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The Ulanga District Council has announced that it won’t remove all livestock from the district, but said it would retain only a number that could be fed on available pasturelands and reserved areas.
The statement comes at a time when the district is planning to reduce the number of livestock next month in what it describes, as implementing the new Livestock and Pastureland Act.
Ulanga district council chairman Furaha Lilongili revealed the stand when opening the district’s full council meeting recently. He said the operation would target cattle grazing on reserve forests.
Lilongeli instructed councillors and leaders at the village, ward and division levels in Malinyi, Ngoheranga, Mtimbira and Lupiro to educate livestock keepers for them to comply by moving their livestock before the operation.
He instructed the leaders to ensure that they oversee the exercise by observing principles of good governance through meetings to enable the people participate in the process by airing their views on the best way to carry out the operation.
Itete ward councillor Fortunatus Malunda expressed his fears that the exercise might face a dead end, given the fact that reserve area boundaries were yet to be properly identified.
Ulanga district livestock officer Benedict Mabula said so far all reserved areas have had their boundaries temporarily identified by villagers and verified by officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
Ulanga District is estimated to have over 160,000 livestock. The council targets to reduce the number to only 50,000. | <urn:uuid:97e659ea-ef88-4d70-a731-69731a67185d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php/.u=2earch.com/function.fopen?l=44225 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959309 | 308 | 1.695313 | 2 |
One of the worst trends in contemporary Christianity is the destruction of the historic liturgies of the Christian Church. The Roman Catholic Church is slowing returning to a more traditional liturgy, but in most places the post-Vatican II degraded English translations of the Latin Mass live on. I have a St. Andrew’s Missal from the 1950s that contains, along with the Latin Mass, wonderful English translations of the liturgy in King James style English. It reminds me of the beauty of the pre-1979 Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Not only has the language been bastardized, the beauty of ceremonial has been suppressed in many churches. But even churches with very little ceremonial have taken good order out of their worship services. The Churches of Christ in which I grew up had a certain beauty in the simplicity and good order of the worship service. Now they are trying to copy the Evangelical’s poor taste, with bad 1970s-style songs projected on a screen along with a free flow of emotion inconsistent with things done “decently and in order,” as St. Paul put it.
As worship becomes bastardized, so does one’s view of God. God is no longer the transcendent (yet immanent) being who created the universe and who inspires awe; God becomes just another beer buddy (without the beer in many Protestant Churches). If any of us saw God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit face to face, we would fall to the ground in awe. Yes, God is our friend, but not a friend in the sense of a buddy who watches football with the guys around a big screen television. Traditional worship, including the traditional King James style language of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, lets us know that God is not man, that God is Holy, set apart from sinful man, even redeemed sinful man. The beauty of order in worship reminds us that “God is not the author of confusion”; He created the world in good form and order. Ceremonial and incense lifts our bodies and souls beyond the ordinary to the Holy. Most contemporary worship does not lift our souls and bodies any more than a large rock on the ground.
Clergy reply, “But we have to keep our young people!” Yet why are traditional Latin masses in the Roman Catholic Church filled with young people? In its bid to become “relevant” in worship, the church has not only lost the dimension of the transcendent; it is not even “relevant.” I think it was Peter Kreeft who said something like “Satan didn’t see a need to give the church atheists, so he gave it liturgists.” I tend to agree. | <urn:uuid:7fb9a201-abc1-4456-9bbd-cdba2c461ebc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gratiaetnatura.wordpress.com/category/liturgy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963244 | 567 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Back in 1978, Geoffrey H. Sprague was chosen to be temporary manager of the newly formed ambulance service of North Adams by the planning board. Mr. Sprague was to set up the service and manage it on a trial basis.
Dr. Edmond P. Larkin said he recommended Mr. Sprague for the job because he needed someone "on top of the emergency service". Dr. Larkin was a registered nurse and an emergency medical technician at the time. He worked at ambulance services and was employed in the emergency room at North Adams Regional Hospital. Dr. Larkin said he didn't know how much they could pay Sprague and Sprague knew he wouldn't be paid until the ambulance was on the road.
About $35,000 dollars was needed to start the service so a sub-committee was created to raise funds and was chaired by Barbara Wagner. Many local area citizens, businesess, churches and municipalities quickly answered the call and the North Adams Ambulance Service was born.
For a while, the service was run out of the city's fire department building but soon was moved to its own separate location now on River Street. There are now four emergency vehicles and more than 20 technicians on staff. Still run on the generous contributions of the town and towns people, the North Adams Ambulance Service is there for you. | <urn:uuid:7ad02a88-b9b6-4927-8af4-49535ee22655> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northadamsambulance.com/userPage_39_History.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983056 | 273 | 1.53125 | 2 |
July 18, 2012, 10:04 PM — With a possible debate on cybersecurity legislation looming in the Senate, energy regulators on Tuesday warned lawmakers of the pressing threats facing the nation's power grid.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, a panel of witnesses stressed that any bill the full chamber approves must provide for a more fluid system of sharing information about cyber threats, both between public and private entities and between federal and state and local authorities.
"We're often challenged by the lack of information," said Gerry Cauley, president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. "And this is where in cyber the partnership between industry and government in terms of information to help us understand those risks and to be able to adapt to them is very important."
Gregory Wilshusen, director of information and technology at the Government Accountability Office, said his agency recently evaluated the Department of Homeland Security's practices of sharing threat information with the private sector and found it wanting. Too often, Wilshusen said, the department was only providing overly broad information or waiting too long to issue threat warnings.
"In many cases the information was not actionable, not timely," he said.
Tuesday's hearing comes as senators on both sides of the aisle have been pressing for a floor debate to consider the various proposals for cybersecurity legislation ahead of the August recess.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has indicated that he would like to bring a bill to the floor this year, and possibly in the two remaining weeks before the break, but time is running short to forge a compromise measure that resolves some of the key differences over issues such as additional regulations and expanded government authorities.
Those divisions were on display at Tuesday's hearing, where committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) signaled that he intends to renew efforts to advance a bill that would vest the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with greater authority to oversee the electric industry in a bid to strengthen security.
Versions of that legislation passed the committee unanimously in 2010 and 2011, and its provisions could get folded into a sweeping cybersecurity reform bill backed by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) that would expand the authorities of the Department of Homeland Security to regulate the security defenses of critical infrastructure operators in the private sector. | <urn:uuid:508587d7-c057-4c2a-8219-9dce18c86358> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itworld.com/security/286470/electrical-power-grid-vulnerable-cyber-threats | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965954 | 484 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Love really is all around when travelling on the Tube
There have been many tales of romance during the 150 years of London Underground, as columnist Steve Cording discovers.
14 February 2013
With over four million journeys made every single day, it is no surprise that love, especially today on Valentine's Day, really is in the air on the Underground.
To help celebrate the Tube's 150 anniversary this year, we asked our Evening Standard readers to tell us what the Underground meant to them. Many in the capital revealed how they had enjoyed romantic encounters on carriages and station platforms that had changed their lives forever.
A lot of our stories demonstrated how important the Underground is as a method of transport in facilitating meetings and nights out between partners who live in different parts of the capital.
But one tale came from Robin Hamilton from Hammersmith, who had the Tube to thank for playing a direct part in his eventual marriage to Diana.
Robin's romantic moment on the Underground came just before the new Millennium in 1999 when he decided to use a break in their journey while changing between the Piccadilly and District lines to propose to his long-term girlfriend.
Their relationship began seven years earlier, while Diana was living and working in the USA, the pair having met through mutual friends, and been close ever since.
'We were on our way back from a Christmas party at a friend's house,' Robin explains.
'We were waiting on the westbound platform at Hammersmith heading home and found ourselves snuggled together to stay warm.
'It seemed like the perfect time to propose to Diana. I didn't get down on one knee as tradition dictates; instead I spotted what looked like a perfect plinth right beside us, popped her up on this and asked her to marry me.
'We are not sure if the plinth had once held up a chocolate vending machine or perhaps it was a rubbish bin and it was, sadly, removed a few weeks later.'
Diana said 'yes' and the pair were married at Fulham Palace in June 2000 and have been together ever since, still living in the west London area and still paying their own tribute to the spot on the Tube where their lives were changed forever.
'Being the year 2000, it makes it easy for me to remember the date of our anniversary,' adds Robin. 'We still live in Hammersmith and still have a little kiss whenever we pass our special romantic spot on the Tube platform, which is normally on average several times a week.
'We have not got any children, as we only got married in our late 40s, but we have adopted an orangutan together!'
Robin admits that the Underground will always have a special place in their hearts, like many others who have met their future partners on the Tube over its 150-year history.
MEET TWO OF THE 150
The first time I travelled on the Tube was aged 15 with one of my best friends. Girls being girls, we had more bags than we could carry and a guy opposite was laughing to himself and asked if we needed help. When I was 22 I was at a charity event. The DJ said to me, 'Don't think I'm strange but I think I met you on the Underground donkey's years ago.' We’re getting married this year.
We were both on the Piccadilly line. I was only supposed to be going for two stops…but ended up travelling to the end of the line when Joe started chatting to me. We then went for dinner and never looked back!
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL OF THE STORIES IN OUR TUBE 150 GALLERY
For more information please visit tfl.gov.uk/tube150 | <urn:uuid:b1cd8a42-3df8-43e1-9aa9-9c0de26498a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tube150/love-really-is-all-around-when-travelling-on-the-tube-8495060.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977631 | 764 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The Passage of Living Memory
"At most living memory endures for a hundred years or so. Thereafter, even the barest outline of the past is forgotten, unless it is recorded in writing..." So wrote John Morris in Londinium: London in the Roman Empire.
The passage of time diminishes many things. I know this from personal experience. It shows up as I look back over the roster of people I have come into contact with during my ancestral research.
Even though I began almost forty-three years ago, three of my grandparents and another three of my uncles and aunt were already deceased. With that background, I knew I was already starting out behind the eight ball. But, surely I thought, someone would be able to answer my questions and tell me about my ancestors.
I began my search for knowledgeable informants. Over the years I developed a network of distant and near relatives. I had a three-by-five card file that contained names, relationships, addresses and phone numbers.
Whenever I talked with one, I asked if they knew of someone else who might tell me more. Soon I began to see that some people came closer to answering my questions.
At the same time, there were many others who could not. There were no family secrets being hidden. It seemed that they simply did not grow up in an environment where family stories were told and retold.
I remember hearing about one man who might know something about my great-great-grandfather who died in the Civil War. He lived in the county just east of where I was attending college.
One Saturday in 1972, I made time to drive about thirty miles over to his rural home. When I arrived, I learned that he had left about an hour earlier and would not be back soon.
I was crest-fallen. After all, this gentleman was two generations older, being a second cousin to my grandfather.
His wife asked me what business I wanted with her husband. I told her that I had so hoped I might have at last found someone at last who could answer my questions. Then I recounted some of my questions I had prepared to ask her husband.
She then told me that he would not be able to answer my questions. It seems that he was not inclined to tell stories.
You see, the wife's mother-in-law lived with them for twenty-five years before passing away. And the wife said that her mother-in-law did nothing but talk about growing up in Madison County, Arkansas. The husband and son simply tuned his mother out. This wife, on the other hand, told me of hearing the following account.
"My mother-in-law was a little girl during the Civil War. She recalled hearing her tell about the time she saw her 'Aunt Sary' crying over her man," said the wife.
"Aunt Sary" was my great-great-grandmother, Sarah Hankins Waits. "Her man" was William S. Waits. They were outspoken Southern sympathizers during the war. Their oldest son had been captured and died in a Yankee prison in Missouri.
But William was too old to fight. And his large family required that he remain nearby to help with the farming.
Unfortunately for him, Union sympathizers caught him at home one day. He was shot down when he ran out of his cabin in an effort to find concealment in the surrounding forest.
This story, and two variations on the same account, was the best I could learn in over four decades of asking questions.
As I review my notes of these conversations, I see that one hundred to 110 years is about the longest memories last. The 1972 interview occurred about 109 years after the death of my great-great-grandfather.
John Morris was right when he said "At most living memory endures for a hundred years or so." | <urn:uuid:cbd279d6-596c-43ff-bcc0-84e8871b50e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.muskogeehistorian.com/2011_01_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991176 | 799 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Anyone who’s seen the new Sex and the City movie (not something I necessarily encourage) may have noticed a subtle shift in the girls’ accessories. No, not the evolution from Manolos to Louboutin stilettos. Carrie & Co. have also traded their Mac computers for sleek, Vivienne Tam–designed “digital clutch” laptops made by Hewlett-Packard. The machines are gorgeously styled: they look like beautiful makeup cases, with elegant, piano-like keyboards.
More important from HP’s point of view: as with any sought-after fashion item, they command a premium. The laptops start at $599, about double the price of comparable products, meaning higher profit margins. And HP isn’t the only company that’s noticed there’s money to be made catering to women in this rough economic climate.
Even before the financial crisis, the spending power of women was increasing in both rich and poor countries. The downturn has accelerated the trend, particularly in the United States. American men lost more jobs (they worked in the hardest-hit areas like financial services and manufacturing), whereas women started more companies. The pay gap has also continued to decrease. In 35 percent of double-income households in the United States, wives now make more than their husbands, up from 28 percent five years ago. Assuming the trend continues, the average woman will make more than the average man by 2024.
What’s amazing is that more companies haven’t cottoned on to this. The most obviously female-oriented sectors, like food, packaged goods, and apparel, do a decent job of appealing to their core customers. (Remember the Dove ads from a couple of years ago that celebrated all sizes of female bodies? They drove up soap sales 600 percent.) But there are still many industries—cars, travel, health care, and consumer electronics—where women are neglected in product development and marketing, even though they make the majority of purchasing decisions. “A lot of the people making these decisions at top firms are still older men,” says demographer Maddy Dychtwald, the author of Influence, a book on female economic power.
In technology, Apple’s success may force some changes. “It’s no accident that Apple is the only company in the technology arena making any money,” says Michael J. Silverstein, a partner at Boston Consulting Group. “They make things that are beautiful, and you can charge a lot more for them.” According to BCG, Apple is the most favored brand across all product categories for women. Before its foray with the digital clutch, HP employed few female product designers. Now the ratio of female to male industrial designers is 50-50, and the company is applying the key features of its female-oriented products—better finishes, more sensually appealing components, better lighting—to all its lines. Nintendo is doing a brisk business selling fitness-oriented Wii games to women. Best Buy has added a concierge service (à la Apple) to appeal to female shoppers.
The financial-services industry should take note. According to Silverstein, this is the No. 1 area where women say business isn’t meeting their needs. More than 70 percent of women have retirement savings, and they make up the second-biggest group of home buyers, right after married couples. Yet almost no major retail banks market specifically to them, despite the fact that they think in dramatically different ways about money and investing. (Women tend to be much more risk-averse than men, and want to make financial decisions like buying a house, planning for retirement, and stock picking all at once rather than separately.)
In Britain, one of the top players in financial services is also a grocery store—Tesco—which women trust with their food shopping, then later their savings accounts and car insurance. In the U.S., Citibank started a division called Women & Co. after finding that across the industry 70 percent of female clients switched to another bank after their husbands died, since they’d never felt included in decisions. The division crafts strategies geared toward the life cycle of women (taking time off for kids; living longer than men). Its Web site has a more accessible look and feel than that of the average brokerage. It’s a smart move: women are going to control the majority of the world’s new earned income over the next decade—and they’ll be buying a lot more than $800 gold heels. | <urn:uuid:cef13014-ac3b-4a57-8606-f055f9671165> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/06/13/the-richer-sex.html | 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 | 0.959392 | 941 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Question for the Money Doctors
Question submitted on Sep 13, 2012.
QuestionI am thinking about putting money in a Swiss bank account. Is that safe and a good idea? What are the drawbacks of doing this and what are the benefits?
Thank you for the question. However, I think this question needs to be directed to a personal advisor. There are too many unknowns to give you a relevant answer. Some things to keep in mind are:
-Why are you considering doing this (taxes, safety, etc.)?
-Are you investing US dollars, buying Swiss Francs, etc.?
-How much are you thinking about putting there?
-What is your time period?
I recommend that you contact a qualified, local advisor for advice. You can visit www.findacpapfs.org to find a personal financial planner in your area.
For additional information visit http://www.360financialliteracy.org/ | <urn:uuid:6ccf1a17-092b-46ba-ac71-276fec5a1377> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.360financialliteracy.org/index.php/Ask-the-Money-Doctor/Read-Past-Q-As/I-am-thinking-about | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952518 | 198 | 1.5 | 2 |
NTSB Identification: CEN10LA068
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, December 06, 2009 in Dodge City, KS
Probable Cause Approval Date: 07/22/2010
Aircraft: BEECH V35, registration: N108L
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot stated that the pitot heat system was working during preflight. He obtained a full weather briefing from flight service, and checked the weather via the internet before departing. While airborne at 6,000 feet to 6,500 feet mean sea level he encountered instrument meteorological conditions and turned on the pitot heat. Sometime later, the airplane encountered moderate icing conditions. The airspeed indicator stopped working and the pilot diverted from his route of flight to an alternate airport. While over the runway on landing approach, the airplane stalled and landed hard, substantially damaging the airplane. Ice was found at the impact site, on the airplanes surfaces, and in the pitot tube. Inspection of the pitot tube revealed the pitot heat was not functioning at the pitot tube. On the day of the accident there were two AIRMETs for moderate icing in effect for the pilot’s route of flight and altitude. The pilot could not recall being informed of the icing conditions during his weather briefing and his briefing from flight service could not be located.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The failure of the pitot heat system in icing conditions resulting in an inoperative airspeed indicator which led to an inadvertant stall while on final approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's decision to fly into known icing conditions. Full narrative available
Index for Dec2009 | Index of months | <urn:uuid:2f278577-1ac9-4dc6-8fce-0525336328f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20091209X75323&key=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937335 | 388 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Jefferson High School, Belford High School, and Belford University sound as real as any learning institution — except diplomas from these online "schools" aren't recognized by anyone. The Better Business Bureau is familiar with the names after receiving complaints about the programs, which offer diplomas after paying for and taking a single online test, but these diplomas are far from genuine.
People seeking to improve their lives stumble upon scammy online schools while searching for alternative ways to earn high school diplomas and even medical degrees. Diane Cerulli received a diploma from Belford University after taking an online multiple choice test based on "life experience" and sending in a check for $1,400. She received a letter from the school after completing the test that stated: "You are now a doctor. Diplomas and paperwork will be mailed to you after you pay $1,400 for the degree."
Now, Cerulli understands she was scammed and said, "Today, my rational thinking is in full bloom, and I could get into a lot of trouble if I put a shingle up and called myself a doctor." Common sense should tell us that if something is too good to be true, it probably is, but sometimes hope gets the best of people. Before you shell out a dime, check the Better Business Bureau and the US Department of Education to see if a school is accredited. | <urn:uuid:a8892989-a75e-49eb-90e6-cbad3466e201> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.savvysugar.com/Life-Experience-Degrees-Still-Fooling-People-4138406 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97037 | 283 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Someone once said that good things happen over time, but truly great things happen all at once (I think it was from some movie). Anyway, the point is that sometimes, in the mind of an innovator or creator of any kind – an artist, sculptor, poet, software engineer or whatever other creative work you can think of – a spark goes off, something inexplicable, a magic moment of sorts, a period of such amazing insight. In fact more often than not it is not totally clear to the creator what it is. It may not even make sense at the time. You just have this itching drive, as if destiny is calling. We don’t have a clear definition of what this thing is so we call it… a ‘hunch’, a ‘gut feeling’ or sometimes ‘intuition’. In an awesome TED talk, Elizabeth Gilbert tries ponders this mystery:
Some of the most amazing inventions and innovations have been the result, not of in depth research and analytical market studies to find out what the customers need and whether the product fits the market, but simply of this almost mysterious thing we call a ‘hunch’ I believe that probably one of the biggest undoings of major corporations is to ignore the ‘H-factor’, the ‘hunch factor’. The problem with running a business, and this is typical (i think) of even the brightest startups once they become major corporations is exactly that – running the business! What I mean is all of a sudden you are caught up in balancing balance sheets and worrying about so many other things, trying to quantify everything, trying to justify everything – and I’m not saying this is a BAD THING. But it becomes an impediment when it becomes the primary focus, overshadowing the very thing that began the enterprise (remember those startup days, when you just went with what just, plain and simple ‘made sense‘ to do? Just read this article by Joe Wilcox, about how this very thing could have been a crippling factor for one of the largest corporations globally in the last decade, Microsoft. (Someone said if you’re a startup, hire MBAs last, fire MBAs first – No pun intended to all MBAs) On the contrary, the H-factor has propelled to amazing success, such seemingly trivial ideas as ‘letting people know what you are doing in 140 letters or less’ (also known as Twitter). Watch Twitter, co-founder Evan Williams explaining this:
The moral of this whole story is simple – Don’t ignore the H-factor; not everything is measurable. (In fact trying ‘formal’ approaches to some ideas destroys the idea itself – imagine if the first thing the Twitter founders did was to commission a market research on ‘whether people would want to tell others what they are doing in 140 characters or less’!)
This is why I like simple ideas, ideas that make sense without having to scratch your head for 5 minutes about it. In fact, if you can pitch your idea in a sentence (like this guys pitched his startup idea to Guy Kawasaki on an elevator) and get the whole idea out there in principle and have someone understand it and how it would possibly work (in principle); you’ve got a winner. I’ve had the opportunity to judge at several business plan competitions or to judge at some student project presentations and almost always, I could tell whether it was a brilliant idea or not within the first one minute of the presentation. | <urn:uuid:4a4e77cd-e3f1-475e-a550-bb38c7c595b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wmworia.wordpress.com/tag/creativity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962371 | 734 | 1.765625 | 2 |
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* Vatican citizenship, residence will keep "ex-pope" immune
* Vatican wants pope to be safe; easier to provide security
* Home outside Vatican could have become pilgrimage site
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's decision to live in the Vatican after he resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection with sexual abuse cases around the world, Church sources and legal experts say.
"His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be defenceless. He wouldn't have his immunity, his prerogatives, his security, if he is anywhere else," said one Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"It is absolutely necessary" that he stays in the Vatican, said the source, adding that Benedict should have a "dignified existence" in his remaining years.
Vatican sources said officials had three main considerations in deciding that Benedict should live in a convent in the Vatican after he resigns on Feb. 28.
Vatican police, who already know the pope and his habits, will be able to guarantee his privacy and security and not have to entrust it to a foreign police force, which would be necessary if he moved to another country.
"I see a big problem if he would go anywhere else. I'm thinking in terms of his personal security, his safety. We don't have a secret service that can devote huge resources (like they do) to ex-presidents," the official said.
Another consideration was that if the pope did move permanently to another country, living in seclusion in a monastery in his native Germany, for example, the location might become a place of pilgrimage.
This could be complicated for the Church, particularly in the unlikely event that the next pope makes decisions that may displease conservatives, who could then go to Benedict's place of residence to pay tribute to him.
"That would be very problematic," another Vatican official said.
The final key consideration is the pope's potential exposure to legal claims over the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandals.
In 2010, for example, Benedict was named as a defendant in a law suit alleging that he failed to take action as a cardinal in 1995 when he was allegedly told about a priest who had abused boys at a U.S. school for the deaf decades earlier. The lawyers withdrew the case last year and the Vatican said it was a major victory that proved the pope could not be held liable for the actions of abusive priests.
Benedict is currently not named specifically in any other case. The Vatican does not expect any more but is not ruling out the possibility.
"(If he lived anywhere else) then we might have those crazies who are filing lawsuits, or some magistrate might arrest him like other (former) heads of state have been for alleged acts while he was head of state," one source said.
Another official said: "While this was not the main consideration, it certainly is a corollary, a natural result."
After he resigns, Benedict will no longer be the sovereign monarch of the State of Vatican City, which is surrounded by Rome, but will retain Vatican citizenship and residency.
That would continue to provide him immunity under the provisions of the Lateran Pacts while he is in the Vatican and even if he makes jaunts into Italy as a Vatican citizen.
The 1929 Lateran Pacts between Italy and the Holy See, which established Vatican City as a sovereign state, said Vatican City would be "invariably and in every event considered as neutral and inviolable territory".
There have been repeated calls for Benedict's arrest over sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
When Benedict went to Britain in 2010, British author and atheist campaigner Richard Dawkins asked authorities to arrest the pope to face questions over the Church's child abuse scandal.
Dawkins and the late British-American journalist Christopher Hitchens commissioned lawyers to explore ways of taking legal action against the pope. Their efforts came to nothing because the pope was a head of state and so enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
In 2011, victims of sexual abuse by the clergy asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the pope and three Vatican officials over sexual abuse.
The New York-based rights group Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and another group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), filed a complaint with the ICC alleging that Vatican officials committed crimes against humanity because they tolerated and enabled sex crimes.
The ICC has not taken up the case but has never said why. It generally does not comment on why it does not take up cases.
NOT LIKE A CEO
The Vatican has consistently said that a pope cannot be held accountable for cases of abuse committed by others because priests are employees of individual dioceses around the world and not direct employees of the Vatican. It says the head of the church cannot be compared to the CEO of a company.
Victims groups have said Benedict, particularly in his previous job at the head of the Vatican's doctrinal department, turned a blind eye to the overall policies of local Churches, which moved abusers from parish to parish instead of defrocking them and handing them over to authorities.
The Vatican has denied this. The pope has apologised for abuse in the Church, has met with abuse victims on many of his trips, and ordered a major investigation into abuse in Ireland.
But groups representing some of the victims say the Pope will leave office with a stain on his legacy because he was in positions of power in the Vatican for more than three decades, first as a cardinal and then as pope, and should have done more.
The scandals began years before the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005 but the issue has overshadowed his papacy from the beginning, as more and more cases came to light in dioceses across the world.
As recently as last month, the former archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, was stripped by his successor of all public and administrative duties after a thousands of pages of files detailing abuse in the 1980s were made public.
Mahony, who was archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 until 2011, has apologised for "mistakes" he made as archbishop, saying he had not been equipped to deal with the problem of sexual misconduct involving children. The pope was not named in that case.
In 2007, the Los Angeles archdiocese, which serves 4 million Catholics, reached a $660 million civil settlement with more than 500 victims of child molestation, the biggest agreement of its kind in the United States.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the pope "gave the fight against sexual abuse a new impulse, ensuring that new rules were put in place to prevent future abuse and to listen to victims. That was a great merit of his papacy and for that we will be grateful". (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Edited by Simon Robinson and Giles Elgood) | <urn:uuid:01f79205-dc7e-4040-85f4-6e1b9d78a533> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130215/pope-will-have-security-immunity-remaining-the-vatican | 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 | 0.980826 | 1,451 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Swirl by Swirl, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beth Krommes
Wow. This is a match made in author/illustrator heaven. Krommes's exuberant scratchboard illustrations fit seamlessly with Sidman's poetic text, combining to emphasize the power, grace, and ubiquity of nature's spirals. Each page is filled with things to discover, without being too busy or overwhelming. The text is lyrical while still remaining perfectly accessible to a K-2 audience, and while still managing to impart an impressive amount of good information (expanded upon by the author's note at the end).
Possible awards? Perfectly eligible for Caldecott and Sibert, say I.
Coral Reefs, by Jason Chin
The watercolor illustrations are ingenious. The text, in comparison, is a bit pedestrian. Sam thinks the text is uneven in terms of reading level as well, but I haven't examined it closely enough, on the sentence level, to know whether I agree.
Possible awards? I'd be surprised if this placed anywhere, though the illustrations are commendable.
Amelia Lost, by Candace Fleming
Another one that's at the top of many Newbery lists, but I'm not seeing it. It does what it does very well, but I think Sam has managed to convince me that it doesn't actually rise to the level of "literature." I think if you're looking for literary nonfiction, Swirl by Swirl is actually closer to the mark.
But! It is very, very good. I can only imagine how difficult it is to create suspense in a story where the reader knows the ending going in, but Fleming does. She also deals with the less pleasant aspects of Earhart's life and personality unflinchingly, but gracefully. A perfectly paced, information-packed examination of a fascinating woman.
Possible awards? I mark it "Sibert" but maybe the Newbery committee will disagree with me.
Heart and Soul, by Kadir Nelson
I think I have the same problem with this book that Sam has with Coral Reefs. In taking on a very ambitious project - a chronicle of all of American history through the eyes of African Americans - I think Nelson struggles to find his footing in terms of tone. The narrator's point-of-view limits - or should limit - the vocabulary she uses, so it feels awkward to me when she's telling anecdotes one moment and spitting out a page full of facts and dates the next. I think this worked better with the collective narrator of We Are the Ship.
The illustrations, of course, are gorgeous. They are also very static. This may be a deliberate choice - the creation of a sort of African-American National Portrait Gallery. Either way, it does lend the book a different feeling than more dynamic illustrations would give it.
Possible awards? Caldecott, Sibert (though is it strictly nonfiction?), Coretta Scott King.
And with that... I'm off to Dallas! | <urn:uuid:9c863594-99bd-4c88-ba1b-0236eabd9ae6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abouttomock.blogspot.com/2012/01/morris-third-nonfiction.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958464 | 626 | 1.507813 | 2 |
During the 2 month practice, we found we needed much more work than we had previously thought to plan an article of foreign experience sharing that matched Chinese local culture and conditions and could guide the development of grass-roots organizations.
There are several steps to issue an article. We need to choose a topic, write a draft, and promote. And then we should collect advice, amend, and finally issue the article. It takes at least 40-60 hours to finish an article. It takes less time in translation but more time in revising and composing.
We have a part-time project manager who spends 8 hours each week and takes charge of the project and a part-time editor who spends 15 days per month to collect files of domestic experience. It mostly depends on Wu Jing to draft foreign experience sharing material.
Original article by Jianhua Su, translated by Shishi Ma, and edited by US interns Isabel Auyeung and Ally Nguyen. | <urn:uuid:9461f254-9ec8-4e92-af90-00d30437acfc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tfishfund.org/1/post/2012/06/rural-experts-yigongyi-center-for-nonprofits.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947849 | 192 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Austin Wren Hansell*
It is said that the two things we can never escape are death and taxes. But in the latest season of Torchwood death is no longer a factor. One day, no one dies. No one dies the day after that, or the day after that, or the day after that. People still get hurt, sick, grow old and weary, but no one dies. No one. Not the child rapist on death row injected with a cocktail of poisons. Not the security guard disemboweled and charred in an explosion. Not the CIA agent impaled through the heart in a traffic accident. Despite everything, people keep on living, hurting, loving, existing. It is, they say, a Miracle Day.
This Miracle, as you can imagine, causes quite a few problems. The health care industry must be entirely revamped. People who hate themselves can no longer use death to assuage guilt. Religion is in crisis, for with no death there can be no afterlife. And, perhaps most urgent, resources are running out fast.
Torchwood is one of those rare shows not afraid to look directly into the eyes of modern society and tell it exactly where and how badly it is screwing up. Because it is a scifi show, it carries our foibles and fallacies to more logical extremes than a strictly realist show and the social criticism is all the harsher. So, in Torchwood, when death is no longer a factor, life quickly becomes categorized, complete with forms in triplicate and proper (though often illogical) procedures. Predictably, all hell breaks loose.
The child rapist and killer Oswald Danes, no longer on death row, argues that his sentence was commuted and thus he is now a free man. He has a natural talent for manipulation and quickly becomes a figurehead in the PR wars over the Miracle. Danes shifts his image from infamous parolee to media darling by fighting for the rights of those who should be dead, or as they are soon to be known, Category Ones. The Cat Ones have no voice of their own, as by definition they are unresponsive. The government plan for dealing with them is holocaustic, and while Torchwood fights from the shadows, Danes preaches on the national media circuit.
Danes also takes on the unwanted job of champion for the Category Twos, those who are stuck somewhere between life and death, the sick and injured who are being ignored by the system for lack of supplies, manpower, and money. They are ignored because hey, it isn’t like they are going to die while we are busy figuring out what to do, and they are miserable – dysentery, infections, pain all run rampant in the overflow wards. Danes has a lot of powerful help and money behind his vault to fame as he attempts to manipulate the situation for his own increasingly disturbing ends.
Bill Pullman is captivating in this role, with enough of his leading man charisma oozing through his repulsive character to draw you in – and make you hate yourself for continuing to be fascinated. Who knew Captain Lone Starr and President Whitman could be so creepy?
At his side is his PR rep, Jilly Kitzinger (Lauren Ambrose), yearning desperately for her scrap of power. Kitzinger works immensely hard for this man she loathes simply because the right people are noticing her efforts. And the right people, inevitably, are not government workers but corporations. Pharmaceutical companies, family businesses (in the mafia sense of the word), and shadowy networked corporations working invisibly behind the government. Kitzinger’s sheer determination will ensure her employers reach the pinnacle because it means she too will get a taste of the prize.
(SPOILER) When Danes’ ugly nature can no longer be controlled in the most recent episode, she prepares to fight back with a means far worse than the law: by calling a press conference. In the post-Miracle world, much as in our own death-riddled society, a press conference can mean a fate much worse than an arrest. Justice has moved from a blind court to blind bureaucracy. But bureaucracy is blind to human needs, suffering, and all those exceptions to the rules that individuals require, and this is terrifying. Just look at the ovens they plan on using for the Cat Ones and Zeros!
Ambrose is so very good in this role – sweet, lovely, feminine in appearance, but with a hard and fast cutthroat need for power. Kitzinger’s girlish glee in success wins you over, but only until you remember you are cheering for the woman representing a child predator and an increasingly villainous bureaucracy.
In Torchwood: Miracle Day, death is no longer an option, so bureaucracy – the next best thing to taxes – steps in to try to control the chaos of the Miracle. Death, the great equalizer, got rid of the best and the worst, all in good time. But now, the good can go on fighting forever, but so can the bad, the awful, and the very worst. So much contemporary scifi postulates that bureaucracy, public relations, and corporations are our most conceivable future, but this is especially horrifying when coupled with a world suddenly without death. The impersonal nature of bureaucracy can’t have sympathy. Numbers, spreadsheets, and bottom lines are all that truly matter and it is the job of people like Miss Kitzinger to appease, however superficially, the individuals lost in the paperwork of the masses. Torchwood: Miracle Day is terrifying, captivating, and so utterly watchable. Go set the DVR!
*Hi! I’m a new contributor and I am pumped to be in such excellent company. I think you’ll quickly become aware that I am a huge nerd and hope to be your companion in scifi and geekery. | <urn:uuid:5282df59-28a0-47a7-b779-5f9a7584aeb7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://girlslikegiants.wordpress.com/author/austinwh/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959195 | 1,214 | 1.695313 | 2 |
This is a little bit of a rant, but read this article in the New York Times and you may understand why. It is difficult to get past the feelings of disbelief, outrage and anger that the tragic story of Megan Meier will stir inside you. But if you somehow manage to move past it and think about the implications, it becomes clear that there are some pretty important things that we (the identity community) need to work out, and fast.
Most of today’s social web applications (like MySpace and Facebook) are persona-based, not identity-based. What I mean is that these applications don’t really care about who you are, they only care about letting you be what you want to be within their context. So, it is not surprising that a 47 year old woman was able to pose so devastatingly as a 16 year old boy, because in essence that is what MySpace was built to be – a way to express a persona of your choosing.
Why don’t these applications, that know the kind of impact they can have (we all understand the threat predators pose online) on a persons life, care about who you really are? Because, bluntly put, they can’t. It is not possible for them to do that in a scalable, cost-effective manner. The lack of a solid identity framework for the internet prevents these applications from being truly identity-based. We have seen a push towards heavy-handed identity verification mechanisms (see my earlier post about identity verification in Second Life), but those solutions are so costly (time, infrastructure, cost) as to be impractical for most web applications. This kind of model will effectively curtail the free-wheeling collaborative spirit prevalent in the current generation of internet apps, and throttle innovation. If you had to stand in a line somewhere for 4 hours, and had to show your passport to someone, just so you could sign up for a Twitter account, would you?
A one-size-fits-all approach is not the answer. The correct solutions in life only come from taking a balanced approach to the problem. Nothing is more annoying to me when adding a Facebook app than being
required to check the box agreeing to share my information with the
app, even though I know that it doesn’t need any of it, and most likely isn’t using it at all. Consequently, I avoid adding those apps unless I really want to.
This is where pieces like Bob Blakely’s Identity Oracle, the Identity Services model, Burton’s Limited Liability Persona, the IGF and user-centric methodologies have to all fit together. We do need strong identity verification mechanisms, but we shouldn’t need to go through that for every single site we want to use. Indirection is the solution to many a problem, and the right identity framework for the internet is the necessary thing to have this identity verification feed into a platform level identity that multiple applications can build on.
This is also needed as a necessary step to support pseudonymity online. The goal of an identity framework is not to prevent people from creating online personae that are
divorced from reality. It is to give applications the ability to create
suitable boundaries within which such a persona can be created. Using this,
an application like MySpace, where the identity consequences can be so
devastating, can choose to, for example, prevent people whose identity
is in the 30+ age group from creating a persona that is in the 10-20
Like so many things in modern life, we have gotten immune to all the horror stories of online predators. Until a story like this comes along to remind us that these are important things that we are working on, and we need to get it right. | <urn:uuid:fa6666cb-ba4a-4cb2-bf76-43f56f721408> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.talkingidentity.com/2007/11/we_need_a_strong_internet_iden.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 | 0.951879 | 774 | 1.640625 | 2 |
We took turn after turn on dusty lonely dirt trails, passing thick plantations of tall lush trees and seemingly deserted shanty towns. The setting sun was casting a red hue on the trees that matched the color of the road. We finally reached our appointed destination, a small bed and breakfast located on a small rise overlooking forest and meadow.
Our travel weariness must have been written on our faces. The welcoming attendant at the front desk dispatched two young women to mind our luggage and settle us comfortably in our assigned abode. The service offered by this small establishment rivaled any 5 star hotel. The proprietors were a lovely Dutch couple and was completely staffed by young women. Our short stay at this little outpost of hospitality has forever changed Luci and I. Our hearts were struck by the hospitality, generosity and sheer beauty of the place. The paradise we have described is Swaziland.
“You are going where??!!” is usually the typically response we get when we tell friends and family about our next adventure destination. “Why would you want to go to (insert remote location)?” The answer is in the paragraph above. Now the rest of the story from the portrait above. Swaziland suffers from a number of challenges, poverty, hunger, disease epidemics and numerous social ills. They don’t tend to put those on the glossy tourist websites. As a traveler, you can choose to let this scare you off, or you can dig deeper and find a treasure as we did in Swaziland.
In addition to Swaziland, we want to introduce you to some off the beaten travel destinations that might change your life. Strap on your walking shoes, its time for adventure!
We are often asked which has been our favorite location out of the travels, Luci will always say Turkey (stay tuned!). Mine would be Bosnia. Bosnia is frankly one of the most beautiful, intriguing, and difficult places we have been. Our trip, which wasn’t an extended one by any stretch, gave me a taste for a land filled with lush forests, dramatic waterfalls, towering mosques, and war hardened residents. Bosnia offer travelers historical insights, out of door adventures including hiking, rafting and camping.
As a kid, I always dreamt of being teleported back in time. I wanted to live history. I wanted to see, taste, smell, and interact with the scenes of great literature. Turkey has made this boyhood dream a living reality. The characters of the bible walked the same streets as I did. We drank from the same springs. I ate wonderful olives, savory meats from a roadside kabab, and partook of the most amazing Baklava! Turkey brings history to life.
Read about our Open Love Letter to Istanbul.
Turkey was a surprise to both Luci and I. We were discussing where we might want to go in Eastern Europe. Turkey came up and we both said, yea….Turkey. We started our in-depth research about the country, began our quest to learn everything we could about the history, culture and language. Turkey offers great shopping in the Grand Bazaar, delicious cuisine, ultra friendly natives, and a window into history that has no rival.
“Where exactly are the Maldives?” Ask most people, and they might have a challenge pointing the country out on a map. The collection of roughly 1000 islands is located due south of India and west of the African Continent. The island country is bathed in the Indian ocean. The temperature ranges from 75 to 90 degrees year round, making it a wonderful year round destination. It offer travelers seclusion that rivaled by few places.
The most difficult choice is which island and resort to pick! There are so many options for holidays to Maldives. Lodging offerings range from Spartan shacks on the beach to five-star full service resorts. The warm clear waters offer great snorkeling and diving. Rent a boat and go island hopping.
A few words of warning about traveling off the beaten path. First, be prepared. Do your homework. Then be completely flexible. Things including hotels, roads, and people that were to be there for you might not exist. This is truly the beauty of traveling where few do. One of our tricks to traveling well is humility and openness. You must be willing to try new food, smell new smells?, and be completely removed from your comfort zone. In return the dividends of off the beaten path travel will greatly enrich your life.
Tell us, where have you traveled off the beaten path? What lessons have you learned? Where would you like to go? | <urn:uuid:0606392f-4f85-4e85-b11c-f180c2783974> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://1000fights.com/on-the-road-less-traveled/ | 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 | 0.964428 | 950 | 1.609375 | 2 |
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Mediation is a fair and efficient process to help you resolve your employment disputes and reach an agreement. A neutral mediator assists you in reaching a voluntary, negotiated agreement. Choosing mediation to resolve employment discrimination disputes promotes a better work environment, reduces costs and works for the employer and the employee.
A few satisfied customers ...
"Once the employer gets past the myth of "If we didn't do anything wrong, we shouldn't go to mediation" and decides to participate, the real issues in the dispute become clear. Through mediation, we have had the opportunity to proactively resolve issues and avoid potential charges in the future. We have seen the number of charges filed with EEOC against us actually decline. We believe that our participating in mediation and listening to employees' concerns has contributed to that decline."
Donna M. Gwin
Director of Human Resources
"As an employer's attorney, I routinely recommend mediation to my clients. In mediation, you can build a sense of what the issues are, learn the problems, explore possible options for resolution, and make informed decisions whether or not resolving at that time or moving on is the best outcome for that matter. It makes both business and economic sense from the employer's perspective."
Charles C. Warner, Esq.
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
"Regardless of the issue or whether it has merit under Title VII, if it is draining resources, weighing on the mind of the employee, or having a negative impact on productivity, then getting the issue out on the table, mediating it and resolving it is often the smartest and most expeditious way to ensure workforce effectiveness."
Linda I. Workman
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
"Hopkins is striving to be an employer of choice. We think that participating in EEOC's mediation program moves us that much closer to meeting that goal. . . .We learned that settlement is not always about money. Sometimes there are non- economic ways to settle a case that may be important to the charging party and the respondent."
Laurice Royal, Esq.
Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation
For more information, see
EEOC Mediation Program and the Workplace Benefits of Mediation
EEOC Commission Meeting of December 2, 2003, Washington, D.C. | <urn:uuid:fa38ce66-2584-4ec6-98bc-a0f97c26070a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.eeoc.gov/eeoc/mediation/index.cfm?renderforprint=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940467 | 477 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Car Insurance – How Much Do I Require?
So you've done all of your research and gotten all your questions answered about car insurance coverage in Yellowstone County, MT, and now you're ready to sign up with a trustworthy auto insurance provider. You must first decide what type of coverage and how much you need. This is a very important decision to make and require some assistance. Here are some tips that may help you:
- Requirements of State : most states require a certain amount of monetary coverage for bodily injury, property(car) damage, and personal property. The minimums amount required are $20,000/$40,000/$15,000 thousand dollars respectively for each part of the coverage. Some people choose higher amounts because they consider the cost of healthcare and a vehicle repair.
- Requirements of Driving : How much wear and tear through driving that you put on your car is a big consideration. If you drive long distances on a regular basis, insurance companies consider you to be more of an accident risk than someone else who drives to and from work or school, which are shorter distances. The condition and year of your car makes a difference as well, because the more wear and tear on your car, the more the value decreases. And if your car is not valued at over $1,000, it would probably not be worth it to get comprehensive insurance coverage for it.
- Showing Honesty : You should definitely get the insurance coverage that is required from your state and necessary for you and your car. Don't try to save money and end up being underinsured. Be honest with yourself and those on the road, and get the right coverage.
- Affordability : making sure you have the best and the right insurance coverage is important, but you also don't want to go broke doing it. You must choose the right and affordable coverage for you. You must evaluate what you can afford to pay for your premium every month, while having the required coverage for you and your car.
Getting the right car insurance is very important. It is also a very selective process of choosing the best coverage. You must make sure you do extensive homework to determine what the right coverage is for you that you need. Look into many insurance companies, call their offices, make a list of questions to ask them, and don't be reluctant to get all of your questions answered because that is important in your selection process. | <urn:uuid:b82e184d-f4a1-48a4-9d0d-1a236b01c0e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.openauto.com/mt-auto-insurance/yellowstone-county.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968914 | 490 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Hey all, I have a question.
For one of my stories i have a settlement that has built into an extinct volcano and have expanded the community down of of the ravines. I have a ruff idea of how it looks in my head and I've been meddling in PS with my rather poor drawing skills, but I'm unsure if Im doing this the right way. Would it be easier to design the city first, than the ravine/crater or design the ravine/crater first and try and put the city in? (keeping in mind that I only have 1 'must have' building the rest are fluff.
(rather bad example of the general 'layout' I was thinking. complete with 'must have' building... yeah.. I'm working on my drawing skills.. )
My Blog, were I talk mostly about my writing. | <urn:uuid:5f0b5f73-50cf-45a1-b512-923263dcf397> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cartographersguild.com/how-do-i/20447-ravine-volcano-settlement.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977472 | 176 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Christopher L. Heuertz: Vocations of hope
It can be tempting for any organization to define itself by what it is not.
Some mission communities like mine, Word Made Flesh, used to juxtapose our emerging identity against what we perceived to be worn out models of mission and community. It took us a few years to figure out what we actually are.
We were helped by the arrival of Gabe Lyons' first book, “ unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity and Why it Matters ,” to expose our image problem as North American evangelicals. Lyons’ research with Dave Kinnaman showed that young Americans view Christians as anti-gay, overly political, judgmental, and out of touch with reality. Facing such a scathing review by non-religious people, we felt we had to be proactive in trying to embody our faith in a more positive way.
Lyons’ new book, “ The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America ,” goes beyond pointing out problems and moves to hope-filled alternatives. Lyons argues that Christians should not just strive to “impact” or “transform” culture, but should actually be restoring culture -- celebrating creative and thoughtful expressions of faith in communities that resemble Jesus.
“The Next Christians” rejects the separatist mentality of condemning culture or retreating from it, and the syncretistic approach that dilutes core theological celebrations. Christians, he says, should be “Provoked, not offended. Creators, not critics. Called, not employed. Grounded, not distracted. In community, not alone. Countercultural, not ‘relevant’.”
This approach is refreshing. Often I find myself apologizing to non-religious friends for the unflattering caricature that Christianity has become. I grew up in a religious environment where to be Christian required casting your votes for Republican candidates, showing up for protests outside abortion clinics, and boycotting companies that had apparent ties to “the gay agenda.” Somehow issues like war, the environment, poverty, and AIDS didn't connect with the faith.
In 2010 things are different. Christians are now prioritizing progressive issues and causes. Tackling these things is not simply hip, trendy, or politically correct, but an attempt to affirm the divine imprint of God in humanity, and subsequently to help restore a culture in desperate need of hope.
Lyons believes that it’s for Christians to restore culture. “Cultures are like clouds. They materialize as byproducts of the prevailing conditions. They reveal the world’s influential currents as they move across the landscape. And when you’re inside them, it’s hard to see what’s really going on around you.”
This call to restorative vocation is an urgent plea. Affluence and abundance can dull us into a tragic state. Typical North American evangelicals are often over-educated but under-employed; deeply in debt yet continuing to live beyond our means. We still wait to discover vocation while squandering expensive degrees by pouring coffee at a café. Lyons suggests actual alternatives, with powerful examples of people who have allowed vocation to find them, leading them to lives that bear witness to restoration.
Gabe concludes his reflections by noting that authors like Scott Bessenecker (‘ The New Friars ’) and Phyllis Tickle (‘ The Great Emergence ’) have suggested that we are on the cusp of another historic transition in Christian identity. There seem to be 400 or 500-year cycles that bring our religious distinctiveness into focus. Today we have the opportunity to restore who we are in Christ, and to do that as a church whose access to resources is unprecedented in history. Will we allow the lull of the status quo to entice us with building our own personal Christian brands that critique, withdraw, or merge with the newest and hippest causes? Or will we find the courage to live into vocations of hope that lead to real Christ-centered restoration?
Christopher L. Heuertz is International Executive Director of Word Made Flesh. He is based in Omaha, Nebraska. His most recent book, co-written with Christine Pohl, is “Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission” (InterVarsity). Follow him on Twitter @chrisheuertz). | <urn:uuid:dd046206-a9db-49ad-8ecd-ada1a24f9c14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.faithandleadership.com/blog/10-05-2010/christopher-l-heuertz-vocations-hope | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950082 | 911 | 1.585938 | 2 |
(also published by Pak Tea House)
Healer, Heal thyself
Science is supposed to inculcate rational thinking among its practitioners. The whole scientific methodology relies on definitive evidence and not just myths or fable. Paradoxically, in case of religious extremism, it has been observed that students of science have been actively involved in acts of terrorism and their scientific education failed to change their narrow-mindedness and bigotry.
Research by Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog has shown that engineers are more susceptible to join Islamic Radical groups than other people. Similar data is not available about Doctors. However, based on information about the terrorist networks and terrorists themselves it is not difficult to find doctors in prominent roles. Most famous and perhaps dangerous is Dr Ayman-az-Zawahiri, a pediatrician from Egypt believed to be the second-in-command of Al Qaeda and the chief ideologue. Abu Hafiza, the master-mind of Madrid bombings, Dr Akmal Waheed, accused of having links with Al-Qaeda, attacking the convoy of the Karachi corps commander in 2004 and providing financial aid to the banned Jundullah activists, Bilal Abdulla, who attempted a terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport in 2007, Dr Nidal Malik Hassan, who killed 13 people and wounded 29 others in the worst shooting ever to take place on an American military base at Fort Hood, located just outside Killeen, Texas, Dr Ali Abdullah, who abetted terrorists in attempted murder of wounded Ahmedis in Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, Professor Dr Zafar Iqbal Chohdary, a pioneer of Lashkar e Tayba and last but not the least, Dr Afia Siddiqui(though not a practicing physician/surgeon, she did her PhD in neuroscience), who was one of six alleged al-Qaeda members who bought $19 million worth of blood in Monrovia, Liberia, immediately prior to the September 11, 2001, attacks and who was married in 2003 to al-Qaeda member Ammar al-Baluchi, in Karachi. Al Baluchi is a nephew of al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Khaled Ahmed, veteran journalist, noted in his book that “In 2005, I was asked by the Lahore Chapter of doctors’ association to address them on current national issues. I was prepared to discuss the problem of growing religious violence, but when I saw that most of the medical specialists in the high-income bracket were sporting flowing beards and already making speeches in favour of an Islamic revolution, I changed my mind and did not broach the subject of increased religiosity among the scientists in general and doctors in particular. The meeting was finally dominated by Dr Israr Ahmad, himself a medical doctor, and Dr Amer Aziz who had been to Afghanistan to treat Osama bin Laden.”
(Khaled Ahmed, Sectarian War, Oxford University Press, Karachi; 2011; pp 173) The growing radicalization has also caused problems for doctors aspiring to get training in the United States (US being the country with most advanced training facilities).
According to Dr Saima Zafar, president-elect of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani descent in North America (APPNA), this past year 22 physicians from Pakistan who had managed to get through the rigorous process of residency interviews and were matched with residency programmes lost their spots after being refused visas.
Those already in residency programmes also found their positions precarious. One resident at a prestigious programme who had returned to get married found himself being taken off his return flight to America. His visa was revoked without explanation. His programme at Pennsylvania State University’s Hershey campus announced soon after that it would no longer be recruiting Pakistani medical graduates.
What prompts these people to turn towards extremism is hard to judge. We will examine a few theories about this phenomenon though. Hajra Mumtaz, in an article titled “The benefit of grey” opined, “Science teaches certainties that have the equivalent of a moral upper hand through being absolutely and invariably correct. In this way, we have in people the inclination to either totally accept as right, or totally reject as wrong, ideas and attitudes. And so, quite possibly, we have a society that is one step closer to allowing extreme viewpoints or ideologies to take root.
Students of the social sciences and humanities, by contrast, are taught to navigate their way through endless possibilities with no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to light the path. Philosophy, history, literature, anthropology, etc are all areas that require the student to traverse the grey areas and the ‘what ifs’, where the only moral upper hand can be logic and rational, coherent debate. These subjects ask the student to take in context and connections and search for alternatives.”
In a research report named “Red Hot Chilli Peppers Islam – Is the Youth in Elite Universities in Pakistan Radical?” It was stated that “The majority believed that madrassah reforms were being imposed by the US and hence were a ruse to manipulate traditional institutions. Majority of respondents also viewed Islam as the right formula for governance. 62% considered Shiites as Non-Muslim. 40% of respondents didn’t believe that imposing military rule was an act of treason. 57% respondents viewed USA as the biggest threat to Muslim Ummah, 43% listed Israel and 33% considered “West” as the biggest threat to Muslim Ummah. 46% were willing to believe that the Taliban were sponsored the US.” The study concluded that, “they[students of Elite Universities] suffer from a closed mind or are prone to exclusivity rather than inclusivity. The ‘us’ versus ‘them’ divide compounded with greater insensitivity towards social and political issues has created an elite generation which may be incapable of mending fences with other groups. Being affluent these youth may have greater stakes in not turning towards active militancy. But then, cases such as Faisal Shehzad or Afia Siddiqui can always happen. These two cases, in fact, indicate the possibility of latent radicalism transforming into radicalism and militancy.
This study did not find any remarkable difference between the thinking of the youth going to elite institutions. Access to better education did not necessarily produce better quality thinking” The sample for this study included 2 medical colleges as well. A worrying thought is that extremism in medical professional is increasing and not decreasing. A “radd-e-Fahashi seminar” was held in a medical college in Lahore. In the same medical college, Hizb ut Tehrir(a banned organization) conducted many workshops and a similar organization “Sout-ul-Ummah” are quite active there. Student wings of Religio-political parties are active in medical colleges especially in Faisalabad, Multan and Bahawalpur. Doctors are considered as one of the most educated group of people. If they are treading towards the path of extremism, what hope there is for illiterate people who form the majority of Pakistan’s populace? | <urn:uuid:4653ca34-2601-4557-9132-c29e31c05dcb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abdulmajeedabid.blogspot.com/2011/12/healer-heal-thyself.html | 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 | 0.972245 | 1,468 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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By Mr. Curmudgeon:
Less than a week before Americans decide who will take the presidential oath of office this January 20, the Department of Labor reports that U.S. employers cut 47,724 jobs in the month of October, the highest level in five months. The announced 41.1% spike in job layoffs comes ahead of the much anticipated employment report due out on Friday, which analysts expect will come in at 150,000 for last month. And last week, 363,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits.
Some economists say America’s private-sector economy will have to produce 350,000 jobs per month for three years before U.S. unemployment drops to 6%. Obama’s Solyndra-based economic model is not likely to spur that kind of robust growth, and a growing number of Americans now realize this fact.
“The tidal wave of anti-debt, anti-big-government voters that swamped Democrats in the 2010 congressional elections is readying itself again,” reported the Washington Times on Thursday, “poised to sweep Mitt Romney into the Oval Office …”
Republican pollster John McLaughlin told the Times, “The undecided voter is not really undecided. They overwhelmingly disapprove of the job the president has done and will largely vote against the incumbent. It’s a hidden vote that will vote against the president.”
While many in the mainstream media trumpet polls claiming President Obama leads his Republican challenger Mitt Romney among likely swing-state voters, the Gallup organization reports that Romney leads in early voting 52% to Obama’s 45%. Here in battleground Florida where I live, Obama’s early-voting tallies are down by 70% compared to 2008.
An electoral tsunami is building and is poised to push hope and change out to sea. That tsunami is due in large part to the Tea Party that organized to fight Obama’s dictatorial health care monstrosity, and translated protest anger into an effective electoral machine that ended the careers of big-government, big-spending politicians in both parties.
If four years under the authoritarian thumb of the Obama administration has taught us anything, it’s that government power is limited in affecting change for the better. It can dictate the closure of coalmines, block offshore oil exploration and force individuals to pay government health-care premiums as the price of American citizenship, but it has no power to create national prosperity or jobs. Our government, originally chartered to protect “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,” has degenerated into nothing more than a mindless spending machine.
Our Progressive masters claimed that surrendering our liberties was a small price to pay in exchange for “security.” Today, that price is so high that Washington’s freedom-killing-spending-machine must borrow trillions of dollars from communist China to stay afloat. And the Progressive’s promised “security” hangs by a flimsy thread.
Obama’s October layoff surprise is really no surprise at all. Prosperity and freedom are two sides of the same coin. The only surprise is that a once free people allowed Progressive masterminds to drag the “last best hope of mankind” to the edge of the abyss.
On November 6, Americans begin the hard work of national restoration. And believe me, it’s only a beginning. | <urn:uuid:67545bbe-8a09-4aae-8b7d-c29fd7a731d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teapartytribune.com/2012/11/01/obamas-october-surprise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941061 | 712 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Tuesday is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, which kicked off with the Battle for Fort Sumter. The battle began when confederate soldiers from Fort Johnson bombarded Fort Sumter, a piece of federal property in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor. In the end, Fort Sumter surrendered to the Confederates. In anticipation of Tuesday’s anniversary, enthusiasts from around the country have spent several years and thousands of dollars planning a reenactment of the Battle of Fort Sumter.
Douglas Bostick is the chairman of the First Shot Committee, which has been instrumental in organizing the Fort Sumter reenactment. And Lt. Col. Steve Riggs is a historical re-enactor who will be firing the first shot in the Battle of Fort Sumter Tuesday. | <urn:uuid:18ea6004-9e08-4627-9509-81f5034d6026> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetakeaway.org/2011/apr/11/battle-over-battle-fort-sumter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934288 | 165 | 1.757813 | 2 |
(MCT) — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —Waiting four hours to vote might be all right by Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s standards but it’s unacceptable to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who introduced legislation Wednesday targeting long lines in Florida, Virginia and Ohio.
Boxer’s proposed “LINE,” or Lines Interfere With National Elections act, would set a national goal of a maximum of a one-hour wait to vote at any polling place during federal elections.
In Palm Beach County, some voters waited more than seven hours at the Lantana Road Branch Library on the last day of early voting.
Boxer’s bill attempts to “deal directly with the problem of dysfunction at polling places around the country,” she said in a news release. The bill would also require states to implement plans to fix the problems before the next federal election.
The senator filed her bill the day after Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner told a state House committee that Scott has defined a wait of four-hours or more as “under-performing” for county elections offices. Detzner is meeting next week with election supervisors and staff of counties that failed to meet that standard, including Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher.
The bill would require the U.S. attorney general to issue new national standards by Jan. 1, 2014 regarding the minimum number of voting machines, election workers and other election resources necessary to hold federal elections. And it would require that minimum standards take into account the number of eligible voters, recent voter turnout, the number of new voter registrations, Census data for each polling place and the socio-economic makeup of the voting population.
“I think we share the same concern, that long lines are an issue and that a better job can be done to get people through the voting line. But what we’re doing right now is trying to find the best solution,” said Detzner’s spokesman, Chris Cate. “So we’re not going to weigh in on any solutions until we’ve had the opportunity to talk to supervisors. They’re going to be the people most knowledgeable about what their county needs.”
A one-hour wait in densely populated areas may be an unrealistic goal, said Martin County Supervisor of Elections Vicki Davis, who is also the president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections.
“I think four hours is too long to wait in line. However, I’m not sure that an hour is too long to wait in some of the very large counties, given the challenges that they face with identifying polling locations, adequate parking, enough equipment and interpreters,” Davis said.
Bucher and some other supervisors say cost is one reason they are unable to open more early voting sites. But the state has $3 million in federal funds available to supervisors for use in federal elections for equipment. Detzner’s office was unable to say Thursday how much of that money was sought or distributed to supervisors for the 2012 election.
Boxer contends that the long waits violate the federal Voting Rights Act and she is urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to take immediate steps to address the long lines experienced around the country.
“The right to vote is a cornerstone of our democracy; but in making our citizens wait for hours in line, and forcing them to choose between casting their ballot or caring for a sick child, or earning a paycheck to feed their families, the government is infringing on their fundamental right to participate in our democracy,” Boxer wrote in a letter to Holder on Wednesday.
Florida lawmakers this week began weighing a possible legislative fix to voting problems and initially blamed the long lines on local supervisors for failing to provide adequate early voting sites and on a lengthy ballot. The GOP-controlled legislature placed 11 lengthy constitutional changes on the ballots, which were up to 10 pages long in some counties.
Florida Senate Ethics and Elections Committee Chairman Jack Latvala, a Republican, said the federal government does not need to get involved.
“I think we’re perfectly capable of handling that problem in Florida,” he said. “We’re going to look at this in a careful, methodical way and then we’ll figure out what’s right for Florida.”
The state legislature last year passed a bill, signed into law by Scott, HB 1355, that shortened the number of early voting days from 14 to eight. The Palm Beach Post has reported that former Gov. Charlie Crist, who is now estranged from the GOP, is among those who contend the purpose of the law was to limit early voting in 2012 by minority voters and Democrats, whose early votes played a major role in Obama’s 2008 Florida victory.
But Latvala said a Justice Department investigation is unnecessary and he remains unconvinced that the new law played a role in the hours-long waits.
“I don’t see how that’s any reflection on me or my political party. In each one of those counties that had those problems, it was Democrat supervisors of elections. They made local decisions that didn’t work out right.”
Lawmakers have for years ignored supervisors’ requests for more options with early voting sites, now limited to public libraries, city halls and elections offices or branches that have been open at least a year.
Democratic State Sen. Jeff Clemens said the legislature is at fault for failing to expand the types of early voting sites as well as for the lengthy ballot. Clemens, who sits on the Senate elections panel, said he intends to file legislation limiting the number of proposals lawmakers can put on a ballot.
“It’s mind-blowing that we could deny them the flexibility they’ve been asking for for years and then turn around and blame them,” he said. Clemens said he welcomes a federal inquiry.
“To me it’s clear what the intent of HB 1355 was and that was to make it harder for people to vote,” he said. “So if the state isn’t going to protect its own residents’ right to vote, I would hope the federal government would.” | <urn:uuid:a176072d-7c9a-4e52-8e31-f2880e45aed8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/2012/12/07/sen-boxer-files-bill-to-shorten-time-voters-have-to-stand-in-line-at-polls/aagu0ia/?page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961519 | 1,317 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Some people think America’s gone soft. But inside every company are people who work hard, using their knowledge and talents in unique ways to solve problems and circumvent tough challenges. Their stories reveal a work ethic that is strong and invigorating. So let their voices be heard.
Create content about them that can appear in a trade publication article, a blog post, a press release, a video interview or website copy on the About or News page. They should be heard as brand ambassadors on social media sites. Don’t rely only on the best and brightest in the company but also the people who shine in a small but very special way. Reflect the work ethic of customers and you will have a winning content strategy.
Highlight The Inventor
Whether it’s an idea, a product, a design or a process, inventors position your company as progressive in thought and deed. While the marketing of such innovation is a collaborative effort, dig deep enough and you will find the person who connected the dots and came up with something new. In big companies you may have to wade through layers of attention seekers but keep going to find the originating source. Ask how it came about. What triggered the idea? What did you need to find the solution? Were you sure of it or did you experiment multiple times before coming up with the best answer?
Interview The Craftsman
How well a product or service is crafted can be the most distinguishing factor separating you from your competition. Respect the craftsman and your customers will respect the product. Starting on page 70 of the 690-page Restoration Hardware Fall 2012 catalog is an article titled “The Leatherman.” It tells the story of two craftsmen, how they met, what they value and some of the details of their work. “I wanted to treat leather like everything I do. I wanted it all hand done,” says Timothy Oulton. And this from Diego Diaz: “There’s not much of this particular kind of thing that you can learn from books or in school. It’s by trial, by getting your hands dirty, and that’s what I love to do.” Turn the page after reading the article and the customer sees the leather products with new eyes and awareness.
Honor The Customer
What role does a customer play? Often, new ideas are generated by questions customers ask or details they demand. Former teacher and now CEO of BLS Enterprises Barry Stoughton is a serial inventor who creates new products inspired by questions from customers. When asked, “How can we extend the life of rubber track pads on our construction equipment?” Barry developed a polyurethane based track pad that doubles the wear time. He didn’t stop there. New products are continuously introduced to solve the problems his customers are facing.
Share your company’s work ethic through people who exemplify it. Putting a face to the fact builds relationships and authenticity. This kind of content is also good for sharing through word of mouth. Did you hear about the surgeon who performed a double lung transplant on his patient and three months later ran alongside that patient during a 10k race? There are great stories inside your company. Tell them right and your customers will see themselves in it | <urn:uuid:4d1f368f-b2b1-4006-8d13-8e21bdad00d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentforbiz.com/2012/09/work-ethic-content-strategy-works/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957328 | 674 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Items Tagged with "Data Loss Prevention"
April 16, 2013 Added by:Scott Thomas
Most non-IT people know about DLP only when the IT organization contacts them to let them know they did something they shouldn't have. For those of us that have to deal with the policies, the alerts, and sending those notices, it can be more complicated.
January 31, 2013 Added by:Rafal Los
Before you tell me that risk classifications are important, water is wet, the sun is hot and ice is cold, I'd like to remind you how many enterprises still do it poorly. I almost wish it was a simple as data telling you it's critical or not, but let's face it the game is very rarely that simple...
January 29, 2013 Added by:Rebecca Herold
Marketing organizations salivate at the prospects of doing advanced analysis with such data to discover new trends and marketing possibilities. The government wants to use it for investigations. Historians want to use it for, yes, marking historical events. And the list could go on...
January 16, 2013 Added by:Brandon Knight
Mobile devices continue to pick up steam on becoming the primary device that many people use for email, web browsing, social media and even shopping. As we continue installing app after app which we then put our personal information in to the question is how secure are these apps?
October 16, 2012 Added by:Danny Lieberman
If pharmaceutical companies can access data from patients, then they can design and manufacture better products. This is good for patient health but problematic for current regulation of patient privacy. There is no such thing as patient privacy once big commercial ventures like large pharmas get involved...
October 10, 2012 Added by:Danny Lieberman
For small to mid-size hospitals, nursing homes, medical device, healthcare IT vendors will have a much simpler audit and will be primarily interested in how cheaply the audit can be done and how much they can save using the technique of multiple threat analysis...
October 09, 2012 Added by:Mikko Jakonen
How come banks are telling people to maintain their security better, without putting their OWN reputation and capabilities in line with the DIRECT consequences of the change paradigm towards ‘webalized’ approach we have witnessed for years, has now resulted as poor operational security...
October 08, 2012 Added by:Rafal Los
What happens if you go perusing through your corporate file-share lists, applications directories and such... and find some interesting stuff that you aren't technically supposed to have access to yet the controls in place have no problem giving you permission? Does anyone notice?
October 08, 2012 Added by:Robert Siciliano
If you as an employee of a hospital use your personal device at work and also use it outside of work and it gets lost or stolen, then YES, you and the hospital would be in a great deal of hot water in the event that mobile device was lost...
October 07, 2012 Added by:Bill Gerneglia
The report found that the majority of employee’s phones and smart devices did not have any form of security software loaded nor were company materials protected. The new report provides detailed assessments of the mobile security threat and the growing market for security solutions...
September 25, 2012 Added by:Richard Stiennon
The that firewalls do not provide value had its first incarnation in de-perimeterization. The idea is that because network security is so hard we should give up and focus on securing the endpoints and data that travels between them. In reality we have to defend four separate domains...
September 12, 2012 Added by:Mike Gault
The security market in 2012 is estimated at $60 billion, yet adding more layers of perimeter security may be completely useless against a determined sysadmin working on the inside. The end result is that your data might or might not be secure – you simply have no way to prove it...
September 11, 2012
The modern enterprise requires a new defense paradigm to protect their business from security threats. Not perimeter-based, but data-centric, and that can readily combine key information from multiple critical security controls to easily identify risks and threats and protect critical infrastructure and sensitive data...
September 10, 2012 Added by:Bill Gerneglia
BYOD issues continue to cause headaches for IT departments. Security mandates grow exponentially as they struggle to prevent data leaks from private networks onto public clouds. The biggest concerns with public clouds are the loss of data and control of the location of that data...
September 04, 2012 Added by:Johannes Ullrich, Ph.D.
Host-based intrusion detection has seen some significant advances and it has come to encompass a lot more than what we currently understand as "anti-virus" or "anti-malware". All too often we still mirror network-based intrusion detection and are looking for signatures of "badness"...
August 31, 2012 Added by:Ben Rothke
The need for effective media destruction is imperative given that digital media is the crown jewels of most organizations. From payroll, financial records, to personal information and company/trade secrets, there are terabytes of data that at the end of its lifecycle, needs to be effectively sanitized... | <urn:uuid:3cab3d4d-3eab-46a0-819b-d6af59856835> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://infosecisland.com/hometag/463/Data-Loss-Prevention.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952208 | 1,079 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Louisiana Kitchen Essentials
There is a famous saying about Louisiana - “In other places people eat to live, but in Louisiana we live to eat”. The preparation of food for such a population, thus, becomes a task that asks for the right set of tools to come up with a hearty meal. Here is a guide that encompasses the Louisiana kitchen essentials to give you an idea about the right tools for your Louisiana kitchen.
A few must-have Louisiana kitchen tools are as follows:
Pots and pans
Some basic types of pots and pans are essential. One needs to have a set of heavy thick walled pots in a Louisiana kitchen. To start with one should go for a high quality Dutch oven that is big in size and made of cast iron. Stock Pots can be used for preparing soups, pastas, and purées. Make sure that the one in your kitchen is heavy and large and heats up quickly so that it is easy to cook your favorite recipes. Another must have kitchen tool is a roasting pan. Non-stick cookware can be quite useful. Along with these, one can have a deep fryer as well for those occasional crispy French fries.
One of the most essential tools for a Louisiana kitchen is a set of sharp knives that can be used for cutting vegetables, bread, and meat. A chef’s knife is a versatile knife that has a broad blade and a narrow handle. Except for tasks like deboning and carving food, almost every task can be performed using a chef’s knife. It should be 8 to 12 inches long and its structure makes it easier to grasp. Another essential knife in the kitchen is the Paring knife, especially those that provide blade control. A serrated knife can be used in the kitchen to slice bread or some soft fruits like tomatoes. Make sure that you purchase a sharpener to keep your set of knives sharp always.
Spoons are a quintessential kitchen tool. It is important to have a set that comprises of a few gravy spoons; a big ladle for soups and gumbos. Make sure that your spoon set is of stainless steel type. The ordinary chrome plated spoons do not last long since they start to rust after repeated and heavy use. One can buy the roux spoon as well. It is mainly used to scrap off the bottom of a pot while preparing roux. One can also buy an ergonomically designed mashing spatula that can be useful in executing various tasks like preparing mashed potatoes and other vegetables.
This is a tool that is used to tie stuffed and rolled meat together. It can also be used to tie poultry legs together.
A whisk is a very important tool for a Louisiana kitchen. For a quick omelet you need to have a sturdy whisk in your kitchen. Do ensure that your whisk is without any bends.
For those who love to cook meat, this is one of the most essential tools that you need to have in your Louisiana kitchen. You can buy a cheap and useful $10 version or one more convenient to use that comes for $100. Make sure that you calibrate the thermometer before use by sticking it in ice-cold water or boiling water and then reset it. | <urn:uuid:763ec4b3-45ca-45f1-8d97-7ab9147a1c0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ifood.tv/blog/louisiana-kitchen-essentials | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953272 | 662 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Sara Rue (center) on the set of Less Than Perfect.
Actress Sara Rue lost 50 pounds, ran a half-marathon, and wore a bikini for the first time in 2010. She had been a Jenny Craig spokesperson at the time. Dieting changed her attitudes toward eating, and now she's carrying those lessons over to her life "after Jenny," eating for a healthier body as well as a healthier environment. Last year, the actress -- who has appeared in Less than Perfect, Rules of Engagement, Big Bang Theory, and Two and a Half Men -- married my friend Kevin. She and I spoke recently about cooking, contaminants in food, and altering habits.
"It's definitely been a transition," Sara says. "Instead of just thinking about food from a fat and calorie perspective, I've also begun thinking about what else I'm consuming, such as pesticides and chemicals, and about the impact of my diet on the planet."
General concerns about health, reproductive health (she hopes to have children someday), and her interest in the environment sparked her desire to learn more. Scientific studies have linked pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals in food and food packaging to numerous health problems, including fertility issues, nervous system disorders, and cancer.
"I have to admit it can be overwhelming," Sara says. "Sometimes I feel like I'm swamped with information about canned tomatoes or what kind of fish you can eat. How are you supposed to keep up with all this stuff?"
I'll be the first to admit that it's a total pain to make sense of (and then act on) the multitudes of information we come across about what we should and should not be eating. That's one of the reasons I started this blog -- to bring forward the tips and facts we need to keep ourselves, and our families, healthy and safe.
Take tomatoes, for example. Like many of us, Sara heard canned tomatoes aren't good for you because of concerns over bisphenol A. The acidity of tomatoes increases the likelihood that BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical, will leach out of the can liner and into the food.
"That really stinks," she says. "I have this great recipe for turkey chili that we eat all the time, and it calls for canned tomatoes."
But there is no need to toss out that chili recipe. I tell Sara that whenever I can find them, I use jarred tomatoes from my farmers’ market instead of the canned stuff. And as the body of scientific evidence on BPA's potential health effects grows, more options are appearing on store shelves, too. Some supermarkets carry tomatoes in cartons (aka aseptic containers) and BPA-free cans.
Learning to cook was another transition Sara faced after her successful weight loss. In order to maintain her healthy lifestyle, Sara knew she would have to get into the kitchen. This way, she could control her fat, sugar, and salt intake, as well as her chemical exposure.
Although Sara’s dad was "an incredible cook," she never picked up the skill herself. While she was on the Jenny Craig diet, she relied on the program's prepared food. And Kevin -- well, while I can attest that he' s a great guy, I’m told he's not exactly a whiz in the kitchen himself.
Together, they're finding ways to eat at home more and getting comfortable preparing healthful dishes. "We're not that good at cooking meat," Sara says, "so we pretty much stopped eating red meat at home. That was an easy way to keep calories in check and also be lighter on the planet." (Eating grass-fed beef instead of conventional beef is another way to go easier on the planet, and it's more nutritious, too.)
Fish is an important part of Sara's diet. Many health-conscious people I know choose to eat fish instead of other animal proteins, but it's not always easy finding fish that is sustainably caught and low in the toxin mercury. (This is a perpetual source of confusion for me, too. I'll write more on fish choices soon, but as a general rule, small, plant-eating fish, like tilapia, catfish, and barramundi make for healthy, sustainable eating. In the meantime, see this sustainable seafood guide.)
"The one thing my husband and I know how to cook pretty well is vegetables," Sara says. "So we usually end up having less starches and proteins and more fruits and vegetables on our plates." In general, eating fresh, whole, unprocessed food is better for your body and the environment. It maximizes nutrients while minimizing the need for chemical and energy-intensive agricultural production.
When buying fruits and vegetables, Sara consults the Dirty Dozen list to avoid produce that's heavy on pesticides. An easy rule of thumb: if the produce is thin-skinned, go organic.
Like many of us, Sara's journey toward healthy eating is a work in progress. "In a way, it's like dieting," she explains. "As I learn more, I slowly change the way I eat. But you can’t expect to do it all at once. Altering the way you think about food doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. That is one thing that I know for sure."
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Director of College Counseling, The Edmund Burke School
Jerome A. Cole, M.A., is the Director of College Counseling for the Edmund Burke school in Washington, D.C. and the founder of Cole Educational Consulting Services (Cole ECS.) He has worked with students and families for over seven years to help them plan and strategize for college. As a college counselor at Burke, an independent college preparatory high school founded in 1968, Mr. Cole oversees a program that is designed to support students and families as they go through the selection and admission process for college. Mr. Cole advises over 100 students each year in a small academically challenging environment where every senior is expected to apply to and enroll in college. Prior to Burke, he was a school counselor at Bethesda-Chevy Chase high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. He has successfully counseled hundreds of students and helped them prepare for admission to a variety of schools such as: American University, Clark-Atlanta University, Davidson College, George Washington University, Harvard University, Pitzer College, Stanford University, Temple University, and the University of Maryland at College Park, to highlight just a few. He established the consulting firm Cole ECS to provide students and families with the necessary information and support to make the best choice for college. Cole ECS defines the best choice as the optimal learning and social environment to ensure a student’s holistic success, culminating in on-time or early graduation and desirable post-graduate options. Mr. Cole earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Catholic University, and then went on to obtain a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from George Washington University. He is certified as a school counselor and is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC).
Do you recommend that students and families attend college fairs?
College counseling director Jerome Cole explains the importance of students and parents attending college fairs.
This series: 27,298 views
Jerome Cole: My name is Jerome Cole; I am the Director of college counseling at the Edmund Burke School in Washington D.
, I am also the founder of the Cole Educational Consulting Services. I have a Masters degree in Education and Human Development with specialty in Secondary School Counseling from the George Washington University. For the past seven years I have worked in both public and private school settings, helping students and families, strategize for college. Today I am going to talk about some of the strategies, some of the steps that you and your students should take to determine, how you go about selecting a college and then ultimately how you go about being admitted to a college.
Host: Do you recommend that students and families attend college fairs?
Jerome Cole: I think the college fairs in the open houses are very, very valuable for couple of reasons I think. One, it allows students and parents the opportunity to meet with colleges and to gain more information. It also allows them to get to know you, even if its in a crowded room with lots and lots of people around, if you can have a five minute discussion, trust me that college person that you are meeting with, that individual will remember you, they are going to be notes taken, they are going to go in to your file, so it is value in doing that. I think the other thing is with the fairs, you have an opportunity to hit a bunch of schools in one setting and one opportunity, so you want to take advantage of that. | <urn:uuid:eed5f736-3cf3-4f37-83d1-13c618911f0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.monkeysee.com/play/3527-do-you-recommend-that-students-and-families-attend-college-fairs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966261 | 716 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Special issue with the Sunday Magazine
CRAFT: March 21, 1999
Miles to go
Vijaya Rajan talks to Pushpa Chari
Vijaya Rajan, Chairperson of Crafts Council of India and Vice President, World Crafts Council, Asia region, has had a long and meaningful association with crafts. She has worked for the cause of crafts and craftspersons both at home through the CCI and at international meetings, seminars and forums through the World Crafts Council. Here she speaks on the crafts scene and the issues which challenge it today.
How do you view the status of craft in India today?
Apart from being a cornerstone of our culture and heritage, crafts represent a major economic activity in terms of people employed and the value of goods produced. The government, non-government organisations and private sector marketing organisations all work to keep crafts a throbbing, vital sector. The corporate sector too is potentially capable of making a significant contribution - craftspersons used help in the areas of finance, procurement of raw material, training and marketing. The bottomline is that crafts must sell.
What is the role of NGOs like the Crafts Council of India?
Through increasing awareness, through exhibitions, fairs and bazaars, the CCI also plays a major role in design development efforts and products developed to meet market demands. CCI is now focussing on developing interaction between corporate sector and crafts.
Can the corporate sector play a significant role in craft marketing or development?
The corporate sector itself can be a major purchaser - as presents for its clients and shareholders, for special occasions. They can be consumers in their own right in the area of craft packaging for their own products like watches, liquor, jewellery and confectionery. Titan watches, for instance, have produced a range of clocks using skills, and the Body Shop uses palm leaf boxes for packaging. Another untapped area is the role corporate houses could play in "adopting" a craft, and put their managerial skills and financial resources in running it as a business unit, melding together quality control, design development of craft etc. This has been done with great success in Indonesia.
As Indian crafts reach increasingly widening markets, what specific areas should the craftsperson concentrate on?
Craftspersons need to be constantly educated and made to realise the vital importance of quality, for quality alone can command the right price. Punctuality also is of the essence.
Is mechanisation a necessary "evil" for increasing production?
Upgradation of tools and technology is essential to improve productivity, production, quality and to lessen drudgery. Part mechanisation is a given in many South East Asian countries and assumes great significance in the export market.
What is a languishing craft? In what ways does CCI work towards reviving such craft?
Crafts languish because of the lack of demand for the product in the contemporary context. When necessary we have put in design inputs to reorient the product along with training programmes. Improved awareness, better projection of product quality with increased prices have paid good dividends, as say, in our revival of Pattamadai mats, Kalamkari, etc.
You worked closely with Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay. Do you think her dream of elevating "craft and craftsperson to an honoured place" in society has been realised?
In the 50 years since Independence, crafts, awareness of crafts and craft appreciation has definitely grown tremendously. Today, a growing Indian middle class identifies with craft objects and craft skills and there has been a great spurt in craft growth and development. Yes, I think we are closer to her dream, but of course we still have "miles to go".
India's crafts have endured through the millenia. At the threshold of yet another millenium, what would you say is the basic strength of our tradition?
According to economist Dr. I. G. Patel, India's crafts embody our philosophy of "Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram". They are beautiful (Sundar), practical and functional (Shivam) and are true (and relevant) to good values, goodness etc., I can't think of a better definition of our craft essence....
Copyrights © 1999, The Hindu.
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without the written consent of The Hindu. | <urn:uuid:30633567-7265-4cd6-a53e-91d10be88bc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hindu.com/folio/fo9903/99030260.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950052 | 906 | 1.804688 | 2 |
MIAMI BEACH, FL - APRIL 14: Boris Rios (L), H&R Block Tax Associate Office Manager, works on Margarita Gambetta's tax form. (Image credit: Getty Images North America via @daylife)
And just like that, summer is nearly over and it’s back to work. This week, I’ve been sorting through the “Ask the Taxgirl” mailbag and I’m seeing a number of questions that are similar in nature. Many of them are related to the same, tired arguments that taxpayers make over and over. Just because your neighbor, co-worker – or even your mom – says it’s so, doesn’t make it so. And the “ Google defense” (you found it on the web) is about as effective as the “ Turbo Tax defense.”
So tread carefully. To help you sort out the good from the bad, here are eleven tax myths, debunked:
- You have to itemize to take advantage of tax deductions. Yes, many of the most popular tax deductions (think home mortgage interest and medical expenses, for example) require you to itemize, or file a Schedule A, in order to take advantage of the benefit. But not all tax deductions require you to itemize. A number of deductions can be found on the front of your federal form 1040 at the Adjusted Gross Income section (generally, lines 23-37). Those deductions are sometimes called “above the line” deductions and are available to you whether you itemize or claim the standard deduction. They include such popular items as the Tuition and Fees Deduction, Alimony and Moving Expenses. The take away? Save those receipts and keep good records even if you don’t itemize.
- You don’t have to claim payments received so long as they are under $600. This is probably one of the most repeated tax myths out there. So, let me clear it up for you quickly: income is income, no matter the amount. The threshold for required reporting from the payor is $600 which means that if payments are at least $600, a federal form 1099 must be issued. Some folks believe that if no 1099 is actually issued, you don’t have to report it. That’s not true. You have to report all of your income, from whatever source, on your tax return unless it’s otherwise excluded.
- Head of Household status applies to anyone with kids. At some point, I realize that almost all parents assert to their kids in a very loud voicethat they are the head of the house. But that definition and the one allowable by IRS are not the same: you can only file as Head of Household (HOH) if you are unmarried (!) and provide a home for a dependent. That means you must be single, divorced, or otherwise unmarried at the end of the tax year and (1) you paid more than 50% to keep a home for the entire tax year for a parent who was a dependent OR (2) you paid more than 50% to keep a home for the entire tax year with your dependent (there are some exceptions to this rule). You are considered unmarried for purposes of HOH even if you were not divorced or legally separated at the end of the tax year if all of the following apply:
- You lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of the tax year (don’t count temporary absences for business, medical care, school, or military service) AND
- You file a separate tax return from your spouse AND
- You paid over half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year AND
- Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half of the tax year AND
- You can or could claim (under the rules for children of divorced or separated parents) this child as your dependent.
- You’re out of the woods with IRS if you make it 3 (or 5 or 7) years without filing a return. For most taxpayers, the statute of limitations – meaning the time the IRS has to examine your tax return – is three years following the date of filing or the due date of your tax return, which ever is later. But. There’s a bit exception to this rule: if you don’t file a return at all, the statute of limitations never actually runs. In that event, you’ll want to hold onto your records, well, for forever (really, it’s much less work to simply file).
- You are not responsible for mistakes on your return made by your tax professional. Tax professionals are human and they make mistakes just like anybody else (hopefully, fewer than anybody else when it comes to tax returns). It happens. However, that doesn’t excuse you as a taxpayer. You still have a responsibility to read and understand your returns before you sign them. And if there’s a problem, it has to be fixed and that becomes your responsibility. The extent of the tax professional’s responsibility might figure into any mitigation for penalties (or any civil or contract claims you might have against the tax professional) but the IRS buck stops with you.
- Fixing a mistake on a tax return will result in an audit. Taxpayers are often afraid to amend their tax returns because they feel that it might increase the chance of an audit. But that’s wrong, wrong, wrong. Amending your return when you find that you’ve made a mistake is a good thing. Amended returns don’t increase your risk of audit but mistake-laden ones do.
- After the age of 55, you can sell your house tax-free. Well, true… in 1996. The rule used to be age dependent but changed under President Clinton (which may or may not have contributed to the bubble). Now, the rule is that a taxpayer can exclude from gross income up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly) of capital gains on the sale of a personal residence so long as you’ve lived in it for two of the last five years. This rule doesn’t apply to second homes or vacation homes – and it’s not a one-time deal. You can sell and sell and sell and exclude away so long as you meet the rest of the criteria.
- Minors don’t have to file and pay taxes. This can be true but isn’t always. Whether or not a child must file a federal income tax return — and the rate at which the child pays tax — depends on whether it is earned income (income from wages, salary or self-employment) or unearned income (generally passive income like money earned from dividends and interest). Even if a child’s income is to be taxed at the child’s parents’ tax rate, that does not necessarily mean that the income has to be included on the parents’ tax return; the child can opt to file a separate return (and in fact, that can sometimes be preferable for all kinds of reasons, including the dreaded AMT).
- Getting the biggest tax refund possible is the best possible result at tax time. Ugh. This is the myth that drives me the most crazy. Yes, getting a refund is much more fun that owing at the end of the year. But moderation, folks. The average refund last year was nearly $3,000. That’s a lot of money. Your money. And you’re not getting paid any interest while the government hangs onto your cash. Plan wisely.
- Employer-provided health insurance is taxable. There have been a lot of rumors flying fast and furious about what’s happening to employer-provided health insurance for 2012. The amount of benefits paid on your behalf will appear on your form W-2 as a reported item in Box 12, using code DD. Under the new health care plan, there may be a penalty for a taxpayer who is not covered by health insurance. The reporting requirement will eventually assist the IRS in verifying that taxpayers have coverage. Additionally, the new reporting requirements will help identify those taxpayers who will be subjected to the so-called Cadillac tax on high-dollar insurance plans (effective in 2018).
- Receipt of a refund means the IRS agreed with my tax return. No. Receipt of a refund means that the IRS mailed (or direct deposited) money that you said you were entitled to. It does not mean that the IRS agrees with what you reported; it merely means that the initial information you included didn’t raise any flags, your math didn’t stink and the Treasury didn’t offset your refund with any federal obligations.
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You can also buy my book in print at Amazon.com or as an ebook for the Kindle, the Nook from Barnes and Noble or through Hyperink. | <urn:uuid:a173559c-711b-4538-aa60-e3bd4d3a2ef2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2012/09/05/eleven-tax-myths-debunked/ | 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 | 0.958793 | 1,905 | 1.632813 | 2 |
As President Barack Obama prepares to announce a new set of gun proposals on Wednesday, local leaders are also addressing the issue.
A bill in the Missouri Legislature would permit teachers and educators with concealed-carry permits to bring their guns to school in the name of school safety.
While many Missouri districts have school resource officers that help provide security, Kansas City Mayor Sly James said he has a problem with letting educators carry legal concealed guns to classrooms.
James said he thinks some parents may have the same problem.
"Do they have a right to know which teachers are carrying guns at school?" James said. "And what if they object to their child's teacher having a gun? What happens there?"
Even some boosters of the measure that would permit armed teachers said educators would have to get more training than normal.
The bill has been filed, but it has not been sent to a committee for consideration.
On the Kansas side, the Emporia School District said it would have armed security guards at its schools beginning next month. The district said two of those guards are retired police officers.
The Mid-America Regional Council said it plans ways to respond to all kinds of school emergencies, whether it's a shooting, a tornado or something else.
The president's proposals may include such reforms as stronger background checks on gun sales, a ban on high-capacity magazine clips and a renewal of the ban on assault weapons. All three issues may prompt a huge political fight. | <urn:uuid:19cdc034-ec59-4887-8176-3d8950f4c870> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/Local-leaders-await-new-gun-proposals/-/11664182/18142888/-/13rmu5pz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97711 | 297 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Oct 19, 2012 / 11:32 pm
They lit candles, shared their thoughts and collectively took a quiet stand against the kind of torment which caused a British Columbia teen to end her own life.
Hundreds of people in a number of cities around the world paused to remember bullying victim Amanda Todd on Friday, just over a week after the 15-year-old Port Coquitlam girl committed suicide following years of Internet sexual exploitation and bullying by her peers.
A Facebook page had been set up listing memorials for Todd from communities in the Vancouver area to cities in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Vigils were to be held in at least five American states, as well as Copenhagen and various cities in India.
"I am overwhelmed," said Lucky Gill, a Vancouver-area resident who co-ordinated one of the vigils. Gill launched an organization called Global Girl Power with her niece the same day news broke of Todd's death.
"My vision was to get the word out. Even if one family lights up one candle in the house, kids in that house will see that 'Oh, our parents care,' so they will feel more comfortable with them. Maybe conversations at the dinner table will start."
One of the larger gatherings was planned for Holland Park in Surrey, where a crowd of all ages, many dressed in pink, gathered with candles in front of a white tent and stage Friday night.
Supt. Bill Fordy, the officer in charge of the Surrey RCMP, read a statement from Todd's father which thanked people for sharing their thoughts, prayers and love.
"We would like to see changes made around the world to put an end to bullying once and for all," the statement said. "We want Amanda's story to be heard loud and clear and most importantly to keep her voice alive forever."
"It means a lot to see the world lighting up this evening in Amanda's honour. Stay strong."
In Victoria, about 100 people gathered at the city's Beacon Hill Park, many placing lit candles under a large tree where a make-shift memorial that included pictures of Todd had been set up.
Victoria vigil organizer Vanessa Downie said this was the first event she'd ever organized, but felt she had to honour Todd in some way while standing up against bullying.
"When I heard what happened to Amanda, it just broke my heart," said Downie, who plans to pursue a degree in social work.
"Then I got very angry that something so terrible could happen to someone so innocent and so young," she said. "It just makes me think we keep passing the responsibility on to teachers and organizations and it's not going to be solved by passing the torch. We have to take responsibility for it."
Read more Canada News
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- Anarchist 'panda' leads a new fight
- Warm summer forecast for Canada
- Hidden camera nails care home workers | <urn:uuid:097e8acc-699e-4c4a-a41b-f93fa1f2bdec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-82105-4-.htm | 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 | 0.971074 | 668 | 1.734375 | 2 |
System Optimization is necessary if your computer is getting slow. Over time your computer will become cluttered with temporary files and old deleted files that cause drastic decreases in speed. There is an easy fix for this problem but may require some sacrifice.
Some programs are worse than others in causing this trash to build up on your computer. One of the worst is AOL. They install tons of information on your computer that you will never need. Then it plagues you as it slows down internet connection, boot times, and file searching.
Some other programs that have this affect are costly security suites such as Norton or McAfee. Anti-virus is a necessity in todays spyware infested world wide web, but in this case, free is always better. | <urn:uuid:f0641f2b-ab82-42ae-98d7-84f5af46f7d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.simpletechguy.com/system-optimization.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955527 | 153 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Board votes unanimously to pull investments from nine companies supporting Sudan.
This article was first published in the online edition of the Daily Bruin.
By Nancy Su, Daily Bruin reporter
The University of California became the first major public university system to vote to divest from companies with financial holdings in Sudan in a unanimous decision by the UC Board of Regents on Thursday.
The university decided to withdraw its investments from nine companies that a board-appointed study group found to most significantly support the Sudanese government and provide the least benefits for the people of the country.
Inside the meeting, about 100 students in green Sudan-divestment T-shirts stood with linked arms and bated breath as each regent said yes to divestment.
After the vote, some regents stood and applauded the students as the audience cheered.
About another 100 students who were rallying outside the meeting danced in celebration when they were notified of the vote. Some eagerly called their friends to pass on the news. Many had been working toward divestment for over two years.
Hailed by regents and legislators as a student-initiated issue, the fight for UC divestment began with students who were concerned with the university's investments in companies that do business in Sudan.
Thousands of people in Darfur have died at the hands of Sudanese government-sponsored forces, in a series of events that the U.S. Congress has declared a genocide.
"The University of California has taken a principled stand against the tragedy in Sudan by severing its financial connections from those nine companies who aid the genocide and by lending its voice to those calling for peace in the region," said board Chairman Gerald Parsky.
Before the vote, some regents expressed support for the students' cause. During the meeting, none of the regents commented negatively on divestment.
Student Regent Adam Rosenthal, who first brought the issue to the board, called the vote historic and said the UC is sending a clear message to the government, other universities and Sudan that the UC will not stand by while people are dying.
State Assemblyman Paul Koretz addressed the board before the vote, saying UC divestment could set an example for other public institutions, citing public pension programs as one area where the state of California could divest.
"If the UC regents take this step today, I have very little doubt that other public pensions programs in California will follow suit," Koretz said.
Large-scale divestment plans could then put economic pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the killings in Darfur, he said.
There has been some concern since the UC took up the proposal for divestment that withdrawing assets from Sudan could have a negative financial impact on the university.
But the regents said they plan to seek action from the state legislature to mitigate these potential effects by releasing the university from any financial costs and claims arising from the decision to divest.
Divestment of all shares held in the companies must be completed within an 18-month period once the indemnification legislation is enacted.
Though the exact dollar amount involved will not be known until divestment is completed, UC Vice President for Business and Finance Joe Mullinix said divestment is not expected to significantly impact the UC's overall portfolio.
Disclosing some of what was discussed at the closed compensation meetings Wednesday, the board also addressed the recent compensation controversies the university has faced.
Parsky said the regents and the UC's president will immediately begin a process to reorganize the UC Office of the President, which has been the target of much of the recent blame for the university's compensation policy lapses and lack of transparency.
He said the board will assess how to best organize and staff UCOP to straighten business practices and management of the university to better complement the university's academic excellence.
The board will consider creating positions for a chief operating officer or administrative officer, as well as a chief financial officer with responsibility for non-academic functions within UCOP.
An independent compliance officer position could also be created to provide the regents with sufficient oversight. The compliance officer would report directly to the regents and be responsible for ensuring compliance with university policies and practices.
Published: Friday, March 17, 2006
© 2013. The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:f1de3378-a578-4b5e-9859-a31ab2a9ef4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.international.ucla.edu/print.asp?parentid=41108 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969926 | 880 | 1.671875 | 2 |
- Minority Retirement Options Will Dwindle with Deficit Cuts
New research finds an appalling 20 to one chasm in net worth between white and black Americans, and an 18 to one gap between whites and Hispanics. The Pew Research Center found that the net worth gap has widened during the Great Recession, mainly because the housing bust disproportionately cut into the wealth of African-Americans and Hispanics.
The housing crash hurt these households disproportionately because they tended not to have much in the way of other assets, especially when it came to retirement savings. So, the Pew report — an analysis of the comprehensive U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Income and Program Participation for 2009—points to a terribly important social problem we face today – and the growing retirement security gap confronting minority households.
- Poll: 4 in 10 Approve of Obama’s Job on Debt-ceiling Talks
Americans don’t like the way President Obama or the top leaders in Congress are handling the negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, a new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows.
Four in 10 Americans approve of the way Obama is dealing with Congress in the high-stakes battle to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion in borrowing authority, the poll shows.
- SCLC Leader Howard Creecy Jr. Dies
The civil rights community has lost Howard Creecy Jr., the Atlanta pastor who stepped up to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after Bernice King — daughter of SCLC co-founder Martin Luther King Jr. — declined to lead the civil rights organization.
- Promoted Tweets Set to Appear in Your Twitter Timeline
Twitter users will start seeing ads in their timeline over the next few weeks. The company officially announced on Thursday that a new Promoted Tweets option will roll out with a number of advertisers.
- MTV Staying Alive Foundation Prevents the Spread of HIV/AIDS with iCondom
MTV’s global youth HIV awareness and prevention campaign created by The Scarlett Mark teams up with iCondom, a free iPhone app that allows users to immediately pinpoint their nearest condom outlet at any time based on geo-location technology. The television ad campaign starts August 1, running in over 21 countries from Latin America to Finland, and ending in February 2012.
The app creates a global condom distribution map, which the charity hopes will prevent the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The map will include helpful prophylactic information that has been uploaded by other users, such as if a dispensing machine is out of order or a carrier is open 24 hours.
“An estimated 5 million 15 to 24 year olds are living with HIV and 2,500 young people are infected with HIV each day UNICEF 2011,” says Georgia Arnold, senior vice president, MTV Networks International and executive director of the Staying Alive Foundation. “We have partnered with iCondom with the ambition to make it easier for more people around the world to source condoms and reduce the transmission of HIV and STIs.”
The app is currently only available on the iPhone and is offered via the Apple App Store. A percentage of money made from iCondom will go towards Staying Alive Foundation grants—awarded to young people working to prevent the spread of HIV in their local communities. To date, the foundation has awarded 304 grants (worth over $3 million) in 61 countries across the world. | <urn:uuid:25a7eccc-5d7c-4581-b55b-6a7836f2dbda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blackenterprise.com/news/minority-retirement-options-may-dwindle-with-deficit-cuts-mtv-promotes-hivaids-awareness-with-icondom-and-more/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935264 | 696 | 1.578125 | 2 |
- What is Business Aviation?
- Flight Department Administration
- Aircraft Operations
- Professional Development
- News & Publications
- Products & Services
Challenges on the Ground and in the Air
In this space in Business Aviation Insider earlier this year, I predicted that our industry would need to be vigilant because of the continuing threat of user fees. It appears we have reason for concern in this area, as the Obama administration has again made clear its support for perflight user fees.
At the start of the year, the White House wrote to individuals who had signed a petition asking the president to reconsider his support for user fees. The White House response, titled “Why We Need User Fees,” follows previous calls for the new fees in federal budget proposals, plans for deficit reduction and other documents. (For more details, including how NBAA and the industry are fighting back, read a related article .)
I urge everyone in business aviation to remind elected officials of the general aviation community’s long-standing opposition to user fees. NBAA’s web site has a Contact Congress resource (www.nbaa.org/contactcongress) that makes it easy to ask your representatives to oppose any user fee proposal.
Of course, turning back the user fee threat isn’t the only concern facing the industry. An equally urgent priority is the need to remain as focused as ever on flying safety. This reality has been highlighted by the most recent report from Robert E. Breiling Associates Inc., which showed a rise in the number of business aviation accidents and fatalities in 2011 over those for 2010.
Safety has always been the top priority for business aviation, and NBAA remains dedicated to providing the resources needed to continually enhance the industry’s outstanding safety record.
For example, for more than half a century, NBAA’s Safety Committee has championed safety in all aspects of aviation, from aircraft and equipment design and maintenance procedures, to pilot qualifications, to medical standards. The Safety Committee also has administered the NBAA Flying Safety Awards program, which recognizes accident-free flight. Virtually every NBAA event includes a safety component, and each spring the Association, along with the Flight Safety Foundation, co-sponsors the Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar. Each autumn, NBAA partners with Bombardier to produce the industry’s largest Safety Standdown event.
NBAA also has developed numerous safety products specifically for business aircraft operators. The Association offers a flight operations manual template and conducts workshops to help flight departments develop manuals customized for their operations. For those who want to operate to the highest safety levels, NBAA has championed the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), a set of best practices embraced by 500 companies worldwide.
Finally, because operators need to know the latest safety information, this annual safety-themed edition of Business Aviation Insider, along with associated online content at www.nbaa.org/insider, provides the latest information regarding safety best practices.
NBAA will continue to focus on our industry’s priorities on the ground and in the air, and we know you will as well. | <urn:uuid:e4a966e3-b40d-46e7-a2fe-16da0cfd1e19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nbaa.org/news/insider/2012/03/president-perspective.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939565 | 642 | 1.59375 | 2 |
- Date submitted: 1 Nov 2011
- Stakeholder type: Major Group
- Name: Eco-Forum Global
- Submission Document: Download
Full SubmissionContribution by the Eco-Forum Global to a Successful Rio+20 Conference October 2011 The Eco-Forum Global is a China-based organization committed to creating effective dialogue and generating new paradigm and new actions to foster green development opportunities worldwide. For the past three years, the Eco-Forum Global has convened groups of committed people, enterprises and organizations from inside and outside China to engage in productive dialogue on green economy and sustainable development. New Future - Objectives of the Conference Rio+20 provides a unique opportunity for the world to review and complete the past 20 years of efforts on sustainable developments, and more importantly, to open up a new future. The world is facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainty. The eco-system is increasingly vulnerable and uncertain. Eco-security is becoming a top priority for governments, organizations, business and individuals. The existing development model that we are familiar with has not provided with any effective solutions to deal with the Crisis. The reality is that the gap between the rich and poor, and the gap between who is in need and who has not are enlarging at faster pace. Human beings must demand a fundamental shift in paradigm of the ways we live our life, conduct our business and govern ourselves. We must have the courage to confront ourselves with the reality and face where we have failed. The next step is to reinvent the governance structure, take powerful actions, and make paradigm shift. We call for reaching authentic and sweeping consensus to live in a new world of eco-civilization. Green Development and Eco-civilization We advocate for ecological civilization. We are going beyond the industrialized civilization and moving into eco-civilization. This is a huge mission, as big as civilization changes. Eco-civilization represents a fundamental shift about how we live our daily life, how we conduct our business, and how we exist to the nature we live in. Countries of different origins and culture traditions are capable of making unique contributions to a new world of eco-civilization. Eco-civilization is the direction. We must create a new future, not just wait for something to fall on us. Opportunities Now Present - Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication We are convinced that green economy should not be merely viewed as new ?tools? or new ?approaches? to fulfill the goals of sustainable development. Green economy, while people could differ on its definition, must be viewed as a powerful context in which we carry out economic activities. Green economy offers operable models and frameworks to grow innovative and sustained efforts. Green economy is the pathway to eliminate poverty and to develop harmonious relationship with the environment we are living within. Green economy demands creativity. Green economy is way more than simple branding or slogans. It is innovative act. It is a promise to create and deliver. In China and many other places in the world, local economies are experimenting very interesting new models for sustainable development. We need to aggregate, exchange, expand and re-innovate all these best practices from local to global. Green economy demands collaboration at an unprecedented level we probably have never seen. There is no shortage of new approaches, new access, and new models for us to adopt. We need to become experts in building trusts and finding partners through formal or informal dialogues. Green economy itself demands opportunities to grow suitable growth models. We have discovered some exciting stories where new technologies, which would have not been adopted by maturing business in other countries, were successfully launched by entrepreneurial and its transnational business partner. The unique market opportunities available in developing countries make it possible and even easier to grow green technologies. The experiences and efforts that are being made in countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa should be given much bigger attention. Mature models and experiments should be pruned for implementation at bigger scales. In the end, taking on Green Economy demands courage. Green economy is not immune from risk of failures or mistakes. Excessive worries or debates about what is fair and what is not block actions and cause delays. Fear of blame and fear of failures are making gaps bigger and bigger. It is time to let go of complaints and suspicions and re-honor our commitments. New Environment to Invent - Institutional Framework It is unthinkable that we can produce the outcome intended by Rio+20 if good governance and strong leadership are lacking. We need an innovative governance system. The experience of the past twenty years proves that non-governmental organizations and other major groups must be given much bigger space and right of voice, which is determinative to the effectiveness of the new institutional framework. At the very basic levels, eco-security must be realized through effective governance and enforcement. Eco-security transcends national borders and demands full efforts at local, regional and national levels. At the global level, we advocate for establishing new international structures to implement the sustainable development goals. We are open and are willing to support people who make irrevocable promises and hold themselves accountable to courageous, responsible and measurable results. Whether the new structure is in the form of World Environmental Organization, or United National Sustainable Development Council, the key is to empower the new organization to adopt and supervise the execution of new initiatives. Fundamentally, green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication are closely tied to the institutional framework because any meaningful changes require a new environment to be provided by strong leadership. Inter-governmental working mechanisms at regional, national and global levels will continue to operate at higher level of productivity. For example, the governmental organizations must provide pro-innovation legal environment, enforce high regulatory standards. The leadership at local, regional and national levels must at least focus on the following aspects: ? Promising market and accessibility. ? Social stability ? Social, economic or environmental systems generating demands or needs of applications ? Adequate information and proper access to information ? Educated workforce with proper skills and appropriate awareness ? Clear economic development priorities Beyond Rio+20 What is more important than Rio+20 is what we do and what we deliver after Rio+20. We need to generate ongoing breakthroughs and honor the legally binding commitments we all have made. It is critical that the Outcome Document must set mandates for what each of us is going to accomplish beyond Rio+20. The challenges we are facing are enormous. We need to dramatically free up huge creativity and energy from the vast population on the earth. To have sustainable development job done, we must ongoing re-educate ourselves and empower new generations to come. In the pathway of green development, we must keep turning the new ideas into true success. We need to be courageous in front of failures, need to learn how to work with teams, mobilize all resources and promote our ideas and commitments. True innovation and entrepreneurship go beyond good ideas and bursts of passion. With re-commitment firmly in hand, we must group together much more closely and we need to exchange ideas much faster and much more efficiently. We are committed to be a hub for partnership and foundation for eco-civilization. We are open and committed to partner with all stakeholders to powerfully deliver the results.
Contact: Mr. Zhang Xinsheng Secretary-in-General The Eco-Forum Global Room 702A, Canway Building 66 Nanlishilu, Xicheng District Beijing, the People?s Republic of China Phone: +86 10 6615 5059 Fax: +86 10 6803 2048 E-Mail: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:b0a2fddf-c469-4f74-bf24-f151283665d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&nr=336&type=510&menu=20&template=529&str=Crisis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930726 | 1,538 | 1.8125 | 2 |
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Sevim Songün Demirezen
Turkey should secure a place for itself in both the northern and southern oil and gas fields of Iraq since its energy future is inextricably linked with its southern neighbor, despite frequent recent friction, sector representatives have said.
“If there is energy somewhere, then it has to flow somewhere else. You can’t escape that fate,” said Mehmet Öğütçü, the head of Global Resources Corporation, implying that fuel drilled in Iraq would be transported outside the country regardless of political or economic obstacles.
Speakers at yesterday’s “Natural Gas as the Game Changer” roundtable meeting organized by the Marmara Group Foundation predicted that Iraq would have a significant place in the natural gas bus sector in the coming years.
“Iraq will be producing around 19 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2035, which means it will become the fifth or sixth biggest producer in the world,” said Tahir Uysal, a partner at Silso Oil.
Turkey should not only conduct energy investments in northern Iraq, but should also pursue ties in the southern part of the country as well, he told the Daily News on the sidelines of the meeting.
He said Turkey should consider using northern Iraq’s gas rather than transporting it to Europe
in the long term. Uysal also suggested that Turkey should follow a balanced energy policy between northern Iraq and Baghdad.
However, it has not been easy for Turkish companies to work in the northern and southern parts of Iraq at the same time. In this respect, Pars Kutay, head of government and public affairs at the Ankara-based Genel Energy, said Genel wanted to enter the southern Iraqi market but were put on a Baghdad blacklist because the company is already operating in northern Iraq.
“Around 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas may come from northern Iraq in the next 10 to 20 years. Iraq’s gas reserves are estimated to be 3.5 million cubic meters. Some 85 percent of these reserves are thought to be located in northern Iraq,” said Kutay.
“There are certain companies in northern Iraq, but we will see purchasing there, and international companies will be entering there,” said Kutay. “If Turkey does not develop a timely policy, then probably in five to 10 years we will be discussing how to transport the oil and gas that is retrieved by mainly American
companies from northern Iraq,” he said.
The central Iraqi government, which has accused the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north of “oil smuggling” due to its direct trade with international firms, recently said it would sue Genel over its oil sales to Turkey.
A southern Iraq research license for Turkey’s Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) was also recently canceled with no discernable reason.
Turkey, which has an energy policy dependent on imports, cannot resist such an import potential, said Kutay.
A Foreign Ministry official, however, underlined the necessity of Baghdad and Arbil finally agreeing on long-awaited laws on hydrocarbons and revenue-sharing.
Ayşe Berris Ekinci, deputy head of the Energy, Water and Environment Affairs Department at the Foreign Ministry, said both laws should be settled, otherwise it would not be possible for the country to produce 12 million barrels of oil a day.
The future, as well as the contributions of BOTAŞ and the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), was also discussed at the meeting.
Öğütçü told the Daily News that Turkey should have an integrated giant company which works like a private company in the energy sector so that it can perform dynamically in international markets. | <urn:uuid:aea774b2-0283-4dff-8a3e-27ae53c66d74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-eyes-role-in-iraqs-oil-and-gas-shares.aspx?PageID=238&NID=39798&NewsCatID=348 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966876 | 788 | 1.6875 | 2 |
You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your coworkers. Yet you need these guys in more ways than one.
First, you need their goodwill and cooperation in order to perform your own job well. Second, studies find that disagreements with coworkers and bad interoffice relationships deflate morale and impair performance even more than rumors of layoffs.
You don’t have to be friends with your coworkers, but you do need to be friendly. Read on for fresh ways to make work a kinder, gentler place.
1. Give a happy “Hello!” in the morning. Do you plod into the office, eyes down, shoulders slumped, and immediately start work? If so, you’re likely to find that coworkers ignore you (at best) or avoid you (at worst). Get into the habit of smiling and greeting your colleagues as you arrive in the morning or begin your shift. It’s really amazing how fast this little courtesy can thaw chilly workplace relations.
2. Learn the art of small talk. Ask your coworkers about their interests — their favorite music, movies, and books, as well as their hobbies, suggests Larina Kase, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “Showing a genuine interest in them will make them feel comfortable around you,” she says. Once you know what floats their boat, clip items from newspapers or magazines to help start conversations. “John, I saw this article about that singer you like,” or, “Mary, you like to knit, don’t you? I found this great new knitting store not too far from here, and thought of you right away.”
3. Join the office bowling or softball team. Many offices have them, and they’re a great way to get some exercise while you get to know your coworkers in an informal setting.
4. Accept good-natured teasing. Other workers sometimes play jokes and tease to test what kind of person you are. So if they poke fun at your new shoes or mischievously put a racy screensaver on your computer, don’t get angry. Let them know that you love a good joke — even if it’s sometimes on you. Of course, if the teasing is personal (about your weight or ethnicity, for example), makes it difficult for you to do your job, or makes you feel uncomfortable because of its sexual implications, you may need to take up the matter with your supervisor.
5. Ask what they think. People love to be asked their opinion, so go out of your way to ask, “What do you think belongs in this report?” or, “How do you think I should handle this situation with client X?” Then give the advice giver a sincere thank-you, even if the ideas are less than helpful.
6. Sidestep the gossip mill. You don’t want anyone talking about you behind your back, right? So return the favor. When a coworker sidles up to you bearing a juicy tidbit of gossip about Betty’s office romance or Bill’s impending firing, respond with, “Really?” and then change the subject or get back to work. If you don’t respond, the gossiper will move on — and you’ll retain the trust and respect of your colleagues. | <urn:uuid:4e298211-eafb-4389-9c74-e10b7308971f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rd.com/advice/relationships/develop-good-coworker-relations/ | 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 | 0.947785 | 724 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Chengkau is near Jalan S'ban-tampin; is near Expressway E2 Nse; is near Highway 9; is near Highway 19; is near Highway 1; is near Highway 61; is near ~[0x2e]n6; is near Jalan Klebang; Chengkau is geographically located at latitude(2.5529 degrees) 2° 33' 10" North of the Equator and longitude (102.1309 degrees) 102° 7' 51" East of the Prime Meridian on the Map of Malacca - Melaka.
The locations related to Chengkau are represented by the line of sight between two points and may not be nearest by road. For example, Chengkau is located 4.2 kilometres from Kota. Chengkau is located 4.7 kilometres from Petronas. Chengkau is located 5.6 kilometres from Petronas. Chengkau is located 6.1 kilometres from Shell. Chengkau is located 7.1 kilometres from Pedas Linggi (S) - L/B.
Desa Lagoon Resort 32.2km, Regency Hotel 32.3km, Tg. Tuan Beach Resort 32.5km, are places to stay (hotel, service apartment, inn) located near Chengkau.
Billion 37km, Jaya Jusco 39.3km, Kotamas 39.4km, are places to shop (shopping mall, shop houses) located near Chengkau.
D-Paradise Tropical Fruit World Malacca 15.2km, Kota Laksamana 41.5km, Cheng Ho Cultural Museum 41.8km, are places of interest (attraction) located near Chengkau.
SJK Machap Baru 29.1km, SJK Chao Bao 33.2km, SJK Malim 36.5km, are places of learning (school, college, university) located near Chengkau.
Rempah Park 40.6km, Sungei Melaka Peta Lokasi 41.9km, Historic City Memorial Garden 42.2km, are parks, playgrounds, open fields or commons located near Chengkau. | <urn:uuid:821e2515-0fe7-4fad-b6dd-bb50e08fc0ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://my.pagenation.com/mkz/Chengkau_102.1309_2.5529.map | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962637 | 464 | 1.5625 | 2 |
California and Boston took top honors in the Center for Digital Government's Best of the Web awards program. These annual awards, given by a subsidiary of e.Republic, Inc. (which owns Governing), highlight the top 10 state, county and city portals in the nation that show the highest levels of innovation, functionality and efficiency. The winners for the state and city categories made Web accessibility on mobile devices a priority in 2010.
The top state honor went to California's government portal, CA.gov. Among the site's numerous new features was mobile.ca.gov, a state portal specifically designed for mobile devices.
"You can go on and just look at the applications that have a mobile configuration. Other states have it where you go on, look at a site, and you might or might not be able to look at [the applications] from a mobile device," said California CIO Teri Takai.
"We believe that access to the Internet through mobile devices is going to be one of the fastest growing ways that people are going to access information," Takai continued, "and we want to be ready for that."
She credited the site's win to the employees who redesigned the site. "We just turned everybody loose and provided the tools for them to be successful," she said.
One Best of the Web judge made a similar observation about the value of having so many cooks in the kitchen. "It turns California's biggest challenge (extreme decentralization) into an asset," the judge wrote.
In addition, CA.gov features numerous new applications, including one that pairs citizens seeking volunteer opportunities with appropriate organizations. Another application directs military veterans returning to civilian life toward potential job opportunities. Another feature gives citizens a close look at the reconstruction of the Oakland Bay Bridge. The California Office of the State Chief Information Officer put together much of the technology used for the various applications and taught individual agencies how to make their own applications with it.
"Very innovative and excellent use of Web 2.0 technologies," another judge wrote. "Content is very well organized resulting in a great user experience. The Smart Search allows you to enter a California ZIP code and find localized service and information."
Boston's website was recognized as the top city site for 2010. One of Boston's new mobile device applications alerts citizens when their cars have been towed, and instructs them on where and how to retrieve them. It also explains the reason for the tow.
"This one really changed the way people deal with being towed," said Bill Oates, Boston's CIO.
In the past, according to Boston Department of IT spokeswoman Sara Walsh, a citizen would first notice his or her car was missing and then wonder whether it was stolen or towed. Then the person would call the police department and then the state police, depending on what road the car was on. Citizens frequently made 10 to 12 phone calls before locating their cars, she said.
Now, alerting citizens immediately of a towing saves them money because Boston's towing lots charge for each 24-hour period the cars reside at them, Walsh explained. "If you were at work and you got towed, you may not notice it until you get home after business hours," she said. "That's already a 24-hour fee. You may not get it until the next day."
Boston's website also features mobile applications for alerting citizens before street cleanings occur so that they have a chance to move their cars before getting towed. Another mobile application enables them to submit service requests, like pothole repairs, and notifies them when requests have been executed. And the site's new Citizens Connect feature aggregates more than 300 citizen transactions in a central spot, for which the city's Web team labeled each service with self-explanatory language, rather than government jargon.
"Good use of Web 2.0 tools," a judge wrote about Boston. "The site offers the ability for users to translate the site in multiple languages and return back to English if necessary."
Chesterfield County, Va., won the top county spot. County staff believes the site's primary improvement is its clean new layout, said Robert Freeland, manager of digital government for the county. The previous website design was "sort of like the old tacky lights tour," he said.
"The unique presentation layer offers an intuitive user interface," wrote a judge about Chesterfield County. "Good use of graphics, easy consistent navigation."
The top five winners in each category are listed below. For information about the finalists, please visit the Center for Digital Government website.
You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to | <urn:uuid:af99391b-8858-4a4d-a45a-a8f96413a246> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.governing.com/topics/technology/CA-Boston-Mobile-Apps-Best-of-Web.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962465 | 947 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Situated in Northern Europe, Finland is home of the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun. It's coastline is along the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland. There is a large unspoilt countryside which is dominated by lakes and forest. This makes Finland a beautiful country to explore by a hire car. The capital city of Helsinki is becoming a very popular destination, and is a must for art and architecture lovers. | <urn:uuid:07e4827b-2937-4067-9bc1-4d8178f3b06e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tigercarrental.com/car-hire/finland.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968248 | 84 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Battered fish are delicacies normally served to accompany chips and mushy peas. Fish used is primarily cod, but can, in principle be any fish (such as hake, haddock or plaice) which is in plentiful supply.
Battered fish would normally be purchased from a local Fish and chip shop in Britain. Normally the batter is similar to that used to make pancakes, Yorkshire Puddings, toad-in-the-hole and fritters. However, there are many variants on batter recipes, some involving huge amounts of local beer . | <urn:uuid:d1c69fb8-0b3f-4903-ac68-212dc9472d1f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://conservapedia.com/Battered_Fish | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943636 | 117 | 1.773438 | 2 |
‘Heartless’ Politician Re-Elected, Performs Duties of Office With Artificial Heart
Jack Miller, 62, is probably the only politician in America who smiles when people call him “heartless.” Four months ago, doctors at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center in Richmond removed his dying heart and replaced it with the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart.
"Golly day, I feel so much better," Miller said, who received his Total Artificial Heart on Sept. 15, 2011. "It's like my body is reawakening for the first time in 11 years. I'm just amazed. No one will ever know how appreciative I am to be able to wait for my heart transplant at home in my community with my family.”
Less than a month after receiving the SynCardia product, Miller was discharged from the hospital using the Freedom portable driver to power his Total Artificial Heart. That same day, he and his wife Mary Lou celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary.
“He is the only boy I ever dated in high school, and I married him soon after we got out of school, and he is my life,” Mary Lou said. “I told one of the nurses one day, if something were to happen to him, you would lose a patient. But if something happens to him, for me, I lose everything.”
On Nov. 1, 2011, Miller was able to return to his position as chairman of the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors and conduct his first meeting with his Total Artificial Heart. Just a week later, Miller was up for re-election.
“I manned the polls on election day and interacted with the voters I represent,” Miller said, who was successfully re-elected to his fifth term in office. “We plugged the Freedom driver into my car’s cigarette lighter and it worked fine. During this whole process, my Freedom driver allowed me to accomplish my goals. It let the citizens know I was up and active and could continue to serve them.”
Miller was first diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy 11 years ago. Over the years, his heart continued to weaken, and eventually he was implanted with a defibrillator to shock his heart back into rhythm when it became erratic. After a bad episode of shocks from the defibrillator in September 2011, Mr. Miller’s heart was barely functioning. To save his life, doctors implanted the Total Artificial Heart to bridge him to a heart transplant.
The Freedom driver is CE-approved for use in Europe and undergoing a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical study in the United States. Weighing 13.5 pounds, the Freedom driver is the world’s first wearable power supply for SynCardia’s Total Artificial Heart. It is an investigational device, limited by United States law to investigational use.
SynCardia Systems Inc. is the manufacturer of the world’s first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE approved Total Artificial Heart. Originally used as a permanent replacement heart, SynCardia’s Total Artificial Heart is currently approved as a bridge to transplant for people dying from end-stage biventricular heart failure. There have been more than 950 implants of the Total Artificial Heart, accounting for more than 230 patient years of life.
Similar to a heart transplant, SynCardia's Total Artificial Heart replaces both failing heart ventricles and the four heart valves, eliminating the symptoms and source of end-stage biventricular failure. Unlike a donor heart, the Total Artificial Heart is immediately available at SynCardia Certified Centers and does not require expensive anti-rejection medication, which can cause subsequent complications. It is the only device that provides immediate, safe blood flow of up to 9.5 liters per minute through both ventricles. This high volume of safe blood flow helps speed the recovery of vital organs, helping make the patient a better transplant candidate.
For more information: www.syncardia.com
- SynCardia Total Artificial Heart patient Jack Miller was able to enjoy Christmas at home last month with his wife Mary Lou and their grandchildren, 8-year-old Emma and 5-year-old Matthew, while waiting for a matching donor heart.
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- First Pediatric Patient To Leave Hospital With Ventricular Assist Device
- Italian Man Surpasses 1,000 Days Of Support With Artificial Heart | <urn:uuid:6f49cf9d-1a97-4e90-8893-110c5a8c99ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dicardiology.com/article/%E2%80%98heartless%E2%80%99-politician-re-elected-performs-duties-office-artificial-heart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958312 | 979 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Definitions for sales
gross sales, gross revenue, sales(noun)
income (at invoice values) received for goods and services over some given period of time
The activities involved in selling goods or services.
He's likable and motivated: perfect for a career in sales.
Sales were up 12% over last year. | <urn:uuid:ea76d847-78ce-46ae-b0e2-ca12a2169658> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.definitions.net/definition/sales | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940131 | 69 | 1.640625 | 2 |
There are certain adjectives that seem to take on a life of their own, suffering from buzz-friendly, pseudo-intellectual overuse to the point of becoming meaningless placeholders for a proper descriptor, and I daresay "organic" is one of them. I'll admit that I too am responsible from wringing the term of its meaning as a shorthand antonym for synthetic, contrived or otherwise formalist aesthetics of high modernism.
Where Tomas Ekström's "Dolly" might be an example of the latter, Maarten de Ceulaer begins with a similar cellular concept to arrive at the opposite result. The "Mutation" series, created on the occasion of the Salone, might well be described with the dreaded o-word. Indeed, the designer himself characterizes it as such, with a rather darker subtext than the bulbous, inviting forms initially suggest:
The pieces in this series look like they weren't made by hands, but have grown to their present form organically. They might be the result of a mutation in cells, or the result of a chemical or nuclear reaction. Perhaps it's a virus or bacteria that has grown dramatically out of scale. The Mutation pieces make you look at furniture in a different way. Maybe one day we would be able to grow a piece of furniture like we breed or clone an animal, and manipulate it's shape like a bonsai tree.
We've seen at least a couple designers tackle the higher-order o______ forms, such as arteries and veins or leaves, de Ceulaer's work also alludes to a taxonomical approach, subverting tufted cushioning:
The project can be seen as an experimental review of classic furniture upholstery. It reminds us of the famous and iconic deep buttoned (Chesterfield) sofa's, interpreted in a highly contemporary and sculptural way. Instead of upholstering springs and foam with leather or textile, these pieces are created by carefully composing patterns with cut-offs of foam spheres of various sizes, and applying them onto a structure. In the end the entire piece gets coated, with a durable rubber or tactile velvet-like finish. It is hardly impossible to ever recreate such a specific pattern, so every piece is completely unique.
Thus, the multifaceted DNA of de Ceulaer's "Mutation" has elements of previously-seen work ranging from the sliced foam of Kitmen Keung's "Dual Cut" chair to Patricia Urquiola's similarly tuft-inspired "Husk" chair, with a curious passing resemblance to Rogier Martens' fruit bowls. I'd hesitate to say that the Belgian designer's new collection marks an evolution of any of the above per se, but let's just say that
The designer will be exhibiting at three locations during the Salone del Mobile 2012: "Perspectives" at the Trienniale di Milano (alongside fellow Belgian Kaspar Hamacher), Spazio Rossana Orlandi and IN Residence's "Another Terra" at Ventura Lambrate. | <urn:uuid:a4275283-3a1c-44a6-9184-aed5cabe8b4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.core77.com/blog/salone_milan/salone_milan_2012_preview_mutation_series_by_maarten_de_ceulaer_22182.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949552 | 630 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Pain While Running?
Posted 15 August 2012 - 06:52 PM
So today was the first day of Pre-Season for soccer. After running for a little while, I got this intense pain in my right shoulder blade. But, this isn't the first time it's occurred. A few years ago, when I was more in shape than I am now, we had to run several miles for school. Again, after a short time, I got sharp pain in my shoulder.
Does anyone know what might be causing this? It's happened for as long as I can remember when running long distances, but I never really looked too far into it. Now that I'm starting soccer this year, I want to know whats wrong.
Also, it only seems to happen in my right shoulder, never in my left. Which is why I don't think it's my posture, because I would assume if you had bad posture while running, you'd get pain in both sides.
Thanks a lot.
Posted 15 August 2012 - 07:56 PM
Also, stretching beforehand helps, as does deep breathing while running.
That being said, I would see a doctor if it is really bothering you.
Posted 15 August 2012 - 08:16 PM
Or your a wuss. What the hell do I know.
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UK: 080 8800 3344Ireland: 1800 41 33 44
Home News & info Old Counting the cost Emma's story
Emma was three years old when she became very sick with a severe headache and a high fever. When she became floppy and started fitting uncontrollably, Emma’s mum called an ambulance. She was rushed to hospital with suspected meningitis, and then transferred to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) by a mobile intensive care team.
Emma was confused and delirious and drifting in and out of consciousness by the time we got to hospital. To control the mounting pressure on her brain they put her on an artificial breathing machine and hooked up tubes and wires to administer drugs. The seizures were very frightening for us and we thought they would never stop. Emma spent 26 days in PICU and the doctors told us to prepare for the worst.
I thought she was going to die. And then, when it went on for so long, I said my good-byes, because the Emma I gave birth to did die – she is not the same child I had. We love her dearly, but it is very difficult and sad to deal with a severely disabled child. She can’t communicate and we can’t communicate with her as we used to. The sense of loss is great for us as parents – she is never going to be able to do all the things that she was supposed to.
Total acute cost : £131,670
When Emma initially returned home, she was in pain and on constant medication. The extent of her disabilities continued to cause general health problems throughout her life.
After discharge from hospital, Emma had an intensive course of hospital outpatient appointments with:
During this first year, Emma was constantly in and out of hospital, and there was frequent multi-professional follow-up until school age. Gradually this extended to six-monthly or yearly appointments until age 16.
From hospital, Emma was referred to a community paediatrician at a child development centre. Specialist community physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists all became a regular part of Emma’s life.
Outpatient appointments, general health problems and community health lifelong costs : £91,466
Emma was left profoundly deaf, and was urgently referred for bilateral cochlear implantation. Cochlear implants have to be inserted without delay to be successful after meningitis. Following the initial implant operation, she became a lifelong outpatient of the implant centre for regular care and technical support.
Emma left hospital with epilepsy, managed with medication, but the seizures got worse. By the age of 6, the medication could no longer control them. After a review, she was prescribed more expensive drugs that had to be given several times a day.
A brain scan then revealed that one side of Emma’s brain had wasted away post-meningitis and this damaged area of the brain was the source of her seizures.
At age 10, she had an operation to disconnect the damaged part of her brain to reduce the severity of her seizures. The operation was a success and she was able to return to her original epilepsy medication.
Cochlear implantation lifelong costs : £271,247
Epilepsy management lifelong costs : £35,739
Shunt revision surgery
Emma developed hydrocephalus (water on the brain) due to her illness. For the rest of her life, she needed a shunt to drain away excess fluid. Like any other piece of equipment, shunts can break down. They can also become blocked, or infected. Throughout her lifetime, Emma had numerous operations for shunt revision, and twice needed intensive care after emergencies due to shunt blockage.
Shunt revision surgery lifelong costs : £30,919
Emma had a wheelchair from the day she left hospital, and although she learned to walk for short distances, she was predominantly a wheelchair user. Throughout her life, her chair needed upgrading and maintenance.
She gradually learned to manage her posture and movements with physiotherapy, but at first she needed a full body lycra suit to help with this. She also had other specialist equipment to help with mobility, day-to-day activities and posture, including a standing frame, specialist seating, a therapy bench, walkers, crutches, specialist toys and eventually a communication aid.
Total cost : £51,046
The costs of educating Emma were higher than educating a child without disabilities. Because of her severe learning impairment and physical disabilities she had a statement of special educational needs, reviewed annually by the school and local authority. Throughout her early
school years Emma required one-to-one support because of her severe epilepsy. She also had specialised transport to and from her special school up to age 19.
Additional educational costs : £238,245
After Emma became ill, her mum gave up her job to become a full-time carer. Her father was on an average income of just over £25,000 p.a., so the family became heavily reliant upon state support.
Due to the severity of Emma’s disabilities, she continued to live at home with her parents. Their home needed extensive adaptations to accommodate her. The family also had financial help to adapt their car, and replaced it every five years under the government’s specialised vehicles fund.
Direct social costs : £1,190,382
Direct Payments funded home help for three hours a day, five days a week. In order to claim this benefit the family had regular social care assessment, home visits and reviews. As respite for the family, beyond 7 years of age, Emma spent one weekend every two months in a specialist residential unit.
By the age of 40, Emma’s parents had become too elderly and frail to care for her, and she had to move into full-time residential care.
Meningitis changed Emma and her family’s lives forever. None of the aspirations her parents had for her could be realised. They could not invest their time equally between their two children due to the level of care that Emma required. Her parents never saw her leave home and build a life for herself. Due to the injuries caused by childhood bacterial meningitis, Emma only survived until age 50.
Individuals with severe disabilities may have reduced life expectancy due to general ill health from inactivity and the increased risk of contracting pneumonia and other infections associated with their disability.Paediatric Infectious Disease specialist
Costs to government in benefits (transfer payments) : £1,121,230
©2013 Meningitis Research Foundation
Offices: Belfast, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh.
A charity registered in England and Wales no 1091105, in Scotland no SC037586, & in Ireland CHY 12030
A company limited by guarantee, registered in England no 4367866
Registered Office: Midland Way, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 2BS
The Sience of Saving Lives
Information on this website is for guidance only and is not intended to replace advice given by a doctor.
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In this article, I explore Stephenson’s use of mathematical objects and philosophies in his novel Anathem (2008).
Humans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. | <urn:uuid:04590a44-d3b3-4772-97f4-85ef296da93e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fast-t-feasts.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943773 | 76 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Today's Rainy Forecast Is Brought to You By School Budget Cuts
The Wisconsin Department of Administration recently sent out a press release praising Governor Scott Walker for his leadership in making the “largest deposit to our Rainy Day Fund in state history.”
The deposit, $108.7 million, is part of a $342.1 million surplus projected for fiscal year 2012 that must go, statutorily, to a fund for the bad times… for example, when revenues decrease for important state services or programs (in other words: when it rains).
There’s an obvious point being missed here. If you cut spending on enough public services─such as public education, roads, conservation, fire and police protection, and health care─coming up with a surplus is easy. Taken to a somewhat absurd conclusion, if you continue to collect taxes but pay nothing out, this budgeting thing becomes child’s play and the Rainy Day Fund grows.
That’s exactly what’s happening here in Wisconsin. By disinvesting in schools, for example, we’ve created a surplus to put into the Rainy Day Fund while at the same time creating a downpour and a hurricane for our kids.
It’s pouring, folks, so let’s use the money we’ve put aside for this very rainy day.
Here’s the point: In the 2011-13 state budget, Governor Scott Walker and his allies cut aid to public schools by $792 million. Why would anyone then be surprised that as school aid went down the state’s projected surplus went up? The under-reported story isn’t the surplus but the devastating impact its creation had on our schools, our children, and the state's future.
The Governor’s office would have us believe that everything is better for our schools─or certainly no worse. For example, school aid for 2012-13 were increased $31.7 million over the 2011-12 school year. Well, that’s all well and good, but that still leaves a cut of about $760 million. The increase is so minimal that it isn’t even enough to continue programs and services in most districts.
There is no doubt–this is wrong-headed public policy that puts our young people in the middle of a storm. According to the Department of Public Instruction’s “Budget Survey Analysis," core academics have been cut; class sizes are increasing; children are losing art, music, physical education; there are fewer career and technical education opportunities; and special education services have been cut.
As I said, if it’s raining let’s use that Rainy Day Fund. After all, it was built on the backs of public school kids. As a matter of fact, it’s about time we had a statewide discussion on the full $342.1 million surplus. Let’s talk about whether or not it really exists and, if it does, how much of it should go to replace the devastating cuts to our public schools.
Do what you can to start that discussion. Contact your legislators today. Tell them schools took more than their share of the cuts when things were bad and now that it’s raining cats and dogs on them its time to put some of those course offerings, quality programs, good teachers, and necessary services back in the classroom. | <urn:uuid:c95b6571-6229-4a04-bb2c-3d45a9b80ae0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.otlcampaign.org/blog/2012/10/24/todays-rainy-forecast-brought-you-school-budget-cuts | 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 | 0.963943 | 706 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The guide also recommends that all seniors, regardless of their health issues, look for vehicles with solid safety features and a proven safety record. Crash test and rollover ratings are available at Safecar.gov and IIHS.org.
Other safety features to look for include antilock brakes, head restraints to reduce the risk of neck injuries, dynamic stability control to help prevent loss of control in a turn, and side and dual-stage or dual-threshold air bags that inflate based on the severity of the crash.
However, AAA and NODTRC also stress that there is no one-size-fits-all standard when it comes to seniors and the cars they drive.
"As we age, each of us ages differently, so the vehicle that works best for us is going to be different for each," Nielsen said. "Each driver should find the car that suits them absolutely the best."
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:a69f4dbc-0a9b-43bc-b717-82db251c24b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ktvz.com/lifestyle/2013-autos/2013-autos/Devices-can-keep-older-drivers-on-road/-/15283658/4011324/-/item/1/-/2bp2wnz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954714 | 206 | 1.59375 | 2 |
American Views Abroad
Disheartening news on voting from overseas: Most Overseas Ballots Not Cast or Counted atwww.iht.com/articles/2007/09/26/news/vote.php
'A new federal survey has found that a scant one-third of the nearly one million absentee ballots requested for the US general election last year by overseas American civilians or active-duty service members were actually cast or counted, a result that one overseas voting advocate said felt like 'a dagger in the heart.' ....Laws vary from state to state and are applied unequally in local election offices. .....Just as state laws differ, so does handling of absentee ballots. Indiana and North Carolina reported that more than 40 percent of requested ballots were subsequently rejected; other states reported rejection rates of less than 3 percent.'
The article quotes Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat of the Overseas Vote Foundation: The single biggest motivator for a vote is that people think their vote will count. That's why this report is such a blow.'
It takes time before things begin bubbling up to the surface. There is an eerie disconnect between having your ear on the ground, listening to people's experience and trying to find reports in the media. A year ago a US friend living here had to travel to the US for her daughter's wedding in Utah with her German husband. There wasn't all that much time to catch their connecting flight at JFK airport. Her husband has often been to the US, in fact they got married over there. Yet, for no reason at all when presenting his passport, suddenly without any explanation he was taken away and put into a 'holding pen'. Understandably she was very upset not only at the delay and perhaps not catching a late connecting flight for an early wedding the next day, but he has heart problems and suffers from anxiety. She found trying to ask questions, or explaining why it was important not to miss the flight was comparable to hitting a stone wall. Just in the knick of time he was released. The reason given was the finger printing machine at that counter was not functioning. These days one is probably elated to get an explanation for actions that in previous times would have been a source of outrage. Whatever happened to politeness, for example, simply stating our machine is out-of-order, please go to the next line? More to the point, whatever happened to putting out a welcoming mat? Is everyone these days subject to suspect?
There was an interesting, very complimentary article about Boston in a Berlin Sunday paper a few weeks ago. What stood out was in the column How to Get There. Right on top was the caution: cross your fingers and hope to get an immigration officer who is in a good mood upon entry. A German couple, both with Green Cards and who live permanently in Pennsylvania never travel back via JFK, but prefer Chicago because of how they are treated upon entry. If fact, they have drawn up a list of preferred airports.
The dollar has now hit 1.40 to the euro which should mean flights over to the US are now crammed with European tourists. Once upon a time it was everyone's dream here to travel over there. Yet a flight to and from Newark was only about half filled in May and June. Ditto for a flight to and from NYC in June. Comments sometimes heard run along the line of: be there, done that. Wait for better times.
Yesterday's IHT ran Welcome to America: Hope you're not in a rush at www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/18/business/entry.php
. '...if foreigners had not visited the United States since Sept.11, 2001, or had never visited, the stories they're reading or hearing about the poor entry experience are discouraging them from visiting....'
It's rather strange and peculiar how reputations stick like glue. American friends came to visit us in Hamburg this summer, finally after so many years of showing no interest in this city. They were very surprised at how lovely it is. One wrote afterwards that he had expected Hamburg to be grimy and grey. It is anything but that. John Powers in yesterday's Boston Globe sings its praises in Ignored by Most Americans, Hamburg Offers Great Culture and Beauty at www.boston.com/travel/articles/2007/09/16/beyond_the_red_lights/
The United States is one of the few countries that taxes its citizens irregardless of where they live and work. There is an exemption for foreign EARNED income. It's the word 'earned' one should not overlook here. The moment you are no longer 'earning' money, all income is taxed. For example, your pension or unemployment benefits will be considered taxable, irregardless of whatever might be in tax treaties between countries. The IRS has its own way of looking at things and they have little to no conception of what it means to be living abroad in, for example, high tax rate countries of the EU or for that matter, why any American would want to live outside the US. Should an American citizen decide to renounce his or her citizenship, it is usually taken for granted this move is being done to avoid taxation and thus they claim the right to demand taxes for up to ten years after this move. Ditto for anyone with a green card. Green card holders are supposed to pay US taxes whether or not they are residing in the US. As for the Alternative Minimum Tax, US citizens living abroad who are solidly middle class and not super rich by any means have been acquainted with this absurdity well before most US citizens residing at home knew it existed.
As usual the history behind all this shows just how short-sighted and ignorant of the world policy makers in Washington can be. Some time in the late fifties or early sixties, a few members of Congress became rather outraged that a few hardy US citizens roughing it out in the oil fields in the Middle East were not paying any income tax on their-- for that time -- rather high earnings. Never mind that those oil producing countries don't have any income tax, unlike the countries of Europe. Just throw all US citizens residing abroad for whatever reason into one boat. Become outraged that a few citizens are not paying taxes on income not at all earned in the US, but in jobs most likely beneficial to the US economy. Viola, taxation of US citizens abroad takes on a life of its own. Nor is there any attempt to correct past errors. Just the opposite. Now with budget deficits so high about once a year there are new attempts to raise our taxes.
Dollar's Retreat Raises Fear of Collapse at www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091407R.shtml
'But the latest turmoil in mortgage markets has, in a single stroke, shaken faith in the resilience of American finance to a greater degree than even the bursting of the technology bubble in 2000 or the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, analysts said. It has also raised the prospect of a recession in the wider economy.'
Today, for the first time in a modern context, I read the H word
. It was this article: US Heads for Recession as Foreign Investors Rush for the Exit from US Dollar Holdings
. Germany has its own history
of hyperinflation during the Weimar Republic days. And my (German) grandmother had her own stories to tell of those times, e.g. thieves steeling a wheelbarrow filled with money, but leaving the money. She was lucky because she worked for a British-owned insurance company which paid the employees in Pound Sterling.
It would be bad enough to watch from overseas a catastrophe like hyperinflation occurring in one's own country. But a process like this also has repercussions for American citizens living abroad. Foreign income over a certain exemption is taxable. Up to now this has been a problem of the well-to-do. Middle class Americans working overseas earn below the standard exemption and do not have to pay any taxes to the IRS.
To compute the taxable amount of foreign wages, the amount earned must be converted to dollars, and the exemption subtracted. The amount that is left is taxed at the going rate. If the dollar devalues, a person in Germany living on Hartz IV (the German welfare) would be a millionaire in American dollars, and taxed as such, although the actual income was barely enough to scrape by on. I was a millionaire once, in 1988, when I visited former Yugoslavia. I still have a few thousand Yugoslavian Dinars from those days. The currency was in a state of constant devaluation at that time. For my return trip I had reserved a bed on the night train back to Germany, but when I showed up, the bed was taken. I sent the reservation back to friends who received a refund, which was just enough to buy a coke.
The only option an American abroad has to avoid the double taxation is to renounce citizenship. It is hard for me to imagine that stateside politicians will be very concerned about Americans abroad, but that rather this group will be seen as a lucrative source of hard currency. Of course the worse the inflation is, the less real money would be owed. But the situation of taxation of a stable currency converted to a currency in free fall is completely undefined.
The Petraeus Moment - Imperial Autism by Tom Engelhardt:
Given this line-up of forces how could it have been anything but 'words, words,words' in Washington, even while it was death, death, death in Iraq? What those words do, however, is fill all available space, reinforcing a powerful sense that Washington's importance in the scheme of things is the one unquestionable reality on our planet. The rest of the world hardly registers, except in a mode of frustration.
Is there a single once of humility anywhere in Washington? Can we even imagine that, somewhere on Earth, someone doesn't think about us?
....To grasp the Petraeus moment, you really have to re-imagine official Washington as a set of drunks behind the wheels of so many SUVs tearing down a well-populated city avenue -- and all of them are on their cell phones. They hardly notice the bodies bouncing off the fenders. For them, the world is Washington centered; all interests that matter are American ones. Nothing else exists, not really. Think of this as a form of imperial autism and the Petraeus moment as a way in which the White House and official Washington have, for a brief moment, blotted out the world.www.tomdispatch.com/post/174835/the_petraeus_moment
Disclaimer: American Views Abroad is not responsible for offsite content. All links in blog entires are external offsite links, unless otherwise indicated.
Weeks of relentless media probing into what happened thirty years ago in Germany when the Red Army Faction (RAF) was kidnapping and killing crossed roads with present day terrorism when German elite forces managed to foil a major terrorism attack on Wednesday. One interesting fact brought up in an in-depth interview former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt gave to Die Zeit was how, in the opinion of him and his wife, the media focuses its complete attention on the famous victims and of course, on the leading members of the RAF who have practically obtained cult status, but no attention at all is paid to all those bodyguards, drivers, policemen who lost their lives, no detail is given about what happened to the wife of the Lufthansa pilot so brutally murdered back then, for example. The first murdered victim of the RAF was a policeman who was killed just around the corner from here, now the site of a sprawling mall. Terrorism can seem so impersonal and far away until it suddenly hits home.
Germany is no stranger to terrorism and evil. In The Stasi on Our Minds in The New York Review of Books, May 31, Timothy Garton Ash discusses how Germany came to taking a very hard look at its own past and how the film The Lives of Others plays a part in all this.
'In the land of Martin Luther and Leopold von Ranke, driven by a distinctly Protestant passion to confront past sins, the forcefully stated wish of a few East German dissidents to expose the crimes of the regime, and the desire of many West Germans (especially those from the class of '68) not to repeat the mistakes made in covering up and forgetting the evils of Nazism after 1949, we saw an unprecedentedly swift, far-reaching, and systematic opening of the more than 110 miles of Stasis files. The second time around, forty years on, Germany was bent on getting its Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung, its past-beating, just right. Of course, Russia's KGB, the big brother of East Germany's big brother, did nothing of the kind.'
Germany is not used to being complimented, but Ash concludes with the following:
'The Germany in which this film was produced, in the early years of the twenty-first century, is one of the most free and civilized countries on earth. In this Germany, human rights and civil liberties are today more jealously and effectively protected than (it pains me to say) in traditional homelands of liberty such as Britain and the United States. In this good land, the professionalism of its historians, the investigative skills of its journalists, the seriousness of its parliamentarians, the generosity of its funders, the idealism of its priests and moralists, the creative genius of its writers, and, yes, the brilliance of its filmmakers have all combined to cement in the world's imagination the most indelible association of Germany with evil. Yet without these efforts, Germany would never have become such a good land. In the annals of human culture, has there ever been a more paradoxical achievement?www.nybooks.com/articles/20210 | <urn:uuid:4ac62d49-37cf-47dd-b20f-68686164d423> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanviewsabroad.org/archive/2007_09_01_americanviewsabroad_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97122 | 2,868 | 1.601563 | 2 |
As George W. Bush signals world history's most lethal military machine to ready an indefinitely dated but seemingly inevitable assault on Iraq, numerous commentators from various points along the political spectrum are making the case against the White House's clamor for war. Here are the primary points, some being made by leading supporters of United States Empire, including Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to George Bush
* Contrary to the claims of Bush junior, Don Rumsfeld, Condaleeza Rice and Tony Blair, there is no significant evidence linking Iraq to terrorist conspiracies against the United States, now or in the past. In addition, Saddam Hussein is a longtime enemy of Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists of the bin-Laden variety.
* An attack against Iraq will squander what's left of the global good will America garnered in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks. There is virtual consensus in the world against an attack on Iraq at this time.
* A pre-emptive war against Iraq is utterly contrary to international law and morality and dubious even under the American Constitution. It would set a horrific standard and serve as a dangerous model for future international behavior.
* There are plenty of states besides Iraq with terrible rulers who have done and do horrible things to "their own people." Does the US propose to attack and change the governments of these countless other nations? Of course not, particularly since many of the worst violator states - Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Columbia, to name just a few - are heavily supplied and assisted by the US.
* There are plenty of states that possess more weapons of mass destruction than Iraq. Does Bush intend to invade Israel (known to possess hundreds of nuclear warheads), Pakistan, or India?
* The US is the only nation that has ever actually used nuclear weapons - twice and both times without reasonable justification, if such a thing exists for the use of such sinister devices on civilian populations. It currently possesses and keeps at the ready more thermonuclear warheads than the rest of the world combined. It refuses to honor international treaties by permitting its own weapons programs to be inspected by international experts. In the last three years, moreover, America has violated international law by bombing four states - Serbia, Iraq, Sudan, and Afghanistan. America has also waged radioactive war twice since 1990, deploying munitions containing depleted uranium in the Gulf and Kosovo wars, producing significant measurable increases in child leukemia and birth defect rates in Iraq and Serbia. Should the US be preemptively invaded, by virtue of its unrivalled possession, development, and record of using weapons of mass destruction?
* The horrible actions that Saddam carried out against technical citizens of Iraq (dissident Iraqi Kurds) and to which Bush and Rumsfeld obsessively refer (how many more times must we hear Dubya, Rummy, Condi, and Tony make disingenuous expressions of horror at the fact that "he gassed his own people"? ) were conducted with the full approval of the US policymakers, who viewed Hussein as a valued Persian Gulf ally prior to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Indeed, the US and its imperial junior partner England were the leading suppliers of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons during the 1980s.
* Hussein poses little real threat to the world or even to the region. According to former United Nations Special Commission chief inspector Scott Ritter, Iraq has been essentially "disarmed from a qualitative standpoint." Even Kuwaiti and Israeli analysts have acknowledged that Iraq no longer poses a serious danger. Moreover, to the supreme disappointment of Bush, who revealingly claimed to "see an opportunity through the tears" just two days after 9-11 (yes, an opportunity to launch wars planned before the Twin Towers fell), Hussein has acceded to White House demands for intrusive and unrestricted military and weapons inspections, far beyond the elementary requirements of national sovereignty.
* The best way to get Saddam's dreaded weapons into in to the hands of terrorists or otherwise in play is precisely to threaten his existence. It is only with nothing left to lose that Saddam would likely unleash his biological and chemical materials, whatever they be, possibly provoking havoc in the region. There is no evidence that Hussein is suicidal, which he would have to be to conduct a significant operation against the US.
* A war on Iraq will distract American and world attention and resources away from the urgent need to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict in an equitable fashion.
It will also distract the US and the world from the difficult task of preventing further attacks by Al Qaeda and other shadowy non-territorial terror networks. According to Scowcroft, "the central point is that any campaign against Iraq, whatever the strategy, costs, and risks, is certain to divert us for some indefinite period from our war on terrorism."
* American troops will be put at risk by an invasion of Iraq. Some will come home in body bags, something understood by military authorities, some of whom served time in Vietnam, but which does not concern the administration's well stocked coop of "chicken-hawks" from Bush junior on down.
* If the US does manage to unseat Hussein, US forces will have to remain in Iraq for untold years, carrying out an expensive, difficult, and risky nation-building project.
* A war against Iraq will very possibly generate catastrophic side effects for the US, including a dangerous de-stabilization of the entire Middle East, a massive upsurge of virulent anti-Americanism in the Islamic world, and possibly even war between the two nuclear powers of the Sub-Continent. "If the US is seen as turning its back on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" in order to settle old scores with Saddam, Scowcroft has warned, "there would be an explosion of rage against us. We would be seen as ignoring a key interest of the Muslim world in order to satisfy what is seen as a narrow American interest. Even without Israeli involvement, the results could well destabilize Arab regimes in the region, ironically facilitating one of Saddam's strategic objectives" (Scowcroft should have added: to facilitate one of Osama bin-Laden's core objectives). In short, war on Iraq will do more than divert Americans from proper prosecution of the "war on terrorism;" it will also breed thousands of new anti-American terrorists.
There's plenty in all of the above to shoot down the warmongers of the White House. It is politically useful to antiwar activists, perhaps, that (reflecting divisions within the ruling-class on how to most effectively dominate the world), some of the key antiwar talking points are being at least partly written for us by imperialists like Scowcroft.
It is difficult, however, not to notice a missing piece in the antiwar
case(s) that make its way into the "mainstream" (really corporate) media and even in some of the statements from the left side of admittedly narrow US ideological spectrum. That missing or at least significantly under-emphasized piece is the likely terrible impact of a US attack on the ordinary non-policymaking people of the official enemy state.
Will innocent Iraqi civilians die? How many everyday Iraqi men, women, and children, including seniors and infants, will perish in, and as a result of, a new military assault on Iraq? Four things should be kept in mind in trying to answer these apparent mainstream non-questions.
First, using the past as a guide, we can begin by noting that, as eminent US historian Gabriel Kolko has recently noted (Another Century of War?NY: New Press, 2002), 33,000 civilians died during the relatively short Gulf War and the Kurdish and Shiite rebellions that followed.
Next, we should recall that a large number - estimates range from 100,000 to more than a million (including half a million children) - Iraqi civilians have died as a result of US-imposed UN sanctions on vital food and medicine imports since 1991. Thanks to this consequence of America's "benevolent" and "humanitarian" imperialism (in the words of the New York Times' Arab-bating foreign-policy columnist Thomas Friedman) and to war damage that remains un-repaired, the Iraqi people are in a weakened state compared to 1990. Their basic infrastructure and material lives are still horribly damaged on an ongoing basis by an American-led war that has never really stopped - something that will inflate morality levels in the event of another frontal US military assault.
Third, we should register the unpleasant fact that civilian deaths from American military actions in Afghanistan have exceeded 9-11's US toll, something to bear in mind when Pentagon officials claim that they will only attack military targets in Iraq.
Fourth, it should be noted that ordinary Iraqi people were not consulted on Saddam's decision to invade Kuwait in August 1990. And Hussein does not consult them on his recent moves any more than Afghan sheepherders murdered by US B-52s and cluster during the last year were consulted on Al Qaeda's plans before they died in the name of Bush's war on terrorism.
Yet beyond some references on the liberal-left side of the debate to the danger of "spilling the blood of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians who get caught in the way" (Michael Klare in the October 7th Nation), the issue of civilian casualties seems to be a marginal part of the Great Iraq War Debate. As befits a nation whose leaders murdered millions of Southeast Asians during the 1960s and 1970s but which still publicly obsesses only about what the Vietnam War did to our own national psyche, the debate is pretty much all about us. The officially permissible dispute is about how it will hurt our interests, how it will damage our image in and agenda for the world, how it might backfire against the new American Century.
Americans looking for reasons to oppose war on Iraq should certainly review the official reasons presented above in bullet-point form. They should also visit the web site of "Voice in the Wilderness," an excellent peace and justice organization that posts a plethora of disturbing facts and photographs, both documenting and personalizing the terrible human consequences of US policy in Iraq (to explore this material, go to www.nonviolence.org/vitw). In a minimally decent, civilized, and morally responsible nation, the mere chance that thousands more innocent people might be killed by a proposed government action would be all the information needed to preclude the action.
It's something worth reflection for Americans who continue to wonder why the "Arab Street" hates us. Also worth reflection in a time when US policymakers fret over the power of stateless terror networks: the ultimate form of global terrorism continues to be, as for many centuries now, the international system of state power, under whose hegemony ruling classes of various nations collaborate in the victimization of ordinary non-policymaking men, women, and children, for whom the first agenda is simply to survive from one day to the next.
Paul Street is an urban social policy researcher and freelance writer in Chicago. He can be reached at pstreet@cul-chic <mailto:firstname.lastname@example.org> ago.org | <urn:uuid:85d83b65-dae0-49d6-a99c-adc3d2592ac3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zcommunications.org/iraq-war-debate-by-paul-street | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954191 | 2,273 | 1.578125 | 2 |
This past month Mondo Bizarro has been focusing on the Race Peace planning for our residency in the spring here in New Orleans.
Race Peace is a project of Mondo Bizarro and M.U.G.A.B.E.E. (Men Under Guidance Acting Before Early Extinction), under the mentorship of Junebug Productions and Roadside Theater, which blends multi-disciplinary performance techniques with interactive dialogue to incite conversations about race and racism. Race Peace explodes the myth that civic transformation only takes place at City Hall. We believe that true racial progress starts here – in small gatherings around the country. At each of our workshops, we use art-making as a tool for renewing conversations about race. Through art and performance, we provide an opportunity for people to experiment, celebrate and explore common bonds; to debate their differences and pursue solutions to ongoing problems. The event will take place in February at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center. Details for the event will be public in the near future.
We have also been working on our next event for our I Witness Central City project to share with the neighborhood community what our latest finished stories are.I Witness Central City is a Story Mapping project that seeks to open up these living and breathing personal histories to a wider audience via live performance, digital story maps and a new cell phone walking tour. Kids growing up in Central City today might never know about the jazz funeral that the Free Southern Theatre held for itself in 1980 or who painted the murals of civil rights workers under the I-10 overpass. We believe that every story contains a vital thread of our collective memory, and through sharing these narratives we come to better understand our history, community and neighborhood. We plan on having an event with performance, food and a showing of the stories.
We have also been working on a project documenting the Mardi Gras Indians with N.O.N.D.C. (New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative). A proposal to see if this collaboration can work will be sent out soon.
-Melisa Cardona, AmeriCorps VISTA
To learn more about Mondo Bizarro, please visit their website at http://www.mondobizaroo.org | <urn:uuid:871c4e7f-8a83-41d1-8c36-ce337b7025fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tulanevista.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/field-report-mondo-bizarro-12/ | 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 | 0.930598 | 455 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
I looked at your link. I don't think a dog needs these supplements if it's getting a well balanced diet. The fish oil may be helpful for itching but you can give it separately, much less expensively. Although I saw a list of ingredients in the "perfect" amount, I didn't see where they listed the amounts of fish oil for instance. I would much prefer to give separate supplements if I thought they were helpful for my dogs and myself and I do. My dogs get Evening Primrose Oil.
F, Calla & Luca,
These supplements are not designed for the dog in "perfect health" These supplements are designed for the general population who feed their dogs dry kibble that has little or no nutritional value. Dry kibble is mainly made of fillers such as corn, wheat and soy. These carbs and grain are very difficult to digest. These carbs and grains break down into sugars causing myriads of issues for them such as itching and scratching. However, even with a perfect homemade raw diet, these dogs would still be needing vitamins. Many human foods are depleted today, not because they are unhealthy, but because after centuries of people living in this country, the soil is not as full of minerals as it used to be. Therefore, using a whole food supplement rich in vitamins and minerals is a great way to keep their immune system boosted. When the immune system is healthy so is the rest of the body and will help prevent issues later in life. Don't wait until your dog is sick to give them vitamins, begin when they are young, that way they live a long and healthy life. Yes, the fish oil supplements are a great way to help itching, but they also need other vitamins and digestive enzymes as well. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium are some great properties. Similar to what's found in yogurt. Dinovite Liquid canine does the leg work for you, rather than having to hunt down all these foods that have great properties, they've done it for you. It is a concentrated vitamin supplement you use once a day in your dog's food. One pouch a day. I recommend before you make any uneducated remarks about nutritional supplements, or food, to actually read about animal nutrition. Cats and dogs do not need carbs and starches. They eat meat, and without the proper amount of meat protein in their diet they will suffer. Here is a link to a good article about raw diets, homemade dog food and also a link to the product you are referring to. I recommend you read the FAQ's about why to feed a supplement.
FYI, Audra, F Parker is a medical doctor and a specialist, so your comment about "uneducated remarks about nutritional supplements or food" is pretty funny.
Itching and scratching are not due to "nutritional deficiencies", but are usually a histamine response to something. All premium dog foods contain more than enough of all vitamins and minerals required by a normal dog, and Orijen is about as good as kibble gets. If your dog is eating Orijen, or any premium food, it would not be possible for him to have a zinc deficiency or any other nutritional deficiency unless he has an underlying disease condition, and if he had an underlying disease condition that prevented him from absorbing any particular nutrient from his food, he wouldn't be able to absorb it from Dinovite, either. Example: Jack had a B12 deficiency due to ulcerative colitis. He was getting plenty of vitamin B12 in his food, but because of his damaged intestinal lumen, he couldn't absorb or utilize it from his food. So he has to get B12 shots; no form of B12 that passed through his digestive system would make a difference.
Omega fatty acids are beneficial for inflammation due to various kinds of diseases as well as plain old dry skin and coats, and many dog foods don't contain enough of the right forms of Omega 3 and 6 in the right proportions. Orijen does. However, it doesn't hurt to supplement with fish oil or EPO. You don't need Dinovite for that, though. Your mom's friend's dog would do just as well if he ate Orijen and got an EPO capsule every day.
Karen & Jackdoodle,
Yes, itching and scratching can be a histamine response, but more often than not they are linked with nutritional deficiencies. Begging your pardon however, dry kibble is NOT a balanced diet. They are highly heat processed which renders the vitamins added inactive. After heat extrusion, there is only a trace amount of meat protein and carbohydrates left. Dogs and cats cannot digest corn. (humans actually can't either but we eat it anyway.) Carbohydrates have little to no nutritional value for them. They simply break down into sugars. Sugars in turn feed the natural candida yeast that is found in the digestive tract. When they eat a steady diet of grain and carb filled foods, they are constantly feeding this yeast culture. This yeast culture begins to grow and spread. Yes, this yeast in a natural part of their bodies, however an unbalanced overgrowth can cause itching, an un-fresh "frito" smell coming from ears, and skin, and un-fresh smell soon after bathing, itching, licking and biting the paws (from the yeast between their toes) and red or dark irritated areas of the skin on belly, haunches and paws. This can also result in hair loss and if left untreated and really be detrimental to the dog's health. His skin can get crusty and get sores and he will be miserable. Many people do experience this with their dogs and see a wonderful change in them when switching them away from processed commercial foods. If you do not want to make your own food, I recommend freshpet select. I feed it to my old girl along with CarnOyum canine supplement. This food is a great alternative for homemade food (especially in a busy household!) And Her supplement keeps her digestive tract in good shape and keeps her from shedding. Rather than go out and have to find all kinds of pills and other foods that i have to mix with her food, I would rather use a supplement that has been made with whole foods that contain the vitamins she needs and save me the hassle. wouldn't you? it sounds like you might benefit from actually learning about animal nutrition, there's more to it than the large pet food corporations. look at how many recalls are going on right now, I would recommend steering clear of processed food and looking into doing what's best for your dog or cat based on what you've learned not what you are being told. If you do some research, and really dig into the world of nutrition you could learn a lot that would never even have crossed your mind! I learned SO much about our human nutrition though my research, and I got excited about giving the best possible nutrition to my dog, and for my family! It even proved a GREAT tool in learning what to do when my daughter couldn't drink formula. We learned exactly what she needed nutritionally and learned to make a special mix that she drank until she turned 1. She has never been sick and people always comment on how capable and strong she is for her age. (almost 2 now) She is ahead of where all her cousins were at her age and my sister-in-law asked what we were doing because she was so healthy compared to her own 2 littlest ones. Now I taught her about nutrition and her kids are doing SO much better! Go ahead! Get online and learn for yourself! Don't let the media and large corporations lead you blindly.
FYI, none of the foods being discussed here contain corn or grain.
And regarding learning "SO much about our human nutrition though my research, and I got excited about giving the best possible nutrition to my dog, and for my family! ", I am very surprised that you didn't run across any information on breast feeding in your research. I mean, seeing as how you are so interested in advising people about "natural" nutrition.
Carbohydrates break down into sugars in humans too. That's how we get our energy. Regardless of whether grains are or are not good for dogs, if carbohydrates were not digested, dogs would all be ridiculously thin on high carb kibble. But they are not. They actually do process the carbs and absorb them and they contribute calories. | <urn:uuid:3250b330-ea07-4035-9ec9-3529c3326470> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/dinovite?xg_source=activity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978567 | 1,731 | 1.507813 | 2 |
It is prudent to bring Malaysians back from Syria
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on Saturday that the government has decided to evacuate all Malaysians from Syria. To be sure, the Foreign Affairs Ministry has been urging Malaysians to leave since September last year because of concerns over the security situation in Syria. But the tone of the prime minister's statement indicates how badly the situation has deteriorated and how urgent it is for Malaysians to come back without further delay. Though the Foreign Ministry's advisory of March 18 "to voluntarily return home as the security situation is likely to become worse" was suitably sombre, this could not compare with its stark prognosis on July 21 that the situation "will continue to deteriorate further given the increasing acts of violence and heavy fighting".
In fact, this grim assessment is shared by many countries. Like Malaysia, most countries have advised their nationals not to travel to Syria. Many have also urged their citizens who are already there to pack their bags and leave. Most of the Chinese workers in Syria have returned home. Indonesia and the Philippines have been evacuating their nationals over the last few months. On Friday, Brazil withdrew its diplomats in Syria to Lebanon, Chile asked its citizens to leave, and Argentina contemplated closing its embassy as it prepared to repatriate its nationals. And they are not the only ones taking flight. Thousands of Iraqi refugees in Syria have returned to their country over the last few days. The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said more than 30,000 Syrians crossed the border into Lebanon on Thursday and Friday.
What is clear is that the conflict in Syria has moved way beyond the "protests and demonstrations" observed by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in its advisory of Sept 7 last year. The spiralling bloodshed bolsters arguments that this is a civil war. In fact, last month, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous characterised the fighting in Syria as a "full-scale civil war". Though this lends support to the government's decision to evacuate Malaysians immediately, it remains to be seen, however, whether those still in Syria will avail themselves of the opportunity to be delivered from danger as obviously they have stayed on despite the risks. Whatever their reasons for remaining in Syria, it is hoped, for their own sake, that, this time, they will heed the government's call. With the fighting showing no signs of easing and the situation so dire that the government has been moved to consider closing the Malaysian embassy in Damascus and withdrawing our diplomats, this would be the sensible course of action. | <urn:uuid:77b23fc4-3e84-488a-a520-040543d1677c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/editorial/flight-from-danger-1.111733 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976018 | 517 | 1.703125 | 2 |
- We will learn from past errors to not repeat them
- Whatever process must lead to the end of the conflict, not to its prolonging
- Operations and military presence will be maintained on every centimeter of the national territory
Posted on Friday, August 31, 2012 in MamieAstoundingly, just as we are getting ready to head back to the United States, the Colombian government under President Juan Manuel Santos and the guerillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are preparing to sit down for peace talks. It has been ten years since the last attempt at formal peace negotiations - an attempt that ended very suddenly and very badly - and helped open the way toward a much tenser time highlighted by the years of President Uribe's tenure which we caught the tail end of in 2009 and 2010. Rumors of these talks have been bubbling here and there for a while, but without much to back them up. We didn't pay much attention. Then Uribe began to accuse Santos of such talks (yes..."accuse" is the appropriate word, even when talking about attempting peace talks), but who can pay attention to Uribe anymore? He has, in my humble opinion, acted very poorly as a former president during most of Santos' term - very publicly critiquing Santos' every move, even though Santos was his hand-picked successor - so what is one more unsupported blast from Uribe? And then BOOM! Santos formally announces that there have indeed been conversations with the FARC and that the ELN (another guerilla group) have manifested interest in joining in talks to bring an end to the violence in Colombia. AMAZING. For those of you who speak Spanish, here is the official televised announcement. Santos underscores that these conversations are being held with three basic tenets in mind:
The last point has much to do with the first in that the most recent talk called for a demilitarized zone within Colombia in which the talks would take place, and that will not be repeated. It is interesting, in part, because the FARC has always maintained that they would only negotiate within Colombia, but that seems to have been laid aside now with talks likely happening primarily in Cuba (although most details are still to come). The FARC have not officially made a statement regarding the peace talks, but they have previously promised to put an end to kidnappings (a pre-requisite given earlier remarks from Santos), and after a sharp increase in rebel attacks between July and August, they have dropped drastically since last week.
There is, of course, no guarantee that this will bring about peace in Colombia, but I do think people here want it to. According to the latest Gallup poll, 60% of polled Colombians are in favor of a political solution to the problem. Support for a military-only solution to the conflict is at 37%. (This leads me to wonder what the option is for the other 3%, but I digress...). In a podcast from February 2012 from the Washington Office on Latin America about the 10th anniversary of the failed talks, one point brought up was that in some ways those talks failed because everyone believed they would. That is to say, folks never really bought into the process (and were not brought into it well enough), and that along with a host of other reasons played its role in their demise. And I bet that is true.
Even now, folks have only tentative hope. I do not know what a Gallup poll would say if they asked not what people favor, but whether they believe that whatever they favor will work. It has been too long since there was peace here. There is really almost no living memory of it. There are, however, many living memories of its failure, and of the ways in which some peace talks have resulted in increased violence - either during the talks as a means of influencing events, or in the aftermath of their breakdown. Having little hope makes sense, and yet making sure they do have hope is incalculably important.
So what we ask of you right now is to pray not just for peace but also for hope. Pray for the willingness to imagine peace - not just an invented peace but a real, lived, true peace. Pray that the vulnerability that will be necessary to achieve such a peace is still possible and that the sacrifice of opening their hearts to such a hope will be rewarded. Pray for the peacemakers - yes, always - but pray for the hope of peace as well.
To read a good (and short) analysis of the prospects for peace from Adam Isacson, an expert on Latin America and particularly Colombia, click here. | <urn:uuid:1354565b-2851-405d-8a09-185a76553e48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://calledtocolombia.org/?p=2676 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979647 | 949 | 1.59375 | 2 |
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In this paper, two approaches to form CoSi2, Co/Ti and Co/TiN, were studied. It was found that reactive Ti was helpful to reduce the influence of surface condition with non-uniform monosilicide formation even without surface cleaning. However, Co/TiN without surface cleaning could not form monosilicide at all. When the thermal budget of RTP2 is too high, the disilicide on Boron doped polylines was easier to be degraded, both poor Rsh distribution and rougher surface were seen. Based on stable Rsh and junction leakage performance of patterned wafers, it can be said that the Co salicide process is successfully being developed for 0.18μm technology, and has the capability to be extended to at least 0.15μm technology.
Date of Conference: 15-16 March 2004 | <urn:uuid:3c45bf03-ca45-4da6-94b0-a0233b445016> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?reload=true&arnumber=1306780&contentType=Conference+Publications | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976202 | 185 | 1.773438 | 2 |
While it's not a new topic, e-mail deliverability has taken on even greater importance as more companies look to e-mail as a cost-effective marketing channel in these tough economic times.
Many people worried about deliverability focus on content, things like whether using "free" in the subject line or including images in an e-mail will cause the message to be blocked. In reality, 83 percent of e-mail is filtered as spam because of the sender's reputation. Content has little, if anything, to do with it.
Today I'll share two free resources that can help you identify and address potential deliverability issues related to your sender reputation. The first is Sender Score, a free e-mail reputation service from Return Path. The second is EDS Alerts from Email Data Source, which allows you to monitor e-mail sent from a specified IP address or domain name, among other criteria. Either resource alone is valuable; when used together, they can provide the information you need to safeguard your e-mail reputation and deliverability.
Sender Score allows you to enter an IP address or domain name and retrieve its Sender Score, a quantitative indicator of your e-mail reputation. Every ISP (e.g., Yahoo, Gmail) and anti-spam solution (e.g., Cloudmark, Postini) tracks and evaluates your sender reputation, and each has its own criteria. All criteria are based on the same kinds of data that reflect your e-mail marketing practices, like the number of complaints you generate, the volume of mail you send, how your process bounces, and if you are on any blacklists. A sample Sender Score report:
The Sender Score is based on 100 points, so this Sender Score of 95 is very good. Even so, that doesn't mean your messages will automatically reach the inbox, just like a good credit score doesn't mean you will automatically get the loan you want. The graph shows this score has remained consistent, even as e-mail volume sent has fluctuated. Still, there's a medium risk of deliverability problems, which may relate to the inconsistent volume or infrastructure, a higher-than-average complaint rate on some types of messages, or the lack of Sender Score Certification and Safelist inclusion. If your Sender Score indicates that you might be having delivery issues, you can sign up for Return Path's paid deliverability services to help get to the inbox consistently.
Also of interest here is that 25 different domains send from this IP address. You can read about the pros and cons of shared IP addresses in "E-mail: Evaluating Dedicated vs. Shared IP Addresses."
If you share an IP address, it's helpful to know who you share it with, as you could be tainted with guilt by association if one of your IP address neighbors gets blacklisted. You can ask your e-mail service provider (ESP), which may or may not tell you. Also, your neighbors may change from week to week. Enter Email Data Source's EDS Alerts.
Email Data Source has the largest database of e-mail marketing messages that I know of: more than 15 million e-mail missives from over 400,000 senders, and more being delivered every day. Its Email Analyst tool is great for doing competitive research.
But its new EDS Alerts tool takes it all one step further and adds a new twist. The tool will send you a daily digest of all e-mail it receives from the IP addresses you designate. So if you share an IP address, you can see, on a daily basis, whom you share it with. You can also monitor e-mail by brand (yours or a competitor's), keywords, and other things. The first alert is free; after that you can purchase additional alerts if you like what you see. Here's a screenshot of the free alert registration page:
Good deliverability has more to do with e-mail reputation than it does with content. If you aren't proactively working to have a good e-mail reputation, you may find you have a bad one and your e-mail is blocked. Use these two free tools to get started.
Until next time,
Jeanne is off this week. Today's column originally ran on April 6, 2009.
Need practical tips for taking your successful e-mail marketing program to new heights? Sign up for a full-day workshop with Jeanne Jennings and Tamara Gielen on Feb. 1, 2010 in Miami Beach, FL, in conjunction with the 2010 Email Evolution Conference.
Marketers Rejoice! ClickZ has launched ClickZ Live, an educational series to bring you innovative online marketing strategies and techniques. Learn to construct and successfully execute multi-channel marketing campaigns, plus identify key metrics and translate them into actionable plans.
Thursday, July 18: ClickZ Live will be in Vancouver, BC. Register before July 1 to save $100!
Jeanne Jennings is a leading authority and independent consultant with over 15 years of experience in the e-mail and online realm. She specializes in all aspects of e-mail marketing and publishing, from strategy through design and metrics analysis. Jeanne works with medium- to enterprise-sized organizations and is expert at helping her clients become more effective and more profitable online. She is the author of "The Email Marketing Kit: The Ultimate Email Marketer’s Bible" (SitePoint, 2007) and publisher of "The Jennings Report," a free e-mail newsletter for online marketing professionals. Visit her online at JeanneJennings.com.
June 20, 2013
1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT | <urn:uuid:9cf47fd4-137a-41d0-a972-5f1149bc0750> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1718647/two-free-email-deliverability-tools | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938605 | 1,161 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Islamic School of Seattle closes; potluck to celebrate its story
The Islamic School of Seattle, one of the first such programs in the nation, has closed its doors after 32 years in the Central District. The community is invited to celebrate the school's history at a potluck Tuesday.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Islamic School of Seattle events
Potluck celebration: The recently closed Islamic School of Seattle invites former students, their families and the community to a potluck dinner from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the school, 720 25th Ave. Attendees are encouraged to bring photographs or old assignments to add to a school timeline that will be built across the gym floor.
Community meeting: School leaders will host an open forum at the school from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 10 to gather ideas on what to do with material assets of the school, including the building it owns, and how to continue their mission without the school.
Hundreds of children's books spill over the rim of boxes. Others are scattered on the floor next to hardcover dictionaries and histories.
As Ann El-Moslimany leans on her cane and scans the library at the Islamic School of Seattle (ISS), she sees thousands of other books still sitting on shelves, where she wishes they could stay.
It's difficult for El-Moslimany, 74, to accept that the Islamic school she helped start in the Central Area 32 years ago — one of the nation's first — has closed.
Soon after the school opened in 1980, more than 120 students attended. But that was the peak, and by this last school year, enrollment had dwindled to about 20. Final classes were June 12.
It's difficult to identify a singular cause for the closure.
The school, which took a middle ground between offering a purely religious education and functioning as an academic preparatory academy, became less popular as Seattle's Muslim community diversified and other Islamic schools started in the region.
And as some Muslim families moved out of the Central District, those who remained often could not afford the tuition without scholarships from the school. The school also struggled in recent years to find a principal who supported its approach and could also balance an unstable budget.
Despite those challenges, many students remember the school fondly.
The school's governing board has invited recent and former students, their families and community supporters to a potluck at the school on Tuesday to celebrate its history.
Organizers have been gathering stories and comments from former students in preparation.
One person wrote, "The ISS has been a beautiful incubator of what an Islamic School in America should look like. ... I hope one day someone will carry this torch, as it is the real future of Islam in America, and how Islam can contribute, and not just be 'tolerated.' "
At the potluck, people will be encouraged to mingle and share stories. A string will stretch across the room so guests can hang photos to create a timeline.
The school has some images on hand but has invited guests to bring their own, hoping the photos together will reflect the hands-on, global education its students received.
The pictures might show students walking through the Minidoka concentration camp with members of Seattle's Japanese community, doing environmental research at the Olympic Park Institute, or performing in an evening concert in the gym during the holy month of Ramadan.
Former student Atieh Al-Matti attended in the early 1990s and is now a sales consultant for an IT and security company in Jordan. He remembered the school as "a miniature United Nations," noting that its families came from many nations, each with its own language and customs.
El-Moslimany, a board member, said the first students were primarily from Saudi Arabia and that over the years they were joined by American Muslims and Muslim students from Afghanistan, Gambia and Algeria.
In recent years, mainly Somali children filled the classrooms. Together, they shared their heritages as they united in their faith, she said. Teachers reinforced their religious identities through lessons that united scriptures with science, history and math.
The school's leaders and students also regularly joined or hosted interfaith events. El-Moslimany said that became particularly important after 9/11, when the school worked to combat misperceptions about Islamic beliefs and a sudden fear of Muslims across the nation.
"We worked very hard in making sure they (students) weren't isolated as Muslims but actively engaged with other religions and other groups of people," El-Moslimany said. For the school, that also meant discussing the history of many religions and ethnicities and not segregating classrooms by gender, as is the norm in some Muslim nations.
Former student Zarbakhtah Kakar, a medical assistant who now lives in Lynnwood, was 8 when she and her family left Afghanistan. When she enrolled at ISS in 1985, she was afraid, remembering stories about Afghan schools that didn't allow girls and where children were beaten for not doing homework.
"Here, everything was taught through love," Kakar said. "If you made a mistake it's OK: 'How can we help you get back up?' It was the root of my Islamic education. Without that, I feel like I would've lost my roots."
Like many former students, she sent her own daughter to the school. Yet even as multiple generations of some families filled the classrooms, it wasn't enough to keep the school going.
Some parents wanted the school to focus almost exclusively on religious teachings while others disliked its Montessori model and wanted classes to be structured more like those of a rigorous preparatory academy.
Some parents didn't like that some teachers and principals were not Muslim, or wanted the school to limit enrollment to people of one national heritage.
.El-Moslimany guesses that demographics played a big part.
Seattle's Muslims fall into multiple income brackets, but those most able to afford the school's tuition live outside the Central District, primarily on the Eastside, where they are closer to competing Islamic programs.
"We're kind of caught between these two groups," El-Moslimany said. With the school's closure, the board must decide whether and how to revive its mission in a new form, and what to do with the building and the materials that still fill the classrooms.
El-Moslimany sorts through books and the school's unique lesson plans, identifying ones she thinks should be stored. No one is sure if that will happen, but many speak about the uncertainty with optimism.
"It may be an end of the school, but it's just a beginning of where we're going with our vision and our mission," El-Moslimany said.
Jayme Fraser: 206-464-2201 or email@example.com. On Twitter @jaymekfraser | <urn:uuid:bb8e83aa-bca0-4913-a5ac-5bf38e5c560b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2018528925_islamicschool26m.html | 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 | 0.979918 | 1,414 | 1.523438 | 2 |
MA: Today I am delighted to welcome Charles S. Weinblatt as my guest author. Charles was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1952. He is a retired University of Toledo administrator. He is the author of Jacob’s Courage and Job Seeking Skills for Students. His biography appears in the Marquis Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Education. Charles was a frequent Toledo television news guest, providing business, economic and labor-management insight. He received the 2004 Douglas Frasier Swift Award and he was awarded a certificate of achievement by Chrysler Corporation.
Charles, welcome! Please tell me a little bit about your professional or personal background, and what you did before writing professionally.
CW: I was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1952; raised the only child in a middle-class home. My father was a pioneering Toledo (OH) psychiatrist, starting his practice in 1932. He was well known in the professional community. He was also a football star at The University of Toledo in the 1920s and again at Michigan, while in medical school. Tremendously intelligent and gentle, he was the perfect role model. My book is dedicated to my dad, who gave me all of the tools to become a good person. It is also dedicated to the six million lost souls murdered by The Third Reich. They are gone, but will never be forgotten.
I am a graduate of The University of Toledo, with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. My post-university career spanned 31 years; the first 15 years devoted to psychiatric and vocational rehabilitation counseling, followed by 16 years at The University of Toledo. During my last nine years at the University, I created and led The Division of Organization Development. My division helped businesses improve their performance. We generated consulting opportunities for faculty and earned considerable revenue for the University.
My biography appears in the Marquis Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Education. I continue to live in Ohio with my wife, who is a retired special education teacher. We have two adult children.
MA: So what brought you to writing fiction?
CW: I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. As a child, I wrote short stories and even some poetry. After college, my focus turned to family and career. Writing was pushed away for a while. Yet, the interest never departed and I was happy to return to it in earnest in retirement.
I had to retire at age 51 due to disability. Since I retired at a fairly young age, I decided that I should remain as mentally productive as possible. I decided to pursue writing. I had already been published for non-fiction in 1986, for a textbook called Job Seeking Skills for Students (Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company). After my University career, I turned to fiction. Three years later, my Holocaust novel, Jacob’s Courage, (Mazo Publishers), was published.
I made no conscious decision to write novels. Perhaps, as Mozart once described for his composition, the words were already within me. With Jacob’s Courage, I sometimes felt as though I was taking dictation.
I had known as a young adult that members of my maternal extended family were Holocaust victims. Only after I retired did those thoughts rise to the surface in a way that I could harness. I could not tell the story of my lost ancestors in any other format than a novel. No member of my current family knew enough about our lost relatives to write a memoir or a non-fictional account. No amount of research could produce an explanation for their disappearance into the darkness of Nazi-occupied Russia. Like millions of other innocent Europeans, they disappeared, without a trace. Perhaps they were shot and bulldozed into a trench, as at Babi-Yar, or maybe they were gassed in a death camp, such as Auschwitz, or possibly they perished from starvation, forced labor or the ubiquitous disease that existed in Nazi concentration camps. So, it was to be a fictional account.
I committed myself to creating a story of young lovers who became trapped within the horror and brutality of the Holocaust, as I imagined happened to countless young Jews, although not necessarily my ancestors. My hope was also that this story would be inspirational, perhaps as holocaust education for young people. Nowhere else today is it more important to teach about the Holocaust than with our children and grandchildren. A novel is a good choice for Holocaust education. Rather than dry historical accounts that go in one ear and out the other, a coming-of-age love story can engage youthful minds in a way that non-fiction does not. In the words of writer and philosopher George Santayana, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
I was also able to ground portions of the novel in fact, based upon my 100-year-old mother’s memories. As a child in Russia, she witnessed the brutality and terror of pogroms against her Jewish relatives. And, while these experiences occurred before the Holocaust, they provided significant grounding for important character development. She will soon be 101 years old, yet she can recall with perfect clarity the terror of Russian anti-Semitism.
MA: Please tell my readers about Jacob’s Courage.
CW: Jacob’s Courage chronicles the dazzling beauty of passionate love and enduring bravery in a lurid world where the innocent are brutally murdered. This is a tender coming of age story of two young adults living in Salzburg at the time when the Nazi war machine enters Austria. The historical novel presents scenes and situations of Jews in ghettos and concentration camps, with particular attention to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Follow lovers Jacob and Rachael from their comfortable Salzburg homes to a decrepit ghetto, from there to a prison camp where they became man and wife. Revel in their excitement as they escape and join the local partisans, fighting their Nazi tormentors. Finally ride the crowded, fetid train to the terror of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Stung by the death of loved-ones, enslaved and starved, they have nothing to count on but faith, love and courage. From desperate despair, to unforgettable moments of chaste beauty, Jacob’s Courage examines a constellation of emotions during a time of incomprehensible brutality.
MA: How did you develop your protagonists’ characters…I understand you have two?
CW: The primary protagonist is Jacob, a 17-year old Austrian. He’s a very normal young man, eyeing the transition from secondary school to university. Jacob has some of my unique character weaknesses. It was important that my protagonists appear as normal young people, just like anyone else. The secondary protagonist is Jacob’s true love Rachael. Rachael is everything a young man would want; she is beautiful, bright, charming, deeply in love and fiercely loyal. Together, the young lovers are confronted with the most horrifying experience imaginable. To survive, they have only themselves to count on. They were not heroic individuals until they reached the precipice of destruction. I imagine that each of us wishes that we would become heroic under such circumstances.
MA: What are their strengths and weaknesses?
CW: Jacob Silverman is a very normal 17-year old. His thoughts focus upon three things: attending university, becoming a physician and, most of all, his precious love Rachael Goldberg. The young lovers had everything to look forward to, until Germany invaded Austria.
One night, in a terrifying nightmare, more real than life itself, Jacob finds himself older, emaciated and weak, in a large brick building with a roaring fire. He soon realizes that men wearing striped pajamas are burning the bodies of dead naked women and girls. Jacob awoke with acrid smoke in his lungs and a premonition that he would play a role in saving his people, who had been almost completely destroyed.
Sleeping inside of this normal boy was a future leader of men in combat. Yet, to reach that critical point in his life, Jacob would face starvation, sickness, brutality, forced labor and the death of his loved ones. He would need to find uncommon strength of body and spirit; and he would require good fortune, including the ability to play virtuoso violin.
MA: I imagine that with your subject matter, you had plenty of possible antagonists to develop.
CW: With Nazi Germany, it’s not difficult to create a credible antagonist. I created one particularly vicious antagonist, a commandant at Theresienstadt called Strobel. In that concentration camp, Strobel gained complete control over Rachael. This evil man followed her around the camp and made it his business to know everything about her. The result was very ugly.
In reality, the typical Holocaust survivor resided in several different ghettos and camps. Incarcerated Jews (and tens of thousands of others) became a source of free slave labor for The German Armed forces and for German industrialists. They were moved from place to place, as their slave labor could best assist the Third Reich. In addition, concentration camp commandants were often transferred. So, it would have been unusual for the typical prisoner and commandant to have been together very long. But, there were certainly many colorful commandants, guards and kapos at each camp.
MA: Did any of your family’s real-life experiences factor in to the plot at all?
CW: Certainly my fears and desires as a teenager became part of Jacob’s personality. He was brighter than me and far better behaved. Yet, I felt comfortable with his character development. I was far more worried about developing Rachael’s character. It’s a challenge writing a major character about someone of a different gender. Nevertheless, I believe that teenagers, especially young lovers, have some very common personality characteristics. My challenge was more in portraying how those characters changed and developed when faced with the most terrifying experiences imaginable. Holocaust survivors were not the same people that they were when the Holocaust began. No human could absorb the unrelenting daily terror, the death and murder of loved ones, the physical abuse, brutal forced labor and years of starvation and sickness, without it changing their personality. The lucky ones remained sane – and even that is arguable. My characters also had to change, yet without losing the better parts of their psyche. Without passionate love, they likely could not have managed it.
MA: So, what’s in your future writing plans?
CW: I recently completed a children’s book and I’m almost done with a science fiction novel. I’m thinking about writing another Holocaust book, or possibly a sequel to Jacob’s Courage. One thing I will try to avoid in the future is a book as long as Jacob’s Courage. At 524 pages, it was a serious investment in time. Yet, I could not have covered the final seven years of the Holocaust with less material. In fact, at my publisher’s urging, I removed some parts of the manuscript. My science fiction novel will come in at about 200 pages, a much more rapid commitment to reading. Whichever way I turn, I will always be writing something.
MA: You sound like you keep very busy with your writing! Will we see Jacob or Rachael again in a follow-on to Jacob’s Courage?
CW: Because Jacob and Rachael became heroic figures in my Holocaust novel, there is a natural pilot for a sequel. And, because they had to wait a long time in a displaced persons camp, there would be an increased likelihood that they would have immigrated to the Holy Land. They also had simultaneous dreams about being in a place that they later learned was Palestine. With Jacob’s leadership and combat experience, he would be a natural for an officer position in Israel’s nascent armed forces. Rachael would also have a natural role to play in the start of the Jewish nation. So, stay tuned.
MA: I will! Is there anything else you would like to add?
CW: Writing is a talent. Some people are born writers. The rest of us envy them. Still, writing is a skill that can be cultivated. If you think that you might have the ability to be a successful writer, maybe you do. Take writing courses at your local college or university. Participate in continuing education courses. Read books about how to develop your writing skills and take on-line courses. While it’s true that the vast majority of us will never become a renowned author, it feels pretty good to cash a royalty check. It could happen for you. Never give up!
And for those of you who could care less about earning money from it, just enjoy! It feels great to create stories about unknown people in unforeseen circumstances. Whether anyone reads it or not, it will always be your unique creation. For us, writing is not a matter of dollars and sense. It’s a matter of love.
MA: Thanks, Charles. I encourage all my readers to visit Charles’s blog: Jacob’s Courage Read More | <urn:uuid:3c9e4812-cd32-415b-9abc-d364840136e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://childfinder.us/tag/clarity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974916 | 2,720 | 1.75 | 2 |
Ivy Tech is the latest state school to propose tuition increases for next year. The local campus joins IPFW, as well as Purdue and Indiana universities, with a near 5 percent increase.
Ivy Tech Community College students will see per-credit-hour rates go from $95 to $99.65 for the 2009/10 school year if the proposal passes. The rates would increase again for the 2010/11 school year to $104.55. The cost for full-time students taking 15 credit hours will increase by $79.75 per semester in 2009/10 and by $83.50 per semester in 2010/11, according to a news release.
“This isn't something we go into lightly,” said local campus spokesman Ed Reed. “We recognize that it's a tough time for everyone.”
The new tuition rates as well as a $10 per year increase in fees will be enacted at all Ivy Tech campuses across the state if the proposal passes a public hearing on July 16.
The money will be used to serve more students, hire more full-time faculty, add financial aid and student services staff, pay for higher utilities and maintenance costs, pay costs of opening new facilities, increase financial aid and pay for information technology, the release said.
Reed said the increase is a result of the state budget which passed at the end of June. He said even though Ivy Tech came out better than some other institutions it still wasn't enough to avoid a tuition increase. “We wouldn't have done this if we didn't have to,” he said.
Purdue University announced last week that all of its campuses, including IPFW, would see a 5 and 6 percent increase, depending on whether the student was an in-state resident, because of a projected $21 million funding reduction over two years. A public hearing will be held on it Monday.
Indiana University announced Monday that its campuses would also see a 4.6 percent for in-state undergraduate tuition and fee increases this year and 4.8 percent next year at IU Bloomington and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
At IU's five regional campuses, in-state undergraduate tuition would go up 4.4 and 4.6 percent, respectively, in the next two years, according to a release. This is a result of cut in state funding. A public hearing will be held on this July 16. | <urn:uuid:f40904c9-e589-4c2e-b3b8-d917a2b57d21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090707/NEWS/907070338 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970312 | 495 | 1.6875 | 2 |
[wingide-users] Execute with Output to an Editor Window
support at wingware.com
Tue Jan 9 12:08:33 MST 2007
On Tue, 9 Jan 2007, Michael Foord wrote:
> > The editor doesn't have any facility for hot spots now and there
> > isn't any point<->text position conversion in the API now so
> > you'ld be stuck going through the API to call GTK and Scintilla
> > calls to get the point and convert it to position, etc. If you
> > have access to the Wing sources, there is related code in the
> > src/edit/editor.py file (search for _from_point and point_).
> That *sounds* a bit brittle to me (subject to API changes).
Yes, reaching into the sources means you don't get any
guarantees, although much of this is unlikely to change.
> I was browsing through the sources and couldn't *easily* work out which
> classes these objects were. Thinking about it now, accessing the
> '__class__' and '__module__' attributes of the objects would have been a
> good idea.
Everything is in bin/wingapi.py in your Wing installation (the
source of this file is included w/ the regular install).
Sounds like we need to make that clearer as well...
More information about the wingide-users | <urn:uuid:53e167d6-0143-40ac-bd67-f545eba5afd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wingware.com/pipermail/wingide-users/2007-January/004011.html | 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 | 0.933063 | 308 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Posted by Evan Trowbridge 35 weeks 6 days ago
Aaron Weiss reached his arm into his backpack, which was laid atop a swath of Sharpie graffiti tattooed on our table.Ever since he walked on the stage earlier that night, I was imagining what was in that backpack, which bulged enough that the zipper didn’t close all the way. The bar we were in was dark and loud. It was 1:00 am. Most of the folks who had come to see mewithoutYou had already left for the night “You’ll get a kick out of this,” he said.He pulled out a hymn book much wider than it was tall. “The Sacred Harp” was written across its brown cover in foil-stamped lettering. Weiss began to explain Sacred Harp singing to me, but he couldn’t go into too much detail; it was getting late, and there were a group of men waiting to donate veggie oil to the band — they use it to fuel their tour bus.Sacred Harp music, I learned later, is sung a cappella with four sections — tenor, alto, treble and bass — forming the boarders of a square. But the singers don’t face out to an audience; they are turned toward the center of the square. The very center, where only one person stands, is the focal point. As our conversation began to drift to the subjects of performance and fame, it seemed fitting for Weiss to be carrying this book.
Posted by Evan Trowbridge 1 year 37 weeks ago
[Editors' note: This post is part of a series over the last few weeks on youth homelessness. In the September/October issue of Sojourners magazine, the Ali Forney Center and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) ran an ad to raise awareness of the serious problem of LGBT youth homelessness.] Fact 1) About 40 percent of the homeless youth in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Fact 2) One in four teens rejected by their families becomes homeless. Fact 3) Parents who identify as strongly religious are three times more likely to reject their children. Yet for Carl Siciliano, founder and president of the Ali Forney Center, these aren't just facts -- they are his daily life.
Posted by Evan Trowbridge 2 years 5 weeks ago
Posted by Evan Trowbridge 2 years 8 weeks ago
Posted by Evan Trowbridge 2 years 25 weeks ago | <urn:uuid:488a145f-9167-4d16-a8f9-439d100638e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sojo.net/biography/8708/blog | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981529 | 525 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Affinity Group
The Cardiovascular Center has initiated AFFINITY GROUPS to stimulate and foster greater interaction and collaborations between CVC investigators and other investigators from MCW departments and outside institutions, such as Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and the University of Georgia.
The members of this group are Dave Mattson, PhD, Frank Park, PhD, Kevin Regner, PhD, Rajasree Sreedharan, MD, and Scott Van Why, MD.
The common themes explored by work in the laboratories of members of this group are centered upon the physiological and pathophysiological consequences of renal ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury. Renal I/R injury is a commonly employed model of acute kidney injury (AKI), also known as acute renal failure. AKI is a serious disease with grave consequences; the mortality rate of patients with AKI is approximately 50%. AKI is characterized by a rapid decline in the filtration function of the kidney that is accompanied by the retention of waste products. The impairment in function in AKI can be caused by a number of different factors and occurs in a significant fraction of patients in the Intensive Care Unit. In addition to the clinical relevance of studies that examine renal I/R injury to acute kidney injury, experimental renal I/R injury is also an important model that is used to assess the conditions that occur in patients receiving a kidney transplant. Depending upon the donor, transplanted kidneys are not perfused with blood for a variable amount of time prior to transplantation. Because AKI has such serious effects in patients, and all transplanted kidneys experience renal I/R injury to some extent, the clinical relevance and translational importance of this type of research to human health is extremely high.
Members of the Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion group are examining a multitude of mechanisms that mediate injury in the short-term and in the long-term. A number of members of the group are focusing their scientific efforts upon the acute changes in different factors that lead to cell death or alterations in cellular function in the first minutes to hours after injury. The major focus of this work is to understand what biochemical or cellular signals are activated in the kidney following injury that leads to alterations in blood flow and the development of tissue damage. The ultimate goal of this type of research is to develop strategies that can be used to decrease the impairment in renal function and reduce the mortality associated with AKI.
Other work by members of this affinity group is focused upon the long-term (days to months to years) consequences of AKI due to I/R injury. It has been and is still largely believed that individuals who survive AKI spontaneously recover full kidney function. Studies by members of this group, and by colleagues throughout the world, have demonstrated that there are long-term deleterious effects in individuals who have recovered from AKI. The more extreme, long-term consequences include chronic kidney disease and hypertension. The goal of research into the long-term effects of renal I/R injury is to develop methodologies to prevent these chronic diseases that significantly reduce life expectancy and the quality of life.
Cardiovascular Annual Report 2010
Contact the CVC for additional information | <urn:uuid:8c7e35bc-9777-47a7-80d5-863d09ccd075> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcw.edu/cvc/CVCAnnualReport2010/Renalischemiareperfusion.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946123 | 669 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The budget Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber unveiled Friday morning aims to increase investment in education and core infrastructure projects, in part by targeting cost savings in PERS compensation, health care and public safety.
A budget message released by the Governor's office Thursday night reveals a proposed $8 billion dollars for education in the 2013-15 budget biennium.
That includes reinvestment in K-12 education, and further efforts to more fully integrate early learning, K-12, and post-secondary education and career training.
It will also seek to fund more than $1 billion dollars in core infrastructure projects, such as transportation improvements, seismic upgrades and funding the Interstate 5 bridge replacement.
Governor Kitzhaber said his recommended budget is guided by one premise - "that all Oregonians deserve their shot at the American dream."
To make those improvements happen, the governor said his budget will find $865 million in PERS savings by adjusting out-of-state benefits and capping cost-of-living increases.
Additionally, Gov. Kitzhaber said health care reforms will save the state $11 billion over the next decade, while public safety reform proposals will save $600 million.
Governor Kitzhaber held a press conference Friday morning at 10am releasing his full budget. | <urn:uuid:ce533f6b-2527-4c27-b32c-3277b4f20d7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kgw.com/news/politics/Gov-Kitzhabers-budget-targets-improvements-in-education-181490081.html?ref=prev | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953801 | 265 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Local Jobs in Central NY
Infrastructure Spending Fuels Firm Demand for Civil Engineers
The demand for professionals in numerous occupations may have slowed this year, but not in civil engineering.
"Over the past several years, the demand for civil engineers at all levels has been very high," said Larry Roth, chief operating officer of The American Society of Civil Engineers(ASCE), headquartered in Reston, Va.
"It's been a high growth market for awhile and we don't see it slowing down," confirmed John O'Holleran, a Chicago area vice president of HNTB, a Kansas City-headquartered civil engineering firm whose 60 U.S. locations include offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, and Hartford, Conn.
What's fueling the demand?
"The growing investment in infrastructure at all levels of government has been a key factor," said Roth. "TEA21, the Transportation Equity Act passed by Congress in 1998, allotted $218 billion over six years for spending on the nation's roads and highways, on mass transit and on other forms of transportation. Under AIR 21, a bill aimed at Air Transport, $60 billion was allotted over a five-year period for spending on runways and airport infrastructure. Prior to September 11th, we also saw that the current Congress was focusing on infrastructure. We expect civil engineering to be fairly recession resistant because there seems to be an appetite on the part of government to fund infrastructure development and renovation."
According to Roth, "The events of September 11th put an exclamation point on that interest. Many agencies are now looking at infrastructure vulnerability both from manmade and natural disasters. There's even a new bill pending in Congress that would provide $10 billion for infrastructure security, with another $29 billion earmarked for new infrastructure and renovation of existing infrastructure."
All these projects call on the expertise of civil engineers. The fact that they've come to fruition at a time when the number of new civil engineering graduates has been declining has intensified the demand for new civil engineering graduates. Noting that there's been about a 20 percent decline in civil engineering bachelor degrees since 1996, Roth said, "Spring 2001 civil engineering graduates did very well. They typically got multiple job offers and saw salary increases of about 9 percent from the previous year."
Roth said it's a bit early to predict the demand for next spring's civil engineering graduates but Dr. Jiann-Wen(Woody) Ju, professor and chairman of the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), predicts demand will remain strong.
"The industry need far exceeds our production of new graduates at the bachelor, master, and PhD levels," said Ju.
Roth urges high school students and college freshman possessing a strong aptitude for math and science and a desire to contribute to society to consider a career in civil engineering.
"It's a very rewarding career," said Roth. "Civil engineers are involved in highway design and bridge design, in the design of our port facilities and coasts, our dams and flood control structures. Civil engineers are also responsible for getting clear water to people to use. They're responsible for collecting, treating, and safely disposing of wastewater, too. We deal with everything people interact with --- everything from the water people drink to the buildings they work in and the roads they drive on. This is a career that offers those interested in the environment, as well as any aspect of our built world, the opportunity to make a contribution."
The profession has become even more critical to the security and safety of this country's citizens since September 11th.
"Following the collapse of the World Trade Center, one of our [ASCE] members from New Jersey went to the site and sensed an immediate need for aerial photography," noted Roth. "The destruction was so massive, it was hard for rescuers on the ground to tell where they were relative to the original structures. However, by superimposing computer-aided drawings of the building over the aerial photographs of the WTC rubble our colleague arranged to have taken, rescuers were able to identify where the stairwells and core of the building had been. That information helped identify where there might have been survivors and also lessened danger for those working on the site."
"The terrorist attack highlighted the need to increase the structural safety of new and existing buildings, bridges, dams, and nuclear power plants. It also highlighted the need for fireproofing engineering, which involves retrofitting structures to improve their ability to resist high temperatures due to the impact of a bomb or airplane crash," said Ju.
For more information civil engineering careers and educational requirements, visit www.asce.org, ASCE's Web site.
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• The cell phone button links to our mobile service page | <urn:uuid:59f47805-6faa-45cc-abda-1c4dcd82326e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.syracuse.com/careerwise/index.ssf?/careerwise/html/articles/archive/civilengineers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946843 | 1,267 | 1.59375 | 2 |
This wiring nightmare lets [H. Smeitink] map all the buttons from an Xbox 360 controller to his PC. It gives him the ability to push control input from his PC to the console. But it goes a step further than that because it actually acts as a pass-through device. He connected a wired controller to the computer and uses a program he wrote to translate those inputs and send them to the hacked controller.
The software is written in C#. It’s got a recording function that lets him save the keypress data from the wired controller while it’s sent to the Xbox in real time. When he finds a combination that he uses frequently he plucks out those commands, sets them up as a macro, and assigns one of the buttons to execute it. The controller hack uses one transistor for each button, and a PIC 18F4550 which controls them and provides USB connectivity with the PC.
This isn’t one nice package like some integrated rapid-fire and macro solutions we’ve seen. But it certainly opens up a lot more possibilities. See for yourself in the clip after the break. | <urn:uuid:68ba47b8-60b8-44ea-ab1b-f98d572dd9d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hackaday.com/2012/04/20/computer-control-for-your-xbox-controller/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=8ac41143de | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947268 | 234 | 1.664063 | 2 |
1. All the chapters are here.
2. Want to go straight to quizlets? Go here.
3. When you're ready for a practice exam, go here. And remember to hit the restroom before you start.
4. Flashcards: "blah blah blah"
5. Tired of flashcards? Really? Well here's a list of all the words
Ok, if you need to go through this quick and dirty introduction again. You know where to find me.
Please silence your phones. We hope you enjoy the show.
Bubbie sat in what felt like the front seat of the Space Shuttle. Everywhere around her was a dazzle of lights and bells and yelling. She kept wondering if this wasn’t Disneyland for Wall Street people. The only bad part of her morning here was that her nose would not stop running and she blew it like it was a circus trumpet. She had asked her Sauce Company co-founder and grandson Bertie to join her today. He was finally emerging from his depression from having lost this sauce company to b...
Looking for more? Why is this annoying box in the way? It's because you haven't paid for the course yet! | <urn:uuid:eba7bc5a-c5ff-455d-af6c-45cfa2863a69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shmoop.com/series-63-exam-prep/meeting-three-checking-with-marx-silverslacks-trading-floor.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977372 | 248 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The Fordham Environmental Law Review is a student-edited journal focusing on a broad range of domestic and international environmental issues ranging from the regulation of air, water, and soil pollution to social policy issues such as corporate responsibility and environmental racism. Each year, the Review publishes several books concerning the unique issues and problems posed by environmental jurisprudence. The Review also hosts an annual Symposium each spring that draws leading scholars, lawmakers, and regulatory officials in the environmental law field.
ELR Volume 23 Editorial Board & Staff
ELR Volume 22 Editorial Board & Staff | <urn:uuid:e952af88-3e12-4bff-8849-006870edb9bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.law.fordham.edu/fordham-environmental-law-review/elr.htm | 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 | 0.933816 | 113 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Art-ful Eggs: Batiked, Wooden & Collage
By Victoria Worth, for Hilltown Families
This past Saturday morning at The Children’s Art Museum (CAM) in Shelburne Falls, my family joined several hilltown families to decorate eggs in celebration of Spring & Easter. CAM offered several ways to create and decorate, creating a festive and rich atmosphere to explore art with my daughter.
One method we were shown was batik egg art, using wax to draw patterns and words, then dipping into colors for a reverse affect. On wooden eggs we used stickers to decorate, an easier project for the very young kids. But my favorite was placing strips of colored tissue paper around an egg, creating a blended collage look.
There were so many different ways to make beautiful designs on the eggs. We were so thrilled to carry them all home and display them on the table. The Children’s Art Museum is a gem we have here in the hilltowns. We’re looking forward to more adventures at CAM!
The purpose of the Children’s Art Museum is to make art available to children through a unique community gallery and learning space. CAM is committed to using an “earthday everyday” approach, fostering ecological awareness by creating art from nature-based and recycled materials. All children are welcomed. www.thechildrensartmuseum.org About the author
Victoria Worth is a board member of the Ashfield Community Preschool and organizer of many fundraisers and community events in the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. She lives in Ashfield with her family in a beautifully restored New England farmhouse. | <urn:uuid:5b807211-507c-49f2-a47f-57e32a3eb9e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hilltownfamilies.wordpress.com/2007/04/09/040907cam/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957142 | 339 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Not sure whether his work will suitably entertain? Let me answer that question with an excerpt from Fish’s web site bio written by Aesop Rock...
“I would like to think that somewhere between full-blown, howling death and a basket of newborn kittens exists a climate where the malice and the mirth can mingle. A couple of daisies on your grave, a little venom in your cocoa, some broken glass in your bouncy castle. This type of polar mixer can serve as an intriguing, endlessly entertaining, true-to-life foundation from which a smidgen of lore can grow. Exaggerate the extremes even a little, and the stories, characters, and places that emerge warp accordingly. It is the recognition and exploitation of this tension that immediately drew me to the work of upstate New York-born, San Francisco-based artist Jeremy Fish.”
I imagine that Fish, otherwise known as “The King of North Beach,” was born in a lab by some marvel of science in which the ancient powers of Albrecht Durer were morphed with the dual artistic antics of Seymour Chwast and Milton Glaser in a sealed atmosphere filled with vintage air from the hazed San Francisco streets during the 1960s Psychedelic Art Movement. Somewhere in the process, a small 13 year-old skateboarding doodler was lost in the mix but to the benefit of the overall outcome.
The outcome is as thus follows:
THE LAST DUEL ACRYLIC ON WOOD / 2008
THE ROBIN HOOD OF EL DORADO ACRYLIC ON WOOD / 2008
ps- wanna know who the Robin of El Dorado is? Here's his headless history!
View of the Laguna Art Museum Exhibition, courtesy of the Laguna Art museum Flickr Site...
Another art installation by Fish, courtesy of the Laguna Art museum Flickr Site...
Fish’s work is on display at Laguna Art Museum for only a few days more! The exhibit ends after the 17th of January. And now for the final enticement for your attendance:
Jeremy Fish Opening Night Reception from LagunaArtMuseum on Vimeo.
Fish created a limited edition print exclusively for Laguna Art Museum. Available for sale in the Museum Store now through January 17, 2010. (Not available online)
here. Prepare yourself for greatness.
On my iPod: "Somebody to Love" by Queen | <urn:uuid:073761ea-9309-44cb-ac76-08cffed07ee4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theocgazette.blogspot.com/2010/01/somewhere-between-full-blown-howling.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938727 | 510 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Justin Bieber said the darnest thing in the August issue of Rolling Stone. Unfortunately, Bill Cosby wasn't around to make the audience laugh along. In an interview, Bieber is quoted as saying that his (self-claimed) aboriginal heritage entitles him to free gas in Canada.
"I'm actually part Indian. I think Inuit or something?" the 18-year old Stratford, Ontario native said. "I'm enough per cent that in Canada I can get free gas."
His comments hit a nerve with many Canadians, including the The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, an organization representing aboriginal people in Canada.
His claim that "Aboriginal people are entitled to free gas is simply not true," said the Congress' national chief Betty Ann Lavallée in a statement.
"These kinds of remarks are another example of what Aboriginal Peoples in Canada struggle with every day," she said. "It promotes the misconception that we are somehow getting a free ride. This simply is not the case and we are concerned that many people may believe what he said."
Lavallée said she would be pleased to offer the Canadian pop star help find out more about his heritage if he wished.
Congress National Vice-Chief Dwight Dorey added that their reprimand was not meant to malign Bieber.
"Given that Mr. Bieber is still a young man, and unaware of the facts here, I personally don’t think he should be beat up over this comment," Dorey stated. "We don’t think he was trying to be malicious, or making a joke of Aboriginal issues.” | <urn:uuid:28bd3e88-5629-414d-8e79-f56d501d4fca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vancouverobserver.com/print/node/12430 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976516 | 330 | 1.617188 | 2 |
With this post I very much realize that I am boxing FAR above my weight class. I mean, who am I really to tell an esteemed Harvard History Professor that he is unfortunately full of shit? After all, I'm just a lonely blogger sitting on the couch in my basement shaking my fist in impotent anger at all of the injustice in the world. Hell, I only minored in history, and I've never earned a sheepskin more prestigious than a BA. So what do I know?
Okay, enough disclaimers, lets get started. The aforementioned esteemed Professor Ferguson wrote a recent essay entitled, "Western Civilisation: Decline – or Fall?" Sounds like it would be right up my alley, doesn't it? Well, here is how it starts off:
As a freshman historian at Oxford back in 1982, I was required to read Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ever since that first encounter with the greatest of all historians, I have pondered the question whether or not the modern West could succumb to degenerative tendencies similar to the ones described so vividly by Gibbon. My most recent book, Civilization: The West and the Rest attempts an answer to that question.Right off the bat, Ferguson shows that despite having studied history his whole career, he really has very little understanding of it. I'm sorry, but I just don't see how someone with a lick of common sense can possibly believe that absent a cataclysmic natural (or in the case of the Incas, man made) disaster, societies do not rot from within for many years before some momentous event finally pushes them over the brink and into a rapid collapse.
The good news is that I do not believe that Western civilization is in some kind of gradual, inexorable decline. In my view, civilizations do not rise, fall, and then gently decline, as inevitably and predictably as the four seasons or the seven ages of man. History is not one smooth, parabolic curve after another. The bad news is that its shape is more like an exponentially steepening slope that quite suddenly drops off like a cliff.
To see what I mean, pay a visit to Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. In 1530 the Incas were the masters of all they surveyed from the heights of the Peruvian Andes. Within less than a decade, foreign invaders with horses, gunpowder, and lethal diseases had smashed their empire to smithereens. Today tourists gawp at the ruins that remain.
The notion that civilizations do not decline but collapse inspired the anthropologist Jared Diamond's 2005 book, Collapse. But Diamond focused, fashionably, on man-made environmental disasters as the causes of collapse. As a historian, I take a broader view. My point is that when you look back on the history of past civilizations, a striking feature is the speed with which most of them collapsed, regardless of the cause.
The Roman Empire did not decline and fall over a millennium, as Gibbon's monumental work seemed to suggest. It collapsed within a few decades in the early fifth century, tipped over the edge of chaos by barbarian invaders and internal divisions. In the space of a generation, the vast imperial metropolis of Rome fell into disrepair, the aqueducts broken, the splendid marketplaces deserted. The Ming dynasty's rule in China also fell apart with extraordinary speed in the mid–17th century, succumbing to internal strife and external invasion. Again, the transition from equipoise to anarchy took little more than a decade.
A more recent and familiar example of precipitous decline is, of course, the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, if you still doubt that collapse comes suddenly, just think of how the postcolonial dictatorships of North Africa and the Middle East imploded this year. Twelve months ago, Messrs. Ben Ali, Mubarak, and Gaddafi seemed secure in their gaudy palaces. Here yesterday, gone today.
What all these collapsed powers have in common is that the complex social systems that underpinned them suddenly ceased to function. One minute rulers had legitimacy in the eyes of their people; the next they did not. This process is a familiar one to students of financial markets. Even as I write, it is far from clear that the European Monetary Union can be salvaged from the dramatic collapse of confidence in the fiscal policies of its peripheral member states. In the realm of power, as in the domain of the bond vigilantes, you are fine until you are not fine—and when you're not fine, you are suddenly in a terrifying death spiral.
Take Rome, for example, since Ferguson does. It expanded over many centuries from a mere city-state to an colossal empire spanning from the British Isles to Mesopotamia. Around the time of Emperor Hadrian in the first half of the second century A.D., the Romans came to realize that they had reached a point of diminishing returns where conquering new territory would not result in an expanded resource base sufficient to pay the price of conquest. At that point, Hadrian's Walls were built, effectively marking the end of Roman expansion. Not coincidentally, less than half a century later after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the quality of Roman leadership began an inexorable decline. As the far more lucid historian, Adrian Goldsworthy, points out in his excellent book, How Rome Fell, from early in the third century onward Rome was plagued by a never ending series of civil wars, and more Roman soldiers were actually killed by other Roman soldiers during this tumultuous period than by all of the Empire's foreign enemies combined.
Or take the example of the Soviet Union. The senior Soviet leadership was well aware, even if it would never have publicly admitted it, that their empire's economy was utterly failing and had been for a long time. Mikhail Gorbachev was allowed by his senior comrades to enact Peristroika in a desperate attempt to save the system. The ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union only appeared sudden to clueless westerners like Ferguson who completely misread the obvious warning signs.
And as for Mubarak, Ghadaffi and Ben Ali, it could not be more apparent in hindsight that their regimes had ossified during their many years in power. I seriously doubt that any one of those three could have been toppled so easily 15 or 20 years ago. It takes many years of a dictator abusing a population to create a condition ripe for revolt. In the cases of Tunisia and Egypt, at least, those who rose against the leadership were aided and abetted by rapidly rising food and energy prices, which had fueled great popular resentment against two utterly corrupt regimes.
Moving on, here is what Ferguson has to say about how the West achieved its global dominance:
The West first surged ahead of the Rest after about 1500 thanks to a series of institutional innovations that (to entice younger readers) I call the "killer applications":Here I won't quibble, as these assertions are very similar to what Historian Paul Kennedy wrote in his classic work, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, a generation ago.
1.Competition. Europe was politically fragmented into multiple monarchies and republics, which were in turn internally divided into competing corporate entities, among them the ancestors of modern business corporations.
2.The Scientific Revolution. All the major 17th-century breakthroughs in mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology happened in Western Europe.
3.The Rule of Law and Representative Government. An optimal system of social and political order emerged in the English-speaking world, based on private-property rights and the representation of property owners in elected legislatures.
4.Modern Medicine. Nearly all the major 19th- and 20th-century breakthroughs in health care were made by Western Europeans and North Americans.
5.The Consumer Society. The Industrial Revolution took place where there was both a supply of productivity-enhancing technologies and a demand for more, better, and cheaper goods, beginning with cotton garments.
6.The Work Ethic. Westerners were the first people in the world to combine more extensive and intensive labor with higher savings rates, permitting sustained capital accumulation.
For hundreds of years, these killer apps were essentially monopolized by Europeans and their cousins who settled in North America and Australasia. They are the best explanation for what economic historians call "the great divergence": the astonishing gap that arose between Western standards of living and those in the rest of the world. In 1500 the average Chinese was richer than the average North American. By the late 1970s the American was more than 20 times richer than the Chinese.
Westerners not only grew richer than "Resterners." They grew taller, healthier, and longer-lived. They also grew more powerful. By the early 20th century, just a dozen Western empires—including the United States—controlled 58 percent of the world's land surface and population, and a staggering 74 percent of the global economy.
It is in this passage where Ferguson really misses the boat:
Beginning with Japan, however, one non-Western society after another has worked out that these apps can be downloaded and installed in non-Western operating systems. That explains about half the catching up that we have witnessed in our lifetimes, especially since the onset of economic reforms in China in 1978.Notice what is missing in that analysis? Any acknowledgment whatsoever that declining resources are the root cause of the predicament in which America finds itself. Everything above that Ferguson names as "viruses that have crept into our system," are not the CAUSES of America's decline, but are in fact SYMPTOMS of that decline. Confusing cause and effect is a basic intellectual fallacy, and I'm sure Professor Ferguson would brusquely call out any student who ever dared to employ such faulty logic in one of his classes.
I am not one of those people filled with angst at the thought of a world in which the average American is no longer vastly richer than the average Chinese. I welcome the escape of hundreds of millions of Asians from poverty, not to mention the improvements we are seeing in South America and parts of Africa. But there is a second, more insidious cause of the "great reconvergence," which I do deplore—and that is the tendency of Western societies to delete their own killer apps.
Who's got the work ethic now? The average South Korean works about 39 percent more hours per week than the average American. The school year in South Korea is 220 days long, compared with 180 days in the U.S. And you do not have to spend too long at any major U.S. university to know which students really drive themselves: the Asians and Asian-Americans. The consumer society? 26 of the 30 biggest shopping malls in the world are now in emerging markets, mostly in Asia. Modern medicine? As a share of gross domestic product, the United States spends twice what Japan spends on health care and more than three times what China spends. Yet life expectancy in the U.S. has risen from 70 to 78 in the past 50 years, compared with leaps from 68 to 83 in Japan and from 43 to 73 in China.
The rule of law? For a real eye-opener, take a look at the latest World Economic Forum (WEF) Executive Opinion Survey. On no fewer than 15 of 16 different issues relating to property rights and governance, the United States fares worse than Hong Kong. Indeed, the U.S. makes the global top 20 in only one area: investor protection. On every other count, its reputation is shockingly bad. The U.S. ranks 86th in the world for the costs imposed on business by organized crime, 50th for public trust in the ethics of politicians, 42nd for various forms of bribery, and 40th for standards of auditing and financial reporting.
What about science? U.S.-based scientists continue to walk off with plenty of Nobel Prizes each year. But Nobel winners are old men. The future belongs not to them but to today's teenagers. Here is another striking statistic. Every three years the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development's Program for International Student Assessment tests the educational attainment of 15-year-olds around the world. The latest data on "mathematical literacy" reveal that the gap between the world leaders—the students of Shanghai and Singapore—and their American counterparts is now as big as the gap between U.S. kids and teenagers in Albania and Tunisia.
The late, lamented Steve Jobs convinced Americans that the future would be "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China." Yet statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization show that already more patents originate in Japan than in the U.S., that South Korea overtook Germany to take third place in 2005, and that China has just overtaken Germany too.
Finally, there's competition, the original killer app that sent the fragmented West down a completely different path from monolithic imperial China. The WEF has conducted a comprehensive Global Competitiveness survey every year since 1979. Since the current methodology was adopted in 2004, the United States' average competitiveness score has fallen from 5.82 to 5.43, one of the steepest declines among developed economies. China's score, meanwhile, has leapt up from 4.29 to 4.90.
Not only is the U.S. less competitive abroad. Perhaps more disturbing is the decline of meaningful competition at home, as the social mobility of the postwar era has given way to an extraordinary social polarization. You do not have to be an Occupy Wall Street activist to believe that the American super-rich elite—the 1 percent that collects 20 percent of the income—has become dangerously divorced from the rest of society, especially from the underclass at the bottom of the income distribution.
But if we are headed toward collapse, what will it look like? An upsurge in civil unrest and crime, as happened in the 1970s? A loss of faith on the part of investors and a sudden Greek-style leap in government borrowing costs? How about a spike of violence in the Middle East, from Iraq to Afghanistan, as insurgents capitalize on our troop withdrawals? Or a paralyzing cyberattack from the rising Asian superpower we complacently underrate?
Is there anything we can do to prevent such disasters? Social scientist Charles Murray calls for a "civic great awakening"—a return to the original values of the American republic. He has a point. Far more than in Europe, most Americans remain instinctively loyal to the killer applications of Western ascendancy, from competition all the way through to the work ethic. They know the country has the right software. They just cannot understand why it is running so damn slowly.
What we need to do is to delete the viruses that have crept into our system: the anticompetitive quasi monopolies that blight everything from banking to public education; the politically correct pseudosciences and soft subjects that deflect good students away from hard science; the lobbyists who subvert the rule of law for the sake of the special interests they represent—to say nothing of our crazily dysfunctional system of health care, our overleveraged personal finances, and our newfound unemployment ethic.
Then we need to download the updates that are running more successfully in other countries, from Finland to New Zealand, from Denmark to Hong Kong, from Singapore to Sweden. And finally we need to reboot our whole system.
Voters and politicians alike dare not postpone the big reboot. If what we are risking is not decline but downright collapse, then the time frame may even be tighter than one election cycle.
The reason that our "software is running so damn slowly," to quote Ferguson's rather ridiculous metaphor, is that the resources, especially cheap petroleum, that are needed to continue growing our economy are gradually becoming more expensive and less available. As a result there is a scramble going on among the many special interest groups, and especially the elites, to grab whatever they can while they still can. They may not know precisely WHY they are feeling compelled to act they way they do, just that their perquisites are under pressure from a system that can no longer afford to provide for everyone in the manner to which they have become accustomed.
The unfortunate thing is that Niall Ferguson's viewpoint is going to carry weight with a lot of people despite the fact that he is completely wrong precisely because he can point to his credentials as a Harvard history professor. The underlying message of a potential collapse is one that needs to be heard, but such analysis that does not take into account the effects of peak oil and resource depletion is in fact worse than useless since it allows people to believe things can be fixed without a dramatic alteration in our suburban, consumerist lifestyles.
Of course, if Ferguson were to tell the truth about America's predicament, that if we don't greatly power down catastrophic collapse is inevitable, he would quickly find himself ostracized in the world of academia and government. So is he as clueless as he appears to be, or does he actually know the truth but is deliberately obfuscating? At this point, given how far down the road towards collapse America is already and the fact that the forces supporting the status quo are far too powerful to be dislodged, it no longer seems like it really matters either way.
Bonus: I'd like to dedicate this song to Harvard Professor of History Niall Ferguson | <urn:uuid:3434f247-f040-4da2-819f-f12c72008e06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://billhicksisdead.blogspot.com/2012/03/niall-ferguson-warns-of-possible.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962553 | 3,553 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Fallen stars, glowing red dominoes and a vine-covered tree are some of the lights installed by artists, designers and architects in Lisbon this Christmas (photographs by Fernando Guerra).
Designer Pedro Sottomayor’s shining stars provide benches for tourists around Figueira Square.
Architect José Adrião wrapped a tree in London Square with red fairy lights so that it would glow as brightly as a decorated Christmas tree.
Over on Augusta Street, architects ADOC placed illuminated blocks shaped like Christmas tree branches that passers by can weave between.
You can see more stories about installations here.
Here’s some more information from the photographer:
Most years, Lisbon celebrates Christmas with much fanfare. Its artificial Christmas tree, once set up annually, towered over 200 feet and was one of the tallest not only in Portugal but in all of Europe.
This year, however, austerity measures have forced the city to take a modest approach, so it invited artists to get creative and spread holiday cheer on a budget.
The Lisbon City Hall decided to spend less in the city Christmas lights this year but make the same this a unique moment.
Together with MUDE – Museum of Design and Fashion -invited 25 artists, architects and designers to create light sculptures to mark Christmas in Lisbon, and from those 7 installations were selected.
These installations from the December 3 add color and excitement to some Lisbon noble places: Rossio Square, Augusta Street, Marquês de Pombal Square, Luís de Camões Square, Figueira Square, London Square and Chile Square. | <urn:uuid:961d12b1-9338-43cb-b65c-2eb6e687facf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dezeen.com/2011/12/23/lisbon-christmas-lights-by-pedro-sottomayor-jose-adriao-and-adoc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930587 | 331 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Thursday that it has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star program’s highest honor: the Energy Star Corporate Commitment Award.
The award was given in recognition of Sears leadership in energy efficiency and commitment to continuous improvements. Sears is the fifth corporation to earn the distinction in the EPA's history, and is the first company to receive the award since 2005.
Since 2006, Sears has achieved a significant 1,371,648,000 kWh in electricity savings. Performance reports from EPA's energy management tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager, illustrate Sears' progress, specifically a 6.5 kBtu/sq.-ft. reduction (4.31%) in 2011.
"Sears Holdings has so fully integrated the ENERGY STAR program into our energy goals, it has become a part of our DNA," said Mike LeRoy, energy director for Sears Holdings. "With Sears' expansive building footprint encompassing thousands of retail stores nationwide, we emphasize best-in-class energy management as a powerful tool to reduce our environmental impact."
In addition, Kmart achieved Energy Star Leaders recognition for reducing energy consumption since 2008 by more than 10% in its portfolio of buildings. Sears said that since January 2008, Kmart has reduced energy consumed in its buildings by 11.4% through lighting retrofits at more than 860 facilities, the use of building energy management systems, and sound energy disciplines.
Sears has been involved with Energy Star for more than 13 years. It earned the Energy Star certification for 151 buildings in 2011. | <urn:uuid:6194d03e-5361-4e0f-822a-f897512d059b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chainstoreage.com/article/sears-holdings-wins-epa-energy-star%E2%80%99s-highest-honor-corporate-commitment-award | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955302 | 327 | 1.59375 | 2 |
All data was obtained from each political entity and entered verbatim into this site, thus any errors in the data are due to mistaken reporting on the part of the political entities in question.
Some jurisdictions have failed to report employees names along with salary data—in these cases, we assigned a number to each employee and included the other relevant information.
Local government jurisdictions in Nevada do not maintain payroll records in a uniform fashion. As such, most jurisdictions have reported their data in a unique format. In some cases, jurisdictions are unable to report the cost of providing employee benefits because they do not maintain that information in their database. Employee benefits can include health insurance, life insurance and employer-paid retirement contributions. In the instances where the cost of employee benefits is unavailable, only partially available, or where salary information is reported in a substantially different fashion, TransparentNevada.com has included a note indicating so.
The “Overtime” column includes overtime compensation as well as call back pay. The column ‘Total Cost to Taxpayers’ includes base salary, overtime, call back, premium pays, allowances, sell backs and separation pay. Many of these categories are not visible on the TransparentNevada.com website, but can be provided upon request.
The 'Total Cost to Taxpayers" column underestimates the cost of every county employee, as it does not factor in such additional costs as the administrative cost of processing the paperwork necessary to keep that person employed, the cost taken on in processing that person’s checks through payroll, depreciation of public sector assets, such as vehicles, that may be used by the employee, and so forth.
Multiple counties requested that TransparentNevada.com pay fees ranging up to $3,000 for contract and salary data. However, TransparentNevada.com is currently only able to display data which can be provided for free or at nominal cost. | <urn:uuid:f315b887-c927-4ee7-967d-796229da531a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.transparentnevada.com/disclaimer/ | 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 | 0.948089 | 390 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Activities & Resources
South Park Branch Library050in Seattle, WA 98108
about South Park Branch Library:
Free library cards are available to anyone who lives, works, attends schools, or owns property within the Seattle Public Library area. Guest cards are also available to non-residents for a fee. Sign up for a card at any branch library or online.
If you have questions about the library, or need help accessing Internet information or the library's online resources, use Live Chat. A patron can chat online with a librarian 24/7. Visit the library's Web site and click on Ask A Question, then choose Live Help.
The library system hosts a variety of free educational programs - including preschool storytimes - for children and families during the school year and throughout the summer. In addition to kids' summer workshops, look for summer workshops and classes for teens.
If you have a child aged birth to three, ask about the library's Baby Boxes. Six to 10 themed books, a music tape, finger plays, and an adult resource book are collected in a sturdy plastic box for checkout. Topics cover such common early childhood themes as family, music, animals, and potty training. This is an excellent resource for long car trips, illnesses, or rainy days. | <urn:uuid:8c339bce-448c-42a9-9fcd-2b919d012caf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/south-park-branch-library-8604-8th-avenue-s-seattle-wa-98108-us | 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 | 0.937253 | 262 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The Ohio House is currently engaged in making some very difficult decisions as we face a more than $8 billion budget deficit. The labor climate has gotten testy, and now, more than ever, we need to reexamine every aspect of Ohio's economy and ensure that every government dollar is spent responsibly. The question is: How can we achieve that?
It's important to keep the big picture in mind. We want to give our children and grandchildren every opportunity to succeed right here in Ohio; we don't want them to have to abandon this great state simply because we've failed to provide the proper job climate or tax code.
If we start making changes today to the way Ohio spends our tax dollars, we can be on our way to restoring the greatness of the Buckeye State. We realize these changes will take time, but we can't wait any longer. The recent passage of the governor's JobsOhio bill (House Bill 1) was a good first step on the road to recovery.
I am a co-sponsor of House Bill 2, which recently passed the House. It would require the Auditor of State to conduct performance audits of certain state agencies each biennium. Among the first agencies that will be audited are the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services and the Ohio Department of Transportation. The bill also requires state agencies to implement the recommendations of their performance audit, which will make our government more productive and responsive. State Auditor Dave Yost highly recommended the passage of House Bill 2 because of the immediate and long-term savings Ohio can realize merely by eliminating waste and inefficiency.
In 2005, the state of Washington implemented legislation that has collectively identified more than $4 billion in waste, and I believe that auditing Ohio's government could give us comparable results. We must insist that our government act as efficiently and productively as possible. Any savings identified and implemented will lower the demand for additional tax dollars.
Another bill that is vital during this economy is House Bill 30, which eliminates several of the unfunded or underfunded educational mandates that were included in last year's House Bill 1. Especially in these trying financial times, school districts need more flexibility to meet the needs of students, and I believe that a "Columbus knows best" educational policy would prevent local districts from deciding for themselves how to provide the best possible education for our children. We've known for a long time that a "one-size-fits-all" approach to education won't work, particularly for our part of the state. I met last week with many of the superintendents in the district and assured them that I welcome their advice as I get up to speed on the issues that matter most, including meeting unfunded mandates and scarce revenue at the state level.
House Bill 30 would eliminate the mandate that school districts offer all-day, every-day kindergarten, but would not prohibit all-day kindergarten for those districts that choose to have it. The bill will also repeal the requirement that schools lower the student-to-teacher ratio, a requirement that in the past has caused many districts to scramble to find the means to hire more teachers or find more learning spaces.
Ohio school districts need flexibility and some level of certainty about the expectations and requirements that face them in the upcoming biennium. Adopting House Bill 30 will help Ohio's school districts to better weather the current financial storm.
There are many other important legislative initiatives that I will discuss in my next column. Rest assured that better days are coming for our district and our state.
To the residents of Guernsey, Monroe, Noble, Washington and Muskingum counties, I assure you that I am working to bring about a more sustainable budget and economically-friendly environment. Job creation and the elimination of waste and costly mandates are three steps in the right direction.
Rep. Thompson may be reached by calling (614) 644-8728, emailing District93@ohr.state.oh.us, or writing to State Rep. Andy Thompson, 77 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio. | <urn:uuid:bec36af6-ae18-42ef-80de-fdd80d439adf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/534202/Viewpoint--Legislation-for-a-stronger-Ohio.html?nav=5006 | 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 | 0.96219 | 828 | 1.648438 | 2 |
It was a good year for a wide array of comics collections and graphic novels. From superheroes to memoirs of old age to vintage reprints, there was something for anyone — which is to say, everyone — interested in visual storytelling. In no particular order:
• Picture This, Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly) Barry’s follow-up to her remarkable What It Is is, once again, a combination how-to book, a memoir, and an inspirational book of the highest order. Picture This will tap into the artist you may have hidden in the recesses in your soul, encouraging you to pick up pencil or paintbrush and begin to enjoy the pleasure and thrill of making art yourself. “You move your hand and you scribble all you want and it feels very good,” she writes. Barry speaks the truth, always.
• How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, Sarah Glidden (Vertigo/DC)
A memoir of a trip this left-leaning Jew takes to Israel, determined to have her ideas about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict confirmed. Of course, things turn out more complicated than Glidden had imagined. So do her deceptively simple line drawings, their delicate watercolor shadings, and the thinking that informs the vivid dialogue in a graphic nonfiction novel of subtlety and understated wit.
• Nipper 1963-64, Doug Wright (Drawn & Quarterly) These Canadian newspaper strips, free of dialogue but full of vivid line drawings, depict the mischievous adventures of a little boy. Wright, a stay-at-home cartoonist and father, doubtlessly drew quite literally on personal observation and experience, but the fluidity of his inks and his storytelling makes this an all-ages special.
• Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit, adapted and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke (IDW) Cooke, whose best-known work has probably been for DC Comics (The New Frontier, his reinterpretation of The Spirit), proves again that he can capture in pictures the terse storytelling of Donald Westlake, who used the pen name Richard Stark for his brutally succinct hard-boiled novels featuring the canny thief Parker. Adaptations of novels generally tend to concentrate on getting the plot and dialogue down accurately, but Cooke is working on a higher level: He wants to be sure you experience the cold amorality of the Parker stories. He does so by drawing Parker as a series of sharp, flat angles, and by avoiding film noir visual clichés in precisely the same way Westlake/Stark avoided hard-boiled-fiction clichés.
• A Drunken Dream and Other Stories, Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics) Ostensibly Japanese comics aimed at the adolescent-girl market, these so-called Ten Stories of the Human Heart are lush mixtures of dreamlike imagery and realistic depictions of young people’s yearnings, hopes, reveries, and fears. Gathering representative work from four decades of publication, A Drunken Dream exerts a hypnotic pull on the reader, Moto Hagio knows both her commercial audience and her ideal audience — which is to say, the world.
• Batwoman: Elegy, Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams (DC Comics) The year’s most intriguing superhero art came from Williams, who shattered the conventional arrangement of panels in a comic book, drawing in the broken shards in a manner that suited the fractured consciousness of Batwoman. Writer Rucka gave her a worthy foe, an insane criminal, Alice, who leads a cult of crime. This hardcover collects six issues of Detective Comics, and demonstrates just how far adventurous creators can venture the erroneously perceived boundaries of commercial comics.
• Denys Wortman’s New York (Drawn & Quarterly) Probably the historical discovery of the year in comics, this volume — subtitled “Portrait of the City in the 1930s and 1940s,” edited by James Sturm and Brandon Elston, offers a sumptuous gathering of one-panel, pencil-and-ink drawings that summon up an earlier era of city life. Working for The New Yorker, Life, and, most prolifically, the World newspaper, Wortman incorporated overheard and imagined snatches of dialogue among working-class citizens and dowagers, rushing commuters and toff businessmen. No one is ridiculed; everyone is placed in a context that gives each life dignity. Which is not to say Wortman’s cartoons are without a vinegary tang: In the midst of the Depression, a pet-store owner is shown responding to a woman who’s come in bearing her pet bird in a cage. “Listen, lady,” he says brusquely, “your bird ain’t sick. Can you show me anybody today feels like singin’ every single morning when he gets up?” Timely as ever.
• Special Exits, Joyce Farmer (Fantagraphics) A long-form narrative about the decline of her parents’ health, Special Exits avoids cheap pity and piousness by doing what any good art should: focusing on specifics — the ways in which Farmer’s parents slide into old age and ill health; the care they require and receive. That this is also a portrait of a strong marriage is an added benefit. Frank, never shying away from the awkward indignities of aging, Special Exits illuminates two lives, as well as that of the author’s.
• The Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories, edited and designed by Craig Yoe (Yoe Books/IDW) A seasonal book that can be read all year ’round, The Great Treasury collected tales originally published in comic-book form by superb cartoonists such as Walt Kelly (Pogo), John Stanley (Little Lulu), and Richard Scarry. If you’re looking for a picture book that offers alternatives to familiar holiday tales, you can’t do better than this sturdy volume, with its stories including “Santa and the Pirates” and “Christmas Comes to the Woodland.”
• Art in Time: Unknown Comic Book Adventures, 1940-1980, edited by Dan Nadel (Abrams) As with Nadel’s eye-boggling previous anthology, Art Out of Time, this thick book offers an array of artist-writers both famous and little-known. What they all shared was employment on the more disreputable fringes of the comics industry, bending familiar genres (superheroes, horror, thriller) to their will. Nadel again demonstrates his knack for selecting mainstream work that can look like the dreams of surrealism, or the most brutish of art brut, or the wooziest of romanticism. You’re summoned beneath the spell of this work.
What graphic novels and comics caught your eye and mind in 2010? | <urn:uuid:d74d2359-d310-4933-8e49-4a8d77acb2e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/12/30/10-best-graphic-novels-comics-2010/ | 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 | 0.93152 | 1,432 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Earth Day Events at the Tennessee Aquarium
4/14/2011 1:54:13 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Thom Benson 423-785-3007
Tennessee Aquarium Earns TN Green Hospitality Certification
Broad Range of Earth Day Events Ahead
Chattanooga, Tenn. (April 14, 2011) – The Tennessee Aquarium recently earned the Tennessee Green Hospitality Certification, becoming one of the first major tourist attractions in the state to achieve this designation. To become certified, the Aquarium had to complete an application and third-party, on-site audit of all business practices. “We are very proud of this green certification,” said the Aquarium’s education director Tim Baker. “It serves as both a benchmark for our current sustainable practices and a roadmap for continued environmental improvement.”
The Tennessee Green Hospitality Certification is awarded on a point system and must be renewed with another audit every two years to remain in force. Each staff member and volunteer has been “deputized” as part of the Aquarium’s GO GREEN team, participating in the certification process, providing suggestions for environmental improvement and putting sustainable practices in place at home. An overview of the Aquarium’s green processes and an offer for a free programmable thermostat for homeowners is available at: http://www.tnaqua.org/Conservation/GreenPractices.aspx
Oil Spill Lessons, Milk Jug Messages, Lake Sturgeon Release and other Green Events
Learning from the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
On April 20th, 2010 the world was shocked when an explosion sent a towering ball of fire into the sky over the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and opening up an underwater gusher of oil. The resulting images of oil-soaked wildlife, wetlands and closed beaches were heart-wrenching leaving many of us to wonder what the Gulf coast is facing one year later.
Dr. Larry McKinney, the executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, (HRI) has some answers.
His organization focuses on the Gulf’s overall environmental health and strives to develop public policy, encourage international responsibility and help people understand the scope of the Gulf’s importance through educational outreach. “One year later, we are still in a diagnostic phase that may take several years to complete,” said McKinney. “We believe it may take another one to two years for beaches and some fisheries to recover. Wetlands may take up to five more years to recover along with some bird species. We’re using submersibles to take a look at the deeper aquatic communities, but some impacts may not be uncovered for a couple of years.”
McKinney will be at the Tennessee Aquarium to speak to school groups and the public as part of a NOAA-supported ocean literacy program on April 21st. McKinney hopes everyone will recognize the Gulf’s importance and ongoing threats to this natural resource while attention is focused on the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. “The good news is the Gulf is a tremendously resilient body of water,” McKinney said. “Because of its location, there’s an amazing amount of biodiversity, and the keystone species have the ability to rebound from short-term events. But, there are limits so we need to act now.”
Message in a Milk Jug
One of the ongoing threats is pollution that occurs inland, traveling from rivers into the Gulf. It only takes a tiny bit of oil, gasoline or other chemicals to contaminate 1,000 gallons of water.
Families with children ages six and older are invited to the Aquarium Plaza on Saturday, April 23rd from 8:00 am to 10:30 am for a hands-on illustration of scale. Julia Gregory, senior Aquarium educator, will help participants set up 1,000 one-gallon milk jugs along the stream between River Journey and Ocean Journey. They’ll learn how tiny drops can impact a large amount of water. Then they’ll stomp the jugs flat for recycling and round out the morning with a water conservation game. For additional information or to register for this free event, go to: http://www.tnaqua.org/Events/Events.aspx
Freshwater Giants Released in Chattanooga
Clean water in the Tennessee River not only helps animals in the Gulf of Mexico, it also helps the Tennessee Aquarium restore the lake sturgeon in our backyard. More than 108,000 fish have been reintroduced since the “Saving the Sturgeon” program began 11 years ago. The Tennessee Aquarium along with other state and federal conservation organizations will be joined by students from Ivy Academy on Thursday, April 21st at 1:00 pm for a special Earth Day sturgeon release. The public is invited to watch as 30 to 35 large lake sturgeon are released under the Market Street Bridge in Chattanooga’s Coolidge Park. “This is a great opportunity for everyone to see a successful and ongoing conservation program in action right in the middle of the city,” said Dr. Anna George, the director of the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute. “It’s a fun opportunity for people to enjoy a lunch break and talk to our team and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency biologists.”
Party for the Planet
Two buildings won’t be big enough to contain all of the events at the Aquarium’s Party for the Planet celebration on Saturday, April 30th from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Celebrate the natural world on the Aquarium Plaza with lively music, fun conservation crafts and games that will help everyone discover ways to save money while protecting our natural resources. More than one dozen community organizations will be on hand to help families discover how to care for our planet with free, hands-on activities and information.
Inside River Journey and Ocean Journey, special keeper talks and animal encounters will keep everyone engaged. “Adapting at Depth,” a three-part work of dance inspired by research on the effect of noise pollution on marine mammal communication, will be performed in the River Journey auditorium at 1:30 pm and 2:15 pm. These performances are free with Aquarium admission. To learn more about the Tennessee Aquarium’s Party for the Planet, go to: http://www.tnaqua.org/PartyforthePlanet.aspx
Rotten Tomatoes Bananas for Conservation Film
The newest film at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater, “Born to be Wild 3D,” takes audiences on an amazing journey to Borneo and Kenya to meet conservation groups working tirelessly to save endangered baby orangutans and elephants. Stunning photography makes it seem as though viewers can touch these orphaned animals. The compelling stories of these two rescue groups make this film a perfect addition to Earth Day observances.
The movie is every bit as entertaining as it is informational according to critics. RottenTomatoes.com, a movie industry website that collects professional and individual film critiques gives Born to be Wild 3D an amazingly high score of 97 out of 100 on the famous, “Tomatometer.” To learn more about the film or to purchase tickets online, go to: http://www.tnaqua.org/IMAX/IMAX.aspx | <urn:uuid:5a90c76e-b336-4229-9764-63665854d1f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tnaqua.org/news/newsreleases/11-04-14/Earth_Day_Events_at_the_Tennessee_Aquarium.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931705 | 1,534 | 1.6875 | 2 |
JUNEAU -- A new state-funded study says a 500-mile road to Nome championed by Gov. Sean Parnell could cost nearly $3 billion to build.
The price tag staggered some legislators Tuesday, but others want to push ahead in approving planning money Parnell is asking for. Parnell highlighted the project in his State of the State speech last week.
"The governor is very interested in this project. The road would create jobs for Alaskans and open access to resource development," Parnell's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said Tuesday after the study came out.
The study was paid for by a $1 million appropriation from the Legislature, and the idea of a road to Nome was pushed a year ago by then-Gov. Sarah Palin.
The Anchorage engineering firm of Dowl HKM did the work and recommended the road begin near Manley Hot Springs and follow the Yukon River through Interior villages west to Norton Sound.
Dowl estimated construction of the recommended route would run $2.3 billion to $2.7 billion (or $4.6 million to $5.4 million per mile). Maintenance and resurfacing costs would run another $40 million a year.
"Oh my gosh. That's a shocking price tag," Senate Majority Leader Johnny Ellis said Tuesday when a reporter told him the construction cost estimate.
Advocates have described the road as opening up the country for mining opportunities. Ellis said he'd be interested in seeing the private sector kick in. "And it depends on how much the state is getting back in terms of state revenue, because mining doesn't really pay very much into the state treasury," said Ellis, a Democrat from Anchorage.
Legislators from Nome and Fairbanks are pushing hard for the project.
Nome Democratic Sen. Donny Olson has said the road would bring in much cheaper gasoline and heating oil to Western Alaska. Fairbanks Republican Rep. Mike Kelly said the state should start now on construction, and eventually expand the road to Kotzebue and Dillingham. It would create jobs and bring hope to the region, he argued, helping with problems like domestic abuse and suicide.
Parnell is asking the Legislature to appropriate $2 million in the coming year for more route analysis and engineering. His spokeswoman said the idea is to build the road in phases, going from one "resource deposit" to the next and providing for cheaper supplies for villages along the way. She said it's too soon to say how the actual construction would be financed, and if private money might be involved.
The route recommended by the Dowl engineers would begin as a branch off the Elliott Highway near Manley Hot Springs, which is about 160 miles from Fairbanks. The road would then roughly parallel the Yukon River, running near villages including Tanana, Ruby, Nulato and Koyuk before veering off from the Yukon toward Nome. Plans include access roads to the villages.
The road would pass through an estimated 65 miles of mountains, 185 miles of wetlands and require the construction of a new Yukon River crossing. The Dowl engineering study said the general area has great potential for gold, silver and other minerals, although the data on that is limited because it's so remote there's been little exploration.
The road would run through Interior villages represented in the Legislature by Chalkytsik Democratic Rep. Woodie Salmon. He said Tuesday that whether he supports the road or not would depend on the exact route, but at this point he's inclined to favor the project because it would bring fuel costs down and make it easier to get supplies in.
But there are downsides. "There would be land squabbles and everything else that would be associated with the influx of people," he said.
Alaskans have been talking for decades about building a road to Nome. Whether it could actually happen or is just a fantasy like so many giant Alaska dream projects depends which legislator is speaking.
"I don't think we're going to be able to find the money. Do you?" said Anchorage Democratic Rep. Mike Doogan, after hearing the $2.7 billion figure.
Sitka Republican Sen. Bert Stedman said the road to Nome is a possibility. He said he also wants to look at the potential of extending the Alaska Railroad to the Brooks Range, maybe even Prudhoe Bay. Stedman, who helps write the state budget as co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the state hasn't built such a big project in decades.
"To me that's unacceptable. To have generations of designers, planners and builders that don't design, plan and build infrastructure to advance the state," he said.
Read more of Sean Cockerham's dispatches from Juneau on our Alaska Politics blog at adn.com/alaskapolitics. | <urn:uuid:571515cc-a277-4d6b-b448-219989c7cfb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adn.com/2010/01/26/1111745/nome-road-could-cost-27-billion.html | 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 | 0.972025 | 1,001 | 1.5 | 2 |
Originally Posted by kristy
hey everyone ! Dont say about deaf peoples are best driving than hearing people driving but i feel that the both of the deaf peoples and hearing peoples are the sames !
they are not perfect driving ..... if it one small accident and make a big mess lifes.....
some old people are lousy driving and some old peoples are good driving and same as young peoples and deaf or hearing peoples are lousy or good driving
I heard lots of deaf peoples said " i am good driving without a no tickets " and make me piss off and you never know it is happens to you when you got a accident .... examples.... when you drive on the road and someone who hits you and got hurt and kill or alive and bad shapes (body)..... some people drink and driving hit you and you never know and you cant see what the future is......
I disagree what deaf people said " the deaf people are good driver than hearing people driver"
think about twice what i told you this !
You have to be piss off all the time when the person say lucky about they didn't get ticket? | <urn:uuid:d85fe755-e93d-4af8-9b79-3bc80defc275> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alldeaf.com/155276-post13.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973875 | 226 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The analyses were carried out on 7319 participants who had complete data on mortality status, dietary assessment, and other covariates. Compared with these participants, who were included in the present analyses, those excluded were slightly older, more likely to be women, and of lower occupational grade.
Over the 18-y follow-up, 534 participants (7.3%) died. Analyses of cause of death (available for 7312 participants) showed that the majority of participants died of cancer (49.1%, n = 259) or CVD (26.8%, n = 141). Among the 141 CVD deaths, 52.5% were caused by CHD (n = 74) and 19.9% by stroke (n = 28). Of the 134 deaths that remained, 127 were classified as noncancer/non-CVD death (for 7 deaths, information on cause of death was missing). Comparison of characteristics of the participants by vital status is shown in .
Characteristics of participants according to survival status over 18 y of follow-up
The survival curves diverged as a function of the AHEI tertiles across the entire follow-up period, with the highest mortality seen among participants in the bottom tertile and the lowest mortality among those in the top tertile, as shown in . The age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for the top and the intermediate tertile of the AHEI compared with the lowest tertile were 0.65 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.80) and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.60, 0.90), respectively.
To identify potential confounders or mediators of these relationships, factors associated with AHEI tertiles were identified (). The multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models showed the association between AHEI tertiles and risk of all-cause mortality to be robust to adjustment for covariates. After sex, age, ethnic group, marital status, occupational grade, smoking habits, physical activity, and total energy intake were controlled for, to be in the higher tertiles of the AHEI was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality (intermediate compared with bottom tertile HR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.64, 0.97; top compared with bottom tertile HR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.91) and CVD mortality (intermediate compared with bottom tertile HR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.42, 0.95; top compared with bottom tertile HR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.89) (results not shown). Further adjustment for BMI categories, inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6), metabolic syndrome, prevalence of CVD, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes did not attenuate these results much (). Participants in the highest tertile of the AHEI score had ≈25% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.95) and 40% lower risk of CVD mortality (HR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.91) compared with those in the lowest tertile. Adherence to the AHEI was not associated with cancer mortality (HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.58, 1.11) or noncancer/non-CVD deaths (HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.57, 1.41) ().
Cross-sectional associations between baseline characteristics and tertiles of Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) score
FIGURE 2. Associations between Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) tertiles (T) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality over 18 y of follow-up for the 7319 Whitehall II participants. Cox proportional hazards models were adjusted for sex, age, ethnic group, (more ...)
The associations between each AHEI component and mortality risk are shown in Table S4 under "Supplemental data" in the online issue. After adjustment for potential confounders, only 4 of the 9 components (nuts and soy, ratio of white to red meat, total fiber, and alcohol) were significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk. A decreased risk of CVD mortality was observed with consumption of nuts and soy and with moderate alcohol consumption.
To examine whether the effect of the total AHEI score on mortality is as strong as the sum of its separate component effects, we first compared a fully adjusted model (model 1), in which total AHEI score was included, with a second model (model 2), in which all of the 9 components of the AHEI score were included separately. Results of the likelihood ratio test indicated that the total AHEI score did not predict mortality risk as well as did the use of each component separately (P = 0.007), as shown in Table S5 under “Supplemental data” in the online issue. In other words, the coefficients for effects of the 9 components that comprised the total AHEI score were not all equal. Model 2 also showed that consumption of nuts and soy, total fiber, and moderate alcohol, and, to a lesser extent, the ratio of white to red meat, remained associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality, after adjustment for other AHEI components (Table S5 under “Supplemental data” in the online issue). No association was observed between other components of the AHEI and all-cause mortality risk.
Further analyses were performed to identify which of the AHEI components contributed most to the decreased mortality risk associated with adherence to the AHEI. Cox regression models were performed separately for each component and were adjusted for a modified total AHEI score that excluded the component considered in the analysis. Of the 9 components, consumption of nuts and soy and moderate alcohol intake were significantly associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality, independent of the modified AHEI score and after potential confounders were controlled for (). The observed attenuation of the association between the AHEI computed without the alcohol component and mortality risk suggested that this component makes a major contribution to the association between the AHEI and the risk of both all-cause mortality and CVD mortality. In addition, when the AHEI was computed without the nuts and soy component, a similar attenuation of the association between the modified AHEI and CVD mortality was observed, which highlights the importance of this component in the AHEI in the assessment of CVD mortality risk.
Association between Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) components and all-cause mortality risk and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk1 | <urn:uuid:00e13027-a166-495e-91e1-56286fb55821> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC3127516/?lang=en-ca | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949917 | 1,405 | 1.5625 | 2 |
After reports that the Boston Marathon terrorists had used black powder for the explosive component of their pressure cooker bombs, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) proposed major changes to federal laws regulating loose gun powder and explosives.
On April 23, Lautenberg introduced S. 792, the Explosive Materials Background Check Act. Originally, the Senator submitted the bill as a shell bill–meaning it was not fully written–but this month he has finally submitted the full text of his bill.
An analysis of the text reveals profound changes to current law. Lautenberg’s changes in the explosives law would seriously hamper history reenactor hobbyists, black powder hunters, sportsmen, target shooters, and anyone that loads their own ammo with modern smokeless gun powder or the older style black powder.
One change would require those that want to buy and store either smokeless powder or black powder to get a new license–at a rate of $50 every three years–to allow them to do so. The bill also says that they will only be allowed to have “limited” supplies but does not seem to say what amount would exceed those limits.
Companies making pre-made ammunition are not required to obtain these licenses for now.
The bill also redefines what “manufacturer” of explosives means. The original laws defines “manufacturer” as someone who is making explosives (cartridges, etc.) for sale. That commercial aspect of the law is struck out in the new bill. If Lautenberg’s anti-explosives bill passes, anyone that hand loads cartridges for their own use or anyone that uses black powder firearms for hunting, sporting, or hobby use will now be classified as “manufacturers.”
This will also impinge on those that use Tannerite explosives for sporting purposes. This substance is manufactured as two separate powders and is legally sold over the counter because neither component is explosive by itself. Mixing these two inert chemicals together without a new explosives license, however, will likely be illegal.
Lautenberg’s bill will also expand a ban of sale to more people. The new bill, for instance, will make it illegal to sell black or smokeless powder to anyone that has had a restraining order taken out against him.
The new bill also turns the current “shall issue” practice into a “may issue” rule. In other words, the new bill would give authorities the right to deny any citizen the right to buy, store and own loose gun powder or explosives and the government doesn’t even have to supply any reason why the citizen is being denied. Nor will the government have to provide a means of redress. Once you are denied, that is it forever.
The bill does not seem to affect fireworks dealers.
Certainly, this new level of licensing will make it more costly for merchants to sell loose powder and will likely cause many that already may have low sales volume to cease selling such items. This will make it harder for gun owners to find supplies.
These rules violate the Second Amendment in spirit by making it harder for citizens to have the gun powder they need to exercise their rights to self-protection. Founding father Thomas Jefferson foresaw this line of attack against our rights and noted that these sorts of restrictions are illicit.
In his 1792 report on the Navigation of the Mississippi (ME 3:180), Jefferson wrote, “It is a principle that the right to a thing gives a right to the means without which it could not be used, that is to say, that the means follow their end.”
If gun owners do not have the means–in this case the gun powder–to make their firearms work, then they are necessarily being denied the capability to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
This is a copy of the full article provided by Breitbart | <urn:uuid:8ccaf355-e18c-4fdc-9e13-5b32addc8163> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://preparingfortheperfectstorm.com/category/uncategorized/page/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963372 | 793 | 1.804688 | 2 |
LOWELL -- Retired Rev. Sigmund Podlozny has a unique skill for an ordained minister -- he can deliver a sermon from two vastly different eras.
Podlozny can usher his listeners effortlessly from 1775 to 2013, and right back again. He doesn't need a time machine. His specialty is historical re-enactment, and last year Fort Ticonderoga named the Lowell resident its volunteer of the year.
Podlozny said he was asked to work a week last summer at the historic fort along the banks of Lake Champlain in New York. He wound up staying for two months, contributing 436 hours of work. He doesn't recall working a single hour. For him, it was fun.
Q: What first got you to Fort Ticonderoga and connected you to it?
A: I went there for the first time when I was 8 years old. I'm 68 now. There were no major highways, and it was a family trip. Great as a kid with all the cannons but after about a half hour, it's just another museum and you want to go somewhere else. But then I got involved in living history.
Q: So here in Massachusetts, what living-history group are you a part of?
A: I'm with the Danvers Alarm List, located, of course, in Danvers. We own and operate the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. Like Fort Ticonderoga, we're a nonprofit. All the money is raised by volunteers. Rebecca Nurse was accused of being a witch. She was really one of the older women and quite saintly. There was a film done about her on PBS.
Q: When did you get involved in living
A: It was 1972. A group I had formed was in Newburyport. It was a naval unit. Then all of a sudden, the call came to ministry and education, history and biblical studies, here and overseas. Then this was after school, and a person asked me if I would do 18th-century religious services. I said I'd do a couple. And that was it. I had known the Danvers Alarm List a long time, so a member named Dick Trask asked me to join. I didn't have much interest, but he told me about a minister he'd like me to portray.
Q: But you eventually gave in. Who was the minister?
A: Yeah, he got me hook, line and sinker. I could talk to you in the first person, just on him, for three hours. This man is Rev. Benjamin Balch. You have to actually portray someone who fought on April 19, 1775. He was a lieutenant of the alarmist company and the first chaplain of the continental navy. He owned an inn with his wife in Danvers. He was there for the siege of Boston. Saw the Battle of Bunker Hill and Charlestown -- the place where his dad was born -- burn to the ground.
Q: You learned all about this man's background, but have you ever met any of his descendants?
A: Yes, I have. I've done a living-history program at the Balch House in Danvers, and those are all his descendants. It's a little bit weird because I'm killing myth. They have grown up with all of these stories, and here I am saying, "No, it didn't happen that way." You would be asking me a question, and I would be in the first person: "I was there, madam, and I do not recall the incident you were talking about. I was actually at such-and-such a place. I couldn't be in two places at the same time." So I'm not sure I'll ever get invited back.
Q: What wisdom about acting in the first person would you give to someone who wants to try it?
A: There's a real fine line you have to watch about first person. A lot of people don't realize it. But if they're looking for 21st-century information, you have to be able to recognize that and come out of your character, otherwise all you will do is create frustration. So to get out of my persona, I'll say, "You have to excuse me for a moment -- I'm leaving the 18th century and going into your century to answer your question."
Q: How easy it is for you to slip in and out of centuries, of your character?
A: It's difficult. Sometimes I can answer it in the 18th century way with no problem at all. But then someone will ask me, "Where did you get your clothes?" They don't want to know which 18th century tailor made them. They actually want to know where I got my clothes. They want to know the 21st century answer of where I got my clothes or where I got my musket. You have to answer the question.
Q: Do all re-enactors share the same philosophy?
A: No, some of them just do first person. All it does is, it alienates the public, and you cannot do that, just staying in your century. I remember an incident from Old Sturbridge Village. This is the problem -- I'm an ordained minister. There are others playing the role of an ordained minister, and they come across as though they are ordained. I knew (a re-enactor) was talking to this young lady. I told him, "She wanted to know about seminary." So he's talking about where he went to seminary as a persona. So finally I just butt in, "You have to excuse me, but I'll answer the question you're looking for. He isn't ordained, he's just portraying a clergy person." I think there's a problem with someone portraying a profession like that. I think it's wrong because they can do more damage than good.
Q: What's a common mistake among re-enactors who play clergy members?
A: Some people that play clergy from that time period don't know that this isn't a fire-and-brimstone period. That comes later. This is where I'm just talking to you and delivering a sermon. I'm not screaming at you. I'm not yelling at you or damning you to hell. It's the Great Awakening. It's a time of renewal. Some of the ministers out there -- what are they thinking?
Q: Sell me on a trip to Fort Ticonderoga. What would you tell somebody who has never gone?
A: This is America's Fort. It's everyone's, and it is not under any government or park-services control. Children can go right up to the cannons and check them out. There's not many ropes you have to stand behind. Watching someone fire 250-year-old cannons -- pretty fun to watch.
Follow Evan Lips @Twitter.com/evanmlips. | <urn:uuid:bcfe3155-d26b-43c3-a9e5-c05244b7badc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_22354519/lowell-retiree-ministering-folks-past-and-present | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987809 | 1,440 | 1.632813 | 2 |
[amsat-bb] Re: Vanishing Hams
n8fgv at usa.net
Sat Jul 19 17:17:28 PDT 2008
Various people wrote:
>Ham radio may just evolve from technical whiz kids making coils out of
>oatmeal boxes (those are disappearing too) to mere communicators that
>know little about the technology inside.
>The kids you are trying to impress with ham radio in general and APRS in
>specific just roll their eyes and go back to their iPhones and PC's.
>After all, ham radio is another name for AMATEUR radio. The world is no
>longer impressed with amateur solutions to Telecommunications just as it
>is no longer impressed with using horses for basic transportation.
A lot of people still keep horses today because they love horses. There are
more horses in the USA today than at any time in the past, we just don't use
them for daily commutes to work (although with the price of gasoline we may be
reconsidering them). Amateur radio is not comparable to cell phone service, it
is not for basic communication but for people who love the technology and want
to understand it and improve it.
Don't try to appeal to the masses. Find the one kid in 100 (or is it one in
1000?) who wants to dig deeper and learn the technology. Robot competitions
draw lots of kids who are interested in building and modifying technology.
They are still around but they are getting channeled into robotics instead of
>Third, and this also can't be overcome by mentoring etc., is that amateur
>radio has space and financial requirements that are beyond most young
>people. Everyone on this list go look at your stuff right now and add up
>what it cost in terms of currency as well as ndoor and outdoor space.
>Sure, you *CAN* get into amateur radio with a used 2m HT picked up in
>Dayton for $100. But let's face it the really cool stuff requires more
>sophisticated (read: expensive) equipment, usually with antenna systems
>that require space and more money. When you're a teen or a young person
>just starting a family, it's a discretionary expense that is probably
>just not high on your list.
>As someone who was licensed at age 13, there are somethings that suck about
>being a young ham. You don't have much money to spend on rigs and antennas.
>You live in your parent's house so you are at their mercy for what antennas
>you can put up. You have school and homework to compete for your time. You
>go to college which greatly limits funds and time, and then you go into the
>raising a family (I am there now) which greatly limits funds again, as well
>as operating time.
Someone proposed having internet "listen only" remote gateways so that
newcomers could get a taste of satellite operation before obtaining their own
equipment. We could go one better and devise a scheme that would allow
transmit access to holders of valid amateur licenses. That would allow them to
get on the satellites without a big investment in radio gear.
Dan Schultz N8FGV
More information about the AMSAT-BB | <urn:uuid:7612a6f6-24a6-4de2-8c72-15965b76bd9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2008-July/012639.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955536 | 698 | 1.648438 | 2 |
CQPolitics.com, which is affiliated with the respected Congressional Quarterly, recently analyzed the votes of members of the House to see how often they strayed from the party line. Shuler got a “party unity” score of 82.9 percent — the fourth lowest of any Democrat in the House. As a whole, Democrats averaged a party unity rating of 96 percent. According to the CQPolitics.com, researchers looked at votes that were most likely to pit Republicans and Democrats against each other.
The analysis revealed that Shuler is one of the young, somewhat conservative Democrats who swept into office during the last election. Of the lowest 25 scores among Democrats, 12 came from freshman who, like Shuler, were elected in districts that were previously held by Republicans and which supported George Bush for president in 2004 (Bush beat John Kerry in the 11th District by a 57 to 43 percent margin in the 2004 election). Congressman Charles Taylor, R-Brevard, held the 11th Congressional District seat for 16 years before Shuler unseated him in 2006.
What does this mean for voters? Well, it certainly shows that Shuler is setting himself up as his own man among his peers. Cynics will argue that the Democrats in power are simply giving Shuler a long leash to help ensure he will get re-elected in 2008. One could also argue, however, that the conservative side of Shuler is exactly what he presented to voters during the election, and now he’s fulfilling that promise.
Shuler talks proudly of his membership in the blue dog Democrat coalition. This group of conservative to moderate Democrats preaches fiscal austerity and are moderate on social issues. Many left-leaning Democrats will disagree with some of those votes that Shuler has cast. He voted against a bill to promote embryonic stem cell research, which we think should have passed. He also voted against a bill to classify some violent offenses as hate crimes.
At this early stage in Shuler’s tenure in Congress, however, we think his independence is admirable. Most Americans are probably more centrist than the political leaders we read about and listen to on the talk shows. Party leaders tend to lean way left or way right. We much prefer a congressman who votes his conscience instead of toeing blindly to a party line, no matter which party that might be. | <urn:uuid:7fda8ffc-2ecf-4876-aab4-2a8d15161950> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://smokymountainnews.com/aae/item/9697-shuler-shows-that-he-will-vote-his-conscience | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982699 | 475 | 1.625 | 2 |
East L.A.’s push for cityhood is only the latest in a long tug-of-war over boundaries in Los Angeles County. Here we break down the process:
The county is home to 137 unincorporated areas—neighborhoods that are not their own municipalities and that utilize the City of L.A.’s police force and public services and are represented by the County Board of Supervisors.
Would you prefer your area to be like one of the county’s 88 incorporated cities, such as Santa Monica and Pasadena, that have their own city councils and mayors? Then you’d need 25 percent of the registered voters in your area to sign a petition requesting cityhood from the Local Agency Formation Commission.
Along with the petition, LAFCO requires a (costly) comprehensive fiscal analysis to see if the property and sales taxes you would be collecting would cover city services—law enforcement, sanitation, fire—for three years. If they don’t, they remain unincorporated. But if they do, it’s up to LAFCO to decide on whether it goes to a vote.
LAFCO’s board—a diverse nine-person coalition that currently includes county supes, city council members, and a “general public representative”—may take years to decide, weighing reports and testimonials. During a January session this year, board members heard four straight hours of public comment on the merits of East L.A. cityhood.
Unless someone has delayed matters by requesting the state controller’s review, LAFCO puts the measure on the ballot for prospective residents to vote on. (Don’t expect a slam dunk: Malibu and Calabasas were the last to declare independence, and that was in 1991.) If the stars align and the people vote yes, congratulations: You’re now officially your own city. | <urn:uuid:89ea3954-068a-45c5-a94a-a3bb59d80029> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lamag.com/citythink/citythinkblog/2012/03/05/how-and-why-cities-are-made | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94072 | 399 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The invaluable MEMRI is dedicated to providing translations of what the folks in the Middle East media are saying. Believe it or not, it is lots stranger than what they say for Western consumption.
Here, for example, is a lecture given by one Professor Hasan Bolkhari, who happens to be a cultural adviser for the Iranian Ministry of Education. The good professor is carrying on about the latest doings of that great Zionist conspiracy, the Tom & Jerry cartoon:
"If you study European history, you will see who was the main power in hoarding money and wealth, in the 19th century. In most cases, it is the Jews. Perhaps that was one of the reasons which caused Hitler to begin the antisemitic trend, and then the extensive propaganda about the crematoria began... Some of this is true. We do not deny all of it.
"Watch Schindler's List. Every Jew was forced to wear yellow star on his clothing. The Jews were degraded and termed 'dirty mice.' Tom and Jerry was made in order to change the Europeans' perception of mice. One of terms used was 'dirty mice.'
"I'd like to tell you that... It should be noted that mice are very cunning...and dirty."
Wow. If MEMRI didn't have such a good reputation, you would think it was a spoof. And watch the video, where you can see a lecture hall filled with students, diligently taking notes on this stuff. We live in a strange world. (Thanks to Michelle Malkin for the tip). | <urn:uuid:6b8c0a8c-d6aa-4964-b523-1cf7033b87a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://roscoe.typepad.com/roscoeblog/2006/02/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974925 | 316 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Child Care Expert To Speak On Better Parenting
Dr. Arthur Lavin, a pediatrician and local author, will provide parents with valuable tools and insights to handling the conflicts that arise from raising children. He will speak on Oct. 23 to the Solon Early Childhood PTA.
Editor's Note: This article was provided by the SECPTA.
Solon Early Childhood PTA (SECPTA) wants you to be a better parent by better managing conflict in your home.
The group welcomes Dr. Arthur Lavin to its October meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7:00pm at the Solon Community Center at 35000 Portz Parkway in Solon.
Dr. Lavin, pediatrician at Advanced Pediatrics and local author, will provide parents with valuable tools and insights to handling the conflicts that arise from raising children.
- Getting infants to sleep through the night
- Avoiding fights about and worries over what children eat
- Toilet training
- Sibling rivalries
- Separation sadness connected with childcare
The meeting is open to members and non-members. Doors open at 6:30pm for field trip and activity sign- ups.
"As a local pediatrician, Dr. Lavin has been helping parents keep their children healthy. In doing so he has had tons of opportunities to develop his theories on appropriate child behavior," states Regina Krieger, SECPTA Vice President of Programs. "I am looking forward to learning some new tools in dealing with my little challenges...my kids!"
Dr. Lavin was educated at Harvard (BA) and Ohio State (MD). At Harvard, Boston Children's Hospital, and MIT, he completed training, became board-certified in general pediatrics and the subspecialty of newborn medicine, taught, and published original research in such journals as Science. He has been in pediatric practice for more than 20 years.
He has served on several national committees of the AAP, as president of the Northern Ohio Pediatrics Society, and been invited to represent the US in Slovakia for a medical mission. Recently Dr. Lavin has co-authored two books on parenting: "Who's the Boss? Moving Families from Conflict to Collaboration" (Collaboration Press, 2006) and "Baby & Toddler Sleep Solutions for Dummies" (Wiley, 2007). For more information, go to www.wtboss.com.
SECPTA is a unit of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), organized for the parents of preschool age children (birth–5), regardless of what school the child will attend.
We always welcome new members from Solon, Twinsburg, Aurora, Chagrin Falls and the surrounding communities. If you are the parent of a preschool age child or infant, we have something for you. The purpose of our organization is to help parents of preschool age children better understand their children via qualified resources, educational programs, the sharing of experiences, and social activities.
For more information about SECPTA, visit www.SolonEarlyChildhoodPTA.com. | <urn:uuid:557ce628-0d79-4d9e-b7bd-46ce11c98ea7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://solon.patch.com/articles/child-care-expert-to-speak-on-better-parenting | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953906 | 626 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Timers and Wall Dimmers: Bright Ideas for Green Ligthing
Today, homeowners and business owners alike are always on the look out for ways to save energy and save on their energy expenses. Many people look to the latest and greatest in LED and compact fluorescent bulbs first for ways to go green. There are however, other extremely simple ways to save on your energy use, namely the use of timers and dimmers. Timers have come a long way from the plastic mechanical dials that you would plug into power outlets, now, though these simple dimmers are certainly still used, there are more technologically advanced timers that are capable of handling multiple lighting programs. Sunlite’s T500 7 day timer is a wall-mounted timer with 36 on/off settings for full control over your lights. By using a timer, you can set your lights turn on and off when you’re not home, or while you are asleep, or at times when the office is empty. By using timers you can have lights on only when you need, saving you serious energy and money. Wall dimmers are another way to not only save electricity, but to make your existing lamps last longer. By setting your lights to burn at a lower intensity, you can prolong the life all your bulbs including your incandescent and halogen light bulbs. Wall dimmers are easily mounted and come in a variety of styles to suit your decorative and functional needs. It is important to note, however, that combining wall dimmers and environmentally friendly bulbs, particularly CFLs, is not always so simple. Not all CFLs are dimmable and those that are, like cold cathode compact fluorescent for example, are not 100% dimmable. This means that you many not be able to use them on certain dimmers, and you should consult the manufacturers literature on the subject. Or, as always, you can contact me by leaving a message on my blog, or BulbAmerica with any questions you have by dialing 1-888-505-2111. Save energy and money now—go green and save green! Invest in timers and dimmers today!
cold cathod cfl | <urn:uuid:9875fae1-8471-481b-8986-2f6c7c1e89ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bulbamerica.com/kbase/Accessories/Timers_and_Wall_Dimmers_Bright_Ideas_for_Green_Ligthing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933895 | 438 | 1.53125 | 2 |
San Francisco Sentinel
The San Francisco Sentinel is an online newspaper serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally a weekly print periodical, the Sentinel covers local San Francisco politics, news and social events, and international news of interest to the gay community.
Several San Francisco newspapers have held the name San Francisco Sentinel. One operated in the 1860s; another was started in 1890 by West-Indies-born Oxford-educated newspaper editor Robert Charles O'Harra Benjamin and his business manager partner L. B. Stephens. This second Sentinel focused on news and opinion of interest to African-American readers.
Gay community news
The modern San Francisco Sentinel began in 1974 as a weekly periodical covering the gay community of San Francisco. It was published by Charles Lee Morris, an activist for gay rights and a local political leader. Morris produced the Sentinel as a weekly periodical paid for by subscriptions and advertisements. It appeared in magazine form with a cover illustration rather than articles in columns on the front. In 1975, Morris hired Randall H. "Randy" Alfred as news editor. Alfred wrote the column "Waves from the Left", and he responded to the first hate crime legislation passing in California by writing, "The days are gone when we can be taken for granted. We are tired of shabby, liberal gestures." Alfred left in 1977 to work for a competing gay newspaper, the San Francisco Bay Times.
In October 1980, the newspaper published a guest editorial written by U.S. presidential candidate John B. Anderson. Anderson wrote that, if elected, he would order the cessation of discrimination in the federal government based on sexual orientation. At the time, the Sentinel boasted a local circulation of 17,000, but the story was picked up by the Associated Press and United Press International wire services and printed in various papers across the country. Publisher Morris said that he thought this was "the first time a major presidential candidate" had written for a gay-oriented newspaper.
The paper went through several owners, including gay rights activist William "Bill" Beardemphl who bought it in 1981. At the time, Beardemphl was living in Geyserville, California with his longtime partner John DeLeon. Beardemphl had earlier written a column—"From the Left"—for the Bay Area Reporter, a gay community newspaper founded in 1971 by Bob Ross. Managing Editor Gary Schwiekhart wrote that Beardemphl and Ross, both accomplished chefs, "deeply despised one another, both journalistically and culinarily, and frequently used their newspapers to launch vicious personal attacks" on each other.
Beardemphl hired Jack Nichols as his news editor, and in 1982 brought Alfred back, this time as Editor-in-Chief. Beardemphl refused to use the word gay, preferring homosexual, and he initially thought that the idea of a gay-related immune deficiency disease was a government plot to stop the gay community from having fun. Beardemphl wrote an April Fools' Day editorial in 1982 lampooning the new disease: "Gay Cancer Caused by Brunch". Historian Rodger Streitmatter in Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press In America, writes that this tasteless headline was indicative of the Bay Area gay press's failure to call attention to the epidemic even after it was identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Beardemphl died of prostate cancer in 2002.
In September 1995, new owner Ray Chalker shut the paper down after trying to keep it afloat for one year.
Online news
In May 1999, Pat Murphy began publishing The District 6 Sentinel, renamed Sentinel to the San Francisco Sentinel expanding coverage from Supervisorial Distrct 6 to all San Francisco. Murphy's previous website was called "District 6 Sentinel" and was listed as a San Francisco political committee. As a young man, Murphy worked as a cub reporter for the Richmond Independent, the Berkeley Daily Gazette and the San Francisco Chronicle before branching out into editing and advertising.
Murphy has been described as willing to accept money for positive coverage in the Sentinel. In 2005, Supervisor Chris Daly wrote on his official blog that Murphy offered him editorial oversight of articles about Daly, but Daly refused to pay the suggested $1,500. Murphy responded by saying he and his photographer partner, Luke Thomas, do not accept payment for positive coverage. He said the Sentinel makes money from advertising and from sales of photographs. Undaunted by Daly's early refusal, Murphy, contending internet news increasingly would include infomercial, began leasing direct publication of the Sentinel to Sam Singer, a San Francisco political consultant (whom Sean Martinfield in 2012 described as "the biggest liar I've ever met") in 2009 for $20,000 per year ( through Singer Associates Incorporated, Internal Revenue Service Payer's federal identification number 94-3375121. Daly returned to private life, after serving two elected terms as San Francisco District 6 Supervisor, leasing San Francisco watering-hole Buck's Tavern which closed due to subsequen lease increase. Daly pledge future "epic" endeavors.
In September 2006, the Sentinel had gone offline for a brief period during which Thomas left the newspaper after 17 months as co-owner (the co-ownership with Thomas had not been consummated by legal contract) and Editor-in-Chief, writing that he did not wish to follow Murphy's direction in changing the Sentinel into a "pro-business publication". Murphy had removed Thomas' ability to publish immediately following Sentinel publication of a pro-Fidel Castro article about which Thomas neither informed nor consulted Murphy prior to that story's publication. Thomas moved on to found Fog City Journal. Amazon Watch wrote in 2008 that petroleum giant Chevron appeared to be paying Murphy to write positively about Chevron and negatively about its opponents in Ecuador and Nigeria. Amazon Watch described how the Chevron-related posts at the San Francisco Sentinel were Google bombed into much greater prominence than other Sentinel material which ranked very low locally.
On June 6, 2011, SFAppeal.com reported that Thomas hurried left a paid staged political promoting re-election of progressive Mayor Ed Lee: "Michael Petrelis stumbled upon political consultant Enrique Pearce of Left Coast Communications and one of his staffers outside the grocery co-op's 13th Street entrance, where Pearce and Luke Thomas -- publisher of news website Fog City Journal and a freelance photographer -- were documenting an "apparently homeless" man holding the aforementioned sign begging Ed Lee to run, according to Petrelis's blog. The situation broke up immediately as soon as the filmers realized they were being photographed, according to Petrelis."
In March 2009 while he was "laid low" with emphysema and cyrrhosis, Murphy named Sean Martinfield publisher and editor. Murphy continues as owner. As of 2012, Murphy's emphysema remained constant at 30% breathing capacity loss under treatment (Sprivia, Advair and ProAir) by San Francisco Dr. Gary Apter (ranked #1 by the San Francisco Chronicle in use of medical check list. Apter's 2012 evaluation of Murphy's cyrrhosis indicated adequate liver enzyme production adequate to continue normal life.
In March 2011, the San Francisco Police Department revoked the press passes of a number of independent online news outlets including the Sentinel. Josh Wolf wrote that the department's policy indicated the passes were for reporters who "regularly cover fires and breaking police news". Sentinel photographer Bill Wilson expressed dismay at losing his pass.
In 2012, Murphy, a convert to Judaism taking the name Moses ben Abraham y Sarah, applied for permanet emigration to Israel to work as an Israeli Defense Forces assembly line volunteer.
In 2012, Sam Singer informed Sean Martinfield that Singer no longer held an interest in SanFranciscoSentinel.com
In 2012, WhoIs lists SanFranciscoSentinel.com domain registration as private.
See also
- Sandmeyer, Elmer Clarence (1973). The anti-Chinese movement in California. Illinois studies in the social sciences 24 (3). University of Illinois Press. p. 121.
- Penn, Irvine Garland (1891). The Afro-American press and its editors. Springfield, Massachusetts: Willey & Co. p. 320.
- Fruth, Bryan Ray (August 2007). "Media Reception, Sexual Identity, and Public Space". University of Texas at Austin. p. 110. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- Sides, Josh (2009). Erotic city: sexual revolutions and the making of modern San Francisco. Oxford University Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 0-19-537781-8.
- "Alfred, Randall H. AACR2". Biographical History. University of Virginia. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- Wharton, Elizabeth (October 2, 1980). "Candidates concentrate on industrial areas". Nashua Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire). UPI. p. 2. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- "Anderson Seeks Votes of Gays". The Press-Courier (Oxnard, California). AP. October 2, 1980. p. 2. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- "Charles Lee Morris, 42, Dies; Ex-Publisher Victim of AIDS". The New York Times (Denver). UPI. January 8, 1986.
- "Charles Lee Morris, 42; Gay Activist and Former Publisher of Newspaper". Los Angeles Times. UPI. January 11, 1986. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- "Bill Beardemphl, 75, Early San Francisco Pioneer Dies". Gay Today. March 4, 2002. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- Schwiekhart, Gary (June 28, 2011). "Remembering GRID & Dozens of Departed Friends". South Florida Gay News. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- Nichols, Jack (2006). "Book review: Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press In America". International Gay & Lesbian Review. Los Angeles. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- "Gay Newspaper Closes After 21-Year Run". San Francisco Chronicle. September 16, 1995. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- Goodyear, Charlie (August 17, 2005). "Daly accuses local news Web site of being political action committee. Founder has been critical of supervisor in recent months". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- "Turmoil At The Sentinel". SFist. SFist,com. September 15, 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- Amazon Watch (October 24, 2008). "Chevron Asked to Disclose Relationship to Pat Murphy". Reuters. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- "San Francisco Sentinel Founder Pat Murphy Laid Low By Emphysema, Cyrrhosis – Sean Martinfield Named Sentinel Editor and Publisher". San Francisco Sentinel. March 31, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- "SFPD revokes press passes from several online media outlets". San Francisco Peninsula Press Club. March 15, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011. | <urn:uuid:4f644680-e886-4709-8b13-20f291ff9e77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Sentinel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934563 | 2,283 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The Department of Political Science, which runs UMBC's pre-law program, offers strong preparation for students interested in law school or employment in law-related areas which do not require law school (e.g., regulatory agencies, judicial administrations, etc.). Courses on legal subjects may also be useful to political science students who have other goals and to students in history, economics, American studies, African-American studies and other majors. The curriculum offers a rich variety of courses designed to help students understand the case method approach of legal interpretation, the politics and procedures of the judicial system, and the relationship of the courts in the creation of public policy. These courses are a good test of whether law school and a legal career are the right choice for the student, and they provide the basis for success if that choice is taken. While there are essential skills and information that pre-law students can gain from the study of Economics, English, History and Sociology in particular, Political Science studies political institutions that make, interpret, and enforce the law.
The program offers students the opportunity to take an internship with courts, law enforcement agencies, private law firms, and other legal institutions. These internships, which are taken for credit full-time in the Winter session and half-time in the spring, provide a realistic view of legal professions and often lead to summer jobs and law school recommendations.
The department offers a minor in legal policy to undergraduates of all majors. The minor permits students to focus on the political and cultural contexts, procedures and outcomes of the American judicial system. It consists of three core courses and four electives for a total of 21 credits. For those not interested in the minor, there are several courses that are particularly appropriate for pre-law students. Some of them are:
There are many other courses that are recommended for pre-law students. Please check the catalog and the semester class schedules for complete details.
The department has pre-law advisors, each with a different training and perspective and all dedicated to helping students find the right career focus and to succeed under rigorous competition. The Department maintains a Pre-Law Advising Office in PUP 357, the resources of which are available to all UMBC students and through which appointments with pre-law faculty advisors may be scheduled. The following are the faculty advisors: | <urn:uuid:274dc059-fd26-4a01-97d7-2f147b498b34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.umbc.edu/politicalsci/academic/pre-law.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957461 | 469 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Richard McLean has written a fascinating book on schizophrenia entitled, ‘Recovered, Not Cured, a journey through schizophrenia’, published by Allen and Unwin in 2003 in Australia. It has received a highly commended in the Human Rights awards (Australia), Non-Fiction, in 2003, and SANE’s book of the year, 2004.
From Amazon.com: “The book is written in snippets of experiences and often the reader is hurled one story after another of the patient’s psychosis, paranoia, search for codes or deciphering of codes and secret messages, the delusions of voices the author heard and his reactions to them. In addition to these experiences, he inserts numerous e-mails from other schizophrenia patients he’d received or read on mental illness-online boards, as well as messages from family members of mental patients and how they coped with them. Since he is a graphics designer by trade, he’d added plenty of visual representations of his internal torments.
I recommend this book to all readers interested in learning about the symptoms of schizophrenia, how to seek treatment and how to learn to cope with the disease.”
Softcover, 192 pages.
Psych Central's Recommendation: Worth Your Time! +++Your Recommendation (if you've read this book):
Want to buy the book or learn more?
Grohol, J. (2004). Recovered, Not Cured: A Journey Through Schizophrenia. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 18, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2004/recovered-not-cured-a-journey-through-schizophrenia/
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Jan 2013
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:596b7d40-d427-4940-ac28-7e6b4c1f5007> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/lib/2004/recovered-not-cured-a-journey-through-schizophrenia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931616 | 376 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Chrome 10: Google whips out its Crankshaft
This is Chrome 10, if you're keeping track of version numbers. Google wishes you didn't. When releasing a new browser, Mountain View doesn't mention version numbers, preferring to paint Chrome as one monolithic, ever-evolving piece of software. The company is now releasing a new version every six weeks or so. The last version [Shhh. Chrome 9.—Ed] arrived on February 4.
"With today’s stable release, even your most complex web apps will run more quickly and responsively in the browser," the company said in a blog post.
Crankshaft was inspired – at least in part – by Sun's Java HotSpot performance engine, the re-engineered Java virtual machine that first arrived in 1999, according to an exchange between The Reg and Google engineer Eric Kay in December. A number of Google's Crankshaft developers previously worked on HotSpot, including Lars Bak, who led the Sun HotSpot team.
Google's Crankshaft uses "adaptive compilation", identifying important or "hot" code and optimizing that code as needed. Crankshaft includes four basic components: in addition to a base compiler, there's a runtime profile that identifies hot code, and an optimizing compiler that recompiles the hot code to offer such optimizations as loop-invariant code motion, linear-scan register allocation, and inlining. Google then provides "deoptimization support" that identifies cases where the optimizing compiler has promised, well, too much optimization. In this case, the engine falls back on the base compiler.
Chrome 10 also offers a new tool for synchronizing your Chrome web passwords across multiple machines, and Google has put Chrome's integrated Flash plug-in inside the browser's sandbox technology. The latter perk is only available on Windows Vista or Windows 7.
According to our testing, Google has not removed the H.264 video codec, as it said it would do earlier this year. On January 11, Google said that over the next couple of months, it would remove the patent-encumbered codec, using only the open source WebM and Ogg Theora codecs for HTML5 video. Google open sourced the WebM codec as a royalty-free alternative to H.264 last May, but Chrome has continued to offer support for H.264, a codec licensed by a patent pool that includes Apple and Microsoft.
But H.264 is still used by Flash, which, as said, comes bundled with Chrome. So, on some level, Google continues to play both sides of the codecs wars. Flash is still Google's technology of choice on YouTube. And let's not forget that Flash is an entrenched advertising technology.
You can download the new Chrome here. If you'te already using Chrome, you'll be updated to the new version automatically. ®
Update: This story has been updated to show that according to our tests, Chrome 10 still includes the H.264 codec. | <urn:uuid:0c01273f-0839-490b-9298-ddb3ed684577> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/08/google_chrome_10_arrives/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939483 | 617 | 1.539063 | 2 |
© AZP Worldwide #16661650
I’m a big fan of Graeme Goldsworthy’s writings. In his book Gospel-Centred Hermeneutics he has a chapter on the wrong ways that we Evangelicals sometimes read the Bible. It might be a bit hard to hear this, but it’s great food for thought. We all make these mistakes. Please don’t read it as finger-pointing (unless the finger is pointed back at me/ us).
#1 The “me-centred” approach. The text of the Bible ‘speaks to me’. Not in the sense that I read what it means and apply it to myself. That is absolutely right and good. This sort of reading plucks words or phrases right out of their context so that they “speak” to my situation. The historical background and context are ignored. Exegesis is a dirty word. I open the Bible wherever, read a text, and let it mean whatever I want it to mean in an inspirational way for me today.
#2 Literalism. Not in the sense of reading the Bible according to its literature – there is a right literal reading of the Bible. This means reading Old Testament prophecy in a literalistic way. Such a reading doesn’t read it in light of the New Testament and Jesus, but jumps in application straight to us today. Such a reading would take the book of Joshua and have us declaring jihad, like the Crusades. Fulfilment in Jesus is ignored in the cause of what is wrongly called a literal reading of the Bible. But the New Testament reads the Old Testament Christologically (Luke 24:25-27; Luke 24:44-45): OT prophecy is about Jesus.
#3 Legalism. A selective reading of laws in the Bible so that some apply rigidly today, and others are ignored. We rail about keeping the Sabbath, but eat prawns. The relationship of law and grace, gospel and works is misunderstood.
#4 Subjectivism. My reading of a passage is right because I felt a peace from God, or just felt that it was right. Or I declare my wrong reading to be a leading from the Holy Spirit. It may be that I assign Greek and Hebrew words a meaning that they do not actually have. We may read into the text what is not there, rather than working out what it is actually saying. For example, the “peace of God which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) is wrongly thought to be about an inner feeling.
#5 Pluralism. This is an assertion that the Bible has many interpretations. While it is true that there may be many applications of a passage, this is not what is meant. Different highly acclaimed Evangelicals read a passage in different ways: therefore there must be many different possible interpretations. The authority of Scripture is undermined.
#6 Pragmatism. It feels good, so it must be right. There are more people at church, so what we are doing must be right. We interpret events, or what we do at church, not according to the Bible, but according to “what works”.
Can you add to the list?
Graeme Goldsworthy’s solution? Keep asking questions of the Bible passage we are reading, every time, even if it seems tiresome. What does this passage actually say? How does the gospel shape our understanding of this passage or church practice? Are we reading the Bible correctly? | <urn:uuid:5949ee06-c351-433a-8882-51251e179320> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.hillsbiblechurch.org/2012/03/27/wrong-ways-of-reading-the-bible/ | 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 | 0.953443 | 735 | 1.664063 | 2 |
I just recently audited a home that had a blower door number of 11,684 CFM50 and/or 11.81 ACH50. And of course one of the main air infiltration culprits was a stone face wall that was continuous on the outside and inside of the building envelope. The basics as I see it is this: the 1/4" stone joints allow air to freely flow into the house.
Does anyone know of any good methods to seal a high-end stone wall air leakage like this?
Below are some photos:
PHOTO OF HOUSE Stone Wall Located Bottom Right
CLOSEUP PHOTO OF HOUSE Stone Wall / Back Exterior Door (OUTSIDE)
INFRARED/ ACTUAL Stone Wall/ Back Exterior Door (INSIDE)
INTERIOR WALL - INFRARED / ACTUAL
At first, I thought that maybe there would be a core wall of CMU, and thus possibly a way to reach the interior top of the wall to find a way to block airflow from passing over it, and eliminating at least part of the problem; maybe even filling the wall with a self leveling cementitous product that is thick enough to not pour out the joints; or possibly do so with a very fine dry sand. But apparently, the builder did go with the old-fashioned way of building a stone wall, with a skilled mason. Looks beautiful.
I would check with a masonry supply house to see what products or methods they have, but clearly there are air gaps in the grout material that will be impossible to specifically locate. Considering the appearance of the wall, I'm not sure I would trust someone to do a clean job using caulk or foam. Maybe use backer rod and stuff it into the joints? I'm not sure how effective it would be, but it's a fairly inexpensive material for a first attempt.
Dry stacked or is there mortar holding it together? If there are actual mortar joints you can see about getting a mason in there to fix all the B-holes - if it is dry stack then they will not like the fix (and no it does not involve mortar or caulk) & just concentrating on fixing the soffit areas, recessed lights, etc...
While that is a lot of leakage, is it all coming from that wall surface alone? Wall leakage is a big issue, but what if you concentrated on all the other leaks could you bring the exchanges down enough to warrant not having to do this part?
Only sealants I am aware of are for moisture and will not stop air flow transfer such as this. I would simply concentrate on the other leaks in the house assuming they have more and inform the owner that they will have to live with what is going on on that wall surface.
There is a web site where you can make an inquiry about this. It is the brick industry site. www.bia.org. Perhaps you will find the information your looking for there.
Good luck, keep us posted on how you make out with this one.
Hello. I have a large basalt stone floor to vaulted ceiling tall fireplace that also leaks. I have reduced my ACH to 8 from 12 and am now working on the fireplace. My plan is to caulk/foam (may be more economical) the whole dang thing from the attic/basement side first and see what that gets me. Foam would be unsightly for you, I think, so clear caulk??
As an aside, based on your numbers, I calculated the the house in question to be about 2, 337 sq. ft. with a volume of 58,420 cu. ft. Is this correct? I am far from an expert in this stuff but am trying to learn. Thank you. John
Is it possible to cover the wall adequately enough to isolate that air leakage? Even if you covered the wall exterior and interior with plastic sheeting, or covered the exterior, and built a plastic wall on the interior, you might be able to verify a quantity of air leakage from the wall. Given the pictures of the house, it looks custom built. Before you go intruding on the mortar joints, (or voids, if a dry laid wall), you might want to verify the wall is the biggest leakage site. If it is, try backer rod or injected foam from the outside into the joints, covered with a clear siliconized caulk, and recessed as much as reasonable. It may be quite a time consuming project, another reason to verify the culprit.
Finished Floor Area: 5,460 sf / 59,340 cf / 4 Stories / Half Slab - Half Crawlspace
Are you saying that there's not a block or poured concrete wall in the middle of all that stone? That's almost inconceivable to me in modern construction, but I suppose it's possible... in which case you would have to grout the entire thing, probably on all sides. I would call a commercial stone maintenance/restoration company if you have access to such a thing--those are the guys who know how to put mortars and sealants into gaps and make it look good.
If it's just the gaps between stones at places where door and window jambs are let in, then it's hard to see how it's responsible for all that leakage, although we can't see the extent of the stone in the few shots you posted.
Question about your manometer setup. You appear to have your indoor references teed together and piped away from the manometer. What's the reason? And, you appear to have -43pa at ~5250 CFM, so how did you come up with the 11,000 number?
Thanks everyone for your input. The test was a two blower door test (that only got up to -43 Pa) - we had to add up both manometer readings and use the Can't Reach Fifty factor. The wall is a facade about 3" thick (with concrete masonry on ext. and wood insulated framing on int.) that is made to look like a dry stack wall - mortar is used in the back for stability.
Below was a recommendation by another co-worker that I think I am leaning towards using:
Because the original construction process was mismanaged and the masons installed the rock prior to other finishes, your options are somewhat limited if you are to maintain the dry stack appearance. I would recommend that you seek to limit the air leakage in the following manner.
It looks to me like the main leakage is from the intersection of stone and conventional framing, not necessarily directly through the wall.
In the second picture, is the stone i see that appears to be interior actually a reflection? I suspect it is. in the shot with the recessed lights, I am looking in from outside too, right? if so, does the stone wall pass through those features and continue inside? If not, why not cut away the interior sheetrock finishes and approach the Butt end of the stone wall in the interstitial space with foam? Do the same at the soffit. Then do a blower door test and use smoke to identify any leaks you may have missed at these transitions that are ininterstitial space and seal those. Then put the sheetrock back up and refinish it.
I had a similar issue with an exposed historic brick wall in a condo I was testing. We couldn't find the leak with our eyes or thermal imaging becuase the leak was EVERYWHERE. We confirmed this when we taped a sheet of poly over the wall and when we kicked on the blower door, the poly ballooned like crazy at the slightest pressure change. The owner sealed every mortar joint with silicone caulk and then painted the wall (~20' x 10') with several gallons of a transparent sealer. The porous brick guzzled the paint like crazy. It was very important to the owner to have the urban loft feel of the exposed brick. Sealing just this one section of one of the four exposed walls reduced air infiltration from 14 ACH@50 to <7 ACH@50.
I have the same problem after the catastrophic result from Blower door test 30-35 ACH@50Pa of two stone built houses in mountain. I and my team developed air sealing technology for stone walls without mortar.
After the air sealing we achieved major success to reduce the Blower door test results more that 3 times!
Sorry for my poor english!
Here is some thermograms, videos and photos from this project:
Try log cabin chinking. | <urn:uuid:6a8e88d9-6748-4689-831b-a8deb13dbbf6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/forum/topics/help-air-sealing-a-continuous-stone-interior-exterior-wall?commentId=6069565%3AComment%3A109203&xg_source=activity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954551 | 1,758 | 1.71875 | 2 |
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