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|♦ Overview ♦ 3D IP Workhop ♦ Program ♦ Prof. Pawley ♦ Faculty ♦ Companies Represented ♦ Information for Manufacturers ♦|
The 3D IP Workshop follows the UBC Live-Cell Course after a rest day. Although digital image processing in one form or another, is taught in thousands of venues every week, it is unusual for these workshops to concentrate on techniques optimized for the processing of microscopical image data, and even more unusual to concentrate on processing to enhance the graphical display and measurement of image data having > 2 dimensions. The 3D IP Workshop aims to fill this gap. Proper analysis and display of such data is essential to progress in modern biological research.
3D IP follows the Live-Cell Course and all Workshop students have taken the Live-Cell course at some time. As the end of this course includes about 1.5 days of 3D IP, many basic concepts will be covered there. The 3D IP Workshop covers more advanced concepts.
While we do want to expose the students to a carefully selected variety of software products, 3D IP is only 3 days: not long enough to permit an open door policy in terms of which companies are invited to participate. In general, we try to invite companies representing software that covers a wide range of differing capabilities: starting from Image-J, Photoshop and PowerPoint, and progressing to packages costing over $25,000 We cannot automatically accept every vendor that currently offers software that might be useful.
Although some consideration will be given to those vendors who provide hardware and personnel to support the 3D Live-Cell course, in general, choices are made based on what the organizers see as the value-for-money of the software offered, in terms of 3D capabilities, as well as the vendor's willingness to provide suitable hardware and experienced support personnel to help run the workshop.
The software vendor is responsible for providing, in a timely fashion, the software, dongles, passwords and installation instructions needed to operate their packages. If they are bringing hardware, they need to be sure that it gets through customs and arrives in time for them to install it and have it working by the end of the rest day that precedes 3 D IP. (Be sure to keep the paperwork. US Customs has become increasingly fussy about allowing computers, and especially monitors, back in tot he USA.)
Because we have a limited amount of space for setting up equipment, manufacturers that bring hardware may be asked to allow their equipment to be used to demonstrate other, generally "open-source" software during the early parts of the course.
Reps who are present are also expected to help students getting their equipment working and to serve as mentors when students have trouble using elementary software.
In order to catch Live-Cell Course students that do not plan to participate in the 3D IP Workshop, some vendors of 3D software choose to participate in the last two days of the Live-cell Course as well as the Workshop.
Each manufacturer selected to participate will be given time during the workshop (usually ~30 min) to present the strong points of their software. We realize that 30 minutes is NOT enough time for you to tell the students everything. However, it is enough time to introduce its unique or unusual capabilities, and to set the stage for the use of your equipment during the hands-on section to follow.
Given the limited time, it is recommended that presentations "compare and contrast" your software to that already presented rather than "starting from the beginning." It is also recommended that you confine your comments to describing the capabilities of the software on the machines rather than giving a prolonged introduction to the "history of the company...".
A detailed program of lectures and labs will be available before the workshop starts to help you to "tune" your presentation to that of those presented earlier.
If your AV needs spread beyond a 1024×768 digital projector, please contact the organizers.
Any manufacturer of software that is suitable for analyzing or displaying multi-dimensional image data sets is invited to submit literature for distribution to students.
Manufacturers are responsible for making their own arrangements for lodging. In practice, there really is not alternative to staying at the Conferences and Accommodation at UBC. It is nearby, convenient and inexpensive. The nearest hotels are at least a half hour away and parking on campus is a big problem. While the single-shared-washroom accommodations are more than adequate, they are somewhat Spartan. However, they are what the faculty use because one really has very little time to spending ones room. Alternatively, studio- and one-bedroom suites are also available at Conferences and Accommodation at UBC if you reserve early.
In general we provide a venue, students, and faculty. We also provide a fair chance for selected vendors to teach, and to learn from, interested students from many countries. We provide access to a fair share of the table space available for the Workshop for vendors to install their hardware. We provide WWW access, however, as the course takes place in a university setting, you cannot use this access for setting up commercial web sites.
Course content, lecture sequence and other pedagogical matters are entirely controlled by the organizers: Jim Pawley, Felix Margadant, Andres Kriete, Ping Chin Cheng, Glen MacDonald, Robert Murphy, and Badri Roysam.
The Workshop provides lunches and 2 generous snacks to students, faculty and reps each day. Although many participants survive quite well on the generous snacks, breakfast and dinner can be purchased from a wide variety of nearby restaurants, cafeterias and pizza shops.
|Contact webmaster||006434||Last update: Wednesday, May 16th, 2012| | <urn:uuid:39394ef6-8cfb-46e4-b185-bbff1f82e07f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.3dcourse.ubc.ca/2012/public.php?page=overview3d | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948955 | 1,196 | 1.523438 | 2 |
After Saturday's severe thunderstorms that brought hail and gusty winds across Oklahoma City, the threat remains through Sunday night.
Hail, high winds, and flooding rain remain concerns this afternoon in Georgia.
Showers and thunderstorms will be possible at Oriole Park and U.S. Cellular Field.
Severe weather moved through the Plains Saturday. Tornadoes were reported in Kansas.
The 2013 severe weather season took a dangerous jump on Wednesday when an EF-4 tornado ripped through the town of Granbury, Texas, just southwest of Fort Worth.
Folklore says that if you count the amount of chirps a cricket makes, you can calculate the current temperature. Does this hold any truth?
Days after a deadly tornado ripped across north Texas, cleanup continues in Cleburne.
An isolated tornado and hail threat will continue Saturday night from northern Kansas into Nebraska. The greater potential exists with gusty, destructive winds.
One home was destroyed and several trees were uprooted Friday, May 17.
If you suffer with seasonal allergies, the weather can relieve or worsen your symptoms. Marja Martinez has the details. | <urn:uuid:b6792080-eafe-430f-ba80-2e93554a9792> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-video/breaking-weather-lots-of-stor/1670024770?channel=rssw | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951885 | 231 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The Kennedy Family
The Kennedy Family
The Adams Family
The Adams Family
The Strickland Family
The Strickland Family
The Oliveira Family
Navy Lt Commander John Oliveira, his wife, Amy (also a Navy Veteran), and their children, Victoria, Joao and Maria
The Platt Family
Specialist Eddie Platt, his wife, Sarah and four sons: Justin, Kyle, Johnny and Kaleb
Although known as paratroopers in WWII, the 101st now uses air-assault, rappelling down from Chinook or Black Hawk helicopters. “It was a four-day mission,” Eddie explained, “with almost continuous firing. We got the Seal out, and none of us got hurt. So we all had that feeling that we were invincible.” But when Eddie and his unit arrived in Iraq in April 2003, they were dealing with an entirely new situation. “We always felt fear because Iraqi soldiers wore civilian clothes, so it wasn’t clear-cut who the bad guys were,” he added.
Eddie and his unit were in control of the NW sector of Iraq, ensuring that no arms came across the border from Syria or Iran. “Many of the Iraqis had surrendered, so most of the people attacking us were from other countries,” Eddie explained. On September 23, 2003, as the platoon was finishing another presence patrol and returning to base, twenty-year-old Eddie Platt’s life changed forever.
The Martin Family
Donald "DJ" Martin and family from Lagrange, Maine
The Perez Family
Delaney "Rocky" Perez and family from Texas
The Hardin Family
Kevin Hardin and Lillian May from Killeen, Texas
In 2007, Kevin Hardin, a Front Line Army Medic, was severely injured in Iraq when the Hum-V he was driving was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). He endured over 32 surgeries over two years. Kevin has injuries to both of his arms including a fused wrist and the loss fingers. He has more than a dozen pieces of shrapnel in his brain which are inoperable. He spent two years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he met the love of his life, Lillian May. They were engaged in August of 2009. They were married in April of 2010 in a courthouse that used to be a gas station. Their families were happy for them but they believed the couple deserved a real wedding. Kevin's mother wrote to Christmas Can Cure asking for a fairytale wedding for her son.
The wedding will be Saturday, November 13th, Veterans Day weekend, at Eureka Casino Resort in Mesquite, Nevada. For the full story and to read the letter from Kevin's mom click here.
The Ugliono Family
Sgt Shane Ugliono and his family from Hawthorne, New Jersey
Assigned to the 101st Airborne, Shane was leading his five-man team in Samarra, Iraq in January 2008 when his unit was ambushed by 20 or more insurgents. A firefight ensued that would last more then 45 minutes. Shane’s team was not captured that day, they fought back the insurgents but the costs were great. Three members of Shane’s team had been killed. Shane himself had been shot 16 times, with four shots to the head. His left arm is paralyzed and he’s living with the consequences of traumatic brain injury. Shane’s commitment to his troops is a testament to the character of the armed forces; his incredible spirit makes him a role model for us all. When Shane first learned of Christmas Can Cure last year he immediately wanted in. He wrote on his application that he wanted this experience for his wife and children, that it had been a difficult year for his family and that they could benefit from celebrating a wonderful Christmas together. We are honored to be hosting Shane, his wife Kerri and his children Tyler (6), Taryn (5), and Teagen (2).
The Quiroz family
William Quiroz and his family from West Haven, Connecticut
William and his Alpha Company 6th Communication BN FSSG Division served during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Injured during his service at the time of the invasion in 2003, William returned home and with his wife, Desiree, has worked to start a family. They are excited for what they hope will be a white Christmas celebration with their son David (4), and daughter Isabella (2).
The Luce family
Sgt. Jared Luce and his family from Coventry, Connecticut
Jared is a double amputee who is looking forward to the many snow activities the White Mountains have to offer. He’s a family man and looks forward to giving back to his loved ones with Christmas Can Cure. “I am looking forward to building snow forts with my three boys!” Jared will join us in New Hampshire with his wife, Melanie, and three boys.
The Chidester Family
The Chidester Family from Fountain Green, UT
Originally a Cavalry Scout, Bradley was injured in Mosul in October of 2005 when a vehicle was detonated right next to his unit. The blast knocked him unconscious and sent shrapnel through his upper body and face. When he came to, he found himself in the middle of a firefight and returned fire without the use of his left arm. It was during this firefight that Bradley was shot in the leg. The injuries Bradley incurred on this day have had many lingering consequences and he has been guided and supported in his recovery by his wife, Chante, and his four daughters, Madison (12), Mickell (10), Brianna (8), and Sierra (6).
"My family lives with the effects of the war each and every day," said Bradley. "It’s difficult to be a child who lives with an injured Dad. My wife and my children have been injured by the war. I believe Christmas Can Cure could be the catalyst for change in my family…I want to see my wife and children smile again, to see the sparkle in their eyes and hear excitement in their voices."
The Perez Family
The Perez Family from Logandale, NV
Staff Sergeant Joseph D. Perez first enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1988 and served until 1996. In 1999 he heard the call to serve again and this time joined the US Army as a Sgt. in the Military Police. While in Iraq in 2003, Joe suffered serious injuries resulting from a mortar attack at a prison riot at Abu Ghraib. The attack left Joe with a fused spinal cord, traumatic brain injuries, and substantial injures to his left leg. Joe has come a long way in his recovery, helped greatly by the love and support of his wife, Aileena, and their three daughters, Felicia (9), Marissa (12) and Ariel (17). Joe’s recovery has been so successful that he participated in the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride in Las Vegas, biking through Summerlin with Warriors from across the country. Joe and his family live in Logandale, Nevada where they enjoy a very large extended family. Joe says he, his wife and daughters love Christmas and they are giddy about the trip. He is looking forward to seeing his daughters spoiled for a few days.
The Cortinas Family
(Pictured from upper-left, clockwise: Jerry, Selena, Ally and Dion Cortinas)
"I feel like I am dreaming. We are actually pretty private and shy people, but this is so beautiful. I feel like saying to everyone 'Thank you, we are so grateful.'" —The Cortinas Family
Jerry and Celina Cortinas, along with their two daughters, Dion (age 8) and Ally (age 3), traveled to the Mt. Washington Valley in New Hampshire in December 2008 to kick off the first annual Christmas Can Cure. Hailing from Brownsville, Texas, the Cortinas children had never seen snow.
Jerry Cortinas served as a green beret in the U.S. Army Special Forces stationed in Afghanistan. In December 2002, he was loading a rocket grenade launcher when it exploded on site. He suffered extreme head trauma, which left him unconscious for 26 days. His left forearm and hand required amputation.
Before making the trip to New Hampshire, Selena Cortinas said, "As you can imagine, Christmas time for us is a bittersweet time. It is the anniversary of Jerry's accident. The kids absolutely love Christmas, and I try to make it special for them, but with limited money and the memories of the worst time of our lives, it is a tough situation. This trip will fill the month with good memories that we can associate with December, instead of a very bad one."
"This is a dream," said Selena Cortinas, upon arriving in New Hampshire. "I feel like I am dreaming. We are actually pretty private and shy people, but this is so beautiful. I feel like saying to everyone 'Thank you, we are so grateful.'"
The Mitchell Family
(Pictured from top, clockwise: Zac, Roy, Jerrett, Serenity, Michelle)
"We have had a long road since 2003... I have had 37 surgeries to date and a lot of rehab. If I could, I would not change a thing, except having more time with my family." —The Mitchell Family
Sgt. 1st Class Roy Mitchell and his family joined the Cortinas family in New Hampshire last year for the first annual Christmas Can Cure. Mitchell and his family - wife Michelle, and children Zac (age 16), Jerrett (age 6), and Serenity (age 3) - call Fort Drum home in New York state.
Mitchell was injured in Afghanistan on November 23, 2003, requiring an above-the-knee amputation. He also suffered shrapnel wounds to the face and torso, and third degree burns.
"We have had a long road since 2003," Mitchell wrote in a letter to Christmas Can Cure. "I have had 37 surgeries to date and a lot of rehab. If I could, I would not change a thing, except having more time with my family. Since 2003, we have been able to have family time during the holidays just three times out of the last six. It just starts to take a toll on the family bond."
Michelle Mitchell said she felt a transformation as soon as her family drove over the covered bridge and into the village of Jackson, New Hampshire.
"There was no tension. There are no words to describe what people are doing for us."
more photos on flickr | <urn:uuid:3ea0c101-ffa6-469c-9840-0e9c4e70853e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://christmascancure.org/soldierstories/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983032 | 2,201 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Leaders come together to explore personally controlled health records
November meeting to highlight infrastructure
November 20, 2007
To tackle the privacy, business, societal, and technical issues surrounding personal health records -- an integral part of the national debate on healthcare reform -- 100 key leaders from industry, academia, medicine and government will come together November 27-28 for the second annual Personally Controlled Health Records Infrastructure (PCHRI 2007) meeting, hosted by the Harvard Medical School's (HMS) Center for Biomedical Informatics.
"The last year has seen real advances in the field -- in particular, the idea of the 'patient- controlled' health record has gained remarkable traction since our first conference," says Isaac Kohane, MD, PhD, co-director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics and associate professor of Pediatrics at HMS and director of the Children's Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP). "This year we're continuing our focus on the PCHR platform -- the infrastructure."
The two-day meeting -- co-sponsored by Intel Corporation, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Blue Cross Blue Shield of America and Children's Hospital Boston -- represents a landmark effort to make real progress toward the development of a healthcare information platform that will enable the next generation of consumer-focused wellness, clinical and research applications. Working groups at the invitation-only conference will collaborate across three tracks --business models, safe and healthy populations, and technical standards and challenges.
"With a decade of investment in personally controlled health record technology by the NIH, we believe that this meeting will help bring about a tipping point in development, diffusion and adoption," says Donald Lindberg, MD, director of the National Library of Medicine.
"Giving individuals and families control of their health information is a critical step in helping people protect their health," adds Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Highlights of this year's meeting include a keynote address by Doug Solomon, Chief Technology Strategist at IDEO on day one. With more than 25 years of leadership experience in the information technology industry, Solomon has a particular interest and experience in collaborative technologies that enable greater community engagement and participation. Day two will feature a panel on "Transforming Medicine," which will tackle the issue of creating platforms to drive innovation in healthcare specifically.
"The PCHR is widely viewed as a transformative technology for an ailing health care system in need of radical new approaches to cost and quality," says PCHRI 2007 co- chair Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH, a faculty member at the HMS Center for Biomedical, as well as a CHIP researcher and physician in Emergency Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston. Mandl is the scientific lead on the Indivo project, an open source PCHR being used at Children's Hospital Boston and other health care settings, as well as by employees of the founding companies of the Dossia non-profit consortium, including Applied Materials, AT&T, BP America, Inc., , Intel Corporation, Pitney Bowes Inc. and Wal-Mart.
"PCHRI 2006 had a huge impact, leading to the long-term collaboration between the Dossia consortium and Children's Hospital Boston to establish the Indivo system as the national personal health platform," says Colin Evans, president and CEO of Dossia, on behalf of Intel. "Intel is very happy to continue sponsorship of the PCHR dialogue at Harvard Medical School."
For more information about PCHRI 2007, visit: www.pchri.org/2007.
For more information on Indivo, visit www.indivohealth.org.
Harvard Medical School has more than 7,500 full-time faculty working in 11 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in one of 47 hospital-based clinical departments at 17 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. Those affiliates include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Forsyth Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Children's Center, Immune Disease Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and VA Boston Healthcare System. http://hms.harvard.edu.
Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of Medicine and 12 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is a 377-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children's also is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about the hospital and its research visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.
Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH | <urn:uuid:ef993685-ea0e-4399-95e4-c389f43df0b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://childrenshospital.org/newsroom/Site1339/mainpageS1339P378.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935299 | 1,064 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Audiences experience 'Avatar' blues
By Jo Piazza, Special to CNN
January 11, 2010 8:06 a.m. EST
"Avatar" is on track to be the highest grossing film of all time, but some viewers say it leaves them depressed. Some fans say James Cameron's "Avatar" may have been too real
(CNN) -- James Cameron's completely immersive spectacle "Avatar" may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.
On the fan forum site "Avatar Forums," a topic thread entitled "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible," has received more than 1,000 posts from people experiencing depression and fans trying to help them cope. The topic became so popular last month that forum administrator Philippe Baghdassarian had to create a second thread so people could continue to post their confused feelings about the movie.
"I wasn't depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy ," Baghdassarian said. "But I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don't have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed."
A post by a user called Elequin expresses an almost obsessive relationship with the film.
"That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about 'Avatar.' I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na'vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie," Elequin posted.
A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site "Naviblue" that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie.
"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it," Mike posted. "I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.' "
Other fans have expressed feelings of disgust with the human race and disengagement with reality. | <urn:uuid:21345248-4d80-4663-84e9-c517f4532e4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.conservativeunderground.com/forum505/showthread.php?23808-Audiences-experience-Avatar-blues | 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 | 0.977384 | 520 | 1.507813 | 2 |
AC Grayling, the author of the Humanist Bible has a new book out. This time he takes on religious belief and then explains why Humanism provides a better alternative. It looks like an interesting book. see link here
This post, though, isn’t about AC Graylings book. It is about a comment made in a review of the book by someone I assume to be a fellow Humanist/atheist. http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/02/reviewed-god-argument-case-against-religion-and-humanism-c-grayling
My favorite quote is that that he thinks AC’s discussion on Humanism “feels almost tract-like in its evocation of shiny, happy people having fun in a humanist paradise.” This idea of shiny happy people having fun in a Humanist paradise tickles me and it points to a central problem we have in describing Humanism to people.
It seems so pie in the sky.
We are all good people, we can all just get along if we just put our mind to it. It is ultimately a very optimistic philosophy and so full of compassion and do goody-ness that, yeah – telling people about it makes it seem like we are utopian nuts trying to create a humanist paradise. Except that we aren’t.
We are incredibly practical people and highly effective. When we set our mind to a task, we generally get it done. Because the other side of the Humanist philosophy is personal responsibility and critical thinking and hard work and the embracing of reality. We know that our ideal is unrealistic and isn’t going to happen. We are committed to working toward that ideal anyway, knowing that we ourselves are going to fall short. We think it is worth it to move society and people along just a little bit further towards a more compassionate and just society.
Why? Because the alternative is to give in to despair and to live our lives in such a way that we have nothing to be proud of and to allow the status quo, which isn’t all that great, to continue.
And you know what, our approach, for all it’s crazy idealism is working. We have reason to be optimistic. In the past 100 years, movement Humanists have created a tremendous amount of social change towards equality and justice and respect and dignity and ecological conservation and sexual freedom and medical care, mental health care and more.
We may not be shiny happy people living in a Humanist paradise yet, but we are making progress and that is more than can be said for people who don’t think anything can be done and so don’t try. | <urn:uuid:5a0c291b-d273-466c-9438-ddd785c8b1bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://humanisthappiness.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955465 | 558 | 1.6875 | 2 |
A place to discuss topics/games with other webDiplomacy players.
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Can anyone defend Austria when being attacked by Italy, Russia and Turkey?
Can anyone defend the idea that a "power" can produce a better situation for Austria by diminishing the attackers' SC control in exchange for increased unexpected imposition of diplomatic pressure on the attackers?
Something that has always confused me is why people say taxing the wealthy is fair. How can one justify governments taking quadruple the money on those who earn twice as much as the middle class? How is it fair?
"In early capitalist societies land titles were gained through an enclosure process in which peasants were kicked off the land and the land was handed over to the nobility. That's theft. The property was held in common but became private property. Why does ownership need to be privately owned in order for their to be theft? If someone steals, say, property belonging to the government that's still theft is it not? "
Yes... and see also American history in regards to the Natives... the settlers gained title through the existing people being kicked off the land. Theft. The wealth of the descendants of those settlers and immigrants who bought into the system is based on the theft of the land from common ownership to private ownership. At the core of capitalism is coercion (such as threat of losing your low paid job because the "owner" is interested in making as much money off of you as possible) and theft. If land and all improvements to land (buildings and such) were publicly owned, then profits would only be about your labor - not about what you could squeeze out of your neighbor because you own and control his means to making a living.
Demand doesn't create jobs and the rich don't create jobs. It is a much more complex dynamic than that. If there is no investment in companies (the rich) then there is no capital to invest in new processes/products/design/development and the R&D positions and resulting manufacturing jobs to build these new things never happens.
At the same time, even if you "build a better mousetrap", if no one in the widget's target audience has the money to buy it, there will be no need for the manufacturing so the jobs will still not exist.
That said, if the widget's target audience includes those who designed it and those who built it, then it is a self-supporting widget and the jobs that come from it remain and even grow as outside demand will grow them as well.
In short, investment (supply) creates the market for the jobs initially, but demand allows the jobs to remain and even creates more jobs within the same industry.
@TC your examples work for discretionary income. I'm sure Bill Gates doesn't pay $100 for a roll of toilet paper that Joe Blow only pays $1 for. While Bill COULD fly 1st class, that doesn't mean he would. Bill COULD rent the penthouse, that doesn't mean he would.
@Putin33 Profits would be counted as income in my book. At some point in our lives we do become investors, either directly or indirectly.
"In short, investment (supply) creates the market for the jobs initially, but demand allows the jobs to remain and even creates more jobs within the same industry." So, in the debate of chicken vs. egg, you favor chicken. And the federal government is a chicken. ...thus a creator of jobs. Right?
Let's get back on track, shall we? I said that *in theory* everyone can create jobs. It's not a special attribute restricted to the rich or to big corporations. Maybe I should have said that the average person can create jobs, instead of everyone. Because then we started going off on this tangent about how easy entrepreneurship is. I still stand by that, and I think it's one of the greatest things about the Western world. People are unemployed because real life doesn't match up to theory. There are people who have never thought about running a business, or think they can't run a business, or are so poor that they can't even get a loan to run a business, or are used to working for someone else and don't like the idea of running a business.
@The Czech - I hope you saw where I suggested making necessities (like TP and paper towels, food, milk, juice, etc) tax free. And we could even declare some foods (like pop, filet mignon, snack foods ala potato chips and Little Debbies, etc) to be taxable.
As far as other things like housing and cars, Bill and Melida Gates aren't going to buy something like my wife's 2007 and my 2008 Jeep Liberties anymore than her or I would buy something like the blue collar factory worker's 1995 Camaro or his wife's 1990 Chevy Minivan (just an example) so there will be an increased sales tax on the valuation of the car(s). Likewise, the factory guy and his wife probably aren't going to have a $250,000 home and Bill and Melinda's house is clearly worth way more than that. Again, the sales tax would be different.
But the real key to any taxation plan is to not have deductions beyond very basic ones that are identical for everyone so the poor get a break, relative to their income, greater than the rich. In short, all disposable income is taxed equally, and all investments not turned into income are taxed equally. I am a firm believer in property taxes even if I bitch about Kentucky declaring cars as real property that are taxed on there value every year. $475 a year for license plates on two cars... Geez!
It is true that Bill and Melinda will spend more, but if they take their profits and buy municipal bonds with their disposable income there is no tax. With a flat tax (as I envision it) they would have already paid taxes on the cash they use to buy those bonds and the interest they earn on those bonds would also be taxed.
There is an old saw about banks only loaning money to those who don't need it (more accurately, to those who already have money - but have a short-term need for more - to make more). There is definitely truth to it... What does it mean? It seems that banks are of the opinion that it takes money to make money... they are pretty hesitant to invest money in someone who doesn't already have some wealth/collateral - but when they do, they charge a much much higher interest rate. Why? ...Banks realize that it will be a huge uphill battle for this person who doesn't already have money making money as investments to work to pay the bank off. i.e. labor does not pay like capital does. If there's one thing banks understand, it is money and investment... I think we should trust them on this insight of theirs and realize that that is the way that our economy works. The rich have more ability to get richer, the poor have very low chances of getting rich. The banks know that it's about money more than it is about working hard, why don't the conservatives know this? Well, actually, I think many or most rich well educated conservatives know this - and they are simply trying to defend their personal wealth. And the poor to middle-class conservatives that have no investments? They are the useful idiots. They are the hopers and dreamers that believe the lie that the system will reward them for their hard work. Granted that it does, sometimes, but more often it simply uses us for the ends of the wealthy.
It doesn't matter how you scheme a sales tax, it's still regressive. Even if you only tax "luxuries" they're going to cost the poor and middle class more of their money than the rich. The rich save, the middle class and poor are forced to spend most of what they earn. Unless eventually you create a luxury tax that only hits very very high end goods like yachts or whatever, in which case it ceases to be a "sales tax" in any meaningful sense. Most flat tax schemes completely exempt people who, say earn millions or billions off interest from any tax, and eliminate capital gains tax and the estate tax. If you're saying you're keeping these things that flat tax proponents typically call "double taxation", then I don't know what is flat about your tax.
I think the theory is inaccurate and useless. Anyone with talent, ambition, and drive can create no matter what field they are in. The point is that far too few people have talent, driven, and ambition. Probably because demagogues attack people with talent, drive, and ambition because the become rich. We used to celebrate people with talent, drive, and ambition.
As far as people being to poor to start a business I reject that as well. Immigrants that come to this country with the slimmest of assets and no language skills that cut them off from dominant English-speaking society begin businesses. You walk into them every day. Why? Because they have the ambition to organize themselves. I studied under a sociologist at UCLA back in the day, Ivan Light, who did research on the Korean community that came to America in the 1950's. The entrepreneurs in those communities created kinship funds where every member would contribute $100 a year. It might take the fund two years to build up enough for someone to use the money to start a business, but they did and they paid back the loan with interest while the others continued to contribute. This private arrangements became the basis for the vigorous Korea Town in LA today.
My point being that I disagree with what you call the problems, access to money. The problems are the demagoguery of successful people and the traits that made them successful.
It isn't easy to start a business that creates jobs in reality. It is damn hard. People who do it should be among the most respected in the community.
Czech, Why do you want to tax municipal bonds. You want private money to flow to productive uses like bonds of any kinds-Corporate/Municipal/Government.
This is the problem with bad tax policy. It drives money into non-productive shelters. In fact if you have a national sales tax you encourage the creation of investment capital because people get paid interest for saving or investing, but they pay a tax for spending.
Anytime you tax "income" you have to define what is an isn't "income" and people will use their money in unproductive ways to keep it from being classified as "income."
If you tax consumption you get more money from the rich without charging them a higher rate because they eat in more expensive places, stay in more expensive places, buy more expensive items.
There also isn't any question about what gets taxed, consumption gets taxed. If you don't want to consumer you save your money which is a benefit to the individual as well as business that needs investment capital.
Yes we all know TC and his ilk want us to lick the boots of the rich. The people who pushed this economy off a cliff. The people who pay zero in taxes while the rest of us have our incomes go down. No thanks, they're "respected" enough. If these people were so talented our economy wouldn't be in the mess it is now. They screwed it up and we all have to pay for their mistakes.
No, the rich spend far less of their money because they don't need to. So the poor get to subsidize the rich in your world. That's your idea of fairness. Plus it destroys the economy because it creates incentives to lower demand. You not only screw up the economy you screw over everybody but the rich.
Please no non-sensical theoretical statements insinuating that Bill Gates would fly coach instead of first class. The rich fly first class because they can afford to, it is more comfortable, and coach sucks ass no matter who you are in the cattle car part of the plane. Can we be serious.
@TC Your statement Anytime you tax "income" you have to define what is an isn't "income" and people will use their money in unproductive ways to keep it from being classified as "income." is false. People will use their money to make more money if they get to keep what they make. That's why we have all these loopholes and tax shelters now.
I don't want to tax bonds, only the interest from them. Same flat tax as I would from winning the lottery, making min. wage, etc. In your view, from what I gather, is that buying bonds would NOT be an expense and would not be taxed and the interest would also not be taxed because it's income. So, the tax payers pay the bond holder who pays no tax on his "purchase" of the bond. Isn't that how it works now? IF you say tax the expense/purchase of the bond and NOT the income then OK, but I don't think that is what you are saying.
That's the thing about the market, it rewards crap. Every service is getting crappier and crappier. Products are becoming flimsier so that people buy more of them. Indeed companies like Ikea make their living off of selling shitty furniture that breaks so people buy more of it. It used to be the case that you'd buy an appliance and it'd last 20, 30 years. Now you're lucky if it lasts 2 or 3.
VHS defeated Beta, why? Because it was better product? Absolutely not. Cassettes defeated 8-track. Etc etc. Market economies are inefficient and produce junk.
Czech, I agree with your theoretical point that if the tax is flat people will use their money to make more money, but your tax is on "income." The entire key is what you classify as "income." This is the problem now with the "income" tax. Whatever you classify as "income" will be taxed and people will strive to avoid have their money classified as "income" just as they do now. You have to define income somehow and my point is no matter how you define it people will find ways to avoid it because of the tax.
A national sales tax avoids this problem with classification. A national sales tax also is egalitarian. Now Bill Gates and the guy sitting in coach can complain about the 20% tax the both are paying, and for a change the guy flying in coach will realize how much more in real money Gates is paying to fly to the same destination.
When you tax the interest from bonds you are taxing the bonds. For the investor the interest in why they purchased the bond. If you tax the interest you discourage the purchase. Bonds don't change in face value. They simply pay interest.
A national sales tax is still regressive at best and discriminatory at worst.
Bonds do not produce anything except debt which must be paid in the form of higher taxes OR fewer services from the government. Your words==For the investor the interest in why they purchased the bond.== "Purchased" means tax it at the national sales tax rate OR are we going to have to redefine what a purchase is? It doesn't matter why Bill Gates purchase a plane ticket, he still got taxed in your example. Why would he not get taxed for purchasing bonds in your world? Why the exemption?
@Czech - I agree that a sales tax is discriminatory in that those living in affluent neighborhoods where prices get jacke dup will pay more for say, a Corvette, than they would in Bowling Green, KY, where the car is made. So they'll also pay more tax for buying the exact same car. And I like a flat tax on all income. But the fact is, a sales tax would still work. So what if the Gates invest and triple their money every 5 years. For it to actually do them some good, they have to spend it. Then they get taxed. Money, in and of itself, is worthless. It's value is in what it can buy and, as long as everything you can buy outside of the basic necessities is taxed, then the moeny gets taxed when it actually fulfills its perceived value.
But I also likie a flat tax with the deductions as I laid out earlier in this thread.
@TC - on the counter side of the national sales tax is the concept of the barter system and people breaking away from actually purchasing services when they have something of a service the other guy wants. To fulfill legal requirements, they could charge each other a simple $1 fee for what would normally be hundreds of dollars in labor and each pay $.06 for a 6% sales tax.
Bonds do not produce anything but debt Czech? How does a city build a new wastewater treatment plant? How do cities build new schools? How do cities build new fire stations? How do cities build mass transportation systems? All paid for by municipal bonds. "Bond do not produce anything except debt" Hardly.
You seem to have a problem with what a sales tax applies to. Sales taxes don't apply to services-getting your hair cut/seeing a dentist/ etc. Sales taxes don't apply to investments-purchasing bonds, purchasing stocks etc.
Sales taxes apply to consumption purchases.
I didn't create an exemption for purchasing bonds. Investment purchases have never been under a sales tax which applies to purchases for consumption.
Maybe where you live they tax services like a dentist visit. I've never seen it where I've lived in my life. I've also never paid a sales tax on an investment. You don't want to tax investments. Investments are what make an economy grow. A sales tax doesn't and wouldn't apply to capital gains. You would get the money off a capital gain when someone spent the money from a dividend or a stock sale on consumption in the market place.
Here is an interesting one. Would you tax home sales? We don't apply sales tax to home sales now. I wouldn't because you have property taxes instead. I wouldn't mess with the way property taxes are administered at all.
So the sales tax would apply just like it does now, to commercial transactions in the marketplace for consumption. Professional services and investments are hit by sales tax now and wouldn't be hit in the future.
Remember, we are going to a sales tax, at least in my mind, to make the economy grow. If the tax system doesn't tax investment then money will flow into productive enterprises that create jobs and grow the economic pie. If government relies on a national sales tax it will see revenues constantly increase as the economy grows and people have money to spend.
Taxes arent supposed to be fair, income is supposed to be fair. Their is no damn way that bill gates earned that much money. the rich are keeping the poor down through the evil republicans in congress! the democrats are trying to stop the republicans!!!
sales taxes need to be done away with. we need to setup a maximum income for the rich. and we need to get rid of as many taxes as possible on the lower classes. tettletons chew is a stupid idiot who should get a life instead of posting on this forum.
I know what a sales tax is. And already, you exclude services. Who uses more services, the rich or the poor. So the sales tax IS regressive. Also, there is no reason to sell bonds except in cases of emergency. Schools/etc. can be built without them IF the people in charge plan accordingly and tax accordingly. You can NOT tax for today's needs and not plan for tomorrow. Unfortunately borrowing for today's wants leads to not having the funds for tomorrow's needs. I just bought a car and have no payments. Paid cash because I saved a little out of my pay. Governments have funds like this too. To constantly issue bonds perpetuates BAD fiscal policy and has nothing to do with sales tax vs flat tax.
The whole thread is under one mighty loaded question: "stealing" is, in almost any system of ethics, considered wrong. I would argue that until you change the terms of the question, there's just no argument to be made there.
And as far as making the economy grow through a national sales tax... most people have curbed what they spend in this recession. Think of all the credit card holders who will default when they start paying interest on tax collected at the time of purchase under your plan. At first all will seem good, but when the economy hits a bump that interest on the Visa will cause the financial markets to collapse UNLESS you make people pay the sales tax in cash. Like when you by a lotto ticket.
I don't exclude services as I said Czech. Services are not subject to a sales tax in the largest state (population) in the United States where I live, California.
So why would you say that "I" exclude services.
Your statement that there is no reason to sell bonds except in an emergency is simply nonsense. Municipal Bond sells finance all sorts of civic improvements that are non-emergency. The California Aqueduct that brings water to LA was funded by a bond issue. The Erie Canal was funded by a bond issue.
Whether or not bond issues are bad fiscal policy is an entirely different matter.
You brought bonds into the discussion about the flat tax and sales tax by mentioning how you would tax bonds, not me. If you didn't want bonds in the discussion why did you mention them?
Your statements about the economy collapsing because credit card payments that included sales tax ignores the fact that people put their income tax payments on credit cards already, and the economy doesn't collapse.
The fact that you bought a car without financing, I've done that as well, does not mean that all people will or should forego new car financing.
I really don't see a clear point in your last two posts addressing the issue I raised about how you classify "income" that is subject to a flat tax and how you keep people from see tax shelters to avoid money being classified as "income." As I stated before a national sales tax on commercial transactions for consumption as is done all over the nation today eliminates tax shelters altogether. The only thing you have to worry about with a national sales tax is a black market. You simply keep the tax below the level that would spark a black market.
Chris Hedges: Hitchens, Harris and "Secular Fundamentalism Caused Oslo Attacks?
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/fundamentalism_kills_20110726/ Quite possibly the WORST PROFESS IONAL ESSAY I HAVE EVER READ. Stylistically lackluster at best and completely banal at worst, with an emhpasis on terms poorly defined and adjectives poorly used, it's message is confused and WRONG--WHEN has Hitchens had "twisted yearning for the apocalypse and belief in the “chosen people?" UTTER STUPIDITY...
For those of you who love strategy games like diplomacy, there is a free software program called TripleA. almost any time a day you can find 20 users online to play Axis and Allies games. My user name is Colonel_Klink and here is the download site. http://sourceforge.net/projects/triplea/files/ it includes a link to the official forums too.
Welcome To The Obi Factor! (And I'm Inviting ALL the Conservatives In On This One!)
We have a great crop of crazed posts and threads that just seem to keep popping up in this last hour on how AWFUL the Democratic Party is and how the GOP and the Republican Way is, of course, the ONLY Way! So--krellin! Tettleton! Conservative Man! And any others! Come on in and explain your positions HERE, in the concise No-S*** Zone! THIS IS THE FACTOR!
I'd like to set up a live game for alcoholics at some point in the future. Every time you gain or lose a SC, you take a shot. Every time the year changes, you take a shot. Every time a nation is eliminated, you chug. The idea is that as the war goes on, you become more and more "drunk" with power... only for real.
I just set up my first live game for months, as I have not had a whole lot of spare time recently. However, I was disappointed to see Turkey NMR in Spring 1901, Russia in Autumn and finally Italy in builds. More inside.
An honest question for Christians regarding trinity
Trinity - god being one but three - has always and will always be something that I find impossible to swallow... but, for those who believe in it, it occurred to me that it is a model consistent with other Christian beliefs in a way that I hadn't realized before... I have a question about this... | <urn:uuid:bd6c4609-2af5-463e-997a-c37007d466d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://webdiplomacy.net/forum.php?threadID=747869 | 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 | 0.976001 | 5,229 | 1.617188 | 2 |
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If someone were to lend me a time machine and ask me to go back and figure out exactly what first set me down my road to dedicated descriptivism, I would first ask them if perhaps there wasn’t a better use for this marvelous contraption. But if they persisted, the coordinates I’d start with would be my elementary school days. I suspect it was some time around then that I first asked for permission to do something and was met with one of the archetypal prescriptions.
“Can I go to the bathroom?”, I surely must have asked, and just as surely a teacher must have answered, “I don’t know, can you?”
The irritation that I felt at this correction was so severe that even though I can’t remember when this happened, nor who did it to me, I still can call to mind the way it made me seethe. It was clear to me that the pedant was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out quite how to explain it. So, at the risk of sounding like I’m trying to settle a two-decade-old grudge, let’s look at whether it makes sense to correct this. I say that the answer is no — or at the very least, that one oughtn’t to correct it so snootily.
Let’s examine the “error” that the authority figure is correcting. Can, we are told, addresses the ability to do something, whereas may addresses permission. Mom said I can count to ten means that dear ol’ Mum believes in my ability to count to ten, although she may not want me to do so; Mom said I may count to ten means that Mum is allowing me to do so, although she need not believe that I am able to.*
At any given time, there are a lot of things that one is capable of doing (can do) and a lot of things that one is permitted to do (may do), and a few things that fall into both categories. The prescriptivist idea is that there is a fairly clear distinction between the two categories, though, and so it is important to distinguish them.
Except, well, it’s not so important after all; can and may were tightly intertwined in early English, and were never fully separated. The OED lists an obsolete usage [II.4a] of may as meaning “be able; can”. This is first attested in Old English, and continues through to at least 1645. Furthermore, may meaning “expressing objective possibility” [II.5] is attested from Old English to the present day (although it is noted as being rare now). Examples of these are given in (1) and (2). So we see that may does not always address the issue of permission, that may has encroached upon can‘s territory at times in the past and continues to do so to this day.
(1) No man may separate me from thee.
(2) Youth clubs may be found in all districts of the city.
As for can, there’s no historical evidence I found of it referring to permission in the distant past. Back then, may was apparently the dominant one, stealing usages from can. The OED gives a first citation for can meaning “to be allowed to” in 1879, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and does call the usage colloquial, at least on the British side of the pond. But still, we’ve got it attested 130 years ago by a former Poet Laureate of the UK. That’s a pretty good lineage for the permission usage.
Furthermore, I think (at least in contemporary American English) that the may I usage is old-fashioned to the point of sounding stilted or even affected outside of highly formal contexts. Just to back up my intuition, here’s the Google Books N-grams chart comparing May I go and Can I go:
You can see there’s a changeover in the mid-1960s, when the usage levels of May I finish plunging and Can I starts rocketing away. As you well know, this sort of fairly sudden change in relative frequency tends to generate a backlash against the newly-prominent form as a sign of linguistic apocalypse, so there’s no real surprise that people would loudly oppose permissive Can I. As always, the loud opposition to it is one of the surest signs that it’s passed a point of no return. By my youth, Can I was ensconced as the question of choice, and nowadays, I doubt many of our kids are getting being corrected on it — though it remains prominent enough in our zeitgeist to function as a set-up for a range of uninspired jokes.
So historically, what can we say of can and may and permission and ability? We’ve seen something of a historical switch. In the distant past, may could indicate either permission or ability, while can was restricted to ability. Over time, may‘s domain has receded, and can‘s has expanded. In modern usage, can has taken on permission senses as well as its existing ability senses. May, on the other hand, has become largely restricted to the permission sense, although there are some “possibility”-type usages that still touch on ability, especially when speaking of the future:
(3) We may see you at Breckenridge then.
The can expansion is a bit recent in historical terms, but that still means it’s been acceptable for over a hundred years — judging by the Tennyson citation — and commonplace for the last fifty or so. The recency explains the lingering resentment at permissive can, but it doesn’t justify it. Permissive can is here to stay, and there’s no reason to oppose it.**
*: Not to telegraph my argument, but even here I find Mom said I can count to sound more like a statement of permission than ability.
**: I have some thoughts on whether it’s really even possible to draw a clear line between permission and ability — in essence addressing the question of whether the smearing together of can and may is an accident or inevitability. I’ll try to put them together at some point & link to them, but given my history of failing to follow through with follow-up posts, I’m not going to leave it as only a possibility, not a promise.
This blog was linked to a while ago in a Reddit discussion of uninterested and disinterested. (My opinion on them is that uninterested is restricted to the “unconcerned” meaning, while disinterested can mean either “unconcerned” or “impartial”, and that’s an opinion based on both historical and modern usage. In fact, despite the dire cries that people are causing the two words to smear together, it actually looks like the distinction between them is growing over time.)
The reason I bring this up again is that one of the Redditors was proposing that having a strong distinction could make sense, because:
“Some people draw a distinction between disinterested and uninterested. There is nothing to lose and perhaps subtlety to be gained by using that distinction yourself. Therefore observing the distinction should always be recommended.”
But I’ve already asked my question about this in the title: is there really nothing to lose? Is there no cost to maintaining a strict distinction between words? Or, more generally, is there no cost to maintaining a grammar rule?
Well, in a myopic sense, no, there’s nothing much to lose by having the rule. In the case of uninterested and disinterested, it would be hard to argue that not being able to use disinterested to mean “unconcerned” is a substantial loss. It can be done, though: I, for instance, am a great lover of alliteration, and as a result, I like to have synonyms with as many different initial letters as possible. There’s a cost, small though it may be, to not having disinterested available as I’m constructing sentences. But that’s a triviality.
A more substantial consequence is that it introduces a discontinuity in the historical record. If we decide that from now on disinterested only means “impartial”, then historical and current uses of the “unconcerned” sense will be opaque to people taught the hard-and-fast rule. That’s problematic because, despite the belief of some people that this is an illiterate usage, it’s actually common even for good writers to use. This, again, isn’t a big problem; we regularly understand misused words, especially ones whose intended meanings are very close to their actual meanings. Saying that we can’t have a rule of grammar because sometimes it isn’t followed is the sort of whateverism that people accuse descriptivists of, not a reasonable concern.*
No, the true cost is a higher-level cost: the overhead of having another distinction. This might also seem trivial. After all, we have tons and tons of usage rules and distinctions, and a lexical distinction like this is really little more than remembering a definition. But let me illustrate my point with an example I recently saw on Tumblr (sorry for the illegibility):
The distinction here is well-established: affect is almost always the verb, effect almost always the noun.** Yet here we see that it is costly to maintain the distinction. First, it’s costly to remember which homophone goes in which role. Second, it’s costly to make an error, as people may mock you for it. Third, it’s very easy to get it wrong, as the replier did here.
If there were really no downside to adding an additional rule, we’d expect to see every possibly useful distinction be made. We’d expect, for instance, to have a clear singular/plural second-person distinction in English (instead of just you). I’d expect to see an inclusive/exclusive first-person plural distinction as well, as I sometimes want to establish whether I’m saying we to include the person I’m speaking to or not. The subjunctive wouldn’t be disappearing, nor would whom.
But all distinctions are not made. In fact, relatively few of the possible distinctions we could make at the word level are made. And that suggests that even if the reasons I’ve listed for not maintaining a lot of distinctions aren’t valid, there must be something that keeps us from making all the distinctions we could make.
So next time someone says “there oughta be a rule”, think about why there isn’t. Rules aren’t free, and only the ones whose benefits outweigh their costs are going to be created and maintained. The costs and benefits change over time, and that’s part of why languages are forever changing.
*: Of course, if the distinction is regularly violated, then it’s hardly whateverist to say that it doesn’t exist.
**: Affect is a noun in psychology, effect a verb meaning “to cause” that is largely reviled by prescriptivists.
I’ve mentioned my fondness for compiling historical grammatical errors as a reminder that we are not, point of fact, destroying what used to be a perfect language. Previously, I’d found unnecessary quotation marks in a 1960 World Series celebration, it’s for its in a 1984 John Mellencamp video, and an apostrophe incorrectly marking a plural in a famous 1856 editorial cartoon. But these were all punctuation-based errors. Today’s is a proper grammatical error, and one that people full-throatedly bemoan nowadays.
I found this error by admitting to myself that I am secretly an old man, and coming to terms with it by spending much of the summer sitting in parks, reading books on naval history and international relations. One of them, Nathaniel Philbrick’s Sea of Glory, tells the story of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, who discovered Antarctica and created the country’s first accurate naval charts for the Pacific islands. It’s a good book, but then it turned great by having two interesting old quotes four pages apart.
In the first, the Expedition is approaching Fiji and takes on another pilot due to the many coral reefs in the area:
“Wilkes felt it necessary to secure yet another experienced pilot at Tonga named Tom Granby. ‘You will find when we get to the Islands,’ Wilkes assured Granby, ‘that I know as much about them as you do.’ Granby smiled. ‘You may know all about them on paper,’ he replied, ‘but when you come to the goings in and goings out, you will see who knows best, you or myself.’”
Myself here is clearly non-standard, as no first-person pronoun has appeared anywhere in the sentence. The standard rule for reflexives, known as Principle A in Government and Binding theory, and discussed in pretty much every introductory syntax class, is that a reflexive must be bound in its governing category. Or, to say it in a more theory-agnostic and somewhat looser way, the coreferent of the reflexive (I/me for myself) has to appear within the smallest clause that contains the reflexive, and structurally “above” the reflexive. The syntactic specifics they depend on which syntactic theory you’re adhering to, but luckily they don’t really matter here; there’s no possible coreferent anywhere within the sentence, so any standard definition of Principle A will label the sentence ungrammatical.
Turning from this syntactic jungle to the Fijian jungle, a few pages later the Expedition lands on an island and hikes to its peak:
“Almost two years at sea had left them ill-prepared for such a demanding hike. ‘I have seldom witnessed a party so helpless as ourselves appeared,’ Wilkes wrote, ‘in comparison with the natives and white residents, who ran over the rocks like goats.’”
Again, it’s obvious that this is a non-standard usage, since no first-person plural noun phrase appears in the sentence to justify the reflexive.
Now, I’ve been marking these as non-standard rather than incorrect, and there’s a reason for this that is more than a desire to be non-judgmental. These supposedly erroneous uses of reflexives are widespread — so much so that I’d argue they’re at least borderline acceptable in many people’s forms of Informal Spoken English. That means that they ought to be explainable, that there ought to be some option in the rules of English that allow you to consider these uses acceptable without having to change much else in the language. I’m going to speculate for the rest of this post, so feel free to bail out here.
Here’s my idea, which I don’t think is novel.* Reflexives are allowed only when, in some sense, there’s a sufficiently salient coreferent for the reflexive. Salience is standardly assessed syntactically, meaning that a coreferent appears structurally above the reflexive, and close enough to remain salient when the reflexive appears. But there is pragmatic salience as well, for people and things who haven’t been explicitly mentioned but remain prominent in the discourse all the same. And what is more pragmatically salient than the speaker? In both of these cases, it seems that the speaker is thinking of themselves as sufficiently salient to trigger the reflexive.
My intuition is that there are more instances of inappropriate reflexives for first person (myself, ourselves) than second person (yourself), and more of either than for third person (himself, herself, itself, themselves). I did a quick corpus search on COCA for sentence-initial As for *self, and the intuition wasn’t fully borne out; as for myself was the most common, but combined as for him/herself showed up almost as often (64 to 60), and as for yourself only registered one instance. So maybe I’m totally off-base on the specifics.** But something is going on that allows so many people to view reflexives as standard in positions that we don’t expect to see them, and like this or not, that needs explained.
*: If you know of any references to discussions about this issue, please share. I’m not primarily a syntactician, and didn’t see anything in a cursory search of the literature, but I really doubt this discussion hasn’t been had before.
**: I think the as for *self construction may be a special case. Most of the third-person uses look to be about how some third party views themself, and while one can state one’s own introspections and speculate about a third party’s, it’s a little bit weird to tell someone their own introspections. That could artificially deflate the second-person counts.
I think the best explanation of this construction may be as an indicator that we are switching mental spaces, if you’re familiar with that theory. Saying as for Xself establishes a new mental space focused on X and their inner workings or opinions, rather than the more generic mental space of the rest of the conversation. Sorry, I’m really going down a rabbit hole here. | <urn:uuid:c0e26415-e31e-46e0-b2d9-83a9d74ecb1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/category/words/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963576 | 3,772 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Updated 22 May, 2013, 12:50 pm IST
Google Street View gets go-ahead from Israel
| by Anuradha Shetty |
Just yesterday we reported about Google’s plans to deploy its famed Street View services in the Amazon river basin to put forth the issues affecting the natives. Now, according to reports coming in Google has got an approval from the Israeli government, allowing its Street View cars to ply on the streets of Israel. Google had approached the Israeli Ministry of Justice with the proposal of Street View, a couple of months ago.
Now, in Israel
Now, after careful reviewing of the laws in place, Israel has finally agreed to let Street View photograph the streets and bylanes of Israel, but not before Google complies to the set of laws laid down by the government. According to a post of the Israeli Ministry of Justice's page, the ILITA, or the Israeli Law Information and Technology Authority has put down as many as five conditions, pertaining to the data protection laws in the country. Under provisions like Civil Jurisdiction, Administrative and Criminal Jurisdiction, Requests for blurring, Transparency and Privacy by Design, the Israel government has covered pretty much every aspect, which would allow Google to operate its Street View cars in the country, while maintaining the security.
With Israel approving Street View cars in its country, it does seem like Street View cars is going places, quite literally!
22 May, 2013, 11:23 AM
22 May, 2013, 09:51 AM
21 May, 2013, 12:53 PM
If you like collecting some really cool and bizarre stuff, or you are...
A decade ago Internet connectivity may have been considered a luxury, but...
Wed May 22, 13:11:30
Wed May 22, 12:34:53
Wed May 22, 12:34:42 | <urn:uuid:99680d28-7122-4498-b6ba-720eab8b9829> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tech2.in.com/news/web-services/google-street-view-gets-goahead-from-israel/237162 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952765 | 383 | 1.75 | 2 |
A recent study showed that supermarkets generate high satisfaction among their shoppers. Supermarkets scored an average of 4.47 on a five-point satisfaction scale (where five is the highest), according to the "2012 U.S. Supermarket Experience Study" conducted by the Retail Feedback Group.
An article recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine examines the role that impulse marketing and customer psychology in supermarkets contributes to obesity and related health problems.
Save Mart Supermarkets announced that all of its banners — including Save Mart, S-Mart Foods, Lucky, FoodMaxx and Maxx Value Foods stores — will be raising funds for children's hospitals in California and Nevada.
“It’s actually an illusion that those boxers are separate entities. The separate entities are just the way we choose to perceive them. The boxers, you, me — we’re all part of the same quantum field. Think of the two boxers as ocean waves or currents of air — two tornadoes, say. They appear to be two separate things, but they’re not. Tornadoes are just wind. The wind stirred up in different directions. The fact is nothing is separate. Everything is connected. The shapes we see exist only in our own consciousness.”
It seems that traditional grocery stores and established food brands may lose their position in the market due to a confluence of changing demographics, economic factors and customer preferences, according to new research from global investment bank Jefferies and global business advisory firm AlixPartners.
This year’s National Association of Chain Drug Stores Marketplace Conference proved to be a productive four-day event as retailers and suppliers representing more than $500 billion in annual buying power convened in Denver to network, explore business opportunities and participate in educational programs.
“This tomato sucks.” A blunt assessment, for sure, but it was the honest opinion delivered at a recent TED talk by Paul Lightfoot, the CEO of BrightFarms, as he plopped an organic tomato into his mouth.
Kroger on Thursday posted its 34th consecutive quarter of positive identical-supermarket sales, vetting the company's approach to competing in the food industry not as a traditional food retailer, but as a retailer that happens to sell its customers a lot of food.
Quietly but noticeably, two trends have been occurring over the past few years: A move toward "locavorism" and a demand for fresh produce. The fresh produce trend is evident from a Produce Marketing Association consumer survey from 2010 that showed an increased interest in buying fresh fruits and vegetables and shopping at farmer's markets, while such retailers as Bartell Drugs, Meijer and Duane Reade are devoting significant shelf space to locally sourced products.
Outside of TV land and around the country, going local isn’t just a punch line for an evening comedy show or even a peculiarity of the weekend farmers market. It’s an increasingly popular merchandising strategy for retail chains. | <urn:uuid:d22cf7f5-748c-428e-9aa7-c4f4526bda7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drugstorenews.com/topics/Supermarket?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947165 | 613 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The author with freshly pulled carrots(Nate Olive)
The one-lane road leading up to St. Croix's Creque Dam Farm (pronounced like "creaky dam") follows a dozen hairpin turns on its way from the coast up to the slopes of the western rain forest. It's rough going—the street is rutted with potholes, and vines graze my windshield. Like a reward for perseverance, a sweeping view of the property's 100 wild acres, backlit with a Caribbean sunset, spreads out in front of me as I drive through the farm's gate.
If getting to the farm is challenging, what I'm about to embark on is even more so: a vacation in the guise of good old-fashioned down-in-the-dirt work. Growing up in Oklahoma, I got my first taste of farming on annual visits to my great-grandmother's backyard orchard. At harvest time, we'd spend long days picking peaches from the trees, collecting them in juice-stained paper sacks. While I now spend my days typing, I'm eager to tap back into that kind of hands-on self-sufficiency.
That's where the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute comes in. The 7-year-old operation is based at Creque Dam Farm and invites folks like me to see for themselves how an organic farm operates—and even pitch in, if the mood strikes. I've signed up for a two-day stay, with the intention of participating in all manner of farm activities, a vague but persistent impulse I've harbored since the day I discovered World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) 10 years ago. Through WWOOF, students, travelers, and frustrated desk jockeys can locate farms for short-term work-stay projects of varying intensity. A decade back, the organization contained mostly European listings. In recent years, however, as Americans' fascination with local foods has grown, WWOOF's domestic listings have also increased. It now showcases more than 1,100 farms in 50 states, where travelers can try their hand at shearing sheep, making cheese, and even beekeeping. WWOOF's mission seems all the more relevant at a time when devotees of Facebook's FarmVille app outnumber actual family-run farms.
I'm ready to do real work, sure, but I want to do so in a relatively pleasant setting. Creque Dam, with its lush landscape, hilltop views of the Caribbean Sea, and range of accommodations (simple wooden cabanas, a yurt, and even a tree house) fits the bill. The farm's 15 gardens and its orchards of banana and mango provide the yield for an island Community Supported Agriculture program. Workers post online updates about ripe produce, and food isn't harvested until someone places an order. In the height of winter, dozens of people filter through for various workshops; day, weekend, and weeklong sessions cover everything from bush skills to holistic health. When I arrive in September, though, I'm the only overnight guest. The 10 residents (volunteers, interns, and program managers) seem happy—if a little surprised—to find me wandering the grounds.
Embarrassingly, I'm late to work on my first morning. Each day begins with an old-school wake-up call: three blows of a conch shell signaling the start of breakfast. By the time I rouse myself, my instructors, Patrick Boulger, a soft-spoken Californian acting as the farm's energy resources manager, and Alex Seiz, an even softer-spoken New Jersey native, have already headed to the garden. A solar-powered, open-air community center serves as the farm's dining hall, meeting room, and Internet café. Patrick has left a bowl of homemade grits in the fridge for me, which I supplement with coffee and guava juice cut with water. The program coordinator, Rebecca Sornson, asks how I slept and tries to assuage my fears about the many bugs I've already seen: "It took me about 10 days to stop thinking about bugs 24 hours a day," she confesses. "But after a month, I stopped entirely." Considering I'm here for only two days, her reassurance isn't that effective.
Over the next couple of days, I pull weeds, shovel compost, aerate soil, and take water breaks in the shade with the farmers (my favorite part). I learn how to substitute holy basil leaves and neem twigs for a toothbrush, and I pick up surprising facts: A banana tree fruits only once in its lifetime; ant swarms inching up your leg will jump ship if you keep moving.
But it isn't until carrot-harvesting time that I feel as if I'm really, you know, farming. Crouching in the garden, I pat around in the soil for the largest specimens, ones that might be crowding out runts that need room to grow. As I poke my fingers in the earth, searching for promising candidates, I realize that what I've imagined as "the soil" is actually a squirming, 50/50 mixture of dirt and tiny black bugs. Exercising mind over matter, I dig in my knees to get better leverage and go for it. Oblivious to my internal struggle and triumph, Patrick suggests I use the vegetables I've just pulled to make a shredded-carrot dish for the next evening's potluck dinner. "Everyone will be really impressed if you prepare something that you harvested," he explains. I stare back. "Or you can just bring rum."
I choose rum. On my last evening at the farm, Creque Dam is holding one of its monthly Community Dinners, meals that are open to anyone who shows up, dish in hand. About 40 people trickle in—an all-ages mix of Cruzan natives, American expats, tourists, and volunteers—and lay down their contributions: curried chickpeas, pickled okra, homemade bread, beans with smoked Alaska king salmon, tostones, wheat-free coconut cookies, and "bush wine," a fermented drink made from apples, berries, and some root vegetables. My nearest tablemates—an art teacher at an island elementary school and a fund-raiser for a local nonprofit organization—share tips for what to do with my free time the next day (hit wide, white-sand Dorsch Beach, on the island's southwest edge, or Cane Bay Beach, on the north shore). The teacher even gives me her phone number, suggesting that the best way to see the island is with a guide who drives you around while you stare out the window (also useful if you aren't used to driving on the left).
After dinner, I take on my final farm challenge: finding my way back to the cabana in complete darkness. I'm unused to relying on stars instead of streetlights, but my eyes ultimately adjust, and I locate the trail. Once inside, I tuck my work-weary bones under the bed's thin blanket and wind down to the xylophone-like sounds of tree frogs. I drift off with a smile—especially because I know that the next morning, I'll be sleeping through those conch blasts entirely guilt-free.
visfi.org, double-occupancy cabana farmstay $85, single bunk in a shared cabana $35, breakfast $10, weekend workshops from $45. | <urn:uuid:a53d94dc-77ef-400b-a495-aaf55209d215> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.budgettravel.com/print/4195/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94836 | 1,540 | 1.523438 | 2 |
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Teens spruce up care home garden during work course
10:00am Sunday 23rd September 2012 in News
IT may not be quite as glamorous as the Apprentice, but a group of teenagers were put through their paces to ready them for work.
The seven teens took part in a 15-week employability course, which saw them fundraising, carrying out team-building tasks, completing a project and getting work experience.
Like, BBC’s Apprentice, the youngsters were given a different task to complete each week – but sadly there was no guaranteed job at the end of it.
Instead, the course Youth East Works aims to give people a taste of working life and the chance to get something good on their CV.
Youth East Works was run by Groundwork South Essex, based in Kiln Road, Thundersley.
The project sent the teenagers to spruce up Ghyll Grove Nursing Home, in Ghyll Grove, Basildon , which needed work done to its garden.
The first challenge for the team of 16 to 19-year-olds was to raise money for the project by bag-packing at Asda in Basildon.
They managed to raise £253 for tools, and also bought a water feature to use as the centrepiece of the garden.
Dean Cotterill, Jason Walker, Courtney Busby, Frank Ellis, Zarha Muneer, Louise Smith and Andrew Hayes said they decided to take part in the scheme after being uncertain about their plans for the future and said they were thankful for the opportunity to help local people.
Event organiser Charmaine Chalkey-Grier, from Groundwork South Essex, said she was really pleased with the response from the volunteers, and said their work had been a “shining example” of how to complete the course.
She said: “The garden looks wonderful and I’m very proud of what the guys have done here.
“They worked really hard in raising the money and some have even gone on to get jobs.
“The course was challenging, but they have all risen to it. The residents at Ghyll Grove can be very happy with their nursing home’s new garden.”
Carol Martin, activity co-ordinator at Ghyll Grove, said: “We are so appreciative of all that has been done. They have worked very hard and are very pleased they chose to help us.
“The garden is where the residents will bring their families, and I am sure everyone will love it. It will be very well used, and it is very warm and welcoming.”
Comments are closed on this article. | <urn:uuid:e7976a80-d4b7-45ba-babb-62e00331e506> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/9943586.Teens_spruce_up_care_home_garden_during_work_course/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980948 | 581 | 1.664063 | 2 |
In the name of Alexander Graham Bell, what happened to the phone company?
Infatuation with cable and the debt it incurred brought AT&T low, demonstrates business journalist Cauley, a telecom reporter for USA Today and three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee. For well over a century, the telephone company was the standard investment vehicle for those proverbial widows and orphans, always providing service and never missing a dividend even in times of war or depression. But one day almost a generation ago, Ma Bell gave birth to seven Babies, and she’s never been the same. The Baby Bells have matured. This year, one of them is giving shelter to what is left of the now-destitute former parent, who seems mortally ill after swallowing cable company TCI. Cauley adroitly traces the executive styles of the company’s CEOs, from legendary Theodore Vail and vaunted Bob Allen to Mike Armstrong, former star of IBM. She places the most notable delinquency on feckless Armstrong’s desk. With considerable vigor, Cauley depicts the vagaries of the managerial mind, including the innermost thoughts of the CFOs, the merger and acquisition apparatchiks, and the commanding officers of AT&T’s allies and enemies. An AT&T exec, caught in front of the boss in one of his habitual exaggerations of fact, turns “beet red.” Armstrong asks a better-late-than-never strategic question in a “voice laced with concern.” The struggles are sometimes picayune, more often titanic as the misjudgments mount for the “icon” (to use the author’s singularly overworked word). Cauley sets forth in breezy, sometimes repetitive fashion the shoptalk, the special corporate cultures, and the office politics. Smacking of fact, it’s certainly a lively story.
A saga of missed connections and an early obit of old Ma Bell, in her time a true icon. (8-page insert, not seen) | <urn:uuid:da457579-a3f9-48d5-bdcd-008dbdc05ddd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/leslie-cauley/end-of-the-line-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936198 | 430 | 1.75 | 2 |
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December 4, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Heavy rainfall over the past week, continuing a wet pattern of the last several weeks, has created the danger of landslides around Western Washington, according to the Weather Service.
Rainfall totals around Western Washington of an inch or more in the last 24 hours has heightened the risk that saturated slopes could give way, the Weather Service noted in a “Special Weather Statement.”
In the 24 hours ending at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has .82 inches of rain, Bremerton had 1.1 inches, Shelton had 1.3 inches and Humptulips on the Olympic Peninsula had 2 inches.
Showers are expected to continue through the week, prolonging the risk.
November 23, 2012 at 11:18 AM
The Associated Press
Passenger train service north of Seattle resumed Friday morning after heavy rains and winds kept the tracks closed to passenger trains since midday Monday.
BNSF Railways spokesman Gus Melonas says the railway stopped passenger and commuter service between Everett and Seattle for safety reasons. Most routes in Washington remained open to freight travel.
Melonas says there had been at least 10 slides affecting tracks since Monday morning.
About The Today File
The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and edited by Assistant Metro Editor Nick Provenza.
Trending with readers | <urn:uuid:0f7c3bfa-0267-414c-98a4-a2f0bb32fcc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/topic/mudslifes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953038 | 319 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The management of the behavior of mentally challenged adults when providing required dental care is often a problem, whether in the dental office or in a hospital setting. Our institution has a designated program to provide required dental care to this group of patients. Because of the high incidence of poor cooperation, which may include aggressive antagonistic behavior, many of these patients are scheduled for dental care under general anesthesia with an incomplete preoperative medical assessment. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact and limitations that an incomplete medical assessment may present in the delivery of dental care under general anesthesia to these adults with developmental disability. After approval from the institutional review board, the medical records of 139 patients treated in this program between 1992 and 1994 were reviewed to determine the patient profiles, anesthesia management, and complications. The charts of these patients, who underwent dental and radiographic examination, scaling and prophylaxis, and restoration and extraction of teeth under general anesthesia, were reviewed. There were 149 procedures performed on these patients, some more than once. The mean age was 29.5 yr. Males predominated females by a ratio of 2:1. All had multiple diagnoses, medical problems, and medications. Twenty-three patients had Down's Syndrome, four had schizophrenia disorders, 42 had seizure disorders, 11 had hypothyroidism, seven had heart disease, and 14 had central nervous system and neuromuscular disorders. The remainder had a variety of diagnoses, including rare syndromes. One hundred had intravenous (i.v.), 25 had mask inhalation, and 24 had intramuscular ketamine (Ketalar) induction. Nasotracheal intubation was uneventful in 139 patients, five had difficult visualization of the larynx and intubation. Ten patients experienced intraoperative complications, including nonfatal ventricular arrhythmia, slight fall in blood pressure and hypertension (greater than 20% of preoperative value), and four individuals developed laryngospasm. In the Post Anesthetic Care Unit, five patients experienced minor airway problems resulting in a desaturation of oxygen to a level below 85%. Adults with developmental disabilities can be safely managed under general anesthesia for dental treatment in a hospital setting with minimal morbidity and without extensive preoperative investigations. | <urn:uuid:32bac8e3-4556-4c69-bf72-7bab6b0c13fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr/reg?term=jtitle_s%3A(%22Anesth+Prog%22)&filterQuery=year_sint%3A80021998&sortby=score+desc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959073 | 459 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Sheriff, mayor revitalizing gun bounty program
Program takes more than 172 illegal guns off Jacksonville's streets in 7 years
As the nation grapples with whether to tighten gun control laws, Jacksonville leaders are revitalizing an existing program to get illegal guns off the streets.
The gun bounty program offers $1,000 for any illegal weapon turned in to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. It was very successful when it was launched in 2006, but interest waned over the years. With the spotlight back on guns, Sheriff John Rutherford and Mayor Alvin Brown are working together to revive it.
"They put this community -- you and I -- at risk by carrying the gun," Rutherford said. "I want to put them at risk for carrying that gun by offering a $1,000 bounty to all of their buddies to turn them in."
In the seven years of the gun bounty program, the sheriff says his officer make 265 arrests and paid $172,000 paid for illegal guns.
"Most of these guys will turn in their mamma's for $1,000," Rutherford said. "It's been a very successful program."
This is not a gun buyback -- which some communities are doing and Jacksonville offered many years ago. This program only targets illegal guns -- those either stolen or that have fallen into the hands of criminals.
"It would be the sheriff and I working with the business community to raise the money to support it, to get ex-felons off the street who have illegal guns," Brown said. "That is the key: to make it safe. On my side of the ledger, I will focus on prevention and intervention."
Channel 4's safety expert Ken Jefferson has been involved with both gun buybacks and bounty programs. He says buybacks don't work and the bounty has limited success, but its better than nothing.
"This will not get a whole lot of guns off the street, but it will get some off the street," Jefferson said. "So as long as you are getting some guns off the street, you show you are trying to make a difference, then I think it's a good program."
Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:6b71fc41-d2d0-4004-8a57-e0153e68e1c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news4jax.com/news/Sheriff-mayor-revitalizing-gun-bounty-program/-/475880/18141758/-/format/rss_2.0/view/print/-/tlsjspz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980275 | 465 | 1.546875 | 2 |
In the past two decades alone, the legal industry has undergone a quiet technological revolution that is dramatically reshaping the way in which people have their legal needs served. A great example of this trend is a new company in Washington state, eTicketbuster. This service allows people who have been issued a traffic citation to fill out a few simple forms online, pay a deposit (which is refunded if their case is lost), and have their ticket contested by experienced criminal attorneys. All this without requiring the individual to lose valuable time fighting on their own in court.
This is the type of technology that is beginning to seriously change how lawyers across the country operate. While some of the more traditional legal industries, such as personal injury lawyers and criminal defense attorneys, will continue to require much of the same industry structure, more specialized practices, such as traffic offenses and wills and trusts attorneys, are slowly being phased out in favor of user-friendly technology. | <urn:uuid:ed0a2eb6-1d37-44b2-b341-cb14d3707767> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nerdlaw.org/eticketbuster-speeds-front-legal-tech-revolution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973229 | 189 | 1.671875 | 2 |
County to NMFS: the plan is (almost) in the mail
June 11, 2008 · Updated 11:11 AM
"Kitsap County has a fish story for the National Marine Fisheries Services, and it's one the federal agency will want to hear.According to Keith Folkerts, natural resources coordinator for Kitsap County, the revised version of the county's Endangered Species Act compliance plan should be to NMFS by February.County officials have acknowledged that they will miss a January deadline to turn over an updated plan to the federal agency. The plan will focus on protection of endangered Puget Sound chinook and Hood Canal summer chum.Folkerts said the county has been working with the government since last February to come up with an ESA-compliance plan.This plan will allow local jurisdictions to issue development permits and will allow developers to develop land with the assurance that by doing so we are not violating the ESA's mandate to protect endangered species, Folkerts said.The plan will not address shorelines permits or issues. Those will be addressed separately through revisions to the county's Shoreline Management Master Plan, according to Folkerts.Agriculture also is not add-ressed in this revision.This most recent version of our draft 4(d) compliance plan (of the Salmon Habit Protection Plan) explains to NMFS what standards will be implemented locally in exchange for NMFS's certification that our development activities are consistent with the ESA, said Folkerts.NMFS approval of the compliance plan will protect Kitsap from lawsuits by people who claim the county is harming salmon habitats, he said.If it's successful, we and the homeowners and developers will be able to get building permits knowing we have the full force of the federal government and state (behind us), saying 'yes, it won't harm the habitat.' So if someone did sue (on behalf of the salmon) the feds would be there to protect us, Folkerts said.He said that for the most part, the standards outlined in the plan are those standards already in place in Kitsap County.In other words, this plan says to NMFS that many of our current standards are already good enough, he added.The significant changes will be in the stormwater management areas, which are not included in the plan yet, he said.We're still working on it, Folkerts said. That part will deal with how the county manages stormwater, the quantity and quality of the water that goes into salmon-bearing streams.The goal we're shooting for, NMFS says to maintain the natural hydrography of the streams, which means the natural flow patterns, Folkerts said. Not too much (runoff) in winter, and not too little water in the summer. Stormwater is a big part of the compliance plan, he said.The document is changing constantly with revisions, and will be a work in progress continuing to evolve until it is brought to NMFS, Folkerts said.The county plans to add a citizens' guide to the plan in the coming months as well.The plan is written with a lot of (technical) jargon as it's intended for policy folks at NMFS, Folkerts said. We're going to explain it in every-day language to residents and take it to community groups and whoever else is interested, and explain what's in this rather detailed plan, he said. Not everyone understands jargon. " | <urn:uuid:d1cc66e0-b64d-4bcb-9a7d-4101d070372c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.centralkitsapreporter.com/news/19771874.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952105 | 701 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The much awaited speech by Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the India Today Conclave 2013 seems to have triggered massive interest both online and at the venue. While the webcast seems to have crashed at least once, the event itself was running more than 20 minutes late as Headlines Today anchor after anchor updated on Twitter of the massive crowds trying to get in and seated.
The sense of anticipation around a prime time Narendra Modi speech is understandable. Our democracy still doesn’t have a structured platform for the principal political parties to engage in debates outside of Parliament. These televised speeches at media organised events are perhaps the closest we can get to Presidential or Prime Ministerial debates so common in Western democracies.
The speculation ahead of the speech had largely focused on what message Narendra Modi would send out on mounting the BJP’s challenge to unseat the Congress from power in Delhi. In a first, social media witnessed a parody of what “post-speech” leftist trauma would look like. Even Niti Central saw a satirical piece on the themes Modi was likely to touch upon. Self-deprecating humour in high voltage political events has become the norm in recent times in the West. Parodies and satire making their way to the pre-speech anticipation was perhaps a reflection of this.
The speech finally started about 30 minutes behind schedule.
Before we get into the substance of Modi’s speech it was interesting to note Arun Poorie, India Today’s Editor-in-Chief, remark that ‘Modi’ was now the most repeated four-letter word in Indian politics.
Modi spoke extempore in Hindi. He also surprised the audience and this columnist by opting to open with a video instead of launching directly into his speech. The 12-minute video reminded of the 2008 Obama Campaign Infomercial on prime television ahead of the historic Presidential election in the United States. The video ensured that for the first time a national television audience in prime time was introduced to Gujarat with facts and figures without the distortion that has become typical of most discourse on television these days.
The speech had a markedly different tone. It was not a political speech. It was not aimed at firing up the audience. It was conversational and laced with anecdotes. It also marked for the first time a major Indian politician in elected office laying out clear Centre-Right principles on a host of issues that marked a clear line of distinction between the path Narendra Modi intends to tread and the path on which the current UPA Government is on. The distinction also went deeper for Modi repeatedly during his speech also pointed out his chosen path challenged his own party at times, forcing it to change its attitude and direction.
The speech also focused on why democracy has to be about partnership between people and Government and that governance cannot be about people outsourcing all of their problems to Government. Significantly Modi spoke about changing the mindset of bureaucracy and making bureaucrats accountable to the communities they serve through stability of policy and through people-centric grievance redressal mechanisms.
The highlight of the speech was Narendra Modi standing up for his convictions be it on why Government must not be in the business of Government, why a mindset shift is needed from rights-based entitlement towards the spirit of enterprise, on how creating a sense of pride and ownership can make a marked difference. The speech also saw for the first time a major BJP leader speaking out against the UPA’s flagship schemes like NREGA and the UPA’s penchant for new Acts and rights.
The punchline, “We don’t need more Acts we need action”, clearly resonated with the audience.
The strongest aspects of Modi’s speech were when he dwelt on a range of innovative ideas from solid waste management to solar energy to make the point that ideas need to be institutionalised not individual centric for sustained development.
Narendra Modi also went where no major Indian politician went in recent memory to challenge why the railways cannot be privatized. From privatized coach manufacturing to the need for India to become a global supplier of weapons, Modi held forth on why Government needs to get out of the business of running businesses. In the process he did field one of the tougher questions of the evening from the audience on squaring that philosophy with the public sector focus of his Government in Gujarat.
Laying out a roadmap for professionalising Public Sector Units, making them competitive to opening them up to private competition, Modi showed a side of him on how he managed the apparent conflict between his personal conviction and the political reality.
The question and answer session clearly showed the distance Narendra Modi had travelled from Gujarat to Delhi as a Chief Minister while getting quizzed on a range of issues. The best answers came on the questions of becoming Prime Minister and on being stopped from coming to Delhi. Then there were the predictable questions on HDI, malnutrition, FDI and the 2002 riots on which Delhi’s elite audience perhaps did not get the answers they were hoping for.
For the first time a presumptive challenger from the principal Opposition from outside Lutyens’s Delhi held forth on a range of topics on national television. A barrier was breached and a message was sent that to be a credible challenger one doesn’t necessarily need a permanent address in Delhi or be an establishment status quoist.
Narendra Modi defied establishment stereotypes in today’s speech to go where no major politician has gone in recent memory. | <urn:uuid:8a5220ac-a2e3-4907-978c-5f6e498b1da9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.niticentral.com/2013/03/17/modi-articulates-centre-right-agenda-56292.html | 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 | 0.973904 | 1,112 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Editors note. I had planned for
some time to put this piece, written by Eric Crabbe before his
retirement in 1987, in the Winter Newsletter, when, quite by
coincidence, I heard from Eric's wife, Pat, that Eric had died earlier
Before working for HSA Eric had worked for Armstrong Whitworth,
Glosters (where his father was Managing Director), Avros and Follands,
as an aerodynamicist and flight test engineer, working on many types
including the AW.52, the Gloster Meteor and E1/44, the Avro 707 and
Vulcan, and the Folland Midge, Gnat and Gnat Trainer. When HSA took
over Follands in 1964, Eric, already at Dunsfold with Follands' flight
test department, transferred to the P.1127 programme...
Testing From a Desk
the conclusion of the Gnat spinning trials at Dunsfold I became
involved in vectored thrust in the shape of the Hawker P.1127. I soon
became engrossed in the wonders of short take-off (STO) performance
measurement and in trying to non- dimensionalise the results. I was
also introduced to the longitudinally destabilising effects of the
Pegasus engine at high power. When I first measured it I thought that
the aircraft should be very difficult to fly but Bill Bedford and Hugh
Merewether did not report any problems, the bob weight in the
longitudinal control circuit providing ample stick force per g. I was
also concerned with rapid rolling trials. All the above testing was
carried out using paper trace recorders, the reading of which was very
long winded and tedious.
When the P.1154 was cancelled in 1954
there followed a short break from my direct association with aircraft
when I worked with computers for two years with Benson-Lehner but
returned to flight testing at Dunsfold in 1968 where the Harrier was
undergoing development and clearance.
The first job I had on my return
was to write reports on the handling aspects of the Harrier in eight
Acceptance Standard configurations with various combinations of bombs,
rockets and combat tanks. The surprising thing about it was the
relatively small effect that stores had on the general handling
characteristics. This proved to be case throughout the development of
Intentional spinning did not have to be
demonstrated on the Harrier but we had to show that it could be
recovered from an unintentional spin. Here we had the advantage of
having the use of the Lille spinning tunnel prior to flight trials, and
of having Hugh Merewether as the pilot for the majority of the trials.
Little more need be said about Hugh's expertise as a pilot and his
knowledge of spinning characteristics gained from his experience in the
Hunter spinning programme.
The Harrier is very spin resistant and
during tests it was found that there was a tendency for the engine to
surge during spins. With the engine windmilling when shut down
post-surge it was discovered that in a more sustained spin at higher
incidence, a flatter spin, resulted. Hugh therefore chose to carry out
the rest of the test programme with the HP cock closed and the engine
windmilling. This says a lot for his courage, and his faith in the
Pegasus relighting dependability; it did not let him down.
vectoring in forward flight, is a capability unique to the Harrier. The
test programme added a bit of variety to the run-of-the-mill testing of
the Harrier GRMk3.
The two seat Harrier TMk2 followed and one of the highlights, for me
anyway, was a twenty-five hour programme on XW175 measuring fin loads
during rapid rolling tests and rolling pull-outs in six different
stores configurations. Duncan Simpson did most of the flying and it was
amazing how well his 'seat of the pants' feeling tied up with the
measured fin loads.
Another highlight was a sea trial carried out on G-VTOL, the Company
demonstrator Harrier two seater, in 1972. The trial was flown from the
Indian Navy carrier, INS Vikrant, off Cochin, to measure take-off
performance in 30+ degree C temperatures. I'll never forget John Farley
carrying out ten deck take-offs on the first day, and nine on the
second, staying in the cockpit between flights. That's stamina for you.
Twelve years later we would be testing the Sea Harrier ordered by the
The story has not finished by any means, the Hawk and the Sea Harrier
being my latest jobs. The Hawk first flew in 1974, with Duncan Simpson
at the controls, very near the time of the SBAC Show at Farnborough, at
which it appeared. The development programme went reasonably smoothly,
the wing sprouting some vortex generators and a fence to cure handling
problems at both the high and low speeds. Finally the Sea Harrier. I
never imagined this would be the third aircraft I'd worked on which
would see combat, in its case in the Falklands conflict.
It has been a real challenge to work with pilots of the calibre of Roly
Falk, Jan Zurakovski, Ted Tennant, Dick Whittington, Bill Bedford, Hugh
Merewether, Duncan Simpson and John Farley and Andy Jones, but one
thing I regret is that I have never been able to participate in the
actual flying; I was too old by the time I was working on two seaters.
During all my years in flight testing I have worked closely with the
A&AEE, Boscombe Down, and I must put on record my admiration
for their unfailing consideration, and my praise for the high quality
of 'A' Squadron pilots and Performance Division.
To sum it all up, things don't seem to change much in respect of the
test methods but magnetic tape recorders have replaced the old paper
trace machines. It is possible now to use the computer both for reading
and plotting the magnetic tape data, and analysis programmes are
available to calculate directly, for instance, aircraft stability
derivatives and drag. So sophisticated computers do some of our work
for us. I say some because if you're not very careful you find you're
running out of files to put all the data in!
I think I have lived through the most exciting time in the history of
the age of jet propelled aircraft, and wouldn't have missed any of it,
and I feel especially proud of the achievements of all the firms for
whom I have worked.
Editor's Post Script
At the time of his retirement in September 1987 Eric was in charge of
analysis methods and test technique development at Dunsfold utilising
the powerful computer systems and digital data recording equipment
available to the flight test engineer. He died on 11th May, | <urn:uuid:12abc335-47cf-4d2b-b4dc-9815afc49886> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hawkerassociation/hanewsletters/hanewsletter015nvu/flighttestingfromdesk.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961486 | 1,485 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Swedish firm Biovelop claims that its new oat-based protein rich ingredient Proatein is already being used in place of whey protein, as a cheaper source of the macronutrient.
David Peters, head of global sales and marketing, told BeverageDaily.com that the ingredient, launched in April as a non-GMO alternative to animal and vegetable proteins for use in foods and beverages, was “positioned between whey and soy in terms of price”.
Derived from natural oat bran, Peters said Proatein was an “attractive alternative for producers of products containing whey protein, who have had to deal with sharp price rises in recent months”.
Swapping whey for oats...
Customers had already started substituting some or all of their whey protein for Proatein – which extracts the protein component of the oat without using chemical methods – he added, while it provided an alternative for soy protein users with GMO or allergen concerns.
Whereas many proteins had undesirable taste profiles that needed masking in, say, beverages (meal replacement shakes, for instance), the ingredient did not have an unpleasant taste, Peters said, and added: “Indeed, some customers are using Proatein to give their oat-baased products more of an oat taste.”
Asked about orders and geographies showing interest in the ingredient, Peters pointed to a protein bar launch in Sweden by a company called Alkagreens, and denied Biovelop faced a challenge selling Proatein on a protein-rich basis, given consumer connecting oats with heart health.
High consumer trust
Peters said: “Consumers recognize the heart health benefits of oats, their ability to provide sustained energy and their contribution to weight management through satiety.
“The very high level of trust which the consumer attaches to oats and the importance of including oats as part of a healthy, balanced diet, makes Proatein a natural extension of those benefits,” he added.
Key target markets for the ingredient included sports nutrition products, nutritional supplements, protein bars, bread and pasta, Peters explained
“Since Proatein also contains an element of oat oil, it works particularly well in protein bars, enabling the removal of other oils and fats,” he said. | <urn:uuid:e8b6b5a8-ea33-4684-bb0a-e3140dab4acc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beveragedaily.com/Markets/Oat-ingredient-is-stealing-whey-protein-limelight-Biovelop | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94878 | 482 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Business - Written Tuesday, March 23, 2010 by Laura M. Carrillo - 2 Comments
As I’m sure you recall we’ve been conducting a survey called: “Leading in an age of unbounded data.” Last week we shared some of the initial results with nGenera Insight members. We’ve already seen some fascinating results as we heard from close to 80 enterprise class organizations, most of them global. Respondents tended to be at the Director-Executive level, across all functions.
Over 90% of respondents consider data as a strategic asset and in the last 12 months, close to 60% have seen an increase in the number of data sources that they use to make decisions. I had assumed that more data meant that they were able to apply all this new information to do their jobs more effectively. I was wrong. Only 33% reported that they had the right amount of data to do their jobs! How come? Isn’t all of this data supposed to be helpful? Where is the disconnect?
- Will you use Target’s mobile coupons?
- Survey: How prepared is the enterprise to lead in the age of unbounded data?
- Real world examples for collaboration ROI
- Car 2.0 – How a community builds a car
- CL!CK – LEGO’s fun social product development platform
- Helping Haiti – Social media doing its part
- Less technology + more sleep = more productive 2010?
- Apple vs. Google – Who will own the “third screen”?
- Do new Facebook security measures replace parental monitoring? | <urn:uuid:2b384681-f42a-499c-9667-c18e81ebe1f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/index.php/author/laura/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943934 | 335 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Dr. Susan Muldoon receives HRSA funding for public health traineeship program
Susan Muldoon, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, has received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration to help support a public health traineeship program in northern Kentucky. This program will improve Kentucky's public health system by strengthening the necessary competencies and capabilities of current and future public health workforce. The program focuses on training public health workers in the areas of epidemiology, environmental health, and biostatistics. Specifically, the objectives of the traineeship program are to attract students to the school's public health programs; promote a more diverse public health workforce in Kentucky; expand undergraduate public health education in the state; and offer joint degrees and other opportunities for cross-disciplinary training. | <urn:uuid:4b378c06-765d-457b-bbfa-0b7c86e4d2db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://louisville.edu/sphis/news-and-events/dr-susan-muldoon-receives-hrsa-funding-for-public.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938691 | 160 | 1.734375 | 2 |
A garden for all seasons
David Culp's Brandywine Cottage in Pennsylvania Photograph: the layered garden
David Culp takes a multilayered approach to planting and design, writes FIONNUALA FALLON
The late Russell Page, one of the great garden designers of the 20th century and author of the classic The Education of a Gardener, said: “A garden is, by definition, an artifice.” But as most gardeners know from hard-won experience, creating such an artifice isn’t easy. A solid knowledge of plants and their cultivation is required, as is an understanding of your garden’s soil and its microclimates.
A deft grasp of design and composition also helps, and an appreciation of the importance of form, texture and colour. If you have a rough handle on the rudiments of hard landscaping (useful when it comes to understanding things such as changing ground levels), all the better. As if all that weren’t enough, the gardener must also contend with a plot that is forever in a state of flux, a hostage to any number of climatic vagaries (drought, floods, frost, heatwaves) as well as a mirror to the never-ending cycle of the seasons.
That ephemeral nature of gardening – the essence of its charm – poses some of the greatest challenges. Most of us spend a large part of our gardening lives wrestling with the thorny question of how to successfully create a garden with year-round interest. Or, as US gardener David Culp puts it in his book, The Layered Garden: “How much beauty and pleasure can I wring out of that space?” In the case of Brandywine Cottage, the author’s two-acre garden in Pennsylvania, which he shares with his partner and fellow gardener, Michael Alderfer, the answer is an awful lot.
A gardener in the tradition of great British garden-makers such as Christopher Lloyd, Beth Chatto, Penelope Hobhouse, Margery Fish and the aforementioned Russell Page, Culp’s knowledge and love of plants is second to none. Not for him hard-edged, pared-back modernism. Brandywine Cottage’s borders and woodlands are bountifully planted and multilayered, created over two decades and designed to sate the appetite of any dedicated plantsperson, no matter what the time of year.
The key to such a layered garden – a matrix of flowering bulbs, annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees, as well as fruit and vegetables – is “understanding and taking advantage of the ways plants grow and change through the seasons and over the years, providing different textures, colours and effects, and evoking a variety of feelings”.
The Layered Garden is the anatomy of Culp and Alderfer’s garden at Brandywine Cottage – its flower borders, “jewel box garden”, gravel garden, vegetable plot, sloping hillsides, rose beds, even its hellebore garden – laid bare. Photographs of it in spring, summer, autumn and winter show the difference even a few weeks’ growth can make – a reminder of the quicksilver nature and the shifting moods of any garden.
A good example is the series of shots of Brandywine Cottage’s rose beds, the first taken in April while bare patches of ground are visible alongside the emerging tips of the golden grass Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, and the last photograph taken in June, as abundant growth almost conceals the grassy path and purple alliums, and scarlet roses set the garden ablaze.
Culp would “not be happy with a garden in which everything bloomed at once”. Instead there are multiple seasons of interest, as different plants peak at different times of the year. Alongside an overview of the gardens and his design philosophy, Culp also looks at what he calls “the signature plants throughout the seasons”. This group includes witch hazels, narcissus, epimediums, magnolias, trilliums, irises, paeonies, alliums, lilies, hydrangeas, asters and a host of other seasonal stars. But a particular passion for hellebores and snowdrops, for example, is never allowed to cloud his designer’s eye.
Instead, it leads to the exploration of other companion plants such as eranthis, crocus, wintersweet and Jasminum nudiflorum, as well as nonflowering but equally ornamental plant parts, including berries, bark and seed pods.
All the while Culp never stops asking those questions all gardeners should ask of themselves: “What do I want from my garden? What really excites me? What do I think is beautiful? And how much work do I want to do to keep it that way?”
Dates for your diary
Plants and Gardens at Home and Abroad, a lecture by Frances McDonald, owner of the Bay Garden, at Wesley House, Leeson Park, Dublin 6 on February 27th at 8pm. Admission €7 for nonmembers. See rhsi.ie tel: 01-235 3912
Building a Willow Structure with Norbert Platz, a half-day course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School, February 18th, 9am-1.30pm, booking essential, see cookingisfun.ie, tel: 021- 4646785 | <urn:uuid:ee93f9fd-d307-449a-89bb-1e8858944e31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/2.770/a-garden-for-all-seasons-1.1252735 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939559 | 1,170 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Should Felons Be Allowed to Vote? GOP, Dems Duke It Out
Around the State
Republicans and Democrats clashed Thursday in Tallahassee on restoring civil rights to convicted felons.
Florida is one of the handful of states that denies convicted felons the vote even after their sentences have been completed. Backed by organizations including the NAACP and the ACLU, Democratic legislators, led by Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral Springs, spokeThursday on a proposed resolution that would allow the public to vote whether to automatically restore voting rights for convicted felons.
With more than 100,000 Floridians in limbo as they await hearings from the state clemency board for a restoration of voting privleges, Porth and the resolution's supporters -- which include fellow Democrats Sen. Arthenia Joyner of Tampa, Sen. Chris Smith of West Palm Beach and Rep. Dwayne Taylor of Daytona Beach -- maintain that their proposal could help clear the backlog.
But the proposal received strong criticism from a prominent Florida Republican -- Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi, fresh off a meeting of the state clemency board on Thursday, announced her opposition to the automatic restoration of the civil rights of convicted felons.
“I fundamentally and philosophically oppose the concept of the automatic restoration of civil rights,” said Bondi. “I believe that every convicted felon must actively apply for the restoration of his or her civil rights and that there should be a mandatory waiting period before applying. The restoration of civil rights for any felon must be earned, it is not an entitlement.
“When the Florida Board of Executive Clemency reconvenes for a special meeting in two weeks, it is my hope that the board enacts revised rules that protect Floridians while creating a fair process to restore deserving felons’ rights,” added Bondi. “The burden of restoring civil rights should not fall on the shoulders of government, but rather it should rest on the individual whose actions resulted in those rights being taken in the first place.”
Porth quickly returned the fire back on Bondi for opposing the resolution.
“The application process to restore rights in Florida is broken,” said Porth. “Instead of making the application process seamless and less costly to taxpayers, Attorney General Bondi proposes new obstacles. Florida leaders need to eliminate the red tape upon a person’s sentence being served, and allow these individuals to vote and be a more fully functioning member of their community.”
Porth’s proposal has won the support of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition which claims that the current statute prevents almost 1 million Floridians from voting.
While there were some attempts to lift some of the voting restrictions backed by former Gov. Charlie Crist, the state has long restricted ballot access to convicted felons.
For example, Article XIV, Section 2 of the 1868 version of the state Constitution, passed during Reconstruction, stated: “No person under guardianship non compos mentis, or insane, shall be qualified to vote at any election, nor shall any person convicted of felony be qualified to vote at any election unless restored to civil rights.”
While the 1885 state Constitution was a drastic change from the one approved in 1868, the ban on felons voting remained in place with much the same language. | <urn:uuid:0495b1ac-9765-4fb6-859e-49cb975d38fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/should-felons-be-allowed-to-vote-gop-dems-duke-it-out | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946858 | 692 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Neohapsis is currently accepting applications for employment. For more information, please visit our website www.neohapsis.com or email firstname.lastname@example.org
From: Chip Carpenter (securitypowermmv.com)
Date: Fri Jun 29 2001 - 08:26:48 CDT
I'm not sure this is true, I also have home and when I bought my own cable
modem and returned there's they had to re-provision the connection and
required the MAC address of the new modem, they then incremented by
workstation name by 1 letter . . . it sounds like they are using the MAC
address AND the workstation name to validate that the modem (really a
bridge) is authorized for a lease . . .
but then again, i could be wrong
At 02:27 AM 6/28/01 -0400, Les Ault wrote:
>home does not use MAC addresses. I have home and they use the workstation
>name. If the workstation name does not match a "table" of valid machines
>then you don't have access. In Linux / Unix it is called a DHCP hostname. | <urn:uuid:eaa81fcc-9e52-49ed-b6b6-0994b2a0b3fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/sf/ms/2001-q2/1170.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931533 | 248 | 1.671875 | 2 |
As we have been hearing, terrorists have created havoc in Mumbai, India, killing over
80 160 people and injuring over 250300, according to the latest reports.
Photos of the carnage, of a child, of women and men grieving, paint a gloomy picture of this tragic operation by terrorists, hell-bent upon death and destruction for some vile purpose (see video and photos below).
Fingers are pointing to radical Muslims (not unsurprisingly since that is almost always the first reaction by Indian government officials), but there has been no official confirmation. Regardless of who was involved, the people who carried these attacks out are animals, with little sense of humanity or morality.
As Muslims, we condemn such senseless carnage against innocent civilians, wherever it may occur. This goes against the fundamental spirit of Islam, which promotes a culture of life and humanity, not bloodshed and violence. And another example of why extremist ideology, whatever that ideology may be, needs to be refuted and condemned.
“Whoever kills a person [unjustly]… it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (Qur'an, 5:32)
Today, we join all Indians in expressing our outrage and our condemnation of this senseless spilling of innocent blood.
May Allāh grant patience to the victims of terrorism, and may He extract full justice against the perpetrators.
Any eye-witness accounts or updates are welcome. We would like to especially hear from any Indians in Mumbai to share some of the feelings of people on the ground.
Note: Any distasteful comments or comments that try to justify such heinous crimes will be moderated. There is a time to talk about injustice (like government brutality in Kashmir), but never to be conflated with other injustice. Because injustice can never be returned with injustice. Allāh is Just, and Muslims are commanded to be just in all our actions and speech.
Photos credit AP, Reuters | <urn:uuid:7c8bef4e-3bdf-4b1c-aaa7-22e08585cc3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://muslimmatters.org/2008/11/26/terrorists-on-murderous-rampage-in-mumbai-join-the-condemnation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948656 | 409 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Congestion pricing, for all practical purposes, died this week. But Councilman David Yassky hasn’t lost faith.
“If you step back, the congestion pricing idea was put forward by Michael Bloomberg a year ago, and it’s a very big idea,” he said on the night of April 7, a few hours after Sheldon Silver’s Democratic Assembly majority snuffed out the proposal in committee. “It’s a complicated idea, it’s an ambitious idea. In some ways, it’s amazing that it’s gotten as far as it has in as short a time.”
Mr. Yassky, whose Brooklyn district includes Greenpoint, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and parts of Williamsburg, publicly announced to his constituents that he supported congestion pricing two months after the mayor first announced it a little less than a year ago, making him one of the first elected officials in New York to come out in favor of it. (He also authored and pushed for years for recently enacted legislation that will require all New York City taxis to be either hybrid or low emission by 2012.)
“I think that ultimately good ideas do prevail,” he said. “So, sooner or later.”
Mr. Yassky, who is running for city comptroller in 2009, distinguished himself from the majority of his Council colleagues by pushing this particular idea enthusiastically. Not surprisingly, he has the pitch down cold.
“There’s three things,” he said, in an earlier interview. “Traffic in midtown and downtown Manhattan is approaching permanent gridlock. If it gets to that, that’s, ‘We can’t stay the economic capital of the world if it takes you an hour to get 10 blocks.’ That’s the sound bite for it, but I think it’s really true.”
He continued: “Two, we want to push people out of cars and into mass transit because it’s better for the environment. The way you deal with the air quality and climate change is bit by bit, and everybody’s got to do their part and you say, you’ve got to reduce emissions from buildings, we’ve started that. You’ve got reduce emissions from vehicles, this is one way to do it.
“And the third is mass-transit money. I don’t see this as entirely a revenue scheme, you know, but that’s an important piece of it. We have the same basic subway system that we had 100 years ago, and we have a very different city and a much bigger one.”
I suggested that the city could use more L trains.
“We need a lot more L trains,” he said. “We need more G trains.”
“By the way,” he added, “one thing we’re going to do if we get congestion pricing is a bus that would go down Kent, and over the Manhattan Bridge. I guess—no, I’m sorry, it will go up Wythe. It will go up something. I guess Kent is two-way.”
Kent is two-way, I confirmed.
“Right, so it will go up Kent and Franklin and over the Pulaski Bridge and through the Midtown Tunnel,” he said. “And ferries from Long Island City to one or two stops in Greenpoint and one or two stops in Williamsburg to Pier A downtown.”
As nerdishly enthusiastic as he is about transportation infrastructure, Mr. Yassky did make an effort, however gingerly, to put some daylight between himself and the environmental and mass-transit activists who had rallied around congestion pricing unreservedly.
“The cost side is, people are going to have to pay, you know, a genuinely stiff tax to drive into Manhattan,” Mr. Yassky said. “And I don’t like that. And I don’t think, I mean, the rhetoric of the [activists], who I love, but you know sometimes it’s like they actively want to punish people for driving, and I certainly don’t feel that way.
“You know, I voted for the smoking ban, I felt bad about it. You know, these people, a lot of people do smoke, and they shouldn’t, for themselves, forget about everybody else, it’s overwhelmingly for themselves. And you know, as it is, they’ve got to be huddled outside in the freezing cold; now there’s one more place they’ve got to do that. I voted for it, as I said. But you drive into Manhattan because you have to.”
In the end, it didn’t matter. The Assembly rendered the idea of congestion pricing academic for the foreseeable future, killing the idea in committee.
Mr. Yassky, ever optimistic, takes the long view.
“This does take some time and we didn’t know,” he said shortly after the news from Albany. “It looked like maybe this would be enough time.”
He maintains that the effort was worth it.
“Let’s just hope this debate, the congestion pricing proposal, has focused the debate on the need for more mass transit and what we have to do to make our mass-transit system commensurate with the need in the 21st century,” he said. “It’s focused debate on that in a way that really, nothing else has in a while. That’s a good product.”
“I’m not just looking for a silver lining,” he added. “I think those are good things.”
Follow Katharine Jose via RSS. | <urn:uuid:e81a5411-81d7-4574-9ada-18672742cbd7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://observer.com/2008/04/green-councilman-takes-a-long-view-on-congestion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966915 | 1,259 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Diagne was summoned to police headquarters in the capital, Dakar, on Thursday, July 8. He was questioned about the articles and pressed to reveal his sources, which he refused to do, according to international news reports and local sources. He was told to return the following day. When he did so, he was charged with "publishing secret documents," "publishing false information," and "acts and maneuvers likely to cause public unrest and discredit public institutions." He was arrested and taken to prison.
According to Diagne's lawyer, Boucounta Diallo, the journalist faces several years in prison if convicted. Diagne has been charged in connection with two separate articles he wrote. The first, which appeared in Le Quotidien on June 23, 2004, reported on allegations of fraud in the customs service and implicated government officials including the former Customs Director Boubacar Camara. The piece included a reference to a secret June 11 letter from Finance Minister Abdoulaye Diop to President Abdoulaye Wade concerning an inquiry into the scandal.
The second article, which appeared in Le Quotidien on July 5, 2004, accused President Wade and Justice Minister Sérigne Diop of sending certain judges to the interior of the country because they are too independent-minded, while promoting less qualified judges to more senior positions. Diagne also wrote that some members of the judiciary were unhappy and were preparing to take action.
"This is a deeply troubling development in a country that has been considered a beacon of democracy in West Africa," said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. "We call on President Wade to ensure that Madiambal Diagne is released immediately. We also call on Senegal's government to work toward eliminating criminal penalties for press offenses."
Almost all of Senegal's private newspapers refrained from publishing on Monday to protest Diagne's arrest and what they say is a government attempt to muzzle the press. Private radio stations also protested by airing only music interspersed with information about Diagne's arrest and imprisonment.
In October 2003, Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent Sophie Malibeaux was expelled from Senegal. She was accused of threatening national security after RFI broadcast her interview with a hard-line member of a separatist rebel group from Casamance, a region in southern Senegal. See CPJ's alert of October 23, 2003. | <urn:uuid:2d8614bb-32bc-415f-a44e-4ad594deac3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cpj.org/2004/07/cpj-calls-for-release-of-arrested-editor.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981152 | 480 | 1.59375 | 2 |
There are several shows on TV that deal with buying storage units and then going through them hoping to find something of value buried in them. It’s a risky proposition. You can spend money on something that just holds junk that you need to get rid of. It’s also a lot of work. You have to lift, dig, shove, move, re-pack, refinish, research, find buyers and sell it all. So the question is, “Is it worth the effort and money?” Or should you pass up the opportunity? One time according to Trutv.com “In 2000, the actor Nicholas Cage filed a police report claiming that an extremely rare comic book, Action Comics #1, (valued at more than a million dollars) had been stolen from his Los Angeles home. More than 10 years later, a collectibles expert was contacted by an anonymous man who found the book after discovering it in a purchased storage locker. The collectibles expert contacted a comic book expert who happened to be the same man who had originally sold the book to Cage in 1994. Despite having received insurance money for the comic, the actor was eager to settle up with the insurance company and retrieve his property.” This is just one of many examples where the work was worth the effort. This was definitely an opportunity that shouldn’t have been passed up. Jesus tells a parable that teaches this concept in Luke 10: 30 – 35.
30 Jesus took up [the question] and said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’
We don’t really know why the two religious men passed up the man who had been robbed. Perhaps they didn’t want to be inconvenienced or they knew it would cost them time and money. Whatever the case the Samaritan stopped and took care of the man. He gave up time and money to help. It may not seem like an opportunity to help someone in need, but God sees it as an opportunity to share Him with others. He gives us everything we have. He gives us health, time, and money. He expects to give of what we have to serve Him and others. Every time to serve God is a great opportunity. It’s opportunity that should not be passed up for our own selfish reasons. If God shows us the opportunity and we know it is from Him, then we need to respond to the opportunity. It is just common sense to not pass up God’s opportunities. He will bless us for honoring Him and representing Him to others. What we might spend in time and money will not compare to what we gain from God. It’s like the great reward these storage unit buyers find.
Here are some great opportunity quotes by some successful men:
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas Edison
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” Charles Swindoll
“Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” Alexander Graham Bell | <urn:uuid:b83baa84-5834-4db8-aab6-43f55fa5a2fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wisejunction.wordpress.com/tag/risky/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986134 | 835 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Gas station owners see their doom in tax proposal
MONTPELIER — Vermont merchants doing business along the New Hampshire border say a proposed tax increase on gasoline will destroy what’s left of their fragile retail economy.
The Shumlin administration is looking to make up a $36 million shortfall in the fiscal year 2014 transportation budget by imposing a new surcharge on unleaded gas. But gas station owners from up and down the Connecticut River Valley told lawmakers Tuesday that they’re already losing business to their lower-tax competitors to the east. Adding a new tax now, they said, could put a nail in the coffin of a long-struggling retail sector.
“I will lose what business I have left,” Cheryl Cote, owner and operator of a gas station in Canaan, told members of the House Committee on Transportation. “This tax is destroying the businesses along the New Hampshire-Vermont border — totally destroying them.”
Chris Cole, director of policy and planning for the Agency of Transportation, said tax revenue isn’t keeping pace with Vermont’s infrastructure needs, in part because of flagging gasoline sales. Sales of unleaded gas in 2011 were about 9 percent off their peak in 2005.
“We’re going down each year, and our revenues reflect that,” Cole said.
The Shumlin proposal would assess a 4 percent tax on the retail price of gasoline and cut the current per-gallon excise to 14.3 cents, from 19 cents. Combined with a $9 million bond, the revenue package would net the $36 million that Cole said is needed for upkeep of roads and bridges. Without the money, he says, Vermont won’t be able to afford the state match for its federal projects and could be forced to send back an estimated $40 million to Washington, D.C.
But Peter Annis, owner of Black River Quick Stop in Springfield, said he’s already losing retail traffic to Granite State competitors in Claremont and Charlestown, where state gas taxes are 7 cents per gallon lower than they are here. The Shumlin proposal would, at current gas prices, add 8 or 9 cents per gallon to the state portion of the gas tax and open up a 15-cent gap across the border.
“As a border town owner who has seen the state increase the cigarette tax and a ... drop in cigarette sales, I can only imagine what will happen with this proposed increase in the gas tax,” Annis said.
Like most gas station owners, Annis said, he relies on the pumps to attract retail business. He said he’s already taking a loss on gasoline sales to keep foot traffic coming through the store, but said he won’t be able to eat another 9 cents per gallon.
Joe Choquette, a Statehouse lobbyist for the Vermont Petroleum Association, said the proposal would give Vermont the ninth-highest state gas tax in the nation; New York’s would still be far higher.
Cole said the Shumlin plan has the benefit of tying the gas tax to an inflationary index, something that will allow revenue to keep pace with rising construction costs. The existing gas tax, he said, has lost about 40 percent of its buying power over the last 20 years. And the plan has the support of numerous interest groups, including the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, which said municipal road budgets will be among the first oxen gored should the state fail to solve its budget shortfall.
Not everyone in Montpelier is so convinced of the need to raise the gas tax.
“I’m not there yet,” said Sen. Dick Mazza, a Grand Isle Democrat and chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation. “I think there still may be wiggle room in the budget where we can come up with money we need for the federal match.”
Rep. Patrick Brennan, a Colchester Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, said there may be ways to raise the revenue without upping prices at the pump. Brennan said one-third of revenue from the purchase and use tax — about $29 million annually — is now deposited into the education fund.
“If we just kept that money in our transportation fund and maybe (tied the existing excise tax to inflation), we’d be where we need to be, revenue-wise,” Brennan said.
But House Speaker Shap Smith, who looks to be on board with Shumlin’s proposal, said he couldn’t support a plan that took nearly $30 million from the education fund without finding a way to replace it.
“That’s another 3 cents on the statewide property tax rate,” Smith said.
And Brian Searles, state Agency of Transportation secretary, said that while the purchase and use tax idea may be worthy of consideration, it’s too late in schools’ budgeting cycle to be messing around with the education fund.
Searles said he sympathizes with the retailers in border towns.
“They are a genuine concern, and we hear them,” he said.
But he said a proposal pending in the New Hampshire Statehouse may minimize the impact. Lawmakers there are mulling a 12-cent-per-gallon increase in the state gas tax, a response, Searles said, to years of underfunding in Granite State transportation budgets.
“I think it’s important to look at this in the context of what’s going on in other states,” Searles said. “Other states are having their own problems.”
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Testing Pays Off For Penn Mutual
- Published on Monday, October 29, 2007
- Written by Richard Arnold
The basic premise of disaster recovery is that a tested plan is the only way to recover. Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company recovered from the fire because, one, they had tested their plan many times prior to the fire, and two, they executed their disaster recovery plan with expertise and precision.
The alarm was pulled shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, 1989, when smoke was discovered in the records room on the ninth floor. The fire raced through the ninth floor of Penn Mutual's 530 Walnut Street building in downtown Philadelphia, destroying thousands of documents. At times the temperature hit 2,000 degrees and fire spread quickly among the room's largely paper contents. By early Wednesday morning, it had escalated to a 9 1/2 alarm fire and eventually as many as 500 firefighters were required at the scene. The fire had displaced about 1,500 employees from various companies in the building. Arson is suspected and a reward has been offered.
THE QUICK RESPONSE
We interviewed Paul Trainor, Vice President of Information Systems, about the fire and recovery. The fire was on the ninth floor which is two floors above the data center. The fire had started in the Penn Mutual records center and continued to burn for two days.
The firefighters were pouring 12 million gallons of water on the fire, and this flowed down to the data center destroying the ceiling tiles and causing severe water damage to the computer equipment. The plastic sheets used to cover the equipment were ineffective due to the enormous amounts of water.
At approximately 9 p.m., Mr. Trainor decided they could not continue and declared a disaster to SunGard Recovery Services. (SunGard Recovery Services provides alternate data processing facilities and services in the event of a computer disaster). Penn Mutual's backup tapes arrived at SunGard's Philadelphia Recovery Center at 1 a.m. and at about 9 a.m. the data was restored and by 11:55 a.m. Wednesday morning, they had every application up and running with the exception of two minor internal tacking systems, which were brought up within two hours.
Due to the complexities of partial backups, Penn Mutual had changed their philosophy from partial backups and defining critical applications, to performing full backups.
Their goal was to restore the system and begin operation at the recovery site within 24 hours. As a result of the testing they had done previously, and with the help of SunGard's skilled professionals, they were able to recover the operating environment and key applications within 13 hours.
Nearly two years ago, Penn Mutual moved most of its business staff out of the Philadelphia location to a suburban site 20 miles away. They had to establish communications to those offices. The company uses a T1 circuit and dial backup alternatives to communicate with nationwide agency offices in a recovery mode. The communications equipment at SunGard were able to handle all of Penn Mutual's communication needs. They used SunGard's SunNet II modems locally and sent others to the outlying branches.
Mr. Trainor stated they had regularly tested their recovery capability and had just completed a test two weeks prior to the fire. The test also familiarized Penn Mutual with SunGard's facilities and personnel. He also commented, "If it hadn't been for our vigorous testing program, we would have had an extended outage. There's no question of that!"
The effect of the fire on the other parts of the company was minimal. Ninety eight percent of the administrative and customer relation functions and personnel were at other locations.
THE COMMAND CENTER
The command center set up at SunGard was the single point of contact for the outside world. All calls came through command center personnel and could be handled in an orderly manner. Questions were handled about the fire, the data processing center and how long operations would be down. The command center was a place to implement the recovery plan.
THE MOVE TO THE COLD SITE
It was apparent to Penn Mutual that the outage was going to be long term and that they needed to start the transition to SunGard's cold site. A major problem, according to Mr. Trainor, was that he had to acquire a complete data center in a relatively short period of time. They had to find and acquire 170 gigabytes of DASD. Short-term leasing is very expensive. Mr. Trainor said, "The first couple of days you are in total shock. Then you realize that you have to populate your cold site. The main question at that point was which vendors could deliver on time and which ones could not. In general, the larger equipment suppliers all did an exquisite job and some of the smaller ones did not."
KEY ISSUE FOR RECONSTRUCTION
A key issue that must be addressed when reconstructing your DP environment is determining the insurance settlement. If your equipment is not totally destroyed by fire, you might not get full settlement for the equipment, but yet you still have to acquire equipment for the cold site.
There have been many important issues mentioned in this article. Penn Mutual stresses that the major reasons for their successful recovery were: (1) preparing a disaster recovery plan (2) subscribing to SunGard (3) testing, testing and more testing.
Thanks to Penn Mutual's efforts and their comprehensive, thoroughly tested recovery plan implemented by Penn Mutual, in conjunction with SunGard's professional staff, they recovered successfully from what could have been a devastating disaster.
This article was written by Richard Arnold, editor-in-chief, Disaster Recovery Journal.
This article adapted from Vol. 2, No. 3, p. 4. | <urn:uuid:6058c763-27fc-42ef-a53e-13c5055cc220> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drj.com/article-archives/fires/testing-pays-off-for-penn-mutual.html | 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 | 0.979049 | 1,167 | 1.65625 | 2 |
General Practice, Solo & Small Firm DivisionBest of ABA Sections
Legal Ethics and the Internet
by Kathryn M. Fenton
The Internet, World Wide Web, and other electronic communications networks offer lawyers an array of new tools for data gathering, information exchange, document transfers, enhanced communications with peers and potential clients, and novel opportunities for marketing and promotion.
As attorneys begin to incorporate the opportunities offered by electronic communications into their practices, questions of legal ethics and professional responsibility probably are not foremost on their minds. Yet the Internet and other electronic networks provide an array of complicated ethical issues that can present pitfalls for the uninitiated and unwary.
Advertising and Marketing Restrictions. Some claim that in the near future it will be more important for an attorney to have a Web site than a Yellow Pages or Martindale-Hubbell listing. Yet the use of electronic networks for lawyer advertising and marketing activities raises a number of ethical concerns.
A lawyer seeking to attract new clients across multiple jurisdictions frequently is confronted with inconsistent requirements relating to the nature and form of the marketing message, required disclosures, and limitations on who can be solicited. As complicated as these ethical issues may be when dealing with print and video media, they become even more complicated when applied to electronic communications. A number of jurisdictions have taken the position that Internet communications are a form of advertising and thus subject to the state bar’s ethical restrictions, which may include bans on the use of testimonials, prohibitions on self-laudatory statements, disclaimers, and labeling the materials presented as advertising.
Some states require that advance copies of any advertising materials be submitted for review by designated bar entities prior to dissemination. For Internet communications, which can be changed almost instantaneously and are updated frequently, it is unclear just how this advance review can be accomplished. Other states require that attorneys keep a copy of their Web site and any changes made to it for three years, along with a record of when and where the Web site was used.
The content of marketing communications also may raise concern. A common feature of law firm home pages is the identification of areas of practice, and biographies of attorneys associated with the firm. Descriptive terms such as "expert" or "specialist" may highlight the skills of a particular attorney, but some jurisdictions either totally ban or significantly restrict the use of these designations.
The Internet also represents an unparalleled means of communicating with large numbers of prospective clients. Yet this use of the Internet to attract clients may raise the same concerns with intrusiveness and attorney overreaching that underlie the ethical bans on in-person or telephone solicitation.
Some jurisdictions have concluded that Web sites do not constitute prohibited solicitation because Web site information is not indiscriminately presented but must be affirmatively sought out. The fear of electronic "ambulance chasing," however, was fueled several years ago when two immigration lawyers posted an advertisement offering their services to obtain green cards to thousands of Internet user groups.
Unauthorized Practice of Law. All states have statutes or ethical rules that make it unlawful for persons to hold themselves out as attorneys or to provide legal services unless admitted and licensed to practice in that jurisdiction. In addition to barring practice by laypersons, these provisions also affect practices that extend across state or national boundaries, as is the case with the Internet.
There are no reported decisions on this issue, but a handful of ethics opinions and court decisions take a restrictive view of unauthorized practice issues. For example, the court in Birbower, Montalbano, Condon & Frank v. Superior, relied on unauthorized practice concerns in refusing to honor a fee agreement between a New York law firm and a California client for legal services provided in California because the New York firm did not retain local counsel and its attorneys were not admitted in California.
Confidentiality Concerns. Preserving clients’ confidences is of critical importance in all aspects of an attorney’s practice. An attorney using the Internet to communicate with a client must consider the confidentiality of such communications.
Obviously, not all electronic communications raise client confidentiality concerns. Web sites are intended to be public fora and offer general access. Using the Internet to communicate with clients on confidential matters, however, raises a number of issues, including whether such communications: (1) might violate the obligation to maintain client confidentiality; (2) result in a waiver of the attorney-client privilege if intercepted by an unauthorized party; or (3) create possible malpractice liability.
Some recent ethics opinions suggest a need for caution. Iowa Opinion 96-1 states that before sending client-sensitive information over the Internet, a lawyer should either encrypt the information or obtain the client’s written acknowledgment of the risks of using this method of communication.
Some attorneys have adopted internal measures to protect electronic client communications, including: asking clients to consider alternative technologies, encrypting messages to increase security, obtaining written client authorization to use the Internet and acknowledgment of the possible risks in so doing, and exercising independent judgment about communications too sensitive to share using the Internet.
Client Conflicts. Because of the business development potential of "chat rooms," bulletin boards, and other electronic opportunities for client contact, many attorneys see the Internet as a powerful client development tool. What some fail to recognize, however, is that the very opportunity to attract new clients may be a source of unintended conflicts of interest.
Take, for example, one of the most common uses of Internet chat rooms: a request seeking advice from attorneys experienced in dealing with a particular legal problem. Attorneys have been known to prepare elaborate and highly detailed responses to such inquiries. Depending on the level and nature of the information received and the advice provided, however, attorneys may be dismayed to discover that they have inadvertently created an attorney-client relationship with the requesting party. At a minimum, given the anonymous nature of many such inquiries, they may face the embarrassment and potential client relations problem of taking a public position or providing advice contrary to the interests of an existing firm client.
Some operators of electronic bulletin boards and on-line discussion groups have tried to minimize the client conflict potential by providing disclaimers or including as part of the subscription agreement the acknowledgment that any participation in on-line discussions does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Arizona State Bar recently cautioned that lawyers probably should not answer specific questions posed in chat rooms or news groups because of the inability to screen for potential conflicts with existing clients and the danger of disclosing confidential information. Because the consequences of finding an attorney-client relationship are severe and may result in disqualification from representing other clients, the prudent lawyer should carefully scrutinize the nature and extent of any participation on on-line chat rooms and similar venues.
Kathryn M. Fenton practices in Washington, D.C., with Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.
This article is an excerpted version of the one that originally appeared in Antitrust, Summer 1997, page 43. | <urn:uuid:9db79fcf-e89b-4eb5-80e8-79d436a88c62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanbar.org/newsletter/publications/gp_solo_magazine_home/gp_solo_magazine_index/fenton.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938547 | 1,415 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Sanibel author Charles Sobczak will be giving a Power Point presentation at 4:30 p.m. March 21 at the Captiva Memorial Library, 1560 Chapin Lane. He will be presenting "The Nature of Southwest Florida," which includes old postcards, photographs and writing from his last three non-fiction titles "Alligators, Sharks & Panthers," "Living Sanibel" and "Living Gulf Coast." Many of the slides are from award-winning photographers Alan S. Matlz, Dick Fortune, Sara Lopez and Judd Patterson.
The presentation is a unique and, at times humorous, look at our relationship with the Florida environment: from the arrival of Ponce de Leon in 1513 through the current status of the parks, preserves and the invasive Burmese pythons of today. There is no admission charge to the event and there will be a brief question and answer period directly following the presentation.
Sobczak's latest book, The Living Gulf Coast A Nature Guide to Southwest Florida recently won a gold medal from the Florida's Publishers Association as the best non-fiction title in the Sunshine State, 2011. His first non-fiction book, Alligators, Sharks and Panthers, won two silver medals and one regional bronze medal in 2007. His first novel, Six Mornings on Sanibel, recently had an unprecedented seventh printing.
The author will also be introducing an excerpt from his new, forthcoming novel, which is set in the year 2043. The work is titled, The Year of the Bad Decision, and the story line looks back on the effects of climate change between the present time and thirty years from now. It is a futuristic thriller in the tradition of Brave New World and 1984. It is the scariest book the author has ever written.
Copies of all of the authors' books will be made available after the presentation at a discounted price. This program is a part of the Captiva Library's Cultural fest and the reading public is cordially invited to attend. For additional information please contact the Captiva Memorial Library at (239) 479-4636. | <urn:uuid:74f20733-9349-47f8-bdcc-d5314ed13c55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.captivasanibel.com/page/content.detail/id/518959/Sobczak-to-give-presentation-at-Captiva-Library.html?nav=5060 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945126 | 427 | 1.609375 | 2 |
20 Feb 2013, BioSpectrum Bureau , BioSpectrum
Singapore: UBM Canon and DuPont have launched Medical Packaging Innovation, a new online community dedicated to addressing the needs of European medical device packaging engineers and designers.
Medical Packaging Innovation connects thought leaders from Europe's medical packaging ecosystem to share insights and engage with the larger medical device community by offering immediate solutions to design dilemmas and production predicaments as well as commenting on current and emerging trends.
Medical Packaging Innovation is published in partnership with UBM DeusM, the integrated marketing services arm of UBM, which has launched more than 45 online communities for B2B audiences in the past two years. These sites have won more than 65 awards among them.
Ms Stephanie Wiseman, community editor, Medical Packaging Innovation, said that, "Developing and designing safe, user-appropriate medical packaging can be every bit as challenging as producing the device that it protects. By fostering a uniquely enriching exchange of information through engaging content written by the medical device packaging professionals in the community, Medical Packaging Innovation will address the issues facing many engineers and designers creating medical device packaging."
Mr Marcelo Miliani, sales and marketing manager, DuPont, said that, "A daunting number of factors must be considered when designing medical device packaging. Understanding this, DuPont wanted to provide the European medical device industry a place of true connection where it can continuously discuss and share ideas about packaging: from material selection and sterilization methods to regulatory compliance and testing protocols. The Medical Packaging Innovation community is that place." | <urn:uuid:cea3c8b4-2833-4423-af10-ebb6db921fde> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biospectrumasia.com/print_article/biospectrum/news/174914/canon-dupont-start-online-medtech-community | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94503 | 319 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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Plant elimination is a jobs that request for a commercial tree removal, they will use different tree removal gadgets and devices to be associated with pulling down that massive plant to the ground. It is not like taking out plant departments which could be distributed in you accentuate as a result of cyclones or various others organic misfortunes. In order to avoid any type of type of decrease or traumas to any person of your home along with your houses, it is much better to obtain the service of tree removal Sydney who will provide you with tree expert services to finish the task of eliminating that plant at a cost. A specialist sign up with a better place to acquire even those plant stump making use of modern stump extraction tools additionally those plants that are hidden or to near frameworks and different a couple of others structures, he as hard gizmos to hold tree divisions in order to stop them from breaking down guaranteeing that the safety everyone is not run the risk of.
Carpets can be beautiful additions of anyone’s home whether they are expensive or cheap it really doesn’t matter. Cleaning floor rugs and steam cleaning carpets require someone with the skill and knowledge and proper bond cleaning training. It is much important to protect these expensive things and maintain the good care of the investment. Some tips of cleaning the carpets can keep the carpets so much beautiful as anyone may want to see them. One can create several mistakes when it is time to clean the carpets effectively. These types of mistakes can harm the carpets and they may be unused ones. One should follow some effective rules to wash the carpets:
End of tenancy cleaning of carpets is important
One should use the rotating brush vacuum on the back side of the carpet but not the front side. Vacuuming by it will help in pushing the dirt trapped deep down toward the top side of the carpet. End of lease cleaning Canberra are bond cleaning Canberra specialists that understand why it is so important that the carpet cleaning be done properly. After this, the carpet should be flipped right side and the dirt is vacuumed in this way. It is very effective to use the rotating brush vacuum on the back side of the carpet.
Should not vacuum the fringes:
If anyone is running the vacuum over the fringes they may be sucked into the beater bar of the vacuum machine. These fringes may not be vacuumed; one can just fluff them by hands. If one does not follow this, it will harmful for his carpets. It is advisable to make sure the removalists have been in and gone before the steam cleaner comes in to do their job. It can be quite difficult if everyone is trying to do the house cleaning at the same time.
Attention about the carpet shampoos:
The carpet cleaners shampoos are mainly made for using in the wall carpet cleaning canberra but not to the floor carpets. He should check the label regularly before using any types of shampoos. He should make sure that he rinses it all out when he is using it and he should always test the carpet with a damp white cotton towel for ensuring the color of it may not bleed.
Clean up spills or stains:
One should use a clean white 100% cotton dry towel and press down very hard from the outside to the middle side. He should do this repeatedly until he has absorbed so much moisture as he can. It will remove the harmful spills or stains of the carpet.
Cheap tree removal
We can get rid of the large trees by tree removals which are very near to our sidewalk and driveway. These types of large tree’s roots may be gotten into our sewer. These trees should be removed by the process of tree removal because it will remove the problems and we can earn huge money by selling them into the wood market.
Economical tree removal:
If any large tree is growing into the driveway, they should be removed by the process of tree removals. First we should cut the branches of those trees. Then we should borrow a truck with lift and should cut the higher limbs of the trees. One can take a chain to pull out the higher branches of the large trees to make tree removal so easy for him. After cutting the branches of the trees one can cut the big sizes branch to make it wood and can sell them into the markets. The short branches may be used to burn anything, so it is useful to get some money by selling them.
City could do the tree removal:
One can call his city municipality to remove the problems of trees depending on the location of the trees because they are the owners of the grass areas of the sidewalk and also the street. They plant the trees to help the people for getting oxygen from the trees. If anyone sees that these trees are making problems into the sewer then he should call them to remove it urgently.
Free tree removals:
One can remove the trees free in this process. He can make an advertisement on the newspaper that he can give the woods free if anyone cut the trees and clean the areas fully. By seeing these types of ad one may come into his house and cut the tree and also fulfill his demand without getting any charges.
Seek out longer for tree removal:
If the removal tree is a pine tree then one can check the area for the self employment there. One will cut it free and will give anyone at least some of the fees for getting the woods from him.
Tree removing is a large decision, so one should not take it very much quickly. If the removing trees are dead ones, they should be cut immediately because it will be harmful for the health, safety and also some others health related problems. Besides, the living trees may be removed if they interfere with the other useful trees, roadside areas, houses and wires of the roadside areas. If they may not be removed it will harm on the livelihood of human but before cutting these trees one should think about it that he is doing correct or not because it takes lots of time means couple of years to replace the removed trees with another tree. One tree help guide will help anyone to know about how long trees should be removed and it should be removed.
One should not cut the trees if the diameters are not up to 10 inches and height is not up to 20 feet. One should check about the soil conditions of the trees because it is very much important for the tree removals. One should remember that cutting a tree is more affected on other purposes than his property. If the removing tree is in the line of his property he can take a legal action for it otherwise he should not cut it.
These types of trees should be cut with the help of mechanical tools and ropes for removing the large limbs. If the removing tree is being removed for interfering with the utility lines, one can contract local utility company for this. Tree cutting is not so much difficult, it is easy and safe.
One should first check the locations of the tree because it may be on the garden or other areas. Then he should stand back and measure the angle of the tree because if it is cut it can be thrown into any position. Then, he should cut the branches and then he should the main root of the tree and should fall it in the right position with the help of ropes.
Legal tree removal process
One may not easily know about the legal classifications surrounding removing trees or the trees of his own. Some laws are made for saving the trees, so tree pruning Melbourne without knowing the right way can lose one his lots of money. In the rural areas this rules are not followed so much strictly, so one can cut the trees in that areas with the experts. The city council or local board enforces to protect the trees in any country. One can hire a professional to cut the non complete tree but he should inform it the city council first. This is important to inform them because they are the main person who protects the environment of the city. He should also check whether he has got the certificate to cut the trees or not.
Reasons for supporting tree removal legislation:
The tree owners are always in frustration that whether they are able to cut their personal trees or not. There are some listed reasons of cutting trees and some ways to cut them. One has to protect the older, healthy trees in the urban forest areas because those have historical value. He should require planting and protecting shade trees in parking lot and the streets. He should protect trees when any construction in many communities that should increase their urban forest. One should follow the regulations in many urban communities with limited tree numbers require replanting when the trees should be cut down.
Cutting trees following regulations:
One may know the importance of the trees in our life and the regulations about cutting the trees. One should now contact with the forester before cutting the trees in any way. They will approve the cutting if they find it correct to cut down. He should hire a professional for the tree removal company. Before cutting the trees he should remain in mind that:
- The tree lopper Melbourne is too close to his personal property or not.
- The tree removal Sydney is large too much or not
- The tree removal Perth is undermined by many insects or not
- One has to climb the tree removal Brisbane to limb.
So you see with all this carrying on there are still issues we need to address if there is to be a safe and effective process in place for professional tree removal. The best advice anyone can get regarding tree planning or land surveying is from a qualified arborist. Conducting a proper building inspection to make sure there is nothing wrong with the property will help save you lots of money down the track.
Tree removal services
The tree removing is a technical method and important task for getting safety that requires higher qualified arborists and tree care professionals to do this job. It addresses one’s health, liability; aesthetics and enables competing with other species to improve. Sometimes the living trees should be cut because it may be interfering with other trees, in the roadside areas, buildings, driveways and other wires in the roads.
Tree removal alternatives:
The tree removal process of the trees may be avoided by some terms particularly when anyone determines that there is a safe and good alternative is available there which can make anyone to love the trees more than to remove them. Instigator tree services and their property maintenance are one of the best ways to make sure about the life of the trees. Besides, the bracing and the cabling make technical supports to structurally weak and many other injuries to its branches and limbs. It will help anyone to support his trees in preventing the injuries to the trees such as failure of the crotch and branches and help to save against the disaster damages. These types of alternatives will help the trees to increase their life and keep the features of it very well.
What to expect:
Removing a tree is the best challenging ways in most urban and the suburban areas. The trees are our good friends as they surrounds with another valuable property of us and give them the highest protection from any danger. For removing the trees especially large trees require careful dismantling by the higher qualified experts to ensure the safety and protection of home cleaning Sydney and other valuable properties of us. If we don’t hire the experts to remove it, it may harm on the other important properties of us. Before removing the trees from its position, the falling positions of it, branch sizes and the soundness of the trees should be determined by the cutter of it. The best tree lopping involves taking down a tree, chipping all brush, cutting the woods about 20 inches longs and cutting the stumps very carefully. Doing it like this, one can obtain a safe tree removal Brisbane service.
Any kind of kind of plant or tree that want to be removed you need to absolutely consort plant arborist Melbourne since they have the most effective techniques to do away with any type of kind of plant that ought to certainly be secured. Wobbly plants are gotten rid of and put to an end to offer location to picked plants to broaden in an open location and in the best layouts as the farmer’s needs. Plant elimination rates on top of that assists in containing an end to those plants that have actually genuinely been influenced by misfortunes like cyclone and many various other plant conditions. A professional is phoned plant extraction aid in order to decide on the most effective plants and simply acquire the excess ones. An occupation plant extraction signs up with a much better placement to provided you adivice on any type of kind of form of tree arborist records that have to be finished your planter and also decide on plant which is had an impact on by condition and he will certainly have the potential to motivate the planter on specifically specifically how you can deal with them. By protecting the afflicted plant you will definitely most definitely have the capacity to protect the wellness ones along with having the capacity to produce a lot much more that are not had an affect on.
Plant extraction remedy atop that supports you in including an end to slow-moving plants. Plant like various other animal canine have a life process where they are raised and bolster in to advancement afterward they pass away. After there life-time you may perhaps utilize them in making lumber and plant brand-new ones at the same time. a bunch of different numerous various other plants may furthermore die really early dew to various numerous other sources like fire or fitness worry and if this occur you will certainly most definitely be turned over no various different different other chosen yet to select the most trusted plant acquire carriers that will definitely aid you defend against the previously distributing the ailment to different various other plants around them. A few of these hand plant elimination can potentially aside from that be damaging to the feel otherwise eliminated instantly.
There some plants aside from really deep beginnings which are a great risk to waterways, they pipelines all the water. Greenery assisting in circulation drainpipe have to most definitely be arborist. By doing these you will most certainly ensure that you have water for your pet younger young puppies and various various various other plants which are a whole lot a lot much better.
When a need arises for tree removal or tree pruning, or when you are faced with a tough choice on what to do with tree arborist that has been declared unsafe, then you need tree experts to sort you out. With this need then, one thing that evidently comes into your mind – the “risk”. We conform to all world health standards hence we are here to give you a peace of mind as you enjoy and continue with your daily chores. With all their positive tree removal aspects then comes the need to, when and where it is practically possible to save the tree or part of it as other aspects, items and structures remain intact.
We have been known for very competitive rates and customer friendliness and whoever comes our way is in no way cast out or taken for granted. With our tailor made solutions, we have the best to offer in terms of dedicated team of management and staff that are trained in house to facilitate proper tree removal, tree lopping and other tree arborists related services. We give very personalized goods and services which enhances our relationship with our clients. We do not compromise on any client but treat them all with equal dignity and integrity. Trees arborists Melbourne should be conserved to safe our environment and as you know the duration taken for trees to grow is long and costly hence the need for professional tree experts!
Our staff has been known for adherence to details and having been in this industry for decades make and leave us a notch higher in terms of quality tree arborist Melbourne . We have all the routes marked out for we have basically been involved in all cities and towns. With just a name and contact details you will definitely find us there. A single visit from us for tree removal quote will leave you happily ever after! Try us for quality and dedication! When a construction bearing or other boundary is hindered by a tree, then quality services should be in place to ensure that the tree is conserved wholly or partly.
When it worries plants after that the word “care” is inevitably taken advantage of! Tree services Melbourne is the area to call. These are specialists that understand exactly how priceless these items are and give up there all to guarantee that reliability is supported whatsoever degrees. These keep them afloat and have the ability to take care of all consumers efficiently.
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Attempt us and you will certainly never ever before be sorry for! For arborists Melbourne you must put your faith in proven and reliable tree removalists. Danger is my middle name is the catch phrase that is commonly used to describe a tree lopper climbing up a tree to do some tree pruning.
Whenever a demand occurs to vacate something obviously comes into your thoughts– the “danger” and or vulnerable Removalists Brisbane are right here to offer you a security as you appreciate a worry cost-free moving. With all these good moving elements then comes the have to book all if, when and where it is virtually possible and in its condition and worth. Removalists Brisbane necessarily does not take part in ironing out your items for the container however attempt everything that is at their fingertip to preserve and book them.
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We could not over highlight our capability to provide the best removalists Sydney within the quickest time feasible with our dedicated and well qualified staff. Our mobile mechanics have traveled lots of miles which offer us an upper hand in managing any sort of dimension of a job. Removalist Brisbane is committed to maintain our profile as the innovator en route of products and various other services. Try us and you will never ever be sorry for! Together permits pull near a better world and leave it a much better compared to we found it. No waste or reduction has been tape-recorded for the last years! | <urn:uuid:1b35ad85-1df4-4d19-ac0a-7d1fabb92182> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.openandclosed.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965783 | 4,292 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Sunday, November 22, 2009
I'm feeling quite pleased with myself today because this weekend I made soap from scratch for the first time!
Soap making from scratch has always felt very daunting to me. Simply because it just sounds complicated.
Firstly, one doesn't measure but weighs. So rather than the usual 1 cup of (say) olive oil, one has to weigh the ingredients.
Secondly, almost every instruction out there seems to be full of caution about the use of caustic soda. I had half convinced myself that if handled incorrectly, it would explode.
And finally, there seems to be a huge emphasis on being precise. (And once again, I somehow got the impression that by being imprecise, then the whole thing could explode.)
All of the above combined can be very daunting for a newbie like me and prevented me from trying it out. Instead, during my no buying brand-new year, I made my existing soap supplies last longer by adding oats. (Instructions for this can be found here.) Much later on, I bartered for homemade soap in exchange for some sewing repairs.
All this is very well and good - indeed, by adding oats or by bartering, I managed to last 3 years of not buying soap and only using homemade soaps. However, after a little bit of encouragement, a friend of mine finally convinced me that I *can* make soap from scratch.
So here's a little thing about demystifying soap making.
Firstly - the weighing thing. My friend brought over her kitchen scales and we weighed our ingredients that way. It is a little different from baking or cooking but not that hard.
You need two medium to large saucepans - one to make lye water and another one to mix oils.
To make lye water
Lye water is just water and caustic soda. I poured 330 grams of cold water into the saucepan and took the saucepan outside. I then slowly poured 130 grams of caustic soda.
Now to demistify, the caustic soda.... I had forgotten that I actually have handled this in the past - to clean drains! We bought caustic soda from the local grocery shop (Woolworths) in the cleaning section. Caustic soda can be dangerous - but no more dangerous than handling any very harsh cleaning product. The soda is not a fine powder - it actually has the consistency of rock salt.
When you first pour the caustic soda in the water, nothing seems to happen. As I stirred the mixture (using a plastic spatula), I noticed that as the caustic soda slowly dissolved, the saucepan and spatula got hotter. Not burningly hot (mind you, I didn't put my hand in it) but the saucepan was noticeably hot to touch (think of toast when it first pops out of the oven - that hot).
As it dissolved, it also gave off a chemical burning smell. It was a good thing I was outside! The smell only lasted a minute though. Once the caustic soda has dissolved, then the smell pretty much disappeared.
And once its dissolved, then that's it! You have lye water. Set the saucepan aside.
To blend the oils
In the other saucepan, we mixed together 300g of macadamia oil, 400g olive oil and 200g of avocado oil. (Reminder - like the lye water, weigh the oils - do not use the measurements). We heated this mixture up on low heat for about 5 mins.
Turn the heat off and make yourselves a cup of coffee (or beverage of your choice).
The purpose of this step is to make sure that the lye water and the oils are the same temperature. Our instructions said both mixtures should be between 30-40 degrees celsius (86-104 degrees Farenheit).
Now we started off using the thermometer but in the end, we just used our hands (not directly into the lye mixture of course! just touched the outside of the saucepan).
Once we felt that the mixtures were about the same temperature, we poured the oil into the lye water. Note that the recipe said to pour the lye water into the oil mixure BUT we thought using the larger saucepan (the one that the lye water was in) was the better way to go.
Mix lye water and oil mixture
Next we used a bamix (stick blender) to blend the lye water and oil mixture.
As we mixed, the lye water and oil mixture started to bond. When the consistency turned into that of whipping cream, we added our essential oils.
Here we didn't measure as precisely. We added about 15 mls of sandlewood oil and 10 drops of tea tree oil.
When the mixture's consistency was that of a light custard, we stopped mixing and poured the soap into molds.
We covered the mold in a plastic wrap and stored it in a cool dry place. We now need to let the mixture sit for 24 to 36 hours.
This is a photo of mine after 7 hours (it was already hard to touch on the outside):
The full recipe with additional notes are here: http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/Cold-Process-Soapmaking-p-11.html
So there you go - no explosions and best of all, I realised how easy it actually was. Really, soap making is just 4 steps....and one of those steps involved sitting down and having a chat over coffee!
Anyway, I'm sure my first batch of soap won't be perfect (after all, we started off being precise but kinda went downhill after that) but I'm hoping that it will do the job!
I hope you have all had a lovely weekend.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Having produced cheese as a hobby now almost weekly for more than 8 months, I thought it would be a great time to share some tips that I have learnt with you.
Tip #2. Have everything all prepared and layed out before you start. As I am waiting for the 15-20 minutes for the pot, stainless steel utensils and cheese cloths to sterilise, I get a clean tea towel and lay it on the kitchen bench next to the stove top, ready to place all the tools on. I select the recipe well in advance, and get out all the necessary ingredients and put them on the side ready to go. Cheese making requires un-chlorinated water for diluting some ingredients, so I have to pre-boil some rain water from my tank and let it cool to room temperature. You could use bottled water, but I do not due to environmental reasons. I pre mix the diluted calcium chloride with this water, and do the same with the rennet. Something I learnt in the Boy Scouts that I shall never forget and that is the Scouts motto, "Be Prepared".
Tip #3. Although the process of cheese making is not particularly difficult, it can be time consuming. Ensure you take into account all factors involved in culturing the milk, renneting, stirring, milling, and pressing. If making a simple hard cheese, allow at least 4-5 hours to entirely finish the process. I make one cheese, Wensleydale, that take over 9 hours from start to the final pressing! Mind you the final product is well worth the effort.
Tip #4. Start off with a simple cheese to build your confidence.
- Try a soft cheese like yoghurt cheese which is basically putting 1 kg (2 pounds) of natural yoghurt into a cheesecloth and draining for a few hours, then gather into a ball and suspend over a large pot overnight in the fridge. Simple, yet tasty and you can mix in different flavours, either savoury or sweet to liven it up as a dip.
- Ricotta is another easy cheese to make. Take 4 litres of milk, bring to about 93C (200F) and add a quarter of a cup (67ml) of white vinegar or lemon juice and stir. You will see the milk separate into curds and whey. Ladle into cheesecloth lined colander to drain. When cool to touch, tie the corners of the cloth into a ball and wrap the ends around a large wooden spoon and drain over a large pot. After a few hours of draining you can add salt to taste and it will keep for about 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Great for lasagne and any other dish that requires a large amount of ricotta. As I said, simple successes give you the confidence to try something a little harder next time.
Tip #5. If you find that you enjoy making simple and basic cheeses, see if you can find a local cheese making course that is held nearby. The knowledge that you will learn will take you to the next level, and as I found, the interaction with other amateur cheese makers is priceless. Some of the courses can be expensive, but I found a relatively cheap one that was definitely worth the money. I have attended two of these courses (basic and mould) at our local community centre. Have a look around your local area. You might just get a suprise.
Tip #6. When taking the next step and you have the urge to make an intermediate skill level cheese, like cheddar, feta, parmesan, edam or the like, try and make one like feta or caerphilly that only take a short time to ripen so that you can taste your handy work quickly. By making these quick to ripen cheeses once a month, you will always have some type of cheese at hand at home and never be tempeted to by that processed store bought rubbish that some supermarkets try and pass off as cheese!
Tip #7. Once you get the basics right fairly consistently, don't be afraid to experiment a little by adding other flavours to your cheeses during pressing or milling. I add a layer of home grown sage leaves into the middle of my Wensleydale and it imparts a fantastic flavour. I add home grown dried birdseye chilli to my Monterey Jack to produce a variety called Pepper Jack. I have even added green peppercorns to my Pyrenees style cheese as mentioned in tip #1. It is all about the cheese and the final flavour.
Tip #8. Have patience. A good cheese, like a good wine, needs to ripen for a specific period of time and get better with age. Try and resist temptation by eating your cheese earlier than recommended. All hard cheeses take time to mature to the right taste. You would be amazed by the difference a week or month between tastings. Depending on the cheese, if tasted early it will be very mild, but if left for longer then the flavour gets stronger over time. I will give you an example. I made some Camembert, tried it at 3 weeks and it was fantastic. Left one for 4 weeks, and it was so strong it was overpowering but out of this world. Another example, my first Caerphilly cheese I sampled at 15 days, when it was supposed to ripen to 28 days. It was nice, but when we tried it at 28 days, it was fantastic. I don't dare try my parmesan until at least 12 months!
Tip #10. Don't forget to have fun and share the final product. I usually make my cheese on a Friday night, with a few glasses of wine to relax after a tough week at the office. I find it very therapeutic. I also enjoy breaking out a small cheese platter when friends drop by whereby sharing all the different tastes. Most say I should sell it at a local farmers market, but I think it would spoil the fun of the hobby. Some of my friends have never heard of most of the cheese types that I make, because the main cheese consumed in Australia is cheddar or processed cheese slices. I love the variety that home make cheese making gives you.
Who would believe that you can make so many different types of cheese with plain old milk! It is great fun, so give it a go, and remember the most important rule. Don't cry over spilt milk :-). If you have had some cheese making experience, either positive or negative, please share via a comment. If anyone has any questions that are specific, I will try and answer, but remember I am just a humble cheese artisan and a may not have come across that problem before, but I will do my best to get back to you quickly. If you would like further information, my personal blog has many cheese recipies and fully documented step by step method of most of the cheeses I have made so far. Just have a look at the right hand side bar and click on a photo of the desired cheese for the tutorial, of you can click here for all the posts I have written about cheese making.
Have fun with cheese making and catch you next time at the Co-op!
Friday, May 29, 2009
One of the most satisfying projects that I have embarked on during the Greening of Gavin is cheesmaking. It must be the mouse in me coming out, but it is just so much fun to turn simple cows milk into something so divine!
In February, I attended a cheesemaking workshop and learnt how to make Feta. It was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wrote about over on my personal blog and if you want to find out how the day went have a look at "Homemade Feta, or Gromit I Found the Cheese!". It details the entire process. I won't list a how to in this post, because each cheese is different, and it would take a book to write them all down.
Since that time, I have bought a basic cheese making kit which contained everything I required except a few kitchen utensils and a press, a very simple recipe book, and I have made the following cheese.
- Whole milk (the fresher the better)
- Mesophilic starter (a culture to give flavour)
- Calcium Chloride (if the milk is homogenised)
- Rennet (vegetable)
- Non-ionised Salt
Other tools that I use are from around the home. I use a 8 litre (2 gallon) stainless steel cooking pot. A smaller pot with water in it, that I sit the large one on to act as a double boiler to control the temperature, and a cafe thermometer that is used to measure the temp of the curds and whey.
Waxing the Cheese". It is a simple process and seals the moisture into the cheese wheel whilst it is maturing. Most semi-hard cheeses, like wensleydale, cheddar, gouda, edam, and monteray jack need to be waxed and matured for a minimum of between 1 month and 12 months, depending on the cheese and the flavour you are after.
The cheese can be stored in a cool cupboard or basement/cellar. The ideal temperature for cheese storage is between 9 - 15 degrees Celsius. In the Australian summer that is quite difficult to achieve, so I simply stored mine in the butter compartment of my fridge. During winter, I just put it into a cool cupboard and it matures nicely.
I hope I have given you all a small insight into the wonderful world of home cheese making, and am happy to field any questions via comments. I have found that once you start cheesmaking, it is very hard to stop. Since February, I make cheese on every second Friday night as a pleasurable way to spend my evening after a long week at work. A glass of red wine also helps with the process!
"Wine, Cheese, and Friends. These are three things that are much better when old."
Monday, May 11, 2009
I've started showing my friends my recent efforts in house decorating recently. Many of my friends have commented on how creative I've become.
Whenever I hear them say that I always feel like laughing. See in highschool, I never saw myself as "creative". In fact, when it came to the arts and home arts my grades were:
Art = 'C-' final comment by my art teacher in my highschool certificate was "Eilleen draws/paints to the best of her ability".
Cooking = "D"
Sewing = "F"
My experiences in highschool pretty much ended up with me believing that I was not creative at all. In many ways, this view stopped me from trying to live a simpler life for a long time. To me living a simpler life would mean that I would need to learn how to cook (but I can't cook!), I would need to learn how to sew (but I can't sew!) and I would need to learn how to make do with what I have (but this would mean my house would look like crap because....I'm not creative!!)
For years, I fell into the "commercial" view of what makes a beautiful home (ie buy furniture/home decor to look exactly the display room), what makes a good meal (ie a good restaurant) and buy all my clothes. Every now and then I would have "brilliant" ideas of how something could look better or taste better but I would quickly dismiss those ideas because....I'm not creative.
Believing I was not creative left me no option but to be an over-consumer.
Then one day, I stopped consuming. I made my impulsive decision not to buy anything brand new for a year. And suddenly I learned home skills...bit by bit. I still didn't believe I was creative, but now I am being forced to sew buttons back on shirts and coats. I slowly learned how to cook.
And then something strange happened, the more I did these things, the more ideas I had about how something could be altered in a different way to achieve different looks. Now that I can sew on a button, I can now sew on lots of buttons (to hide stains on my daughter's shirt):
Now that I learnt that I can add flour to a basic stew recipe to thicken it and that thickened stew can be the filling for a meat pie:
And the more I did these things, the more confident I became of what I am capable of doing. My children started to ask me to fix or make things for them. And I was now more willing to give it a go. And one day, as I finished a drawing my son had asked me to draw, I realised that little voice inside me that used to tell me that I was not creative had been silent for a long time.
And its amazing how freeing that can be. So now I try my hand at anything. Some things don't turn out well, but I learn from it. Being creative doesn't mean not making mistakes. To me, being creative is having ideas and turning those ideas into reality... and this includes working out what won't make that idea work.
For me, being creative meant having to learn some basic skills then surrounding myself with people in real life and on the internet who can show me the many ways of using those basic skills to maximum effect.
And more importantly, being creative means NOT listening to that voice telling you that your idea will never work because you're not creative.
my latest creative effort - mirror painted to achieve a stain glass look and old hallway table restored and painted for shabby chic look.
So now whenever I hear other people say "but I'm not creative!" I tell them, "Me too! but its amazing what non-creative people like us can do!"
Monday, May 4, 2009
Last night my family ate dinner in a Mexican restaurant, where the television was tuned to news about swine flu. We watched images of eerily empty public streets in downtown Mexico City, a city normally bustling with activity. My husband and I went there on our honeymoon. What a an amazing city it is, with a rich culture full of wonderful people.
I'm sure most of us have been reading about swine flu on the news, watching the television reports, listening to radio reports. There seem to be three main responses to the possible threat of a global pandemic: fear, humor, or indifference. I admit my mind travels back and forth between all three. And that's ok.
But if you listen closely, you'll hear the same phrase we heard during the avian flu outbreaks in Asia a couple of years ago: "it's not a question of if, but when." There may not be a flu pandemic this spring, there may not be a flu pandemic next winter, but given the way our society works today, there will be a flu pandemic in the not too distant future. I say this not to strike fear, but to remind us all that this is the reality of our world, so that we can take actions to keep our families and friends safe and healthy.
How Do You Prepare?
1. Emotional Preparedness
The first thing that happens to most people in a disaster is that your mind doesn't work the way it normally does - you enter into a state of confusion, or sometimes shock. Children and adults both do this. So, what you need to do ahead of time is to prepare your family, and to talk about what you would do if something like this were to happen. Let your children play an active role in this discussion so that they remember it, and so that they aren't fearful.
Before having this discussion, you should do some research about the possible scenarios of a pandemic. Pandemics can be fairly mild, like the 1968-69 Hong Kong Flu, or they can be quite severe, like the 1918 Spanish Flu (which was, incidentally, the H1N1 strain we are seeing in the current cases of swine flu). Don't scare yourself to much when you read about them, but you should know what could happen: life could go on fairly normally, or your city could shut down entirely, or it could be anywhere in between.
Once you know the possibilities, think through the possible scenarios in your head: what would you do? What would you need? How would you get ahold of your family if phone lines were jammed? Who could pick up your children? Where is the nearest hospital? Is there a family member's house that is better suited in an emergency, and could you go there for a while if you needed to?
These are not pleasant thoughts, I know. No one likes to think about the negative things that could happen. But this can save your family's life, and make things a lot easier for everyone if something like a pandemic were to happen.
2. Physical Preparedness
Since you have now researched what has happened in the past pandemics, you know the possible scenarios. You could end up in a quarantined area for weeks on end. You could have water or electrical lines that don't work - and nobody can come fix them. Banks, schools, hospitals, groceries, gas stations, and public transportation systems all may be closed. Again, not to scare yourself, but simply to know what might happen so you can prepare for it.
Things to do now:
- Make sure good hygenic practices are ingrained into your family's routines.
- Keep your children home if they are sick, and stay home if you are sick.
- Save up enough money to get by on a loss of income for at least a month or two, in case your workplace closes or you are not able to work.
- Prepare an emergency contact list of family, close friends, physicians, pharmacies, and veterinarians. Here is a good template to use. Also plan who will take care of your children if you are severely sick - make sure you make solid plans with that person now, just in case.
- Keep your gas tank consistently full.
- Plant a four-season garden to keep fresh, nutritious foods at home.
- Think about each essential service you need as a family (including pets), and store two weeks worth of it in your basement, garage, closet, or cupboard:
- Non-perishable foods and baby formulas
- Prescription drugs
- Vitamins and any non-prescription drugs you take regularly
- Water - 1 gallon per person per day in clean plastic containers
- First Aid kit, including pain relievers, fever reducers, cough and cold medicines, fluids with electrolytes, thermometer, and anti-diarrheal medication.
- A small amount of cash in case ATMs and banks are closed
- Pet food and litter
- Portable radio (hand-cranked is best)
- Alcohol-based hand cleaner
- Manual can opener
- Garbage bags
- Toilet paper, disposable diapers
- Respirators and/or N-95 masks (the only type of mask that filters airborne pathogens)
- Vinyl or latex gloves
- Books, games, crafts, and school supplies
- Printed out instructions about how to care for someone with influenza at home.
3. Community Preparedness
- Work: Plan to work from home as much as possible. Find out from your employer if you can create a telecommuting plan in the event of an emergency. If you work in an essential services field, make sure there is a plan to keep basic services operational, despite the possibility that many workers may not come into work. Help spread information to your co-workers about good hygiene and how to prepare for a pandemic at home.
- Neighborhood: The closer-knit your community is, the better off it will be during any kind of emergency. Start getting involved in community-building activities in your neighborhood. Get to know your neighbors, and become involved in your community as it works to prepare for an influenza pandemic. If there aren't any groups creating a community plan, start one!
- School: Find out what your school's plans are for a pandemic event. If they don't have a plan, help them create one. Encourage other parents to keep children at home if they are sick. Get together with other parents to find ways to continue children's learning if schools are closed - can you create a Plan B Online learning system, for example, with a few teachers teaching online?
- US: Health and Human Services
- US: Centers for Disease Control
- International: World Health Organization
- Australia: Department of Health and Ageing (thanks, Joanne!)
- If you live in another country, please leave a comment telling us where you get your reliable information and I will add it here!
- US: 1-800-CDC-INFO
- Australia: 1802007
- If you live in another country, please leave a comment telling us where you get your reliable information and I will add it here!
Now, I'm sure I've missed something here, so please add what you know into the comments below. It could help us all in ways we cannot imagine!
Stay safe, happy, and prepared.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Several of you have asked me about the environmental education activities (Forest School, Eco Club, Gardening Club, Master Composting) I get up to, so this is the first in a series of posts about them. This post is about the Eco Club I run after school at Compostgirl's Primary school. I hope, as always, that you find it interesting :-)
Eco Club aims to:- foster an understanding and appreciation of the natural world; let the children gain a hands on appreciation of what is around them in real life rather than just watching it on a TV screen; discuss a more simple, reduced consumption, reused and recycled way of living; and shows the children how to use natural and recycled materials to make new things so challenging the concept that "things" can only be made by "other" people and purchased from a shop.
Eco Club also teaches practical skills such as plant and animal identification, tracking, gardening and various crafts, and it gets the children out in the fresh air taking "free range" exercise. All these things help to promote positive self esteem in the children, caters to their various different multiple intelligences and encompasses children with different learning styles.
Oh, and did I mention it is FUN? :- ))
So, what is a "typical" Eco Club session like? Our sessions at Eco Club run after school from 3 15 to 5 pm. Membership is voluntary and we charge a small termly fee to cover the cost of various memberships. We have so many children wanting to be in Eco Club (which is nice!) that we have had to hold two duplicate sessions each month. We usually have around 10- 15 children in each session, Sue (Yr 2 teacher) and I lead them with a couple of parent helpers, usually Compostman is one of them, bless him. Sue and I are both qualified First Aiders, any non teaching staff have CRBs and we take a register at the start and end of the club to ensure the safety of the children.
We have found mixing children aged from 5 to 11 in a meeting is a really good thing as the older ones help the younger ones. We duplicate sessions each month so each group (Ants or Bees) does roughly the same thing as the other group. We get lots of external support as an RSPB Wildlife Explorers Club, a Woodland Trust Nature Detectives Club and we have been a Wildlife Trust Watch group. Each child is an individual member of the RSPB and gets a magazine every two months as well as various goodies from the Woodland Trust or RSPB on occasion.
We start with the children getting changed into old clothes in the classroom (we want everybody to be able to have fun without worrying about getting cold, hot, wet or mucky so old clothes, warm coats and wellies/sun hats and sun cream are essential wear. We than have a drink, a snack and a general chat about what we plan to do in the session; this is also the time for the children to share any exciting news with the rest of the club, or show a book or magazine they have found. Sometimes we look at a web site or a DVD which relates to what is planned for the session. We also talk about what we would like to do in future sessions and ask the children what they would like to do.
Unless the weather is really vile, we tend to be outside, starting with a few environmentally based games (more on those in another post) or just a general "free run around" time. This is a very important part of the session! Children who have been in a classroom all afternoon NEED to run around and let off steam! Then it is on with the activities planned for that session. Eco Club activities cover a wider range of “green” interests. For example; we talk about recycling and make recycled paper (more on that in a later post),
We have planted native hedgerow trees, have made and put up bird feeders all over the school grounds, have instigated a paper recycling bank at school, have made bat and bird boxes and erected them around the school,
We have made a hedgehog hibernaculum, we take part in various RSPB and Woodland Trust events and we make insect shelters in the Autumn. Eco Club has several raised beds in the school grounds where we grow herbs and insect attracting plants. We go on regular rambles to see the changing seasons unfurl around us.
We make a lot of compost as well, bug hunts in the compost heap whilst “turning” it is always a VERY popular activity! We have held HUGELY successful fund raising events, for the RSPB Albatross appeal alone we raised over £300.
We do a variety of recycled-based crafts.
and a LOT of bird and plant identifying throughout the year and above all we have FUN.
What we are doing is part of a bigger message, that of living in a more sustainable way. This encourages the children (and hopefully their families) to compost, grow veg, recycle etc at home as well as at school. It has benefited the children in oh so many ways, they all seem to love what we all do and come up to me in town to tell me so :-)
The school has also benefited in many ways and is now working for the highest level an Eco School can achieve, the Green Flag award. We have also won recently won a prestigious Woodland Trust award at Gold Level.
All this is a lot of work! The planning and organising the sessions and memberships, having meetings and exchanging emails and phone conversations with Sue to arrange it all, all takes time. I do it as a volunteer so I don't get paid BUT I enjoy doing it and I love helping the children to see the wonders of our natural world, as does Compostman. We both feel very privileged to be able to share our knowledge of the environment with the next generation and that is worth a lot! I am also lucky enough to have converted my interest and passion for educating about sustainability/the environment into a whole new career as a Forest School Leader/Environmental Educator, all springing from becoming a volunteer Master Composter and volunteering to garden at school.
So, if you have similar skills, why not think about helping at YOUR local school or other youth group? It is really worth it :-)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A posse ad esse (From possibility to reality)
Earlier this week, I asked if there were any questions that any of my readers had that I might be able to help them answer. Someone posed the following question and it started a good dialogue.
I'm curious about your tomato growing method. I think you planted your tomatoes close together (1 ft) and used your trellis system for support. What have been your experiences with growing indeterminate tomatoes in this fashion? Can you talk a little about pruning specifically for your growing method? ~Eric
I think if there’s one thing people first associate with the successful home garden it’s the sweet goodness of a sun ripened tomato.
Well Eric was absolutely right, I do grow my tomatoes in very close proximity (1 sq ft), and yes I am very big on trellising. But to leave it at that would be making the process much too simple, so let me explain.In the pictures above and below, there are two sections of tomato trellising. The tomato above is in the box that is in the back, the one below is in the box in the middle in case you weren't sure. This is last year’s trellis that I tried out. I didn't like it, and am modifying my framework trellis system to have a center beam that I can hold tomatoes on for this year, but this illustrates the method just fine. I do grow the tomatoes in 1 sq foot of garden space, but I have thus far only grown indeterminate plants and they take to this very well. Let me digress for a moment in case you don’t know the difference between the Indeterminate and Determinate Tomatoes. To simplify it, determinate ones will grow to a mature full size plant, usually bushy and not very tall and will then ripen large numbers of fruits that all come ripe at a determined time. Indeterminate tomatoes are exactly the opposite. They will tend to vine, some getting as long as 8-12 feet long and will produce smaller quantities of fruits throughout the growing season. Generally speaking a tomato plant can grow just fine in 6-8 inches of soil, in one square foot of garden bed. The reason they don't is because if they're not trellised they require greater rooting space for structural support for themselves. With the tomato plant trained to a trellis, the support needs are met and the plant just needs to grow. This reduces the space needs of the roots and is one of the reasons I choose to grow mine UP.When I am training the indeterminate tomatoes to grow up, I use a rebar stake that has been notched with a hack saw and tie a string to it. I stick it in the ground right next to the root ball and then run the string up to the top of the overhead beam of my trellis, whatever that is. As the plant grows, it naturally gets "leggy" at the topmost part. As this get's long enough, I just gently wind it around the string which stays in place. You don't want to weave it too tightly or it will strangle the plant, just let the plant know where the string is and guide it around. Here's a close up of one of my San Marzano plants and you can see the string with the plant wound around it.
Now, here's the caveat. This works well for indeterminate tomatoes because they have that natural vineing tendency that I mentioned, determinant tomatoes do not. As I said, they are more naturally inclined to bush and produce a lot of fruit for one harvest than to continue to crank them out over time. This year we are going to grow a good selection of these types as well, and I will not be trellising them. At least not like the other ones. I may work out a loose cage type thing or something to keep them in check, but I am not going to worry about them getting tall. It's not in their nature.
Whatever the means of support you choose to use for your indeterminate tomatoes, they should be pruned. I do make sure to try and prune them pretty consistently. This isn't directly related to trellising, at least not in that I need to do it to get them to grow up or anything. The reason I prune is to maximize the yield as well to limit exposure to diseases. The basics are to pinch off all suckers. (These are usually the branch looking stems that crow out from the crotch formed by the leaves and the stem. They rarely set fruit and if they do it is usually inferior. Secondly, I trim off any old or dying leaves or leaves that touch the ground. Many of the blights and pathogens that tomatoes can get come from soil contact.
There are a lot of good resources online if you'd like more information. I thought I’d include a few of them here for easy access.
• The first one is a great page all about pruning tomato plants. I don't tie mine up like they do, but there's really no hard and fast way to do this so give it a read.
• This page is a .pdf provided by the Colorado state extension Master Gardener program that goes into all kinds of information on Tomatoes. It is VERY good information!
Depending on the variety of indeterminate tomato that you choose to grow, it may well end up growing up over your trellis anyway. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. However, one thing that you will want to keep in mind is when your first frost date is so that you can make a heading cut by removing the endmost section of the stem; doing this will help to force the plant to ripen all fruit that are already set on the plant.
I’d like to ask some of our more experienced readers to take an opportunity to add to this topic in the comments section, or to correct me if you feel I’ve misspoken.
Very best of luck to you all this season!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
From Spiral Garden
Few things in nature hold as much magic as seeds. With seeds, we can discover the full life cycle of plants. We can observe how plants reproduce through watching them flower, go to seed and self-seed.
To save seeds from your garden or wildflowers, collect them at maturity during the late morning on a dry day. Clean them to store in a cool, dark, dry place for re-sowing. If you have enough seeds sprinkle them around the garden to see when they come up again. Collecting your own seeds will save on seed costs, create a connection with nature through the seasons, and improve your gardening success rate as the seeds adapt to your locale. For more detailed instructions on cleaning seeds to store and save, look to resources such as the International Seed Saving Institute’s Guide. Another good resource is The Seed Saver’s Handbook by Michel and Jude Fanton, available through the Seed Savers Network.
Various types of plants have different methods for sowing and saving seed:
Annuals usually grow from seed through part of a year, then seeds are saved and stored or lay dormant in the ground until the following year. Examples of annuals are lettuce, peas, spinach, corn, beans and marigolds. Most seeds you will save will be from Annual plants.
Biennial plants produce vegetative growth through the first warm period, then slow down through a period of cold weather and flower in the second warm period, typically spring. Common examples are the cabbage, kale, carrot, parsnip and turnips. To collect seeds from these, you will need to wait about eighteen months.
Perennial plants survive for more than two years. They are a very important part of a long-term garden. Some annuals and biennials such as capsicums, chillies, eggplants and kale can behave as perennials in warm climates.
Another way to save seeds is from the kitchen. Ripe pumpkins, tomatoes, capsicums, melons, papaya, and most other fruit provide fresh, free seeds. Usually one dries and stores the seeds to plant in the appropriate season, but our children have had many successful pumpkin vines and papaya trees grow with seed fresh from the cutting board. If the fruit or vegetable comes from a hybrid plant, which many commercial crops are, the fruit that grows from it will not grow true to type. But it will probably be edible and if space in the garden isn’t an issue, you’ve nothing to lose!
More ‘free’ seeds can often be found in the pantry – many dried beans will germinate, for example. We’ve tried borlotti, lima and cannellini beans, and black-eyed peas. Beans can be eaten as a young pod, shelled when mature, or left on the vine to dry. Bird feed is another cheap source of seeds to experiment with. A large bag of sunflower seeds is only a couple of dollars and contains enough to fill even the largest garden with giant sunflowers. Or you can share them amongst friends so that others might delight in the magic of seeds.
When buying seeds, heirloom or heritage varieties are preferable for many reasons. Old varieties are more interesting and better suited to the organic vegetable garden. Did you know that carrots come in colours other than orange? You can grow your own red, white, yellow or purple carrots at home! There are also purple peas and beans, multi-coloured corn, capsicums of various colours and shapes, and pumpkins and tomatoes that will amaze! These non-hybrid seeds are most often available by mail order rather than in your local store.
Sprouting is another way to witness the wonder of seed germination. It’s something you can do in any season and any location. All you need is a jar, some cheesecloth, a rubber band and some seeds to sprout - like alfalfa, mung beans or radish. You can buy these in health shops or with the vegetable seeds in stores. Rinse the seeds, and then soak overnight in water. Strain and rinse again in the morning, placing the jar upside-down or inverted on a saucer so it can drain well. Continue to rinse twice a day, always keeping the jar inverted so that there is no excess water on your sprouts. After around four days, your sprouts should be ready for eating and can be stored in the fridge.
A bean vine can also be started in a glass jar. Take a wide glass jar, some cotton wool and a few bean seeds. Soak the beans for a few hours. Place the cotton inside the jar and poke the beans at regular intervals between the glass and cotton around the jar. Add enough water so that the cotton is moist. Put the lid on the jar and you will not have to water your beans for them to grow. Place in a sunny position and your beans will grow roots and sprout leaves. If you turn the jar upside-down, within a day the seedlings will change the direction they grow in so that the roots are facing down. After a couple of days, you can turn it up the right way again and your bean vines will adapt so that the roots are growing down once more. Children will see that gravity, water and light affect plants. Once you’ve finished your observations, this seedling can go out into the garden to fulfil its purpose.
Because seeds hold so much magic and wonder, many tales have been told about them. Jack and the Beanstalk first springs to mind. There are stories from all around the world with seeds as a symbol for life, regeneration and new beginnings. I encourage you to explore the wonder of seeds with children – begin their journeys as gardeners with the simplest of wonders.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
On our Century farmstead we consider the livestock we share our lives with, an important part of our team. Keeping livestock small and large can be expensive. So began the journey and research to find crops that would allow us to be frugal, and at the same time deliver the same care in growing feed for our animals that we put forth in our own food growing endeavors. When we first started trying to grow more of our own food, we started out trying to duplicate what was in the store, and realized quickly that growing vegetables too far from their natural season, used too many resources. A move to seasonal growing and eating has become second nature to us. Root crops that require medium fertility and with minimum storage requirements fit the bill. Roots used to be looked down on as peasant fare, with a fresh green salad every day being the goal, for eaters and year-round gardeners as well. For us they have been an inexpensive way to lessen our dependency on outside sources.
I'm sure my grandfather had no inkling that I would be consulting his treasured book, The Home and Farm Cyclopedia, ca. 1890.
Nor that I would be sitting at the very same kitchen table he built for his family as soon as he arrived from Germany in 1880. These links to my past are very important to me, since his passing preceded my birth by 54 years. We are different he and I, he an immigrant having to live in a new country and learn the language, me trying to navigate and learn what has been lost.
What I found in modern books on feeding livestock were brief references to roots, but most stated that on a large scale, the growing of root crops for livestock was not economical because of labor or specialized machinery requirements. The modern concensus was that it took more pounds of roots than corn or other popular grains to put on a pound of gain. So don't bother... .
So a I set my time machine to post WW II, and found roots getting a little more mention, but petroleum farming was just gaining ground, and roots were being pushed aside somewhat in favor of grain crops that were able to uptake the heavy nitrogen fertilizers that were a by-product of the petroleum industry. It sounds so simple, no more recalcitrant horses, no manure mucking and hauling, just buy the tractor, and implements. You can go to the co-op and buy fertilizer in a bag, and apply and the crops will grow like mad. That tractor doesn't kick and bite, the fertilizer doesn't have much of an odor and the results are so consistent. It would take years before anyone noticed that maybe this wasn't the bandwagon to get on.
Going even farther back to my grandfather's favorite tome, I found what I was looking for - suggestions for root crops in conjunction with grains and legumes. It seems so simple, roots can be grown in rotation after heavy feeding crops, because of their lower fertility requirements. While not the highest for fattening (that is corn), we aren't interested in slow food, too fast. We raise grass finished beef, so no need for grains there. What we were looking for was a winter supplement for our house cow and our laying hens. Roots have filled in the gaps in that regard.
While I realize I am writing from a farm perspective, I believe that even an urban garden with a few hens or rabbits would greatly benefit from a bed or two of roots. One of the unseen or written about benefits is to our children. By growing this feed, our child has seen first hand that all food need not come from the store - you can grow many things yourself. What I have had to re-learn will be second nature to my daughter - she has planted carrots for her horse and seen that project through from seed to steed and back to the garden in the way of composted horse manure to feed her garden. She sees the cycle and it's advantages. And for me, I can feel satisfied in the knowledge that she too, is linked in a tangible way to ancestors she has only seen in photos.
It may seem early to be thinking of roots in February, but the roots we are harvesting weekly now, were planted in late May, and we will harvest the last of them just before we began the cycle again. Most of my winter garden is started at the same time as my summer garden, with the exceptions being warm season crops like tomatoes and peppers that I will be starting soon. So now is the time to begin planning space for your winter crops that require some time to mature.
Early summer garden, shelling peas on the way out, and parsnips just starting to gain some ground. It will be many months before these "snips" see the light of day and become roasted roots for us, house cow fodder, and the surprise use - dog treats. Sure beats a Nylabone any day.
We were looking for roots that would suit multiple species, namely us, the family cow, and the laying hens. All of the root crops we chose would work well for sheep, goats and rabbits too. The roots that we settled on were carrots, beets, parsnips, and rutabagas. We had grown mangels (fodder beets) before, but found that they were large and because a large portion of the root grows above ground, they did not meet our criteria for easy storage. In our zone 7 garden, we are able to hill soil over our root crops and leave them in situ. It is the perfect storage system, the roots remain alive until the time of harvest. Fresh food all winter is an enjoyable thing. We harvest weekly as needed from fall to spring. Even farther north, I know of gardeners using entire bales of straw to protect the roots from freezing. They remove the bales and harvest as needed too.
While the roots won't replace all the grain for your stock, they can play a bigger part of their winter diet, giving variety and giving you more control in what you are feeding your animals. The only references I have seen concerning problems is for feeding beets and mangels to rams and wethers. Some believe mangels and sugar beets can cause calculi in the kidneys and bladder.
For our milk cow, I chop the roots to avoid choking, and mix with her grain. She seems to enjoy her breakfast treats. The chickens just get to peck away and they relish their winter roots.
Here are the varieties we have settled on:
Carrots - Red Cored Chantenay, grows well in heavy soil, stores well, and gets sweeter with cold weather.
Parsnip - Harris Model or Andover - both grow and store well, I don't see much difference in taste or growing habits.
Beets - Lutz/Winterkeeper - can grow large if thinned to 4", exceptionally sweet and stores well.
A note for self-suffiency: if you choose open-pollinated varieties (OP), you can save your own seed, allowing you to get one step closer to independence from industrial food production.
Growing and harvesting roots has made us feel closer to our goal of self-reliance. And we find as we eat more of these types of in-season vegetables ourselves, we rely less on labor and energy intensive food preservation methods. While I'm not giving up my canning and freezing, I find that I'm storing less food that way, and actually providing more variety in our meals.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Throwback at Trapper Creek
Want to increase your fruit tree varieties? Try grafting, an age old skill that is fun and economical. This post is a re-hash of a grafting post I wrote last spring. Only this one is a little more timely so you can try your hand at grafting this spring.
Now is the time to be gathering your scion wood while it is still dormant. These photos show apple tree grafting, but I will stay with basic instructions that will work for most types of fruit.
What you are looking for in scion wood is, one year old wood, or last years growth. Probably the most important thing for me to share here is, sharpen your pruners. Most information I see in print, or on the internet about sharpening recommends once or twice a year, that is for pruning not propagating. Death vs. Life. For propagation to be successful, the cambium layers on your scion wood should not be damaged. I used to propagate dwarf conifers for wholesale nurseries and I sharpened my pruners each day that I pruned for cuttings. My pay depended on a successful outcome. I use Felco pruners and they are easy to take apart and service.
Old heirloom trees will have their newer growth at the top (usually out of reach) so you may need a pole pruner too. If you have young trees, the last years growth that you seek will be close at hand.
I cut off more than I need and leave the twigs whole. Label and mark your scion wood with: who, what, where, and when. If you are trying to save an old variety this information will be important, also if your graft doesn't work out, some of this info. may lead you to the cause of the failure. But, also, grafting needn't be only for named varieties, you may have a favorite apple that you covet, but the tree is unmarked. Go for it, if it is a good apple, it is worth propagating.
After labeling, wrap with paper towels, and seal in plastic bags, and refrigerate or heel in, in a pile of deep sawdust, or dirt. The goal is to keep the scion wood dormant and not let it sweat and mold, OR dry out.
The wood on the left of the growth ring is one year wood, suitable for grafting. The wood on the right is too old and tough to make a succesful graft with.
Now besides gathering your scion wood, you need to be purchasing rootstock for your new trees. Size matters..., there are many different rootstocks to choose from. This is a personal preference. I have used both standard and semi-dwarf, and now years later I wish I had used all standard. There are trade-offs to both, standards grow very large, take a long time to bear and are harder to harvest, but they are long lived, and work well with livestock. Semi-dwarf and dwarf, bear early, are easy to harvest but may not last your lifetime due to poor root systems. All my semi-dwarf trees are uprooting and needing more mainentance, my young standards are coltish but not uprooting. Our home orchard here on the farmstead was planted in 1881 as part of the proving up. The trees that have survived that time span, still bear (weather permitting) more than we need. I want my grafted trees to be here for my grandkids!
If you do purchase rootstock, when it arrives, plant it in large nursery pots or in a nursery bed in your garden where the young trees can stay for a year. The grafts need to be protected from intense summer sun, so plan accordingly. If you have a lath house for shade plants this would be ideal. I use pots and place them under a tree, near a hose, so I can easily monitor them and water if needed.
Another option is reworking some existing trees you may already have. If space is your concern, this may be the best option. We have all seen the 3-in-1 trees advertised. Now you can make your own. The only criteria is you have to match scion wood diameter to the limb you're grafting on. No apples and oranges either - only the same types of fruit can be on the same tree.
An old timer taught me this skill, and his best tip was to graft when the rootstock had broke dormancy, and the leaves were the size of mouse ears. Easy to remember, and what he really meant was make sure the sap is flowing enough to make your graft successful.
He also instructed me to save prunings from my apple trees for practicing my cuts. Like a good pie crust, you want to make short work of it. Optimum is two cuts for your apical wedge, one on each side of the scion wood. This requires a sharp knife and practice. Professional grafters get good at this because they are grafting many trees, it is harder when you do a handful a year. I'm lucky to do it in 3 or 4, but my grafts still turn out OK.
When the big day (mouse ears) arrives you will need the following:
- Dormant scion wood
- Pushing rootstock
- Sharp pruners
- Sharp knife
- Tree labels and a Sharpie
- Polyethylene tape (tree tape)
- Nerves of steel (just kidding)
Close-up of cutting the apical wedge. Start about 1/2" up the stem and make a downward cut, like sharpening a pencil with your pocket knife. Yeah, that is how I usually sharpen my pencils, that are outside.
Turn the scion wood over and do the same on the other side. Lay your scion wood on a clean surface and prepare the rootstock.
Cut the rootstock horizontally, matching the size of the rootstock to the scion wood. Next make a vertical cut/split about 1" down the rootstock.
Gently push the scion wood down into the rootstock cut. Match the cambium as close as possible. Cut the scion wood down to 2 - 3 buds. Note: in this photo the layers are NOT lined up yet.
Keeping the cambium layers aligned is important and the most difficult part of the graft. If they don't touch, the sap can't bridge the gap and heal the tree.
Wrap the joined area tightly with polyethylene grafting tape, (sometimes called tree tape) to keep the graft from drying out. You can also use grafting wax or grafting rubber bands. If you use the tape, you can actually watch for the callous as the the two surfaces join.
Grafted April 2008.
Keep your new tree out of hot sun, keep it well watered, and rub off any growth that appears below the graft union. Soon you should be able to see new growth emerging on your scion wood.
January 2009. A new , old tree! | <urn:uuid:4c19468c-27d5-46ad-b2be-99f2fafb4ebb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.jp/search/label/lost%20skills?updated-max=2009-12-11T10:01:00%2B10:00&max-results=20&start=18&by-date=false | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965186 | 12,476 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Thiruvananthapuram: Ban orders to tackle spread of fever
Thiruvananthapuram: Ever heard of imposing ban orders to fight spread of viral infections like dengue?
The district administration here has done exactly that to tackle the situation after outbreak of various types of viral fever, including dengue, with the onset of South West monsoon.
District Collector K N Sateesh enforced prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC yesterday to enable hassle-free movement of garbage and take to task those throwing waste wantonly, causing public health problems.
Under the orders, anyone dumping waste in public will face stringent action, including arrest and non-bailable charges.
The measure is mainly meant against illegal slaughter houses, vegetable vendors and way-side eateries, who throw waste generated by them around without public concern.
"We issued orders using legal provisions which empower the Collector to impose Sec. 144 whenever public health is threatened. We can apply it in special situations like this other than law and order. Our move is against piling up waste in public places and causing health concerns to society," Satheesh said,
He said a large portion of waste dumped on streets is not generated by households but by commercial establishments, especially slaughter houses. "All illegal butcher shops in the district limit will be sealed. Authorised shops not disposing waste scientifically will be penalised," he said.
Those forcefully trying to stop the garbage movement by the City Corporation or Shuchitva Mission (cleanliness mission) would also be nabbed, he said.
On increase in dengue cases in the area, Satheesh said, "As of now, there is no reason to panic. But it will worsen if nothing is done to tackle the garbage problem."
Garbage clearance has virtually come to a standstill for about six months with people in the panchayat where the processing plant is located opposed to its presence. The panchayat locked it up in December, saying it posed a serious health threat to the locality.
This has forced households to dispose waste by burning it in limited surroundings or dumping it in their backyards.
First Published: Saturday, June 09, 2012, 14:09
Post your Comments | <urn:uuid:51b8ece2-78ed-483a-a983-70c5226a114e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/health-news/thiruvananthapuram-ban-orders-to-tackle-spread-of-fever_17354.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958016 | 460 | 1.828125 | 2 |
A couple of weeks ago we were invited by LUNA and CLIF Kid bars to a Mommy and Me Nutrition Event at San Francisco's Zeum museum. We had never been to Zeum before and we had a fabulous time at all their cool exhibits (and that's the subject of a whole new post!) , but what made the event memorable was everything the kids got to learn about organic foods, healthy snacking, and sustainable living. Alfie and I have been making a big push away from meat and toward vegetables as the main focus of our meals, so this event could not have come at a better time.
First, some experts talked to the kids about the dangers of chemicals and pesticides in the foods we eat and the containers we use. They went through a fun exercise of choosing healthy, safe foods and putting them in a shopping basket. Even though it was geared to kids, I learned a lot too (did you know that some canned food contains BPA?).
Next, the kids got to decorate some cute bento boxes while a nutrition expert spoke to us about making the right food choices for ourselves and our kids. She gave some great ideas for snacks and lunches that kids would love. Now, why didn't I think of packing hummus and pita and carrots? Maybe it's because I've never had anything to pack it in. Now that we have these bento boxes, I don't have an excuse.
The smash hit of the day was our session with Gardener Benjamin, who showed the kids all the yummy vegetables that they could grow themselves. They got to play some fun veggie guessing games, smell some heavenly basil leaves, and taste some heavenly tomatoes.
Even better, Benjamin had an assortment of plants and giant pots so each kid could plant his own mini vegetable garden and take it home! I nearly broke my back and arms dragging/carrying three huge, heavy pots to the parking garage (3 blocks away), but it was worth it to have each kid so proud of having their own onions, lettuce, and basil. I love seeing them so motivated to take charge of their own health! I am notorious for my black thumb, but the kids have been really good about watering their pots, so I'm hopeful we'll be able to harvest some great veggies soon.
We all went home a little happier, a little healthier and little smarter. The Pea has turned into our BPA watchdog, and all the kids are reading nutrition labels and watching their refined sugar intake. I'm putting those bento boxes to good use to pack the kids' lunches, and we've already gone through the assortment of Clif Kid and Luna products we were sent home with. Fortunately, not long after this event I was sent even more Clif Kid products to review! Keep reading below to see what we think of Clif Kid products, and enter to win some of your own....
Organic Twisted Fruit is an all-natural tangy fruit snack. Kids love eating Organic Twisted Fruit because of its cool, easy-to-eat rope shape and its fun rush of flavor. And parents like them because each one is equivalent of one whole serving of fruit and is a good source of vitamin C.
Nationwide, Organic ZBaR is the number one kid's snack bar. ZBaRs are a flavor favorite of kids and are made from all natural ingredients including rolled oats, blueberries, chocolate chips and more. What Parents like about the ZBaR is its nutrition value: they include the right blend of protein, carbohydrates and fiber that work together to balance kids' energy levels without crashing. ZBaRs are basically snack bars modeled after what parents would bake at home for their kids, if they had time of course.
The italics say it all. CLIF Kids products taste great and they're made with healthy ingredients. 'Nuff said.
Actually, I can't keep my mouth shut about how good they are, so I'll say more.
The Twisted Fruit ropes are a smash hit with my kids. They adore the chewy texture and sour, tangy taste -- it's no surprise to me that their favorite flavor is Sour Apple. Unlike some of the natural fruit leathers I buy, Twisted Fruit seems to have a "cool" factor with the kids -- they're on par with those gummy "fruit" pieces in little pouches. And the ZBaRs have always been favorites at our house. I like them because they're just the right size for kids and they're made with good ingredients, and the kids love how they taste!
ZBaRs are pretty much in every major grocery store now, but I can't say the same about the Twisted Fruit. I haven't had much luck finding it at Safeway (I lucked out at REI, and bought enough to last my kids through a month of snacks. Or less, if their friends come over).
The Bottom Line
CLIF Kids Organic Twisted Fruit and Organic ZBaRs are a great choice for kids' lunchboxes because they're all natural, easy to pack, and delicious.
Win a CLIF Kids Gift Pack
One lucky Bonggamom Finds winner will receive an assortment of CLIF Kid products similar to the photo below:
(These are the actual CLIF Kid samples I received. Actual contents of prize package may vary. Bowl not included -- sorry, that's my bowl and I'm keeping it. Hey, I did say "similar to the photo"!)
Leave a comment on this post and tell me your child's favorite CLIF Kid product. This entry must be completed before extra entries qualify.
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).
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I entered the CLIF Kid giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/2v943x5
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6) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Twitter and tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day, leave a comment with the tweet link for each tweet):
Win a CLIF Kid gift pack from @bonggafinds http://tinyurl.com/2v943x5 #giveaways
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on September 21, 2010; I will draw a winner at random on September 22 and post the winner's name after the winner confirms acceptance. US addresses only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!
Disclosure: My kids and I received complimentary admission to the Zeum Museum for the Clif Kids event, and afterwards I received an assortment of Clif Kid products to sample. Thanks, CLIF!
I was not paid to review the product or event, or to give my opinions. Product information is provided by the featured company/product and is clearly indicated as such. The views and opinions expressed here are my own. | <urn:uuid:8c3b9455-c9a6-4cb3-ab4e-2437b6c9990d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bonggafinds.blogspot.com/2010/09/clif-kid-review-and-giveaway.html?showComment=1283470737201 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965761 | 1,525 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Margaret Rogers was a slight figure standing in the middle of Williamsville’s Main Street in her hand-knit scarf and pink mittens. Four lanes of traffic zoomed behind and before her. Standing in the center turning lane with two bags of hotdogs, cookies and other groceries, she gingerly made her way across to the Village Square Apartments.
“I used to have a car, but I’ll be 90 years old in March, and I didn’t think it was safe to drive anymore,” she said.
It’s questionable whether she’s truly safer walking.
That’s why the village is pushing a new initiative called Picture Main Street that officials hope will significantly improve the pedestrian experience at a relatively modest cost.
Among the proposed changes:
• “Bulb out” protruding curb extensions at intersections.
• A new pedestrian island.
• A designated, mid-block pedestrian traffic signal in the village center.
• Plans for more trees and benches.
• Improved parking behind buildings.
• More welcoming landmark entrances into the village on the east and west ends of Main.
There also are related plans to transform a glorified driveway between the Williamsville Library and Village Hall into a grassy pocket park and remake Spring Street and the property around the historic Williamsville Water Mill into a true village square.
Main Street is a major east-west artery for Amherst. It sees competing traffic from people trying to get to and from office parks, schools and homes. Many drivers use Main Street as a non-toll Thruway bypass between the mainline Thruway and Transit Road. Tractor-trailers and oversized vehicles occasionally rumble by Williamsville’s boutique shops and salons.
On Oct. 1, a tractor-trailer rolling down Main Street clipped a town platform lift truck, sending two town workers to the hospital with multiple fractures.
Past village leaders have made repeated attempts to calm traffic and make Main Street more pedestrian-friendly since the road was widened in the 1990s, but to little avail.
Mayor Brian Kulpa said he knows there’s no way to “unwiden” Main Street, but there are ways to make it more physically attractive to walkers and to make the road-crossing experience a little less death-defying.
“The countdown is funny,” said Kulpa, quickly crossing Main as the walk-don’t walk pedestrian signal counted down 20 seconds. “If you see someone with a stroller, it’s almost like a dare: Are they going to make it?”
Williamsville would be easier to compare to other charming comercial districts that dot the region if it weren’t for the fact that it looks like a five-lane highway is running down the middle of it. Route 5 runs through both the village and the town and carries from 35,000 to nearly 50,000 vehicles a day.
The changes proposed in Picture Main Street would be good news for Rogers, who walks from her senior apartment building to shop and eat several times a week. She said she’s regularly scolded for her midblock street crossings, but she counts on her sense of timing and her willingness to “live dangerously.”
“God is with me,” she said.
Village resident Amy Colvin, who walks bulldogs Lily and Lola down the street nearly every day, expressed similar thoughts.
“The only thing I hate is that it’s just so busy,” she said.
The Picture Main Street effort has been in the works since the village’s community plan was adopted in 2010, Kulpa said. Committees and subcommittees have been meeting monthly to move different aspects of the project along, with some folks focusing on what village residents want and need, and some focusing on how the village is going to find ways to pay for it.
If all goes as hoped, Kulpa said, the plan will be finalized next month and will receive Village Board approval in January.
Committee member Maria McPeak, manager of the Irishman Pub and Eatery between Cayuga and Mill streets, said people who sit on her restaurant patio occasionally get prime seats for viewing accidents and near-accidents with both cars and walkers.
This year’s Halloween costume parade in Williamsville was even delayed 20 minutes because it took that long for families to get from one side of the street to the other.
“Which is ridiculous,” she said.
Seven lanes of cars separate pedestrians from one sidewalk and the next – four lanes of moving traffic, one center turning lane and two parking lanes that are regularly and illegally used by drivers as right-turn lanes.
Rounded curb extensions, which would extend into the shoulder parking lanes and reduce the pedestrian walking path curb-to-curb by about 10 feet, are one way to make crossing safer and easier, Kulpa said. The village also would like to narrow the existing lanes so drivers feel less free to travel down Main at near-highway speeds during nonpeak hours.
Curb extensions and lane narrowing won’t ease existing congestion on Main Street. Just the opposite, and that’s likely to create headaches for commuters who already find driving on Main Street difficult.
But if reducing traffic flow by 5 percent or so makes it easier for people to live, shop, work and eat in the village, Kulpa said, that’s a reasonable trade-off.
Curb extensions, the most expensive aspect of the Picture Main Street project, would cost about $3 million and require some kind of state or federal matching grant.
The village also would hope for state assistance in installing a pedestrian-activated traffic signal and crosswalk. The device would be the first of its kind to be installed in the state, Kulpa said.
The signal would be placed on the roadway in front of the Williamsville Library and be accompanied by a dedicated pedestrian “refuge” island where the center turn lane exists now. The state Department of Transportation offered to conduct a study on placement of this type of signal, and Kulpa said he hopes to have the signal installed by the end of next year.
Though Kulpa expects it to take much of next year to line up the funding required to get Picture Main Street fully implemented, he and others pointed out that the village already has successfully undertaken some work on its own.
The village spent about $10,000 and added 56 sidewalk trees through the Main Street core in September. More will be planted with the help of a state grant in the spring.
New design standards to preserve village character and encourage mixed use and pedestrian access on Main Street were also adopted by the board in October.
“We’re not just going to stand by and see this traffic short-circuit our pedestrian traffic,” he said, “and short-circuit our businesses.” | <urn:uuid:b47be398-df1a-4e27-bd73-d5c7832d900b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121204/CITYANDREGION/121209693/1010 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964548 | 1,452 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Retreats typically are loosely structured 1-3 day events where much time is spent in quiet, reflective, or resting time. Typically a time to recoup, reenergize, journal, paint, hike, be in nature, be with your sacred intimate, etc.
This category is for workshops. Workshops are typically 2-6 hours in length, all within one day.
This category is for trainings.
This category is for potlucks; meaning people bring their foods, typically seasonal and organic or local.... for the purpose of a social gathering, breaking bread.
This category is for classes; specific classes at specific times arranged at a house, a garden, yard or school.
This category is for parties. Parties are typically a gathering of people socially with minimum purpose; a social gathering.
This category is for fundraisers
Film events are typically a documentary with either the filmmaker, an expert from the community or a facilitated discussion following the film.
This category is for conferences. Conferences are typically a 1-3 day event where workshops, a major presentation and food are included.
This category is for presentations. Usually a 2-3 hour event, either a slide show, power point presentation.
Show events from all categories
JEvents v2.1.13a Stable
Copyright © 2006-2012 | <urn:uuid:aedb0037-9bf9-4003-819f-8496153d69b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hopedance.org/events/month.calendar/2012/11/30/- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930859 | 275 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Cavan is not a county associated with the Buggy name and a 19th century inquiry into jury assizes outlines how a George Buggy was charged with arson. The Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was questions as to whether he knew about the number of jurors sworn in at a spring session of Cavan assizes. During this querying it was outlined that Robert Bell and George Buggy were charged with setting fire to a byre in Clonloskan. This is the name of a townland in Kilmore civil parish. The question was posed in Parliament on 18 March 1886.
Hansard, Thomas. 1886. Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, Third Series Commencing With The Accession of William IV, Vol CCCIII. London: Buck and Son p.1154 | <urn:uuid:4c48ab72-4346-4cf0-b304-1aaaec05f019> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://buggynamehistory.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/arson-in-cavan-1886/?like=1&_wpnonce=4562577504 | 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 | 0.965431 | 163 | 1.75 | 2 |
Researcher finds Safari reveals personal information
- — 23 July, 2010 20:15
A feature in Apple's Safari browser designed to make it easier to fill out forms could by abused by hackers to harvest personal information, according to a security researcher.
Safari's AutoFill feature is enabled by default and will fill in information such as first and last name, work place, city, state, and e-mail address when it recognizes a form, wrote Jeremiah Grossman, CTO for WhiteHat Security, on his blog. The information comes from Safari's local operating system address book.
The feature dumps the data into the form even if a person has entered no data on a particular Web site, which opens up an opportunity for a hacker.
Proof-of-concept code for an attack has been published on the blog of Robert Hansen, CEO of SecTheory. Grossman also posted a video of the attack on his blog.
For some reason, data beginning with numbers won't populate text fields and can't be obtained. "Still, such attacks could be easily and cheaply distributed on a mass scale using an advertising network where likely no one would ever notice because it's not exploit code designed to deliver rootkit payload," Grossman wrote.
"In fact, there is no guarantee this has not already taken place," he wrote. "What is safe to say is that this vulnerability is so brain dead simple that I assumed someone else must have publicly reported it already, but exhaustive searches and asking several colleagues turned up nothing."
Grossman reported the problem to Apple on June 17, but he has yet to receive a personalized reply.
To avoid this issue, users can simply disable AutoFill Web forms, he wrote.
Send news tips and comments to firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:a33d2a65-4211-4479-9510-2a1707e53538> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/354316/researcher_finds_safari_reveals_personal_information/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963384 | 370 | 1.679688 | 2 |
He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his.
Shakespeare, Henry IV Part I
I have a confession to make: This is likely not the most perfectly historically accurate dish I have presented during the 12 Days of Medieval Feasting. For one thing, the fish is supposed to be a pike, a popular fish in the Middle Ages, not a red snapper, but a whole pike was nowhere to be found.
The recipe itself is from Eating Like a King: A History of Royal Recipes, by Michelle Brown. The author says that pyke in erbage was served at the coronation feast of Queen Katherine, wife of Henry V, in 1419. That much I've confirmed - the dish was served, in fact, as a first course along with (among other things) "trought," "crabbys," and "tartys."
What I haven't been able to confirm, however, is that Brown's recipe is what was actually served to Katherine in 1419. I've found other medieval recipes for pyke that share quite a few ingredients with this one, and I found a later Elizabethan recipe which stuffs the fish with oysters, also a feature of this version. I suspect that the author has pulled together various recipes from different sources, and also perhaps added touches of her own.
By the time I figured all this out, I had already bought the ingredients. If I had known, I likely would have chosen a more certifiably historically accurate dish, but nonetheless, I'm very glad I made this. It was incredibly moist and flavorful, and the sauce - anchovy, butter, and red wine - tasted positively modern, even - dare I say - a bit French.
I must admit that for me, working with a whole fish - scales left on, no less - definitely felt medieval. If you've followed my blog at all, you'll know that most of my dishes are vegetarian, and so working with a creature who still had a head was unnerving, to say the least. Let's just say I resisted the urge to name him.
Snapper Stuffed with Oysters & Herbs
adapted from Eating Like a King by Michele Brown
For the snapper & sauce:
1 whole snapper, gutted, scales on*, about 1.5 lbs
5-6 ounces of Bordeaux
1 anchovy, finely chopped
3-4 tbsp butter
For the Stuffing:
6 sweet oysters, such as Virginia Choptank
1 tbsp butter, for frying
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp fresh marjoram
*Next time, despite what the recipe advises, I would have the scales removed. I suppose they're left on to help keep the skin from drying out, but I'd rather just cover the thing in foil for a little longer than have to wrestle with fish scales.
I hope you enjoy your stuffed fish - just don't look him the eye. I'll never make that mistake again. I'll see you tomorrow for Day 11 with a really special holiday dessert! | <urn:uuid:96298ee3-5081-4edd-9627-1787eced9381> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tastytrix.blogspot.com/2009/12/day-10-fish-in-erbage-whole-snapper.html?showComment=1261289973692 | 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 | 0.980764 | 674 | 1.820313 | 2 |
By Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One-quarter of people taking niacin and statins as part of a four-year-long heart study dropped out early, often for medical reasons tied to niacin's side effects, a new study suggests.
Previous research hinted that niacin could boost HDL ("good") cholesterol levels, but it was unclear whether the B-vitamin would improve heart health. The full data from the new study, which included 25,000 people in Europe and China, are being presented next month at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in San Francisco.
The trial already led Merck to pull its niacin-based cholesterol drug Tredaptive from the market last month, when it was determined that its heart-related benefits didn't outweigh its risks.
The current analysis details participants' side effects and reasons for leaving that trial, and finds that itching and rashes, indigestion and muscle problems were all common among those taking the niacin-statin combination.
"There's been a lot of interest in trying to find therapies to raise HDL," said Dr. Erin Michos, a cardiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.
"Unfortunately I think there's a growing body of evidence that's going to put the nail in the coffin for niacin," Michos, who wasn't involved in the new research, told Reuters Health.
Before starting the trial, Jane Armitage from the University of Oxford, UK, and her colleagues gave about 38,000 potential participants niacin and laropiprant - which is known to decrease skin flushing, a side effect of niacin - to make sure they could tolerate the combination.
One-third of those people opted not to enter the trial, most for medical reasons including itchy skin and rashes or stomach or muscle problems. Sixty-nine of them had a serious reaction to niacin, including 29 who developed the muscle fiber condition myopathy.
About 25,000 people continued on to the trial, where they were randomly assigned to take niacin and laropiprant - marketed as Tredaptive - in combination with a statin or statins and vitamin-free placebo pills.
Over the next four years, 25 percent of participants in the niacin group withdrew from the study, compared to less than 17 percent in the placebo group. Again, reasons for stopping early were often tied to skin, stomach and muscle side effects, Armitage and her colleagues wrote in the European Heart Journal.
Their study was funded by a grant from Merck, which also sells the statin used in the trial.
Merck announced January 11 it was recalling Tredaptive, which was marketed to raise HDL levels. The drug had not been approved in the United States, but was sold in about 40 countries (see Reuters story of Jan 11, 2013 here: http://reut.rs/Vs4KgM).
Michos pointed out that most people in the new study had their LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels under control before starting on niacin.
For those people, "I would not recommend it at this time," she said. "I think there's no role for adding niacin just to increase the HDL."
Dr. William Boden, chief of medicine at the Samuel S. Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, New York, urged a cautious interpretation of the findings, however.
His own research on statins and niacin, without laropiprant, didn't show the same high rate of side effects. That work was done for Abbott on its niacin product Niaspan.
"I continue to be baffled as to how the investigators can be so certain that this is niacin-related," Boden, also from Albany Medical College, told Reuters Health. "We cannot simply, in my opinion, implicate one component of a combination drug over the other component" - in this case, laropiprant.
Standard niacin can be bought over-the-counter for about $15 per month.
Michos said it's possible laropiprant offset the possible benefits of niacin.
Although neither Boden's own research nor the new trial seemed to show a benefit with niacin, he said certain people - such as those who can't take statins or don't get better on the maximum doses - shouldn't necessarily give up on the vitamin.
"I think it would be ill-advised for patients to throw the baby out with the bathwater and abandon ship with niacin," Boden said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/V9hk5r European Heart Journal, online February 26, 2013. | <urn:uuid:951f14c6-6419-44e6-9026-0e2aa39c5f4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kelofm.com/news/articles/2013/feb/27/niacin-statin-combo-tied-to-skin-muscle-side-effects/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971971 | 990 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Photo by Sgt. Ally Andolina, 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade
During a commemorative anniversary ceremony honoring the 224th Birthday of former President Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States, Air Force Brig. Gen. Verle L. Johnston, commander, 105th Airlift Wing and Lt. Col. Eric Olsen, chaplain, 42nd Infantry Division, prepare to place a wreath at the base of the Van Buren monument in Kinderhook, N.Y., Dec. 5, 2007.
Van Buren was a native of Kinderhook and served as President from 1837 to 1841.
The event was also attended by area government officials, media and students from Ichabod Crane elementary school.
NY National Guard In the News
Newsday -- Thu, 16 May 2013
Warrior competition begins at Camp Smith
Members of the Army National Guard participate in the Northeastern Best Warrior Competition at Camp Smith in Cortlandt. The competition will continue for three days at the camp testing soldiers’... (more)
YNN -- Thu, 16 May 2013
National Guard members compete to become best warrior
Sixteen National Guard soldiers from the North East, labeled as the best of the best, are all aiming to become the Army’s warrior of the year. YNN’s John Wagner reports on one... (more)
NewsOne -- Wed, 15 May 2013
Henry L. Johnson Fends Off German Captors During World War I On This Day In 1918
United States Army soldier Henry L. Johnson (pictured), also known as “Black Death,” earned his fearsome nickname in France during World War I. After being ambushed by German forces and... (more) | <urn:uuid:62e4be94-aff6-4c5a-abc1-6ccae0cbaaeb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dmna.ny.gov/?id=1195497300 | 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 | 0.951363 | 353 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Israeli commandos uncovered a Palestinian bomb factory in a raid near the town of Jenin in Samaria. Security forces found out about the factory after interrogating captured members of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas. The army said pipe bombs and raw materials for manufacturing explosives and rockets were found in what was supposed to be a carpentry shop. The factory was destroyed. Many terror cells oppose the peace process and are trying to sabotage the three-week-old cease-fire. That’s why Israel is reluctant to pull out of towns in Judea and Samaria and hand them back to the Palestinian Authority. | <urn:uuid:4c58406a-f00e-4d68-afd4-55f8e3bb257a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/2138/Default.aspx?archive=article_title | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969015 | 121 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Muslim forbidding his non-Muslim wife to celebrate her religious festivals
Why is it that a catholic girl married to a muslim man CANNOT celebrate her religous festivals? even though she is married to a muslim she still remains a catholic. shouldnt she be able to worship what she belives?.
Praise be to Allaah.
If a Christian girl agrees to marry a Muslim man, then she should be aware of a number of things:
1 – The wife is commanded to obey her husband, so long as it does not involve sin. No differentiation is made between a Muslim wife and a non-Muslim wife with regard to that. If her husband tells her to do something that is not a sin, then she is obliged to obey him. Allaah has given this right to men, because they are in charge of the family and are responsible for it, and family life cannot run smoothly unless one of its members is in charge and is listened to and obeyed. But this does not mean that the man is allowed to dominate or exploit this right in order to mistreat his wife and children, rather he must strive hard to do a good job, to offer sincere advice and consult with them.
But life is not free of matters that need to be settled in a decisive manner. The Christian girl needs to understand this principle before she goes ahead and marries a Muslim.
2 – Islam allows marriage to a Christian or Jewish woman, i.e., it permits a man to marry such a woman whilst she continues to follow her religion. The husband does not have the right to force her to become Muslim, or to stop her worshipping in her own way. But he does have the right to forbid her to go out of the house, even if she is going to go out to go to church, because she is commanded to obey him. He also has the right to forbid her to commit evil openly in the house, such as setting up statues or ringing bells.
That also includes celebrating innovated festivals, such as Easter, because that is an evil action according to Islam, in two ways. It is an innovation for which there is no basis, like celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Mother’s Day, and it also includes false beliefs, namely the belief that the Messiah was killed and crucified, then placed in the grave, then rose from it.
The truth is that ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon him) was not killed or crucified, rather that he was taken up to heaven alive.
The husband does not have the right to force his Christian wife to give up these beliefs, but he may denounce her open profession of falsehood. We have to differentiate between her right to continue following her religion and her manifesting evil deeds openly in his house. An example of that is if the wife is a Muslim but she believes that something is permissible, whereas her husband believes it is haraam. He has the right to stop her doing it, because he is in charge of the family, and he is obliged to denounce whatever he believes is wrong.
3 – The view of the majority of scholars is that the minor issues of sharee’ah are addressed to the kaafirs, as well as the command to believe. This means that things that are forbidden to Muslims are also forbidden to them, such as drinking alcohol, eating pork, introducing innovations or celebrating them. The husband should stop his wife committing any of these actions, because of the general meaning of the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones”
Nothing is exempted from that except the beliefs and acts of worship that are prescribed in her religion, such as obligatory prayers and fasts. The husband should not raise any objections to that. Drinking alcohol, eating pork, and celebrating innovated festivals that have been invented by rabbis and priests, are not part of her religion.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The husband has the right to stop her going out to the church. This was stated by Imam Ahmad with regard to a man who had a Christian wife. He said: He should not give her permission to go out to Christian festivals or churches.
And he said concerning a man who had a Christian slave woman who asked him to let her go out to attend their festivals and churches and gatherings: He should not give her permission to do that.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: The reason for that is that he should not help her with regard to the means of kufr or give her permission to do that. And he said: He does not have the right to forbid her to observe fasts which she believes are obligatory, even if that means that he misses out on intimacy with her at that time, or to forbid her to pray towards the east in his house. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) allowed the Christians of Najraan to pray in his mosque, facing towards their “qiblah” (direction of prayer). End quote from Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 2/819-823.
The fact that the delegation of Christians from Najraan prayed in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was also mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) in Zaad al-Ma’aad, 3/629. The commentator said: its men are thiqaat (trustworthy), but it is munqati’ (interrupted) – i.e., its isnaad is da’eef (weak).
See also question no. 3320.
And Allaah knows best. | <urn:uuid:924db3a6-6b6a-4052-8a8e-354f65df3e1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.islam-qa.com/en/cat/73/ref/islamqa/70177 | 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 | 0.983992 | 1,217 | 1.835938 | 2 |
HHS Commissioner Toumpas calls for $10 million investment in mental health care
The commissioner of Health and Human Services announced yesterday that he will ask lawmakers for about $10 million to improve mental health care, mostly at the community level so patients can remain close to home and in settings less expensive than the state hospital.
Commissioner Nick Toumpas said he’s also temporarily adding 12 beds to the hospital’s existing 130 beds to shorten the increasingly long wait to get into the hospital until he has the money to expand community services.
On weekends especially, it’s not uncommon for 20 people to be waiting in local emergency rooms across the state, all in a mental health crisis, for a state hospital bed, according to mental health providers. In rare cases, patients have waited two weeks at an emergency room for a state hospital bed.
“This is of critical concern to me personally, and DHHS as an organization,” Toumpas said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for someone experiencing a psychiatric crisis to have to wait this long for critical inpatient care – for both the individual as well as their concerned family members.”
Gov.-elect Maggie Hassan is open to Toumpas’s request, according to her spokesman.
“Hassan believes we must take steps to improve New Hampshire’s mental health system and address the waiting list for mental health services, which has put an enormous strain on families throughout the state,” Marc Goldberg said in an email. “The governor-elect is currently in the process of bringing people together to make the difficult, fiscally responsible decisions needed to balance our budget while protecting New Hampshire’s priorities, including providing high quality health services. She looks forward to working with Commissioner Toumpas.”
Community mental health providers have been raising concerns about long waits and diminishing mental health care for nearly a year and were planning a Jan. 7 press conference to sound that alarm again. After learning of Toumpas’s plan yesterday, which they didn’t know was coming, they expressed cautious optimism.
“We really welcome this by the department,” said Ken Norton, executive director of the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “I think there may have been hope (by state officials) that what was happening was a temporary situation, and I think people are now seeing that it is not.”
A $10 million investment in mental health care would be a real change, they said, in a state that has cut services for the last several years to balance the state budget.
Louis Josephson, president of Riverbend Community Mental Health in Concord, said Toumpas’s plan will improve mental health care only if it truly increases the treatment at the community level. That means increasing the number of people providing care as well as residential housing in local communities
Of the additional 12 beds at the state hospital, Josephson said, “I’ll take it, but it’s a short-term Band-Aid.”
Erik Riera, administrator of the state Bureau of Mental Health, said yesterday’s announcement was not a direct response to the federal lawsuit pending against the state over its mental health care system. That lawsuit, which names Toumpas, Gov. John Lynch and other state officials, alleges the state discriminates against people with mental illness by keeping them in state hospitals instead of investing in community treatment that would be better and less restrictive.
Riera said he and others in his agency have been working on a plan to improve mental health care at Toumpas’s request since the spring when there became a waiting list to get into the hospital.
“We are very much trying to be proactive,” Riera said. “When we identified the issues out in the community hospitals, the commissioner asked that we develop a plan. He wanted to release that plan as we were going into the (state) budget sessions. We want to get this out for public discussion and hopefully garner significant public support.”
Amy Messer, the legal director for the state Disabilities Rights Center, which is involved in the federal lawsuit against the state, said she too was glad to see the state “beginning” to address its mental health system.
She said Toumpas’s ideas come from the state’s 10-year-plan to improve mental health care, which was written in 2008 but has largely languished because of budget cuts. “Whether the proposal here is a sufficient array of services and of sufficient capacity, we’ll have to look more closely at that,” Messer said. “The plaintiffs (in the federal lawsuit) continue to be open to discussions with the state regarding the resolution of the case. Those discussions are not happening at this juncture.”
Toumpas divided his plan into two parts: immediate action and improvements he’ll seek through budget requests.
Starting now, Toumpas’s office will do the following:
∎ Track all people waiting for a bed at the state hospital on a daily basis and admit those in the greatest need first, ahead of others on the list in less of a crisis.
∎ Finalize a plan to use state hospital psychiatry staff to provide additional counseling at local emergency rooms. Concord Hospital, for example, spends $1 million a year just caring for the people awaiting mental health care, Josephson said.
∎ Reopen the 12 beds at the state hospital. Three years ago, the hospital had 202 psychiatric beds, but that number has dropped, largely because of budget cuts. Mental health providers, though, said the state could reduce the number further if it increased the amount of care at the community level.
Doing so would not only be better for the patient, they said, but also cheaper. It costs the state $1,000 a day to care for a patient at the state hospital. It costs $200 a day to care for someone in a community residential setting.
∎ Within 10 days, finish introducing a new discharge process that requires the hospital to more closely follow up with patients after discharge to reduce re-admissions.
∎ Expand the number of “peer-run” crisis beds, which are beds in local community settings staffed by volunteers who have expertise with mental health crisis. The state currently has just two of these, said Riera.
The longer-term plan will depend on what Toumpas does with the following budget requests:
∎ Increase the number of residential, inpatient beds at the community level.
∎ Expand other peer-run services to serve an additional 400 adults with severe mental illness annually, at the local level.
∎ Continue expanding the local “Assertive Community Treatment Teams,” which have proven effective in responding quickly to people in crisis so they don’t have to be hospitalized. There are seven teams in the state now. Toumpas wants 17.
∎ Expand residential options for people with mental illness, including day programs. This includes doubling the size of a housing subsidy plan by the end of the 2015 fiscal year.
Roland Lamy Jr., the executive director of the New Hampshire Community Behavioral Health Association, learned of Toumpas’s plan late yesterday, although it called for the support and collaboration of community mental health centers.
Lamy said it’s a good start because it acknowledges the problem.
“The press release was a surprise to us,” he said. “We are happy that we are listed as part of the solution. We do want the opportunity to talk to the governor-elect and some of the Legislature as well to give them facts and details about what we believe is a crisis.”
(Annmarie Timmins can be reached at 369-3323, firstname.lastname@example.org or on Twitter @annmarietimmins.) | <urn:uuid:0b2119cf-dca7-4983-966e-ce2d44feb9d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/3319737-95/state-health-mental-toumpas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96134 | 1,656 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Mitt Romney has pushed the 2012 electoral battleground into union-friendly territory — putting organized labor on the defensive in states it typically has little trouble holding.
A recent demoralizing election loss in Wisconsin and simmering disappointment with President Obama poses further challenges for labor to rally its troops this election season.
Among the 10 or so swing states where the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is battling President Obama, about half are populous, union-heavy states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, where in most polls Mr. Obama holds precarious single-digits poll leads.
Mr. Romney is performing particularly strongly in Ohio and Wisconsin, where the president is hanging on to average poll leads of only 1.8 percentage points and 3.4 percentage points, respectively, according to a composite of polls compiled by the website Real Clear Politics.
Several other swing states feature right-to-work laws that significantly handcuff union power. They include Florida, Virginia, Iowa and North Carolina. In each, neither candidate has more than a 4-percentage-point average lead, Real Clear Politics says.
“Unions have good reason to be worried about their political position, especially in state and public unions,” said Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “Unions have a challenge in unifying their membership to support them and their candidates at the ballot box.”
Organized labor is smarting after a high-profile loss in Wisconsin this month, when the electorate voted to keep Gov. Scott Walker — and his anti-union policies — in office. Unions, livid at the Republican for his 2011 law to curtail public-sector collective-bargaining rights, pushed back hard with a massive ground game to defeat him in a recall election. Yet almost 40 percent of union households voted to support the governor.
Union activists say the Wisconsin recall has bolstered, not depressed, their resolve to re-elect Mr. Obama.
Ms. Swift added that recall elections are “uniquely difficult” to win and that it doesn’t reflect the politics of her state.
Labor also points to Ohio, where seven months earlier voters repealed a law limiting the collective-bargaining rights of public employees.
But critics of unions said the Wisconsin recall wasn’t an anomaly and that Republican candidates are no longer apprehensive to campaign on labor’s turf, a point highlighted by Romney campaign stops the past week in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan.
“It is definitely a telling indicator,” Fred Wszolek, a spokesman with the pro-business group the Workforce Fairness Institute, said of the Wisconsin recall. “You used to not cross Big Labor if you wanted some of these states because you wanted to keep peace there. But attitudes have changed.”
Labor’s traditionally massive and organized electoral ground game will look different this year compared with 2008 election cycle.
The Service Employees International Union said Tuesday it will focus its turn-out-the-vote field campaign in eight battleground states — about half the number it focused on in 2008. The union is expected to spend at least $85 million on Obama re-election efforts, about the same as it spent in 2008.View Entire Story
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Sean Lengell covers Congress and national politics and can be reached at email@example.com.
By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Happiness is attainable. Morning to night. I love to teach, deal with folks that have an issue and really wish to tackle it and write.
How does our 50th state view D.C. politics?
Political centrist who tells it like it is
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
NRA kicks off annual convention
California wildfires wreak havoc | <urn:uuid:3ae73ab4-9b0e-4803-bdef-7110e0b4ce3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/21/romney-stirs-up-challenge-on-unions-own-turf/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945543 | 831 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The sticker may be the single most valuable form of currency in the bike world. On the surface, stickers are created equal, but upon closer inspection, stickers, like currencies, have differing values. Don't get me wrong, all stickers are important, but like teaching the value of money to a child, five singles are not as valuable as a twenty dollar bill. Here is a brief tutorial on the denominations of the sticker world.
Loose change - Loose change stickers have the lowest value and are often affixed to common, daily items such as travel mugs, the backs of your MP3 player and, on occasion, they are used to make minor repairs in place of tape. In the bike retail world, these are the stickers that find their way to garbage cans, parts bins, and new guy's tool box.
Singles - Singles have a bit higher value than loose change. Like the dollar bill, you would step off the curb to grab one of these. Singles are often a bit larger or offer a cool die-cut shape. Singles are also good for daily items (see above), but their value makes them good for the bumper of your car, the window in the service area, or maybe to cover a rust spot on the trusty '85 Ford shop van.
Fivers and the Ten Spot - Close in relation to one another, the value of the Fiver and the Ten spot is often determined by your love and personal investment in the message delivered by the sticker. A Sun Records decal carries more weight than a Sidi sticker that came with your shoes. Both are cool, but until Elvis records a historically relevant tune at Sidi HQ, the Sun sticker trumps. Fivers and tens are perfect for your tool box, even if you are a clean aesthetics kind of cyclist. One of these babies would make the clean lines of your roller cabinet that much tighter.
Twenty and the Five-0 - Now we are talking about some serious booh-kooh. If lost, the twenty and the Five-0 are the type of decals that are mourned and even warrant a bit of eBay time to try and find a replacement. Stickers like these are never wasted on short term items like cars, computers, or rental apartment refrigerators. The battle over where to place these gems is sure to be waged in your mind. Like your retirement savings strategy, think long-term.
Hundos - The largest of the folders, hundos represent the top of the sticker heap. These stickers can be any size, any vintage, and any area of interest. The value of the hundo is so great that often you hang on to it for years, waiting for the right place to affix such a valuable commodity.
Rare and Precious - Some adhesive-backed images were never meant to be adhered, plain and simple. The rare and precious are worthy of a designation greater than sticker, they are elevated to the designation of decal. Decals are coveted, they are the reason you have a sticker drawer, or special plastic bag in which all decals are stored. Some decals may be twenty plus years old and have only seen the light of day on very rare occasions; they may even have a home inside a bag inside the bag. Decals may never have their backs peeled off and their stickiness may never be realized. But like a collectable postage stamp, or an antique pistol, their worth is not measured by their functionality but rather by their pure essence.
As long as I have been a cyclist, stickers have always brought a simple joy. As a kid, I would run from booth to booth at the bike shows collecting stickers. Later in life, as I walk the isles, I still find myself pulled to booths, which among other things, has a pile of cool stickers on their table. Like cycling itself, the hunt for the perfect sticker keeps me young at heart. | <urn:uuid:5d2c81d5-62db-4285-86b0-ea2bf9e2d44b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://belgiumkneewarmers.blogspot.com/2008/08/currency.html?showComment=1219028580000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963087 | 803 | 1.742188 | 2 |
If there is no fiscal cliff deal in the next day, and the IRS advises payroll processors to follow 2013 law, paychecks will get smaller because they will have more withheld.
There has been some debate whether Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has the authority to instruct employers to continue using 2012 withholding tables until further notice. If he does step in, the income tax withheld from paychecks processed in January would not go up.
Such a strategy runs the risk, however, that many wage earners, if not all, could end up being underwithheld for the year. That would be the case if Congress doesn't end up doing anything to avert the cliff in 2013 or lets the Bush-era rates go up on income above a certain threshold.
Your 401(k) and IRA: There's no telling how markets will respond if fiscal cliff gridlock persists.
They had been relatively sanguine. But in the past week, stocks have closed down every day.
Some believe, however, that markets may not move too much on fiscal cliff news -- whether Congress cuts a deal soon or not.
Your 2012 tax return: Here's where things potentially become a dumb mess.
The IRS warned lawmakers that if they don't act to protect the middle class from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax for tax year 2012 by Dec. 31, up to 100 million taxpayers may not be able to file their 2012 taxes until late March.
That would mean their refunds will be delayed. And they wouldn't be injecting those refunds into the economy during the first quarter.
Based on Treasury Department records from the past three years, refunds paid during January, February and March combined have ranged from $117 billion to $136 billion. | <urn:uuid:49aa6cbc-94c3-42ff-b98a-a286c161a6eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wdsu.com/news/money/What-if-there-s-no-deal-on-fiscal-cliff/-/9853238/17951770/-/item/1/-/amo2r0/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972688 | 348 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I’m reviewing two apps for the iPod here because they are so close in terms of what they do they make for a good side by side comparison.
I’ve been using the Paints app (.99) for my iPad for several days now, basically what it does is let you draw freehand either on a blank sheet or over top of another image. What I’ve done here is draw over a goofy image of my dog Martha (she actually likes stealing socks) with a sock on her head. For controls you have a color palate, brush size selector, undo, redo and save. To evaluate these apps I just wanted to write her name at the bottom of the image and what I found may be significant, but you’ll need to be the judge.
In comparison, the Adobe Ideas app (free) which does virtually the same thing but offers more options, for example not only do you have control over the color palate and brush size you also can control opacity, you can undo, as well as erase, there’s also a control for moving the image around on your screen, this might come in handy if you’re working with layers – which this app lets you do. Another handy feature is that aside from saving you can e-mail the image directly from inside the app.
So which app do I prefer? They’re both good and fun little apps, with easy to figure out controls I don't think you'd go wrong with either.
However, Adobe Ideas clearly has more features and is ready to be deployed in either the boardroom or classroom for expanding the collaborative process. I also think in terms of smoothing the images you draw, Adobe just has a stronger engine for that, if you look at my cursive writing and the circle you’ll notice Adobe is smoother while Paints is more blocky – this is even more pronounced if you set the brush size to smaller diameter in Paints.
Which app will I keep on my iPad? | <urn:uuid:d6cbf1a0-d3c2-4654-b685-ec6e76c2bc29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iphonelife.com/blog/2788/paints-vs-adobe-ideas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959674 | 413 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The pace of the compliance changes is dizzying. Importantly, the changes being made are not to minor regulatory requirements. The changes impact regulatory stalwarts like Regulation Z, RESPA, HMDA, Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices and Truth in Savings.
Further complicating matters is that in some cases, multiple final rules and compliance dates for the same regulation. We also have brand new regulatory requirements, such as the Identity Theft Prevention Program rule. Finally, fair lending is a wildcard-bankers are extremely worried about increased examination scrutiny-which should make credit unions pay attention. Let's look more closely at some of these changes.
The Federal Reserve issued two Regulation Z final rule changes. The first impacts home equity and mortgage-related loans with compliance mandatory Oct. 1, 2009. The rule establishes a new category of loans called "higher priced mortgage loans." For these higher priced loans, new restrictions apply related to the member's ability to repay, prepayment penalties and escrow accounts.
While these changes do impact subprime lenders, additional changes will impact all real estate lenders. All home loans are subject to restrictions on certain lending and servicing practices, and there are numerous changes related to real state loan advertising.
The second Regulation Z final rule impacts credit cards with compliance mandatory July 1, 2010. You will have to change your Schumer Box, which contains the terms and conditions of the credit card account. Your credit card applications and solicitations will have to disclose new penalty pricing and fee information. In addition, you will have to make significant changes to your account opening disclosures and periodic statements.
Perhaps the most significant upcoming change is to RESPA. Compliance is mandatory for most of the changes Jan. 1, 2010. The RESPA changes were very controversial, with HUD receiving over 12,000 comments letters. Although HUD received substantial pressure to not issue a final rule, it believed that the mortgage market problems were so serious that it had no choice but to take immediate action.
The RESPA changes completely overhaul the Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1 forms. The changes are intended to save consumers money and improve comparison shopping between different lenders. The benefits to the consumer come at a price. Your credit union now will be providing a much longer and comprehensive GFE and it will be less an estimate and more like a contract. Under certain circumstances, if actual closing costs are higher than your GFE estimates, you would have to refund the difference.
Although we are already beyond the mandatory compliance date for the identity theft Red Flag requirements, your compliance efforts are far from over. Your Red Flag program should be continually updated. Identity theft is still on the rise and the new requirements to combat it will take on greater importance.
We have heard some regulators say that fair lending is going to receive the same scrutiny as BSA. Pay attention to fair lending and make sure you have your bases covered.
Because the number of regulatory changes feels so overwhelming and because you may not quite know how or where to begin, putting these compliance challenges on the back burner may feel like the easiest or simplest solution-but resist that temptation.
At the end of the day, do not forget-complying
with consumer protection regulations is good mem-
John Zasada is managing director of the national practices economic unit at RSM McGladrey Inc. He can be reached at 218-790-1086 or firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:9f69afcd-7ab5-453c-8a6c-150f5adbb84e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cutimes.com/2009/05/20/is-your-cu-ready-for-critical-consumer-compliance-changes | 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 | 0.938965 | 699 | 1.554688 | 2 |
In the heart of campus, the slab of blue heirloom granite is pretty hard to miss.
'In Honor and Remembrance of Service and Sacrifice," the inscription reads, 'Dedicated to Armed Forces Veterans of the Champlain College Community November 11, 2012'
Two governors and a Vermont National Guard general joined a crowd of students and school dignitaries Monday for the dedication of the new memorial to veterans.
"You'd be surprised at the number of people who thought this was a great idea," explained Warren Baker, a professor who worked on the effort.
Champlain College has embraced its community of veterans very publicly in the last few years, committing new resources to its 'Yellow Ribbon Program.'
The college waives half of the tuition bill for qualified veterans who enroll as students.
The Veterans Administration's 'Post 9/11 G.I. Bill' often picks up remaining expenses.
Anthony Lorenzo, 21 of Georgia, is taking advantage of the offer. "I did my time, I've been in for four years and now the Champlain College community is 'paying me back' by allowing me to go to school here for, well, for free," explained the early education major.
"I don't pay a dime," Lorenzo said.
Champlain is among dozens of schools around the region participating in some form in the program.
"I'm just here to say thank you," Gov. Peter Shumlin told the crowd. "There are many, many generations of Americans and Vermonters who would not prosper were it not for the dedication of our institutions of higher education, to ensure those who serve our country get a fair shot at an education, and therefore a good job."
Among its two thousand students, Champlain College estimates about one hundred are returning veterans taking part in the Yellow Ribbon program.
"We are richer because you are part of this community," school provost Dr. Robin Abramson told the crowd. | <urn:uuid:ae419d2b-f15d-435e-bdd7-6b96be1b4e3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-york/burlington/Vt-college-unveils-new-monument-to-student-veterans/-/8869880/17377626/-/v2fw1jz/-/index.html?absolute=true | 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 | 0.97186 | 401 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Giving a Hand Up in South Central
When 1992's riots hit South Central Los Angeles, they struck an area already struggling to get by
SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES
ON a sunny Wednesday morning in South Central Los Angeles, a line is forming outside the Ebony Baptist Missionary Church on South Figueroa Street.Skip to next paragraph
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A collection of nearby residents and homeless people, single men, and women with babies are waiting for sacks of free food, which the church distributes weekly.
Michael Wynn, a local community organizer, has stopped by in search of volunteers for the neighbor-to-neighbor program organized by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley to calm fears and quell unrest in the inner city.
A year ago, looters and arsonists went on a rampage here after four white Los Angeles policemen were acquitted of using undue force in subduing black motorist Rodney King. The worst riots in recent United States history left many nearby stores and businesses boarded up or in ashes. In the immediate aftermath, Ebony Baptist was the only food source in the neighborhood, feeding 250 families a day.
The violence was a devastating blow to an area already blighted by decay.
Mr. Wynn is part of a large network designed to encourage a sense of community among area residents who have known poverty, hardship, and fear.
"The majority of these folks are tough nuts to crack," Wynn says. "Their quality of life has been so bad for 25 years, they're skeptical." Nonetheless, he says, he has made a lot of progress in this part of town, where he estimates that the unemployment rate is upward of 40 percent. (Unemployment is 20 percent in greater South Central Los Angeles. It is the highest rate anywhere in California, and California has one of the highest rates in the country.)
Wynn says he has even managed to "get some gang members on board. They're mostly interested in `How can we get employed?' They go back to their own gangs, and share the information with other gang members."
Looking around the neighborhood, Wynn is clearly pleased with his prospects. A crowd has gathered in front of the church door, and there are plenty of passers-by. Ebony Baptist is located across from the 20-year-old House of Uhuru drug abuse clinic on a busy street where liquor stores, check-cashing and food stamp centers, corner markets, and housing projects sit among both boarded-up buildings and modest homes with well-manicured lawns.
Inside the church, a dank, brick low-rise building, Pastor Ernest Woods is directing people who are shuffling through a narrow hallway to rows of chairs lined up outside the back of the building. Once outside, he opens the gate of a rusted chain-link fence, and welcomes congregants and others into the sun-filled area.
"We have 125 members, half Latino, half African-American," Pastor Woods says, shaking hands and accepting envelopes they offer.
Can these visitors afford to give money to the church? "Oh, yes," he says, smiling. "They may give a few pennies, some even give a dollar. It may be enough to cover a trip in the van to pick up food."
Out of the 28 envelopes Woods collected, half are empty, though all are carefully sealed. In the rest are piles of change, four $1 bills, and a Guatamalan dollar. Total: $14.41.
Founded in 1972, Ebony Baptist Missionary Church has become a repository for surplus, often rotting food from nearby groceries and restaurants. Worn-out clothing, donated by local residents, is piled high on the seats of an old, littered school bus now grounded on the premises.
The church runs two homeless shelters, offers free medical help, provides taxi vouchers for those who need rides to job interviews, and shares information on subjects ranging from housing loans to AIDS.
"We get funding from nowhere," says Woods, who says he is fed up with government agencies that don't respond to his requests for assistance or entangle him in bureaucratic red tape when they do.
Other churches aren't much help either. "There's no money in this - not even enough for those fancy stained-glass windows other churches have," he laughs. "One church actually told me I ought to close up!"
Shaking his head, he runs down a list of unpaid bills, which have been building up for years. "A $21,000 water bill, $300 a month for trash removal. The gas company was here yesterday - we owe $700 - they were here to cut it off, but the gates were locked. We got a $1,700 electric bill and a mortgage that's behind. It's called surviving in the ghetto," he says, smiling again.
The pastor grabs a microphone and turns up his crackling PA system. "Ya'll listen for your number to be called for the food. In the meantime, hop on that bus and see what you can find! Don't leave nothing behind!"
The queue for food includes two rail-thin women who have walked five miles from Watts - located clear across South Central. "We started out at 7:30 this morning," says Charisse Rodgers, whose marred feet are partially covered by black bedroom slippers.
Later, back in his office, Woods interviews Arkansas native Henry Strickland for the shelter, where people stay from two months to two years.
"L.A.'s the homeless capital of the world," says the pastor, who has had drug dealers and pimps try to use the shelter as a base. "But this is not a flophouse. It's a way up. You see, I have a mathematical formula: Your success is inversely proportional to your excuses. When your excuses go down, your success goes up. Pretty soon we know who's fakin' and who's shakin'."
Just then, his assistant comes in clapping her hands. She's very excited. "That was Universal Studios on the phone! They said, `Bring the van by, 'cause we're gonna fill it up!"'
"Fill it up with what?" asks Woods.
"With food! And make sure the seats are out because there is a lot!" she says.
Woods smiles widely. "We make do," he says again. "It's called surviving in the ghetto." | <urn:uuid:91ef746d-2da0-4e37-b9c0-7464c604fc5d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.csmonitor.com/1993/0331/31091.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974756 | 1,337 | 1.804688 | 2 |
On one hand we have the Department of Truth about to tell tomorrow that NFP based on various seasonal and birth death adjustments increased by 250,000. On the other hand, we have Gallup which actually does real time polling without a procyclical propaganda bias. And Gallup does't have any good news: "Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, hit 10.3% in February -- up from 9.8% at the end of January.
The U.S. unemployment rate is now essentially the same as the 10.4% at the end of February 2010." And the one indicator that nobody in the mainstream media will touch with a ten foot pole: "Underemployment, a measure that combines part-time workers wanting full-time work with those who are unemployed, surged in February to 19.9%. This resulted from the combination of a sharp 0.5-point increase since the end of January in the percentage unemployed and a 0.5-point increase in the percentage working part time but wanting full-time work. Underemployment is now higher than it was at this point a year ago (19.7%)."
Shadowstats alternate data has unemployment at about 22%, trending higher since mid '09:
The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers.
Oh nevermind, we're not supposed to talk about "discouraged" or "underemployed" workers since that makes the number look so bad. | <urn:uuid:a7dfb461-8a72-4409-8af0-8090c9e9bd2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peakoil.com/forums/post1044139.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946465 | 353 | 1.5 | 2 |
Contents | January/February 2004
More on politics and society from The Atlantic Monthly.
More on health care from The Atlantic Monthly.
From the archives:
"Putting a Value on Health" (January/February 2004)
The way to arrest spiraling costs is to admit that we already do what we say we never will—ration health care—and then figure out how to do that better. By Don Peck
"The Overtreated American" (January/February 2003)
One of our biggest health-care problems is that there's just too much health care. Cutting down on the excess could save enough to cover everyone who is now uninsured. By Shannon Brownlee
"Health Care: A Bolt of Civic Hope" (October 2000)
In an anti-political time the politics of remedy is still possible. Two congressmen, one liberal, one conservative, both versed in the relevant complexities, agree on the bones of a plan to insure the 44 million Americans without health insurance. By Matthew Miller
"What Market Values Are Doing to Medicine" (March 1992)
The former editor in chief of The New England Journal of Medicine fears that his profession has lost its ethical way. By Arnold S. Relman, M.D.
The Atlantic Monthly | January/February 2004
State of the Union
ealth-care spending is currently rising at a rate of around eight percent a year, and a large proportion of the health care that is delivered in this country simply drives up costs without improving health or increasing longevity.
Sounds crazy, but one way to arrest the spiraling cost of health care would be to figure out what treatments actually work
by Shannon Brownlee
Previous efforts to address these problems have neglected an element so basic that its wisdom has largely been ignored—namely, reliable information, the lack of which hampers the efficiency of the health-care market and prevents doctors and hospitals from learning what constitutes high-quality care. It has been more than a decade since the manifesto of "evidence-based medicine" was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, yet much medical care is still based more on intuition than on science. Doctors don't know, for example, whether regular mammograms for women in their forties save lives, and they ignore evidence that Celebrex, a widely prescribed and much ballyhooed prescription painkiller, is no more effective than ibuprofen, which costs one tenth as much. When common medical practices are put to the test, as only a small fraction have been, many turn out to be either ineffective or excessively risky—at least for some patients. In one well-known example a clinical trial that ended in 2002 showed that hormone-replacement medication, which generated $1.2 billion in sales in 2000 and which postmenopausal women have been taking for more than thirty years, does not lower the risk of heart attack, as previously believed; in fact, it appears to raise it.
As a result of such uncertainty health-care consumers—patients, employers, and insurers—cannot choose the best care at the most reasonable price. As health-care buyers, insurers—whose costs keep rising—have little data with which to judge the effectiveness of all the hospitalizations, tests, office visits, and procedures they are paying for, and thus no rational basis for adjusting reimbursement according to the quality of care.
More information would increase both the quality of health care and the efficiency of the system—if only someone would gather the data. Most insurers, with the exception of Medicare and a couple of the largest private companies, don't compile the records that might help them improve health-care quality, largely because they lack the expertise and manpower to do so. The National Institutes of Health, which have traditionally focused on finding cures rather than on improving existing medical practices, set aside less than one thirtieth of their combined budgets—amounting to $800 million annually—for such research. The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research—the one government agency that was devoted to gathering outcomes data—saw its budget slashed in 1995 after lobbying by a determined and influential group of doctors who didn't like the results of the agency's analysis.
Here's what's needed: a Clinical Sciences Institute, which would serve as a clearinghouse for outcomes data. The institute would need the political insulation of the Federal Reserve Board; it could be funded by the federal government either alone or in concert with private insurers. Its first task would be to gather information on patient outcomes from hospitals and doctors in order to determine who is delivering the safest and most effective care. It would also pull together all available evidence on current medical practices. If it couldn't determine the effectiveness of a treatment or a test using existing data, the institute would fund a clinical trial to get the answer. It should initiate clinical trials like the one that found that hormone-replacement therapy increases the risk of heart attack, and head-to-head comparisons of drugs like Celebrex and Vioxx with their cheaper substitutes.
With real evidence in hand, doctors could begin to base standards of care more on science than on intuition. Insurers would have a rational basis for deciding which drugs and procedures to cover—and they could adjust reimbursement to hospitals and doctors according to who did the best job. Patients would know which doctors and hospitals to choose. The danger, of course, is that weighing costs against the effectiveness of treatments and drugs would raise the specter of medical rationing. Polls consistently show that Americans will reject any plan that threatens to deny them potentially lifesaving treatment for reasons of cost. But patients might feel differently about all the medical care they think they want—and deserve—if they had access to clear and accurate information showing that the most expensive drugs weren't necessarily the best and that many treatments and tests posed unseen risks without many proven benefits.
Put into practice, the information provided by the Clinical Sciences Institute would improve the quality of care, and might even save billions of dollars that are now wasted on unnecessary care. Here's just one example: A recent study found that carotid endarterectomy, a $15,000 surgery performed on about 150,000 patients a year to prevent stroke, turns out to pose a greater risk of triggering a stroke than preventing one in two thirds of patients. If surgeons stopped performing this procedure on the wrong patients, limiting it to the one third it actually benefits, they could save the U.S. health-care system $1.5 billion a year.
Shannon Brownlee is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
Copyright © 2004 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
The Atlantic Monthly; January/February 2004; Information, Please; Volume 293, No. 1; 145. | <urn:uuid:951b4842-feeb-40b9-bf29-06e3e72986e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2004/01/brownlee.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964544 | 1,380 | 1.75 | 2 |
Who can resist making tiny purple baby hats?
|Berry Baby Hat by Chloe Nightingale
Recently a friend sent me a link to Click for Babies, an
organization that strives to bring attention to normal infant crying, baby
abuse, and shaken baby syndrome. As part of their crusade for awareness, a
grassroots campaign called CLICK for Babies: Period of PURPLE Crying Caps is
inviting knitters and crocheters to make purple baby hats. These hats, in
addition to information on infant crying and coping mechanisms, will be
distributed to new parents during the months of November and December.
invited a group of friends together for a crocheting for charity craft night. But we have
crocheters, knitters, and those who have never picked up a hook or needle
I would love for you to join me. Invite a group of your friends
to get together and whip up a few hats for charity. You can find a list of hospitals who would
welcome wee purple hats on Click for Babies' website. Don't forget to take a
few pictures of each other making your baby hats. Then post your photos, as well
as photograph of your hats, in the member gallery. I would love to see what you
Here are some tips on baby hats for Click for Babies:
Please refrain from including "pom
poms" that hang from strings or any type of strap to secure caps to baby's
heads. These pose a potential choking and/or strangling hazard to babies.
||Baby Bear's Back-up Hat by Marty Miller
Use a baby friendly yarn. Remember, new parents
have lots to do with little sleep, so pick a machine washable yarn.
- Your baby hat needs to be at least 50% purple.
As a general rule, caps should have a
circumference between 7.5-13.5in (19.0-34.0cm) and a height of 3.5-6in
Please include a tag for each hat with size and
- Hats need to be received by October 1st.
|Primary Hat by Toni Rexroat and Susan Hazel Rich
If you are looking for the perfect hat to crochet, I have
three free crochet baby hat suggestions. The Berry Baby Hat by Chloe
Nightingale is fun and whimsical. It would also work as well for a boy as for a
girl. If you are looking for something really quick and easy or the perfect
pattern for a beginning crocheter, I would suggest Baby Bear's Back-up Hat by
Marty Miller. And finally the Primary Hat, created by myself and our designer
Susan. This basic baby hat would look adorable embellished with a variety of
flowers or with a fun bit of ribbing.
I hope you can join us. If you are currently crocheting for
a different charity, please share it with us. Crochet Me members are always looking for a good way to give back. | <urn:uuid:18881a1d-a0f0-4b15-8923-68bf438e7921> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crochetme.com/blogs/crochet_daily/archive/2012/07/27/little-crochet-baby-hats-for-charity.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933261 | 631 | 1.53125 | 2 |
EDITORIAL: Be thoughtful when scheduling public meetingsSometimes little things make a big difference when it comes to building public confidence and running a lean, efficient government.
Sometimes little things make a big difference when it comes to building public confidence and running a lean, efficient government.
Local public officials often bemoan the impact of levy caps, declining state revenue and rising costs as among the biggest problems and barriers they face. Yet in little ways, they nickel and dime public coffers when an ounce of planning would net some face-saving points with the public.
For instance, after giving department reports to a county committee Thursday, Douglas County staff were sent to the hall while committee members met behind closed doors to discuss unrelated issues. The closed session meeting was legal, but we argue poorly planned. During a 45-minute period, staff time was wasted while the committee discussed the status of union negotiations. Staff was needed later at the session, but they had to wait indefinitely until the closed session ended.
Collectively, the staff burned up half a workday — 5.25 hours — waiting for the committee. They were tenured staff and department managers, so the value of their time was considerable.
Douglas County isn’t alone in its poor planning. Superior’s City Council at times also lets the public sitting and wondering why meetings didn’t begin at their posted time — all because councilors ran long in closed session.
Monday night, the school board met in closed session prior to its public committee of the whole meeting. While the session normally starts at 5 p.m., the board remained in a closed expulsion hearing until after 6 p.m. During that time, one director walked out — no doubt believing time is too valuable to be squandered indefinitely. Without a doubt, the director was right. When the board finally met in open session, members rushed through business.
This is particularly unfair because parents must juggle jobs, kids, child care and dozens of other obligations to create time to attend a meeting.
Closed session meetings are allowed under Wisconsin law when they protect the public interest. Government officials should use good sense, however, to ensure they are scheduled to also protect the public’s best interest. Elected bodies shouldn’t go behind closed doors until the people’s business is done first. People need the ability to return to work or home without having their time wasted. | <urn:uuid:b80876bb-c57c-4449-ab98-daaa72514494> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.superiortelegram.com/event/article/id/27868/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967622 | 494 | 1.617188 | 2 |
When is a dual-degree MBA worth it?
(BPT) - In the last two decades, more and more business schools have started to offer a dual Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, in which a student can pair a traditional Master of Business Administration degree with another post-graduate (master's or doctoral) degree. Pursuing two degrees at once may mean more time, money and stress initially, but it can also lead to a graduate who is proficient in business concepts as well as being a subject-matter expert. How can potential students tell if a dual degree is right for them?
Barbara Allison, director of the business program at South University
's Montgomery campus, says that a dual degree, also called a joint degree, is best for students who have a specific goal in mind.
"Learning the business side of a technical field can be very valuable," says Allison, who has earned both an MBA and a doctorate in business administration. "South University offers a dual Doctor of Pharmacy & Master of Business Administration (PharmD/MBA) degree at our Savannah campus. That pairing makes sense because some pharmacy students know that, for instance, they want to own or manage an independent pharmacy. Acquiring business acumen will be useful for them."
The same logic would apply to a medical student who knows that he or she wants to run a stand-alone clinic or pursue health care administration. But Allison cautions students against getting a dual degree just because they have an interest in both fields.
"You may be fascinated by business and law, for example, but that doesn't automatically mean a J.D./MBA is for you," Allison says. "The big exception is if you are already employed and are earning the degree through an arrangement with your employer. Then almost any combination would make sense, since you are reasonably certain that you'll have a job - and more money - after graduation."
If saving a significant amount of time or money by getting two degrees at the same time is your goal, you will need to be careful about which school you choose. Many dual-degree students may be able to save money on living expenses and school-wide fees by doubling up, but only if there is a time-saving aspect to the arrangement. At some schools, it takes just as long to get the degrees separately as it does to earn them through a joint-degree program.
Regardless of the time it takes, the largest cost of going to school is usually the tuition, fees, books and equipment for each program of study. This cost generally will not change whether you pursue the degrees separately or concurrently.
And speaking of money, Allison says not to expect to recoup the added cost of a dual degree right away.
"Again, the big exception is if a student already has a job lined up with a change in salary agreed to," she says. "But in general, an MBA along with a subject-matter degree may lead to higher compensation over the course of a career, but not necessarily right away."
While it is not a good choice for everyone, a dual-degree MBA can be tailor-made for the right student who has a clear goal in mind and realistic expectations. | <urn:uuid:a9dcc677-e3a9-44bd-b5a3-d00806ea9a71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.middletowntranscript.com/section/?template=araArchiveDetails&CategoryID=209&article=8061341550&archive=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968266 | 658 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The other week I discovered this new free internet radio service called Pandora. You create an account with them and then enter the names of a few songs or bands that you like, and it plays those songs/bands as well as other music that sounds similar to it.
So Pandora is similar to Yahoo’s Launchcast service, except where Launchcast is designed to be compatible with as few systems as possible, Pandora is based on a platform-independent technology (Flash), so I can actually use it under Linux. And it also doesn’t just pick "similar" music based on a list of genres that someone decided should apply to your songs/bands; instead, they’ve actually done some much more low-level research into the acoustics of the music itself:
Quoting The Music Genome Project:
Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It’s not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it’s about what each individual song sounds like.
Over the past 5 years, we’ve carefully listened to the songs of over 10,000 different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time.
The first band that I put into Pandora was I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business. If I had written this post a few weeks ago, I could have told you what the first few similar bands they played were, but alas, I have forgotten. I do remember, though, that I was impressed with how many of them were other bands that I already knew and liked.
What’s also cool is that within the first week, Pandora got me hooked on two new bands that I really like now: June and Copeland. I had never heard of June before, but a few people over the past couple years have mentioned Copeland to me, and I just never got around to looking into them. The songs that Pandora has played have been from their 2005 album "In Motion," which I just bought the other day and I really love. The June songs are from their 2005 album "If You Speak Any Faster," which I’m sure I’ll be getting soon, too.
And speaking of music that you should go check out, Kim and I went to see Mae last night at Mr. Small’s Theatre here in Pittsburgh. We both love this band, and we thought the show was really good. Actually, now that I think about it, the last time I saw a Mae show was the first time I had ever heard of them: they were one of the opening acts (along with Riding Bikes) at an Elliott show at the Church in Philly. And the guy I went to that show with was the first person who told me to check out Copeland.
I won’t go into too much detail about the Mae show last night because it looks like Kim is on the case. I’ll just mention that the vocalist seems like a really nice and cool guy, from what you can tell by just looking at someone while they’re singing. He was quite the sweaty beast though, because it was really warm in the place and he had a long-sleeved shirt on. I realize that there’s really no benefit to you, loyal reader, in my mentioning that last bit; it’s just that I love to say "sweaty beast" whenever the opportunity arises. | <urn:uuid:762f5de8-eec0-4caf-9a75-6c2afb9c0ea7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nodivisions.com/blog/2006/02/01/Pandora | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983541 | 800 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Personal comments will be immediately deleted by our Admins. Admins are NOT obligated to explain their actions. Please respect our Admins' decisions. They are instrumental in maintaining the quality of this forum.
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An old dream of the residents of Abohar and Fazilka was fulfilled today, with the two Punjab border towns being linked by rail. It was in February last year that the then railway minister Mamata Banerjee proposed in the rail budget to run a passenger train between Fazilka and Abohar. Though just 42 kms apart, the two towns have had no rail link for decades. In February 2004, the-then railway minister, Nitish Kumar, had laid the foundation stone of one and agreed to open it by 2007. | <urn:uuid:b7df566e-d3e3-4696-b8cf-002efc76ee5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://indiarailinfo.com/news/post/83454 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976301 | 172 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Fall 2013 and Winter 2014 quarters
- Harumi Moruzzi cultural studies, film studies, literature , Tomoko Hirai Ulmer
- Fields of Study
- cultural studies, history, international studies, language studies, literature and moving image
- Preparatory for studies or careers in
- Japanese literature and culture, film studies, cultural studies and international relations.
Japan is a vital, energetic and dynamic country which has been constantly reinventing and revitalizing itself even in the midst of gargantuan natural disasters, while struggling to maintain a sense of cultural and social continuity from the long lost past. Meanwhile, the conception and image of Japan, both in Japan and throughout the West, has varied widely over time, mostly due to Japan’s changing political and economic situation in the world. In the late 19th century, when Japan re-emerged into Western consciousness, Lafcadio Hearn, the Greek-Irish-American writer who later became Japanese, thought of Japanese society and its people as quaintly charming and adorable. In contrast, Americans in the 1940s viewed Japan as frighteningly militaristic and irrational. The French philosopher/semiotician Roland Barthes was bewitched and liberated by Japan’s charmingly mystifying otherness during his visit in 1966, when Japan began to show its first sign of recovery from the devastation of the WWII. The Dutch journalist Karel Van Wolferen was disturbed by the intractable and irresponsible system of Japanese power in 1989, when the Japanese economy was viewed as threatening to existing international power relations. These examples show how Japan has been viewed by Westerners in the past. The idea and image of Japan is highly dependent on the point of view that an observer assumes and that history makes possible.
This full-time interdisciplinary program is devoted to understanding contemporary Japan, its culture and its people, from a historical point of view. We will study Japanese history, literature, cinema, culture and society through lectures, books, films, seminars and workshops, including study of Japanese language embedded in the program. Three levels of language study (1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-year Japanese) will be offered for 4 credits each during the fall and winter quarters.
In the fall quarter, we will explore the cultural roots of Japan in its history. In the winter quarter, we will examine Japan after 1952, when the Allied occupation ended. Special emphasis will be placed on the examination of contemporary Japanese popular culture and its position in economic and cultural globalization.
Students who are interested in experiencing Japan in person can take Japanese language classes in Tokyo through Harumi Moruzzi’s Individual Study: Japanese Culture, Literature, Film, Society, and Study Abroad in spring quarter.
- Campus Location
- Online Learning
- Enhanced Online Learning
- Greener Store
- Required Fees
- $30 per quarter for entrance fees.
- Offered During
- Day and Evening | <urn:uuid:a6f11ad7-d744-4020-b0dc-2dcc2045d390> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://evergreen.edu/catalog/2013-14/programs/japantodaystudiesofjapanesehistoryliteraturecinemaculturesocietyandlanguage-9222 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943609 | 597 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Top Public High Schools
Our exclusive ranking of all the area public high schools
After the unveiling of our exclusive public schools ranking last year, our staff agreed that we would tackle the enormous task once again in our October issue. Like last year, our goal in compiling our exclusive annual ranking of the best public high schools in the Charlotte area was to identify academically successful schools, but also the schools that provide an environment conducive to exceptional learning. We wanted to make this ranking based solely on the data provided by each school, the school districts, and the North Carolina Department of Education. So to achieve this, we again enlisted statistician Zhi Zhang, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at UNC-Charlotte, to help analyze the data and prepare the ranking.
It’s important to remember that differences among schools on the list are often quite small—any school could fairly exchange places with schools one or two positions higher or lower. Therefore, we offer these rankings not as the final word on school quality, but rather as a starting point for parents, students, and educators.
Not all high schools in this ranking are traditional high schools. We included these schools because we’d be remiss in leaving them off simply because they offer different curricula. All the schools were ranked against one another based on the same data that was available from each school. The ranking is based on a like comparison.
Click image to view the rankings in a PDF.
How We Prepared the Ranking
The overall ranking is based on two separate rankings: environment and performance. The environment factor includes variables such as proportion of students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes, average class size, proportion of fully licensed teachers, and proportion of board-certified teachers. The performance factor includes variables such as average combined SAT score and four-year graduation rate. Schools with missing data on any of the variables were deleted from the analysis.
Two sets of variables were determined: the variables for the environment factor and the variables for the performance factor. For each variable of each set, we organized a separate ranking of all schools, with the smallest value in the ranking being the top- ranked school and the largest value being the bottom-ranked school. If there was a tie in the ranking, each of the tied schools shared the lowest rank value of that tier. Collectively, these rank scores formed a basis for our analysis. There are several options in establishing scores for ranking purposes. We chose to rank scores because they tend to be more robust — if a school has an extremely low or high reading on a variable, the extremity would not dominate the school’s position in the overall ranking.
For the environment factor, we calculated the average of the rank scores on all variables in that set for each school. Then we repeated the process for the performance factor, calculating the average of the rank scores on all variables in that set for each school.
For each school, a weighted average of the two rank scores, one from the environment ranking and one from the performance ranking, was calculated with a weight of 0.25 on the environment and 0.75 on the performance. The overall ranking was then per- formed based on the weighted average rank scores among all schools. Schools in a tied tier share the lowest rank value in that tier.
Our primary sources for data are listed below. In cases where information was not available for a particular school, we contacted the school at least twice to gather the data. Some schools did not return our phone calls.
Percent graduation rate for all public schools: ayp.ncpublicschools.org
SAT reports for all N.C. public schools: ncpublicschools.org/accountability/ report ing/sat/2009
Enrollment, percent enrollment in Advanced Placement courses, and all teacher data: ncreportcards.org/src
The North Carolina Department of Education’s process for calculating cohort graduation rate: dpi.state.nc.us/newsroom/ facts/measurements/graduationrate | <urn:uuid:58922ade-2168-4a9b-b65d-f67c86c143a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/October-2010/Top-Public-High-Schools/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959281 | 825 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Bait-and-switch fraud, phishing and black-out dates are topics that rarely come up in everyday conversation. For a group of five Pleasantville High School students, recent participants in the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs High School Consumer Bowl 2013, the subject matter is not necessarily offbeat.
On Jan. 25, the group, led by business teacher Carla Block-Ropieki, left the high school parking lot by 8:30 a.m. for hours of consumer-related competition at Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City.
The Pleasantville school competed against the seasoned competitors of Absegami, Oakcrest, Cedar Creek and newcomer St. Joseph.
"I think it's a really good thing that this competition is held because it's all things that they will use again," said Block-Ropieki, who also oversees the Distributive Education Club of America at the school.
Although Cedar Creek took the Atlantic County title - moving on to the South Jersey regional competition in the spring - Block-Ropieki said that the lessons learned made the experience worthwhile, realizing that her group of young students would eventually become adult consumers facing rules, regulations and, unfortunately, fraud on a regular basis.
"As a consumer, they are going to have to go out in the real world and deal with it all," she said.
Weeks before the competition, the state supplied student competitors with a binder of sample questions and answers to review. Team captain Keith Spence, 18, Mark Smith, 16, Clarissa Cuevas, 16, Demetrius Letson, 17, and Lillian Lopez, 17, all agreed that a win next year would require more hours of studying and preparation.
With mere seconds to hit their red buzzers, the arena for competition turned stressful quickly, the students said.
"The biggest challenge was the other schools," Letson said. "They were fast on the buzzers. That's one thing we have to work on next year."
PHS competed for the past three years, Block-Ropieki said, but Spence, a senior, and Lopez, the team's alternate, were the only returning team members, leaving the remaining three exposed to a novel situation.
The team, stumped by the competition's open-ended questions, still found the information that they had been studying useful, regardless of their loss.
"A lot of this stuff is common sense, but at the same time, it's also things that people can easily look past but can still be detrimental," Spence said.
"It will help us in the long run when we become adults," Letson added.
Next year, the underclassmen on the team will come back, ditch the nerves and possibly schedule study sessions in order to win the title.
"I am going to study extra hard to compete next year," Smith said.
Although Spence won't have the opportunity to compete in another high school consumer bowl, he hopes his team will feel confident enough in their answers to succeed in years to come.
"Never be too afraid to take a chance," he said.
Contact Caitlin Honan: | <urn:uuid:0471b505-ba53-4e61-ba6e-7d225adb25e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/atlantic-city_pleasantville_brigantine/pleasantville-high-school-again-participates-in-consumer-bowl/article_62099e4d-2ac2-5ac2-958e-575cb862477c.html?mode=jqm | 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 | 0.974571 | 655 | 1.617188 | 2 |
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Here are the Editor's Picks articles for the Work & Family Site! These are the top ten articles that your Work & Family Editor feels are most important for you to read. Enjoy!
1. Women and Money Matters
My mother always told me to save something from my paycheck every time I got paid. Her theory was even $2.00 in the bank every week is better than nothing. Of course, I ignored her advice, at that time I would not have considered depositing $2.00 in my bank account.
2. Is a Home Based Business For You?
People have home businesses for a number of reasons. Women often do so to make ends meet, help with expenses or are working towards a financial goal. Some simply have an urge to be a business owner.
3. Act Like a Lady, Think like a Man - Book Review
At first glance you donít expect relationship words of wisdom from Comedian and actor Steve Harvey but that is exactly what you get in his book.
4. Practicing Patience
If patience is a virtue, what does that make impatience? Patience may be virtuous but most of us are not so blessed. However, you and your family can find practical ways to deal with impatience.
5. Family Food Budget - Use Those Coupons
Trimming your grocery bill by using coupons is a good idea, but only if you use them properly.
6. Want A Better Complexion? Look In Your Refrigerator
Your mother was right. What you eat really does affect your complexion. In her book Smart Medicine for Your Skin, dermatologist Jeanette Jacknin pinpoints which foods to eat to combat specific skin conditions.
7. 10 Tips To Help You and Your Family Save Money
You know that you need to save money, but it is holiday time, what can you do? "Don't shop" may seem absurd, but to save money you must get into the habit of asking yourself whether the item you are looking at is a want or a need. This time next year you may be in a better place financially.
8. A Daily-To-Do-List For Home or Business
Make time work for you and with you instead of against you. Yes, you can make time your friend by organizing your day.
9. Baked Apples Recipe
Baked apples are healthy and delicious. These can probably be made in the microwave but you will miss the wonderful smell of baking apples and cinnamon in your kitchen. Make this treat for your family or yourself. Also, just because you are a family of one, does not mean you can't have baked apples
10. Work Smarter Not Harder
On The Job. Does it feel like you are overworked? Maybe you are. However, it could be that you are working hard but not smart.
Be sure to visit the Work & Family Archives for all the articles!
Website copyright © 2013 Minerva WebWorks LLC. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:51280778-5f90-4981-954c-4fb0edb1ee10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://workandfamily.bellaonline.com/editorspicks.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948746 | 652 | 1.632813 | 2 |
PrimeSense has given some technical details of the new Capri sensor which promises to be small enough to fit in mobile devices.
As the PrimeSense blog says:
"Capri’s design is significantly smaller than the prior reference design (order of magnitude of 1/10). As this is a reference design, the OEMs will work with it, and integrate it into their product, so the final design and shape will differ between OEMs and devices."
Capri 1.25 includes the following features:
- Field of View 57.5×45
- Range 0.8m-3.5m
- VGA depth map (640×480)
- USB2.0 powered
- Standard off the shelf components
- OpenNI compliant
"The size we had in mind is such that it can be integrated in today’s small consumer devices, such as tablets and smart phones. On top of reducing the size, we worked on every aspect of the design and improved it. Starting with the System on Chip, which is the brain of the system, which uses improved and more powerful algorithms, board components and design, optics, every component is improved."
Capri is scheduled to be available in mid to late 2013 for companies able to purchase a minimum of 100k annually. Clearly this isn't going to be a reference platform for the lone experimenter. We are going to have to wait for a company to build it into a device before we can start to develop for the smaller device.
Capri isn't the only small, low-cost, depth sensing device about to hit the market. The Leap device is small and it claims an amazing accuracy. It will also be available for around $70 and hence suitable for a range of tasks that we currently use a mouse for. From promotional videos and demonstrations the Leap seems more suited for detecting hand gestures and the location of small objects in front of the screen. The Capri on the other hand seems to have a dept range that could make it more suitable for full 3D scanning and body detection.
There is also a forthcoming camera from Creative that links to the Intel Perceptual Computing SDK and has a pre-order price of $149. Developers taking part in the Intel Perceptual Computing Challenge are now being invited to borrow a camera in order to develop apps.
Software is of course the key missing component. Leap is making its device available to developers in the hope that some compelling applications result. PrimeSense on the other had is hoping that OpenNI will provide a good software foundation for the Capri. Notice that while OpenNI does provide access to some proprietary "middleware" including skeletonization it isn't as good as the software included with the Kinect SDK. Will Microsoft be interested in the Capri as a way of building a depth sensor into new hardware - we will have to wait and see. | <urn:uuid:1085246c-6cad-40a0-8215-eb3cf2e219db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://i-programmer.info/news/194/5337.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960062 | 588 | 1.757813 | 2 |
When the economic system is falling, if you consider something that can help you out or keep you away of troubles, you can try MLM home based business. MLM is the short form of Multi-Level Marketing. It is nothing but a different form of network marketing.
When you look for more money making opportunity, this kind of marketing can help you to achieve success. The appeal of this business is also quite simple. And you will surely figure out how a networking business can help you to gain more despite your age or knowledge. An MLM business is no different than that.
Then your question could be, why go for an MLM home based business? The reason is that companies would like to pay you for spreading the word instead of the advertising industries. In other words, they are paying you for helping them to reach more and more customers.
Now you are surely curious of how the whole system works. The companies’ pass the customers to you instead of paying millions of dollars to attract them by advertising. When you refer the customers to the marketing network, the companies pay you commissions and bonuses. You get those to help the company get extra access to the market and distribute products. Thus you become a business associate, a part of the company’s marketing arm. The more customers or company associates you get, the more commissions you earn along with more bonuses and incentives.
All you got to do in this kind of marketing business is that, you have to recruit more individuals there, and once you do that successfully, you can earn even more from their efforts. It goes on in a cycling process and you can only move forward if you start to do this once.
Now you are surely thinking of starting or joining in this recruitment for business scheme. Well, before you move forward you should keep in mind that it is not as easy as it looks. Most of the network marketers fall short in this business due to lack of promotion. But MLM home based business marketers had done that well in 1970′s and ’90′s times, so now you can see how it has flourished.
Now you may think that you may not do well for this kind of job. Well, let us clarify; there is no space for you to think such of yourself when you once have decided to join in this business. You do not need to be a good speaker, neither an expert of business-ideas, mainly when we have internet now. All you need is your wish to become successful and your capacity to think or taking decision at the proper time. That is the capital on the basis of which you can reach your goal.
Today, when you can easily get the help on the internet, you can easily use internet marketing tools and promote your MLM home based business. It only takes a little longer to promote and to get to the right person, but nothing is too late for an opportunity-seeker. And once you are at the right place, we hope MLM home based business is going to bring only the fortune for you. | <urn:uuid:ac1df89d-b11c-48b0-80a9-1941b4026bdd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://createathomeincome.com/mlm-home-based-business/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974604 | 620 | 1.539063 | 2 |
|The cargo ship MV Sun Sea sits in harbour at the Canadian naval base at Esquimalt on Vancouver Island, Aug. 13, 2010. (CARMINE MARINELLI/QMI AGENCY)
A powerful earthquake in the Pacific Ocean around midnight Friday triggered tsunami warnings that were later cancelled.
The U.S. Geological Service said the earthquake registered a magnitude 7.6 and was placed at 91 km west of Craig, Alaska.
The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center initially issued tsunami warnings from the north tip of Vancouver Island in B.C. to the coastal areas of Alaska, but cancelled them two hours after the quake.
A resident of Juneau, which is located approximately 330 km south of the quake's origin, emailed the Juneau Empire newspaper to inform them that it "shook my Juneau home violently enough to awaken the entire family. No apparent damage."
He added that there was no apparent damage to the home. | <urn:uuid:0966bf20-2821-4491-857f-0d139fa1f80f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Environment/2013/01/05/20474136.html?cid=rssnews | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963162 | 198 | 1.65625 | 2 |
You know what I mean?
Not a fiction page turner, not a Course Book for School.
Its one you been meaning to read. Its non fiction and its maybe spiritual in nature or a Positive Motivational Book. Or a book on a topic you don’t need to know, but you’ve always wanted to know. Or it a Biography of someone, you just cant get around to reading. You’ve tried,but its so..dry, or difficult to absorb, or you just cant get into it.
Here’s some tips and thoughts.
Read ten pages a day. Every day, at the same time each day. Ideally before going to sleep. However if it is a negative or in any way depressing- don’t read it before you sleep. Those types, maybe at a lunch break or coffee break
Ideally 10 mins a day. But I find I could get through 10 pages a day of any book- no matter how bad.
10 pages a day means you finish most books in a month.
The other trick is to read with a highlighter in hand. Highlight any and every thing that interests you. It helps you to absorb the information.
And then in a month or two re read the book with a different color highlighter. You will be amazed as you gloss over the original highlights to wonder why you highlighted them - doesn’t everyone know that? You will have absorbed a lot of the points. Or conversely if you want a quick synopsis, your eyes will find the highlighted pieces on each page and will remind you and re acquaint you with the main ponts of the book.
But what is surprising is how much you and the book change as time goes by. When you go back to the book a month or two later you will wonder quite often – why did I highlight that? – and why didn’t I highlight this?
You will have changed and your position on the information has changed. You are further along. And if the book is truly a masterwork – you will be able to re highlight many many times – finding new thing each new re read.
Nevertheless, even on one or two reads with a highlighter – even if the 10 pages were agony, you will have absorbed so much of the information – you will have moved on past the book. | <urn:uuid:d7b1f04a-71b5-4a31-a419-96edbea34adf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.martingover.com/taking-risks/how-to-read-a-book/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958048 | 490 | 1.75 | 2 |
Get Outside at the Lawrence Nature Center
by Rick Dutko
The cool, crisp mornings and short-sleeved afternoons are ideal for exploring the great outdoors. I love the fall!
For more on this article.
Ben Campos and his Troop 15 planted a blackhaw (Viburnum pruniflorum) and a cedar post behind the nature center in his proposed birding feeder station area. Ben and the scouts in his troop will construct the platform feeder and a second hanging feeder, plus four bird houses, in the upcoming months. The feeding station will enhance the beginner birding programs scheduled in January and February of 2012.
In late November and early December, girl scout Delia Monken completed her Silver Award project, a wood duck box. The wood duck box was constructed with cedar wood, included a predator guard and is about twelve feet high in a tree along the Shabakunk Creek. It looks absolutely wonderful! In December a pair of wood ducks was observed nearby on the Shabakunk Creek. How can the wood ducks resist such a beautiful nesting box this spring?
Spring Has Arrived by Rick Dutko
A New Life for Old Wood by Rick Dtko
The Nature of Weather by Rick Dutko
GeoCaching In & Around the Lawrence Nature Center by Rick Dutko
Science and Nature Games by Rick Dutko
Reptile and Amphibian Study by Rick DutkoBridge Construction by John Gaskins | <urn:uuid:9d58195c-8961-433b-9e0b-2976695a8771> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lawrencenaturecenter.net/articles.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938225 | 313 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Battle reenactments provide the Holga photographer a chance to capture a bit of history through the eye of a plastic lens. Flashback brings his trusty Holga to the field of battle and clicks through classic scenes from American history.
Growing up in the Southeastern part of the United States, I’ve been surrounded by many historical sites and battlegrounds that play a part in our history and landscape of the country. I remember at age 8 experiencing the thrill of a battle reenactment. The crackle of gunfire, booming canons, grown men and women playing soldiers for the day. It was a thrill and seemed like the real thing. Now, many years later, I have found that same experience, by trying to bring a certain authentic feel through the nuances of a Holga.
A typical American Civil War reenactment allows a world of photo opportunities. From the battlefields and soldiers, to the merchants who sell period-style goods. Even the quirky spectators make for interesting subject matter. Many of these events allow you to photograph the soldiers camps, blacksmith, field hospitals and any number of living history demonstrations.
The Holga makes the perfect camera for giving this 19th century event a bit of authenticity with my prints. The quirky and unpredictable nature of the Holga paired with the vignetting and dreamy blurs can give you some of the same characteristics of the cameras from that period.
If you’ve never been to a reenactment, the best place to start is to contact any one of the National Battlefields or state historical sites for event information. Another good place to search for events is on the Civil War Traveler website. So grab your Holga, a few rolls of film and head out to make a little history. | <urn:uuid:bda113ac-b599-45c7-b138-20ac27f08caa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lomography.com/magazine/lifestyle/2010/06/28/holga-and-the-american-civil-war | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94176 | 364 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Fri August 3, 2012
Russ Carnahan and Lacy Clay square off in city primary
One of the biggest match-ups in next Tuesday’s primary will pit Congressman Russ Carnahan against fellow Democrat William ‘Lacy’ Clay to represent the party in the 1st Congressional District.
The two incumbents are have waged heated, and at times spiteful campaigns. The upshot is one less Democrat in Washington for Missouri, and city voters will choose between two well-established political dynasties.
Family trees and new maps
The relationships between the Carnahan and Clay families extends way back to when Bill Clay was Missouri’s first black congressman, and Mel Carnahan built relationships with the black community to successfully run for governor, and by most accounts that partnership had been passed on to the two sons, congressmen Russ Carnahan and Lacy Clay.
Oh how times change. Fast-forward four years and Carnahan’s 3rd Congressional District is being eliminated through population loss, a fact which enabled the GOP-lead General Assembly to redraw the congressional maps, essentially dumping all of the urban Democrats from Carnahan’s district into Clay’s 1st District.
Governor Nixon vetoed the new maps, but his veto was overturned by a majority of the General Assembly. This effectively meant the end of a Democratic seat in Congress, reduced the clout of the city and many Democrats, including Russ Carnahan, blame Lacy Clay.
“Unfortunately, my friend Congressman Clay really sided with the Republicans,” says Carnahan. “He recruited Democratic votes to override the Governor’s veto—that’s how we got these maps today.”
Carnahan says Clay sold out Democrats and the St. Louis region in order to preserve his seat, which Clay denies. Clay says Carnahan should have challenged Republican Ann Wagner in the new suburban 2nd District.
“Congressman Carnahan did precisely what the Republicans wanted him to do,” says Clay. “To have a bloodbath here in the 1st District, because they knew he didn’t have the spine to run in the new 2nd."
What might have been
Clay and his supporters point out that the 2nd District actually includes 40 percent of Carnahan’s old district anyway, and a candidate with his money and name recognition had a good chance to win.
“Oh, he did have a chance but he would have lost,” says political science professor and former state senator Jeff Smith. Smith actually ran against Carnahan for U.S. Congress in 2004.
Smith points out that Carnahan support among voters has never been that strong, even among Democrats.
“This is a guy who has always consistently underperformed whether it was primary or general,” Smith says. “In his first primary he ran against Jeanette Mott Oxford for the state house. I think he outspent her like 20-1, his dad was governor, he had every single endorsement and he won by 64 votes.”
Endorsements and conflicted Democrats
The resulting campaign has been unusually bitter, and at times has left many Democrats conflicted, having to choose between two candidates with essentially similar positions on most issues.
A third candidate, Candice Britton, is also in the race, but many consider Clay to be the front runner, having secured establishment endorsements from Democrats such as Governor Jay Nixon, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley. Clay blames Carnahan for unleashing a string of attack ads in a last-ditch effort to win.
“I think my opponent has been very negative,” says Clay. “But that’s indicative of a candidate who has no record to run on, who wants to just throw mud and sling at you.”
Carnahan by contrast picked up an endorsement of the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and has accused Clay of not showing up in Washington, and for missing key votes.
“And it’s not just the number of votes, it's critical votes,” says Carnahan. “These aren’t just votes naming post offices. These are critical votes taking care of 9/11 first responders, about prescription drugs for seniors, alternative budgets to the Ryan budget-cutting plans…he’s missed those the last two years in a row.”
While both candidates say the primary isn’t about race, Congressman Clay hasn’t had to mount a true get-out-the vote campaign in some time. It remains to be seen if African-American voters will turn out in large numbers to support him, or whether Russ Carnahan can still leverage the old political allegiances in his favor.
- For more on this year’s campaigns and elections, go to Beyond November, a coordinated election project of St. Louis Public Radio, Nine Network of Public Media and The St. Louis Beacon.
Follow Adam Allington on Twitter: @aallington | <urn:uuid:8fb1015f-e093-496e-b3a2-a768abb7126f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/post/russ-carnahan-and-lacy-clay-square-city-primary | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96203 | 1,050 | 1.578125 | 2 |
In a rare bit of good news the RAF has taken delivery of its 7th and probably final C17 Globemaster transport aircraft.
The MoD news piece was clear on the benefits
The aircraft, the seventh C-17 acquired by the RAF, is capable of flying non-stop to Afghanistan and can carry up to 138 people, a Chinook helicopter, or up to three Warrior armoured vehicles.
Can we forgive the glaring error?
Not wishing to miss this about to be present at an extremely rare event, UK forces taking delivery of a piece of a new piece equipment that actually works, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, decided to pop in for a visit and photo opportunity.
Commenting on the aircraft he said;
“What I am looking at today is the investment that we’re making to make sure that we succeed in Afghanistan, and make sure we have got the very best airbridge between Britain and Afghanistan,”
“It’s a very, very efficient piece of equipment and it’s very good news that we are investing in this – evidence that we’re giving our Armed Forces the capability, the flexibility and the mobility that they need to do the job that we ask them to.”
I nearly spat my sherry out when I read that one.
Do politicians live in some sort of bubble where they actually believe the nonsense they spout, one wonders by the term ‘we’ who is it he is actually referring to?
Does he mean the UK, does he mean the RAF because surely he cannot mean the coalition government.
Have a look at the date of this press release from Boeing, surely by ‘we’ he doesn’t mean the previous profligate government. | <urn:uuid:267dfbde-6d58-4a14-82d3-6d505a1cbb37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2011/01/hijacked/ | 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 | 0.959839 | 364 | 1.664063 | 2 |
What's the Big Deal with the Breast Milk Baby?
A Spanish breastfeeding baby doll is stirring up a bit of controversy in the parenting community.
The Breast Milk Baby, a toy by Berjuan Toys that has been a best-seller for a few years in Europe but previously unavailable in the United States, is a doll that is sold with a halter top. Children wear the halter like a vest over their normal clothes. On the halter are two flowers where the nipples would be, and when the baby is brought close to the nipple, it "latches" by making a suckling sound. After the baby feeds, it can be burped and put to sleep.
Media outlets from ABC to CBS to Fox have heard from many parents and adults who are uncomfortable with the doll, feeling that it sexualizes little girls and makes them grow up too soon. They do not want to see a child put emphasis on the breast. Apparently, many would prefer their children play make-believe with bottle-fed babies and leave nursing to the grown-ups.
One mom who opposes the doll, Ilina Ewen who authors the blog Dirt and Noise, told ABC News, "Let kids use their imagination and play with a doll and not deal with what it can do … There’s no need to turn it into something that’s anatomically correct. Not at this age."
Yes, stop the make-believe diaper changes, the feeding and the crying, all those things that real moms have to "deal with" what babies "can do." Let them make believe happy stroller walks and nap times instead; that's a much healthier view of parenting.
The halter top's nipples are in a pretty accurate location, but they are hardly anatomically correct. They are felt flowers sewn onto a cute flowery halter top. This is not the Robert De Niro man-boob from Meet the Fockers. The ever-popular Barbie doll is more anatomically correct than the t-shirt.
The negative attention has taken Berjuan Toys by surprise. Dennis Lewis, the U.S. Spokesman for the company, reportedly told the San Francisco Chronicle that "about 20% of the feedback has been hateful and mean."
Lewis doesn't see the doll as focusing on a child's breasts in a sexual manner. Rather, the doll is meant to teach a life skill and nurture the love between mother and child.Continued on the next page | <urn:uuid:ab503dbc-8646-4a49-bcbf-9f02b4b5db97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://technorati.com/women/article/whats-the-big-deal-with-the/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958301 | 512 | 1.617188 | 2 |
President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney meet for their third and final debate tonight, which will focus on foreign policy topics (NYT).
CFR President Richard Haass says the candidates should be asked both how they will deal with foreign policy challenges and what they would do ensure the United States can be positioned to meet them:
What makes far less sense is the entire premise of Monday evening. Categorizing some issues as “foreign” and others as “domestic” bears little relationship to a world in which what happens out there affects conditions here and vice versa. This is the inescapable reality of globalization, the defining characteristic of the 21st century world.
In fact, some issues are by their very nature both foreign and domestic. Immigration is one, as is energy policy, climate change, drugs, trade and finance. They risk falling between the agendas of debates limited to dealing with matters either internal or external. Do the candidates agree we should allow for more highly educated persons to come and live in this country? What should be done to increase production of oil, decrease consumption of fossil fuels and slow climate change? What are their suggestions for reducing the demand for drugs? What would they do to expand American exports or increase foreign investment in the United States?
Four CFR experts have weighed in on the questions and issues they believe warrant discussion during the exchange in this expert roundup. CFR’s Robert Danin on his blog looks at the debate and the Middle East. Meanwhile CFR’s Michael Levi looks at five reasons to talk energy and climate at tonight’s debate. And CFR’s James Lindsay looks at five memorable foreign policy moments from previous presidential debates.
Read what Obama and Romney are proposing for a number of major foreign policy topics in these CFR Issue Trackers.
Chris Cillizza writes in the Washington Post that, “If, at the start of the general election campaign, you told a seasoned political strategist in either party that the fate of the presidential race could well hinge on the foreign-policy-focused third debate, the reaction would have ranged from an eye roll to laughter.”
But a new poll by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs shows that “the majority of likely voters in the critical swing states of Florida and Ohio not only know more about the world outside, but care more, and want to know more than most candidates imagine,” writes the Belfer Center’s Graham Allison and Mike Murphy in the Politico. They also note:
When asked what international issues they want to hear Romney and Obama speak to, the first responses are Iran’s nuclear weapons program and terrorism, far ahead of the global economy. Both in Ohio and Florida, by a margin of almost 2-1,voters believe the Arab Spring has affected American interests negatively, not positively. Voters have mixed views on U.S. global engagement and are split almost down the middle on isolationism. Given that Florida Republicans and independents overwhelmingly take the view the U.S. should pay less attention to problems overseas, two decidedly internationalist candidates will tread carefully.
But even those who oppose America taking a more active role in foreign affairs believe that understanding foreign affairs is essential because events abroad can increase the threat of terrorism or draw America into foreign wars.
Citing unnamed Obama administration officials, the New York Times reported Saturday that Iran and the United States had agreed “in principle” to bilateral negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program after the election. Both countries denied that any deal has been reached (AFP), but advisers for the Obama and Romney campaigns clashed over the issue (LAT) on Sunday talk shows and it is also likely to arise in tonight’s debate.
Mitt Romney declined to answer a question Sunday about whether or not he would support one-on-one talks with Iran (AP).
This CFR Issue Tracker looks at both candidates’ stances on U.S.-Iran policy.
–Contributing Editor Kirsti Itameri | <urn:uuid:3712c2d9-e01d-4ca9-a24e-b10d43f409cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.cfr.org/campaign-2012/2012/10/22/midday-update-candidates-to-debate-foreign-policy-tonight/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958502 | 824 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Life is not a predetermined and random series of events. It functions on your terms and the way you live it. I agree that there come times when you feel like being catapult into events and anxieties that you would have never thought of, but trust me when I say that all these realities contribute towards making us stronger. When a person reaches the stage of self-actualization, then there comes a time where you have to accept the fact that life and the universe was not so weird after all. The gist of life is to find a purpose for your existence. Viewed from an optimistic stand point, the harsh truths and realities of life have one sole purpose i.e. to make us powerful. You must keep fighting in order to find your purpose otherwise the purpose is going to find you. But in both of the cases, you are the one who is going to have the driving seat. With this in mind, let us take into account the 10 harsh realities of life that make us powerful and stronger.
10. Good People Come and Go
Through the course of your life at school, you might have met some good people and made some good friends. But in the end, most of them are going to leave you, not by choice but only because they have to. They are not going to be with you when you are going to get married. Not to worry, because at that time you might have made some more. The idea here is to lead a life and socialize in such a way that people should love to be in company with you.
9. The Element of Change
Doing the same activities every other day, is going to put a full stop on your road towards self-improvement and growth. So, keep your pursuit “on” for something new and different. If you plan to achieve something new in your life, then it is necessary that you do something new. You should be a person who loves to be propitious.
8. You Cannot Change the Past
You cannot go into the past and start a new beginning. The only way out is to start today. In simple words, you cannot change the events that took place in the past, but what you can change is your reaction to it and how you are going to react to similar events that are going to occur in the near future. Forget the past and strive for changing your future, if you are brave enough, which I hope you are.
7. Believe in the Third Law of Motion
Keeping action and reaction in mind, you should always remember that you are going to get the output on the levels of your input. In short, if you want success, then do something that will guarantee success. If you want to have some love, then you start giving love to others. Yes, it is hypothetical, but it is a reality of life which you should learn to follow.
6. Someone is always going to be better than you
Being envious is not going to do you any good. What you must learn is to live by the reality that there is always someone out there who is always better than you. So, try and not consider yourself as perfect, as tagging yourself perfect puts an end to self-improvement.
5. Make others “Value” You
Nobody is born successful or valuable. One of the best ways of getting success in your life is to make others “value” your presence. So, you must invest all your time in trying to generate some value for yourself. As soon as you are going to get highly valuable to the world, only then you are going to get successful.
4. We Cannot Control Everything
We cannot control death, but we can control is the way we die. Wasting your time behind pointless goals is going to do nothing for you and in the end you are going to die poor. But I am sure that is not going to happen to you, as you know your limits and potential. You know what is your limit? There is no limit.
3. No Tomorrow
You do not know that whether you are going to see Tomorrow. So why not fight for today, fight for your present and fight for your share of success from this selfish world. You are not going to get another chance as there is no such thing as reincarnation. You die, you die. So, fight today, rest tomorrow.
2. You Know Nothing
On the day we start believing that we have learnt everything, is the day when we stop living. The essence of human existence lies in the struggle for gathering new forms of knowledge and information. In simple words, you should not be the one who hates to accept new information.
1. Nothing Comes Easy
Everything is not as easy as most of you might come to think of them. There is a price which all of us are required to pay in order to get the most out of this life. Furthermore, some of us are forced to pay more than usual. So, be all-ready and loaded to take what is rightly yours. | <urn:uuid:e64f922a-9f18-44f0-9427-a1a847f679e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.toptensthings.com/2012/09/10-harsh-realities-of-life-that-make-us-powerful/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974441 | 1,031 | 1.773438 | 2 |
PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions)
PASS stands for Peer Assisted Study Sessions. This program consists of one hour weekly review sessions for students. PASS provides an opportunity for students in one course to compare notes, discuss difficult concepts and review weekly material in an informal setting. The sessions will be conducted by a PASS Leader. PASS Leaders are students who previously completed the course and who have excelled in their results.
Research has shown that regular attendance at PASS Sessions can significantly improve students’ results. Currently there are over 30 courses offering PASS sessions across the University of Newcastle. The majority of students surveyed in Semester one agreed that:
PASS helped adjust to life at University, create social networks, appreciate and respect diversity and helped them feel more comfortable within a group.
Whether you are trying to receive a passing grade or a high distinction, PASS benefits students from all academic levels. For information on the subjects please follow the timetables.
The program has been adapted from the Australian National Centre for PASS program at the University of Wollongong. | <urn:uuid:685cfb51-e2ad-406c-bf79-c98c1011601b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/student-support/pass/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9419 | 213 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Private Equity's Hot Streak: Where Is It Headed?Published: March 07, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton
The free flow of capital into innovative start-up businesses has been the force behind U.S. economic growth, but threats to the nation's dominance in global investing are brewing, according to Robert E. Grady, managing partner of Carlyle Venture Partners, who gave a keynote address at the recent Wharton Private Equity Conference.
Increased regulation, including Sarbanes-Oxley, declining investment in education and research, tighter controls on visas, and new competition from overseas exchanges could endanger U.S. dominance of capital formation and investment, Grady told the conference, whose theme was "Driving Returns: Value Added Investing."
"American policy makers should realize that for 35 years the technology sector, the startups and the venture sector have been the job-creating engine of the U.S. economy. It does not necessarily have to be so, and it will not be so unless we make the right policy choices," Grady said, noting that in 1970, only 28 venture firms managed $1 billion in investments, but by 2004 those numbers had grown to 1,068 firms with $261 billion under management. Meanwhile, private equity buyout firms had $503 billion under management, up from $187 billion in 1997.
Venture investing, he said, has spawned new companies that have generated jobs and economic growth. Even during the soft economic period between 2000 and 2003, job growth at venture-backed firms was up 6.5%, while overall U.S. employment dropped 2.3%. "If you look at the roots of U.S. economic out-performance for the last couple of decades, I would put the availability of risk capital just about at the very top of that list," said Grady, who is also chairman-elect of the National Venture Capital Association. With 72% of the world's venture capital managed by U.S. firms, the industry gives the nation a competitive lead over other countries, he added.
Grady suggested that the private equity industry is now entering a new era, with megafunds raising the stakes for fund managers and investors. A survey of 109 institutional investors by Coller Capital, a private equity firm headquartered in London, found that 44% plan to increase their allocations to private equity, compared to 30% six months ago.
The buzz generated by private equity was noticeable even at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. Martin Halusa, chief executive of Apax Partners, told The Times of London that funds as large as $100 billion, enough to take some of the world's largest companies private, could be raised in the next 10 years. "The private equity industry is set to grow hugely," Halusa said. "It has delivered better returns than many other asset classes and institutions are increasing their asset allocations."
In other Davos coverage, The New York Times reported on a dinner -- titled "Escaping the Market's Tyranny" -- attended by top global private equity fund managers, including Daniel Loeb, hedge fund manager of Third Point. According to the Times, Loeb asked why buyout firms can take public companies private and reap huge returns, beyond what public companies and their shareholders are able to attain. Loeb suggested private-equity firms are essentially arbitraging the public markets and "appropriating profits that should belong to public shareholders."
Yet despite the new focus on private equity, Grady told the Wharton conference participants that for now, it remains a modest player in U.S. equity funds, which total $4.4 trillion, including $8.1 billion held by mutual funds and $1.3 billion by hedge funds. He did note, however, that private equity transactions as a share of all mergers and acquisitions rose from 14.7% in 2003 to 17.7% in 2004. "Private equity is becoming more of a force."
And he sees no signs of a bubble. "I would say in the venture capital industry we are at a normalized place in the cycle ... a healthy, but appropriately healthy, part of the cycle." He did point to one indicator that concerns him: Financial firms, such as private equity and hedge funds, are paying as much, or more, than strategic buyers for companies. Traditionally, strategic buyers -- typically companies working in the same industry -- have been willing to pay a premium.
The Pace of Globalization
Grady suggested that future investment will be shaped by three major trends: innovation, globalization and convergence. "Despite wild asset swings, the innovation never stopped," he noted. For example, Internet users have grown 20-fold between 1995 and 2004, while the number of cell phone users is expected to grow from 1.5 billion in 2004 to 2.2 billion in 2009. Innovations shaping the near future include wireless connections to the computer, the use of cheap open-source technology, software for the service industry, and the integration of technology and healthcare, he said.
The pace of globalization is evident in a Carlyle portfolio company, AuthenTec Inc., which makes fingerprint scanners. The company, based in Melbourne, Fla., has only 60 employees but designs products in Finland, France, California and Korea. AuthenTec's products are manufactured in Shanghai and sold to large multinational customers, including LG, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba.
"Think about this," said Grady. "A company in central Florida with 60 employees is 100% integrated into the global supply chain." Not too long ago, it would have been usual for a company that size to have business in the next county. Globalization of capital markets is also shaping investment. Even in China, domestic financial firms are beginning to sprout up. "The growth of the Chinese ecosystem is phenomenal."
Meanwhile, convergence in technology is creating demand for investment capital. For example, Grady noted that in Korea, cell phones display television and movies, can be used as an ATM or credit card and can receive traffic information. If an owner loses his or her cell phone, the phone can tell the owner its location.
Changing financial structures for transactions have created new paths for private equity, Grady suggested. As the IPO market moves toward fewer and larger deals, gaps are opening up for private equity. And while many private equity firms are raising large funds to finance bigger transactions, some venture funds that once worked with mid-sized private companies are shrinking back to focus on venture capital and early-seed companies.
Despite those opportunities, Grady, who worked in the Office of Management and Budget under President George H.W. Bush, pointed to policy issues that he said could put a damper on the U.S. investment industry and eventually on the broader economy as well. For example, government regulation, such as accounting rules requiring companies to treat stock options as an expense, will have a chilling effect on entrepreneurship. In addition, the expense of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley legislation is a major burden on young companies.
Constraints on investment analysis and research will also hurt small firms that need to get their story out to investors. According to Grady, Wall Street firms have dropped 30% of the companies they cover and for which they make markets. "Less research and less trading brings less equity and fewer listings, ultimately leading to fewer companies and less funding for innovation," he said, adding that disincentives to investment may drive companies to finance in other markets. London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) had 519 listings while U.S. exchanges had 11. The Mumbai exchange now has 7,000 listed companies. "It does beg the question, 'Will the U.S. continue to be the home of finance?'"
Grady pointed to several policy prescriptions. First, increase spending on basic and university research, and reform elementary and high school education, particularly teacher pay. He argued that in half the states, the best K-12 teachers are paid the same as the worst teachers. "Education is the only industry I can think of where if you are any good, its 100% irrelevant to your compensation and ability to keep your job."
Second, he called for liberalization of caps on working visas and a reduction in spending for so-called entitlement programs -- such as Medicare and Social Security -- to free up resources for investment. Third, government should pay more attention to building infrastructure to support economic growth, including roads, telecommunication systems, energy and water. The environment for company formation needs to be improved, he said, again pointing to stock-option expensing as a strong disincentive to entrepreneurs. He also called for a flat tax.
In addition, the U.S. needs to make a new commitment to free trade and open markets. China has signed dozens of bilateral agreements and the United States has signed five, he noted. Meanwhile, last year U.S. officials thwarted China's attempt to buy a U.S. oil company, Unocal Corp. "We should be the advocates for free trade, not the free-trade blockers. In a world of free flowing capital and people, free trade is critical."
How to Beat the Crowd
Thomas S. Murphy, Jr., co-founder and president of Crestview Partners, who delivered a second morning keynote at the conference, had his own take on the private equity market. With established private equity firms raising larger and larger funds and new competitors swarming into the sector, companies need a disciplined approach in order to remain standing in the crowded field. "The world needs another private equity firm like a gunshot," said Murphy, a former partner at Goldman Sachs & Co.
Despite that, he added, big private equity firms will get bigger, leaving room in their wake for new companies like Crestview, which was formed in 2005. "The drift to the megafunds in our business is pronounced. We think that creates a lot of opportunity for other people to step into their place." Crestview focuses on contrarian investments with an eye toward change due to dislocation by new technology, services or products.
In the current hot market, it is essential to avoid deals where the price has been bid up in an auction process beyond what projected returns can justify, Murphy said. In 2005, for example, Crestview took an initial look at 146 investments. Of those, the firm followed up on 30 and submitted a proposal for 10. In the end, the company signed three deals. "It's a competition, but there is still room to make money" for firms that are disciplined about the deals they choose. "If you don't have deal flow, you are going to have a temptation to say 'Yes.' The ability to say 'No' is much more important."
Cell Phones Will Rule
For private equity investors willing to take on risk to make money and end poverty, Africa is a wide-open investment opportunity, said Alan Patricof, co-founder of Apax Partners, in a luncheon keynote at the conference. Patricof, who helped launch Apple Computer, America Online and Office Depot, scaled back his work at Apax four years ago to devote time to nurturing economic growth in the developing world. "The most important issue I can think of for this century is the alleviation of poverty."
With a population more than double that of the United States, Africa offers vast growth potential. "The opportunities are enormous and the availability of capital is limited," he noted, adding that funding for small projects, including microfinance loans, is available in Africa, and larger investments are being made by multinationals. "But if you need $1 million or $500,000 or $250,000, there is nobody." Economic development, he said, is the best way to combat terrorism. "If people have jobs and are working, they don't have time to throw bombs, and if the people around them are working as well," they, too, don't have time for terrorist acts.
Patricof also reflected on the most recent boom and bust cycles in the United States investment market. The worst is over, he said. "The opportunities are out there. The returns are better and there is not an enormous crush of companies."
The biggest trend in investment will be continued developments related to cell phones, he predicted. In addition to television and computer screens, the cell phone is a new screen that will generate technology and media opportunities. "If you can develop content that is creative with some risk to it, there will be insatiable demand for [it] to fill these screens."
As for government regulation, Patricof said small companies may be overly burdened by SEC requirements, and he argued that the venture capital industry has a relatively unblemished reputation when it comes to dealing fairly with investors. But he is concerned about the growth of unregulated hedge funds. "There is a lot of money going into hedge funds and maybe there are people there who shouldn't be [there]. Maybe it needs extra supervision." | <urn:uuid:b8e393c1-a664-443d-9c00-8246beff6ae2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1414&specialid=49 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970185 | 2,666 | 1.585938 | 2 |
By Dawn Burden Bates
Happy New Year!
It’s not too late to make your recycling resolutions. The holidays are finally over, and we can all hopefully begin slowing down and getting our lives back to normal.
If your home is like mine, the holidays left you with a huge mess. Empty boxes and torn wrapping paper littered the floor after the kids excitedly opened their gifts. It’s so tempting to gather it all up and throw it in the outside garbage bin.
But this is a great opportunity to not only recycle, but to reuse. Almost all of the wrapping paper and boxes can be recycled, so consider keeping your contribution out of the landfill. And for the reuse possibilities, they are practically endless.
I’m pretty sure that most of the ribbons I use have been used for several years. And many of the boxes that hold the gifts are great to use for packaging gifts next year. Do you realize that many stores now charge you for a gift box? Sheesh, I’ll save mine for next year, thank you—not to mention the gift bags. I love getting my gifts in those pretty little bags, especially since I know I will be using one for someone else’s gift somewhere down the road. Do you know how much those things cost? They are outrageous. No way would I throw them away. They are too valuable.
Now, what are we to do with the tree? If you use an artificial tree, it’s a pretty easy decision. You fold it up and store it for next year. Simple. And if you are lucky enough to live in a warm environment and purchased a live tree, including the root ball, you can get to work planting it in your yard to enjoy for years to come.
But what about cut trees? Most communities offer some sort of Christmas-tree recycling. The lucky ones have curbside pickup to recycle their trees. The rest of us need to decide what to do.
What convinces me to haul the tree to the recycling facility? I was willing to haul it home after I purchased it, so I can just as easily take it to be recycled.
Some communities use the old trees to shred and cover pathways and trails through parks. This helps repair and reduce the damage we create as we enjoy our hikes.
Some communities turn the old trees into mulch and then provide it to the public for free. What a deal!
Here are some additional resolutions to consider:
- Resolve to begin recycling if you don’t already do so. You can start small. My website, A Recycling Revolution, offers a wealth of information on how to get your recycling efforts off the ground.
- If you already recycle, step it up a notch. If your curbside recycling service doesn’t accept a particular item (like glass or cardboard), resolve to begin taking that item to the drop-off facility in your area.
- Resolve to purchase more products packaged with postconsumer recycled materials. The higher the percentage listed on the package, the better.
- Resolve to purchase more items made from recycled materials. Paper towels, toilet paper, napkins and many other paper products fall into this category.
- Resolve to purchase more items in bulk. This reduces packaging waste.
- Resolve to create at least one craft item using something you might otherwise throw away. This is fun, gets your creative juices flowing, can reduce stress and is a great way to spend some quality time with your family.
Dawn Bates is a busy wife, mother, environmentalist and webmaster of the highly informative recycling website, A Recycling Revolution. Visit the site for both basic and extensive information on recycling, composting, reusing and reducing. You may also sign up for Dawn’s recycling newsletter, Trash Talk, to gain access to freebies like downloadable recycling stickers and recycling cheat sheets.
Read More:Recycling Resolutions | <urn:uuid:a0816a07-32f6-46e9-a16a-533213d2c724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/tag/paper/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937059 | 818 | 1.78125 | 2 |
A question for you to ponder on over the coming weekend. Just how compassionate a manager are you?
Now I know that the word compassion generally doesn’t have much of a place in the business world. But recent research from the Australian School of Business suggests that there is in fact a strong link between profitability, productivity and what it calls ‘compassionate leadership’.
It’s not as soft and fluffy as it sounds. What the research is actually saying is that the best leaders are able to understand people’s drivers, dreams and difficulties and know how to put the right support mechanisms in place so they can be their absolute best.
Often, it’s about tough love, rather than handing the tissues out. So having the courage, for example, to raise an issue about poor performance with an employee and discussing how you can help them improve, rather than burying your head in the sand and hoping the problem will go away.
So what do you need to do to become a more ‘compassionate’ manager? Here are our top tips, drawn from the research:
The research suggests that managers sometimes struggle to get the balance right and confuse compassion with kindness. Those who let the scales get out of kilter risk being either too ‘hard’ or too ‘soft’. The key is to find a way to use your power ‘responsibly’ so that you achieve business goals, while also getting the best out of people.
What do you think? Is there a place for this ‘compassionate’ style of leadership in the workplace? On a scale of one to ten, how compassionate are you? We’d be interested to hear your views.
Add a Comment | <urn:uuid:fd2c564f-d397-443b-9911-861da5bb934a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://connectinghr.org/profiles/blogs/compassionate-leadership-linked-to-improved-profitability-and | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958038 | 361 | 1.625 | 2 |
VirtualDub has a number of keyboard shortcuts bound to its menu commands. Two of these are F5 (Preview) and F7 (Save as AVI).
Where did these shortcuts come from? No, I don't play darts.
They're the shortcuts for Run (F5) and Build (F7) in Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0. I got so used to those shortcuts during VirtualDub's early development that I naturally used them for my app as well. To the utter confusion of normal users, of course.
The keyboard shortcuts are a bit of a mess at this point, partly due to having some confusion in the naming of the menu commands. In retrospect, I should have named the Save As functions Export or Render, since they don't necessarily save to the same name or format as what was opened; however, I had exactly zero NLE experience when I started writing the program and it never occurred to me. VirtualDub is slowly moving toward document model as I add more features to the edit mode, though, so I may eventually have to make that change. Ultimately, I'd like to implement user customization of accelerators, but there are several work items that have to be done to reach that, the most important being dynamic menus; currently they're sourced from a static resource, so they can't change to match any customized accelerators.
I freely admit that I also made the n00b mistake of choosing some accelerators that are difficult or impossible to hit on some internationalized keyboards, but I never claimed VirtualDub was internationalized.
Another issue is that right now there are simply too many configuration items in the menu, too many to cover with accelerators. Configuring a render generally requires a zillion trips to the menus, and at some point I want to push some of those or at least make the main path work through a single or a few paged dialogs. You can see a preview of what it might look like in the Preferences dialog in recent versions, with a listbox of categories on the left and the pages on the right. I figure that I could arrange pages to be roughly of the same scope and in the same order as the pipeline stages, so you would enable and configure stages in the order of their application. What I wouldn't do, though, is add tabs, because I hate tabbed configuration dialogs, partly because they don't scale and scrolling or multi-level tabs are horrible, and partly because they're a pain in the butt to code (as in the status dialog). | <urn:uuid:50201a09-fdb3-4623-b4bd-d8a308a35c38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.virtualdub.org/blog/pivot/entry.php?id=48 | 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 | 0.970961 | 517 | 1.59375 | 2 |
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Sen. Claire McCaskill’s anti-energy record
It’s amazing that Sen. Claire McCaskill thinks she can run as an “outsider” in this year’s Senate race. She can claim she’s mainstream and common sense all she wants, but her record tells a different story, as she’s been nothing but a loyal Democratic foot soldier in Washington. On energy in particular, she’s voted against Missouri over and over again.
McCaskill has repeatedly attempted to raise taxes on oil and gas producers – raising costs for energy companies, which would be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In a March 2011 report, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service found that McCaskill and the Democrats’ proposed energy tax hikes would “make oil and natural gas more expensive for U.S. consumers and likely increase foreign dependence.” Any person with common sense knows that will mean higher prices at the pump for consumers.
While she votes to hike taxes on oil companies, Sen. McCaskill unnecessarily constrains domestic production by simultaneously voting to prohibit offshore oil drilling. McCaskill has voted several times against offshore oil production – which would have restored American offshore energy production, improved safety and required bureaucrats to process permits efficiently. She opposed the Offshore Production & Safety Act of 2011, which would have opened up domestic sources of energy to drilling which would move us towards energy independence.
No employer in their right mind would want to do business in this kind of environment. As a result, the U.S. has fewer oil fields and refineries operating than it should, and when storms and hurricanes hit the country the little capacity that exists is tightened even more as facilities temporarily close.
McCaskill voted for cap-and-trade – despite calling the bill “the biggest giant earmark ever created on the planet” – but said “science shows the need to act against climate change.” The Heritage Foundation estimated that that bill would mean that Missourians would pay an additional $397 (20%) for gasoline by 2025 and that would cost the state 42,071 manufacturing jobs. The U.S. Treasury Department estimated that cap-and-trade would cost families up to $1761 extra in taxes per year. As she noted in a 2011 speech, “the good news is emissions are way down because of the recession” – so maybe a sluggish economy is what she’s going for, after all? That’s the only way to explain why she voted for a bill to allow discretionary spending for a cap-and-trade program.
She supported the Administration’s efforts to classify carbon dioxide as a pollutant, and voted over and over against amendments to block the EPA from regulating CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Even the Missouri AFL-CIO president said these EPA regulations “will both threaten jobs and increase costs on energy consumers in Missouri.” Bear in mind, humans exhale carbon dioxide. From an economic standpoint, this policy is devastating – St. Louis’ Meramec power plant is older, and is likely to close because of these policies.
McCaskill may WANT to move us towards “green” energy solutions, but the fact of the matter is that wind, solar, and biofuels are still not viable without major subsidies and tax preferences from the government. Throwing money at “green energy” means these industries have no incentives to become competitive. In the meantime, Missourians still need to fuel their cars and power plants, and McCaskill is making both of those more expensive.
Missouri is an energy-intensive state, and last year it was ranked sixth in the nation in terms of coal usage. McCaskill’s plans would drive up the cost of energy both for homes and businesses, stretching many to the breaking point.
McCaskill has been nothing but hostile to traditional energy industries since she got to Washington, and she’s sacrificing the country’s best interests in the long-term by standing with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Missouri deserves the full picture – and a senator who will vote for its interests. | <urn:uuid:60e4283b-b207-4d76-8662-3e83d83968b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atr.org/sen-claire-mccaskills-anti-energy-record-a7275 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965701 | 875 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The launch of the iPad yesterday put an exclamation mark on an increasingly obvious point: Apple is the company that has captured the cultural zeitgeist. The massive hype leading up to the event--apparently achieved in a groundswell with very little effort on Apple's part--shows that it really is the "It" company right now.
Not so long ago, Google claimed that position. The amount of press ink (literal or virtual) that Google has been able to create every single day for the last decade is just astonishing--it is not uncommon to see two or three articles on the same day about some aspect of Google's business, whether it be a new product or another story about the Googleplex's free food. No other organization, save perhaps Obama's election campaign, can claim such a blanket of coverage on such a consistent basis.
But the honeymoon is over, and we are in the midst of a mild backlash against Google, and at the same time Apple's cultural and financial stock has been climbing. No one sees them as just a maker of overpriced niche products for designery types anymore. It is truly a mainstream mass-culture company that, while focused mostly on consumer electronics, touches so many other areas of our lives simply because the boundaries among computers, electronics, media, communications, and social life have all blurred so thoroughly.
Looking back over the decades, we can see a string of companies that have managed to go beyond being just successful business enterprises and have captured something special in the culture. GM perhaps epitomized this in the 1950s and '60s, summed up by the well-known phrase "What's good for General Motors is good for the country". GM helped shape the aesthetic and cultural agenda in a way that reached far beyond the automotive realm.
IBM arguably held this position in the 1970s, and Microsoft in the late '80s and early '90s, to be superseded by Google at the turn of the millennium. But none of the tech companies besides Apple have quite been able to win hearts in the same way GM did.
But one thing that all these companies have in common is strong leaders who are not just good business thinkers but are also active in the weeds of product development. Think of Harley Earl at GM, Thomas Watson Jr. at IBM, Bill Gates at Microsoft, Sergey/Larry/Eric at Google, and of course, Steve Jobs at Apple. These men all recognized that there is a clear connection between a company's strategies and the details of the products they bring to market. Ignoring the latter is a good way to scuttle the former.
The iPad is but the latest result of the hand of Steve (with help from a huge team of people, of course). The apparent ease with which hype appeared around it is in fact no accident: Apple has invested enormous amounts of work over the years to build a reputation around its products and brand, and that investment is now paying off in spades. Jobs himself is well tapped into the cultural zeitgeist, he transfers that to Apple's products and strategies, and in turn the company comes to reflect and even steer the zeitgeist.
It's not magic, but it is hard to do. Very hard. If history is any indication, there is room for only one such company at a time to hold this pre-eminent position, and its time in the sun is temporary. Apple's winning streak will come to an end, but in the meantime it deserves all the credit it gets. | <urn:uuid:31181d90-e688-4eaa-9332-893eadffffca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cnet.com/8301-13641_3-10443942-44.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963659 | 717 | 1.695313 | 2 |
We recently announced the Mapper API, a first step in a broader effort to provide full MapReduce capabilities on App Engine. While we still have some work ahead of us, there’s already a lot that can be done with today’s Mapper API. One area of particular interest is report generation.
Most applications create and maintain large numbers of detail records: entities in data models, transaction history or event logs. In order to glean useful information out of these vast data sets, your application has to iterate over your entities, summarize and breakdown the results. That’s where the Mapper API comes in.
The Mapper API uses the Task Queue to enable your application to rapidly iterate over its data sets, whether small or very, very large. The API takes care of the tedious bookkeeping involved in efficiently scheduling and keeping track of all those tasks. The Task Queue, in turn, automatically ‘pushes’ the work to your app.
Christopher O’Donnell (@markitecht), a technology product designer and developer from Cambridge, Massachusetts, was kind enough to share with us some of the motivations and implementation details behind his own project. In a new guest article, Modern Funnel Analytics Using Mapper, Christopher makes extensive use of the Mapper API to illustrate the process of generating rollup reports. With his approach, he's able to provide both summarized results and drill down capabilities.
If you like Christopher’s article, you should also checkout out the many other interesting articles on the Google App Engine home page. And, if you have an interesting App Engine article or story you'd like to share, let us know. We'd love to hear about it.
Posted by, App Engine Team | <urn:uuid:a8be2b80-433f-46d2-900d-ac86368017e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://googleappengine.blogspot.com/2010/08/practical-report-generation-on-app.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937575 | 358 | 1.648438 | 2 |
(CNN) -- Five years ago, Shop.org published a press release:
"While traditional retailers will be monitoring store traffic and sales on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), online retailers have set their sights on something different: Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is quickly becoming one of the biggest online shopping days of the year."
Ta-dah! The term "Cyber Monday" was born.
The only problem: It's mostly a marketing gimmick, according to consumer electronics experts and an online metrics tracker.
Cyber Monday has never been the biggest day of the year for online retail sales, said Andrew Lipsman, director of industry analysis at comScore, a company that monitors internet traffic.
Typically, a Monday in December takes that title, and Lipsman predicted the biggest online retail day of 2010 will be on December 13.
In 2009, Cyber Monday was the second-biggest e-commerce day of the year, but Lipsman said that was an outlier case, influenced by the recession. Usually, Cyber Monday is the seventh to ninth biggest day for e-commerce. "This year I think consumers are starting to open up their wallets a bit more, and I would expect that Cyber Monday starts to move down the list" of the biggest online retail days of the year, he said.
But spending isn't the only way to define a big shopping day.
What if Cyber Monday, which is expected to see an increase in online spending this year, earned its name because of hot deals?
Also, not the case, according to independent experts.
Unlike Black Friday, which has a concentration of deals in brick-and-mortar stores, online sales tend not to fall on a certain day, said Mike Gikas, an editor for electronics and technology at Consumer Reports, the nonprofit group. The best deals on TVs, for instance, likely won't come until mid-December, he said.
Dan de Grandpre, editor-in-chief at DealNews, said products listed on sale on the Monday after Thanksgiving tend to be "the dregs" that didn't sell on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Some high-end retailers do hold Cyber Monday sales, he said, but some already started on Friday or Sunday and others won't begin until the second or third week in December.
Shop.org, which coined the term "Cyber Monday" and operates a retail website called CyberMonday.com, says nine in 10 online retailers are offering Cyber Monday deals this year. But read the fine print and that statistic loses some of its shine. That data is based on a survey of 51 online retailers, and the majority of those said to be offering Cyber Monday deals aren't targeting the Monday after Thanksgiving specifically. Only 21 of the 51 retailers surveyed on behalf of Shop.org are offering one-day Cyber Monday sales.
Ellen Davis, vice president of the National Retail Federation, which owns CyberMonday.com (and Shop.org), said the "Cyber Monday" term originated organically as retailers noticed that consumers turned to the internet to shop on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
"The trend was actually developed by shoppers and started in '02, '03," she said, adding that the federation just put a name to the concept.
The number of people shopping online on the Monday after Thanksgiving has grown steadily since 2005, when an estimated 59 million said they would shop online on that day, to 2009, when that number jumped to 96 million, Davis said.
Furthermore, she said, several online retailers are offering deals that are specific to Cyber Monday. Among those with deals, she said, are eBags.com, Ice.com, Drugstore.com, Soap.com, Diapers.com, LuckyBrand.com and Fashionbug.com.
But all of those sites were offering deals on Friday, too, meaning they weren't holding out for Cyber Monday promotions. Ice.com listed a "Black Friday Blowout Sale." Drugstore.com advertised "cyber week savings," instead of highlighting Monday.
Perhaps the most interesting thing to be learned from Cyber Monday is that Mondays -- after Thanksgiving or not -- are usually big days for e-commerce.
That's because people like to shop at work, said Lipsman of comScore.
People used to think that Cyber Monday was big because workers were using high-speed office internet connections to do their online shopping, he said. Now that two-thirds of Americans have broadband connections at home, according to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, that theory has been pretty much debunked.
But still, for whatever reason, about half of all online purchases happen from an office internet connection, Lipsman said. | <urn:uuid:29effa80-aa7d-47aa-90f1-5205a10007be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/11/29/cyber.monday.hoax/index.html?hpt=C2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968198 | 972 | 1.609375 | 2 |
IT IS their story up on screen, although not exactly as it happened - but it is inspired by their lives, their energy and their sense of adventure.
Laurel Robinson, Beverly Briggs, Naomi Mayers and Lois Peeler are the women behind The Sapphires, a movie about four young indigenous women who went from singing together at a country mission to performing for the troops in Vietnam.
It has already made a splash at Cannes. The four got together with family and friends for its Australian premiere on the opening night of the Melbourne International Film Festival, and now they are keen to see what the rest of the country will make of it.
Laurel Robinson's son, Tony Briggs, wrote a play inspired by stories of his mother, and other women of his family, on which the movie was based. He was fascinated by the time when Robinson and her cousins, Mayers and Briggs, made up an indigenous girl group called the Sapphires, and sang soul numbers at St Kilda's Tiki Village in the late 1960s. When the club's band asked them to go on tour to Vietnam, Robinson went, along with her sister, Lois Peeler, but the other two decided not to go. At that time, Mayers says, ''I was protesting against the war.''
The American troops they performed for, Robinson and Peeler say, knew nothing about Aboriginal Australia.
Performing at the Tiki Village, Robinson says: ''We'd sing Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We loved it so much and they loved our harmonies.''
They had full-time jobs, she says: ''Naomi was nursing, and Beverly and I were working as telephonists at the PMG.'' They performed at cabarets, universities, private parties and a big concert at Dallas Brooks Hall organised by the late Bob Maza, an actor and activist. (Maza's daughter, Rachael, played one of the Sapphires in the first stage production in 2004.)
There is a scene in the film in which three of the girls sing perfect harmonies in front of a stony-faced audience at a talent contest. It represents the kind of thing that happened to them from time to time. They were sometimes introduced as American or Tahitian, because that went across better.
''As soon as the word Aboriginal came up, no one was interested,'' Robinson says. There was an event at Puckapunyal army base that is still fresh in their minds, when slights about Aboriginal people were bandied around.
But their memories are generally exuberant. ''We used to sing in family groups,'' Mayers says. ''We were in the Harold Blair choir, singing was always a part of our lives. We sang in the church with Uncle Doug [Pastor Doug Nicholls] raising funds for his church.''
Robinson remembers regular fund-raising shows, with rehearsals on Saturdays at her parents' house, and her mother and grandmother sewing their outfits.
Three of the Sapphires now work at the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern, where Mayers is chief executive. Peeler is executive director of Worawa College, a boarding school for girls. But they all still sing. ''People still ask us for those Sapphires songs,'' Mayers says.
The Sapphires opens in cinemas next week. | <urn:uuid:4eb756b2-125a-4f82-9a46-e19d7355b577> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.portnews.com.au/story/168320/reel-deal-singing-sapphires-shine-in-the-afterglow/?cs=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983391 | 691 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Archive for the ‘- Did they REALLY say that?’ Category
Stupid, incredible, incredulous things people say
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, June 12, 2013
“It’s essential to wash your hands, because 50% of all food borne illness has been tied back to unclean hands, or unwashed hands, or improperly washed hands.”
-Carl Borchgrevink, Associate Professor in The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University
Forget washing, just take a giant spoon into the toilet, grab up a heaping helping of that stinky brown goodness & eat it.
Folks wouldn’t imagine doing that, but they won’t wash their hands, either.
What’s the difference?
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says that the one thing people can do to lower the spread of infectious diseases is to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Do you feel like we do, Dr. Who? | Tagged: ACA, Affordable Care Act, anal, Carl Borchgrevink, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dining out, disease, dung, eating out, Environmental health, Fecal-oral route, Feces, Foodborne illness, Hand washing, hands, healing, health, healthcare, Infectious disease, men, Michigan State University, nasty, Obamacare, oral, poop, professor, public health, Public toilet, restaurant, shit, sick, soap, Unclean hands, United States, Wash hands, Washing, water, women | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, June 7, 2013
Can you guess why this is funny?
Hint: You MUST view the page.
And just so you’ll be reassured to know, it is NOT pornographic.
How birds lost their penises – LATimes.com Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Even MORE Uncategorized! | Tagged: Animal, avian, biology, bird, birds, California, chicken, Cloaca, Current Biology, egg, Evolution, fertilization, funny, hilarious, humor, humorous, innuendo, insemination, Internet, LA, LA Times, Los Angeles, news, penis, Programmed cell death, recreation, reproduction, rooster, science, Sex organ, sexual reproduction, silly, species, sperm, University of Florida, website | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Shadrack McGill makes Alabama a laughingstock.
Or rather, it’s his wife who does so.
Of course, the state apparently don’t need that much help to appear as such, anyway.
FYI, the man in question Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Lost In Space: TOTALLY Discombobulated, - My Hometown is the sweetest place I know | Tagged: AL, Alabama, Alabama Public Television, Alabama Senate, Charles Bishop, FaceBook, Good Morning America, GOP, Huntsville, Huntsville Times, Legislator, Lowell Barron, news, NorthEast Alabama, politics, Republican, Shadrack McGill, strange, strippers, weird | 1 Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Alabama State Senator Shadrack McGill (R,8th District), photo from his Facebook page
By now, the whole world knows of the fracas that that the wife of Alabama State Senator Shadrack McGill (R-8th District) has caused.
What first began as a post on Senator McGill’s Facebook page has suddenly turned into a worldwide free publicity campaign.
Even the Daily Mail – a newspaper in the United Kingdom – has picked up the too-weird-to-be-true story in an article entitled “Alabama state senator’s wife lashes out on Facebook against women who are ‘soliciting her husband for sex’ after ‘strippers showed up at their house’.”
“Multiple times since being in office he has gotten emails from women (who may not even be real) inviting him to explore, also sending pictures of themselves.”
What strikes me as particularly curious is the fact that apparently neither Senator McGill nor his wife Heather made any remarks or comments of any type, kind or variety when he alleged that it first occurred, nor did he alert authorities when a suspicious knock came at his door in the dead of night.
Referring to the first alleged incident, Senator McGill said, “Me and my wife Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Read 'em and weep: The Daily News, - Did they REALLY say that?, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home. | Tagged: women, pictures, strange, weird, Alabama, Huntsville, liar, news, God, Republican, Huntsville Times, campaign, liars, United States, sex, politics, dancers, strippers, photos, FaceBook, Birmingham News, whores, GOP, Shadrack McGill, McGill, Alabama Senate, Alabama State, Good Morning America, ABC News, Heather McGill, gogo, Advance Media, American Broadcasting Company | 1 Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, June 1, 2013
Recently, Moore, OK was devastated by a mile-wide twister.
Serves ‘em right.
God hates fags.
Our government should do nothing.
Everybody knows, this is an act of God.
God is punishing Oklahoma for their wickedness.
This is purely a religious matter, and government should get out of the way.
This has NOTHING to do with climate change.
Insurance companies should cancel & deny coverage.
They have that right.
Suck it up.
The reader should understand, this is PURE SARCASM.
What is sarcasm?
Simply put, sarcasm is Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Faith, Religion, Goodness - What is the Soul of a man?, - Lost In Space: TOTALLY Discombobulated, - My Hometown is the sweetest place I know, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home., - Read 'em and weep: The Daily News, - Transfer: How do we get THERE from HERE? (Add a 'T'.) | Tagged: Activism, Alabama Baptist Convention, Baptist, Bob Dole, Boy Scout, Boy Scouts of America, Briarwood Presbyterian Church, climate, Climate change, climatology, environment, extremes, extremists, faith, First Baptist, Fred Phelps, Global Warming, God, GOP, Helena, Home insurance, insurance, irony, Kansas, Moore, Moore Oklahoma, news, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Organizations, Pelham, politics, radical, radicals, religion, Republican, right wing, sarcasm, Scout, Scout troop, Texas, tornado, truth, United States, weather, whacko, whackos | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, May 25, 2013
Ross Perot was right.
Scene: 1992 Presidential Debate: Former Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton – D, President George H. W. Bush – R, and Ross Perot – I.
White Male Audience Member: Yes, I’d like to direct my question to Mr. Perot. What will you do, as President, to open foreign markets to fair competiton from American business, and to stop unfair competition here at home from foreign countries, so that we can bring jobs back to the United States?
Ross Perot: That’s right at the top of my agenda.
We’ve shipped millions of jobs overseas, and uh… we have a strained situation because we have a process in Washington, where after you’ve served for a while, you cash in, become a foreign lobbyist, make $30,000 a month, then take a leave, work on presidential campaigns, make sure you got good contacts, and then go back out.
And if you just want to get down to brass tacks, the first thing you ought to do is get all these folks who got these one-way trade agreements that we’ve negotiated over the years, and say ‘fellas, we’ll take the same deal we gave you.’ And they’ll gridlock right at that point, because, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Business... None of yours, - Did they REALLY say that?, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home. | Tagged: 1992, Bill Clinton, debate, economy, employers, George H.W. Bush, Giant sucking sound, government, history, jobs, labor, money, Perot, policy, president, presidential, Ross Perot, United States, Washington, Washington D.C., Washington DC, worker | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, May 20, 2013
“It disturbs me greatly to see this rigid new direction of the NRA.
As a starting point, one only has to ask why
the NRA reversed its original position on background checks.
Was it not the NRA position to support background checks when Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Read 'em and weep: The Daily News | Tagged: Adolphus Busch, Background check, firearms, GOP, guns, idiot, killers, LaPierre, legislation, Magazine (firearms), National Rifle Association, NRA, nutjobs, Original position, Second Amendment, Wayne LaPierre, whacko | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, April 19, 2013
Examine the photo below, and the question posed in it.
And then, ponder my composed response below it.
Herman Cain, ever the GOP’s insane pizza presidential candidate, has yet again demonstrated his lunacy.
Naw… give ‘em pizza!
But, on a slightly more serious note… that question is patently ludicrous and absurd upon it’s face. It’s akin to a Straw Man Fallacy.
Amidst a crowd of people, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Lost In Space: TOTALLY Discombobulated | Tagged: Backpack, Boston, Boston Marathon, fallacy, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Flickr, Herman Cain, Improvised explosive device, lunacy, Middle East, photograph, Reddit, Straw man, Straw Man Fallacy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, April 1, 2013
Part of the Great Hypocrisy of Alabama‘s über GOP-dominated state government is that on September 18, 2012, voters approved the Governor’s request to take money from the Alabama Trust Fund using the specific language in the Special Election to Amend the state’s Constitution “to provide adequate funding for the State General Fund budget”… “by transferring funds from the Alabama Trust Fund to the State General Fund beginning with the state’s 2012-2013 fiscal year and concluding with the state’s 2014-2015 fiscal year.”
It’s equally important to understand and know, that the time of the election, however, there was no repayment plan, and only recently has the legislature acted, and has the governor signed, to repay any monies taken.
And now, the Governor wants to TAKE $6 Million earmarked for the State Parks and put it into the General Fund.
It’s prima facie evidence of utter incompetency, pure & simple.
More to the point, however, specifically regarding any contract with private entities to operate any private enterprise on public property, it seems to me that such an operation is also prima facie evidence of incompetency because to do so says in essence that ‘we’re not capable, nor do we have the ability to operate any operation profitably.’ And that, my friends, is a most damning indictment.
It’s bad not only for that reason, but because since private enterprise holds the key to the operations, they can call the shots, and raise the prices (cost of operations) at will, by merely citing an increase in cost of operations (without justification or evidence). And then, the state is left holding the contractual bag, while the private entity claims squatter’s rights on public property.
Gov. Robert Bentley says Gulf convention center a key to help parks survive funding cuts
By Mike Cason | firstname.lastname@example.org
March 27, 2013 at 10:39 PM, updated March 28, 2013 at 7:02 AM
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Gov. Robert Bentley said Wednesday he hopes to help minimize the effect of funding cutbacks on the state parks system.
Bentley’s budget plan for fiscal 2014 called for taking $6 million earmarked for state parks and placing that money in the General Fund.
This week, State Parks Director Gregory Lein wrote a letter to elected officials and others saying some parks could close and Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Lost In Space: TOTALLY Discombobulated, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home. | Tagged: $6 million, Alabama, Alabama Trust Fund, Bentley, budget, fiscal, GOP, government, governor, Gulf Shores Alabama, Gulf State Park, Hurricane Ivan, news, politics, Republican, Robert Bentley, State park | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, April 1, 2013
Does this genuinely surprise anyone… that Budweiser – which is NOT an American-owned company – would sell not only lousy beer, but lousy, watered-down beer?
I think not.
By Sophia Pearson – Apr 1, 2013 5:35 PM ET
A former Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ABI) (ABI) employee who claimed the company sells watered-down beer told a judge the brewer is out to punish his whistle-blowing with a lawsuit alleging he divulged trade secrets.
Budweiser beer. Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
AB InBev sued James Clark, a former director of operations support, one week after the company was accused of overstating the alcohol content in several of its beers. The case, which accuses Clark of misappropriating trade secrets, should be dismissed because California law bars using so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation as a means of intimidation, Clark said in papers filed March 29 in federal court in Sacramento.
The lawsuit “is designed to silence Mr. Clark and to punish him for standing up for consumers,” Clark’s attorney Robert Carichoff said in the filing. “To allow AB to proceed with this vindictive litigation would Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Business... None of yours, - Did they REALLY say that? | Tagged: news, Big Business, business, beer, booze, bud, drink, beverage, St. Louis, brew, Anheuser-Busch, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Leuven, Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch brands, InBev, Grupo Modelo, brewery, United States district court | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, March 10, 2013
The lack of news outlets in the states three major newspapers all which publish only three editions weekly (Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register, and the Huntsville Times, now known as “Alabama Media Group” which newspapers are all owned by the same privately held mega-firm that owns Sports Illustrated & Conde Nast – Advance Publications, aka Newhouse News) has – in my estimation – contributed to the demise of public involvement in governance, and to a great degree, influenced voters from participating in their own governance by keeping them ignorant.
However, that does NOT mean that there is no news, nor does it mean that there is a news blackout. What it means is that in those three major cities in the state, there is a dearth of reporting of state events.
For example, the Montgomery Advertiser reported recently that in an email message to his staff, Governor Robert Bentley “demanded that his cabinet members and the state employees who work for them not discuss with state legislators any concerns they might have with a proposed overhaul to state law enforcement agencies.
““I do not want any cabinet head or any member of their department to lobby against this. Tell your employees to contact ONLY Blaine Galliher if they have any questions or concerns. NO ONE is to talk to members of the House or Senate in opposition to this legislation,” Bentley wrote in an email sent to cabinet members by his executive assistant on Feb. 12.”"
Governor Bentley is showing his true face… that of a tyrant.
The year Alabama legislators took over schools
Gov. Robert Bentley talks with reporters in Montgomery last week. Photo: Dave Martin/Associated Press
My father grew up poor and never finished high school but was incredibly resourceful. He could “figure things out.” He did his own plumbing, wiring and construction. But on occasion, Dad’s chief asset became a liability. So confident was he in his ability to fix anything that he refused to admit that he didn’t know everything.
That is a good description of the new Republican Legislature. They were elected for good reasons: The hubris, arrogance, excesses, patronage abuse, corruption and demagoguery of Democrats. But the 2013 Legislature reminds me lots of the Democrats they replaced.
Republicans, who hold all state offices and a veto-proof majority in the Legislature, have decided that they know better than anyone how to do everything.
Take education, for instance. Three successive reform-minded state school superintendents — supported by a business community concerned about the loss of one-third of Alabama manufacturing jobs since 2000 and fearful that schools were not producing a labor force skilled enough to compete in the global economy — began reforming education.
They introduced model early childhood programs, world-class math and science curricula, a reading initiative widely copied nationwide, tougher graduation standards, and took over failing schools and malfunctioning systems characterized by patronage politics and financial profligacy (think Birmingham).
Education reformers organized A+ Education Partnership and joined this battle. Their hugely successful “best practices” center and life-changing college-readiness program that enrolls record numbers of students in demanding advanced placement courses constitute instances where Alabama set national standards rather than followed them.
So what does the new Republican Legislature do? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - My Hometown is the sweetest place I know, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home. | Tagged: AEA, Alabama, Alabama Legislature, Auburn University, Bentley, Birmingham News, Democrats, education, George Wallace, GOP, government, hubris, Huntsville Times, K-12, legislature, Middle School, Montgomery Advertiser, politics, Republican, Republicans, Robert Bentley, Robert J. Bentley, school, schools, stupidity, taxes, United States, Wayne Flynt | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Whose idea was this “sequester” anyway?
Would you believe Mitch McConnell & John Boehner?
Yeah, but McConnell & the GOP are calling it “the president’s sequester”!
Yes, they are. And they want to deceive you.
In other words, they’re lying.
Kentucky’s senior Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who is the Senate Minority Leader, along with Speaker of the House of Representatives Ohio Congressman John Boehner have both called the impending drastic across-the-board budget cuts & tax increases as “the president’s sequester.”
However, the idea did NOT originate with President Obama.
For the benefit of those whose (choose any combination of the following):
1.) Memories are short, and/or;
2.) Weren’t paying attention in class and/or;
3.) Believe teevee’s talking heads, and/or;
4.) Believe the GOP.
Give particular attention to the last paragraph in the first story, which states in part that,
“McConnell, the chief Republican architect of the compromise, has been adamant that no tax increases will come out of the joint committee. And he and Boehner have effective control given that they will hand-pick six of the 12 members. That said, the defense lobby — a strong force still among Republicans —will most feel the impact of any sequester, and the industry is already being squeezed by the revised appropriations targets set for 2012 and 2013.”
Finally, I would remind the reader that because the GOP’s radical philosophical ideology of privatizing practically every government service (which places public tax dollars in private pockets – is that anything like “welfare”?) harsh across-the-board budget cuts are precisely what the GOP has begged for from Day One.
Debt ceiling disaster averted, but nobody’s really happy
By: David Rogers
August 2, 2011 11:30 PM EST
Running short of cash, Treasury won an immediate reprieve of $400 billion in new borrowing authority Tuesday with the enactment of a hotly contested debt and deficit-reduction agreement hammered out between Republicans and the White House on Sunday night.
President Barack Obama, not hiding his frustration, quickly signed the measure sent to him by Congress after a final 74-26 Senate roll call, capping an unprecedented hard-edged political struggle that had pushed the nation to the brink of default.
Indeed, the stakes were far larger than with the April shutdown fight, and more than any single event this year, the debt battle captured all the power — and critics would say extreme risk-taking — of the anti-government backlash that fueled the GOP’s gains in the 2010 elections.
The timing makes it a gamble too with the faltering recovery. Most of the promised $2.1 trillion in deficit reduction will take place in the out years, but discretionary spending will continue to fall in 2012 and the same Congressional Budget Office — which scored the cuts — will soon issue its August economic update, which could show slower growth.
House Speaker John Boehner has argued the opposite: More aggressively addressing deficits “will in fact provide more confidence for employers in America, the people we expect to reinvest in our economy and create jobs.” But a sell-off Tuesday on Wall Street sent the Dow down 265 points, reflecting growing pessimism about the economic outlook. And as lawmakers left for the summer recess, Democrats vowed to turn the agenda more toward job creation when they return.
“We crossed a bridge,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “Enough talk about the debt. We have to talk about jobs.”
Obama signaled as much in a Rose Garden appearance after the Senate vote. Extending his 2-percentage-point cut in payroll taxes remains a priority and the appropriations bargain, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home. | Tagged: Barack Obama, budget, cuts, GOP, John Boehner, Kentucky, liars, Mitch McConnell, money, Nancy Pelosi, news, Obama, Ohio, politicians, politics, POTUS, president, Republican, Republicans, senate, Senate Minority Leader, sequester, sequestration, Speaker of the House of Representatives, tax increase, taxes, thieves, Washington, White House | 2 Comments »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Little by little, in some regard, Alabama is moving into the 21st century.
House committee approves bill that would legalize home brewing of beer
By Mike Cason | email@example.com
February 20, 2013 at 5:35 PM
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — The House Economic Development and Tourism Committee today approved a bill that would allow those 21 and older to make home brewed beer, wine, mead and cider for personal use.
The bill, by Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Huntsville, would limit the total production to 15 gallons every three months.
The committee approved the bill after a public hearing, putting it in position for consideration by the House of Representatives.
Several home brewing enthusiasts spoke in favor of the bill.
Jason Sledd of Huntsville told the committee he took up home brewing as a hobby last year.
“At the time, I had no idea what I was doing was illegal in the state of Alabama,” Sledd said.
Sledd said he learned home brewing was illegal after joining a home brewers club.
Rep. Berry Forte, D-Eufaula, said he was opposed to the use of alcohol because of what it had done to some family members. He asked Sledd whether he brewed beer in front of his children.
Sledd said he did, and said he was teaching them the responsible way to use alcohol.
“They will have years of experience of seeing an adult drink alcohol and not being intoxicated,” Sledd said.
Joe Godfrey, executive director of ALCAP, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - My Hometown is the sweetest place I know, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home. | Tagged: AL, Alabama, ALCAP, Alcohol, ale, beer, beverage, brew, business, consumption, craft, Dan Ireland, drink, enterprise, ETOH, home, home brew, Homebrewing, Huntsville, Huntsville Times, law, legal, legislation, Mac McCutcheon, McCutcheon, modernization, responsible, Sledd, wine | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
“Americans don’t go around carrying guns with the idea they’re using them to influence other Americans. There’s no reason why a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons.”
-Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, speaking in Sacramento, California, Tuesday, May 2, 1967, after “a dozen of the armed youth – members of Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Politics... that "dirty" little "game" that first begins in the home. | Tagged: Black Panther, Black Panther Party, Black Panthers, California, control, firearms, GOP, Governor of California, guns, history, law, lawlessness, news, Republican, Republicans, Ronald Reagan, Ronald Wilson Reagan, Sacramento, Sacramento California, Second Amendment, Texas, United States, weapons | 2 Comments »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
In an effort to reign in billions in annual losses, and possibly stave off impending bankruptcy, the United States Postal Service has announced recently that they plan “to transition to a new delivery schedule during the week of Aug. 5, 2013 that includes package delivery Monday through Saturday, and mail delivery Monday through Friday.”
In other words, Saturday mail delivery to residences will cease as of the week of August 5, 2013. As of that date, only packages will be delivered to residences, no mail. Mail delivered to United States Post Office boxes will be unaffected, and those Post Offices now open on Saturdays will remain open.
Some say the Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in - Did they REALLY say that?, - Read 'em and weep: The Daily News | Tagged: Associated Press, Mail, Mail carrier, Patrick R. Donahoe, Postal Service, Saturday, Snail mail, United States, United States Army, United States Postal Service, USPS | Leave a Comment » | <urn:uuid:3cb019b4-be19-43f4-a200-cc0323619510> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://warmsouthernbreeze.wordpress.com/category/did-they-really-say-that/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936488 | 5,948 | 1.703125 | 2 |
A throwaway comment in Che Tibby's latest caught my eye:
All I have to say is this, the truly great theories are really, really, hard to understand. Once upon a time there were only two people in the world who understood the theory of relativity. Einstein, and some smart-arse. These days everybody knows that if you send a clock into space at the speed of light when it gets back to Earth it's only advanced five minutes while society has advanced a billion years. Or something.
Just by way of establishing my smart-arse credentials, the above-mentioned smart-arse was the astrophysicist Sir Arthur Eddington, who translated some of Einstein's work from German into English. And the time-dilation example Che uses is an example of Special Relativity; it was General Relativity that was "only understood by two people". The former deals with observers moving at constant speed with respect to one another, and results in time varying along with velocity depending on the frame of reference used. The latter throws in observers who are speeding up and slowing down as well, and reconceptualises gravity as the curvature of space (resulting in all those irritating examples where people roll marbles across rubber sheets). It also utilises the Lovecraftian horror of tensor calculus, which drives people insane and ruins their hair.
As for complexity, being difficult to understand is often simply a sign that someone is a bad writer, or that they are applying the old strategy of "if you can't blind them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit". In fact, where science is concerned, it's simplicity and elegence which are appreaciated, not complexity. All the "greatest" scientific theories - natural selection, Newton's Laws, Maxwell's Equations, even special relativity - are all at their heart extremely simple ideas which will frequently fit on a T-shirt. | <urn:uuid:304644f4-a273-43c7-999e-4da56de7e645> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2004/10/smart-arses-and-complexity.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967498 | 385 | 1.523438 | 2 |
A US soldier accused of beating an Afghan civilian to death in 2002 should not be held solely responsible because authority figures used the same tactics, his attorney says.
Private First Class Willie Brand of the 377th Military Police Company is charged with involuntary manslaughter, maiming, assault, maltreatment and false swearing.
The Cincinnati man is accused of killing an Afghan civilian identified only as Dilawar at the main US detention facility in Bagram, Afghanistan, by destroying his leg muscle tissue with repeated knee strikes.
On Monday, the opening day of Brand's Article 32 hearing, attorney John Galligan said Brand's superiors either directly knew or should have known about the use of the knee-strike method of beating.
He said records and testimony would show that others in positions of authority also used the practice.
"Unfortunately, we have many soldiers deployed to a war zone with inadequate training, equipment and resources to conduct very dangerous missions in a new type of war," Galligan said.
"Unfortunately, we have many soldiers deployed to a war zone with inadequate training, equipment and resources to conduct very dangerous missions in a new type of war"
Brand's lawyer John Galligan
The hearing, which is being held at Fort Bliss because it is considered a neutral location, will determine whether the case is referred for a general court martial. It is expected to last two to three days.
"I thought it went reasonably well, like a dental appointment," Brand told the El Paso Times after Monday's hearing ended.
Beaten to death
Brand is accused of beating Dilawar to death over a five-day period at Bagram Control Point just north of Kabul.
An autopsy showed that Dilawar's legs were so damaged by blows that amputation would have been necessary if he had survived.
Dilawar died from "blunt force trauma to the lower extremities complicating coronary artery disease", according to a US Army report dated 6 July 2004.
Galligan said the knee-strike technique is a "non-lethal mechanism utilised to ensure compliance with a combative detainee".
"I thought [Monday's hearing] went reasonably well, like a dental appointment"
Private First Class Willie Brand,
377th Military Police Company
"We would argue that [the knee strikes] had been legitimately done in the course of restraining an individual," he said.
Assault and maltreatment
The charges against Brand include assault and maltreatment of another prisoner, Mullah Habib Allah.
Habib Allah also died, but Brand is not charged in connection with his death.
Another member of the Cincinnati-based 377th Company, Sergeant James Boland, has been charged with assault, maltreatment and dereliction of duty in Dilawar's death, and dereliction of duty in Habib Allah's death.
The army on Monday said in a statement that it is investigating whether other soldiers also were involved. | <urn:uuid:4f2d6776-0bf0-48a5-8120-65910efa0153> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2005/03/20084101329441796.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971015 | 591 | 1.5 | 2 |
I have had a lot of feedback in response to last week's column - in which I suggested (or perhaps stated) that women were not quite as intelligent as men.
To be specific, I was stating that they lack a specific form of intelligence called work focus intelligence (WFI).
I have to say a flood of mail was anticipated. What wasn't anticipated, however, was how positive most of it was, with most people, men and women, tending to agree with me.
One woman even went as far as saying: "It is great that somebody has finally spoken up and said what we have all known for a long time.
I don't particularly like having to think all the time, so I feel like a weight has been lifted off me. Now I don't have to pretend to be intelligent all the time, when all I really want to do is shop and look sexy for my husband."
I read this email several times in an attempt to ascertain whether the writer was being sarcastic or not. I also had a number of male experts go over it with a fine tooth comb.
To be 100 per cent certain, we loaded it into a sarcasm detection program I had downloaded while I was surfing the internet in Raglan.
By doing this, we were able to ascertain that the email was indeed genuine and that the writer was in no way attempting to be sarcastic - if she had been the program certainly would have picked it up, along with the three or four spelling mistakes. (I have corrected those).
The program cost US$295 and came with a mood option that allowed you to compose entire emails in bold capitals and a range of different fonts.
So what does this tell us? It clearly suggests to me that on several levels women may actually be more intelligent than past research suggests.
They seem to be able to rationalise on a level far higher than previously documented. The fact that this letter writer, whom we must presume was a woman, was able to put her point across rationally without getting emotional, sarcastic or both, suggests that women are either becoming more intelligent across the board, or at least are able to mimic the more logical, arguably less exciting behaviour, of men.
Either way it is a good thing and makes me think that scientists may have to redesign the Kessler intelligence pyramid.
The intelligence pyramid was designed by Dr Haime Kessler in 1956 and ranks intelligence according to sex and then compares that with the amount of proteins, carbs and fats we should be eating in our diet.
The food pyramid has been turned on its head recently with the discovery that high-in-sugar carbs shouldn't be so prominent at the base, so perhaps it's time to bring women up to their rightful spot on the intelligence pyramid alongside soft cheeses and other proteins.
Dr Kessler was unavailable for comment as he died in 1966 due to complications after a long battle with lactose intolerance.
Personally, I think it is time to do away with all this pointless scientific research. It only teaches us about humans on a biological level, but teaches us little on how to interact better with the opposite sex on a day-to-day basis.
We should celebrate our differences regardless of what they are. So instead of arguing about whether women are as intelligent as men - men could use our greater intelligence to dumb ourselves down a little. We should meet each other halfway on the Kessler pyramid, perhaps somewhere around vegetables and fibre. | <urn:uuid:deb865b0-a1a1-4630-8b7d-3e40983b03be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10735932 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987879 | 700 | 1.742188 | 2 |
August 8, 2010
the american mah jongg blog
A JUDGMENT CALL
GO JOKERLESS OR NOT?
The other day I was playing in a game and after the one of the hands was over, one of the players confessed that she was faced with a dilemma. A somewhat robust discussion followed about what she should or should not have done.
Here’s the story. We’ll call the player Madge. Madge was “waiting” for Mahj—-she needed one tile for a Pair. Her hand had only one Joker which she used for a Pung. She had made no Exposures. The game was about 2/3 over and one of the tiles she needed for the Pair was already out and one tile toward the Pung was out. Then another player discards the second of the tiles needed for the Pung. Technically, the Pung in Madge’s hand was complete. So the question was, Should she call for the tile to complete the Pung, make it “natural” to try for a Jokerless hand and discard the Joker?
There were those who said Yes, of course she should have called the tile. She had a good possibility of declaring a Jokerless Mahj—a consummation devoutly to be wished. If she didn’t call for the tile to make the Pung a “natural”, the possibility of her picking the tile for the Pung would be zero, because now two of the tiles were out. She couldn’t Mahj with a Jokerless hand. If she did call for the tile, the Exposure might not “tell all” and even if it did, she still could have picked the Mah Jongg tile herself.
That argument is a valid one. A Jokerless hand is worth double (if your group plays for money) and if she Self-Picked the Mah Jongg tile she could collect four times the amount the hand called for from everyone. So there was the financial aspect of the game at stake, as well.
I, on the other hand said “Wait a minute. Her discarded Joker would be a big clue that she was waiting for a tile to complete a Pair.” But since she had no other Exposures, it would be difficult to determine her hand. But not impossible. We were all experienced players knew the card thoroughly. Her Exposure would have given away a huge amount of information about what Pair she needed. It narrowed the search down and from the discards she had made during the game (a most important factor) and a quick perusal of the discards out, it would not have been too difficult to determine her Mahj tile. But even if we could not have reached a definitive conclusion, the discards other players would now make, become very judicious. And Madge’s own discards would be more carefully scrutinized.
If Madge didn’t make the Exposure, the possibility of someone discarding her Mahj tile was much greater since there was no information about the hand she was playing. And because one of the tiles she needed for the Pair was already out, the chances of it being discarded again was also greater.
Actually, Madge did not expose and she did win—-on a discard, but not Jokerless.
‘Til next time,
MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU.. | <urn:uuid:9cddc077-5f3b-4e68-8b36-9d7c70099141> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishjournal.com/the_american_mah-jongg_blog/print/the_american_mah_jongg_blog_39100808 | 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 | 0.987829 | 715 | 1.75 | 2 |
Business / Walt Mart Company Analysis
Walt Mart Company AnalysisThis essay Walt Mart Company Analysis is available for you on Essays24.com! Search Term Papers, College Essay Examples and Free Essays on Essays24.com - full papers database.
Autor: anton 03 March 2011
Words: 4063 | Pages: 17
International Business Strategy
Members of the group:
Consultant Group F
10, Champs Elysees
Rennes, 15th March 2006
Board of Directors of Wal-Mart
As a consultant group hired to analyse the current situation in your company, we have prepared a report on the problems it is facing, different viable alternatives and the description of the strategy that, we think, is going to help to overcome the difficulties.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, has already been the miracle of the retailing markets. It is now the world largest discount retailer, with 5,000 stores and wholesale clubs in 10 countries. In 2003, your company ranked first in the top 500 enterprises. However, it is well-known that the competition is becoming more aggressive nowadays.
In order to give the most suitable recommendations, we have first analysed the current situation of the company and found some challenges to take up for the future. Then we have defined the main problem and set up an alternative to solve it. Finally, we have worked on the implementation of the strategy.
We enclose the mentioned report and look forward to pleasing your expectations.
Consultant Group F
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
I) WAL-MART’S CURRENT SITUATION 5
II) PROBLEMS 6
III) ALTERNATIVES 6
IV) ANALYSIS 6
V) IMPLEMENTATION 6
VI) COSTS 6
VII) CONTINGENCY PLAN: 6
Wal-Mart is the largest retailer and one of the largest companies in the world based on revenue. In 2005 it reported net income of more than USD 11 billion and sales revenues around of USD 310 billion so its financial power is huge. It is also the largest private employer in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and has almost 1.4 million employees all over the world. It is already implemented in 15 countries. Wal-Mart has great brand awareness; customers see it as the real low prices specialist.
A few years ago it started experiencing many problems. First of all, many lawsuits have been suited against the company claiming that there is a gap between men and women’s wages. Secondly, Unions have requested higher salaries for the workers inside Wal-Mart, and have explained that it was impossible to compete if they paid such low wages. As if this was not enough, people in small towns have claimed that the company destroyed all the local businesses. Finally, competition has been getting more aggressive in overseas markets.
After detailed analysis it was clear that the main and most urgent problem was the weak Human Resources Management that the company has. Indeed it ruins the public image and could seriously damage the long-term strategy.
To cope with this situation different alternatives have been found.
The best one is implementing an important Human Resources Plan in the next 2 years. This plan consists in increasing 10% the minimum wages, giving health care protection to every worker in the company, eliminating any possible gap between men and women’s wages, and train women in the company to occupy management positions.
The cost of the strategy is going to be around USD 1 billion. The company will get it after negotiating lower prices from suppliers, cutting slightly the expected profits figures and from savings because of the efficiency gained with the strategy.
I) Wal-Mart’s Current Situation
1) SWOT Analysis
• Low-price specialist. Before any other store, Wal-Mart has understood the customer desire to pay less. As it has built an efficient business strategy and succeeded in cutting its prices at each step of the business process, Wal-Mart has a huge advantage compared to its competitors. This is efficient since customers recognize that they find the lowest prices at Wal-Mart stores, and no other company has managed to copy it.
• Large brand awareness among the customers. Everybody knows about Wal-Mart and its “low prices everyday†motto. It appeals a large number of customers, especially in the United States where 85% of the Americans buy something at Wal-Mart stores. We could add that when it opens a new store, many people visit it and are waiting for it.
• Opportunistic. Wal-Mart has an old reputation not to hesitate to implement new ideas. Wal-Mart encourages its staff members to implement any new idea which could boost the sales. That allows the company to save costs just with simple ideas.
• Worldwide leader as retailer ($314 billions sales). None of its main competitors have the same power and reputation. Wal-Mart keeps a large advance in its business. It is far the leader in it, three times bigger than its worldwide challenger, the French Carrefour.
• Poor reputation. Especially in the United States, Wal-Mart has a bad image. People from towns say it destroys all the businesses around its stores. Even though it creates new jobs when opening a new store, the damage caused to the local economy overpasses the benefits it does.
• Employees’ dissatisfaction. Wal-Mart is accused not to pay enough to its employees and so has to deal with a high turnover rate. Moreover it has bad relationships with the Unions.
• Delayed on the international growth. Whereas its main competitor Carrefour is already established in 29 countries, Wal-Mart is doing businesses in only 10 countries apart from the United States.
• Huge geographical growth potential. Wal-Mart’s business is not well developed in Europe, neither in Asia or in Africa. Even in the United States the market is not fully exploited, and there are many small and medium-sized towns that still do not have a Wal-Mart. As regards overseas markets, the Asian one is becoming each time bigger and more attractive as time goes by.
• Viability of its business model. Many different trends are threatening Wal-Mart’s model. First of all, there is a growing “fair trade†trend which fights against exploitation in developing countries paying very too low wages. Secondly, there is the problem of implementing new stores worldwide on the same model ignoring the cultures’ specificities. For example, in China, people are not use to going to big stores outside the cities because many of them lack of cars, so they prefer to buy at the local groceries.
• Increased entry barriers. More and more towns especially in the United States refuse to have a new Wal-Mart store in their environment. Some states have voted new laws to limit the size of the new stores, a measure which especially has targeted Wal-Mart.
• Late entrance on the Asian market. Carrefour, other European chains and many Chinese chains are taking the large market share in the biggest continent.
2) Porter’s five competitive forces framework
(Adapted from www.valuemanagementbased.net.)
• The entry of competitors. It seems to be really hard for a new company to enter this business, especially because it will need to have a big size and power to be able to negotiate with suppliers, apart from having very efficient business processes. At the global market in which Wal-Mart is playing, it is almost impossible to suffer the entrance of new competitors.
• The threat of substitutes. Considering the size and the power of Wal-Mart in the United States it is difficult to imagine that any other company is going to substitute its business. However, outside North America, the situation is different. Wal-Mart’s entrance in Germany was not a success and the same occurred in China.
The company has to be careful not to be beaten overseas by competitors who develop the same strategy and already got some advantages.
• The bargaining power of buyers. Wal-Mart pretends to offer “low prices everyday†and this is the main key of its success, in its stores, people find lower prices than anywhere else. In order to go on succeeding, Wal-Mart has to keep its prices down. Otherwise, customers will leave.
• The bargaining power of suppliers. They have a huge importance in the Wal-Mart business model. They are so much atomized that it would be difficult to see them working together to ask for something. However, as Wal-Mart is the main customer of almost all of its suppliers, it has far more power in negotiations.
• The rivalry among the existing players. On this market there is a lot of competition. The war of cost cutting is important. However, Wal-Mart is the real leader in North America; no other company could directly compete with it at the moment. In the international market, its challenger the French Carrefour has some advance especially in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
3) Value Chain framework of Michael Porter
• Inbound Logistics. “This includes receiving, storing, inventory control, transportation schedulingâ€. Wal-Mart is really efficient in that area since it has its own centralized distribution centres. It has also chosen to build its own truck fleet in order to have more control and to deliver its stores as often as it needs. So Wal-Mart is not dependent on some other companies for its inbound logistic.
• Operations. “Includes machining, packaging, assembly, equipment maintenance, testing and all other value-creating activities that transform the inputs into the final product.†Wal-Mart does not really transform the products it gets, but it is really efficient in merchandising them on the best way.
• Outbound Logistics. “The activities required to get the finished product to the customers: warehousing, order fulfilments, transportation, and distribution management.†Wal-Mart use three different styles of stores to attract as much customers as it could. As it is explained on its website, “Wal-Mart's retail divisions include Wal-Mart Supercenters, Discount Stores, Neighbourhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB warehouses.†Those stores differ within their size and the customer they target.
• Marketing and Sales: Wal-Mart is really efficient in that area.
Wal-Mart save costs at each step of its business processes so especially in its stores. It has for a long time implemented a “wide range of cutting-edge merchandising approaches.â€
Its advertising expenditures “ran about 0,3% of sales revenues†which is pretty much less than its main competitors. First because it chose not to have an aggressive advertising policy. Then because its stores are often out of big cities, its advertising costs are lower. Wal-Mart can also rely on its reputation of “everyday low prices†to appeal new customers.
• Service. “The activities that maintain and enhance the product’s value, including customer support, repair services, installation, training, spare parts management, upgrading, etc.†Wal-Mart has implemented in all of its stores the “10-foot attitude†as a motto for its associates to create a pleasant shopping environment for its customers. As explained a reporter for Discount Store News, “virtually nothing is done without the guarantee that its benefits the customer in some way.â€
• Procurement. “Procurement of raw materials, servicing, spare parts, buildings, machines, etc.†Wal-Mart has a long term approach strategy for its suppliers. It builds long term relationship with them. Because it is always looking for low price they already have many suppliers overseas, especially in developing countries such as China, which are “low cost countriesâ€.
• Technology Development. “Includes technology development to support the value chain activities, such as Research and Development, Process automation, design, and redesignâ€. Wal-Mart is really efficient in using technology to support and improve its business processes. It was one a pioneer in building a system to share data with its suppliers in order to avoid any short out.
• Human Resource Management. “The activities associated with recruiting, development (education), retention and compensation of employees and managers.†This part is not well developed by Wal-Mart. This constitutes a handicap and could explain some difficulties to enter new markets such as in Argentina or in Germany. It is especially weak in compensation of employees.
• Firm Infrastructure. “Includes general management, planning management, legal, finance, accounting, public affairs, quality management, etcâ€. Wal-Mart has a great infrastructure, it is really powerful. For example their income for last year $11,2 billion so it does not have problems with it.
Nowadays, Wal-Mart is facing many difficulties.
On the one hand there are many problems that have to do with internal operations and organizational issues.
On the other hand, competition is getting more aggressive all over the world and there are problems to face in the macro environment.
We have identified these ones as the most important ones.
• Weak Human Resources Management.
Wal-Mart is accused of paying very low wages to achieve its objective of offering the lowest prices. In comparison with the industry average they are said to be 20% lower.
The remuneration structure of the company is compensating the men’s job with higher wages. Consequently, women in the same position and doing the same duties earn significantly less money than men. The gap becomes larger in management positions.
As a result, the company is facing many lawsuits alleging the discrimination against women within the company.
The Unions, and specially the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) are complaining and trying to force Wal-Mart to raise their wages to reach levels comparable to unions’ wages and benefits at unionized supermarket chains.
What’s more, they do not offer health care insurance for more than half of their workers.
Symptoms that reflect this problem:
Bad relationship with Unions. Especially the UFCW.
Very low wages.
Gap between men and women salaries.
No healthcare protection.
High rate of employee turnover.
Many associations disseminated anti Wal-Mart information through the Internet.
• Aggressive competition all over the world.
Wal-Mart is the leader in the USA, Mexico and Canada, but it is losing market share in overseas markets like China, Europe and Japan. Its major competitor, Carrefour has placed supermarkets in more than 30 countries, and is becoming much stronger in the European markets.
• Important culture and legal barriers to entry new markets.
It is very difficult for Wal-Mart to enter some of the European markets. In France, for example, there are many regulations to protect their supermarket chains. People are loyal to national brands.
In China, people cannot find the lowest prices at Wal-Mart, and they are not pleased with the variety of merchandising offered at the discount stores. Carrefour is taking advantage of the situation.
• Very high rate of return expected by investors.
The record growth rates that Wal-Mart has been achieving started to slow down. However, investors and shareholders are expecting the same increasing results that will be, this time, really difficult to achieve.
• Violation of labour laws.
Authorities in the USA are investigating Wal-Mart for knowingly hiring janitorial contractors who have been using illegal immigrants to clean stores. This practice can lead to many more legal actions against the company.
• The Wal-Mart supermarkets destroy the local businesses.
Local supermarkets and stores of small towns cannot compete with the prices that Wal-Mart is offering. Many businesses in these towns had to close and many others barely survive.
The businesses and the people of the small cities in which Wal-Mart is planning to establish are really worried about the matter and have started to lobby in order to forbid the opening of a Wal-Mart discount store.
Symptoms that reflect this problem:
Bad image and bad reputation, especially among people in small towns.
• Unawareness of specific regulations in particular products.
In some states of the USA, Wal-Mart has had to stop selling guns and some toy weapons because it was breaking the law, ignoring many regulations. Consequently it is facing many lawsuits nowadays.
Among all of the problems that Wal-Mart is dealing with, we believe that the most important one is linked to the weak Human Resources Management. We think it needs urgent treatment and consequently we have set up a strategy to solve the problem.
To cope with the problems inside the organization we have found these four alternatives.
1) To remain in the current situation.
Wal-Mart is the world’s biggest retailer. The bargain power of this company is strong. It means that they can ignore the complaints of the employees and the Unions. Because of their strong brand awareness, they will never be afraid of not having enough employees. Besides, Wal-Mart is so important, that it would not be easy for the Unions to succeed in any action against them. Consequently, Wal-Mart can just ignore all the complaints and keep on earning wonderful profits.
• There are not going to be any extra costs or extra workload to the company.
• Profits are going to be higher as in the previous years.
• This alternative does not change at all the current situation of Wal-Mart. It does not solve any problem and will not improve the company’s image.
• The company will incur in more lawsuits to deal with.
2) To improve the brand image focusing on the internal environment.
With this strategy Wal-Mart will take special attention to satisfy their employees’ requests, reduce the high annual turnover rates, and ease the conflict with the Unions. There are four main measures: reduce the pay gap between men and women, improve wages, give health care protection to everyone, and entering into an agreement with the Unions.
• It will decrease the turnover rates, thus ease the tight labour market.
• Besides, because of the improvement of the staff’s treatment, employees will be more pleased to work offering better service to customers and working more efficiently.
• Better relationships with the Unions, which will give Wal-Mart a better reputation.
Erreur ! Aucune entrйe de table des matiиres n'a йtй trouvйe.Disadvantages:
• In order to satisfy their employees, Wal-Mart needs to spend huge amount of extra money, which will increase their cost obviously. The worse result can be Wal-Mart loose their advantages in price compared to their rivals because of the increasing cost in the salaries. It is the last thing they want to see.
3) To invest in automatic cash-clerks. Restructurate the staff.
Nowadays, the supermarkets have a new technology called auto-cash-clerk. This kind of machine can be used in Wal-Mart’s outlets, so they do not need to hire as many cash clerks as they do now. Therefore, they can save the labour cost of this part and improve other employees’ salaries. However, it is still necessary to keep some cash clerks and it needs time to change because not all the people can accept the new way immediately.
• This alternative will not increase the costs of the Wal-Mart’s products (maybe it will help to cut the labour costs). And thanks to the machine, it can assure the everyday normal operation. Also, as they keep some of the clerk to do the job, each person can choose the way they prefer (usually it is not so easy for elderly people and those who are not well educated to accept the new technologies).
• It will not solve the employee’s dissatisfaction, and the legal actions that the company is facing.
• The relations with the Unions are going to be even worse, and there is a high risk of strikes and riots. Company’s image will be very poor.
• Finally, a very high initial investment will be required in order to buy the state-of-the-art machines.
4) To implement a Human Resources Plan.
This alternative involves a radical change in the Human Resources Management as the training of the managers to improve their management and motivation skills, the improvement of the treatment to the employees both on salaries and healthy concern. The aim of this plan is to make employees’ work more efficient in order to cover the cost of the plan with more profits and the dismissal of the unnecessary employees.
This alternative considers all the aspects, balances the effects and costs and solves all the problems. It is an ambitious project to improve the performance of the current Human Resources Management.
A slight reduction of the profits is going to be needed. Some stakeholders will not agree with the measure. It’s quite demanding for the Human Resources Department; and it needs a long time to be fully implemented.
The four main factors which we need to take into account are cost, risk, time and market; the importance of these factors is not the same, so we gain different weights. The figures are shown as follows:
Weight in decision: 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.2 Total=1.0
Cost Risk Time Market Total Score
Alternative 1 8=3.2 2=0.6 6=0.6 2=0.4 4.8
Alternative 2 2=0.8 8=2.4 6=0.6 4=0.8 4.6
Alternative 3 4=1.6 6=1.8 4=0.4 6=1.2 5
Alternative 4 6=2.4 4=1.2 2=0.2 8=1.6 5.4
Scale: 1 = low, 10 = high
Thus, Alternative number 4 is the preferred one as it has the highest score (5.4). The second choice will be the third Alternative (with a score of 5).
A good reputation is extremely important for a company, especially for a big, international one as Wal-Mart. We want to find a solution that can solve the issue of helping the company going out of the employees’ demands and the lawsuits, and improve the company’s reputation. As a result, it will help a lot to the further development of the company.
A Human Resource Plan is necessary. First of all, It will improve the situation of the employees making them really “associatesâ€, increasing their salaries and giving them health care protection. Secondly, it will train the employees to be qualified at their position and help more women to go to the higher level. All these will ameliorate the brand’s image and create a better working atmosphere. It’s the most urgent and important task for Wal-Mart before their further expansion.
The strategy is going to be carried out by the Human Resources Department and it will be conducted under the responsibility of the Human Resources Manager. He is going to work with his current team. No changes in the staff are going to be made, but training courses could be considered if necessary.
The implementation of the chosen strategy will last 24 months. It will be divided into three separate phases.
The first phase consists in announcing the strategy to the whole company through the Human Resources Department. The main measure would be the increase of 10% in the minimum salaries of the bottom-line employees of the company, and the health care protection given to all the workers that lack of it.
It will take between one and two months to fulfil all the formal procedures, so first phase should be completed during the first trimester.
In the second phase the training of women for operative positions will take place in order to get them ready to occupy management positions. Wal-Mart will meet its objective of having more than 30% of women working in the management level of the company.
The training courses will take place as of the third month to the end of planned timeline, around the 24th month, when the whole strategy must be implemented.
This final phase involves a revision of job positions all over the company looking forward to eliminating any possible gap between women and men’s wages that can exist in similar positions. It is a policy of the company to always eliminate any possibility of discrimination.
This third phase will be carried out during the last semester of the 24-month-plan.
It is advisable to set up a team of specialised professionals to work on the revision of the job’s positions of the company. Otherwise, the Human Resources Department can do the whole work.
The whole plan will have a total cost of USD………. Million.
This cost involves:
• Increase of 10% in the minimum salaries
• Health Care Protection
• Training Courses
• Increase of women wages in management positions
The cost of the strategy cannot be totally absorbed by the company, because the prices will have to increase a lot and the policy of “Low Prices everyday†will be very difficult to keep. The company is having large profits, so one possibility is to get the money from a big decrease in profits. However, this decision will damage the company’s financial situation and would be rejected by stakeholders.
Therefore, the company has to get extra resources.
First of all, a negotiation with suppliers asking them to lower the prices has to be carried out. Different services can be offered to them in order not to ruin the existing cooperative relationship. Wal-Mart has a lot of power to negotiate and suppliers must understand and cooperate.
Secondly, workers are going to be more motivated and so, they are going to be far more efficient. This will be translated into cost savings.
Finally, it might be necessary to reduce around 10% of the expected profit figures for the next two years.
VII) Contingency Plan:
We think the choice of alternative is also feasible, and can be the second alternative to the chosen strategy. This is not a bad strategy but doesn’t solve all the problems. It offers the advantage of being cheaper and so the profits will not be damage. The strategy will be fully implemented in 12 months time. The schedule will be:
Phase 1: (Month 1 – Month 3)
Introduce 10 automatic machines in each store and hire the assistant to help people use to them.
Phase 2: (Month 4 – Month 9)
Increase the number of the machines while on the same time reduce the number of the cash clerks; put advertisement on how efficient it works and how much time it could save for the customers.
Phase 3: (Month 5 – Month 12)
Receive feedback from the customers and adjust the plan if it doesn’t work well.
• Web sites
http://www.wikipedia.org Article about Wal-Mart. Date 13/03/06
• Information in the case study.
• Articles given by the teacher.
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The number of American companies supporting small businesses in their country is growing—Facebook, American Express, Google and Dell to name but a few are now joined by Starbucks, which has teamed up with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) to launch Create Jobs for USA, an initiative that encourages consumers to donate money, which will be used to strengthen community business nationwide.
“Small businesses are the backbone of America, employing more than half of all private sector workers—but this critical jobs engine has stalled. We’ve got to thaw the channels of credit so that community businesses can start hiring again. Create Jobs for USA empowers Americans to help other Americans create and sustain jobs, with Starbucks and OFN as a catalyst and the Indivisible wristband as a symbol of our country’s unity,” said Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz.
Photo: The Starbucks Indivisible wristband
Starbucks has created a bunch of projects aimed at bringing positive change in a range of fields, including ecology, health and community improvement, and this move is expected to help stimulate U.S. job creation in tough economic times. Starting November 1, through its new Create Jobs for USA program the company will be encouraging its consumers of its nearly 6,800 company-operated venues across the country, employees (partners) and citizens to contribute to the effort by making a little donation—those, who will donate $5 minimum, will get a red, white, and blue wristband with the inscription saying ‘Indivisible.’ According to Reuters, “Schultz, who recently completed a painful but successful company turnaround that involved the closure of some 600 U.S. cafes as well as significant layoffs, also has asked fellow business leaders to pledge to step up hiring.”
All of the proceeds received by Starbucks will be donated to OFN, which represents a nationwide network of 180 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), where the money will be distributed in loans to U.S. community businesses—including small businesses, microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate, and affordable housing—to support creation of and sustaining jobs primarily in the areas where receiving a credit though traditional channels is far too challenging. Every $5 donation will ‘grow into’ $35 in financing combined with another $30 on average from the CDFI community lenders. The initial contribution will be made by the company itself—according to the press release, “the Create Jobs for USA Fund at OFN will be seeded with a $5 million contribution from the Starbucks Foundation.” The company doesn’t say how much it’s going to generate through this initiative, but it states that every $3,000 donated through the initiative (or approx. every $21,000 in loans) will help one job to be is either created or maintained. On average, $1 donated through the program will be re-loaned indefinitely since the OFN network has 98% loan repayment rate, and that means that the contributions will create a virtually a ceaseless impact.
“We are thrilled to partner with Starbucks on this innovative and high impact solution to help put America back to work. For more than two decades, OFN’s network of premier CDFIs has financed community businesses, delivering both sound financial returns and real changes for people and communities. Create Jobs for USA will unlock the power of CDFIs to finance community businesses and create new jobs and help grow our economy,” commented OFN president and CEO Mark Pinsky. | <urn:uuid:79c50ec8-b11e-4020-a915-b0cdf06d7447> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://popsop.com/49792 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952864 | 726 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Why would there be a terrorist attack on Bombay, in a manner sure to increase media exposure (last year's attack on the Indian parliament didn't garner a fifth of this coverage)? Why would the attacks appear so clearly orchestrated by terrorist groups financed by the Pakistani military? Because the Pakistani military is afraid of losing power. They need the low-intensity conflict with India going on perpetually; the thawing relationships are a threat to the survival of the military.
The Indian government is in a bind. The reaction in India is similar now to the mood in the US after 9/11. "Attack the terrorist training camps in Pakistan", the public screams. Except that is sure to bring about full-scale war. The Pakistani government may be unable to control its territory, but it is prickly about its sovereignty all the same. School children in Pakistan put on dramas where they kill invading Indian infidels in rivers of blood. The Pakistani public would want to go down with their nuclear weapons, taking the world down with them. The results would be catastrophic.
Bob Kagan has an idea worth pursuing:
Rather than simply begging the Indians to show restraint, a better option could be to internationalize the response. Have the international community declare that parts of Pakistan have become ungovernable and a menace to international security. Establish an international force to work with the Pakistanis to root out terrorist camps in Kashmir as well as in the tribal areas. This would have the advantage of preventing a direct military confrontation between India and Pakistan. It might also save face for the Pakistani government, since the international community would be helping the central government reestablish its authority in areas where it has lost it. But whether or not Islamabad is happy, don't the international community and the United States, at the end of the day, have some obligation to demonstrate to the Indian people that we take attacks on them as seriously as we take attacks on ourselves?
Would such an action violate Pakistan's sovereignty? Yes, but nations should not be able to claim sovereign rights when they cannot control territory from which terrorist attacks are launched. If there is such a thing as a "responsibility to protect," which justifies international intervention to prevent humanitarian catastrophe either caused or allowed by a nation's government, there must also be a responsibility to protect one's neighbors from attacks from one's own territory, even when the attacks are carried out by "non-state actors."In Pakistan's case, the continuing complicity of the military and intelligence services with terrorist groups pretty much shreds any claim to sovereign protection. | <urn:uuid:fdf21fb5-14e3-4b37-b689-14124957bf05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://not-that-sane.blogspot.com/2008/12/preventing-war.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964763 | 514 | 1.742188 | 2 |
BJJ Guard Posture Mistakes
Whenever I've got someone in my guard I watch them very carefully for mistakes. If they make a mistake (and if I can capitalize on it quickly) then - boom - they're gonna get swept or submitted.
The best part is that, if they've really screwed up, then I don't even have to work hard to finish the move.
These mistakes all have to do with posture in the guard. Posture is the arm and body position that makes it difficult for your opponent attack you. It also gives you a launch pad for your own techniques. Posture is different for each position, and today we're dealing with posture in your opponent's guard.
So let's assume that you find yourself in your opponent's closed guard. (Similar principles apply for the open guard too).
Here are the three biggest mistakes you can make in when you're trying to achieve posture in someone's guard. If you make one of these mistakes you might as well cover yourself in wrapping paper and pin on a ribbon, because giving them a submission.
As your opponent moves around and tries to offbalance you from below, it's a natural reaction to put your hand on the floor. Well don't do it! Putting your hand on the floor opens you up to various armlocks, including the reverse armlock (pictured above), the Kimura armlock, and the Omo Plata armlock.
Pretend that the floor is a hot iron skillet and keep your hands on your opponent's body (gripping his sleeves to control his arms is also OK).
Your opponent's centerline runs along the front of his body. His nose, chin, sternum and belly button are all on this line. Don't let your elbow cross his centerline, because that is the exact position he needs to slap on a very powerful armbar submission (shown above, on the right).
Sometimes an opponent will be hell-bent on getting your arm into this position. He'll reef like crazy on your arm to get it across. Failing that, he might try holding your arm in place and move his own body to get you into this bad position. Once again, don't let him do this. Fight to get your arm back and re-establish good posture!
The third big mistake when making posture in the guard is putting one arm under his leg. If you do this you're just begging him to triangle choke you (pictured above). The general rule is keep both hands over his legs, or both hands under his legs.
I should point out mistake isn't as cut and dried as the first two posture disasters we talked about. There ARE valid guard passes that rely on getting one arm under his leg. These guard passes require a fair amount of sensitivity and attention to detail to make them effective and keep you safe. Feel free to use and develop these guard passes - they can be very effective - but just be very aware of the dangers whenever one arm goes under a leg (and know how to neutralize your opponent's triangle attack).
Unless you know exactly what you are doing, these three posture mistakes will get you into a lot of trouble (and probably submitted).
So keep these general rules in mind:
If you incorporate these rules into your game (and don't let your opponent force you to break them) then you'll get submitted far less often when you're in your opponent's guard!
Bookmark this lesson! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon | <urn:uuid:2beb3418-4219-40ec-abfa-09ef303dddbd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beginningbjj.com/lesson-BJJ-Guard-Posture-Mistakes.html | 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 | 0.97154 | 730 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The U.S. is not the only country with an “FCPA-like” domestic statute. The United Kingdom has a similar law (actually a mix of several different statutes on the books for nearly one-hundred years – however, in March 2009, a new bill – the “Bribery Bill” was introduced in Parliament and is currently being debated).
As discussed in a July post (see here), the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) (an enforcement agency similar to the U.S. DOJ) announced “the first prosecution brought in the U.K. against a company for overseas corruption.”
The company – Mabey & Johnson Ltd. (“M&J”) – a U.K. company that designs and manufacturers steel bridges used in more than 115 countries worldwide.
Last week, the SFO issued a press release announcing the details of M&J’s £6.6 million sentence (see here).
The SFO also released two “prosecution opening statements” relating to (a) the company’s conduct in Jamaica and Ghana; and (b) the company’s breach of United Nations Oil for Food Regulations (see here and here).
To state the obvious, one enforcement action does not constitute a practice.
Subject to that qualification, I offer some comments about the SFO’s released documents compared to what the DOJ and SEC typically release in an FCPA enforcement action (where indeed a common practice has developed).
Unlike a typical DOJ deferred prosecution, non-prosecution agreement or plea or SEC complaint, the SFO documents name names. Specifically identified in the documents are numerous “public officials” in Jamaica, Ghana, Angola, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Bangladesh (see pages 11, 25, 28, 32, 33, 35, and 38) alleged to have received improper payments from M&J (or its agents) to help secure company business.
The SFO documents also specifically identify the agents and their companies which were used by M&J to make certain of the improper payments (see pages 12, 22, 28, 32, 35, 37).
Is there value to “naming names,” does it “punish” the foreign or public official recipient of the improper payment (given that the FCPA only punishes the bribe payor not the bribe recipient)? Does naming the agent effectively blacklist the individual/company and thus serve a useful public function for other companies doing business in that particular market?
All interesting questions to ponder. There is also an interesting historical FCPA angle as well. Many, including the Ford administration, were opposed to the FCPA as it now exists, opting instead for a disclosure approach on the theory, to use the famous Justice Brandeis quote that “sunshine is the best disinfectant.”
Back to the SFO documents.
As referenced above, the applicable term used in the SFO documents is “public official” not “foreign official” as used in the FCPA. Do these terms means the same thing? All of the “public officials” identified in the SFO documents are government Ministers or Ambassadors (what I’ll call core government officials).
There is no exception though, an exception relevant to the current debate over the FCPA’s “foreign official” term and whether it should include employees of state-owned or state-controlled companies.
The Angolan “public officials” appear to be Directors of Empresa Nacional des Pontes, an “Angolan State owned entity.”
Joint Venture Partners
Under the FCPA, conventional wisdom seems to hold that joint venture partners will be liable for improper payments made by other joint venture partners, particularly when the joint venture partners share revenues and profits of contracts secured through improper payments and particularly when the joint venture’s board includes individuals from both companies. (see here for a discussion of this issue in connection with the recent Halliburton/KBR enforcement action).
Not so in the M&J matter.
The SFO documents reference a joint venture relationship between M&J and Kier International Ltd. (“Kier”) in order to facilitate both the construction and engineering aspects of “Jamaica 1″ (the contract allegedly secured through the bribe payments).
According to the SFO documents, M&J and Kier agreed that “overall revenue and profits from the JV with respect of Jamaica I would be divided 57% and 43% respectively.” The documents further state that under the terms of the JV “a sponsor would have primary responsibility for representing the JV” and that “Kier was nominated to act as the sponsor.” Further the documents indicate that “the supervisory board” of the JV comprised both M&J and Kier executives.
However, the documents evidence that the “SFO has investigated the relationship between Kier and M&J in respect of this contract” and “all the evidence currently available to the SFO” indicates that “there is no evidence that Kier [was] privy to these corrupt practices.”
Will JV partners in the cross-hairs of a future FCPA enforcement action be citing to the SFO’s decision as to Kier in the M&J enforcement action to argue that there is no basis for FCPA liability (whether anti-bribery or books and records of internal controls)? Perhaps so.
Despite these apparent differences between the M&J enforcement action and a “typical” FCPA enforcement action, there are some similarities and it is clear that the SFO is following DOJ’s lead when it comes to “rewarding” voluntary disclosure (see pages 40-41 “the SFO have sought where appropriate to have regard to the model for corporate regulation adopted by the Department of Justice in the United States of America under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977.”).
The SFO’s stance in the M&J matter, in which it noted that M&J’s internal investigation and subsequent voluntary disclosure were “meriting specific commendation” (see pg. 7) is consistent with the approach the SFO set forth in July when it released a memo titled “Approach of the Serious Fraud Office to Dealing with Overseas Corruption” (see here).
Finally, much like the DOJ, the SFO appears interested in charging individuals (not just corporations) for participating in improper payments. The SFO specifically noted that “a number of individuals are the subjects of investigation with regard to the corrupt business practices of M&J” (see pg. 5) and it explained that it did not “name certain directors, executives and employees of M&J at this stage because they may face trial in English Courts.”
Again, to restate the obvious, one enforcement action does not constitute a practice. Yet when doing a comparative analysis of the FCPA with other FCPA-like statutes one has got to start “somewhere” and that “somewhere” now exists with release of the specific facts of the U.K.’s first prosecution against a company for overseas corruption.” | <urn:uuid:3d237690-ae24-4c5b-9958-29d15310ebe1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fcpaprofessor.com/category/bangladesh/page/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95243 | 1,541 | 1.6875 | 2 |
DON GONYEA, HOST:
Nordic cool. What is it? Well, right now it's a massive festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with artists and designers displaying art and culture from the very tiptop of the globe. NPR's Amy Walters reports the festival arrives at what seems like just the right moment for Americans.
AMY WALTERS, BYLINE: From Danish modern furniture of the 1950s to the on the omnipresence of IKEA, Americans have long been attracted to the austere design of the Nordic countries. We shop at H&M, we read Steig Larsson's "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and one of the most emailed New York Times' articles this week: "Bark Up or Down? Firewood Splits Norwegians."
The piece reviewed a 12-hour Norwegian television show devoted to building one fire.
JUKKA SAVOLAINEN: Nordic cool, I think it's also a little about oddness.
WALTERS: Jukka Savolainen is hosting the design portion of "Nordic Cool." When he talks about oddness, he points to a large piece of lava rock in the shape of a ball.
SAVOLAINEN: I think it looks like a garden gnome.
WALTERS: The piece is by Icelandic artist Tinna Gunnarsdottir, and the only outward similarity I can see to the traditional stocking-capped gnome is that this gnome, presumable, belongs in a garden.
SAVOLAINEN: Why can't the garden gnome be something that is actually quite beautiful rather than funny-looking elves? When you think about the gnome as somebody kind of respecting nature, somebody protecting the area, what is actually better than a natural element?
WALTERS: Savolainen says he thinks the Nordic appeal is simple.
SAVOLAINEN: We're living in the virtual world, and in the real world at the same time. People need simplicity and the Nordic way of life is maybe a little bit simpler.
WALTERS: Like plywood.
JENNI OLSULSEN: Emmanuel Nobel, Alfred Nobel's father, he was an inventor, architect and engineer, and he figured out a new way of making plywood.
WALTERS: Jenni Olsulsen is an architect at Snohetta. Snohetta designed Oslo's opera house, the new pedestrian-friendly Time Square, and "Sup-Plywood," a floor-to-ceiling pile of molded plywood, that looks like someone dropped it from above. One part stands up, one on its side, while the other flops on top of itself. Olsulsen says viewers describe the work as both a roll of film and a ski jump. She says it's about her society, like the pieces of plywood, working together.
OLSULSEN: We try to really be as equal as possible and the way we work in team. We're not so much survival of the fittest. We're more like we have to take care of each other. So if we can bring something over to you and you can learn something of the way we are thinking, I think that would be really good.
WALTERS: But I'm still not sure it's going to help me understand a TV show about a burning fire. Amy Walters, NPR News, Washington.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
GONYEA: This is NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:e17a3ba6-689d-4405-9638-b17cb08c6cdd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kqed.org/news/story/2013/02/23/116859/nordic_cool_illuminates_dcs_kennedy_center?source=npr&category=world | 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 | 0.949755 | 759 | 1.585938 | 2 |
It was a stunning sight out of some monster movie. A 36 foot-long whale shark was hauled into Karachi Fish Harbor by local fishermen on Tuesday.
Weighing around 15,000 lbs., the whale shark was lifted out of the water by two cranes amid applause by onlookers.
A man, Haji Qasim, promptly bought the fish for a little over $2,000. The fish will be displayed to the public for three days. “Then I will sell the meat to the people running poultry meal business,” Qasim said.
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world. They consume plankton and are included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which means that the fishing of whale sharks is restricted. | <urn:uuid:6207a36e-93cc-4e47-83b7-8909a85f4807> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/02/08/whale-shark-caught-by-fishermen-was-36-feet-long-and-weighed-15-tons/?intcmp=related | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964271 | 158 | 1.796875 | 2 |
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