors.
Careful observers may also see evidence of past logging and farming.
The forest is reached by traveling a pretty rough dirt road for 1/2 mile after you leave the pavement.
This is a very beautiful spot in the winter as well but the road can be difficult because the entrance to the forest is at the bottom of a hill.
Directions: From Stanton go west to the road to Entrican. At Entrican go west toward Kendaville until you see the sign.
For Lodging options check www.backroadslodging.com | <urn:uuid:502894c1-0925-4ee6-876d-4eaa6d53a5d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://michiganbackroads.com/quiet/modelforest.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935499 | 183 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Standard & Poor’s is giving a higher rating to securities backed by subprime home loans, the same type of investments that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, than it assigns the U.S. government.
S&P is poised to provide AAA grades to 59 percent of Springleaf Mortgage Loan Trust 2011-1, a set of bonds tied to $497 million lent to homeowners with below-average credit scores and almost no equity in their properties. New York-based S&P stripped the U.S. of its top rank on Aug. 5, saying Washington politics were making the country less creditworthy.
Treasuries gained about 1.95 percent and U.S. borrowing costs have fallen to record lows as investors repudiated the downgrade, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. S&P has awarded AAAs to more than $36 billion of securities in the U.S. this year that were created by bankers who continue to gather thousands of loans, bundle them into bonds of varying risk and pay ratings firms a fee to assign credit rankings.
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“Everybody has been led to believe over the years that AAA means AAA means AAA across the board,” Gregory W. Smith, the general counsel for the $41 billion Public Employees’ Retirement Association of Colorado, said in a telephone interview on Aug. 24. “Anybody that didn’t learn in the 2008 crisis that doesn’t apply should find another line of work.”
Money managers are lending to the government at rates that, in some cases, are about a third of what they demand to hold top-rated mortgage notes, four months after Congressional investigators said S&P helped spur the longest economic contraction since the 1930s by assigning inflated grades to the bonds from 2005 through 2008.
More than 14,000 securitized bonds in the U.S. are rated AAA by S&P, backed by everything from houses and malls to auto- dealer loans and farm-equipment leases, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
S&P has said it made mistakes in structured finance since the crisis including misunderstanding cash flows and using conflicting methods to analyze the securities. Its owner, New York-based McGraw-Hill Cos., depended on credit ratings for 27 percent of its $6.19 billion of revenue last year, down from 33 percent of $6.77 billion in 2007, Bloomberg data show.
“These are errors that could cause airplanes to crash if this was aerospace engineering,” said Sylvain Raynes, a principal at R&R Consulting in New York and a former analyst at Moody’s Investors Service.
Securitization enabled by S&P contributed to more than $2 trillion in losses and writedowns at the world’s largest financial institutions and the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. three years ago, causing credit markets to seize up and leading to the global recession.
A report by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said that S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings helped trigger the financial crisis when they cut thousands of mortgage securities they rated AAA to junk status. The raters had engaged in a “race to the bottom” to win business, lawmakers said.
Bank of America Corp. is marketing $292.4 million of mortgage bonds that are set to get AAA ratings from S&P, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified because the terms haven’t been set. The transaction was reworked to give $242.7 million of the bonds more protection against losses than S&P required, the people said, a sign investors may not have trusted the grades.
The underlying mortgages represent 96.6 percent of the current value of the homes, the issuer estimates. Borrowers may have an incentive to walk away from the debt and leave investors with sizable foreclosure losses should the economy slow further and house prices continue to decline.
The securities were created by Springleaf Finance Corp., a lender to borrowers with risky credit that’s majority owned by private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC and partly by former parent American International Group Inc., according to the people familiar with the offering.
“We didn’t even start to look at the deal,” Paul Norris, a senior money manager at Dwight Asset Management Co. in Burlington, Vermont, which manages and advises on about $54 billion of assets, said on Aug. 25. “For the funds we would buy this in, we need a AAA rating and we don’t have any confidence S&P would hold this rating for any period of time.”
Underlying loans for the bonds are on average five years old, according to a document sent to investors. Credit scores of the borrowers, none of whom has missed a payment over the past two years, average 651. The U.S. median is 711, according to Fair Isaac Corp., which creates the formulas behind FICO scores.
The transaction may get investment-grade ratings on 79 percent of the debt, meaning losses on the underlying loans can reach 21 percent before portions rated BBB or better lose principal, according to the term sheet. Springleaf plans to retain all but the most-senior debt, said two of the people.
Of the $12.8 billion of loans made by the firm over the past decade that are still outstanding, 11.5 percent are 60 days or more delinquent, the term sheet shows. That’s a better track record than rivals, with the rate on subprime mortgages packaged into bonds averaging almost 37 percent, Bloomberg data show.
Ed Sweeney, an S&P spokesman, declined to comment on the Springleaf transaction. “We believe our ultimate success will be driven by the value investors derive from our ratings and analysis,” he said.
S&P says structured finance securities can deserve the top grades if they’re backed by enough collateral to weather a U.S. default. The company said it downgraded the U.S., which, unlike corporations, has the authority to set tax rates and print money, because politicians are becoming “less stable, less effective and less predictable.” Government debt of the world’s largest economy is now rated AA+, the same as Belgium.
“I’m trying to sort out why debt backed by the ability to tax in the United States is rated lower than securities that are backed by no particular ability to have additional revenue,” said John Milne, who oversees about $1.8 billion as chief executive officer of JKMilne Asset Management in Fort Myers, Florida, in a telephone interview on Aug. 23.
Treasuries have rallied since Aug. 5, even though the downgrade showed S&P considers the securities to be less reliable. Investor demand for 10-year government notes, the benchmark for everything from corporate borrowing to mortgage rates, drove yields as low as 1.9735 percent on Aug. 18.
Investors lost trust that ratings are consistent across asset classes after the crisis, Milne said. Top-rated slices of commercial-mortgage-backed securities created since the market revived, known as CMBS 2.0, offer yields of 3.66 percent, or 2.31 percentage points more than Treasuries ranked one step lower by S&P, according to Barclays Capital index data.
“The pricing in the market suggests that really it does not believe the ratings anymore,” said Satyajit Das, author of “Extreme Money: Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk” (FT Press, 2011), in a telephone interview on Aug. 23. “If the sovereign goes down the tubes, it’s very difficult to see how these structures will be unaffected.”
Deven Sharma, the president of S&P who’s stepping down in September, has defended the company since taking over in 2007. It said on Aug. 22 that Sharma, 55, will be replaced by Citibank NA Chief Operating Officer Douglas Peterson, 53.
“Clearly, there were many lessons we learned out of the U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities,” Sharma told Congress last month. S&P reviewed its methodologies and added checks to make sure ratings are “completely comparable” across asset classes and regions, he said.
Even after Congress included rules in the Dodd-Frank Act last year designed to cut reliance on ratings, S&P and its competitors remain a key part of the financial markets. Pension and mutual funds often require minimum ratings to buy debt securities. Banks are generally required to hold less capital to back higher rated bonds as regulators including the Federal Reserve have yet to find an alternative.
The Justice Department is probing S&P and Moody’s over mortgage-bond ratings between 2005 and 2008, according to three former analysts who said they were interviewed by investigators. The Senate Banking Committee and the Securities and Exchange Commission are scrutinizing the decision to downgrade the U.S. rating, according to people with knowledge of the inquiries.
S&P downgraded the U.S. even after Treasury Department officials told the firm it had overestimated future national debt by $2 trillion. The company said the mistake didn’t affect its decision, which was based on Congress’s failure to pass enough budget cuts during the standoff over the debt ceiling with President Barack Obama. S&P’s move conflicted with Moody’s and Fitch, which kept their top ratings on America’s debt.
“The point is the debt is still rising,” Sharma said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Aug. 9. “That’s why the sovereigns team and ratings committee came to that conclusion.”
S&P generally doesn’t cap the rankings of companies or structured-finance securities at their country’s level. Along with the 14,000 securitized bonds, four non-financial companies including Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft Corp. have AAA rankings, Bloomberg data shows.
Granting top grades to securitized debt can be appropriate as long as the AAA rated portion is small enough that the collateral is sure to be worth enough to pay it off even in extreme circumstances, said Ron D’Vari, the chief executive officer of the advisory and asset management firm NewOak Capital LLC in New York. He used the example of $100 of bonds backed by $500 million of car loans.
The U.S.’s lower grade may make sense when taking into account the government’s “willingness to repay rather than ability,” said D’Vari, a former head of structured finance at BlackRock Inc., which manages more than $1.14 trillion in fixed- income assets.
Pacific Investment Management Co., which runs the world’s largest bond fund, says the quality of structured-finance ratings has improved since the run-up to the financial crisis.
“They are doing a decent job -- far better than the glory days,” said Scott Simon, the head of mortgage- and asset-backed debt at Newport Beach, California-based Pimco, which runs the $245.5 billion Total Return Fund.
S&P says it has made mistakes in structured finance, where the top grade is now printed as AAA.sf following European rules in 2010 meant to warn investors that securitized-debt grades may be less reliable.
The company said in July that it allowed a discrepancy to develop in how it rates commercial-mortgage securities. The issue came to light after investors objected to how much of a $1.5 billion deal planned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. was set to get top grades.
After the banks restructured the deal to provide some AAA bonds with a loss buffer of 20 percent, rather than 14.5 percent, Goldman and Citigroup were forced to pull the offering when S&P withdrew its ratings.
S&P said it had been using the easiest of two approaches to calculate borrowers’ income relative to required debt payments when rating new deals, while continuing to apply an average for outstanding bonds. The firm said it needed to review the “potentially conflicting methods.”
The largest underlying loan was to be debt on the Park Place Mall in Tucson, Arizona, according to a document sent to investors. Borders Group Inc., the bankrupt book retailer that won court approval last month to liquidate its remaining 399 stores, occupies 5.6 percent of its rental space.
“Our pursuit of quality and comparability means that when we discover a material error in our ratings, we promptly review it and address the matter transparently,” S&P’s Sweeney said last week.
Not all inaccurate ratings are too high, according to Amherst Securities Group LP’s Laurie Goodman, a member of the Fixed Income Analysts Society’s Hall of Fame.
Of 156 home-loan bonds deemed unlikely to suffer any losses by Pimco in its reviews for insurance regulators that now rely on its assessments rather than those of the raters, only 94 retain investment grades from the firms that assigned them, she wrote in an Aug. 17 report.
S&P wrongly downgraded 32 mortgage bonds in April 2010 because it used “incorrect” estimates for the size of losses per foreclosure, the company said July 29. On Aug. 11, S&P said it wrongly withdrew ratings on almost $250 million of securities backed by home-equity credit lines a month earlier. Those were reinstated to AA+ because that is the rating on the debt’s guarantor, a unit of Assured Guaranty Ltd.
That’s also the same grade on the U.S. even though credit- default swaps show traders are pricing the insurer’s odds of default over the next five years at more than 50 percent, according to Bloomberg data.
Even after losses from subprime mortgages infected the global economy, S&P continued assigning top grades to pieces of home-loan bonds that were repackaged into new securities called re-remics.
The firm lowered the ratings on 308 classes of such deals in May 2010, cutting to CCC from AAA a $10 million bond created by Credit Suisse Group AG nine months earlier, saying mortgage defaults were turning out to be worse than it forecast. S&P said in December it would need to review 1,196 re-remic securities because it had “incorrectly analyzed” the debt in light of the structure of the underlying deals.
Wyndham Worldwide Corp.’s finance unit may have won higher grades on two of three deals backed by timeshare loans in 2010 and 2011 that S&P said this month it ranked using an “incorrect priority of payments sequence in our analysis.” Among the ratings affected were those on $249.7 million of A+ notes. Wyndham added “funds to newly created reserve accounts” to skirt downgrades, S&P said in an Aug. 12 statement.
Billionaire Wilbur Ross’s American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. said in May that it went with S&P and DBRS Inc. to rate a securitization of its advances on homeowners’ missed payments and loan-management expenses after Fitch refused to grant AAA grades to $650 million of the deal because of concern that foreclosures are taking longer to complete.
While Fitch criticized that deal, S&P has pointed out flaws in some rated by Moody’s. William Harrington, who worked in Moody’s derivatives group from 1999 until last year, said in an Aug. 8 letter to the SEC its analysts face management pressure to win business and noted it recently moved to “a market- friendlier methodology” for bonds backed by high-risk company loans.
Moody’s said in June that it stopped using a tougher “temporary” approach to looking at the collateralized loan obligations, which it introduced in 2009, because credit conditions are “relatively more stable now and default rates low.” Michael Adler, a spokesman, declined to comment.
© Copyright 2013 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:bda205d7-749c-4e69-85b3-d00491d3b886> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/S-P-Subprime-Mortgages-US/2011/08/31/id/409255 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956699 | 3,459 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Some songs are hits — Number One for a couple of weeks. Some songs are standards — they endure decade after decade. And a few very rare songs reach way beyond either category, to embed themselves so deeply in the collective consciousness they become part of the soundtrack of society. They start off the same as all the other numbers — written for a show or a movie, a singer or an event — but they float free of the writer, they outlast the singer, transcend the movie, change the event. There were a couple of what we now think of as seasonal standards that predated Irving Berlin’s entry into the field, yet neither became a pillar of the Xmas pop repertoire, because until ‘White Christmas’ came along there was no such thing.
But, in the decade after Bing Crosby introduced the number in Holiday Inn (1942), Berlin’s colleagues responded with ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’, ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’, ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’, ‘Frosty The Snowman’ — all the ‘Yule Day gravy’ (as Variety put it) that in one order or another makes up every Christmas album from Andy Williams to ’N Sync. In a fragmented culture, these are now the last songs we all sing, whether our tastes incline to rap or country or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They represent the zenith of a universal popular culture we’re unlikely to see again.
When something’s that big, you take it for granted. If you’ve heard ‘White Christmas’ in a shopping mall or elevator or while stuck in touch-tone hell trying to make a telephone booking, you don’t usually think, ‘Gee, “White Christmas” again. That must be the 50th version this month.’ But, if you did, you’d want to know how it got that way. What particular combination of circumstances blessed ‘White Christmas’ out of all the other songs written that month? Berlin, wrote Jody Rosen in his book about the anthem, ‘had tried to kick-start the Tin Pan Alley Christmas song some years before.’ In 1912, the year after his first big hit with ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’, he’d published ‘Christmas Time Seems Years and Years Away’, which, from his point of view, it was. Before radio, before a real record industry, the sheet-music business couldn’t see the point of working a song that would be dead on 26 December. The notion that it might be a seasonal insurance policy, returning year after year for decade after decade, never occurred to them.
But it occurred to Irving Berlin. He seems to have had the idea for ‘White Christmas’ a couple of years before Crosby introduced it, and then started plotting what to do with it. ‘You don’t have to worry about this one, Irving,’ Bing told him. They both thought the movie and the record would do all right. The movie did all right, the record was the world’s biggest-selling single for 55 years, until Dianysian ululating propelled ‘Candle in the Wind ’97′ into the record books. Even then, some of us bet Bing would reclaim the trophy in the fullness of time, and so he has.
There are two elements that helped ‘White Christmas’ on its way, one of which Berlin couldn’t have foreseen: Pearl Harbor. Had America entered the war in Europe in 1939, ‘White Christmas’ might have been just a hit record from a so-so movie. Instead, 1942 was the American serviceman’s first Christmas away, in the Pacific, under glorious sunny skies that only made home seem even more distant. In Operation Shylock, Philip Roth wrote:
‘God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and then He gave Irving Berlin ‘Easter Parade’ and ‘White Christmas’. The two holidays that celebrate the divinity of Christ – the divinity that’s the very heart of the Jewish rejection of Christmas – and what does Irving Berlin brilliantly do? He de-Christs them both! Easter turns into a fashion show and Christmas into a holiday about snow… He turns their religion into schlock. But nicely!’
But Roth is missing the point. In the end, ‘White Christmas’ isn’t a song about snow. They had white Christmases in Temun, Siberia, where Berlin was born, but a white Russian Christmas wouldn’t be the same: It’s not about the weather, it’s about home. In 1942, those GIs out in the Pacific understood that. Twelve years later, building a new movie named for the song, Berlin acknowledged the men who made it special, in the best staging in the picture: Bing singing in the rubble, accompanied only by Danny Kaye’s musical box, as the boys rest their chins on their rifle butts and think of home. Berlin couldn’t have predicted Pearl Harbor, but there’s no surprise that, once it had happened, his were the sentiments the country turned to.
Christmas was not kind to Irving Berlin. At 5 o’clock on the morning of Christmas Day 1928, his 31/2-week-old son, Irving Junior, was found dead in his bassinet. ‘I’m sure,’ his daughter Mary Ellin told me a few years back, ‘it was what we would now call “crib death”.’
Does that cast ‘White Christmas’ in a different light? The plangent melancholy the GIs heard in the tune, the unsettling chromatic phrase, the eerie harmonic darkening under the words ‘where children listen’; it’s not too fanciful to suggest the singer’s dreaming of children no longer around to listen. When the girls grew up and left home, Irving Berlin, symbol of the American Christmas, gave up celebrating it. ‘We both hated Christmas,’ Mrs Berlin said later. ‘We only did it for you children.’
To take a baby on Christmas morning mocks the very meaning of the day. And to take Irving Berlin’s seems an even crueller jest — to reward his uncanny ability to articulate the sentiments of his countrymen by depriving him of the possibility of sharing them.
Berlin was a professional Tin Pan Alleyman, but his story, his Christmas is there in the music. 23 years after his death, he embodies all the possibilities of America: his family arrived at Ellis Island as poor and foreign and disadvantaged as you can be, and yet he wove himself into the very fabric of the nation. His life and his art are part of the definition of America. Whatever his doubts about God, Berlin kept faith with his adopted land — and that faith is what millions heard 70 years ago in ‘White Christmas’.
The above is adapted from Mark Steyn’s 2002 Spectator review of ‘White Christmas’ by Judy Rosen. | <urn:uuid:a028cd4d-1462-46db-8c8e-ecb3b0f9a584> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2012/12/white-christmas-the-original-christmas-no1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963108 | 1,529 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Radeon HD 4890
Being a revised RV770, the new graphics core RV790 is, however, not pin-compatible with its predecessor and made it necessary to develop a new PCB for the Radeon HD 4890 series. The PCB is of unified design, i.e. the same for both: the regular and OC versions of the new card.
The new products resemble the ordinary Radeon HD 4870, the family traits being perfectly visible even with the cooling system removed. There is indeed no reason for ATI to abandon its successful design solutions that can be reused to save time, resources and money. However, there are quite a number of significant differences, mostly concerning the GPU and memory power circuits. These parts of modern graphics cards are revised the most often.
So, the power circuitry of the Radeon HD 4890 has been reinforced to seven phases. The two top phases with single-channel PA0511 inductors and compact power drivers seem to be responsible for GDDR5 memory whereas the other five phases, with advanced power components and an assemblage of dual- and triple-channel PA1312NL and CPLA-3-50 inductors, power the graphics core. For comparison, the Radeon HD 4870 had a three-phase GPU voltage regulator with a possibility of expanding to four phases. The more complex power circuit is necessary as the Radeon HD 4890 is specified to have a peak power consumption of 190 watts.
The power circuit is controlled by two Volterra VT1165MF controllers. These chips allow to adjust the GPU voltage from software. It is for VT1165-based cards that EVGA has released its GPU Voltage Tuner program, so there seem to be no theoretical obstacles to creating a similar tool for the Radeon HD 4890.
Despite the increased capacity of the GPU voltage regulator, this Radeon HD 4890 OC series product carries a couple of ordinary 6-pin PCIe 1.0 connectors with a max load capacity of 75 watts. The bottom seat has two additional pins and can be used to install an optional 8-pin PCIe 2.0 connector. But to all appearances, the power consumption of the RV790 is not as high as we expect. We will check this supposition out in the appropriate section of the review.
PowerColor HD4890 Plus carries eight GDDR5 chips manufactured by Qimonda. They are placed in an L-shaped pattern around the GPU. Marked as IDGV1G-05A1F1C-40X, these chips have a capacity of 1 gigabit (32Mb x 32) and a voltage of 1.5V. The 40X suffix indicates a rated frequency of 1000 (4000) MHz but the company also offers faster GDDR5 memory that is able to work at frequencies up to 1250 (5000) MHz. The memory frequency of the PowerColor HD4890 Plus equals that of the reference card – 975 (3900) MHz. With a 256-bit memory bus this ensures a peak memory bandwidth of 124.8GBps. It would take a far more complex and expensive PCB design with a wider memory access bus to achieve a comparable bandwidth with GDDR3 memory. We also have to remind you that the memory controller has been slightly revised for RV790 and now supports burst read mode which was previously implemented in the RV710 and 730 cores.
Although the transistor count has increased but slightly in the RV790, from 956 to 959 millions, the die has become larger due to the ring of capacitors encircling the core. This solution helps eliminate parasitic noise from the signals and increase the frequency potential of the new chip. The GPU marking is still incomprehensible for the uninitiated. You can only learn the manufacture date from it. Here, it is the eighth week of the current year. It means that AMD has had working samples of RV790 since mid-February. The number 215 may refer to the chip’s frequency potential as in Nvidia’s GPU markings, but that’s just our supposition.
Like before, the die package is equipped with a protective metallic frame. As opposed to Nvidia, ATI still shuns the design with a heat-spreading cap. An extra thermal transition in the die – thermal interface – heat-spreader chain would not be good for a core which is already far from cool.
The latest version of CPU-Z knows the RV790 and even tells the die size correctly, but cannot report its revision and provides an incorrect transistor count. It is a Radeon HD 4890 OC, so the core frequency is increased to 900MHz. The ordinary (without “OC” in the name) version has nominal core frequency of 850MHz. We don’t think this difference is going to be significant in 3D applications because both versions have the same memory clock rate.
The new core has retained the old design with 10 SIMD units each of which incorporates 16 superscalar execution modules, 4 texture processors, a dedicated L1 cache, and control logic. Each execution module consists of five ALUs, one of which is capable of executing complex instructions, a branch control unit, and a set of general-purpose registers. The total amount of ALUs is 800, just as before. Four raster back-ends, equivalent to 16 classic ROPs, are responsible for rasterization operations including hardware FSAA resolve.
Radeon HD 4890 has the same interfaces as its predecessor. In its standard configuration it is equipped with two dual-link DVI-I ports supporting up to 2560x1600 resolutions and audio-over-HDMI (with adapter). A 7-pin mini-DIN port offers support for analog video output in S-Video, Composite and YPbPr formats. And finally, two CrossFire interfaces allow uniting up to four Radeon HD 4890 cards into a single CrossFireX subsystem. | <urn:uuid:8e1503e8-45e0-4f32-9656-e5b98302ff32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/radeon-hd4890_4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936242 | 1,202 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Editor's Note: Karyn Lu is Turner Broadcasting's Manager of New Media Insights & Inspiration. She scouts out amazing innovations, cutting-edge technology and, well, just really awesome stuff from around the world and shares them right here every week. Before it goes mainstream, it's probably going to be one of her favorite 5 Things From The Future!
5. Those Smart Cars will put up with a lot of...
Smart Car has launched some incredible campaigns recently to promote their vehicles around the globe (see: life-sized Pong game in Germany), but this week, it was their clever Twitter response that caught my attention. In response to this tweet -- “Saw a bird had crapped on a Smart Car. Totaled it.” – Smart Car USA actually responded with a whimsical infographic aptly titled “Weight of bird crap required to damage Smart’s tridion safety cell.” In case you’re curious, that would take roughly 4,500,000 pigeon poops, 360,000 from a turkey or 45,000 emu droppings to do the trick.
4. Why do I keep smelling cotton candy everywhere?
Here’s a simple yet brilliant outdoor advertising idea out of the Garden State. The New Jersey State Fair recently installed a number of billboards that smell like cotton candy. Nothing like a familiar scent to evoke nostalgic memories, right? That’s what the hope is, anyway. Speaking of olfactory stimulation, Smell-O-Vision seems to be making a comeback, with companies like Scent Sciences and products like SMELLIT on the horizon. Are we ready to move from 3D to 4D?
3. Rube Goldberg machine swaps treats for tweets
There’s something magical about seeing a Rube Goldberg machine in action that always makes me smile. In South Africa, Toyota tapped into exactly that sentiment to promote their new Etios, the car that’s “here to make you smile.” In this wonderful interactive installation called “Etios Smile Machine,” a number of secondhand or discarded objects create a chain of sequences that playfully offer you a sweet treat in return for a tweet about what makes you smile.
2. The box that keeps on giving
Upcycling is a lovely trend that I’m personally a big fan of. Dutch baby stroller manufacturer Joolz has tapped into all children’s innate love affair with cardboard boxes and given it a charming sustainability twist. Now, every box in Joolz’s product line comes with instructions to transform it into a “practical and beautiful product… from a lampshade to a bird house and from a picture frame to a chair.”
1. Removable ink means you never wear the same shirt twice
What if our existing, favorite clothing items can sport new designs over and over again? Could keeping up with the latest trends be as simple as washing out one design and printing on another? Refinity, a Netherlands-based fashion research agency, has designed a removable fabric ink that works exactly that way. Is this the future of fashion? I’d dig out a few T-shirts and dresses and give it a go. | <urn:uuid:3a9ccaee-a11e-4b5c-8de2-7587d1d144d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/06/25/cotton-candy-billboard-smart-car-bird-things-future | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934426 | 669 | 1.578125 | 2 |
New ATV Rules
(WIBX) – The New York State Senate passed two bills which should make it easier for drivers to register and use ATV’s in New York State.
The legal weight limit for “all terrain vehicles” has been raised from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds. This would allow utility vehicles, which are a bit larger than typical ATV’s, to be registered.
The Senate also passed a bill which would permit farmers to use ATV’s to cross public roads when they have property on both sides of the street.
Both bills have been sent to the Assembly. | <urn:uuid:967c4531-4ad2-41c6-b845-4c9040b2c63a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wibx950.com/new-atv-rules/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965203 | 132 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Category Archives: Medical Tourism Mexico
The National Survey of Family Growth in America states that over 18% of American women aged between 15-44 years have had tubal ligation. Medical insurance in the USA and Canada usually does not cover this kind of elective surgery and this is where tubal ligation reversal in Mexico comes in handy.
What is Tubal Ligation Reversal?
- Tubal ligation reversal surgery is an attempt to reopen, untie or reconnect the fallopian tubes of a woman who has undergone tubal ligation previously in order to allow her to become pregnant.
- According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, young women aged below 30, who have had tubal ligation in an attempt to control their family-size, are more likely to regret their decision later in life.
- The success of tubal reversal depends upon several factors such as age, overall health of the ovaries and the uterus, the length and condition of fallopian tubes, type of tubal ligation surgery and when it was done.
- Tubal reversal doctors in Mexico have much expertise and experience in the surgery. Furthermore, after having a successful pregnancy after tubal ligation, you may want to return for an affordable mommy makeover in Mexico in order to get your pre-pregnancy body back.
Why Choose Tubal Ligation Reversal in Mexico
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 100,000 Americans travel to Mexico for medical tourism. Here are some of the reasons that make tubal ligation reversal in Mexico a viable option:
- Tubal ligation reversal cost in Mexico is much lower than in Canada and the US.
- Mexico is within close proximity of the US with nearly 40 official border crossings and is also easily reachable from Canada by air.
- Many Mexican doctors have trained in America and have skills and experience equal to their counterparts in First World countries.
- Centers doing tubal reversal surgery in Mexico are equipped with the latest technology and equipment and also observe international standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
- Besides state-of-the-art medical facilities throughout the country, there are plenty of options for holidaying in Mexico. Mexico also offers beautiful sightseeing options and holiday resorts. You can easily arrange for a medical tourism package online.
Gastric plication in Tijuana is one of the low-priced weight loss options in Mexico that are gaining preference from a rising number of Americans and Canadians in search of cheaper health care alternatives abroad. Though this is a relatively new restrictive weight loss procedure and still in its experimental stages, highly-qualified bariatric surgeons do their best to ensure every sleeve plication surgery in Tijuana is safe and successful.
35.7% of the US adult population was obese in 2009-2010, according to the report “Prevalence of Obesity in the United States, 2009-2010,” by Cynthia L. Ogden et al. The high costs associated with obesity make affordable weight loss surgery in Tijuana – Mexico a smart choice for overweight Americans.
Overview of Gastric Sleeve Plication Surgery
Patients considering sleeve plication surgery in Tijuana should find these procedural facts useful:
- Other terms: gastric imbrication, laparoscopic greater curvature plication.
- Gastric plication is a minimally invasive procedure as it is performed laparoscopically. About 70% of the stomach volume is reduced by sewing one or more folds in the stomach, thus limiting food intake and reducing the patient’s appetite. Bariatric surgery in Tijuana – Mexico is done by expert surgeons using the latest surgical equipment and material.
- Sleeve plication does not require cutting, stapling or removing any part of the stomach.
- This weight-loss procedure is reversible.
- Within the first year post-surgery, patients could lose from 40% to 70% of their excess weight. Following surgery, majority of the patients also report an improvement in obesity-related comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol levels.
- Patients undergoing gastric plication surgery in Tijuana, Mexico should expect to remain in the hospital for 1-2 days. For 2 to 3 weeks after the surgery, patients will be put on a liquid diet, and then gradually switch to solid foods as per the recommendations of the surgeon and dietician.
Many people suffer from missing and decaying teeth. Fortunately, dental technology has found a way to fix them via dental crowns. But their costs remain a major impediment for many. One option available to US-based patients who may suffer from imperfect teeth is getting dental crowns in Los Algodones – Mexico. Dental work in Los Algodones is an option that many may not be familiar with. However, that can all change if those interested take some time out to read this post.
What are Dental Crowns?
- A dental crown is a cap that is shaped like an actual tooth. Once a crown is placed over a damaged tooth, it can be restored to its original, shape, strength and size.
- Crowns need to be cemented in place. Once this happens, the entire visible area of the tooth is fully encased.
- Dental crowns are made to look as realistic as possible. Measurements and comparisons are made with the patient’s real teeth so that the replacement teeth will look just like the patient’s regular teeth.
- According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, dental crowns can last up to 20 years, especially if the patient takes proper care of them and maintains them.
- Further studies on advanced crown and bridge suggest that different designs can mean different levels of longevity and stability. Therefore, patients need to have proper guidance in choosing the right dental crown for their needs.
Athletes, particularly those in contact sports like football and basketball, are at a higher risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury because of the intense pressure placed on their knees during a game. In high income countries like the US, fixing the ACL through surgery requires a lot of money. That’s why many overseas patients have been choosing ACL repair in Tijuana in order to save a great deal of their hard-earned cash.
Besides low cost of medical care, the proximity of the Mexican border town to the USA also explains the popularity of orthopedic procedures such meniscus and ACL repairs and knee replacement in Tijuana among American patients.
Overview of ACL Injury and Repair
Patients considering ACL tendon repair in Tijuana, Mexico will find these facts useful:
- An estimated 250,000 ACL tears occur in the US every year. About $5 billion is spent by patients, collectively, for ACL reconstruction and rehabilitation annually. (Statistics from the Upper Valley Sports Education Foundation).
- Symptoms of a torn ACL include a popping sound upon the occurrence of the injury, pain with swelling, decrease in range of motion, and knee discomfort while walking.
- If non-surgical treatments such as bracing and physical therapy prove ineffective, knee ligament repair in Tijuana is a good option for patients with budget issues.
- Some of the complications that may arise during or after ACL surgery are wound infection, blood clots, graft tendon issues, limited movement of the knee and leg, and repeat injury.
Discolored, misaligned or cracked teeth can cause intense embarrassment and self-consciousness. An increasingly popular fix for less-than-perfect teeth at a fraction of the American prices is getting dental implants in Los Algodones. With its global approach to teeth solutions, Los Algodones, a Mexican border town, receives a sizable number of patients each year looking to get their dental ills treated for prices much lower than in the USA and Canada.
According to a paper titled “Medical Tourism from US to Border Regions of Mexico: Current Status and Future Prospects,” a 2009 survey found that 90% of the patients in the border town dental clinics are Americans. Such embracing of dental tourism by Americans is indicative of the high value and low cost of dental implants and other dental treatments in Mexico.
What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants act as permanent proxies for rotted or injured tooth roots. They are substitutes or new foundations, which support or on which fixed or removable replacement teeth are placed.
Dental implants serve multiple purposes: improving the appearance of the mouth, easing the processes of chewing and speaking, improving oral hygiene, and eliminating the embarrassment and hassle of dealing with dentures and dental adhesives, among others.
According to WebMD, dental implants have a high success rate – 98%. And this also partly explains why patients are increasingly seeking affordable dental implants in Los Algodones.
The rising health care costs in the US in the 1990s led more people to seek affordable dental care abroad. According to an article by Oscar Avila published on the Chicago Tribune on March 24, 2009, that period saw an increase in dental offices replacing bars in Los Algodones, a tiny Mexican town which sits on the US-border across Yuma, Arizona. There came a significant rise in demand for low cost dental work in Algodones, particularly from Americans and Canadians burdened by awfully overpriced dental treatments in their home countries.
Dental Tourism in Los Algodones
A lot of restaurants and shops near the border in Los Algodones have been displaced by dental offices and pharmacies that largely cater to senior citizens from Canada and the US, many of whom regularly spend their summer vacations in Mexico. Los Algodones is not the sole Mexican city that experienced a boom in dental tourism. Dental tours to Cancun, Tijuana, Guadalajara and other major Mexican cities are popular with overseas patients as well.
According to a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 35.7% of US adults who suffer from obesityare at a greater risk of serious diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. For many, surgical options may be necessary to lose weight; the high cost of these procedures has led many to pursue treatment options abroad. A vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) – also known as a gastric sleeve – in Puerto Vallarta is an excellent option for people looking to save money on this potentially life-saving procedure.
One of the more popular bariatric surgery options in Mexico, a gastric sleeve in Puerto Vallarta can save you between 50-70% of the cost of similar procedures in the United States.
About Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical procedure that involves the elimination of up to 85% of the stomach’s surface area. Typically, vertical sleeve gatrectomy in Puero Vallarta is performed using a laparoscope – a small camera inserted into the body via a tube. This allows the surgeon to perform the procedure without any major incisions, which speeds up recovery and reduces the risk of complications.
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a less drastic procedure than other types of bariatric surgery. MedicinePlus advises that ‘vertical sleeve gastrectomy is not a “quick fix” for obesity. It will greatly change your lifestyle. You must diet and exercise after this surgery.’
As reported by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), an estimated 270,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed every year in the United States. The high medical fees associated with this complex surgery, plus the additional hospitalization, medication and physical therapy costs, make knee replacement in Tijuana, Mexico a viable alternative for financially-challenged patients.
The primary attraction for American and Canadian patients is the low cost of knee replacement in Tijuana, Mexico, which is only a fraction of what is being charged in developed countries such as theirs. Another positive point is their relative proximity to Mexico, allowing them to travel with ease and further cut down their transportation and accommodation expenses. The significantly cheaper cost of treatments in Mexico has made dental tours to Cancun and weight loss surgery in Guadalajara, among other procedures, quite popular among medical tourists from all over the world.
Knee Replacement: What You Need to Know?
You might want to go ahead with arthritis knee surgery in Tijuana – Mexico right away. But before doing so, here are some useful facts to help you better understand and prepare for what you’ll be going through:
- You may be a good candidate for total knee replacement in Tijuana, Mexico or for that matter anywhere if you have:
- Severe knee pain or stiffness that limits your normal activities
- Knee pain even when resting
- Chronic knee inflammation that rest or medications are unable to treat
- Deformity of the knee
- Failure to respond to other non-surgical treatments
- Knee replacement surgery involves removing the damaged joint lining and then replacing the joint surfaces with a knee implant.
- Bilateral knee replacement is for people suffering from severe arthritis in both knees. Since this surgery is associated with a higher risk of cardiac events and serious complications such as blood clots, pulmonary embolism and even death, finding a highly-qualified and experienced surgeon to perform bilateral knee replacement in Tijuana, Mexico is of utmost importance.
- The patient will need to stay in the hospital for several days to recover. Physical therapy may begin a day post-surgery, where you will learn specific exercises to restore strength and movement in your knee and leg. Normal daily activities may be possible within 3 to 6 weeks after surgery.
Every year, around 100,000 Americans travel to Mexico in search of affordable yet reliable medical care, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical tourists go to Mexico for myriad procedures, from plastic surgery to cancer treatment and everything in between. For example, liposuction, tummy tuck, and weight loss surgery in Guadalajara, Mexicali and other parts of Mexico are very popular. If you are one of the tens of thousands of people who are considering making a medical trip to Mexico for more affordable care, then you may have a few concerns about general safety. Below are some tips to help ensure that you have a safe and positive trip while receiving medical treatment in Mexico.
Safety When Getting Medical Treatment in Mexico
There are two things to think about when traveling to Mexico for medical treatment. First, is general safety concerning your medical procedure. In order to have a safe and successful medical trip in Mexico, you should:
For many cost-conscious patients from the Western countries suffering from meniscal tear or torn cartilage, a low cost option open to them is meniscus repair in Tijuana – Mexico. Meniscal tears are commonly associated with disruptions in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), mostly affecting athletes who play contact sports. The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) estimates that 200,000 ACL reconstructions are performed every year in the US (from the study “Potential Market for New Meniscus Repair Strategies,” by Gary B. Fetzer et al).
Mexico is one of the most in-demand destinations for medical tourists from the US and Canada who are looking for quality and affordable treatments.
What is Meniscus Repair?
Considering meniscus repair surgery in Tijuana? Gain insights about this procedure by reading some helpful facts below:
- Symptoms of a meniscal tear: inability to fully straighten or bend the knee; a popping sound or sensation; stiffness and swelling
- Surgeons are increasingly using arthroscopic surgery to repair the meniscus which is considered less invasive.
- After the surgery, the patient must not move the treated knee for about two weeks. The doctor’s rehabilitation plan should be strictly followed to achieve full recovery.
- For the overall success of the surgery, it is necessary to perform doctor-prescribed exercises to restore the knee’s strength and mobility. A major part of the rehabilitation program can be carried out at home, including physical therapy.
- There are cases when the repaired cartilage falls apart and would require a second surgery. Precautions should be strictly taken to avoid this from happening. | <urn:uuid:43cc1f5c-7ee3-42fe-a44e-4a4dde2811b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bluemorphomed.com/category/medical-tourism-mexico/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937461 | 3,336 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Brighton’s Fabrica Gallery: exhibition sheds light on the life of recycled wood
One of the most undervalued institutions in Brighton is the Fabrica gallery on the corner of Ship and Duke Streets on the edge of the South Laines. Situated in an reconsecrated church (the old Holy Trinity Church) the gallery is totally unassuming from the outside. A nice thing is that you never quite know when its going to be open, it has exhibitions just four times a year, and so every now and then you kind of just notice that the door is open and you pop in. I’ve yet to see a poor exhibition and usually the interior is given over to a single piece or installation.
The current exhibition, The Undercroft by the sculptor Vincent Mauger. He has built a life-size replica of a tree out of sheets of reconstituted wood. Simple really, but beautiful especially when the late afternoon sun streams through the upper windows casting long shadows across the dusty floor. Great view of the “branches” from the pulpit too. | <urn:uuid:21232ad6-f73b-4dcb-9f1b-0eb5815ac338> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seandodson.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/brightons-fabrica-gallery-the-undercroft-sheds-light-on-the-life-of-recycled-wood/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953049 | 223 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A city man is spearheading efforts for a weapons buy-back program that would give people a safe way to dispose of unwanted guns.
Christopher Peake, a former CNN reporter, said he was inspired to launch the effort in response to last month’s mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Several people have already pledged to support the program financially, and Peake is seeking cooperation from city officials as well.
“Most programs like this across the country are done through cities, like L.A. or Chicago,” he said. “This would be privately funded. That’s what makes it unique. I wanted to make a difference rather than do something feel-good, like write your congressman or call your senator.
“Once it’s gotten the green light legally, then we can proceed.”
Peake said he’s begun contacting local businesspeople for financial support and St. Clement’s Catholic Church, one of the area’s larger churches, to gain public favor.
Spa City businessman Ed Mitzen, owner of FingerPaint Marketing, said, “If people have unwanted firearms and are anxious to get them out of their homes to make them safer, this is a good way to do it.”
Peake plans to meet next week with city Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen and Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco to discuss details.
“We have to answer questions like where it would be held, who would take possession of weapons and how do you dispose of them,” Peake said. “We don’t know how much money is needed because we have no idea how many weapons would be turned in. It would be for handguns, rifles, shotguns and assault-type weapons, and they have to be in working order.”
He said handguns are typically bought back for about $200; rifles and shotguns for $100 to $150.
Plans call for setting up a special account at a local bank that people who want to support the program could donate to.
Mathiesen said police can’t be directly involved with buying back guns. However, they can accept and dispose of guns collected through a privately-run program such as the one Peake is proposing.
City Police Capt. Michael Chowske referenced a program in Albany that is run through a local church. The program buys back guns and gives them to Albany police, who have them destroyed and sold for scrap.
Typically, guns sold to private buy-back programs are done so anonymously. That way, if guns are stolen, the seller is immune from prosecution.
Troy police previously had a program that has been discontinued, he said.
“It doesn’t take long to go through tens of thousands of dollars,” Chowske said. “People aren’t going to sell guns for less than what they’re worth. If you sell 10 guns, that could be $2,000 right there.”
As a news reporter, Peake covered violence-torn Central America and the Caribbean. However, he said he’s also an avid bird hunter and understands that many local people have guns for a reason.
“This is a rural area,” he said. “People hunt, target shoot, they go to shooting ranges.”
The goal, he said, is to reduce the number of unused, unwanted weapons that could wind up causing a tragedy, intentional or accidental.
“It’s so there’s less chance for them to be used where and when they shouldn’t be,” Peake said.
For information, contact Peake at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:32301a69-56be-4ec3-bb5b-6f96df05e3dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2013/01/15/news/doc50f60d310187e379831547.prt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968425 | 812 | 1.734375 | 2 |
In the final analysis, the first wave of British punk rock left us with a brief, fractious cacophony. The Sex Pistols imploded quickly and with a famously ferocious violence. Sham-69 and X-Ray Spex were awesome, short-lived standard bearers for as long as their incandescent intensity would carry them. No one seemed, at least from lip service, to be in it for the long haul. Nobody except The Clash, who maybe in history’s rear view were never really a “punk” band after all.
As far as rock and roll goes, The Clash were never committed agents of destruction. When they declared, “No Elvis, no Beatles, no Rolling Stones / In 1977,” it seems fairly apparent that they were protesting just a little too much. By the time the band had formed, frontman Joe Strummer was a longtime veteran of the rockabilly-flavored pub-rock outfit The 101ers and pretty well fixated on the iconography of the 1950s, from Sun Records to James Dean and Montgomery Clift. Mick Jones was a pop-savant with an abiding love for Bowie and the Beatles, fully apparent in his gorgeous and carefully arranged lead and backing vocals, soaring guitar playing and indelible melodies as beautiful as any to be heard on Rubber Soul. Far from dancing on the perceived grave of rock and roll, it seems possible, with their embrace of world music, hip-hop, dub, and jazz that they represented the final great classic rock band, one which alighted countless ways to a new, unwritten future. If the Pistols thought of themselves as the logical end of the rock and roll experiment, it seems fair to say that the Clash imagined themselves as something more like the end of the beginning.
Their self-titled first release was conspicuously raw enough to ward off their American label affiliate for more than a year. But by the time The Clash had become the largest-ever English import album in the American market, CBS Records relented, and the expanded album they eventually authorized was even better than the original.
Slow to come around at the beginning, the industry shortly understood that this was a band with the potential to equal radio stalwarts like the Who and the Stones. The band redoubled this faith by recording their second full-length album, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, with trusted commercial producer Sandy Pearlman — best noted for his work with the reliable classic-rock warhorse Blue Oyster Cult. It was a step forward sonically, but a mild regression in terms of songwriting.
For all of the restless examination at the time of what could truly be construed as “punk rock,” there was really no preparing for the tour de force that was London Calling — a two-disc set so overstuffed with inspiration and variety from beginning to end that it rendered any such arguments utterly moot. From the epochal opening chords of the title track to the culminating white soul classic “Train In Vain,” London Calling was an ingeniously rich and risky sonic brew that threw together reggae, new wave, power pop, rockabilly, and straight rock with a careless insouciance and utter confidence that left the listening audience delicately picking their jaws up off the floor. Produced by the relatively insane but utterly brilliant Mott The Hoople helmsman Guy Stevens, it was the sort of generational landmark that comes around perhaps once in a lucky decade — the two most obvious comparisons being the Stones’ stunning 1972 creative peak, Exile On Main Street, and Prince’s career-defining 1987 masterpiece, Sign O’ The Times, both of which also employed the double-album format to take audiences on a pulse-racing, genre-hopping and ultimately cathartic ride through all of pop music’s myriad great possibilities.
The vaulting ambition of London Calling led to the arguable hubris of Sandinista!, a THREE-disc set which for the first time in the band’s career proffered material that was by nearly any metric, worthy of remaining on the cutting floor. Having said that, the highs on Sandinista! are stratospheric and, as with the Beatles’ White Album, it is difficult to imagine the best, most realized material existing without the freedom and general chaos that allowed for lesser ideas to force their way onto the release. Overall, with three decades of hindsight, Sandinista! seems smarter and more courageous than ever. It is a fascinating document, ripe for a thorough reconsideration, and contains more than a handful of the band’s greatest work. As a two-disc record, it might well have rivaled London Calling for sheer impact. Perhaps knowing that, the more diffuse force of three sprawling discs was a deliberate attempt to slow down the assessment and elevate the dialogue: a slow-grower that prized patience over immediacy.
Combat Rock was, for any meaningful purpose, the final Clash record. It was great, too — finding the band firing on all cylinders, their commercial ambitions at their highest without compromising the artistic restlessness that had long defined them. It was also a peculiar thing for a last record to be one that feels transitional. The disappointment of Strummer and Jones’ splitting up the band in 1983 at this point is secondary to the sadness of Strummer’s too-soon passing at the age of 50 in 2002. Mick Jones went on to convene the formidable Big Audio Dynamite, which featured great songs in a dance context that one could have easily imagined a next-generation Clash exploring. Strummer even provided some lyrics on BAD’s second record, Number 10, Upping Street. In recent years, both Strummer and Jones had expressed regret that the band broke up in the first place and this feels right — as a creative unit, they were far from out of steam.
Time has proven remarkably kind to The Clash. Their best-known songs have managed the neat trick of emerging as classic rock staples while never feeling like clichés. Meanwhile, even their most left-field genre experiments — the proto-rap of “The Magnificent Seven,” the mournful dub of “Armagideon Time,” or the ersatz gospel of “The Sound Of The Sinners” — seem thoughtful, exhilarating, and forward-looking today. Perhaps what comes across most powerfully in revisiting the Clash is the extraordinary compassion and humanity of their music. Many bands over time have deeply identified with life’s underdogs, but very few so routinely and powerfully gave an articulate voice to such a large swath of society’s outcasts. From the embattled union worker to the down-in-the-dumps former matinee idol to the orphaned child born during the Vietnam War to the hopelessly outmanned Spanish freedom fighters attempting to stave off fascist rule, the Clash possessed an indelible capacity to tell these stories with humor, vigor, excitement, and an uncynical romanticism that somehow never veered into preachiness or cheap sentiment. How they managed this highwire act has become more intriguing over time, as many have attempted to replicate their surpassing alchemy of profound hope and revolutionary impulse. In a sense the achievements of the Clash are reminiscent of HBO TV series The Wire — presenting a fully formed critique of the ills of modern society into such an addictively consuming package, so exciting that sometimes it was easy to forget or overlook the fact that while listening to them you were also learning: learning about the deprivations of others, about long forgotten revolutions, about the ways in which different styles of music could be cobbled together to manifest entirely new forms. Joe Strummer’s premature death was one of those that hurt badly when it occurred, and yet somehow feels even worse 10 years after the fact. So much has happened since then that you wish the Clash were here to help make sense of, and to set into unforgettable song. As Craig Finn astutely put it on the Hold Steady anthem “Constructive Summer”: “Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer / I think he might have been our only decent teacher.”
What we are left with is a lot of what-could-have-beens, coupled with the incredible legacy that was vouchsafed us. To distill The Clash into merely 10 great songs is a fool’s errand — they had nearly that many on every release — but here is an effort at acknowledging all that they gave us.
10. “Safe European Home” (from Give ‘Em Enough Rope)
The lead track from The Clash’s second full-length is a wry acknowledgment of the unintended pitfalls of their world music leanings set to one of the most insinuating rock anthems to date. The true tale of Strummer and Jones visiting Jamaica for inspiration only to walk away intimidated and frightened by the level of criminality is a great exemplar of these multi-cultural seekers recognizing their own limitations in an actual third-world setting. The chorus, “Sitting here in my safe European home / don’t wanna go back there again” relays both a deep affinity and almost comedic alienation from some of the Clash’s greatest influences from Rastafarian to Brian Ferry.
9. “Train In Vain” (from London Calling)
Mick Jones’ gorgeous, lovelorn plea “Train In Vain” was initially considered too obvious a target for top 40 radio and was thus unmarked as a secret track on the running order of 1979′s London Calling. The gambit never really worked. The impossibly catchy “Train In Vain” moved its way into the public consciousness and became one of The Clash’s best-loved songs. It comes as no surprise, given the inescapable anguish and perfect melody that Jones renders while relaying the case of a trusted paramour who ultimately surprised him with her infidelity. The simple yet devastating refrain “Did you stand by me? / No not at all” are worthy of the most desperate laments of Sam Cooke or Otis Redding.
8. “Up In Heaven (Not Only Here)” (from Sandinista!)
An overlooked track from the frequently frustrating Sandinista!, “Up In Heaven (Not Only Here)” is a melancholy, neo-realist cousin to London Calling‘s “Hateful.” Its remarkably catchy, synth-driven narrative paints a devastating story of tenement home living in London, suggesting the worst for those unfortunates relegated to subsidized housing. There is deep and resonant sadness here: “When the wind hits this building, this building it tilts / One day it will surely fall to the ground.” There are shades of Katrina and Haiti and Sandy — the homes of the most vulnerable get crushed.
7. “Lost In The Supermarket” (from London Calling)
The moving “Lost In The Supermarket,” written by Strummer and sung by Jones, remains one of the most exacting accounts of suburban alienation and rings true for any teen suffering the stultifying go-nowhere realities of an estranged life lived far from any meaningful truths. Here, the details are crucial: The first sound ever experienced by the singer is domestic strife and his first supposed comfort is shopping. This is a painfully honest discussion of the suburbs, far more poignant and truthful than other meditations of a more recent vintage.
6. “Complete Control” (from The Clash)
“Complete Control” first appeared on the American version of The Clash (almost two years after the UK release of the same album), and it was a reaction to label interference and general misdeeds on behalf of their would-be benefactors. In fact, nothing from their label was as advertised and out of this came this extraordinary airing of grievances, a desperately catchy cataloguing of the many ills visited upon a young band experiencing its first forays into corporate culture. Over the song’s stunning, ascending major-key opening, the Clash affirm a bit of insider pool: “They said release ‘Remote Control’ but we didn’t want it on the label.” From there, we have the unexpected sound of a band untethered from its industry handlers with a magnificent and forceful melody, and then Strummer has the audacity to say, “This is Joe Public speaking, I’m controlled in the body, controlled in the mind.” It wasn’t a gambit to get played on top 40 American radio, but it was some of the most earnest truth telling of its era and one of the catchiest songs ever written.
5. “London Calling” (from London Calling)
The stunning lead track from the Clash’s definitive masterpiece, “London Calling” posits a world on its last legs and suggests a fearlessness that could only have come from Cold War survivors who experienced the theoretical end of days as part of their daily school ritual, hiding under desks and waiting for the enemy to do its worst. Born into an England recovering from the devastation of heavy bombings and fully in the throes of Cold War paranoia, the Clash had made eminent death part of their personal brand by 1979. Most powerfully, Strummer and group make no claim toward being peace-seeking soothsayers. Unlike their hippie forbearers, they accept no responsibility for any looming disaster: “Don’t look to us / phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust.” A welcome final reversal to the trite optimism of the flower child movement, “London Calling”is all for one and none for all.
4. “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais” (from The Clash)
This great, early commingling of reggae and punk yearns for a revolutionary racial unity in order to overturn an oppressive status quo. Speaking of their shared predicament, Strummer fairly begs, “White youth, black youth / Better find another solution” — a young band’s mature recognition that economic class, perhaps even more than race, is what truly divides us. It’s not all maturity though — as Strummer’s memorable self-depiction makes clear, “I’m the all night drug-prowling wolf / who looks so sick in the sun” — sometimes the smartest guys at the party are also the most dangerous.
3. “Clampdown” (from London Calling)
The tradition of great union songs dates from Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly to Billy Bragg and Pete Seeger, but perhaps no one has ever quite captured the unique cocktail of earnestness, frustration, and communal love quite like the Clash’s “Clampdown” — an anthem so powerful that it nearly inspires a militant fervor. The soundtrack to Ayn Rand’s worst nightmares, this is a song that encourages underpaid workers to fight back against those who would gleefully steal the best years of their life: “Let fury have the hour, anger can be power / Do you know that you can use it?” And if you didn’t think the stakes were high enough, consider the outro aside: “begging to be melted down.” This could be an historic reference to the indignities of industrial production, the holocaust, or simply a suicidal ideation. As powerful as protest music has ever been before or since.
2. “Straight To Hell” (from Combat Rock)
Combat Rock‘s centerpiece is a startling and arresting third-person account of those rarely considered victims of the Western world’s adventures in Southeast Asia. Placed over a mournful, Eastern-style beat “Straight To Hell” lays bare the fate of those children left behind by American GIs who coupled with Vietnamese women: “Ain’t no asylum here / King Solomon, he never lived round here.” Nearly every aspect of the pathetic miasma that was Vietnam has been explored in its aftermath, but on this inventive, moving song Strummer and company shine a light on the most anonymous sufferers.
1. “Spanish Bombs” (from London Calling)
The exhilarating and hook-laden melodic beauty “Spanish Bombs” is a formidable example of the Clash’s capacity to render an indelible pop song. The fact that it happens to also convey the tale of a condemned group of Spanish freedom fighters in the 1930s, attempting to stave off the yoke of fascism, simply underscores the remarkable brilliance of the Clash at their peak. This is like the best of Hemingway set to music. In many ways, this is the perfect metaphor for The Clash themselves: an account of proud, deeply convicted, possibly doomed individuals willfully setting their lives on the line for what they believe in, who have burnished themselves in the annals of history for their legendary efforts. | <urn:uuid:4e9edce2-b0b3-4bdd-aa56-88d5d7ccf673> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stereogum.com/1216562/the-clashs-10-best-songs/franchises/listomania/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957185 | 3,558 | 1.585938 | 2 |
MacArthur "Genius" Awards Honor 22 Game-Changers
The 2011 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awards -- popularly known as the "genius" awards -- were announced Tuesday, and the 22 recipients of the $500,000 no-strings stipend include three people over the age of 50, and nine who are between 40 and 49.
The 50-and-over group includes artist, restoration expert and scholar Ubaldo Vitali,67, whom Smithsonian magazine has called the "greatest living silversmith in the U.S."; Marie-Therese Connolly, 54, an attorney who works to protect the elderly; and U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Kay Ryan, 65.
Here's a look at the three:
1. Ubaldo Vitali, of Maplewood, N.J., is the oldest of this year's award winners. Vitali also is one of the world's foremost practitioners of a craft that dates back 3,000 years to ancient Egypt, and which was practiced by Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere.
While precision lasers, microscopes and other modern gadgets increasingly have made their way into silversmithing, Vitali, who was trained in Rome by his father and grandfather and still belongs to a medieval-style guild there, in many ways remains a traditionalist. He uses some technological advances, but he persists in working by hand, from the mixing of raw materials and chemical analyses to building wooden models and wax molds for his pieces. Vitali even makes his own custom tools.
He's worked extensively for Tiffany, Bulgari and Cartier, produced work on commission for Queen Elizabeth II, and even created horses that adorned the trophies for the Belmont Stakes. From a recent exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery, here's an example of Vitali's work, an exquisite silver tureenthat he made in 2001. According to this Wall Street Journal article, when Vitali got a call last week informing him that he had won a MacArthur fellowship, "I thought it was a joke. It took me a couple of days to realize it was true. Or at least I think it is."
2. Marie-Therese Connolly, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who is the subject of this Washington Post profile, has spent more than a decade combating mistreatment of the elderly. As a Justice Department attorney in the late 1990s, Connolly headed the newly created Elder Justice and Nursing Home Initiative, and figured out ways to get around legal loopholes and prosecute cases of abuse and neglect. According to the Post, she also was the chief architect of the Elder Justice Act, passed by Congress in 2010, which puts information about offenses committed in nursing homes online and makes it easier for nursing home residents or their families to report wrongdoing.
Connolly left the federal government in 2007 to start Life Long Justice, a nonprofit organization that fights for more stringent state and federal investigation and prosecution of violence against and exploitation of the elderly. Here's a speech that she gave in June at a forum hosted by the Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus, detailing how older people have been victimized, and what can be done to combat what she sees as an epidemic problem. "It should be a part of the national conversation, like health care, justice and jobs," she told the Post.
3. Kay Ryan, who lives in Fairfax, Calif., spent most of her adult life working as a part-time remedial English teacher at the College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif., and didn't publish her first major book of poetry until age 40. In this Salon profile, she jokes that she specializes in brief, pithy poems because of "a short attention span." Ryan served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2008 to 2010, and in April, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her collection of poems, The Best of It. Here's a video of Ryan reading her poem, "The Turtle."
Here are the 40-something winners:
Jeanne Gang, 49, architect, Chicago Ill.
Elodie Ghedin, 44, Parasitologist/virologist, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Kevin Guskiewicz, 45, brain injury researcher, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Peter Hessler, 42, journalist, Ridgway, Co.
Tiya Miles, 41, historian, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Francisco Nunez, 46, choral director and composer, New York, N.Y.
Sara Otto, 43, evolutionary geneticist, Vancouver, B.C.
Jacob Soll, 42, historian, Camden, N.J.
A.E. Stallings, 43, poet and translator, Athens, Greece
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A number of jurisdictions that are interested in creating a “parolee reentry court”, find themselves in a difficult dilemma. Either reject the reentry court concept because of inadequate funding, or go ahead and build it, but pare back the conventional problem-solving court model to its bare essentials. It’s clear to me that a comprehensive reentry courts, (with full staffing), capable of working with and consolidating an offender’s state and county matters in a single court, is the best possible solution. But if the necessary funding isn’t avaialble, there is a case to be made for a “minimalist parolee reentry court”, that can reduce court costs, by successfully and lawfully doing without attorneys, reporters, and clerks. Such a “minimalist reentry court”, may mean substantial savings to the court and community, as well as a smaller, more successful, and sustainable reentry court. [Note: a model "minimalist parolee reentry court" team might include judge, program coordinator, treatment specialist, parole officer, and bailiff]
As a consultant, I’ve sat through many team staffings, and ”progress hearings” over the years, with more than a dozen team members present. I often wondered how cost effective or sustainable such court structures would be in the long run. The answer has become clear, as hard times shape the structures of today’s reentry and other problem-solving courts. Many problem solving courts are closing down, while others severely cut back on participation or services. Interestingly, some of our most successful early drug courts had as few as two team members present at pre-court staffings. The smaller, more intimate courtroom environment, encouraged clear, direct, and personal communication, as well as, increased team involvement and participant engagement; established problem-solving concepts that often lead to better outcomes.
The key hurdle in creating a hybrid “parole reentry court” with fewer personnel, is the very fact that it’s unconventional. But a Parole Reentry Court, by its very nature is a minimalist court. Proceedings related to parolees, while evidentiary in nature, are informal, do not involve county jurisdiction (which would require counsel), nor demand the same panoply of procedural and due process rights as a conventional court (see: Morrisey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471 1972, Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778 1973). Truth is that there are less than a dozen states that require counsel at “parole revocation hearings”. Clerks and Reporters are not required either, as a written decision setting forth the facts and reasoning upon which it is based, are typically written up by the hearing officer. (Note: the fewer personnel engaged in the legal process, the more resources available for direct services for the returning parolee)
The clear purpose of the minimalist Reentry Court is to provide an informal and therapeutic enviroment, where the focus is on the rehabilitation and reintegration of the returning parolee in the community. Some may be uncomfortable with the idea of an informal problem-solving court without counsel present. But participation in informal courts is typically voluntary, with “parole revocation hearings” passed on to parole authorities, once the participant has been terminated from the reentry court program. California has recently set up a pilot “Parolee Reentry Courts” program, where parolees will be referred by parole authorities to the reentry court, admitted only after the parolee voluntarily accepts the program, and the court agrees. The parolee can opt out at any time, (even after a violation), to be returned to the jurisdiction of the parole agency. Ultimately, this model may be an interesting option for those communities with limited funds, a commitment to a reentry court, but also to “revocation hearings” with counsel present. One of the most fascinating aspects of the nascent reentry court field, is the many innovative and pragmatic models being developed. The minimalist “Parolee Reentry Court” continues that tradition.
Addendum: Over a four week period, I interviewed practitioners from four of the most successful reentry courts in the nation, and showcased them as model reentry courts on this website: the Harlem Parole Reentry Court; Ft. Wayne Reentry Court; Richland County Reentry Court; Boone County Reentry Court]All reported that their program structures were non-adversarial and rehabilitation focused, without attorneys on the reentry court team or in reentry court itself; with counsel provided, only when the parole participant has left the reentry court program, and returned to the formal adjudicatory system, whether parole or court based. It is my understanding that the great majority of Reentry Courts have similar non-adversarial structures. | <urn:uuid:0001ac7d-ecae-4092-8b41-80cf0ff08c0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reentrycourtsolutions.com/reentry-courts-hybrids/minimalist-reentry-courts-for-recessionary-times/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939884 | 1,018 | 1.53125 | 2 |
ASHDOD, Israel – Tensions are high at the moment. Everywhere you go, all people are discussing is the Israeli military’s deadly attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
The Israeli government is standing by its claim that commandos used force – killing nine people – only after activists attacked them with knives, crowbars and clubs. But the activists, who had set sail for Gaza with tons of aid hoping to break Israel's 3-year-old blockade of Gaza, counter that the Israeli commandos fired first.
‘Long live Israel’
Our NBC News team has been doing live TV reports for the last several days from a hill overlooking the port of Ashdod, where the convoy of ships was forced to dock.
Residents arrived on the scene immediately to show their support for Israel and their outrage at the media for what they perceive as their role in helping to turn the raid into an international affair.
Demonstrators carrying flags, singing the Israeli national anthem and chanting “long live Israel” quickly appeared on the scene. One demonstrator painted graffiti on a nearby wall saying, “We don’t forget the Armenian blood,” referring to the Armenian massacre by the Turks in 1915.
And the Navy commandos involved in the operation have received some unlikely support from about 70,000 people on Facebook who started an Internet campaign saluting them.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Outburst in the Knesset
Meanwhile, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, saw perhaps the strongest reaction to the incident when the Israeli-Arab lawmaker Haneen Zoabi, who was onboard the Gaza-bound flotilla when it was raided, tried to speak Wednesday.
Members of the Knesset erupted in anger – yelling, cursing and even charging the podium in an attempt to stop her from continuing her speech.
From the podium she said that she agreed to participate in the flotilla because it was a “political, human and moral imperative to oppose the imprisonment of 1.5 million people.”
She described the blockade of Gaza as an “illegal, inhuman, illegitimate siege opposed by every politician who has a moral position.... Only the immoral support the blockade.”
Her remarks caused violent jeers from other members of the Knesset, with shouts accusing her of being a terrorist and saying she should be checked for weapons.
Trip to Turkey this summer, maybe not
But the biggest reverberation from the Israeli military’s actions may be the hitherto close relations between Israel and what was its most important Muslim ally, Turkey.
The summer months are usually marked by the mass migration of vacationing Israelis to Turkey. Cheap “all inclusive” deals to beaches in Anatalya and Bodrum have become havens for Israeli summer vacationers.
But that movement of people may not happen this summer.
“I wouldn’t suggest to any Israelis in the near future to be a tourist in Turkey, because it will be very dangerous for Israelis to go there,” Shimon Shiffer, a reporter for the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronoth said.
The airlines may already be adjusting their schedules. My travel agent said that over the next two weeks, only two flights will fly to Turkey. Last week there were two flights a day.
Paul Goldman is an NBC News Producer based in Tel Aviv. | <urn:uuid:99157949-f616-49c3-8931-aa3186e43caf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldblog.nbcnews.com/flotilla-raid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965292 | 715 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Michigan Representatives Split on CISPA
Two Michigan congressmen are prominent on opposite sides of a controversial cybersecurity bill passed by the House of Representatives on April 26. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has been compared to another government Internet oversight measure that was thwarted after Google, Wikipedia, Reddit, and other Web sites temporarily shut down their sites in protest of the bill.
CISPA, which was introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers, (R-MI), the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chairman, and Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, (D-MD), passed the House by a 248 to 168 vote.
Legislators passed the bill after unanimously approving an amendment by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI). Amash’s amendment prohibits the government from accessing library circulation records and patron lists; book sales records and customer lists; firearms sales records; and tax-return, medical, and educational records.
CISPA has drawn comparisons to the Stop Online Piracy Act, which was shelved by the House in January. SOPA was intended to curtail illegal downloads of copyrighted material, while CISPA deals with Internet attacks and hacking of banking, utility, and other privacy-intensive Web sites.
Chief among the stated concerns over both bills is the privacy of individuals whose personal information would be shared with the government by companies with which they conduct business.
In a statement, Rep. Rogers said, “We can’t stand by and do nothing as U.S. companies are hemorrhaging from the cyber looting coming from nation-states like China and Russia.... America will be a little safer and our economy better protected from foreign cyber predators with this legislation.”
‘Dangerous Economic Predators’
Dave Yonkman, spokesman for Rep. Rogers, said, “By permitting the private sector to expand its own cyber defense efforts and to use classified information to protect its systems and networks, this bill will help create a more robust cybersecurity marketplace with expanded service offerings and jobs. More importantly, this bill does not contain any new federal spending or impose additional federal regulation or unfunded mandates on the private sector.”
Yonkman continued, “The House of Representatives took the first step in making it harder for economic cyber spies to steal American business plans and research and development. The Cyber Information Sharing & Protection Act will help U.S. companies better protect themselves from dangerous economic predators.”
In a press release, Amash, who voted against the bill, explained his concerns: “The government shouldn’t be allowed to spy on the books Americans read or the guns they buy.... We can’t sacrifice core civil liberties in the name of cybersecurity.” He also stated the term “cyber threat information” is “defined broadly” in the bill.
Will Adams, deputy chief of staff for Rep. Amash, says the congressman opposes CISPA, but the amendments to the bill temper the privacy concerns somewhat.
Limit Government’s Information Use
“At the very least, the Amash amendments are a commonsense narrowing of the original bill’s liability waiver, which provided private companies with immunity from all state and federal privacy laws if they share private information with the government,” he said. “CISPA took an ax to privacy laws, when Rep. Amash would much rather [use] a scalpel.”
Adams says Rogers’s bill would grant the government the ability to do anything it wished with the information obtained through CISPA.
“CISPA is a flawed bill,” he said, “because private information that is protected currently by state and federal laws wouldn’t be exempted, and CISPA could be employed to override those constraints. The amendments limit what government can do with this information.”
Adams added, “Folks say you need a broad exemption for CISPA to be viable, but our view is that we should be careful and create narrow exemptions only when there are true legal impediments to reasonable cybersecurity information sharing.”
Government’s New Authority
Yonkman says comparisons between CISPA and SOPA are inaccurate. “SOPA’s focus was the protection of music and film copyrights,” he said. “CISPA’s focus is cyber threat sharing to prevent actual computer and network intrusions from advanced foreign cyber threats from countries like China, Russia, and Iran. While there is still some misinformation out in the blogosphere on Chairman Rogers’ bill, even the civil liberties and privacy organizations agree that there is absolutely no relation between CISPA and SOPA.”
CISPA gives the federal government new authority to share classified cyber threat information with approved American companies and knocks down barriers to cyber threat information sharing, Yonkman said. “With strong provisions built in to keep individual American’s private information private, the bill allows U.S. businesses to better protect their own networks and their corporate customers from hackers looking to steal intellectual property,” he said.
Yonkman emphasizes CISPA participation is voluntary. “The bill only provides new authority for sharing cyber threat information, and the bill provides absolutely no authority to block Web sites or [for] restricting and controlling Internet traffic,” he said.
Adams says Amash still opposes the bill: “Even with the narrowing of scope our amendments provide, the government can still use citizens’ information for purposes that have nothing to do with cyber security.”
Nonetheless, Adams added, “We tip our hats to Rep. Rogers for his responsiveness to our privacy concerns and companies’ rights to protect their customers.”.
Bruce Edward Walker (email@example.com) is managing editor of InfoTech & Telecom News.
“The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act,” Reps. Mike Rogers and C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, April 26, 2012: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3523 | <urn:uuid:1198ca21-d66b-4c87-a033-3ea27eebc342> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/michigan-representatives-split-cispa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9413 | 1,277 | 1.640625 | 2 |
In his book, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, Chris Hedges, himself a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, draws some frightening comparisons between the American Dominionist movement, represented by people like James Dobson and the late Jerry Falwell, and the fascist movements that dominated Germany, Italy and Spain in the mid-20th century.
Chief among the parallels are:
-the courting and enlistment of the disenfranchised and downtrodden as foot soldiers.
For the European fascists it was the victims of economic recession and ruin brought on by the end of the first World War. For the Christian Right it's the victims of the vice and excess of modern society, especially those who come from broken homes or are recovering from drug addiction. In both cases, the movements take advantage of those in a fragile mental and economic state and indoctrinate them.
-the demonization and scapegoating of select groups as the causes of all society's ills
In Nazi Germany it was Jews, Communists, Homosexuals, Gypsies and later Catholics and Slavs. For the Christian Right, it's gays, Darwinists, liberals and 'secular humanists'. In both cases, these groups are accused of conspiring to bring down society from within by recruiting children into a depraved and godless lifestyle. The Christian Right treats gays and liberals in particular in the same way the Nazis treated Jews, teaching its followers to view the world through conspiratorial lenses, believing that anything symptomatic of social decay is the deliberate work of a shadowy cabal of gays and liberals - i.e. 'the homosexual agenda', 'the liberal agenda'.
-the use of nationalist iconography and rhetoric to 'rally the troops'
We all know how the Nazis used patently Teutonic imagery and patriotic language to inspire common Germans to support their radical agenda. The Christian Right is much the same with their use of pro-American rhetoric. Many of these radical preachers practically drape themselves in Old Glory and pepper their sermons with patriotic buzzwords while villifying their enemies as being foreign and un-American [often suggesting that anyone who isn't a Christian Fundamentalist is necessarily alien, coming from Europe or some other godforsaken land]. But what makes the Christian Right perhaps even more insidious is that they seek to destroy the very foundations of American Democracy that they claim to defend, replacing it with a strict theocratic regime. They use revisionist history to great effect, often saying that the U.S. was founded to be a Christian nation, when even a cursory reading of the Constitution and the biographies of most of the founding fathers of the country will reveal that to be a bald-faced lie.
-the demand for perfect conformity and 'purity' in society'
The Nazis infamously sought to purge Germany of all non-Aryans and all others who did not buy into the NSDAP's philosophy. Similarly, the Christian Right obsessively seeks to eliminate the 'influence' of those who do not agree with their narrow, literalist interpretation of the Bible. This means reshaping the country's power structure by filling all three branches of government with like-minded people who will help them remove the wall between Church and State, and then turn over all public institutions to the control of their own fundamentalist church, and outright eradicating those that do not fit into their plan. In other words, all education, social programs, healthcare, etc. would operate under the jurisdiction of Christian Conservatives, who would be able to refuse to help anyone who did not conform to their world view.
-a worldview devoid of nuance in which the individual is devalued
Just as with the European Fascists, the Christian Right embraces an 'us versus them' mentality. In other words, those who are 'saved' according to the narrow, literalist Biblical interpretation that Dominionists follow are universally good and righteous, while anyone who doesn't fall within this category is ungodly. Jews, Muslims, Catholics, 'nominal' Christians, atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Buddhists, and anyone else who is not a Christian fundamentalist and does not accept conversion [historically such conversions often come at gunpoint] deserves to be rejected from society and ultimately cast into the Inferno. No value is given in either movement to a person's individuality. One's entire value as a human being is determined by their compliance or non-compliance with the fundamentialist doctrine.
The one big difference between the European Fascist movements and the Christian Right is the way they viewed violence. The European movements used violence as a means to achieving power - they used force to put down and intimidate opposition until it was either eradicated or beaten into submission. The Dominionists, on the other hand, see violence as an end. Their final goal is the Rapture, as described in the Book of Revelations, which they hold sacred and canonical, even though most mainstream theologians consider it apocryphal. By their interpretation of this scripture, anyone they bring into their fold will be Raptured into heaven, while everyone else will stay behind and suffer The Tribulation and Armageddon. In other words, only after they attain power will come the horrific violence that the Nazis used.
But ultimately, both movements are rampantly anti-democratic and a grave threat to the free and open society. | <urn:uuid:3004a2a3-80b2-4f87-97bc-07c14f5cd61b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fullmetal-alchemist.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t11756.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954379 | 1,092 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Remember those games when you were younger (they also have them at bars)where you would test your observation skills by picking out the 10 differences between two similar pictures. Here’s a simple example.
Let’s try another. Open these two browsers by clicking (right-click, open new tab or window) here and here. If that’s too much work, I’ll tell you the difference. Carol Browner, Obama’s new Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, used to be listed as a member of the Commission for a Sustainable World Society for Socialist International. That’s right, Socialist International. As of today, however, her bio was taken off the site.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence and maybe she didn’t have time to be a commission member of a socialist organization now that she’s an energy czar. Or maybe it’s similar to the Commissar Vanishes where
Photographs can lie. They certainly do in the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953, the years of Joseph Stalin’s dictatorial rule. Stalin’s agents routinely arrest and kill as “enemies of the people” anyone who disagrees with his politics. Communist Party workers then try to remove any trace of these people from the photographic archives, and so from the media.”
Here’s an example of said Commissar Vanishing. As I mentioned with Browner, maybe it’s just coincidence or maybe there’s a reason why she’s no longer a part of the commission, but it’s interesting and I’m curious nonetheless.
Thus far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with some of Obama’s nominations but his energy picks have been dreadful. As my colleague Ben Lieberman points out,
How does $8-a-gallon gas sound? Few Americans would want to see that happen. Unfortunately, President-elect Barack Obama’s choices for the government’s two highest energy posts have expressed a surprising level of comfort with sky-high gas prices. Sen. Ken Salazar, Colorado Democrat and Mr. Obama’s nominee for interior secretary, was on record as opposing lifting the offshore moratorium even if gasoline were to reach $10 a gallon. Energy Secretary-nominee Steven Chu. Last September, he told the Wall Street Journal that ‘somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.’”
Mix them in a pot with a socialist energy czar and what do you get? Four frightening years of bad energy policy. The energy bills passed in 2005 and 2007 during the Bush administration weren’t any good, either, but with these three steering the ship, we could reach uncharted waters. | <urn:uuid:37796ee5-e8bb-438f-b62d-daa442fcaa19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.heritage.org/2009/01/07/our-socialist-energy-czar/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956106 | 586 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The Art of War in the East ― Masterwordsmith
AUG 13 ― Sun Tzu is famous for his strategic philosophy whereby he advocates attacking the opposing side’s weaknesses.
“Now an army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoid the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.” ~Sun Tzu
In times of competition, key players may appear to be invincible and their enemies may even fail to discern inherent weaknesses. To counter such scenarios, one must discover ways whereby those strengths can be turned into weaknesses.
And that is exactly what we see in Sabah.
For a long time, Sabah had been considered a fixed deposit for the status quo to deliver the seats for it to form the ruling coalition. As such, decades of governance over this state gave them seemingly unassailable invincibility. Hence, Anwar had to find an approach that would work. While the Pakatanization of West Malaysia has borne some success, the real battle is in the East.
Fully aware of the discontent of Sabahans, Anwar went on his “campaign to offer Pakatan as the escape hatch for the grouses and concerns of Sabahans.
So now, Anwar is on the silent assault to win Sabahans to be on the road to Putrajaya. Whether he will reach his destination remains to be seen.
1. To that end, he has to politically socialize Sabahans and wrest support from them without destroying the delicate social fabric of the state.
“Generally in war, the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this....For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” ~Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu calls this the need to “win-all-without-fighting”. To survive and prosper, PR has to capture the heart and spirit of Sabahans ― to offer them the alternative or the escape hatch from all that they have been suffering.
Looking at the development of events, it is clear that Anwar has learnt from his September 16 debacle. Rather than making a blanket overconfident statement, he is now using a subtle, indirect, and low-key approach that appears harmless so as not to trigger BN into an onslaught. So we do not hear or see an en bloc exodus but one that comes little by little. The question at the tip of our tongues is - who is next?
2) Clearly, Anwar is avoiding the strength of BN (election machinery, resources etc) and capitalizing on their weaknesses instead.
“An army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.” ~Sun Tzu
Older, wiser and maybe more tired, we do not see Anwar or Pakatan leaders launching head-on, direct attacks against their nemesis like in the past. But they are capitalising on the thorn in the side of Sabahans which is their opponents’ weaknesses. In this way, it is likely PR can maximize their gains with little use of resources. Whether or not this can pay dividends remains to be seen. Hence, I believe no one must take things for granted or foolishly assume that things are turning for the better for PR.
3) The time has come for PR to talk less, think more and skilfully maximise their intelligence to achieve their agenda.
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril” ~Sun Tzu
Realistically, for any major battle/competition, one needs to discover the weaknesses of the enemy and even a deep understanding of their strategy, capabilities, thoughts and desires. At the same time, PR needs a time of consolidation to reassess and know their own strengths and weaknesses. With a realistic assessment of the battle “terrain”, PR can prevent the enemy from working against them. Unfortunately, history shows that PR leaders talk a lot, tell all they want to do ― thereby giving their enemy time and ground to plan and strategize against them. Hence, as a preventive measure, it is critical for PR to SHUT UP, hide their plans and keep them secret.
4) Seize the day speedily and be prepared
“To rely on rustics and not prepare is the greatest of crimes; to be prepared beforehand for any contingency is the greatest of virtues.” ~Sun Tzu
In any battle situation, it is essential that one must exploit foresight and even deception that we can act with blinding speed. That is not to say that things are done hastily. Rather, ensure preparation and cut down on processes eg in decision making or even public relations exercise. The ultimate goal is to win the support of the Sabahans. For that, they need to empathise and to deal with skeletons in the closet.
5) With unity, comes power.
“Therefore, those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.” ~Sun Tzu
Instead of being the underdogs, it is time PR changes or redefines the rules of contest that these can be in line with their agenda and this can be achieved via alliances so as to be able to call the shots in the game.
6) Effective leadership is vital!
“When one treats people with benevolence, justice and righteousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders.” ~Sun Tzu
In “The Art of War”, Sun Tzu argues that only a special kind of leader can implement these strategic concepts to bring out the best in people. Leadership qualities needed are wisdom, sincerity, courageousness, strictness and the ability to be human. Selflessness in putting the needs of others behind those of the majority will elicit the best results.
Before PR supporters go on a victory dance even before the battle has begun, we have to ask ourselves ― can PR leaders do that? To put the needs of Sabahans FIRST before their need for dominance and power? If they can, that will pave the way to Putrajaya. If not, we can start buying boxes of tissues, be in mourning and after which we have to start planning for GE 14.
The Malaysian Insider reported that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim suggested today that the government had deliberately refused to have the Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probe those responsible for the alleged “citizenships-for-votes” deal with foreigners in order to protect certain personalities. He went on to say that “the entire RCI was flawed as its terms were lacking details and do not include identifying those responsible or recommending punishment on them.”
Well, it is up to Anwar and Pakatan to tell Sabahans their blue print of action as creatively and as convincingly. If they can leverage on all the weaknesses of the other side as spelled out in this article, I believe a better Malaysia awaits all Malaysians. Creative strategies when used correctly are the keys to lasting success. So, it is really up to PR to play the game correctly. If not, their dreams will go up in smoke and BN will be in power again.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. | <urn:uuid:ab7e0d2a-42f6-4460-b403-f7473a87c807> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/mobile/sideviews/article/the-art-of-war-in-the-east-masterwordsmith/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961875 | 1,576 | 1.835938 | 2 |
When Granny leaves her umbrella behind, Mum asks Milo to take it to her. Along the way, Milo encounters pirates, dinosaurs and aliens as he is swept into a rather unexpected and truly amazing adventure...
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Full colour, action and comedy, this exciting story invites children to anticipate events and join in with repetitions. - Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times Year's Best Children's Books
A fun and exciting good news/bad news book in its own right - The Bookbag
The perfect fusing of words and pictures will captivate and lead a young reader through this wonderful drama. - Carousel Magazine
A riveting and cleverly constructed tale. Foreman's distinctive illustrations invite the reader's exploration and tell as much or more of the story as do the words. - Books for Keeps
A great story to share with children and then share again. - Armadillo Magazine
Voted by the Evening Standard as one of the best Christmas books for younger children. - Evening Standard
Another exuberant book from the multi-talented Michael Foreman. - The School Librarian
A very clever, creative funny and beautifully illustrated book. - EYE
A young chimp's adventuresome delivery of an umbrella to his grandma's house . . . all depicted with luminous watercolours in big, comical scenes. - Kirkus Magazine
Michael Foreman effortlessly blends the everyday and surreal on each page - and the clever storytelling technique is begging to be imitated in class. - Teach Primary
Vibrantly illustrated, you just wonder what weird scrape he can possibly get into on the next page! Great fun. - Parents In Touch
By this author
About the Author
Michael Foreman is one of the most talented and popular creators of children's books today. His highly acclaimed books are published all over the world. He is married and has three sons. He divides his time between St Ives in Cornwall and London. | <urn:uuid:8b3649e1-217d-4cb6-9403-1c19103951c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/9781849392242 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935668 | 433 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Plus a humongous combination wrench (1 1/2" or maybe even 2"), found near the C + O Canal in MD, which I carried for over a mile, knowing I would give it to the maintenance guys at Fort Frederick State Park. Turns out it actually belonged to one of the guys.
Anyway, here's an offbeat story in this general topic, courtesy of my brother out in northern CA:
A kind driver whose money fell to the ground while trying to donate it to a panhandler will not face a $344 littering citation. A Cleveland prosecutor decided that "Cash is Not Trash." This decision will be good news to all those who like money, or who value the giving and receiving of charitable donations. It also is heartening to see that common sense still has a place in the legal system.
Many communities, including Eureka and Arcata, California, are discussing or have enacted local ordinances to limit panhandling and to restrict the "Occupy" movement. Panhandling and "Occupy" are not the same, obviously, but both tend to ignite class conflict in the USA today. By now, we all have heard of the 1% versus the 99%. However, it seems unwise to use the legal system against lower socio-economic classes.
For a few citizens, cash is like trash, as in the phrase "disposable" income. But, for many Americans, "Cash is Not Trash," especially when you don't enough money for food, housing, clothes, and medical care. The courts are unlikely to sort out this discrepancy. | <urn:uuid:06a06d7c-1735-4709-9c11-d5a192866bee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2012/08/cash-is-not-trash.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967467 | 326 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Lessons from South Africa: a Duke event
Prof. Dugard is a personal friend of ours and comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge- Duke is lucky to have him this year, though few people are aware of it. He was also the predessor of Richard Falk, having authored a number of excellent reports on the situation in the OPT-and is credited with coinign the oft-quoted phrase "Gaza is a prison and Israel seems to have thrown away the key". I encourage those residing in the Triangle area to come to this event!
People-to-People Foreign Policy: Lessons from South Africa-and their Relevance to the Struggle for Palestinian Self-Determination
An Open Public Discussion led by Professor John Dugard
John Dugard is one of the world's leading experts on international law and international human rights law. South African by birth, he was a vocal critic of the Apartheid regime. He has since gone on to play an influential role in a variety of human rights causes. He has twice served as a Judge Ad Hoc for the International Court of Justice. From 2001 to 2007 he was UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories. He will help lead a public discussion about how pressure from everyday people and civil society impacted the struggle against Apartheid, and what these tactics of protest can do for the struggle for Palestinian self-determination. Tuesday March 317 p.m. Rm. 107 Friedl Bldg.124 Campus DriveDurham, NC 27701. | <urn:uuid:048ec601-76f7-4054-9492-51aae02038fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/2009/03/lessons-from-south-africa-duke-event.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965089 | 306 | 1.5 | 2 |
But she was glad, afterward, that they did ask Mrs. Mason. That careful lady telephoned the committee of her club having the censorship of picture plays in charge, and obtained its report upon “A Rural Beauty.” Then she sent Walter to the playhouse to buy a block of seats for that evening, and over the telephone a dozen other boys and girls—friends of Grace and Walter—were invited to join the party.
They had a fine time, although the chums from Tillbury had not an opportunity of meeting all of the invited guests before the show.
“But they are all going home with us for supper—just like a grown-up theatre party,” confided Grace to Nan and Bess.
“Pearl Graves telephoned that she would be a little late and would have to bring her cousin with her. Mother told her to come along, cousin and all, of course.”
Nan and Bess, with a couple of friends of the Masons’ whom they had already met, sat in the front row of the block of seats reserved for the party, and did not see the others when they entered the darkened house.
Several short reels were run off before the first scene of “A Rural Beauty” was shown. It was a very amusing picture, being full of country types and characters, with a sweet little love story that pleased the girls, and some quite adventurous happenings that made a hit with Walter, as he admitted.
Sallie Morton and Celia Snubbins were in the picture and the chums easily picked the runaways out on the screen. Sallie was a pretty girl, despite the fault her father had pointed out—that she was long-limbed. Nan and Bess knew Celia Snubbins because she did look like her father.
The two girls had been used in the comedy scene of “A Rural Beauty” as contrasts to the leading lady in the play, who was made up most strikingly as the beautiful milkmaid who captured the honest young farmer in the end.
There was a buzz of excitement among the Masons and those of their friends who had heard about the runaways over the appearance of Sallie and Celia when they came on the screen. As the party reached the lobby after the end of the last reel, Walter expressed his opinion emphatically regarding the runaway girls.
“I declare! I think those two girls awfully foolish to run away from home if they couldn’t do anything more in a picture than they did in that one.”
Nan was about to make some rejoinder, for Walter was walking beside her, when somebody said, back of them:
“Why, you must know those girls ahead. They go to Lakeview Hall with Gracie Mason.”
“Goodness! they are not staying with Grace and Walter, are they?” demanded a shrill and well remembered voice. “Why, I saw Nan Sherwood in trouble in one of the big stores the other day, for taking something from one of the counters.”
Nan turned, horrified. The speaker was Linda Riggs. | <urn:uuid:3ccacc86-2ade-4d99-81d1-21ec36267d3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/12610/54.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986259 | 664 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Also worth pointing out that the last three US Presidents have admitted to recreational drug use. And all three have - with some variations - continued to enforce prohibition and dedicated vast resources to prosecuting drug offenses.
Which raises the question, do presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama ever sit there thinking, “Well, my life turned out reasonably well. I have a great family. Wonderful children. I’ve made a lot of money. I am/was President of the United States. For better or worse, I’ll be in a lot of history books. But you know what would have made my life waaaay better? A youthful drug arrest and conviction! Think of the awesome things I could have done if only the criminal justice system had set me on the right track when I was still an impressionable youngster…”
David Boaz has asked the same question less snarkily: “Do they think that they would have been better off if they had been arrested and incarcerated for their youthful drug use? Do they think the country would have been better off if they had been arrested and incarcerated? If not, how do they justify punishing others?”
From “the times they are a changin’” files …
Given all the recent controversial claims hurled at or fantasized about Barack Obama—that he’s a socialist, or wasn’t born in the US, or that he wants the federal government to kill your grandmother—it is perhaps worth a moment’s notice that neither his self-admitted youthful marijuana or cocaine use has been controversial in the least.
I’m not saying they should be. I’m just saying that it’s interesting that they haven’t been. | <urn:uuid:3d1256df-8ffb-49fc-b39d-adb00f657d95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ilyagerner.tumblr.com/post/5014510367/some-things-change-some-dont | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975353 | 361 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Sandy's Effects Linger Nearly A Week After Storm
Originally published on Sun November 4, 2012 4:26 pm
Here's what's happening today in the New York-New Jersey area, nearly a week after Superstorm Sandy devastated the region:
-- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said tens of thousands of people whose houses were damaged by the storm will need other places to live because of the falling temperatures.
-- The Associated Press is reporting on the impact of Sandy on the region's elderly population. "Some say life experiences temper their ability to cope with the destruction, while others note that the stress of no electricity, displacement from their homes and upheaval from routines is taking a toll," the AP says.
-- The New York Marathon may have been canceled, but as NPR's Scott Montgomery reports, many of those due to run in the marathon are instead running for storm relief.
Update at 3:44 p.m. EDT Elections
New Jersey is adjusting its election rules to accommodate voters affected by Sandy. WNYC's Anna Sale reports that some voters will be allowed to cast ballots by email.
Here's her report:
"The measure is aimed at displaced voters and first responders who have had to leave their counties – or even the state. They can apply for a ballot by emailing their local county clerks office, but it's not as simple as clicking their choices and sending it back. Voters have to print the ballot and then fax it or scan it back.
The state also announced that displaced voters who can't make it to their home polling places can cast a provisional ballot anywhere in the state.
Any New Jersey voter can vote early through Monday, after the state ordered county clerks and local election offices to stay open through the weekend.
Election officials are continuing to assess how many polling places will have to be moved because of power outages or structural damage. In some cases, voters may have to cast ballots tents erected for the day."
NPR's Allison Keyes is reporting for our Newscast Unit that New York City officials are saying that tens of thousands will need housing in the wake of the storm, some for the long term.
"People don't like to leave their homes but the reality is going to be in the temperature," Cuomo said.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will have to find housing for between 30,000 and 40,000 people. He also urged those without heat to move to warming shelters opened by the city.
"Please, I know sometimes people are reticent to take advantage of services. The cold really is something that is dangerous," he said.
Here's more from the AP about Sandy's impact:
"Though New York and New Jersey bore the brunt of the destruction, at its peak, the storm reached 1,000 miles across, killed more than 100 people in 10 states, knocked out power to 8.5 million homes and businesses and canceled nearly 20,000 flights. Damage has been estimated $50 billion, making Sandy the second most expensive storm in U.S. history, behind Hurricane Katrina.
More than 900,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey were still without electricity."
NPR's Martin Kaste reported a 1.5-mile line at the one gas station in Bayonne, N.K., that still had gas. The wait was as long as six hours, he said.
"The line is traffic," he said. "It is the only real traffic on that street." | <urn:uuid:83dddfb4-c4e1-4a7f-98bb-974b2e792485> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weku.fm/post/sandys-effects-linger-nearly-week-after-storm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976918 | 711 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Impact of Wisconsin smoking ban on businesses hazy
July 5, 2012
by Jennifer Reinke
It’s been two years since people could legally smoke in public places and workplaces in Wisconsin. Today, the smoking ban’s impact on business at bars and restaurants is varied.
The law’s strongest opposition came from the state Tavern League, which feared decreased revenues for its members. At the Wilson Club, 1008 W. Center St., and T’s Inn, 1979 S. 15th St., the League’s concerns have come true. Other local bars and restaurants have seen no changes, and some report business has improved.
T’s Inn manager and bartender Patzy Piotrowski and Wilson Club owner Kitty Wilson both said their customer traffic has decreased by 50 percent. They put half the blame on a struggling economy and half on the smoking ban.
“It’s hurt the bar. There’s less people coming in because of the ban,” said Piotrowski. Since the ban came into effect, the bar has cut late night hours and is closed Mondays. “Customers stay home now. They just don’t want to deal with it,” she said.
Piotrowski was especially concerned for women because men try to pick them up when they stand outside to smoke. “It’s unfair to the ladies and very unsafe,” she said.
Wilson estimated that 95 percent of her customers like to smoke when they drink. Now, she said, “They don’t come.” If she could afford to install an outside smoking area on her property, she would. But, she said, “I used to make a living in this business and now I’m looking for a job. The little money I make I put into liquor, energy, security.”
Wilson said she wants the bar, which was started by her father-in-law more than 70 years ago, to remain open. “I’m trying to stay here because I’ve been here forever. People have been coming for 40 years. This is like a home base for them,” she said.
Other bars reported no impact, and even increased revenues after the ban went into effect.
“I really ain’t seen any change,” said Janine Hegwood, a bartender at Geno’s Bar & Grill, 3910 W. Fond du Lac Ave. “At first [customers were] kind of mad but they got used to it ‘cause they couldn’t go nowhere else and smoke,” she said.
Business has improved at bar and restaurant Conejito’s Place, 539 W. Virginia St., since the ban.
“Some people used to walk out because it was so smoky,” said manager Janie Gonzalez. “Especially families didn’t like coming here. Now, more families come,” she said.
Gonzalez said that the increase in business might also be due to increased media attention after founder Jose “Conejito” Garza died in October 2010.
Jessica Casarez, manager and bartender at La Perla, 734 S. Fifth St., was a bartender at Club Desperados, 828 S. First St., when the ban went into effect. She said she didn’t notice any change in business. “The bar still got full. People just went outside,” she said.
Once a smoker herself, Casarez said, “I like [the ban]. I wish they would have done that a long time ago.” She mentioned that a long-time, daily customer at La Perla is now a lung cancer survivor, despite being a non-smoker. “I think [the ban] is best because the people who aren’t smoking aren’t getting affected by this anymore,” she said.
Customers are able to smoke at the far end of La Perla’s patio, but if it’s too crowded, no smoking is allowed, said Casarez.
Other restaurant and beverage businesses such as Ashley’s Bar-B-Que, 1501 W. Center St., and Coffee Makes You Black, 2803 N. Teutonia Ave., weren’t impacted by the ban because they never allowed smoking in the first place.
Mohammad A. Patel, owner of Pakistani restaurant Anmol, 711 W. Historic Mitchell St., said he didn’t allow smoking and supports the ban. He said that the purpose of the ban to improve public health is in line with his mission to provide customers with healthy food.
Protecting the health and economy of her community is why Tinelia Rivera, tobacco program coordinator at UMOS (United Migrant Opportunity Services), worked on the smoking ban for more than 10 years before it was passed.
“Our goal is to keep families safe and healthy,” Rivera said. “It’s affecting them financially as well as health-wise,” she said.
Before the ban was implemented, the Wisconsin Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Prevention Network that Rivera coordinates met with a group of Latino small business owners at restaurant Trés Hermanos, 1332 W. Lincoln Ave. Ninety percent of those present were in support of the ban.
To the other 10 percent, she said, “We tried to tell ‘em we’re doing it for your workers, kids, families.”
Trés Hermanos’ owner decided to go smoke-free before the law required it. He “came behind us and enforced what we taught,” said Rivera. | <urn:uuid:06c33806-6b70-48a5-95ac-c9c62099bb34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.milwaukeenns.org/2012/07/05/impact-of-wisconsin-smoking-ban-on-businesses-hazy/?cat=231 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971314 | 1,210 | 1.710938 | 2 |
This weekend, we were featured on News1130 Radio in Vancouver and in the Calgary Herald newspaper.
To listen to one of the clips from News1130 Radio, click here.
Our tips for the Calgary Herald article were for families who have new grads moving back home this summer. The key tips from the article are:
- Establish ground rules prior to move-in. It may sound harsh, but some families find a contract can help formalize rules and keep everyone on the same page.
- How will the kids contribute? They may not be able to afford market-value rent, but grown children should help offset the extra expenses they create (more money spent on food, higher phone bill, greater water consumption, etc.). Give them the heads up on what’s expected beforehand.
- Don’t make living at home a dream come true. A university grad is capable of painting their room, doing their laundry and making their lunch. – Set a deadline for them to leave. Setting a timeline keeps everyone focused on the fact that eventually the young adult needs to become independent.
- Stay calm. Planning the details of your kid’s return home can be stressful. Take some deep breaths and work on developing new communication techniques — they’ll come in handy.
You can read the whole article here.
We were quoted in an article about adult children living at home in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
“The communication part is so important,” says Christina Newberry, 31, of Vancouver, British Columbia, whose Web site, www.adultchildrenlivingathome.com, markets a $27.97 contract for parents and children that lists the ground rules in advance.
“Conversations are helpful, but it can be really difficult when you’re having a fight to remember exactly what you agreed to do or not do,” said Ms. Newberry. “Agreeing on the rules ahead of time is a really helpful way to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
We posted a new article on our site today, all about how you can plan ahead to make sure your new grad’s return to the nest is a smooth one. Here are some tips from the article:
- Establish ground rules now: Some families with adult children living at home find a contract can help formalize the rules and keep everyone on the same page.
- Decide ahead of time how they will contribute: They may not be able to afford market-value rent, but adult children living at home should help make a dent in the extra expenses they create (extra gas, higher phone bill, etc.). Make sure this is clear before they start packing up the dorm.
- Don’t help too much: A college grad is capable of painting their room and planning their own move. Don’t take care of all the details or you’ll find yourself doing laundry and making lunches once they’re home.
- Set a deadline for them to leave: Though it may sound harsh, setting a time limit ahead of time helps keep everyone focused on the fact that eventually the new grad needs to establish their independence.
- Above all: Stay calm! Planning the details of your new grad’s return to the nest can be stressful, but anger isn’t helpful. Try a time out, or work on developing new communication techniques – they’ll come in handy once you’re all sharing a home.
You can read the rest of the article here.
With unemployment rising sharply just as this year’s class of graduates is coming to the end of their education, people are starting to wonder just what will happen to the class of 2009.
The young graduates themselves seem terrified, with a huge portion of them planning to move home because there’s no other way they can see themselves making rent.
Here are some thoughts from college seniors from a recent article at NewsDaily.com:
“You’re graduating into this world and being thrown out of the college bubble and you’re supposed to be able to get a job, which just doesn’t exist.
“Most people I know my age still live at home because they can’t even get it together to make enough money to pay rent. Each class piles up against the ones before it. I know so many people who are looking for jobs, and have been since they graduated. There’s this sense of ‘No hope.’”
– Andrew Heber, 24, class of 2007
“People are saying this is the worst year to graduate, ever.”
– Amanda Haimes, 22, class of 2009
If you have an adult child who is set to graduate this Spring, now’s the time to start the conversation about future living arrangements. Some new graduates may assume they’re moving home to live with Mom and Dad, even if they haven’t let you in on the plan. Talk to them now about what their plans are, and what your expectations are if they do return to the nest.
For families with adult children living at home, space can often be a concern. Adults simply need more personal space than children do, and the needs of several adults living in one home can clash.
For some families, space is an issue long after the adult children finally move out — because they leave so much of their stuff behind at Mom and Dad’s.
There’s Louise Hill, for example, who at 91 is still storing a garage full of stuff belonging to her 65-year-old son.
You can read more about Louise, and other families squeezed out by their adult kids’ stuff, in this article from The Floria Times-Union.
When establishing a timeline for your adult children to leave home, don’t leave yourself responsible for taking care of their stuff for the rest of your life. For your adult child to reach true independence, they must not only move out of your house themselves, they must take their belongings with them.
It may not be possible for adult kids to take all of their cherished possessions with them when they first manage to find an apartment or have roommates, and there’s nothing wrong with keeping their stuff around if it helps them out and you have the space. But if you want to downsize, or turn your child’s old bedroom into a den, it’s time to get firm on a “stuff-removal” timeline. You may want to put this step into the timeline you create that establishes milestones for your adult child’s stay at home and their transition to a place of their own.
You can learn how to create a timeline for helping adult children establish independence at www.adultchildrenlivingathome.com
In a recent article from EnterpriseNews.com, Helen DeVries, director of the doctorate psychology program at Wheaton College offered the following advice for families with adult children moving home:
To make it work and ensure things stay amicable rather than resentful, you have to frame it more like you’re cohabiting with roommates. In that scenario, there’s a splitting of chores and errands. It’s easy to slip back into the routine you had pre-college, but you have to try to make it more collegial than hierarchical. Parents need to say ‘We’re delighted we’re able to help you, but you’ll be expected to cook one night a week or do all of the ironing or give us X amount of dollars for the cable bill.
One of the families profiled in the article used a contract to set the terms with their adult child — and everyone seems pleased with the results. You can learn more about how to create a contract for adult children living at home here. | <urn:uuid:ede4c226-3709-4d7f-843b-dbaa40423454> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://adultchildrenlivingathome.com/blog/category/planning/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948484 | 1,645 | 1.695313 | 2 |
As the supercommittee continues to meet in public and in private, policymakers in the administration and Congress continue to weigh in. To help people with Medicare and others understand President Obama’s proposal to the supercommittee, which was released last week, Medicare Rights Center has developed a fact sheet that examines the positive and negative implications of different elements of the plan.
Congressional offices have also begun to promote their own ideas, some of which specifically target Medicare. Senator Joseph Lieberman and Senator Thomas Coburn continue to promote a plan they introduced in June that would cut Medicare by more than $500 billion, largely by shifting costs to beneficiaries and limiting access to care. In response to the Lieberman-Coburn plan, Medicare Rights Center President Joe Baker stated, “Proposals that shift costs to Medicare beneficiaries to save the federal government money, such as the one released today by Senator Lieberman and Senator Coburn, will do exactly what they are expected to do—cause people with Medicare, especially the half who have incomes under $22,000 a year, to avoid going to the doctor and seeking other necessary health care because they cannot afford to do so.”
Polls demonstrate that Americans, regardless of political affiliation, largely oppose cuts to Medicare and Social Security and favor reducing the deficit through increased revenues over cuts to the programs. A recent national poll sponsored by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare and Lake Research Partners found that 70 percent of poll participants opposed cutting Medicare and Social Security and 79 percent said that they would rather raise taxes on the wealthy than cut Medicare and Social Security to reduce the deficit.
Read Medicare Rights Center’s fact sheet “Deficit Reduction and Medicare: President Obama’s Plan.”
Read Medicare Rights Center President Joe Baker’s full statement on the Lieberman-Coburn proposal.
Read the results of the poll sponsored by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare.
Proposals to Change Medigap Would Affect Most Medigap Policy Holders
The majority of people with Medigap insurance are in plans affected by deficit-reduction proposals that would limit initial Medigap coverage or require people to pay more for those plans, according to an issue brief released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Medigap plans are supplemental insurance sold by private insurance companies to help cover the comparatively high out-of-pocket costs in Medicare.
Medigap has become a target of deficit reduction because some studies have found that most, but not all, Medicare beneficiaries with Medigap policies use more services than those without any supplemental coverage. Some proposals to alter Medigap would eliminate first-dollar coverage offered under plans—essentially creating Medigap deductibles—and limit coverage after the deductible is met. Other proposals impose excise taxes on insurers who offer Medigap plans or, in the case of President Obama’s plan, recommend creating a 30 percent surcharge on Part B premiums beginning in 2017 for new beneficiaries who choose Medigap policies that include first-dollar coverage.
According to the brief, 59 percent of people with Medigap are in plans that offer first-dollar coverage. All deficit-reduction proposals would have the greatest impact on states with the highest Medigap enrollment, which are also states that have the highest number of people in plans that provide first-dollar coverage. For example, in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, more than one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in plans that offer first-dollar coverage. Proposals that would create a tax or surcharge for plans that offer first-dollar coverage would disproportionately affect states whose premiums are already highest for those plans, including New York, New Jersey, Louisiana and Texas.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners sent a letter last week to the supercommittee outlining its concerns about proposals that would affect Medigap. The letter not only discussed the legal obstacles of revoking coverage for affected people who are currently in Medigap plans, but also discussed implications for future beneficiaries—more specifically, that requiring people to pay more for care may prevent them from receiving necessary care.
Read the Kaiser Family Foundation’s issue brief “Medigap Reform: Setting the Context.”
Read the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ letter to the chairs of the supercommittee.
If you have supplemental insurance for Original Medicare, also known as a Medigap, the cost of your policy depends on the type of Medigap plan you choose and the company you buy it from.
When you have chosen the plan you want from the standardized Medigap plans, it pays to shop around. Plans with the same letter name offer the same benefits, but the premiums vary from company to company. For example: Plan A bought from insurance company 1 has the same benefits as Plan A bought from insurance company 2, but insurance company 1 and insurance company 2 charge different rates.
When choosing a Medigap, ask what factors the Medigap company uses to set your premium. The following factors may affect the cost of your Medigap:
- Where you live
- Your age
- Your health status
- Your gender
- If you smoke
- If you are married
Learn more about Medigap costs at www.medicareinteractive.org.
As the start of Medicare enrollment season on October 15 fast approaches, the Medicare Rights Center has developed a Fall Open Enrollment resource. Written for journalists but useful for anyone with an interest in Medicare, including beneficiaries, caregivers and professionals, the resource outlines key resources, tried-and-true advice for beneficiaries and Medicare changes in 2012.
Read the Fall Open Enrollment resource. | <urn:uuid:4c52d4c4-9b86-42e5-b3c1-feb5742b6716> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://medicarerights.org/issues-actions/medicare-watch-archive/2011-36.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942036 | 1,166 | 1.664063 | 2 |
For more than a year, CUNA Mutual Group's Ann Davidson has been preaching to credit union card issuers the need to migrate from magnetic stripe to chip technology to prevent fraud and remain competitive.
While some are heeding her advice, others are not.
The magnetic stripe has been around since the 1960s and is going the way of the dinosaur worldwide, says Davidson, a senior risk management consultant. However, the U.S. is the last country in the world to convert to chip technology across its payment structure.
“That continues to make us vulnerable to magnetic stripe fraud, including ‘card present counterfeit’ schemes such as point-of-sale skimming, data breaches, and devices on ATMs,” Davidson says.
The Secret Service reports magnetic stripe fraud cases have risen 10% over the past three years. In addition, Nilson Report research indicates U.S. card fraud losses are more than double the global fraud losses--$0.09 compared to $0.045 for every $100 in transactions.
Mitigating fraud risk
Migrating to chip technology combats card-present magnetic stripe fraud.
“By having chip technology as an additional payment option, credit unions will likely experience a significant decrease in counterfeit magnetic stripe fraud—provided their cardholders use the chip capability on the card,” Davidson says.
Chip-and-pin technology is much safer than mag-stripe, Davidson says, because authentication employs unique data for each transaction, which enhances security. The contactless chip field also supports mobile near field communication chip transactions.
“Remember, during the migration to chip, cards will maintain the magnetic stripe,” she says. “It will be important to have ongoing education to cardholders to teach them to not swipe their cards and instead use the new chip technology.”
After switching to chip technology, Canada’s annual debit card fraud dropped from $142 million in 2009 to $70 million in 2011, she says.
Changing industry standards
Other forces are also pressuring card issuers to make the switch.
Visa announced plans to accelerate migration to EMV chip technology in the U.S. Similarly, MasterCard announced all ATM transactions occurring in the U.S. will need to be compliant with EMV standards to avoid having issuers accept fraud liabilities.
“Likewise, if the acquiring financial institutions’ merchant entities do not support chip transactions, they may be financially liable for magnetic stripe fraud,” Davidson says.
Visa’s liability shift to the acquirer/merchant is Oct. 1, 2015 (Oct. 1, 2017 for fuel merchants).
MasterCard’s liability shift to the ATM owner/acquirers for Maestro transactions is April 2013. And, in October 2016, all fraud liability will shift to ATM owners/acquirers.
“When merchants become responsible for fraud losses, many may no longer accept magnetic stripe transactions,” Davidson says. “If you’re not offering chip technology, your members’ cards may not be accepted, which will create PR and member service issues and put your credit union at a competitive disadvantage.”
U.S. cardholders are already finding it increasingly difficult to use their magnetic stripe cards in foreign countries.
The bottom line
Davidson praises credit unions switching to chip technology, but cautions that even this new technology is not flawless.
Reports from the United Kingdom indicate it’s critical to make sure the personal identification number is unpredictable (random) and not set up as a potential predictable number easily solved by criminals.
The bottom line, Davidson says, is simple.
“If you’re last in line to deliver chip technology, you may end up first in line for fraud,” she says.
Davidson addressed CUNA Mutual Group’s third-annual Online Discovery Conference. | <urn:uuid:b3dbdd48-bcb4-477b-9def-30f6c6af1c09> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.creditunionmagazine.com/articles/print/38038 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937862 | 805 | 1.734375 | 2 |
- Life Style
Reda Mohamed Nassif, a farmer from Madinat al-Sadat, was a victim of land reclamation and rural violence during the Hosni Mubarak era. He was also one of the farmers who protested in front of the Interior Ministry on 27 August to ask for their rights in defending their lands.
These farmers plan to gather for another strike until President Mohamed Morsy listens to their demands.
Nassif spoke with Egypt Independent about farmers’ circumstances and what he calls “the new feudalism.”
Egypt Independent: Generally speaking, what are the main problems that face small farmers nowadays?
Reda Mohamed Nassif: Farmers nowadays aren’t just treated as second-class citizens. I think they are treated as 10th class citizens who don’t have any rights to complain or to protect their lands. We are facing a lot of problems but the biggest one of them is discrimination.
The government sells desert and agriculture lands to the businessmen and the companies while refusing to sell or rent them to the small farmers. Pesticides and fertilizers are one of the main problems, because the agricultural committee provides peasants with very small amounts that don’t cover the annual requirements of half an acre. Most of these fertilizers and pesticides go to rich businessmen’s lands and we resort to the black markets, which sell fake ones at very expensive prices.
As for distributing our crops, this is another disaster. There is no demand for small farmers’ crops because the large agricultural companies monopolize the local market and the export markets. They determine the prices as they like.
When international companies decide to import fruits and vegetables from Egypt, they don’t go to small farmers but to the big, well-known companies. The farmers don’t find any outlets for selling their crops and face huge losses.
Most of these small farmers depend mainly on loans from the Agricultural Development Bank to help them buy seeds and build irrigation systems. Unfortunately, they are sent to prisons when they can’t repay the loans. Therefore, most farmers decided to abandon agriculture and sell their lands, and started working in shops and factories.
EI: Why did you protest in front of the ministry and what are your complaints?
Nassif: We have been complaining and protesting for more than six years, but no one listens to us and nobody cares. We are a group of small farmers who decided to get out of our villages and go to reclaim the desert, searching for a new source of livelihood for our families.
We started reclaiming some pieces of land in Madinat al-Sadat, on the Alexandria-Cairo Desert Road. We began to cultivate this land in 2007 and spent every pound we had on digging wells, building infrastructure and buying irrigation networks and pumps.
After turning this [uncultivated land] into one of the most fertile agriculture lands in Egypt, the Housing Ministry decided to remove the crops and kick the farmers out because they want to establish golf courses and shopping malls on the land by 2035.
EI: And what did your protests result in?
Nassif: We were promised that a committee consisting of representatives from the Agriculture Ministry, the Housing Ministry, the national land use planning center and the farmers would meet in Madinat al-Sadat in order to reach a settlement.
We went to the meeting but unfortunately we didn’t find anyone except the Housing Ministry representatives, who refused to discuss the issue with us and called us terrorists and thugs. That’s why we will continue our protests again, and many farmers have decided to stop eating and drinking until President Morsy listens to our screams.
More than 5,000 families live on this land, which is the only shelter for about 25,000 people and the main source of living for about 500 day laborers. I can’t imagine that the government doesn’t pay any attention to this number of people who will be homeless after dismissing them from their lands.
EI: We heard about armed groups of thugs that steal farmers’ lands. Have you experienced any type of rural violence by thugs before?
Nassif: This is true. A lot of farmers were victims of the groups of thugs that enter lands at night and [claim] it and kick their owners out. They went to the police stations and made a lot of formal complaints, but this could never help them get their lands back.
In the last year, some thugs were sent to us trying to get us out of our lands, and that’s why we created groups of guards who watch the lands and the crops at night. We said that everything would change after the revolution, but the farmer, who was oppressed during the last 100 years, seems to be more neglected and threatened under the rule of the new regime.
EI: So what is the role of the Farmers Syndicate?
Nassif: The Farmers Syndicate doesn’t play any role in solving farmers’ problems because since it was established after the revolution in 2011, it doesn’t have any powers and it is completely marginalized. I talked to the head of the Farmers Syndicate, but he told me that he can’t do anything for me.
Thus, we decided not to rely on anyone — we will defend our lands until the last breath, and when the tractors come to remove our crops, we will stand in front of them because it’s better to die while defending our dignity than to die out of hunger.
EI: How do you see the evolution of the farmer’s status from [former President Gamal Abdel] Nasser to [ousted President Hosni] Mubarak’s regime?
Nassif: I consider the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s regime as the golden age of the farmers in Egypt. Nasser saved the Egyptian farmers from the total collapse they were about to reach and gave them the rights to own the land they were working on.
During Hosni Mubarak’s regime, the farmer was intended to be omitted from all the political agendas, and the new feudalism started again. Mubarak’s system opened the door for important political figures and businessmen to own huge land areas with very cheap prices, but the small farmers weren’t allowed to own anything, and this was a policy that made his rule last all these years. He intended to humiliate farmers, as they represent the majority of the Egyptians, who might interfere with his corrupt rule if their circumstances are stable.
EI: So what about the day laborers? And what are the problems they suffer from?
Nassif: The day laborers are the most oppressed class in our society, as they work for just two or three months yearly and most of time they don’t get paid. When farmers become incapable of distributing their crops, they don’t give the day laborers their financial payments because they know that they won’t be able to complain, as they don’t have any laws that guarantee their rights.
In addition, there are no precautions that protect them from work injuries. They are completely neglected.
EI: Do you think that farmers’ circumstances will prosper during Morsy’s regime?
Nassif: All presidents promise things they can’t fulfill. In Dr. Morsy’s speech, he read Prophet Mohamed’s Hadith that says, “Whoever revives a dead land should possess it.” We thought that he would help farmers to get their rights and protect their lands, but nothing changed as of now. Reforming Egypt requires that the government put the farmer as its first priority, because he is the primary pillar on which our country relies. In order to improve and develop agriculture in Egypt, the following points must be taken into consideration, in my opinion.
The government must introduce a clear exporting policy that takes over the responsibility of distributing and exporting our crops on the local and the international levels. Also, the agricultural committees must provide small farmers with the amounts of pesticides and fertilizers they need, at reasonable prices.
Because fruits and vegetables’ international markets are open, the agricultural companies prefer to plant these kinds of crops more than planting crops such as wheat, corn and rice, which are necessary for the Egyptian people’s daily meals, and this is completely wrong. In order to achieve self-sufficiency, the Agriculture Ministry should provide some agricultural guidance programs that can give instructions to the farmers about what crops to plant according to the local consumption, which can help us cover our demand and reduce our exports.
The government must encourage farmers to reclaim the deserts instead of destroying their lands. We need pensions just like other professions. Farmers need to be treated as humans and to feel safe. In brief, we need to remember again that Egypt is an agricultural country in the first place, since the pharaonic era.
Part of this piece was originally published in Egypt Independent’s weekly print edition. | <urn:uuid:2b62ae0b-2505-40ff-a36d-318f00b4ad56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/kicked-our-land-golf-course-qa-madinat-al-sadat-farmer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967946 | 1,860 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Mission & Vision
Educating tomorrow's technology leaders is a key element of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering's mission.
In keeping with this mission, and generously supported with a gift from the Gordon Foundation, the Jacobs School established the Bernard and Sophia Gordon Engineering Leadership Center in January 2009.
The mission of the Gordon Center is to educate and train effective engineering leaders who create new products and jobs that benefit society.
The Gordon Center offers an engineering leadership education and awards program for undergraduate, graduate and professional students with leadership potential.
The vision of the Gordon Center is to:
- Identify talented students with leadership potential through a competitive application and selection process to become Gordon Scholars. Gordon Scholars will complete a progressive education, training and practice program and will receive a Gordon Center certificate on completion of the program.
- Teach the principles, theory, attitudes and skill sets required to be an engineering leader through a defined set of courses and training opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels.
- Require students to practice leadership skills by managing and executing a challenge technical project on time and to the customer's satisfaction.
- Expose students to the advice, experience and attitudes of proven engineering leaders through training events including workshops, leadership forums, and summer schools.
- Reward outstanding engineering leadership through the Gordon Engineering Leadership Awards.
- Measure success of and continuously improve the Center's programs by means of surveys and tracking the progress of students and alumni. | <urn:uuid:e283b35d-8e37-493c-98cb-3cb92c2fac95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/GordonCenter/g_about/mission.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941361 | 293 | 1.820313 | 2 |
John Healey MP (the former Shadow Secretary of State for Health) spoke clearly and compellingly in the House of Commons this afternoon about the need for proper maternity leave and pay for mothers through surrogacy in the UK (you can watch John Healey’s speech in full here). Introducing a Ten Minute Rule motion, he told Parliament about his constituents, surrogate mother Amy Bellamy and her cousin Jane Kassim. They came to see him at his surgery having been “stunned” to discover that Jane had no legal right to maternity leave or maternity pay to care for the twin daughters Amy had carried for her after Jane was told at 15 that she could never bear children.
We, and Surrogacy UK, are proud to have supported today’s important landmark, the first time this issue has been properly raised in Parliament. As we know so well, for parents who have struggled to build their families through surrogacy (often after a long and difficult journey of infertility), the lack of basic rights to care for their newborn baby can feel like the final insult. It makes no sense and has never been a policy decision; just a gap in the law which has not been addressed. But it is important, as the current position leaves children born through surrogacy in the UK without the legal protection afforded to other children born to their mothers or adopted.
As well as talking about maternity rights as the urgent first step needed, John highlighted some of the wider problems with UK surrogacy law which need addressing, including:
the parents not being named on their child’s birth certificate,
problems dealing with the child’s medical treatment,
delays in the court system to reassign parenthood, and
the absolute veto the surrogate and her husband hold, no matter what is in the child’s best interests.
The UK’s surrogacy laws were designed in 1990. After 22 years we live in a much changed world, with more children born through surrogacy and a much more sophisticated understanding of families created in unusual ways. The law on surrogacy was not reviewed properly when Parliament had a chance in 2008 and is overdue for review. John drew attention to other models of surrogacy law, including pre birth orders, which have been much more successful in dealing with surrogacy arrangements in certain US States, and which the UK should look to.
What was said in Parliament?
“Unlike other mothers, Jane is entitled – having her baby through a surrogate mother – to only 13 weeks parental leave unpaid, and then only entitled to it when she and her husband have a parental order in place. That means that for mothers like Jane, they are faced with the choice of going back to work very quickly or indeed giving up their jobs entirely. Today is a day when I hope this House will take the first step in closing this legal loophole.
“As the leading lawyer in this field says: The conditions for a parental order do not place the child’s welfare first, and ultimately children born through surrogacy do not have the same protection as other children to the time to bond with their parents in the early months of life. That is from Natalie Gamble, a leading legal expert in this field and one who has conducted more cases and seen through more parental orders than any other lawyer in the country.
“There are probably around 100 babies born through surrogacy each year, but the number is growing as society is changing and science is advancing. Surely there must be a good case for Britain, like some States in the US, to have a system of pre birth orders. But the first and most important step is to secure basic maternity rights. So that mothers like Jane who have their children born through surrogates have the same rights as any other mothers who give birth themselves or indeed who adopt children.
“It is wrong that thousands of mothers who have their own babies or who adopt have a legal right to 39 weeks maternity pay and up to 52 weeks maternity leave, while others have a right to only 13 weeks parental leave unpaid. It is wrong that such parents cannot put their names on their children’s birth certificate, they cannot make decisions about medical treatment for their children until they have a formal parental order in place. It is wrong that such a legal step can be blocked completely by the surrogate mother or her husband; and wrong that it may take months, if a magistrates court is busy, to get that order in place. Above all it is wrong that mothers like Jane are denied the same basic rights to the time they need together with their newborn babies that other mothers have.
“Amy simply wanted Jane to have the same joy as a mother as she had with her own son Archie. Together they make a very powerful case for legal change. This is their campaign and I hope this House will back them today.”
The Bill proceeded unopposed and was formally listed for a second reading, although in practice it is rare for Ten Minute Rule Bills to be given sufficient Parliamentary time to become law. However, a cross party group of MPs will now meet with the Minister for Employment to press for government-led change. We will continue to support this however we can and if you want to get involved or can help with case studies, please do contact us.
Woman’s Hour today
Natalie was also interviewed on this morning’s BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, following a discussion on the lack of maternity leave rules for surrogacy which Natalie contributed to back in 2009, and updating the programme on what was happening today. You can listen to Natalie on today’s Woman’s Hour here.
Find out more about why we think surrogacy law needs reviewing.
Find out more about our campaigning work.
Find out more about surrogacy law. | <urn:uuid:d52df3c0-16ec-4b3d-85be-b048112761a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nataliegambleassociates.co.uk/blog/tag/adoption-pay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978655 | 1,188 | 1.773438 | 2 |
By GEORGE BAILEY, Special to QMI Agency
(Note: If you haven't yet seen the Christmas movie It's A Wonderful Life, view this movie before reading this story)
Seneca Falls, N.Y.-- OK, it really wasn't Bedford Falls, N.Y. that I returned to; it was the lovely village of Seneca Falls, in the rural Finger Lakes region of New York state.
Let me explain. Anyone who's seen the holiday movie It's A Wonderful Life knows the central character, played by James Stewart, in this 1946 holiday classic, was George Bailey. He was a character who discovers "no man is a failure who has friends".
Well, as it gets closer to Christmas I just can't seem to escape the comments about my name (not that I want to escape these comments, because I feel I'm already the "richest" guy in town).
Some believe the setting for this heartwarming film was set in Seneca Falls, N. Y,
One of the first things to strike me when I entered this village of 7,400 people was George Bailey Lane, which leads to the village's Bridge Street Bridge. It looks just like the bridge that George Bailey planned to jump off and take his own life. It wasn't until Clarence, his guardian angel, appeared did he come to his senses. Clarence St. is at the other end of the bridge.
An old plaque on the bridge tells of similar heroism, but with a tragic twist -- how Antonia Varacalli leapt into the icy Seneca River in 1917 to rescue a woman, but drowned himself.
Just behind the bridge is one of the 116 factories and mills that at one time lined this river. When I closed my eyes I could see Clarence and George drying out in the Knitting Mill that still exists today.
I sought out village planner Francis Caraccilo, who claims his village is most definitely the model for Bedford Falls. He had convincing arguments.
Seneca Falls half a century ago certainly looked like Bedford Falls, from globe street lamps, hydrangea bushes, Victorian-era
buildings and skating ponds. Many of these are still here. The 50-year-old Caraccilo with a joyous grin says, "We even have a barber in town that cut Frank Capra's hair. He was the director of the film and he told him he loved the town and it would make a great setting for a movie."
I set out to find the 81-year-old barber, Thomas Bellissima, to learn more. I found him in a little home on a quiet street in the village. He still does the occasional haircut, and confirms he cut Capra's hair.
When he first walked in his barber shop, Mr. Capra introduced himself, they used to do that then, and said he was visiting an aunt who lived in nearby Auburn and loved the scenery in Seneca Falls, Bellissima said.
Capra came back several times for a haircut and each time professed the quaint beauty of the area. Another tantalizing parallel is that there are references in the movie to Buffalo, Rochester, Elmira and Binghamton, which are all nearby.
When it was time for a quick snack, I headed to Bailey's Ice Cream and Coffee Shop (where else?) on Fall St. Wonderful Life buffs will love this place. The shop is completely themed to the movie. My lady friend (no, her name is not Mary) and I ordered a "Welcome Home, Harry Bailey", a delicious slice of apple pie and "Mary's Merry Christmas Cookies." We washed them down with two cups of Bailey's Blend coffees.
Seneca Falls celebrates its annual It's A Wonderful Life Festival with outrageously wonderful days Dec. 9-11.
Wanting to soak up more of the feel of this lovely town, I spent the night at the Hotel Clarence (originally the Gould Hotel), built in 1912. Looking out my window I saw the moon high in the sky. Fat snowflakes were drifting slowly down over a beautifully decorated 19th century historic downtown. I experienced echoes of the past and cherished the joy and simplicity of life.
I'm convinced Seneca Falls really is the inspiration for, It's A Wonderful Life.
Merry Christmas, from the richest guy in town.
- - -
For More Information
Seneca County Chamber of Commerce
315-568-2906 or www.senecachamber.org.
Hotel Clarence, at www.hotelclarence.com.or 315-712-4000.
GPS user can punch in 108 Fall
Street, Seneca, N.Y.
This story was posted on Fri, December 23, 2011
More HeadlinesNew York City set for record 50M tourists
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Monroe exhibit features never seen images
Exhibit recognizes documentary photographers
Discover upstate New York | <urn:uuid:2f9f1a4f-5993-4f56-8288-c31bc9cadceb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.canoe.ca/Travel/USA/NortheasternUSA/2011/12/05/19070061.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963161 | 1,025 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Originally titled: Portrait of Mrs Carl Meyer (1)
"Adele Meyer was the daughter of Julius Levis. She married in 1883 Carl Meyer (1851-1922), a Jewish banker, who was born in Hamburg but who became a naturalized British subject in 1877, and who was created a baronet in 1910. The Meyers' two children were Frank, who was born in 1886 and who succeeded his father as the second baronet, and Elsie Charlotte, who was born in 1885 and who married John Murray Lambert and secondly, after her first husbands' death Captain Harry Halbert."
(Society Portraits 1850 - 1939 exhibition)
"A later group portrait
London culturata, Mrs Carl Meyer and her Children (1896), is
over-the-top as its patron. The gorgeous fabrics and intensity of this
famous hostess is as celebrated in this painting as her lack of concern
about her offspring, whose tenuous hold on her is graphically
by Sargent's outrageous composition. Warmly lambasted by some of the
press and praised by others, it won a Medal of Honor at the Exposition
universelle in Paris in 1900. It has to be one of the most
yet telling of any portraits, anywhere, at any time."
- Boston, Copley Hall, 1899, no 15
- Paris, Universal Exhibition, 1900
- London, Tate Gallery, 1926, catalogue page 7
- London, Royal Academy, Winter exhibition, Exhibition of works by the late John S Sargent RA, 1926, no 331
- Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery, exhibition of works by John Singer Sargent, 1964, no 25
- Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art, English Portraits, 1975, no 63
- Leeds, Lotherton Hall; London, National Portrait Gallery; Detroit, Institute of Arts, John Singer Sargent and the Edwardian Age, 1979 no 41
1) From: Wendy & Gordon Hawksley
<g w @ whawksley. fsnet. co. uk>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002
1850 - 1939'
- this was an exhibition held at the Colnaghi Gallery and the Clarendon
Gallery in London from 30 October to 14 December 1985. The infomation
from this catalogue of that exhibition.
(1850 - 1939), 1985
John Singer Sargent
The Celebration of the life of Sir Anthony Meyer, Bart; National Gallery, London; March 3, 2005
From: Scott Thomas Buckle
scott bu c email@example.com
Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2005
I was at the National Gallery yesterday evening and noticed that there was a new addition to room 41 that is populated with paintings by Ingres and his contemporaries -- the painting "Mrs. Carl Meyer and her Children".
[Editor's Note - the text at the NG read as follows:
Mrs Carl Meyer and her Family' is one of the American artist, John Singer Sargent's, most famous portraits. It was painted in 1896 at the Meyers' country house in Sussex.
Adèle Meyer was a well-known hostess and society figure. Her two children are Elsie Charlotte, and Frank Cecil (the father of Sir Anthony). The children lean against the back of the divan, shyly engaging the artist's eye, while the more confident Adèle confronts him with an amused and animated gaze. The swathes of silk in her extravagant dress and the strand of pearls that cascade down to her tiny feet depict her as a 'grande dame'. There was much more to her, however, than fashion and socialising - she was equally well known for her extensive and pioneering charitable works. (nationalgallery.org)]
I'm not sure how long the loan of 'Mrs Carl Meyer and her children' to the gallery is for, but the painting certainly brightens up a room dominated by Delaroche's forboding 'Execution of Lady Jane Gray'.
Paul Delaroche (1797-1856)
French romantic painter
The Execution of Lady Jane Grey | <urn:uuid:e2b4f269-09ab-4b85-a328-0608be2d1f65> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jssgallery.org/Paintings/Mrs_Carl_Meyer_and_her_Children.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954753 | 863 | 1.601563 | 2 |
UK residents are not allowed to keep or bear firearms for self-defense. So what can they do when facing violence? William Shakespeare had some general ideas on that subject: “When the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage.” Tim Larkin’s down with that, with some helpful tips how to channel that rage in the most efficient, gun-free way possible. The American personal defense trainer has journeyed to The Land of Hope and Glory to teach supplicants—sorry citizens—I mean subjects the fine art of not getting killed by ‘scrotes. Only not so much, now . . .
Tim Larkin tried to board a plane from his home in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but was given a UK Border Agency letter saying “his presence here was not conducive to the public good” . . .
The Home Office said he was subject to an exclusion order.
A spokeswoman said: “The home secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.”
So, as the BBC reports, the Powers The Be have decided that the British sheeple (sorry, it had to be said) can not learn how to use their own bodies for self-defense. On his website, Mr. Larkin has responded with characteristic (but entirely unwarranted) good grace.
We believe the UK Home Office decision to disallow Tim Larkin from entering the UK is simply a misunderstanding on their part as to what TFT teaches. Our hope is that they will reconsider their decision, and that everything can be cleared up shortly.
Based on the wording in their ruling it appears that virtually every martial arts and reality-based self-defense instructor would need to be banned as well.
As everyone knows, TFT is extremely conscientious and responsible in all our instruction, making sure clients fully understand the importance of “avoiding the avoidable” type situations at all cost.
We do, however, recognize there are unpredictable and unavoidable ‘black swan’ type events of random violence that do occur, and we provide clear information regarding what is required to survive these situations.
Methinks Mr. Larkin doth protest too much. His assertion that it’s OK to train UK residents how to defend themselves because they probably won’t need the skills is piss-ant political pandering. While needlessly incendiary, the mainstream media’s depiction of Larkin’s training as “kill or be killed” is, at least, honest.
All humans have the right to self-defense. Whether the government recognizes this right or not is a different matter. Make no mistake, the UK’s missiles on rooftops and this restriction of the right to free speech are a logical manifestation of the removal of gun rights.
It starts with gun control. It ends in a police state, as the UK and so many other countries, both past and present, demonstrate. | <urn:uuid:cc01bfe1-1170-4b7b-885a-7aabcb7d7ea7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/05/robert-farago/self-defense-trainer-tim-larkin-responds-to-uk-travel-ban/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959211 | 654 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Substitute Senate Bill No. 1282
Public Act No. 99-198
An Act Concerning Traffic Stops Statistics.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (a) For the purposes of this section, "racial profiling" means the detention, interdiction or other disparate treatment of an individual solely on the basis of the racial or ethnic status of such individual.
(b) No member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Public Safety, a municipal police department or any other law enforcement agency shall engage in racial profiling. The detention of an individual based on any noncriminal factor or combination of noncriminal factors is inconsistent with this policy.
(c) The race or ethnicity of an individual shall not be the sole factor in determining the existence of probable cause to place in custody or arrest an individual or in constituting a reasonable and articulable suspicion that an offense has been or is being committed so as to justify the detention of an individual or the investigatory stop of a motor vehicle.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (a) Not later than January 1, 2000, each municipal police department and the Department of Public Safety shall adopt a written policy that prohibits the stopping, detention or search of any person when such action is solely motivated by considerations of race, color, ethnicity, age, gender or sexual orientation, and the action would constitute a violation of the civil rights of the person.
(b) Commencing on January 1, 2000, each municipal police department and the Department of Public Safety shall, using the form developed and promulgated pursuant to section 3 of this act, record and retain the following information: (1) The number of persons stopped for traffic violations; (2) characteristics of race, color, ethnicity, gender and age of such persons, provided the identification of such characteristics shall be based on the observation and perception of the police officer responsible for reporting the stop and the information shall not be required to be provided by the person stopped; (3) the nature of the alleged traffic violation that resulted in the stop; (4) whether a warning or citation was issued, an arrest made or a search conducted as a result of the stop; and (5) any additional information that such municipal police department or the Department of Public Safety, as the case may be, deems appropriate.
(c) Each municipal police department and the Department of Public Safety shall provide to the Chief State's Attorney (1) a copy of each complaint received pursuant to this section, and (2) written notification of the review and disposition of such complaint.
(d) Any police officer who in good faith records traffic stop information pursuant to the requirements of this section shall not be held civilly liable for the act of recording such information unless the officer's conduct was unreasonable or reckless.
(e) If a municipal police department or the Department of Public Safety fails to comply with the provisions of this section, the Chief State's Attorney may recommend and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management may order an appropriate penalty in the form of the withholding of state funds from such department or the Department of Public Safety.
(f) On or before October 1, 2000, and annually thereafter, each municipal police department and the Department of Public Safety shall provide to the Chief State's Attorney, in such form as the Chief State's Attorney shall prescribe, a summary report of the information recorded pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.
(g) The Chief State's Attorney shall, within the limits of existing appropriations, provide for a review of the prevalence and disposition of traffic stops and complaints reported pursuant to this section. Not later than January 1, 2002, the Chief State's Attorney shall report to the Governor and General Assembly the results of such review, including any recommendations.
(h) The provisions of subsections (f) and (g) of this section shall be in effect from the effective date of this act until January 1, 2002.
Sec. 3. Not later than January 1, 2000, the Chief State's Attorney, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Public Safety, the Attorney General, the Chief Court Administrator, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and the Connecticut Coalition of Police and Correctional Officers, shall develop and promulgate: (1) A form, in both printed and electronic format, to be used by police officers when making a traffic stop to record personal identifying information about the operator of the motor vehicle that is stopped, the location of the stop, the reason for the stop and other information that is required to be recorded pursuant to subsection (b) of section 2 of this act; and (2) a form, in both printed and electronic format, to be used to report complaints pursuant to section 2 of this act by persons who believe they have been subjected to a motor vehicle stop by a police officer solely on the basis of their race, color, ethnicity, age, gender or sexual orientation.
Approved June 28, 1999TOP | <urn:uuid:9a64368a-a489-4462-8c0f-9bbd06142316> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cga.ct.gov/ps99/Act/pa/1999PA-00198-R00SB-01282-PA.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940704 | 1,028 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Posted by in Technology on March 21, 2013
Get some video files with .pvr extension from Wintal recorder X10A or other DVR Receivers, and want to edit them in Window Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas? Or play such Personal videos on your phones such as BlackBerry or other devices? Before you get such Persinal recorder videos, I am afraid that you have seldom heard of it before. It is weird that Personal recorder videos are not compatible with such apps or devices. To get the PVR files editable in the apps or devices listed above, you will need to convert PVR to AVI for better video quality.
To transcode .pvr to .avi format, you just need a PVR to AVI Converter to help you. And here, I highly recommend media Converter and Video Converter for Mac to you. The two converters above are used in different platforms but share the similar functions: both can convert video recorder media to AVI format with little quality loss and at fast converting speed. Just download the proper version and follow the guide below to see how to decode DVR to AVI on Mac and Windows (Windows 8 included)
Step 1. Load PVR videos
After running the media Converter, hit the add Files button to browse and import your PVR videos to the Personal movie recorder to AVI Converter. Mac version supports dragging and dropping files to the program directly. After importing the files, you can trim, crop or split Persinal media just by clicking the corresponding buttons in the main panel.
Step 2. Choose output format
Hit the format icon next to the video files and you will see the format list. You can choose AVI from different columns such as common movie or HD. And if you need to import PVR to Window Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere, or Windows DVD Maker, etc., the presets will make the job very easy for you: just select the target app as output format. The screenshot below will show you everything.
Step 3. Start converting PVR files to AVI
Lastly, hit the Convert button to start to convert PVR to AVI. When it is done, you can output the files to devices or apps for further uses.
Learn more about Convert SWF to MP4 Mac or SWF to MP4 for Mac lion .
Posted by in Software on March 21, 2013
The businesses are majorly dependent on the customers; if you don’t have customers the business will fade away quickly. This is why it has become really important to present the business is such a manner that it not only attracts the customer but it compels them to come back to you again.
In this respect one should follow the suit of the leaders and to let you know about those little trade secrets here we are going to explain some elements which will help you gain a strong customer base that will definitely be doing repeat business with you.
It is all about appearance.
The online businesses first need to attract the customer towards the website. And the easiest of all the methods isthrough the appearance as it plays a vital role to gather the attention of the prospects around. You must have heard the saying, “first impression is the last impression.” And this is absolutely true. Especially for the internet based businesses, when a visitor comes onto your website and sees the design is boring and dull; he will not be interested at all and would leave instantly. So give a detail attention to the appearance of the website and make it user friendly as much as possible. Keep the navigation simple yet noticeable. Then choose the basic layout of the web page carefully keeping in view the customer perspective.
Price is the main concern.
For obvious reasons it is evident that the price is the major concern in the business world. Despite of the fact that you want to make profit to keep an upper hand in the world of business, it is imperative to assure your price range is legitimately competitive or even lower than the ones in the same business. There is nothing more appealing to a customer than knowing the fact that the product they are seeking is 2 dollar cheaper than without compromising on the quality.
Entice with value added selling.
Value added selling is a superlative philosophy which is set to enlarge, enhance and boost the customers. It can be used to offset the price and giving the customer more than their expectations. The competition is really high in online business and one need to be proactive and one step ahead of your competitor. Thinking of the customers has now changed and they want to get better to excellent for what they give you. To keep the situation win-win outcome; makes a good deal and offer them additional choices and features. They will love it absolutely.
Being friendly will help a lot.
The online businesses have to face a great deal of difficulty and struggle to satisfy the customers. Thecustomer service software helps you get involved in to one to one conversation. It will help you keep the complaints and issues to minimum as the customers would be able to directly approach you.
All too often we hear from the online customers that they are unable to reach the management because of difficult method of communication. However, through customer service software friendly and pleasant impression will be made.
Posted by in Programming on March 20, 2013
Do you know DTEv2? It is the best PHP template engine that I have ever used. Well, I have to confess that I am the author of DTEv2. But it is really good. As I started to develop it since year 2k, I have gradually evolved it into a very powerful template engine. You may doubt why for so long time the name DTEv2 did not get its fame. I have to say that I didn’t decide to open it to the public until very recent. Now, I have changed my mind, and it would be exciting to share it with many people.
There 3 thumb features of DTEv2:
- Completely surrogates PHP codes and HTML codes.
- WYSIWYG visual effect.
- Compiles templates to boost performance.
Lets examine it in order.
First, a templated HTML file is fed into the DTEv2 engine. The engine fills in the template and output it to browsers. The templated HTML file is not interpreted by PHP. This manner keeps templates and PHP codes separate, and make programs more modularized. A template may be used by several programs to provide similar but different functions. For example, edit and view user information are 2 different functions, but they share similar page structures. With DTEv2, edit and view can share the same template file and adjust fields by switches. Then, you will find that your codes are largely reused, and your workloads are larged relieved.
Second, DTEv2 mimicks the ordinary instruction tags ” to mark areas, WYSIWYG HTML editors will ignore but keep them in place, and you will not find a broken structure in a page editing screen. (Don’t worry for XML declaration, because that does not satisfy DTEv2 syntax and will be outputted unchangedly.) I do write HTML page using Dreamweaver, any template tags that breaks the editors recognition capability is a waste to time and money. Also DTEv2 provides simple methods to let programs output texts in different coding methods.
Third, also very important, DTEv2 is quite fast. Well, how fast is fast depends on cases. Detailed time also largely depends on hardware. In my development environment, I have my sites in a CentOS OpenVZ container in a VirtualBox CentOS VM on a Core i7 2.8G notebook. DTEv2 generally completes template output in no more than one millisecond. In a production server, it is even faster! Because DTEv2 compiles templates and caches the intermediary results, the high performance is achieved. The caching is quite versatile. You can setting parameters to make it suit different contexts such as different languages. It helps DTEv2 reuse the cache to the largest extent to lower you server workload and boost fast responses.
Please see the accompanied signature to find more information on DTEv2. Wish you enjoy it!
Posted by in Software on March 20, 2013
Taxes are among the many most important personal issues that a person should take care of in life. After all, not handling taxes properly could be in opposition to in the law. Pc software for taxes can be utilized to help make it simpler to handle filing taxes. There are different packages that can be utilized for individuals who have different issues about taxes.
The preferred sort of computer software program for taxes is TurboTax. That is thought of to be top-of-the-line applications to use because it might probably electronically gather 1099 or W-2 knowledge from financial teams and businesses. It is usually easy to electronically file a tax return and to get updates for types that must be stuffed out via straightforward to use on-line upgrade systems.
The most effective advantages of laptop software program for taxes is that it can be used to help find deductions that a person can reap the benefits of for saving money. More than three hundred completely different deductions are listed within the TurboTax program. This can be used to extend one’s tax refund. TurboTax also helps to alert folks of data entered that may cause an audit to take place.
TurboTax is a program for people who have had just a few issues occur to them within the earlier year. Individuals who have training bills and individuals who either own or have offered a home up to now year should use it. It’s also helpful for individuals with a great amount of medical expenses. Since there are various different deductions that can be found on this program, it can positively be used by individuals who have made an enormous charitable donation in the past year.
H&R Block TaxCut is another sort of laptop software for taxes. This can be used for filing taxes for the nation and for the state that one lives in. This program is supported by the country’s top tax submitting group and this computer software program for taxes will likely be launched with new editions yearly that mirror all of the many changes within the tax code. Previous versions courting again to 1992 are additionally out there for individuals who have taxes from the previous which are due.
TaxCut can be utilized to assemble financial knowledge from applications like Quicken and Microsoft Money to assist make it simpler to learn financial data that is needed for submitting taxes. It additionally has an error verify characteristic that’s used to make it easier to find difficulties in a tax return so that an audit may be prevented and bother with the government is avoided.
For those who are looking for deductions in taxes ItsDeductible might be used. Made by the makers of TurboTax, ItsDeductible records charitable donations made throughout the year and can be imported onto one other tax software program like TurboTax or TaxCut. It also produces correct values for gadgets that have been donated when gadgets as a substitute of cash is donated to charities.
With the larger amount of accuracy that’s used to trace deductions, a whole lot or even hundreds of dollars may be saved by means of additional data for deductions. ItsDeductible can even mechanically deal with IRS Tax Kind 8283, which is a form that’s needed for non-cash donations which are value more than 5 hundred dollars in value.
These are all important packages for laptop software program for taxes. Many of these packages can be used to help with assisting customers in getting full data on tax code updates and kinds which can be going to be wanted for submitting taxes. Computer software program for taxes can be utilized to seek out deductions, handle deductible providers and even deal with taxes which were owed for years. These programs are indeed helpful and can be utilized to help make it simpler to deal with taxes and even earn more cash on a return. This is the most important thing that keeps the software in high demand.
Posted by in Programming on March 19, 2013
The most important jobs of any lab or industry is to make certain the results that it delivers to its clients are as appropriate as possible. With regard to the science community, it usually is a good suggestion that any improvements released should mould to plus resemble those witnessed in other places. If this is not the scenario, the results will be discredited plus the person who delivered them will probably be considered as less of a researcher. To ensure these results to be as exact as possible, the equipment which are used should be calibrated in the appropriate manner plus checked out to ensure they’re as accurate as possible.
The relevance of using accurate tools
Essentially the most obvious points why any one should use properly calibrated tools is so that they’re able to give results which are as accurate as possible. In the lab, as in many of the scientific world, outcomes that are as accurate as possible are typically taken in higher regard compared to those which are less correct or simply the ones that contain gross errors. If you can not take time to examine your tools from time to time by using calibration instruments, there is the chance that the results isn’t going to be accurate and as a result unusable.
The other reason is so that the researcher can be able to save on resources. If one is able to use merely what they want, there is going to be very little waste of resources for instance chemicals and such. As a result in case you find that you are utilizing too much of something or even that you are not being able to evaluate properly, it will be a good plan to talk with a business that deals with pipette calibrations & services.
A final reason is so that you might be able to attain the desired outcomes. Usually there are some techniques where by making use of too much or simply inadequate of the raw materials is likely to give you something totally different from what you were looking for. If this is the scenario, having the right way calibrated instruments means you are able to use only the right amounts and become assured the result is going to be what you were searching for in the first place.
Being sure your instruments are accurately calibrated
If you think that you’ve devices which aren’t calibrated in the right way, the best thing to complete would be to call a company that does pipette calibration and services. This company that you call have to have a reputation of calibrating instruments in the right way. If you are not able to locate a local business, it would likewise help to look online.
If you have the skills plus the calibration tools, you can also do the calibration yourself. This step must not be taken by people who don’t have the skills plus knowledge on how to calibrate tools simply because they can make things a whole lot worse. A final resort will be to replace the instruments that are defective and bring in brand new ones that are accurately calibrated.
Posted by in Programming on March 18, 2013
PHP is a very approved web scripting language and challenging language.it has fetched a mutiny in the IT market. It has modified the whole web development by releasing interaction. Clients can act through PHP scripting language.This Development becomes simple as there is availability of designers who are knowledgeable and experience. Anyone can seek the services of a designer through outsourcing companies.
It is one of the growing languages for web development. There are many factors for the improve in need for PHP. It has many benefits as compared to other languages. The first one is it is an open sourc technology so it is free. It facilitates all the significant open source platforms. It can always be along with A linux and mysql to get the better and quicker outcomes. It is very easy to understand which makes it to use on number of servers. The significant benefits of using PHP Development is that it is an open source technology. It is very cost effective compared to the other licensed one. With this you can quickly make customized programs according to the business need.
PHP development organization Indian has got a international popularity as it has shown its ability in this area pretty well by this time It will be possible for a company to search for a business to hire PHP designer and if the specifications are big, they should definitely seek the help from PHP Development Company.This has also helped in improving the career scenario in the third globe nations. Overall, what this language brought to our generation is nothing but excellent technical improvement and those who know what to create out of it finishes up having the best out of it!
With the improve in need for the PHP web application development; there has been a similar development in the number of professional PHP development companies with marketed information in providing ongoing web application development solutions. Moreover, the improving need for services of PHP has led to improve in the skilled designers. PHP web designers have now developed aggressive costs business technique that is appropriate for the most of the clients.
For more information visit : http://www.rizecorp.com
Have you ever considered how much time you spend in front of the computer or the television? Not only you waste precious time, but also damage your eyes, not to mention reducing your IQ. I want to put you in a parallel universe where these technologies don’t exist. Imagine you don’t have a TV nor a laptop, how will you spend all the free time you have? Of course you’ll still have to go to work, but when you get back home there is only piece and quiet.
What Will You Do?
At first you’ll either enjoy the silence or freak out, but in time things will change. After a week you’ll be used to the fact that there are no more soap operas, films, car and shopping shows etc. If you want to talk to someone you’ll have to actually meet him/her, communication between people will be restored. On the other hand when you’re at home you’ll have to find some activity to fill your time, so after reading cooking books and experimenting you’ll get tired.
The advantage is you’ll be able to open your own restaurant and your home will be sparkling clean. All the stress will be reduced because cleaning, cooking, ironing and washing the dishes are all physical work. If there is less stress your relationship will improve, moreover your husband and children won’t have any more excuses not to help you with the home chores. With the whole family involved in the process your home will become tidy and sparkling clean.
And you’ll spend more time together talking, playing games, reading etc. This is the life we all should lead, you’ll be much happier. If you don’t believe me ask your grandmother about the time there wasn’t that much technology. But back in the real world, with all the useless information we’re buried with, all the advertisements demanding you buy a product you don’t really need. The lack of communication and interaction with people makes your life empty and you try to fill it with possessions.
You neglect the most important people in favor of virtual ones and this influences your view of life itself. Instead of staring at the monitor every day choose one and make it no technology day, that way you’ll be able to under-gird the family relationship.
When we need to buy a product and we do not have much time then we often choose to order it online or over the phone. A large number of people have made it a habit to do shopping online. As the number of people who use the internet and shop online has increased in a significant way; companies have also started to offer their products online. At present, a large number of online stores are making handsome profit by selling different kinds of products and services.
When a prospective customer makes a call to a business and his calls are not attended in a perfect manner then he is likely to go to another organization. There are a large number of customers who understand that at present they have numerous options. On the other hand, organizations do not have much choice as they have to offer quality products if they really want to be successful. It may seem easy for people to run a business but it is really very difficult especially at present. Numerous people need different kinds of services and products to meet their requirements.
Almost all organizations get a large number of business calls. We all know that there is no profit associated with incoming calls. However, if people get to know that they can get reward for getting incoming calls for their business then they will be very happy. Here, we are going to tell you about the Free UK Business number which can help your business to make more money. A large number of people might not be aware that they can make money from the incoming calls which they receive for their business. It is very easy to make money from incoming calls.
What people need to do is to get Free virtual numbers and then divert calls to their existing business numbers. For every minute of incoming call, people will get some fixed amount of money. The money which will be made from such calls will depend upon the duration of the calls. If you know that your organization gets so many business calls daily then you should get a virtual number. It is very easy to get a virtual number these days. All that you need to do for getting one is to go online. So many organizations are using virtual numbers for making some extra money.
People who are staying in U.K might be looking for a Free UK Business number so that they can get all their business calls on a U.K number. In U.K, there are a large number of organizations. Most of them do their business on phone.
People who do not know how they can get a Free UK Business number should take the help of the internet. Now days, people can get almost any kind of information online. If you are one of those people who wish to get a virtual number for your business then you should go online.
Posted by in Programming on March 17, 2013
Of course, Magento Development offers immense flexibility and functionality to your eCommerce web development venture. However, sometimes it becomes crucial to integrate a few Magento extensions to enhance the performance of your eCommerce business over the internet. In this article we will see some of the amazing Magento extensions that will help your Magento Development venture or eCommerce store stick out from the crowd and add vital functionality to your online business.
Magento Connect: This extension basically helps you integrate social media channels with your Magento eCommerce store to boost up the web traffic. As more ‘n’ more users or customers are getting involved in various social activities, it would be easy to connect them with your brand or product and thus, improving your business outcome.
Shop by Brand: This amazing extension will create landing pages for each of your product or brand, with various information like brand name, logo, description and so on. Moreover, each of the landing page will have an SEO link to give more expose within search engine results.
MouseOver Image Zoom: This extension replaces the default Magento image zooming feature, whenever any user mouseover the image, a box will be opened on the right side of the image containing a closer view of the image.
Recent reviews: Reviews usually serve a very important role in eCommerce web development and they are written by the genuine users based on their experience with the eCommerce store. Such genuine and real reviews will grab the attention of potential customers and encourage them to do business with you, which at the results into the improved conversion rate of your Magento Development venture.
Ticketing System: This extension can simplify the way you keep track of your customer service inquiries. This will greatly reduce the time that you may spend on managing your workflow and enhances the customer satisfaction by responding their queries on time.
File System: Being a site administrator, sometimes you may find it difficult to access FTP everytime you wish to make any changes within the file. However, using this extension can help you edit the file from the admin panel without even accessing the FTP. This at the end help you reduce the time and efforts to manage your online store effectively and efficiently.
Guest Book Extension is extensively used as a community building tool where users can easily get their queries solved by simply posting or asking the questions on the website. This kind of extension is a great way to encourage more ‘n’ more customers to know more about your products and services. Once the user or customer get satisfactory answers to their query, they will easily go for buying products from your website.
While you are running an eCommerce store, it is essential that you look out for the weak areas that need to be improved using such Magento Extensions. If you want any custom Magento extension, then you can go for Magento Development companies having a team of veteran developers, who can help you get customized extension at the most affordable prices…!
Posted by in Tech Updates on March 16, 2013
‘Asset light’ does not mean ‘asset-free.’ Instead, it means buyers will have more power to retain ownership of their assets so they can not only relieve themselves of vendor control but also break out functions according to core competencies and overall value to the organization, and outsource or ‘in-source’ pieces of the IT infrastructure accordingly. To do this, CIOs will commonly break their overall IT infrastructure into independent ‘towers’ such as network management, server administration, maintenance and desktop support. Towers give IT executives the flexibility to pick and choose functions they are willing to farm out to suppliers to get started with RIMO. For example, outsourcing server monitoring within a data center, or quality assurance after code is written, can be a safe way to start. By beginning with one tower at a time, CIOs can familiarize themselves with RIMO providers across different regions with various technology installed bases, as well as varying IT expenditures, resources, governance, and methods of process engineering.
Three RIMO multi-sourcing/’collaborative sourcing’ models are emerging:
Selective/ discreet RIMO, where a set of functions and processes is set aside for remote management. That means, for example, that functions such as help desk or data center may be retained by the customer while their monitoring and management is outsourced. This is the best way for most IT executives to get started with RIMO regardless of company size because it involves the least risk: if the first RIMO arrangement does not work, it does not jeopardize the company’s entire IT infrastructure. It also embodies the real promise of RIMO in that the company can outsource pieces of the IT infrastructure to different providers based on their relative capabilities and offers.
Full-service RIMO, where a company outsources services but retains the assets and the physical data center. Decisions around full-service outsourcing depend on business case and strategic drivers such as asset refresh and data center consolidation. This scenario is ideal for those companies with the largest embedded base of both IT investment and in-house experience with regard to the equipment itself, but little capability and expertise in application management. This is a good model for nearly all Tier 1 organizations.
Vendor-managed inventory (a.k.a. business-ready infrastructure or BRI), where assets are largely owned by the RIMO provider. BRI combines certified, on-demand application infrastructures and offshore-based services to create a predictable, pay-per-use, multi-year service model and a platform for SaaS that is ideal for the SMB market.
HCL’s RIMO solutions help companies realize operational efficiencies through better process documentation and streamlined processes. It helps customers focus on strategic and core areas rather than extended IT planning, evaluation, acquisition, deployment and training cycles for every new technology, service, application and upgrade. In delivering RIMO solutions, HCL uses its own tools, those of the client or a shared architecture, and HP OpenView and BMC Patrol are often in the mix. HCL can manage up to 85% of services remotely. | <urn:uuid:c2d2587d-d13d-412c-90f2-867a77f88ba3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ipsnews.info/text/global.asp/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95378 | 5,805 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Photo collage is a nice way to share lots of photo in one place. The arrangements and orientations of the images as well as the choice of images define how good a collage is. All of that depends solely on the creative thinking of the individual who is creating it. Nobody else has to do anything with it. The bigger fact is, not all of us are pro in stuffs like these. Hence its always a painstaking task for us to generate innovative yet beautiful ideas while creating nice looking collages for may be a good bedroom wallpaper or simply a desktop background. This post will help you know about some free tools and online services that can be used to create nice looking collages without having much of image editing skills.
Nice tool to create awesome collages. With an inventory of almost 300 pre-defined collage templates, it actually makes the job practically effortless. All you have to do is select the images and select a template to order the images in a collage. The best part is that the service also offers a Picture2life Mozilla Firefox Addon. Here are some of the collages I created using Picture2life.
Score : 4.5/5
Photovisi is a tool to create collages online. Presently you have 18 collage templates to choose from. You can select custom background and also rearrange images in the collage. You can read our detailed review on Photovisi. Below is a demo collage that I created from the online service. You can also try Photovisi on Facebook by using Photovisi Facebook app.
Score : 3.5/5
This is a shape based collage tool that accumulates a collection of images(or image URLs) into different shapes. You have to use image URls in the online free version of the tool. Shape collage desktop tools are also available for Windows, Mac, Linux and Java platforms. The offline version is free and can create collages directly from images i.e you won’t need to use image URLs for this. Shape Collage has also got its own Facebook app. The screenshot below is a shape collage created using Shape Collage.
Score : 3.5/5
Picasa is a much known Google product that can organize images with a Picasa Web Albums server sync feature and also offers a free server space of 1Gb. But this is not the reason it’s enlisted here. Picasa also lets you create nice looking collages using the desktop tool. The tool is one my most favorite while creating collages (after Picture2life) and thats because of the awesome templates and controls that it offers and you do not have to be online to get all these. Check out a nice tutorial by Google on how to create collages using Picasa. Check out two nice collages created using Picasa.
Score : 4/5
The collage creation is not simple here, but its a great tool as you can customize the arrangement of images in the final collage. To get started, just select and upload images(only six allowed), choose a background and size for the collage. You can then rearrange the images as you prefer. You get to customize the size, alignment of all the images. But as I had told at start, not everyone has got skills to innovate, this becomes the last option to opt while creating a collage and hence this is last but not the least option.
Score : 3/5
Its obvious, that not every list contains all that is available and I know there are still many other tools out there, but those are the tools that I preferred over the others as they did the job pretty easily and simply. If there are any other tool that helped you creating collages please share them via comments.
Receive the latest update in your inbox. | <urn:uuid:3153c5fe-b485-4de8-99d2-eb004a60dcbc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.maketecheasier.com/5-free-tools-to-create-collages-from-your-pictures/2010/02/23 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93882 | 784 | 1.570313 | 2 |
WATSONVILLE — Three Watsonville children could face charges after Santa Cruz County animal control authorities reported that they abused stray kittens, Animal Services Field Manager Todd Stosuy said Thursday.
According to Stosuy, a witness reported Sunday afternoon that three young people were abusing kittens on West Front Street.
When Stosuy arrived the witness identified the kids, all of whom are younger than 10.
One of the kittens, which was reportedly thrown against a wall, was taken to a veterinary hospital where it was determined to have brain damage. It was later euthanized.
The other kittens had been strangled with ropes around their necks, but were checked out by the veterinarian and are currently in foster care, Stosuy said.
It was unclear Thursday whether the children will face charges, but Stosuy pointed to studies that show that children who abuse animals go on to commit violent crimes later in life.
“I would be hopeful that some form of therapy will be provided,” he said.
Stosuy said that the kittens likely were feral, and that spaying and neutering stray cats can prevent such incidents from occurring.
Share on Facebook | <urn:uuid:1a0e0fb6-52a3-4609-b260-34946c994266> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=12899 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981745 | 239 | 1.5 | 2 |
So I’ve recently been thinking of why the Cars movies feel so “off” to me in relation to other Pixar movies. It’s not just that they’re easily the lamest movies Pixar has made. It’s more that every other Pixar production takes place alongside the human world, either because the characters are human themselves or because they’re small enough or have limited enough interactions with humans that they can have their own stories that are somewhat independent of ours. However, Cars 1 & 2 don’t work that way, since logistically speaking, a lot of the stuff they do (auto races, for example) would never escape our notice.
So what’s the deal? One possibility is that the cars are actually Matchbox/Hot Wheels toys being manipulated by people, which would explain (a) why the cars aren’t cognizant of the humans’ presence, and (b) why the cars’ world feels like a sanitized kiddie version of our own. And hell, imagine how well that sets up a “gotcha” twist at the end of the inevitable CARS 3.
But I’m more intrigued by the idea that the Cars saga actually takes place in a distant future, long after some Terminator-esque takeover by the machines. With no more people- or animals, it seems- in the world, the cars would have the world to themselves. But since their entire history has been spent as slaves to humans, they have very little of their own culture on which to build. Therefore, they have to fall back on human institutions to create their own world, since it’s all they know. They build human-like towns, find human-like forms of entertainment, live and work and dress themselves in ways reminiscent of the way it was back when humans ran the show. Hell, they even set up human-like systems of government and business. In a way, it’s kind of like Lars Von Trier’s Manderlay. Sure, the cars are living in the past and have re-created a system designed to keep them subservient, but it’s the evil they know. And after generations of living this way, no one- not even Doc Hudson, who's the closest the Cars universe has to a Danny Glover figure- knows any better.
Of course, this theory doesn’t explain how the cars are able to talk by manipulating their bumpers- or for that matter, how the insects are tiny cars themselves. But still, thinking about these movies like this lends them a little bit more of an edge, even if it doesn’t necessarily make them better. | <urn:uuid:7d94ed67-2f2e-4782-a39a-4421744c9e93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://opalfilms.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967909 | 560 | 1.5 | 2 |
In Minecraft, presumably the world is finite. What happens when you reach the edge of the world? Or will the world become too large to reasonably deal with before this happens?
From Notch's Tumblr:
As of Beta 1.8 [source]:
|show 8 more comments|
A few patches ago the world was practically infinite (couple of million kilometers) but with the later updates problems occur closer to the 0 point (around 8000 kilometers)
As seen in the video (not mine) bounding boxes will be located differently from the cubes themselves, movement stutters and various other problems come up (going even further renders the game completely unplayable).
This still leaves you with around (2*8000)*(2*8000) = 256000000 square kilometers of playable surfaces area (the distances only matter on 1 axes for the most part so its a roughly square surface, its also times two cause you can go 8000 kilometers both north and south)
Notch himself wrote a blog post about Minecraft's world generation.
Short answer: The maps are infinite (until your hard drive fills up), but will become buggier the bigger they are.
The map is pretty much infinite. The Far Lands do get quite weird over time, because, as Notch stated, problems in the map generator produce some weird effects.
As close as 500,000 blocks away from your spawn point, the frame rate starts to slow down. As you get further and further away, the framerate keeps on slowing down to the point where you cannot move at all. Then Minecraft crashes.
The point in which the Far Lands really begin, however, is at X/Z 12,550,821. The terrain generator starts going crazy, producing amazingly tall and smooth floating structures that keep on going to infinity. The Far Lands are monster magnets, because the spaces between one structure and another are pitch black, so they are able to spawn.
At X/Z 32,000,000, the terrain generator goes out of control. The structures don't change, however now there is no lighting, trees, monsters or animals. You will have to use a mod to fly now, because now the block positioning system is out of control too. If you are not flying, you will fall through the blocks into the Void (yes, even the Bedrock goes crazy). While you are flying, try to break a block at the top of the Far Lands. First you will find out that it is very hard to do so. Second, when you have done it, the hole in the block shakes from side to side.
At X/Z of ±2,147,483,648, positions of items, mob pathfinding and other things using 32-bit integers will overflow and act weird, usually resulting in Minecraft crashing.
Finally, at the hard limit which is at about X/Z ±34,359,738,368 (if you convert that to meters, is is one-quarter of the way from the Earth to the Sun), blocks and chunks will simply stop generating.
protected by Community♦ Dec 12 '12 at 22:35
This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site. | <urn:uuid:eb7c4f9e-fd9e-4cb0-b42d-fbdd1beac937> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/19179/what-happens-when-you-reach-the-edge-of-the-world | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95132 | 678 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Wales offers so many academic and life experiences that shaped me as a global citizen and allowed me to experience a beautiful new culture.
History, arts & culture
Summer 2013 Dates and Fees:
Dates: June 1-29, 2013*
Credits: 6; 3 history, 3 fine arts
Program Fee: $3,995
Students from all majors will benefit from this immersion experience into Ghana's famous performing arts history. Learn about the important events, formal traditions and historical and cultural issues that have shaped the performing arts in Ghana through lectures, visits to historical sites and dance, theatre and musical performances. Discover the nationhood of Ghana and how its peoples define and articulate their shared national identity.
Students will participate in two courses, Introduction to the Living History of Ghana, and Introduction to Dance and the Performing Arts in Ghana. Both courses will include lectures as well as excursions and visits to historically and culturally significant sites such as pre-colonial castles and forts, The Ghana Arts Center and archeological sites.
Plan to meet Monday through Friday with mornings set aside for lectures at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana Legon campus. In the afternoons, visit museums, art exhibitions, and culturally significant places or events. Meet Ghanaian performing arts face to face with weekly performances at either the Ghana National Theatre, the School for the Performing Arts, or the University of Ghana Drama Studio. Attendance at theatre and dance performances will be required and students will be evaluated by quizzes, tests, research paper and a journal of visits to historical sites.
Ghana is a western African nation recently recognized by President Obama as a model of democracy and growth for the rest of the continent. Students on Central's program will make their home in Accra, the nation's capital and bustling cosmopolitan center. In addition to miles of beautiful beaches, Accra boasts a vibrant cultural life that offers both traditional and modern events. Your academic home, The University of Ghana, is the oldest and most prestigious of Ghana's public universities and has a long tradition of welcoming international students.
Housing and Meals
Students will be housed in double occupancy rooms at the University of Ghana residence halls. Most meals will not be included in the program fee, but students can enjoy a variety of foods at campus cafeterias and local restaurants. Meals will be included on all excursions.
Explore historically significant sites such as the castles at Elmina and Cape-Coast. Spend a weekend in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana and the capital of the fabled Ashanti Kingdom. You'll also have the unique opportunity to visit Kakum Forest Reserve, home to one of only four tropical rain forest canopy walks in the world. As part of your academic focus, plan to see places of interest near Accra as well as the
city of Accra itself with its museums, art galleries and cultural celebrations.
The four-week program fee includes:
Deadline for Applications: March 1, 2013. A completed application file must include: application, essay, transcript, two faculty evaluation forms, and study abroad approval form. Apply now
Program deposit: $500 (due within two weeks of acceptance).
*Airfare is not included. Dates subject to change. Do not purchase airfare until you receive your official program calendar. | <urn:uuid:d8254f8d-d4b2-4499-b707-3fd5dcfd8881> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.central.edu/ABROAD/summer/Ghana.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943505 | 677 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Some Muslims are undermining the battle to rid Britain’s hospitals of killer infections by refusing to wash their hands when visiting sick relatives.We have those devices in hospitals here, but I have only seem hospital staff using them, but they use them everytime they leave a patients room. I am sure that if they put up signd asking visitors to use them, they would.Dispensers containing anti-bacterial gel have been placed outside wards at hospitals all over Britain in a bid to get rid of superbugs like MRSA and PVL.MRSA is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. and PVL is Panton valentine leukocidin, MRSA strains can also contain genes that encode the PVL toxin, responsible for furunculosis, severe necrotizing pneumonia, and necrotic lesions of the skin and soft tissues. You definitely don't want to get either one, because they are resistent to most antibiotics, and they can do serious damage. Nor all of the staff in a hospital wear clothes. There are more than 30 species in the staph family of bacteria, and they can cause different kinds of illnesses. But most staph infections are caused by the species Staphylococcus aureus, and if you get one that has developed a resistance to most antibotics it is said to be MRSA.It prevents people bringing in more infections. But some Muslims refuse to use the hand cleansers on religious grounds because they contain alcohol. Health watchdogs are so concerned they intend to meet with NHS bosses in the New Year to try and hammer out a solution.If it is a hospital employee that refuses; fire them. If it is a visitor, tell them they can no longer visit.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
AlJazerra reported The concept of Jihad has been misinterpreted by the Western media
So it is all Western media's faultas what some refer to as “religious militancy”, in ther words, using weapons to fight for the cause of one’s religion, regardless of whether fighting is against a true enemy or not, and regardless of weather it’s justified and being carried out against the right target or not.
Were the people killed in the twin towers a true enemy? When did they attack al Qaeda?But “religious militancy”, even if I’m opposed to it,
Are you or are you not opposed to it?oesn’t arise from vacuum. Human history has many examples of people becoming extremists and carrying weapons to fight dictator rule or bad social circumstances. “Religious militancy” in my view, is the outcome of extremism, which had been attributed to many factors including poverty, suppression, dictator rule, injustice, unemployment… etc.
That sounds like what the Arab dictators, authoritarian or religious leaders are doing to their own people, but blaming the west so their own people do not overthrow them..... Another point I need to stress here is that while Jihad is linked to Muslims and Islam-militancy, extremism and terrorism on the other hand are not limited to Muslims, we have Jewish and Christian militant groups, terror organisations and extremists.
Such as?Theodore Hertzl, a Jew, was the founder of terrorism in occupied Palestine.
He was the founder of Zionism and the desire for a Jewish state, but he was not a terrorist.And we have the American Christian terrorist Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber.
McVeigh never attempted to justify the OKC bombing according to Christian religious principles, and his actions were never endorsed by any Christian sect.But those who wish to ruin the image and the world’s respect for Islam focus only on Muslim terrorists, as if the world’s followers of Islam are all terrorists.
There certainly are Muslims that are not terrorists, but today at least, all terrorists are Muslims.
Ed Koch, former Democratic mayor of NYC, wrote in RealClearPolitics President George W. Bush, vilified by many, supported by some, is a hero to me.
And to meWhy do I say that? It's not because I agree with the President's domestic agenda. It's not because I think he's done a perfect job in the White House. George Bush is a hero to me because he has courage. The President does what he believes to be in the best interest of the United States. He sticks with his beliefs, no matter how intense the criticism and invective that are directed against him every day.
AmenThe enormous defeat President Bush suffered with the loss of both Houses of Congress has not caused him to retreat from his position that the U.S. alone now stands between a radical Islamic takeover of many of the world's governments in the next 30 or more years. If that takeover occurs, we will suffer an enslavement that will threaten our personal freedoms and take much of the world back into the Dark Ages.
Ed, you may be the only Democrat that understands that fact. I wish you could convince others.Our major ally in this war against the forces of darkness, Great Britain, is still being led by an outstanding prime minister, Tony Blair.
Even Tony seems somewhat confused, as we see hereHowever, Blair will soon be set out to pasture, which means Great Britain will leave our side and join France, Germany, Spain and other countries that foolishly believe they can tame the wolf at the door and convert it into a domestic pet that will live in peace with them. These dreamers naively believe that if we feed the wolves what they demand, they will go away. But that won't happen. Appeasement never works. The wolves always come back for more and more, and when we have nothing left to give, they come for us.
They offer three choices: convert to their religion, live under their subjigation as second class citizens with no rights, or death.Radical Islamists are very much aware that we have shown fear. For example, we have allowed the people of Darfur -- dark skinned Africans -- to be terrorized, killed, raped and taken as slaves by the supporters of the Sudanese government, radical Islamists. The countries surrounding Iraq -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan -- made up of Sunni Arabs, know that for them, the wolves who are the radical Shia are already at their door. The New York Times reported on December 13, 2006, "Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq's Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats...The Saudis have argued strenuously against an American pullout from Iraq, citing fears that Iraq's minority Sunni Arab population would be massacred...The Bush administration is also working on a way to form a coalition of Sunni Arab nations and a moderate Shiite government in Iraq, along with the United States and Europe, to stand against 'Iran, Syria and the terrorists."
This Saudi response will take place notwithstanding that until now, according to The Times, "The Saudis have been wary of supporting Sunnis in Iraq because their insurgency there has been led by extremists of Al Qaeda, who are opposed to the kingdom's monarchy. But if Iraq's sectarian war worsened, the Saudis would line up with Sunni tribal leaders." The Times article went on to state the opinion of an Arab expert, Nawaf Obaid, who was recently fired by the Saudi foreign minister after Obaid wrote an op ed in The Washington Post asserting that the Saudis were prepared in the event of an American pullout to engage in a "massive intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis." Obaid went on "suggest[ing] that Saudi Arabia could cut world oil prices in half...a move that would be devastating to Iran."
The Times reported, "Arab diplomats...said that Mr. Obaid's column reflected the view of the Saudi government." When writing about affairs of state in distant places, unless you are on the scene talking to knowledgeable participants, the most reliable sources to support conjecture with "facts" are the superb reporters of the great international newspapers like The New York Times.
Which is it, great international newspapers, or the New York Times? They are mutually exclusive.Surely this turn of events in Saudi Arabia undoubtedly replicated in other Sunni-dominated countries -- Sunnis are 80 percent of the world's Muslim population. This will give support to my proposal, advanced nearly a year ago, that we tell our allies, regional and NATO, that we are getting out of Iraq unless they come in. That may well work, and they will come in, in large part and share the casualties of combat and the financial costs of war.
Doing what I suggest is far better than simply pulling out, which is the direction in which we are headed, notwithstanding the President's opposition. I think at the moment simply getting out and not making an attempt to bring our allies in is supported by a majority of Americans and would be supported by a majority of Democrats in the Congress. For me, staying is clearly preferable, provided we are not alone and are joined by our regional and NATO allies, aggressively taking on the difficult but necessary task of destroying radical Islam and its terrorist agenda if we don't want to see radical Islam destroy the Western world and moderate Arab states over the next generation, or as long as it takes for them to succeed.
Two other requirements are needed to bring the war in Iraq to a successful conclusion: first, require the Iraqi government to allow greater autonomy for the three regions -- Kurd, Sunni and Shia. The second requirement is that the national Iraqi government enact legislation that will divide all oil and natural gas revenues in a way similar to that of our own state of Alaska.
The Alaskan state government takes from those revenues all it will need to finance government and provide services and the balance is divided among the population of Alaska, in a profit sharing program. That would settle the major Sunni problem which has been being cut out of oil revenues because the country's oil is located only in Kurdish and Shiite areas. If the Iraqi government refuses our demands, our reply should be "Goodbye. You're on your own." This proposal was suggested to me by Mike Sheppard in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
We should say the same thing if the government will not let us take out al Sadr and his militia.It won't be easy to implement this proposal. But President Bush has courage. Now is the time to use it.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Arab News reported A two-day conference organized by the Makkah-based Muslim World League yesterday called for a consultative commission in order to take legal action against those who abuse Islam and its Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islamic sanctities, at local and international courts of justice, the Saudi Press Agency said.
You think Islam is being abused by a few cartoons? You should see what the secular press says about Christians. No one ever did a figure of Muhammad in a bottle of Urine, or a painting of his mother, covered with dung, and insisted that it was protected artistic expression, did they?The conference titled “In Defense of the Prophet” called upon Islamic countries and governments to stand united to defend the Islamic faith and its Prophet. It denounced the smear campaigns to tarnish the image of the Prophet and urged Muslims to make all-out efforts to project the true picture of Islam and the great divine teachings of the Prophet.... Jamal Badawi, a Canadian-Muslim expert on Islam, spoke about the Prophet’s outstanding influence on human history. “There is no other personality who has made such a positive impact on history,”
What about Jesus Christ, who said Love your neighbor as yourself. or Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.. Compare that with the Qu'ran saying Surah 5:51 says O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust. and Surah 9:29 which says Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, [Jews and Christians] until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.he told the conference.
Tony Blair wrote on Foreign Affairs To me, the most remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is.
To me, the most remarkable thing is how naive you are.I write with great humility as a member of another faith. As an outsider, the Koran strikes me as a reforming book,
If you think it is a reforming book, you have just read the early suras, before Satan pretended to be the Angel Gabriel, and started feeding Muhammad the violent jihad verses.trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins,
Muhammad did plagerize a lot of Judaism and Christianity, twisting things to his own objectives, but trying to lure Jews and Christians to convert to his new Islam religion.much as reformers attempted to do with the Christian church centuries later.
What Islam needs is a reformation such as the Christian church went through, not a return to the Jihad of the 8th century.The Koran is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women, and governance.
Oh yes, it is has very interesting attituedes toward women, like Surah 4:11 which says Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children's (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females A woman only gets half the inheritance of a man, the word of two women counts as the word of one man in court, and in order to prove rape a woman must have four males to testify that she was raped, otherwise she may be charged with having sex ourside of marriage, and may be stoned to death.Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands were breathtaking.
That is what you get when you have a religion that calls for it to be spread by the sword. Surah 19:4294 says Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war .... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya.[A special tax that Jews and Christians must pay to live in a Muslim country. Followers of other religions are just killed outright if they refuse to convert to Islam.] If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them.Over centuries, Islam founded an empire and led the world in discovery, art, and culture.
Back in the Middle Ages that may be right, but what advances, other than killing, have they done in Modern Times. How many Nobel Prizes have been won by Muslims: 167 by Jews vs 4 by Arabs, and all four of them are considered traitors to Islam.The standard-bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian ones.
This is not the Middle Ages, and we don't want to go back to those days.But by the early twentieth century, after the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment had swept over the Western world, the Muslim and Arab world was uncertain, insecure, and on the defensive. Some Muslim countries, such as Turkey, made a muscular move toward secularism. Others found themselves caught up in colonization, nascent nationalism, political oppression, and religious radicalism. Muslims began to see the sorry state of Muslim countries as symptomatic of the sorry state of Islam. Political radicals became religious radicals and vice versa.
Those in power tried to accommodate this Islamic radicalism by incorporating some of its leaders and some of its ideology. The result was nearly always disastrous. Religious radicalism was made respectable and political radicalism suppressed,
Wrong. With Islam religion and politics is the same. If one renounces Islam, and converts to another religion, he not only needs to worry about what God will do to him at judgement day, he needs to worry about the government killing him for being an apostate.and so in the minds of many, the two came together to represent the need for change. They began to think that the way to restore the confidence and stability of Islam was through a combination of religious extremism and populist politics, with the enemies becoming "the West" and those Islamic leaders who cooperated with it.
Not exactly. Dictatorial and authoritative governments began telling their own citizens that the reason they were in such bad shape was all the fault of the West, so that the people would not revolt against their own oppresive governments, which were the real ones taking advantage of the people.This extremism may have started with religious doctrine and thought. But soon, in offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood, supported by Wahhabi extremists and disseminated in some of the madrasahs of the Middle East and Asia, an ideology was born and exported around the world.
Pamela Geller Oshry blogged Paul Belien at Brussels Journal points out this insanity from Blair here. And no this is not a joke. When Belien sent it to me, I thought Belien is saying this? OMG, they got to him, he must be in jail ....... something terrible has happened. Then I read further. This is Blair. He has lost it.
Aussie commented He clearly has been spending too much time around his loon wife, or maybe the Moon God worshippers put a curse on him and he is now possessed by Jins, either way its game over for Tony Blair. England hang on to your arse for you are about to lose it sooner than later. How could an obviously intelligent man be so unbelievably ignorant on the most basic of historical facts?
vonason commented Is he aware of the lies he is telling? "Restoring" the Torah to what it was before "the Jews perverted it" is one of Islam's greatest lies, and Blair has just endorsed it.
Maybe he borrowed Prince Charles' "translation" of the koran. The one with only the pretty verses before mo's flight, not the nasty ones afterwards. And re: his knowledge of history... How come the muslim golden age is only golden at the beginning of its history, once it finished its conquest? As in born smart, and getting progressively dumb ever since. Not a golden age built up to by the muslims. I.e. one that was co-opted from the old Christian lands, one added to by the still majority at the time Christian populations serving as dhimmis. Only after they were converted was this light extinguished.
Heidi blogged He hasn’t read the Koran. It’s that simple. Tony Blair has NOT read the Koran. He’s trying to make it seem like he has, but there is no doubt in my mind that he has NOT - much like the majority of our American politicians today. And in the midst of an otherwise reasonable essay, he’s just proven himself to be incredibly misguided.
Tony Blair still doesn’t get it. A pure and progressive Islam has not been tragically hi-jacked by extremists. ISLAM IS EXTREME.
Yourish blogged That sound you heard was my jaw dropping to the floor. That Muslim empire that the Koran helped found? It was done by the sword. That claim that it was “far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women, and governance”? Bullshit. This is the book that states definitively that a woman’s testimony in court is worth only half that of a man’s. This is the book that allows a man to take four wives, but women may only have one husband.
Then there’s that whole “trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins.” Uh, hello, the Koran has absolutely nothing to do with “returning” Judaism to its “origins.” Judaism never got away from its origins. The Torah that we read in synagogue every Shabbat is virtually unchanged from the Torah that was read when Mohammed was wearing diapers. It’s the same Torah that Jesus studied as a child and adult. It has not changed in 2,700 years. How much closer to our origins do you think we need to be, Tony? Temple worship? Fine, just get rid of that mosque on the Temple Mount, and we’ll be happy to oblige.
I really hate it when people who are utterly ignorant of Judaism profess to tell us what Judaism is all about. And when it comes from the leader of a nation that sits on the UN Security Council—well, you just have to shake your head and wonder how any of his advisers could have read that and not said, “Er, Mr. Prime Minister, do you really want to put it quite like that?”
NYT The Islamist forces who have controlled much of Somalia in recent months suddenly vanished from the streets of the capital,
The Ethopians fought back. The Islamists are cowards, that want to control things, but they want to do it by intimidation.Mogadishu, residents said Wednesday night, just as thousands of rival troops massed 15 miles away. In the past few days,
I suspect some of the Islamists can count, and they did not want to fight thousands of rival troops, especially not troops with tanks, helicopter gunships, and jet fighters.Ethiopian-backed forces, with tacit approval from the United States, have unleashed tanks, helicopter gunships and jet fighters on the Islamists, decimating their military and paving the way for the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia to assert control.
And the Somali citizens, who had a taste of living under Sharia law, probably joined the Ethiopian troops to route the Islamists.Even so, the Islamists, who have been regarded as a regional menace by Ethiopia and the United States, had repeatedly vowed to fight to the death for their religion
That is ok. I am sure that with the Ethopians and the Somali citizens both against them, they can find plenty of people ready to send them to meet Allah.and their land, making their disappearance that much more unexpected.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Timesunion printed "15 rules for understanding the Middle East." They all are interesting, but the ones that struck me as the most true are Rule 9: In Middle East tribal politics there is rarely a happy medium. When one side is weak, it will tell you, "I'm weak, how can I compromise?" And when it's strong, it will tell you, "I'm strong, why should I compromise?"
This presuposes they really understand what "compromise" means.Rule 10: Mideast civil wars end in one of three ways: a) like the U.S. civil war, with one side vanquishing the other; b) like the Cyprus civil war, with a hard partition and a wall dividing the parties; or c) like the Lebanon civil war, with a soft partition under an iron fist (Syria) that keeps everyone in line. Saddam used to be the iron fist in Iraq. Now it is us. If we don't want to play that role, Iraq's civil war will end with A or B.
I am afraid you may be right, at least about that 20% of the country where most of the violence is.Rule 11: The most underestimated emotion in Arab politics is humiliation. The Israeli-Arab conflict, for instance, is not just about borders. Israel's mere existence is a daily humiliation to Muslims, who can't understand how, if they have the superior religion, Israel can be so powerful.
Maybe the answer is their religion is not that superior. It has aspects plagerized from Judiasm and Chrisianity, but then Satan got involved, and convinced Muhammad that he was the angel Gabriel, and started teaching him about spreading the faith through conquest and forced conversion.Al Jazeera's editor, Ahmed Sheikh, said it best when he recently told the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche: "It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego.
Oh your poor ego.The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this."
Rule 12: Thus, the Israelis will always win, and the Palestinians will always make sure they never enjoy it. Everything else is just commentary.
That pretty well summarizes the facts.Rule 13: Our first priority is democracy, but the Arabs' first priority is "justice."
And they define justice as "We want to win"The oft-warring Arab tribes are all wounded souls, who really have been hurt by colonial powers, by Jewish settlements on Palestinian land,
What about Arab settlements on Jewish landby Arab kings and dictators, and, most of all, by each other in endless tribal wars. For Iraq's long-abused Shiite majority, democracy is first and foremost a vehicle to get justice. Ditto the Kurds. For the minority Sunnis, democracy in Iraq is a vehicle of injustice. For us, democracy is all about protecting minority rights. For them, democracy is first about consolidating majority rights and getting justice.
ISLAM First reported A Somali Islamic Courts defence chief has for the first time called on foreign Muslim fighters to join his movement's war against Ethiopia.
The Ethiopians are kicking their butts, and they need all the help they can get."We're saying our country is open to Muslims worldwide. Let them fight in Somalia and wage jihad, and God willing, attack Addis Ababa," Yusuf Mohamed Siad, known as Inda'ade, said. "Today the war is being fought by land and air," Sheikh Mahmud Ibrahim Suley, an SICS official, told reporters in Mogadishu.
And they are getting their butts kicked both ways."We want anyone who can help remove the enemy to come in," he told a news conference in the Mogadishu, the Somali capital and an Islamic Courts stronghold. "Our Islamic fighters have taken control of Idale and are heading to other parts where Tigray (Ethiopian) invaders are now based, by the will of Allah, we will liberate our people and country from the Ethiopian invaders,"
And reimpose repressive Sharia Law.Islamic Courts Information chief Abdurahim Ali Muddey said the AFP. "We are at war with Ethiopia, but not with the government,"
Yes, they don't want to be at war with the government, because they have airplanes that can attack them. They just want to oppress the people of Ethiopia.Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamic Courts leader said on Thursday. Somalia's Islamic courts on Monday, June 5, claimed victory over a US-backed warlord alliance after four months of fierce fighting in the capital Mogadishu that claimed the lives of hundreds as the interim government invited the courts to take part in dialogue. "The Joint Islamic Courts are not interested in a continuation of hostilities and will fully implement peace and security after the change has been made by the victory of the people with the support of Allah,"
In other words we will make peace if they let us win.its chairman Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP). He said fighters loyal to the Islamic courts have seized the capital Mogadishu from the US-backed Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT).
I never really thought of it this way, but Dennis Prager nailed it when he wrote in Human Events
If you want to predict on which side an American will line up in the Culture War wracking America, virtually all you have to do is get an answer to this question: Does the person believe in the divinity and authority of the Five Books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah? .... That is why one speaks of Judeo-Christian values, but not of Judeo-Christian theology. Torah-believing Jews and Torah-believing Christians have very different theological beliefs, but they agree on almost all values issues -- largely because they share a belief in the divinity of the same text.... That a belief or lack of belief in the divinity of a book dating back over 2,500 years is at the center of the Culture War in America and between religious America and secular Europe is almost unbelievable. But it not only explains these divisions; it also explains the hatred that much of the Left has for Jewish, Protestant, Catholic and Mormon Bible-believers.And it explains why Jews, Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons can disagree on specific points of theology, yet can ban together in support of Judeo-Christian moral issues, because they stem from what God said in the Torah.For the Left, such beliefs are irrational, absurd and immoral. Which is exactly how most conservatives regard most leftist beliefs, such as: there is nothing inherently superior in a child being raised by a mother and father rather than by two fathers or two mothers; men and women are not basically different, but only socially influenced to be different; Marxism was scientific; that the Soviet Union was not an evil empire; it was immoral for Israel to bomb Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor; morality is relative to the individual or society; there is no moral judgment to be made about a woman aborting a healthy human fetus solely because she doesn't want a baby at this time; material poverty, not moral poverty, causes violent crime, etc.
Amir Taheri wrote in New York Post When the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank reported two years ago that the Iraqi economy was heading for a boom, skeptics dismissed it as misplaced optimism. Now, however, even some of those who opposed the toppling of Saddam Hussein admit that many Iraqis share that optimism. Newsweek has just hailed the emergence of a booming market economy in Iraq as "the mother of all surprises," noting that "Iraqis are more optimistic about the future than most Americans are."
That is because Americans have been reading the doom and gloom stories in the MSM, including Newsweek, while Iraqis don't get Newsweek or the New York Times (except of course for the terrorists that get the NYT for the secrets it prints)The reason, of course, is that Iraqis know what is going on in their country while Americans are fed a diet of exclusively negative reporting from Iraq.
The growing dynamism of the Iraqi economy is reflected in the steady increase in the value of the national currency, the dinar, against the three currencies in direct competition with it in the Iraqi marketplace: the Iranian rial, the Kuwaiti dinar and the U.S. dollar, since January 2006.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
NYT reported As Democrats turn toward the 2008 presidential race, a novice evangelical political operative is emerging as a rising star in the party, drawing both applause and alarm for her courtship of theological conservatives in the midterm elections.
Dems know they need the religious vote, but the Secular Humanists in control of the party shutter at the thought of embracing faith. They wonder, is it possible to fool the faithful, like they have fooled the blacks. pretending they are really looking out for their interests, when in reality they dont care a whit about them.Party strategists and nonpartisan pollsters credit the operative, Mara Vanderslice, and her 2-year-old consulting firm, Common Good Strategies, with helping a handful of Democratic candidates make deep inroads among white evangelical and churchgoing Roman Catholic voters in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The court rejected an appeal by Saddam Hussein's lawyers and confirmed that he would be hanged,At least he is lucky. Iraq uses a gallows, so it should break his neck, killing him immediately. In Iran when they hang someone they tie the rope around his neck, and lift him up with a crane, so he suffocates to death as the rope strangles him.court spokesman Raed Juhi told the BBC. The appeal was launched after an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam Hussein to death on 5 November for the 1982 killings of 148 Shias in the town Dujail. Under Iraqi law, Saddam Hussein must be executed within 30 days.And in any event it must happen before April 28, or it may be impossible to execute him at all"It cannot exceed 30 days. As from tomorrow [Wednesday] the sentence could be carried out at any time," appeals court judge Arif Shaheen told a news conference in Baghdad.
FOCUS Information Agency reported An activist of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda who claims that he managed to escape from US air base in Afghanistan in 2005, summoned the Muslims to continue their “holly war against the West”, Reuters reports. The statement of the man who presented himself as Abu Ahia al Libi had been published in an Islamic website. He summoned the Muslims to remain vigilant and not to refuse from their fight”. “There is no other way besides jihad.
Actually there is. You could prove the oft stated expression the Islam is a Religion of Peace, and try peace.To stop the holly war means to humiliate ourselves and to become weak.
You have already humiliated yourself, and you are weak. If you were strong, you would fight the Americans on the battlefield, rather than killing innocent Afgans, and setting of IEDs to blow people up.The war should continue”, al Libi stated.
Canada.com reported The jihad against NATO forces will continue despite the apparent success of Operation Baaz Tsuka a spokesman for the Taliban said Tuesday. "The Jihad will be going on until we kick them out of Afghanistan," said Qari Yousaf Ahmadi in an interview with The Canadian Press by satellite phone. "The non-Muslims came and occupied our country."
Gee, I wonder what could have possesed them to do that? It could not have had anything to do with your support of al Qaeda, who launched an attack from bases in Afganistan that took down two buildings and killed 3,000 people on 9/11, could it?NATO forces launched Operation Baaz Tsuka with the goal of eliminating what it calls "tier-one Taliban" from the Panjwaii and Zhare districts. It is believed roughly three-quarters of Taliban fighters, still located in the area, are only in it for the money
And there is a lot of that from the heroin trade.and could be convinced to put down their weapons and return to their villages. A number of villages in the Panjwaii and Zhare districts have been secured by Canadian and NATO forces with few fireworks so far. A number of U.S.-led air strikes has taken its toll on the Taliban with a number of commanders being killed.
Jeff Sessions wrote in WaPo In the aftermath of their November election victory, Democratic leaders have pledged to work on a bipartisan basis to solve the problems facing our nation. In that spirit, I suggest that Democrats and Republicans can successfully work together to create personal savings accounts for all Americans outside the Social Security system, an idea that politicians from both political parties have supported for years
Why just outside Social Security. Why not allow a worker to put as much as he wants in the account, and let a matching amount of his Social Security Taxes join it.
A veil-wearing Muslim convert today claimed the way she chooses to dress makes her feel "liberated" as she delivered an alternative Christmas message.She must be butt ugly.Khadija, the great-granddaughter of a suffragette, rejected claims that the niqab that covers her face is a mark of separation.It certainly is not a mark of inclusion.
Monday, December 25, 2006
‘Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.
As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.
With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I’d seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.
I’d heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.
He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?
His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.
Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.
I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.
He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps.”
With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.
I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.
I didn’t want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said “Carry on, Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all secure.”
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.
LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq
Well, as you know, it's almost time for my birthday again. Last year, they had a really big party for me and it seems like they will again this year. After all they have been shopping and preparing for it for months now, and there have been announcements and advertisements almost every day about how soon it's coming! They really do go overboard about it, but it's nice to know that at least one day of the year some people are thinking about me a little.
You know, it's been many years now since they first started celebrating my birthday. Back then they seemed to realize and appreciate how much fun it is for the little children. Just the same, it seems that most folks are missing the point of it all. Like last year, for example, when my birthday came around, they threw a big party, but can you believe it? I wasn't even invited! Imagine! The guest of honor, and they forgot all about me.
They had begun preparing for the festivities months in advance, but when the big day came, I was left out in the cold! Well, it happened so many times in recent years, I wasn't even surprised. Even though I wasn't invited, I thought I'd just quietly slip in anyway. So I came in and stood off to the side. Everyone was drinking, laughing, and having a great time when all of a sudden in came this fat fellow in a bright red suit, wearing a phoney white beard shouting, "Ho Ho Ho!". He looked like he had more than enough to drink.
When he collapsed into a big armchair, all of the children went running over to him excitedly yelling, "Santa! Santa!" I mean, you'd have thought he was the guest of honor and the whole holiday was just for him. Then he began telling them the most ridiculous story you ever heard! That he lives at the North pole with a crew of dwarfs and that every year on my birthday he rides in his sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying reindeer, delivering presents to children all over the world! I mean there wasn't a word of truth in anything that he said. Imagine telling such poor, little, impressionable kids such far fetched fables! Finally I just had to leave. I walked out the door. It was no surprise that no one even noticed that I had gone.
As I walked down the street, I felt about as lonely and forlorn as a stray dog. I could not remember the last time I felt that low. Maybe you don't think I cry? The little manger scene you put in the corner of your living room is really touching! It's good that people commemorate my birthday like that. Did you know that nowadays, in some countries, the authorities won't even allow manger scenes placed in parks, streets, or public places anymore? Not to mention their schools! I'm not talking about Communist countries! I'm talking about the good, old USA. Imagine! What could be more innocent than a manger scene to remind people of my birthday? Yet it's banned! They've passed laws against it to make it illegal. What is this world coming to?
Another thing that amazes me is how, on my birthday, instead of giving me presents, most people give gifts to each other! And to top it off, it's usually the kind of stuff you don't even need! Let me ask you, wouldn't you find it odd if when your birthday came along, all your friends decided to celebrate by giving gifts to each other, and not giving you a thing? Someone once told me, "Well, it's because you're not around like most people are, so how can we give you a present?" You know my answer to that one?: "Then give gifts of food and clothing to the poor, give help to those who need it. Go visit the lonely! Any gift you give a needy fellow man, I'll count it as if you gave it to me personally." (And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40).
Well, sad to say, things are getting worse every year. You can just imagine my shock a few years ago when I began seeing them taking the title out of my birthday greeting and replacing it with an 'X'? What an insult! Think of it! Xmas!... What if I wrote you a birthday card and said Happy Birthday X! You'd probably never talk to me again! That is just about how I feel. What more could they do to push me out of the picture on my own birthday? It reminds me of what happened to a friend of mine recently, a sweet, elderly fellow. He is from the poorer side of town, and he's been trying unsuccessfully for years to join the church. It was a very exclusive church for the proper kind of folks, and they just did not think he was good enough to be a member. I found him one time sitting on the church steps with his head in his hands . I asked him what was wrong. He told me about it. I put my arm around his shoulder and told him I knew just how he felt. I've been wanting to enter that same church for 20 years and they've never let me in either.
Well, there is an end to even my patience. So I'm going to let you in on a secret. Now this is something I have been planning on doing for quite sometime. I'll have my own party! How about that? It's going to be the most fantastic feast you could possibly imagine! It might not happen this year, but I'm sending out the invitations now. I know you'll want to come. There is going to be room for billions, for everyone who wants to come! Some really famous old timers and celebrities are gonna be there and I'll reserve you a seat of honor right with them. So hold on to your hat because when everything is ready, I'm going to spring it as a big surprise! Many people are going to be left out in the cold because they didn't answer my invitation. Let me know right away if you'd like to come. I'll reserve a place for you and write your name in Large Golden Letters in my Great Big Guest Book!
All My Love, Your Friend,
Sunday, December 24, 2006
WaPo reported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), trading on star power, the capacity to raise tens of millions of dollars with relative ease and an ability to dominate media attention, are rewriting the script of the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign, driving potential rivals to the sidelines and casting a huge shadow over all others who may run.
Actually Clinton is still in the field because of all of the money she raised but did not spend on her senatorial campaign, and it is the MSM's hyping of Obama that is creating him as a top candidate, and it is the MSM that does not want any other Democrats to join the frey, and start criticizing either Clinton or Obama.What once shaped up as a sizable field of Democratic candidates is now shrinking. Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.) announced on Dec. 16 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination, a surprising decision that came just days after he witnessed firsthand the megawatt voltage of Obama's drawing power in New Hampshire. As Bayh drew small crowds on his seventh trip to the Granite State, Obama enjoyed sold-out audiences and saturation coverage on his first.
The election is TWO YEARS AWAY. We just finished the 2006 election. Can't we have a breather for at least a year?
In 632, after five years of fearful warfare, the city of Mecca in the Arabian Hijaz voluntarily opened its gates to the Muslim army. No blood was shed and nobody was forced to convert to IslamWell he certainly killed a lot more just prior to taking over the Ka'bah when he killed a bunch of Jews at the Khaybar Oasis, and afterward when he attacked a force led by Malik ibn 'Awf at the Hunayn wadi, or in the Tabuk raid when he killed a bunch of Christians, but when he took over Mecca he did have a list of Abostates to be killed, even if they sought sanctuary in the Ka'bah itself. Abdullah bin Sa'd was one of these, and he rejected Islam twice, and only accepted Islam the third time, just before he was about to be killed.
For centuries Muslims cherished the figure of Jesus, who is honoured in the Qur'an as one of the greatest of the prophets and, in the formative years of Islam, became a constituent part of the emergent Muslim identity.It is true that Muhammad included a number of Jewish Prophets in his new religion, and called them Muslims (which is interesting because they lived long before Muhammad was born, and he also included Jesus, but says he demotes Christ to being just a Prophet (since why would God send another Prophet after He sent His Son to die for the world's sins), and then he expected Christians to embrace his twisted version of their faith. And the fact that Islam includes Jewish and Christian "Prophets" did not keep him from killing tribes of Jews or Christians when they did not agree that his reinterpretation of their faith was valid, and they refused to renounce their faith and become Muslims. As CrunchyCapsicum commented on the Guardian Site (December 23, 2006 04:59 AM)
The Baha'i Faith stands to Islam much as Islam stands to Christianity (i.e. they claim Muhammad as a prophet, reinterpret him a bit, add a couple of extra prophets). How do you suppose Muslims react to this? They react in just the way that Christians react to Muslims' claim that Jesus was a prophet (and not the son of God). So it's not the case (as you suggest it is) that Christians have been less tolerant than Muslims in relation to one religion's claim to have incorporated the insights of another. Christians have no reason to be tolerant of Islam, nor Muslims of Baha'i - it's not complimentary, but condescending, to tell someone that central features of their religious beliefs are a confused version of your own. If you tell someone that, you should not be surprised when they don't "return the compliment".Karen said
When the New Testament writers - Paul, Matthew, Mark and Luke - call Jesus the "Son of God", they do not mean that he was God.He is not God. He is the Son of God. Christianity is a Monotheistic faith. There is only one God, whether you call him God or Allah, but Christ is his Son.
They use the term in its Jewish sense: in the Hebrew Bible, this title was bestowed upon an ordinary mortal - a king, a priest or a prophet - who had been given a special task by God and enjoyed unusual intimacy with him.The Qu'ran says Surah 5:51 says The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! Note the difference. The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, which is the honorific Karen refers to, while even the Qu'ran admits the Christians call Christ the son of Allah.
Karen also said
Jesus would also play a prominent role beside Muhammad in the eschatological drama of the last days.I can't find the exact quote from the Qu'ran, but as I recall it has Jesus coming back as Muhammad's assistant. The Son of God, coming back as an assistant to a self styled Prophet that twisted references to both Jewish and Christian theology. And if we listen to Bukhari
Volume 3, Book 34, Number 425: says Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from the non-Muslims, who are in the protection, of the Muslim government). Then there will be abundance of money and no-body will accept charitable gifts.So what he is saying is that when Christ returns, he will "break the Cross" (kill all Christians) and kill the pig (kill all the Jews). Well if all the Christians and Jews are gone, there will be no need for the Jizya, which is a tax Christians and Jews have to pay to live under Muslims and yet retain their own faith. I prefer to believe the Biblical version.
In other stories, Jesus articulated specifically Muslim concerns. He was a great model for Muslim ascetics, preaching poverty, humility and patience.Yet never did he say
Surah 19:4294 Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war .... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. or as Surah 5:51 says O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.Sorry Karen, I am staying with my faith in God, and I believe I will enter Heaven because I have accepted his Son Jesus Christ as my personal saviour, so I don't need to strap on an explosive vest and kill innocents to get into Heaven.
Yahoo! News reported A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.
This moonbat may not have liked the change, but I appreciate what the Kern High School Board of Trustees did.The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.
Los Angeles Times reported One of Iraq's most influential Shiite clerics rejected a U.S.-backed proposal to isolate Shiite extremists in the national government, saying the country should govern itself with the help of anti-U.S. firebrand Muqtada Sadr, according to politicians who spoke with the cleric Saturday.
I wish Sistani would publically appear and say what he really thinks. He only speaks through other people, and they twist what he said to what they want.Shiite politicians met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in this Shiite holy city, and then said they had thrown their support behind Sadr, who demands a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq rather than the temporary increase under consideration in Washington.
If al Sadr is to be left alone, we should pull out; if they will let us go after him, we should stay and do it."The Sadr movement is part of Iraqi affairs," said Haider Abadi, a leader of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party. "We won't allow others to interfere to weaken any Iraqi political movement." Ali Adeeb, another member of the Dawa Party, said Shiite leaders, including the prime minister, would resist U.S. efforts to sideline Sadr and his Al Mahdi army.
The Shia like the ethnic cleansing that Sadr is doing, killing Sunnis in Baghdad, turning it into a strictly Shia city. But if that is going to continue, we should pull out. | <urn:uuid:d59b7db7-b491-480a-9c02-947d17272203> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://donsingleton.blogspot.com/2006_12_24_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971355 | 12,479 | 1.75 | 2 |
Archive for June, 2012
Microsoft just concluded the Windows Phone Summit, where it announced Windows Phone 8. The event highlighted only platform-level changes, not final end-user features, but there was still plenty to cover. Most significantly, Windows Phone is moving from the Windows CE kernel to the same Windows NT components underlying Windows 8. Windows Phone 8 features a revised Start screen with resizable live tiles, higher screen resolutions, support for removable memory cards, and more.
Like Windows 8, the new phone OS will feature background multitasking for apps like VoIP services (e.g. Skype) and turn-by-turn GPS navigation, along with native C/C++ code support and NFC.
However, all the changes mean that no current Windows Phone 7.x handsets will support the new OS. Microsoft will release a Windows Phone 7.8 update, though, to add the new Start screen to WP 7.5 phones.
Read on after the break for all the new platform features announced:
It looks like it’s not only Google that think the future’s in the Cloud; Baidu have recently unveiled their latest Cloud phone. As a Baidu handset, it’ll also include voice search, voice control, and other online services offered by the Chinese search company. Of course, its biggest feature is going to be cloud storage. It’ll feature 100GB of cloud storage, which means you can store a pretty huge amount of games, videos, photos and messages in the cloud.
If you don’t know what cloud storage is, think of Google Documents. (If you haven’t got Google Documents, then, do.) Google Docs is an online application which allows users to write text documents, spreadsheets and presentations, and then save them ‘online’. This means your document doesn’t take up any room on your hard drive, and it is, in fact, not even stored on your computer. You can access your Google documents on any computer in the world, as long as you remember your password and have an internet connection. Pretty neat, huh?
Cloud storage on phones is an even bigger deal; we all have a personal computer or laptop, which, let’s face it, is where we’re going to want to do all of our work, writing, editing, etc. With phones, however, there are plenty of reasons why you might want to access your files from a different device, without having to physically move it over first. Want to edit the photos you took yesterday or write up those essay ideas you typed on the bus? Just turn on your PC and access your documents from the Cloud.
Saving your stuff in the cloud is also even more secure than saving it on your gadget or gizmo, whatever that might be. You might think that since it’s just floating around the internet it’s potentially insecure, but provided you keep your passwords secret and obscure, there’s nothing that should make your cloud accounts any more difficult to get into than your bank account.
Cloud storage is also cheaper than physical storage. The Baidu handset comes with 100GB of cloud storage, though there have also been rumours of a 300GB version being made available. In any case, you wouldn’t find 100GB of physical storage on a smartphone these days, would you? That’s because in physical terms, it’s a huge amount to include on a tiny little phone, but in cloud terms it’s minuscule.
If you’re still not convinced, just wait until you get your hands on one of the latest HTC One range of handsets. Each HTC One phone comes with 25GB of Dropbox storage – which, by the way, is cloud storage – and as one of the first range of smartphones to utilise the cloud, it should be sure to recruit a few converts along the way. | <urn:uuid:bb47e958-b275-422e-bd96-fe2c3a340019> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techautos.com/2012/06/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93701 | 814 | 1.59375 | 2 |
For some people who live on paycheck to paycheck monthly, getting a life insurance is not really a priority. Others even avoid the discussion about death totally thinking that it’s a morbid topic. We must understand, however, that death is one of the things that’s certain in life and having a life insurance is a way to prepare for our loved ones future.
Life insurance can provide income replacement so that the surviving party will not be financially crippled in the event of death. Also, life insurance can also serve as some sort of mortgage protection especially if the dependents depend on the insured’s income to pay for a mortgage. They can use the life insurance benefits to pay for the mortgage and not end up being homeless. In addition, life insurance can make sure that a person’s loved ones will not be burdened with all those funeral expenses, burial costs and medical bills after he or she pass away.
There are lots of insurance companies that offer life insurance. If you check out life insurance quotes from websites such as Advantage One that allow consumers to shop from up to 120 companies online, you might be able to find a life insurance term that fits your lifestyle and budget.
You should get a life insurance. Now, my question is, “will you?” | <urn:uuid:97193a8d-e470-4f07-bd4d-68b2c89f25eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wahwm.com/tag/insurance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953083 | 263 | 1.625 | 2 |
By Eric Savitz
Yesterday afternoon, MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) disclosed in an SEC filing after the closed that it had struck a revised silicon wafer supply agreement with Suntech Power (STP) which cuts the price Suntech is paying per wafer, but increasing volume to maintain the revenue targets under the deal for both 2009 and for the remainder of the 10-year deal, which was struck in 2006.
The revised agreement is a symptom of a key underlying dynamic in the solar industry: collapsing prices for raw polysilicon in the face of dramatically increasing supply. In a comprehensive report on the subject this morning, Collins Stewart solar analyst Dan Ries notes that spot market poly prices have fallen from a peak of about $450/kg in mid-2008 to the $130-$150/kg range more recently. That’s a pretty dramatic move – but the decline is far from over.
Ries contends that spot prices by mid-2009 will plunge to the $40-$60/kg level, due to a severe oversupply. As the solar industry has blossomed over the last few years, margins exploded for the poly manufacturers like MEMC, drawing in a host of new players. Capacity expansion has boomed, and now appears to be well in excess of demand. Ries estimates that in 2009, polysilicon production will reach 80,300 metric tons, 49% more than his demand forecast of 53,905 tons. That’s a surplus of 26,395 tons. He sees the surplus in 2010 rising to 48, 785 tons, as demand grows 22% while supply increases 43%.
The way Ries see it, oversupply will continue until some production capacity is taken off line. For that to happen, he says, prices will need to drop below $60/kg, roughly the marginal cost for the highest-cost producers.
Unfortunately, he notes, demand elasticity in the short-run will be low. Since silicon is a very small percentage of the production costs for chip makers, it won’t make much of a dent at all there. In the solar business, there could be enormous price elasticity in the long run – but he sees a lag of about 9 months. Meanwhile, he says, solar company revenues will “suffer” as ASP erosion offsets modestly higher volume. “Until a new equilibrium is reached, which could take a year, the detrimental effects of deflation will outweigh the benefits of lower priced polysilicon for module suppliers,” he writes.
The silver lining here is that in the long run, much lower prices for polysilicon are the most direct way to bring down solar electricity production costs low enough to compete with conventional utility scale power generation. With poly in the $40-$60/kg range, he says, module prices would drop to the $1.70-$2/watt range, and utility scale projects could produce power for 11 cents/watt. At that rate, he says, solar would be “reasonably competitive” with combined cycle natural gas facilities and wind turbines. “A significant market would open and drive a wave of growth for the industry,” he says. “In the long-term, a collapse in polysilicon would be extremely positive for the industry,” but only after a “difficult adjustment period with falling prices and negative growth.”
This could be an especially scary situation for MEMC, which is basically a pure play on prices for poly and silicon wafers. He has a Hold rating on the stock.
Ries has a Sell rating on Suntech, Hold ratings on Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JA Solar (JASO) and Solarfun (SOLF), and a Buy rating on First Solar (FSLR) and Yingli Green Energy (YGE). He also notes that a huge drop in pricing could be a boon for solar installers, including Europe’s Phoenix Solar (PS4.DE.)
He also notes that while he likes Yingli as a prime beneficiary of lower poly prices, he also notes that the company is in the process of building its own poly facility, “which given the polysilicon environment may not provide the company with an economic return during its first year of operation.” On First Solar, he points out that lower poly prices has negative competitive implications, reducing the company’s cost advantage against its silicon-based competitors. | <urn:uuid:84feeed8-a9d5-4829-973f-968aac0aa2e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/02/12/solar-what-happens-when-polysilicon-prices-collapse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954192 | 919 | 1.609375 | 2 |
- On shock and organisation
- Up we rise
- Interpretations of Excess
- On fairy dust and rupture
- Speculating on the crisis
- Six impossible things before breakfast
- Worlds in motion
- What is a life?
- On the road
- Event horizon
- Summits and plateaus
- Moments of excess
- What is the movement?
- Anti-capitalist movements
- The return of the tortoise
- When two sevens clash: punk and autonomia
- MOMENTS OF EXCESS
First the London burning story: three nights of rioting (and counting) in the capital, spreading from borough to borough and, now, to other cities (Birmingham). What a finance type might describe as a serious case of contagion.
Second, financial meltdown 2. Plummeting share prices, a deepening of the eurozone crisis and the downgrading by a notch of US government debt (for the first time ever) from the highest ‘triple A’ rating to AA+. (The credits ratings system is quite arcane – Wikipedia’s explanation is here.)
Most of the reporting on and analysis of the riots has been (predictably) poor. Comparisons have been made with the series of inner-city riots of the early 1980s. However most of the discussion is couched in terms of ‘criminality’; few commentators have bothered to mention the economic backdrop. But it’s no coincidence that that series of riots happened during the period when neoliberalism was being imposed on Britain’s population by Thatcher’s first government, when class antagonism was most naked and when Thatcherism/neoliberalism was arguably most fragile. Now, three decades later, neoliberalism is in crisis (as we’ve argued in Turbulence, a zombie – or here for our Comment in The Guardian) and we’re seeing more riots and more unrest. A great exception is Nina Power’s piece in The Guardian.
In fact, a year or so ago, parts of Britain’s Establishment were making the connections, e.g. an ACPO spokesperson in April 2009, Nick Clegg just before the election. Of course, now their predictions have come to pass they (the ruling class) have to pull together. Restoring order is the priority.
So that’s the riots then. Now let’s move on to consider the financial maelstrom…
In fact, the turmoil in the financial markets is all part of the same, much broader story.
What the commenters say is that there are doubts whether governments can repay their debts. Exactly. Those who trade in the financial markets, particularly those who buy and sell so-called sovereign debt — basically the IOUs, known as bonds or bills, that governments issue –think that there’s a risk that governments won’t actually be able to honour these IOUs. They fear default. And because they think there’s a risk of default they’re less willing to lend to governments. To persuade the people and institutions who lend to governments to overcome their reluctance, governments must offer a little extra compensation, a higher reward. In other words governments must pay a higher rate of interest, the lenders receive a higher yield. That’s why the yields on Greek and Spanish and Portuguese and Irish (the so-called PIGS) government debt, and now Italian and Cypriot government debt, have gone sky-high. Because financial investors think there’s a high chance these governments will default and they want additional reward for taking on that risk. Yields on US government debt haven’t reached Mediterranean levels, but nevertheless, they believe there’s a slightly higher risk — the reason why on Friday Standard and Poor’s (one of the three rating agencies) downgraded US government bonds from AAA to AA+.
So far so orthodox. But why the doubts? Why do ‘the markets’ fear that governments won’t be able to repay their debts? Because, to do so, governments must either increase their revenue (raise taxes) or reduce spending (make cuts). As we know, most governments are ruling out meaningful tax increases on the wealthy (individual rich people) and on capital (corporations), preferring instead to attempt to impose austerity. But this is where they’re running into trouble, particularly in southern Europe. Essentially governments aren’t able to impose as much austerity as ‘the markets would like’. And that’s because of class struggle — the occupations, the demonstrations, the social unrest, that we’ve been witnessing over the past couple of years.
And from here, we can travel north again, to this weekend’s rioting in London. Nick Clegg today claimed that ‘the international debt crisis vindicates the coalition government’s decision to prioritise cutting Britain’s budget deficit’:
Clegg insisted the crisis showed why the government was right to introduce sweeping spending cuts in a bid to eliminate the UK’s structural deficit by 2015.
“All governments around the world need to get to grips with their public finances and, at the same time, to put in place the long-term reforms that create growth and prosperity for millions of people around the world,” he said.
“If anyone had any doubt about the need for this coalition government first to come together in the national interest in times of great economic uncertainty and then to get on top of our public finances, I think that recent events should demonstrate the necessity of the steps that we took last year.”
Clegg is saying here that the British government has done — or is attempting to do — what the governments of the PIGS (and more) haven’t managed. The ‘recent events’ he’s referring to are the financial crises. But the recent — and ongoing — events on the streets of Britain’s capital may demonstrate that Clegg’s hubris may be premature.
At the moment, financial investors are betting that ‘the U.K. will remain insulated from the fiscal crises roiling the U.S. and the euro region‘ — yields on British government debt (known as ‘gilts’) have fallen over the past few days, indicating that ‘the markets’ do not currently fear British default. But over the next days, weeks and months, we should keep as close an eye on these indicators as on the ‘street’. The City is not apart from the city. | <urn:uuid:1bd178ad-cb5d-4730-8626-f93218a04bb8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freelyassociating.org/2011/08/aa-for-the-rioters/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942989 | 1,375 | 1.78125 | 2 |
A large bronze sculpture of a woman’s back by Henri Matisse sold Wednesday for nearly 49 million dollars, setting a new record for the French impressionist.
Measuring 74.5 inches (189.2 cm), “Nu de dos” was the star of the auction at Christie’s in New York.
It went under the hammer just a day after rival Sotheby’s auctioned an Amedeo Modigliani painting for a record 69 million dollars.
“Nu de dos, 4 etat (Back IV),” had been estimated to sell for between 25 and 35 million dollars, before a bidding war sent the price spiraling to 48,802,500 dollars.
A record was also set at Christie’s for Juan Gris, whose cubist oil on canvas painting, “Violon et guitare,” sold for 28.6 million dollars. The painting had been estimated to sell for between 18 and 25 million dollars.
The stunning Matisse sale injected high energy into an often muted auction, where the 231 million dollars total haul came in at the lower end of the pre-auction estimate of 198.3 to 286.6 million dollars.
Aside from Matisse, Gris and a few other standouts, there were a number of disappointments for Christie’s.
Two paintings by Picasso, another by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one by Edgar Degas and an Auguste Rodin sculpture were among the works that failed to sell.
Many other lots were sold at below their pre-auction low estimates or at barely within the estimates, while those exceeding expectations were comparatively rare.
On Tuesday, Sotheby’s saw an even bigger hit when Modigliani’s circa 1917 canvas, titled “Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romaine),” catapulted beyond a pre-sale estimate in the region of 40 million dollars.
Another highlight of Tuesday’s auction was 24.7 million dollars for Claude Monet’s “Le Bassin aux Nympheas,” part of his iconic water lilies series.
Both Christie’s and Sotheby’s had predicted a surge in demand ahead of this year’s autumn auctions, with the art market emerging from a slump triggered by the global financial crisis.
After this week’s impressionist and modern sales, attention shifts next week to contemporary art, starting with Sotheby’s on November 9.
A Mark Rothko abstract painting absent from the market for four decades could lead the sale, with an estimate of 20 to 30 million dollars.
On November 10, Christie’s will feature what it hopes will be 240 million dollars worth of sales led by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Rothko. | <urn:uuid:8ac0181b-1333-46ce-830f-0c53aa57d5f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.luxuo.com/art/matisse-49-million-dollar-record-bronze-sculpture.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938351 | 606 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Ever since the Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus) passed over opposition from every House Republican and nearly every Republican in the Senate, ThinkProgress has carefully documented how opponents of the stimulus have called the program a failure, while at the same time taking credit for its success in their home districts.
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), a vocal opponent of the stimulus, confronted President Obama and told him that the program would be a waste shortly before the vote. “Mr. President, I think it’s more than a little bit selfish to try to solve our economic problems which we created by burdening future generations yet to be born,” Bartlett said to Obama, according to Fox News. But with stimulus projects helping to boost the western Maryland region Bartlett represents, Bartlett is singing a different tune to his constituents. In a press statement blasted by his office earlier this week, Bartlett “announced” a $115,240,581 grant to “expand broadband internet access throughout western Maryland”:
Congressman Bartlett said, “This $115,240,581 grant to the state of Maryland is part of the federal government’s effort to expand broadband access to less populated, rural areas. Through a public-private partnership, the state will deploy its One Maryland Broadband Network to provide abundant, affordable broadband internet to western Maryland and other areas of the state. In Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, our founders gave Congress the power to ‘establish Post Offices and Post Roads.’ They recognized that it was a federal government responsibility to ensure that there was a means of communication and transportation between the states. Technology has evolved over time and the post roads of yesterday have evolved into the internet of today. This initiative is very important to western Marylanders since it will enable our residents and businesses access to a tool that is vital to commerce in our national and global economy.”
Bartlett’s release did not disclose that the program is funded entirely by the stimulus. Of course, Bartlett, a good friend of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), tries to posture as a courageous, anti-government Tea Party lawmaker. But in reality, he’s just a hypocrite who votes against vital reforms and spending programs in Washington, while sheepishly trying to take credit for their success back at home. | <urn:uuid:0e2ddbac-4a88-40ea-817c-56192ad20403> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2010/09/28/121365/bartlett-stimulus-hypocrisy/?mobile=nc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962739 | 491 | 1.554688 | 2 |
A City of Great Avenues
Robert Freedman - Director, Urban Design, Planning Division, City of Toronto
On my first visit back to Toronto, while I was living in New York in the early nineties, I remember being struck by how small our main streets looked and felt in comparison to the grand Avenues of Manhattan. Streets that loomed large in childhood memories - like Yonge, Queen, the Queensway, and Eglinton, suddenly felt under-scaled, like small-town Main Streets or typical strip malls on the edge of town. Toronto is not New York, nor should it try to be, but I do remember thinking what a difference it would have made to our quality of life if our Main Streets, (mostly the remnants of the mile-and-a-quarter concession road grid), had built out more ambitiously.
If Toronto aspires to become a City of great Avenues, we now have a policy tool that is designed to make that happen -- the Avenues Initiative in our new Official Plan.
The city's Official Plan, adopted by Council in November of 2002, and currently under appeal at the Ontario Municipal Board, sets out a coherent and ambitious vision for Toronto's 162 km of Avenues. They are part of the 25% of the city, along with the downtown, waterfront, and four centres, that will accommodate the growth and increase in population that is projected for Toronto over the next 25 years, numbers that range from a conservative half a million to over one million new residents. Some of these new citizens will move into existing residential neighbourhoods, others will choose to live in rental or condo towers, and the remainder, (according to the Plan), will be living in mixed-use, mid-rise buildings lining our Avenues. (140,000 condo units are either under construction or in the pipeline right now.)
The transformation being proposed for our Avenues is really one of scale and intensity, and not use. The Avenues identified in the OP are already functioning as neighbourhood commercial corridors, with a broad range of uses, including residential. They also act as the city's major transportation grid for automobiles and transit. With their broad diversity of character and the amount of continuous retail they provide, our Avenues amaze visitors to the city. They help to define Toronto and give it a unique identity.
Despite their success, there is no denying that our Avenues are under-built. As the city continues to grow, it is no longer suitable for our main arterial roads to be lined with two to three story mixed use buildings in older areas, and a jumbled assortment of single-story commercial buildings, strip malls and apartments in newer areas. We are now a large, amalgamated city, with over 2.5 million residents. It is time for our Avenues to grow up.
The Official Plan calls for the Avenues to evolve, building-by-building, over a number of years. The framework for new development on each Avenue will be established by new zoning by-laws and design guidelines, created in consultation with local communities. The consultation with local communities is taking place in the form of Avenue Studies, intense planning and design investigations undertaken by the city in partnership with independent consultants. The 13 Avenue studies the city has completed or underway thus far, provide a vision of Avenues lined by mid-rise, mixed-use buildings, with retail or other public uses at grade and residential uses above, supported by great public transit.
Intensifying the Avenues is crucial to the future development of Toronto for a number of reasons. Growth along the Avenues can happen in a way that will enhance, rather than disturb, our single-family neighbourhoods, while also providing much needed accommodation to aging residents who wish to sell the family home, but remain close by. As the city grows, so will our demand for the kind of neighbourhood and city amenities that the Avenues currently provide. Finally, intensification of the Avenues supports the city's green agenda. Providing higher density housing along transit routes helps reduce demand for housing in less well serviced areas of the GTA, providing a realistic alternative for those people who do not wish to be dependent on the private automobile to get around. Preliminary estimates show that if all 162 km of Avenues were to be built to an average of 6 stories, we could provide 120,000 housing units, accommodating approximately 260,000 people.
From an urban design perspective, lining the Avenues with mid-rise buildings is a concept as old as the city. Studies of great urban streets, from around the world, tend to exhibit a number of common characteristics:
The Avenues initiative is supported by a workable plan for implementation. A number of Avenue studies have been completed and more are on the way. Since 2002, applications for over 250 projects along the Avenues have been submitted, representing over 21,000 residential units. Having said that, the Avenues initiative is not exactly taking the city by storm. At current rates, it is going to be a very long time before we see our Avenues built out to resemble the transformational images that we produced for the roll-out of the Official Plan. So what's the holdup?
- Mixed-use buildings, with tall, transparent, ground-floor commercial spaces
- A common setback or build-to line (with occasional interruptions)
- An average height of buildings that is approximately as high as the street is wide
- Generous tree-lined sidewalks
- Good public transportation
- Buildings that frame the street, without overpowering the space or depriving it of access to natural light.
The policy framework is compelling but the Toronto development community has not fully embraced the mid-rise building type. By mid-rise, we mean buildings that are taller than a townhouse, but no taller than the street right-of-way, usually between 6 to 12 stories in height. These buildings are typically constructed of concrete, require common circulation, underground parking and elevators. The general feeling among developers in Toronto seems to be that this scale of building is just too expensive and therefore too risky to build in any great numbers at the present time. While the Toronto development community has "cracked the code" on point tower condominiums and long rows of townhouses, the secret to unlocking the mid-rise scale continues to evade us.
In order to better understand the issues, the city's Urban Design Section has teamed up with the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), and the Toronto Society of Architects (TSA), to host a symposium on the subject, to be held on November 29. In preparing for this symposium, we have been talking to developers, architects, and market analysts who have suggested that the major issues fall into three broad categories:
- Policy and City-Wide Planning Issues:
- The policy is unrealistic. If there was a market for mid-rise buildings along the Avenues, the development community would be responsive.
- Required property assembly is too difficult, particularly in the older parts of the city.
- Parking requirements are too onerous.
- The City must lead with great transit to enhance the appeal of the Avenues.
- The City's expectations with respect to continuous ground floor retail are unrealistic.
- Nimbyism - People like the idea of mid-rise, but only if it is not adjacent to their backyard. They fear overlook, shadowing, traffic and parking impacts, and over- crowding within local community and recreational facilities.
Mid-Rise Building Issues:
- Mid-rise buildings are typically concrete structures with high construction costs that need to be supported by higher densities and building heights.
- The requirement to make ground floor units easily convertible into retail, restaurant or other public uses, can be difficult and expensive.
- The extent of common space required, for the scale of building, negatively impacts financial feasibility.
- A range of small building design issues including the challenge to design an efficient footprint, the expense of underground parking, accommodation of a second means of egress, the provision of expensive elevators and their ongoing maintenance, as well as onerous loading and garbage requirements.
- Expensive noise abatement measures (e.g., triple glazing) may be necessary to make street-facing units marketable.
Market and Economic Issues:
With all of these issues associated with mid-rise development, some critics have asked the very blunt and honest question - why bother? What makes this initiative different and therefore more likely to succeed than similar efforts in the past? To begin with, the amalgamated city includes newer, wider Avenues. These Avenues have the potential to accommodate taller mid-rise buildings; the parcels are larger, requiring less land assembly and making building layout and parking easier. There is also more room in the street for dedicated transit. Finally, Torontonians (for a variety of reasons including cost, convenience, and urban living) are buying condos at an unprecedented rate, not just as an investment, but also as places to live. With rising gas prices, mid-rise condo buildings are even starting to appeal to families, particularly if family friendly amenities like secure-roof-top play areas and parking spaces with garage doors are included.
- The market is finicky. The majority of potential condominium buyers want a unit with a view.
- Many people do not want to "live above the shop", and feel that there is a certain stigma attached to it.
- Some buyers like the idea of living on a transit line, others do not.
- Some see the Avenues as a great place for empty nesters and seniors, while others see it as a hard sell.
- There is a market for affordable housing, but it raises NIMBY issues.
- Ground floor entertainment retail, restaurant and bar uses are often seen to be in conflict with residential uses above.
- Small sized mid-rise buildings can be very expensive to build with poor economy of scale.
- The City's rezoning and development review process is too onerous and too slow. Banks are wary of mid-rise projects.
- There are no tax or financial incentives for this form of development, as there are in other Canadian and US cities.
- The Avenues begin to work and create synergy when there is a critical mass of buildings on both sides of the street. "Pioneer" builders are therefore burdened with greater risk.
- Townhouses are faster and easier to get approved and built, even if it means leaving density on the table.
- The "hipness factor" - the condo marketing machine has associated urban living with high-rise condos and lofts - whether for singles or empty nesters. Mid-rise on the Avenues is a tougher sell.
- Condo living has yet to catch on in a big way with the family housing market.
Despite the optimism of our policy framework, the success of the Avenues Initiative and the mid-rise building form are far from clear, at least in the short term. Many seem confident that, in the long term, the increasing cost and scarcity of land will make the numbers work. The real question is, how do we make things happen now? What can the City do differently, (or better), to kick-start this process? What do architects, builders and the development community need in order to respond? Our Avenues should build-out more ambitiously. On November 29th please join us at our Urbanizing the Avenues Symposium where collectively we can figure out how to make it happen. | <urn:uuid:26dba3c3-18cb-474d-aa03-2ac77c5fb793> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.toronto.ca/planning/midrise_freedman.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957449 | 2,372 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Boating in France: Dole by Boat
Our home port, St Jean de Losne, France, is unusual in that there is easy access to several waterways: the Burgundy Canal, the Saone River, and the Canal du Rhône au Rhine. Last week, having never been to the city of Dole, we decided to head for the Canal du Rhone au Rhine.
Taking a trip by boat is somewhat different than taking a trip by car. With a car, you put the key in the ignition, turn it on, and go! Before ever getting to that point with a boat, one checks the fenders (those things that hang over the sides and look like they could be called “bumpers”); retrieves the binoculars, charts, VHF radio, boat hooks, etc.; locates one’s hat, sunglasses, water jug; makes sure all loose or unstable items are secured; checks the weather report; and on from there! It usually takes about 20 minutes, especially when we are out of practice at the beginning of the season.
We left St Jean de Losne, heading up the Saone River towards the entrance to the Canal du Rhône au Rhine. This canal, linking the Rhine River to the Saone (which flows into the Rhone) was completed in 1802. A lock activator system was put in a few years ago, but, otherwise, the canal is much as it was when it was completed.
The entry to the canal from the river is a 3 meter (10’) deep lock controlled by a lock keeper. After we rode the lock up, he signaled us to join him in the control house. There he presented us with a lock activator (similar to a large cell phone, but with 6 buttons) for our use on the subsequent locks, which do not have lock keepers. He explained its usage in English and also gave us written instructions in English.
The canal winds its way through quiet forested areas where it was just us and the birdsong, and then past a couple of villages. Grey herons, regal birds standing about 3’ tall, feeding along the banks, flew off as we approached, then settled again behind us. We stopped for an early picnic lunch at a small town, Abergement-la-Ronce that conveniently provided a place for an easy mooring. The day, starting off cool, had turned very warm and we welcomed the chance to cool off in the shade of the canal-side picnic shelter.
The lock-keeper at the initial lock had said that we could operate the locks through lunch hour if we wished, but that from 12:30-1:30 no assistance would be available if we had any problems with the locks. (This is France, and lunch hour is not a minor thing.) Luckily, we decided to be cautious and waited to resume our cruising until 1:30. The lock activator had been a little “sticky” on a couple of locks, but on the seventh, it malfunctioned. At the first lock, we had taken down the telephone number of the canal authority for that stretch of waterway, so used our cell phone to call, and in about 30 minutes a lock-keeper arrived to manually activate the lock.
Just before Dole, we came out of a lock and found ourselves on the Doubs River. The next lock took us from the river back into the canal where the port was located. We had traveled 29 kilometers (18 miles) and passed through 9 locks, taking about 7 hours, not counting lunch. Yes, a leisurely way to travel.
The site of the port is wonderful. The town of Dole goes up a hillside from the water, and the buildings of Old Town, many clustered around the church of Notre-Dame, are lovely. We found brightly flowered gardens, corner turrets, and wrought iron grills as we walked towards the commercial part of town. Later, using a map and historical walking tour itinerary that we picked up at the Dole Tourist Office, we discovered some of the hidden corners and arcaded inner courtyards in the many buildings from the 16th and 17th century, all in use today.
Dole obviously has some wealth, as there are many stores displaying stylish clothing as well as some of the best “traiteurs” (prepared food stores) and “fromageries” (cheese stores) we’ve seen in France. There is also a large food market hall, and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings the Dole market spills into the square between the hall and the Notre Dame church and adjoining streets.
The second evening we decided to try one of the restaurants in the Old Town area near the port. We chose an Italian restaurant, “La Petite Venise,* and we both had lovely seafood pastas, dining on the outside patio on the side of another canal that years ago had been used by tanners. The following evening we cooked on board, but we were sorely tempted by the “Pizza Boat” that advertised a wood-fired oven, tied up across the canal from us.
The third day we opted to go to Besconçon, about 35 minutes away by train. By boat it would have been 17 locks and 55 kilometers – probably a couple of days cruising each way. We wanted to see the citadel there and weren’t sure when we’d have time to follow this canal further by boat.
On the fourth day we cruised back to St Jean de Losne. Our return trip was cooler, less eventful, and took less time. It was good to be home!
La Petite Venise
33 rue Pasteur
Tel: 03 84 72 40 06.
For over eight years, Neil and Joan have been spending their summers cruising the canals and rivers of Western Europe aboard their now thirty-year-old Dutch motor-cruiser, the “Estate.” This year they are sharing their experiences. | <urn:uuid:fc69a7f8-bbab-4d73-93a1-dea545ad8e04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.europeupclose.com/article/boating-in-france-dole-by-boat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971329 | 1,263 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The Indonesia Arts Education Exchange Residency at UCLA hosted 7 master artists and educators from three diverse arts organizations in Yogyakarta for eleven weeks during Spring 2009. These included four arts faculty from the Performing Arts Department (Fakultas Seni Pertunjukan) Institute Seni Indonesia in Yogyakarta; two faculty from the High School for the Performing Arts; and one faculty from Yayasan Pamulangan Beksa Sasminta Mardawa.
In America, the program served a diverse population in the greater Los Angeles area as well as having a direct impact on the students and faculty of UCLA. Fellows joined UCLA graduate and undergraduate students as they select two classes each based on their own professional objectives. They team-taught a course for UCLA students under the supervision of Professor Mitoma. The course was a combination of lecture and studio experiences that focused on the dances and performing arts of Indonesia. A total of twenty venues were established so that Indonesian Fellows could share their culture and arts forms for youth in Los Angeles. These were school assemblies in K-12 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Fellows also provided presentations at community based sites, state universities and community colleges. A final public concert CUP OF JAVA at the UCLA Glorya Kaufman Theater featured the seven visiting artists with music performed by the CalArts Javanese Gamelan ensemble.
Conceived as a two-part reciprocal performing arts exchange program, the first phase of the Indonesian Arts Education Exchange program sent four American Fellows for 3 weeks to Indonesia during January 2009, to conduct workshops and stage performances for over 1,000 disadvantaged youth who live in the Yogyakarta area.
The Indonesian Arts Education Exchange Residency Program was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs. | <urn:uuid:11908aef-bb85-4f15-847e-d87ef24648dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wacd.ucla.edu/cip/residency/indonesian-arts-education | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96245 | 380 | 1.578125 | 2 |
A couple of months ago, few people outside of activist and government policy circles had heard of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a pro-business membership association comprised of corporations and conservative lawmakers. Despite its historically low profile, ALEC has recently drawn a great deal of public scrutiny for promoting gun rights policies like the “Stand Your Ground” law at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting case in Florida. A good deal of the credit for increasing the pressure on corporations to leave ALEC can be attributed to groups like The Center for Media Democracy, Common Cause, and other progressive organizations.
ColorOfChange.org, which describes itself as the nation’s largest African American online political organization, has played a critical role in mobilizing its members to take online and offline action to convince corporations to quit ALEC. ColorOfChange.org began pressuring the group’s corporate partners late last year over ALEC’s support of more restrictive voter ID laws. But the boycott really gained steam after the Trayvon Martin case. Since then, more than a dozen ALEC corporate members, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Intuit, and Kraft Foods, have left the group.
Heads-down in the middle of the ALEC campaign, we caught up with ColorOfChange.org Director of Strategy Gabriel Rey-Goodlatte, who shared his insights on online community organizing, corporate public accountability, and the factors that have contributed to the ALEC campaign’s success.
NPQ: Why ALEC?
Gabriel Rey-Goodlatte: “ColorofChange.org first became concerned about ALEC when we learned about their role in pushing discriminatory voter ID laws in states across the country. Fighting against voter suppression has been a priority for our members for a long time. When we learned that major corporations were bankrolling an organization that pushed laws to suppress the votes of African Americans, Latinos, students, the elderly and the poor, we knew our members would want to hold those corporations accountable. ALEC is also involved in pushing a host of other policies that harm African American communities.
We knew that major corporations would not want their brands associated with ALEC's activities, so we asked our members to sign a petition calling on corporations to leave ALEC, and began reaching out to these companies directly to convey our concerns and make sure they understood what they were supporting through ALEC.”
NPQ: How would you characterize the campaign thus far?
GR-G: “So far, the campaign has been very successful, but we still have a lot of work to do to hold ALEC’s corporate sponsors accountable. ColorOfChange.org members have been very engaged in this campaign—nearly 100,000 have signed the petition to ALEC corporations, thousands have made phone calls, and we’ve received hundreds of online donations to help fund the campaign. We’ve successfully pushed 13 major corporations—major household names like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Procter & Gamble—away from ALEC, and we’re continuing to push on all of ALEC’s corporate sponsors to leave. The campaign is receiving a huge amount of media coverage—it’s helped us hold ALEC’s sponsors accountable, educate the public about voter suppression, and raise awareness about the impact of corporate money in politics.”
NPQ: What elements contributed to the campaign’s success?
GR-G: “When we first began the campaign, we didn’t name any of ALEC’s corporate sponsors publicly. Instead, we began reaching out to them in private to convey the concerns of our members and make sure they understand what they have been funding. Corporations appreciate being approached in this way, as it gives them a reasonable chance to reconsider their relationship with ALEC and disassociate themselves from the group. At the same time, we have been very clear that we will hold corporations that refuse to leave ALEC publicly accountable.
Many of the companies funding ALEC make a significant amount of money from African American consumers, and some have a lot of black employees. Our message to these companies was that they could not take black folks’ money with one hand and take away their vote with the other. We made sure that companies understand that this is a civil rights issue and moral issue—that there are not two sides to the right to vote.
In the wake of the Trayvon Martin tragedy, it became clear that ALEC had also helped spread the ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws used justify Trayvon Martin’s killing. The groundswell of attention and activism around that case helped shine a spotlight on ALEC.”
NPQ: When you initiate a campaign, do you have a sense in advance whether or not it will be successful?
GR-G: “We never know for sure how things will play out, but if we launch a campaign, it’s always because we believe there’s a good strategy that has a reasonable chance of success. We are very selective about what we ask our members to do, and only ask them to add their voice where we have a clear theory of how it will make a difference.”
NPQ: What are the key lessons that nonprofit advocacy organizations can glean from this campaign?
GR-G: “Reaching out directly to corporations or others you are trying to hold accountable can be more productive than you might think. Combining direct dialogue with public accountability can be very powerful. The relationship between ALEC and corporations really only functions well when it is kept in the dark. The act of exposing such relationships can completely alter them.
Because of this campaign and others, corporations are increasingly sensitive to the way they can be held accountable for their associations. Companies may be taking a second look at many of their relationships, and this presents a huge opportunity to challenge corporate involvement in politics and policy across many issue areas.”
John Hoffman is director of new markets at ZeroDivide, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization. He has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and development within the high-tech and nonprofit sectors. | <urn:uuid:85203c76-1076-4d0e-8e07-a6073972dd41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/20238-success-in-advocacy-a-conversation-with-colorofchangeorgs-gabriel-rey-goodlatte.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963157 | 1,248 | 1.695313 | 2 |
What can i eat in the morning thats healthy ?
Asked: What can i eat in the morning thats healthy ?
Ok im 12 and i struggle when it comes to what i will eat for breakfast that is healthy i dont like kellogs,oats and weat bix so people anyone who know what i can eat please help(i know i did many spelling mistakes)
Whole wheat Toast and penut butter
brown/wholegrain toast with butter is healthy
also some fruit with a little bit of yougurt will go down well.
Eat fruits. Drink an egg (im serious) .
If you like eggs you could make an omelet with one whole egg and one egg white or two egg whites and add cheese, veggies, etc.
You could get a toasted English muffin (or bread) and spread 1 tbsp of peanut butter on each half of the muffin, and then slice a banana and put it on the top, it's soooo yummy omg
If you like rice Chex or Cheerios you could get those and pour skim milk or reduces fat milk (personally I don't like eating animal products such as dairy so I use unsweetened almond milk) and then slice bananas and strawberries on top which is so yummy also
You said you don't like oats I believe so if you don't like oatmeal disregard this option, but you could have instant oatmeal with banana and brown sugar, or with berries, or really whatever you want.
If you like baking you could make banana chocolate chip muffins, these are vegan, and have half the calories of your normal 400 calorie muffin, and they are seriously the best i have ever had http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/11
Just bake in muffin tins until a toothpick comes out clean. It made about 9 when I made some, at 185 calories each. Browse around on the website, there's a ton of recipes, so yummy.
That's about all I could think of, but really possibilities are endless good luck!
Got a better answer? Share it below! | <urn:uuid:d50d7926-5481-4370-9030-a7a41f002099> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whatisheartfailure.com/what-can-i-eat-in-the-morning-thats-healthy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951968 | 440 | 1.671875 | 2 |
With over 1600 km of coastline, beautiful beaches, thousand year old forests, and tropical jungles where more than 18000 different animal species thrive, Taiwan is a true paradise in a nutshell. In addition to our daily excursions and activities, every weekend we set on exploring Taiwan's most astounding National Parks to find perfect trekking, rafting, and canoeing spots.
Located in Taiwan’s southernmost tip, Kenting is a very popular destination and receives thousands of visitors attracted by its clean sandy beaches, lush vegetation and tropical weather and temperature. We will trek along jungle covered mountains, beaches, lakes and grottoes, and all sorts of water sports are waiting for you. Among other landmarks we will stop by the “flaming rocks”, natural gas springs used by the locals for cooking.
Only three high mountain trains remain in service in the whole world and the Alisha High Mountain Rail Track will not deceive you. The train will take us to Alishan Natural Park, a must see attraction in Taiwan with 3.000 year old cypress reaching almost 50 metres up to the sky, and incredible bamboo forests inhabited by endemic animals like the Formosan black bear, the Sambar deer and the Taiwanese macaque. From Alishan we will be able to see the sunrise at Jade Mountain, some 3.952 metres high and the highest peak in East Asia.
Taroko (magnificent and beautiful in the local Truku language) is the home of the last aborigine tribes to have resisted Chinese and Japanese colonization in the early 1900’s. We will discover their traditional cooking, art and will listen to some of their ancestral stories. The area is cut by the Liwu river, forming one of the world’s most beautiful canyons with marble walls dropping several hundred meters. After exploring the canyon we will descend the nearby rivers rafting along their amazing turns.
Fancy a lunar expedition? Right next to Taipei the Yamingshan National Park will offer you moonlike sceneries, with dozens of volcanic water and steam springs as well as sulfur deposits. This truly is the right place for a soothing Hot spring bath.
After visiting the nearby Fort Zeelandia in the southern city of Tainan, we will explore the Taijian National Park it’s sandy dunes, and the nearby swamps, a real paradise for all kind of birds and water creatures like crabs and fish. The Park area also features salt mines where sea salt is harvested using traditional methods. | <urn:uuid:608933be-7412-4388-846e-3e78567beb8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kcseducation.com/chinese-language-courses-KCS-nature-adventure.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936174 | 517 | 1.820313 | 2 |
(New York) – Amnesty International today condemned a series of bomb attacks across Iraq on Wednesday that reportedly killed at least 14 people and injured many more.
The deadliest attack took place in the northern city of Kirkuk, where four bombs planted in parked cars reportedly went off simultaneously, killing at least nine people and wounding scores more. In the mainly Shi'a southern city of Hilla, a car bomb reportedly exploded near a school and a crowded market and left at least four people dead, some of them schoolchildren.
Explosions were also reported in the capital, Baghdad, the town of Balad Ruz, and the province of Diyala. The attacks appear to have targeted both Iraqi civilians and members of the security forces.
“Deliberate attacks on civilians are never justified. Such attacks show utter contempt for humanity and must be roundly condemned,” said Philip Luther, director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“We urge the Iraqi authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation. Those suspected of being behind the attacks must be brought to justice in proceedings that meet international standards of fairness, without the imposition of the death penalty.”
No one has so far claimed responsibility for today’s attacks.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. | <urn:uuid:5c5b94a1-9772-4552-be8e-4ff82df41162> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/deadly-wave-of-bombings-across-iraq-on-eve-of-islamic-new-year-that-killed-at-least-14-people-must-b | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959288 | 324 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Exxon: US energy revival has staying power
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon says the energy renaissance in the U.S. will continue and predicts that North America will become a net exporter of oil and gas by the middle of the next decade.
The oil and gas giant’s latest long-term energy outlook, released Tuesday, says the rapid growth of production in the U.S. and Canada, along with improved energy efficiency, will lead to more oil and gas being sent overseas.
Exxon Mobil Corp.’s annual outlook is noted by investors and policymakers, and the company says its conclusions shape its decisions about where to invest. The main conclusions dovetail with recent forecasts from the U.S. government and others.
Among the main themes from Exxon’s report:
• Demand for energy will grow worldwide, but slower than the overall economy because of efficiency gains.
• Energy demand will remain flat in the developed world; nearly all of the growth in demand will occur in developing countries.
• The biggest shift will be growth in the use of natural gas and a decline in the use of coal. By 2025, natural gas is expected to overtake coal as the second most used fuel, after oil.
• Oil and gas production in the U.S. and Canada will continue to grow so rapidly that the region will switch from a net importer of energy to a net exporter by 2025. The U.S. will likely be exporting natural gas in large volumes by then, and producing more oil while consuming less. Canada will continue to be a major crude exporter.
While Exxon does make assumptions about energy prices to make its predictions, it does not disclose what those price assumptions are.
Oil and gas production in the U.S. has surged thanks to the combination of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and horizontal drilling that allows companies to tap hydrocarbons trapped in shale and other tight rock formations. | <urn:uuid:d707c2b0-fe40-479f-8467-951f283178d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newstribune.com/news/2012/dec/12/exxon-us-energy-revival-has-staying-power/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948592 | 404 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Amid much reciprocal back-slapping, congressional leaders and the Obama Administration recently came to terms on a budget for the rest of the current fiscal year, which lasts through September. The deal will cut $38.5 billion in federal spending.
That may sound like a lot of money, and all parties involved in the budget negotiations are claiming victory because they avoided a “shutdown” of the federal government and managed to cut a “record” amount of spending.
Members of Congress can congratulate themselves all they want, but what these Democrats and Republicans have done is hardly a profile in greatness. These spending cuts are only a tiny fraction of the projected $1.6 trillion current-year budget deficit; and are hardly worth comparing to the real elephant in the room – our nations massive, $14.2 trillion national debt.
In January 2007, the new House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, promised there would be “no new deficit spending.” Democrats had hammered the reckless spending of the George W. Bush-led Republicans throughout the 2006 mid-term election. And while the criticism of big-spending Republicans was an all-too-legitimate issue, Pelosi and her team then proceeded to spend an astonishing $5 trillion in the next four years.
During this four-year stretch, the only serious plan proposed to cure America’s addiction to deficit spending was authored by Paul Ryan, a young Wisconsin Republican with a keen mind for public policy and economics. Of course, with the House under Democratic management, Ryan’s “Roadmap to America’s Future” went nowhere.
Well, he’s back; and this time he’s chairman of the House Budget Committee. Ryan’s latest plan, the “Path to Prosperity,” is a comprehensive budget proposal that cuts spending by $6.2 trillion over the next decade and pays off the national debt in 40 years.
Ryan explains that the goal of his plan is to cut spending by bringing it down to historical levels (20 percent of gross domestic product). He would continue to build on the bipartisan welfare reform agreements of the late 1990s; and would reform and simplify the tax code and the entitlements that pose a clear and present danger to our prosperity if not dealt with.
By far the most intriguing aspect of Ryan’s proposal deals with entitlements — specifically Medicare; a task clearly not for the faint of heart.
As currently structured, Medicare and Social Security are not sustainable. As Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute wrote last year, “Social Security’s total unfunded liabilities top $15.8 trillion, and depending on what accounting measure is used, Medicare’s future shortfall could exceed $100 trillion.”
Ryan notes pointedly that his intent is not to dismantle Medicare, but to save it. As he explains, individuals near retirement would not be affected by these reforms, and new enrollees will have the same health coverage that members of Congress enjoy. Importantly, his plan would offer choice to those coming into the system; an idea that is anathema to many, including Democrats and liberal special interest groups.
Sadly, but not surprising, instead of presenting their own substantive proposal or plan, something more than President Barack Obama’s nonspecific speech last Wednesday, to counter Ryan’s work, the response from Democrats and liberal special interest groups is not just “no,” but “hell no.” On the other side of the aisle, some conservatives complain Ryan’s plan does not cut spending enough, and that it takes too long to reign in the national debt. Such criticisms may be valid in theory, but are not rooted in the real world.
Congress is divided, and a Democrat occupies the White House. There are political considerations that must be considered, and there may be further compromises along the way, as even Ryan acknowledges.
“The Path to Prosperity” is not a perfect proposal, but it is a much-needed step in the right direction. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, it just may represent the last, best hope for America, which otherwise faces a long and inevitable slide to economic mediocrity.
-by Bob Barr, The Barr Code | <urn:uuid:abd60a60-4018-40c2-b418-ffa46bbe1c2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2011/04/18/ryan-plan-merits-serious-consideration/?cp=all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945959 | 880 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Making Things Grow
I grew up in a small farm town where there were more cows than people. My parents owned a large garden, and each summer we would
be forced to have the pleasure of working in the garden. There were weeds to pull, plants to water, peas to shell, potato bugs to collect and squish, and so on. It seemed like a never ending opportunity for child labor. Of course we did directly benefit from it – throughout the rest of the year we would eat what was gathered from the garden. That, and it taught us kids some responsibility. “Work builds character, so get to work” as my parents would say. And they were right.
Today I was reminded of something else that I learned in the garden:
You can’t make things grow.
You can provide a fostering environment, but you can’t actually force anything to grow. You can’t split open a seed and pull the seedling out, forcing roots into dirt and leaves into the air.
This definitely isn’t a new concept. Back in the days of the Bible, this was stated:
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Today, when I was thinking about this, I was thinking about it in relation to businesses and employees. How do you make a business grow? You provide a fostering environment. You nurture it, you surround it with the resources it needs, and you let it do its thing. Some business will fail, and some will succeed. There are some things that you don’t have control over: market conditions, freak accidents and natural disasters, laws of the land, etc. But, you do what you can with the things that are in your control, and you do the best you can to provide an environment of success.
Likewise, you can’t force employees. Well, you can try, but chances are you’ll end up with unhappy employees and a broken business. Instead, you provide an environment that encourages them to work. In the words of a favourite quote of mine:
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Famous French aviator)
I’ve recently been reading Carrying the Fire, the story of Michael Collins, one of the Apollo astronauts. I’m sure, especially since it was the government, that there was a lot of orders being given. At the same time – everyone had a vision of what was wanted. Once people caught the vision, they were willing to work longer and harder.
It’s difficult to do things when not everyone has the same vision. One of the most valuable things you can do to ‘make things grow’ is to make sure everyone has that same vision. Without it, you’ll be dead in the water (or worse – still on the shore). | <urn:uuid:49230c23-5f79-4a29-9789-832b8e18f854> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://joelbennett.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/making-things-grow/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975421 | 637 | 1.8125 | 2 |
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