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It was one of the most important phrases of the entire Bush/Cheney era. In October 2004, just a few weeks before the presidential election, Ron Suskind ran a lengthy, much-discussed piece: "Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush." It included an exchange between Suskind an aide widely believed to be Karl Rove.
The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism.
He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
It was, to be sure, a rather twisted perspective, but the flippant use of the phrase "reality-based community" helped define an era of governing and policymaking in which facts were seen as an enemy worthy of disdain, if not defeat.
Nearly a decade later the phrase has a worthy successor.
Hillary Clinton blasted critics who have attacked her handling of the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi.... Republican lawmakers who have accused the administration of seeking to deceive voters ahead of the November elections don't live in an "evidence-based world" and refuse to "accept the facts," she told the AP in her final one-on-one interview as secretary of State.
"Evidence-based world" is a keeper. When it comes to political controversies, policy debates, and the public discourse, it appears most of the players fall into two camps: those who operate in a world based on evidence, reason, and fact, and those don't.
This division proved to be critical in 2012 -- remember "unskewed polls," BLS conspiracy theories, and demonstrably ridiculous claims about welfare reform and the auto-industry rescue? -- and as Clinton suggested, surprisingly little has changed. | <urn:uuid:9da39dfd-c7d5-4649-8fae-8fe564ed92d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/02/01/16810613-the-evidence-based-world?lite | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970603 | 475 | 1.84375 | 2 |
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Your one-stop spot for League events and educational training!
November 10, 2011
You Won! Now What? Newly Elected Officials Trainings
This newly elected officials training consists of core topics that will help educate first-time elected officials, as well as seasoned officials, on the basic functions they will need to know in their roles as public leaders. Topics include: introduction to League services; an overview of basic local government; roles and responsibilities of elected officials; Open Meetings Act (OMA); Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); and a panel discussion with seasoned elected officials.
Available dates and locations are:
Dr. Sirolli's Trinity of Management Entrepreneurship Training
What does entrepreneurship really mean to the future of Michigan's communities? If you heard Dr. Ernesto Sirolli speak at the League's 2011 Convention, you know the next industrial revolution is at hand—and the local leaders who understand the forces at work in it are the ones whose communities will prosper and thrive.
From Kansas to the Congo, the Sirolli Institute’s Enterprise Facilitation program is reversing Main Street mortality rates. This isn't about abstract ideas. It's about solutions that work. In two South Dakota counties, a Sirolli Enterprise Facilitation group helped create 58 new businesses, expanded 21 others, and created or retained more than 300 jobs in a single decade.
Want to harness the power of local entrepreneurs to bring sustainable change and economic growth to your community?
It starts right here.
Elected Officials Academy Weekender Program
Enhance your skills as an elected official by attending the Elected Officials Academy (EOA) Core Weekender, February 24-25, 2012 at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth. Attendees will learn roles and responsibilities, the fundamentals of financial management, the essentials of organization, and the basics of planning and zoning. Register here!
For those that have already attended the Core Weekender, you won’t want to miss the Elected Officials Academy (EOA) Advanced Weekender also February 24-25, 2012 at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth. Topics to be covered are regional cooperation, financial modeling, and a toolbox for growth. Register here!
For more information on the Elected Officials Academy, click here.
Collaborating for Better Communities:
Join the League’s Executive Director & CEO Daniel Gilmartin, MTA Executive Director Larry Merrill, LIAA Executive Director Joe VanderMeulen, and your peers from local governments across Michigan who have already taken the cooperative plunge! Discuss real-world examples of collaborative action to reduce redundancies, achieve economies of scale, attract funding and investment, and more. Register today.
December 6, 2011 | <urn:uuid:23edc238-ce41-4dd1-89ac-8ef7905e66d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mml.org/events/loop/2011_11_10.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930048 | 569 | 1.5 | 2 |
There's Trouble. Right here in River City. With a capital "T," that rhymes with "P," that stands for "Pool."
That little refrain is the beginning of Harold Hill's sales pitch to the people of River City, Iowa, in the musical The Music Man. The spiel, designed to sell band instruments and uniforms, works better than Hill could expect. Even he falls under its spell.
The romance of the pitch is also, in a way, the romance of the show, which is the opening production for the Augusta Opera Company's 30th season. Performances begin Wednesday at the Imperial Theatre.
Hill is a slicker who travels the countryside, getting people in small towns worked up about some problem and then offering to solve it by starting a marching band. He tells them about the big parades they'll have, and how tall their boys will be walking. And then he sells them all the instruments and uniforms.
To the town's lonely piano teacher, Marian, he's also selling romance. Marian is the only person who might notice that Hill knows nothing about music, so he needs to distract her.
Marian, a librarian, is at first immune to his charms. She suspects he's a phony, and with a little research discovers she's right.
But she sees how Hill has excited people, especially her moping brother. She notices, also, how happy she's become with the man in her life, even though she's been told Hill courts the piano teacher in every town he scams. She decides to let Hill keep scamming the town and herself, knowing he'll leave as soon as he collects his money.
When Marian tells Hill she knows the truth, she doesn't confront him or beg him to stay. She tells him to go.
Susan Powell, who plays Marian, said that farewell speech is one of several moments in the story that make her cry. In a funny way, it recalls a moony 1960s slogan.
"If you love something, set it free..." Ms. Powell started.
"...If it comes back, it's yours forever," finished a laughing Michael DeVries, who plays Hill.
Meredith Wilson's The Music Man is filled with big dance numbers and familiar songs, such as Till There Was You, the aforementioned Ya Got Trouble, Seventy-Six Trombones and Good Night, Ladies. The musical is most popularly known through the 1962 film version, which starred Robert Preston, Shirley Jones and a young Ron Howard as the moping brother.
Ms. Powell, Miss America of 1981, has appeared in Augusta Opera productions of Oklahoma and a Cole Porter revue. Mr. DeVries, a Broadway veteran, is making his first Augusta appearance. The cast includes many local performers, including Matt Stovall and Barbara Feldman.
In a show such as The Music Man, set in a small town, having a local ensemble is ideal, Ms. Powell said. When everyone is from the same place, it gives the interaction among townspeople more authenticity.
The musical, which is set in 1912, was first staged in the 1950s. It hasn't become dated because Wilson originally designed it as a period piece, said Karen Azenberg, stage director. Its outlook was never realistic, but always nostalgic.
Ms. Azenberg has directed six other Augusta productions, including the two with Ms. Powell.
The Music Man isn't the sort of show that's going to change anyone's life, Ms. Azenberg said, but it can make you go "ooh" and laugh and maybe bring a tear to your eye.
"It sounds silly, but with all the talk about family entertainment, this is family entertainment," Ms. Azenberg said.
What: The Music Man
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday; and 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Imperial Theatre, 745 Broad St.
How much: $40, $35, $25 and $12. Students and patrons 60 and older can buy half-price tickets for 2 and 6 p.m. shows. | <urn:uuid:709508fe-d57d-42bb-9861-38665daa076f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1996/08/30/met_199357.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975981 | 853 | 1.765625 | 2 |
This piece highlights a student from Khmer Girls in Action. Keo’s story is truly inspiring. We look forward to learning more about KGA this weekend at Docs on the Block.
Growing up in Eastside Long Beach means you have to fight for your dreams and the most basic needs for living. Poverty wears different faces and the youth who survive the daily hustle know this. From over-crowded schools, unstable and poor housing conditions, not having enough food on the table or seeing their family less because a sibling gets caught up in a gang or their parents work longer hours in poorly lit sweatshops to compensate for their low-wage hourly labor.
Keo Ouk, a young Khmer woman, born and raised in the Eastside is one of many who know this story all too well. She joined Khmer Girls in Action, shortly after she lost her childhood friend in a random drive-by shooting. She was sitting next to him on the front porch when it happened. It took her two years to begin sharing this story. She recalls getting kicked out of an advanced learning program because her grades had dropped. She was only a freshman at the time.
“I joined KGA because it’s like a second home to me. My sister used to go there and my friends too”. One of the staff organizers, Sophya Chum, is also a close family friend, making it really easy for her to feel comfortable. It was also through KGA’s writing program called Tongues Afire that she was able to face and talk about her loss. She’s written several pieces including “The Stranger That Wears Your Skin” and “Super Womyn”. The first is about not being able to recognize her own brother once he joined a gang and the second is about her mom’s round-the-clock daily routine on her Singer sewing machine. “The program taught me how to write down my emotions and thoughts that give justice to what I’ve been through.”
Just a couple of months after she shared the story about losing her best friend, an even greater loss took place. Keo’s oldest sister was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident just one week before her sister’s 26th birthday.
“How can I go through all of this and still be okay?” She was getting straight F’s during her junior year when grades for college admission matters most. KGA’s academic and personal support program called LIFE (Learning to Impact for Empowerment) worked one-on-one with her. Keo recognizes LIFE Coordinator, Ashley Uyeda, for stepping in to create structure and an academic to-do list for her. Ashley intervened by talking to her counselors and teachers. “ I was able to talk to my teachers and wasn’t intimidated by them after that. I’m usually scared to talk to adults with power.” At the end of the school year Keo’s GPA for her junior year was close to a 3.0. She flipped her F’s into an A, four B’s and two C’s.
“I’m still going to school and now I’m applying to college. I’ve seen a lot of people where I come from just give up and I’m glad I didn’t give up.” Keo is in the process of applying to college and is amazed that she has options and a door to a better future. She wants to work in a health related field—after all, the A she earned was in Biology.
Youth in Long Beach need more public resources and organizations like Khmer Girls in Action to help them understand the world in which they’ve inherited and be proactive in making individual and social change. Specifically for Khmer youth whose parents survived genocide in Cambodia, daily living means healing from that loss and then surviving high-rates of poverty.
KGA offers youth a framework they can use to see how their individual experiences are connected to a collective struggle in which political education is the key to empowerment, self-determination and justice for all people. | <urn:uuid:450e6f78-9907-46f1-9a52-bee30f2ed3e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://postcards2012.tumblr.com/tagged/Khmer-Girls-in-Action | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980824 | 878 | 1.585938 | 2 |
In a strict hierarchy that gives the right to choose the next pope to just 117 men in a church of 1.1 billion even these purple-robed bishops rank too low. It does not, however, stop them having an opinion on the future of their church.
On Thursday afternoon, a day before Pope John Paul II's funeral rites, the two men walked happily down the Via della Conciliazione, a broad avenue that slices through the Vatican, running from the Tiber's banks to the vast colonnaded arms that stretch out from the basilica of St Peter's. They had come to see the crowds queuing for hours for a few seconds with the body of John Paul II. They had come to judge the meaning of a phenomenon, and its implications for their church.
'Quite overwhelming,' said Dutch-born Schilder as his fellow African bishop nodded. 'We have been walking for two hours. You have to understand how the Holy Father touched the whole world over.'
Schilder interprets the meaning of the vast crowds in the way that the late Pope would have hoped, that the outpouring of celebration for his life reflects too the Pope's own greatest battle: for the 'right to life'. 'There is a great wave - something in the hearts of most people - a sense that God sent this person to us with this message. That is the most important thing. I feel there is a message for us too from people telling us they have received something from John Paul. It gives me a tremendous boost in my own faith.'
He remarks ruefully that in two hours, although they had been photographed many times, no one had sought to speak to them - perhaps intimidated by their robes.
'The fact that people want to have their pictures taken with us - to connect even in a superficial way,' said Schilder, 'may lead to deeper things. The Holy Father has opened the way for a renewal in faith in God and in the church. The new pope will have a flying start because of what John Paul has done.'
It is this question that has loomed over last week as the college of cardinals - the oldest in the history of the church - has begun its delicate negotiations to find a new pope. And all the while, like Schilder and Lele, they have been wondering at the meaning of the unprecedented reaction to the passing of Karol Wojtyla.
But it is not just the high ranks of the clergy who have looked at the crowds and wondered how to harness this energy for a church that, at least in Europe and the US, has seen a dramatic and continuing decline in attendance and vocations.
Before I encountered the two bishops, I had come across the veteran religious affairs correspondent of the Irish Times, Patsy McGarry, who had travelled on a number of Papal visits. 'This is the living church,' he said, indicating the huge crowd in front of us. 'What is extraordinary is that they just live their own lives and they make these complex mental distinctions. They separate John Paul the man from the church he led, even as he represented the values most difficult for them.'
And that separation of these two aspects of the church on their shared but diverging journeys was nowhere more dramatised than at John Paul II's funeral as the church leadership faced its vast congregation across St Peter's Square - and the globe - across the coffin of Karol Wojtyla: hierarchy, dogma, discipline and ritual on one side against the vast pragmatic, chanting informality of the 'living church'.
On one side the vast imposing architecture of theology, doctrine, philosophy and form; on the other the raw, ragged, unifying power of emotion. On one side celibacy and age and on the other surging youth.
That dissonance was summed up by two 21-year-old men who came for the funeral, both of them devoted to John Paul II in their own ways, both of them representing the future of their faith, yet living lives in contradiction. Their point of intersection was the figure of John Paul II.
Michael Palejczik had driven with his family in three cars from the Polish city of Gorzov. Sitting outside his tent at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, surrounded by other groups of Polish pilgrims, he said he has not slept for 36 hours. Upon his arrival in Rome, he had heard it was still possible to see the Pope lying in state despite the closure of the queue by the Italian authorities. When I met him he had returned from his overnight vigil to get some sleep before heading again to St Peter's Square to watch the funeral.
'I felt inside that I needed to show this man a special respect for all that he has done for Poland,' says Michael. He defines his respect for Pope John Paul in terms of his nationality, his personality - and as someone he sensed as holy.
'Driving for 20 hours is nothing if it is for him,' he says. I ask him about the meaning of his own religion. Michael says he still celebrates communion but he admits that it is difficult to square his own life with what the church demands - and John Paul demanded - especially on the matter of sex. 'I'm not married. I have a girlfriend. I understand that the church is 2,000 years old and it is very difficult to make changes but I think it should be more liberal. It is very difficult for me and my friends. The church says we should not have sex before marriage if we are Catholic. And what about contraception? I know it is hard to change, but the church should be more honest.'
On the outskirts of St Peter's Square I meet Brother Simon Cleary, a New Zealand seminarian who is studying to be a priest in Rome, with a fellow student from Nevada.
Cleary is unusual in the English-speaking church. In a time of collapsing vocations, he has chosen to study for the priesthood. So it is perhaps unsurprising that he defines his reaction to the meaning of John Paul through the church's leadership.
'We have got to go out and finish the work of John Paul II,' he says. 'John Paul asked for a new evangelisation, and look - millions have heard his word.'
'Someone has got to start working. And if there needs to be a change I think it is that people need to come closer to the church not that the church needs to come closer to the people.'
Like Bishops Schilder and Lele, Cleary believes the true power of John Paul's message was not in his advocacy of freedom and human rights, but in his advocacy for 'life' - his opposition to euthanasia, contraception and abortion.
The question for the church is how to bridge this gap outside of these brief but powerful moments of catharsis.
'I don't think [this separation] is a problem,' said a senior Catholic official. 'The bishops have always been pastors. The sheep don't always know where to go to look for guidance. And the flock does need guidance. They offer a wide spectrum of feeling and depth of faith.'
He agrees, however, that the events of the last week inevitably will set a challenge for the cardinals as they consider what the outpouring of emotion means for their institution and the selection of a new pope.
This still leaves the central contradictions of the Catholic Church intact. For even as the Vatican's own security begins its next mammoth task after the funeral, ensuring the secrecy of next Monday's conclave, sweeping the Sistine Chapel for listening devices and preparing the conditions of the cardinals' purdah, it seems clear that the leadership and congregation have drawn markedly different messages from the scenes of the last extraordinary week.
The few clues that have emerged from cardinals and others close to the top of the church's hierarchy are suggesting that despite the ageing congregations and the falling numbers of priests, many cardinals are concluding that John Paul was on the right track and that it was not just the power of his personality - but his religious orthodoxy too - that has inspired so many.
It is the cardinals - and not the wider church - who will choose the successor to John Paul II, and the few comments that have emerged in the last week suggest that in the discreet meetings behind the scenes between small groups of cardinals there is little appetite either for radical change or for another long papacy. A recognition exists too that, despite the popularity of John Paul II, there is no point in trying to replicate him.
It is a process of selection, in any case, that has not begun simply with Karol Wojtyla's death. In anticipation of his demise conversations on the future leadership have been quietly conducted among groups of Cardinals for several years. Now, however, they have been supplied with an urgent new meaning.
And while some are holding their counsel, other cardinals have been more open about their expectations.
Among them has been Sydney's Cardinal George Pell, who a day after the death of the Pope, confirmed that the discussions were already going on. 'I've never been to a conclave (to elect a new pope) before,' he said. 'It would be a great mistake to see it in exclusively or heavily political terms.
'There will be debate and discussion on what is the best way to present the message of Christ, the best way to live a Catholic life. But that's not politics in the way that we generally understand it.
'I'm quite sure that the general line - fidelity to basic Catholic teachings - is absolutely unassailable. I don't think that anyone who really knows the church believes that any radical change is likely.'
And while the media has looked at headline issues such as church attendance, contraception and sex as the points of likely tension, for the cardinals themselves there are other issues that are more pressing - the reform of the Curia (the Vatican's 'civil service'), centralisation of power, and the concept of so-called 'collegiality' - a central tenet of the Second Vatican Council which met in the early 1960s - that proposed more independence for local dioceses.
It is this last issue that was on the minds of several US cardinals as they arrived in Rome.
'How do you reflect the unity of the universal church and then figure out how to do that in our own back yard? That's a question for the church in the future to look at and figure out,' Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington said in an interview with the National Catholic Reporter.
It is a view that was endorsed by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago: 'I think collegiality needs to be strengthened, because that means you strengthen the unity of the bishops. We can look for better ways to strengthen it.'
Collegiality, he added, 'doesn't mean autonomy. It doesn't mean independence. It means just the opposite. It means you are together'.
But after last week there are some among the cardinals who are not taking the outpouring of emotion and face value as a vindication of John Paul's connection with the faithful.
Foremost among them is the English Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. 'The fact that they're not going to church doesn't mean they're not Catholic, or Christian,' he said, speaking to journalists at the English College in Rome last week.
'But how do you live Christ in today's secular culture?' he asked, acknowledging how much John Paul II had transformed the Papacy. 'How you do touch people where they itch? The Catholic church has to find new ways of doing that.'
On that issue, the majority in the youthful crowds who jammed into Rome last week seem certain to agree. | <urn:uuid:9d2fe081-f1d9-4034-911d-0fec72a3cb92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/apr/10/catholicism.religion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980145 | 2,410 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Scammers have bilked older victims out of cash by impersonating family… (Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg )
Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for.
Grandparent scam -- This scheme has been highlighted before in this space, but it’s so common it’s worth sounding the alarm again. There have been numerous reports about bad people trying to trick older Americans into giving them money by calling and pretending to be relatives, often grandchildren, who are in desperate need of money because of a fabricated emergency. In some cases, it can be for bail or to repair a car. Consumer advocates caution that anyone who receives such a call should ask questions that an imposter would not be able to answer correctly -- the date of their mother’s birthday or the city they were born in, for instance. Before sending money, anyone who receives such a call should try to call the family of the person who is asking for assistance to see if it’s legitimate.
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles said they recently arrested a man who ran such a scam out of a boiler room in Canada. Many victims were from Southern California. Pascal Goyer, 29, whose last known residence was Montreal, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday after his flight landed from Mexico. A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Goyer and five other people in September after an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The suspects were charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, attempted wire fraud and aiding and abetting. According to the indictment, Goyer and his co-defendants called elderly victims in Southern California and invented scenarios involving legal or financial crises they claimed had befallen the grandchildren or other relatives of the victims and instructed victims to wire them money. Victims typically sent between $2,000 and $3,000, the FBI said in a news release.
Investment fraud -- A Nevada man has been arrested on suspicion of mail and wire fraud for allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme that brought in $15 million from investors, many of them from Southern California. Gordon Driver of Henderson, Nev., a suburb of Las Vegas, is accused of falsely telling victims that he made 1% to 5% per week by investing in commodities. In reality, his trading was overwhelmingly unprofitable, the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said in a news release. Driver also used investor money to pay personal expenses and to pay returns to early investors, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Victims lost an estimated $9 million in the scheme, prosecutors said. In a Ponzi scheme, the perpetrator uses money from recent investors to pay returns to early investors, deceiving them into believing the investment fund is healthy and profitable. When investments stop coming in, the schemes collapse.
Debt collection -- A California man who worked with bogus debt collectors in India has agreed to pay a settlement to resolve a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC had accused Varang K. Thaker of Villa Park and two affiliated companies of working with bogus debt collectors to threaten and intimidate consumers into making payments for debts that did not exist. As part of the settlement, Thaker and his companies will pay about $170,000, the FTC said. The FTC had obtained a judgment against him and his companies for $5.4 million. That order was suspended because of the defendants’ inability to pay, the FTC said.
Scam watch: Internet pharmacy, tech support, IRS email
Scam watch: Online car sales, secret shoppers, resort hotel
Scam watch: Fake news sites, smartphone viruses, BBB scam stopper
Follow Stuart Pfeifer on Twitter | <urn:uuid:75ef9932-647b-4f33-b0a5-bb8e8a0477a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/28/business/la-fi-mo-20121026 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970816 | 763 | 1.679688 | 2 |
| Quote #7
"Oh, I will die," she exclaimed, "since no one cares anything about me. I wish I had not taken that." Then a good while after I heard her murmur, "No, I'll not die – he'd be glad – he does not love me at all – he would never miss me!" (12.6)
Catherine enjoys engineering the romantic dramas in her life. She yearns to provoke Edgar into a frenzy of concern, but he will never be as tormented as she would like.
| Quote #8
"We've braved its ghosts often together, and dared each other to stand among the graves and ask them to come. But, Heathcliff, if I dare you now, will you venture? If you do, I'll keep you. I'll not lie there by myself: they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but I won't rest till you are with me. I never will!" (12.52)
Not even the divide between life and death will keep Catherine and Heathcliff apart. Had he heard her say these words, he would have been comforted. Being haunted by her is his greatest wish after she dies.
| Quote #9
Two words would comprehend my future – death and hell: existence, after losing her, would be hell. Yet I was a fool to fancy for a moment that she valued Edgar Linton's attachment more than mine. If he loved with all the powers of his puny being, he couldn't love as much in eighty years as I could in a day. (14.23)
Life without Catherine is not worth living. The only emotion that begins to compensate for Heathcliff's loss is bitterness. Despite her unfortunate choice for a husband, Heathcliff knows that Edgar is incapable of loving her the way he does. | <urn:uuid:15c677b5-3500-41b9-878c-dd1ddc4b4e80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shmoop.com/wuthering-heights/love-quotes-3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983875 | 389 | 1.75 | 2 |
Sen. Daniel Inouye, who has represented Hawaii in Congress since its statehood, was at a Washington-area military hospital on Monday where his oxygen levels were monitored, he said in a statement.
"For the most part, I am OK. However, I am currently working with my doctors to regulate my oxygen intake," the Democrat said. "Much to my frustration, while undergoing this process, I have to remain in the hospital for my own safety and to allow the necessary observation."
Inouye, 88, who was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, said he would be back on Capitol Hill as soon as his "doctors allow it."
Inouye was on the Senate floor last week with an oxygen mask before a ratification vote on a United Nations treaty involving disability rights.
He received hospital treatment last month for a minor head injury following a fall.
Inouye was elected to his ninth consecutive term in 2010. Behind the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, he is the second longest serving senator in the chamber's history.
He has been a senator for all but three of the Hawaii's 53 years as a state. Before that, the decorated World War II veteran was its first House member. | <urn:uuid:36687c47-131b-48d8-9192-fc870d12a313> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wxii12.com/news/politics/Inouye-hospitalized-says-he-is-OK/-/9677658/17725248/-/xrsl8p/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987548 | 252 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Often I disagree with the reviews in the Horn Book, the country’s leading journal of children’s literature, which at times seem to favor books suited for schools and libraries at the expense of those that are pure fun. You probably aren’t going to find the magazine giving much play to Bob Phillips’s Awesome Good Clean Jokes for Kids (Harvest House, 207 pp., $3.99, paperback), which you can buy off the rack at CVS and might delight any 5-to-8-year-old on your holiday list.
But the Horn Book brings a seriousness of purpose to reviewing that’s all the more valuable now that so many book-review sections have died. And its editors have a leg up on most children’s book reviewers – to say nothing of bloggers — at gift-giving time: They see pretty much everything that gets published.
So if you’re looking for good books about sports for ages 5 to 13 or so, you could do worse than to look at its list of recommended fiction, nonfiction and poetry for grades kindergarten though 8 (and maybe higher)
www.hbook.com/resources/books/sports.asp. The Horn Book editors also suggest books about sports for preschoolers. I’ll post my gift suggestions for sports and other books in a few weeks.
© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:912ae1ea-3c7c-41f8-bfbe-e3b9129e8bca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2008/11/01/fiction-nonfiction-and-poetry-about-sports-for-grades-k%E2%80%938-recommended-by-the-country%E2%80%99s-leading-children%E2%80%99s-literature-journal/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=20ee2ea151 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951992 | 294 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Fantasy as a genre owes its existence, at least in part, to J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, which at once created and defined the fantasy genre, or what we call “high fantasy” – worlds in which elves and wizards, dragons and humans all share a common world. So compelling was this lush world of legend and magic that fans of the literature wanted to stay on after the final curtain and live there.
And so Dungeons & Dragons, the fantasy roleplaying game that now defines the genre, was created and now endures.
Over the past 30 years, versions of the game have come and gone, some better than others, but all well loved. Sadly, many of those rulebooks and adventures from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s have disappeared — forgotten, made obsolete, or discarded with the trash by parents when young gamers went off to college. They’re nearly impossible to get nowadays, and when you do get them, they’re sometimes sold for exorbitant prices.
We’re happy to report that Wizards of the Coast has launched dndclassics.com, a new site that sells hundreds of these decades-old products available for download in PDF format.
The website’s tagline offers a heady promise: “Every edition available again!” Eventually, dndclassics.com will offer hundreds of titles for digital release.
The products for sale include a combination of core rules books, adventure series (what us old gamers call “modules”), supplement materials, and various backlist products from most of the D&D rules systems known to gaming-kind — Basic, AD&D, AD&D 2nd Edition, 3rd Edition, 3.5 and 4.0 — as well as specific campaign settings like Planescape and Ravenloft. Much of the materials on dndclassics.com date to the “Golden Age” of role-playing games, back when Gary Gygax’s TSR Hobbies, Inc. ran the role-playing game industry, before his company was purchased by Wizards of the Coast.
The idea of re-releasing old products was a result of listening to fans on the forums, with the goal of letting “people play the D&D they want in the format they want.”
In the first wave of items made available, more than 80 products can be downloaded from dndclassics.com, everything from the 1981 D&D Basic Game “Red Box” Rulebook to the 4th edition adventure H1: Keep on the Shadowfell, originally released in 2008. Prices range from $4.99 for most modules, to $17.99 for the newer manuals and supplements. The site is operated in partnership with DriveThruRPG, which claims to be “the largest RPG download store” on the Internet.
Mike Mearls, senior manager of Dungeons & Dragons research and development, compared it to a movie studio “going through a back catalogue” of old movies to decide what to release on DVD and Blu-ray. “You can always find these things on eBay,” said Mearls. “But like baseball cards in the 1970s, no one took care of them. You have to pay a premium for it.”
The PDFs are made from fresh scans of these old products. Mearls feels that players should appreciate the older game products, which allowed for more varied, less predictable styles of play. “Older style adventures, there is no script,” he said, adding that players enjoy the “uncertainty” of the games’ “element of chaos.”
Stock up on the Mountain Dew and Cheetos. Worlds await.
- 30 -
[Editor's note - don't forget to give Krypton Radio a listen as well. If you like D&D, you'll love the stuff we play!] | <urn:uuid:90afa8ae-a843-4c4a-90c2-893881366de3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kryptonradio.com/2013/01/23/wizards-of-the-coast-rereleases-every-version-of-dungeons-dragons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948688 | 834 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Hotels, ryokans (Japanese style inns and eating and drinking establishments in Hirado city are to simultaneously start offering whale cuisine on new speciality product menus. A final taste testing event was held at the city's northern community centre on the 18th.More coverage of this story can be found in Japanese here.
Whale food culture permeated through the Hirado region, where whaling history extended from the Edo era (1603 ~ 1867) to early Showa (1925 ~ 1989). The Hirado and Matsuura regions tourism human resource development council, made up of local government and commerce and industry associations from Hirado and Matsuura was commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to work towards the creation of the new speciality food menus.
Around 30 people from local women's groups and tourism operators were invited to the taste testing event, where the Hirado industry cooperative prepared four dishes, and the Hirado food and drink industry produced ten. In addition to standards such as sashimi, items including shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, chilli sauce, bacon pizza and salads made up the elaborate new menu.
Takada Kumiko (56), a Hirado city tourist guide from Iwanoue town was full of expectation, saying "This was my first time to eat it, but it is surprisingly delicious. My image of whale has changed. Many middle aged and older people have a desire to eat whale meat, so I can confidently recommend this to them. I hope it becomes a Hirado speciality".
Once the cooperatives have reviewed the results of questionnaires from the test tasting event, they will decide on respective items to be included in the unified menu. They will start promoting the menus to tourists from next month.
Brandifying modern whale cuisine - Hirado's whaling history for tourism - Sales from mid-FebruaryInteresting stuff. I suppose western environmental groups might suggest that Hirado residents look to boost tourism through whale watching instead of whale cuisine, but the people who decide the way forward will be the people who are actually stakeholders, and they will do so in accordance with their own cultural values.
On the 18th, Hirado city's restaurant business unveiled modern dishes using whale meat, as they set to bring "whale cuisine" to the market as a new brand for the region, leveraging the region's Edo era history as a prosperous whaling post. In Hirado city, the Hirado Tourism Association is conducting an experiment to test the concept of "dinner / lodging separation", where by tourists are lodged over night in hotels and ryokans, but enjoy local speciality food for dinner in the town. The association aims to appeal to tourists and reinvigorate the region through the development of the unique menus.
This was the second such event since November last year, being conducted as a part of a joint project between Hirado city and the Matsuura region to develop tourism human resources.
Whaling was well underway in the waters of Genkainada based out of Ikitsuki Island (a part of modern day Hirado city) by the early stages of the 18th century. By the 19th century, the "Masutomi group" had expanded their fishing grounds into Iki and Goto, making the group the largest kujira-gumi in Japan. Later, yields reduced and traditional whaling waned.
"Tasty", was the word on the lips of most participants. The same cooperative apparently has plans to offer various whale cuisine in conjunction with the "Hirado hot springs / castle town doll festival", in which hina dolls will be displayed in 130 locations throughout the urban area.
Building on this historical background, the thought is that the creation of "whale cuisine" peculiar to the region, following on from the "Hirado Flounder" that was introduced in January 1997 as a regional brand, will become a new tourist attraction, and boost sluggish tourist numbers in the region.
Restaurant operator Miyakuni Kazuhiko (30), a resident of Kouyamachi, Hirado city, who entered a pie offering to the event, said "we got rid of the smell of whale meat, and softened it by marinating it overnight in salad oil, olive oil, and ginger and laurier. I really hope people will taste this healthy sensation".
June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 February 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 February 2011 March 2011 May 2013 | <urn:uuid:af465c0f-06dc-45c2-96f5-8ecc2d2f0511> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://david-in-tokyo.blogspot.com/2007/01/more-whale-meat-offerings-for-kyushu.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972773 | 1,056 | 1.648438 | 2 |
NANNY & HOUSEHOLD FACTS
There has been a tremendous amount of publicity in the last few years regarding Nannies and how a family should be paying. We have designed this section of our site to answer some common questions about payroll and nanny taxes!
Is a nanny an employee?
YES! ABSOLUTELY! You are considered to be an employee when you work on a regular basis for a family, at their home and expect to earn more than $1,800 per year. The IRS and the state you work in consider you a household employee. There are only slight differences between being a household employee and an employee working in an office, retail store or a restaurant, but basically both types of employees are treated the same way tax wise.
So what does being an employee actually mean?
Being an employee is good in many ways. The first and foremost is that you are protected under a number of laws in case you are ever unemployed, hurt or when you are ready to retire. In the event you become involuntarily unemployed you may be able to collect what is known as unemployment insurance until you find your next nanny job. The unemployment insurance will allow you to get by while you are looking for your new job. If you get hurt on the job, your medical bills and lost wages may be reimbursed by workers' compensation, and if you are hurt off the job, then you may be protected by disability insurance. Under the present day laws, when you retire at the age of 67, you will collect Social Security benefits and be covered by Medicare medical insurance. Thus providing you with some income when you retire.
I bring home
Yes, that's right. You will receive less money in your paycheck to cover Social Security, Medicare taxes, federal and state withholding taxes and possibly a small amount for unemployment and / or disability insurance. BUT, your employer also pays nanny taxes for your benefit and some of those taxes contribute to your Social Security fund increasing the amount presently in your fund.
How much would I lose to taxes each week?
It's hard to say. The Social Security and Medicare taxes are based on a percentage of your gross pay. The amount of Federal and State taxes depends on whether you are single or married and how many allowances you choose to claim. You may have 7.65% of your gross pay withheld for Social Security and Medicare taxes; and 5% to 25% of your gross pay for Federal and State income taxes if your state has an income tax.
Do I have to have income taxes withheld?
No, you are not required to have them withheld but don't confuse this with not having to owe any Federal and State income taxes. If you are a good budgeter or if you do not think you will owe a lot of income taxes at the end of the year, you may pay your own income taxes either at the end of the year or as an estimated payment to the IRS and / or your State. But remember your household employer will give you a W2 form and a copy to the IRS indicating how much they have paid you and you must file that form with your personal tax return. More times than none, it's a good idea to ask your employer to withhold the income taxes from your pay, so come April 15th you are not short a thousand dollars or so in income taxes. By doing this you will then get a chance to get a refund when you file your own tax return.
Are there any benefits of being paid professionally, legally, "on the books"?
Yes, there are actually. If you have ever applied for a credit card or tried to buy a new car or are planning to buy a house, proving you are working and paying taxes is very important. If you can not prove you are legally earning income the lender will not give you credit because you cannot prove how you will be able to pay them back.
What if the family I work for doesn't want to pay nanny taxes?
We understand you may encounter this and so does the agency you are working with. Ask the agency or GTM for help in explaining to the family that it's truly in their best interest to pay you properly (legally). Some of the following reasons may also help.
- It protects them in case you ever get hurt on the job
- They will be able to take advantage of their flexible-spending plan and deduct your salary as a qualifying expense
- Your employer has to report your wages and the taxes they withheld for you on their personal income tax return. The IRS figures to catch a lot of people who forget to tell them about their Nannies
- Not paying you properly cheats you out of any credits to your social security account, impedes your ability to obtain credit and will not protect you if you become unemployed
- Because it's the law!
How does GTM help me and the family I work for?
GTM works with hundreds of families, nannies and agencies around the country in helping sort out the taxes and assist them in complying with the nanny tax laws of the IRS and their state. GTM's three basic programs that do just this are listed in the services section.
* The information contained within is designed to give the user general guidelines on the subject of household employment taxes. Tax Laws can vary considerably from different taxpayers based on the circumstances and the state of residency. This information is not designed to serve as legal, accounting or tax advice. GTM encourages you to consult with a competent tax advisor concerning specific matters before making any decisions. GTM does not accept any responsibility for positions taken by taxpayers for any interpretations on the information found within. | <urn:uuid:f154016c-db11-4d5e-bf37-f7cec6b355f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gtm.com/tax_resource_center/nanny_household_facts.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972702 | 1,156 | 1.710938 | 2 |
In the deed I am exploring today, I see the 60 acres purchased by Edward Jr. is now being sold to Phineas Ash of Lyman. This transfer takes place less than a year after Junior acquired the property. Phineas Ash will appear in other Marden deeds as well.
What does this deed tell me?
- the deed is dated 13-Jan-1821
- the deed is recorded 27-Jan-1821
- Edward Marden Jr. is living in Lyman
- Edward Jr. is a farmer
- the land is sold for $300
- the land is purchased by Phineas Ash, farmer of Concord (Lisbon)
- the land is described as 60 acres from Lot #66
- Edward Jr. owned the land “free and clear”
- Elizabeth Marden releases her “right of dower”
The 60 acres of land in Lyman purchased by Edward Jr. for $54 in 1820 is now being sold for $300. A very nice profit in a year’s time. It does leave me wondering if this is yet another planned transaction in a community effort to help an old veteran live out his remaining years. Just because the deed says Phineas Ash paid $300 does not guarantee Edward Jr. really received that much money.
There are still a few more deeds to explore and I certainly hope I can get some legal advice after they are all posted.
Copyright ©2011 Ne-Do-Ba - All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:087a957d-4070-485d-9031-b7236bbfd6bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nedoba.blogspot.com/2011/04/edward-marden-jr-grafton-deeds-part-7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968382 | 313 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The NRICH Team at the University of Cambridge is offering a free professional development day in teaching mathematics for NQTs teaching in maintained sector primary or secondary schools/colleges in the UK, on 4 July 2012 .
On the day we will discuss issues such as include finding and using rich tasks to encourage questioning and discussion, and building both our own and our learners’ confidence.
The programme is for newly qualified teachers of mathematics working in KS R/1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. The aim of the day is to support beginning teachers who are committed to nurturing confident, resourceful and enthusiastic learners.
Watch highlights from last year's event:
How to book:
Thanks to generous support from the John Templeton Foundation we are able to offer free places to newly qualified teachers at maintained sector primary or secondary schools/colleges and academies in the UK. Numbers are limited and pre-registration is essential. For more information please see the NQT Teacher Inspiration page. The deadline for registration was 13th June 2012: please note this event is now fully booked. | <urn:uuid:4c3ad95a-736e-4934-bd1f-ff200af4bcf0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mmp.maths.org/node/214?page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945706 | 224 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Lions mourn Louis Luyt
The South African rugby community was left shocked at the news of the passing of one of the country's most iconic rugby figures, Louis Luyt.
The sometimes controversial former player, rugby administrator, newspaper proprietor, businessman and politician passed away at home in Ballito, north of Durban, after a long period of illness.Luyt was born in 1932 in the Karoo and went on to represent, and captain, the Orange Free State from the 1950s.
From humble beginnings as a farm-to-farm fertiliser salesman, Luyt rose to become a multi-millionaire and a national figure, stirring controversy every step of the way.
He worked his way up in the fertiliser business to head his own company Triomf Fertiliser.
He became a "super-Afrikaner" fraternising with the political bigwigs of the day, among them Bureau of State Security head General Hendrik van der Bergh and Prime Minister John Vorster.
He fronted an assault on the English newspaper group SA Associated Newspapers to get control of the apartheid government's bugbear, the Rand Daily Mail, and when this failed, launched The Citizen in the mid-70s.
He later swore he had no prior knowledge of the secret government funding of the newspaper.
"When I eventually found out, it was too late. I was in too deep," he was quoted as saying in 1992.
Luyt also invested heavily in a brewing venture, but when both his Louis Luyt Breweries and Triomf went to the wall, he turned to rugby full-time in what one journalist called his "quest for power".
He accepted the Transvaal Rugby Football Union presidency in 1989, and was soon afterwards elected president of the SA Rugby Football Union (Sarfu).
During this period, he came under attack for his administration style and efforts to make the sport professional.
He was accused of nepotism, using bullying tactics, and of autocratic administration.
In 1992, Luyt clashed with the African National Congress when he chose to play only the Afrikaans section of the national anthem at the Springbok Test match against the All Blacks at Ellis Park stadium.
Despite these problems, Luyt played a crucial role in ensuring the national squad's re-entry into the international arena.
His major contribution was in 1995, to facilitate the Springboks' capture of the Rugby World Cup.
Luyt became infamous for his role in the court case involving President Nelson Mandela, when he was a hostile witness in a commission of inquiry into Sarfu affairs.
Gradually, people -- including his former son-in-law Rian Oberholzer, who was the Sarfu MD -- distanced themselves from him.
This resulted in Luyt's sacking as Sarfu president in May 1998.
Luyt then ventured into politics with the Federal Alliance (FA), which he personally financed. His stated purpose in forming the party was to protect the rights and integrity of Afrikaners.
The FA took part in South Africa's first democratic election in 1999, and in 2000 it merged with the Democratic Party, which became the Democratic Alliance. However, Luyt later associated the party with the Freedom Front Plus.
Luyt served as a Member of Parliament for two years. He was also a member of the Judicial Services Commission.
In his book, Walking Proud, Luyt revealed that his birth name was Oswald Louis Petrus Poley, but that he took the surname of his stepfather Charles Luyt when his mother remarried, to become known as Louis Luyt.
“Doc Luyt was a single-minded and determined individual who dominated rugby politics following the death of Doc Craven,” said Oregan Hoskins, the president of SARU.
“On behalf of SARU I would like to send rugby’s condolences to his family and friends.”
GLRU President Kevin de Klerk said he was deeply saddened by the news of Luyt’s passing and conveyed his condolences to Luyt’s family.
“I would like to convey my deepest sympathies to Doc Luyt’s dear wife and children on behalf of myself and the Golden Lions Rugby Union,” he said.
“This Union was always regarded as his home in rugby and we are saddened by the news of his passing.”
De Klerk refers to Luyt as a close friend, who he had the utmost respect for.
“He was always a great mentor, for most of us involved in the game, and we always strove to attain the very high standards that he set. I will sorely miss him.” | <urn:uuid:1ec75a9f-cfa5-4e23-9852-24b4d7f4d7df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sarugby.com/news.cfm?newsid=22026 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98303 | 1,003 | 1.773438 | 2 |
German and Russian scientists say that it is normal for an interglacial period like the one just ending to finish with one or more brief - in geological terms - spells of warming before the glaciers return. According to boffins based at the Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung (UFZ) and at the Russian Academy of Sciences, in …
When I was at school it was all about the ice-age returning. Then it was all about global warming. Now, again, it is about an ice-age returning.
Good thing with this complete lack of scientific consensus that they aren't trying to set taxes and financial commitments based on any of this.
This only indicates a lack of consensus in the wikipedia "all viewpoints are equal and people who shout louder and the most equal of all" way
Throw another enviromentalist on the fire
Got to keep them thar glaciers at bay somehow!
Cherry-picking your global warming stories
It's not big or clever to cherry-pick the stories that support your personal viewpoint and ignore the others. How about either a more balanced coverage of GW on this site or (dare I say it), avoid this non-IT subject altogether?
Normaly I'd agree but...
I'd generally agree but in the case of climate change there is such a massively strong bias towards the 'for' camp (see my post on 'climate change deniers'), that viewpoints such as that taken by El Reg don't even begin to redress the balance.
I fully agree with you
this is a report on 1 piece of research which backs up 100's of others.
After studying all the crap on the internet i cam up with my own conclusion
Man can affect his local enviroment to a great degree and the global on a minute scale
The seasons seem to be shifting later in the year imo so yes warmer in december but colder in April :/
Im gonna go get my jacket and skis :D :D :D
Glacier ski'ing !!!
Yes, you never hear about Global Warming anywhere else!
For years we've had non stop wall-to-wall Global Warming panic from the BBC (all channels, 24 hours a day), the Government, and most of the newspapers, even the Sun and the DailyFail.
Now we get a bit of unbiased balance and you're whining. Shall I get your coat for you?
Yeah it was the same with AIDS. Blanket coverage everywhere with not a nay-sayer in sight.
Fortunately there is now "unbiased balance" in that many Africans don't believe AIDS is real, but a government conspiracy to modify their sexual behaviour. After all, it's ridiculous to think that something as small as a virus particle can affect the large-scale operation of a human being.
Amazing parallels here, really.
Not quite an amazing parallel
Not that good a parallel...
For starters, its massively easier to understand what happens with the human body. For 1, its a lot better understood. For 2, its easy to observe what happens (shorter lifetimes etc). For 3, control samples are easy to come by. For 4, you could replicate outcomes.
For the climate change... 1, its not really that well understood with very contradictory evidence (note how its gone from global warming to climate change, if it was just warming then you'd have to demonstrate an increase in temperature, now its just change and change happens all the time so is self fulfilling). 2, it happens over thousands of years and is constantly changing. We've only observed a small fraction of it. 3, no other control samples as far as I am aware. Anyone found earth 2? 4, can't really replicate the outcomes. Anyone come up with a decent prediction yet that we can then observe happen?
I'm deliberately antagonising here. My frustration is that I believe that this is all part of a control mechanism. As a people we always need to have something to be fearful of... communism, natzis, terrorism from the middle-east, conservative government (joke) and now the best of all climate change. Just something to keep us all busy. Supported by the media as it sells well - its a scandal after all. Not to mention that the vested interests (Grants etc) for people supporting the 'common view'.
For me it boils down to the fact that its so complex, as humans I don't believe we can fully understand all the variables. It has too much skew based on policy and media. The scientists themselves are yet to reach agreement. IF, and I mean IF the government REALLY believed this, then why not put more radical plans in place. Why not limit cars to 50mph (most economical)? Why not put massive tax hikes on high polluting and massive incentives on environmentally friendly. Why not massively tax uneconomical flights? Yeah, sure the economy might suffer, but surely that's better than the world dying. Oh, right - its because no-one else would do it - someone's gotta be first, right?! Why not show them all that we've got some balls?! Why, because we don't believe it either.
How do I say this nicely?
It may not be big or clever from your point of view to highlight certain aspects of the climate debate. You may, in fact, be right. But that doesn't mean the article lacks credence.
The article may offer a particular point of view - even lean toward a particular point of view. But all humans are biased one way or the other; the article is still worthy of the paper its written on, even if only to highlight the differences in opinion (and in this, it has succeeded). I suspect your opinion is demonstrated nicely in your own post. The fact that it doesn't match with someone else's opinion is why it is called "bias".
And, while we're here, climate may not look like an IT topic to you, but how many computers does it take to model tomorrow's local weather and still get it wrong 52% of the time? Shall we consider next week's national weather? How about the global weather situation? What about tracking hurricanes - you know, those seasonal visitors that wipe out most of Florida every third year or so?
Indeed, _how_ _many_ _computers_ does it take to number-crunch all the data available to manage a best-guess on any aspect of our climate (past, present, future, or prediction)? Any guesses? The fact that the results are then spun and statistics are used to support incorrect assumptions which are then fed to the press does not remove its relevance here. If it takes more than zero computers, it has to do with IT - it belongs here.
You don't like it? You don't think it's big or clever? You don't think it's balanced reporting? You think its cherry picking? Take a moment to consider the title of the article next time and remember that you don't have to read it. That is, unless you want to go the whole hog by unsubscribing and selecting the "balanced reporting" of The Other Red-Topped "Sensationalist" Paper to read instead....
Oh, and have a nice day.
So does this mean that all the eco firendly stuff we are doing to reduce CO2, and cut the greehouse effect, will simply bring on the glaciers faster ?
PS note to self, time to find ski's n ski boots in loft.
More likely it won't make the slightest bit of difference, other than to to lighten taxpayers' wallets.
The Ice age cometh!
The Ice Age Cometh.....
Never has the "I'll get my coat" been more appropriate :)
Here we go again...
...yet another reason to do nothing.
It's Galbraith's Law of Human Nature
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof."
re: Doing nothing
I wish that there would be a change of emphasis from "Global Warming" to "Preserving Fossil Fuels".
I'm sure that nobody would deny that the amount of fossil fuels is finite, and it is quite clear that we are depleting the available reserves. We will run out, period. There can be no real denying this. What may be argued is whether it is 50 or 500 years away.
I am generally in the skeptic camp with regard to man made global warming. I believe that man's impact, though present and undeniable, is dwarfed by what Mother Earth can do on her own. I do, however, support whole-heartedly renewable fuels, because when we've used 100 million years worth of gas, oil and coal, it's not coming back in a hurry. We are treating the Earth like a big (zinc-)carbon battery, but we can't just buy another once it is exhausted as we would an Ever-Ready(tm).
I think that we should be preserving oil at least, because it is useful as a lubricant, not just as fuel. We need to balance our energy use with what enters the Earth's domain from the Sun. This is, ultimately, where all our energy comes from in one way or another.
I'm sure that many people would agree once they consider the arguments, and I believe that Governments should switch tack to this in order to persuade the populace to change their behavior.
2009 may in years to come...............
...........be seen as the high point of the of the catastrophic, anthropogenic CO2 induced, climate change, as sermonised by the IPCC high church.
it might take several more years for the majority of the 'faithful' to begin questioning the consensus.
Or 2010 may in years to come........
be seen as the human species decided to commit collective suicide because it found an excuse to keep fouling its own nest?
The climate may be changing with or without human interaction. It still makes sense to use the available resources in the most efficient manner, and if that saves our skins, it's a bonus!
No it doesn't, you numpty
It makes sense to invent more efficient, more productive energy systems. Time spent on efficiency is time wasted.
News flash: Communism is over. Sustainability is over. And you lost.
Will you make up your mind?
"It makes sense to invent more efficient, more productive energy systems."
Systems that use the available resources in the most efficient manner, you mean?
"Time spent on efficiency is time wasted."
Looks like we won't be getting any more efficient, more productive energy systems any time soon then.
"News flash: Communism is over"
I guess the Chinese didn't get the memo
"Sustainability is over"
YAY! Unsustainability is the future!!!
"And you lost."
Did they only just realise that we're coming out of an ice age, and that huge quantities of water being dumped into the ocean might mess up the climate a little?
Common sense at last
Please can politicians and others who are crying "the sky is falling down" please listen to rational scientific evidence like this? In 20 or 30 years time when it's clear that GW was half political hot air and half a blip on the thermometer we will look back at those who refused to listen to reason and think "what a bunch of idiots".
Further proof that our complicated planet is subject to many different cycles, some lasting 100 years, some 10,000 years. We are only human and have a lot to learn.
Common sense at last
So is it only "rational scientific evidence" when you agree with it?
> when it's clear that GW
Shouldn't that be "if" ?
Yes, we are only human and have a lot to learn.
Oh, except about our climate, which we understand well enough to know that no measures will ever need taking to avoid the obvious and inevitable consequences of CO2 pollution. After all, it's not like we ever inadvertently fucked anything up before.
By the way, I'm being sarcastic.
Quotes, you say?
This isn't your worst denial story (at least it's got "may" in it), but your quoting missed this bit of the article:
"Certainly the MIS 5e/5d transition cannot be viewed as a direct analogue of current climate developments. On the other hand, recently observed global warming proceeding under strong anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere could either reinforce or disguise the natural trends."
So they're really not trying to compare with the current situation or say anything about it, they're just pointing out why their work might be useful. You're trying too hard to make this into something it's not.
I was gong to point that any study of past trends to predict curent trends is just hogwash without an understanding of what caused those past trends and the ability to know if they are valid now.....but you read the article!
>>So they're really not trying to compare with the current situation
Yes they are, that's what they mean with "recently observed global warming ... could either reinforce or disguise the natural trends." Sounds like a comparison to me, they are just not sure what conclusions can be drawn.
You seem to be reading "cannot be viewed as a direct analogue" to mean "not analogous at all".
This is just another data point, and it needs to be put in the models if they are to be complete.
>>trying too hard to make this into something
Personally though, I find it strange to be talking about anthropogenic impact if you don't even know what the natural trends are.
Try reading it again
The key word being "could".
But there's no anthropogenic signal in the warming (now stopped) - so why should anyone worry?
There is a hidden agenda behind current economic policy on 'climate change'; namely the fact that fossil fuel reserves are rapidly running out!
Climate change allows governments to change habits and reduce power consumption without causing the economic and social panic which would inevitably accompany official announcements on fuel shortages as a primary reason for change.
There is consequently so much propaganda and bad science in the field of paleoclimatology; I've noticed recently that the phrase "climate change denier", is being used, (in the same vein as holocaust denier), to brand anyone so obviously stupid and inconsiderate of the planet and their fellow men as to question the 'accepted fact' of man made climate change =OC
Either way it's all the same; we're all going to Hell in a handcart =O/
The sad reality
Governments don't change habits, prices, taxes and fines do.
This with knobs on
"fossil fuel reserves are rapidly running out!"
I've been banging on about this since GW became fashionable, but just end up being talked to like I'm a baby killer.I don't doubt that the fossil fuels we are burning will have some sort of effect on the climate, but at the same time the real reason behind the whole GW bandwagon is to keep the presidential limo fueled for a few more years, rather than saving the planet.
Ultimately we aren't killing the planet, we just putting back the CO2 that was in the air a few million years ago.
Mines an ice cold pint
taxes and fines
... imposed by governments...
The sooner the scientific community reaches a consensus and admit they really don't have a clue what's going on and start working with an open mind, the better.
The whole Global Warming/Cooling argument is a waste. We just don't have the knowledge to work out what the climate is doing yet, keep studying it though.
Nearly everyone agrees that:
1 Energy efficiency is a good thing.
2 Pollution is a bad thing.
If they just worked on these two things the chances are they would cut down on the CO2 levels and other crap in the atmosphere with a lot less resistance from most people.
And we need to add
3 Uncontrolled population growth leads to over use of resourses and increases pollution.
Reducing C0<SUB>2</SUB>: It's all a smoke screen: they just want to reduce our dependence on Islamic oil & Russian Gas.
Let me correct that for you
"3 Uncontrolled energy consumption leads to over use of resources and increases polution."
Even if the size of the global population remains static, energy consumption will rocket as developing nations atempt to raise the standard of living to Western levels.
have no fear
So we're now in a situation where an ice age is coming ( in a few thousand years at any rate) , the sun is zooming in ( or at least it's radiation is being bounced back into the atmosphyere to heat things up ) and in order to reduce dependency on fossil fuels it is likely to become increasingly a nuclear era?
We should look out for London drowning next, I guess.
Clash of ideas?
Sorry, getting coat
Re: have no fear
only a problem if you live by the river...
Oh look, an anti-global warming article....
Nice to see you're all maintaining your journalistic integrity at The Reg. Keep it up.
I just wish I understood the reasoning behind it.
Stick to IT related topics
It's why I come to this site.
Re: Stick to IT related topics
It's you that's not sticking to IT-related topics, strictly speaking.
Re: Stick to IT related topics
Don't feel you have to, I'm sure we won't miss you.
Humans think there so important, when compared with the universe there a fart in a hurricane.
Clatu barada nicto...
Your inability to correctly utilise an apostrophe and use of the third person reveals you as an alien!
Are your people responsible for all of this?
Some humans think that good grammar is more important than alleged global warming:
- 'There' is used as in 'It's over there.'
- 'They're' is used as a contraction of 'they are'
- 'Their' is possessive as in 'It is their view'
It's quite easy really...
The way society is dumbing down perhaps our evolution is unwinding and we will shortly revert to raw fruit and vegetables as a diet together with an arborial life style.
Raises the questionof whether we are worth saving as a species!
I don't know why anyone bothers.
I don't understand why anyone is bothering to do research on the planet's climate. The governments have now got their nice tax stream (in the shape of higher car and fuel taxes) to pay for their third homes and flights to their mates' yachts -- so "CO2 is responsible for global warming!". Whatever the results of any climate change research nothing will be done now, as the taxes are already in place. | <urn:uuid:cd3ae0ae-58b8-4cba-a719-c3dacfae09bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2010/03/03/global_warming_seen_before/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960751 | 3,965 | 1.8125 | 2 |
NBC says it is conscious about the amount of violence it airs in the wake of real-life tragedies, but it isn't really an issue because NBC isn't the "shoot-'em-up" network.
Network entertainment President Jennifer Salke said Sunday that NBC hasn't taken any specific steps to ask show creators to tone down violence. She said it would be different if NBC was perceived as a "shoot-'em-up" network with many crime procedurals, but she said it wasn't an issue.
NBC has in development a drama based on the life of Hannibal Lecter, one of fiction's most indelible serial killers, but hasn't scheduled it for the air.
Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said a tonic for people disturbed by violence is to watch an episode of "Parenthood."
Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This story may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Links to the FCC website to view WTHR and/or WALV’s on-line public inspection files:
WTHR: https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/WTHR || WALV: https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/WALV
Individuals with disabilities may contact Jill Pursell at firstname.lastname@example.org, or 317.655.5602, for assistance with access to the public inspection files. | <urn:uuid:e0176d23-3e9b-4741-a16d-415a827763ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wthr.com/story/20516240/nbc-says-its-not-the-shoot-em-up-network | 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 | 0.949317 | 310 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Tue January 8, 2013
Santa Fe Plans First Gun Buyback Event
The city of Santa Fe will kick off Operation Safe Streets with its first gun buyback program at police headquarters on Saturday.
City officials say the goal is to provide a safe way for residents to dispose of unwanted firearms.
Mayor David Coss has been pushing for a gun buyback program. He says he believes such a program will keep unwanted guns from falling into the wrong hands.
The city will be partnering with Wells Fargo Bank to give out gift cards in return for operational firearms. The city will pay $150 for handguns, $100 for rifles or shotguns and $200 for high capacity weapons.
All firearms accepted under the program will be destroyed.
Two more gun buyback events will be held in February and March. | <urn:uuid:2ed57cd1-447c-417d-9299-3bb572f92e77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kunm.org/post/santa-fe-plans-first-gun-buyback-event | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95358 | 166 | 1.617188 | 2 |
How Boston's Qualifying Times Inspire Excellence
The changing times reflect the changing sport
Saskia Oosting, an orange lei flapping around her neck, shouted joyfully as she approached the finish of the 2009 Miami Marathon (see image below). She crossed the line with her arms spread wide, as though in flight, in 3:47:59 -- a Boston Marathon qualifier.
Katie Kirwan was seeking that same satisfaction at the Carlsbad Marathon 12 months later. She passed the half in 1:50:43 -- on pace for the 3:40 she needed -- but when the 3:40 pace group passed her in the 23rd mile, she says, "It was just devastating. Like a kid having her ice cream stolen or something." She crossed the line in 3:49:38.
For 113 years the Boston Marathon has inspired excellence in distance runners, and for 40 years Boston's qualifying times have defined the evolution of a sport. Their fine-tuning reflects two running booms, women's participation, the growth of age-group competition, the advent of computer timing, and a shift from competition toward participation. The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), historically slow to embrace change, was nonetheless at the forefront of all these developments.
In the late 1960s, after decades of 200-man fields, the early ripples of the running boom reached Boston. Thirteen hundred runners entered in 1969, overwhelming organizers and leading to discussion of qualifying times.
Jeff Johnson covered "The ' Jogger ' Controversy" for Distance Running News by surveying some of the top finishers: Peter Stipe, of, ironically, the B.A.A. team, said, "There is a unique atmosphere surrounding an event where the worst can compete with the best. . . . It is Everyman's race." Teammate Phil Ryan asked, "Why limit this race to people of above average running ability? . . . Allow [joggers] to gain their own spot in the sun."
Johnson also quoted Jock Semple. The 1969 field was mostly "joggers, idiots, and prank runners," he declared. And Jock made the rules. For 1970, a 4-hour qualifying time would be used. When 1,000 entered, the standard was improved to 3:30 for 1971 -- and a thousand more entered. The B.A.A. wanted to discourage entrants but instead had inspired them.
Oosting entered her first marathon in 1996, inspired by two neighbors who ran the 100th Boston. "If they can run a marathon, so can I," she thought. So she did, finishing in about 4:30. By the turn of the century she'd run six more.
Neither her training nor her racing were particularly scientific. She'd run the first half in two hours and try to hang on. A qualifying time remained distant. When she joined a running club in 1998, she says, "That's where I met real runners." In 2000 she broke 4 hours for the first time.
Today, Oosting is often out the door at 6 a.m. so she can be back to get her kids ready for school. A good week is 40 miles in five days of running. Though her coach would like her to do more, she fears the sacrifices that would demand. Consistency at any level has benefits, though, and five healthy years of this have made her stronger and faster. She broke 4 hours for the second time in 2007.
Phone calls to the Boston Athletic Association in the 1960s and 1970s were answered in a smelly, windowless room in the Boston Garden. There, Jock Semple would drag the phone around while attending to clients on rub-down tables and in whirlpools.
Semple worked with Celtics and Bruins and boxers and tennis stars, but nothing was dearer to him than the Boston Marathon. "Marathon runners were considered second-class citizens in my day. Freaks," he wrote in his autobiography, Just Call me Jock. "We weren't considered serious athletes. Except in Boston."
Semple, B.A.A. president Will Cloney, and a small cast of volunteers handled all of the organizational duties, such as they were. The B.A.A. had no office nor paid staff. "If you wanted to get into the race you had to go through Jock," recalls Nate Greenberg, a former Boston Bruins PR man and frequent visitor to Semple's training room. "He would question you on the phone as to what was your time and where did you run."
Semple is, of course, best known for his failed attempt to remove Kathrine Switzer's number in 1967. Ultimately, there may be no better example of an athlete being driven to succeed by Boston's standards. "I was with Jock plenty of times when he was saying he could 'walk' the speeds some of these jerks were running; they're just joggers and the Boston Marathon is no place for them!" Switzer recalls. "[This] of course made me plenty steamed as my first Boston was 4:20 .... This, more than anything, propelled me into becoming a good runner." In 1975, she ran 2:51:37.
When Katie Kirwan thinks about her high school sprinting career she remembers one of her worst races most fondly. "We just qualified," she says of the team that went to the Penn Relays. The memories of being on that stage are stronger than those of the dropped baton. Kirwan still has her bib number from that race. "That's how I feel about Boston," she says now. "It's so prestigious and it's such a select group."
When she began running marathons, Boston, with its qualifying requirement, appealed to her. "It was probably more a lofty goal -- something I couldn't even attain," she says. From a 4:19 debut she improved in every marathon, eventually running 3:44:15 in Chicago last fall. "It's been a very gradual progression getting to the Boston qualifying time," she admits. In Chicago she passed through the half in 1:50, but then faded. For the first time she targeted a winter marathon -- Carlsbad in late January -- and hoped to finally break 3:40.
Then, in November, Boston's 2010 field filled. "I think I got a little deterred by that," she confesses now. She arrived in Carlsbad without having gone on a long run in two months.
In 1972, Jock Semple wrote an essay for Boston: America's Oldest Marathon, reflecting on the race's significance. "Boston has helped develop more marathons and it has improved the caliber," he wrote. "The ordinary runner today is far, far ahead of the good runner of the '30s, when I was running." His crowd-control measures had created a pleasing trend: Marathoners were getting faster and faster. By 1980, the standards were as hard as ever -- 2:50 for open men, 3:20 for women -- and still 5,471 entered.
Despite such growth, the 1980s brought tumult. Semple and Cloney gave way to a board of governors, and the B.A.A. clung desperately to its amateur traditions. In one example of organizational hubris, board member Rod McDonald told the Boston Globe in 1984, "There is no need for [prize money]. Boston is the mecca for all runners. You can't go to heaven until you've run Boston." A year later, the Globe's Will McDonough wrote, "It is hard to decipher whether the Boston Athletic Association suffers from ignorance, arrogance, or both. The vote here is for both."
Elites were running where they could get paid -- which was anywhere but Boston -- and the masses had an increasing number of options. Pittsburgh launched a May marathon in 1985 with $120,000 in prize money, while overseas, London was in the midst of a steady climb toward 20,000 runners. Chicago eclipsed 10,000 entrants for the first time in 1986 -- and threatened to move to the spring. In Boston, entries shrank from 6,924 in 1984 to 4,904 in 1986.
Boston mayor Ray Flynn, worried about the reputation of the race -- and the empty hotel rooms on race weekend -- began pressuring the B.A.A. to offer prize money. "The BAA doesn't own the Boston Marathon .... It belongs to the people," he wrote in July 1985. A few days later, the B.A.A.'s board voted to award prize money in 1986.
By fall, the B.A.A. had pushed aside two other old traditions, accepting a sponsor -- John Hancock signed a 10-year, $10 million contract -- and hiring a full-time staffperson, choosing Guy Morse to direct the race. For the 1987 running, the open men's qualifying times were eased for the first time, adding 10 minutes to make it an even 3 hours, and attracting 1,500 more runners than in 1986.
By the 11th mile in Miami, Oosting had settled into a rhythm with Christophe Dagassan, whom she had met at one of the aid stations. She shared her goal with him, and he offered to help. "Qualifying for Boston is everyone's dream," he said, recalling their chance encounter. "I could relate in the sense that I set big goals, and when I achieve them it's an amazing, amazing feeling."
The two worked together, Oosting sharing splits from her watch, Dagassane trying to rein her in. Oosting felt like her coach was on her shoulder. They ran like that for about 10 miles. Finally, she began to pull away. Dagassane watched her disappear up the road without a word. He didn't want to break her rhythm. A year later, Oosting still easily recalls the elation of reaching the finish line. "I was crying, I was [so] happy."
When she got home, she found a congratulatory email from Dagassane in her inbox: "Brilliant race!" he wrote. Adding, in a followup, "I am so happy for you. I know how much it means to qualify for Boston."
By 1990 "there was a large audience eager to run Boston," says Guy Morse. "We realized that we could handle more runners and still provide everyone with a first-class experience." The B.A.A. moved to 5-year age groups and eased the qualifying times across the board. The men's and women's 18-39 standards shifted from 3:00 and 3:30 to the less aesthetically pleasing 3:10 and 3:40, where they remain today.
If those changes were a small step toward becoming a mass marathon, then the 100th running in 1996 was a large step. The largest marathon in history (to that point) had approximately 25,000 qualifiers and 13,000 nonqualifiers. The latter consisted of 8,000 charity runners, tour-group runners, and invitational entries (non-qualifiers receiving entries from sponsors, city and town officials, and race organizers), and 5,000 selected in a special lottery.
Though charities had participated in Boston before, 1996 launched the B.A.A.'s current charity program -- a selection of Boston-area organizations that receive a limited number of entries. About 2,300 runners will run for B.A.A.- and John Hancock-affiliated charities in 2010. When combined with the invitational entry program, the number of non-qualifiers in the field can approach 20 percent.
By the time Oosting finally qualified she had run Boston four times already, twice for charity and twice with numbers received through her running club. She speaks of accepting the club numbers with a hint of guilt.
"It's just because you know someone," she says. But rather than cheapen the idea of qualifying, these experiences only stoked her desire. Ultimately, the pay off was worth all of the work. "I've earned it. I'm here on my own power," she recalls thinking as she stood in Hopkinton last year, moments before running a new PR of 3:44:01.
Kirwan admits that she also considered the charity option. She inquired about entries a couple years ago before deciding that's not how she wanted to get in.
"I want to be authentic about it," she says. "It's such an emotional thing, I think, because a lot of people spend so much time training for it, and for some people it's a lifelong goal."
As elusive as a Boston qualifier has been, Kirwan doesn't sound discouraged. Quite the opposite. With the memory of Carlsbad still fresh, she was already trying to choose a spring marathon, and plans to run the New York City Marathon in the fall.
Telephone calls to the B.A.A. now ring in a Back Bay office just a few blocks from the finish line. Glass cases filled with a century's memorabilia line the hall, and a gold unicorn sculpture guards the door. A full-time staff now organizes the event and, once a month, the board of governors meets in a conference room. Guy Morse, now the B.A.A.'s executive director, works from a corner office decorated, in part, with Red Sox and Bruins memorabilia -- like Semple's training room, a reminder of the marathon's stature among Boston's sporting institutions. Also like Semple, Morse finds himself faced with the challenge of growing numbers.
In 1997 the B.A.A. instituted a 15,000-entrant limit, for the first time suggesting that a qualifying time might not be enough to gain entry. Since then the B.A.A. has walked a careful line politically and technologically. While balancing the concerns and demands of the communities on the course and the event's infrastructure, the B.A.A. has managed to increase the field limit to 25,000. In 2008, for the first time, registration was closed in late February when the field filled. In 2009, registration closed in January, and for 2010 registration lasted just 66 days, closing on Nov. 13.
"Clearly another boom is at play here," Morse says. "Everyone who is selling a product that sells out is happy. And so are we -- except that we are not happy that we were not able to capture every qualifier." Morse adds, however, that 1,000 more qualified runners are entered in 2010 than 2009.
So what next? "We are looking at all of our systems and the communities along the route, who help dictate how large the event can be," Morse says. "We think there are ways to increase the field slightly to accommodate the maybe two or three thousand runners who didn't get in this year because they qualified in a later race."
"I'm not convinced that tampering with qualifying standards is the answer," Morse says. He's been at the B.A.A. through three revisions of the qualifying times; each time the standards were eased. Might they consider reversing course and tightening? "It's an option. We're aware of it. And it's been done before," Morse says. "But it's not my preference. I'm more interested in seeing if there's a way to accommodate the runners by increasing the field size slightly by 2,000 or 3,000. Even [going] up to 30,000."
Though there are inevitable grumblings about the diminished meaning of the qualifying times and the dilution of the field with non-qualifiers, this recent growth speaks to Boston's continued significance.
"It's clear to me that [the qualifying times] have become THE -- capital T-H-E -- standard that most runners will define themselves by. There aren't many other tangible standards out there," Morse says. "They've become our most valuable franchise."
A yellowing page from Runner's World hangs on the door of Oosting's refrigerator, buried beneath a stack of take-out menus. Stats and graphics reveal the results of a Boston Marathon survey. Following Miami, Oosting circled “16+” with a red marker. According to the survey, two percent of qualifiers need that many attempts.
Oosting's elated finish in Miami can be witnessed on any given weekend, in marathons around the world. First-timers and veterans, men and women, young and old. Kirwan hopes to join this club soon. She's also represented in those qualifying stats: 13 percent need 6-10 attempts. Her next marathon will be her eighth, and she's determined to break the 3:40 barrier.
"I think it's the ultimate goal if you're a competitive runner," she says of the Boston qualifier. "You're part of the club."
3:30 (or 65:00 for 10M, 1:45 for 15M, 2:30 for 20M)
3:30 (or 1:25 for 20K, 1:45 for 15M, 2:30 for 20M)
(times the same for men and women
3:00 (men 19-39); 3:30 (men 40+); 3:30 (all women)
2:50 (men 19-39); 3:10 (men 40+); 3:20 (all women)
2:50 (men 19-39); 3:10 (men 40-49); 3:20 (men 50-59);
3:10 (men 18-34); 3:15 (men 35-39); 3:20 (men 40-44);
* capacity increase for 100th race Bold dates indicate change in qualifying standards.
MARC CHALUFOUR is a former managing editor of Running Times and a former communications manager for the Boston Athletic Association. He is now the senior editor at AMC Outdoors.
WATCH BOSTON WITH US! Join us on April 19 (and in the days before) for our extensive live coverage of the 114th Boston Marathon. Senior writer Roger Robinson and senior editor Scott Douglas will again team with 1968 Boston champ Amby Burfoot for the smartest, most in-depth commentary available to supplement the live broadcast available via cable TV on Universal Sports and online at universalsports.com. Go to runningtimes.com throughout marathon weekend for the latest news and analysis. | <urn:uuid:d630b084-40fd-4900-88a3-5167dac7fa84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.runnersworld.com/races/how-bostons-qualifying-times-inspire-excellence?page=single | 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 | 0.972926 | 3,825 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Earlier this month, Mitt Romney at a fund-raiser with asshole coal-man Bob Murray:
“I finally figured it out,” Romney goes on to say.
Obama “is for all the sources of energy that come from above the ground, which means wind and solar.
I like all above the ground and below the ground, and we’ll develop those resources to get America free of our dependence on foreign energy.”
Such shit talk is is way-more than dumb-ass, it’s pretty-near criminal, and in just a short space of time, these kinds of tripe will be way-hated.
(Illustration: Pablo Picasso’s sketch, ‘L’autruche (The Ostrich),’ found here).
However, we have to get there first, and the road to an obvious comprehension of climate change will be rocky at best.
The biggest problem humanity has ever faced in all of history is yet to be taken seriously.
A glaring example is the current meeting of climate folks in Bonn, Germany, to try and work up some workable agenda for next month’s Rio+20 in Brazil.
In fact, UN chief, Ban Ki-moon, says the whole process sucks and just too “painfully slow.”
From UK’s Guardian:
The pace was so sluggish, in fact, that Ban prevailed on the international community to agree to an extra five days of talks, from 29 May to 2 June.
The last-minute talks were aimed at getting at producing a face-saving outcome for a summit, which so far has failed to engage world leaders.
Negotiations were bogged down on minor details and narrow national interests which, Ban said, had overwhelmed far more important issue of setting the world on the right track for sustainable growth.
At one point, the negotiating text ballooned to an impossibly unwieldy 6,000 pages Ban said. It was currently about 80 pages.
Other UN officials involved in Rio preparations have also rued the failure of world leaders to fully engage with the summit.
But Ban added urgency to their concerns on Thursday.
“My message is that this is not the time to argue against any small, small items.
Please do not lose (sight of the) bigger picture,” Ban said.
“This is not the end.
Rio+20 is just the beginning of many processes so they should be flexible.
They should rise above national interests or specific group interests.”
He admitted the lack of urgency in the negotiations had drastically lowered expectations for Rio.
“There is some scepticism about whether this conference will be a success,” Ban said.
But he added that he remained optimistic.
Optimism flies in the face of deniers like big-bucks, hard-ass-coal-man Murray.
And as these people work in Bonn, more bad news seeps out from the cover of denial.
Via Raw Story:
In a report issued on the penultimate day of new UN talks in Bonn, scientists said Earth’s average global temperature rise could exceed the dangerous 3.5 C (6.3 F) warming they had flagged only six months ago.
Marion Vieweg, a policy researcher with German firm Climate Analytics, told AFP the 3.5 C (6.3 F) estimate had been based on the assumption that all countries will meet their pledges, in themselves inadequate, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
New research has found this is not “a realistic assumption,” she said, adding that right now “we can’t quantify yet how much above” 3.5 C (6.3 F) Earth will warm.
The earth is moving toward a nasty conclusion as all this shit blows in the wind.
And it’s all over, not just in the Arctic.
A glance at three new studies on warming in the southern hemisphere from RealClimate, which began like so:
In the Northern Hemisphere, the late 20th / early 21st century has been the hottest time period in the last 400 years at very high confidence, and likely in the last 1000 – 2000 years (or more).
It has been unclear whether this is also true in the Southern Hemisphere.
RealClimate is more technical that most, so we’ll transcribe only the bottom line or conclusions.
The first report, originally from the Journal of Climate:
The conclusion reached is that summer temperatures in the post-1950 period were warmer than anything else in the last 1000 years at high confidence, and in the last ~400 years at very high confidence.
The second study, from Geophysical Research Letters:
This result shouldn’t really surprise anyone: we have previously noted the incompatibility of O’Donnell et al. with independent data.
What is surprising, however, is that Orsi et al. find that warming in central West Antarctica has actually accelerated in the last 20 years, to about 0.8°C/decade.
This is considerably greater than reported in most previous work (though it does agree well with the reconstruction for Byrd, which is based entirely on weather station data).
Although twenty years is a short time period, the 1987-2007 trend is statistically significant.
And the third scientific paper:
Last but not least, a new paper by Zagorodnov et al. in The Cryosphere, uses temperature measurements from two new boreholes on the Antarctic Peninsula to show that the decade of the 1990s (the paper state “1995+/-5 years”) was the warmest of at least the last 70 years.
This is not at all a surprising result from the Peninsula — it was already well known the Peninsula has been warming rapidly, but these new results add considerable confidence to the assumption that that warming is not just a recent event.
Another one of those climate-related and continuing updates of the coming horror as in, considerably greater than reported in most previous work, which means, Hello, we’re at the front door, people.
Humanity needs to get its ostrich head/ass out of the frac-sand. | <urn:uuid:3c33125e-9639-454b-a975-2e9f8bcf6079> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bruce.maulden.us/2012/05/25/run-away-run-away/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954204 | 1,301 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Things may get worse before they get better in the European financial crisis, Reuters reports. The European Central Bank is pressuring for a joint guarantee on bank deposits across the euro zone, amid fears that bank runs will spread like wildfire as investors head for the hills. Top economic official of the European Commission Olli Rehn warned that without added fiscal discipline, Europe will descend into a financial chasm.
Spain, Greece and fear of bank runs
Worries about whether Spain’s banking system will fail and whether Greece will survive in the euro area at all have deflated the value of euro currency to a two-year low against the U.S. dollar. Searching for a comparatively safe investment, European speculators have funneled their money into Austrian and French bonds, whose 10-year yields are at their low mark since the introduction of the euro.
Spanish banks moved massive amounts of money abroad in March at a rate faster than has been recorded since record-keeping of such transactions began in 1990, notes the Associated Press. The country’s fourth-largest lender, Bankia, reportedly was nationalized in May due to massive losses following a real estate crash. As much as $82 billion in net capital has been lost by Spanish banks in recent months.
IMF denies plans for Spanish bank bailout
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde denied reports that the IMF is preparing for a Spanish bank bailout to keep Europe’s economy from sinking further into the mire.
“There is no such plan. We have not received any request to that effect and we are not doing any work in relation to any financial support,” said Lagarde.
In the meantime, voters in Ireland are calling for their nation’s government to approve a referendum that will pave the way for additional European Union aid, notes the New York Times. The June 17 Greek general election will go a long way toward determining the nation’s future in the euro zone. Reports indicate that Greece’s New Democracy party – which favors bank bailouts – is currently in the lead over SYRIZA leftists.
A demand for clarity
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has made it clear that European leaders must decide where their nations stand in relation to the euro quickly, and that the ECB will not write economic policy for the entire euro zone.
“We will avoid bank runs from solvent banks. Depositors’ money will be protected if we build this European guaranteed deposit fund. This will assure that depositors will be protected,” said Draghi.
While the ECB is pushing for a joint deposit guarantee for depositors, Germany isn’t sold. As the paymaster of the European Union, Germany has been unwilling to risk more of its own taxpayers’ money to prop up the union. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe should consider all options.
“There are integration steps which will require treaty changes. We are not at that stage today but nevertheless there are no taboos,” she said at a news conference.
Stemming the tide
Draghi testified before EU lawmakers that the European financial crisis has set financiers across the euro zone on edge, but that caution is not what’s required at this time.
“I urge all governments to keep this in mind, because it is better to err by too much in the very beginning rather than by too little,” he said, citing the recent failures of Spain’s Bankia and the French-Belgian bank Dexia. | <urn:uuid:b9e3d53b-d075-4c62-a363-9c2809575017> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2012/06/04/eu-financial-crisis-bank-runs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954616 | 724 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Mike McGinn, Mayor
10/5/2012 4:06:00 PM
Scott Thomsen (206) 386-4233
Volunteers Will Plant Six Trees, Spread Mulch for Others
SEATTLE – Anyone who has ever enjoyed the brilliant fall colors of maples, the majesty of giant Douglas firs or climbing an oak tree is invited to celebrate Seattle’s 27th year as a “Tree City USA” city with an Arbor Day tree planting and maintenance project Saturday, Oct. 20.
"Trees enhance our community by cleaning the air, reducing rain-water runoff and absorbing carbon,” Mayor Mike McGinn said. “A healthy tree canopy not only makes Seattle a more pleasant place, but it also makes our city’s business districts more inviting and attractive. Please join me in celebrating Seattle's 27th year as a Tree City USA, in our city’s commitment to planting new trees and in our stewardship of the trees we already have."
The event begins at 9 a.m. and runs until noon, rain or shine. Volunteers will join Mayor Mike McGinn, City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and an interdepartmental team from Seattle City Light, Seattle Parks, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Public Utilities, the Office of Sustainability and Environment and Seattle reLeaf for the event. They will plant six trees at City Light’s Viewland-Hoffman Substation, 614 N. 105th Street, and place mulch around the bases of existing trees in the area.
Several of the City’s International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborists will be on hand to answer questions and instruct volunteers on proper planting and mulching practices. This is the first year that this many of the City’s departments are coming together to celebrate Arbor Day.
Gloves and tools will be provided for volunteers along with coffee and refreshments.
Kids of all ages can climb a 30-foot oak tree using ropes, harnesses and helmets that will be provided along with instruction.
“Arbor Day is usually celebrated in April,” City Light Vegetation Management Manager Brent Schmidt said. “We are celebrating in October during National NeighborWoods Month because fall is the best time to plant new trees in the Seattle area. Cooler, wetter weather makes it easier for the trees to build their root systems at their new home.”
Volunteers will plant Japanese maples and Dogwoods that can grow to about 20 feet, which means the trees will not pose any problems for overhead power lines as they mature.
“Trees are a great addition to any yard or open space,” Schmidt said. “You just want to make sure you put the right tree in the right place so it doesn’t come into conflict with power lines or your home.”
Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to nearly 1 million Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction. | <urn:uuid:f3eae64e-1fa0-48fd-b6ad-aa2ecac948bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.seattle.gov/news/detail.asp?ID=13158&Dept=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932475 | 666 | 1.539063 | 2 |
As Egyptians celebrate the overthrow of their autocratic government hot-on-the heels of a similar uprising in Tunisia, the world is waiting to see what happens next. Will the fervor of revolution spread to other countries in the Middle East? Will Egypt embrace democracy wholeheartedly following Mubarak’s exit? And perhaps most plausibly, will this result in Western civilization being destroyed by a group of underground, radicalized Marxist Islamists who will establish a new world order. But let’s get back to grown-up chat for a second. One of the interesting things about the events in Egypt is how the media was quick to label it The Facebook revolution. But was it? Can social media really inspire us to go from mindless poking and sheep throwing to overthrowing governments?
I stumbled across a very thoughtful post on TechCrunch that argues people, not **things** are the source of revolution. I’d encourage you to read the whole piece, but the author essentially argues that while the idea of a Social Media revolution might make for good headlines, it’s rather misleading because tools such as Facebook are only facilitators and not instigators of revolution.
This is a particularly interesting topic for me because the idea that social media can cause social change is quite an exciting one. It could have incredible ramifications for democracy and how citizens participate in society and government if – indeed – it’s proven that people can be moved to set fire to their Farmville crops, slaughter the cows and start organizing themselves around issues and causes.
But as appealing as the idea might be, the old adage that “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force it to drink” is particularly true when it comes to social media. Think of it in these terms. In America there are now more gyms than at any time in the history of the country, but that doesn’t stop the average citizen from weighing more than a medium-sized oil tanker. That’s because for every gym that opens there’s a drive-thru Krispy Kreme. For every elliptical machine purchased, there’s a large Burger King chocolate shake. There are a lot of things competing for our attention and – due to the rather simplistic and fickle nature of humanity – the mindless, instant gratification stuff often edges out the more worthwhile.
The same is true online. For every Jumo there are 4 LOL Cats. And last time I checked there were significantly more people giving up their time to read some amusingly mis-spelled captions on pictures of cats in toy cars than devoting time to change the world.
So while Facebook and Twitter have connected us together like never before, that connection alone is not enough to engage people in wanting to change the world. Perhaps a more salient question for journalists to ask about Egypt is this – would the revolution have happened if Facebook and Twitter didn’t exist? Nobody will ever know, but my suspicion is it would. Egyptians finally had enough and decided to protest – just like the countless number of revolutions that have unfolded in the last 20 years. As a teenager I remember witnessing the collapse of Communism and the regime change it sparked in Eastern Europe. From East Germany to Romania, governments fell and citizens united during a time when the Web didn’t exist. Oppressed people eventually reach a limit when they can take no more, and irrespective of the tools available to them will take action.
Social media is like the hermit who wins a new car in a sweepstakes. It’s an incredible tool to use, if only somebody could actually persuade him to go outside. And that’s the biggest challenge the social-media-for-social-change advocates have to address. Getting people to care.
This is clearly a tricky challenge. If you look at who’s making people care – in terms of giving their time and attention to do something – it’s rather depressing. Farmville (and now Cityville) is one. Charlie Bit My Finger on YouTube. The hilarious cats mentioned above. We’ve built a culture that is squarely dominated by entertainment and thus it should be no surprise that the Web follows a similar path. So here are my suggestions for action/cause groups to pursue this year:
1. BP Catz – Add captions to user generated images of kittens frolicking on oily beaches
2. TARPville – Create a city that is built entirely from Government bailouts and handouts
3. Angry Kurds – Bring down the despotic Iraqi regime in this arcade classic
Viva la Revolution!
Tags: social media | <urn:uuid:10529706-8889-42b1-8b11-aed8a2bfde5d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.spinninghamster.com/user-experience/throwing-sheep-overthrowing-governments/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943896 | 949 | 1.828125 | 2 |
WILLIAMSTOWN -- Dave Blair, projectionist at Images Cinema on Spring Street since 1985, is standing at the brink of a digital wave that is changing the way movies are presented around the world.
Beginning next week, his job is going to be very different when the one-screen nonprofit movie theater switches to programed digital movies, leaving the 35 mm film projectors behind.
It is the same digital wave that has taken many movie lovers out of the theaters and into viewing motion pictures delivered digitally through Internet streaming to their iPads, computers and big screen televisions.
Blair acknowledges the coming wave with a good humor and healthy attitude.
"I just happen to be standing directly in the path of it," he said, chuckling.
According to Sandra Thomas, executive director of Images Cinema on Spring Street, the theater has secured enough funding to move to digital presentation starting next week.
While the new digital format will offer movie-goers better picture and sound, the fact is that Images had little choice if it wants to stay in business.
With the digital system, rather than shipping movies on spools of 35 millimeter film, distributors will be sending data hard drives containing digital versions of the movies which are downloaded into the theater's projection system. It will allow the showing of both 2D and 3D movies and enhanced features offered for the hearing impaired.
The technology also offers other opportunities, such as simulcasts of live events and special documentary series, she added.
Images will be showing Life of Pi on film through Tuesday, Thomas said. The theater will be closed Wednesday and Thursday to install the new projector system and screen, and will reopen Friday showing the digital version of Life of Pi.
Being able to change to digital is a significant achievement for Images, as most nonprofit movie houses are finding it a real challenge to procure enough funding for the changeover. Thomas said the transition was made possible through a $16,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and donations from Williams College and private donors.
"We absolutely needed this to keep the organization going," Thomas said. "It's something we need to do to survive, but it means a different livelihood for [Blair] and other projectionists everywhere. So we have to be able to make the transition and move into the next phase respectfully."
Projectionists like Blair, who until now would sit in the projection booth during each movie showing, will now just download the feature, program the system to show the movie at the appointed times, and go home.
Larger movie houses might be able to find other duties for their projection staff, but smaller cinemas like Images have fewer options.
Blair, who is often seen helping with repair and renovation projects at the theater, hopes that repair and maintenance might become a part of his job description. Otherwise, he'll have more time to spend at home or at his full time job as assistant manager at the Greenberg & Sons hardware store in North Adams.
For Blair, his part-time projectionist job will go from three to five days a week to a couple of hours once or twice a week.
"It's just not necessary to have someone stay in projection booth through the whole movie," he said. "With film, we'd have to watch to make sure the gears don't slip or the film doesn't break. Not anymore."
For movie makers and distributors, this will be a sea-change in the amount of money it takes to manufacture and deliver a production to theaters.
With no more pricey film to purchase (the 13 billion feet of 35 mm film sold in 2008 will plunge to 4 billion feet in 2013), and no more bulky movie reels to ship, the savings are significant.
According to a study released by IHS, formerly known as Information Handling Systems, by early next year, digital projectors will be used in most theaters. It will be the first time since motion pictures were developed in 1889 that film projected movies will be in the minority. In 2004, film projectors were regularly used in 99 percent of theaters. By 2015, the study predicts, film projectors will be in regular use in only 17 percent of cinemas around the world.
And some movie distributors have notified their customers that they will no longer be offering film versions, moving to strictly digital formats in the coming months and years.
For movie houses, the cost of the changeover -- roughly $70,000 to $80,000 per projector -- is slightly offset by the marginal savings in labor costs as projectionists' hours are reduced, Thomas said.
Despite all the advantages offered by digital, Images is hanging on to its two 1950s-era 35 mm projectors, Thomas noted, so they will still be able to show classics or specialty productions on film.
"It's all well and good," Blair said. "Technology is going to change everything anyways. And this digital system is supposed to present perfection from one end of the movie to the other. We'll see how it goes." | <urn:uuid:e3d7d4bd-6401-4203-b20b-2702a43cd89b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetranscript.com/savoy/ci_22051166 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96483 | 1,022 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Alan Greenspan will retire as Chairman of the Federal Reserve in January 2006,
and his retirement promises a flood of swooning retrospectives. Writing anything
else at this moment risks the charge of churlishly raining on the parade. However,
there are good grounds for a more critical reading of Greenspan's eighteen-year
tenure at the Fed.
As Fed Chairman, Greenspan has been one of the world's most powerful policymakers
for almost two decades. During that time he has been a leading booster of globalization
and financial deregulation, developments that have contributed to a new U.S.boom-bust
cycle founded on financial exuberance and cheap imports. Financial exuberance
has driven up asset prices and supported consumer borrowing and spending. Cheap
imports have contained inflation and partially compensated households for wage
stagnation and heightened economic insecurity. The new cycle is a Faustian bargain,
the price of which will be paid when the bust phase begins.
The Greenspan Fed's support for this new boom-bust cycle is evident in its
disregard of the over-valued dollar and persistent growing trade deficits, which
have damaged U.S. manufacturing. To Greenspan, the over-valued dollar has been
a boon that has helped contain inflation by cheapening imports. Side-by-side,
the trade deficit has been viewed as the product of "consenting adults"
taking advantage of beneficial trading opportunities afforded by globalization.
Meanwhile, manufacturing has been tacitly analogized to agriculture, and its
decline rationalized as part of an inevitable transformation into a post-industrial
Lastly, the Greenspan Fed has shown a deep aversion to financial market regulation.
Thus, it refused to use existing regulatory instruments (margin requirements)
to curb the stock market bubble of the 1990s. And more importantly, it has refused
to contemplate new regulations that could have helped curb the subsequent housing
The chickens are now coming home to roost. Though the housing price bubble
helped escape the recession of 2001, it has left households saddled with debt.
However, the economic expansion has still proven fragile owing to the massive
leakage of spending out of the economy via the trade deficit. This leakage is
a problem, but it is difficult to address owing to de-industrialization and
the new economic environment associated with globalization and financial deregulation.
In the pre-globalization era large trade deficits could be corrected by dollar
depreciation (as happened in 1985). To prevent inflation from increased domestic
consumption and reduced imports, interest rates could be increased. Taxes could
also be raised and government spending cut.
However, such corrections are now far more difficult. First, globalization
has allowed the trade deficit to reach record levels, making the scale of adjustment
unprecedented and the inflation danger greater. Second, de-industrialization
means that America may lack the manufacturing capacity to replace imports, which
means the only way to close the trade deficit may be through recession and unemployment
that lowers incomes and import purchases. Third, higher interest rates could
burst the housing bubble, triggering recession.
Unwinding structural imbalances is always difficult, but the current difficulty
is compounded by scale and circumstance. Debt-financed consumption has borrowed
demand from the future. That means even without economic shocks, the economy
is already headed for a period of weaker demand. If house prices fall, wiping
out consumer wealth, that weakness could be severe and the Fed may have difficulty
containing it. Lowering interest rates, to stimulate the economy, may be little
more than "pushing on a string." With expectations of falling house
prices, buyers are likely defer purchases no matter what the interest rate,
as happened in Japan after its property bubble burst in 1990.
The Greenspan Fed has cavalierly allowed imbalances to develop, brushing aside
dangers with blithe references to the flexibility of the U.S. economy. The next
Fed Chairman must take exchange rates and trade deficits seriously. Globalization
means that exchange rates matter more, not less. The system of financial regulation
must also be rebuilt. Financial innovation makes asset price bubbles more powerful,
and the Fed must be able to contain them without recourse to the blunderbuss
of interest rates that wreaks havoc on innocent sectors. | <urn:uuid:7b11dfba-8efa-4fa0-8a83-1bdfe78e545b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/11/questionable-legacy-alan-greenspan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940908 | 905 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Conantum Not White Father
Rifo rumor that "Conantum," a realty development in Concord currently being advertised in the windows of the Cambridge Trust Company, was an offspring of President Conant were quashed yesterday by the firm of New Towns, designers.
Secretary Joan Lewis after consulting ancient records, discovered that the site was first called "Conantum" by Henry David Thoreau in his diary.
The origin is thought to be an old Irequois Indian word for breakfast food.
Just what kind of breakfast food is not known by authropologists. | <urn:uuid:8d212c64-d649-42d6-8533-49128c3e5f17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1951/8/16/conantum-not-white-father-prifo-rumor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981832 | 119 | 1.546875 | 2 |
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Red planet ready
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Mrs. Nettie Vaughn/Courtesy photo
Rochester Middle School students had to construct a Mars Rover, with a set of simple instructions and a lot of ingenuity. After a fantastic team lunch (compliments to Moe’s Subs), students raced their Rovers in the cafeteria. First Place Mars Rovers Race winners were Nash Hebert and Luke Johnson, Endicott College Team, here with science teacher Ms. Robinson. | <urn:uuid:efdab56c-5294-4b24-9bc5-c3c2b7e4dcbe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130209/GJCOMMUNITY_01/130209282/-1/FOSNEWS | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937462 | 115 | 1.5 | 2 |
|genre=Console role-playing |modes=Single-player |ratings= |platforms=Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance (Japan-only port) |media=24-megabit cartridge }} EarthBound, known in Japan as , is a role-playing video game designed by Shigesato Itoi for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. The title was developed by Ape, Inc., Pax Softnica and HAL Laboratory as a sequel to its Japan-only predecessor, Mother. EarthBound was published by Nintendo and released in Japan, and months later in North America. Despite being successful in Japan, the American version was released to a poor commercial response. Years later, the game is now lauded by gamers for its humorous depictions of American culture and parody of the RPG genre, and has since become a cult classic.
Taking place in a modern day world, players assume the role of a young boy named Ness who awakens to discover a meteor has plummeted to the earth near his home. Upon investigating the meteor, Ness encounters an insect-like alien named Buzz Buzz who claims to be from the future. Buzz Buzz proceeds to tell Ness that an evil alien, named Giygas, has overtaken the world in the future and that Ness must undertake a journey to prevent this event. However, this won't be easy, because Ness's neighbor, Pokey, is in on Giygas plans through the majority of the story.
A direct sequel to EarthBound for the Nintendo 64, entitled "EarthBound 64", was in development for many years before finally being cancelled. This project eventually resurfaced as a Game Boy Advance title called Mother 3 and was released only in Japan. In 2006, Mother creator, Shigesato Itoi, declared that there were no plans for any more installments in the Mother series. However, with the release of the Wii, many expect that EarthBound will be re-released on the Virtual Console,, and the game has even gotten rated by the ESRB with "Wii" as its console. while rumors have also been circulating regarding the release of the Mother trilogy for the Nintendo DS.
EarthBound features many traditional RPG elements; the player controls a party of characters who travel through the game's two dimensional world, which is composed of villages, cities, and dungeons. Along the way, battles are fought against enemies, after which, the party receives experience points for victories. If enough experience points are acquired, a character's level will increase. This increases the character's attributes, like strength, defense, and health. EarthBound breaks traditional RPG features by not utilizing an overworld map. Instead, the world is entirely seamless, with no differentiation between towns and the outside world. Another non-traditional element is the perspective used for the world. The game uses oblique projection, while most 2-D RPGs use a "top down" view on a grid or an isometric perspective.
EarthBound does not utilize random encounters. When physical contact occurs between a character and an enemy, the screen switches to battle mode. In combat, characters and enemies possess a certain amount of hit points (HP). Blows to an enemy reduces the amount of HP. Once an enemy's HP reaches zero, they are defeated. In battle, the player is allowed to choose specific actions for their characters. These actions can include attacking, healing, or the use of items. Characters can also use special psionic attacks that require psychic points (PP). Once each character is assigned a command, the characters and enemies perform their actions in a set order, determined by character speed. Whenever a character receives damage, the HP box gradually "rolls" down, similar to an odometer. This allows players an opportunity to heal the character or win the battle before the counter hits zero, after which the character is knocked unconscious (although if the counter reaches zero as the battle is won, it will be set to 1 instead and the character will survive). If all characters are rendered unconscious, the game ends. Because battles are not random, tactical advantages can be gained. If the player physically contacts an enemy from behind, the player is given a first-strike priority. However, this also applies to enemies, who can also engage the party from behind. Additionally, as Ness and his friends become stronger, battles with weaker enemies are eventually won automatically, forgoing the battle sequence.
Currency is indirectly received from Ness' father, who can also save the game's progress. Each time the party wins a battle, Ness' father deposits money in an account that can be withdrawn at ATM machines. In towns, players can visit various stores where weapons, armor, and items can be bought. Weapons and armor can be equipped to increase character strength and defense, respectively. In addition, items can be used for a number of purposes, such as healing. Towns also house several other useful facilities such as hospitals where players can be healed for a fee.
Giygas returns from Mother as the game's main antagonist. He uses his powerful influence over people and his army consisting of a bizarre variety of aliens, robots, and animals to prevent Ness from uniting his powers at the eight sanctuaries. His goal is to conquer the Earth and, ultimately, destroy the universe. Pokey, Ness' overweight neighbor, helps carry out Giygas' will and oversees his plans. On the other hand, the friends and family members of the Chosen Four try to help their loved ones as much as they can. They offer the chosen four a variety of services, from cooking steak, or sneaking out of school, to building time machines, and teaching them powerful psychic techniques.
The story begins when Ness is awakened by a meteor that has plummeted to the earth near his home, whereupon he proceeds to investigate the crash site along with his annoying next door neighbor, Pokey, who later on asks if Ness could help find his little brother, Picky. After arriving, Ness encounters an insect named Buzz Buzz, who informs Ness that he is from the future where a hostile alien, Giygas, dominates the planet. Buzz Buzz instructs Ness to embark on a journey to defeat Giygas in the present, because he is too powerful in the future. Ness then proceeds to seek out eight "sanctuaries," to unite his own powers with the Earth's and gain the strength required to confront Giygas. Buzz Buzz is later killed, and sends Ness on his mission to defeat Giygas.
Ness proceeds on his quest through a variety of locales, including the town of Onett, an icy land called Winters, an oriental land called Dalaam, and a dream world called Magicant. As he goes on his journey, he encounters a variety of characters, including the other three chosen ones, Paula, a blond girl from Twoson, Jeff, a book-smart boy from Winters, and Poo, a young monk from Dalaam. There are several enemies that Ness encounters in EarthBound, including Giygas' top men. The group often runs into a blues band called the Runaway Five, helping them out and being helped out in return. Throughout the game, Ness runs into Pokey, who had joined with Giygas to take over the world. Ness eventually activates all of the "Your Sanctuary", travels to Magicant, and defeats his "Nightmare", unlocking his power. Jeff's father, Doctor Andonuts, creates a device that will allow them to travel to the past to battle against Giygas - however, they are forced to transfer their souls from their bodies into robot bodies. In the past, they encounter Giygas and Pokey, who informs Ness and the others that Giygas has become so powerful that his mind was completely destroyed. A device called the Devil's Machine is activated by Pokey, causing Giygas' body to be destroyed, but his spirit remains intact. Paula then prays to a variety of people on Earth, including their friends such as the Runaway Five who all pray for their safety, and eventually, she reaches out to the player, whose prayers defeat Giygas. Pokey escapes into time, and Ness and company manage to have their spirits returned to their bodies, and they all return to their homes. After the credits, Picky gives Ness a message from Pokey daring him to come looking for him.
Development on EarthBound took place as a joint effort between Ape, Inc. and HAL Laboratory, Inc. and was designed by Shigesato Itoi. The total development time for the project was five years, much longer than was initially expected. Of this, Itoi has stated that many times he felt the project was "doomed." Because two companies were working on EarthBound, responsibilities were spread out between the two studios. Ape had more people working on the title and oversaw the data aspects of the game while HAL worked on the programming. Because the two studios were based at separate locations, employees would regularly have to travel between the studios to work.
Initial gameplay features that Itoi had in mind involved an unconventional level structure and hit points system (HP). Itoi decided to exclude an overworld, because he wanted no distinction to remain between towns and the outside world. This resulted in each town being carefully designed to be unique. The first design concepts for the HP boxes were to make them like pachinko balls and have them fall off the screen whenever a character was damaged. However, this was later changed to the "rolling counter" HP boxes because the pachinko balls did not work so well when characters had large amounts of HP.
Some of the difficulties posed by the development of EarthBound were the data restrictions imposed by the SNES cartridge size. It was initially designed to fit on an 8 megabit cartridge. However, it was later pushed to 12 megabits and then finally pushed onto a 24 megabit cartridge. This can partially be attributed to the large amount of music composed for the title. Other aspects of the project that remained difficult were programming concepts. The oblique projection techniques proved difficult to program and were time consuming as well. The bicycle and delivery man systems posed problems as well due to their own complex programming schemes.
Some aspects of the character designs remain very personal for Shigesato Itoi. In an interview on his website, Itoi describes how his inspiration for the final battle with Giygas resulted from a traumatic childhood event. When Itoi was a young boy, he accidentally viewed the wrong movie at a theater, a Shintōhō film entitled The Military Policeman and the Dismembered Beauty. According to Itoi the film featured a graphic rape scene near a river that traumatized Itoi so much that his parents began to worry about his wellbeing. Years later, Itoi integrated the experience into Giygas' dialogue for the final battle.
Nintendo eventually announced a release date of August 27, 1994 for Japan, and invested a large amount of money into promoting the new game. One of the marketing campaigns involved Japanese celebrity Takuya Kimura of SMAP, who was heavily featured in Weekly Famitsu promotional ads. Other efforts included bundling a full length strategy guide with the game, complete in a bigger box, and affixing a price much lower than other titles at the time. Scratch and sniff stickers also came bundled with the game. EarthBound was released in Japan on August 27, 1994, and was well received. The North American version was released months later on June 1, 1995, and was met with lukewarm responses.
A sequel was announced three years later for the Nintendo 64DD, entitled EarthBound 64 or Mother 3. However, the game became plagued by problems as release date pushbacks occurred, as well as failures to appear at popular gaming conventions, like E3. Nintendo eventually announced its cancellation on August 21, 2000. Years later, Mother 3 resurfaced as a Game Boy Advance title and was released only in Japan. On May 5, 2005, Shigesato Itoi announced that he had no plans to develop the Mother series any further. After the development of the Wii system, it is expected that EarthBound will be released for the Virtual Console, and the game has even gotten an ESRB rating with "Wii" as its console. Rumors have also been circulating regarding the release of the entire Mother trilogy for the Nintendo DS.
EarthBound became a great success in Japan, eventually rising to #1 on Weekly Famitsu's top 30 chart along with hearty recommendations by the magazine reviewers. Commercial reactions in America, on the other hand, were much lower than Nintendo had anticipated. The game sold 140,000 copies in North America, and about twice that number in Japan. American audiences were largely indifferent to Japanese RPGs, and would remain this way until titles like Final Fantasy VII took the genre into the mainstream. Years later, many American critics have praised the game for being ahead of its time, as well as for its storyline, graphics, and particularly, its humor. In the June 2008 issue of Nintendo Power, EarthBound was revealed to be the #1 "Readers' Most Wanted" Virtual Console title, with Mother close behind at #4. Then in the July 2008 issue of Nintendo Power, EarthBound was yet again the #1 "Readers' Most Wanted" Virtual Console title, with the original Mother now placed in second.
EarthBound is regarded by critics as one of the greatest RPGs on the SNES, as well as one of the best of the 1990s. The game has also become a cult classic and possesses substantial fanbases in both Japan and America. As a result, the game regularly appears on readers' choice polls in both countries. In a 2005 readers' choice poll of the top 99 best games of all time conducted by IGN, EarthBound was voted 46th on the list. A year later, IGN conducted a similar readers' choice poll where EarthBound moved up to be 33rd on the list. The game has also appeared on lists conducted by the Japanese. In a 2006 readers' poll conducted by Famitsu magazine, the game was voted the 37th best game of all time on a list of 100 titles. In an introspective of the 20 essential Japanese RPGs, Gamasutra featured EarthBound on the list.
EarthBound has also been featured in all of the titles of the blockbuster Super Smash Bros. series. Since the first title in the series, Ness has consistently appeared as a playable character. In the first Super Smash Bros., Ness is hidden as a secret character. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Ness is initially available as part of the roster, and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he again appears as a secret character. Onett and Fourside appear as battle arenas in the Melee, while only Onett appears in Brawl. New Pork City, from Mother 3, appears in Brawl as well. In addition to Ness, trophies for many other characters, such as Paula, Jeff, and Poo, can be collected in the two latter games. Jeff is also featured as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, using his Multi-Bottle Rockets to home in on opponents.
EarthBound's soundtrack has also been completely remixed by fans and released as a free downloadable tribute album entitled Bound Together. The album encompasses 48 tracks and includes performances from well known video game cover bands, such as the OneUps, as well as various artists from remixing communities like OverClocked ReMix.
Mother 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back (マザー2 ギーグの逆襲) is the soundtrack for EarthBound. The album was composed by Hiroshi Kanazu, Keiichi Suzuki, and Hirokazu Tanaka, and was released by Sony Records in Japan on November 2, 1994.
Development of the music for EarthBound remained much easier than its predecessor. In an interview with Weekly Famitsu, Keiichi Suzuki commented on how the SNES gave the composers much more freedom to compose what they wanted. Suzuki also cited John Lennon as an influential figure to all the composers while the soundtrack was being developed.
Earthbound Farm To Purchase Pride Of San Juan: Deal expands organic reach to food services.(Company overview)
Mar 22, 2006; Byline: Dania Akkad Mar. 22--The country's largest grower-shipper of organic produce plans to buy the marketing and manufacturing...
Earthbound Farm Brings Power to the Plate with Organic PowerMeals, and Prize Power to Facebook Fans with 'Power Up Penelope'.
Oct 06, 2011; At a time when so many people are looking for healthy and high-quality ways to power themselves up, earthbound Farm, one...
Earthbound Suddenly Mum About E. Coli Link To Plant: Company calls news conference that doesn't go beyond prepared statement.
Sep 21, 2006; Byline: Jim Johnson Sep. 21--Once a readily accessible media darling celebrated for its eco-friendly business practices and... | <urn:uuid:0d928141-00eb-46cf-9670-bbc64db21a7e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reference.com/browse/earthbound | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977942 | 3,483 | 1.828125 | 2 |
But rather than drift on the warmer, incoming tides of the rebuilding economy, financial advisors are urging Americans to dip their toes in the water and consider reentering the fray by renewing their financial investments, which includes revamping 401(k) portfolios.
A 401(k) is an investment plan in which an employer helps employees save for retirement. Employees defer a portion of each paycheck to a 401(k) account and the money rests in that account, building interest. Many employers match a percentage of the deferred funds, providing 401(k) participants essentially free money simply for participating in the program.
According to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, more than 40 percent of the American workforce watched 401(k) investments decline by 30 percent in 2008. But rather than downplaying the value of stocks, mutual funds and bonds, advisors are encouraging people to continue investing in their 401(k) plans. However, since many Americans are beginning – or re-beginning – their retirement plans from scratch, they need to take a new look at their investment strategy.
David Roche, brand manager for Apex Securities and Assets Management in Brentwood, believes that since no two investors are alike, it’s important to make choices that are right for you. “At Apex Securities, we advise clients to continue looking forward,” said Roche. “Your investment choices shouldn’t be reactive to what happened last year. Just because gold did well last year doesn’t mean it will uphold that trend this year.”
Since clients set personal retirement goals, Roche and business partner Treva Black recommend meeting with a financial advisor to discuss the most responsible route to take to achieve those goals.
While there are hundreds of investment options for a 401(k), how the retirement funds will be spent is what truly matters. According to Steve Vernon, FSA and blogger for MoneyWatch.com, a 401(k) should be treated like a retirement paycheck generator. Each month you should take out a regular predetermined “paycheck” from your retirement fund to pay for expenses. “Most of us live paycheck to paycheck while we’re working, so let’s not change this financial discipline after we retire,” Vernon said.
Many recently-retired Americans assume their nest eggs will be all they need to live out the rest of their lives, but after you travel the world, refurbish your house and buy a motorcycle or two, you’ll have only so much left, so you need to plan your retirement investments wisely to meet your desired retirement lifestyle.
And one way to enhance your 401(k) is to work longer. It’s not what you want to hear, but if you work a few extra years than you originally planned, more money will accrue in your 401(k) account. The important thing now is to jump in and get your feet wet. Meet with a financial advisor to help you plan for the retirement you want.
Whether retirement is 10 or 50 years away, it’s never too early to start investing into your future, and a 401(k) plan is one of the best ways to keep you afloat. | <urn:uuid:1cbd7d06-13d1-4491-a71c-cfe210f57e41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thepress.net/view/full_story/11429615/article-Keep-feathering-that-401-k--nest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94756 | 654 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The heart of Kamalaya, a healing sanctuary in Koh Samui, Thailand, is a cave hidden in the center of lush greenery that winds 350 feet upward from a sandy white beach. Buddhist monks used the cave as a place of spiritual retreat for nearly two centuries, and it spoke to Kamalaya founder John Stewart the moment he encountered it.
Stewart, a Canadian native who lived as a monk in a Himalayan ashram for 16 years, came to Thailand in 2000 to recover from a serious illness. He’d learned of healing herbs that grew only on Koh Samui, Thailand’s third largest island located in the Gulf of Siam, and he knew that monks had infused the island with spiritual energy. Deeply moved by this special place, Stewart and his wife, Karina, a Mexican-born and Princeton-educated doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, set out to create a place of healing and renewal. Kamalaya, which opened in 2005, is a feast for all senses, offering many paths to vibrant health.
The resort, on the island’s southeastern tip, offers hillside rooms and stand-alone ocean-view villas, all subtly placed among palm trees, steep hills and massive, glacier-rounded boulders. Some trees were moved to a nursery during construction, then carefully replanted.
With the natural hospitality that is the essence of Thai culture, the staff provides superlative treatments, including a variety of traditional Asian and Thai massages. The kitchen offers imaginative Thai dishes created using the freshest fruits and vegetables, all designed to spur the body’s healing and well being. Many incorporate fresh coconut, which is Koh Samui’s main export.
Kamalaya has all the accoutrements of a wellness resort: an open-air ocean-view yoga pavilion, an infinity lap pool braced by Thai sculptures, an herb-infused steam cave ideal for post-massage, and a mile-long reef that encourages walking far into the gulf’s warm waves. But Kamalaya is more than a place to get away from the busy world. It is a holistic resort in the truest, most expansive sense –and in the most individualistic sense too. Kamalaya’s philosophy is “nurturing into health.”
The wellness center sits next to the Monk’s Cave. All guests receive a Body Bioimpedance Analysis—a snapshot of health that indicates hydration levels, ratio of lean muscle to fat, and cellular health. A naturopath explains the individualized program to each guest before they select treatments, meals and exercise regimens from categories such as Ideal Weight, Detox, Stress and Burnout, Yoga and Optimal Fitness.
Traditional Chinese medicine is, naturally, on the menu, and I experienced its power. I had injured my back carrying my luggage through several airports, and I arrived with a pronounced limp and stiff leg that seemed to worsen each day. On my third day, I made an appointment with a visiting acupuncturist from Shanghai, Dr. Song Qinggeng. He placed thin needles into my arms, legs, scalp, and I relaxed for 20 minutes to the ocean’s gentle sounds before he gave me an intense pressure-point massage and spinal manipulation. When I got up from the table, all pain was gone—and so was my limp.
My week at Kamalaya flew by in a haze of appointments interspersed with down-time spent serenely gazing at the azure sea from my room’s balcony or relaxing on a beach chair with a refreshing shot-glass of a chilled coconut gelée. I had Ayurvedic treatments, including soothing oil massages, and Chi Nei Tsang, a stomach massage designed to stimulate the internal organs. A one-on-one breathing meditation session so relaxed me that I entered a state of unconsciousness halfway through.
Before my taxi arrived to take me to the airport, I took a few moments to enter the Monk’s Cave, site of Kamalaya’s genesis. There, I meditated with gratitude on the experience I’d had–and prayed that I would return to this magnificent island retreat that forever changed the way I view my life. www.kamalaya.com
When she meditates, Cleveland-based health writer EVELYN THEISS recalls the gentle graciousness of the Thai people, the delicious cuisine and the massages she received at Kamalaya. | <urn:uuid:abea0479-3672-4ec2-892e-0305607a8986> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.organicspamagazine.com/kamalaya-deep-healing-and-renewal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952117 | 933 | 1.789063 | 2 |
The History Channel Reveals Great Battles Of The Middle Ages
History buffs are probably a big fan of the History channel, and if they're also gamers, they likely enjoyed the recently released The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome. But of course, history doesn't begin and end with Rome; those gamin' historians are accelerating through time a bit to bring us a new title: The History Channel: Great Battles of the Middle Ages.
A blend of role-playing and turn-based strategy, this one - which plays similarly to its predecessor - will focus on the major conflict between England and France during the Hundred Years War in medieval times. The following features, via Strategy Informer, have been revealed for the game-
Next generation engine with advanced shader effects and lighting.
Free form quest map that allows players to decide when and where to fight within a historical framework.
More than 20 different units all accurately researched and carefully modelled in amazing detail.
Weapons and shields are added to each unit by the player, meaning an almost infinite number of equipment combinations are possible.
Every equipment change changes the appearance of the models. Never before has this kind of customization been possible on such a scale.
Specialize your squads with over 100 unique skills.
Animations and behaviour change to match the equipment you have allocated.
Play as the English under the Black Prince or the French under Joan of Arc.
Historical events effecting game play.
Innovative Battle Card system that gives bonuses and penalties in battle.
The most detailed and realistic medieval combat model ever created.
Special ambush missions.
Story movies created from hundreds of hours of The History Channel's library combined with in game engine footage.
Completely new control and battle system designed to work on console and PC.
Multiplayer over LAN & Internet.
The History Channel: Great Battles of the Middle Ages is currently in the works and is scheduled to release for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC some time in 2008.
Related Game(s): The History Channel: Great Battles of the Middle Ages
10/29/2007 Ben Dutka | <urn:uuid:8ad6e837-9452-443c-ba09-0a6efe01f3ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/2065.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936986 | 432 | 1.804688 | 2 |
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The vote by the State Planning Commission was to follow months of public comment on the plan, which has been praised by business leaders for its goals of promoting New Jersey's top industries and infrastructure-rich economic hubs. The framework has also been blasted by environmental advocates, who cheered news of the delay.
Besides targeting growth sectors and regions, the so-called state strategic plan calls for more effective regional planning, preservation of state resources and tactical alignment of state agencies to carry out the goals. When unveiling the draft document more than a year ago, Gov. Chris Christie said the state sought to refine prior statewide planning efforts that he called "stratified, haphazard and unrealistic."
At today's meeting, the planning commission delayed its vote at the request of the state Office of Planning Advocacy, according to a statement from Gerry Scharfenberger, the agency's director. He told commissioners his office is still awaiting specific recommendations from some organizations, and that the storm disrupted efforts to finalize the document after its release on Friday.
Another reason for delaying the vote is that the goals of the plan "if adopted as proposed, could be a framework for the coastal region to recover and rebuild" the shore communities that were ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, Scharfenberger said.
"All the answers won't be in the final document but the framework for the next steps would be in place," he said in the written statement. "OPA will be reviewing the objectives and strategies of all four goals and may recommend specific further additions or amendments with long term coastal recovery in mind."
The New Jersey Sierra Club, meanwhile, called delay "important" after having criticized the plan and leading opposition efforts during the public comment period. In a prepared statement, the group noted concerns about "(promoting) development in areas that have been devastated" by the storm, but also ticked off a list of other environmental concerns that it has held during the past several months.
"The Office of Planning Advocacy and the State Planning Commission need to reject this plan and go back to the drawing board," Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said. "The plan needs to be rewritten, as in its current form, the plan goes against good planning."
Smart-growth groups like New Jersey Future and PlanSmart NJ have largely supported the plan and backed the commission's decision today. But PlanSmart NJ also said time was of the essence, encouraging the state "move quickly to incorporate necessary changes, and then put the state plan forward for final adoption." | <urn:uuid:03d890a5-95ad-4c98-8dd4-76a1850bd760> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.njbiz.com/article/20121113/NJBIZ01/121119953/0/dailyarchive/Officials-table-vote-on-state-strategic-plan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967629 | 508 | 1.507813 | 2 |
I drove by the old barn every day for years on my way to work. It sat in a field on Sixth Street in Dover across the street from Liberty Mutual.
It looked more than a little shaky in recent years, but the wood was still striking — strong, wide planks with that weathered, ancient gray color.
Some might call it barn board. There was a fad in the late 1970s and into the early '80s that created a run on barn board. Barns all over New England were dismantled and stripped down to the framing so folks could take the gray weathered planks and nail them to the walls of their basement rumpus rooms. It was agrarian chic back then to cover a wall or two or build a bar with barn board. Some entrepreneurs even manufactured fake plastic barn board so people could buy the look without actually ripping down a barn.
But the country chic decorating fad fell out of favor and so did the demand for weathered gray planks.
The barn I passed each day had survived the fad, snowstorms, rainstorms, whipping New England winds, blistering summers and maybe even a few lightning bolts. It was clear someone, generations ago, had put a lot of love into that building. It was quite a sight to see it standing in the morning light as the traffic sped by, a modest relic from a bygone era.
Then one day recently I saw a team of surveyors at work on the property surrounding the barn. The activity level grew from there. First there were big yellow bulldozers moving trees and earth around the field. Then, the next thing I knew, the old barn was a pile of rubble. I was shocked to see it in pieces in a massive pile on the ground.
We had a story about it in Foster's Daily Democrat. We try to tell people what's going on in their communities. That's our job, and I was certain I was not the only person driving by who noticed what happened to the barn and the surrounding land. As it turned out, the site was being prepared for a new building, a dentist's office.
It sounds like a great project and I'm sure it will be a big success. In fact, I hope it is. I am not anti-progress, but will miss the sight of that barn. I wondered if there might be a story behind it, so I called Dover Planning Director Chris Parker to see what he knew. He told me the farm had been in the same family for a few generations and that 14 members of that family had been involved in the real estate sale. He also gave me the name and phone number of one of the family members.
When I called Jeff Weeden, he was proud and excited to talk about the property and its history. His grandfather, Scott Weeden, had acquired the property piece by piece. It had been part of the old Clark Farm across the street on the property that is now the Liberty Mutual campus. The owners of the Clark farm had sold the land to Weeden and pretty much expected him to fail, Jeff Weeden said. They figured Scott Weeden would not be able to make the payments and the land would revert to them. But, they underestimated Scott Weeden. He turned the property into a working farm with cows, chickens and a horse. He cut the hay by hand using a scythe and stored it in the ancient barn that had come with the property. It was built in the 1700s from wooden planks cut at a sawmill on the Cocheco River.
Scott Weeden was as industrious as they come. He worked at a shoe shop every day while farming his land. And, in his spare time, he built his home with his own hands on top of the well so he could pump water without having to go outside. The house is still standing on a piece of land adjacent to where the old barn stood.
Scott Weeden's wife worked the land, too. She raised poodles and Schnauzers on the farm at her business called Indian Brook Kennels.
There used to be a pond on the property, but it was drained some time ago. The Weedens made a little money there, too. You could ice skate in the winter. Jeff Weeden said some of the signs from the ice rink concession stand still survive. "Five cents for a soda and seven cents for a hot dog," Jeff says laughing.
The skating rink has special significance to Jeff because his wife's parents actually met and started their romance at the pond. Imagine if they had never met!
Jeff said it was hard to see the old barn go. He and his family had tried very hard to get someone interested in preserving it, but there were no takers.
I felt glad after my conversation with Jeff. He was a good storyteller.
I will miss the sight of the old barn, especially in the subtle morning light of winter or just before dusk on a golden autumn day. But at least I know the tale behind it, and telling it will somehow keep it alive.
Mary Pat Rowland is the managing editor of Foster's. Her e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:9459888e-c67c-4157-8556-cad5957d5ad6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111106/GJCOMMUNITY_01/711069974/-1/FOSLIFESTYLES1102&CSProduct=fosters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98645 | 1,072 | 1.5 | 2 |
With the limelight shining particularly bright on it during Telework Week 2011, it occurred to me that “workshifting” is not merely a type of work arrangement, but also a state of mind and mode of behavior.
Many a time, a workshifter’s reality is envied and aspired to; rarely are the coping mechanisms and behavioral discipline needed to survive and thrive in this space closely acknowledged or examined. Fortunately, this very forum has explored the impact of isolation, distractions and the need for structural rituals among workshifters.
What most do not realize is that workshifting may not only trigger but also force significant changes in job responsibilities, efficiency and work efforts. At the same time, it is expected that output will not change and, in many cases, should improve! But therein lies the paradox. The perceived “Workshifting Utopia” is characterized by flexible work schedules, more time to balance personal and professional life, and the joys of a home office; yet we must recognize and respect the degree of self-discipline, structure, ingenuity and pure proactivity required to effectively work remotely and independently.
And, as all workshifters unite and aspire to see a greater majority of organizations adopt and promote the workshifting lifestyle, we must warn these organizations to hire carefully for the lifestyle, search for self-adjusting, independent individuals who rate an “A” in self-efficacy. As more and more organizations adopt telework into their culture, they will realize the positive correlation between teleworking employees’ ability to cope within a flexible work context and successful entry into the workshifting space we all know and love!
What do you think makes a successful workshifter?
Photo Credit: Scoobymoo | <urn:uuid:c998da8d-a187-479c-b5d0-8ac27025710e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.workshifting.com/2011/03/the-workshifting-reality.html | 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 | 0.950709 | 366 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Fruit and Flower
For stunning beauty in this current season, people go for banana flowers. This flower lasts for over a week and two or three stems look beautiful in a big vase. Banana flowers are not really expensive, at only costs about 10,000Vnd for one. The structure and color of these flowers are worth it. Bananas also are a good fresh fruit or cooked fruit for dessert as well.
Pineapples are a great fresh fruit for any season, though it's better in the summer because it's juicy and refreshing. It's sometimes very sour but most of the time it is sweet. In Vietnamese cooking, we use it a lot. Have you ever tried pineapple pancake? They're not bad.
Mandarins are the best fruit choice at this time of the year. There are two kinds of mandarins, one is small and the other is bigger, about the same size as an orange. The smaller mandarins without seeds are sweeter and more expensive, the others a bit sour and the quality depends on where they come from.
Oranges are good for any season because they are healthy. Everyone loves oranges from sick people to athletes. Lots of people drink orange juice and make cakes using them. | <urn:uuid:a2f5550d-959e-456b-9a01-c12055b0dfae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vietnamesegod.blogspot.jp/2005/11/fruit-and-flower.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97133 | 255 | 1.640625 | 2 |
On December 7, 2010, parents at McKinley Elementary in Compton, CA marched down to their school district headquarters and made history as the first parents to ever submit Parent Trigger petitions to transform their children's failing school. The petitions represented over 61% of the parents at McKinley, and demanded that their school - which was in the bottom 10% of schools in the state, even when compared only to schools with similar demographics - be transformed into a high-performing charter school run by Celerity, whose schools were ranked in the top 20% of schools statewide when compared to similar schools.
Compton Unified, desperate to preserve the status quo, instigated a series of inappropriate and illegal attempts to disenfranchise parents and throw out their petitions, eventually getting slapped with a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction by L.A. Superior Court judges for violating the constitutional rights of their own parents. They then decided to throw out the entire petitions over an alleged typo, causing the parents and their pro bono lawyers to sue them yet again. While the case is still tied up in court, the McKinley parents were able to enroll in a charter school run by Celerity at a church just two blocks away from McKinley, which they had filed for as a back-up plan in case the district forced them to litigate.
Why was it important?
The parents at McKinley did more than simply help their own children get a better education - they inspired a movement of parents standing up for their children across California and the country. Countless parents have approached Parent Revolution for help organizing to improve their own schools after seeing news reports about the McKinley parents' historic efforts. And across the country, Parent Trigger laws have now passed in two additional states - Texas and Mississippi - and have been introduced in over 20 additional states.
How we did it:
Parent Revolution organizers spent three months talking to McKinley parents, educating them about the academic situation at their school, training them in community organizing and leadership techniques, and gathering signatures. We helped parents form an organization - McKinley Parents for Change - and a Steering Committee to lead their effort. Lead parents hosted house meetings in their living rooms and backyards to engage other parents in the effort, and went door to door to educate as many parents as possible about the campaign.
We have also been very public about the fact that the McKinley campaign was not a perfect campaign. For starters, we came to the parents with a pre-packaged solution already available - charter conversion with a very high-quality school operator - rather than helping them devise their own solution from the ground up. And the vast majority of the signatures gathered were ultimately gathered by our organizers, not by the parents themselves. But we have committed to being open and transparent about our shortcomings, and to learning from them. Our current organizing model, centered around building Parents Union chapters, represents a more deep and sophisticated way of organizing parents, and is a response to many of our lessons learned during the McKinley campaign. | <urn:uuid:bf2265c4-1cf3-4400-810b-a7d9d8003749> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://parentsunion.org/content/mckinley-elementary | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983096 | 611 | 1.765625 | 2 |
U.S. Embassy Kabul commemorated Memorial Day with a ceremony held in the flag-lined courtyard in front of the main chancery. The Kabul Marine Security Guard detachment lowered the flag to the "retreat" bugle call and then re-raised it, as tradition dictates, to the National Anthem.
Charge d'Affaires David Pearce gave the keynote address, recognizing the sacrifices of both men and women in uniform as well as those of us who choose to willingly serve beside them in areas of active combat. He called attention to the plaques at the base of the embassy that commemorate fallen Chief of Mission personnel, including Ambassador Adolphe "Spike" Dubs, who was abducted by terrorists and killed in 1979; Tom Stefani, who was killed in a roadside bombing in Ghazni Province in 2007; three DEA agents killed in a helicopter crash in Badghis Province in 2009; and seven mission employees killed in a suicide bombing in Khost province in 2009. The address was followed by a musical interlude led by the embassy's volunteer choir, the Star Spangled Singers.
The Memorial Day ceremony was a solemn and moving occasion.
Related Content: White House Blog -- Broadcasting a Message of Gratitude | <urn:uuid:246a1adf-0668-450e-9455-6a845b51547a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.state.gov/2012/05/article/honoring-those-who-served-afghanistan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966765 | 250 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The plea copped by Najibullah Zazi is another vindication of the Obama administration’s belief that the threat of terrorism does not necessitate the abandoning of the U.S. legal system, and its discarding of a militaristic “war on terror” frame generally. But the Washington Post’s story on Zazi’s plea deal contains a couple of other interesting “new details about the path that led the suburban Denver man into terrorism” that further demonstrate the stupidity of the Iraq war specifically:
Zazi, an Afghan immigrant residing legally in the United States, traveled to an al-Qaeda stronghold in Pakistan in August 2008 to receive weapons training so he could fight alongside the Taliban, according to Justice Department and FBI officials. But jihadists redirected him and two confederates to focus their energies on a suicide attack on the U.S. mainland.
Zazi returned to Colorado in January 2009 with notes on how to mix explosive chemicals. He procured large volumes of beauty supplies that contained hydrogen peroxide to make TATP, the explosive involved in the 2005 bombings of London’s transit system, authorities said.
There are two points to be made here. The first is that, had the Bush administration stayed to finish the job in Afghanistan and Pakistan and not diverted resources, expertise, and attention to Iraq, it’s very possible that there would not have been an al-Qaeda stronghold in Pakistan for Zazi to travel to in August 2008 to receive weapons training, and no remaining Taliban insurgency for Zazi to hope to fight alongside. The Obama administration has, through focused and painstaking diplomacy, recently had some success in encouraging the Pakistani government to move against Taliban elements on its own territory. What if, instead of being distracted by Iraq for the last seven years of his presidency, President Bush had actually applied his administration’s efforts to this problem?
Second, the Zazi case destroys (yet again) the “flypaper theory” of the Iraq war that was popular among pro-war types in 2003. The idea was that the war would attract radical Islamic jihadists from around the region and distract them from attacks on the American homeland. In addition to being just basically stupid — it was premised on the assumption that there was some finite number of extremists who, upon arriving in Iraq, would obligingly die — it was morally indefensible, as it involved using the Iraqi people as bait for a jihadist flytrap. Not only did the Iraq war not deter Zazi from pursuing a career as a terrorist, it’s very possible that in Pakistan he was exposed to hardened jihadists who, having been initially radicalized by the Iraq war, brought tactics and bomb-making methods learned in Iraq to Pakistan, just as they have done to Yemen and North Africa.
A predictable response to these points will be that “we shouldn’t re-litigate the Iraq war,” but that’s silly. It’s not “re-litigating” anything to take the measure of the continuing consequences of a strategic blunder. | <urn:uuid:9e80c992-1259-4c19-8432-5697e2f72434> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/security/2010/02/23/175916/najibullah-zazi-another-point-against-iraq-war/?mobile=nc | 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 | 0.970047 | 633 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The costs for tax, title and license, commonly known as TT&L (T-T-and-L), are often added to your invoice when you purchase a car. These charges are required by the state in which you buy your car, and each dealership should charge the same percentage and fees as every other dealership in the state. Car dealers are actually saving you time and effort by handling these transactions for you at the Department of Motor Vehicles. If you buy a car independently, however, you must take care of these transactions on your own. The first charge, tax, is based on your state sales tax percentage. If your state doesn't have a sales tax, you won't have to pay tax on your car. The next charge, title, is the certificate that proves you are the legal owner of the automobile. A title is required for all passenger vehicles. The last charge, license, includes the license plates and registration for your car. Each state may have different procedures and tax requirements for purchasing an automobile, so contact the Department of Motor Vehicles or an automobile professional for more information.
©2006 Crossroads Mobile. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:eca34bd3-68b2-4aff-913a-db112aa1765e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whptv.com/guides/auto/generalinfo/story/Tax-title-and-license/an8BqSBBmkSdrzfbovAbBw.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968678 | 245 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Cairo on November 20-21, 2012. She met with regional leaders, including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas, and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, to consult on the situation in Gaza.
Today, while in Cairo, Secretary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr announced an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza. Secretary Clinton said:
"...I want to thank President Morsi for his personal leadership to de-escalate the situation in Gaza and end the violence. This is a critical moment for the region. Egypt's new government is assuming the responsibility and leadership that has long made this country a cornerstone of regional stability and peace. The United States welcomes the agreement today for a ceasefire in Gaza. For it to hold, the rocket attacks must end, a broader calm return.
"The people of this region deserve the chance to live free from fear and violence, and today's agreement is a step in the right direction that we should build on. Now we have to focus on reaching a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security, dignity, and legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis alike. President Morsi and I discussed how the United States and Egypt can work together to support the next steps in that process. In the days ahead, the United States will work with partners across the region to consolidate this progress, improve conditions for the people of Gaza, and provide security for the people of Israel. Ultimately, every step must move us toward a comprehensive peace for all the people of the region.
"As I discussed today with President Morsi, as well as Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas, there is no substitute for a just and lasting peace. Now that there is a ceasefire, I am looking forward to working with the Foreign Minister and others to move this process."
You can read more about the Secretary's trip to the Middle East here. | <urn:uuid:015c08fc-c11e-4ddc-89cc-0257c6780aa6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.state.gov/2012/11/article/travel-diary-us-welcomes-ceasefire-gaza | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94692 | 394 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Last summer SFMOMA sent an open call out to Bay Area game designers, experience designers and conceptual artists. They asked for inventive but low-cost ideas for games SFMOMA’s visitors can play in the galleries and other public spaces of the museum. They received, in the words of exhibition curator Erica Gangsei, “about 50 proposals from community members from a multitude of disciplines and with wide-ranging levels of experience. The proposals varied from the highly-technological to the determinedly-analog, from the absolutely-feasible to the absurdly-farfetched.”
My friend and collaborator Sudhu Twari and I proposed a game involving common words used in art discourse. We chose 12 words and assigned a bodily motion to each of them. Like in bingo, players can check off a box each time they see, hear or think of one of these words (and make the motion) while looking at the work in the museum. They can also check boxes if they see someone else make these movements.
Our proposal was chosen along with 4 others and will be on display in the Koret Visitor Education Center from Jan – Aug 2012. Please stop in and check it out the next time you are visiting SFMOMA.
Special thanks to Meredith Scheff for the awesome illustrations. | <urn:uuid:eac7d529-c4d2-418a-997d-80dc8b1160c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.benjamincarpenter.com/backbone-radiation/sfmomas-artgamelab/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947459 | 271 | 1.601563 | 2 |
One of the most definitive features of the Portuguese cultural landscape is Fado. And Lisbon is immersed in this long-standing musical art form that is said to have originated in the early 19th Century in the streets of the city. The essence of the music is something locals call ‘saudade’, with no literal translation, it refers to the nostalgia, melancholy and longing present in the tone and content of the music. Fado houses dot Lisbon’s cityscape and one can also see Fadistas performing in the streets. The district of Alfama is home to the Fado Museum for those who wish to discover more about its musical heritage.
Historic structures and districts are also abundant, but none more renowned than Belém Tower. Almost as old as the city itself, the Tower was the staging point for many a voyage during Portugal’s Age of Discovery, and is a favourite among visitors. One of the best places to see Lisbon is from a sidewalk café in one of its many bairros, or districts. There are hidden gems to be discovered in the quaint alleyways of the Medieval District or along the ultra-trendy Avenida da Liberdade.
Artistic treasures are nestled away in a number of intimate but impressive museums and galleries in Lisbon, including the Calouste Gulbenkian collection, which boasts works of Rembrandt and Renoir, among others.
When it comes to fashion and entertainment the options are plentiful. From international brands and local designers, to bars, cafés and Fado houses, the Bairro Alto, Chiado and Principe Real districts are known for their local boutiques, eateries and more.
Along with its very popular Fado houses, Bairro Alto’s mix of 16th Century and bohemian charm is a favourite amongst writers and artists. Because of its trendy bars and avant-garde afterhours fashion shops, many consider it the epicentre of Lisbon’s vibrant nightlife. Here, a visit to the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara garden terrace is highly recommended for a breathtaking view of the city.
The discerning traveller will enjoy Chiado’s art nouveau jewellery, bookstores, porcelain shops and cosy cafés. This district features the centuries-old Tavares Rico Restaurant, established in 1784, as well as an outlet for one of Portugal’s most well-known designers, Ana Salazar. To discover Lisbon’s interior design, antique offerings and historical architecture, Principe Real is the place to explore.
No visit to Lisbon would be complete without a stroll down Avenida da Liberdade. Popular for its luxury fashion brands, this leafy boulevard is also an important theatre district and home to several outstanding architectural works.
There are many festivals to be enjoyed throughout the year in Lisbon, from literary events and musical concerts to culinary celebrations and fashion expos. Lisbon Fashion Week is the main event in winter, the Fish and Flavours Festival is one of the highlights in spring and summer features music and street festivals, including the Festas de Lisboa, while film festivals, like the Estoril International Film Festival, dominate the fall.
Being a coastal city, seafood figures highly in Lisboan cuisine. Fish and shellfish feature in many dishes, including the national dish, bacalhau, which is dried salted codfish. Sardines and horse mackerel are the principal ingredients in Caldeira stew, and rice complements a mixture of crab, lobster, oysters and shrimp called arroz de marisco. Another popular national dish known as cozida å portuguesa features meat rather than seafood and is made with a variety of meats. It’s recommended you start your foray into Portuguese fare at well-known restaurants like Lisboa å Noite or Cerevejaria Trinidade.
Follow up a hearty meal with a trip to the beaches at Cascais and Estoril, small resort towns known for mild temperatures and ideal surfing conditions. For a more active excursion, visit Belém Tower, the most iconic site in Lisbon and the location from which many exploratory missions were launched since its construction in the 1500’s. There are many museums housing fine art, as well as the more recent innovation, the Design and Fashion Museum.
Lisbon is surrounded with picturesque villages and locales, including the breathtaking Sintra just under an hour outside Lisbon. This hilly town is known for it’s storybook landscape boasting beautiful palaces and castles, the most famous of which is Pena Castle. Surrounded by beautiful gardens, it was built in the mid-1800’s. The medieval beauty of Obidos led to its allocation as a national monument. Its romantic history makes it all the more alluring as the town itself was a wedding gift bestowed upon a Queen by her King in the late 1200’s. It has maintained its ancient charm and even hosts an annual Medieval Fair during the summer.
Other attractive destinations include Setubal, popular for dolphin watching, Ericeira, another haven for surfers as well as many other palaces, historic towns and world heritage sites that offer breathtaking examples of Portuguese heritage and life. | <urn:uuid:45b25442-a9b9-4136-91aa-63b56d797f96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.emirates.com/is/English/destinations_offers/destinations/europe/portugal/lisbon/guide.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95181 | 1,102 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Nearly 700 cats were seized in Lee, Fla. at the end of February after an undercover investigation by PETA exposed the deplorable conditions at the Caboodle Ranch, a cat sanctuary famous for its tiny town of cat houses.
The ASPCA’s Field Investigations and Response team has been assisting the Madison County Animal Control and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office with the removal of cats from the sanctuary after a search warrant was executed.
“The cats were found living in overcrowded and filthy conditions. Many are exhibiting signs of severe neglect and appear to be suffering from upper respiratory conditions and eye infections, among a host of other medical issues. Some sick cats were housed together but not separated by their afflictions, allowing for the unfettered transmission of various diseases. Responders have found numerous deceased and decomposing cats on the property, as well as multiple shallow grave sites,” according to the ASPCA.
More than 100 staff and volunteers from the ASPCA and individuals from 11 other organizations helped remove the cats and bring them to a temporary shelter in Jacksonville where they’re being cared for.
The ranch, owned by Craig Grant, is updating its website and painting the picture that the cats were well cared for, receiving veterinary care and that footage from the investigation was taken out of context, but numerous eyewitness reports and comments indicate that problems at the ranch were ongoing and that Grant was defensive and refused help of any kind.
Grant was arrested and charged with one count of felony animal cruelty, three counts of cruelty to animals and one count of scheming to defraud.
“It’s heartbreaking for the animal and it’s heartbreaking for the person who took that animal there thinking they were providing the best opportunity for their pet,” said ASPCA field investigator Tim Rickey. “I’m glad that we were able to get in and save these animals before many others suffered the same fate.”
University of Virginia: Stop Using Live Cats for Medical Training
Photo credit: Thinkstock
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers. | <urn:uuid:32667063-dcb0-4887-a56e-c6f8cce722bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.care2.com/causes/700-cats-rescued-from-florida-sanctuary.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972595 | 447 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Comtemporary Art Gallery featuring photos, interviews of Vietnam veterans
Contact: Christina Chapple
PORTRAITS OF WAR – Jeff Wolin’s portrait of Mark Scully, a U. S. Army First Lieutenant who served in Vietnam from June 1968-June 1969, is one of the 50 photographs of veterans, accompanied by their personal stories, in an exhibit currently being shown at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Contemporary Art Gallery.
“Vietnam War: Portraits and Text,” will be on display at the gallery in East Stadium through Aug. 28, said Gallery Director Dale Newkirk. A closing reception is planned for the final day from 4-6 p.m. Newkirk said the reception will begin with a lecture by Wolin, the Ruth N. Halls Professor of Photography at Indiana University.
“Jeff Wolin has had a long and distinguished career photographing individuals who have experienced a particular part of history,” said Newkirk. “He documents them in contemporary time, using supporting text to tell their personal story.”
“This exhibit presents a great opportunity for our students and members of our community to see how Jeff Wolin’s photographs contribute to our understanding of how the trauma of war affects both combatants and civilians,” Newkirk said. He said Southeastern is extending a special invitation to all area Vietnam veterans and their families and friends to view the exhibit.
Wolin began interviewing and photographing Vietnam War veterans in 1992, the same year he began a similar project with Holocaust survivors. The latter project became a traveling exhibition and book, “Written in Memory.” In 2003 Wolin resumed his work on the Vietnam veteran project. As an official partner of the Veterans History Project, Wolin’s videotaped interviews will be archived at the Library of Congress.
The 50 veterans pictured in the exhibition represent a broad range of war experiences, as well as different attitudes about war and peace. Some served in the war’s early days, others during the time of de-escalation. Their roles ranged from chaplain’s assistant and Vietnam translator to combat soldier. To create a visual “before and after,” Wolin includes a snapshot of each individual during the war along with the contemporary portrait and war story.
“This exhibition is about how the lives of veterans today are perpetually informed by their lives then,” Wolin said. “We can all talk about ‘War’ in the abstract, and about how it advances or distorts American interests. But we only occasionally get to see the faces and hear the voices of the people who actually did the fighting.”
Wolin said he hopes that his photographs and interviews will “make a contribution to our understanding of how the trauma of war affects combatants, and civilians caught in literal and philosophical crossfire. Many important issues of war and peace emerge in the stories of these veterans and in the portraits themselves.”
He said some the veterans he pictures suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some continue to wear their Vietnam War medals, while others fight for veterans’ medical issues, create art or write books about their experiences.
“Others have found ways to put their experiences behind them, often with significant struggle, and to successfully return to civilian life,” he said. “All were deeply and permanently affected by the war, but the majority are proud of their service.”
Wolin's exhibit opened at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago in 2005 and began traveling to museums in the United States and abroad last summer. Umbrage Editions of NYC published the accompanying book, “Inconvenient Stories: Vietnam War Veterans.”
Wolin’s photographs are in the permanent collections of numerous museums including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Bibliotèque Nationale de France in Paris.
He is the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is represented by June Bateman Fine Art in New York and Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago.
Contemporary Art Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., weekdays, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. For additional information, contact Newkirk at (985) 549-5080 or (985) 549-2193. | <urn:uuid:2cdc2bb0-9e85-4306-8d16-55fcdad4ee04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.selu.edu/news_media/news_releases/2008/july/wolin.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946579 | 944 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Oddball project design provokes debate
June 12, 2008 · Updated 10:59 AM
Port Orchard property owners Richard and Karen Berg want to create a development that steps outside the box literally.
The Bergs have applied to the city for permission to subdivide their 10.23-acre parcel, located off Caseco Lane above Ross Point, into three standard lots and a community of eight non-standard oblong lots surrounded by off-limits open space. The proposal is relatively new city planner only know of one other such lay-out in Kitsap County.
However, the Bergs plans have stalled as they and their surveyor run up against city codes that were never written to deal with a subdivision like the one proposed.
I consider this a very unique situation, said Reid Muller, who handled surveying work for the project.
Nearly everything in the citys land use codes would seem to prohibit the Bergs development the lots dont touch the street or offer minimum street frontage, the street is steep and lacking sidewalks and gutters, the odd-size lots dont all meet minimum size and/or width requirements, the plan doesnt include a tot lot playground as is typically required in new developments and the remote site is difficult for emergency vehicles to access, particularly in bad weather.
Nevertheless, the Bergs believe the development is actually better for those lacks and have asked for variances on nearly every item. Muller, speaking before the Port Orchard City Council Monday night, said many of the city standards simply didnt apply to the proposed project. For instance, he explained, theres no point in putting in a tot lot that would be out of sight of most of the houses, as would likely be the case on the heavily treed parcel.
The streets, Muller went on, are steep and narrow by necessity thanks to the hilliness of the area sidewalks and gutters would do more damage to the surrounding woodlands than could be recouped through an increase in pedestrian safety.
(The roads) not so windy that a car wouldnt see a pedestrian walking along there, he said.
And so far as the lot requirements are concerned, Muller added, they were written for straight-sided properties not the curvilinear ovals proposed for the project.
The guiding principle behind the site layout, Muller concluded, is to offer a highly desirable place to build a home while making the development process as low-impact as possible.
We would like to keep impervious surfaces down to a minimum as much as possible, he said.
The city council members looked like they didnt quite know what to do with the project.
Most council members appeared to like the idea of the project, but had plenty of unanswered questions. The majority of concerns centered around the road requirements and how to enforce property lines while at the same time preserving the open space between the lots.
Councilwoman Carolyn Powers was worried that, over time, the greenbelts separating the lots would get absorbed by them, leaving no wild land. Although there was some discussion about how to legally define the in-between spaces, no one presented a possible solution to the enforcement question.
Whether we call it a buffer or an easement or a greenbelt, its still the same piece of property, said Councilman Ron Rider. If you arent going to do enforcement, they can do whatever they want with it no matter what we call it.
Road standards were also a sore spot examples of streets such as Cline and Rockwell were tossed around as examples of narrow, steep, sidewalk-less roads that were badly in need of improvements. Although Muller said the roads in question Caseco Lane and the new road, KBIG Place were private roads that would never support the amount of traffic as the thoroughfares mentioned, many council members remained leery.
I like your concept; I think its a great idea, said Councilman Don Morrison, who later offered significant support for much of the project. But every time we reduce our standards, it comes back a year or two later and bites us someplace we dont want to be bitten.
Although the project has been in the works at the city level since March 2002, in the end the council decided it wasnt yet prepared to make a final decision on the proposal. The council asked the staff to get specific answers to all remaining questions everything from stormwater handling to the issues mentioned above and bring everything back for the next council meeting, to be held Aug. 11. | <urn:uuid:a3ea7193-8bb1-4757-a950-51ad1748293b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.portorchardindependent.com/news/19831704.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96982 | 915 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Have you had it with life? Has life given you nothing but hard knocks from the time you were born? Or, in spite of all your worldly success, is there an aching void in your heart that nothing seems to satisfy? Then perhaps it's time to go home - to God.
The belief that we can live a meaningful life without a conscious sense of God's presence is a tragic delusion. Hard as we may try, such an effort is doomed to failure. Why? Because however little we may now feel we understand and experience God as a living reality, He is our real Life. He is our Soul, our Mind - our reason for existence. Without Him, there would be no consciousness, no identity, no purpose.
Mortal life is a sense of alienation from God - a dream that suggests intelligence has broken away from God to establish a finite universe of matter. This matter/mind universe, from a quark to a galaxy, is a counterfeit of something infinitely more grand and wonderful - the limitless universe of Spirit.
This is why material life can't possibly satisfy us. A counterfeit has no intrinsic value. Even its supposed value is borrowed from the real. All the goodness and beauty in our lives is derived from a higher source than matter. Yet our material senses would trick us into thinking that value is in the material things we see around us. But the real substance of all good is spiritual; good comes from Spirit, God, and must be sought in Him.
This is what the prodigal son in Christ Jesus' parable had to learn. The parable tells of a man who had two sons. The younger asked for his inheritance, ''gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.'' n1
n1 Luke 15:13.
Among this parable's many lessons, might we not see an illustration of the belief that man can break away from God and exist on his own? Christian Science explains that God and man are actually inseparable as cause and effect, as the divine Mind and its spiritual idea, or offspring. It is only a false, counterfeit consciousness that seems to have a life apart from God. | <urn:uuid:c103df96-7f12-4d89-8228-17d94194e971> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/1982/1108/110852.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973043 | 451 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Contact lenses, diamonds and boiled eggs are things that are better hard than soft. But economic landings in China? That's a different story.
Robyn Curnow sits down with Christine Lagarde the Head of the IMF to talk about the impact of the eurozone crisis on Africa.
Baseball manager Casey Stengel once famously asked, "Can't anybody here play this game?"
Coming out of the 2008 financial meltdown, emerging markets were a rare bright spot: Places like Brazil, China, and India delivered fast economic growth and double-digit stock gains. But the price you pay for venturing into exotic markets is the risk of sudden, sharp losses.
Stocks have been sinking since April, so you'd think by now there would be an abundance of tempting shares to pick up on the cheap. Alas, you'd be disappointed.
The South Korean central bank surprised the markets on Friday with a $4bn lightning intervention in support of the won, carried out in the last two minutes of trading,
In the late 1980s, developed nations helped bail out Latin America and other emerging markets.
As they cope with the market's twists and turns, investors are finding comfort in a new kind of security blanket: emerging market bonds.
The news keeps getting worse for Sino-Forest's shareholders.
United States bonds are no longer officially rated Triple-A, at least in the eyes of Standard & Poor's.
Though you no longer have to worry about the havoc a debt-ceiling default could wreak on your finances, another threat lingers for Americans: The fallout from any future downgrade of U.S. government debt.
The numbers are in, and America isn't quite the corporate leader it has been in the past. While the U.S. still has more companies than any other country on the Fortune Global 500 list (133), that number has dropped significantly since 2005, when 176 of the world's biggest companies had headquarters in the States.
Investing in China is fraught with risk but there are strategies that can help investors avoid getting burned.
What will drive growth in the advertising industry over the next 10 years?
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock is the undisputed giant among funds that invest in developing economies like China.
"We're thinking of pulling out of Brazil," the CEO of a large American corporation told me a week ago. The company has been operating there for a few years, doing several million dollars of business. The problem? A series of court judgments so inexplicable, and so crushingly expensive, that the CEO doubts his ability to manage the business. He doesn't see how the rulings can be honest -- even former President Luiz Lula da Silva called Brazil's judiciary a "black box" that's "untouchable" -- and if the system doesn't work, this CEO is bailing out.
The economies of the so-called BRIC nations -- Brazil, Russia, China and India -- are still growing like wild. But for investors, emerging markets had taken a backseat to the United States for much of this year.
BRICS nations, the emerging economic titans of Brazil, Russia, India and China meet. CNN's Eunice Yoon reports.
Rewind to 1991 and you see India buried under an acute debt crisis that forces the nation to mortgage its gold reserves to pay for imports.
The global recovery is moving at two speeds, with emerging countries like China still expanding rapidly as advanced economies like the United States grow at a snail's pace.
The BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China ? are those identified as future economic powers. Can South Africa ever be in the club?
When British economist Jim O'Neill coined the term BRIC at the turn of the century -- referring to Brazil, Russia, India and China, countries he predicted would be future economic powerhouses -- it was difficult to imagine how big an impact the acronym would have.
How much of a contrarian is David Herro? These days the fund manager is eschewing scorching emerging markets in favor of the seemingly toxic (European banks) or moribund (Japanese companies). Herro's record suggests a method to his madness.
In a sharp reversal of last year's trend, investors have been pulling money out of emerging market funds and piling into large-cap stocks in more developed economies.
Investing in emerging markets is looking a little pricey right now but there's still plenty of room for investors to get in on the action.
Growing economic imbalances on a global scale and greater income inequality could fuel the next crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.
CNN's Pauline Chiou talks with Simon Godfrey of BNP Paribas about the impact of inflation in emerging markets.
Established already as a key player in Africa, South Africa boosted its image Friday after it was formally invited to join a federation of soaring global economies.
CNN's Eunice Yoon explains China's efforts to fight inflation and expectations of an interest rate hike.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday defended the central bank's plans to spur U.S. economic growth, saying they could help reduce unemployment, and -- in a message aimed at China -- urged developing nations to let their currencies gain in value.
Perhaps we should call them emerged markets.
The rally in commodities cooled a bit Thursday, as the dollar firmed and world leaders gathered in Seoul to discuss trade policies.
Changes in the global pecking order are coming.
If the first episode of "Currency Wars" focused on pressure the U.S., Europe and emerging economies heaped on China for artificially keeping the value of its yuan low, the sequel could be called: "Currency Wars: The Fed Strikes Back."
A group representing the world's most prominent finance ministers wrapped up a two-day meeting in Korea Saturday with a pledge to not engage in currency wars or other economically protectionist policies.
Emerging-markets economies seem to have it all these days. Their lands are stocked with natural resources. Their national finances are strong. And a rising middle class is spurring breakneck growth in their businesses.
Forget fear of the unknown. You should really worry when all of Wall Street agrees on the merits of an investment idea. Case in point: emerging-market stocks.
What will likely be the defining characteristic of the new General Motors has gone largely unnoticed in the analysis of its initial public offering prospectus filed earlier this month: the degree to which it is no longer a North American-centric company.
At the G20 summit in Toronto last month, the leaders of world's largest economies embraced a brave new theme: Halting the alarming, potentially ruinous growth in already mountainous sovereign debt.
If you're looking to get in on the China growth train, be prepared to stomach the near-term risk.
The pros' advice couldn't be plainer: Investors need exposure to the regions outside the United States where more and more of the world's economic growth will be found in the years ahead. Yet most Americans stick close to home. Less than a third of the savers in Vanguard's retirement plans invest in international stock funds when they're available, according to a recent study by the mutual fund giant. Even fewer, one in 10, put money in emerging-markets funds -- that is, those specializing in developing countries such as Brazil, China, and India.
The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China called for the hastening of reform that would give these emerging economies more power in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
It has become an investing truism of late: If you want stocks with high-octane potential, you're wise to invest in the fast-growing economies of emerging markets. The result has been frenzied demand for such stocks and skyrocketing valuations.
In an era of specialization, world allocation funds take on a challenge that verges on hubris: All it requires is deep expertise in stocks, bonds, and other securities in virtually every market on the face of the earth.
Investors have pumped a record amount of money into equity funds focused on emerging markets this year in a sharp reversal of sentiment.
Question: I'm considering investing in emerging markets mutual funds. But do you think that's a good idea, or are they just going to be the next investment bubble? -- Mario, Atlanta, Georgia
You wouldn't think the men who run the oil-rich country of Nigeria would have much spring in their step these days. The nation is plagued by a never-ending guerrilla war, one that has trimmed the country's oil production to two-thirds of its potential capacity.
The numbers are in, confirming what many already suspected: Emerging markets are the flavor of the month (or at least the quarter).
As the U.S. stock market tosses and turns, sustainable growth -- both in corporate profits and economic output -- seems far off. In China, on the other hand, recovery already seems to be a reality: Real estate, auto, and industrial sales have all bounced back this year, driving stocks on the Shanghai exchange up 50% since February. The velocity of the Chinese rebound surprised the World Bank, which recently increased its estimate for the country's GDP growth this year from 6.5% to 7.2%. Jing Ulrich, J.P. Morgan's Chinese equities strategist, thinks that figure is still too low. "China can still achieve 8% growth," she says. "Everything is happening very fast there."
For the first time, Brazil, Russia, India, and China -- dubbed the BRIC nations -- held a summit this week to discuss the global economy and their role in it.
It's only fitting that General Motors, once the embodiment of U.S. economic might, decided to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese manufacturer after GM filed for bankruptcy.
It feels nothing like 2007 these days, except in one respect: Chinese stocks are outperforming again. The MSCI China Index, which tracks stocks traded in Hong Kong, has climbed 67% since late October (the S&P 500 has risen 2% in that time).
Stocks have surged recently on hopes that the U.S. economy may be close to hitting a bottom. The S&P 500 is up an impressive 21% in the past month.
Investors have largely panned the stimulus package that President Obama signed into law last month. But stimulus in China? Now that's a different story.
As bad as the year has been for U.S. equities, the scene around the world has been even more harrowing. Morgan Stanley Capital International's index of 21 non-U.S. markets is down 49% through Dec. 1, 2008, compared with a 43% slide in the S&P 500. But the real devastation has occurred in once-hot emerging markets. China's CSI index of 300 publicly traded stocks has fallen 63% for the year. The MICEX index of 30 of Russia's most liquid stocks is down a staggering 73%.
The last time we wrote about investing in emerging markets, we took a broad look at major indexes around the globe. Readers wanted to know more, namely possible ways to enhance returns by drilling down into particular companies, regions, or industries.
The Olympics giveth, melamine-tainted milk taketh away.
For U.S. investors, 1974 was a very scary year. The country was reeling from the Watergate scandal and the OPEC oil embargo, and Wall Street was in the worst bear market since World War II. By October, the S&P 500 was down 48% from its high two years earlier. It finished December with a value of 68.56, some 19% lower than it had a decade earlier.
Are emerging markets a bargain right now? The instinct is right, as developing-country indexes have taken a serious thumping this year. Year-to-date, Argentina's main index is down 51%. China's is down 63%. Russia is down 68%. Overall, the MSvCI Emerging Markets index is down 52% year-to-date, versus *just* a 34% drop for the S&P 500.
Dell Inc. unveiled four low-cost computer models for China, India and other emerging economies Wednesday in a new bid to tap the potential of high-growth markets outside the United States
Where in the world can you get good returns these days? The gains from foreign equity funds are mighty tempting, especially those of emerging market portfolios, which, despite a recent slump, are up an annualized 25% over three years.
Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister to Pakistan, talks to MME about the emerging economies of China and the Middle East.
This week the who's who of the United Arab Emirates rubbed shoulders at a Gala dinner. Business people talked deals, swapped business cards and rubbed shoulders with government elite -- in China.
For years investors have piled into economies like China and India in search of outsize returns.
Stomaching the ups and downs of emerging markets can be difficult for most investors, but this asset class has a place in practically every portfolio.
By the time it was all said and done, an astonishing $22 billion had been vacuumed up in a matter of hours. So frenzied was the desire for this initial public offering - the largest in history - th...
Ben Bernanke isn't just scaring U.S. investors anymore. He's scaring investors around the world.
PAUL PLASTERER WORKS FOR A HIGH-END sporting goods company in Chicago, and if you ask him about his job, you'll quickly realize that he's a pretty business-savvy guy. He doesn't, however, have any ...
China's best-known Internet guru is Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba.com, an e-commerce auction site that pitches made-in-China goods to a global market.
China already has a presence on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq with plenty of investor interest. Does that mean the recent yuan revaluation will boost or bust these stocks?
Following is the full text of the keynote speech delivered by China's President Hu Jintao to the Fortune Global Forum in Beijing on Monday May 16. Mr Hu was welcomed by the Chairman and CEO of Time Warner, Richard Parsons. CNN is part of the Time Warner group.
THAT CHINA IS THE WORLD'S MOST explosive and intriguing economic growth story has been blindingly obvious for some time. And the stories in this issue provide ample evidence that the dynamic expans...
Ecuador has defaulted on its debt more than any other nation. So why would you want to buy its bonds? Or, for that matter, those of Russia, where oligarchs and an ex-KGB agent wrestle one another f...
If you're wondering which emotion is guiding investors these days, greed or fear, consider the current fascination with investing in China.
How's this for a can't-miss investment opportunity: Enormous but struggling nation with a potent workforce turns capitalist and embraces its destiny as a future economic powerhouse. Foreign capital...
I want to get exposure to Chinese equities. I feel the country is going to have a boom five to 10 years down the road and I feel if I invest now, I will be getting in early. What are the small and mid-sized equity companies in China of which stock can be purchased?
Chinese officials recently said the Chinese economy grew at 8.5 percent in 2003 and most observers say the real pace of growth was much higher than that. But that is last year's story.
Investing in China ought to be a no-brainer. With an economy that has barreled forward at an average rate of 7% for five years running and that will probably advance 9% in 2003 despite SARS, China ...
The high is always sweeter after the low. It's as true for investing as it is for life. So those battered veteran investors in emerging markets are no doubt savoring the phenomenal performance they...
Investing in emerging markets in the 1990s required great fortitude--and a crate or two of Rolaids didn't hurt either. Betting that the small, emerging economies around the world would produce outs...
CISCO ON THEIR MINDS
In retrospect, Steve Kantz knows that perhaps he should have been a bit more conventional when he opened an Individual Retirement Account in mid-1997. He'd considered a plain-vanilla U.S. stock fun...
Every weekday morning back in 1993, the most delirious year of the giddy 1990s Asia investing boom, stockbrokers from all over Southeast Asia called up mutual fund manager Robert Howe in Hong Kong ...
On a trip to Thailand in January 1997, Mark Madden, manager of the $156 million Pioneer Emerging Markets Fund, visited some two dozen companies asking: How much of the foreign currency debt on your...
Okay. So you've just read that the next 25 years look darn good for savvy investors. But what if you don't feel like waiting around for another couple of decades for your just deserts? What if you'...
After 18 years of marriage, Connie and Kel Saito still have their differences, even when they try to relax by playing mixed doubles on a tennis court near their San Jose home. "We'll have arguments...
Everyone loves Lyford Cay, Morgan Stanley's annual get-together for long-ball hitters. The workday is seriously civilized--eight to noon, then an hour and a half at night--leaving loads of time for...
Are you ready for the latest wrinkle in the sizzling world of emerging-market mutual funds? It's the new--and rapid-- proliferation of open-end single-country mutual funds. These new vehicles offer...
THIS MONTH: --What savvy managers are buying now --A fund that focuses on the bluest chips
With U.S. stocks racking up returns of 20% to 35% so far this year, you might figure only a lunatic would bother to seek superior gains abroad. But think again. "It's a virtual slam dunk that many ...
SPOOKED BY THE TURMOIL IN INTERNATIONAL stock markets, Americans are increasingly reluctant to invest abroad. In the first two months of 1995, only $829 million of fresh cash flowed into funds that...
How about a round of doubles? no, we don't mean tennis. we're talking about investments that could double in value over the next five years. Of course, if you're just beginning to learn the ways of...
If you've had money in one of the 42 so-called emerging markets funds (including 10 closed-end selections) over the past year, you have our condolences. All of them lost money, with the average ent...
Nearly lost in all the dire headlines--Mexican peso collapses! economic aftershocks of japan quake! u.s.-china trade war looms!--is 1995's Big Event: the beginnings of a global expansion of breatht...
Emerging markets? Submerging would be more like it. Investors in many parts of the developing world are finding themselves underwater as markets from Malaysia to Mexico sink under the weight of the...
NO COUNTRY today is more synonymous with growth, capital gains, and vast opportunities to make money than China. Small investors are crowding into mutual funds that promise to grab some of China's ...
Until recently, the case for emerging-market funds sounded so persuasive that it was almost rude to ask whether there was a catch. After all, developing economies such as Argentina, China, Indonesi...
Wall Street old-timers used to chuckle about ''Peruvian bonds'': broker slang for worthless securities. Nowadays owners of the Andean country's debt are the ones who are smiling. Loans that sold fo...
Adventuresome investors are intrigued by the almost boundless profit opportunities in China. But finding a low-cost way into the market is about as tough as finding a great Chinese eatery in Iowa. ...
THEY ARE the latest business buccaneers to mix it up in freewheeling Hong Kong. Tailored and sophisticated, with French cuffs just right, they command seemingly unlimited cash to snap up prime real...
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Facebook has proved to become the first love of a big percentage of youth population. In fact, people of all ages are increasingly becoming more and more active on facebook. People completely trust facebook, however they are unaware of the insecurity they are exposed to! Here is a list of top 10 reasons to delete your facebook account today itself.
10. Completely one-sided Terms of Services:
The Terms of Services of facebook are extremely one-sided and biased. It states that facebook owns are data and also, if the user does not keep his profile up-to-date and accurate, they can even terminate his/her account. You might think that these terms are there to protect the interests of facebook and are not practically enforced. They see their customers as unpaid employees for ad-targeting the data and use the crowd-sourcing in their benefit. You must understand the implications of these terms and delete your account today itself.
9. No real support for Open Web:
The Open graph API is a name given so as to disguise its closed nature. We are fooled by this and often help facebook to collect more data, however all our data is made public. They claim to be the only source of using it; however, it is unfair of them to call it open as it is proprietary to facebook. You cannot use this feature, unless you have an account on facebook. A purely open implementation would work with whichever social network we use.
8. Account is Difficult to Delete:
When you have finally decided to delete your facebook account, it is not all that easy. When you go to your account settings, facebook provides with an option to deactivate your account which is very tricky and not the same as deleting your account. Deactivating means you can still be tagged in photographs and be spammed by facebook. They make no claims about deleting your data and the applications you have used may keep your data as well. However, if you log back in, it is like nothing has changed. To actually delete your account, you have to look for a link which is not easily found. You then have to resist to click on the tempting like button that appears on all the web pages and do not log in for another 14 days.
7. Your Privacy can cheat you:
Facebook is a social media where you can make some true friends, but also you are exposed to an equally high risk of being cheated. People often send requests to people who are not very familiar and in no time they would open their hearts out. They would share all the personal information including their photos, videos, personal history. And, the next day you see all those images outsourced to the world. This is absolutely practical. Thousands of people have undergone this. You need to understand that it is not safe and a reasonable reason to delete your facebook account.
6. Applications unsafe to use:
Facebook is full of applications, where you can play games, find out stuff about your own character, find out more about your love and a number of several other things. These applications are very unsafe to use. Applications often ask you to provide access to your personal information. They transfer all your personal information to a third party. Your information might be misused and might not even be secure. Also, a number of viruses are invited into your PCs with these applications, exposing your system to risk.
5. Unethical issues against CEO:
CEO Zuckerbergs is very well known personality for all his unethical deeds. He being the CEO of Facebook, a biggest growing social network sites these days has an annotated history regarding his unethical behaviour. He started this network initially with his unscrupulous behaviour by sharing his personnel achievements by making use of the achievements of various university students. So how could one can be so sure about his data privacy and believe him that his data would not shared with the third party. According to various links it is proved that he always try to use and access user’s personnel data to guess their email password and read mails in order to abase his rivals. It is also a rumour in the market that Zuckerberg actually stolen the idea of Facebook and for this allegation he has paid $65 millions.
4. Pictures can be accessed by all:
The most important security flaw in facebook is this that your pictures can be easily saved by all your friends. While accepting and sending requests, people are least concerned about security. They are always lured by the idea of adding maximum number of friends to their friend list. Now, if someone tags your photo, then all of their facebook friends can see that and can also save the photo on their computers. This pictures can be misused and you may have to regret later to have a facebook account.
3. Facebook Viruses:
Facebook is fully virus oriented social networking sites. Due to its vast network all over the world it has almost become impossible to protect it from unseeing viruses. These viruses are almost expanded along the whole network and corrupting our profiles. They are the main source of shutting us down in front of our friends and relatives by sending C-grade videos from our profiles through messages without being letting us know. This in the blink of an eye shuts our account. If someone tries to download those videos through their laptops these viruses automatically transfer to their laptops and becomes a reason for its corruption. These viruses with the name of actual profile owner post any unethical links or photos.
2. Personal Data doesn’t Remains personal:
Facebook acquires all the information about a person, his phone number, friends, interests, photographs and the entire personal bio data. We happily give all the information trusting the company. However, sadly, facebook doesn’t treat our personal as important as it is. Facebook transfers the personal information of the users to various third parties who perform various surveys and research on their data, without any due permission from the users. All the information is shared with the application developers, many of whom may be incompetent of keeping your data safe or they might be ethically challenged. Thus, a very obvious reason to delete your facebook account today is your data is treated as public, unless you have never used any facebook application.
1. Facebook is an addiction:
Do you understand why you are glued to the computer screen all the time with your facebook logged in? It is because you are addicted! Facebook has severely affected your productivity and you are mind is always occupied with this one word ‘facebook’. You realise how restless you become when you don’t get access to facebook for 2-3 days. The first thing you want to do then, is check out the updates on facebook. You can sit for hours and look at pictures of people you know and you don’t know. You search for all the people in your life and send friend requests to them. If the facebook fever is high on you, it’s the time to delete your facebook account. | <urn:uuid:37be7651-b835-4548-911a-4b9cbb4fe741> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://omgtoptens.com/misc/facts/top-10-reasons-to-delete-facebook-account-today/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971527 | 1,412 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Viviane Reding, European Union Justice commissioner, appears to be leaning toward introducing quotas to ensure greater representation for women on corporate boards.
Ms. Reding told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos that progress to raising the proportion of women on boards has been very slow since she urged companies to do it voluntarily last year.
The exception is in member states that have introduced quotas to ensure greater female representation, she said. These countries –- Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and, in public enterprises, Austria –- have done better than where there are no local laws on the issue. (Non-EU Norway has led the way in European legislation.)
“This makes me think we need a law,” said Ms. Reding in a brief interview.
Davos Live provides updates from the World Economic Forum’s annual talkfest in Davos, Switzerland, which draws more than 2,500 business, political and academic leaders for a five-day program of workshops and panel discussions. A team of reporters and editors from The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires is on the scene, and will be posting news, commentary and gossip as the conference unfolds. | <urn:uuid:14eee108-c60d-4332-93f2-c5e1dcbe9fac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.wsj.com/davos/tag/women/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957486 | 245 | 1.601563 | 2 |
- Psychology & the public
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Threatened males and the taking of risks
A study reported on our Research Digest casts new light on the role that masculinity may have played in past and present financial crises.
Jonathan Weaver and his colleagues at the University of South Florida report that threatening a man's sense of manhood makes him myopic and more prone to take risks, particularly in a public situation.
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- Raising awareness of adult autism | <urn:uuid:68548d95-0144-439a-88fa-d39a8cb36a09> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bps.org.uk/news/men-take-riskes-when-their-masuclinity-threatened | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932725 | 122 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani
Badi' al-Zamān al-Hamadāni or al-Hamadhāni (Arabic: بديع الزمان الهمذاني; 969 CE - 1007 CE) was a Medieval Arab man of letters born in Hamadan, Iran. He is best known for his work the Maqamat, a collection of 52 episodic stories of a rogue, Abu al-Fath al-Iskandari, as recounted by a narrator, 'Isa b. Hisham. He was also known as "Badi uz-Zaman" (the wonder of the age).
Hamadani was born and educated in Hamedan, Iran. In 990 he went to Gorgan, where he remained two years; then passing to Nishapur, where he rivalled and surpassed the learned Khwarizmi. After journeying through Khorasan and Sistan, he finally settled in Herat under the protection of the vizir of Mahmud, the Ghaznevid sultan. There he died at the age of forty. He was renowned for a remarkable memory and for fluency of speech, as well as for the purity of his language.
His letters were first published at Constantinople (1881), and with commentary at Beirut (1890); his maqamas at Constantinople, and with commentary at Beirut (1889). A good idea of the latter may be obtained from Silvestre de Sacys edition of six of the maqamas with French translation and notes in his Chrestomathie arabe, vol. iii. (2nd ed., Paris, 1827). A specimen of the letters is translated into German in A. von Kremers Culturgeschichte des Orients, ii. 470 sqq.
See also
|Arabic Wikisource has original text related to this article:|
- The Maqámát of Badí‘ al-Zamán al-Hamadhání English translation at sacred-texts.com
|This article about a Middle Eastern writer or poet is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.| | <urn:uuid:d821dd94-9c33-463c-afbb-406a5c87f784> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Hamadhani | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95825 | 473 | 1.78125 | 2 |
(CNN) - Senator John McCain attacked Sen. Barack Obama for having his inaugural address ready to go and said that Obama’s presidential preparations will be proven premature at a rally in Mesilla, Arizona on Saturday.
“We just learned from a newspaper today that Senator Obama’s inaugural address is already written.”
“You know? I’m not making it up. I’m not making it up. I’m not making it up. An awful lot of voters are still undecided, but he’s decided for them that well, why wait? It’s time to move forward with his first inaugural address,” McCain said.
“My friends, when I pull this thing, I have a request for my opponent. I want him to save that manuscript of his inaugural address, and donate it to the Smithsonian. And they can put it right next to the Chicago paper that said Dewey Defeats Truman,” he said in reference to the 1948 Chicago Tribune headline incorrectly proclaiming Dewey the winner of that presidential election.
“There’s 10 days left in this election, maybe Barack Obama will have his first state of the union address ready before you head to the polls. You know, I guess I’m just a little old fashioned about these things. I prefer to let the voters weigh in before presuming the outcome. What America needs now is someone who will finish the race before starting the victory lap.”
McCain was referring to a New York Times article published Saturday that said John Podesta (who leads Senator Obama's transition team) "has been mapping out the transition so systematically that he has already written a draft Inaugural Address for Mr. Obama, which he published this summer in a book called ‘The Power of Progress’.”
Minutes after the Republican presidential candidate finished his speech, an Obama aide clarified that the address was in a book John Podesta wrote before Obama was the nominee and was written for a generic Democratic president.
In another response, Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton denied McCain's claim and linked him to a very unpopular Republican president.
“While this charge is completely false and there is no draft of an inaugural address for Senator Obama, the last thing we need is a candidate like John McCain who just plans on re-reading George Bush’s,” Burton said. | <urn:uuid:807a0798-89e7-4f36-bf77-70f180afd693> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/25/mccain-to-obama-finish-race-before-starting-the-victory-lap/comment-page-20/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971569 | 498 | 1.5625 | 2 |
We’re talking poop here.
Dog poop, to be specific.
Mammoth has a new unofficial dog park down Sherwin Creek Road – a rather vast expanse on Forest Service land behind Sierra Meadows Ranch, made accessible this winter by the town plowing down to the Turner Propane tanks.
Dog lovers found it right away.
But Suzanne Nottingham, companion of three dogs (Ivan, Fred and Zion), has been horrified by the amount of poop this winter – poop that could easily have been picked up by their human companions but wasn’t.
Unlike the Shady Rest Park staging area, there are no trash containers in the area, nor bags that human companions can grab for poop containment.
Nottingham says she wants help.
She has created a Facebook campaign called “Unleashed! Mammoth’s Unoffical Dog Park Location and Rules.”
On it, she suggests eight specific rules for poop and parking.
On Wednesday she showed up at the Town Council meeting to raise the flag for her cause, and to ask if the Town might be able to help in the cleanup.
It might be plastic bags. It might be gloves.
Whatever, it’s going to be a big job, she said.
“If we picked up all the droppings, I think it would make the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest pile.”
Her Facebook campaign has just started. Interested people can go to their Facebook page and search for Mammoth’s Unoffical Dog Park.
“It’s kind of an underground thing,” she said. | <urn:uuid:e9b5c80a-6ad1-48fb-86fb-6354a2621942> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mammothtimes.com/print/1439 | 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 | 0.945016 | 342 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The Alaskan Way Viaduct shows now new signs of damage or settling since the last time Transportation Department crews inspected it, WSDOT announced Friday.
That’s the report from state bridge inspectors who examined the aging waterfront behemoth during closures last weekend, according to WSDOT.
The viaduct was closed while crews measured existing cracks and settlement of the viaduct. They also repaired worn or damaged expansion joints, bridge rails, service lighting, drainage systems and traffic cameras. They also cleaned the walls and ventilation systems in the Battery Street Tunnel, WSDOT reports.
“While no new settlement was discovered by this inspection, we still consider the viaduct a vulnerable structure,” said Ron Paananen, WSDOT’s Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program administrator, in a news release. “We will continue moving forward to replace the structure, starting next year with the southern mile.”
WSDOT crews inspect the viaduct’s condition every three months for safety reasons. Gov. Chris Gregoire announced last weekend that an automated system will be installed on the viaduct that will close the structure at the first sign of seismic activity.
The state plans to replace the aging waterfront viaduct, which was damaged during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, with a $1.9 billion deep-bore tunnel under First Avenue. That became a central issue in the mayor’s race, with candidate Mike McGinn campaigning against the tunnel. The Seattle City Council this month approved an agreement with the state affirming Seattle’s support for the tunnel project and its commitment to roughly $930 million in street improvements related to the viaduct project. The entire project is pegged at $4.2 billion.
In April 2008, four column foundations between Columbia Street and Yesler Way were strengthened after the columns had settled approximately 5 1/2 inches since the Nisqually earthquake. No new settlement was detected in this area.
Next March, WSDOT plans to begin replacing the southern portion of the viaduct between South Holgate and South King streets with a new side-by-side roadway. WSDOT issued an advertisement for bids on Oct. 26. The construction contract is expected to cost more than $200 million and support an estimated 1,017 jobs. | <urn:uuid:2d02c1c7-4463-4617-8231-71455274c6bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.seattlepi.com/transportation/2009/10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955633 | 490 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The Costs of War: Iraq and Afghanistan in Perspective
By Michael McGehee at Nov 16, 2010
Both Afghanistan and Iraq are about a twelfth the size of the United States. If we are to understand the damage we have done to both those countries over the last thirty years we would have to put things in proportion. Whatever the consequences of our actions have been, multiply it by twelve and that’s what it would be if it were done to us. Perhaps that in turn would put things in perspective for us. There are at least two things we should think about when considering the human toll: casualties and ethnic cleansing or “displacement” if you want to be polite about it. Of course things like the economic and health effects warrant close inspection, but for the purpose of this piece I will stick with those two simple things.
And before I do I want to point out what should be obvious. Iraq and Afghanistan are by comparison powerless, weak and defenseless. Unlike the US they don’t have a massive military. They don’t have a comparable air force and navy. They are not flanked by two massive oceans they dominate nor are they surrounded by friendly countries. The US is 5% of the world’s population but accounts for half the world’s annual military expenditures (Iraq accounts for 0.13% and Afghanistan 0.0122%). We have weapons we have never used and should never use. We have weapons we do use—probably the worst of which are cluster bombs, depleted uranium and white phosphorus—and should never use. We have over 1,000 foreign military bases. The idea that we are defending ourselves from Iraq and Afghanistan is a joke.
It was not Iraq whose secret intelligence agency oversaw a coup d'état that brought in the dominant political parties in the US as the CIA did with the Ba’ath Party in the late 1960s.
It was not Iraq who propped up our dictator. It was the other way around.
In 1975 it was not Iraq's State Department who responded to our brutal murder and ethnic cleansing of Kurds by saying it “was to be expected.” That was us referring to “the Kurdish thing” and it was documented in a declassified cable. We knew Saddam Hussein was—as the British said in a cable to us in the late-1960s—a “presentable young man.” In the same year the British also noted his “emergence into the limelight” and that “if only one could see more of him, it would be possible to do business." We agreed and did business with him. When Henry Kissinger testified to Congress about our policies he said, "Covert action should not be confused with missionary work."
It was not Iraq who removed us from a list of states who sponsor “terrorism,” just so they could arm us nor was it Iraq who was providing us with weapons (conventional and chemical) while we were using it “almost daily.” We armed and supported Iraq in their war of aggression against Iran. When Donald Rumsfeld went to meet with Saddam in the early 1980s to check on his progress it was noted that Iraq was using chemical weapons on an almost daily basis.
And it was not Iraq who turned on us and invaded us and imposed sanctions on us and bombed us almost daily for more than ten years before waging another war of aggression against us that resulted in a bloody occupation and civil war. We did that to them. We were not defending ourselves in any of this.
Similarly in Afghanistan, it was not the government of Afghanistan who began arming and training religious zealots to provoke a Russian invasion. We did that. We called it the “Afghan trap” to give Russia their “Vietnam.” We used the people of Afghanistan as chess pieces and expendable bags of carbon. We were not defending ourselves.
Neither Iraq or Afghanistan had anything to do with the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. None of the training or funding was done in those countries and even if there were it wouldn’t change much. As awful as the terrorist attack was it was not an armed attack warranting our invasions and occupations. If we want to make the argument that it does then we must also accept that Kristallnacht was an appropriate response to the assassination of vom Rath by Herschel Grynszpan.
Between the date of the attacks and October 7, 2001 and March 20, 2003, we were not attacked again. It’s not as if we were acting in self-defense. And it’s not as if the terrorist attack didn’t have a history. It has been our decades of imperialism and aggression that brought on the attack. Look at the targets: the pinnacles of American economic and military power: the Pentagon, World Trade Center and possibly Capitol Hill or the White House. The Pentagon has long known this and it was only a few years back when they admitted as much on why we are “hated”:
American direct intervention in the Muslim World has paradoxically elevated the stature of and support for radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single-digits in some Arab societies.
• Muslims do not “hate our freedom,” but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf states.
• Thus when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy. Moreover, saying that “freedom is the future of the Middle East” is seen as patronizing, suggesting that Arabs are like the enslaved peoples of the old Communist World — but Muslims do not feel this way: they feel oppressed, but not enslaved.
• Furthermore, in the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering. U.S. actions appear in contrast to be motivated by ulterior motives, and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim selfdetermination.
• Therefore, the dramatic narrative since 9/11 has essentially borne out the entire radical Islamist bill of particulars. American actions and the flow of events have elevated the authority of the Jihadi insurgents and tended to ratify their legitimacy among Muslims. Fighting groups portray themselves as the true defenders of an Ummah (the entire Muslim community) invaded and under attack — to broad public support.
• What was a marginal network is now an Ummah-wide movement of fighting groups. Not only has there been a proliferation of “terrorist” groups: the unifying context of a shared cause creates a sense of affiliation across the many cultural and sectarian boundaries that divide Islam.
• Finally, Muslims see Americans as strangely narcissistic — namely, that the war is all about us. As the Muslims see it, everything about the war is — for Americans — really no more than an extension of American domestic politics and its great game.
This perception is of course necessarily heightened by election-year atmospherics, but nonetheless sustains their impression that when Americans talk to Muslims they are really just talking to themselves.
Thus the critical problem in American public diplomacy directed toward the Muslim World is not one of “dissemination of information,” or even one of crafting and delivering the “right” message. Rather, it is a fundamental problem of credibility. Simply, there is none . . .
Iraq was destroyed by our "genocidal sanctions" (see Dennis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck if you need more details) and Afghanistan was one of the poorest and most defenseless countries in the world . . . and we attacked, invaded and occupied them over bogus claims (i.e. WMD, liberation, bringing democracy, fighting terrorism, etc).
And what has come of it?
In Afghanistan about 3 million people have been killed and 5 million displaced as a direct consequence of the wars we have provoked or waged.
In Iraq about 4 million have been killed and 5 million displaced, another term for ethnic cleansing.
That’s seven million killed, ten million ethnically cleansed from their homes and neighborhoods or their country altogether.
Remember, Iraq and Afghanistan are both about a twelfth the size of us so if we were to take what we have done to them and apply it to ourselves and keep in mind proportion then we are talking about 84 million Americans killed and 100 million ethnically cleansed. Most of them civilians, but many of them resistance fighters, or "terrorists" as the occupiers call them.
Keep in mind that in this alternate reality we are the weak and they are the strong. They account for half of global military spending and have foreign bases sprinkled all over the globe while we don't even account for a quarter of a percent and have no such bases. We have never attacked them. Our leaders have attacked neighboring countries while genuflecting to them, but our leaders never bit the hand that fed them. We don’t have the military strength like they do. Our lives have been shaped by their foreign policies, and not the other way around. When one of them was attacked by less than two dozen terrorists, we paid for it despite having nothing to do with the attacks. We have suffered through war and sanctions and ethnic cleansing. Eighty-four million of us have seen our lives smashed out by bombs, disease or starvation, and one hundred million of us have been forcibly removed from our homes by gangs and militias with ties to the Iraqi and Afghani governments who invade and occupy us.
Meanwhile they have their “Veterans Day” and “Memorial Day” where the denizens of their states proudly wave their flags and put yellow ribbons on their trees and cry while they sing patriotic songs and thank their soldiers for the sacrifice they made to protect their freedoms that were never endangered by us. And all the while it is their governments who are spying on them, harassing their activists and cutting their social benefits and doing almost nothing to stop the economic crises that are costing them their jobs and pensions. And rather than rise up against their government who is bringing death and destruction to the world and exploiting them, they wave their flags and say “Thank you” to the soldiers that obey orders.
From the plains of North Texas, | <urn:uuid:8bf791df-cf63-4e94-9fb6-43f1f98e31d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zcommunications.org/the-costs-of-war-iraq-and-afghanistan-in-perspective-by-michael-mcgehee | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975683 | 2,186 | 1.773438 | 2 |
One spends almost half if his awake time at his working place – thus it is quite important how this time is spent. In my opinion, it is best spent in a productive fashion, where one can keep on learning, be faced with and successfully tackle considerable challenges, depend on his team members in every sense of the word, while being part of the larger professional community at the same time.
At our small company, EU Edge, we’re keeping up the ever-learning education angle by maintaining internal lectures & a comprehensive learning program. Recently we’ve opened up our internal learning materials to the wider public, using the quite liberal CC-by-sa license, which allows for both non-commercial and commercial use of this material. Everyone knowing Hungarian can read up, dig deep into the external information sources listed, and try his hands on the sample problems provided. For people who sign up, a common message group enables sharing ideas & providing help, while we take the time to review the completed homework & provide feedback as well. The first batch of materials cover HTML & CSS, with more to follow.
Most of the tools we use for professional work is either Free Software or Open Source Software. We gain huge value from these tools, which enable us to work in a professional & efficient manner. It is obvious that one should not be only a receiver of such value, but also be a source of contribution. We have a long tradition of publishing our own open source projects & contributing to others. But now we’ve decided to financially support projects on a regular basis, projects that our team members find important. In this quarter, we decided to support Mercurial, becoming a Bronze Sponsor, and thus joining the likes of the Mozilla Foundation or the Python Software Foundation.
These new activities are a continuation of our ongoing principle of being an active member of the broader IT community. Our past & ongoing activities include participating as founders & organizers of the Budapest New Tech Meetup group for over 5 years, which since then gave way to a myriad of other Meetup groups in Budapest and wider Hungary.
One cannot overstate how important it is to share – so as to be able to receive. | <urn:uuid:6a80051a-b387-41ca-93cb-d42f6ab46d2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://akos.maroy.hu/category/professional/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952799 | 444 | 1.539063 | 2 |
In a move of bipartisanship, the House has passed a bill that would increase inspections of drug manufacturing facilities overseas, while also accelerating approval of new drugs at home.
WASHINGTON - In a move of bipartisanship, the House has passed a bill that would increase inspections of drug manufacturing facilities overseas, while also accelerating approval of new drugs at home.
Under the House bill, passed 387-5 late Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration would have more flexibility to inspect manufacturing sites in China, India and other foreign countries. The number of U.S. drugs produced overseas has more than doubled over the last decade.
The underlying bill also renews an agreement between the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry under which companies pay the FDA to review new products. For the first time, the FDA will collect fees from generic drugmakers to speed up product reviews. The FDA has a backlog of roughly 2,700 generic drugs awaiting review.
House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy praises the bill's passage. "I applaud the overwhelming bipartisan passage of this bill which is essential to keeping American innovation and jobs on our shores as well as ensuring we remain the world leader in this vital industry," McCarthy said.
Representative Diana DeGette (D-Co.), co-sponsored the bill and applauded it. "I am so proud we passed a bipartisan bill to create an early warning system so the FDA, drug companies and doctors can better respond to shortages, quickly and efficiently. Today, the U.S. House came together across party lines to take a significant step towards getting drug shortages under control and protecting the health of America's families," DeGette said in a statement.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed their version of the bill last Thursday 96 - 1. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was the sole opposition vote.
The two chambers must go to conference to reconcile the differences in the two bills before the legislation can be signed into law by President Obama.
(KFGO file photo) | <urn:uuid:f8c84c11-9875-4047-87df-09aa15d87f5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kfgo.com/news-details.php?pageNum_rsNews=40&totalRows_rsNews=414&ID=0000008151 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946326 | 402 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Anarchist Economics, Marxist Economics, and Pareconist Economics
opinion / analysis
Friday June 29, 2012 22:00 by Wayne Price - personal opinion drwdprice at aol dot com
In support of anarchist goals, and to understand how capitalism works, it is useful for anarchists to use Marx's economic theory. As an illustration, three essays on the economics of capitalism as developed by theorists of Parecon (Participatory Economics) are critiqued. [Italiano]
Anarchist Economics, Marxist Economics, and Pareconist Economics
When discussing radical economics, really two different, if related, topics are meant. (1) The nature of the economy which might be created after the overthrow of capitalism (whether called socialism, communism, or anarchism). And (2) the nature of the existing, capitalist, economy—how it works and what its future development will be.
This leads to my two part proposition: (1) The best theoretical approach to proposing post-capitalist, post revolutionary, economies comes from the anarchist tradition, as well as other, non-Marxist, varieties of libertarian socialism (guild socialism, Parecon, distributionism, etc.). But (2) the best approach to understanding capitalism is Marxist economics (more precisely, Marx’s critique of political economy).
I write this even though I identify with the overall program of revolutionary class-struggle anarchism. This is why I think that the two parts of the proposition must not be reversed. Marxism must not be used as the basis for a vision of a new society. Admittedly, there is an aspect of Marxism (of Marx’s Marxism) which points to a libertarian-democratic and humanistic society, a society of the free association of individuals. This has attracted a minority to an anti-statist version of Marxism. But there are also authoritarian aspects of Marx’s Marxism, such as its centralism or its determinism. In practice, Marxism as a movement has repeatedly ended up as authoritarian, oppressive, and (to be precise) massively murderous.
In this essay, I will focus on proposition (2), the usefulness of Marx’s economic theory. For illustration, I will counterpose it to the economic theory of Parecon. This does not cover point (1), for which the theory of Parecon is most well known: its model of a post-capitalist society, managed by a federation of workplace and community councils, with democratic economic planning, without a market or centralized planning (Albert, 2003; Hahnel, 2005). This is a very interesting topic, but instead I am discussing Pareconists’ views of capitalism today, as compared to an anarchist view which uses Marxist insights.
The founders of “Participatory Economics,” or “Parecon,” were Michael Albert and Robin Hahnel. Originally they regarded their approach as “unorthodox Marxism” (Albert & Hahnel, 1978). Currently Hahnel calls his views “libertarian socialism” (Hahnel, 2005), while Albert completely rejects the label of “socialism” (Albert, 2001). Now Parecon is presented as an “anarchist vision” (p. 327).
I take up this strain of libertarian thought not because it is particularly bad, but for the opposite reason: because it is relatively strong and developed. It has much more of an economic theory than most other anarchists or libertarian socialists. It is therefore worth examining. I will focus on three chapters on Pareconism which appear in a book on “Anarchist Economics,” edited by D. Shannon, A.J. Nocella II, and J. Asimakopoulos (2012). This is an excellent book for its range of views. (I have a chapter in it, on topic , post-capitalist anarchist economies, not the topic discussed here.) There is a chapter each by Hahnel and Albert, the co-founders of Parecon, and one by Chris Spannos, who has edited a book advocating Pareconism (Spannos, 2008).
Chris Spannos’ Anarchist Economics
Spannos’ essay is “Examining the History of Anarchist Economics” (pp. 42—63). It is worth reading, as a good brief overview of the history of anarchist economics, much of it on topic (1), post-capitalist economies. But he writes some things about the functioning of capitalism (topic ), which need responding to.
He insists that “Marx’s work overwhelmingly emphasizes a two-class theory based on ownership relations…
” (p. 47)—that is, the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (modern working class). However, he claims, Bakunin recognized the existence of a third class, which today has been called the “professional-managerial class
” or (the term used by Pareconists) the “coordinator class.
” This class supposedly has its own interests opposed to both capitalists and workers. It came to power, replacing the bourgeoisie, in the former Soviet Union and Maoist China (Pareconists call these societies “coordinatorist,” although Spannos also uses “state-socialist”). These societies supposedly use either “central planning or markets
” (p. 43).
Actually they attempted centralized planning but were always dependent on markets. Workers sold their ability to work to the bosses; they produced consumer commodities which were sold on the market and means of production which enterprises sold to each other; as well as buying, selling and borrowing on the world market. As a result, their economies showed a drive to continually produce, accumulate, and expand.
The existence of this middle layer is a fact, but the Pareconist analysis is superficial. What is really central to Marx’s analysis of capitalism is not private property or even markets by themselves. It is the capital/labor relationship in the process of production. (I am ignoring Marx’s analysis of landlords as a third major class alongside the capitalists and workers. It does not effect the argument.) This is a particular form of exploitation, distinct from that of slavery or serfdom or any imagined new form of exploitation. The workers’ commodity of their ability to work is bought by the capitalists who work them as hard as possible and pay as little as possible, working them beyond the point where they have produced the equivalent in value of their wage, thus gaining hours of unpaid-for labor in the production of commodities. This surplus production serves a drive for continual accumulation of capital—the self-expansion of value.
What makes the bourgeoisie capitalists is not private property as such but that they are the agents of capital in the process of accumulation. “…The capitalist is merely capital personified and functions in the process of production solely as the agent of capital
” (Marx, 1967; p. 819).
Marx expected small businesspeople, independent professionals, and small family farmers to decline in number, as the capitalist economy became ever more centralized, concentrated, monopolized, and statified. But this process would also expand the middle layer of managers, bureaucrats, and supervisors. “An industrial army of workmen, under the command of a capitalist, requires, like a real army, officers (managers), and sergeants (foremen, overlookers), which…command in the name of the capitalist. The work of supervision becomes their established and exclusive function
” (Marx, 1906; p. 364). Marx discusses “the development of a numerous class of industrial and commercial managers
” (Marx, 1967; p. 389).
Let me repeat: contrary to Spannos, Marx describes the “development of a class of managers.
The capitalists and proletarians are the two polar classes because of their relations in the process of production and for no other reason. “Marx’s political economy does not reduce the class structure to that of capital and labor. On the contrary, other classes are located in relation to capital and labor, whether as an essential or contingent part of the capitalist mode of production
” (Fine & Saad-Filho, 2010; p. 148).
The managerial class exists to aid the capitalists in their extraction of surplus labor from the workers. It has conflicts with the capitalists, which is no surprise in this conflictful, competitive, economy. Under exceptional circumstances, a section of this class may temporarily replace the traditional, stock-owning, bourgeoisie as the agent of capital--as it did in the Soviet Union. (Marx and Engels did imagine the possibility of complete state-ownership, yet the total replacement of the traditional bourgeoisie by a collective bureaucracy was not foreseen by Marx but was by Bakunin, as Spannos correctly says.) Then the managers (bureaucrats, coordinators, whatever) become the collective personification of capital in the capital/labor relationship. So long as this is the case, the society remains capitalist (state capitalist).
There is another peculiarity of Pareconist theory. Discussing “compensation,” Spannos claims that “Under capitalism bargaining power determines incomes….Workers have little bargaining power with capitalists or the state…
” (p. 51). Again, this is superficially correct. What is left out is that the workers are exploited! that a certain amount of work is unpaid labor producing surplus value for the capitalists. Since the Pareconists reject Marx’s labor theory of value and the analysis which follows from it, they have no theory of where profit comes from (unless we assume profit comes from increased production of useful goods, ignoring the issue of monetary value altogether). Therefore they have no theory of exploitation, except that the workers are in a weak bargaining position. Would this also apply to the slaves and serfs of ancient societies? Were they exploited or were they just in weak bargaining positions?
Robin Hahnel’s Liberal Libertarian Socialism
“The Economic Crisis and Libertarian Socialists” by Hahnel (pp. 159—177) was a speech given in Greece in May 2010. It discusses the Great Recession and the response of the ruling classes in the U.S. and Europe. The essay is the original speech plus a short update.
Considering that the speech was given by a libertarian socialist to an “anti-authoritarian” conference, it is remarkably disappointing. Except for a brief introduction, there is nothing in it that Paul Krugman could not have written, or any other liberal Keynesian. His statement of “the principle causes
” of the crisis includes “economic inequality
” and “reckless deregulation of the financial sector
” (p. 161). The only background to these factors are “a steady increase in corporate power
” and a reciprocal weakening of the power of “workers, consumers, and governments
” (p. 161). This makes the Great Recession sound like an accident. He does not mention that there has been a long decline in capitalist profits in the real economy (where real goods and services are produced) since about 1970. This has been compensated-for by an expansion in the financial (paper) economy (what Marx called “fictitious capital”). This has been shown in the work of Brenner (2006), Foster & Magdoff (2009), Kliman (2012), and Mattick (2011), among others.
His proposals—presumably to be raised by libertarian socialists and anti-authoritarians--are merely left-liberal. He advocates greater regulation of the capitalist banks and firms and a massive economic stimulus. But if there is a long-term decline in capitalism, the bourgeoise is likely to fight tooth-and-nail against any such liberal program, particularly against any financial stimulation which improved the lot of the working class and poor. And even if such a program were to be implemented, the long-term downward trend would only be temporatily modified, not turned into a new prosperity.
Hahnel makes no suggestion for a libertarian socialist transitional program. He does not advocate calling for a massive public works program, under the control of workers and local workers’ communities. He does not call for workers to occupy factories and workplaces which close down or stay “open” by firing most of its employees—occupy and run such enterprises, in coordination with other self-managed workplaces and public works sites. He does not advocate repudiation of national debts and expropriation of big businesses. As the crisis worsens (as it will, over time), such demands could demonstrate the practicality of a revolutionary anarchist program. But it is not for Hahnel.
Hahnel has written a book on economics (2002), which has the great virtue of clarity of writing. His theoretical approach is left-Keynsian and Sraffian. I will not get into this book, which would require a whole review. At one point he makes an argument for rejecting Marx’s concept that the rate of profit tends to fall. (This is consistent with his ignoring the long term decline in capitalist real production for the last 4 decades.) Without detailed discussion, I note that his argument makes precisely the error which was pointed out by Kliman (2007). (See footnote,)
Michael Albert’s Porous Strategy
As an “Afterword” to the volume, Albert’s chapter is “Porous Borders of Anarchist Vision and Strategy” (pp. 327—343). He begins with a defense of Parecon as a “sufficient anarchist revolutionary vision
” (p. 327). This is not my topic here so I won’t go into it. He makes no mention of how capitalism works, how it pushes some people toward a new society, or how it tends to hold others back.
Then he gets into a discussion of “Anarchist Strategy.” He argues for flexibility in strategic thinking, as opposed to those anarchists who advocate a specific strategic orientation. For example, some anarchists believe that a revolution will be needed to overturn the state and other institutions of capitalism. They believe that the working class will be needed as a central part of such a revolution, in alliance with all other oppressed groups. To this end, they encourage mass actions of struggle by workers and others against the capitalists and their state wherever possible. I agree with this strategic view. I think it follows from an historical anarchist analysis of capitalist society as well as with Marx’s economic analysis of capitalism.
On the contrary, Albert argues, “…there is virtually no such thing as a strategic commitment, positive or negative, that is a principled touchstone and therefore unbridgeable in all times and places, a priori
” (p. 338). On one level this is a platitude (if outer space aliens invade the planet, all bets are off), but what he means is that he rejects certain specific strategic ideas held by revolutionary class-struggle anarchists. More specifically, he has been influenced by Hugo Chavez’s “Bolivarian revolution” in Venezuela. Albert wants to appeal to anarchists while being a statist pro-Chavista at the same time.
He specifically denounces those who say “presidential politics is actually verboten for anarchists
” (p. 338). In the past he had argued that leftists should vote for Jesse Jackson in the Democratic Party and, in 2008, that Greens should not oppose Obama in “swing states.” Sometimes, he says, there might be relatively good presidential politicians (presumably like Chavez) who should be supported. In all this he does not once mention the class issue. Unlike Bakunin and other anarchists, Marx wanted the workers to vote, but to vote for a workers’ party—a party which had broken with bourgeois politics. (Bakunin disagreed, and in my opinion has been proven right by history.) Marx would not have been for voting for pro-capitalist, pro-imperialist, parties, such as the U.S. Democratic Party, nor for nationalist parties which maintain capitalism in oppressed nations, as in Venezuela. But this class question does not arise for Albert.
Even more astounding, he writes that in some circumstances it might be right “if we use the army to discipline and if need be to replace the police
” (p. 341), again referencing Venezuela. He is talking about the existing army under the existing state. He is not referring to an army which has been split between reactionary officers and self-organized, mutinying, working class soldiers (in such a case, anarchists might indeed use the rebelling part of the army against the police—and the officer corps).
What is totally lacking here is a class analysis of the state. Revolutionary anarchists believe that the existing state is completely an oppressive, capitalist, institution. It cannot be reformed into anything else. This does not mean that demands may not be made on it or that it may never do something good for the people (for its own reasons). But it remains the state of the capitalists, bureaucrats, and politicians. However formally democratic, it is still what Marx called the “dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.”
Therefore it must be overturned and dismantled completely. It must be replaced by something else: a non-state federation of workers’ councils and community assemblies, associated with an armed working class and other oppressed people. (Again, this is consistent with a libertarian-democratic interpretation of Marxism, if not with reformist or Marxist-Leninist versions.) There is a long history which supports these conceptions (Price, 2007; 2010). Albert’s views on the state and on elections are quite far from the mainstream of the anarchist tradition.
Incidently, Marx regarded the original Bolivar as an authoritarian misleader of national liberation movements in Latin America (Draper, 1992). For a current anarchist analysis of Chavez’s politics, see Uzcategui (2010).
My goal was to illustrate why Marx’s economic theory was most useful for anarchists when it comes to understanding how capitalism works. I illustrate this by a critique of three recent essays by leading advocates of Parecon. They have developed their own theory of capitalist economics as well as a vision of a libertarian socialist economy. I think that this brief analysis has shown that, while they have insights, their attempt to develop their own economic theory is quite weak. It is superficial and limited in its analysis of the existing economy, of class relations, of the capitalist state, and of the current crisis. The programmatic conclusions which they draw are liberal and reformist. There is no alternative to anarchists using Marxist economic theory in pursuit of our vision and goals.
Footnote: The error is: The model he uses to refute the falling rate of profit theory has monetary values (prices) stay the same despite increased productivity. In reality, increased productivity causes prices to decrease (commodities to get cheaper, or—under inflation—for their prices to rise slower than the general rate). This is what we would expect, following the labor theory of value, when commodities are produced with less labor.
Albert, Michael (2001). “Is Socialism Still on the Agenda?” New Politics. VIII, No. 2. Pp. 123—137.
Albert, Michael (2003). Parecon: Life after capitalism. NY: Verso.
Albert, Michael, & Hahnel, Robin (1978). Unorthodox Marxism; An Essay on Capitalism, Socialism, and Revolution. Boston MA: South End Press.
Brenner, Robert (2006). The Economics of Global Turbulence: The Advanced Capitalist Economies from Long Boom to Long Downturn, 1945—2005. London UK: Verso.
Draper, Hal (1992). “Karl Marx and Simon Bolivar: A Note on Authoritarian Leadership in a National Liberation Movement.” In Socialism from Below (E. Haberkern, Ed.). Atlantic Highlands NJ: Humanities Press.
Fine, Ben, & Saad-Filho, Alfredo (2010). Marx’s “Capital” (5th Edition). London UK: Pluto Press.
Foster, John Bellamy, & Magdoff, Fred (2009). The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences.
NY: Monthly Review Press.
Hahnel, Robin (2002). The ABCs of Political Economy. London UK: Pluto Press.
Hahnel, Robin (2005). Economic Justice and Democracy. NY: Routledge.
Kliman, Andrew (2007). Reclaiming Marx’s “Capital”: A Refutation of the Myth of Inconsistency. London UK: Lexington Books.
Kliman, Andrew (2012). The Failure of Capitalist Production: Underlying Causes of the Great Recession. NY: Pluto Press.
Marx, Karl (1906). Capital; A Critique of Political Economy (Vol. I); The Process of Capitalist Production. NY: Modern Library.
Marx, Karl (1967). Capital: A Critique of Political Economy (Vol. III); The Process of Capitalist Production as a Whole. NY: International Publishers.
Mattick, Paul, Jr. Business as Usual: The Economic Crisis and the Failure of Capitalism. London UK: Reaktion Books.
Price, Wayne (2010). Anarchism & Socialism: Reformism or Revolution? Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: thoughtcrime ink.
Price, Wayne (2007). The Abolition of the State: Anarchist & Marxist Perspectives. Bloomington IN: AuthorHouse.
Shannon, Deric; Nocella, Anthony J., II; & Asimakopoulos, John (2012). The Accumulation of Freedom: Writings on Anarchist Economics. Oakland CA: AK Press.
Spannos, Chris (2008) (Ed.). Real Utopia: Participatory Society for the 21st Century. Oakland CA: AK Press.
Uzcategui, Rafael (2010). Venezuela: Revolution as Spectacle (C Bufe, trans.). Tucson AZ: See Sharp Press.
*written for www.Anarkismo.net | <urn:uuid:d32214a5-6b28-421a-9f50-e03c3cd74808> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.anarkismo.net/article/23267?userlanguage=da&save_prefs=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935566 | 4,630 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Make Government Data Pretty, Win CashMay 3, 2010 - by Donny Shaw
Attention, web designers and visual artists. Sunlight Labs’ first ever Design for America contest is currently underway. They are offering $40,000 for examples in eight categories of government information made awesome through design and visualization. Jump on it now as the submission deadline is approaching quickly (though you still have some time).
In the past few years, the Obama Administration and private citizen hackers have made a huge amount of bulk data available to the public for the first time ever. The Design for America contest is a cool way to kick-start the data being adopted more widely by showing the world some cool new usages, including showing the government what private citizens can do for the common good by simply having access to government data in an open format.
To get started with brainstorming, I recommend taking a look at Data.gov, Public.Resource.org and the Sunlight API. Also, be sure to check out the OpenCongress API, which gives you access to all the social data on Congress we’re producing and aggregating. For example, you can get structured data on which senators are being written about the most in the blogs, which bills are being supported by OpenCongress users that are supporting some other bill, and how every Member of Congress is voting on any set of bills. We’ll be highlighting the winners of the contest on this blog and on our Twitter feed, and we’ll also feature all entries that use data from the OpenCongress API.
The deadline for submissions is May 17th! All formats accepted. Check out the announcement at Sunlight Labs for all the information you need to get started. | <urn:uuid:b19da709-e512-46f6-8ecc-61dd3c2c9423> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/1856-Make-Government-Data-Pretty-Win-Cash | 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 | 0.94734 | 350 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Back in April we heard word of an affordable hackintosh tablet called the Axon Haptic. We were skeptical, since all we had was an anonymous tip and a render — something any 3D concept artist could have cooked up in an hour or two. But now we know that the Axon Haptic is real, you’ll be able to pre-order it this week, and yes, it runs OS X.
Let’s just get right to the juicy part, shall we? The Haptic is designed from the ground up to be compatible with any Darwin OS. That includes several UNIX distributions such as PureDarwin, and of course Apple OS X. Of course, installing OS X on anything other than Apple hardware is a breach of the license agreement, so Axon Logic (the company that makes the Haptic) strongly urges you not to do it, though of course they are not responsible for how you use the open-source software they include. I, on the other hand, think it’s a great idea.
According to Axon Logic:
Besides using only quality components, they are specifically chosen to be compatible with Darwin. That gives you the freedom to run, in addition to Windows and Linux, any* Darwin OS. Darwin and all of its required components such as the mach_kernel and kexts are on an EFI partition to make it effortless to install your favorite XNU/Darwin OS. Just pop in the disk, and follow the directions.
Sounds simple enough. But what are these components, exactly? Keep in mind that some of these components are user-replaceable.
Basically you’re looking at a slightly overachieving netbook. Impressive in some ways, disappointing in others. The cost will be $800, or $750 if you get into the beta. To those of you who want to draw comparisons to ModBooks: yes, you can do that, but you’re looking at twice the price or more. That’s not trivial.
Obviously we would all like a better processor; there are plans to make a “Pro” version that runs on the MacBook Air logic board and a better processor, and of course you should be able to install anything compatible with the socket. But recall that hackintoshes on netbooks last year ran very well on more or less this exact setup. I’m concerned about the weight, but I don’t think there’s any risk people will use this as an e-reader.
As for the touchscreen, I am told that a capacitive one is not a good match with OS X. Maybe so with iOS, but with OS X you want to be able to write, draw, click this pixel and not the one next to it, etc. We’ll see.
Here’s a sneaky shot of the device in real life, and what appears to be a screenshot of the desktop. Nice multi-boot setup; with 320GB, you’ve got enough to have a decent-sized partition available, and this might be a great IT carry-around tool.
The question is, will people find this useful? Personally, I think a full-on OS X tablet would be more useful than a Windows 7 tablet. It’s just my opinion, but it seems that OS X has a more friendly interface for non-mouse interaction. But is it something that is useful at all? Obviously the keyboard will be less useful on the Haptic than on an iPad. Capacitive definitely has the lead there. But if the handwriting recognition is tolerable, that could be a great way of inputting your occasional login, search terms, or quick email. As with the iPad, it’s amazing what you can get used to. One might be tempted to suggest that this will be useful for artists, but Photoshop and other media-heavy programs will chug on that Atom N270. Even on a MacBook Air they’re not the swiftest.
I think that by searching for specific things the Haptic will be good at, we’re losing the forest in the trees. It runs OS X! Hello! You have an entire operating system. Browsing and email won’t be much better than an iPad, probably not as good, in fact. But what about all the other stuff you do on your Macs and PCs? You can plug a keyboard into this if you need to write a paper, or a gamepad to play SNES games. You can install Chrome, watch YouTube, whatever.
Ultimately, of course, it’s up to the user whether this is something for them. For some, it’s an unnecessary complication of a simple tablet. For others, it’s too much of a step down from a “real” computer. If an iPad is enough for you, get an iPad. If you need more power, get a MacBook Pro. If you want Windows, get an Lpad. This is just another option in the sea of options out there right now. I’m pretty sure it’s not the solution for me, but I guarantee there are plenty of people out there who are going to love this thing. Head over to Axon Logic (still very much under construction, they tell me) to see more and maybe even pre-order.
Update: it does appear to share its form factor with this tablet. Ben from Axon Logic says that the shell was commissioned by them for the Haptic but the company they hired has decided to use it on their own. The guts are different. | <urn:uuid:75e79434-4d14-46f2-b04e-ebeeac4bfa73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/12/axon-logic-hackintosh-tablet-may-just-out-ipad-the-ipad/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948645 | 1,166 | 1.640625 | 2 |
A collection of news and information related to Muscular Dystrophy published by this site and its partners.
Displaying items 1-12 of 165 » View dailyamerican.com items only1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11-14 Next >
Throughout the month of October it's common to see the color pink displayed at a wide variety of places. Schools, businesses and NFL football players are showing their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. It's great to see all the...
Christine Ann Vought, 51 of Garrett, died Sept. 14, 2012 in Ocean City, Md. Born June 23, 1961 in McKeesport, a daughter of Mary Ann (Williamson) Eger, of McKeesport, and the late Edward Eger. Also preceded in death by her brother Eddie Eger. Survived...
Daily American Staff WriterTom and Wendy Kelly realized that their young son, Jackson, wasn't able to go up and down stairs like most children and that he had an odd gait when he ran. The Kellys, Garrett, already had a therapist coming to their home because her son by her first...
When school is out for the summer, Diane Warpehoski and her two preteen girls trade folders for flotation devices and lunchboxes for lane lines. The Warpehoskis don swimwear and head to the Owners Club facility at their master-planned community of...
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled that human genes are a product of nature and cannot be patented and held for profit, a decision that medical experts said will lead to more genetic testing for cancers and other diseases and to lower costs for...
When Dr. Wayne Grody heard that the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Myriad Genetics could not patent two genes linked to breast cancer, the UCLA medical geneticist was minutes from giving a well-worn speech on the years-old case to a room full of...
Colleen Gulick was extremely busy last weekend, not that she's any stranger to being busy. The 22-year-old from Spring City, Chester County, has been riding at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown practically since she learned to pedal a...
Children with a rare form of muscular dystrophy called Pompe disease often spend their days tethered to mechanical ventilators in order to breathe. But results from a new clinical trial at University of Florida Health show that gene therapy improved...
WindsorEaster Seals Capital Region and Eastern Connecticut is pleased to announce that it has received a $2,500 grant from Farmington Bank Community Foundation, Inc. to support the expansion of their School-to-Work Transition program. The Farmington Bank...
Jerry Huang left his wheelchair at the side of the pool before gliding through more than 400 meters of water at this year's Coast 2 Coast Swim Challenge. From beginners to experts, people of all abilities swam laps to raise money for free swimming lessons...
When I contacted Clay Harrison, Readers' Choice winner of the 2013 Daily Press poetry contest, to chat with him about his work, he told me he'd been in his yard, tending his garden. It didn't take more than a few minutes of conversation for me to...
Tags: Poetry, Sports, Alzheimer's Disease, Hampton Roads
Oct 22, 2012 |Story| Daily American
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May 27, 2013 |Story| Hampton Roads Daily Press
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By THE EDITORS
Pico Iyer was born in England to Indian parents, and when he was 9 years old began commuting — alone, six times a year — between 1960s California and ancient British boarding schools.
“Globalism has seemed my destiny,” he said in a recent e-mail from rural Japan, where he has lived for 20 years. “Perhaps the most exciting development in my reading life has been to see even the starchiest and grayest literatures suddenly open up into rainbows of possibility. When I was studying English literature in Britain in the 1970s, it involved reading ‘Beowulf,’ Chaucer, Shakespeare and Johnson (even American literature was considered a little beyond the pale in England, and our main course stopped in 1832). Five years later, British literature was being blown open by writers whose names we couldn’t even pronounce — Rushdie and Ondaatje and Ishiguro and Coetzee. It was as if all the doors and windows of a stuffy Havisham house had suddenly been thrown open, to admit new sounds, strange spices, tropical colors, new histories and even new ways of telling history: new writers emerging for a new world and a new kind of reader.
A generation later, it seems we’re witnessing the same thing in American literature. So ‘world fiction’ has joined world music and fusion cuisine as a radically new and liberating feature of our all-over-the-place age of movement and cross-cultural collision and collusion. And these writers from everywhere are not just chronicling, but actively charting, the America of tomorrow.”
A version of this article appeared in print on July 22, 2012, on page BR4 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Up Front.
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Jul. 18: "At Home: A Short History of Private Life" by Bill Bryson.
Aug. 15: “In the Time of the Butterflies,” a historical novel by Julia Alvarez set in the Dominican Republic.
Sep. 19: “The Tiger's Wife,” by Belgrade-born Téa Obreht, a novel about two friends on a medical mission - a National Book Award finalist.
Oct. 17: “Cleopatra,” the bestselling biography by Stacy Schiff.
Nov. 14: “The Girl in the Blue Beret,” a novel set in France by Kentucky author Bobbie Ann Mason.
Dec. 12: “White Tiger,” a first novel by Arvind Adiga, an Indian writer and journalist and winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
Jan. 16: “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett, another award-winning novel set in an unnamed country.
Feb. 20: “The Buddha in the Attic” by Julie Otsuka, winner of the 2012 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and a National Book Award finalist, which tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” nearly a century ago.
March 20: “White Teeth,” a novel by the British author Zadie Smith. It focuses on the later lives of two wartime friends—a Bangladeshi and an Englishman.
The group meets at the Main Library on the third Wednesday of the month, from noon – 1 p.m. and brown-bag lunches are welcome. Hope you can join us!
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The author, Bill Bryson, a lively writer of non-fiction, uses his 1851-vintage home in England – a rectory in the Norfolk countryside – to take people on a room-by-room tour one reviewer called “a history of the world without leaving home.
“The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on…. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.”
The hour-long brown bag discussion will be at noon, July 18 at the Main Library, 301 York St.
Aug. 15: “In the Time of the Butterflies,” a historical novel by Julia Alvarez set in the Dominican Republic, inspired by the true story of three sisters who were murdered in 1960 for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government.
Sep. 19: “The Tiger's Wife,” by young Belgrade-born Téa Obreht, a novel about two friends on a medical mission in a Balkan country that was a National Book Award finalist.
As we plan books to read this fall and beyond, we’d welcome your ideas for good titles that have roots in other cultures.
Feel free to consult our international-themed booklist - click here. Or recommend books you’ve liked - email here.
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But if you have book ideas for this international reading group to consider down the road, we’d like to hear them.
The current lineup:
Dec. 16 “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
Jan.18, 2012 “The Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil” by Deborah Rodriguez with Kristin Ohlson
Feb. 15 “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman and “That Used to be Us,” by Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum
March 21 “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barberry
April 18 “The Devil's Highway” by Luis Umberto Urrea
May 16 “You Have Given Me a Country” by Neela Vaswani
June 20 “Things Fall Apart,” by Chinua Achebe
The group meets from noon to 1 at the Main Library. Brown-bag lunches are welcome. Anyone can attend any session.
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Its story was a great picture of friendship – and the magic of story-telling.
And it offered a vivid look at the social and political history of China. To compare this picture of China to the China of today… was amazing.
Have you read it? Share your thoughts here.
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Now the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah when he was confined in the guard's courtyard:a16
"Go tell Ebed-melech the Cushite:b This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill My words for harm and not for good against this city. They will take place before your eyes on that day.
But I will rescue you on that day"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"and you will not be handed over to the men you fear.
Indeed, I will certainly deliver you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will keep your life like the spoils [of war]."c [This is] the Lord's declaration. | <urn:uuid:adf28b3a-b8e5-4c74-8031-77610e80f308> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible/passage.aspx?q=jeremiah+39:15-18&t=csb | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95914 | 162 | 1.640625 | 2 |
You are here
Length: c. 75 minutes
Orchestration: piccolo, 4 flutes (3rd and 4th = piccolo), 4 oboes (3rd and 4th = English horn), English horn, E-flat clarinet, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 4 bassoons, contrabassoon, 8 horns, 6 trumpets, 3 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, cowbells (onstage and offstage), low-pitched bells (offstage), xylophone, bass drum, triangle, snare drum, cymbals, tam-tam, rute, hammer, two harps, celesta, and strings
First Los Angeles Philharmonic performance: November 7, 1968, Zubin Mehta conducting
Alma Mahler, writing of what she called “composing holidays” spent with her husband and their two young daughters at their Austrian mountain retreat, reported as follows of the Sixth Symphony, begun in the summer of 1903:
“After [Gustav] had drafted the first movement, he came… to tell me he had tried to express me in a theme. ‘Whether I’ve succeeded I don’t know; but you’ll have to put up with it.’ This is the great soaring second subject [F major] of the first movement of the Sixth Symphony. In the third movement [the scherzo, which would eventually be placed second] he represented the unrhythmical games of the two little children, tottering in zigzags over the sand. Ominously, the childish voices became more and more tragic, and at the end died out in a whimper. In the last movement he described himself and his downfall or, as he later said, his hero’s. ‘It is the hero, on whom fall three blows of fate, the last of which fells him as a tree is felled,’ were his words. Not one of his works came as directly from his inmost heart as this. We both wept that day. The music and what it foretold touched us deeply….”
We take such musical “premonitions” with a grain of salt these days, particularly as concerns the hyperimaginative, hyperemotional Mahlers. He, in particular, was a morbidly sensitive soul who, with the wisdom of our hindsight, embraced every tragedy or potential tragedy as an inevitability. It is a feeling that thoroughly colors his music: Gustav Mahler, the victim of cruel fate. Doomed.
Still, the disparity between the outward circumstances of the composer’s life and the inner world of the Sixth Symphony at the time of Alma’s comments, the summers of 1903 and 1904, is glaring. It should have been a happy time. Mahler’s music was being performed with increasing frequency. His family life seemed stable and filled with pleasure. He was meeting success upon success with his productions at the Vienna Court Opera, of which he was artistic director. Yet, here he is, creating the Sixth Symphony, the “Tragic,” as he once labeled it, arguably his darkest, and simultaneously two of the wrenching Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children). It seems downright blatant at this point to mention that within a year after the Sixth Symphony’s premiere, which was led by the composer at Essen on May 27, 1906, his four-year old daughter Maria died, his own, ultimately fatal heart ailment was diagnosed, and he parted company, not on the best of terms, with the Vienna Opera.
Whatever the circumstances of its composition, there can little doubt that the Symphony’s mood is dark, combative, and at times – as in the finale – overwhelmingly angst-ridden. It is therefore no surprise that it was among the last of Mahler’s nine completed symphonies to achieve recognition commensurate with its enormous worth.
In the words of conductor Bruno Walter, the composer’s friend, assistant, and dedicated interpreter, “The Sixth is bleakly pessimistic: it reeks of the bitter cup of human life. In contrast with the Fifth, it says ‘No,’ above all in the last movement, where something resembling the inexorable strife of ‘all against all’ is translated into music….”
And so Walter’s rumination goes, almost gleefully thrilled (a romantic attitude, we might say) at the utter hopelessness and misery of it all. But we may react differently, thrilled not so much by a “program” but, say, by the spine-tingling, jackbooted marching of the percussion-laden first movement, remorselessly, irresistibly pounding its way into the brain, and to a slow movement of the most crushing lush, aching lyrical beauty. That, Walter and the other nabobs of negativism don’t even mention.
Herewith, two reviews of the Essen premiere (May 27, 1906), the first by the influential, perceptive Julius Korngold, critic of the Vienna Neue freie Presse (and father of the composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold):
“The classical form is not abandoned; the traditional number of movements is retained. And an allegro is an allegro, the andante is an andante, the scherzo a scherzo, and the finale a finale. Only in the orchestra is there an innovation; percussion is employed with a completeness hitherto unheard of and constitutes an organized invasion by rhythmic noises of the symphonic field. A hammer clashes in the last movement, [a finale] with a duration of 30 minutes: a colossal structure built in thoroughly thematic style, and at the same time in a strict unity of sentiment. This sentiment Mahler designates as a tragic one. The new symphony surpasses its predecessors in solidity of structure, but also in its realism and nerve-wracking intensity. It operates like an alarm. Friend and foe rush to arms.”
Perhaps Korngold is too anxious to show how “with it” he is, how well he understands that a frightening modernist like Mahler can be approached with tradition-attuned ears. By this process Korngold – unintentionally, to be sure – makes Mahler’s vast, exceedingly complex edifice seem facile, which in reality is hardly the case.
But Korngold’s heart was in the right place. Contrast his benignly, if snobbishly, enlightened view with the more pervasive one – which obtained for far too long – of Arthur A. Abell, Vienna correspondent of the American periodical The Musical Courier, who saw the jarring juxtapositions and gear-shifts as indicative of incompetence:
“Mahler’s Sixth Symphony contains not one original thought of moment. Its themes, when they are Mahler’s own, are commonplace and banal, and nearly always in march time. As to reminiscences, the symphony is full of them. One hears a few notes of Goldmark’s Sakuntala Overture, of the Liszt E-flat and Tchaikovsky B-flat-minor concertos, of Carmen, of Spohr, the Faust Overture by Wagner. Mahler’s weakness is his lack of continuity in style; and he patches together these stray scraps from ancient and modern music with a conventional thread or two of his own, making a heterogeneous crazy quilt of music.”
As to similarities to (or cribs from) Goldmark and Spohr, this listener is unable to comment for lack of familiarity with the supposed sources. Regarding the others? Mr. Abell had a vivid imagination, or was himself doing some showing off. One must, however, respect his puzzlement – while wishing he could express it less aggressively – at the seeming “crazy quilt” nature of the music, which Korngold takes such pains to deny.
Thus, these are extreme views – with Korngold not really making a point until the final paragraph, when he tells us that there is something strange and alarming about this music, as it remains to this day.
A more balanced, highly urbane – and much later – viewpoint is expressed in an essay by the American composer Aaron Copland, written in 1941, before Mahler had gained his current wide acceptance. And while it is more about Mahler in general than about the Sixth Symphony specifically, it is superbly descriptive of much that goes on in this staggeringly rich creation. Copland was not an uncritical listener to Mahler’s music, which may explain why his thoughts on the subject are rarely encountered nowadays. Yet they show a deeper, perhaps finer appreciation of Mahler’s originality and substance than the gushings of some sycophantic specialists: “It is music that is full of human frailties,” Copland observes, “... so ‘Mahler-like’ in every detail. His symphonies are suffused with personality – he has his own way of doing and saying everything. The irascible scherzos, the heaven-storming calls in the brass, the special quality of his communings with nature, the gentle melancholy of a transitional passage, the gargantuan Ländler, the pages of an incredible loneliness... Two facets of his musicianship were years in advance of their time. One is the curiously contrapuntal fabric of the musical texture; the other more obvious, his strikingly original instrumentation.” And, later, “It was because Mahler worked primarily with a maze of separate strands independent of all chordal underpinning that his instrumentation possesses that sharply etched and clarified sonority that may be heard again and again in the music of later composers. Mahler’s was the first orchestra to play ‘without pedal,’ to borrow a phrase from piano technique. The use of the orchestra as many-voiced body in this particular way was typical of the age of Bach and Handel. Thus, as far as orchestral practice is concerned, Mahler bridges the gap between the composers of the early 18th century and the Neoclassicists of our own time.”
- Herbert Glass, after many years as a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, has for the past decade been the English-language annotator and editor for the Salzburg Festival. | <urn:uuid:52f827e6-f624-4aa6-8d26-6c2792c6302b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/symphony-no-6-gustav-mahler | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969216 | 2,216 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Without Labor Unions, There is NO Democrat Party!
Democrats and their labor unions have painted themselves into a corner that they will not be able to escape. Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states are about to eliminate public sector unions(1) and collective bargaining rights for state employees and not a moment too soon.
The assembly votes are coming down party lines and the reason is glaringly obvious. Without labor unions and the billions they pour into the Democrat Party, there will be NO Democrat Party.
Iceland, Greece, the EU nations and even the Middle East are in some stage of economic meltdown, all of it due to public sector over-spending mostly caused by the collective thuggery of international socialist labor unions. America is no exception, with most states considering the bankruptcy option to get out from under unsustainable public sector union contracts and unfunded pensions.
Face it—this is a war between international socialist labor unions and the taxpayers of the world stuck with a tab they can no longer afford to pay.
After bankrupting the manufacturing industry in nation after nation, labor unions have been in a steady decline for decades. Lost private sector union jobs have been replaced with public sector union jobs, all in an effort to keep the international socialist agenda alive and well in the Democrat Party by keeping those dollars rolling in via union dues.
The 3rd largest political juggernaut in America, The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has been bankrupting governments across the country for years now, using their collective bargaining rights to destroy state, county and municipal budgets by holding taxpayers hostage at contract time.
Democrats are for it because this public sector union has invested over $43 million in Democrat power between 1990 and 2010. This union gives 99% of its political donations to Democrats, essentially nothing to Republicans over the last twenty years. That’s why Democrats vote for unions and against taxpayers at every opportunity.
The 6th largest political juggernaut in America is the American Association for Justice. This is the trial lawyer and judge association that has destroyed the American justice system from top to bottom and they have given over $33 million since 1990, almost all of it to Democrats.
In 2010 alone, this organization gave more than $2.8 million to Democrats, compared to only $73 thousand to Republicans. Ask again why your courts are aligned with international socialists, labor unions and anti-constitution Democrats.
The 8th largest political juggernaut in the U.S. is the National Education Association. This teachers union had the resources to invest over $32 million on politics since 1990, 93% of it to Democrats. In 2010, they gave over $2.2 million to Democrats compared to $131 thousand to Republicans.
Of course Democrats vote with international socialist unions and against taxpayers. The taxpayers hate greedy Democrats and without the unions, trial lawyers and judges, there would be NO Democrat Party today!
But the end is near and none too soon!
While everyone was focused on how many House seats Republicans picked up in 2010, few notice that Republicans took governorships and state legislatures away from Democrats all across the country.
It is these new Governors and state legislators who are leading the way towards freedom, liberty and prosperity in America once again, not the inside the beltway politicos in DC only concerned with feathering their own nests.
The time has arrived to bust the public sector unions entirely and make every state a right to work state!
Stand tall Governor Walker! Millions of angry taxpayers stand with you! | <urn:uuid:0f909ff0-ebb8-46cf-8190-937293641871> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/forum/topics/without-labor-unions-there-is?commentId=2734278%3AComment%3A263578 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951873 | 713 | 1.742188 | 2 |
And your right....Cory....it is a Unskilled job. But that doesnt mean we dont work as harder or harder than skilled jobs. Ask your family about that.
Appreciate your humility, but is bus driving an 'unskilled' job, or just one that doesn't require formal education?
Observing and interacting with bus drivers, face to face as an occasional rider and on the streets as a cyclist, I'd say yours is not an unskilled job.
And perhaps at least a few bankers, doctors, or other white collar professionals couldn't do it, though many of them might say, " I could do you job, but I won't" or "I could do your job, but I don't have to." Either way, the work has to get done.
Also, skill and knowledge are not the only factors in terms of human capital. Attitude is very important, that is, how a person intends to use her knowledge, skill, and opportunity.
Should we necessarily assume that someone with a good attitude who is highly motivated to help fellow members of her or his community or society is not as valuable as a more clever person with little regard for others ?
But as for skills, suggest there is a bias in our culture where we undervalue those which are not verifiable with paperwork.
I realize people fought for better access to formal education via the Black Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements. Also, I realize we're better off with systems for verifying the credentials of someone who, for example, builds a bridge or performs heart surgery.
But the assumption someone who has a BS or MA or PhD is necessarily more valuable to society than someone without is, in at least some cases, a wildly inaccurate one.
Suggest we think holistically, and value the attitudes, skills, and knowledge which tend toward the general welfare of society, which are not necessarily the same as the human capital requirements of corporations making huge profits at the expense of the public interest. | <urn:uuid:709243a2-b2e1-46a1-bc72-aaff1da2d29f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/cota-strike/page/10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975366 | 406 | 1.828125 | 2 |
From Maine, USA:
Hi. I am 13 years old and got my dog when I was seven. I have a male Miniature Schnauzer that is six years old. Maxwell used to be a little bit overweight, and then started to lose it about 3-4 months ago. He started to drink a lot of water, and eat less. That is when his weight dropped. After being diagnosed with diabetes, he started to take insulin. After about a month or so, the veterinarian dropped the amount of insulin that Maxwell recieved. He was acting fine, and eating normal.
I was just wondering if you have any tips, ideas, suggestions, or comments about this. What should I do to take best care of Max? Is there any special foods that he sould have? Excercise routines? Rest? Wet food, dry food?
Please tell me anything you know about this, and anything at all that I can do.
Sorry to hear of Maxwell's difficulties. You should be happy to learn that dogs and other pets with diabetes usually do well with insulin therapy, although obviously there can be setbacks. In addition to insulin therapy, a well-balanced meal plan, and plenty of exercise, would be good ideas for pets with diabetes.
There are a few webpages about diabetes in animals; I have listed them at Pets with Diabetes.
Original posting 20 Dec 96
Last Updated: Tuesday April 06, 2010 15:08:51
This Internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other health care professional.
This site is published by Children With Diabetes, Inc, which is responsible for its contents.
© Children with Diabetes, Inc. 1995-2013. Comments and Feedback. | <urn:uuid:60e6c14c-b664-49d2-a64c-6ab1d9f5a388> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/dteam/1996-12/d_0d_1fc.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961274 | 379 | 1.671875 | 2 |
While lying on the warm black pavement this morning. In front of a gate at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Where nuclear weapons are designed. On the 66th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. I thought to myself “What if this were real?”
What if the air raid siren that one of our group had sounded was real? What if this weren’t a die-in? Not a mock death but a real one.
What if the unthinkable had happened? What if the US were being attacked with a nuclear weapon?
What would I do? If the attack were real, I would be dead. Vaporized. As I thought about the unthinkable, members of our group outlined our bodies in chalk. Signifying that I, we, had been there.
A few feet away, three Taiko drummers pounded a beat that mimicked the pumping of the human heart.
An officer from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department interrupted my thoughts. He informed us four times that we would all be arrested if we didn’t move. We were blocking the road. Everyone listened. No one moved.
One by one the police arrested us all. Twenty in number. A nun, a Catholic priest, an attorney and activists from Western States Legal Foundation, Tri-Valley CARES and the Livermore Conversion Project. All charged with blocking the road.
Today wasn’t the first time I have been arrested for opposing nuclear weapons. I’ve been bearing witness for close to 30 years.
Every year I wish it would be the last. Every year I wish that the nuclear nations of the world would stop designing, building, testing and deploying nuclear weapons. And threatening others with their use.
But these governments won’t ever stop on their own. Not unless and until we make them. We, the citizens of the world, who oppose and abhor the spending of our resources and brainpower on weapons of mass destruction, must demand it.
That’s why I support Greenpeace and it’s 40-year history of opposing nuclear weapons.
Karen Topakian is chair of the board of Greenpeace
Photo above is from our archive: In front of the UN building in Geneva, Greenpeace activists climb a crane and unroll a banner reading: 'Put words into action: STOP NUCLEAR TESTING NOW'. © Greenpeace / Bill Johnson | <urn:uuid:63021095-cc29-4135-a5cc-eef735cd22bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/what-if-this-were-real/blog/36308/?expandid=b84088&entryid=36308 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959646 | 495 | 1.625 | 2 |
KITWE Town Clerk Bornwell Lwanga says the city has 28 unplanned settlements and is in the process of upgrading five areas.
Mr Lwanga said the city had a population of 522,092 and that 40 per cent of the population live in unplanned settlements.
He said in his presentation on the current challenges and future development plans in Kitwe at the Airtel Northern Region Media Club forum at the weekend that residents living in unplanned settlements were faced with lack of clean and safe drinking water.
The town clerk said the residents were also faced with inferior housing structures, poor road network, lack of storm drainage facilities and poor waste disposal system.
"There are 28 unplanned settlements in Kitwe, nine have been upgraded and five are in the process of being upgraded," he said.
Mr Lwanga said there were two laws that addressed unplanned settlements namely; the Housing (Statutory and Improvement Areas) Act Cap 194.and the Town and Country Planning Act Cap 283.
He said the laws were at variance, with the former advocating for improving unplanned settlements, while the latter supports the demolition of unplanned areas.
Mr Lwanga said the local authority faced political pressures in the previous administration in the upgrading of certain resettlement's.
He said the Kitwe City Council strategic plan for 2012 to 2016 outlined how the council would tackle development in the city and that the Local Government Service Commission would among other things address human capacity at the council through recruitment of qualified staff. | <urn:uuid:8f0d9f8a-f94b-48ae-8012-003699117663> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allafrica.com/stories/201212171075.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 | 0.978107 | 307 | 1.710938 | 2 |
New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) It was a pleasant, sunny Thursday morning in the capital with the minimum temperature settling at 10.2 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season. The Met office has forecast light rain at night.
"The sky will be clear in the morning. It will turn partly cloudy towards afternoon. Light rain or thunder development may occur in some areas towards night," said an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 25 degrees Celsius, the IMD official added.
Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 82 percent.
Wednesday's maximum temperature settled two notches above average at 25.4 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was normal at 23.4 degrees Celsius. | <urn:uuid:9fcede75-1b20-4c7e-ab6c-5688364d01b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sify.com/news/rain-likely-for-delhi-news-national-ncokEcjeegj.html?ref=slideout | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935965 | 160 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Any strategy to win hearts and minds in tribal areas must focus on the rights of local communities over the forest lands where they live
The call for a national hostage policy after the recent hostage crisis in Chhattisgarh seems to have ignored that the government has formed a review committee to look into the pending cases against tribals. The media describe this move as a “concession” without understanding its import. While development work and policing are important, the defining feature of this low intensity conflict is that it is a response to the changes taking place in an area where the local people are dependent on the forests — their habitat — and it is the Central laws and the criminal justice system that are turning them against the State in desperation.
Observing that thousands of tribals had been put behind bars on various charges, Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Rural Development, recently said that the cases should be reviewed to ensure that no one was languishing in jail without a strong case against him, and the forest officials of different States should be directed not to register cases against tribals for entering the forests.
Kishore Chandra Deo, Minister for Tribal Affairs, has also recently directed the Governor of Andhra Pradesh to cancel mining leases as they constitute alienation of land to non-tribals, and cancelling them would “strike at the basic premise on which the Maoists have gained sympathy”. This would be the first time special powers of the Governor in Scheduled Areas are being exercised.
Does this recognition of governance failure amount to a new well thought out strategy? If it does, the shift in political will from only using development packages to win the “hearts and minds” of the local population to the centrality of the habitat – land and the forests on it — is long overdue, because the distinctiveness of these communities does not arise from “backwardness” but from reliance on their habitat and its natural resources.
A few years ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rightly identified the expanding and deepening footprint of the Maoists as the most serious threat currently facing India. The response has so far been of a bureaucratic nature. The Tribal Sub-Plan soon morphed into enhanced budgetary allocations for police forces, including automatic weapons and drones, and development packages with decision making decentralised to the district level, without much impact on the ground.
National attention on the continuing crisis is also shaped by the perception that it is a law and order problem, and largely limited to periodic analyses of crises situations where the focus has been on the dynamics of the hostage negotiation process. Somewhere in all this are references to the good work done by District Collectors and the significant public support for them.
It is easy for the intelligence wing of the police to say that they had warned Alex Paul Menon that he was in danger, and he should not have gone to inaccessible villages. But then he was a target precisely because he was pushing development work in the remote areas, where the Maoists had established themselves. A new district, Sukma, of which Mr. Menon was the first Collector, was set up because the Chhattisgarh government wanted to reach inaccessible areas, and the district head was expected to push development into remote areas. The debate should really be on the priorities and policies the District Collectors should be pushing in the particular circumstances of these districts.
The Maoist problem is a case of governance failure, and has historical roots. When the British extended their administration into the inaccessible hilly and forest tracts of central India in the early 19th Century, they found that these areas were inhabited by socially and culturally distinct groups that had been living in relative geographical isolation, and called these groups “tribes”, on the analogy of similar groups in the American and African continents, and recognised them as a special category for administration. The first Census in 1872 categorised these communities as “Primitive Tribes”, while they were designated as “Backward Tribes” in the 1874 Scheduled Districts Act, and the Constitution in 1950 re-designated them as “Scheduled Tribes” while continuing to characterise these communities as socially, educationally, economically and historically backward, carrying forward the anomaly because these are really communities not tribes, internationally defined as units with an independent territory, and their distinctiveness is shaped by their habitat.
With the spread of colonial administration, a series of violent rebellions took place in this region between 1856 and 1910 against tree cutting by contractors, and were put down by the British army. As a partial response, the British enacted special protective laws implemented by the Collectors to safeguard the interests of this vulnerable section from commercial interests, who at that time were land grabbers, forest contractors and moneylenders from outside.
Currently, the habitat is being reshaped by designation of wildlife sanctuaries, timber contractors and, more recently, large mining and hydro electricity projects covering thousands of acres, under the Central Forest, Mining and Land Acquisition Acts with no special provisions to protect the interests of these communities over local resources. Simultaneously, a long period of corruption has weakened the regulatory structure leading to State ‘capture' by commercial interests. For example, Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo got killed in a “police action” in 1966 when he virtually revolted against the government for the rights of tribals in his erstwhile principality of Bastar.
Even the Forest Rights Act, of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, meant specifically for these areas has not been implemented. For example, in Chhattisgarh, where Scheduled Areas cover nearly half the State, almost no action has been taken to settle community rights, cases related to national parks summarily rejected and minor forest produce not defined. The situation in the other States is no better.
On top of that, criminal cases under the Forest Act of 1927 are being instituted against entire villages, including women and children, for theft of government property, whereas they are only using the produce of community forests for domestic use. Those thus jailed are not able to find sureties to get bail. It is not surprising that a committee to review all these cases was the major demand of the Maoists.
So, what should be done, now that we are prepared to consider the habitat rather than backwardness and ideology as the defining factor of the so-called Maoist problem?
First, in the Scheduled Areas the priority task of the Collectors should be to implement the Forest Rights Act in letter and spirit, in the form of a fresh Settlement by deputing officers of the rank of Sub Divisional Officer to camp in the villages rather than rely on the forest department and field reports, and any implementation issues related to community rights should be resolved by the Governor issuing necessary notifications. The implementation of the Forest and Mining Act would then have to take account of this new reality, which would act as a safeguard of community interests, including provision of alternative land in cases of compulsory acquisition for industry.
Second, in these areas the District Magistrates and Sub Divisional Magistrates should be given judicial powers under the Civil and Criminal Procedure Codes, with appeals to the Sessions Courts, as had been the earlier practice, as the issues and disputes relate to tribal rights and lands vis-à-vis forest contractors and big projects, where the tribals are at a distinct disadvantage in litigation foisted on them by outsiders with the sole objective of browbeating them.
Third, a special purpose vehicle should be set up under each Governor for pushing all development works in a district through a single tender and through direct sanctions, so that selected infrastructure companies can take up works throughout the district, under police protection. The SPV will become the sponsor of the project and be responsible for securing all clearances before the project is put up for bidding and be a major change in the public systems mindset; it must include independent evaluation arrangements.
Only such a multi-pronged strategy that takes a holistic view of governance — the habitat, outside influences, administration and development — will undercut the popular base of the Maoists depriving them of the local support they need to survive and build capacity sufficient to challenge the State. It should be possible for normalcy to return within a period of three to five years, when the special arrangements would be discontinued. Extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions.
(Mukul Sanwal is a former civil servant) | <urn:uuid:93563ecd-cc83-4879-9589-8794eb651d9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article3449579.ece | 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 | 0.96484 | 1,724 | 1.8125 | 2 |
BAGHDAD (AP) — Whenever he leaves his home, Mohammed Jabar, a Sunni Muslim, carries his cellphone so his family can find out quickly whether he is safe if a deadly bomb attack hits. Shukria Mahmud, another Sunni, rarely ventures from her house because of the rash of violence that is gripping Iraq.
Laith Hashim, a young Shiite Muslim, is considering moving away from Iraq if security continues to disintegrate. Such a breakdown, he fears, would spark a new round of bitter sectarian fighting of the kind that brought the nation to the brink of civil war just a few years ago.
Tensions simmer between Iraq’s Sunni and Shiite communities, yet they share an increasingly widespread despair. Al-Qaida-style attacks are on the rise, faith in the government’s ability to keep people safe is on the wane and a fatalistic acceptance of a life of fear is perniciously settling in.
Nine years after the U.S. led an invasion of Iraq that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein – purging the leadership and military of his supporters and leading to a fight against insurgents in a bloody guerrilla war that left more than 100,000 dead – Iraq’s outlook is increasingly bleak in summer 2012.
Instead of a Western-style democracy functioning in peace and cooperation, what’s been left behind is dysfunctional and increasingly violent. Many of the attacks of the past month have targeted Shiites on annual religious pilgrimages, raising fears of a return to the deadly cycle of destructive violence between Sunni and Shiite communities.
“The Sunnis should be warned that there will be retaliation if the attacks against Shiites continue,” Hashim, 18, said Wednesday in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood. The impoverished area in the capital’s northeast is home to the Shiite Mahdi Army militia that battled al-Qaida during Iraq’s darkest days between 2006 and 2008.
“Patience can’t last forever,” he warned.
Iraqi officials and experts say worries of an impending blowup is exactly what Sunni extremists linked to al-Qaida are banking on. Dozens of bloody bombings and drive-by shootings that have killed 286 people over the past four weeks, including 11 on Wednesday, bear the terrorist network’s hallmarks. Most of the victims have been Shiite pilgrims, security forces and government officials – three of al-Qaida’s prime targets.
So far the surge in violence has fallen well short of open warfare. Iraqis fear it’s more likely they’re destined to struggle through years of misery without fully hitting bottom, before things get much better.
Part of the problem is the dysfunctional Iraqi government that, so far this year, has failed to protect its public or settle internal power squabbles.
“We do not have the right to think about the future, because nobody is sure whether he is going to stay alive even for the next few minutes,” said Jabar, 22, a hotel employee in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. “We might die anytime and anywhere, so it is useless to think about what will happen for the years ahead.”
Several people interviewed across Iraq on Wednesday said there’s no doubt their lives have gone downhill recently, and hope for improvement is waning.
“We used to say that tomorrow will be better than today,” said Firas Hadi, 41, a Shiite who owns car accessory shop in Baghdad. “But today, we say today is better than tomorrow.”
Mahmud, 57, the Sunni woman, said the violence has made her think twice about going outside, although “we have to leave every once in a while to get some fresh air.” Walking with her niece in the Sunni-dominated Mansour neighborhood in Baghdad, she observed, “We can’t just stay home forever.”
What’s worrying about Iraq’s recent wave of attacks is how they’ve increased in frequency and size. In the months before U.S. troops left, extremists were still launching large-scale attacks that killed dozens every few weeks, but analysts said they needed the time in between to coordinate and gather explosives.
A relative drop in the number of attacks in recent months had raised cautious hopes that life might inch back toward normal, despite political struggles, the corruption and an administration that can’t even provide more than a few hours of electricity each day in the capital.
But starting in June, no more than three days passed without a major attack, showing the insurgency’s ability to regroup more quickly. Experts say the extremists may have been emboldened by the government’s obvious distraction by feuding between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his political rivals among Sunnis, Kurds and some other Shiite politicians who complain he is amassing too much power in his own hands.
Iraqis, certainly, mince no words in blaming their leaders for the violence.
“The security situation will be improved only when the politicians stop their daily fighting over personal ambitions,” said Qassim Salman, 65, a Shiite who owns a video arcade in the southern city of Basra.
Whatever the cause, the surge in violence has rekindled a gloomy sense among Iraqis – a feeling that nine years later, the Americans have moved on, and they are left facing an immediate future of grinding violence.
“This is not a normal life. How long do we have to live in fear?” asked Fuad Karim, 63, a Shiite who runs a laundry in Baghdad’s Kazimiyah neighborhood.
Karim opposed the U.S. invasion, but he also said the American pullout, completed Dec. 18, was a mistake.
“They messed up the country, and they had to reorganize it and to rebuild what they demolished,” he said. “Right up until now, nothing has been rebuilt.”
Others, like Baghdad shopkeeper Ali Izzat, a Sunni, said he’s happy the Americans are gone. “They were occupiers, and we see them as oppressors.”
Izzat isn’t fazed much by the recent attacks, though he allowed it might be because he’s seen so much worse: His shop in Baghdad’s mostly Sunni Harthiya neighborhood damaged by bombs three times in 2007.
“We feel sorry for the victims, of course,” he said, when asked if Iraq’s bloody past month worries him, displaying his innate sense of pessimism: “But because of all we have seen in the past, we are almost used to it.”
Associated Press Writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad, Nabil al-Jurani in Basra, Iraq, and Yahya Barzanji in Kirkuk, Iraq, contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:c66fb375-5789-4166-a893-f1b81b49e065> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.longislandpress.com/2012/07/04/iraqis-face-long-future-of-fear-as-attacks-mount-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959678 | 1,454 | 1.625 | 2 |
Review Price free/subscription
AMD Phenom X3 8750 - AMD Phenom X3 8750
The Phenom X3 line, then, has all the same features as the Phenom x4s, including the same amounts of on-die cache memory and 1.8GHz HyperTransport link. They're also made using the same 65nm Silicon-On-Insulator manufacturing process and, because AMD doesn't want to reveal the exact number of transistors that each part of the processor uses, the transistor count is still officially given as 'approximately 450 million' but this includes the transistors used in the disabled core.
Three processors have so far been launched and they differ only by their clock speed - so there's no multiplier unlocked Black Editions, for instance. First is the 8450, which runs at 2.1GHz using a fixed 10.5x multiplier, next up is the 8650 running at 2.3GHz with a 11.5x multiplier, and finally the 8750 that we're looking at today, which ticks over at 2.4GHz by using a 12x multiplier. They all conform to the same 95W TDP, so should run happily on any AM2 motherboard (which isn't the case with the faster X4 CPUs, which have a TDP of 125W).
The interesting, and slightly worrying bit for AMD, is where these processors currently fit in terms of price. At the time of writing, the X3 range starts at £95.75, and goes all the way up to £125.73. When you consider that a quad-core Phenom X4 9550 costs £123.36, and even an Intel Q6600 costs around £133.89, these prices simply aren't competitive. They're not far off, and dropping prices across the range by £15-£20 will make all the difference, but right now the X3s are fighting a losing battle. Still before we write them off completely, let's have a look at how they perform.
For testing we've compared to a couple of Intel's dual-core CPUs, namely, the E4300 and E6700. As it happens, neither of these are actually available to buy new today. However, they are roughly equivalent to the E4500 and E6750 that currently retail for £74.72 and £111.50 respectively. We've also thrown in results for one of AMDs mid-range dual-core's, the Athlon X2 5200+, which can be found for £64.26. At the other end of the scale we've also included the Phenom X4 8750 and Intel's Q6600, which are both quad-core CPUs retailing for £150.39 and £133.89, respectively. Finally, we've gone all out and included the fastest consumer CPU you can currently buy, the Intel QX9770, which is running at a stock speed of 3.2GHz and retails for an eye-watering £898.76.
As always we tried to create as even a playing field as possible so the only limiting factor for each setup is the CPU itself. Both test systems used western Digital Raptor 150GB hard drives and nVidia 8800 GTS 640 graphics cards. However, we used DDR2 memory with the AMD CPUs, while the Intel chips were accompanied by DDR3 and of course the two motherboards for each platform were also different.
* nVidia 8800 GTS 640MB
* 150GB Western Digital Raptor
* Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Intel Specific Components:
* 2GB Corsair TWIN3X2048-1333C9 DDR3
* Asus P5E3
AMD Specific Components:
* 2GB Corsair Dominator TWIN2X2048-8500C5DF DDR2
* MSI K9A2 Platinum
Testing started with our usual quartet of Photoshop batch processing, VirtualDub video encoding, WinRAR file compression, and LAME mp3 encoding and we also ran the single core test in Cinebench. These tests are all single-threaded versions of the programs so they are only using one core at a time, which gives a good idea of raw clock-for clock performance of the CPUs.
Next we tested the multithreaded versions of WinRAR and LAME and also ran the multi-core test in Cinebench to see how effectively the CPUs distribute the computing load across multiple cores. Finally, we did a spot of game testing using Counter-Strike: Source, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and Crysis. Each test was repeated until a consistent score was achieved so the results we're showing are truly representative of the performance our systems gave under our tests.
Latest Deals From Ebay | <urn:uuid:fe0ac4e2-7741-4dbb-84b8-57fd533a96bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trustedreviews.com/AMD-Phenom-X3-8750_PC-Component_review_amd-phenom-x3-8750_Page-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945191 | 992 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Half the records I see show that Alan de la Zouche held his manor at North Molton, Devonshire, England. The other half show it to be at North Melton. So, Molton or Melton? What a difference one letter makes...
Such questions may often be resolved with a quick query on Google. Not so fast with these ambitious young knights, though. They often received manors from the king in more than one part of the country. How to discern from the wrong side of the Atlantic which one it was?
Let the GENUKI decide it! That is the Genealogy of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It's their parish, surely they know where it is.
"NORTH MOLTON is a large village on the ... river Mole...This large parish extends ... to the sources of the Mole and Duns Brook, among the lofty hills on the borders of Somersetshire and Exmoor Forest... There is a woollen mill at Heasley, and the village has two cattle fairs, on the Wednesday after May 12th, and the last Wednesday in October. It had formerly a weekly market and a fair on All Saints' day, granted in 1270 to Roger le Zouch, whose family obtained the manor from King John, . . . " [From White's Devonshire Directory (1850)]
I found North Molton, but North Melton doesn't seem to really exist, except as a typo multiplied by the fast and fearless Internet. Such are the perils of hunting my ancestors from about 5,000 miles distance and nearly 800 years forward in time. | <urn:uuid:6ce02ee9-bced-403a-ba05-998f6c1b00c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vegetarianbear.blogspot.com/2012/03/is-it-fist-or-is-it-fish-what.html | 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 | 0.968277 | 334 | 1.820313 | 2 |
DC Fawcett Announces A New Solution On His Blog For Privacy Concerns And Complaints
DC Fawcett offers a quick solution for people who have complaints over online privacy that can be unsettling and cause people to be fearful of what they share online
Brandon, FL (PRWEB) March 15, 2013
Fawcett is an Internet Marketing entrepreneur who has been teaching online marketing principles to small business and individuals since 2009.
He says today privacy concerns although justified, can also lead people into being afraid to take action.
A recent article published by the Guardian suggests that Facebook users are unwittingly revealing intimate secrets, including their sexual orientation, drug use and political belief. This information was obtained by using only public "like" updates, according to a study of online privacy.
DC Fawcett commented, “I think people should be concerned about privacy, no one wants their identity stolen. But the privacy complaints I’m hearing about are from social sites like Facebook monitoring everything from comments to likes, this gets into personal preferences. As a marketer, the more I know about my prospect, the better. Where many people are concerned, and rightly so, is what will governments use this information for, especially less peaceful and hospitable countries.”
Privacy concerns have also been the subject of hoaxes. A recent story on NBC news shed light on a Facebook hoax over privacy concerns. The hoax claimed that Facebook would have the right to use your comments and/or photos for its own personal
A spokesperson for Facebook told msnbc.com it is aware of the "recent status update that is being widely shared implying the ownership of your Facebook content has recently changed. This is not true and has never been the case. Facebook does not own your data and content."
DC Fawcett commented, “If a Facebook user is uncomfortable with the site tracking your comments or likes, or making your content available to the US government you should avoid posting anything that could be considered questionable on Facebook. However, as far as I know, Facebook and other social sites have to comply with authorities if they ask for records of your content. But there’s also the right to address grievances, which the First Amendment allows. The terror that a young Marine faced last August for posting anti-government messages on Facebook is all part of the growing trend over privacy concerns.”
DC Fawcett is referring to a decorated Marine who has served this nation in two wars. Brandon Raub was arrested for airing his critical views of the government on Facebook as reported by the Salem News.
DC Fawcett commented, “We as a people have come to love free speech, but often times it can be misconstrued. If people just take the time to present the facts with their statements, this can go a long way in preventing heartache and misery for simply voicing an opinion about the government on Facebook. With freedom of speech comes responsibility. Although I feel the Marine has every right to say what he feels, especially considering he fought for this country, I also think there’s a right way and a wrong way to say things.”
DC Fawcett teaches basic business marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to business owners and individuals alike. For more information visit http://www.internetmarketingbasicsblog.com/?p=229
DC Fawcett Corporation
622 E Lumsden Rd, Brandon, FL 33511-6524
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/3/prweb10535797.htm | <urn:uuid:28f8c6e5-2670-43a9-9d9c-9805e08bea88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112804612/dc-fawcett-announces-a-new-solution-on-his-blog-for/ | 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 | 0.94937 | 741 | 1.5625 | 2 |
The chancellor of Western Governors University Texas, Mark David Milliron, discusses how his institution employs infrastructure, processes, and data to bring clarity to institution decision making.
By Paul Jenny
Mark Milliron's Data-Driven Drive
Many find it easier to debate the quality of data rather than have a substantive conversation regarding what the numbers may suggest about institution challenges, notes Mark Milliron, chancellor of Western Governors University Texas. But the numbers can be your friend, he asserts. Good data allow leaders to make crucial assessments about where and how to deploy resources in support of student success and to identify areas ripe for innovation. In this interview, Milliron advocates for business officers to champion data initiatives to bring clarity to institution decision making.
Recent years have brought fundamental change to higher education, including the rise of online and blended learning environments. In what specific areas must leaders focus their innovation efforts going forward?
Because so many are offering online learning opportunities, I think this is now largely seen as a commodity. The more interesting conversation today centers on at least four developments, each of which impacts how online learning is deployed. One is the rise of learning analytics and the strategic use of data, which has already changed the consumer and health-care industries and is beginning to change education as more data get to the front lines.
A second development is the transformation of the course content publishing model. Third is the rise of robust kinds of simulated, game-based, and immersive learning in both augmented reality and deep virtual worlds that will continue to challenge higher education leaders with regard to infrastructure. Business officers in particular have to think about this much more broadly as bricks-and-mortar capital concerns and technology requirements converge.
A fourth important development is the evolution of core strategies and models for the provision of education—everything from the flip model, where lectures are posted online so that class time can be used for other valuable purposes, to competency-based learning, where students have the ability to progress based on what they know, not on time in seat. Because all these developments involve money, process, and infrastructure, the chief business officer is front and center in thinking about how to leverage them to support the transformation of higher education.
Would you elaborate on each of those points, starting with what you mentioned about the blending of facilities and technology infrastructure?
By and large we continue to think in terms of a traditional capital budget—how much we are spending on bricks and mortar—and then separately consider how we spend for technology. We need to think of facilities and technology infrastructure investment in the aggregate and have a strategy for deploying these two in concert. This creates a different set of conversations at all levels of the institution. So, you can't have a board committee focused on facilities and another focused on technology and then not have the two talk to each other.
Likewise, while we've traditionally kept administrative technology separate from instructional technology, these are starting to come together because they share much in common. For instance, the learning management system is increasingly becoming a core operational system throughout the institution.
Does this mean the business officer should push for more of a portfolio approach?
For starters, it means getting others to think about how you integrate and deploy a combination of buildings and online infrastructure—everything from your Web site to your learning management system to your student information system—in a way that ensures the student has a unified experience.
The business officers who will thrive in this new environment are those who believe they are partners in the common cause of helping students get on pathways to possibilities.
Many forget that your college or university is what a student experiences. If 50 percent of that experience is online, then you need a robust user interface to make sure that environment meets student expectations and needs. This is true even if you are a residential campus. It's not only about the look and feel of student housing or the labs or the dining hall. It's also about whether students can navigate their online course materials and support services and your administrative online tools.
You also mentioned learning analytics and the strategic use of data. Where must leaders innovate in this area?
Most of our data initiatives in higher education, while well intentioned, are far too slow, and many are focused on getting data to accreditors, legislators, and trustees as opposed to the front lines. Meanwhile, every piece of learning research tells us that regular feedback and high-level interaction aids academic tenacity and persistence. At Western Governors, we are deeply committed to evaluative feedback. One specific example is in our student advising. We have one group of faculty—student mentors—who are focused solely on this function. They conduct weekly sessions with students using a coaching report specific to each student that tells that student whether he or she is on-target or off-target, and where to get the resources to get back on track.
And how is the content publishing model evolving?
Similar to the way the music industry had to reinvent itself as it went digital, the same is happening with course content. I think some leaders underestimate how much of an infrastructure shift this represents and what is required to revamp contracts and pric-
ing models. You also have this interplay between the open content movement and the paid content movement, which presents a real curation challenge for institutions and instructors.
What impact has this had for your university?
In one example, our data indicated that a number of our low-income students in particular were having difficulty mastering course content. We found that many of them weren't buying the curricular resources. They simply couldn't afford them. That forced us to do some soul-searching about how we price and provide our content. We decided that instead of having students buy resources one at a time, we would charge a $149 per-term curricular resource fee, regardless of what courses students were taking or what they were studying.
That put the onus on us to go back to the publishers and other content providers and renegotiate contracts. As part of this process, we pushed publishers to make their content digital and modular so that we could institute a strategy of deploying resources cost-effectively across multiple devices. We also proposed paying providers based on the success of students in achieving anticipated learning outcomes using the resources.
Did they accept this?
One by one we've been able to sign new agreements that offer a value proposition for providing resources and a structural incentive for publishers to fix content that doesn't work. The real innovation is that we can now give our content providers granular data about what resources students are touching, how they're using the material, and the outcomes of their learning assessments.
A fourth development you noted was the changing strategies and models for the provision of education. Where do you see higher education as an industry 5 or 10 years out in using technology as a delivery vehicle?
First, I think it's an exciting time for higher education across the board. While there has been a tendency for many to conflate online with for-profit, there is significant recalibration taking place in the online arena and a real convergence of players from all institution types setting the stage for robust innovation ahead.
In conjunction with this, I think we will see much greater innovation with learning-centered models. We're currently involved in a project with the Department of Labor to work with three community colleges to roll out competency-based degree programs at those institutions. We are also at a point where more entities are willing to partner and experiment with lots of different approaches and resources. Great teaching has always been about creating rich, interactive, and dialogic learning experiences for students. Going forward, this could include a blending of these massive open online courses [MOOCs], deep-simulation experiences, augmented-reality experiences, and on-ground learning.
How do you look to your business officer as a partner in assessing and leveraging data to move your university forward on this front?
The challenge for all business officers is determining whether the systems implemented are meeting the mission requirements of the college or university. Are you deploying scarce resources in a way that optimizes learning outcomes? Have you eliminated the slack? Is it easy for everyone to navigate your systems? There is no way to move forward without rigorous analysis of whether the organization is deploying its resources to fully support its completion agenda, its community outreach agenda, its research agenda, or whatever else.
This is hard work, but it is the topic du jour. The business officers who will thrive in this new environment are those who believe they are partners in the common cause of helping students get on pathways to possibilities, and who want to use their talents to help others be successful in the education enterprise. As CBO, your aim is to enable folks who want to innovate with the best information and resources possible to take on the challenge at hand.
PAUL JENNY is vice provost of planning and budgeting for the University of Washington. | <urn:uuid:74ef06cd-5b43-4214-b157-e7a709bc3326> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nacubo.org/Business_Officer_Magazine/Magazine_Archives/January_2013/On_Balance.html | 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 | 0.958747 | 1,804 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Our perfect constiitution? What should we be teaching our
SLevinson at law.utexas.edu
Sun Nov 6 08:54:54 PST 2005
My sincere apologies to Bobby. I was not thinking of his specific post, which means exactly what he says it does, but rather the general citation of Churchill's dictum (along with 'the Constitution is not a suicide pact") as a stopper to certain kinds of arguments. I think that he and I substantially agree on the problems attached to the dictum.
: RJLipkin at aol.com [mailto:RJLipkin at aol.com]
Sent: Sun 11/6/2005 8:01 AM
To: Sanford Levinson; mgraber at gvpt.umd.edu; conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
Subject: Re: Our perfect constiitution? What should we be teaching our students?
In a message dated 11/6/2005 3:50:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, SLevinson at law.utexas.edu writes:
Frankly, I find the citation to Churchill's dictum on democracy fatuous.
Sandy misunderstood my citation to Churchill. I was rejecting it not embracing it. It's a form of the argument "that's as good as it gets" whether stated as a defense against alternatives to democracy or as a defense of the status quo conception of democracy (in the United States). My post read, and forgive my restating it, but I'd prefer to set the record straight:
"It might be that Churchill's implicit axiom was correct that we're stuck with comparative judgments about politics and constitutionality alone. But I always felt that limiting discussion to such judgments inhibits thinking hard about the possibilities of revising and improving what now seems sacrosanct."
This point was in response to Eugene's post suggesting, as I interpreted it, that our system of removing chief executives is an effective way of doing so, even in emergency circumstances, and no other industrial democracy has chosen voter initiative removal. My point was that although helpful, we're not limited to comparative judgments about constitutional design. Thus, even if all industrial democracies have worse constitutional systems, and the evidence is probably to the contrary, we still need to recognize flaws in our own constitutional design and think hard about revising it. Churchill's admonition, as applied within constitutional democratic systems--and it has an application between different conceptions of constitutional democracy just as it applies between democracy, fascism, and communism--is anathema to serious criticism and revision of what many consider a failed system of constitutional democracy, namely, American constitutionalism.
In conclusion, my citation to Churchill was not an endorsement of his point, rather it was a rejection of it. (Indeed, I say as much, I think, in print somewhere.)
Robert Justin Lipkin
Professor of Law
Widener University School of Law
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Investing in Innovation (again): What Obama's 2011 State of the Union Means for Grants
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
To understand what Obama's general remarks on these areas for reform and investment really mean, it is instructive to look towards the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), otherwise known as the Recovery Act or the Stimulus, that included many of the same priorities discussed below.
Energy. One of the top priorities for many public agencies, including school districts and municipalities, is the need to become more efficient not just in their provision of public services, but also in their basic operational costs. A key program in the ARRA, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) provided funds to public agencies to implement energy-saving technologies - including those focused on enhanced efficiency or alternative energy sources. With most federal funding in the energy sector focused on research, development, or commercialization, there is a void of funding opportunities like the EECBGs that fund the actual implementation of such technologies. The money that does fund it is administered at the state level and often subject to budget cuts or outright elimination as states face over a collective $100 billion shortfall this year. A revised national energy policy that aims to reach Obama's goal of 80 percent clean energy usage by 2035 will likely require additional supports similar to EECBGs that allow public agencies to pursue "greener" options for keeping the lights on.
Education. Obama most clearly emphasized his intent to use his track record of progress through the Recovery Act to inform his approach to education. Obama specifically cited the $4 billion grant program, Race to the Top, as a key motivator for states to achieve the kinds of reforms that have long remained relegated to policy papers - including teacher tenure reform and higher academic standards.
"Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than 1 percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning," Obama stated when discussing education.
With a long-overdue reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and relatively close policy positioning between Obama and the newly empowered Republicans, education may be the likeliest target for bipartisan compromise. Expect in any new version of the ESEA to be grant programs such as a modified Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation, as well as other supports for teacher professional development. Given the success of Race to the Top in achieving reform even before awarding any grants, it is likely these new and extended grant programs will continue to remain competitive, rather formula-based.
Infrastructure. Similarly to energy and education policy, much of what Obama's State of the Union addressed could be traced back to the Recovery Act with highlights in the areas of transportation and expanded access to broadband. Obama noted that new economic prosperity would rely in large part on building the "fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information" throughout the country and world.
Grantseekers may recall this included multi-billion dollar Recovery Act grant programs such as high-speed rail and the broadband technology opportunities and broadband initiatives programs. The administration has already launched its effort to build on the promise of high-speed rail, calling for $53 billion to be spent over the next five years on developing a new network of lightning-fast trains to America. Obama has also pushed for developing an infrastructure bank composed of public and private capital that would award funds to projects based on merit (similar to grant programs), rather than by earmark or formula. The Universal Services Fund, which administers programs meant to help expand internet access (such as E-Rate), is likewise moving towards implementing changes to its programs.
President Obama reiterated much of what he has already made clear his administration considers priorities for the 21st century - a new paradigm of energy creation, distribution, and consumption; a reformed education system that continues to produce the best and the brightest; and a focus on (literally) rebuilding and reimaging America. | <urn:uuid:93d05bde-0a2c-4a28-8092-ba93b19426c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grantsoffice.com/eFUNDED/tabid/867/EntryId/33/Investing-in-Innovation-again-What-Obamas-2011-State-of-the-Union-Means-for-Grants.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962929 | 824 | 1.75 | 2 |
How I Made a Feature Length Movie For Just a Few Hundred Dollars by Chris Astoyan
You set the price! 7130 words.
Published on November 17, 2012. .
In this educational book, I’m going to talk about what you should do and what you should avoid, when you consider making a movie on a very low budget.
I will thoroughly explain to you how I made my feature film with just a few hundred dollars. | <urn:uuid:89dfd2c0-f913-4a96-8cfc-2779ed945fe6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smashwords.com/books/tags/how_to_become_an_actor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947413 | 93 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Reflections on a Secret Life. USA 2011, 288 pp., illustrated, hardbound, € 22.95Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.Skyhorse
James Hormel - a man who grew up feeling different not only because his family built the SPAM meatpacking »empire« and lived in the only mansion in his small Midwestern town, but because he was gay at a time when homosexuality was not mentioned, never mind accepted. Outwardly, he tried to live up to the life his parents wanted for him - he was a successful professional, married to a lovely woman, and father of five children - but as the volatility of the late 1960s reshaped the American psyche, Hormel felt he could no longer hide his true self. Hormel became an antiwar activist, fought homophobia, lost half of his friends to AIDS, and set out to become the first openly gay US ambassador, a post he won during the Clinton era after a vicious, 7-year battle. | <urn:uuid:22d80a22-89a7-4a63-b688-cb08b5cc7848> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.loewenherz.at/sachbuch-schwul-biografien.php?CR=585&RL=16&KATEGORIENEU= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980629 | 209 | 1.695313 | 2 |
What was particularly remarkable about this event was that it was created not by the academic staff, but by the students themselves — an enthusiastic band of a dozen or more young people who had put together an impressive programme of language taster sessions ranging from Portuguese, Hungarian, Polish and Welsh via Arabic and Hebrew, Yoruba and Xhosa, Tagalog and Thai, to Japanese, Korean and Chinese. And that’s only a selection. There were also sessions on BSL, Braille and Old English. The initiator of all this was one Maks Marzec, a student from Poland with native-like English and fluent Mandarin, who picked up the idea from a similar event he had attended in Nanjing.
The opening ceremony attracted the presence not only of the Vice-Chancellor of the University (who gave a witty and inspiring opening speech) but also of the Lord Mayor of the city and one of the city’s members of parliament. The VC reminded us that language study was valuable not only intellectually and socially but also because it was fun.
A highlight of the opening ceremony was a click song performed by a speaker of Ndebele, accompanied by a drummer.
The idea of inviting me came, I assume, from one of the organizers who was an Esperanto enthusiast. The committee asked me to give two talks (“presentations”) at the opening ceremony, one short and one longer.
The short one was 10-15 minutes on ‘Languages in My Life’. I told the two hundred or so people in the auditorium how from a monoglot start I had learnt — in chronological order — French, Latin and Greek at school, Esperanto on my own, German through a family exchange, and Welsh by attending evening classes. Halfway through the lights failed because the projector lamp had overheated, but I continued Powerpoint-less in the dark until power was restored (“every decent lecturer has a plan B”). I finished by urging them to learn as much as they could while they were young, because the older you grow the harder it gets to memorize things. Latin and Greek declensions and conjugations were a doddle when I was aged 9-14 — but now I would never be able to master such complexity. In my thirties I still retained sufficient powers of memory to learn Welsh reasonably well — but I couldn’t do it now. Strike while the iron is hot, when the brain is not yet sclerotic!
My second contribution was a 45-minute lecture on ‘Speech Sounds Around the World’. This was a combination of serious analysis (classification of consonants by voice, place and manner; airstream mechanisms, etc) and entertainment (fun with exotic sounds). I got everybody practising switching voicing on and off, ffvvffvv, zzsszzss, and using this to learn new sounds: mmm̥m̥mmm̥m̥, xxɣɣxxɣɣ, ççʝʝççʝʝ. This led into exotic sounds of various kinds. Wherever possible I found a speaker of a relevant language to do an authentic demonstration. A Greek young lady was delighted and proud to be called on to say ˈɣala (‘milk’) for us, and to take us through the present tense of the verb ‘to have’, ˈexo, ˈeçis, ˈeçi, ˈexume, ˈeçete, ˈexun, and of ‘to open’ aˈniɣo, aˈniʝis, aˈniʝi… (just add voicing — see?). I found a Swede to demonstrate ɧ, a Welshman to do ɬ, and an Arabic speaker to give us ħ, ʕ, sˤ, ðˤ. And so on. The Polish student I called on to pronounce język ‘language’ thought that my own pronunciation of that word sounded rather old-fashioned and mannered. Ah, well.
There is no better audience for an elderly lecturer than a crowd of enthusiastic young people.
Since it was my birthday, Tim Owen got the audience to finish by singing, to the tune of Happy Birthday to You:
Ĉion bonan al vi, ĉion bonan al vi,
ĉion bonan, profesoro, ĉion bonan al vi!
The success of the Festival shows the foolishness of current education policy in this country, which has dropped the requirement to study a foreign language at secondary school. | <urn:uuid:2439efc0-961a-405a-92b9-3d0ce31b2a8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/fun-with-phonetics.html?showComment=1300459961366 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96342 | 980 | 1.515625 | 2 |
NEW YORK, NY.-
Following the record-breaking success of its Old Master & 19th Century Art sale in December in London, Christies
presents its flagship New York sale of Old Master & 19th Century Paintings, Drawings, and Watercolors in a two-part auction on Wednesday, January 27. This extraordinary sale of over 320 works presents the best examples of European art from the 15th to the 19th century, and features master works and recent rediscoveries from Lucas Cranach the Elder, Jan Brueghel II, Thomas Gainsborough, Gaetano Gandolfi, Louis Léopold Boilly, Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, and Samuel Palmer, among others. Total sales are expected to achieve in excess of $48 million.
Nicholas Hall, International Co-Head of Old Master & 19th Century Art, comments: The record prices achieved at Christies London last month for Raphaels Head of a Muse, Rembrandts Portrait of a man with arms akimbo, and Domenichinos Saint John the Evangelist galvanized the art market and renewed collector interest in this exciting field. Now, perhaps more than ever, our clients are seeking the optimal mix of quality, rarity, scholarship, condition, and provenance in their fine art investments, whether it is an early 15th century altarpiece panel such as Granaccis majestic Madonna delle Cintola, or a 19th century rediscovery, such as Corots Evening Star. The upcoming sale was crafted with these collecting criteria in mind, and we are delighted to present a robust selection of superb works, including a number of exciting rediscoveries, fresh-to-market works from prominent collections, and truly exceptional career masterpieces that seldom come to market.
Property of a Private Collector
Christies is honored to present a selection of eleven top-quality works from a distinguished private collector of Old Master and 19th century paintings and drawings. A highlight of the collection and the top lot of the upcoming sale is The Entrance to the Turkish Garden Café, 1812 by Boilly (1761-1845), a brilliantly executed Parisian street scene recognized as one of the most ambitious and technically accomplished paintings of the artists career (estimate: $3-5 million). The painting depicts the crowd gathered outside of the Café Turc, a popular restaurant of the day located on the Boulevard du Temple in the Marais. From a compositional standpoint, the painting is a veritable tour-de-force of figural painting that introduces more than sixty individual characters in rich detail and great variety of dress, gesture, posture and expression. Boilly even inserts his own self-portrait into the scene; he is the man in round spectacles and a top hat on the right-hand side of the canvas who gazes out directly at the viewer. The painting was first exhibited at the Paris Salons of 1812 and 1814, and more recently at the Kimbell Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art. The upcoming sale marks the first time it will be offered at auction since 1902.
A 19th century highlight from the same collection is The Sleeping Shepherd by Palmer (1805-1881), an extraordinarily rare and beautifully-preserved painting that is roundly hailed as one of the artists finest accomplishments (estimate: $2.5-3.5 million). Though undated, the work is believed to be from the period between 1826 and 1835, when Palmer lived in the Kent village of Shoreham. Using an unusual technique inspired by 15th century Old Masters, Palmer painted this cozy depiction of a sleeping shepherd and his dog with tempera and oil glazes, creating rich tonalities and warm atmospheric effects. Despite its relatively small scale of roughly 15 by 20 inches, Palmers masterful use of light and shadow imbues the painting with a powerful intensity. Never before offered at auction, the painting was initially purchased in 1874 as a wedding present, and descended within the family of the original owner for more than 100 years.
Additional Old Master highlights from this private collection include The Mocking of Christ by Hendrick Jansz. Ter Brugghen (1588-1629), one of the artists most moving compositions of a religious subject (estimate: $800,000-1.2 million); An Allegory of Faith by Jacob Duck (c. 1600-1667), a complex and multi-layered work that juxtaposes opulent symbols of material wealth and success with ominous reminders of mortality (estimate: $300,000-500,000); and a selection of Old Master and 19th century drawings by Pietro Faccini (1560-1602), Baccio del Bianco (1604-1657), and Eugène-Victor-Ferdinand Delacroix (1798-1863), among others (estimates range: $25,000-100,000).
Among the exciting rediscoveries in this sale is Wooded Rocky Landscape with Mounted Peasant, Drover and Cattle (estimate: $2-3 million) by Gainsborough (1727-1788), a tranquil scene of cattle and a herdsman that is set amidst a lush, verdant landscape. The painting is one half of a pair Gainsborough completed in 1786 and sold to Robert Palmer, a successful London solicitor. The paintings remained together for 130 years until 1916, when they were sold at auction and later dispersed. In 2008, the companion work entitled A Wooded Landscape with a Herdsman, Cows, and Sheep near a Pool re-emerged at Christies New York, where it sold for $5.75 million - a record price for the artist at auction. The present work, Wooded Rocky Landscape, remained in a private collection until 2009, when an anonymous donor gifted the painting to the Tacoma Art Museum with the expressed intent of selling the work to generate funds for art acquisition.
Renewed scholarship has brought to light a sublime large-scale work by the great 19th century French master Corot (1796-1875). LÉtoile du Berger (The Evening Star), 1863, is one of the least-known but most accomplished works by the artist (estimate: $1.2-1.8 million). Never before offered at auction, the painting has been in the collections of several private American collectors since the late 19th century and thus escaped inclusion in the artists catalogue raisonné. Continued study of the painting now suggests that work may be the as-yet unidentified painting that Corot exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1863 under the title Soleil Levant (Rising Sun). Dominated by a near-dark sky that may be interpreted as twilight or approaching dawn, the painting portrays a young woman in classical dress with her hand outstretched toward a single pale star.
Similarly, Diana and Callisto, (estimate: $800,000-1.2 million) by the 18th century Italian master Gandolfi (1734-1802) emerged from a private American collection in 2009 and was instantly recognized as a painting previously known only from photos stored in the archives at the Louvre. Exquisitely drawn and masterfully painted, this depiction of Dianas banishment of Callisto is believed to be one of two paintings originally commissioned in the late 1780s by the Russian prince Nicholay Yusupov (1751-1831), a preeminent collector of European art. The upcoming sale represents not only the first appearance of the painting at auction, but also the first known public exhibition of this groundbreaking discovery.
Old Master Highlights
A gloriously eccentric work by Cranach (1472-1553), Bacchus at the Wine Vat, 1530 (estimate: $2.5-3.5 million), reimagines the typically youthful wine god Bacchus as a balding old man with tankard in hand amidst a rollicking group of putti grouped around a vat of wine. Enabled by an old crone who serves them, the cherubs engage in messy antics that wryly warn the viewer of the perils of excess drink fighting, falling down, vomiting, and even passing out. Interestingly, the work is believed to be one of the earliest references in painting to the process of wine-making. Given the German origins of the work and the surrounding landscape depicted within it, the white wine inside the vat may specifically reference German Riesling wine, a varietal first recorded in royal ledgers in 1435.
Also among the Old Master highlights is The entry of the animals into Noahs ark, circa 1625 by Brueghel (1601-1678), a majestic composition in excellent state consigned from the personal collection of Peter Tillou, a prominent American antiques dealer (estimate: $2.5-3.5 million), and The Four Elements: Fire, Water, Earth and Air, a four-panel collaboration by Breughel and Frans Francken II (1581-1642) that descended through the royal family in Belgium and was previously owned by King Albert I, among others (estimate: $2-3 million). Executed in the years between 1632 and 1642, this epic series of lush narrative scenes is the only known collaboration on this theme between the two artists.
At over 20 feet in width, Le pont sur le torrent (estimate: $2-3 million) by the 18th century French master Hubert Robert (1733-1808) is one of the largest Old Master paintings ever to be offered at Christies New York. This vast painting, which depicts a wild torrent of roaring waters descending into a waterfall below an arched stone bridge, was originally commissioned by the Duc de Luynes (1748-1793) for the dining room of his opulent Paris townhouse. Subsequent owners include the American newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, who installed the painting and its equally massive mate La cascade in his beachfront castle in Sands Point, Long Island. Though the pair was separated in later years, Le pont sur torrent survives in its original state as a masterpiece of decorative painting with a dominating presence that is nearly cinematic in effect. Given its immense size, the canvas will be stretched on-site and installed in Christies Rockefeller Center galleries the first time in more than 50 years that the painting will be publicly displayed.
Old Master Drawings and Watercolors
With over 65 individual works, the sale features one of the strongest selections of Old Master drawings and works on paper to be offered in New York in recent years. The lead highlight is The arrival of Aeneas at Pallanteum, 1673 by Claude Lorrain (1600-1682), a narrative scene portraying the mythological founding of Rome. This signed, dated, and highly-finished drawing (estimate: $300,000-500,000) is related to one of the most important and beautiful commissions of Claudes late career, a painting completed for Don Gasparo Altieri (1646-1720), the prominent Roman patron. The drawing bears an intriguing American provenance; among its previous owners is Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918), grandson and great-grandson, respectively, of U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and John Adams. Scholars believe it may well be the earliest example of a drawing by Claude in an American collection.
Additional drawing highlights include The Fall of Preveza, by Jacopo Ligozzi (1547-1632), a preparatory drawing for a painting commissioned for the ceiling of the church of Saint Stefano dei Cavalieri in Pisa (estimate: $150,000-250,000) and The head of a young woman wearing a bonnet and facing left by Jean Baptiste Greuze (1725-1825), a rare pastel portrait by the artist that is believed to depict his wife (estimate: $60,000-80,000).
Hailed as primary force in the revival of an Irish cultural identity, Sir William Orpen, R.A., R.H.A. (1878-1931) is perhaps best known as a sought-after society portraitist. The upcoming sale features an early-career work by the artist, In Dublin Bay: Portrait of the Artists Wife (estimate: $700,000-1 million). Well-documented by critics and scholars, this visually-arresting portrait remains one of the most celebrated of the works painted during Orpens summer holidays at Howth Head, a point north of Dublin Bay. Described as a harmony of greys and blues, the painting portrays Orpens wife Grace standing on the cliff-top above the bay, her direct stare shadowed by the angle of the sun. The wind catches the scarf at her neck, lending a swirling sense of motion that is re-inforced by scudding clouds in the sky behind her. Last offered at auction in 1992, the painting is one of several excellent works in the sale consigned from a prominent American collection, the Thomas J. Carroll Revocable Trust.
Late 19th century highlights include two paintings by the renowned French masters William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) and Jean François Raffaelli (1850-1924). Amour voltigeant sur les eaux (Love flying over the waters), 1900 by Bouguereau is a late-career depiction of the young god Eros that was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1901 (estimate: $500,000-700,000) and Élégante sur le Boulevard des Italiens, Paris, circa 1899, by Raffaelli is an intimate street-level scene that captures the essence of contemporary Parisian society (estimate: $300,000-500,000). The latter painting comes from the Collection of the late Raymond and Miriam Klein, prominent Philadelphia-based collectors and long-time supporters of the fine and decorative arts.
Rounding out the sales offerings is a magnificent selection of sporting art, including many exceptional examples from the private collection of Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery Fisher. Featuring more than 35 equestrian paintings by the most sought-after artists of the genre, the section is led by top-quality works by Sir Alfred Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1878-1959) including A Park Meeting (estimate: $400,000-600,000), Millicent Baron on 'Magpie', 1929 (estimate: $800,000-1.2 million), and Study for 'Why Weren't You Out Yesterday' (estimate: $400,000-600,000). Admired for his unique understanding of the equestrian world, Munningss most celebrated works demonstrate equal skill in depicting horses, people and the landscape around them, whether the setting is a racetrack or an open field.
Auction: Old Master & 19th Century Art (Parts I & II) January 27, 2010 at 10am & 2pm
Viewings: Christies Rockefeller Galleries January 23-28, 2010 | <urn:uuid:33360e32-aac2-48f5-a120-2e07c22b89eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.org/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=35655&int_modo=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932592 | 3,139 | 1.546875 | 2 |
John has already noted what ought to have been above-the-fold news in every newspaper last week—the testimony of the GAO’s head of natural resources that the U.S. has recoverable oil shale “about equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.” It wasn’t front-page news, however, because it doesn’t fit the liberal narrative and favorite talking point that the U.S. only has “2 percent” of proven global oil reserves.
I suggest we start calling such people “hydrocarbon deniers,” since only a puritanical fixation prevents the sensible exploitation of our own energy resources. (Maybe we should call them “Energy Prohibitionists” as well as “hydrocarbon deniers,” since China and everyone else is going to make use of their hydrocarbon energy.) And anyone who persists in using the “2 percent” talking point again (that would include President Obama) deserves to be labeled an anti-science ignoramus.
For the slow learners out there, here’s what the situation looks like graphically, using data from the Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency. Turns out the U.S. may have as much as three-fourths of the world’s oil shale. Figure 1 shows the estimated proven reserves of conventional oil. But add in “unconventional” shale oil (though this distinction is increasingly meaningless with the advance of extraction technology), and you get Figure 2 (corrected–the third column shows the oil reserves for the rest of the world not including the U.S.), which shows that instead of having only 2 percent of global oil reserves, the U.S. actually has 82 percent as much oil as the rest of the world combined, and almost twice as much as the Middle East. (Figure 3 shows the U.S. shale total added to the world reserves, which shows that we have roughly 45 percent of the world’s total oil hydrocarbons.) Thus we can say that Saudi Arabia is the America of oil, except that we have way more than they do. Maybe we should start exporting oil to China and join OPEC?
UPDATE: I’ve had a few direct messages reminding me of some of the technical difficulties of shale production (especially water), with which I am familiar. I’ll have a longer article about some of this coming out tomorrow on RealClearMarkets.com. Stay tuned for a link. | <urn:uuid:a86ff184-2dfb-4faa-9485-16b7af4970c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/05/lets-call-them-hydrocarbon-deniers.php?tsize=small&tsize=large | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961949 | 521 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The multimedia exhibit "Homeless in Paradise" opened Nov. 5 at BC Space Gallery in Laguna Beach.
The show was created by Laguna artists Faye Chapman and Tim Carmody, and Los Angeles Times photographer Genaro Molina in recognition of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in November.
The power of "Homeless in Paradise" is found in its visceral treatment of homelessness in idyllic Southern California. Chapman and Carmody's portraits capture the vulnerability and resilience of individuals who survive on the streets of Orange County.
The photos are highly defined and textured, so much so that one feels able to almost touch the faces of those who Chapman said "live in the shadows."
Molina's stark portraits focus on the chronically homeless in Los Angeles. One particularly compelling photo flash-freezes the raw anguish of a homeless woman in what looks to be mid-scream, but she's actually singing.
The exhibit also features a video presentation of Genaro's collaboration with Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard on the acclaimed "Four Walls and a Bed" and "Skid Row" story series. The Times owns the Coastline Pilot.
"Four Walls and a Bed" chronicles the rescue of "the 50 people deemed most likely to die on the streets" by giving them a room, in return for agreeing to once again interact and live with others. The transition to community comes as no small feat for people who've been long estranged and shunned by society.
Laguna Beach poet John Gardiner and singer-songwriter Jason Feddy performed at the exhibit's public reception, which was attended by about 100 patrons.
Gardiner shared some of his own poetry as well as readings from Charles Dickens, Ogden Nash and John Keats, speaking to the plight of the hungry, homeless and disenfranchised. Feddy's set included Nick Lowe's '70s ballad, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding," which asks for "light in the darkness of insanity."
"Homeless in Paradise" brings lucidity to the issue of homelessness through art. It depicts our shared humanity and embodies our ability to diminish the suffering of others. It also reminds us that we have much more in common with the homeless than we might imagine.
The exhibit runs through Dec. 21. BC Space Gallery is at 235 Forest Ave. For more information, visit http://www.bcspace.com. | <urn:uuid:fdee082b-e57e-4916-8ba3-f2cff4ec11cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ky3.com/news/tn-cpt-1111-homeless-20111109,0,4308967.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951908 | 500 | 1.515625 | 2 |
GE ramps up engine production
By Bruce Edwards
STAFF WRITER | June 26,2012
Vyto Starinskas / Staff Photo
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., talks with a group of young workers chosen for an apprentice program at General Electric in Rutland on Monday. Cylvia Oprendek explains equipment used to manufacture blades at the plant.
Thomas Donahue of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce called it the “bright light in the Rutland economy” — and with good reason.
Donahue was referring to the GE Aviation plants in Rutland that employ 1,050 workers in what are regarded as the highest paying manufacturing jobs in the region — jobs that start at $26 an hour.
On Monday, Donahue along with several officials, including Rep. Peter Welch and Jamie Stewart of the Rutland Economic Development Corp., toured the massive Windcrest Road plant in Rutland Town.
Welch and the others were briefed on the outlook for the Rutland operation, which manufactures compressor and fan blades for a variety of commercial and military jet engines.
The local operation also includes a smaller facility on Columbian Avenue in the city.
“This year every (engine) program was up for us,” plant manager Dan DiBattista said during a walk through of the 528,000-square-foot plant. “And when we look out over the next two to three years, it looks very healthy.”
DiBattista’s rosy outlook is driven by an uptick in the commercial engine business.
The company’s new fuel-efficient engine, the GEnx, which powers Boeing’s newest aircraft — the 787 Dreamliner — is one part of the story.
GE has invested $60 million to build and outfit an addition to the plant specifically to make parts for the GEnx. DiBattista also said GE has seen an increase in spare parts orders for a number of engines.
To meet demand, GE has added approximately 100 jobs, bringing total employment at the two plants to 1,050 workers.
He said the current level of employment is right-sized to meet demand.
“For attrition, as people retire, we’ll keep hiring to keep that number there, so we’re going to be stable,” DiBattista said.
The surge in orders has had a ripple effect on Ellison Surface Technologies, a GE subcontractor. Ellison has increased the workforce at its North Clarendon plant, where a thermal spray coating is applied to the compressor and fan blades. The coating reduces friction and extends the life of the engine parts.
Ellison spokesman Eric Dolby said in an email that local employment has grown from 100 employees at the end of last year to 127 so far this year.
“Based on growth projections, we expect to create an additional 30 jobs by the end of 2013,” Dolby said.
The Kentucky-based company, has opened a second Rutland facility to handle the increased workload.
“Long-term outlook for Ellison Surface Technologies in Rutland is excellent,” Dolby said. “The global aviation industry is strong, with major OEMs maintaining impressive backlogs for new aircraft and engines.”
GE Rutland has filled job openings through its apprentice program. Several apprentice employees were on hand during the plant tour.
Brian Grady returned home to Rutland from New York, where he was employed as a landscape surveyor.
A 1998 graduate of Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Grady is enrolled in the three-year machinist program.
“I came in here with real entry level skills and they got me up to speed,” said Grady, a graduate of North Carolina State University. “We’re all from different backgrounds.”
Grady said initially the toughest part of the program was managing his time.
“We work an eight- to 10-hour day, then you have about three hours of class at night, plus homework and personal life,” he said.
In the past, production at the local plants was often equally divided between military and commercial jet engines. But DiBattista said that’s changed with commercial engine orders now accounting for 80 percent of local production with the remaining 20 percent military.
But defense spending along with domestic programs face automatic cuts by the end of the year unless Congress agrees on a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.
Welch, a Democrat, said the sequestering of funds, as it has become known, should never happen.
“The problem we have is that Congress can’t get its act together to do what needs to be done, which is a balanced approach where we (have) everything on the table,” he said. Welch said that includes not only spending cuts but tax increases.
He said a better approach is the bipartisan deal that resulted in the reauthorization of funding for the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
He said the Export-Import Bank is an important financing tool for companies like GE.
“We work with our manufacturers and Republicans and Democrats on a bipartisan basis passed the reauthorization,” he said. “That’s the model that has to work, if we’re going to succeed.”
The Export-Import Bank provides “gap” financing for exports that traditional lenders won’t cover.
DiBattista said GE Aviation benefits from the program since 52 percent of its revenues come from export sales or $9 billion in 2011.
According to GE, overall engine production rates are expected to increase nearly 12 percent, from 3,000 commercial and military engine deliveries last year to 3,350 deliveries in 2012.
The Rutland plants are also working on orders placed at the 2010 Farnborough International Air Show in Great Britain where GE racked up engine and service orders totalling more than $16 billion.
The show alternates every other year with the Paris Air Show. | <urn:uuid:47943881-76ef-44e8-a33a-335b7e14ad4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120626/BUSINESS03/706269842/0/DIALUP | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951261 | 1,263 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Eric Steig is an isotope geochemist at the University of Washington in Seattle. His primary research interest is use of ice core records to document climate variability in the past. He also works on the geological history of ice sheets, on ice sheet dynamics, on statistical climate analysis, and on atmospheric chemistry.
He received a BA from Hampshire College at Amherst, MA, and M.S. and PhDs in Geological Sciences at the University of Washington, and was a DOE Global Change Graduate fellow. He was on the research faculty at the University of Colorado and taught at the University of Pennsylvania prior to returning to the University of Washington 2001. He has served on the national steering committees for the Ice Core Working Group, the Paleoenvironmental Arctic Sciences initiative, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative, all sponsored by the US National Science Foundation. He was a senior editor of the journal Quaternary Research, and is currently director of the Quaternary Research Center. He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles in international journals.
More information about his research and publication record can be found here.
All posts by eric. | <urn:uuid:d22aa50c-558c-4c5b-91bb-ab86e3382bfd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=54 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948831 | 232 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Vienna’s Wine
To keep learning about a thing is to realize, more and more, that one has barely grazed the surface. Getting to know wine is a trusty reminder of this niggling fact. In June, I stood in a vineyard on a hill called Nussberg and looked down at the Millennium Tower and the rest of Vienna’s downtown. Vienna is the only urban area that includes an entire winemaking region within its boundaries, a fact that, at first, didn’t register as promising. After all, wine made in cities tends to be either a tourist novelty or a vanity beverage made by some overstimulated hotelier; the Viennese versions turned out to be neither. I had gone up the hill with Gerhard Lobner, the young winemaker at Mayer am Pfarrplatz and Rotes Haus, whose deservedly popular wines tasted brisk and charming, if not exactly profound. I thought of his lighthearted, spritzy elaborations on Vinho Verde as schnitzel wines (not a diss: I consider schnitzel to be a Himalayan summit of cooking) and assumed they epitomized what was happening on Vienna’s wine scene. To say I was wrong is putting it mildly. Vienna’s growers and vineyards—until recently a footnote in any discussion of Austrian viticulture—are producing some of the most distinctive and fascinating wines in all of Europe.
The home of Schubert and Freud boasts two oenological claims to fame. First, it forms a borderland between the regions of Riesling and Grüner Veltliner—cooled by the climatic influence of the Alps—and the warm, dry vineyards on the Pannonian Plain, known for reds, especially Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt, and white Burgundian varietals. The Danube, too, mediates Vienna’s unusually varied microclimates, some of which—particularly on the hillsides of the Nussberg and the Bisamberg—have been renowned for centuries. Secondly, the city is one of a handful of wine regions known primarily for field blends; the best versions of Vienna’s Gemischter Satz, which can include a dozen varietals or more, tend to be remarkably complex and stylistically varied.
So why has it taken Vienna so long to shed its reputation for underwhelming wines? I posed the question to the unfailingly generous Austrian and German wine expert David Schildknecht. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek (at least I think so), he blamed Schlamperei (a word meaning something akin to “laxity” or “not giving a crap”); a native concept, in Austria it is considered a quintessentially Viennese trait. “If you live in the capital of a very thirsty country, a capital that’s huge in a country that’s small, and a capital visited by and known to folks from around the world, it’s easy to see how the temptation toward mediocrity in wine growing would be huge,” Schildknecht told me.
Until quite recently, the winemaking region Vienna resembled most was the the vast Weinviertel to the city’s north, where vintners either sold their juice to one of several large merchants or poured it for visitors at their Heurigen (wine inns). Up north, no one but Roman and Adelheid Pfaffl was recognized for making world-class wines; Vienna, too, slept under a cloud of Schlamperei until the arrival of Fritz Wieninger. In the 80s, when he took over his parents’ century-old winery, Wieninger began to experiment with temperature-controlled fermentation, barrique-aging and vinifying unusual varietals. For two decades, he was alone in extracting perfectionist wines from Vienna’s soils; in the meantime, mostly by example, he managed to convince a group of younger, ambitious growers of the city’s potential. Today, few would dispute that Wieninger has been the seminal figure in Vienna’s transformation.
His wines continue to be benchmarks. The style is classically Austrian: his ‘08 Wiener Gemischter Satz is deeply flavored, balanced, with a long, crunchy mineral finish and that uniquely Viennese kaleidoscope of flavors—clover, anise, god knows what else. Better yet, the ‘08 Gemischter Satz Nussberg Alte Reben tastes as gnarly as the parcel of fifty-year-old vines from which it was made—intensely concentrated yet light in body, interestingly austere, with an insistent, cleansing bitterness that lingers in the mouth. The Grüners and the reds are just as snappy and elegant, thought I preferred the richer ‘08s to the ‘09s. (They are imported to the US by Winebow).
I owe my discovery of Vienna’s liquid evolution to importers Paul Darcy and Carlo Huber, who specialize in the city’s growers. To be honest, at first I wasn’t particularly excited to taste their wines, yet ten minutes into sampling the portfolio, it became clear that Wieninger was no longer alone in doing superlative work in Vienna. While I plotzed over the delicious Gelber Muskateller and Weissburgunder from Rainer Christ, it was Stefan Hajszan’s biodynamic whites that opened my eyes. They have an altogether more upbeat disposition than Wieninger’s and, like some others in the Rudolf Steiner camp, can be almost electric in their intensity. Made from eleven different grapes (ever hear of Frühroter Veltliner?), Hajszan’s ‘08 Gemischter Satz Weissleiten smells and tastes nearly tropical, with the thickness of a white from Friuli, but maintains a dainty 12.5% of alcohol and plenty of complexity. The ‘07 Riesling Pfaffenberg is nearly as ripe but ultra-dry, with perfect balance and a quartz-like stoniness. Hajszan also makes the city’s most delicious reds—the medium-bodied ‘08 Zweigelt-Blaufränkisch is ideally judged, as juicy as a good Morgon while tasting nothing like Gamay or, for that matter, any other French grape. For all their complexity and stuffing, Hajszan’s wines are built on a human scale, as easy-to-drink and joyous as Austrian wine gets. Better yet, unlike so many neighbors in the more famous regions of Wachau and Kamptal, nearly all of these Viennese wines retail for under thirty bucks.
Two of the most remarkable bottles I’ve opened this year came courtesy of a thirty-something graphic-designer-turned-natural-winemaker with a delightfully gnomic name—Jutta Ambositsch, who goes by Jutta Kalchbrenner. Here’s what I gleaned from our not-quite-idiomatic email correspondence: she began to tinker with vines in her parents’ plot in Burgenland. In 2001, Fritz Wieninger sealed her fate when he “donated” a vineyard in Vienna to her care (a shout-out to her friend is printed on each of her labels), and she has since expanded her holdings. I haven’t had a chance to taste her blends, only two Rieslings. The ‘08 Oberer Reisenberg comes from a steep 18-year-old plot covered with chunks of limestone and pebbles, cooled by a westerly wind from the Vienna Woods. It’s lightly off-dry, long as a river, stony, complete, and almost Mosel-like in its lusciousness. The ‘08 Ried Preussen (“Prussian Marsh”), from a biodynamically-cultivated vineyard on the Nussberg that contains only 415 vines, is the Reisenberg’s mirror image, the Nico to its Joni Mitchell. There’s a touch of sweet-tart fruit, earth, a saltiness, and then a geyser of gravelly bitterness and funk that vibrates on the tongue for minutes. Carlo Huber called it “intellectual.” For some reason, it made me think of a small, austere Gothic chapel. I hadn’t tasted anything like them—to me, these Rieslings stand up to anything from F.X. Pichler, Hirtzberger or Knoll while coming across as utterly original.
What’s Ambrositsch-Kalchbrenner’s deal? “I am not esoteric, but I believe in a better treatment by one person,” she wrote me. ”This is hard when I don’t feel very good, because the vibes are between the vineyard and me. I touch them, nobody else. Just at harvest. And harvesting is a party: there are about 20-30 friends who help me. They pick up the grapes very softly, cutting out bad grapes. You can’t compare our harvest to another harvest with paid workers. They just harvest the grapes and have no responsibility for the product, the wine, the friendship.” (A look at her German-language website will tell you something about her charmingly loopy approach.) Ambositsch works in Stefan Hajszan’s winery, ages in steel, designs the stark labels, and prices the wines higher than her neighbors do, though still fairly, considering the quality. Here in New York, they are already on wine lists at haute gastro-palaces like Eleven Madison Park, so I’m not alone in being smitten. Someone should come up with a new adjective to describe the best wines of Vienna—Falco-licious? Wittgenstein-derful? While they do, be sure to open a few of these strange and memorable bottles.
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- 10 Local Mom Won’t Stop Being First Person to Like Every Goddamn Thing Son Posts to Facebook | <urn:uuid:3563d305-ba90-4c02-95d4-04ebce508515> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thefastertimes.com/wine/2010/11/30/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-of-viennas-wine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934895 | 2,345 | 1.554688 | 2 |
By David Wessel
David Lipton, No. 2 at the International Monetary Fund, is in London today, casting an eye across the British Channel at the Continent and warning that too much deleveraging too fast in too many countries at the same time is a really bad idea. But putting off decisions about “fiscal consolidation,” as the IMF puts it, in the advanced economies of U.S., Europe and Japan is a bad idea, too, he said.
That’s not exactly how Mr. Lipton, a former Clinton and Obama administration official, put it in his speech to the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House. But the message came through in what amounts to a 2,000-word recipe for restoring global growth, one-stop shopping for those who are looking for some way out of today’s global economic morass.
The leaders of the world economy agreed in the spring of 2009 to aim at two objectives: end the financial crisis and make sure it doesn’t happen again. The first calls for strong enough demand to get rid of unemployment. The second requires deleveraging, the paying down of debt, which, he said, “will dampen demand, particularly if it happens simultaneously in many sectors in many countries.” | <urn:uuid:84eb7a06-6abc-4b32-8631-1906dee58462> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/11/12/imfs-liptons-offers-2000-word-recipe-for-restoring-global-growth/?mod=WSJBlog | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946476 | 266 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Smelly Jeffrey writes "With the release of this whitepaper, the FCC unanimously approved plans for a new technology with strong supporters and even stronger detractors. White Space Wi-Fi effectively allows manufacturers of wireless devices to incorporate transceivers that operate on unused DTV channels. Although the deregulation is new, the idea seems to have caught Google's interest recently as well. It seems that this has been rather rushed through the normally stagnant channels at the FCC. While some view it as interference in the already crowded spectrum, it seems the FCC Chairman really likes the idea of re-purposing dark parts of the newly allocated DTV bands once more." Update: 11/06 18:15 GMT by T : You may want to look at Tuesday's mention of the decision as well, but the additional links here are interesting. | <urn:uuid:c8dd641e-e270-48b0-a642-d2ba100e3251> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/08/11/06/168254/fcc-unanimously-approves-white-space-wi-fi/insightful-comments | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976476 | 164 | 1.632813 | 2 |
THE GENTLE BROTHER
by White Eagle
A master is not necessarily a very exalted personality materially. A master may be very humble, kind, good and helpful to his companions. How many stories have been written about the disguise of the holy man who has been mistaken for a beggar? That is an illustration of the truth, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.’
‘Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ When you mourn you become very humble, and God blesses you and fills your heart with light and comfort. When Mary sought her Master at the sepulchre she cried: ‘They have taken away my Lord and I know not where he is.’ This is what happens to all who appear to be robbed of their loved one by death.
But the Master appeared to Mary, saying: ‘Do you not recognize me, Mary?’ And when she saw him she was filled with light. She was comforted. Truly, the one who mourns is blessed when there is love in the heart and when they are ready to listen to the voice of the Master. We are not speaking now of the Master Jesus, but of the third aspect of the Trinity, the Son, the Love aspect that comes into the heart to comfort those who mourn. It comes also into the heart to comfort those who are persecuted and who suffer injustice.
Leave all confusion, all fear, and raise your heart into the world of spirit, and immediately all is well. As you rise above the earth you will receive into your earthly life a spiritual life. He who is the embodiment of love, the Cosmic Christ, takes form when he comes close to his younger brethren on earth. And so his blessing flows from his heart to you. It is flowing now…….a great stream of pure sunlight into your being, your soul.
We are so glad to be able to share this teaching with you. If you would like a copy of ‘Drumbeat’ – let us know . . . we would be glad to send one out to you.
from all of us at the Ontario Daughter Lodge | <urn:uuid:df1b9d55-650c-485e-ad16-8ab2bf414c9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whiteagle.ca/gentle_brother.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977563 | 455 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Martine is looking forward to the holidays and riding Jemmy, her white giraffe, until an accident sends her and Ben on a journey to the Matobo Hills ... Show synopsis Martine is looking forward to the holidays and riding Jemmy, her white giraffe, until an accident sends her and Ben on a journey to the Matobo Hills wilderness in Zimbabwe. It is a lawless land, where nothing is as it seems. When they uncover a plot in which the fate of a magnificent leopard and the lost treasure of an African King are mysteriously linked, their friendship faces its greatest test. Far from home and the help of Grace and Tendai, and with Gwyn Thomas languishing, under false accusations, in jail, Martine and Ben must use every survival skill they possess. They'll come face to face with Griffin, Mercy, Mr Ratcliffe (known as Rat), Magnus the hornbill, and a witch doctor, not to mention Khan, the last leopard. They must decide who their friends are, and who are enemies, as they race against time to save the world's rarest leopard and each other. This third African adventure is written with all the zest and skill that have endeared so many readers to THE WHITE GIRAFFE and DOLPHIN SONG. | <urn:uuid:26383064-9c75-44b5-afde-6e79dfa1ae02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?ework=11006400 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957325 | 264 | 1.59375 | 2 |
By PBN Staff
PROVIDENCE – A Jamestown effort to build a rock-climbing playground got a monetary boost from the R.I. Dept. of Environmental Management with the award of a $38,000 project grant, the city announced Friday, April 13.
The grant represents half of the cost of kidsRock, which will consist of at least two large, man-made boulders with connecting ropes and is targeted at middle school children.
The playground will be located behind the Lawn Avenue School, where middle schoolers will utilize the facility during school hours. The climbing rocks will be open to the public the rest of the time.
“This is going to be an amazing recreation resource for kids in Jamestown, especially older kids who’ve outgrown monkey bars and swings, but still need the opportunity to move around,” said R.I. Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D- Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown.
“This project will give them a unique and really fun place to hang out and get some exercise with their friends, and hopefully help them maintain healthy recreation habits as they grow up,” she added.
The kidsRock grant was one of 35 local recreation grants DEM and Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee announced earlier this month.
Planners are required to raise enough money to match the state grant. KidsRock organizers have already raised roughly $31,000 and need about $7,000 more to meet their goals.
If all goes as planned, the playground could begin construction in July, according to a release. | <urn:uuid:34987d09-e350-432c-9a29-12e08815b023> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbn.com/KidsRock-playground-lands-38000,66885?category_id=70&list_type=featured&sub_type=stories,packages | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961269 | 335 | 1.84375 | 2 |
A.F. asks from Albany, CA on March 30, 2011
Ear Infection ~ Contagious?
Ok we took my son to the doctor yesterday for an ear infection. I forgot to ask if he is contagious. He is not and has not run a fever, but his ear is draining. I know that if they are running a fever they are contagious. He has been on antibiotics for 24 hours now. We kept him out of daycare today, but I wasn't sure what to do about tomorrow. I don't know what do to, any suggestions? Is he contagious since it is draining or no since he has no fever and has been on an antibiotic this long? I don't really want to call the pediatrician, because we are working on switching offices as I don't care for their service anyways ~ our OB retired and the office went way downhill since then.
So What Happened?™
Thanks, I just need to clarify. I know that ear infections themselves are not contagious (goodness knows I have one friend I have to preach this too all the time, she wouldn't let my brother hold her daughter one time, because his son had an ear infection the week before). I know that with the fever that they have more going on and they are contagious then. However I wasn't sure about the drainage spreading anything. This is ear infection # 20 at least and tube set number 7 ~ yes he is only 5. The drainage means the tubes are working, but I wasn't sure if the drainage may contain something he couldn't share, because he has NEVER drained like this before ~it is gross and has some blood mixed in. I know when you cough you are getting your mucus on others (if you don't close your mouth) and can spread things that way, so I guess I am asking if that would also apply in this situation? Did I confuse the question more or make it clearer what I was really shooting for? Thanks again, I do appreciate everyone's quick responses.
I called and talked to the day care and they were fine with the situation. We put cotton in his ear this morning and sent some with him in case it needs changed. I love his day care and his teacher and she loves him : ) When he was out the last couple of days she would text to check on him and once when he had surgery some of them sent flowers, so I know he will be taken good care of today. He didn't want to got though, because it was so much fun spending 1/2 the day at mom's office and the other 1/2 at dad's office yesterday, he wanted to do that again today.
M.F. answers from Phoenix on March 30, 2011
If he's got bloody drainage out of his ears, he needs to stay home until the drainage has stopped. It's not contagion from the infection that becomes the problem, but the blood that is the issue. I would look at it as an uncoverable sore and he would have to stay home until the drainage stopped. Good luck!
S.H. answers from Phoenix on March 30, 2011
L.W. answers from Cincinnati on March 30, 2011
ear infections are NOT contagious. you are fine to send him back as long as he has been fever free for 24 hours...shoot we found out our daughter had another (I think this is her 17th one now) ear infection, we filled the script and sent her to daycare....afterall she GOT the bug there and she wasnt running a fever...we know her infections because she gets bronculolits and cant breath...(no fevers)
1 mom found this helpful
M.C. answers from Washington DC on March 30, 2011
I don't think he's contagious. If he needs ear drops or cotton balls in his ears for the drainage, I'd probably call the daycare to make sure they are able to accomedate that.
N.B. answers from Minneapolis on March 30, 2011
I would make sure your daycare can or will accomodate the drainage. Some homes (who can have the luxury of deciding for themselves...one of the perks of self ownership...we get to make the rules), may not..others, no problem.
Centers are likely to have a more "written in stone" ruling or policy.
For my own home childcare, I still reserve the right to require a child to be out of childcare if they can not function within the group with their illness, regarless of fever, meds, etc. If the drainage was excessive and requiring and over-much amount of my attention to keep it off of things and others, etc..or if the child was really uncomfortable, whiny and just...well, not wanting to function in a group setting, they may need to be out of childcare another day or 2.
All depends around here!
Good luck and I hope you young one feels better soon!
A.K. answers from Dayton on March 30, 2011
He can go to daycare. My son has had a few ear infections since getting his tubes and always has lots of drainage which is pretty gross but his daycare has never complained and they are pretty picky about sick kids.
L.M. answers from Dover on March 30, 2011
Ear infections are not contagious even if there is fever (barring other symptoms that could be). As for tomorrow, as long as he is acting fine then there is no reason he has to stay home from daycare.
My guess is still that he is not contagious but since it contains blood, the daycare may have an issue. Call them to be sure.
S.M. answers from Kansas City on March 30, 2011
My understanding is that the infection itself can't be passed around. But the virus that lead to the infection can be and already has been. I do believe that most of the time illnesses have run through the daycare by the time 1/3rd of the kids have come down with symptoms. At that point the others will either get sick or not. That's why I take every situation as it comes and decide based on each case if they need to go home or stay home.
C.J. answers from Dallas on March 31, 2011
This happened with my son after he had tubes put in and got an infection. It kind of freaked me out to see this draining from his ear. . . . It isn't mucus like from your nose it is the waste product from an infection (like puss) No not contagious nor would most child care facitlities keep him out of classroom for this.
I would let the teacher know (just like with a runny nose) that you'd like the area to stay wiped as clean as possible.
He's good to go! | <urn:uuid:19485653-aef7-4cd2-b253-7b9490f544a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mamapedia.com/article/ear-infection-contagious | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98958 | 1,408 | 1.710938 | 2 |
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan freed several Taliban prisoners at the request of the Afghan government Wednesday, a move meant to facilitate the process of striking a peace deal with the militant group in neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.
The release of the prisoners - described as mid- and low-level fighters - is the most encouraging sign yet that Pakistan may be willing to help jumpstart peace talks that have mostly gone nowhere, hobbled by distrust among the major players involved, including the United States.
Pakistan is seen as key to the process because of its historical ties to the Taliban and because many of the group's leaders are believed to be based on Pakistani territory, having fled there following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Wednesday's release of the Taliban militants came in response to a personal request by Salahuddin Rabbani, the head of an Afghan government council for peace talks with the Taliban, said a Pakistani government official and an intelligence official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media about the release.
Rabbani is in Islamabad on a three-day visit that ends Wednesday.
The seven released were "low- and mid-level" fighters, and it is up to them whether they go back to Afghanistan to participate in peace talks, said the Pakistani government official.
Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said he could neither confirm nor deny the prisoner release.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read the original story: Pakistan frees Taliban prisoners for peace process | <urn:uuid:cccf8401-cb13-4b5a-a8cb-7d1a79564413> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyrecord.com/usatoday/article/1703949?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CNews%7Cs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957673 | 335 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Wireless networking in big businesses has never taken off to the level everyone hoped for, so the majority of vendors have turned their attention to the SMB.
The biggest drawback to implementing wireless networks is, of course, security, and the last few months have seen a stampede of appliance-based solutions. Netgear is the latest to join the herd with its WFS709TP ProSafe Smart Wireless Controller.
This 1U rack system teams up with Netgear’s light access points, which can only take their configuration details from the switch.
Essentially, you manage all your security requirements from the switch, which automatically deploys them to the APs. Along with two light AP models, the switch works with some other standard Netgear APs, but these must be repurposed.
For testing, we deployed the Netgear products in our test network, where the switch had access to a Windows Server 2003 R2 domain controller providing DHCP and DNS services. Switch installation won’t take long, as its browser interface fires up a quick-start (if a tad sluggish) wizard.
Netgear’s modus operandi is simple, as switch ports are placed in different VLANs, to which you apply WLAN policies. The latter contains an SSID, encryption settings and an authentication mode, which can be an external RADIUS server or the switch’s own local database.
The switch uses the APs to monitor the airwaves and considers any other AP a rogue if it’s physically cabled to the network, or just interfering if it’s broadcasting in the same vicinity. Rogue APs can be disabled via policies where clients are disassociated from them, but we’re surprised Netgear gave no warning of this feature, as it can get you into a lot trouble if improperly used.
The Monitor tab provides a range of details about wireless activity, where you can view rogue and interfering APs and check on wireless performance. You also get a mapping feature to help with AP deployment, which is quite rudimentary in operation but could prove useful.
For testing, we kept one AP in the Labs and placed a second 50m away, then powered it over PoE through the building network infrastructure. The APs locate the switch and take their configuration from it, using ADP (Aruba Discovery Protocol).
We didn’t think much of Netgear’s abilities to detect other APs, as it only found two more in our office block – Cisco’s Wireless LAN controller and Aironet partnership found 14.
Also, the only APs Netgear found were Aruba models. Client roaming worked well, though, as we associated our laptop with the AP in the Labs and set up a continuous ping of our domain controller.
We wandered down the corridor and saw signal strength drop to around 20%, after which we were swapped over to the second AP. The ping timed out only twice and then continued unabated, making the process almost seamless.
If you can’t afford Cisco’s wireless security solution then Netgear is worth a look, although we were unimpressed with its ability to locate other APs, and the network planning facilities aren’t up to much, either.
This Review appeared in the April, 2008 issue of PC & Tech Authority Magazine
Source: Copyright © PC Pro, Dennis Publishing
Browse this Review: | <urn:uuid:3a3d9918-116f-4411-9398-9b849016edac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Review/136011,netgear-prosafe-smart-wireless-controller.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943089 | 703 | 1.59375 | 2 |
So, I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine that I thought I’d share. Conversations like this are pretty common for me. I find myself, as an absolute political junkie, constantly interjecting my opinions into conversations. I have friends of all stripes and many respect my opinion on things dealing with economics and politics. Others don’t. Still, I find the utter lack of interest in getting to the bottom of all things economic and political a bit disconcerting. The following is the conversation I had with a Democrat-leaning friend of mine recently. I’ll call him Ted, for the sake of anonymity. This transcript, while not perfect (I did not tape record it), is a pretty accurate representation of how the conversation went:
Ted: They didn’t pass the Buffett Rule today. This is such bullshit. I’m sick and tired of Republicans protecting the rich at the expense of the poor.
Me: How would you classify me? You know that I’m not a Republican, right?
Ted: Yeah, I know. You’re a libertarian. (Note: This was said in an almost mocking tone, haha.)
Me: I, for one, am glad that they didn’t pass the Buffett Rule. Do you want to know why?
Ted: Yes. Please enlighten me (Again with the mocking tone)
Me: Have you ever heard the term, “the seen and unseen?”
Ted: No, don’t think so.
Me: The seen and unseen refers to the hidden costs or benefits of doing something. Sometimes, no matter how benevolent you think you’re being, there are hidden costs that are being masked…but they are only masked by your decision to not reflect fully on these things to the end.
Ted: Ok. So what are the hidden costs of the Buffett Rule? Isn’t that what you are getting at?
Me: Precisely. So, let’s say we pass this Buffett Rule. Do you think that these multi-millionaires and billionaires have an incentive to invest in companies anymore? Better question: Do you think that by increasing the tax rate on income from investment that it would have an effect on whether or not those people invest?
Ted: I would think so. But, what does that have to do with me? I’m still not seeing the benefits here.
Me: Do you have an IRA account or other investment vehicle?
Ted: Yeah, I have a 401k.
Me: Well, what do you suppose will happen to all the stocks in your portfolio, should all or even a part of these investors decide that investment is no longer in their interest?
Ted: I don’t know…they’d go down, I guess.
Me: Yes. You are correct. They will drop like a rock. Now, how many people in America invest some of their savings into stocks in order to “get ahead” later on down the road?
Ted: I’d say a fair amount.
Me: So, who do you think is really going to be hurt the most by this rule? Do you think the big wealthy investors are going to be hurt by this or the middle-class investors? I think it’s obvious.
Ted: Ok. I see what you are getting at. I didn’t think about it that way. But, why would the Obama Administration not think of this? How come they don’t see the error in this?
Me: Truth be told, I do think they know about this. I think they know exactly what they are doing and they don’t care. It doesn’t fit into their narrative. They’re currently engaged in class warfare and trying to get the OWS crowd to vote for them. This fits better into their narrative. The Obama Administration is not actually interested in the working class or poor. They are interested in winning in November.
Ted: I don’t know if I believe that, but you convinced me on the Buffett Rule. Thanks.
Me: Well, just remember. Not everything is as neat and tidy as people try to package them. Sometimes there is more to the story. Sometimes you really need to dig deep down into the issue and reflect. Once you do that, you’ll be better prepared to see both the ‘seen’ and the ‘unseen’.
The Buffett Rule, the Obama Administration’s latest attempt to create class warfare and division amongst the citizenry of this great nation, is an absolute facade. Forty-seven billion dollars, while a lot of money, will only run the government for about ten to twelve days under the current administration’s spending binge. Forty-seven billion dollars is the estimated net revenue gained over the course of a decade from the Buffett Rule. The harm that it will do exceeds the benefits. We don’t have a revenue problem in this country. We absolutely do have a spending problem. The Obama Administration has never been serious about trying to curtail spending and fixing the underlying economic problems in this country. And so it continues. | <urn:uuid:dc51ac5a-98ac-4024-996d-3525bf09a48e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigskymusings.com/wordpress/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969076 | 1,086 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Here Are The Top 10 Funny Pi Day Tweets
March 14 (3-14), is the day when math enthusiasts all around the world celebrate Pi Day. Almost everybody knows (but we will mention it anyway) that Pi (3.141592…) is the value with which the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is calculated. To people who don’t like and those who don’t really care about mathematics, this might just be another boring number.
But for math devotees around the world, this number is considered to be ‘magical’ and ‘beautiful’. Ancient Egyptian and Greek scientists and mathematicians spent their lives trying to approximate its value. Hundreds of years later, math enthusiasts are still after it. Pi day, is therefore a day dedicated to the ‘magic’ and ‘beauty’ of this number. It is also the day when all mathematics nerds get a chance to gather and celebrate while the rest of the less intelligent beings live on with their lives without even knowing it is Pi Day. | <urn:uuid:1307e661-e815-4d2f-a120-6c310f45d93c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://carbonatedtv.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/here-are-the-top-10-funny-pi-day-tweets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942973 | 221 | 1.78125 | 2 |
May 20, 2013
Your search for Letters in Postal Service and Post Offices returned 657 articles
The Postal Service once had 55 centers where workers tried to decipher addresses rejected by scanning machines. In September, one of two remaining centers will close.May 4, 2013, Saturday
James Brannigan is the keeper of a mailroom that ensures that crucial documents get where they belong in neighborhoods where delivery has long been imperiled.February 28, 2013, Thursday
The Postal Service is planning to stop delivery of letters and other mail but will continue to handle packages, a move it said would save about $2 billion annually.February 7, 2013, Thursday
As lawmakers dither over reforms needed to cut ballooning deficits, the Postal Service wisely went ahead and eliminated Saturday delivery.February 7, 2013, Thursday
The United States Postal Service said Thursday that it would raise postage rates on Jan. 27, including a 1-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail to 46 cents.October 12, 2012, Friday
The Postal Service is arranging to provide basic services at groceries and other small retailers in rural parts of the country in an effort to maintain service while trimming costs.March 22, 2012, Thursday
The National Association of Letter Carriers and the Direct Marketing Association respond to an editorial.March 07, 2012, Wednesday
In northern Arkansas, people whose post offices are on a list of more than 3,600 being considered for closing have mounted campaigns to defend their communities’ lifelines.January 05, 2012, Thursday
Readers discuss whether the postal system can and should be fixed.December 15, 2011, Thursday
SEARCH 657 ARTICLES ABOUT POSTAL SERVICE:
Ray Arnold has been delivering mail for 34 years to a remote patch of Idaho in the northern Rocky Mountains, at a cost of $46,000 a year to the Postal Service.
The residents of tiny towns across the country learned last summer that their post offices were being studied for possible closing by the United States Postal Service.
Subscribe to an RSS feed on this topic. What is RSS? | <urn:uuid:9a835302-1b27-407d-817f-d8edf6bfbe36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/postal_service/index.html?query=Letters&field=des&match=exact | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943508 | 423 | 1.804688 | 2 |
I have started in my attempt to find all my 5x great-grandparents with a review of the existing data, the work needed and possible problems. I didn’t get very far before I realised that there was a good reason why I hadn’t identified these direct ancestors yet.
It is not going to be an easy project (if it was that easy then I would probably have found them already) for a number of reasons, there are a few specific issues like illegitimacy but several common issues, largely due to the dates I am talking about.
Specifically I am talking about a time before civil registration began in 1837 and before the first detailed census in 1841. So there is now marriage certificate to give me a father’s name, no birth certificates with a mother’s maiden name and no age or place of birth information from the census.
Although these obstacles are not uncommon and not insurmountable, when they are coupled with missing parish registers, illegitimacy and even a bit of migration within the country it can all add up to a major challenge.
In some cases it is going to mean a bit of guess-work to narrow down the choices to several likely parents and then work forwards trying to find evidence for children (and grandchildren) perhaps in a will or as an informant in a later birth or death certificate, hopefully building up enough evidence to prove a connection.
Fortunately most of these people lived locally (in Sussex, Kent and Hampshire) with only a few slightly further afield (Cumberland, Gloucestershire and possibly Somerset) which will be a bit harder to research, but not impossible.
My Ancestral Profile post a couple of days ago was the result of my first review of information. Since then I think I have found out what happened to Ann’s daughter (also called Ann) and where she was born (Heathfield, Sussex) but still need to prove it. Checking my dates it is quite possible that Ann was the daughter of Francis HOWLETT but I just don’t have the hard evidence to back it up yet. | <urn:uuid:7ba7410e-cda9-4bd0-a7e6-18454d49a395> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wanderinggenealogist.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/why-so-many-of-my-5x-great-grandparents-are-missing/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=0df65f7478 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975314 | 435 | 1.507813 | 2 |
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