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The dog has a blanket on the couch; it’s her customary place.
Since the weather has cooled off, Jeff has an increased fondness for blankets. This morning he decided he liked the couch blanket.
The dog had been on it at the time.
After the dog had been banished, the blanket scene heated up further when Rita arrived to investigate availability.
Couch blanket demand, it seems, greatly outpaced supply.
- – - – -
EDIT: Staff will respond to several questions submitted by commenters:
“Do you have a couch for your Mom?”
- Jeff generously permits Staff to use any furniture he is not currently using.
“It’s time for Staff to go blanket shopping.”
- Staff stocks many blankets and distributes them widely. Staff has concluded that there will never, ever be enough blankets.
“Where is Norman, and does the dog have a name?”
- Generally Norman is hiding in the closet or burrowed under a blanket. He appears each evening promptly at dinnertime to ensure that Staff is on schedule.
- Staff calls the dog Hazel. Staff is not aware of Jeff acknowledging the other creatures by name.
“Is Rita Jeff’s sister or girlfriend?”
- Neither. Their relationship is best categorized as frenemies. | <urn:uuid:872d20cf-2daa-4520-b173-636d93f10bd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jeffthegiantorangecat.com/2008/10/14/supply-and-demand/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959812 | 282 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Holidays can be less stressful if you take the time to plan ahead. Leaving things to the last minute and procrastinating can lead to a lot of overwhelming feelings, so why not take a few easy steps now to help yourself to feel good and enjoy the holiday with less stress? The following are a list of simple things that can help make this holiday season a little less stressful:
1. Most importantly, it helps to plan ahead. Take a minute right now and think of what your budget is, and what things you have in mind for the holidays and write it all down. Writing things down is a very effective tool for staying organized and relieving stress, especially around holiday time.
2. Start early. Remember that buying even one small gift or two a week can help trememdously if you begin now. Vow to make this year different from last year when you waited until the last minute and were completely stressed. Avoid long lines in overheated stores and malls by beginning the shopping process one step at a time.
3. Make lists for holiday gift giving and for all the things you need to accomplish in life. List writing relieves stress because it helps to give us a sense of control over sometimes overwhelming circumstances. List writing does work. Take some time alone with a notebook or legal pad, something with a lot of pages. Take one page for each list and then place all of your lists into a file that you can mark holiday or whatever is most helpful to you. I have found this to be essential for dealing with holiday shopping and tasks, and for just about everything I need to do. Trust me it works.
4. Look for sales each week in your local paper advertisements, and all year long. For example, did you know that a lot of toys are on sale in the month of October? It is helpful to stay informed about sales, even if that means shopping months ahead. Saving money will help you stress levels to decrease.
5. Shop online as much as possible. This can save you time, money, energy and stress in the long run. At holiday time too, a lot of online stores offer free shipping which can really be a nice thing.
6. Remember to be kind to yourself by doing things that make you feel good and are important to you personally. There is no worse feeling that taking care of everyone elses needs and forgetting about your own. That only leads to feelings of regret and unhappiness. Remember that you are important and begin today to take good care of yourself. Start small with baby steps if you need to. Keep a main list of things you need to do and a personal list of things you want to do for only you. This will help you to feel better not only at holiday time but every day.
7. Remember the true meaning of the holiday. Is spending time with your family the most important thing for you? Or is spending time alone to be at peace and get in touch with yourself more important? Maybe itís a little of both that you need. It is okay to celebrate the holidays in whatever way makes you happy. Itís okay to be different. You do not have to conform to the expectations of everyone else. Just do what makes you feel happy and appreciative of the holiday season. There are no offcial rules for what you should do at holiday time. Just remember to take some time to be grateful for the many good things you have in your life. | <urn:uuid:33353262-cc25-46e4-b208-79b39075ba1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art59172.asp | 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 | 0.96553 | 702 | 1.585938 | 2 |
What do you look for in a book?
A certain writing style, work of art or just a good story that drives you to another place.
I discovered all of those things and more rolled into one giant bundle in Douglas Perry’s The Girls of Murder City, Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay and Joshilyn Jackson’s a grown-up kind of pretty.
The Girls of Murder City
“Both went for the gun!” W.W. O’Brien called out … They (the defense) would present their client as a “virtuous working girl” caught up in a crazy age.
Perry put storytelling and description together with quality research to bring to life the women of Cook County Jail’s Murderess Row. He also goes inside the newspaper world and how women writers were lucky to cover courtroom or crime stories. Maurine Watkins, a pastor’s daughter, became a front page journalist during a time when a reporter was considered lucky to have his or her name with a story.
Go get it now and read about battles inside the newspaper business, in cars, apartments and courtrooms.
It will tell you, like the song, “He had it coming.”
“‘I still stand by what I said. Do you want me to lie about it?’” he (Gale) said. “‘No, I want you to rethink it and come up with the right opinion,’” I tell him.
Katniss Everdeen must do more than recover. She must deal with the fact District 12 is no more, Peeta Mellark has been taken by the Capitol, and District 13 does exist. While she is upheld as the Mockingjay, she remains uncertain as to whether District 13′s President Coin is any better than President Snow.
The book kept me wanting more. Unlike the other two books, I needed to stop because there were very emotional and disturbing scenes. Suzanne Collins does a great job of making the reader think about causes of war. She makes you think of reasons for war and how far is too far.
Katniss faces emotional scars that will never fully heal. In that respect, Collins does a good job exposing YA readers to what war is like for veterans.
The ending leaves a few loose ends. There are a few unanswered questions. One of the problems I had throughout the trilogy was: Who is Katniss’ mother? Her father, who was dead, was more fully developed. I realize that is because Katniss lacked respect for her mother. But, I expected a little something.
a grown-up kind of pretty
My daughter, Liza, put her heart in a silver box and buried it under the willow tree in our backyard.
If you read my posts, you’ve seen mention of Joshilyn Jackson. A grown-up kind of pretty blows all of Jackson’s other books out of the water. This is her masterpiece thus far. She gives a voice to three characters instead of just one: a grandmother, a rebellious mother and a teenage girl coming of age.
Every 15 years something bad happens to the Slocumb family. Forty-five-year-old Ginny hopes her granddaughter, Mosey, will be spared the family curse. But, when an old grave is discovered beneath Liza’s—Ginny’s daughter—beloved tree, questions arise. Ginny tries to keep Mosey protected. Mosey wants to discover the past, and Liza suffers a stroke keeping the secrets locked inside her.
Mystery, murder, betrayal, family and romance are all in the book. None of the voices were as vivid and heart-breaking as Liza. Jackson writes her in third person. When I attended Jackson’s book signing months earlier, she said she felt too close to Liza to have written her in first person.
All three narrators blend well together, and the reader wants to keep turning the page. You’ll read until Jackson’s words knock the breath out of you.
By Rebecca T. Dickinson
- Book Review: The Hunger Games (rebeccatdickinson.wordpress.com)
- Book Review: Catching Fire (rebeccatdickinson.wordpress.com) | <urn:uuid:de2a3a31-d279-451a-b54c-9a7fe8d3db70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rebeccatdickinson.com/2012/10/28/book-review-triple-threat-sunday/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965484 | 907 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Whether they're annexed or form their own city, residents of the area of Franklin County known as the "doughnut hole" are about to have their lives changed.
The rural neighborhood filled with rambling homes and horse pastures won't be an unincorporated part of the county much longer.
Whether the doughnut hole becomes part of Pasco or a new city remains uncertain, but each side is digging in and fighting for its position -- Citizens for Lifestyle Preservation by turning in signatures on an incorporation petition, and Pasco by moving forward with public hearings to annex part of the doughnut hole despite a lawsuit trying to stop it.
On Friday, county auditors certified that the citizen group had the 268 registered voters it needs to put the measure to a vote.
For doughnut hole residents who oppose annexation, the issue is a quintessentially American one of independence, choice and property rights.
"This is an aggressive takeover of an area that doesn't want it," said Mark MacFarlan, one of the chief proponents of incorporating the doughnut hole as its own city.
But for Pasco city officials, it's a matter of need and efficiency.
City officials have said they can provide services more efficiently by annexing the area, which is an island of county land surrounded by the city.
The annexation would bring more money into the city's budget through property taxes from the doughnut hole, and by boosting the city's share of state gas taxes, liquor taxes and liquor profits -- money that's paid out based on population.
Regardless of which proposal wins, the doughnut hole's fate could have ripple effects throughout the Tri-Cities. The Herald is taking a look at the pros and cons of annexation and incorporation to give residents a glimpse at what shape the future might take for this part of Franklin County -- and the surrounding area.
The city began public discussions about annexation in July 2011, when the council opted to try negotiating an agreement with Franklin Fire District 3 and the Franklin County Commission on the details of annexing the area, which has been earmarked for future city growth since the '90s.
The doughnut hole area generally is south of Argent Road between Road 100 on the west and Road 44 to the east and Sylvester and Court streets to the south.
Hundreds of residents poured into several public meetings on the issue, many of them voicing concerns or fears that annexation would alter the rural character of the doughnut hole that attracted them to live there.
Primary among those concerns was that annexation would result in denser development -- more houses, closer together -- and that they wouldn't be able to keep the horse pastures and wide, open spaces that they love.
In May, a newly formed group called Citizens for Lifestyle Preservation announced plans to create its own city and began gathering petition signatures to take the incorporation proposal to a vote.
Franklin County commissioners then chose to stay out of annexation discussions to maintain neutrality on what had become a controversial issue.
With talks failing and the effort under way to incorporate a new city called Riverview, the Pasco City Council on June 18 voted 4-3 to go ahead with annexing a portion of the doughnut hole using powers of attorney agreeing to annexation that were signed by a number of doughnut hole residents when they became Pasco water customers.
City Manager Gary Crutchfield told the council at the time that they could make a pre-emptive strike against incorporation by pulling enough residents out of the potential new city and into Pasco to stop the new city from forming.
Riverview would need to have at least 3,000 residents to be eligible for an incorporation vote under state law. About 4,000 people live in the doughnut hole, but the annexation currently under way would absorb about 1,400 of those -- leaving fewer than 3,000 and killing incorporation efforts.
Mayor Matt Watkins, Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Francik and Councilmen Saul Martinez and Mike Garrison voted in favor of initiating the annexation using the utility agreements.
Councilmen Al Yenney, Tom Larsen and Bob Hoffmann voted no.
In September, members of Citizens for Lifestyle Preservation sued in Franklin County Superior Court trying to stop the annexation.
The lawsuit claims that some of the utility agreements used to start the annexation were invalid because they weren't properly notarized.
A response filed by the city claims that it wasn't necessary to have the documents notarized anyway and that the people who filed the suit misread the state's annexation law. The city is asking the judge to dismiss the suit.
A hearing is set in the case Monday.
Doughnut hole residents took a step toward forming their own city Oct. 3 when they delivered an estimated 982 signatures to Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton.
On Friday, Beaton's staff finished verifying the signatures to make sure each person who signed is a registered voter in the area and that the signature matches the registration.
Beaton will now notify the county commission to set a public hearing within 60 days.
If the county commissioners don't object, the incorporation measure then goes to a special election 60 days or more after the hearing, according to information from the auditor's office. It takes a simple majority to pass, but if fewer than 40 percent of voters are in favor, the measure can't be put on the ballot again for three years.
Separate elections have to be held for offices such as the mayor and city council members.
Proponents of incorporation have said that the new city won't have a city hall or city departments, but instead will contract with other jurisdictions or companies for typical municipal services such as police and fire protection, road maintenance, utilities and trash pick-up. Positions such as the mayor and city council members would be filled by volunteers.
They say that they're planning for the new city by looking at other examples of cities that have incorporated and then contracted for services.
Two of those proponents -- Roger Lenk and Jack Martincavage -- said they have experience working in contract cities like the one they're looking to form.
Martincavage previously lived in Lakewood, Calif., which became the nation's first contract city when it formed in 1954 as a way to avoid being annexed by nearby Long Beach.
He served as one of the city's public safety commissioners in the '70s and was one of the fire department's chief officers, he told the Herald.
"It's almost a blueprint of how to go about this," he said of Lakewood's history.
MacFarlan said he believes the new city would be in a position to negotiate better rates for some services than residents now pay.
What he believes is just as important as the details of how the new city would work, is that the new city would give its residents a chance to control their own destiny and preserve their property rights.
"We will be a truly representative city," he said. "You will know the people who represent you."
Meanwhile, despite the lawsuit, Pasco is proceeding with steps toward annexation with public hearings before the planning commission at 7 p.m. Thursday and the city council at 7 p.m. Oct. 29.
"We can keep moving forward. That's what the city intends to do," Crutchfield said. "If the court tells us we have to stop, we'll stop."
The Oct. 29 hearing theoretically is the last step before the council can take a final vote to annex the land. City officials said it's unlikely the council will make a decision the same night, but a vote could come before the end of the year depending on how the council decides to proceed.
The city recently completed a fact-finding process involving a committee made up of doughnut hole residents.
Crutchfield said the city sent letters to all of the property owners in the portion of the doughnut hole being annexed, which includes close to everything between Road 52 and Road 68 south of a Franklin County Irrigation District canal. There are about 500 homes in the area with a collective value of about $121 million.
The city received 20 applications, and selected 12 people to sit on the committee and evaluate a matrix comparing current conditions on a variety of issues -- such as taxes, fees, zoning, police and fire protection -- to those residents would experience in the city.
Applicants were asked whether they agreed with annexation, disagreed or were neutral or needed more information. Documents provided by the city indicate that of the 12 members, one person -- MacFarlan -- was against annexation. He also was the only person of the 20 who applied who indicated he opposed annexation.
Three members of the committee identified themselves as favoring annexation. The remaining eight members said on their applications that they're neutral or needed more information.
The document produced by the committee was published about a week ago and is available on the city's website.
The group plans a public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Mark Twain Elementary School to answer questions about the comparison document.
MacFarlan told the Herald he thought committee participants overall did thoughtful work, but he expressed some skepticism about the city's screening process for selecting members.
"I think a lot of the individuals were sincere, but I think a large number were placed there by the city," he said.
And he said that while he believes most of the facts presented in the comparison document are accurate, he questions whether comparing city vs. county was the right question to ask from the start.
"The question isn't just, 'What are the taxes going to be?' " he said. "The question is, 'Will the quality of life be the same?' " | <urn:uuid:c8c4332c-d03e-493f-86d5-7d8480ba1eb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/10/14/2135000/circumstances-of-franklin-county.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973298 | 1,980 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Getting and Keeping Custody of Your Children
Authored By: Legal Services Alabama
What can I do to get a Court to give me custody of my children?
- Be a good parent.
- Spend quality time with your children so they feel loved and cared for.
- When you have to leave your children alone with someone, make very sure that person is able to care for them. The person has to be old enough to know how to meet children's needs.
- Keep your children away from people who could hurt them. This includes people who use illegal drugs and people who drink too much.
- Do not leave your children with others for too long. You need some time to yourself away from work, but if you spend too little time with your children, it will look like you do not want them.
- Make sure your children see a dentist, see a doctor and, if they need one, see a counselor.
- Have your children get their shots, and keep records of the shots.
- Follow advice your children's doctor gives you.
- Talk to your children's teachers and other care givers. Learn how your children are doing in school. Learn about any problems your children have - and what you can do to help correct those problems.
- Make sure your children are safe, both physically and emotionally.
- Make sure your children always use a seat belt or child seat.
- Make sure your children are clean.
- Make sure your children eat healthy food.
- Make sure your home is clean.
- Be loving, understanding and patient when your children need discipline.
- Do not say bad things about your children's other parent when your children could hear.
- Do not yell, scream or curse around or at your children.
- Be on your best behavior.
- Don't let someone of the opposite sex stay into the late hours or overnight while your children are home.
- Don't use illegal drugs. Remember the Court may have you take a drug test.
- Use alcohol only in moderation.
- If you drink, do not drive. Never drive with your children in the car after you have been drinking.
- Spend time only with people who have a good reputation.
- Keep in mind that in a custody case, your children's other parent may have someone watching you.
- Someone may question your children to get information to use against you.
- Keep a journal or calendar making a record of visitation, calls from or to the other parent and of other things which will be important to your case.
- Call your lawyer or shelter worker if you have questions about this list.
If there's a Court order and my husband isn't following it, do I have to?
- Yes. You will do better in Court.
- If you think that your children would be harmed by following an order, call your lawyer or shelter worker about what you can do.
Can I let my husband see my children more than the Court order says?
- This is usually a bad idea. You risk having your husband argue that he is doing more for the children.
- At the same time, you do not want the Court to think you are keeping your children from their father for no good reason.
- Never deny your husband the visitation ordered by the Court.
What if my husband is not seeing the children when it's time for his visitation?
- This will make it less likely that he will ever get custody.
- You should try to let your children keep a bond with their father.
What if the Court gave custody to my husband?
- Take advantage of any visitation which has been ordered by the Court.
- In addition, try to get your husband to agree to let you spend more time with your child.
What if I have to move?
- You usually must give your husband notice.
- Read about moving when you have custody or visitation rights.
If there's no Court order yet, what should I do?
- If the children are with you, be careful about letting your husband see them. He may not return them.
- If your children are staying with your husband, take advantage of any visitation you can get.
Reviewed November 2007
AlabamaLegalHelp.org offers legal information, not legal advice. We try hard to make sure this website accurately explains your rights and options. However, the site does not apply the law to your personal facts. For this sort of legal advice, you should call a lawyer. To apply for free legal services in Alabama, call the Legal Services Alabama office that is closest to where you live OR call toll-free 1-866-456-4995. You can also apply online at intake.alsp.org. | <urn:uuid:ffed9674-5d2b-4a8e-b4da-a34959bafc51> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alabamalegalhelp.org/resource/getting-and-keeping-custody-of-your-children?ref=WYsC6 | 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 | 0.960123 | 981 | 1.539063 | 2 |
BPI recognizes the heroic efforts of BPI Certified Building Analyst Carl Harvey, who saved the life of a homeowner when he detected a potentially lethal Carbon Monoxide leak while replacing a hot water heater. Harvey recognized CO deposits in the piping, and immediately urged the homeowner, who had been feeling sick for weeks, to consult a doctor. The doctor confirmed CO poisoning in the blood at near lethal levels, and the homeowner received immediate treatment. Carl commented that he “was doing what he was trained to do.” The now healthy homeowner alerted local American Red Cross chapter of what had happened, and nominated Carl for the Industrial Safety Award – which he then received at the annual American Red Cross Real Heroes Breakfast in Syracuse, New York.
Great job Carl!
It's nice to see the occassional acknowledgement of the good that is done by those in our line of work.
I noted that the new water heater is an electric one :)
I don't think I've ever seen "CO deposits" though.
It's interesting that Carl could taste something, maybe the oxides??
Well, let's see...
The flue was 'gone'. I believe that meant it had been removed or was completely rusted out, it's hard to say.
The pipes, but which pipes?, had carbon monoxide deposits on them. Having analyzed zillions of deposits in one of my former lives, maybe he meant what was left of the flue had carbon deposits on it, or had ferric oxide deposits on it(rust), or he meant that the gas pipe had a deposit on it, or maybe the hot water pipe out of the heater had the typical white deposit that forms on a steel inlet, or that it had a green copper oxide on copper deposit on it? It's a mystery, call in Sherlock!
Carbon monoxide deposits? certainly not.
He is correct that CO in air has a metallic taste, if you can still taste up to the moment it knocks you unconscious, and then kills you.
The story, however, sounds completely true, and that does make him a hero, despite the lack of chemical knowledge. There's nothing like a great 'burner man', they're mostly gone from society.
NYSWDA is very proud of Carl Harvey for his heroic action. Since starting his employment at The Cayuga -Seneca Community Action Weatherization Department Carl has attended many trainings and received his BPI certifications at NYSWDA's Energy Efficiency Training Center in Syracuse, NY. We ar very honored to train and test some of the most decicated and hardworking weatherization professionals in the nation. Out thanks to all the crew and auditors that work in the NY State Weatherization Assistance Program !!!
Carl Harvey also went far beyond the RESNET code of ethics for contractors, and should be lauded as such. | <urn:uuid:c97c0a5a-7e7a-4910-a5ee-ed0ae98413fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/group/bpi/forum/topics/bpi-certified-repairman-saves-woman-s-life-by-recognizing-carbon?commentId=6069565%3AComment%3A104220&groupId=6069565%3AGroup%3A2214 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982202 | 581 | 1.757813 | 2 |
How to Cut CarbsAre you interested in reducing the amount of carbohydrate you eat? Maybe you think you may be eating too much sugar, or want to lose weight, or want to control your blood sugar. This e-course is designed to help you identify where carbs lurk in your diet, and to help you discover choices that lower the carbohydrate load on your body. Whether you want to follow a truly low-carb way of eating or just cut back on carbs, this course can help. You'll receive one email per day for 16 days, and if you follow even a few of the tips you'll receive, your body will thank you. If you'd rather view this course online instead of in email, Go Here for the Web Version. Note: If you want to start right in on a low-carb diet plan, check out:
Is your email box being filtered for spam? Don't let your newsletters end up in the trash. To ensure that you receive your mailings, please configure your spam filters to bypass any messages with a from address that ends in "about.com" (ex: email@example.com). For more detailed information, please see our Email GuideSite. | <urn:uuid:b69bf797-2edc-468b-87fd-b6452d0f8ba9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/c/ec/12.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937242 | 243 | 1.78125 | 2 |
County's Unemployment Rate Tops 11%
BERLIN - Shrinking 'help wanted' columns in local newspapers and 'closed for the winter' signs outside of businesses are normal for Worcester County in the fall, but no one expected to see Worcester's unemployment rate hit 11.2 percent in November.
The November rate is 4 percentage points higher than the 7.2 percent unemployment rate posted in November 2007.
Nearly 3,000 Worcester County residents were out of work in November, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, totaling 2,932 unemployed of a 26,106-person workforce.
In 2008, the unemployment rate dropped steadily from an early high unemployment rate of 10.5 percent last January until September when it began trending upward again from the lowest rate of the year, August's 4.2 percent. The rate jumped from 4.7 percent in September 2008 to 7.4 percent in October 2008.
Worcester's average unemployment rate for the first 11 months of 2008 is 6.8 percent.
Unemployment statewide is less than half that of Worcester County, with preliminary November numbers at 5.1 percent.
The national unemployment rate stands at 6.7 percent.
Historically Worcester County posts higher jobless rates than much of the rest of Maryland, but November numbers hover around seven or eight percent over the past few years.
'A high rate in Worcester County is pretty much a normal thing,' said Jim Wolfe of the Salisbury unemployment office. 'We're seeing a heck of a lot more [jobless claims] than we did.'
Jobs in northern Worcester County have dried up as usual over the holidays, said Fran Meyers, who until this week ran Ocean City Baptist Church's free job match service.
In November, Meyers placed 29 people in jobs, but few since then.
'You don't usually do anything until middle of January, the third week of January, and then you'll get maybe a couple,' Meyers said.
The recession has caused more and earlier lay offs, according to local businesses.
The county's November unemployment numbers are the first to truly reflect expected seasonal unemployment, as many businesses close down or reduce staff when the shoulder season winds down in October.
December unemployment numbers will not be available until later in January, but are expected to surpass the November rate. | <urn:uuid:ff3faa67-77f4-4463-bfd7-e747becdfe53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/articles/2012/12/14/Top-Stories/Countys-Unemployment-Rate-Tops-11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95469 | 483 | 1.648438 | 2 |
DAVID WINSTON: What I'm saying is, 70% of this country doesn't like this idea. There's a unique opportunity for Muslims to show, look, we understand Americans have difficulty with this, and we're willing to have, to move somewhere else. There's just a sense of like, look, if we're going to cooperate and get along, and things are going to work, people are going to have to understand the concerns that other folks have --
CENK UYGUR: So you're saying, you're saying two things from what I'm hearing. One is, if 70% of the country is ignorant, we should back that up. If they don't know the Constitution or they think Muslims are the same as al Qaeda, we should back that up.
Cenk suggests that those "ignorant" Americans "don't know the Constitution." But if he had taken the time to inform himself of the poll question that CNN had put to people, and which generated the overwhelming response, he would have found that it read [emphasis added]:
"As you may know, a group of Muslims in the U.S. plan to build a mosque two blocks from the site in New York City where the World Trade Center used to stand. Do you favor or oppose this plan?"
So that 70% [68% to be precise] weren't asked, and weren't opining, that they thought Muslims didn't have a right to build the mosque. They were simply expressing their personal opinion to the effect that they "oppose the plan." And that is their constitutional right. So who's ignorant now? | <urn:uuid:44d9ee69-170f-4738-a255-81be156426a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsbusters.org/print/40860 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985388 | 336 | 1.523438 | 2 |
It took playing opposite an imaginary rabbit in the play "Harvey" for Frank Fay to secure his legacy in Hollywood.
Born Francis Anthony Donner in San Francisco, he took the professional name of Frank Fay after concluding that his birth name was not suitable for the stage.
Fay was a headliner in the prosperous era of vaudeville during the 1920s. While playing the famed Palace Theater in New York he was its highest-paid performer, drawing $17,500 weekly.
He invaded the films as a master of ceremonies in "Show of Shows" in 1929. Besides numerous film appearances, in 1950 Fay wrote, composed, produced and appeared in a revue, "If You Please," in San Francisco.
Points of interest | <urn:uuid:9437737b-8ae9-4caa-b0d7-3bb6178602a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/frank-fay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981982 | 152 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Feminist Economics receives grant for food security
Mar 29, 2011
The Ford Foundation has granted $250,000 to the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE), in support of a project on "Land, Gender, and Food Security," according to the Nebraska State Paper.
The IAFFE was started in 1990 after a group of women economists met and held discussions at the American Economic Association Conference in Washington, D.C., according to the group's official website.
The group plans to use the Ford Foundation grant to study land leases and acquisitions in developing countries, and how women are involved in land and agriculture.
"The impacts of these land acquisitions on poor women farmers and consumers have been overlooked in most of the discussions to date. The support from the Ford Foundation will allow the association to bring key gender issues into the debates among researchers and activists," Ann Mari May, an economics professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where IAFFE is based, told the news source.
Part of the money will also be spent to support scholars from Africa, where the IAFFE says "traditionally underrepresented voices" should be given a chance to present their views. | <urn:uuid:68d6af6d-c4f1-4991-9bdd-4834e0e7029c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/ths/article/Feminist-Economics-receives-grant-for-food-security784 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947418 | 243 | 1.664063 | 2 |
"Titanic: The Tennis Story" Book Tells of Survivor Overcoming Near Leg Amputation to Win Modern-Day US Open
NEW YORK, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new book - TITANIC: THE TENNIS STORY by Lindsay Gibbs ($12.95, New Chapter Press) - tells the incredible stories of tennis players Dick Williams and Karl Behr, who survived the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago on April 15, met on the rescue ship Carpathia, and went on to become teammates on the U.S. Davis Cup team and, incredibly, faced each other in the quarterfinals of the 1914 U.S. Championships (the modern-day US Open). Williams nearly had his legs amputated after surviving the night in the frigid water and went on to win the U.S. singles title two years after the tragedy. Behr first asked his girlfriend Helen Newsom to marry him on the Titanic and survived by a stroke of luck, being allowed into the second lifeboat before panic and the passengers realized the gravity of the event.
"Everyone I talk to about this book simply cannot believe this story," said Gibbs, a New York University film school graduate and blogger for www.TennisGrandstand.com. "It's more fascinating, heroic and romantic than the James Cameron movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Here, the love interests survive and the hero wins the modern-day US Open."
Behr, from New York, was a standout player at Yale and a Wimbledon doubles finalist in 1907 . Williams, whose father was killed on the Titanic, became a star at Harvard, a two-time U.S. singles champion (1914, 1916) and a Wimbledon doubles champion in 1920. He was a long-time resident of Philadelphia.
The book is the first novel for Gibbs, originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, now a resident of New York.
Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press is also the publisher of Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection by Rene Stauffer, The Bud Collins History of Tennis by Bud Collins, The Education of a Tennis Player by Rod Laver, The Wimbledon Final That Never Was by Sidney Wood, Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion's Toughest Match by Cliff Richey, Tennis Made Easy by Kelly Gunterman, On This Day In Tennis History by Randy Walker, A Player's Guide To USTA League Tennis by Tony Serksnis, Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli, The Lennon Prophecy by Joe Niezgoda among others.
Managing Partner, New Chapter Media
(917) 770-0843 or Rwalker@NewChapterMedia.com
SOURCE New Chapter PressBack to top | <urn:uuid:95631ae5-c616-4171-a511-f6d714943fe0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mediawebsite.net/elpaso/story/?catSetID=7007&catID=290682&nrid=143306366&page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934185 | 586 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Locking a post has very severe consequences for a post, you cannot
- Upvote or downvote on it
- Edit it
- Vote to close or reopen it
- comment on it
- Add new answers to it
Because of these severe consequences I usually avoid locking altogether and try to deal with the problem in other ways. Locking just has far too severe side-effects for my tase, I don't want to prevent anyone from voting or answering just because there is an edit-war on the post.
We now also have some locking reasons, ignoring the historical significance reason as it isn't relevant here, they are the following:
This post has been locked while disputes about its content are being resolved. For more info visit meta.
This post has been locked due to the high amount of off-topic comments generated. For extended discussions, please use chat.
Both are common reasons for locking a post, and in both cases the locking is there to prevent only a small subset of what locking actually stops.
Those locking reasons shouldn't only be a text attached to the lock, but they should also change the behaviour of the locks:
- A lock for off-topic comments should only prevent new comments
- A lock due to an edit war should only prevent edits to the post
This would make using those locks less disruptive, and more useful to moderators. | <urn:uuid:705347e5-6eef-4353-878e-7841321264fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/124749/make-locking-posts-more-granular | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956397 | 282 | 1.78125 | 2 |
For a long time I've wondered how some people photograph their handmade items to make them look like they are floating on a white background. I didn't know enough about photography to even think of how to search for that technique. So I was super excited when I saw this tutorial on how to make your own macro photo studio.
First I'll show you how to make the macro photo studio, then I'll show you what it does!
- Large Cardboard Box
- Duct Tape and Regular Tape
- Tissue Paper
- Exacto Knife and Scissors
- White Poster Board
First, cut large squares out of three sides of your cardboard box, leaving one inch of cardboard around the edges. Do not cut the bottom of the box and one side. This uncut side will be the new bottom of your box and the original bottom will now be the back of your photo studio.
Next, attach tissue paper to the three sides of your box. The easiest way to do this is to secure the tissue paper with regular tape in the corners and then go over the entire side with duct tape. The tissue paper will diffuse the light around the subject you are shooting.
The last step is to cut your poster board to the width of your box. Secure one end of the poster board strip to the top back of your box then allow it to drape naturally down the back of your photo studio. This will create the white background for your pictures.
Now that your photo studio is finished you can experiment with different lighting to see what you like the best. I have three examples below of how to set up different lighting effects and what it does to your subject. Remember my Little Man Shoes?
Place the photo studio in a room with lots of natural, diffused light and this is the effect you get:If you put it in bright, direct sunlight you get soft shadows:
And with artificial light you get a more warm glow to the picture:
It's really a personal preference and I imagine you'd want to photograph different items in different light. Which is your favorite? | <urn:uuid:8bb5259e-6779-4869-9bc9-7c06a1ed4552> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://createstudio.blogspot.com/2011/03/make-your-own-macro-photo-studio.html?showComment=1300390899829 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941664 | 425 | 1.710938 | 2 |
On Tuesday, Election Day, voters made a collective decision that should not have been theirs to make: who would spend the next eight years overseeing the daily operations of Alexandria Circuit Court — and get paid $128,000 annually to do it.
The race between incumbent Ed Semonian, a Democrat, and Chris Marston, a Republican, devolved into a grudge match between two people and two parties. It had all the makings of a thrilling political battle in which each candidate, intent on defending their deep-seated beliefs on the economy, education, health care and abortion rights, clash on the issues that matter to the electorate.
Except there’s nothing controversial about managing an office, which is essentially what clerk of the court does. Yet, for no good reason, this position is on the ballot every eight years, eroding the potential for progress.
Sure, the position is no cakewalk. It’s just like any job: dedication, commitment and a good work ethic are necessary. But the skill set required is based mostly in organization and management; much of the job consists of maintaining and distributing documents — albeit important documents. No doubt this requires a trustworthy person, and a person of integrity, like Mr. Semonian, who has the responsibility of swearing in new city council members among other pomp and circumstance.
Voting along party lines for court clerk is like firing your mailman because he believes in health care reform. Personal beliefs are irrelevant to the job.
Clerk of the court is a nonpartisan position. The seat itself is inherently apolitical. In fact, its office sits in what supposedly is the most apolitical institution in America: the court.
Yet these facts could not protect the race from becoming a partisan battle of irrelevant politics. The Alexandria Democratic Committee put their weight behind Semonian while the Alexandria Republican City Committee boasted Chris Marston as their candidate. All of a sudden the administrative position at a (literally) 9-to-5 operation became a coveted throne of false political importance.
Virginia’s code should be amended to remove the positions of clerk of the court, commonwealth’s attorney and sheriff from the ballot. Rather than create a cushy, 8-year-guaranteed government job, the positions should be filled via an interview process at City Hall that promotes competition, merit and progress.
In the meantime, Mr. Semonian should strive to make the technological advancements he says he wants but lacks money to implement. But how? The city council should cut the position’s extravagant $128,000 salary and reallocate the money for improvements. Or, as an elected official, perhaps Mr. Semonian could sacrifice some of it himself. | <urn:uuid:e82031ea-afcf-4012-a1f1-4eb28617e5d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://alextimes.com/2011/11/our-view-court-clerk-has-no-business-on-ballot/?pagenum=3&sort=id&dir=DESC | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959197 | 558 | 1.625 | 2 |
This is the same bill that he introduced last session and passed his chamber with 89 votes, before failing in the Senate by a vote of 38 to 24.
If adopted into law the proposal would amend the domestic relations law to allow same-sex couples the same opportunity to enter into civil marriages as opposite-sex couples. Additionally, it ensures that no member of the clergy can be compelled to perform any marriage ceremonies.
This measure comes on the heels of a report from the IDC, which laid out the economic case for same-sex marriage. Their summary was:
Recognizing marriage between same sex partners in New York State would create $310,567,652 in increased revenue and economic activity during the next three years, with potential savings of $80,848,457. | <urn:uuid:ca7635ee-4d58-4235-a299-868a31aa1782> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dailygazettepolitics.blogspot.com/ | 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 | 0.967749 | 160 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Cities Court Craft Breweries
The number of U.S. breweries is at a 125 year high with 350 new breweries opening in the past year, according to stats released on Monday by the Brewers Association. Beer drinkers aren’t the only ones enjoying this growth; craft breweries have caught the eyes of local officials and economic developers and they are encouraging the development, growth, and attraction of these companies.
Over the past couple of years a number of cities launched attraction campaigns to land the east-coast expansions of some of the largest western craft brewers. Roanoke’s bid to lure Chico, CA based Sierra Nevada included calls from senior political figures, $13 million in incentives, and vials of local water. Philadelphia marketed the city’s thriving craft beer scene in their campaign for Fort Collins, CO based New Belgium Brewery (maker of the popular Fat Tire Amber Ale) while dangling millions in tax incentives.
Both companies, along with Lyons, CO based Oskar Blues, chose brewing hotspot Asheville, NC (and its surrounding region) as their second home, adding to the city’s growing “craft beer cluster.”
Cities aren’t just looking to attract established breweries; Wildomar, CA has sought to ease regulations to make their community more appealing to would-be brewers. Mesa, AZ will soon have its first brewery as a result of a concerted effort to revitalize its downtown Main Street. Mesa chose to focus on breweries because of their ability to “become magnets” and “drive a lot of people to an area” as well as citizen support for a local brewery.
In addition to Asheville, NC’s successes, there are a number of craft brewery focused efforts in North Carolina. The State has adopted legislation to be more hospitable to breweries. The North Carolina Hop Project is experimenting with local hop production. Appalachian State University (ASU) offers a student-run microbrew, brewing courses and has a full-fledged degree program in the works. ASU has also partnered with the North Carolina Bio Technology Center to create the N.C. Craft Beverage Regional Exchange to bring together the brewery industry for networking and seminars.
Why all the attention to breweries? Well, aside from the fact that beer is delicious, craft breweries are extremely desirable from an economic development standpoint. They contribute to “place making,” are growth-oriented exporters, and attract tourists.
Craft breweries help define a sense of place and local identity.
Place making, one of the more nebulous urban policy areas, refers to the desire to create unique and distinct locations where people want to live, visit, experience, and spend money. Local businesses play an important role in place making because they provide unique flavor and experiences that differentiates a city from the sea of endless chain experiences. Within this context, local breweries emerge as ideal place markers, as they are an industry known for making unique products.
Reinforcing this connection to place, the name of a brewery or its beers will often give a nod to their region, city, or lore. For example, the four D.C. breweries that have come online in the past couple of years (D.C. Brau Brewing Company, Chocolate City Beer, Port City Brewing, and Three Stars Brewing Company) have subtle or not so subtle acknowledgements to their region.
If a brewery’s name doesn’t have a direct tie to its location, beers commonly have the city of origin on the label, as proudly celebrated by Comstock, MI Township Supervisor Tim Hudson. Comstock is home to the expansion of Kalamazoo headquartered Bell’s Brewery and will have its name on newly minted bottles of Bell’s popular Oberon beer.
Lastly, people like supporting locally produced products …and what better product than beer?
Craft breweries are the right type of small business – exporters with growth potential.
As mentioned previously, craft breweries are a growth industry. Even in this dismal economy, the Brewers Association notes that craft breweries (definition here) had 15 % dollar value growth last year and reported 14 % growth for the first half of 2012. Yet, craft breweries produce only 5.9 % of the beer by volume in the U.S., signaling that there is still plenty of room for the craft industry to grow.
As they grow, breweries have export potential as their distribution extends outside the immediate municipal borders. This accomplishes a central goal of economic development, bringing new dollars into the community verses just circulating and replacing local spending.
Craft breweries attract visitors.
U.S. beer tourism is becoming increasingly more popular. As detailed in The New York Times, cities like Bend, OR are seeing tourists travel to their community just for the beer. Tiny Potosi, WI (pop. 711) has also had success with the reopening of a historic and abandoned brewery. The town recorded 60,000 visitors in the year following the opening of the Potosi Brewing Co.
Beer focused tourism businesses are also popping up. For example, Asheville based Brews Cruise offers local beer tours with a sober driver and has franchises expanding into a number of beer-center cities including Charleston, S.C., Denver and Atlanta, with more in the works.
On the other hand, a loss of a brewery can mean a loss of visitors. Evolution Craft Brewery Co. needed more space to accommodate the company’s growth and left its original location in Delmar, DE for a larger space in near-by Salisbury, MD (with the help of a Maryland Economic Development Assistance Fund). Lamenting the loss, Delmar Mayor Michael Houlihan reported that Evolution helped draw visitors who normally would not have visited to the area.
A sober caveat.
With the attention and growth of the craft beer industry, there has also been discussion of an eventual bursting of a “beer bubble.” To be fair, it’s likely that increased popularity and lots of new breweries entering the market will also lead to increased exits as competition increases. At the same time, given the small percentage that craft beer occupies in the overall beer market and the continued mainstream acceptance of craft beer, the industry’s future looks promising.
It’s safe to say that for the foreseeable future cities will continue to welcome breweries and their hop-loving fans with open arms. | <urn:uuid:bdea370b-e828-437a-be58-45ac285bbd75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://citiesspeak.org/2012/08/09/cities-court-craft-breweries/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95235 | 1,310 | 1.640625 | 2 |
But, we do know that it’s not money that makes the world go round. It’s making love/ having sex/ doing what comes naturally…whatever you want to call it.
And over the years, we picked up enough to be able to offer a few hints and tips on how to get things started.
So here we go…let’s begin with body language.
If you want to find out what someone’s really thinking, don’t look into their eyes, look at their feet.
When you’re flirting with someone, your feet will be pointing towards them - subconsciously, indicating an attraction. If their feet are pointing back at you, then the feeling is mutual.
Men like to preen themselves in front of someone they are attracted to. Whether it’s their hair or their outfit, if a man is making sure he is looking at his best, then you know you've got their attention!
Similarly, women like to groom themselves in front of potential partners, generally through playing with their hair or licking their lips.
Women also expose their wrists to those they are interested in romantically. The touching and stroking of wrists is considered erotic as it accentuates the pulse points.
Body language is a great way of finding out what's going on in someone's mind, but remember it's not always guaranteed; so don't take what you see too literally! | <urn:uuid:258898a8-014b-4fab-b036-595b0af97048> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.durex.com/EN-MU/SEXUALLIFESTYLE/BETTER%20SEX/pages/In%20The%20Mood.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977521 | 297 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Walter O. Boswell
Walter O. Boswell
Sun City – Redefining the Word “Retirement”
Until the middle of the 20th century, the notion of a “leisure retirement” was almost unknown in the United States. Then, with the establishment of Social Security and Medicare, combined with Americans’ increasing life spans, the concept of a true retirement was born...in Arizona! At the forefront of the retirement revolution was an Arizona businessman named Del E. Webb. He had the dream. James Boswell had the land – some 10,000 acres of it. Together, they drew the blueprints for Sun City, an active retirement community. At its grand opening in 1960, Sun City attracted more than 100,000 visitors and a new era of retirement was born in the United States.
The Birth of a New Community Hospital
As Sun City expanded, the need for a hospital grew as well. Several volunteers and community leaders formed a nonprofit corporation to make the hospital a reality. Members included John Meeker and W.A. Warriner of the Del E. Webb Development Co. (DEVCO); Michael Boss, Home Owners’ Association of Sun City; Luella Leisy, a pioneer resident; and Don Middleton, DEVCO’s legal counsel. The group founded Sun City Community Hospital on Aug. 16, 1966 and filed articles of incorporation two weeks later.
Even before the fundraising campaign officially started, contributions from the community totaled $11,312 by May 1967. Donations came in from residents in big and small ways – including $1,000 from the Sun City Saints Girls Soft Pitch Softball Team, raised at their double-header benefit game. By Dec. 1969, the local fund drive had raised more than $1 million as the population of Sun City marked 12,000 people.
The project’s biggest financial infusion came in the form of a contribution from the James G. Boswell Foundation – a $1.2 million grant with the stipulation that the hospital be named the Walter O. Boswell Memorial Hospital in honor of the late colonel. Boswell was one of three brothers instrumental in developing a vast agricultural empire in this area, including the land occupied by Sun City.
Ground was broken on the Walter O. Boswell Memorial Hospital on Jan. 24, 1969 and the hospital opened on Nov. 16, 1970 with six admissions by the end of the day. More than 5,000 people attended the dedication ceremony – nearly half the city’s population.
Expanding to Meet the Need of a Growing Community
The hospital, now known as Banner Boswell Medical Center, grew as the community grew.
- During the 1980s, the hospital built its third and fourth towers. The campus also added a care center, now known as Banner Boswell Rehabilitation Center, Honoring Norbert and Sonia Grove, and the now world-renowned Banner Sun Health Research Institute.
- Over the next decade, Banner Boswell continued its expansions and renovations, particularly in the Emergency Department and patient care units.
- In 2007, the hospital opened a 32-bed critical care/medical intensive care unit and relocated and expanded its acute rehabilitation units to the Boswell Rehabilitation Center. That same year, Banner Boswell renovated the oncology and orthopedic patient care units.
- In 2008, renovations to the emergency, endoscopy, outpatient IV therapy, clinical laboratory/microbiology, medical imaging and cardiopulmonary departments increased capacity and patient convenience.
- In 2010, Banner Boswell relocated Women’s Diagnostic Services from the hospital to Banner Lakes Imaging Center for added outpatient convenience and added digital mammography to provide enhanced images for more precise diagnostic accuracy. That same year, Banner Boswell was named a nationally certified Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center, the first to be named in the West Valley.
- In 2011, Banner Boswell was named one of the top hospitals in Metro Phoenix by U.S. News & World Report, and was awarded “Get with the Guidelines” Stroke Silver Award from the American Heart Association.
Continuing to Support Banner Boswell’s Mission
Supporting Banner Boswell’s mission of excellent patient care is the Sun Health Foundation, which encourages charitable giving to enhance healthcare delivery. Over the years, the Foundation has united generous community philanthropists with local healthcare needs, fostering a desire to give not only to Banner Boswell, but also to the world-renowned Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center and many other ancillary care facilities serving West Valley residents. | <urn:uuid:841f04a6-c275-472a-81ab-4783662379f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bannerhealth.com/Locations/Arizona/Banner+Boswell+Medical+Center/About+Us/History/_History.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93867 | 952 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Capital gains and your home sale
What's the best tax break available to Jane and John Q. Public? If they're homeowners, it's selling their house.
Homeowners already know the many tax breaks that Uncle Sam offers, most notably mortgage interest and property tax deductions. Well, he also has good tax news for home sellers: Most of them won't owe the Internal Revenue Service a single dime.
When you sell your primary residence, you can make up to $250,000 in profit if you're a single owner, twice that if you're married, and not owe any capital gains taxes.
"Most people are not going to have a tax obligation unless their gain is huge," says Bob Trinz, senior tax analyst for the Tax and Accounting business of Thomson Reuters.
Some sellers are surprised by this break, especially if they've been in their homes for a while. That's because before May 7, 1997, the only way you could avoid paying taxes on your home-sale profit was to use the money to buy another, more-expensive house within two years. Sellers age 55 or older had one other option. They could take a once-in-a-lifetime tax exemption of up to $125,000 in profits. And in all instances, there is Form 2119 to fill out to show that you followed the rules.
But when the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 became law, the home-sale tax burden eased for millions of residential taxpayers. The rollover or once-in-a-lifetime options were replaced with the current per-sale exclusion amounts.
"There is some logic to this law change because most people under the prior rules didn't recognize a taxable gain, because they rolled it over into another residence," says Trinz. "The change essentially makes it easier to dispose of your residence."
Still some requirements to meetIf you used pre-1997 rules for residential sales, don't worry. That doesn't disqualify you from claiming the exclusion on any residential sales now. The law change applies to all sales since it took effect.
Another bonus to the new rules? You don't have to buy another home with your sale proceeds. You can use the money to travel Europe in style, buy a recreational vehicle and drive across the country, or get all those designer shoes you never could afford.
Even better, there's no limit on the number of times you can use the home-sale exemption. In most cases, you can make tax-free profits of $250,000, or $500,000 depending on your filing status, every time you sell a home.
Ah, but we are talking taxes here. You did notice that phrase "in most cases," didn't you? Before you put a "for sale" sign in the yard, you need to make sure your house-sale situation is one of those "most cases."
First, the property you're selling must be your principal residence. That means you live in it. This tax break doesn't apply to a house or other property that you have solely for investment purposes. In those cases, the usual capital gains rules apply. | <urn:uuid:28ff830b-2817-419a-a985-0519077ea1eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/home-sale-capital-gains-1.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974607 | 642 | 1.5 | 2 |
These and other biographical details come into play in the show. Guayasamín's close bond with and affection for his mother are alluded to in the early painting La Madre y el Niño (Mother and Child #1) as well as in the more technically accomplished, Cubist-inflected Origen (Origin) of 1951. And at a young age, the artist had the gift of empathy, as evident in his poignant 1941 La Cantera (The Accident), in which two muscular miners remove the body of a fallen fellow worker while a cloaked woman looks on, and in the grim tableau of Los Niños Muertos #11 (Dead Children #11) (1942), influenced by the death of his childhood friend.
Courtesy of the Schmidt Center Gallery
Scene from the Schmidt. Guayasamín's work is political — but timeless.
"Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamín." On display through December 6 at the Schmidt Center Gallery, University Galleries, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton. Call 561-297-2661.
But all these works, however well executed, pale in comparison to the more explicitly sociopolitical work, as the artist himself seemed to have recognized when he said, "I have painted as if I were screaming in desperation, and my screams have joined the screams that express the humiliation of so many and the deep anguish for the times we have had to live in." Guayasamín's best work is not mere political art but art that ranks with that of Goya and Picasso's Guernica, art that wounds and illuminates with its intensity. | <urn:uuid:cb8d0d83-a1cd-4e03-beea-39f8c172e0ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2008-10-09/culture/hitting-inside-the-heart/2/ | 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 | 0.959598 | 348 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Many years ago, three boys from Northern Ireland met, became mates, and began to sing together. Two were brothers: Eugene and Martin O’Hagan, and the other, a friend: David Delargy. As fate would have it, all three decided to enter the priesthood and wound up at the same seminary, where they continued to blend their tenor and baritone voices together, singing familiar hymns of the Catholic Church. A mutual friend recorded a demo of the trio which eventually landed in the hands of Nick Raphael of Epic Records, a division of Sony/BMG; he had been looking for soloists for a Latin Mass project. They were signed immediately and commissioned to produce their debut album, The Priests.
As The Priests is being released during the Christmas season, this project could easily be dismissed as a Christmas album, to be put away after the holidays are over. Doing that would be a supreme waste. This collection of beautiful traditional hymns and classical pieces from the likes of Hayden and Vivaldi is meant to be heard year round, to soothe the troubled spirit and feed the hungry soul.
If you’re looking for The Three Tenors, you won’t find them here. The voices, although not remarkable in a technical sense, are still remarkable because of the purity, warmth and authenticity they convey. Several of the performances are blissfully understated, missing the histrionics of dramatic high notes and other theatrics. These three priests are not here to show off how well they sing, but to instead convey their prayerful love of God and their combined ministries as priests and music ministers.
Classic hymns such as Shubert’s “Ave Maria,” “Panis Angelicus,” “Be Still My Soul” and “Abide with Me” combine with great classical arias by Hayden and Vivaldi, and traditional Irish tracks and blessings. Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Pie Jesu” was especially moving, as well as a newer piece, “Benedictus.” There are also two Spanish pieces included in the 14-song collection.
Father Eugene has included extensive notes for each track of the album in the CD pullout. If you’re tempted to simply go to iTunes to download mp3s, think again. These notes explain the lyrics, the history, and The Priests’ personal connections to each song. They greatly enhanced my listening pleasure, knowing what these songs meant to these 3 men of the cloth.
The Priests is an important project, released at a critical time of uncertainty about the future. It works to convey a much-needed positive image of priests who are here to serve God and those who are searching for faith in their lives. If you need a break from the deluge of fear-filled and depressing news stories of the day, turn to this album for comfort.
The Priests is a CD you will listen to again and again. Fathers Eugene, Martin and David are priests you will want to know more about. Their stories are compelling.
Listen to The Priests in concert at Armagh
Hear clips of "Ave Maria," "Abide With me,""Panis Angelicus," by Cesar Franck, then "Be Still My Soul," taken from Sibelius' Finlandia, all on their album.
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Write a comment on this article| | <urn:uuid:bf953c09-76fd-4930-a35e-82bf97183115> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholic.net/index.php?option=dedestaca&id=1546&grupo=Podcast%20%20Webcast&canal=Music | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961701 | 793 | 1.53125 | 2 |
George C. Wolfe is an African-American playwright and director of theater and film. His early productions include “Paradise”, “The Colored Museum”, and “Spunk”, for which he won an Obie Award. He gained a national reputation with his 1991 musical “Jelly’s Last Jam”, which received 11 Tony nominations. Two years later, Wolfe directed Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” to great critical acclaim as well as a Tony award.
From 1993 to 2004, Wolfe served as artistic director and producer of the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater. In 1996, he created the musical “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk”, an ensemble of tap and music. In 2004, he directed the well-received HBO film “Lackawanna Blues”. He continues to direct plays such as Tony Kushner’s “Caroline, or Change” and Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Topdog/Underdog”.
Source - Wikipedia | <urn:uuid:d1f67f1e-3857-4c1c-be3b-5869c7490da0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/4615 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962157 | 238 | 1.640625 | 2 |
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Speaker of the House John Boehner says he has little of hope of reaching a resolution on the so-called "fiscal cliff."
Speaker of the House John Boehner says he has little of hope of reaching a resolution on the so-called "fiscal cliff." J. Scott Applewhite/AP
We've already heard warnings about the so called "fiscal cliff" from the Federal Reserve and the Congressional Budget Office.
What we know for sure is if Congress does nothing, Bush-era tax cuts that have been in place for nearly 12 years will expire and $1.2 trillion of across-the-board cuts will be triggered come Jan. 1. What's less clear is what happens to the U.S. economy as a result. Many economists — including the non-partisan CBO — predict that with the economy in such a vulnerable place, rapid changes like these can push it back into recession.
Today, Moody's sounded one more alarm saying if Congress remains in a stalemate, it would downgrade the U.S. credit rating from a AAA to a AA1.
"Moody's put the rating under review with a negative outlook in August 2011, when the U.S. pushed back a decision on spending and raised its so-called debt ceiling after months of political wrangling. S&P cut its rating to AA+ that month, blaming the nation's political process. Investors ignored the reduction and Treasuries rallied, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note since declining to record lows and the S&P downgrade drawing the ire of investors such as Warren Buffett, the biggest shareholder of Moody's, who said after the S&P decision that U.S. should be 'quadruple-A.'"
"'At some point, we might see the market demand a higher yield premium to own Treasuries, but I don't think that's the case now as this is just a shot across the bow,' said Jack McIntyre, a money manager in Philadelphia at Brandywine Global Investment, which oversees $30 billion of debt. 'It's hard to find a bond market that has the depth of liquidity that Treasuries do.'"
Today, the Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner threw another wrench in the narrative, saying he doesn't have much hope for a deal.
"I'm not confident at all," Boehner said Tuesday according to Reuters. "The House has done its job on both the sequester and on the looming tax hike that will cost our economy 700,000 jobs. The Senate at some point has to act. And on both of these, where's the president, where's the leadership?"
Now, we all know that Washington has a way of wrapping things up with the deadline at arms reach. That was the case with the debt ceiling deal, which was signed Aug. 1, 2011 — a whole day before the Aug. 2 deadline.
Politico keeps it real. They wrote yesterday that yes Washington — all of them Republicans and Democrats — acknowledge this is a pressing issue, but none of them are sitting around a negotiating table.
Here's where things stand, according to Politico:
"The truth is that none of the top leaders or their aides are in serious negotiations. This leaves the key players simply pointing fingers and praying that voters clarify Washington's power structure in November in a way that favors Republican entitlement cuts or Democratic tax hikes. The winners at the ballot box will get to set the terms, the thinking goes. Until then, don't give an inch.
"The only lawmakers negotiating right now belong to the Senate's Gang of Eight, a salon of solvency hawks with little sway so far. They meet this week at 5 p.m. Tuesday. But their group has been huddling for months with little to show for it, and the real players — Obama, House Speaker Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — aren't engaged, and neither are the staffers who do the heavy lifting on legislative deals." | <urn:uuid:0e0c3c41-9ebb-4999-8020-0f0b85ae65f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/09/11/160945121/moodys-warns-of-downgrade-if-congress-doesnt-move-on-fiscal-cliff?ft=1&f=1001 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961674 | 834 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Earlier this week, the League of American Bicyclists released bike commuting figures from the American Community Survey (ACS). While the ACS numbers aren’t a perfect measure of bike commuting, let alone all bicycling, the ACS is the only survey that tracks bike commuting at the city level nationally and annually.
Since 2000, the ACS has shown growth in bike commuting. Bike
commuting has grown the most in those Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC)
cities that are actively investing in bicycling. It has also grown more
in large cities than the U.S. as a whole.
For the fifth consecutive year, the bike commuting share (or the
percentage of people who commute by bike frequently) grew in the 38
largest BFCs. But for the first time since 2005, the U.S. average share
dropped slightly (though not significantly),
surprising everyone who has sensed the upward momentum of bike
commuting. One reason for the ACS not picking up on this trend may be
that it excludes anyone who rides a bike for two or fewer weekdays, or
combines a bike ride with a longer leg in a car or transit, from being
counted as a bike commuter. With the average American commute at 15
miles one-way and only 29% of commutes at 5 miles or less one-way, the
ACS is counting mostly super hardcore bike commuters who can ride a long
commute most days of the week, or those with short commutes.
The city with the highest bike commuting share in 2010 was Davis, CA at 22.1%.
Boulder, CO came in second at 9.9%. Fourteen cities total had a share
of 5.0% or higher. To see how your city ranked (keep in mind that there
is a high margin of error for smaller cities), check out this online spreadsheet created by the League of American Bicyclists. You can also read more about the ACS findings over at the Bike Pittsburgh and League of American Bicyclist blogs. | <urn:uuid:fe38aaf9-ff18-4a34-9738-0daab5efeb2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://girlbikelove.com/2011/09/bike-commuting-continues-to-grow-in-cities/?pins=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956939 | 428 | 1.820313 | 2 |
City, police try smoking ban to banish Monterey’s “dirty folks.”
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Mackenzie Friday’s been hanging out at downtown Monterey’s Griffin Plaza for a decade, and has witnessed firsthand the explosion in the homeless and transient populations that flocks to the plaza’s patio furniture, shade trees and open space.
“The more they showed up, the less fun it got,” says Friday, 22. He appreciates the city’s search for solutions, but thinks its approach, including a city-enacted ban on smoking in the plaza that took effect last week, is “bullshit.”
“I smoke, and I’m not a transient,” Friday says. He thinks the ban could hurt business at East Village, the plaza’s popular coffee shop. But others think the ban is the best bet for cracking down on transients – or at least shooing them to another part of town.
Monterey Police Department spokesperson Leslie Sonne says MPD has ramped up its patrol efforts in recent months due to complaints from businesses bordering the plaza and a request from City Manager Fred Meurer. But officers’ enforcement options are limited.
“The problem with homelessness is, it’s not a crime,” Sonne says.
The city doesn’t have a sit-lie ordinance, which prohibits sitting or lying on the sidewalks or public space. Patrol officers can only act on smoking, drinking or blatant law-breaking, like public urination.
“The transient problem’s gotten worse,” says Dean McAthie, who owns East Village and recently installed a spotlight above his shop’s entrance to deter street kids from loitering at night.
This year’s Monterey County Homeless Census showed a sharp increase in homelessness among people between 18 and 30 years old since 2007. One-third of the homeless youth survey respondents reported job loss as the primary cause of their homelessness.
Jim Casey, who manages East Village’s next-door neighbor, Aquarian Bicycles, says he noticed changes in clientele since the plaza’s homeless population spiked this past summer.
“The dirty nature of the folks out there prevents families with kids from coming in here,” Casey says.
But the loitering youths aren’t all bad, Harlan Graves says.
“You can’t judge a book by its cover,” says Graves, a plaza regular who’s currently couch-surfing and has been homeless on and off for years. “You see someone who’s got dreadlocks and a dog and a big pack, it doesn’t mean he’s causing any trouble.”
Down the street at Safe Place, a day center for homeless youth 21 and under, counselor Vincent Delgado provides food and advice. He tries to encourage positive interactions between business owners and the center’s clients, but there’s only so much he can do: “After 5 or 6pm, we’ve got to tell them to go somewhere else.”
Shelters for teens and young adults are scarce on the Peninsula; the county’s prominent social service agencies have a larger presence in Salinas. Many youth wind up at Griffin Plaza before sleeping on the streets.
Sonne’s realistic about the cyclical nature of homelessness: “They’ll show up somewhere else next week.” | <urn:uuid:dbcdddfa-204b-4cb2-a882-e9fc7f74dbca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2011/oct/06/plaza-patrol/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932443 | 747 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Disorder in the Court
Jan 2, 2006, Vol. 11, No. 16 • By DAVID TELL, FOR THE EDITORS
Since shortly after September 11, 2001-and under the terms of a formal order signed by the president of the United States sometime early the following year-the Pentagon's giant signals--intelligence division, the National Security Agency, has monitored "the international telephone calls and international email messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants." So reported the New York Times more than a week ago. Official Washington is appalled.
Isn't this sort of thing supposed to be illegal-unconstitutional, even? And why would the president think such unilateral domestic spying necessary to begin with? Why couldn't the Justice Department first seek permission from the special judicial panel established for precisely such circumstances by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978? It's not as though this so--called FISA court was likely to turn them down, after all; that's happened fewer than a half--dozen times in nearly 30 years. And it's not as though the court's rules weren't flexible enough to accommodate the occasional intelligence--community emergency, either. When necessary, and by statute, the government is allowed to seek and secure FISA court approval for relevant wiretaps up to 72 hours after those wiretaps are turned on.
Besides which, if the president really was convinced that U.S. counterterrorism requirements included a program of domestic surveillance beyond what FISA authorized, how come he didn't just ask Congress to amend that law-instead of granting himself apparent permission to violate its very essence?
As we say, Washington is aghast. Mind you: It's not that anybody's especially eager to conclude that George W. Bush is a yahoo Texas cowboy engaged in sweeping, Big Brother--like invasions of American privacy simply because his coterie of whack--job Federalist Society lawyers tell him that presidents should do whatever the hell they want, and this would be an excellent way to prove it. That's not it at all. Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean reports that the mere contemplation of such a possibility is "painful" to him. He is bearing this pain, however-he and everyone else in the president's metastasizing army of critics. Their question persists: Why on earth-in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when our need for meaningful signals intelligence was presumably at its zenith-would the president not have turned first, for assistance, to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court?
Because that would have been insane, that's why.
Set aside, for the moment, all the broad and complicated questions of law at issue here, and consider just the factual record as it's been revealed in any number of authoritative, after--the--disaster investigations. According to the December 2002 report of the House and Senate intelligence committees' Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, for one, the FISA system as a whole-and the FISA court in particular-went seriously off the rails sometime around 1995. A false impression began mysteriously to take hold throughout the government that the FISA statute, in combination with the Fourth Amendment, erected an almost impermeable barrier between intelligence agents and law enforcement personnel where electronic eavesdropping was concerned. And by the time, a few years later, that Osama bin Laden had finally become an official counterterrorism priority, this FISA court--enforced "wall" had already crippled the government's al Qaeda monitoring efforts.
Absent specific, prior authorization from the FISA court, federal al Qaeda investigators were formally prohibited from sharing surveillance--derived intelligence information about terrorism suspects and plots with their law enforcement counterparts. And in late 2000, after federal prosecutors discovered a series of legally inconsequential errors and omissions in certain al Qaeda--related surveillance applications the FISA court had previously approved, the court's infamously prickly presiding judge, Royce Lamberth, appears to have had a temper tantrum ferocious enough to all but shut down the Justice Department's terrorism wiretapping program. "The consequences of the FISA Court's approach to the Wall between intelligence gathering and law enforcement before September 11 were extensive," the Joint Inquiry explained. "Many FISA surveillances of suspected al Qaeda agents expired because [Justice officials] were not willing to apply for application renewals when they were not completely confident of their accuracy." And new applications were not forthcoming, the result being that, at least by the reckoning of one FBI manager who testified before the intelligence committees, "no FISA orders targeted against al Qaeda existed in 2001" at all. Not one. | <urn:uuid:33ff0e61-eb11-42a9-825a-e3414fb03956> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/535efsaf.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966509 | 934 | 1.6875 | 2 |
New welding tips help truck, trailer manufacturer cut costs
January 15, 2008
Like every manufacturer these days, truck and trailer manufacturer Tico Manufacturing Inc. can't afford to waste any time on non-value-added activities. It recently switched its welders to Centerfire™ nonthreaded contact tips manufactured by Bernard®. These tips require replacement about once every two weeks; the previous tips were replaced three times a day. And because they are unthreaded, the tips take much less time to replace.
The employees of Tico Manufacturing Inc., Ridgeland, S.C., know a few things about the importance of durability. The company builds terminal trucks and trailers that load and unload shipping cargo weighing up to 300,000 pounds.
"Our trucks are not made to be cosmetically beautiful pieces of equipment," explained Production Coordinator Clark Daring. "They are made to sustain enormous weight loads and provide continuous service in very, very brutal environments."
Needless to say, the quality of the welds that go into their products is of the utmost importance as well.
"We have a reputation based on building a durable piece of equipment," Daring said. "From both a business and human safety perspective, we cannot supply a piece of equipment that is subject to breakage. And for that reason, welding quality is of supreme importance and cannot be sacrificed in any way."
Using a large welding fixture for truck and trailer frames allows Tico’s welders to rotate the frames to the desired position for welding. This creates a safer, more productive work environment than if the welders had to adapt to the frame’s position.
Tico typically produces about eight terminal trailers and 12 to 15 terminal trucks a month at its 115,000-square-foot Ridgeland plant. For the trailers and the truck frames, the company brings in plate steel and uses a CNC plasma table to cut the steel to the desired shape before it's taken to a brake press to be bent. Once the initial fabrication process is complete, the company uses a fixturing system (see Figure 1) to position the truck and trailer frames to be welded.
The frames are made of 100 percent mild steel, mostly between 3⁄8 inch and 5⁄8 in. thick, and are welded together using a 0.045-in. E70C-6M metal-cored wire with a 95/5 argon/CO2 gas mix. With the welding power supplies running at about 300 amps, the resulting spray transfer process produces an appealing, mostly spatter-free weld. About 80 percent of the company's welds are all-position fillet welds.
Feeling the sting of the nationwide welder shortage, Tico has opted to institute an in-house welding training program for new employees. "We try to hire people with experience," Daring said, "but oftentimes that's just not possible, particularly when we have ramp-ups in our production schedule."
Although no governing authority regulates its trailers, the company performs regular weld penetration analysis through cut-and-etch visual testing. That said, the real test comes when the trucks and trailers arrive at the shipyards. The company's business model involves leasing and maintaining the trucks and trailers, so it keeps detailed accounts of all of the repair work done.
"Our lease agreement requires us to provide a working piece of equipment, and with the cost of repairs, it's very important for us to provide trucks and trailers that don't break easily," Daring said.
When using a non threaded tip, welders can rotate the tip from time to time to establish an even wear pattern (left). This isn’t possible with a threaded tip (right).
In the shipping industry that Tico serves, time is of the essence. The same is true in Tico's manufacturing operations. Manufacturing time is expensive, so the company is continually searching for new ways to improve both the quality of its products and the efficiency of its operations.
Because welding occupies roughly 130 of the 200 total labor-hours required to manufacture a trailer, and 75 of the 200 total hours necessary to manufacture a truck, improving its welding operations would likely net the company the largest overall benefit.
Daring is wary of jumping on the bandwagon without first ensuring a new product will actually create an improvement. "I'm very skeptical about new products," he explained. "I am the type of person who likes to stick with something if it works."
The gas metal arc welding (GMAW) guns and consumables the company was using were getting the job done, so Daring was hesitant when Tico's distributor, Ronnie Peszynski of National Welders Supply, suggested he consider a different line of GMAW gun consumables. Daring agreed to try Bernard's Centerfire™ consumables on one of his company's GMAW guns.
"I provided the system to my best welder because I felt like he would be the one person who could tell me if this was a worthwhile product to invest in," Daring said. "He welded with it four to five hours a day for two weeks."
Tico's top welder, Bryan Cagley, said he liked the nonthreaded contact tip that dropped into place and changed out in about a third of the time it took to unscrew and replace threaded tips. The drop-in tips can be rotated to achieve a more even wear pattern, which helps extend the service life of the tip (seeFigure 2).
The system also has a spatter guard, which is built into the nozzle, that smoothes out the gas flow from the diffuser to decrease gas flow turbulence and increase weld pool protection.
Working in the Southern heat, fans continuously circulate air throughout the plant, increasing the potential for the shielding gas to blow away. According to Tico, the spatter guard improves gas flow (see Figure 3). This, in turn, helps create strong, visually appealing welds with reduced sparks, porosity, and other problems associated with poor gas coverage.
A well-designed spatter guard helps reduce turbulence to achieve a smoother gas flow, which does a better job of protecting the weld (left).
"Weld quality has improved noticeably because of the more accurate and more concentrated gas flow," Daring said. "The improved weld quality has, in turn, led to less rework, which is very expensive and something that we continually strive to minimize."
In addition, contact tip changeout frequency has been reduced from three times a day or more to about once every two weeks.
Averaging approximately three minutes per changeout for its previous brand of contact tips and roughly three changeouts per day, Tico welders spent 180 minutes per day simply changing their contact tips. With an average industry labor cost of $35 per hour, this equals about $1,680 in time spent changing contact tips every month.
The company converted all of its 20 welding stations and three welding gun brands to the new consumables and saved tips, time, and wages. | <urn:uuid:b08283f8-5885-4a3f-a959-2004ea2ec6e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thefabricator.com/article/consumables/keeping-consumables-from-consuming-welding-profits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957114 | 1,451 | 1.5 | 2 |
Western Sahara: Urgent Action appeal for HRD Aminatou Haidar
Aminatou Haidar, who is 42 and has two children, was detained at Laayoune airport, Western Sahara on 13 November when she returned from a month-long trip, to countries including the USA, where she accepted the 2009 Civil Courage Prize, which is awarded every year "for steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk." She was questioned about why she had given her home as "Western Sahara" rather than "Moroccan Sahara" on her landing card; she was also asked about her travel, as well as her political opinions and affiliations. Her Moroccan passport and identity card were then confiscated and she was detained in the airport overnight. She said that on 14 November officials offered to release her in return for a public acknowledgement of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. She refused to do so, and a few hours later she was put on a flight to Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands.
Aminatou Haidar has been on hunger strike since 15 November in protest. According to her family, she has grown quite weak; her health is at particular risk because she suffers from anaemia and a stomach ulcer. She is refusing to take her regular ulcer medication, as part of her hunger strike. Aminatou Haidar has rejected the possibility of obtaining refugee status in Spain, insisting on her right to return to Western Sahara. Without travel documents, Aminatou Haidar is effectively confined to Lanzarote. Her situation is further complicated by the fact that neither she, nor her family, can access her bank account. A source who has asked to remain anonymous has told her family that a high-ranking security agent instructed the bank to block her account.
Amnesty International believes that Aminatou Haidar’s expulsion and confiscation of her Moroccan identification document and passport are politically motivated and that she is being punished because of her stance on Western Sahara’s self-determination.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, French, English or your own language:
Calling on the authorities to return Aminatou Haidar’s passport and identity card, and allow her to return to Western Sahara immediately and unconditionally;
Urging them to ensure that Aminatou Haidar’s access to her bank account is not blocked by the security forces.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 15 JANUARY 2010 TO:
King Mohammed VI
Bureau de Sa Majesté le Roi
Rabat, Maroc / Morocco
Fax: +212 537 73 07 72
Salutation: Your Majesty
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Taieb El Fassi Fihri
Ministre des Affaires Etrangères et de la Coopération
Avenue Franklin Roosevelt
Rabat, Maroc / Morocco
Fax: +212 537 76 46 79
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
President Ahmed Herzenni
Human Rights Advisory Board
Boîte Postale 1341
Rabat 10000, Maroc / Morocco
Fax: +212 537 72 68 56
Salutation: Dear Mr Herzenni
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
Date: 04 December 2009
For many years, Aminatou Haidar, President of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (Collectif des défenseurs sahraouis des droits de l’Homme, CODESA), has played a leading role in a number of campaigns organized for the release of Sahrawi prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, and in raising local and international awareness of human rights violations in Western Sahara. On 20 October she accepted the Civil Courage Prize, which includes an award of US$50,000, from the Train Foundation in New York City. In a telephone interview with Amnesty International on 3 December, Aminatou Haidar said: "I am determined to continue my struggle to defend human rights peacefully… This generation and children [in Western Sahara] witness with their own eyes the police oppression… Just imagine, many children, instead of drawing toys, they draw a policeman with a gun and a stick beating people... I am scared that they will become violent and incite violence."
A mother of two, Aminatou Haidar was secretly detained, without charge or trial, from 1987 to 1991. In 2005, she was sentenced to seven months in prison after an unfair trial, on charges arising from her alleged involvement in protests in Western Sahara. Before her arrest, she required hospital treatment for injuries she sustained when she was apparently assaulted by the security forces while she was on her way to join a demonstration in Laayoune.
The Moroccan authorities have little toleration for people who speak out in favour of self-determination for Western Sahara, which was Spanish territory until Morocco annexed it in 1975. They appear to be adopting an increasingly repressive approach to the activities of Sahrawi human rights defenders, in breach of their obligations under international human rights treaties, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and contrary to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
Western Sahara is the subject of a territorial dispute between Morocco, which claims sovereignty, and the Polisario Front, which calls for an independent state in the territory and has set up a self-proclaimed government-in-exile in refugee camps in southwestern Algeria.
UA: 326/09 Index: MDE 29/014/2009 Issue Date: 04 December 2009
- Bahrain: Interview with Maryam al-Khawaja "The Regime Oppresses All Bahrainis".
- Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia criticised over text alerts tracking women's movements.
- Iran: Visits Withheld From Female Evin Prisoners.
- Myanmar: Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis.
- Gambia: Justice Prevails in a Two Year-Long Judicial Harassment Case Against Two Women Human Rights Defenders
- Sudan: Female lawyer detained, risks torture!
- Sudan: New arrests of Nuba activists!
- Sudan: Khadija Mohamed Badr Health Deteriorating in Detention
- Oman: End the Detention of Women Human Rights Defenders
- Declaration of the Senegalese Feminist Forum statement during the Reflection on the Malian Crisis Meeting
- Everyone's Guide to By-passing Internet Censorship
- WSF: Two cheers for multiculturalism
- WSF: The rise of fundamentalism and the role of the ‘state’ in the specific political context of Palestine
- Imagined citizenship: Women, State and Politics in Pakistan in Urdu
- Imagined citizenship: Women, State and Politics in Pakistan | <urn:uuid:e94e8e45-455e-4f17-94f3-c7d93fd62df0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wluml.org/node/5775 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936543 | 1,404 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Fire...There have been quite of few of em in this business...T.W. Samuels...Barton's...Seagrams...Wild Turkey...Jim Beam...and of course "The fire of all fires"...Heaven Hill...I saw that one...it was spectacular and scarry at the same time...best two words that I can describe what I saw...
I know there are others...This story is about one of em that I discovered not long ago...It was the Waterfill and Frazier Warehouse fire...This is the same location as the Jim Beam warehouse fire that happened several months ago...
This was published in the Kentucky Standard July 11, 1968...
Fire Destroy's 7-Story Waterfill & Frazier Distillery Warehouse, 5,000 Bbls. Liquor
Bardstown Fireman Save Other Buildings
A fire that broke out shortly after 10 p.m. the night of July 4th destroyed a seven-story warehouse of the Waterfill $ Frazier Distillery on Shawhan Lane at Bardstown in one of the biggest local conflagrations in years.
The blaze burning fiercely in the upper part of the warehouse when discovered by a distillery watchman about 10:05 p.m. sent up a wall of flames that could be seen for 15 miles as burning whiskey poured from the stored barrels.
Flames shot as high as 150 to 200 feet in the air as the whiskey barrels ignited in a series of small explosions.
Saving Nearby Buildings Masterful Job.
The Bardstown Fire Department headed by Chief Arch Pendergrass performed a masterful job in comfining the blaze to Warehouse A. The distillery could have been out of business if the fire had spread to the nearby company office distillery and rectifying plant.
Both the distillery and the rectifying plant caught fire but the blazes were soon extinguished. Only damage to the office is some scorched paint and cracked window panes.
Fireman had the balze under control in about two hours.
Estimated 5,000 Barrels Whiskey lost.
Approximately 5,000 barrels of whiskey were lost in the fire estimated C. M. Ritchie vice-president and general manager of the Waterfill and Frazier plant. We're still taking inventory he said yesterday. It was whiskey of all ages. We were using some whiskey out of it to fiil bottling orders.
Joseph H. Makler, Chicago president of the company arrived at the plant shortly after noon yesterday to assess the situation.
In my opinion, firemen did a very fine job saving the other buildings. They are to be highy commended for it, said President Makler.
Based on a recent average tax valuation of $88 per barrel the loss of the whiskey would approximate $400,000.
Cause of the blaze is still unknown. The only electricity at the warehouse is for the elevator and it was cut off, said Manger Ritchie, and it was on the farthest end away from the fire. He said he had lights on the warehouses removed 11 years ago and mounted on poles on the ground as a precaution against fire.
Ritchie said the watchman discovered the fire at 10:05 p.m. and that in five or six minutes he was there, though he lives several miles away. The fire was breaking out then from under the eaves, he said. Bardstown fireman really worked hard and did an excellent job he said. We can't thank them enough.
Adequate Water Big Factor.
Water was never a problem said Fire Chief Pendergrass. We put the pumper right on the distillery lake.
The distllery had two lakes pointed out Ritchie. The one nearest the distillery which was used holds at least 30 million gallons he said.
Outside help called but not needed.
Within 15 minutes after starting to fight the fire Chief Pendergrass said he and Deputy Chief James (Pinch) Sims decided the local department could keep the blaze under control without additional help. But someone, he doesn't know who, decided to call for the Danville-Boyle County fire department.When I learned Danville had been called, I sent word help wouldn't be needed, and told them to turn back, which they did, said Pendergrass.
The fire starting in the top of the building helped to contain it. When the building fell in, the metal helped to smother the blaze.
The fire was the first at a Bardstown distillery since a blaze in 1948 when a wharehouse at T.W. Samuels Disillery Deatsville burned.
It was the most fire the majority of our men had ever seen, commented Pendergrass. He and Fireman E.C. Janes well remembered the last one... | <urn:uuid:add66931-ad14-4e6f-b3cc-546675935318> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?2272-Selling-bourbon-in-the-late-60-s&goto=nextnewest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975851 | 986 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Everybody knows that gangs reign in their own certain neighbourhood and that they will defend it with bloody battles. What I didn't know yet is that these gangs had their own business cards! At least they had them in the 70's - early 80's as these pictures show. Creative talents those dirty ol' bastards!
We had a super releaseparty of O.K. Periodicals #6 / BORING Issue. Jaap Blonk started the night with a soundpoetry performance. After that Joost and I went up the stage to give a very boring presentation. We explained how to fill in the form to become a subscriber (hello and thanks to al new subscribers!). And we made a slide for each and every single contributor in the magazine and thanking them. Well, you had to be there in the crowded venue.
But we finished with the flipthrough video you can see here as well.
We hope you will become a subscriber too, so we can make future issues of this wonderfull magazine. It has a limited run of copies (500) and we already sent 250 to pre-orders and so.
Issue 6 is, again, the best issue so far!
Manystuff is inviting all graphic design graduates to submit projects made during there graduation in 2011.
All this for the project Questions/Questions, a publication made by Charlotte Cheetham and Samuel Bonnet. Like all Manystuff projects this has to be a great one. So if you just graduated don't hesitate and go for it!
Read more about it at Manystuff.
Fourteen people were asked to create self-portraits, using a police Photofit kit from the 1970s, without referring to photographs or mirror images of themselves. They were then interviewed by Philip Oltermann on the subjects of identity and the self.
The project was made by Matt Willey (project link as well) and Giles Revell.
This is the direct download of the Photofit PDF.
Introduction from the book:
There are no photos in circulation of Jacques Penry, the man who
invented the Photofit, but from what he wrote in his books, you would
guess that he might have looked a bit suspicious. A photographer by
trade, the Frenchman had been fascinated by facial topography as
early as the 1930s, when he published his magnus opus The Face of
Man. There was, Penry claimed in it, a direct link between any human’s
physique and their personality: philosophers, for example, would show
a marked development of the lower cheek muscles, while idiots and
simpletons would invariably possess a markedly receding forehead.
Following the Penry-method of facial classification, he claimed, one
could cleanse society of “criminals, mental deficits, neurasthenics
and vocational misfits.”
Perhaps unaware of the supremacist overtones of it’s creator’s
early musings, Scotland Yard gave the Photofit kit a go in 1970. The
kits come in wooden boxes, containing narrow paper strips with
various facial features and an index listing the contents: eyes, noses,
mouths, haircuts, chins, roughly 40 in each category. There are
transparencies for add-ons, such as glasses, facial hairs or wrinkles,
and a frame on which the individual parts can be assembled.
The first Photofit portrait of a British suspect was broadcast
on 22nd of October 1970, in connection with the murder of James
Cameron in Islington, London. Surprisingly, it came up with the goods:
the image jogged a shop assistant’s memory and led to the arrest
of John Earnest Bennett in Nottingham. Soon though, policemen
found that Photofit portraits of suspects often looked nothing like
the criminals that were eventually caught: the Penry-method clearly
had its limits. In 1988, the Met introduced computer programmes
for facial profiling (“E-fits”) and Photofit kits across the country were
hurled onto rubbish heaps.
Penry’s system might have been inaccurate and ideologically
dubious, but it has qualities that appealed to us when we came up with
this project. Photofit is tactile: you can touch the individual parts with
your own hands and move them about until things click into place – it’s
like creating a puzzle. And it is immediate: there is no person standing
between you and the final picture. We managed to track down a male
and female kit from a Police Museum in Kent and invited a number
of people to assemble their own Photofit self-portrait in Giles’ studio
in Clerkenwell. The end result, we think, is curious. Each portrait tells
a story: it speaks of the hang-ups, insecurities and vanities we all have
about our own appearance. They hint at how deceptive our relationship
with our self-image can be. Jacques Penry claimed that he could deduce
a person’s character from their face in an instant. If nothing else, we
hope that this project shows how the connection between persona
and personality is a lot more complex than that.
We just received the latest issue of Slanted and it looks great again. Each issue really explorers the given theme about typography, visually as well as in the written word, in a good way. The editors know what they're talking about! Next to showing really nice typographic related work, the magazine design itself is also very nice. Good type should be invisible. Well, thats b*llshit ofcourse. Good type should be seen. If you can set type in the way Slanted does, and working with different quality papers from Lessebo for each section than you know everybody should have this instant classic magazine in their library.
Below their pressrelease:
While Slanted #13 dealt with contemporary and historical humanist grotesque fonts, Slanted #14 – Grotesque 2 focuses on
current fonts that are in tradition of Lineal, Neo- or Geometric Grotesque.
They mainly have their origins in the time of the turn of 19th to 20th century. In 1880 Ferdinand Theinhardt designed
the Royal Grotesque with four weights for the Königlich-Preußische Akademie zu Berlin, from which developed the Akzidenz
Grotesque in 1918. Simultaneously, from 1905 to 1930, Morris Fuller Benton created fonts on the basis of Lineal Neogrotesque:
the Lineal Grotesque. Nowadays there can be observed different procedures of designing fonts, which can be
named as quotations. A variety of fonts bear on historical models.
With great pleasure we present a huge number of these corresponding and related grotesque fonts, illustrations and
projects. The type essays by Flo Gaertner (Karlsruhe), Robert Schumann (Berlin) and Anna Sinofzik (London) deal with
them. Worth seeing photos stories are “Almost Europe” by Miguel Hahn and Jan-Christoph Hartung (Frankfurt am Main)
who visualize the situation of refugees in the Spanish enclave Melilla, as well as »Ein Abend auf der Wiesn – Pictures
taken during the great beer rush« by Volker Derlath (München). Numerous interviews with Lizá Defossez Ramalho and
Artur Rebelo (Porto), Edwin van Gelder (Amsterdam), Marta Podkowinska and Karol Gadzala (Krakow) and Hans Gremmen
(Amsterdam) as well as an article about Kiyoshi Awazu as well as the 4th part of the Tokyo Report, both by Ian Lynam
(Tokyo) and a musical travelogue by Frank Wiedemann (Berlin) round up the stuff to read.
A while ago Little White Lies made a video about how their magazine is made. The very awesome VNA (Very Nearly Almost) street art magazine have released a videointerview with them. Which gives a nice insight how it started and developed to become what it is today. The video interview is made by itdrewitself (which made other cool stuff as well, worth checking out)
Just got an e-mail from Kumi who wanted to share here work with us. So now I'm sharing it with all of you. Nice work...website will be updated soon. www.kumihiroi.com
The sixth O.K. Periodicals will be released on the 8th of July.
After a bit of a delay (sorry for that) we'll be officially releasing the BORING issue. As you know this magazine is pleasantly disruptive and always curious for inspiring creative work. Maybe the Boring theme is a paradox, but wait until you see all the stunning visuals and read the fascinating stories. Being bored seems to be a most interesting state of mind for people to become even more creative.
We got some big names featuring this issue, and a large part of relatively unknown creative talent as well. All of them deserve a beautiful representation to a bigger audience. This is just one of those magazines you wish you bought before it sold out (we're only printing 500 collectibles).
O.K. Periodicals #6 is featuring: Harmen Liemburg, Gemma Correll, Francis Alÿs, Tom Gauld, Petra Kruijt, Meyoko, Pixy Liao, Simon Wild, Atle Mo, We Make Carpets, Helmut Smits, Jaap Blonk, Mr. Bingo, Berndnaut Smilde, Hans Eijkelboom, Sam Durant and many more...
Official Release Drinks!
Friday 8th July 2012
Location: Hommelstraat 66, Arnhem (the Netherlands)
There are already a lot of people showing up. Be there and get one of the first copies. Meet a lot of wonderful, inspiring people in the best bar in town!
How to get it a.s.a.p.:
On the right side of this website is our shop.
Pre-order O.K. Periodicals #6 / BORING issue.
Or even better become a subscriber!
Your subscription contributes directly to future issues of this magazine.
If you subscribe now (2 issues each year) you get this issue for free!
1-year subscription price: pay €30,00 (normal price: €45,00)
Pay. (obviously, we put a lot of effort in it and want at least our printing costs covered so we can make the next issue)
Wait until the postman delivers.
Feel very free to promote O.K. Periodicals in the way you like (via social media, word-to-mouth or as giveaway gift). These small things mean a lot to us!
We hope you will support us by purchasing or promoting the new issue.
William van Giessen,
Joost van der Steen
Jeroen Holthuis and myself have been in contact since we featured his work in the second O.K. Periodicals; the FAILURE issue (click ISSUES on the right for a preview). We featured his Bitquid installation in this issue which I think is very very very, VERY, awesome!
Recently he has been working to transform the beautifull glitchy images into silkscreen prints. Which, as you can see, did work out very fine.
He told me there are a limited amount of copies available for purchase. I'd say: get one!
As a reminder also the previously featured video of the Bitquid installation.
A (new?) website showing posters in the streets of Amsterdam (the Netherlands). A wonderful collection with good and bad ones. They also started doing interviews with the designers of the posters, one of the first is Michiel Schuurman. He makes awesome poster-designs.
Two things you must see from Jamie Wieck: one is this poster 'The Joy of Cycling' he made for a pitch (didn't win, but it is an excellent and very funny poster). Second thing is 'The 50 things every design student must know'. But it's also worthwhile for the creative professional among us to read this so you'll never forget the things you learned so far.
The very pretty portfolio of Namik Schwartz.
Sander Plug is a Dutch product/graphic designer who puts a bit of humour in his design.
Lovely work, take a look. If you have paid attention at the upcoming news, you'd see an overlay in his work, and the upcoming issue of OK Periodicals. ;)
Only a few days ago a had a nice conversation with Sandijs Ruluks a Graphic Designer from Latvia a nice guy and he promised to send me his portfolio website. He did...with this as result. Great work combined on one website all from one guy I really love it.
His website is:
P.s. He also has developed a nice website to build websites with. It's a bit like inexhibit but worth trying out: http://www.berta.lv
Posted by Test | <urn:uuid:b7b0d372-1f04-45b6-8376-2cffe38e94ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ok-periodicals.com/graphic_design/jamie_wieck/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951936 | 2,768 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Apart from the usual "fix shallow py3k-related bugs" part, most of my work in
this iteration has been to fix the bootstrap logic of the interpreter, in
particular to setup the initial sys.path.
Until few weeks ago, the logic to determine sys.path was written entirely
at app-level in pypy/translator/goal/app_main.py, which is automatically
included inside the executable during translation. The algorithm is more or
less like this:
- find the absolute path of the executable by looking at sys.argv
and cycling through all the directories in PATH
- starting from there, go up in the directory hierarchy until we find a
directory which contains lib-python and lib_pypy
This works fine for Python 2 where the paths and filenames are represented as
8-bit strings, but it is a problem for Python 3 where we want to use unicode
instead. In particular, whenever we try to encode a 8-bit string into an
unicode, PyPy asks the _codecs built-in module to find the suitable
codec. Then, _codecs tries to import the encodings package, to list
all the available encodings. encodings is a package of the standard
library written in pure Python, so it is located inside
lib-python/3.2. But at this point in time we yet have to add
lib-python/3.2 to sys.path, so the import fails. Bootstrap problem!
The hard part was to find the problem: since it is an error which happens so
early, the interpreter is not even able to display a traceback, because it
cannot yet import traceback.py. The only way to debug it was through some
carefully placed print statement and the help of gdb. Once found the
problem, the solution was as easy as moving part of the logic to RPython,
where we don't have bootstrap problems.
Once the problem was fixed, I was able to finally run all the CPython test
against the compiled PyPy. As expected there are lots of failures, and fixing
them will be the topic of my next months. | <urn:uuid:f1190249-c54a-48df-b6f5-dea4286340d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://morepypy.blogspot.jp/2012/07/py3k-status-update-5.html?showComment=1342210742104 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945721 | 473 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Kigali, Rwanda, 23 May 2013 - Secretary-General's remarks at ceremony for the Centre of Excellence for the Fight Against Violence Against Women and Children [as prepared for delivery]
It is a profound honour to join you as we lay the foundation stone for this vital centre of excellence.
I see reflected in all of you, Rwanda’s strong political commitment to prevent and combat violence against women and children.
I thank President Kagame and his Government, including the members of the Security Organs.
The United Nations System has been your long-term partner in addressing all forms of violence against women and children in Rwanda.
And you have made a profound difference.
You have established one-stop centres where victims and survivors can receive free legal and medical assistance and counseling.
You have helped lead the way on community policing and introduced Gender desks in the National Police and Defence Forces.
You are Africa’s leading contributor of female police officers to United Nations peacekeeping missions.
And now this Centre will enhance cooperation between security institutions across Africa.
It will strengthen mechanisms and policies to prioritize prevention and address violence against women and children, especially in conflict.
This is a pressing priority for me as United Nations Secretary-General.
Women and children have the right to feel safe and live with dignity - in all places, at all times -- in war and peace, in poverty and wealth, inside and outside their homes, schools and places of work.
That is why I launched the Campaign UNiTE to end Violence against Women in 2008.
And it is why I welcome today the renewed engagement of several African security institutions in this cause.
I count on this Centre to galvanize stepped up action against violence across Africa.
As we lay the foundation of this Centre, we recognize that women and girls are the foundation of all our societies.
Let us unite to change the practices and attitudes that incite, perpetrate and condone unacceptable violence and abuse.
Let us resolve to do all we can to ensure lives of security, opportunity, dignity and hope for every woman and every girl, everywhere.
Statements on 23 May 2013
- Kigali, Rwanda, 23 May 2013 - Secretary-General's remarks at ceremony for the Centre of Excellence for the Fight Against Violence Against Women and Children [as prepared for delivery]
- Kigali, Rwanda, 23 May 2013 - Secretary-General's remarks at Gisozi Genocide Memorial [as prepared for delivery]
- New York, 23 May 2013 - Secretary-General's message on the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula | <urn:uuid:ded92955-ec11-43f8-95e2-62c52dcd7b3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931434 | 529 | 1.734375 | 2 |
This week we’re putting leaves & leaf-inspired designs into the spotlight. Sometimes it’s the whole object that takes the form of a leaf as with the glass dish above, but more often it’s the decoration.
Lotus pattern enamelware designed by Grete Prytz Kittelsen for Cathrineholm of Norway – produced in many colours including green, yellow, blue, red, orange and black.
Leaves lend themselves very well to simple, pared down designs.
1950s leaf detailing
The repeating pattern of leaves on a stem is very strong visually.
Iden Pottery vase :: Boch Rambouillet plate
Villeroy & Boch jug
One of favourite designers, Stig Lindberg, used a very similar repeating leaf pattern to great effect in his Bersa collection for Gustavsberg.
Bersa enamelware kettle
Grete Prytz Kittelsen and Stig Lindberg along with many other influential Scandinavian designers are covered in a great book – Scandinavian Design, Charlotte & Peter Fiell.
Designs were sometimes more free-flowing as in this 1950s Wade Pottery cup & saucer.
All the pieces above date from the 1950s, 60s and 70s – here are a couple of older examples. We love these rustic iron candle holders and have got quite a collection!
Victorian candle holders
PS – We’re not sure precisely which day yet- but the H is for Home website is going live next week. We’ll be doing our next blog on the day we go live- so stay tuned! | <urn:uuid:a6b0e8e0-4836-4cd8-a800-ae767f4e0328> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hisforhomeblog.com/tag/bersa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93561 | 335 | 1.773438 | 2 |
ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT (Chapters 1 through 182)
CITIES, TOWNS AND DISTRICTS
HOME RULE PROCEDURES
Hearings before charter commission; reports of commission
Section 9. (a) Within forty-five days after its election, the charter commission shall hold a public hearing.
(b) Within sixteen months after its election, the charter commission shall prepare a preliminary report including the text of the charter or charter revision which the commission intends shall be submitted to the voters and any explanatory information the commission deems desirable, shall cause such report to be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the city or town, shall provide sufficient copies of the preliminary report to the city or town clerk to permit its distribution to each registered voter requesting the same, and shall furnish two copies to the attorney general and two copies to the department of housing and community development. Within four weeks after such publication, the commission shall hold one or more public hearings upon the report. Within four weeks after his receipt of the report, the attorney general shall furnish the commission with a written opinion setting forth any conflict between the proposed charter or charter revision and the constitution and laws of the commonwealth. A copy of the opinion shall at the same time be furnished to the department of housing and community development.
(c) Within eighteen months after its election, the charter commission shall submit to the city council or board of selectmen its final report, which shall include the full text and an explanation of the proposed new charter or charter revision, such comments as the commission deems desirable, an indication of the major differences between the current and proposed charters, and a statement of not more than one thousand words by the commission minority, if any, provided such statement is filed with the chairman of the commission within forty-eight hours after the commission’s vote approving such report. A copy of said final report shall also be submitted to the department of housing and community development and to the attorney general.
(d) All public hearings before a charter commission shall be held within the city or town at such time and place as may be specified in a notice published at least ten days prior to the hearing in a newspaper having general circulation in the city or town, but hearings may be adjourned from time to time without further published notice. | <urn:uuid:fc37ebb4-4176-4af9-ab5a-7a349b6ad49f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter43B/Section9/Print | 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 | 0.940853 | 473 | 1.8125 | 2 |
13 posts • Page 1 of 1
Hi everybody, i started to use Keyframe Animation yesterday, its amazing how you can move things so easily.
My problem starts when i try to create the .tweens file! Using the "MAKE TWEENS" button, the following mesage comes up: "This filename contains illegal characters.", and nothing else!
I tried to change the filename, change the location (desktop/many diferent folders), use just numbers into file and folder names, but nothing worked out!
Could someone help me with this issue?
Thanks a lot!
does the file amend
Are you removing the .tweens suffix for any reason?
I'm a Trimbler now!
No, the file amends
I tried to remove the .tweens suffix and it didnt work out, as expected. I emailed Regular Polygon and, for while, they said it could be a bug related to Latin Chacters, that could be in a folder on the path, or in the file name itself.
I tried to rename them using numbers, but it was in vain.
If the "file path" is this thing (C:/Users/Documents/02.skb.tweens), wich are just latin letters, so i dont know what to do.
I really dont understand about computers thing, but i supose that in USA or Europe, you guys use the same Unicode than here in Brazil, dont you? I don´t understand where the problem is!
.skb is a backup of the .skp
Are you opening .skb files or .skp files?
I'm a Trimbler now!
Without fuller details of your folder-paths, file-names etc we can't be sure...
Do any of them contain any characters that are NOT standard ASCII characters - e.g. 'accented-characters' that you might use in Portuguese, BUT will cause many Ruby processes severe heartache...
If so then try renaming folders/files to avoid the issue...
that single ã in a file-path WILL break many of Ruby's File/Dir methods...
Same song: new lyrics
When I try to create tweens, the new Layers dialog pops up with all of the tweens, but then SU hangs.
There is one tab (1-001), but then the next (and only other tab) says "delay" and SU goes "Not Responding"
Since I'm trying KA for the first time, my model is very simple: a series of door segments one by one being raised vertically.
Please, register (free) to access all the attachments on the forums.
I've reduced my experience level to intermediate because how can I possibly be "advanced" if Solo lists himself as intermediate!!
Actually, I already told ppmmonteiro that this error is due to Latin (i.e. non ASCII) characters in the file path. They can cause the file name to be invalid if you are saving a file via the API. (For example, using Sketchup.active_model.save.) So, if my script finds non ASCII characters, it generates that error message, rather than save the model, and then exits.
Next, I was going to locate where the Latin character was in the file path, so I could provide an alternative location for him to save the tweens. However, before I could respond, ppmmonteiro posted here. I guess looking for a second opinion.
Anyway, this is not a bug in Keyframe Animation. It is a bug in the SketchUp Ruby API. Any plugin will have this problem if the file path has characters in a foreign alphabet.
In your case, the tweens are being created, it is just taking an inordinate amount of time to generate them. It is the Layers Dialog, which you have open, that is slowing everything down. The problem is that SketchUp tries to update the dialog, while it is creating the geometry, which slows it to a crawl. If you close the dialog, the tweens will be generated in a fraction of the time.
The same thing goes for the Scenes Manager dialog, and the Model Info | Statistics panel.
The main issues with non-ASCII characters in file-paths causing failures or incorrect results in the Ruby API are with File and Dir. There is a thread where we are trying to resolve this issue... BUT Ruby 1.8.6 is susceptible to problems with UTF strings, and hard to 'trick' !
If the error is only trapped when saving the SKP, then have you tried the alternative code [idiotically undocumented, but cross-platform]: Sketchup.send_action("saveDocument:")
This might work ?
Hi everybody, im glad with all your help and it was really usefull! In particular i wanna thank Regular Polygon, because they were impeccable in solving this issue.
My ignorance in computers maybe have generated this feeling that the bug was in the KeyFrame Animation Plugin, but now i realize that not.
Anyway, last night i was desperate and restless,so i started to retry what Regular Polygon told me , to save the file in a flash drive. I tried in other two i have and then, the third one worked out, with this file name: 2.tweens
I still dont understand how to fix it, however, my principal issue is now solved, the tweens creation is working out and that quite easy! Im gonna take care of this particular flash drive.
Now im looking for the better way to render this images to create a photosequence, and then use FinalCut or something like this to edit the video. I hope that its not impossible.
Although i´m not certain, i´m studing Kerkythea to do this, but still with no tangible results.
Once again i thank everybody for the help, and for now ScketchUcation and KeyFrame Animation will be part of my daily basis.
My best Regards.
That is interesting. I didn't know there was a saveDocument: action.
Unfortunately, though, this method only saves the current model. I need to save the current model as a different file. As far as I know, the only way to do it is, Sketchup.active_model.save(path2). But, then there is a problem if path2 contains non-ASCII characters.
I released an update, Keyframe Animation 1.6.1, which has a workaround for this problem.
Now the tweens will be created, and you can save them anywhere on your hard drive, no matter what language you are using.
13 posts • Page 1 of 1 | <urn:uuid:0eb71f6e-9481-4f7c-b245-0193a1dd065f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=384504 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930189 | 1,413 | 1.78125 | 2 |
No protest at Benghazi
‘Based on the best information we have to date … it began spontaneously in Benghazi as a reaction to what had transpired some hours earlier in Cairo, where, of course, as you know, there was a violent protest outside of our embassy sparked by this hateful video. But soon after that spontaneous protest began outside of our consulate in Benghazi, we believe that it looks like extremist elements, individuals, joined in that effort with heavy weapons of the sort that are, unfortunately, readily now available in Libya post-revolution. And that it spun from there into something much, much more violent…. We do not have information at present that leads us to conclude that this was premeditated or preplanned.’
— Susan E. Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation,’ Sept. 16
Witnesses tell CBS News that there was never an anti-American protest outside of the consulate. Instead they say it came under planned attack. That is in direct contradiction to the administration’s account.’
— Margaret Brennan CBS News correspondent, CBS News report aired Sept. 20
Washington Post Article
And there you have it. The article itself includes much more detail. But these things are now a matter of public record. The key point is the report by CBS. CBS is not an arm of the Republican party. | <urn:uuid:8a8a4f5f-a9cb-4257-bc08-cfa42981a6d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/288199_No_protest_at_Benghazi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971324 | 287 | 1.507813 | 2 |
It’s awfully hard to learn entrepreneurship out of a book, or even out of Hacker News comment threads. Sometimes, you just need to pin down someone who’s been there for an answer. But not every newbie has access to a high-powered mentor. That’s where the Young Entrepreneur Council wants to help, with its #StartupLab initiative.
#StartupLab is a Facebook application built by the Young Entrepreneur Council in a partnership with Citi, which you can access here. The organization also gives it away to organizations ranging from Junior Achievement to local high school enthusiast groups, so they can embed it on their own pages and distribute to their members. Through, users can access videos, free ebooks, and free lessons.
But perhaps the most exciting prospect is the live Q&As. Every Thursday, an entrepreneur gives up an hour of his time for a live chat. Participants have ranged from Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian to Foodspotting’s Soraya Darabi. You can either ask a question during the chat, or in advance (in exchange for tweeting about it in advance, that is). Read More | <urn:uuid:5e8b58f3-c599-43f1-97fa-7ce391326972> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://betabeat.com/tag/citi/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943755 | 238 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Many styles of the jogging stroller are included in this recall. Image here represents just one.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with B.O.B. Trailers Inc., of Boise, Idaho, have recalled about 337,000 single and double strollers in the United States and 20,000 in Canada.
A drawstring on the stroller can get wrapped around a child's neck, posing a strangulation hazard. The firm has received one report of an 11-month-old girl who got entangled at the neck by the stroller's drawstring. The child was freed by her mother.
Do You Own This Product?
This recall involves the following 11 models of B.O.B.® single and double strollers. The name "B.O.B" appears on the cargo basket under the stroller and on the front of the stroller. All of the recalled strollers have a yellow/orange drawstring at the rear of the canopy which is used to gather loose fabric when the canopy is pulled back. Strollers have the serial number either stamped in the frame or on a white label located on the stroller's rear right leg. Model and serial numbers can be found here.
The strollers sold at REI, buy buy Baby, and other stores nationwide and on the Web at Babiesrus.com, Target.com, and Amazon.com between April 2002 and February 2011 for between $300 and $600. The strollers were manufactured in Taiwan and China.
Whom to Contact
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled strollers and remove the drawstring. If using a separately purchased Weather Shield or Sun Shield accessory with the recalled stroller, contact B.O.B. Trailers for a free canopy retrofit kit.
For additional information, or to order a canopy retrofit kit, contact B.O.B. Trailers at (855) 242-2245 between 8:30 AM and 5 PM MT, Monday through Friday. | <urn:uuid:b9f9ea6b-b3e7-4f08-990a-d9dd04f37e19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.babyzone.com/products/baby-gear/all-baby-gear/bob-jogging-stroller-recall_70308 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940428 | 415 | 1.75 | 2 |
There are few foreign-policy positions more silly than the assertion without context that "deterrence works." It is like saying air power works. Well, it worked for Kosovo; it didn't work over North Vietnam.
It's like saying city-bombing works. It worked in Japan 1945 (Tokyo through Nagasaki). It didn't in the London blitz.
The idea that some military technique "works" is meaningless. It depends on the time, the circumstances, the nature of the adversaries. The longbow worked for Henry V. At El Alamein, however, Montgomery chose tanks.
Yet a significant school of American "realists" remains absolutist on deterrence and is increasingly annoyed with those troublesome Israelis who are sowing fear, rattling world markets and risking regional war by threatening a pre-emptive strike to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Don't they understand that their fears are grossly exaggerated? After all, didn't deterrence work during 40 years of Cold War?
Indeed, a few months ago, columnist Fareed Zakaria made that case by citing me writing in defense of deterrence in the early 1980s at the time of the nuclear freeze movement. And yet now, writes Zakaria, Krauthammer (and others on the right) "has decided that deterrence is a lie."
Nonsense. What I have decided is that deterring Iran is fundamentally different from deterring the Soviet Union. You could rely on the latter but not on the former.
The reasons are obvious and threefold:
(1) The nature of the regime.
Did the Soviet Union in its 70 years ever deploy a suicide bomber? For Iran, as for other jihadists, suicide bombing is routine. Hence the trail of self-immolation from the 1983 Marine barracks attack in Beirut to the Bulgaria bombing of July 2012. Iran's clerical regime rules in the name of a fundamentalist religion for whom the hereafter offers the ultimate rewards. For Soviet communists -- thoroughly, militantly atheistic -- such thinking was an opiate-laced fairy tale.
For all its global aspirations, the Soviet Union was intensely nationalist. The Islamic Republic sees itself as an instrument of its own brand of Shiite millenarianism -- the messianic return of the "hidden Imam."
It's one thing to live in a state of mutual assured destruction with Stalin or Brezhnev, leaders of a philosophically materialist, historically grounded, deeply here-and-now regime. It's quite another to be in a situation of mutual destruction with apocalyptic clerics who believe in the imminent advent of the Mahdi, the supremacy of the afterlife and holy war as the ultimate avenue to achieving it.
The classic formulation comes from Tehran's fellow (and rival Sunni) jihadist al-Qaeda: "You love life and we love death." Try deterring that.
(2) The nature of the grievance.
The Soviet quarrel with America was ideological. Iran's quarrel with Israel is existential. The Soviets never proclaimed a desire to annihilate the American people. For Iran, the very existence of a Jewish state on Muslim land is a crime, an abomination, a cancer with which no negotiation, no coexistence, no accommodation is possible.
(3) The nature of the target.
America is a nation of 300 million; Israel, 8 million. America is a continental nation; Israel, a speck on the map, at one point eight miles wide. Israel is a "one bomb country." Its territory is so tiny, its population so concentrated that, as Iran's former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has famously said, "application of an atomic bomb would not leave anything in Israel but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world." A tiny nuclear arsenal would do the job.
In U.S.-Soviet deterrence, both sides knew that a nuclear war would destroy them mutually. The mullahs have thought the unthinkable to a different conclusion. They know about the Israeli arsenal. They also know, as Rafsanjani said, that in any exchange Israel would be destroyed instantly and forever, whereas the ummah -- the Muslim world of 1.8 billion people whose redemption is the ultimate purpose of the Iranian revolution -- would survive damaged but almost entirely intact.
This doesn't mean that the mullahs will necessarily risk terrible carnage to their country in order to destroy Israel irrevocably. But it does mean that the blithe assurance to the contrary -- because the Soviets never struck first -- is nonsense. The mullahs have a radically different worldview, a radically different grievance and a radically different calculation of the consequences of nuclear war.
The confident belief that they are like the Soviets is a fantasy. That's why Israel is contemplating a pre-emptive strike. Israel refuses to trust its very existence to the convenient theories of comfortable analysts living 6,000 miles from its Ground Zero.
Email Charles Krauthammer at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:f1b23786-9516-41da-aaad-ba1cf30aa444> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2012/aug/31/the-deterrence-works-fantasy/?sports | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947567 | 1,018 | 1.726563 | 2 |
A book came in this week, a small tome from the turn of the last century, and, as will sometimes happen in spite of all my precautions, I opened it to take a look and wound up sitting down to read all 312 pages. No wonder I never get around to building that banana box bonfire.
The illustrations were passable, and the narrative was extremely choppy. The characters existed largely as names on paper: they did very little. And yet the story, minimal though it was, struck me and I was sorry to see it come to an end.
This jewel of literature is A Book of Birthday Gems, published in 1901 by M.A. Donohue of Chicago. It is a Birthday Book, a genre of literature you can still find, primarily in calendar form. In those days, they were often diaries, with a quote for each day and a space to write down your experiences. The quotations may be Scriptural or from Great Literature, or they may come from one certain author (I get lots of copies of the one filled with quotes from A.A.Milne.)
But this is not that kind: Donohue had another idea. This birthday book comes with three days to a page, each having a proverb, a text (Scripture), and a chunk of Great Literature. Facing that are three blanks where your friends can autograph the box opposite their birthday. So about half those pages I looked at were really easy to read.
This copy has a couple dozen autographs. I have not figured out yet which of these is the owner of the book, but I have deduced a few things about her. First, she is female, because so are the majority of her friends. Second, though she may have lived out west (the book came in a donation from Colorado: that’s another blog.) she was NOT from Texas. Three or four people wrote down their hometowns, and most of them are from Sweet Home, Texas. My assumption is that you wouldn’t write down your home state if you were signing there. (Anyhow, a Texan will tell just about anybody she’s from Texas, but she won’t bother to tell other Texans. They can tell.)
Third, the community must have been rather diverse: I find Burkes and Culpeppers, but also a Korniakovsky, a a Gephart, a Fusselman, a Vance, and a Lebold. Mind you, this could as easily have been a high school class in Chicago.
The Smiths interest me, however. Three of them have signed the book, and all have a refreshing taste in punctuation, Mertie Smith signs her name and puts a period at the end. Mayme Smith, however, finishes her signature off with a comma. Their brother Edward, showoff, signs himself “Edward,Smith.”
Interesting though they were, the heroine of the story signed her name rather farther along in the book, and went into more detail than anyone else in the book, noting that she was born in 1882, in Belfast, Co. Antrim, Ireland. This was just enough information to freeze my eyes on the page. Born in 1882. This book was published in 1901. There is no reason at all to be transfixed by the fact, but I couldn’t turn the page, held there by the notion that someone born in 1882 had been nineteen years old once, and put her name down in the box for December 18.
Well, perhaps I will have a glass of egg nog in honor of her 130th birthday, but for now I must get on. It is November 9, for which I see the proverb is “Running hares need no spurs”, which is undoubtedly true but leaves me pretty much where I was, while the text is a gloomy note from Ecclesiastes, and the literature bit is a quotation about “executive women”, which I don’t understand either, but sounds unpleasant. Not all these gems can be diamonds.
(Note to publishers of autograph books: Donohue had one great innovation for which archivists and historians would bless you. At the end of a book is an alphabetical index of autographs, where your friends are expected to sign their names a second time. Handwriting being what it is, this at least gives the reader the first letter of the name.) | <urn:uuid:a3ab8c5e-cca3-4e0f-bf99-0b0ca44ee67f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newberry.org/signed-book?page=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982655 | 925 | 1.5625 | 2 |
A countywide alert was sent out Friday warning Peninsula residents that a mountain lion had been spotted in the San Mateo Highlands that day.
Authorities said, at 10:30 a.m. Friday, a mountain lion was seen in the vicinity of the 1700 block of Lexington Ave - on San Francisco Watershed Property - in the San Mateo Highlands.
Authorities warn, if you see a mountain lion, do not approach it - especially one that is feeding or with offspring.
Most mountain lions will try to avoid confrontation, they said.
Emergency officials offered these tips to locals:
- Avoid hiking or jogging when mountain lions are most active—dawn, dusk, and at night.
- Keep a close watch on small children.
- If you encounter a mountain lion, do not run; instead, face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms, or throwing rocks or other objects.
- Pick up small children.
For more information about mountain lions, visit www.keepmewild.org.
For hyperlocal news such as this wherever you go, follow us! | <urn:uuid:648efa5d-cd40-4e5f-8073-1edf5b94f55e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sanmateo.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/mountain-lion-spotted-in-san-mateo-highlands | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930087 | 229 | 1.75 | 2 |
Those trips are top of mind to me because the interstate is three- and four-lanes wide in either direction. After watching an older couple from Florida leading a parade in the left lane headed southbound while vehicles passed them in the other lanes, I began to notice that was not the only thing wrong with this ride.
Let’s begin with speed issues. The standard rule for motorists is one car length behind another vehicle per 10 miles an hour of speed. I learned that in high school driver’s training. Flash forward to my most recent trip, and there was one vehicle length between cars and pick-ups traveling faster than 75 or even 80 mph.
As a former news reporter for print and broadcast, I have ridden with both local and state police and have seen their tolerance of some speed variations on interstates. But what scares me most is seeing another vehicle following me no more than one to one and a half car lengths behind while we are traveling at 70 mph.
Remember that huge traffic crash in north Georgia on I-75 years ago when, in a fog, there was a gigantic pile-up? Fortunately, those do not occur often, but when they do, the interstate is shut down for hours. Even a two or three vehicle crash can do the same thing especially if there are fatalities.
Have you driven on I-20 lately from Georgia to Alabama and seen the speed limit drop at the state line from 70 in Georgia to 55 in Alabama? Make that the posted speed limit, not the actual driving speed.
Tennessee’s Department of Transportation posts how many vehicle and motorcycle fatalities occurred during the current year on overhead lighted signs for quite some time. Just recently, I’ve noticed that Georgia DOT has begun posting this state's statistics as well.
Vehicles are built these days not to protect fenders, bumpers, hoods and trunks, but to put emphasis on the cage that surrounds the passengers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash-tests vehicles and rates them for their safety performance in protecting the driver and passengers. It is worth going to the website http://www.iihs.org to check on their vehicle safety ratings.
The bottom line comes down to a few safety principles. First, it matters a great deal how close the vehicle is behind you, as well as those on your left and right. It is not just the vehicle in front with which you must be concerned.
And speed limit signs are not a suggestion! Rather they are the law, and when you break speed limit laws you not only endanger yourself and others, you run this risk of racking up tickets and drivers license points that can ultimately have a detrimental effect on your vehicle insurance premium and your ability to retain your driver’s license. | <urn:uuid:3d58d80e-a166-4fd2-8746-90b9e48c67d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.romenews-tribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Inside+Insurance-+Is+it+the+Speed+or+the+Distance-%20&id=20845859&instance=news_special_coverage_right_column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96432 | 566 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Dozens of local residents joined Haitian-American leaders and organizations in the heart of Little Haiti recently to raise money and awareness for mothers and infants struggling to survive in St. Louis Du Nord, Haiti.
Haitian Youth of Legacy, a non-profit organization that raises money for various causes in Haiti, held a fundraiser reception on July 25 at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, 212 NE 59th Terrace, where HYOL President Firmie Simpson emphasized the importance of helping young mothers in the impoverished country.
“Haiti Youth of Legacy will revolutionize parenting for the new generation in Haiti because of its basic concept. We start with the parent and we begin to teach them — while they’re pregnant — the values a parent needs to raise a child,” said Simpson. “We want to provide them with baby formula and make food available for women daily so they won’t have to go a day hungry.”
Simpson, who has chipped in more than $20,000 of her own money over the years for Haiti’s underprivileged residents, said she’d hoped the event would bring in at least $25,000.
“We were only able to raise $979,” she said. “Most of our money comes from individual donations and sponsors.”
Those sponsors include donations from Miami City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones and Miami-Dade first Haitian-American county commissioner, Jean Monestime, who knows first-hand the hardships families face in Saint Louis Du Nord, Haiti; he was born and raised there with 9 brothers and sisters.
“This fundraiser is to improve the lives of moms and new born babies in Haiti. This is the type of town that truly needs help. I can’t imagine a more noble event than this,” Monestime said. “HYOL continues to build stronger children so they can become great leaders of the future — to change the world.”
Thammar Petitcar, a recent graduate of Holy Cross Christian Day School, joined her classmates in a singing performance where they sang uplifting songs accompanied by sign language.
Petitcar, whose parents were born in Okai, Haiti, said she hopes her fellow Haitian Americans in Miami will join the movement in helping people in Haiti.
“This event is a very big deal to me because my family is from Haiti and this is just another outreach program to help the people there,” said Petitcar, 14, who will attend Monsignor Edward Pace High School in the fall. “It hurts to see [the people in Haiti] still suffer after the earthquake, but now that I see people in action and wanting to help — it’s a relief.”
The mayor of St. Louis Du Nord, Gaston Estima, was scheduled to attend the event, but missed his flight.
Haiti Youth of Legacy was founded in May 2010 and has since then raised more than $80,000. The group works to improve the lives of pregnant women in Haiti by teaching them how to maintain a healthy family structure through biblical teachings.
Simpson, 50, who was smuggled into the United States at age 20, said the organization not only teaches Haitian mothers how to live healthy lifestyles, but also basic reading and math skills.
“We teach them how to read and count from 1 to 100,” she said. We are getting assistance from every arena in Saint Louis including from the officials of the city as well. We’re looking for help. We cannot do this on our own. The end result is helping a person to be a better person for tomorrow.” | <urn:uuid:b1db1bab-94c3-4151-aab9-cae0653605b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/14/2951284/program-aids-mothers-infants-in.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968638 | 766 | 1.625 | 2 |
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.
This week I transcribe the extensive obituary for Sammie H. Brown (1919-1998) - a first cousin of my paternal grandfather's. As is my habit, I have removed the names of living kin.
Advocate, The (Baton Rouge, LA) - March 23, 1998
Clothing Store owner Sammie Brown dead
A man who believed in personally serving the thousands of customers who shopped at Young Fashions clothing store died Sunday.
Retired co-owner of Young Fashions, Sammie H. Brown, died at Baton Rouge General Medical Center. He was 79.
He is survived by his wife, Melba Cruvant Brown, a son, a daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be at Rabenhorst Funeral Home, 825 Government St., from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Funeral services will be held at B'nai Israel Synagogue at noon on Wednesday.
He started working at the store in 1959 with owner Ernest A. Dampf. Brown retired in 1985.
The men sold clothing to boys and men and later sold uniforms for school children in the Baton Rouge area.
Personal service was Brown's trademark, said his son, ______.
"That was a day when it was personal service," he said. "Your clothier was almost your doctor.
"You'd walk into the store and say 'Is Mr. Brown here? No. he's at lunch. ' Then the customer would say, 'I'll come back. ' "
In the early 1960s, Brown and Dampf encouraged local parochial schools to consider adopting school uniforms because they realized fashion wear for children was too expensive .
"First one school agreed, then several more, and the rest is history," _______ said.
Sammie Brown also hosted the first television show on youth fashions on Buckskin Bill Black's children's television show.
Several of the high school students Brown employed at the store have gone on to own or manage local clothing stores, ______ said. "He taught them hard work, to be gentlemen, polite and show integrity."
Brown was born in Watson, Ark., and grew up in Winnsboro, until coming to LSU in 1935 on a baseball scholarship.
He served in the U.S. Army artillery in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
He was past president of the Edgewater Kiwanis Club. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a member of the Scottish Rite and past master of the St. James Masonic Lodge.
He was active in his synagogue and received the president's award for service to his congregation.
1) Sammie's wife, Naomi Melba Cruvant (1918-2000), was the daughter of David Cruvant. | <urn:uuid:67ee24e7-2141-46bf-a8fa-60bce505b3f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.transylvaniandutch.com/2011/01/amanuensis-monday-obituary-of-sammie-h.html?showComment=1294775325956 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977213 | 666 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Office: (417) 873-7415
Fax: (417) 873-7537
Management is about organizing and coordinating work, setting goals and developing strategies. But management is also about acting with integrity, exercising leadership, and raising the bar of professional practice.
Professional managers work in all types of industries and all sizes of organizations. One of the most exciting aspects of this field is that management can be practiced in an area that draws your interest. An interest in fashion, for example, can be joined with the study of management and applied in retail management. An interest in technology can be joined to the study of management and applied in project management. High fashion or high tech, large corporation or entrepreneurial start-up—the possibilities are limited only by your imagination and your initiative.
Management classes often use experiential learning to reinforce the theories and models discussed in class. Classes involve team projects promoting the development of skills needed for effective teamwork, leadership, and collaboration. Active debate and discussion means that students are actively engaged in the learning process and contribute to the class outcomes.
Typical Careers for Management Majors
Drury University’s management major is aimed at preparing professional managers to pursue their particular line of interest.
The program of study provides a solid foundation in key areas such as leadership, organizational behavior, ethics, corporate responsibility, law/regulation and strategy. Students in the management program are challenged to apply their learning in individual and team projects, internships, and on their Breech required study abroad.
Where our Students Go
Our management students have successful careers in a variety of fields. This begins with internship possibilities at a variety of companies such as: O’Reilly, Enterprise, and Council of Churches of the Ozarks. Our students are then prepared for careers in the profit and non-profit sector. Regional, national, and international employers include: Advantage Sales & Marketing, Cerner, Citigroup, Daymon Worldwide, Edward Jones Investment, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Often, our students choose to further their education, and a management degree from Breech has prepared graduates for success in graduate or Law school at places such as: University of South Carolina – International MBA program, Washington University, Saint Louis University, West Virginia University, Boston University School of Law, Tulsa School of Law, and University of Missouri School of Law. | <urn:uuid:9cd54de7-8569-4b9e-af47-89b18ad6e180> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drury.edu/multinl/story.cfm?nlid=49&id=13591 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938907 | 480 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Umag is a coastal city in Istria, Croatia. It is the westernmost city of Croatia and municipality includes Savudrija which is westernmost point of Croatia. In 1993 with the establishment of the new local rule Umag became an independent commune, and in 1997 was awarded the status of town.
With its programme of financial support the town of Umag has attempted to meet the needs of cultural activities and events which offer its citizens increasingly new and rich contents year after year.
Croatia Open ATP tennis - CroMaps
Despite limited funds, Umag has successfully developed its cultural offer in recent years, particularly in summer, making a significant contribution to the entire tourist offer of the area.
Many hotels and resorts have been built along the coast itself which in addition to firstrate accommodation, offer various entertainment programs as well as local Istrian specialities. The city hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts. | <urn:uuid:89f75e12-aef7-406d-9c41-0da32ea0b878> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cromaps.com/town-umag/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975763 | 192 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Get ready with those new year resolutions. If one of them is going to include trying for a fitter, healthier you in 2012, Jawbone is here to help. Jawbone is best known as the maker of excellent Bluetooth headsets and a great portable speaker, the Jambox.
Its latest innovation is a wristband with built-in motion sensor. The idea is that if you’re trying to be healthy, just being conscious of your daily activity is likely to increase how active you are. The Up aims to be your fitness assistant.
What is it, exactly?
It’s a light, comfortable rubbery band that flexes open to put it on and off your wrist. To make the most of it, you need a smartphone. Right now, there’s an iPhone app, with Android to follow. There’s no Bluetooth on board this doohickey, so you connect it to your iPhone by popping off the little silvery Jawbone cap that sits on one end of the band.
Inside is a headphone connector that plonks into the phone so you can synchronise the Up’s data. You see, every step you take is noted by the Up, and recording the number of daily steps you take is one of its main functions. You can decide to start off low with a 5,000-steps-a-day target, or aim higher with 10,000, say. Synchronise the Up with your phone at the end of the day and it’ll give you the good or bad news. Manage 100 per cent of your target and the screen shows the achievement bathed in sunbeams.
If you’re going cycling, where your arm may not move much at all, you can use the iPhone’s GPS to measure your exercise accurately. And you can create challenges which other Up users can contribute to – walking to the moon (or the equivalent distance, obv) seems a big ask but if there are 1,000 of you, it’s doable. The idea is that communal challenges inspire you more.
Keeping track of sleep and food
There are two other elements Up manages – food and sleep. Food is average at best: when you have a meal, take a picture of it on the phone’s camera and a couple of hours later the phone will ask you to judge whether you’re energetic, stuffed, tired etc. The plan is you’ll get a clearer idea of what makes a good and nutritious meal.
Better is the sleep element. Press the end of the bracelet and it’ll switch to sleep mode, measuring your movements in that context. It knows when you’re awake, lightly asleep or deeply asleep just from the motion sensor. This gives you a clear analysis when you transfer the data the following morning. It’s excellent, confirming that you really did have a good night’s shut-eye or that you have good reason to feel bleary-eyed if you didn’t.
Wakes you up gently
And there’s another neat wrinkle: you can set a smart alarm. The best time to wake is when you’re coming out of deep sleep into lighter sleep. So if you set your alarm for, say, 7.30am, it’ll start monitoring your movements for the half hour before that. As soon as it senses you’re going from deep to lighter sleep, the bracelet starts vibrating. It has woken us with utter reliability, and has the advantage that if your significant other is waking later, this is a silent wake-up call that needn’t disturb everybody.
The problem is that in reality, it has almost always woken us 30 minutes before the alarm time, so we now set it 15 minutes later than we need to get up.
You can only set the smart alarms at 15 minute time differences: greater precision would be better. On the other hand, there have definitely been times when it has woken us at just the perfect moment, sleep-cycle-wise. If you have problems feeling lively in the morning, it may help.
A few little niggles
It’s a very cool device that has a lot going for it. But there’s one big downside and that’s the band itself. The silver cap that hides the earphone jack pops off easily. We’ve already lost one, and nearly lost a replacement cap about 20 times. It’s just not secure enough. Sure, it’ll work without the cap but it doesn’t look so pretty.
And the other end of the band has four sharp edges to the tip which scrape down the lining of your sleeve as you take a jacket on or off. It’s not hard to remember to take it off before you make this movement, but a less abrasive end would have been better.
If you need a nudge to become more active, the Jawbone Up is great to use, offers lots of detailed information. It can really help you to stay conscious of how active you are, what you’re eating and the quality of your sleep.
It’s light, comfy to wear for extended periods (make sure you get the right size) and even comes in a bunch of colours to suit your taste.
UPDATE: On the 8th of December, Jawbone announced that it is stopping production of the Up temporarily. It has taken this action because a number of users have reported serious problems with their units.
Our review was written before this recall, but published after and our testing showed none of the more serious problems that some users have found.
As a result of these issues, Jawbone has offered all current users of the Up a full refund. They don't have to give their units back either and are free to carry on using them. The company says that the Up will go back in to production in 2012, with changes that should solve the problems.
We'd like to thank users who pointed these issues out to us. Although it's clear this product has its problems, our reviewer liked the product and found it useful. Indeed, he is still using it with no problems. Hopefully, when the problems with production are resolved everyone will have the same positive experience we did. | <urn:uuid:06750795-6e1d-4c82-8948-0a87d5cce7f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/72685-jawbone-up-fitness-gadget-review | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955445 | 1,310 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Don’t Break Up the “BMD Yankees”!
(Second of Two Parts)
The passing of retired Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer, the father of the Aegis weapon system, and George Steinbrenner, principal owner and manager of the New York Yankees—as discussed in last month’s Proceedings —brought into focus some common strengths shared by these two titans: They both took troubled organizations mired in mediocrity and built them into highly successful, world-class teams that delivered excellence—at sea and in the ballpark. And their legacies for the nation go well beyond the U.S. Navy and major league baseball, respectively. Their management styles offer lessons for the Navy and for the nation in the area of ballistic-missile defense (BMD). | <urn:uuid:ad65fabf-8454-4236-8b68-a8b8695ff90a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usni.org/print/6943 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93965 | 165 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Click image for larger version
Product #: 9338
6" x 9"
Pub Date: 2002
Top 10 Bestseller
His father is a white trapper, his mother an Athabascan Indian who walks a thousand miles in winter to reunite with her family. Thus, Jimmy Huntington learns early how to survive on the land. Huntington is only seven when his mother dies, and he must care for his younger siblings.
A courageous and inspiring man, Huntington hunts wolves, fights bears, survives close calls too numerous to mention, and becomes a championship sled-dog racer.
AN ALASKA CLASSIC!
"One afternoon, we heard a great rumble upriver. It was an angry sound, like thunder rolling at you out of the sky. Dad and Old Charlie, who knew right away what it was, ran for the bank, and Sidney and I followed. Half a mile up the river, a blue-white wall of ice had been shoved fifty feet out of the water, massive chunks under terrific pressure, groaning against one another as they were forced up from a winter-long lock on the river. The ice was going out, and it was going out fast."
--Excerpt from ON THE EDGE OF NOWHERE
"...Funny, wildly exciting, and heartbreaking...a wonderful reading experience."
ABOUT THE CO-AUTHOR: Lawrence Elliott, who has written several books and numerous magazine articles, was Reader's Digest correspondent for Alaska and western Canada when this story was written in the mid-1960s. Elliott now lives in Luxembourg. | <urn:uuid:e80d1c48-1ba4-469b-b5ee-be345ad7bf6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.epicenterpress.com/getpage.cfm?file=book9338.html&userid=17842033 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958503 | 325 | 1.570313 | 2 |
EVERYTHING ABOUT A MOVIE?
|LADIES THEY TALK ABOUT (directors: Howard Bretherton and William Keighley; screenwriters: Sidney Sutherland/Brown Holmes/William McGrath/based on the play, "Women in Prison" by Dorothy Mackaye and Carlton Miles; cinematographer: John Seitz; editor: Basil Wrangel; music: Leo F. Forbstein; cast: Barbara Stanwyck (Nan Taylor), Preston S. Foster (David Slade), Lyle Talbot (Don), Dorothy Burgess (Susie), Lillian Roth (Linda), Maude Eburne (Aunt Maggie), Ruth Donnelly (Matron Noonan), Harold Huber (Lefty), Robert McWade (DA Walter Simpson), Helen Ware (Miss Johnson, warden), Grace Cunard (Marie), Madame Sul-Te-Wan (Mustard), Helen Mann (Prisoner Blondie), Grace Cunard (Prisoner Marie), Harold Healy (Dutch), DeWitt Jennings (Detective Tracy); Runtime: 68; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Raymond Griffith; Warner Bros.; 1933)|
claim to fame
was that it established the WIP genre film."
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Dated women's prison flick that needs more than mustard and a hardboiled Barbara Stanwyck to make it tasty. It's based on the play "Women in Prison" by Dorothy Mackaye and Carlton Miles. The play tells about Ms. Mackaye's brief prison experience at San Quentin (sentenced for withholding facts about her boyfriend killing her husband in a dispute). Writers Sidney Sutherland, Brown Holmes and William McGrath, fail to make the screenplay anything but risible. Codirectors Howard Bretherton and William Keighley fail to get a handle on how to keep the story from being so ridiculous. Some racy dialogue was left in because the film came out in the "pre-Code era." This film's only claim to fame was that it established the WIP genre film.
Gun moll Nan Taylor (Barbara Stanwyck) is ratted out by the evangelist radio preacher David Slade (Preston S. Foster), a prison reformer calling for stiffer sentences and an end to corruption. Nan has a love/hate relationship with the aspiring political animal, and is thrown into San Quentin for a two to five year stretch over being a decoy during a bank robbery. She was first paroled to him by the DA Walter Simpson (Robert McWade) and then confessed to him her guilt, which he passed on to the DA. Nan has known Slade ever since childhood, where her father was the town deacon and his father was the town drunk. He ratted her out because he believes it's the only way to save her from a life of crime, and plans to win back her love by being in her corner.
Most of the action takes place in the San Quentin's women's reformatory where Nan is a tough cookie inmate, along with other inmates such as her best friend Linda (Lillian Roth), the former whorehouse madame Aunt Maggie (Maude Eburne) and the Negress called Mustard (Madame Sul-Te-Wan). Nan finds prison life dreary and battles rival Susie (Dorothy Burgess), who resents that Brother Slade favors Nan over her. The Hollywood version of what a prison looks like resembles more a rec center than a prison. It runs through the usual stereotyped characters one finds in the joint, which wasn't interesting. There's also a glimpse at a lesbian relationship between a butch type with a cheery blonde, in an honest attempt to be realistic.
After Nan learns from gang leader Lefty that Don and Dutch, members of her robbery team, have been arrested, she agrees to help them escape when they tunnel through to the women's side. After refusing to see Slade, Nan decides to see him in order to further their escape plans. The boys get plugged in their prison break, and Nan somehow gets paroled to Slade. But she's bitter than her crime partners got it and after attending a revival meeting, confronts Slade for possibly squealing again. He was to mail a letter she slipped him that had details of the breakout, but the cops got hold of the letter without his knowledge.
In a film where nothing was believable, this following scene takes the cake. The free on parole Nan loses her temper with her soft-spoken benefactor, and draws a gun from her handbag and shoots Slade. Nan is immediately filled with remorse and says "I didn't mean to do that." As Slade takes a bullet in his shoulder, he rises from the floor to tell her "Why, that's all right, Nan, it's nothing." When the cops soon arrive, he fixes things up by saying we're getting married. If you can stomach a scene like that, then you have a stronger stomach than I have.
REVIEWED ON 6/12/2007 GRADE: C-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ | <urn:uuid:3d5a13dc-c022-4ed8-839a-6db98ef4b64e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/ladiestheytalkabout.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951861 | 1,076 | 1.75 | 2 |
By COLLEEN MCCAIN NELSON And GARY FIELDS
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is considering taking executive action to stem gun violence, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday, suggesting that some federal gun regulations will change even if support doesn't materialize in Congress.
"The president is going to act," Mr. Biden said, as he opened multiple days of meetings with interest groups as part of his assignment from Mr. Obama to draw up proposals for responding to the elementary-school shootings in Newtown, Conn. White House officials said no decisions had been made about what steps the administration would take.
Mr. Biden met Wednesday with gun-safety advocacy groups, as well as victims and survivors of shootings. He also made calls to governors, mayors and other local officials.
The vice president said in the private meeting he hoped to deliver recommendations to the president as soon as next week, a participant said. The meeting yielded consensus on calls for improved background checks and on bans on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, according to the participant.
Mr. Biden is likely to face resistance to most of those ideas on Thursday, when he is due to meet with the National Rifle Association, the nation's most powerful gun lobby, and other gun-rights groups. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the country's largest seller of guns, initially said it couldn't meet Thursday with the vice president but on Wednesday said it would send a representative.
There is little sign lawmakers and advocacy groups on either side of the debate are willing to alter their stances, though room for agreement may exist in some areas, such as requiring states to increase their submission of mental-health records to the background-check system used to screen people buying guns from federally licensed dealers.
Mike Hammond, legislative counsel for Gun Owners of America, which wasn't invited to meet with Mr. Biden, said he didn't expect Thursday's meeting with gun-rights groups to be constructive. "They are being summoned" and will be "lectured," he said.
The NRA declined to comment on what it expects will happen at the meeting. The organization, which last month called for a national campaign to place armed security in the nation's schools, sent a letter to members of Congress last week saying it planned to be a constructive voice in the debate while emphasizing that "gun bans do not work."
One person who has taken part in several of Mr. Biden's meetings said one issue has been what role the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should have. A law-enforcement official involved in the talks said the administration has questioned whether the ATF should be given a new mission or moved into another agency.
Some states are trying to advance their own measures. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed broad changes to the state's gun laws Wednesday, putting New York on track to be the first to revamp its gun laws following the Newtown shootings.
New York already has some of the nation's strictest gun laws, including an assault-weapons ban, but Mr. Cuomo directed his calls for change at so-called loopholes in the laws.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy is pushing for a law banning large-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones authorities say accused gunman Adam Lanza used in the Newtown shooting.
The California State Teachers' Retirement System, one of the state's largest pension funds, said Wednesday it would sell its holdings in firms making firearms that are illegal in the state.— Laura Nahmias, Shelly Banjo and Joseph De Avila contributed to this article.
A version of this article appeared January 10, 2013, on page A6 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Biden Says White House May Bypass Congress Over Guns. | <urn:uuid:667b0c6f-e0f9-48d4-ac78-f29d2c7267d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323442804578231683590914480.html?mod=WSJ_article_IndiaHeadlines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968089 | 766 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Commented-out code eradication with Sonar
There have been numerous debates around commented-out lines of code (line or block of code that was commented out at some point) and whether they should be left in the code or taken out. The outcome of those debates is almost systematically that they should be taken out sooner rather than later : in the Sonar Team, we generally consider than later means after code check in.
Here are the main reasons why old commented-out code is an abomination :
- It always raises more questions than it gives answers
- Everybody will forget very quickly how relevant the commented code is
- This is distraction when going down the code as it stops the flow of eyes
- It is a bad SCM engine : Subversion, CVS and Git are really more trustworthy !
- The simple fact of understanding why code was commented out in the first place can take a lot of time
But the worst of all is in my opinion the fact that commented-out code appeals commented-out code, similarly to The Broken Windows Syndrome ! All this was reinforced by Uncle Bob a few months back in his Clean Code Tip of the Week #7.
There are less discussions about how to tackle this. At least, common sense rules can help to overcome the fear of suppressing such commented-out code :
- Rule 0: Commenting out code is ok, commiting commented-out code is not
- Rule 1: Don’t check in modules that have commented-code
- Rule 2: If you check out a module that has commented-code, delete that code
This pragmatic approach is fine and when adopted the number of commented LOCs is going to decrease throughout time as long as everybody in the team respects the rules. But how to make sure it is the case ? How to measure the current level of commented-out code ? And what’s about the dispersion occurring every time a developer hits some of it ?
Sonar in its version 1.11 has become the ultimate tool to measure and hunt down the commented-out code in the same way it is used to track down potential bugs, complex methods, untested code, duplicated code…
The hunt can start on the project dashboard where the total number of commented-out lines of code is displayed in the “Comments” widget.
When you click on this indicator enables a drill down from project to source code to view the lines of dead code.
To develop this functionality, we have put in place a pretty simple pattern recognition engine that finds commented-out LOCs. For Java language, there are 5 patterns and every time a comment line matches one of those, the probability it used to be a LOC increases. Once a threshold is reached, the comment line is flagged as a commented-out LOC and reported as such in Sonar.
Uncle Bob, if you read this article here is a special message for you : “Clean Code” is really considered as a bible within the Sonar team, and it has directly inspired this new feature. You should have a look in Fitness as there currently are 46 commented-out LOCs in the project :-) | <urn:uuid:507006e6-ad34-4a2a-b944-ebc26ee5f5c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sonarsource.org/commented-out-code-eradication-with-sonar/ | 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 | 0.941444 | 649 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The Center for Language Studies Japanese immersion program is acknowledged as one of the most challenging and rewarding programs in the country. The Japanese faculty is composed of professional language teachers who provide individualized instruction and personal attention in their teaching. Combining advanced teaching methods with excellent instructional materials, the CLS Japanese program offers the best of all worlds in teaching methods and models for emulation. The CLS Japanese program is excellent preparation for individuals interested in work or study abroad.
We teach Japanese from beginners to advanced and have instructors experienced in high-level training skills. Choose from our four week or eight week courses.
Lackey Sensei was the senior instructor first-year Japanese during our summer 2008 session. Here she shares a few thoughts about teaching an advanced language class at Beloit: | <urn:uuid:35fe1c0c-e3db-49ad-aefd-7c41e6cb4169> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beloit.edu/cls/program/japanese/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958891 | 153 | 1.5 | 2 |
SEAT SHELL ADAPTATIONSReturn to Search Results
Record 364 of 494.« Previous Product Next Product »
--- CUSTOM ADAPTATION --- PURPOSE: To provide proper positioning for a child with multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy and lung disease. The family owned a Medifab seat and insert that was used in the car and provided appropriate positioning and support. However, they found it inconvenient to transfer the seat from the car to the house each time it was needed. The solution was to create another shell for the seat insert using an existing Medifab mobile base frame that was not being used. The seat insert was measured and a plywood shell and footrest were made to fit. The next step was to determine how to fit the new shell in the frame. The frame has adjustable legs with casters at the bottom, and a plate at each side with multiple holes in arcs that had enabled the original seat to be tilted. A metal frame was added to the seat shell, along with two fixed pins at the front corners and two spring-loaded retractable pins at the back corners. The front pins fit into the grooves at the front of the side plates on the base frame. The back pins fit into the arc of holes at the back of the side plates. The spring-loaded pins are attached to handles that are squeezed to retract the pins to tilt the seat to the desired angle. A piece of bent steel was then attached to the bottom of the shell to mount the footrest. The steel has a series of holes which enable the footrest to be adjusted down to accommodate future growth. Attachments are also mounted on each side of the shell to accommodate an existing tray, which can be adjusted backwards and forwards using different holes in the shell. With the shell completed, it was possible to unclip the insert from the seat in the car, position it in the indoor shell and base, and place the removable tray in position, creating a high chair that can be used for eating and other activities. DIMENSIONS: The footrest can be adjusted 120 millimeters down in 20 millimeter increments. TITLE: All in the Family. JOURNAL: TAD Journal. REF: Volume 25, Number 4, Summer 2005. PAGES: 12-14. Number of pages: 4 (including cover).
Price: Contact manufacturer.
This product record was updated on September 22, 2006.
This product is available from:
Technical Aid to the Disabled (TAD)TADNSW is a charity organisation that has the authority to fundraise. TAD uses volunteers dedicated to the design, construction and provision of aids for people with disabilities. Members of TAD provide a resource pool comprising a range of design, engineering, rehabilitation, computer, therapy and other professional and technical skills. Aids custom-designed by TAD volunteers are described in the TAD Journal.
Locked Bag 2008
Wentworthville, New South Wales 2145
Link to more products from Technical Aid to the Disabled (TAD)
« Previous Product Next Product » Return to Search Results
Record 364 of 494. | <urn:uuid:fa5ef022-03f3-4efe-a25e-d29826c47727> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?userstyle=1&u=2&pageid=19327&ksectionid=19327&top=32680&productid=170475&trail=32680&discontinued=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93747 | 643 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Whilst discussing his new book Monsters in the Movies on Kermode and Mayo’s Film Reviews (aka Wittertainment), John Landis suggested that zombie are bigger and more prolific than vampire movies at the moment. He suggested that there are nine zombie movies in production at the moment including one starring Brad Pitt (World War Z). It could well be that zombies will be the go-to monster of the near future but there have been plenty of vampires movies recently:
The new century began with one of the most original vampire movies in years, Shadow Of The Vampire (2000) is a high concept movie, the premise; the actor Max Schreck who played Graf Orlok/Nosferatu (Dracula in all but name) in F.W. Murnau classic Nosferatu (1922) was really a vampire posing as an actor playing a vampire.
It is impossible to overemphasise the importance of Blade (1998), not only was it an early entry into the current trend for vampire movies but it was also the first credible comic book movie in a long time and the movie that started the Marvel phenomenon. Its sequel Blade II (2002) directed by Guillermo del Toro took a big step forward reintroducing the idea that the monster in the movie may not be the monster of the movie.
Before the battle between vampires and werewolves in The Twilight books and movies there was Underworld (2003), like Blade it is more action orientated than scary but also explores the idea of who the real monster are. It is also incredibly stylish and has a well thought-out back-story that has helped it spawn a sequel (Underworld: Evolution (2006)), a prequel (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)) as well as a further sequel Underworld: Awakening due next year.
Directed by Uwe Boll Blood Rayne (2005) is loosely based on a video game of the same name, it isn’t very good, neither are its sequels: BloodRayne: Deliverance (2007) and Bloodrayne: The Third Reich (2010).
Ever since the release of Nosferatu in 1922 vampires have been destroyed by sunlight (unless they just glitter and sparkle), with this in mind, where would you go if you where a vampire? How about Alaska in winter where the sun doesn’t rise for a month? That is exactly what happens in 30 Days of Night (2007). An original and entertain vampire with scary and bloody monsters.
Probably the most successful vampire movies of the century but far from the best, Twilight (2008) and its sequels tells the story of “vegetarian” vampires in a Mormon inspired morality tale. Not as bad as many would have you believe but not a classic vampire movie.
Also based on a novel, the darker and more subversive Swedish movie, Let the Right One In (2008) (original title: Låt den rätte komma in) exploring themes of childhood and bullying, the vampires are almost secondary to the plot. By far the best vampire movie of recent years.
The obvious and overt concept of Daybreakers (2009) is that of a world where vampires outnumber humans who have become little more than food. Behind this, there is a story of hope and humanity.
Thirst (2009) Bakjwi (original title), Oldboy (2003) director Chun-wook Park’s take on the vampire movie is thoughtful and original as well as being full of very dark humour.
Combining a road movie with an apocalyptic story, Stake Land (2010) at times has more in common with zombie movies than vampire movies. There is also a well crafted subtext about fanaticism, one of the best and most original vampire movies of recent years.
Priest (2011) is an underrated action horror that does little to expand the genre but is good fun.
Vampires on TV
Based on a poorly received 1992 movie of the same name, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) had a perfect blend of comedy, action and horror; its spin-off Angel (1999–2004) was more of the same if a little darker. Lasting 145 and 111 episodes respectively and having the opportunity to develop their characters, both series can be considered a success and are greatly missed by their fans. A movie version is often talked about but has never materialised. A further spin-off based on Eliza Dushku’s character Faith was proposed but never happened. Far less successful but also worth a look Blood Ties (2007– 2008) lasted just 22 episodes over two seasons. The similar themed Moonlight (2007–2008) had just one season of 17 episodes. They were both well made and enjoyable shows but offered nothing new. That is where True Blood (2008– ) succeeded, like Buffy before it, True Blood combined some original ideas with a great cast of varying characters, at times there is so much going on it is almost like a soap-opera, and not in a bad way! Having just finished its fourth season and with a fifth scheduled for next year it is still going strong.
Okay lets kick of with the big question, what is a zombie? For the purposes of this post the simple answer, if I say it’s a zombie, it’s a zombie. I know a lot of people don’t agree that “infected” are zombies, but they are closer to Romero zombies than Romero zombies are to the witch doctor zombie slaves of 30’s/40’s cinema. There is another reason, the zombie side of this debate would be a bit light without the inclusion of the infected.
When people are killed and buried in “The Forest of Resurrection” they come back from the dead thanks to an evil Sprit. If you put a group of gangsters in the middle of this, that’s that happens in the bonkers but brilliant Versus (2000).
28 Days Later… (2002) is so good that I am sorry to say its downhill from here, but it does set the bar pretty high, Following a group of survivors after an zombie apocalypse, its as much a road movie as a horror, the key to its success is putting likeable characters that we care about in (surprisingly believable) dangerous situations.
Less well received but surprisingly good, the video game derived Resident Evil (2002) is the start of a franchise, the fifth part of which is due out next year. The classic fight for survival against a zombie hoard is given a little extra edge by setting that amounts to a claustrophobic underground maze but the success of the movie hangs on the appeal of Milla Jovovich.
Don’t dismiss Shaun of the Dead (2004) as a comedy horror, it is a knowing and cleverly constructed story from a team well versed in zombie movies.
If you take Dawn of the Dead (2004) on its own merits it is a great movie, it does feel a little lightweight and less relevant than the classic 1978 original but it will make you jump more often.
If subscribe to the philosophy that people infected by a virus aren’t zombies, you really won’t like the idea of aliens turning people into zombies as they do in Slither (2006). A silly and insignificant movie elevated by a charismatic and funny performance from Nathan Fillion.
The Spanish horror [Rec] (2007) is one of the few found footage movies that really works. Filled with jumpy and scary moments and anchored by a fantastic performance from Manuela Velasco. The sequel [Rec] ² (2009) picks up where the original left off, it isn’t as good but is still far better than your average Hollywood movie. Speaking of Hollywood, [Rec] was remade as Quarantine (2008), I haven’t seen it so can’t comment on how good it is, but understand it follows the story of the original film pretty closely relocating the action from Barcelona to an unnamed American city. Interestingly, its sequel Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011) takes the story in a new direction telling of a new outbreak on a passenger plane.
28 Weeks later (2007), the sequel to 28 Days later tries to be bigger and more expansive than the original movie but actually suffers for its grander scale. Well worth seeing but not as good as the original.
Planet Terror (2007) is for me, the weaker half of Rodriguez and Tarantino’s Grind house project (although it has a higher rating on IMDB than Death Proof) it is a real throwback to the 80’s toxic waste zombie movies like The Return of the Living Dead (1985).
Pontypool (2008) where does this one come on the is it, isn’t debate? A zombie virus spread by “infected” English words forcing the inhabitants of a Canadian town to communicate in French. There is probably some political statement that goes over my head, putting this aside, as a film it is original and brilliant.
The French movie, The Horde (2009), isn’t a great movie but it is a effective one. There is no explanation of where the zombies come from but killing them follows all the genre “rules”, the escape from a confined space is also an archetype.
George A. Romero is still making zombie movies more than forty years after his first, Night of the Living Dead (1968). Land of the Dead (2005) is a good addition to the “of the dead” series. In keeping with the social commentary of the earlier movies it is a good allegoric tale of the distribution of wealth. Diary of the Dead (2007) is less successful, using mocumentary/found footage as a basis it is a stand a lone story. Not a bad movie but the format has been better used in [Rec]. Set on an isolated Survival of the Dead (2009) has good concept but is all a little lightweight. He is also credited as an executive producer on The Crazies (2010), a remake of his 1973 movie of the same name. Not a zombie movie but it does share a lot of similarities with them, a surprisingly good movie even if it lacks the killer ending of the original.
Zombies on TV
The Walking Dead (2010– ) is the only zombie show on the list, but what a show, based on a comic book series of the same name, the story follows a small group of survivors and presents a gritty almost realistic aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.
As I started writing this article I had no idea if there had been more vampire of zombie movies in recent years. I was of the opinion that recent vampire movies where better than their zombie equivalents. What I soon came to realise is that they both have a few great movies, a few rubbish ones and lots of mediocre ones. The whole zombie issue is further clouded by the debate of what is and isn’t a zombie movie. For me it is a genre that is as wide or as narrow as you want it to be. As for what is coming soon, the vampire movies of note are: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dario Argento’s Dracula 3D, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and Underworld: Awakening. Far more interesting is World War Z. Based on the novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks that was inspired by The Good War, an oral history of World War II by Studs Terkel as well as the movies of George A. Romero. The movie that is in production now is set for release this time next year, directed by Marc Forster and starring Brad Pitt whose Plan B Entertainment reportedly won a bidding war over Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company Appian Way. Only time will tell which genre will be best or most prolific and you will have to make your own mind up as to which has been better so far, personally I am happy to watch many more of both types of movie. | <urn:uuid:ed605e58-71b2-4de4-a57a-d834d5630b14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fandangogroovers.wordpress.com/tag/30-days/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9582 | 2,485 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Redpoint Climbing Centre is the original Primary Centre for NICAS in the West Midlands and pioneered the launch of this National Scheme.
We have already helped thousands of young climbers to participate in the scheme and we have many years of experience delivering NICAS to the highest standard.
The National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS) is a UK wide scheme designed to promote climbing development and accredit individual achievement on artificial climbing structures.
You can watch a short video about NICAS by clicking HERE
NICAS can be used as a starting point for people wishing to take up climbing and mountaineering.
At Redpoint, we have integrated NICAS as an option for all participants in our Rock Monkeys Climbing Club. We also deliver the scheme to schools, youth groups and adults. As a Primary Centre we have a dedicated NICAS Course Director, Mick Waddington, who can answer any enquiries.
NICAS is a nationally recognised award scheme to enable young climbers to develop indoor climbing skills, keep a record of their achievements and gain certificates as they progress through each level.
This scheme has five levels and participants can join the scheme at any level appropriate to their existing skills.
1. Foundation climber – an entry level award aimed at novices, which recognises their ability to climb safely under supervision.
2. Top rope climber – aimed at promoting good practice in climbing and bouldering independently on an artificial wall.
3. Technical climber – a more advanced top roping and bouldering award that focuses on developing technique and movement skills.
4. Lead climber – concentrating on the skills required to both lead climb and lead belay proficiently.
5. Advanced climber – the top level award that focuses on improving performance, a deeper understanding of climbing systems and the wider world of climbing.
The Aims of the Scheme
* to develop climbing movement skills and improve levels of ability.
* to learn climbing rope-work and how to use equipment appropriately.
* to develop risk assessment and risk management skills in the sport.
* to work as a team, communicate with, and trust a climbing partner.
* to provide a structure for development, motivation and improved performance.
* to develop an understanding of the sport, it’s history and future challenges.
* to provide a record of personal achievement.
* to point the way to further disciplines and challenges in climbing beyond the scheme.
Structure Of The Scheme
The scheme comprises five levels of award aimed at complete novices to expert climbers. The scheme is split into two parts and takes a minimum of 100 hours to complete in its entirety. Part 1 contains Levels 1 and 2 and Part 2 contains Levels 3 to 5. Upon registering with an Awarding Centre candidates receive a log booklet for Part 1 and a log folder for Part 2. After achieving each level they are awarded with a certificate.
After being successfully piloted at selected walls in the UK, the scheme was nationally launched in 2008 and Redpoint are proud to be the first West Midlands Primary Centre for NICAS.
Everyone in our Rock Monkeys kids' climbing group will have the opportunity to join the scheme (though its not compulsory) This is the only logbook scheme that we will be running at Redpoint and anyone can join the scheme at an appropriate level.
Schools, Scouts, Youth Clubs and D of E Award participants can all use NICAS to meet their needs and gain suitable accreditation. NICAS is not just for kids, either! The scheme is just as suitable for adults wishing to develop their climbing skills.
The cost of registration, logbooks and certificates are -
Levels 1 & 2 combined £4.00
Levels 3, 4 and 5 combined £7.50.
Lots more information and downloads are available on the NICAS website www.nicas.co.uk, or contact us Redpoint.
Here are just a few of Redpoint's NICAS candidates receiving their certificates... | <urn:uuid:cb452e0b-b150-458f-8d81-266bae5f5f6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redpointclimbingcentre.co.uk/ViewCategory.aspx?id=63d7ce6c5ad34d7e8d6dc5942a61ddc4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936949 | 820 | 1.679688 | 2 |
- Content Type
CAT Previous Year Tests Previous Year CAT tests for training you for the D-Day. Time yourself, race against the competition and win it! Online CAT 2008 - Question Paper & Solutions Online CAT ...
|Learnhub Team always works for the success of its users and here is the proof. As you are aware we have come up with Punch of the Week feature recently and we are quite happy to announce that most of our users are finding it really helpful. With the encouragement that you have given us we are happy to announce another interactive feature called WOW:Words Of the Week|
|What is WOW?
Words Of the Week:WOW is a feature that will help you to learn and remember the vocabulary in a very simple and effective manner. You will definitely Say Good Bye to mugging up the words once you start using this feature.
How will this feature help me to improve my Vocabulary?
In this feature we present you a video in which 5-6 words are discussed per week. Along with the meaning of the word, we present you each word with a cartoon (image) & a caption below it. This will help you to remember that word forever. Also we provide the origin of the word along with its synonyms.At the end of every month you can test your vocabulary by taking the tests especially designed for this feature.
|Words in this Video|
Image Credit : donnagrayson | <urn:uuid:68eb438e-fa2d-4a18-b690-a2141f214638> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cat.learnhub.com/lesson/13709-cat-2010-wow-video-7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938401 | 295 | 1.546875 | 2 |
There's good news for Twinkie lovers who've been in mourning or alternately racing around to buy and hoard every last Twinkie they can find since the news broke Friday (November 16th) that Hostess Brands is filing for bankruptcy -- the cream-filled golden spongecakes are likely to survive. The Associated Press reports that despite its bankruptcy, Hostess has high brand recognition and well as $2.5 billion in revenue per year, and other companies are interested in bidding for at least some parts of the company. Twinkies, which alone have brought in $68 million in revenue so far this year, is likely to be a prime potential acquisition for a company willing to pay for the name and recipe.
A 105-year-old woman in Tierp, Sweden with an '07 birth year was sent a pre-school acceptance letter meant for someone born in the year 2007, as opposed to 1907. Anna Eriksson was among the recipients of the acceptance letter that went to more than 60 local children born in 2007. The principal of The Central School said, "Her daughter got in touch and she and I both thought it was pretty funny. The two of them and I could see the humor in what happened." The principal added that it would be fun if Anna would stop by to meet school officials and have coffee.
Scientists say rising temperatures due to climate change could mean wild arabica coffee is extinct in 70-years. Experts say commercial coffee growers would still be about to grow crops in plantations designed with the right conditions. However, the loss of wild arabica would make it harder for plantations to survive long term, and beat threats such as pests and disease. Cultivated arabica coffee accounts for slightly more than 60-percent of global coffee production. (Yahoo)
A British agency is working to decipher a coded message attached to a D-Day pigeon found stuck in a chimney nearly 70 years after World War II. Historians believe the bird was dispatched from Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944, during the D-Day invasions but got lost or disoriented on his trip across the Channel. David Martin found the remains of the carrier pigeon behind his fireplace while renovating his home in Bletchingley, England. Now the Government Communications Headquarters is hoping to decipher the message, written in a code long since forgotten by security services. Pigeon enthusiasts are calling for the military bird to be posthumously decorated with the Dickin Medal - the highest possible decoration for valor given to animals. (Daily Telegraph)
WAIT AND SEE THIS BIRD HAD A MEASSAGE THAT IF IT HAD REACH ITS HOME WOULD OF CHANGED THE OUTCOME OF THE WAR. WELL THATS WHAT I PREDICT THE STORY WILL BE.
Members of The Flat Earth Society claim to believe the Earth is flat. This group deems images of Earth as a sphere as fakes created by NASA and other government agencies. According to the leadership of the group, membership of the group has grown by 200-people per year since 2009. The group has a number of crazy theories, including: that Earth's gravity is an illusion, and that the earth is a flat disc rimmed with a 150-foot ice wall guarded by NASA to prevent people from climbing over. (Mother Nature Network)
Really? I hope none of them are sicence teachers.......Really?
A woman in San Antonio, Texas reportedly faked her an abduction to get a day off from work. Sheila Bailey Eubank told police that a man assaulted her at an ATM and forced her to drive him to various locations for drug deals. She said he tried choking her with a rope, then tied her up and left her in the car. Once officers started investigating however, they found that she purchased a lottery ticket during the time period she said she had been kidnapped. Surveillance footage showed her "healthy, unhurried, and pleasant with the clerk." Police reviewed footage of the woman at the ATM and saw no one else in the video. Once confronted, Eubank admitted the story was false and said that she just wanted attention and a day off from work. (Digital Spy)
WONDER HOW MANY DAYS OFF SHE HAS NOW? | <urn:uuid:65befdcd-7b9f-4e24-9cdb-8720b4edc806> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cool925.com/pages/kevin_born.html?page=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975422 | 870 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Originally Posted by ChoclateBetta
Lucky bamboo can live with roots in water or dirt just leaves need surface access. Luck Bamboo is Dracaena Sanderiana. Dracaena is not a lily, succlent shrubs and trees
I know, I have it as a houseplant. Anything that gets to the growth of the plant (the top of the stalk) will kill it. It doesn't matter if the leaves are submerged, at least not permanently.
Other than that, I thought I read somewhere that it was related to lilies. And it is a Draceana
Thank you for correcting me! =) | <urn:uuid:443ec973-3bb9-4f35-b811-65aa4ac45e4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=1244169 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975619 | 134 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Arizona Immigration Ruling Means More State Fights
Today’s Supreme Court ruling that overturns most provisions of an Arizona crackdown on illegal immigrants is just the first shot in what will be a long legal and political battle.
The high court struck down provisions of the Arizona law that allow police to make an arrest without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe someone is in the U.S. illegally, that make it a crime for someone here illegally to apply for a job in Arizona, and that require immigrants to register with the federal government and carry ID cards noting their residency status.
The court upheld a provision allowing police to check the immigration status of anyone stopped for another violation, such as speeding.
The next court tests will likely come from Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah. They passed laws similar to Arizona’s that have been on hold pending today’s decision.
So far this year, 27 states have passed new immigration laws, many of them in some way going after those in the country illegally. And hundreds of other bills are in the works in state legislatures, covering everything from work rules to eligibility for driver’s licenses to access to education for the children of illegal immigrants.
For instance, 35 states are working on legislation that would crack down on the employment of undocumented workers. Some states would allow employers to be fined or lose business licenses for hiring illegal immigrants. Others want to require employers to use the E-Verify system, a federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security that was designed to be voluntary for everyone except federal contractors and their subcontractors.
The Supreme Court has already upheld a state’s right to compel use of E-Verify, clearing the way for Colorado, Wisconsin and Kentucky to consider adding such a requirement later this year. Others will follow. Connecticut, meanwhile, is considering legislation that would allow cities and towns to decide whether to require use of the program.
In addition, legislatures in 25 states are debating bills that would tighten residency requirements for in-state college tuition, with an eye toward proving legal status. And 29 states are considering state-issued identification cards, which would help officials distinguish who is in the country legally.
Many of these laws will pass and will be challenged in state and federal courts. Many members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have called for a federal immigration policy that would override the crazy quilt of state statutes, but there are vast partisan differences in what the approach should include.
President Obama touched on the need for reform in a statement this afternoon about the high court’s ruling. “A patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system,” he said. “It’s part of the problem.”
But this being an election year, there is no chance of immigration reform any time soon. That can of worms will be left for the next Congress and the winner of the presidential election to work out in 2013 or 2014. | <urn:uuid:6a7bc417-aadb-46f4-b84d-b86ff37cbd0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kiplinger.com/article/business/T008-C012-S001-arizona-immigration-ruling-means-more-state-fights.html | 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 | 0.95404 | 611 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Russian Style Trooper HatsRussian Hats are ideal for cold weather. Our Russian Ushanka style hats are offered in Mouton Sheepskin, Shearling Sheepskin, Rabbit Fur and other warm exotic furs. They all feature a wide body, flat top, extra long ear flaps and a wide front brim. Russian Ushanka hats are also known as Russian Ear Flap Hats. The ear flaps can be worn down for extra warmth and style or tied up at the top of the crown when not needed. We also offer Russian Cossack Hats in Mouton Sheepskin, Mink and Sheared Beaver Fur.
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About our Trooper Hats
Russian fur flap hats are also known as Ushanka hats. A Ushanka is a Russian fur hat with ear flaps that can be tied up to the crown of the hat or tied at the chin to protect the ears from the cold. In the English-speaking world, it is sometimes referred to as a shapka. However, this usage is not accurate, but is rather a Russian language word meaning simply 'hat'. Ushanka literally translates as ear flaps hat.
Though Ushanka hats are a distinctly Russian hat, indeed, the stereotypical Russian is seen to wear one, the wearing of fur hats of similar design is common throughout China, North Korea, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. It is possible that Russians adopted this design from Mongols during the Middle Age Mongol invasion of Russia.
Recent Reviews About our Trooper Hats
Victor from Portland, Or
Mouton Sheepskin Full Fur Russian Hat
December 11, 2012
"I had high expectations for the "look" and quality of this hat: and the reality exceeded them all. The fur is excellent and there is a lot of it. I bought it for the colder days here in the Great Northwest but the hat is so warm I will wear it more often just for the look. I should have had it when I lived in Colorado!"
Donald from Pocatello ID
Rabbit Full Fur Russian Ushanka Winter Hat - Gray
December 10, 2012
"I have purchased 6 of these hats and I love them. I have given several away and everyone loves the quality of these hats. They sure keep you warm like no other hat out there. There is nothing else better."
Jim from Windsor, ON
Mouton Sheepskin & Leather Russian Ushanka Winter Hat
November 14, 2012
"Quick shipping, perfect fit, and warm!"
Rick B from Cold and Windy
Rabbit Full Fur Russian Ushanka Winter Hat - Black
January 1, 2012
"Easy to order, fit and quality is superior for this price point. I think this hat is an exceptional value. Family members get taking it so I guess I'm buying another one."
Greg from Massachusettes
Black Faux Fur Russian Winter Hat
November 24, 2011
"High quality and extremely warm and comfortable hat!"
Bert from Vancouver WA
Rabbit Full Fur Russian Ushanka Winter Hat - Brown
November 1, 2011
"great well made product.quality design and great fur patern. this company does it right. but.. of course made in China. I'm very happy its going to keep me so warm.i wanted to get the Coyote fur but it cost a alot more. 6 stars!" | <urn:uuid:eed03703-ccb1-4126-89c2-a3569ca281fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.winterstyle.com/russian-hats-c-42_45.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946286 | 703 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Brady has released DVD –based training programs for the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) and OSHA’s Hazard Communication regulations that train and inform employees on the updated regulations and standards. The new training programs include videos and literature that will help employees understand the changes to OSHA’s Hazard Communication regulation and its updates to align with GHS.
Two Hazard Communication training programs available
The GHS Hazard Communication training program primarily focuses on the new GHS elements and assists in fulfilling an initial training requirement. This program offers videos about GHS labeling, safety data sheets, hazard pictograms and other elements.
The Hazard Communication comprehensive training program is intended to provide a complete overview that can be used to fulfill a typical annual review requirement. This training program is designed to ensure employees understand and know how to handle hazardous materials, in addition to learning how to read and understand safety data sheets.
Both programs include an instructor’s guide, employee quizzes, five employee handbooks and accompanying PowerPoints.
Change in regulations results in new training requirements
OSHA updated its Hazard Communication regulation (29 CFR 1910.1200) in May 2012 to align its regulations with GHS. OSHA is mandating that all employees covered under the 29 CFR 1910.1200 regulation be trained on the changes by December 1, 2013.
“Since the current regulation has been in place for nearly 30 years, a change of this magnitude requires a significant amount of time and detail to planning on training,” says Danielle Gallo, Brady product specialist for safety and facility identification products. “Expanding our training options ensures that companies complete the training requirements and get their employees educated on the changes.”
For more information
Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) is an international manufacturer and marketer of complete solutions that identify and protect premises, products and people. Its products include high-performance labels and signs, safety devices, printing systems and software, and precision die-cut materials. Founded in 1914, the company has millions of customers in electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, electrical, construction, education, medical and a variety of other industries. Brady is headquartered in Milwaukee and employs 6,600 people at operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific. Brady’s fiscal 2011 sales were approximately $1.3 billion. More information about Brady Corporation is available at www.bradycorp.com. | <urn:uuid:87a6764b-deb5-4f24-bf7b-356a4b2941a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ishn.com/articles/print/94923-brady-launches-ghs-and-hazard-communication-training-programs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930573 | 491 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Career Change News/Blog
You REALLY want to be a social worker?!18th May 2012
"I want to become a social worker - what do I need to do?" This our most frequently received question on ACareerChange. If you wonder what the attraction is, there's little in the news at the moment to enlighten you. Recent cuts to social care are "putting vulnerable children and adults at risk and overloading social works with unmanageable caseloads", so says the British Association of Social Workers (BASW).
There will always be a need for social workers and this kind of news does not help in attracting the right sort of people to this career. So what is the 'right sort of person'? At this stage, we have to tell you that survey results such as these never seem to dampen the spirits of the young people who continue to ask us how to get into the profession. What they don't seem to realise is as a social worker, you see unpleasant things, you can't always do what you need to in order to help the people you want to help, and you have to do some (well an awful lot of) paperwork! For those that can't even read through an article to see that they need a degree to become a social worker, we think there must be something else that makes it look so attractive as a career.
We'll try and find some real social workers to speak to and keep those of you who really want to be social workers updated. But if you are one and you are passionate about your job, get in touch and let us know (the upsides and the downs).
Too Old for a Change?3rd May 2012
With unemployment figures scattering the newspapers everyday, job hunting at the moment is fierce. Employers can afford to be choosy when it comes to applicants because there are so many qualified people applying for so few roles. And these qualified people tend to be graduates in their twenties with few responsibilities.
But are employers being fair? Even with all of the equality laws in place there are still numerous reports of age discrimination in the workplace. Applicants who are still only in their mid thirties, and looking for a career change, are being turned down either because they are over qualified for the position or they are inexperienced for their chosen 'new career'. Some are, however, being offered internships which don't pay and are not the kind of thing many 30 years olds want to be doing, or even can as they have bills to pay. Unlike fresh young graduates who are more than likely still living at home and ready to work their way up the career ladder starting with an internship.
Many people feel that gaining more qualifications such as a degree will increase their employment opportunities. But the fact of the matter is that graduates are struggling just as much, and a degree is good but you also need the experience. It's a vicious circle and what which can put people off a career change all together.
So what can you do? Well, don't give up. Register with recruitment consultants, you may have avoided them up to now but they know the market and what's available. Tailoring your CV is a must, even if it means stripping it down for certain jobs so that you don't appear too over qualified. Try career coaches and counsellors, and try to establish what it really is that you want from your new career, and if you really want a new career or just a new job. It seems obvious and simple but writing down your goals and what you expect to achieve from a career change can make all the difference to securing a job.
Adult Learners Week27th April 2012
Many regions hold their own Adult Learner's events and with Adult Learner's week coming up in May, it's got us thinking about the relevance of training once you've been working for many years. On asking around about this it seems in the current climate many employers are not willing or able to pay for training for their employees. So a few questions started to spring to mind:
We're interested to know your thoughts about this (comments below please!) and hope to look into all these issues in future articles.
In our view it's always best to be upfront, you don't need to explain why you are enrolling on a course if it's in your own time. You can always say it's for your own fulfilment and make it seem as if it will benefit your job if it's not stretching the truth too far.
So what are adult learning events all about? Hopefully most events will give you an idea of the vast range of training that's available. A decent event will run over several days, with opening hours to cater for those who work and will have gained the support of local businesses. You should get the opportunity to talk to the people who provide the training as well as those who've perhaps taken a course or some kind of training themselves. Most of all, you should come away feeling inspired to do something to help you focus and not get bogged down by the daily reality working or looking for work. Whet your appetite in readiness for the next event you spot by checking out the Training section on this site. | <urn:uuid:1419a89f-d13e-473c-b47e-8692280a7173> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acareerchange.co.uk/career-change-news-blog.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982658 | 1,065 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Contest for best policy-briefs on environmental sciences
07 March 2012 | News story
CEC member Barbara Livoreil announces an exhibition and contest of policy-briefs at ECCB2012, the third European Congress of Conservation Biology. Glasgow, Scotland, August 2012.
Effective communication of sound scientific results to decision and policy-makers is of upmost interest in a world where so many environmental challenges require fast yet reliable communication. If you have ever tried to write a “comprehensive abstract” of the findings, basic methodology and recommendations of a research paper with no jargon, all useful information for the reader and all this in less than 2 A4 pages, you may have noticed how complex it can be, and how your communication skills are challenged. This initiative aims to encourage conservation biologists to try the exercise. It also offers to display professional briefs to raise awareness of their diversity in topic, format, goals.
A Brief (at least in this event) is thus a very concise version of an already published scientific paper (including a review). A policy-brief targets readers outside the academic realm such as policy-and decision-makers (in which case it is called a Policy brief) who have little time to read and need straight-to-the-point, although precise and comprehensive information on a topic. A policy-brief must accurately reflect the science presented in the original published research paper in an extremely concise way, and in a language understandable by its target audience, and often includes recommendation to decision-makers. Similarly “Research briefs” or “Management briefs” specifically provide recommendations for future research (or methodologies) or management practises and methods. More details are available here >>
- The exhibition and contest of briefs is a innovation and it will take place during the 3rd Congress for Conservation Biology ECCB2012, Aug 28-Sept1, 2012, with the ceremony for the award(s) on August 31st.
We have already received a lot of expressions of interest, as well as pre-registrations. You can simply exhibit a brief, or sponsor a prize and join the Jury. Running for the contest gives a chance to get feedbacks from great professionals and the publication in a scientific journal. At this date, we are seriously considering multiplying prizes. Originally one was intended for students and low-income participants, but a lot of professionals are interested and a special prize should be allocated to them.
The event will not stand by itself and already, comforted by the support of so many feedbacks, we are planning to develop more events and outcomes from this experience. The British Ecological Society is providing a strong support, Alter-NET and UNESCO have sent expressions of interest and we hope to see more join the initiative. | <urn:uuid:ce00d0b4-a942-455a-8d15-9051aa36434d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cms.iucn.org/news_homepage/news_by_date/2012/?9354/Contest-for-best-policy-briefs-on-environmental-sciences | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949921 | 569 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Carter's AFB carburetor, introduced...
Carter's AFB carburetor, introduced to the automotive industry in 1957, became Corvette's choice for the 300 and 340 horsepower RPO 583 and RPO 396 options in 1962. Exceptional stability and predictable performance were AFB hallmarks.
At the dawn of the muscle car era, GM had thoroughly tested Carter's AFB carburetors on Chevrolet's 348 and 409, and on the high-output Pontiac 389 V-8s. The AFB was a logical choice for Corvette's new 327 small-block V-8s. From 1962-'65, a single, high-flow Carter AFB four-barrel carburetor fueled the 300 and 340 horsepower engines. Until the 1964 introduction of the Holley 4150 carburetor on 365 horsepower L76 engines, only Rochester's mechanical fuel injection could top the AFB's performance.
Carter's AFB (aluminum four-barrel) made history from 1957 through the 1960s. For high-performance engines throughout the industry, the AFB and its successor, the AVS, were common picks. Topping the muscle car ratings for 1962, Chevrolet's big-block 409, equipped with dual AFBs, produced 409 scorching horsepower. Not outdone, the Corvette squeezed 340 horsepower from a mere 327 cubic inches, using a performance mechanical lifter camshaft, 11.25:1 compression, and a single Carter AFB carburetor!
This is a typical high-mileage...
This is a typical high-mileage AFB. Dirt, grime, clogging of jets, and gummy venturi occur over time. The carburetor that sets up for long periods with stale gasoline in its bowls is a candidate for problems.
The needs of an AFB carburetor are minimal. Unlike the finicky Holley square flange designs, the AFB holds a tune well. Less susceptible to altitude and atmospheric effects, the AFB requires less tinkering at trackside. Owners of 300 and 340 horsepower 327s attest to the driving pleasure and tuning ease that the AFB offers.
Among the desirable features of the AFB is its "dual two-barrel" design. The primary barrels functioned as a true two-barrel carburetor, featuring low-speed, high-speed, accelerating, and power systems. The choke, as customary, operates on the front two barrels. Secondary throttles open mechanically as the throttle linkage reaches a predetermined stage. Vacuum actuated auxiliary valves smooth the transition into the secondary barrels. The mechanically actuated linkage, complemented by counterbalanced and vacuum actuated auxiliary valves, assures predictable and stable performance.
The track tuning of an AFB is not difficult. Vacuum operated step-up pistons have calibrated counterbalance springs. Metering rods attach to these pistons, which can be accessed with the air cleaner removed and without removing the carburetor's air horn. Float adjustment does require removal of the air horn. Once adjusted properly, the two floats hold their settings between overhauls.
Blueprint Rebuilding the Carter AFB
Varnish buildup accrues. Spillage...
Varnish buildup accrues. Spillage from worn gaskets creates leaks. Gaskets shrink and loosen over time, which leads to gasoline seepage. Leaded fuel leaves deposits in the bowl floors. This rebuildable carburetor looks typical for its mileage.
Due to its spare design, the AFB is reliable and comparatively easy to service. A properly tuned AFB provides easy starts, a stable idle, and quality performance-without tinkering. These carburetors, like any other alloy type, are vulnerable to throttle shaft wear and main body throttle bore wallowing. In that regard, however, the AFB holds up better than most.
One of the most satisfying aspects of AFB work is the refinement of tune. An AFB's adjustments, like other carburetors, are critical and must be within close tolerances. Following that standard, the rebuilding process focuses on the various features and adjustments required. With adequate time spent, a builder can fine-tune an AFB to perform as designed. Once set properly, the AFB provides exceptional driving satisfaction.
Check each throttle shaft...
Check each throttle shaft for side play. Remove the step-up pistons, springs, and rods. These rods meter fuel under various engine loads and throttle positions. Rods slide up and down within replaceable jets. Jets screw into the main body floor.
Rebuilding always involves careful disassembly and cleaning. Sequence of disassembly is important, as the delicate metering rods and other brass parts require protection. For years, parts like the rods have not been available outside of NOS trackside tuning kits. (These rare and obsolete NOS kits have sold for $1,000 or more!) Avoid damaging parts. A numbers-correct AFB carburetor, in rebuildable condition, is a valuable part of your engine package.
Rebuilding and tuning were once routine, periodic service measures. During the high-octane, Tetra Ethyl Leaded-fuel era, a Corvette equipped with an AFB would require carburetor rebuilding-or at least a "boil-out"-every 25,000 miles. With a quality rebuilding kit and proper adjustments, a rebuild should last at least that mileage. One deciding factor would be how much the car sets idle, as varnish buildup and jet clogging occur rapidly as fuel decays. Use of a fuel stabilizer would be wise if your Corvette sets up for long intervals. | <urn:uuid:dcee77d2-6bba-421f-8b4f-096a5295e9c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.corvettefever.com/techarticles/corp_1003_corvette_carburetor_rebuild/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938595 | 1,138 | 1.601563 | 2 |
About 18 months ago I was approached to write an article for the Waikato-focussed Scope magazine. Something about science, maybe, and business. I figured it might be good fun to talk about jargon.
The word is out, and on the lips of Kiwi politicians, scientists and entrepreneurs: We need to improve our innovation activity if we’re to prevent New Zealand sliding any further down the OECD productivity rankings.
There are a number of good reasons why we’re not as innovative as other small countries like Finland and Singapore. Lack of private investment, for example. To some extent, New Zealand’s small population size and density also has an impact — critical mass generally needs, well, mass.
We also suffer from poor communication, particularly our fondness for jargon. Don’t get me wrong: within a field, jargon is extremely useful for sharing discrete and often complicated concepts. Indeed, Condillac (a philosopher) observed over 300 years ago that ’every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas’. It’s also a brilliant form of linguistic tribalism.
Problems arise, however, when it is used out of context. Particularly with people not of the ‘tribe’. At best, it’s irritating; at worst, patronising and alienating. And it can cement stereotypes which are, frankly, not useful. Most entrepreneurs aren’t ‘corporate drones in suits who don’t get it’; most scientists aren’t ‘nerdy, cut off from reality and difficult to deal with’. Such stereotypes can have negative results, including missed opportunities and even conflict.
So, what do we do? To my business friends, may I suggest that ‘actioning’ and other such terms be some of the first phrasing to go. To my scientist friends: it is possible to use plain language to explain what you do. Sciblogs, a New-Zealand-based science blogging network, demonstrates clearly how engaging scientists can be when given the chance and encouragement. To both: take the time to listen to each other.
But there’s more to it than this. Not only is the language itself important, but so is an understanding of the strictures and context of each field. Science is often uncertain, and can take decades to mature to commercialisation potential (while needing funding from the beginning). Business is generally fast-moving, and functions such as marketing and PR — often deeply mistrusted by scientists — are pivotal if the business is to succeed.
We need translators, as well — people who can straddle the divide between science/ research and business. People who understand the language and intricacies of each well enough to help those involved understand each other. Both research and business (particularly in a global context) are becoming increasingly complicated, and people with the talent and training to live with one foot in each camp will become increasingly valuable. We need to find them, train them, and provide career opportunities and growth to match their value.
Finally, we need to get researchers and entrepreneurs together. Physically. I might go so far as to suggest by force, if necessary. There’s nothing like being in the same room to help overcome some of the difficulties so easily encountered in less immediate circumstances. How? Through competitions like What’s Your Problem New Zealand. Through incubators. Through events. Through supporting promising industries (like high temperature superconductors) and sharing the stories of, and lessons from, their success. If necessary, bribe people with beer (or wine) and funding incentives. Do whatever it takes to get people together and talking to each other.
Not only because we need to improve our research commercialisation and innovation capabilities, but because we should want to. Imagine what the famous Number 8 wire mentality and Kiwi ingenuity could do if we only gave it a decent chance…
And finally: my apologies to Lewis Carroll for co-opting his poetry a little.
Aimée Whitcroft works with the Science Media Centre, and is the deputy editor/ admin/contributor at Sciblogs.co.nz (an SMC initiative). After studying science and entrepreneurship, she has worked in management/strategy consultancy, market research and science communication. | <urn:uuid:0b60451d-acdf-4083-82c9-e877776fbed0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sciblogs.co.nz/misc-ience/2011/10/28/reprise-drone-meets-nerd-drinks-beer-and-talks/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937859 | 896 | 1.828125 | 2 |
We are pleased to announce that Peg Collins, President of the Brighton Allston Historical Society (BAHS) has been named a 2013 Unsung Heroine by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women! The Unsung Heroine awards pay tribute to extraordinary women from across the Commonwealth and thanks them for their public leadership and volunteerism. The recipients of these awards are commended by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for making our communities ever better places to live. Senator Will Brownsberger nominated Peg as a woman making a meaningful impact in her district.
|Peg Collins is standing in the 2nd row, straight back from the podium. She is wearing a black jacket and is next to a woman in red.|
|The award ceremony was held at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, MA| | <urn:uuid:b7b29057-6497-4f5f-9100-0ae1d7c367fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unitwin.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957474 | 158 | 1.523438 | 2 |
(AP) -- Google Inc. is gearing up to sell its e-mail and other Web-hosted applications to a wider range of government agencies after winning a prized security clearance.
The sales push announced Monday marks Google's latest attempt to siphon customers away from rival Microsoft Corp., whose Office suite of e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet and other programs is widely used by government agencies and businesses.
Google is hoping that more federal, state and local government agencies will feel comfortable buying its online applications now that they have the U.S. government's seal of approval. The Federal Information Security Management Act certification means that Google's system for running the online programs is considered reliable enough to store most electronic data handled by U.S. government employees. The clearance doesn't cover classified information.
It's the first time the U.S. government has certified a bundle of software programs delivered over the Internet, a trendy concept known as "cloud computing."
Google has been trying to promote cloud computing as a way for businesses and government agencies to reduce their technology expenses. At the same time, Google is hoping to reduce its financial dependence on Internet advertising, which generated virtually all of its $13.6 billion in revenue during the first half of this year.
Software licensing and other non-advertising services accounted for $558 million of Google's revenue in that period, a 53 percent increase from the same time last year.
The government represents a potentially huge growth market for Google.
Federal, state and local government agencies combined spend more than $120 billion annually on computers, software and other technology. As they grapple with widening budget deficits, many government officials are looking to reduce their expenses by considering money-saving options such as cloud computing. The upfront and maintenance costs of cloud-computing applications are generally lower than that of software installed on individual computers because the programs are leased and automatically updated by the Web host - in this case, Google.
Google charges $50 per user annually for the premium version of its applications suite. The company won't say precisely how many businesses and government agencies pay for its top-of-the-line apps as opposed to Google's more popular free version.
To gain the federal government's endorsement, Google agreed to store all government data in data centers located in the U.S. Google also is catering to government agencies with a new version of its applications tailored to their needs.
Google already has won several large government contracts, including a five-year deal with the city of Los Angeles in which it outbid Microsoft. Los Angeles wanted to switch over to Google's e-mail and other applications by June 30, but that target was missed because of security concerns raised by the city's police department. Google is now hoping to get its apps running for Los Angeles next month.
Explore further: Review: Backing up may be hard to do, but I'm giving it another try | <urn:uuid:8ecd6960-3f2d-4151-b24d-2f4a74291095> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news199372748.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96478 | 589 | 1.585938 | 2 |
|The ZIMBABWE Situation||Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe |
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
Mugabe poisons the
Washington has felt driven to deliver a judgment on President Robert Mugabe far stronger than anyone at Westminster has yet felt able to muster. "America," declares Walter Kansteiner, the US government's Africa policy chief, "does not see President Mugabe as the democratically legitimate leader of the country". It is a timely reminder.
Because Zimbabwe is constantly in crisis, we tend to forget the lawless tactics which Mugabe employed in the presidential election to come out on top. But America is right. Though many in Europe and Africa prefer to look the other way, Mugabe is not the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe. The election he fought was invalid. His return as president was a swindle which his own courts are powerless to redress.
His seizure of white-owned farms is condemned by America as "morally disgusting madness, set to trigger a wholly avoidable famine". It is not even if as the land held by Zimbabwe's 5,000 white farmers was going to ease Africans' land hunger. As the world can plainly see, much of it is being handed over to Mugabe's family and supporters. His wife has just chosen her own farm and told its occupants to get packing.
Talk of land reform turns out to be sheer hypocrisy. During yesterday's outburst, Mr Kansteiner was joined by Andrew Natsios, administrator of USAid, America's aid agency. Called on to deliver another dollop of relief to repair Mugabe's blunders, he too was outspoken. "It is a disgusting grab, where you're just basically stealing land from one group to another. The distinction here is, the group that's being stolen from are very good farmers, and the people they're giving the land to cannot farm anything."
Aware that Mugabe is striving to restrict the distribution of food to his own supporters, so that his political opponents starve, America will deliver relief through independent agencies and charities and keep it out of the hands of the Zimbabwean government. Such food, America insists, will not be used for political or economic purposes. Mugabe's decision to use food as an instrument for starving his political opponents seems to have been a turning point for America.
This outburst of anger from Washington is hardly surprising. President Bush has an agenda for Africa which Mugabe's conduct is making ever harder to implement. The only nations that can deal effectively with someone such as Mugabe are African nations. For deep-seated reasons they are reluctant to condemn him. South Africa's government, in particular, seems unwilling to lift a finger to check Mugabe's inhuman conduct against his own people. Observing this, much of the world is running out of sympathy for the continent. That great emotional stream that poured help into Africa at the time of the Ethiopian famine in 1984-85 has dried up. Some of the charities that serve Africa are finding it hard to attract public sympathy. In short, Mugabe is poisoning the wells of goodwill. He has not only ruined his own country but is on the way to turning much of the world against Africa. America shows us she has a firmer grasp of that sad truth than we do.
Mugabe cheated his way to power and
he must go, says US
By David Rennie in Washington and Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor
America has issued its strongest attack yet on President Mugabe of Zimbabwe, describing him as an illegitimate leader who won power by fraud and saying it would encourage his people to "correct that situation".
Stopping just short of calling for a change of regime, Walter Kansteiner, the US government's Africa policy chief, said America does "not see President Mugabe as the democratically legitimate leader of the country".
Mr Kansteiner said Washington was working with countries in Africa and Europe to "encourage the body politic of Zimbabwe" to "correct that situation and start providing an environment that would lead to a free and fair election".
US support being offered to Zimbabwean aid organisations and human rights groups is reminiscent of the West's successful move to undermine Slobodan Milosevic by providing Serbian pro-democracy activists with money, computers and other aid.
In the strongest comments made by the Bush administration, Mr Kansteiner, the assistant secretary of state for Africa, said: "It is madness to arrest commercial farmers in the middle of a drought when they could grow food to save people from starvation."
Mr Kansteiner noted that, despite the drought, Zimbabwe's reservoirs were full, and commercial farms would have been able to feed the people of southern Africa if Mr Mugabe had not closed them all.
The British Government will be happy to allow Washington to take the lead on Zimbabwe, given Mr Mugabe's attempts to present the crisis as a struggle between native Africans and Britain, the former colonial power.
Mr Kansteiner, briefing reporters in Washington, was flanked by Andrew Natsios, the administrator of USAid, the American government aid agency.
In unusually angry comments, Mr Natsios, who was there to announce an additional 190,000 tons of food aid for southern Africa, attacked Mr Mugabe for handing white farms to members of his family, cabinet ministers and the military.
"It is a disgusting grab, where you're just basically stealing land from one group to [give to] another. The distinction here is, the group that's being stolen from are very good farmers, and the people they're giving the land to cannot farm anything," Mr Natsios said.
All US food aid would be distributed through independent organisations, church groups and charities, rather than the Zimbabwean government, Mr Natsios said.
Mr Kansteiner accused Mr Mugabe of a "gross violation" of aid policy, by distributing food to members of his own political party, rather than on the basis of need. America had "confirmed reports" of such abuses, notably in the worst affected southern areas of the country, he said.
In an apparent attempt to forestall the inevitable accusations from Mr Mugabe that he is being undermined by colonial forces, Mr Kansteiner played down the role of Western countries, saying he was working with South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique on isolating Mr Mugabe.
Washington was working with opposition groups and independent journalists within Zimbabwe, and with "a number of the European Community countries too", he said. He did not mention Britain.
America was not considering a general trade embargo, Mr Kansteiner said. "A trade embargo is a blunt instrument that could in fact affect the general population, and we do not want to do that."
Last night the Harare government accused the US and Britain of waging a "racist" campaign and using "bullying tactics" to isolate Mr Mugabe and maintain white economic dominance in southern Africa.
As scores of white farmers went into hiding to escape a round-up by Zimbabwean police, a senior Bush administration official called Mr Mugabe's rule "illegitimate and irrational" and said that his re-election as president in March was won through fraud.
Walter Kansteiner, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, went on to blame Mr Mugabe's policies for contributing to the threat of famine in Zimbabwe.
"We do not see President Mugabe as the democratically legitimate leader of the country," he said. "The political status quo is unacceptable because the elections were fraudulent. So we're working with others, other countries in the region as well as throughout the world, on how we can in fact, together, encourage the body politic of Zimbabwe to in fact go forward and correct that situation."
Mr Kansteiner said the US was working with trade unions, pro-democracy groups and human rights organisations to bring about change. He did not say how he believed Mr Mugabe could be brought down, but dismissed the possibility of a trade embargo, calling it "a blunt instrument" that would hurt ordinary Zimbabweans.
Mr Mugabe is likely to seize on Mr Kansteiner's statement to reinforce his contention that his opponents are stooges for western neo-colonialism.
Shortly after the US official's remarks, a senior Zimbabwean foreign affairs official told Reuters: "The legitimacy of our political system or our president is not dependent on America, Britain or any other country, but on Zimbabweans.
"The bullying tactics that America and Britain are using against us are meant to frustrate our quest for social and economic justice, to stop our programme to redistribute some of the very large tracts of land held by whites here to the indigenous black people."
The US attack on Mr Mugabe came after police began arresting white farmers for defying an August 9 deadline to vacate their land and homes. Initially, more than half of the 2,900 farmers had refused to obey, but after police began making arrests, many packed up and went.
So far, 215 commercial farmers have been arrested on a charge that carries a two-year prison sentence. Many have been released on bail, sometimes on condition that they leave their farms within days.
One of those detained has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly driving his vehicle at four policemen.
Police spokesman Sergeant Lovemore Sibanda said that scores more had gone into hiding.
"The farmers we are looking for are those who vacated their farms, leaving behind their wives and children. Others left the doors of their farmhouses locked, with all the property inside, hoping to return later," he said.
The government has appealed to poor black people to move on to the expropriated land immediately in an attempt to help address the country's dire food shortages.
Harare blames drought for a massive shortfall in this year's harvest. But Andrew Natsios, the head of the US Agency for International Development, says Mr Mugabe's policies have contributed to the threat of famine. "It is madness to arrest commercial farmers in the middle of a drought when they could grow food to save people from starvation," he said.
Mr Natsios accused the Zimbabwean government of using the expropriated farms to reward politicians loyal to Mr Mugabe, and military officers, instead of giving them to the poor and landless.
About six million people, half of Zimbabwe's
population, are likely to be in need of food aid within weeks, according to the
UN. But only a fraction of the 1.5m tonnes of food needed to avert famine has
COUNTRY. S.AFRICA, WE BELIEVE, HOLD THE KEY IN BRINGING ABOUT POSITIVE
CHANGE IN ASSISTING HER NEIGHBOUR TO SAVE HER RESOURCES, BIODIVERSITY,
WILDLIFE, DOMESTIC ANIMALS & ALLEVIATE THE STARVATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT OF HER PEOPLE.
AFRICAN RENAISSANCE - LIBERTY & JUSTICE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE, ANIMALS & LAND
IN A FREE & DEMOCRATIC ZIMBABWE.
7.8 MILLION PEOPLE NEED FOOD ASSISTANCE - 3 MILLION WILL DIE....
65 - 80% UNEMPLOYED
FERTILE LAND LYING FALLOW
FARMWORKERS ARE & WILL BE LANDLESS
RAMPANT POACHING - WILD ANIMALS LEFT TO DIE LONG AND PAINFUL DEATHS
ILLEGAL HUNTING WITH DOGS - SLAUGHTER ON A DAILY BASIS
KMS OF FENCING TORN DOWN FOR SNARES, WATER PIPES BROKEN
MASSIVE DEFORESTATION OF PRIME HABITATS - BURNING OF LAND
TOURISTS FORCED OUT OF SAFARI CAMPS BY IRATE WAR VETS
UP TO 600,000 ANIMALS POACHED IN THE LAST 2 YRS - UP TO 60% OF WILDLIFE
ONGOING REPORTS OF CATTLE BEING AXED, 8 MTH OLD CALF AXED 9 TIMES -
HORRIFIC ABUSE AGAINST DOMESTIC ANIMALS
A LAND & HER PEOPLE IN CHAOS -
JOIN US IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE INNOCENT VICTIMS OF ZIM
ORGANISED BY: WILGE YOUTH, CEEP - COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM, ANIMAL ACT MAGAZINE & ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE MOTORCYCLE CLUB.
News Release (On behalf of Justice for Agriculture) THE SCHULTZ family have been evicted off their Mupandaguta farm despite a nullified Section 8 acquisition notice; a night in a Banket jail with charges withdrawn before plea and the fact that he is a single farm owner. Former War Veterans leader, Joseph Chinotimba, who is also vice president of Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions was in the area today assisting a senior official of the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO), to evict Vince (57) and Monica (58) Schultz by forcing the retrenchment of their 135 permanent employees at the Banket based farm. A security co-ordinator in the area was informed by the Banket Officer in Charge, Inspector Bare, that his officers would not assist in this instance as they have received instructions to disregard any High Court Orders. They apparently will only follow written instruction from the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture. The ZUPCO official is said to be the company's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bright Matonga, who has visited the property on previous occasions, claiming it as his own. Schultz and his wife were advised by Inspector Bare to move off the farm after they had been threatened by Matonga, whom they found at the Police station in the company of Chinotimba, when they went to make a report. Trouble for the Schultz's came to the fore on the morning of Tuesday 20 August when a vehicle, which had been to the farm on 3 previous occasions, arrived with 4 occupants. Matonga then left two militia to guard 'his' property, and returned around midday with 3 more militia. Matonga proceeded to the rose houses where he gathered the workers and informed them that he was the new boss and they were free to work for him after Schultz had paid them all monies due to them. Matonga then went to the office and informed Schultz that as from then he was the new owner and Schultz should vacate the property in two days. At this point, he stopped all work and instructed the driver not to deliver roses to the airport the following day. He also instructed the workers to congregate at the gate in the morning and that they would be paid all monies due to them on the 21st August. On the afternoon of the 21st, Matonga arrived whilst Schultz was having tea with friends. After a short argument about the legality of what he was doing, he told Schultz that he was not impressed that he (Schultz) had not yet vacated the house. Matonga went on to say that if Schultz was not off the farm by the 22nd, he would return with a battalion of militia and remove him. He left five militia to guard the gate and will not allow anyone to visit. Schultz promptly went to the police station and made a report to the officer in charge about the threats. The Schultz's who were first served with a Section 8 notice on the 21st of April this year, contested the order in court in June and it was declared null and void due to a technicality. This was stamped and signed by the High Court on the 24th of June. However they were subsequently served with a section 7. On Sunday 18th August at 11.30am, Schultz was informed that a police landrover was parked at the front gate and was sounding its horn. Schultz did not go an open the gate, however they found a pedestrian gate open and entered the premises armed with a big stick, which they claimed was to ward off any dogs. They told Schultz that they were taking him to the police station for questioning and that he should bring his documents with him. On arrival, he was informed that he was being arrested for contravening section 8. He was subsequently instructed to remove his shoes and jersey and was left with two items of clothing and locked in a cell with 11 other people. Schultz appeared before a Chinhoyi magistrate on Monday. His case was withdrawn before plea and he was allowed to return home. Ends. 22 August 2002 Contact Jenni Williams on Mobile (+263) 91 300456 or 11213 885 Or on email: firstname.lastname@example.org Or Fax (+2639) 63978 or (+2634) 703829 Office email: email@example.com
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's President, justifies his policy of seizing white-owned farms the same way he justifies everything -- as a campaign against the vestiges of colonialism. "Land, being the most important natural resource of any country," he says, "must belong to ... the indigenous people."
But for the most part, the only "indigenous people" who have profited from the seizures are uneducated thugs loyal to Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party. Because these men have no farming experience, Zimbabwe teeters on the brink of starvation -- its once bountiful white-owned farms divided into black-owned weed warrens.
And just in case there's anyone out there who still gives credence to Mr. Mugabe's anti-colonial posturing, this just in: Grace Mugabe, Mr. Mugabe's 38-year-old wife, has personally taken ownership of a choice white-owned plot called Iron Mask. A land-reform campaign launched under the banner of reversing a racist legacy has descended into baldfaced criminal nepotism.
A comparison with Nelson Mandela, the hero of the campaign against white rule in adjacent South Africa, is instructive. When Mr. Mandela's wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, discredited his cause by engaging in criminal activity, he distanced himself from her and eventually sought a divorce: Loyalty to family was trumped by the struggle for racial justice. But in Mr. Mugabe's case, his wife's crime is actually part of his program: Black empowerment is merely a fig leaf -- personal enrichment and political opportunism comprise his real agenda.
For years, Mr. Mugabe has sought to portray himself as Zimbabwe's Nelson Mandela. But in every other aspect except skin colour, the two men are polar opposites.
But South Africa has intervened on behalf of two of its citizens arrested in Zimbabwe for defying government eviction orders, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad told Reuters news agency.
There can never be a policy for South Africa to replace any government
Aziz Pahad, Deputy Foreign Minister
Earlier this week, the most senior US expert on Africa said that the US was working with South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana to isolate Mr Mugabe in the region.
Analysts say that South Africa could hold the key to Zimbabwe's future and President Thabo Mbeki has been widely criticised for being too soft on Mr Mugabe.
Mr Mugabe and other Zimbabwean leaders are already the subject of a travel ban and have their foreign assets frozen by both the US and European Union following his controversial re-election earlier this year.
"There can never be a policy for South Africa to replace any government... to discuss with anybody about how to replace another government," Mr Pahad told Reuters.
Mozambique has also denied any involvement.
"I am not aware of any initiative of that kind with us... Our approach to Zimbabwe is to bring everybody on board to find solutions," Reuters quotes Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao as saying.
The US State Department's African affairs chief, Walter Kansteiner, said on Tuesday that the US did not recognise Mr Mugabe as Zimbabwe's legitimate leader.
"We're continuing to work with the South Africans and the Botswanans and the Mozambicans on what are some of the strategies that we can use to isolate Mugabe in the sense that he has to realise that the political status quo is not acceptable," he said.
The chief whip of Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has also dismissed the US attacks on Zimbabwe's Government.
"The Americans don't even know where Zimbabwe is," Jerome Gumbo told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
"It is very unfair, especially coming from the administration of George Bush, which came to power in a very strange way," he said.
The most senior United States aid official also launched a blistering attack on the policies of President Mugabe.
These risk turning a drought into a famine affecting half the population - six million people - said Andrew Natsios, head of the United States Agency for International Aid (USAid).
The mechanised, irrigated white-owned farms were an "insurance policy" for the entire region, he said.
Despite the drought, reservoirs on these farms were full of water, which was not being used, Mr Natsios said.
But he blamed several different policies for worsening the food crisis:
"It is madness to arrest commercial farmers in the middle of a drought, when they could grow food to save people from starvation," he said.
Zimbabwe has responded to the US comments by accusing the Americans and Europeans of opposing the policy of redistributing farmland from whites to blacks on "racist" grounds, Reuters reports.
Among the 215 white farmers arrested so far for not leaving their land two are South Africans.
Six South African-owned farms have been listed for acquisition and Mr Pahad said that Pretoria's High Commissioner in Harare is in touch with the Zimbabwe Government about them, but he would not say whether Mr Mugabe was being asked to exempt their farms from the land redistribution programme.
South Africa is by far the biggest economy in southern Africa and has been badly hit by the Zimbabwe crisis, with some investors fleeing the entire region.
In another development, Zimbabwe's state lawyers have admitted that eviction orders served on 30 farmers had lapsed and so were invalid.
Lawyer Lewis Uriri told BBC News Online that this meant the government had to start again with the process of evicting those farmers.
He was not aware of any of the 30 being arrested.
Farmer Colin Shand says this he was arrested and ordered to leave his farm even though his eviction order had been declared invalid.
|Mugabe-inspired Nujoma eyes
Windhoek - Namibian President Sam Nujoma, who
has backed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's land redistribution and
other policies, sounded a warning to white Namibian farmers still holding
on to vast tracts of land.
"Today it is Zimbabwe, tomorrow it is Namibia or any other country. We must unite and support Zimbabwe. What is happening in Zimbabwe is British imperialism," he said.
Nujoma made the remarks as Zimbabwe arrested more than 100 farmers and started to forcibly remove them from their farms.
About 243 000 landless black Namibians are still waiting for land and to resettle them the government needs about R1,1-billion to buy 9,5 million hectares.
Namibia has 4 045 commercial farms. About 30,5 million ha is owned by white farmers and 22 million ha by black farmers. Nujoma's government is concerned by the slow pace of the willing seller, willing buyer policy of acquiring land for resettlement and said it would consider other means of acquiring land.
Lands Minister Hifikepunye Pohamba appealed to white farmers to "be serious and co-operate with the government" in its efforts to make land available to the majority blacks. Since independence in 1990, the Namibian government has acquired 105 commercial farms, of 599 077 ha, and re-settled just over 30 000 people. - Independent Foreign Service
He stressed the importance of stopping the "madness and badness" of Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe from impacting on the nation's people.
The idea of military action resolving this from outside is crazy
Mr Straw said military intervention would not help resolve the current crisis which threatens the lives of millions of Zimbabweans.
Last week Prince Charles reportedly urged Prime Minister Tony Blair to do more to help British citizens fleeing Zimbabwe.
'Sense of frustration'
The foreign secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Thursday: "There is an immediate and mounting humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
"It is hitting white farmers at the moment ... and their plight is terrible.
"The plight of their black employees, who are being thrown off the land, is even worse."
Mr Straw said while he felt the same frustration as everyone else over the situation, he reasoned: "In the end, the future of Zimbabwe has to be in the hands of the Zimbabwean people.
"What we have to do, however, is to support the forces of democracy in Zimbabwe meanwhile, to sustain the people against starvation and increasingly, to isolate the Mugabe regime and that's exactly what we are doing in concert with the international community."
But, he said: "If I had a magic wand. If there was some way - people say do more - well, by God, I am in the market for any additional suggestions about the more that we can do.
"We have more than doubled the food aid and humanitarian aid we are providing to Zimbabwe.
"That is a way of ensuring the madness and badness of Mugabe does not impact to any great degree on the poor people of Zimbabwe.
"What we have done ... is isolate Mugabe."
In a letter to Mr Straw on Wednesday, shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram made a comparison between UK action taken in the Balkans and against ex-Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic with action taken against Zimbabwe and Mugabe.
'Evil as Milosevic'
He asked: "What is the difference between state murder and torture in Kosovo and in Zimbabwe?
"Why was the government so keen to take direct action in Kosovo and is pathetically silent and inactive on Zimbabwe? Mugabe is every bit as evil as Milosevic."
But Mr Straw retorted: "If Mr Ancram is saying invade, military action, then let him say so.
He said: "The idea of military action resolving this from outside is crazy.
"It would lead to a blood bath. It would lead to the immediate declaration of Mugabe as a hero for the whole of southern Africa.
"There would be no international coalition for it.
"I cannot think of anything that Mugabe would more relish than the idea that western powers were seeking to get together some kind of military invasion force."
Free and fair elections
When the UK was the colonial power for the then Rhodesia, it had been unable to muster such a force to deal with a rebellion by white settlers in 1965, said Mr Straw.
The UK had to help, increasingly, to help the "forces of democracy" in Zimbabwe, to enable them to hold free and fair elections as soon as possible so the people can choose their own leader, he added.
Sanctions imposed by the European Union earlier this year were tightened and targeted against the leaders of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
Opponents of President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe have rebuked the UK government for failing to do enough to help the plight of Britons in the troubled country.
The criticism from Zimbabwean campaign groups came as the first white farmers were being evicted from their land by militants.
Foreign Secretary comments on intervention in Zimbabwe
In an interview for BBC radio on 22 August, the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw answered questions about the Government's reaction to the deepening crisis in Zimbabwe
Read the interview the Foreign Secretary gave to the BBC in full below:
What is your response to the situation in Zimbabwe?
This is a desperate situation and it's getting worse. It is hitting white
farmers at the moment, we hear a great deal about that in the news and their
plight is terrible but as they are the first to say, the plight of their own
black employees who are being thrown off the land is even worse.
And when I talk as I spoke yesterday to the Foreign Ministers of South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique, their own sense of frustration about what is happening and the way in which Mugabe's bad and mad economic and social policies are impoverishing not just Zimbabwe, but the whole of the region, is palpable.
But let me just use the example of South Africa because in the end it's future had to be in the hands of the South African people and it was not until that a realisation, in this case by the white political elite who'd seized power in South Africa, that there had to be a democratic path for South Africa's future, that you then had negotiations between F W de Clerk and Mandela leading to now a much more benign path.
What we have to do is to support the forces of democracy in Zimbabwe meanwhile to sustain the people against starvation meanwhile and increasingly to isolate the Mugabe regime and that is exactly what we're doing in concert with the international community.
Not very effectively. I mean the fact is there is international law that
allows them to travel around the country and around the world.
Look, my frustration with that is the same as everybody else's. But let me
just say what we are doing. First of all there is an immediate and mounting
humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.
What have we done the British Government with Clare Short? We have more than doubled the food aid and humanitarian aid we're providing to Zimbabwe. That is a way of ensuring that the madness and badnesses of Mugabe do not impact to an even greater degree on the poor people of Zimbabwe.
Secondly what we have done to a much greater extent that anybody suggested we'd be able to achieve is isolate Mugabe. We've got the Commonwealth to suspend them from the councils of the Commonwealth. That was done by African leaders, Presidents Obasenji and Mbeke of Nigeria and South Africa. Everybody said they wouldn't do it, they did do it. They stood up against Mugabe. And then inside the European Union because Mugabe stole the election and that was obvious the European Union which where the other fourteen traditionally actually stood back from the issue and said this is an argument, domestic argument between Britain, former Colonial power, and Zimbabwe, leave it to them, they've joined with us. We also imposed sanctions in March and at the end of July at my request the sanctions were considerably tightened. And those sanctions are targeted against the leaders of Zanu PF, not against the people of Zimababwe.
But again not very effective in lots of ways and again not necessarily your
fault. What the Conservatives say is to point to things like Kosovo, Sierra
Leone and Afghanistan where we got involved. We're not actually doing anything
practical, physical in terms of Zimbabwe.
Well I listened very carefully to Michael on many occasions and he normally
says you've got to do something. Well we are doing things. We're doing all the
practical things that we can. If the point that's being made with Kosovo and
Afghanistan is that we should assemble a military task force and invade Zimbabwe
then the Conservative Foreign Affairs Spokesman had better say so.
And if they did you'd call that nonsense.
It would lead to a blood bath. It would lead to the immediate declaration of
Mugabe as a hero of the whole of Southern Africa. There'd be no international
coalition for it. I can't think of anything that Mugabe would more relish than
the idea that Western powers would seek to get together some kind of military
We weren't able when we were the Colonial power in face of a rebellion by the white settlers in 1965 when the circumstances were much more propitious for a military invasion, and we couldn't possibly do it now.
But if Mr Ancram is saying invade, military action, well let him say so. If he's not saying so then he must accept that the comparison with Kosovo and Afghanistan is just silly and meanwhile what we've got to do is, is to ensure that the focus is on Mugabe and what he is doing. Yes it is frustrating, yes it is, but we have increasingly to isolate the Mugabe regime, that's what we're doing.
We've got increasingly to help the people of Zimbabwe and meanwhile we've got to support the forces of democracy in there because if we and the Americans and the European Union and everybody else is saying, the crucial thing there is that there should be free and fair elections held as soon as possible, so the Zimbabwe people can choose who should lead them.
|22 Aug 2002|
NGOs struggle as Zimbabwe farm showdown looms
By Busani Bafana
|World Vision Zimbabwe officials prepare to start food
distribution in Mount Darwin, Mashonaland Province. |
Photo by BUSANI BAFANA
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AlertNet) - Relief agencies in Zimbabwe are preparing for an even bigger aid operation as the food crisis worsens and a showdown looms between the government and commercial farmers defying an order to vacate their lands.
More than six million people in Zimbabwe, formerly the breadbasket of southern Africa, face starvation.
The government has stepped up food imports despite limited financial resources, a poor response to its international appeal and an increasingly negative perception of the country abroad.
The impasse between Zimbabwe's 2,900 white commercial farmers and the government has done little to help the country's efforts to ensure that no one starves.
There are fears that the removal of the commercial farmers in the name of land redistribution would aggravate the food situation, besides setting the stage for a violent confrontation between new settlers and farmers who have stood their ground.
In addition, the livelihoods of an estimated 300,000 farm workers are in limbo.
Coverage of the dispute has made the challenge facing NGOs in sourcing international food aid even greater.
Governments in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia have declared a state of emergency to try to attract international donor aid to contain the crisis.
Despite a swift response by the international community in mobilising food and personnel, the need on the ground remains overwhelming, NGOs say.
"So far we are looking at increasing the amount of food we will distribute by three fold," said Norbert Dube, spokesman for a consortium of NGOs operating in Matebeleland, which are implementing partners of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP).
MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER AFFECTED
The NGOs have distributed maize, beans, cooking oil and porridge, all imported. They are covering 19 districts in Matabeleland North but say food shortages are affecting more people than ever.
This follows the combined effects of flash floods in 2001, poor harvests, drought and agricultural disruptions.
"We are still distributing food and from this month we increased the number of districts in which we distribute food. The Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP) alone will feed about 155,000 people in Matebeleland North province," Dube said.
|Lucia Chinzara smiles after receiving food aid in
Mount Darwin. |
Photo by BUSANI BAFANA
Dube said the number of schools benefiting from supplementary feeding had increased from 130 to 260. The feeding is expected to continue until the end of the harvest in March next year.
"The programme no doubt will cost millions of dollars. We cannot really quantify the exact cost to normalise the food situation," he said. "In some places…we have received cases of clinical malnutrition."
In an effort to avert malnutrition, several NGOs are carrying out supplementary feeding for children under five.
Participating NGOs include CAFOD, the Farm Community Trust, Care Zimbabwe and Plan International, which are running supplementary feeding programmes in the provinces of Matebeleland, Mashonaland, Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands.
World Vision Zimbabwe (WVZ), in partnership with the WFP, launched a food aid distribution programme in Gwanda South, about 200 km south of Bulawayo, early this year.
WVZ communications officer Vongai Makamure said that, under the food aid programme, her organisation expected to distribute more than 32,000 tonnes of food over 12 months.
FOOD FOR WORK
"World Vision plans to move from free food distribution to food for work in consultation with the local authorities," she told AlertNet.
Last month WVZ, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), launched a food aid programme for people in Beitbridge and Bulilimamangwe districts.
The USAID-funded food being distributed by WVZ will cover almost 100,000 people in the two districts over nine months.
U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima, launched an appeal for U.S.$285 million for Zimbabwe in New York last month.
Approximately U.S.$230 million of the appeal will go towards food and the rest will be used for agricultural recovery and health programmes.
The WFP has said that pledges of up to 66,600 tonnes of food aid have been made to date.
An FAO/WFP Crop and food supply assessment report for Zimbabwe noted that all districts were in need of food aid for 2002/2003 and this made geographical targeting of food aid difficult.
"While the required amount of food aid varies from one district to another, the nine districts in northern parts of the country that experienced a reasonable harvest will require less assistance than other areas. The greatest food aid need is in the traditionally food insecure districts of Matebeleland, Masvingo and Manicaland Provinces," the report said.
The reluctance of the Zimbabwe government to accept genetically modified maize has also raised concern about the need to get food quickly to those who need it.
Last month, the Zimbabwe government refused 10 tonnes of U.S. maize that did not have a certificate indicating that it had not been genetically modified. Joint missions by the WFP and the FAO have confirmed that up to 13 million people in southern Africa face starvation unless emergency food aid can reach them.
The United Nations has appealed for a total of U.S.$611 million in emergency aid for southern Africa.
The funds would be earmarked mainly for immediate food shipments, but some would also go towards agriculture, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education and child protection services.
By Lloyd Mudiwa and Precious Shumba
‘Ministry of Agriculture concedes in court that
eviction orders are of no force and effect’
The government has conceded that the Section 8 orders
it issued for the acquisition of 38 commercial farms in Mashonaland West
province were invalid and of no effect, according to papers filed in the High
Court in Harare.
This emerged during the hearing yesterday of 51 applications before Justice Charles Hungwe. The applications challenge the validity of the acquisition orders by farmers mostly from Hurungwe district.The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, responding to 38 of the applications this month, said the orders were of no force and effect.
One such response, dated 5 August, followed an application by Vachery Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, which owns Lembwe Farm in Lomagundi District.
“It is common cause the Section 8 order served on the applicant lapsed by operation of law for want of filing a Section 7 court application to the Administrative Courts within the prescribed time,” reads the document. “The Ministry does not oppose the relief sought.”
Earlier this week, Macgregor Kufa, a Mwenezi magistrate, ruled that four farmers arrested for refusing to vacate their designated properties remain on their farms until the constitutionality of the evictions is determined by the Supreme Court.
The police, however, continue to arrest farmers for failing to vacate their properties by 9 August. All the 51 farmers in Mashonaland West were seeking orders declaring the Section 5 notice of acquisition and Section 8 orders null and void. In the remaining 13 cases, the ministry failed to respond to the farmers’ applications within the prescribed period. The State, represented by Nicholas Mutsonziwa of the Attorney-General’s Office, was barred from contesting the issuing of the orders to the farmers. But Hungwe postponed the granting of the orders sought by the farmers to next Wednesday in response to Mutsonziwa’s request.
Hungwe said: “I am reluctant to grant a postponement because the matter is unopposed, but I considered the State’s application because it is
a matter of national importance.“The court takes note of the general state of agriculture in the country and the problems that the government and farmers are trying to resolve.
“But the court hopes that such matters are resolved amicably and not by confrontation. “The court does not want to be seen as an impediment so that these problems can be quickly resolved, although Mutsonziwa failed to provide suggestions of how this could be done.”
Mutsonziwa had applied for a postponement of two weeks. He argued that if orders were granted yesterday, there would be serious security problems for the farmers, the new settlers, and their properties. He could not say how the nature of the insecurity and security affected the fact that the matter was supposed to be dealt with as an unopposed matter.
Opposing Mutsonziwa’s application, Jeremy Callow, the lawyer for 43 of the farmers, accused the government of threatening them with violence.
“If I have understood his submissions as to the security situation, it’s almost as if there is an implied threat. “As Zimbabweans and landowners, are they not automatically entitled, as you and I and any other citizens are, to the protection of the State?” In all the cases the deadline for the government to oppose the farmers’ applications had expired and in others the government had admitted that the Section 8 orders were invalid, he said. Meanwhile, Barry James Warwick, 34, and Gemma Frances Nicholson, 51, of Gurungwe and Tengenenge farms, both in Guruve, appeared before provincial magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe yesterday charged with violating the eviction orders.
Guvamombe, who ordered the Guruve farmers to vacate their properties by Monday 4pm until their matter was finalised, remanded them on $10 000 bail each to 29 August.
Seven other farmers appeared before the same magistrate on Saturday.
Guvamombe said he would rule on Warwick’s application for refusal to be placed on formal remand on 3 September. He rejected a letter by the district administrator (DA) for Guruve allowing Nicholson to remain on her farm, saying he was not the regulatory authority. He ordered the DA to appear in court to testify.
By Precious Shumba
COLIN Cloete, the president of the Commercial
Farmers’ Union (CFU) said on Monday his members were justified in resisting
vacating their farms under Section 8 of the Land Acquisition Act.
Cloete said thousands of commercial farmers had
resisted the eviction orders because they were challenging the unlawful
delisting of their farms in the High Court. But Bharat Patel, the Deputy
Attorney-General, insisted the ongoing evictions were lawful. Patel said: “I am
not sure what’s happening. The only case before the High Court is about farmer
George Pretorious Quinell who is challenging those preliminary orders.” Quinell
was provisionally allowed to remain on his Nyalugwe farm by Justice Benjamin
Paradza on 4 July in the High Court. Cloete is one of the seven farmers in
Selous who appeared before a Chegutu magistrate on Monday charged with violating
the Section 8 orders which made it illegal for white commercial farmers to
remain on their properties after 9 August.
All the farmers are out on $5 000 bail and will appear at the Chegutu Magistrates’ Court on 30 August. “The farmers cannot be convicted outside a court of law.” Cloete said. “We have challenged our farms’ delisting in the High Court and now we have been arrested and ordered out of our properties before the matters have even been finalised in court.” He said the government’s use of the controversial Section 8 orders was unlawful as it rendered the legal course to address disputes irrelevant. About 2 900 Zimbabwean commercial farmers were served with Section 8 orders by the government.
Cloete said: “The evictions might suit the politicians but certainly they do not suit the farming season which is upon us. “This has rendered the farmers destitute and their workers homeless and jobless. Farmers have a greater responsibility to feed the nation and they have bank loans to repay.” Cloete said the provisions of the Section 8 orders were vague and clearly exposed the government’s unwillingness to pursue food production in the face of a famine. The UN World Food Programme has repeatedly said the country faces severe famine that threatens the lives of about six million Zimbabweans, nearly half the country’s population. Cloete said the eviction orders said that farmers have to vacate their farms within 90 days once they have been served with Section 8 orders.
“That only makes sense to politicians,” Cloete said. “There is no crop that is grown and harvested within 90 days.” He said once a farmer received the eviction order, he was expected to cease farming activities within the first 45 days and should vacate the farms within the remaining 45 days. The CFU president said if a farmer had grown wheat before receiving the eviction orders, then it meant they would lose their investment. He said he had abandoned 20 000kg of upgraded tobacco worth about $4 million and 70 distraught permanent workers.
From Sue Lloyd-Roberts in Bulawayo
IT’S quite simple. Those who have Zanu PF cards get
food; those who don’t starve.” The man explaining the politics of food in
Zimbabwe today is speaking in a hotel room in the city of Bulawayo.
It is too dangerous to talk in his home. The name of
the 34-year-old railway worker must be concealed, along with the name of the
hotel whose manager allowed 20 hungry black Zimbabweans to talk to me, and the
name of the church mission who brought them. Any criticism of the government is
considered a slur on President Mugabe and his party and can result in charges of
conspiracy and subversion. In the absence of food, fear is the staple diet in
Zimbabwe. “The food trucks arrive in the villages once a week,” the man
explains. “Everyone has to stand up and shout ‘Long Live Robert Mugabe!’, ‘Down
with the whites!’ and ‘Down with Morgan Tsvangirai!’,” (the opposition leader).
“Only those who can prove they are members of the Zanu PF can stay in the queue.
They say to the others ‘go and get your food from Tony Blair in No 10 Downing Street in London!’ But we don’t know where London is.” As everyone in the hotel room nods in agreement, a woman, a former shop assistant whose husband died of Aids, begins to cry. “My seven children are starving. I heard that food was being delivered in a village 40 kilometres away” she says. “When I arrived, they said I could not have any because I supported the whites and the opposition party during the election. I dare not go home and face my children. I wish I could die.” Drought is causing famine across Southern Africa. In Zimbabwe the catastrophe is aggravated by the collapse of commercial farming, and manipulation of food supplies. “There is only food available for half the country of 13 million people,” an economist in Harare said.
“Robert Mugabe is employing the tactics of Pol Pot. He plans to get rid of the dissenting half of the population by starving them to death.” A village close to Nkayi, in the Midlands region of Zimbabwe, made the mistake of voting for the opposition in last February’s elections. Now its people are being punished. No food trucks arrive here and there are only 44lb of maize left for 200 people until the next harvest in June. Sithembiso Sekai sits in a forlorn heap outside her house, watching her painfully thin eldest daughter crack muphura, a foul-tasting wild nut, to feed to the other four children. The baby at her breast lies asleep, exhausted by the effort of sucking to no avail.
At the neighbouring house 15-year-old Musa prepares a supper of cow’s intestines and one tomato for her family of 16. They have two cows left. Her father, Simba, worked on a white-owned commercial farm before he was laid off when the farm was invaded by black squatters. He says that once the cows have gone, they will have nothing and the family will starve. While Mugabe appeals to the outside world for food, the 2 900 or so white farmers who are left have been forbidden from planting crops. They have watched helplessly as the war veterans and their hangers-on have invaded their farms, slaughtered their cattle and poached the wildlife. “It’s the paradox in Zimbabwe today,” says Peter Rosenfels, under siege at his farm near Bulawayo. “While the government carries a begging bowl we, the producers of food, are being criminalised. Zimbabwe once fed the region. Now we can’t feed ourselves.” – Times (UK) /Zwnews.com
MDC provincial chairman detained for allegedly breaching bail conditions
From Our Correspondent in Masvingo
Edmore Marima, the MDC provincial chairman in
Masvingo, was arrested on Monday for allegedly breaching his bail
conditions.Marima was detained at Chipinge Police Station but no formal
charges were laid against him.
The police in Chipinge said they were waiting
for the officer commanding Chipinge district to formally charge Marima.
Marima is facing a murder charge arising from the death of Gibson
Masarira, a Zanu PF activist allegedly killed by MDC supporters in Zaka
during the run-up to the presidential election in March. He was remanded
out custody on $10 000 bail. He was ordered to report once every Friday to
Birchenough Bridge police in Manicaland. e was also ordered not to move
out of his Mapari resort area without permission from the police.
Marima’s lawyer, Tongai Matutu, confirmed that Marima was in police custody. Contacted on his mobile phone on Monday Marima said: “I am still in police custody. “The police are alleging that they saw my vehicle in Chipinge over the weekend. “I have a driver and my wife can drive and therefore it does not follow that if you see my car I will be in that car.”
THE last thing a government on a slippery
international slope as President Mugabe’s is right now would ever want is
the deportation of a former counsellor at the Libyan Embassy, reportedly
heavily involved in the procurement of oil for Zimbabwe from that country.
Yousef Saleh Murgham had to hurriedly leave his
Zimbabwean-born wife and children in Harare after being declared persona
non grata by the government: he knew too much.
No government deports a prominent national of a friendly country unless that individual has become either deadly dangerous or deadly useless to both.
Until either government comes clean, people will be free to speculate.
The juiciest but also the most terrifying speculation must be that Murgham had been hired to assassinate Morgan Tsvangirai before the presidential election.
Tsvangirai has posed the most dangerous challenge to Mugabe’s long, uninterrupted reign ever since the MDC was formed in 1999.
In the 2000 parliamentary election, the MDC came within a whisker of winning power at the ballot box, thwarted only by the murder and violence that frightened many voters from the polls and gave Mugabe’s party their narrowest win since independence.
Then, before the presidential election in March 2002, we had the amazing declaration by the heads of the army, the air force, the police, the intelligence services and the prison services that if Tsvangirai beat Mugabe, then there would be no President. There were widespread reports of rigging and tens of thousands of people were prevented from casting their ballots, in areas where their votes would have made a huge difference to the outcome.
Some will say this is now all water under the bridge, but the fate of a nation is at stake, and there is no profit in ignoring the past.
Zanu PF is in a veritable stew, largely of its own making. If some of its geriatric leaders believe a short-cut can be devised to eliminate the fiercest challenge to their hegemony, who is to say how low they would stoop?
Most of this is idle speculation.
What is true is that Zanu PF has plunged the country into such a mess that, even at the highest level, the party may not have the wherewithal of how to extricate itself from this self-made political morass.
The best they can do, it seems, is to react to situations. They have no stomach for taking the initiative any more, it would seem.
The country is drifting aimlessly from day to day, a rudderless ship, captained by this old man who seems totally unconcerned even if it were to hit an iceberg as large as the one which doomed the Titanic.
Yet a window of opportunity is offered, ironically, in the drama unfolding daily on the commercial farms.
If Section 8, the bane of the commercial farmers, can now be accepted as being illegal, it could provide the government with a good chance to gracefully step away from the brink – and start all over again.
The temptation to once again tell the courts to “Go to hell” may still be irresistible to a head of state whose macho juices have been bubbling since 2000.
But if Mugabe has any advisers left in his coterie who still love their country, they will tell him the time to end this cruel charade is long overdue.
The land reform programme was going to be implemented with a semblance of order, anyway, if it hadn’t been for the coincidence that Zanu PF lost the constitutional referendum around the same time.
Ruining the country’s reputation of good governance, let alone ruining one of the most promising economies on the continent, is not a price worth paying just to salvage the tottering political career of one man.
Zimbabwe and its future are many times bigger than him.
If Mugabe cannot be persuaded to abandon his reckless policies on land reform, then he ought to be educated urgently on the prospect of being remembered by posterity as the man who wrecked his country for the love of power.
By Madeline Laming
Robert Mugabe and I used to be neighbours. Not the
sort of neighbours who borrow a cup of sugar from each other when supplies run
low and unexpected guests drop in, but we did live only a few hundred metres
apart and I was frequently woken before dawn by his bodyguards passing beneath
my balcony on an early morning run.
I used to see him sitting impassively in the back of
his official car as it whisked him from his home to the Parliament buildings in
the city. He never smiled, or waved at the domestic workers gathered on every
street corner during their breaks from cooking and cleaning.
In 1981, as one of the first Australian teachers in Zimbabwe, I was occasionally invited to official functions. I was also dating
a reporter on The Herald, who introduced me to the genteel art of gate-crashing, so I met Mugabe a number of times. He took himself – and his position – very seriously even then.
A year after I first met Mugabe, I met briefly the then President of Mozambique, Samora Machel, during May Day celebrations in Maputo. The difference was remarkable. Machel was relaxed, happy to be with his people even at the end of a long day presiding over a state function.
Mugabe always seemed to be holding himself apart. He was among the people, but he was never with them.
Mugabe was born at Kutama in 1924. The founder, Father Jean-Baptiste Loubiere, suppressed all trace of African customs and controlled the private lives of his converts. Loubiere preached that salvation would come only through constant prayer and obedience to his orders.
Every task, every action was accompanied by exhortations and prayers for redemption.
Mugabe’s mother, Bona, thrived in this environment. His father, Gabriel, did not, and when Robert was 10, he left the mission and his family for good.
Father Loubiere’s replacement, Father O’Hea, was the first person, other than his mother, to be convinced that Robert was special. Quiet and serious beyond his years, Mugabe had a voracious appetite for learning.
Mugabe made few friends. When Father O’Hea suggested that Mugabe train as a teacher, his mother agreed immediately, even though the cost would be a huge burden to the whole family.
Kutama also provided Mugabe with his earliest lessons in racism. Father O’Hea used his own money to fund development at Kutama when the government tried to stop him “educating the natives above their station”.
Years later, Mugabe vividly recalled a conversation between Father O’Hea and Governor Cecil Rodwell in 1933. When Father O’Hea pleaded for funds to build a hospital, Rodwell responded: “Why do you worry about a hospital? After all, there are too many natives in the country already.” Mugabe never forgot those remarks, and some would say never forgave them either.
Mugabe lacks the visceral racial hatred that was common among Rhodesians – one man I met insisted that his wife wash all his underclothes because he could not bear to have the African servants handle them – but his lingering anger for the humiliations of colonial rule should not be underestimated.
By the time he was in his late 20s, Mugabe already had two tertiary degrees. As a teacher, Mugabe commanded immense respect in the African community, but his position strengthened his conviction that he was special, and separated him from ordinary people.
A scholarship to Fort Hare University in South Africa increased this separation even further.
Mugabe believed he was destined to be a leader to his people in some way, but was unsure what role to pursue. In 1955 he was a messiah-in-waiting.
When the call came, it was from an unexpected direction. Ghana’s President Kwame Nkrumah recruited talented professionals from all over Africa to transform the colony into the first independent African nation. Ghana was a revelation to Mugabe. The sight of a black prime minister and a black parliament exhilarated him.
Thinking of the power wielded by the mission fathers, he had briefly considered becoming a priest, but meeting Sally Heyfron (who later became his wife) changed his plans dramatically. It was Sally Heyfron who persuaded the reserved and austere Mugabe to join the national liberation movement.
Back in Rhodesia in the 1960s, as Mugabe began to make a name for himself, he was frequently patronised by the older, and better known, leaders Ndabaningi Sithole and Joshua Nkomo as idealistic and lacking in political experience. But he would not – could not – accept that liberation was a gift to be bestowed at the whim of the Smith regime.
In the early 1970s, when Ian Smith’s government was willing to discuss a peaceful settlement, Mugabe was afraid that fellow black leaders Sithole and Nkomo would settle for less than majority rule in return for guaranteed places in the new government.
He mistrusted the Rhodesian government and doubted that the British offer to mediate a settlement was genuine.
If they would not negotiate fairly, then he would fight for it. And fight he did. Step by step he forced the Rhodesians to recognise him as a force to be reckoned with.
Mugabe was not supposed to have his way at the Lancaster House Conference that ended the war of independence. He wasn’t supposed to win the elections that followed. Strategic insight, stubbornness and an absolute belief in his own destiny carried him through. Every step towards victory confirmed it.
Within a year of independence, some of Nkomo’s troops attempted a coup, believing he had been robbed of victory. Mugabe’s reaction was swift and deadly. I remember standing on the verandah of the Nashville Secondary College in Gweru watching the air force bomb rebel troops nearby.
Two years before Sally’s death in 1992, Mugabe married Grace Marufu, his former secretary and 40 years his junior. Their marriage was later formalised in the Catholic Cathedral in Harare.
All his life Mugabe has believed he is special, but lately he has undergone an apotheosis. He sees himself as more than the elected leader of his people these days. He is their ruler, their chief. His mandate comes not from their will, but from his vision of himself as somehow appointed by God or the ancestral spirits or by his own manifest destiny.
When this change occurred is not clear. My first warning came by post about 10 years ago. I had written, as I always did in April, to wish him a happy Independence Day. This time instead of a polite note, signed by an aide, acknowledging my letter there was a signed photo. A glossy 10 x 8, the sort that a movie idol might send a loyal fan.
Robert Mugabe and I used to be neighbours, but now we are much more than half a world away. – The Age
Madeleine Laming taught in Zimbabwe from 1981 to 1983 as a member of a group of Australian teachers recruited to help boost the number of local children in schools
By Collin Chiwanza
WITH just a few weeks to go before the onset of
the new agricultural season, most newly resettled farmers around the
country have not yet received their allocations of farming inputs promised
by the government under its much-publicised $8,5 billion credit input
Several small-scale farmers interviewed by The
Daily News yesterday said they had repeatedly appealed to the government
to speedily distribute inputs to enable them to embark on dry planting
before the onset of the rains, but with no success.Andrew Majachani, 38, a
newly resettled farmer in Bindura said: “It now appears that we may never
be able to get the fertiliser and seed which we require for the new season
on time. “We are running late into the season and most of us don’t have
ready cash to finance our farming activities. This delay on the part of
the government may impact negatively on the new agricultural season,”
he said. The government announced early this year that it had $8,5 billion in its coffers earmarked specifically for the new farmers to enable them to get farming inputs, adequate training and extension services.
However, most farmers are yet to benefit from the fund, which they suspected could be hijacked by senior government officials and their relatives who corruptly benefited from the land redistribution exercise, now in its third year.
“Our greatest concern is that if inputs are distributed late, farmers will not be able to produce enough. If inputs are distributed after August this means farmers will experience poor harvests and food shortages will continue to haunt the nation into the year 2003,” Majachani lamented. In Chegutu, hundreds of peasants who invaded Paarl Farm said they could hardly afford to buy a single bag of fertiliser and were just waiting for handouts from the government. “If we don’t get the vital inputs from the government, some of us will just look at our newly-acquired pieces of land and do nothing because we don’t have the money. We are just waiting for the government,” said Ishmael Mukonoweshuro, who has been living on Paarl Farm for the past two years. In Nyazura, Godfrey Kapfumvuti, 43, said: “The success of the new farmers depends on the release of farming inputs from the government. We look up to the government to provide us with the inputs as they have long promised many of us who cannot afford to
The problems facing new farmers have been compounded by the reluctance of most commercial banks to fund them, fearing that the new farmers may not be able to pay back because of the uncertainty surrounding
Since 2000, the government has been orchestrating a chaotic and often violent land reform programme that has seen a number of large-scale commercial farmers losing their properties to so-called war veterans, with the blessings of President Mugabe’s government. | <urn:uuid:52ec294b-ab3f-478d-bf6e-1c95277afaa5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/aug23_2002.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973127 | 13,698 | 1.601563 | 2 |
These pictures were taken by a helicopter flying over Lake Wiess about 90 miles north of Birmingham , Alabama. The helicopter pilot and the game warden were in communication via radio. Here is a transcript of their conversation.
'Air1 have you a visual on the gator, over'
'Approaching inlet now, over'
'Gator sighted.. Looks like it has a small animal in its mouth.. moving in, over'
'Holy Crap it's a Deer!'
'Confirm Air1.. did you say Deer?, Over'
'Roger.. a Deer in its mouth.. looks like a full sized buck.. that's a big gator, we are going to need more men, Over'
'Roger Air1.. can you give me a idea on size of animal, over'
'Its big 25 feet at least, please advise Gator is heading to inlet.. do I pursue?, over'
Alligator with Stag in its Mouth
That has to be a HUGE gator to have a whole deer in its mouth! The deer was later found to be a mature Stag and was measured at 11 feet! This alligator was found between Centre and Leesburg , Alabama , near a house ! Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator. Anita and Charlie Rogers could hear the bellowing in the night.
28 foot Alligator
Their neighbors had been telling them that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house, but they dismissed the stories as exaggerations. I didn't believe it,' Charles Rogers said, but they realized the stories were, if anything, understated. Alabama Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast. Joe Goff, 6'5' tall, a game warden, walks past the 28 foot, 1 inch alligator 8.5 meters he shot and killed in their back yard. | <urn:uuid:0578f384-64c9-4cae-893e-dac179318b5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itsguycode.com/guycode/605-giant-alligator-killed-in-alabama.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97981 | 393 | 1.71875 | 2 |
My Indian friends have assured me beyond all reasonable doubt that it is not novel to write that India’s liquor sales stop by law on Gandhi Jayanti, the national holiday celebrating the birth of Mohandas K. Gandhi. What was more interesting to me was a note that I read online on Tuesday from my friend Anoo Bhuyan:
“Today at a supermarket, I saw that the entire freezer section was covered in newspaper. A sign on it said, ‘Due to Gandhi Jayanthi,’ non veg not for sales.” (She was in southern India, which accounts for the “h” in “Jayanthi.”)
I wrote back to her: “And yes – have you seen this kind of thing before? Is it normal or widespread? That is, if I mentioned it, would every Indian reader say, ‘yes, of course?’”
She and a few other people I spoke to said that unlike liquor, stopping the sale of meat on Gandhi’s birthday is a matter of choice.
For me, it raises yet another of my questions that provoke anything from annoyance to rage among some of the people who are compelled to listen to me: why would you stop selling meat or non-vegetarian foods on this one day? I understand that Gandhi is widely quoted (though I have not found a definitive version of this) as saying that you can get the measure of a society or a civilization based on how it treats its animals. I’m unaware of the context of the statement, though Gandhi was a vegetarian. | <urn:uuid:1c298c67-a91e-4120-8d37-86b7011c8235> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.reuters.com/india/tag/mohandas-k-gandhi/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977369 | 335 | 1.546875 | 2 |
An emergency meeting of ECOWAS Joint Chiefs of Defence Staff opened
Thursday 5th April 2012, in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, to discuss the
political situation in Mali, including the possible deployment of a
regional military force in the country.
The meeting followed the directive of the extraordinary summit of
ECOWAS leaders held on 27th March 2012 in Abidjan.
The defence chiefs are to discuss the possible deployment of the
ECOWAS Standby Force in Mali following the overthrow of the government
of democratically-elected President Amadou Toumani Toure in the coup
of 22nd March 2012 led by a military junta and the Toureg rebellion in
the north of the country.
The coup has been widely condemned by the international community,
including ECOWAS which has imposed diplomatic and economic sanctions
on the junta, to force immediate restoration of constitutional order
in the country.
ECOWAS and the African Union have also suspended Mali and are leading
international efforts to isolate the junta and force it to hand power
back to constitutionally elected authorities, in line with the
regional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, and zero-tolerance
for forceful take over of government. | <urn:uuid:b734d871-4b4d-4d66-a5d0-d5f5e6e865c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.ecowas.int/presseshow.php?nb=098&lang=en&annee=2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94042 | 260 | 1.671875 | 2 |
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To the heart of the matter
Friday, January 18, 2013
Remember the old joke about the atheist at his own funeral, all dressed up but nowhere to go? This letter is in response to Robert Bart’s refutation (Dec. 30) of my letter (Dec 19) where I stated that Secular Humanism is at the heart of tragedies like the Newtown massacre.
While there is undoubtedly, truth to Mr. Barth’s claim that the sorry state of the mental health services in this state combined with bullying and easy access to guns, are contributing factors to incidents like the Newtown shootings, these explanations do not get to the heart of the matter. I truly believe that our young people are experiencing an existential crisis — that there is a shortage of hope. Adolescents are extremely self-centered by nature, and need to be guided outside of themselves through spiritual practices and service. This by far, is the best antidote to the widespread depression we see in our young people, as they grapple to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Our focus in the schools for so long has been on developing the “self-esteem” of our children, a practice which resonates with the individual self-focus common to secular Humanism. But studies have shown that violent offenders are more likely to have very high self-esteem as well as high IQs. What does that tell us? Our best recourse to this alarming rise in narcissism is to give our young people a spiritual context to their lives, a belief system that is community and service based, a purpose that is beyond their scope, toward something greater than themselves.
As Mike Huckabee has said, “the cause and effect we see in the dramatic changes of what our children are capable of is part of a cultural shift from a God-centered culture to a self-centered culture. We have glorified uninhibited self-expression and individualism and are shocked that we have a generation of loners …. We dismiss the notion of natural law and the notion that there are moral absolutes and seem amazed when some kids make it their own morality to kill innocent children …. And we don’t teach them there is a Creator God who sets immutable rules, a God who is knowable, and to whom we are ultimately responsible. Instead we teach that God was not involved in our origins, that our very lives are biological happenstances and in fact are disposable should they be inconvenient to us, and that any outrageous behaviors are not sin, but disorders for which we should be excused and accommodated. “
Sylvie M. Butler | <urn:uuid:7d90a7cb-a1f6-495c-90f4-ecc7f348d104> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130118/GJOPINION_0102/130119235/-1/FOSOPINION&CSProduct=fosters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970308 | 552 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Updated: Tuesday, 30 Oct 2012, 1:45 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 30 Oct 2012, 5:52 AM EDT
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - West Michigan is seeing and feeling the effects of Superstorm Sandy, which was once a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. It has since weakened and hit the East Coast Monday night. Winds dropped to 65 mph, but it is still packing the punch of a tropical storm.
By early Tuesday, nearly 6.5 million customers were without power across 13 states and the District of Columbia, CNN reports.
The storm is dumping heavy snow in the Appalachians, up to 3 to 4 inches an hour in parts of West Virginia.
At least 13 people are dead in the U.S. Also, one person was killed in Canada. Previously, the storm claimed 67 lives in the Caribbean, including 51 in Haiti.
The storm has stretched into the Midwest.
West Michigan Forecast
As far as the latest weather conditions in West Michigan Tuesday morning, mostly rain is falling from Greenville to the Indiana border, with some spots showing a wintry mix precipitation.
Temperatures range in the low 40s with wind chills in the 20s and 30s, and gusty winds (reports of more than 70 in some communities across the state). It will be windy and wet, with rain and snow showers mixed together throughout the day.
A Wind Advisory is in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday for Cass County.
A Wind Advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. for Allegan, Barry and Calhoun counties.
A High Wind Warning is in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday for Berrien County.
Those gusty winds have knocked out power to at least 119,000 Michigan homes and businesses as the fringes of superstorm Sandy move through the state, according to the Associated Press.
DTE Energy Co. says about 110,000 of its customers have lost power from the high winds linked to the Eastern Seaboard's rough weather. It says about 80,000 remained without power at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
CMS Energy Corp. reports 3,900 customers without service Tuesday afternoon. The utility didn't immediately have a figure available on the total number of customers affected but says it was at least 9,000.
As of 11:50 a.m. Tuesday, these Consumers Energy customers in West Michigan are still affected --
-- Ionia County -- 73
-- Muskegon County -- 320
-- Newaygo County -- 103
-- Ottawa County -- 45
Lake Michigan Conditions
24 Hour News 8 witnessed Tuesday morning wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour and waves as high as 18 feet on Lake Michigan in South Haven. Waves could reach 35 feet in the afternoon.
We also saw 6 to 8 feet at the shore of Oval Beach in Saugatuck, and as high as 20 feet offshore.
This may be hard to believe in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, but an annual … | <urn:uuid:42e433e3-a077-4e77-9462-076624a563c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/grand_rapids/superstorm-sandy-in-west-michigan-october-30-2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950469 | 626 | 1.789063 | 2 |
23-year-old Diana Kosov, who wears a Star of David around her neck, breaks up with her Latino boyfriend, despite her expressed affection for him and his Maserati, after informing him she would only consider marrying a “Russian.”
According to Moses, “In that scene, everyone understands that Diana means she cannot allow herself to marry a non-Jew, but she uses the code word ‘Russian’ in place of ‘Jew’ or ‘Russian Jew’.”
The Jewish Week has an article out about the Brighton Beach (a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood) Jewish, Russian community. Well, the article is really about a new reality tv show called Russian Dolls, which airs on Lifetime. Variety summarizes the show with:
Apparently, “Jersey Shore’s” crimes against culture will include unleashing a torrent of heavily staged reality programs steeped in me-too ethnic stereotyping. Enter “Russian Dolls,” which has the distinction of show-casing the worst Russian accents since the early Bond movies, or back when Boris and Natasha began trying to kill moose and squirrel. Set in Brighton Beach — described by residents as “One square mile of Brooklyn jam-packed with crazy Russians” — it’s a Vodka-infused taste of Lifetime’s desperation to become hipper and get noticed. Will it work? Probably nyet.
Sounds delightful, eh?
So, back to the Jewish Week article, “Too Much Bling in Brighton Beach.” The second half of the article discusses the Jewish identities of the “characters” and intermarriage.
Arguing that as the percentage of Jews in the Russian-speaking community in South Brooklyn has receded from over 80 percent to 60 percent or less in recent years, even prominent Russian Jews have become more inclined to speak publicly of the community as “Russian-speaking” rather than “Russian Jewish.” (An influx of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Uzbeks and others accounts for the drop-off.)
Moses observed, “We are seeing an ongoing de-Judaization of this community, and what we see in ‘Russian Dolls’ confirms that it has become politically incorrect to use the word ‘Jew’ in many situations.”
A rabbi that works with the local Russian Jewish community said,
“Any reality show is obviously exaggerated and cannot be taken too seriously,” he said. “Still, it was good that the producers showed the guts to stand up against intermarriage. Yes, Diana called herself ‘Russian’ instead of ‘Jewish’; but the basic concept that one should marry inside one’s own community was upheld.” Rabbi Tokarsky added. “To compare ‘Russian Dolls’ to ‘Jersey Shore’ is like comparing animal life to plant life. ‘Russian Dolls’ is much better.”
Was upholding “intramarriage” the point of that scene? And was it really about a Jew marrying another Jew or was it about a Russian marrying another Russian? Is there a difference, and, if there is, does it matter?
Note: All comments on InterfaithFamily are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed.
Click here to comment using your InterfaithFamily Network login. | <urn:uuid:8eedb32f-49d3-4e68-b1d4-090cf4273382> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.interfaithfamily.com/blog/iff/popular-culture/russian-dolls/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961693 | 722 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Allison Boyer, 16, a junior honor roll student at Yosemite High School won the Rotary Area Speaking Contest Feb. 27 and will now advance to the District contest on March 30 in Ceres. This year's speech for all contestants is "Peace Through Service."
Second place went to Ealish Ellis of Minarets High School and Laura Shenk of Mariposa County High School placed third. Boyer won the club (Sierra Sunrise Rotary) contest in late January. In that contest, second place went to Hunter Murphy and Kaitlyn Sikora placed third. Both Murphy and Sikora are juniors at Yosemite High.
Donald Eaves, assistant vice president of Yosemite Bank, served as the area contest chairman.
Boyer's award winning speech
When announcing the theme of this year's speech contest, International Rotary President Mr. Tanaka said 'In Rotary, our business is not profit, our business is peace. Through our service, we learn empathy for others. We come closer to people who seem very different from us. And we begin to understand how alike we really are.
Mr. Tanaka brought forth a question that got me thinking. How do we define "peace?" The Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as 'a state of tranquility or quiet.' To me, peace is what my uncle fights for in the Army. Peace is everyone getting along.
In Rotary, the 4-way test brings forth four questions that every single person should ponder before thinking, saying, or doing anything.
The first question is 'Is it the truth?' How can we achieve peace if we are not speaking the truth? How can we form good friendships if they are not based on the truth? Truth is the backbone for every relationship we will ever form.
The second question is 'Is it fair to all concerned?' People's rights are being fought for all over the world. I will quote Thomas Jefferson when I say 'All men are created equal.' The real question is how far are we willing to go in making sure that everyone is treated equally? Without equality, there can be no peace. How far are we willing to go to find true peace?
The third question from the four-way test is "will it build goodwill and better friendships?' Social media has made so many aspects of our life easier, better and more convenient. It's a great way for people to catch up with old friends. But one negative thing about social media: It is now easier to say unkind things. When a person is behind a computer screen, it is easier to be rude. Before you say something, think about how it's going to make you feel after it is all said and done.
Does it pass the four-way test? Think about what social media could do if we used it to promote peace instead of negativity.
The final question is 'will it be beneficial to all concerned?' My uncle was away from his fiancé for an entire year while he was in Afghanistan. In the army, or any branch of the military, their job is to create peace. There is a reason that they call it 'Serving in the military.' Our troops are out there serving our country, promoting peace through their service.
In Mr. Tanaka's quote, he also spoke about coming closer to people who seem very different from us. At Interact events, we often work together with students whom we have not met before. I met one of my best friends at Relay for Life last year. We bonded over soup at four in the morning, creating a great friendship while helping fight cancer.
In my International Baccalaureate Biology class, we are learning about genetics, and my teacher pointed out that we are all 99% the same. It's amazing how much energy people spend focusing on our differences, when in reality, we are talking about 1%. Putting that into perspective, think about how you would feel if you scored 99% on a test. You would feel great, right? You wouldn't give that one percent a second thought.
That's the way we should be with each other. We should not struggle to find the differences we have and then focus on that one percent. If we realize how alike we all are, we are one step closer to finding peace.
I have tried to promote peace through service in several ways. I am currently my Interact Club's vice president. I attend as many events as I possibly can. Recently, I helped save our local movie theater. During Christmas break, I spent time volunteering to make sure that the Met would meet its goal. I am always positive on social media and I stand up for my friends if someone is being negative towards them. I would like to challenge each and every one of you to think about what you are doing to bring peace closer through service." | <urn:uuid:591e208d-bdca-4f45-b4c4-b0f7faf96511> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sierrastar.com/2013/03/14/61746/allison-boyer-wins-rotary-regional.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969211 | 987 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Getting the motivation, the practice and the system to produce those few plays more perfectly is the theme of this book.
The five strategies Mendenhall is using are based on "Five Smooth Stones," a Gustavson agenda presented to corporations nationally and internationally. It is a metaphor based on the stones in the pouch carried by biblical David to slay Goliath.
These include obtaining a competitive advantage by doing things differently; recognizing that an organization is perfectly designed to get the results it gets; processes in organizations are not all created equal; knowledge is the purest form of competitive advantage; and the importance of a leader to capturing hearts and minds is critical.
These ideas drive BYU football and are how Mendenhall rolls.
This is a book coaches can benefit from. It's a book for fans of the program and members of the LDS faith. It is also an excellent lab-rat set of notes for business leaders to see firsthand how attempts to gain order and purpose in an organization can work within their own four walls via examining the BYU football engine.
But perhaps most important of all, for fans and critics of Mendenhall, this book sheds greatly needed light on what makes this introverted, sometimes hard-to-reach, Mitt Romney-like perceived persona tick.
It exposes Mendenhall and takes the reader closer to knowing him beyond his record.
And it explains the philosophy behind why Wilcox is walking along the sidelines looking at his players.
Email: email@example.com, Twitter: Harmonwrites
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- BYU football to receive 6-figure payout... 40 | <urn:uuid:bf57840c-2eff-490f-a384-e87828c3fa02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765601230/Dick-Harmon-New-book-uncovers-BYU-Bronco-Mendenhall-secrets.html?pg=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949821 | 519 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Since innumerable rock tunes contain intertextual references to Kerouacs novel, this presentation is by needs selective, passing over what Steppenwolf put forward in "Born to be Wild" and neglecting such inanities as the Eagles crooning in "Take it Easy" about cruising with "seven women on my mind." Kerouac had already failed to realize that the myth he propounded was gendered. The women in On the Road are either overbearing mamas (like Kerouacs portrait of his own mother) or chicks on the side, mere sexual objects. Most rock musicians, to be sure, are no better than Kerouac; some are even worse sexists, and one need not just think of heavy metal (or most of it). Jackson Brownes Running on Empty is a rare exception as it offers a sensible treatment of gender relations.
What salvages Kerouacs book from oblivion is that the narrative can occasionally evoke genuine joy about being on the road. Some rock songs manage at times to convey the same invoking at once the rhythms celebrated by Kerouac. "Dont the sunlight look so pretty, never such a sight / like going into New York City, with the skyline in the morning light / we rolled right through the night" (Little Feat, "Feats Dont Fail Me Now")
Rolling "right through the night," however, the boys in the cars are often naughty and exhibit a flagrant disrespect for the law (proclaimed exemplarily in Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road"). They ignore speed limits, steal cars, and drive while under the influence of intoxicating substances. Kerouacs adventures on the "nightmare road" reappear in Little Feats plea to "put on your / Sailin Shoes" (referring to cocaine), or in "Henry" by a Grateful Dead subsidiary, The New Riders of the Purple Sage. That Henry makes a run to Acapulco since at home "it all ran dry" and he agreed to pay a visit to "the man who has it growin on the ground." His return trip, then, is foolhardy, a madcap affair: "Henry tasted, he got wasted, couldnt even see. / How hes gonna drive like that, is not so clear to me."
Audio Clip and full lyrics, "Henry," The New Riders of the Purple Sage
Perhaps the fullest rendering of what it may mean to be on the road is Little Feats "Willing." With its title often sung as "Wheeling," it is not limited to cheap adventure, though containing that as well, besides addressing serious existential questions, and thus is worth some attention.
i was out on the road late at night
ive been kicked by the wind, robbed by the
Click for audio clip
(the Sailin' Shoes version)
Lowell George, the writer of the song, died in circumstances pretty much like Rainer Werner Faßbinder, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison etc., etc.
For more on "Willin'" or an
overview of links concerning Little Feat
For more on rock music, generally, go to
"What Is Rock Music Anyway?" | <urn:uuid:3a59e137-5ca3-4dc6-ae1b-8d0a23b93488> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/easyrider/data/WAYWARD2.HTM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95373 | 666 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Plassnik: "Sustainable and practical help towards self-help"
Austrian development cooperation in Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, 12 November 2007 - Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik took the opportunity during her trip to Burkina Faso to visit the Austrian development cooperation (ADC) coordination office in Ouagadougou and find out at first hand about ADC projects and focuses. The ADC focus in the priority country Burkina Faso is "help towards for self-help". The cooperation takes place in three areas in which ADC has a good deal of experience: vocational training, sustainable rural development and the promotion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The aim of all supported projects is to reduce poverty and to promote democracy, peace and human rights, gender equality and the environment. The involvement of women - as beneficiaries but also as the designers of projects - is basic to all of the ADC projects: only if women’s rights are taken into account and strengthened and their education and access to education fostered will they be able to manage their own futures and promote the sustainable development of their country. ADC therefore supports projects and initiatives in particular in the field of textile processing (weaving, dyeing, tailoring, carpet making), which are predominantly the domain of women.
A further basis for sustainable development is access to financing to enable women to create their own small enterprises and obtain a regular source of income. The savings and loan associations are aimed particularly at women in rural areas who live far away from conventional banks or who would not obtain loans from them anyway because of the lack of sufficient security. A successful example of an association of this type is the "Mutuelle d’Epargne et de Crédit des Artisan(ne)s et Producteurs(trices)" (MECAP), which was founded in 2002 as part of an ADC programme. Today it is an independent organisation with branches in 17 of Burkina Faso’s 30 provinces and itself a partner in ADC projects.
Women must have the possibility of determining their lives themselves and of participating actively in the decision-making process. ADC programmes support women and girls and thus make an important contribution to poverty reduction and sustainable development in Burkina Faso.
Federal Ministry for
European and international Affairs
Tel.: ++43 (0) 50 1150-3262, 4549, 4550
Fax: ++43 (0) 50 1159-213 | <urn:uuid:e677662b-bda6-455f-ad38-c765cf73706e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/news/press-releases/2007/plassnik-sustainable-and-practical-help-towards-self-help.html?ADMCMD_editIcons=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937237 | 510 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The measure, House Bill 350, was drafted by Rock based on the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection that was created by the General Assembly in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.
"Rep. Rock's legislation is worthwhile, in that it amends the law to hold criminals even more accountable when they victimize children," said District Attorney Matt Fogal.
"I'm always for that, but I also understand that my role is to enforce the law, rather than make it."
If signed into law, anyone 18 or older who causes bodily injury to a child younger than 12 could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor.
In addition, a first-degree felony charge could be brought if an adult attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes serious bodily injury to a child younger than 12.
Another section of the bill provides for additional criminal charges and penalties if the child is younger than 4.
"The law would not necessarily change the manner in which we prosecute criminals, but rather give the court an ability to hold these criminals more accountable and punish them more severely at sentencing," Fogal said.
The recommendations of the task force were delivered in November and lawmakers in the House drafted and passed additional
The measure now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Samantha Cossick can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org and 262-4762. | <urn:uuid:2cc5604a-ba12-4f01-b50e-cedc31b91c76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.publicopiniononline.com/news/ci_22623998/franklin-county-district-attorney-favors-harsger-child-abuse | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969904 | 292 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Since the president returned to the Hawaiian beaches and golf courses, he can't be bothered with actually signing bills into law.
President Barack Obama's staff used an autopen (a machine that mimics one's signature) to sign the "fiscal cliff" legislation that Congress passed on New Year's Day. There was no ceremony or photo-op for the autopen bill signing.Anytime that the White House provides a legal opinion justifying their actions, I think we should all wonder what the hell they are up to.
The pool reporter sends along a link to a "Department of Justice legal brief on the subject" of bills being signed by the autopen. Here's the link, which says, according to the memo from a deputy assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, that the practice is legally fine in theory.
George W. Bush, though, never signed a bill with an autopen. Obama has now done it 3 times.Why not sign the bill? Why employ an autopen for one document, while making your pen and writing hand available for another on the same day?
The reporter specifically notes that another bill, a defense bill, was physically signed by the president himself yesterday.
Sheesh, Blowie has now soaked us for an extra round trip to Hawaii this holiday season, purportedly so that he could broker the fiscal cliff deal, yet he can't be bothered with (or wants no credit or blame for) signing the bill into law. | <urn:uuid:cd771b54-26b5-4baa-9e19-25cfd3909205> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://passedupstrange.blogspot.com/2013/01/if-no-one-is-holding-pen.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961371 | 300 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Eurovent Certification is a subsidiary of EUROVENT. The first Eurovent Certification Programmes started on 1st January 1994 for Air Conditioners and Fan Coil Units. Other programmes were established in the following years. Today Eurovent Certification provides eighteen programmes with more than 200 participants and with market coverage between 50 and 90%.
Eurovent Certification certifies the performance ratings of air-conditioning and refrigeration products according to European and international standards.
The objective is to build up customer confidence by levelling the competitive playing field for all manufacturers and by increasing the integrity and accuracy of the industrial performance ratings.
The certification provides clear benefits for selection of products and their performance.
For the end users in order to get confidence that equipment will operate in accordance with design specifications, the energy cost will be correctly predicted and therefore the supplied product will correspond to the initial investment.
For manufacturers, the Eurovent Certification programmes create a common platform for competition on equal terms based on comparable data. Finally the image and integrity of the all industry will be improved and a better confidence between manufacturers and specifiers will be established.
Eurovent Certification today
After ten years of operation a global assessment of Eurovent Certification had to be done. At the end of 2004, the Board and the CPPC (Certification Programmes and Policy Committee) concluded that the integrity of programmes must become the highest priority. It meant that the procedures for certification had to be reconsidered and rules strictly applied in order to guarantee that the performance data claimed by manufacturers correspond as much as possible to the reality.
In 2006 the assessment on the final purpose of certification was made and a new approach on communication had been decided.
Following general principles have been defined for use in all certification programmes:
The scope of each certification programme has to be clearly defined. Only products that may be tested by an independent laboratory either inside the laboratory or at participants' facilities shall be included.
For each certification programme only one independent laboratory should, preferably, be selected. The laboratory must be independent with no connection whatsoever to any participant in the programme. Accreditation in accordance with ISO 17025 shall be requested.
The number of tests needed for certification is a compromise between an acceptable minimum from the point of view of integrity and the cost of certification. The number of tests is defined and decided by relevant Certification Committees based on sales of products, number of presented models, cost of an individual test and method of failure treatment. The Compliance Committee may increase the number of requested tests if judged necessary for the increase of integrity.
In each programme an adequate procedure has to be established by the Compliance Committee in order to avoid that units submitted to the independent laboratory differ from the standard units selected by the staff.
The acceptable tolerances ‑ difference between claimed value and result of test in the independent laboratory ‑ shall be maintained as low as possible. Each Compliance Committee shall regularly examine the issue of tolerances and agree on reasonable values in accordance with the technology of relevant products and difficulties of measurement of performance characteristics. Laboratories shall be asked to achieve the lowest possible uncertainty of measurement. The target in the future should be to obtain no deviation between claimed values and result of test in the independent laboratory.
In the beginning of 2004 a total of 223 participants were counted in various programmes (some companies participating in two or three programmes); in January 2005 this number decreased to 208 but in January 2006 increased again to 220. In May 2007 although some companies were expelled still 220 participants join the programme.
In 2006 the Advisory Marketing Committee has been established; consisting of high level marketing executives of participating companies. This committee is charged with defining an overall marketing strategy.
The purpose of promotional activity of Eurovent Certification shall be to obtain the satisfaction of customers - the users of certified products. Therefore, the emphasis has to be put on different items. The communication will be concentrated on following points:
The marketing plan for 2007 and 2008 has been established. It consists of a number of presentations to seminars organised by local associations of consultants, generally members of Rehva. The direct collaboration with Rehva has been increased and participation to relevant congresses will be regular: for example, Eurovent Certification organised a workshop at "Clima 2007" in June 2007 in Helsinki.
The Eurovent Certification website or Online Directory of Certified Products contains details of the programmes, list of participants, product references and performances ratings. Eurovent Certification Company provides updated information on all certified products and ranges as well as the situation concerning new participants. | <urn:uuid:d0e7b6cb-766d-463c-a460-95be665bf751> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eurovent-marketintelligence.eu/eurovent-certification_fr_02_03.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942704 | 907 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Singapore Airlines to stop world's longest flight
Flight from Singapore to Newark takes nearly 19 hours
Singapore Airlines will stop flying the world's longest route next year as the company phases out the aircraft used to make the journey.
The ultra long-haul flight, which runs nonstop from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey, typically takes just under 19 hours to complete. In total, the trip covers roughly 10,000 miles -- and sometimes takes passengers over the North Pole.
The airline uses a roster of aging Airbus A340-500 aircraft to fly the route, but the company said Wednesday those planes were being sent back to Airbus as part of a deal to purchase five Airbus A380s and another 20 A350s. The deal is valued at $7.5 billion.
The A340-500 models will remain in service until the fourth quarter of 2013. Nonstop services from Singapore to Los Angeles will also be eliminated.
Singapore Airlines has operated flights on the Newark route since 2004. A hot ticket for business and luxury travelers, passengers boarding the inaugural flight could hear strains of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" pumped through the aircraft's sound system.
Later, in an effort to concentrate on elite business travelers, the airline stopped offering coach seats on the flight and converted the aircraft to accommodate only business-class passengers.
"Although disappointing that we will be halting these services, we remain very committed to the US market," Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a statement.
"Over the past two years we have increased capacity to both Los Angeles and New York by deploying A380 superjumbos on flights via Tokyo and Frankfurt," he said. "We will also continue to explore additional options to enhance our U.S. services."
Airlines have adjusted routes in recent years as slack demand and rising fuel costs have reduced margins. Some costs have been passed on to customers in the form of rising prices and fees for baggage and other services.
Copyright 2012 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:c1810632-c9a1-4945-9105-438381df3470> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wpbf.com/news/money/Singapore-Airlines-to-stop-world-s-longest-flight/-/8788684/17125252/-/view/print/-/3mvbcp/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94583 | 431 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Yes, Mr. Meyer; Financier: The Biography of Andre Meyer, by Cary Reich. New York: William Morrow & Co. 396 pp. $15.95.
Few of us lead lives of such unrelieved excitement that we can resist an occasional peek into the affairs of the very rich and very powerful. For those weary of the ersatz glamour and intrigue served up by ''Dallas'' or Harold Robbins, Cary Reich has furnished a welcome alternative. Andre Meyer, the subject of this entertaining and well-written biography, was real, all right, and he was very rich and very powerful, indeed.Skip to next paragraph
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From the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, Andre Meyer was the senior partner and animating force at Lazard Freres & Co., a prominent investment banking company in New York, Paris, and London. Meyer masterminded some of the largest and most complex business transactions ever undertaken up to his time, became an internationally sought out counselor to finance ministers and heads of state, was a trusted friend and adviser to some of the world's wealthiest men and women , and amassed a fortune estimated by Mr. Reich to be more than $500 million.
Born in Paris in 1898, Meyer was a rising young star in French banking circles until World War II forced him and his family to flee to safety in the United States. Finding a niche in Lazard's New York office, the hard-driving emigre took charge of the firm before the war ended.
Investment banks are a breed apart from more widely understood commercial banks, which accept deposits and in turn lend the funds to businesses, consumers , and home buyers. In general, investment banks serve the financial needs of corporations in two ways: First, they help companies raise large amounts of money in the capital markets by underwriting the sale of stocks and bonds issued by the companies (a function commercial banks are prohibited by law from performing); second, they advise corporate clients on such transactions as acquisitions of, or mergers with, other companies.
While Meyer saw to it that Lazard got its share of the lucrative underwriting business, his personal passion was for ''financial engineering,'' devising imaginative solutions to corporations' most knotty financial and structural problems. Meyer was by all accounts a brilliant grandmaster in the chess game that is played on the board of international finance. David Rockefeller called him ''the most creative financial genius of our time in the investment-banking field.''
Beginning in the '50s and then especially in the go-go '60s, Meyer applied his wizardry to a dizzying succession of business deals involving hundreds of millions of dollars. This period saw the building of gigantic corporate conglomerates, and no investment bankers were more active or innovative in the merger mania than Meyer and his partners. Mr. Reich reports that over a three-year period in the '60s, Lazard client International Telephone & Telegraph Company alone acquired 48 companies.
Like other people whose talents and success seem to transcend the ordinary human scale, Meyer had an outsized personality. Mr. Reich notes, in what turns out to be a bit of wry understatement, that in many ways Meyer ''was not a nice man.'' He was arrogant, ruthless, and overbearing. He could be astonishingly cruel to his partners (whom he called, and treated as, his clerks) and even members of his family. The depth of his ''greed'' (Mr. Reich's word) is startling. | <urn:uuid:e9c8cec4-7789-418b-9e8f-5115f06a928f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.csmonitor.com/1983/1202/120237.html | 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 | 0.972778 | 719 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The 7 Worst Things About McDonald's
Photo Credit: Jason Patrick Ross / Shutterstock.com
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McDonald’s has become synonymous with food that’s terrible for you, low-wage jobs and overzealous marketing to children. Largely that’s because of McDonald’s scale; the company serves more customers each day than the entire population of Great Britain, and it hires some one million workers each year (reportedly one in eight Americans have been employed by McDonald’s).
This is all to say that there’s a lot to hate about McDonald’s. As such, here is a not-comprehensive list of some of the more outrageous facts about McDonald’s, past and present.
1. It wants employees to work Thanksgiving and Christmas without overtime pay.
McDonald’s has a long history of terrible labor practices, but this is especially Scroogey: this holiday season the company urged franchisees to stay open on Thanksgiving and Christmas (McDonald’s restaurants are usually closed on those holidays). Worse, employees who work those days don’t get paid overtime. According to a company spokesperson, “When our company-owned restaurants are open on the holidays, the staff voluntarily sign up to work. There is no regular overtime pay.”
Mark E. Andersen at the Daily Kos crunched the numbers and figured out that McDonald’s made about $36 million in extra sales by staying open this Thanksgiving. Andersen notes, “It is bad enough that McDonald’s pays crap wages but then they turn around and refuse to pay overtime for employees who volunteer to give up their holidays so that McDonald’s can make several million dollars.” Yup.
2. Workers don’t get fair pay in general.
Not getting overtime pay on major holidays is bad, but unfair wages is a widespread problem for McDonald’s workers year-round. As Sarah Jaffe wrote at the Atlantic recently, “[t]he term ‘McJob’ has come to epitomize all that's wrong with the low-wage service industry jobs that are a growing part of the U.S economy” because “no matter what your job might be, it's assumed to be better than working in a fast-food restaurant.” And of course, McDonald’s is the biggest fast-food restaurant chain there is.
There have been many examinations of McDonald’s pay structure, but this fact sums up the problem best: the average McDonald’s employee would need to work one million hours – or more than a century – to make as much as the company's CEO makes in one year ($8.75 million).
The good news is that fast-food workers, including a number of McDonald’s employees, have been organizing for better treatment and fair wages in recent weeks.
3. Its marketing for kids is “creepy and predatory.”
Two years ago the watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest threatened to sue McDonald’s over its “creepy and predatory” marketing practices aimed at children. In its letter of intent to the company, CSPI likened McDonald’s to “the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children” and said the company uses “unfair and deceptive marketing” to “lure small children into McDonald’s.”
McDonald’s duplicitous approach to marketing directed to children can be seen in a recent press release that boasts that the company’s Shrek-based promotion will “encourage kids to ‘Shrek Out’ their Happy Meals around the world with menu options like fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and fruit juices.” In reality, though, the whole point of the Shrek promotion is to get kids into McDonald’s where they most likely will end up being served unhealthy default options and eating unhealthy meals.
That wasn’t the first time McDonald’s had come under fire for its use of Happy Meal toys to rope in children as customers, and given that the company is the number-one toy distributor in the world, it surely it won’t be the last. | <urn:uuid:3aa396a0-7d0b-4672-b1fa-47913d21f3fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/7-worst-things-about-mcdonalds?qt-best_of_the_week=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942446 | 903 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The church of St. Peter is a small stone edifice of considerable antiquity, consisting of chancel, nave, north porch and a western bell turret containing one bell: in the chancel are two ancient slabs, recovered in 1764 from the churchyard, and bearing an inscription in Norman French to Urian de St. Pierre, who was lord of this place and died in 1239; there are also two incised slabs to members of the Lewis family, dating from the 16th century, and some more modern monuments. The church was restored in 1874, at a cost of £1,000, and affords 50 sittings. The registers seem formerly to have been kept with those of Portskewett. The living is a rectory annexed to that of Portskewett, joint net yearly income £413, in the gift of C. E. Lewis esq. and held since 1880 by the Rev. William Henry Williams M.A., of Jesus College, Oxford, and rural dean of Netherwent, who resides at Portskewett.
St. Pierre Park is the property of Chas. Edward Lewis esq. D.L., J.P., lord of the manor and sole landowner: the fine old mansion, which has been the seat of the Lewis family since the 14th century, is of various,periods, the Tudor style predominating; the deer park has some grand old timber and a lake of about 11 acres in extent. The soil is gravel. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. The area of Mathern and St. Pierre is 3,466 acres of land, 16 of water, 337 of tidal water and 162 of foreshore; rateable value, Mathern and St. Pierre, £6,022; the population in 1891 was 585.
For civil purposes, St. Pierre and Runston were amalgamated with Mathern, by Local Government Order No. 17,581, dated March 25, 1886;
This parish is included in the United School Board district of Mathern, formed 10 December 1875. F. Evans, solicitor, Chepstow, clerk to the board, William Williams, Chepstow, attendance officer.
Hunt William, farmer, Broadwell Farm, Runston
Williams John, farm bailiff to C. E. Lewis esq. D.L., J.P
In the early years of the 20th century my Great Grandfather Sam Wood moved from his home in Gratton Staffordshire (the ownership of which he retained) and bought The Elms Farm at Caerwent, which proved a temporary base, as a few years later he acquired Runston Farm, in the acreage of which the old Runston village and Church stands, and access to the ruins is through the farmyard.
Sam Wood died in 1940, and the farm was occupied by his daughter, my Aunt Alice (Mrs Alice Jones) and my unmarried uncle James Wood ("Runston Jim"). Other members of the Wood family also lived there at various times.
Alice and Jim died in the late seventies, and the other members of the family having dispersed, Runston was sold.
Before he died, Sam Wood (in the days before colour photography!) commissioned a large oil painting of Runston Farm, reproduced here, which has passed down through various members of the family and is now in the possession of my Mother.
Census Records | Vital Records | Family Trees & Communities | Immigration Records | Military Records Directories & Member Lists | Family & Local Histories | Newspapers & Periodicals | Court, Land & Probate | Finding Aids | <urn:uuid:4bd734b5-65e6-4479-ada9-9c3b6120a8b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyalbum/kstpston.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97009 | 757 | 1.84375 | 2 |
I had been in Caracas, Venezuela, for less than three hours when Alfredo turned to Cory and me, and said: “Don’t talk to anyone, don’t let anyone know that you’re foreign, and try not to be seen by anyone. Bad people live here.” Alfredo, from Caracas, is an experienced climber. In 2011 we climbed Lost Arrow Spire, Half Dome and the Salathé Wall in Yosemite. Cory Nauman, the third member of our team, is another climbing friend; together we'd tackled Muir Wall that same season.
I had flown in from Australia, and Cory from America, only to find ourselves in the middle of one of Caracas’s roughest ghettos. We were staying in the home of Amelio, a friend of Alfredo’s. His house was covered with burglar bars and the imposing front gate was locked up with a heavy-duty chain.
Set within a U-shaped valley of jungle-covered mountains, Caracas has one of the highest murder rates in the world. We spent three days locked up in the slums while Alfredo sorted out the logistics of getting us to one of the most remote parts of Venezuela—La Gran Sabana, located in the south of the country.
Cory and I were effectively prisoners of both Alfredo and Amelio. We passed the time checking our equipment, and discussing what to ditch to lighten the load. Our hope was to establish a new route on an unclimbed face on the southern side of the Upuigma Tepui. Tepuis are tabletop mountains with sheer sandstone flanks—some 2,000 feet tall—that rise dramatically above the rainforest in the Canaima National Park on the Venezuelan side of the border with Brazil and Guiana. The Upuigma Tepui was first climbed by John Arran, Ivan Calderon and Steve Backshall in 2007, and the team found several unknown species of plants and animals on the top.
Toward the end of the second day, Cory screamed in pain. I ran over to him. Only at that moment did the remoteness of our location truly sink in. The nearest hospital was at least a seven-day hike away, and prior to our trip, I had read accounts of people being bitten in this section of the jungle and dying four hours later.The tepuis are incredibly remote and unexplored. Simply reaching the base of any tepui is an adventure in itself. For the price of 10 cams, Alfredo’s friend Freddy drove us the 10 hours to Ciudad Bolivar. From there we chartered a tiny Cessna aircraft. As we flew toward the Gran Sabana, the landscape changed from concrete cities to open grassland plateaus followed by thick jungles with raging rivers. We spotted only the occasional plantation and Indian village.
After a two-hour flight, the plane dropped through a massive cloud and the towering bands of sandstone big walls came into view. We landed in the Pemon Indian village of Yunek and from there launched our adventure on foot.
Packed and loaded, we set off early in the morning, first negotiating two river systems using dugout canoes. By day two, we had reached a steep and difficult leg of the journey, passing through slick vertical grasslands and jungle. We were incessantly bombarded by bloodthirsty sandflies until the daily deluge drove them off. We eventually settled down for the night on a semi flat boulder that accommodated a three-man tent.
Over the following days we established an advance base camp under the route El Nido del Tirik Tirik (5.12b, 14 pitches), done by Kurt Albert, Ivan Calderon, Helmut Gargitter and Bernd Arnold in 2008. Alfredo had climbed it two years earlier.
From here we ventured into new territory using our machetes to cut a trail through the dense jungle beneath the largest section of Upigma. We had spied an obvious large white streak with cracks and ledges that ran down most of the face, and were determined to find a way to reach its base. We spent two days hacking through the jungle to reach the white streak.
Toward the end of the second day, Cory screamed in pain. I ran over to him.
Only at that moment did the remoteness of our location truly sink in. The nearest hospital was at least a seven-day hike away, and prior to our trip, I had read accounts of people being bitten in this section of the jungle and dying four hours later. Our only option was to wait and see how Cory would react to the venom, assess his condition through the night and then facilitate a rescue to the nearest hospital in the morning.
At daybreak we were relieved that Cory was still alive, but his foot had swollen to twice its normal size and was charcoal black. We left our advanced base camp, abandoning all our big-wall gear and most of our equipment.
Cory could hobble using his walking poles, but the strenuousness of navigating the steep terrain circulated the poison through his system. Suddenly, blood started seeping out of all his orifices including the bite marks from his encounter with the sandflies.
With our friend in a bad way, Alfredo and I had no choice but to make fun of him. Such is the climber’s way: No sympathy for the vulnerable! (Cruel as this may sound, our ribbing helped to keep Cory’s spirits up).
We stumbled on at the pace of our wounded friend and camped halfway to Yunek. Upon waking up on the second morning of the rescue we were shocked to see that both of Cory’s feet were now black and swollen. Fortunately, from here the terrain was flat and within eight hours we arrived back at the village. By this time it was late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set.
Thankfully the village had a short-wave radio and miraculously a Cessna aircraft passing through a neighboring valley heard our distress call, turned around, and headed back to rescue our stricken friend. Within three hours of being in Yunek, amazingly, we were deplaning in the town of Santa Elena, located on the border of Brazil.
The pilot had radioed ahead and an ambulance was waiting for us. Immediately after touchdown, Cory was rushed to the local hospital. The staff was fantastic and gave the “American Gringo” five-star treatment despite their rather meager supplies. Cory needed regular anti-inflammatory injections and strong antibiotics to combat the infection and stem the swelling. As we had no idea which species of snake had bitten him, the hospital could not provide any anti-venom.
After three days in the infirmary, Cory, though appreciative of the attention, had had enough of the poor sanitation and wanted to leave. The hospital staff kept re-inserting the same needle into his vein, stale blood lined the IV tubes and it was frightening to see air bubbles in the hypodermics that were used to inject the antibiotics. Cory was dismayed to find that the hospital refused to release him. It turned out this was because they feared that if Cory, an American, died soon after leaving their hospital there would be repercussions. To this effect Cory was watched very closely by the hospital security.
That evening, after a few beers, Alfredo and I decided to stage a hospital breakout. We monitored the armed security guards’ movements throughout the next day and noted what time they changed their four-hour shifts. To spring Cory, we would have to bypass three guards and two security gates.
The first order of business was to disguise Cory, which involved fresh clothes, sunglasses and a large straw hat. It would then be my job to create a diversion by talking to the guards in fast English and pointing in the direction opposite to him. My advice to Cory was simple: “Don’t stop for anybody, and act like you own the place.”
That evening, after a few beers, Alfredo and I decided to stage a hospital breakout. Cory and I made it past the first security gate and were doing our best to nonchalantly bypass the final guard at the second gate, where, just outside, Alfredo was waiting for us in a taxi. At this moment though, someone must have noticed Cory’s empty bed because suddenly an alarm rang out. Security instantly noticed the sombrero-wearing gentleman carrying his own I.V. drip and beelining for the exit. We ran the rest of the way, sprinting past the last astonished guard, dove into the taxi and sped away.
Rodriguez, a friend of Alfredo’s, kindly let us lie low in his house on the edge of Santa Elena while we waited for the heat to die down, and to arrange the funds necessary to get Cory to an American hospital and to get Alfredo and myself back to the jungle to salvage our equipment. After three days we put Cory on a plane to Miami for further medical treatment.
One member down, Alfredo and I departed once again for the jungle. We retraced our steps to our advanced base camp to find the Indians had stolen the luxury items from our food supplies, some clothes, and strangely enough, even our mobile SIM cards. We decided to push onto the wall anyway, now with only two weeks left in La Gran Sabana. Before even starting up the route, we still had to finish cutting the path. It took us two more days of hiking and cutting to finally stand next to the wall, which was easily 1,300 feet high—the largest overhang I had ever laid eyes on.
We finally eased into the complexities of route finding with 11 days left. It was glorious to be climbing rather than cutting trails and hiking, and after the third pitch, we verged into the overhanging terrain. We estimated that the entire route’s aspect was between 10 to 15 degrees overhanging. The fourth pitch was especially fun: a beautiful lieback with hand jams through a small roof. Big moves, good holds, and a few gripping runouts on impeccable red and white rock.
The climbing got better and more solid with every pitch. Crack systems linked into horizontal breaks, providing well-protected climbing with occasional runouts up to 25 feet.
Mostly, the climbing stayed within the 5.10 range with a few 5.11 pitches. The rock was generally solid with a few loose sections.
The climbing was very mentally and physically draining. I have been climbing for four years and I was at my limit. Lessons learned from the nine years I spent as a British Royal Marine helped me deal with fatigue and the constant mental stress of trying to onsight each new pitch. Alfredo handled the pressure like a heavyweight climbing champ. I’d never seen someone grin so effortlessly while “cruxing out” on a runout 5.12+ pitch.
For the first three nights we slept on the portaledge, finding small ledges to cook on as we watched the setting sun and appreciated the beautiful view and stunning bird life. Inquisitive hummingbirds hovered around us. Swallows played and flew parallel with the walls, narrowly pulling away from impact at the very last second. Colorful jungle parrots chattered. Though it rained every day, not a single drop touched us under the large overhang.
From days four to eight we camped in caves and slept on flat ledges. Storms rolled past and the skies thundered while we climbed through dense clouds, making route-finding even more gripping.
Most of the climbing was free with the exception of pitch 11, a tenuous A2+ with two tension traverses, and pitch 12, C2+ with mandatory free climbing of 5.11-.
On the 11th pitch, Alfredo was hauling the bags when all of a sudden he found himself in freefall. Terrified, he finally came to an abrupt halt and looked up to see that the sling attached to the Pro-Traxion had been cut by a sharp edge. Luckily he had backed everything up correctly and didn’t end up losing the haul bag—or his life.
Rappelling the face took a full day and as soon as we hit the ground, we started to hike out in horrific rain.On pitch 13, I deadpointed to a large hold that snapped off in my hand. My face did a good job of stopping the rock, but it connected with the bridge of my nose and the peak of my helmet, and I toppled backward. The wall whizzed by my bloodied nose as I fell, and I had plenty of time to remember that I only had one piece of protection, just above the belay. I fell 30 feet, passing an astonished Alfredo, and narrowly missing the belay ledge. It took a few moments to compose myself, this time consciously testing each hold as I progressed past Alfredo, who jokingly told me I was wasting his time playing games on the wall.
It was a relief to pass the last overhang and hit thick jungle on top of the tepui. Both of us were dirty and exhausted so we jointly decided not to bushwhack to the summit. The vegetation was hugely thick and our rations were running low. That night, perched on our ledge, we celebrated with a bottle of rum and jointly concluded that we should name the 14-pitch route The Hospital Breakout (V 5.12+ A2+, 14 pitches, 1,700 feet).
Rappelling the face took a full day and as soon as we hit the ground, we started to hike out in horrific rain. We tried to carry everything back to our advance base camp in one load; however, with the extra weight it took an hour and a half to cover a kilometer in the downpour. We were further thwarted to find that the timid stream where we had once filled our water bottles had now become a turbulent river 165 feet wide. We bivvied nearby, spending the night completely soaked and near hypothermic. We woke to blue skies and the sad sight of a dry shelter just 100 feet to our left.
We split all the gear into four manageable loads, taking two with us, and made the 22-mile trek back to the village of Yunek in a single push. At Yunek we hired porters to retrieve the last gear, leaving Alfredo and me time to hire a dugout canoe. We spent that day chilling out on the river.
The porters returned two days later, and we used the village’s short-wave radio to charter a Cessna aircraft back to Santa Elena. This was not the end of the story; as soon as we landed, I realized that my passport was missing despite having packed it in my bag the day before. We contacted the villagers by radio and the village chief informed us that it wasn’t there. We assumed that a neighboring village had stolen my passport while we were on the river.
I spent the next seven days agonizing over how I was going to get home, and dealing with crooked, lazy cops, but through persistence I managed to obtain the travel document that I needed. I eventually arrived in Caracas and the British Embassy was more than willing to help.
U.S. Marines get very touchy when a sweating, frantic young man with a dark complexion and a large unkempt beard hurtles toward them at a full dash. They deployed their emergency-response team and I suddenly found myself surrounded by 10 masked men with assault rifles pointed at my head.The staff arranged an appointment for the following morning with the American Embassy to arrange an emergency visa to transfer through American airports to get me back to my current home in Australia. The traffic was hellish and, arriving at the airport late, I sprinted to make up time.
U.S. Marines get very touchy when a sweating, frantic young man with a dark complexion and a large unkempt beard hurtles toward them at a full dash. They deployed their emergency-response team and I suddenly found myself surrounded by 10 masked men with assault rifles pointed at my head. I was thrown to the floor, knees thrust into my neck, and handcuffed. Then I was taken into a room and interrogated. I apologized profusely and received my Washington-approved travel visa with two minutes to spare.
This, however, was not the end of my problems as I was delayed in the U.S. due to a numbering error on my temporary passport and visa. Added to that, two of my flights were delayed and the airline lost my bags.
For all the anguish that we went through, this trip was still the greatest adventure I have ever had. Against the odds and challenges, we put up a new route. Alfredo is dirtbagging around the U.S., and Cory is alive and climbing. To this day we still don’t know what bit him.
Shane Houbart is an ex British Royal Marine with four years of climbing experience in 11 countries. | <urn:uuid:1054c4ac-d42a-45f9-b950-eb8c5d65b8cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/the-epic-of-all-epics?A=WebApp&CCID=15819&Page=1&Items=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977835 | 3,554 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Hillsborough schools will not recognize any religious holidays
TAMPA - The Hillsborough school calendar will not recognize any religious holidays next school year, but it will continue a traditional day off for students to attend the state fair.
Ending two years of debate that resonated nationally in the culture wars, the Hillsborough School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt a secular calendar for 2007-08.
It eliminates current days off coinciding with Good Friday, the Monday after Easter and the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
“I think this calendar tiptoes us into the 20th century, not the 21st,’’ said School Board member Candy Olson, capping nearly two hours of discussion on the academic calendar for the nation’s eighth-largest school district.
The calendar continues giving days off that recognize Hillsborough’s agricultural roots.
A majority reversed its plan to do away with Fair Day, a traditional school holiday for students in most of the country to attend the state fair. They agreed to keep the tradition for at least one more year, with fair officials pledging free admission to students on that day.
As in the past, students in east Hillsborough will exchange the Fair Day holiday for a day off to celebrate the Strawberry Festival.
“There’s some unintended consequences that we didn’t have information on,’’ said School Board member Carol Kurdell, who proposed keeping the status quo on Fair Day and Strawberry Festival Day.
LETITIA STEIN, Times Staff Writer | <urn:uuid:ba48c80a-3180-49f2-be20-cc37f05d5942> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/hillsborough-schools-will-not-recognize-any-religious-holidays | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94165 | 319 | 1.765625 | 2 |
It was reported on June 22 that General Stanley McChrystal had tendered his resignation to President Barack Obama and that the White House was actively discussing a replacement who could be quickly confirmed by the Senate:
The source said that among the names being touted as possible successors are General James Mattis, the outgoing head of the US Joint Forces Command and due to retire after being passed over as US Marine Corps commander, and Lieutenant General William Caldwell, commander of Nato’s Training Mission in Afghanistan.
On June 23, en route to a meeting with Secretary Gates, General McChrystal denied that he had tendered his resignation but indicated that he was prepared to do so. More accurately, General McChrystal probably requested retirement instead of resigning his commission; he is certainly eligible for retirement and, like a resignation, acceptance of his retirement was optional with the president.
Following a thirty minute meeting with President Obama, General McChrystal departed the White House “before Obama convened a regularly scheduled war planning meeting there.” That was a pretty good indication of what was to come. An announcement that General McChrystal had been relieved of his command by President Obama was made later on June 23. General McChrystal is to be replaced by General Petraeus.
After offering to step down, it would have been unseemly for Obama to have fired him. Had General McChrystal not offered to go, he would most likely have been fired — more accurately, his retirement would have been demanded. Otherwise, he would have found it even more difficult than previously to perform his increasingly arduous duties in Afghanistan. Those duties have been all the more difficult due to dissension among others in the White House circle. Politico reports that there are divisions among Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President Biden, Gen. David Petraeus, Richard Holbrooke, and others. According to Mike Brownfield:
Those divisions are of Obama’s own making, stemming from his lack of leadership and failure to make a firm commitment to victory in Afghanistan.
Be that as it may, there is one commander in chief of the United States military, and it is a civilian: the president of the United States. Adore him, tolerate him, or despise him, he is still the commander in chief and. He is entitled to the respect customarily shown to that office by military officers; to be disrespectful or insubordinate is highly inappropriate. Taking issue, publicly, with the commander in chief on war policy is grossly inappropriate for a high ranking serving officer and is no less troublesome than a company commander telling his troops that the battalion commander is an idiot. Both degrade the chain of command and neither leads to the enthusiastic obedience of lawful orders. A retired senior officer for whose views I have great respect has told me that:
Any senior officer I know anything about would never tolerate members of his staff making the kinds of remarks reported, and he certainly wouldn’t have said those kinds of things even among his close staff, much less in front of a reporter. If the report is accurate, the president shouldn’t relieve McChrystal; Gates should do it and do it quickly.
Although General McChrystal has apologized to various and sundry for his remarks, I have seen nothing to suggest that he has retracted them or those of his staff members. The only casualty besides General McChrystal thus far has been that Duncan Boothby, the special [civilian] assistant to McChrystal who organized the Rolling Stone journalist’s access to the commander, has resigned as a result of the article.
Surely, General McChrystal knew better than most people what conduct is expected of very senior officers. Had he wanted to comply with these principles, he should have sought retirement from the Army before giving a reporter for Rolling Stone what appears to have been extended access over a period of two months to himself and to his staff. He is not a callow child and cannot be assumed to have been blissfully ignorant of the form his “profile” would likely take. Earlier, he had been chastised by President Obama for going public with his demand for more troops for Afghanistan. His failure to submit his retirement papers before speaking out demonstrated either an abysmal lack of judgment or a desire to provoke the reaction which followed. I can’t find any sufficient basis for assuming the former and shall, therefore, assume the latter and that he got pretty much what he wanted. Now that he has it, what will he do with it?
Paul Mirengoff, writing in Power Line on June 22, observed:
[T]he airing of military grievances in Rolling Stone seems extraordinary enough to cry out for additional explanation. I assume that the conduct of Gen. McChrystal and his aides reflects deep frustration with the Obama administration over, among other things, (a) its inability for the better part of a year to formulate a plan for waging war in Afghanistan and, far more importantly, (b) the imposition of a July 2011 deadline or target date for beginning our withdrawal, along with (c) the decision to retain an ambassador to Afghanistan who doesn’t see eye-to-eye with McChrystal on key issues.
Add it all up, and it probably looks to McChrystal as if he has been dealt a losing hand. That’s hard to keep silent about, especially nowadays.
* * * *
The main consequence of this flap may be to provide various actors with an excuse for doing what they want to do anyway. President Obama should conclude that he needs to relax the July 2011 deadline that is weighing so heavily on McChrystal and others in the military. But he’s far more likely to conclude that the part of him (the main part, I think) that wants nothing to do with the military or with wars had it right all along. And if McChrystal is booted, President Karzai, who has a good relationship with the General, may find an additional rationale for tilting away from the U.S. and trying to cut some kind of deal.
Things are really screwed up in Afghanistan; they were screwed up before General McChrystal got there and they will be screwed up long after the United States exits. According to retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West, there are horrific problems in command and control as well as in other areas. Col. West’s address was delivered on September 11, 2009, and there appears to be little indication that General McChrystal — who had three months earlier assumed command in Afghanistan — did much to fix them. Indeed, it has been argued persuasively that he imposed unduly restrictive rules of engagement, which got some of our troops killed. I do not know whether he was trying to adhere to policy from above with which he did not agree or did it on his own; I suspect the former. If that was the case, he should have resigned his commission or retired in protest even earlier. | <urn:uuid:9c9f389e-34f5-42fe-a712-52389cbba5e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pjmedia.com/blog/the-war-between-obama-and-mcchrystal-is-over-obama-lost/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986098 | 1,438 | 1.726563 | 2 |
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.
Fighting over Facebook post, class X boy stabs schoolmate
A picture posted on Facebook led to such bitterness among two Class X students of a well-known private school in central Delhi that one of them stabbed the other with a paper cutter in school...
Weird > Bad taste
New Delhi > India
Total 'News' available now: 1 | <urn:uuid:8e9c5552-d33b-4e99-9d9f-100fb666c8cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.4to40.com/newsat4/default.asp?k=Stabbed_with_Paper_Cutter | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934982 | 104 | 1.53125 | 2 |
It took Josh Hunter three separate planes, two connections and a two-hour drive to get from Mobile, Ala., to Cincinnati at Easter. When he added it all up, his 720-mile trip had lasted 12 hours -- the same it would have taken him to drive.
"The whole point of flying should be to save a lot of time, and I didn't," Hunter said.
For anyone trying to fly between the smaller cities in the United States, it's not easy to get from here to there anymore.
The major airlines have been paring service for much of the last decade. But their cutbacks accelerated three years ago as carriers merged, fuel prices spiked and the recession reduced demand for seats. Even after the economy started to recover and passengers came back, the big airlines did not restore many of their flights, particularly on routes to small airports, as they sought to bolster their profits.
The strategy has squeezed the regional airlines, whose purpose is to ferry passengers on behalf of the major airlines and provide the backbone of air service to the nation's small airports. Three regional carriers have filed for bankruptcy protection since 2010, including Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines in April.
So while airports in large metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Atlanta have emerged relatively unscathed from these changes, the smaller cities have borne the brunt.
From 2006 to 2011, the nation's top 25 airports lost 4 percent of their nonstop domestic capacity, according to Jeffrey Breen, the president and co-founder of Atmosphere Research Group. In that same period, the next 25 airports, among them Oakland, Calif., and Kansas City, Mo., lost 13 percent. At the next 50 airports -- places like Tulsa, Okla.; Providence, R.I., and Reno, Nev. -- the drop in direct service was even steeper, 15 percent. Smaller airports, like the one in Flint, Mich., have fared even worse, down 19 percent.
"We are all in the same boat here; most airports have lost nonstop capacity in the last five years," Breen said. "But the smaller airports are really the ones that have taken it on the chin the most. It's been a perfect storm for them."
The result is that travelers now face more complicated itineraries, often involving a connection at a big hub airport, and trips that used to take two or three hours can now stretch all day.
Fares in the smaller cities have also risen the most. Ticket prices out of Bellingham, Wash.; Harrisburg, Pa.; and Fort Myers, Fla., for instance, jumped 16-18 percent from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2011, while the average nationwide increase was 6 percent, according to the latest data compiled by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The three most expensive airports to fly from? Cincinnati (where the average ticket price was $488 in the third quarter); Huntsville, Ala. (average price $473); and Memphis ($472). The nationwide average ticket price was $362. (And none of this includes extra fees for checked bags or seats with extra legroom, which have also been rising in recent years.)
The economics of the airline industry have also changed in recent years. High fuel prices have made it nearly impossible for new airlines to muscle their way into the business by slashing prices and offering service to airports that were overlooked by major carriers -- as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways once did.
Don Bornhorst, the senior vice president of Delta Connection, the regional service owned by Delta Air Lines, said many markets did not have enough passengers to justify the flights. Delta recently canceled its two daily flights from Sioux City, Iowa, to its hub in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
He noted that the big airlines had also cut back service to their midsize hubs, like Memphis and Cincinnati, to concentrate on the bigger ones, like Atlanta.
"With the industry consolidation, the need for the smaller regional jets flying to the number of smaller regional hubs has gone down," Bornhorst said. | <urn:uuid:78c71a40-cce1-4c85-b828-402b28306c3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/03/its-not-just-memphis-s-being-squeezed-airline-cons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970253 | 824 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The Left Wing Bias
Posted by billsnyder on January 22, 2013
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
Here’s a classic example of the liberal bias on campus. The Community Center Connection is supposed to merely highlight campus events for students. Yet, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Cornell administration decided to post an ostentatious liberal remark denouncing military spending and supporting entitlement programs. This kind of passive socialization is counterproductive in promoting healthy and balanced political thought. A conservative would argue that aggressive entitlement programs are bankrupting the future of American prosperity, while defense spending is a legitimate public good that the government needs to fund. However, students rarely, if ever, here such conservative opinions from the administration. Furthermore, the administration should not make blanket liberal statements that support a single ideology. This defeats the purpose of an objective academic institution. And given how many famous non-biased MLK references the administration could have chosen for this email, the absurdity of the reference is only highlighted. | <urn:uuid:cf7ebbac-ed9a-49b4-b3f8-bcc155757fc0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cornellinsider.com/2013/01/22/the-left-wing-bias/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93512 | 225 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Researching my grandmother's mother, Anna Wolter (nee Machert) who came to the US in the late 1800's as a young girl, possibly 1881 or 1883 and settled in Chicago IL. On the 1920 Chicago census records it shows the town of Keslein Germany as where Anna originated from. Anna's father was Ernst or Ernest Machert, mother Bertha (nee Seiloff possibly), older sister was Mary or Marie, brother Paul and youngest sister Emma. We may have found an entry for the mother and four children aboard the ship Vandalia in 1881 and I'm trying to both confirm and trace back to where they originated
If anyone has any information on either the family or whether Keslein could in fact be Köslin I would love to hear.
Thanks in advance and Happy New Year! | <urn:uuid:c67ac991-c581-4cca-820f-8dac864c5adb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.ceeurope.poland.provinces1975-1998.koszalin/148/mb.ashx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964421 | 170 | 1.671875 | 2 |
How can I recognize a cult?
A cult is very different from the occult, which is Satan worship. A cult is a religious sect that often consists of enough sprinkling of truth that it is accepted by many, but that never teaches the full Gospel. To determine whether a sect is a cult, you can ask several questions:
1. Whom do they say Jesus is? Do they teach that He is fully God and became man to save the world from sin? Or, do they teach that He was a good man, maybe even a prophet, and that we should all try to be like Him? When Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, in Matthew 16:16, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
2. What is their stand on the infallibility of the Bible? Is the Bible the only true Word of God, or have they somehow come up with more sources? Is the Word of God a living book, relevant to today and fully inspired by God? Second Timothy 3:16 states, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
3. How does one become saved? Is there some method of works or tradition attached to salvation, or is salvation received only through faith in the saving power of the blood of Jesus? Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."
Just for example, let's look briefly at the Jehovah's Witnesses. They believe that Jesus was a good man, but not that He is the Son of God. They also place divine authority on sources other than the Bible. Furthermore, they believe that they acquire salvation through their good works. These beliefs obviously indicate that Jehovah’s Witnesses is a cult. But, a religion does not have to meet all of the above criteria to be considered a cult; just one characteristic will do it. Many mainstream denominations are deceiving people by not teaching the truth. But God does not make exceptions to His Word. | <urn:uuid:7781ad19-dbf8-4bc6-a76f-4e6e94f287e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.raptureready.org/faq/faq44.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978987 | 453 | 1.59375 | 2 |
(MENAFN - Arab Times) Polish archeologists from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw (PCMA), who are on an archeological mission in Kuwait in cooperation with Kuwait's Department of Antiquities and Museum of the National Council for Culture Arts and Letters (NCCAL) revealed on Monday that over 180 sites of different structures, pottery assemblages, farms, enclosures and desert wells were identified, registered, documented and finally inserted into the map as a result of the two-month joint Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission (KPAM) on Failaka Island that started on Feb 8 this year.
Aside from the archaeological mission on Failaka Island, the KPAM also excavated sites in As-Sabbiya region for the seventh time, focusing on the "Tumuli Graves and Other Stone Constructions in the As-Sabbiya Region Research Project" whose results were also discussed by the team during a press conference held at the Embassy of Poland in the presence of Ambassador Janusz Szwedo, First Counsellor and Deputy Head of the Mission Roman Strzemiecki and Shehab A.H. Shehab, the Director of the Department of Antiquities and Museums - NCCAL.
"Summing up the results of the survey conducted by the joint Kuwaiti-Polish Archeological Mission alongside the island coast, it is very important to recognize the archeological evidence on Failaka. We did a comprehensive and intensive survey of the area and we have to stress the importance of the cultural heritage that has been discovered on Failaka Island and what will be found in the coming years. Therefore, there is a need for the implementation of a program to salvage the archeological sites," stressed Dr. Franciszek Pawlicki of the University of Warsaw who is a part of the KPAM.
He revealed that the regions of As-Sabbahiya, Um ad-Dakhan, Matitah, Khariab El-Desht and Mourghy should be regarded as archeological sites with the huge number of different historical structures dating back to the mid and late Islamic period. "In our opinion, these sites and the areas around them should be excluded from any modernization program of the island, at least until the research is fully completed," he pointed out.
Pawlicki outlined that in the meantime, a comprehensive historical study of the development of Islamic settlements located on the southern and northern coasts should be undertaken to understand the relationship between villages. He added that no settlement existed in isolation and the availability of water might be a potential factor related to the phenomenon of their clustering in Um ad-Dakhan, As Sabbahiya, Kharain el-Desht, Mourghy or El Saad El-Aliy, Matitah with large gaps in between. "Further archeological exploration could result with much more information about all other occupation practices of the inhabitants of Failaka," he stated.
On the other hand, the archeological investigations in As-Sabbiya region in north Kuwait, that have been carried out by the KPAM led by Prof. Piotr Bielinski since 2007, aimed at surveying and cataloguing grave sites and other stone structures, exploration of chosen grave sites, especially those endangered by construction work, investigating old desert well network and exploration of a prehistoric settlement site from the period of the Chalcolithic Ubaid culture (6-5th Millennium BC).
According to the team, the plateau of As-Sabbiya has yielded numerous stone structures mainly circular tumuli graves made of rough stones that are scattered throughout the plateau of As-Sabbiya, stretching out between the ridge of Jal Az-Zor and the coastal plain.
"This season, eight stone structures were explored in two different areas at Muheita and Nahdin. In the first sub-region, our team excavated a cluster of five structures, including two tumuli graves and another one most probably partially pulled down in the past - perhaps to provide stone material, an elongated structure and a small structure containing a bin made of slabs set vertically," disclosed Dr Lukasz Rutkowski of the PCMA, University of Warsaw.
Meanwhile, in the Nahdin sub-region, three tumuli graves have been investigated. "Important findings include a pottery vessel discovered in SB 102 and a rich collection of beads, comprising nearly 400 items, turned up in SB 100. The vessel is the first such find discovered by our team since the start of our field research in 2007. The rich assemblage of beads, in turn, proved to confirm an interesting funeral custom that adornments were being put into the grave during its construction that can be provisionally dated to the Early/Middle Bronze Age between the second part of the 3rd Millennium B.C. and the first half of the 2nd Millennium B.C.," explained Rutkoswski as he showed photos of the various beads made from tusk shells, mollusk shells, soft limestone and micro-beads unearthed from the sites.
The team disclosed that they will continue with their archeological mission and announce their new findings in December this year.
"We are working on the program to protect and preserve these archeological sites in cooperation with our Polish counterpart. We are also working on the plan to have some sites on Failaka to be included in the list of UNESCO heritage sites," concluded Shehab. | <urn:uuid:8a986638-d5ba-47d5-ae82-f3429a4dadc2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.menafn.com/menafn/qn_news_story_s.aspx?storyid=1093499804 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956471 | 1,116 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Category: Quality of Life
Over the past week, I’ve watched about 20 episodes of Lee Camp’s Moment of Clarity. Camp has the technique down well. Be well informed, then let it fly with equal parts wit and sharp sword. His targets are those who hurt or disparage honorable ordinary people. His videos are well-planned and executed, with the timing of an experienced comedian. Take a look at any of the four posted episodes below, and I suspect that you will become a Lee Camp fan too.
I know that this article at Bananenplanet is filled with generalizations, but many of them rang true to me. Thoughtful article that suggests that Americans need to look in the mirror. Here are some of the main points:
- We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World
- The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great
- The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us
- We’re Paranoid
- We’re Status-Obsessed And Seek Attention
- We Are Very Unhealthy
- We Mistake Comfort For Happiness
Can we have endless growth (as proposed by many as the solution to our economic woes) on a finite planet? John Atcheson of Common Dreams explains why this idea of endless growth is absurd:
Right now, it takes 1.5 Earths worth of resources to maintain our current economy. By 2050, assuming only moderate growth, we’ll consume nearly 3 Earths worth.
But of course, we only have one planet.
Those extra worlds we consume represents debt – assets taken from our children. In ecologic terms, it is called “overshoot.” And living systems cannot long survive in overshoot mode. The term overshoot comes from ecology, and a classic example of an ecological overshoot might serve to make this concept more real.
So here you go. In 1944, the US Coast Guard released 29 reindeer onto St. Mathew Island. By the summer of 1963, the population had exploded to over 6,000 animals. Quite a success, eh? Not really. By the end of 1963, the population plummeted to fewer than 50 scrawny, starving animals. They’d experienced an ecological overshoot.
It may surprise people who know me that I am not completely anti-gun. It seems like something I might be. I don’t like loud noises and I don’t like violence, and killing hurts me. I have to avert my eyes form a lot of TV and movies. But the gun thing is no longer simple for me. The last time I was stridently anti-gun was while lecturing my father about the dangers of guns. He happened to be holding off a midnight intruder with a hammer and wanted me to go get his gun. I was a senior in high school and I knew everything and I refused . . .
Annie Leonard (“The Story of Stuff”) urges us to stay home on Black Friday, offering us some stunning images in this one-minute video:
What else is there to do? Fifty years ago, people would have thought you were an idiot to even ask this question.
Although I have NEVER shopped on Black Friday, I signed Annie Leonard’s Pledge. | <urn:uuid:fcc20c98-6308-4236-bb3b-6be367f11f8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dangerousintersection.org/category/culture/quality-of-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948678 | 691 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Last week a rally in support of the persecuted Christians took place in Bratislava. Your readers may be interested in how Slovak politicians react to recent horrible events concerning Christians abroad.
Below is his translation of an article from the respected Slovak newspaper SME:
Palko: Europe Shows Disregard for the Killing of Christians
Bratislava — Europe hesitates with expressions of solidarity, as if the killing of Christians in the world was not worth noticing. Those words were stated today to the News Agency of the Slovak Republic by the chairman of the non parliamentary party Conservative Democrats of Slovakia (CDS) and former interior minister Vladimir Palko, who attended the rally in support of the persecuted Christians in Bratislava. The event had been arranged by Young Conservative Democrats of Slovakia, which is a youth movement of CDS.
“The motive is the increasing persecution, even killing of Christians all over world. Since we announced this event, several dozen Christians have been killed in Nigeria, 21 Christians in Egypt on New Year’s Eve, and many other incidents. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that this problem is acute,” Palko pointed out.
According to him, today’s rally resulted in an appeal addressed to the Slovak President, the Slovak government, and the National Council of the Slovak Republic, urging a push through our foreign policy for the observance of human rights for Christians and freedom of religion worldwide.
Palko is convinced that publicizing the persecutions is the first step for the protection of the persecuted. “We believe that this event will also inspire people in other European countries, and it has already happened. For example, I know that this rally has been an inspiration for the event which will take place on January 18 in Saint Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czech Republic. It’s possible that similar events will be arranged also in other European countries,” he added.
Not only a crowd of a few hundred people that attended the rally taking place near the convent church of the Notre Dame order, but also a member of European parliament Anna Zaborska (Christian-Democratic Party) who came to show her support. “The attacks against Christians intensify, and the reaction of the EU and Slovakia does not seem adequate to me. The reason why I attended this rally is because I intend it as an open declaration of my support,” she stated for The News Agency of the Slovak Republic.
Zaborska is also ready to ask in writing the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton to name the particular steps the European Commission has taken in order to support of the Christians all over the world. “I have arranged an appointment with our Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikulas Dzurinda (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union), where I plan to discuss the possibility of Slovakia joining the initiative of Poland, France, and Italy, for the EU should be the first community giving asylum to Christians expelled from their homelands,” she added. | <urn:uuid:6b196a67-bbb8-434a-a780-b338f1c39788> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2011/01/growing-worldwide-persecution-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968578 | 640 | 1.632813 | 2 |
I had a hard drive failure two weeks ago. Luckily almost everything on the system was fully backed-up so it wasn't too much of a pain. I had used unison to backup my home directory and the subclipse eclipse plugin to backup my eclipse workspace. The data that were lost (and ultimately mostly salvaged) were the websites on my system, the contents of my mysql databases, as well as data stored in other user accounts on my machine (although I don't take responsibility for these data). I used dd_recover to salvage data from the broken drive and wrote up a wiki page on the process I used. The process was somewhat successful and most of the important data was salvageable.
My experiences support the rule that prevention is better than cure. So, with this in mind I've set up a page outlining my current backup policies using rsync, unison, subversion, etc. This page will be grown over the coming weeks with backup information I am using to ensure that my websites and databases are not lost in future. In the spirit of openness I'd like people to take a look at my setup and poke holes in it or make suggestions for improvement. Feel free to reuse my scripts to build your own backup scripts as I have done from others (e.g., Mike Rubel's rsync scripts). Remember, backup early and backup often, there is no sympathy for anyone who loses data for want of proper backups. | <urn:uuid:6e69a699-9576-41ef-9452-112b32b3a8f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lorcancoyle.org/blog | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972611 | 291 | 1.5 | 2 |
N.C. legislation would put stricter rules on moped operators
Published: Friday, February 8, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, February 8, 2013 at 5:50 p.m.
On the day a Wilmington man was killed after rear- ending a tractor-trailer with his moped, the N.C. House passed a bill requiring mopeds to be registered, insured and operated by a licensed driver.
Mark Mooring, 39, died Monday in the 10 p.m. wreck on U.S. 76/74 near the Alligator Creek Bridge, a mile west of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
According to N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. C.K. Parks, Mooring was attempting to move into the left lane in the 55 mph zone when he struck the back of an 18-wheeler. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mooring was not wearing a helmet that met federal motor vehicle safety standards, Parks said.
Had the bill been in place, Mooring, whose license was suspended, may not have been on the moped.
Under current law, anyone 16 or older can drive a moped – described as having an engine no larger than 50 cc and a top speed of 30 mph – on a public street or highway.
Commonly referred to as liquor-cycles, moped drivers aren't required to have licenses. So revocation of a license for points or impaired driving has no impact on whether someone can use a moped.
The Monday wreck has StarNews readers commenting on what they see as a way for people with suspended licenses to skirt the law.
The new law would not only mandate licensing, registration and insurance, but suspension would apply to mopeds. It also raises the age limit to 17, and makes it illegal to carry passengers. A moped driver can still get a DWI charge if driving while impaired.
The proposed law, however, won't change what is already in place when it comes to the slow-going and oftentimes frustrating movement of the small motor bikes on area roads.
According to Parks, moped riders have full use of a lane of travel – no matter the posted speed limit.
“In other words… that moped has full use of that lane from the white line to the yellow center line,” Parks said.
State law indicates that because the top speed for mopeds is only 30 mph, their drivers should not be cited for impeding traffic.
“No person shall operate a motor vehicle on the highway at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law; provided, this provision shall not apply to farm tractors and other motor vehicles operating at reasonable speeds for the type and nature of such vehicles,” the law states.
Because a moped has as much right to the road as any other vehicle, Parks said, the rules to passing one are the same.
“When you go around a moped and you don't really go all the way into the left lane, you just slide over, that's wrong,” Parks said. “If you clip them – if they get wobbly and they come over and hit you – you're at fault. The safest thing is, when you pass a moped, you pass it as you would any other car, by changing lanes completely.”
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Transporation.
F.T. Norton: 343-2070
On Twitter: @FTNorton
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:f2295b5f-5907-43b5-922a-50d28f6ddc84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20130208/articles/130209612 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965508 | 789 | 1.773438 | 2 |
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