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WALLA WALLA -- After several years of decline, Walla Walla County's homeless population jumped back up this year.
The number of homeless individuals, 583, climbed back up to the same number seen in 2008, said Susan Kralman, coordinator for Walla Walla County's 10-year plan for ending homelessness. Homeless households also rose after a three-year decline with 323 reported in this year's count.
The numbers of homeless men and women were almost equal this year, 292 men and 291 women, the survey showed. However, as in years past, single men outnumbered single women by a significant margin, 144 to 64.
Exactly why the numbers went up is not clear, Kralman told Walla Walla County commissioners Tuesday. The poor economy could be one culprit, but many other factors could come into play as well.
Taken the last Thursday in January, Jan. 26, the survey involved about 40 public and private entities at locations throughout Walla Walla County. The survey was started in 2006 as part of House Bill 2163, passed the year before, which required counties to draw up plans to reduce homelessness by 50 percent within 10 years.
One surprise in this year's survey was the change in the top cause listed as leading to being homeless, Kralman said.
"This is the first year that 'unable to pay rent (or) mortgage' topped 'alcohol (or) substance abuse' as a reason for being homeless," she told commissioners. However, what is not clear is whether alcohol or substance abuse problems played a role in a person's being unable to make rent or mortgage payments or whether other issues were involved.
Commissioner Perry Dozier commented that one thing that stood out in the survey were the numbers for mental health and substance abuse issues. He said he was curious to see if over time those figures might go down due to the county's enacting a sales tax to aid funding for treatment of those problems.
Commissioner Jim Johnson asked if the numbers might be up "because we're getting better at gathering data," but Kralman said that didn't seem to be the case. Overall, "this county has been very consistent" in gathering information on homeless numbers on the day of the survey, she said.
One factor that didn't seem to play a major factor in this year's count was the weather, Kralman noted. Although the week before had featured an ice storm and low temperatures, on the day of the count the weather was dry with a high of 52 degrees and a nighttime low of 33 degrees.
"Actually on that day it was a pretty decent day," she said.
Andy Porter can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or 526-8318. | <urn:uuid:6e66108d-ef07-43e0-a34c-872a66d4f3f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/may/30/homeless-numbers-jump-up-in-county/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97723 | 569 | 1.828125 | 2 |
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby are among the planned speakers at the ceremony expected to be attended by a number of federal judges from around the country, The Tuscaloosa News reports.
Coffee and other refreshments will be served beginning at 8 a.m. on the front lawn of the courthouse at 2005 University Blvd. and the ceremony is to begin at 9 a.m.
A highlight of the building's decor is its artwork. Sixteen murals, each 14 feet tall and 9 feet wide, were commissioned to represent the history of Tuscaloosa, north Alabama and the nation. The murals include depictions of Alabama pioneers, industrial growth, George Washington preparing to cross the Delaware, the Civil War, George Wallace in the schoolhouse door, Bear Bryant and the tornadoes that struck the state April 27 | <urn:uuid:e25fb4ad-01e2-453f-a0cf-3cce8e19d4f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.al.com/tuscaloosa/2011/12/justice_clarence_thomas_to_spe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94629 | 179 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The University Club Then and Now
The University Club’s Summit Avenue Clubhouse was completed and opened for member use in 1913. The building was designed by Reed and Stem, designers of Grand Central Station in New York City, The Saint Paul Hotel, the Downtown Saint Paul Athletic Club and quite a few Summit Avenue homes. The clubhouse was modeled after London’s great turn-of-the-century city clubs, both in architecture and purpose. In the 1930′s a pool was added and after the second world war the University Club was the first of the three clubs to open its membership to women. In recent years the club has been restored and updated with a modern fitness center. | <urn:uuid:ba473a69-df90-4a9a-ada6-01252f64a07a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nokohaha.com/2013/02/04/the-university-club-then-and-now/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977046 | 140 | 1.671875 | 2 |
You know how it is. You spend vast amounts of money on your political campaign, and vast amounts of time from your unpaid volunteers, and then you come to your website, and, well, it's only a website, right? Those computer-y people are all the same. No reason to spend much time or effort on it.
This is the only conclusion I can come to from the general state of political websites.
I'd like to take a couple of examples. First, Sarah Palin's distasteful target website which was taken down in the wake of the shooting of Gabrielle Griffords, presumably due to it being in rather poor taste to show an image of Griffords' congressional district in a rifle scope while listing her for replacement:
The website itself is done in Ruby on Rails, living on an Amazon EC2 machine, with the images also served from that machine. Now, the nature of this website, really, as far as I can see, is a shock site. It is intended to be passed around supporters to gawk at how great it is, and around civilised people to marvel at how awful Sarah Palin is. This means that it should expect serious traffic spikes, and that it should ideally be able to deal with this.
Of course, when the Griffords story hit, this was not the case. Within minutes the site slowed to a crawl, showed various Rails errors and nginx gateway errors, and then had its DNS records deleted. And why? Surely a large part of the reason was that it was a _dynamic_ site used for a purpose which could quite happily have been served by a static site. If it had simply been a series of HTML pages, with the images served from S3 or a CDN, then it would not have gone down remotely as easily. The site has no real dynamic content (unless Sarah logs in from her Blackberry to add new targets now and again) and would be far more easily scalable if it was static.
The second is Fine Gael's website. Now, Fine Gael is no stranger to website controversy, but they've perhaps hit a new low today; their new site has been hacked, apparently through an XSS exploit.
And then there was the US Republican Party website which had the amusing security issue where one could have a Flash version of Michael Steele gesture happily at pornography...
Politicians, your websites are not mere afterthoughts. You want to at least consider putting in a bit of effort into them, and maybe not farming them out to the lowest bidder. Otherwise, you end up looking very silly. | <urn:uuid:053cd7e6-7fe5-4e6e-b489-2b1177d3fb3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://myblog.rsynnott.com/2011/01/politicians-need-to-pay-bit-more.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979326 | 528 | 1.671875 | 2 |
LA Weekly has published an investigative report on the use of License Plate Scanners in Southern California. In addition to reporting that the rapid embrace of the technology by local law enforcement has led to “one of the most densely concentrated license plate recognition systems in the United States,” the article includes this signficant piece of news:
Department of Homeland Security grant documents, obtained by the Weekly through the Freedom of Information Act, suggest that in addition to the hundreds of LPR devices now atop police vehicles, about 60 are hidden along strategic roadways near potential terrorist targets such as LAX and the Port of Long Beach.
If, as the documents obtained by the Weekly “suggest,” DHS is deploying ALPRs, these would join the federal readers that we know Customs and Border Protection and the DEA have deployed near the southern “border” (which the government asserts extends 100 miles inland), and the readers that the DEA would like to deploy along interstate highways (my latest post on that is here, and an examination of the possible consequences here). It’s not clear what agency within DHS would be responsible for these L.A. deployments—whether these are also CBP or DEA cameras, or some other agency's.
The Weekly report also highlights that:
If we do not put some protections in place, that average of 22 location snapshots per car will inevitably climb, probably very rapidly. If that is allowed to happen, it will have very significant reverberations.
Speaking of computerized law enforcement, New York City drivers may come under the watchful eye of automated speed cameras under a new proposal. One thing is certain: the American love affair with the automobile is entering a whole new chapter.
Update (June 27):
Jon Campbell at the LA Weekly contacted me to let me know I'd misunderstood the paragraph I quoted above. In fact, the 60 readers hidden along strategic roadways were financed by a DHS grant, but were not federally operated.
Of course, as Campbell shows in his report, local ALPR databases are being rapidly consolidated, and as federal access to such consolidated databases grows, the difference between federal and local readers will quickly become a distinction without a difference. | <urn:uuid:fc956e7b-885c-4572-8164-05c04296acea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty-national-security-immigrants-rights/more-federal-license-scanners | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963789 | 448 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Entries in wind siting council PSC (2)
6/20/10 What are they saying about the wind project proposed for Brown County? AND Wind Siting Council Meeting tomorrow at 1:30
Green Bay Press-Gazette, www.greenbaypressgazette.com June 20 2010
Wind farm development has been a hotly debated issue in Northeastern Wisconsin, and the Green Bay Press-Gazette has received numerous letters to the editor, for and against.
Drawing the most response from readers has been a proposal by Invenergy LLC, a Chicago-based company, to build wind turbines in the Brown County towns of Morrison, Wrightstown, Glenmore and Holland. The 100-turbine wind farm would be the first major commercial operation of its kind in Brown County and the largest in the state. It has signed contracts for about $8,000 a year with numerous property owners permitting 400-foot turbines on their properties.
Many property owners and residents in the southern Brown County communities have spoken out against the project, citing negative health effects and the potential loss in property values.
Just last week, the Brown County Board of Health recommended that no wind turbines be built in the area of the proposed wind farm in southern Brown County, citing a potential threat to the groundwater. The area has a history of well contamination because of the porous bedrock peculiar to that region.
Invenergy is awaiting siting rules from the Public Service Commission, which is taking public comments on the wind turbine issue until July 6.
Uncomfortable with proposed turbines
DENMARK — In the Press-Gazette article, "Wind company tries to woo Brown County" (May 11), Kevin Parzyck, the project manager for the proposed 100-turbine Ledge Wind project in Brown County, is quoted as saying "(T)here is a high level of comfort … it's a benefit to the community." This is a misleading statement.
Get facts straight
The BCCRWE is funded by donations of individual members only. BCCRWE is not connected statewide and does not have external funding sources. BCCRWE is for renewable energy that is sustainable and cost-effective. The Ledge Wind Project is neither. It is heavily subsidized by our tax dollars and higher utility rates.
What else is being said that is less than credible? It certainly makes a person wonder.
Turbines in southern Brown County a 'social injustice'
The area has fractured bedrock that can allow contaminants to leak into ground water. Building this wind farm may result in more fractures and poorer well water quality.
A frustrating aspect for the people of southern Brown County is lack of local control. By law, wind turbines are considered "farming" and go on agricultural land, even though they are no more agricultural than a hydroelectric dam or a nuclear power plant.
The decision to put one up is made solely between the developer and the farmer, who both profit, while the surrounding community suffers negative effects, loss of health and wealth (due to declining property values). To me, this is an incredible social injustice.
WIND SITING COUNCIL MEETING NOTICE
Monday, June 21, 2010, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Flambeau River Conference Room (3rd Floor)
Public Service Commission Building
610 North Whitney Way, Madison, Wisconsin
Audio or video of the meeting will be broadcast from the PSC Website beginning at 1:30.
CLICK HERE to visit the PSC website, click on the button on the left that says "Live Broadcast". Sometimes the meetings don't begin right on time. The broadcasts begin when the meetings do so keep checking back if you don't hear anything at the appointed start time.
1) Welcome/Review of today’s agenda
2) Review and adoption of meeting minutes of June 15, 2010
3) Background information on questions raised by Council regarding the draft rules
a. Statutory interpretation
c. Commission rulemaking authority
d. Notice requirements
e. Emergency services
f. Vestas manual reference
h. Stray voltage
i. Complaint resolution
j. Commission noise measurement protocol
4) Discuss proposed amendments to straw proposal for Council’s recommendations to
Commission regarding draft rules
5) Next steps/Discussion of next meeting’s time, place and agenda
This meeting is open to the public.
If you have any questions or need special accommodations, please contact Deborah
Erwin at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin by telephone at (608) 266-3905 or
via e-mail at email@example.com.
4/7/10 Why are so many bats dying in Wisconsin wind projects? Shining a spotlight on a glaring problem
Want to keep up with what's going on with the wind siting council?
Remember to check the docket
NOTE: The 9:00am meeting scheduled for this Friday will be conducted by telephone. The PSC is still working out the details of how the public will have access to it.
When it comes to big wind projects, bats in Wisconsin are in need of a super-hero
Three recent reports indicate bat kill rates in Wisconsin wind projects are ten times the national average. No state except Pennsylvania has ever had such high bat kill numbers which are among the highest in North America.
How many bats are dying in Wisconsin wind projects?
According to the We Energies report, 3,500 bats a year are being killed in the Blue Sky Green Field 88 turbines project. Each 1.5 MW turbine represents 41 bat deaths a year. According to the study, 7,000 bats have perished in the Blue Sky, Green Field wind project during the last two years.
The kill rate is the same in the Cedar Ridge project. The Invenergy Forward project may show higher bat kill numbers.
Given this, Better Plan felt the following posting on the Wind Siting Council Docket was especially worth reading.
WHAT'S ON THE WIND SITING COUNCIL (WSC) DOCKET TODAY?
Visit the docket by CLICKING HERE. The docket number to enter is 1-AC-231
Public comment from Brown County resident regarding concerns about lack of DNR involvement with WSC
The following is the text of a letter I sent to Department of Natural Resources Secretary, Matthew Frank regarding DNR representation on the Wind Siting Rule Making Commission:
April 6, 2010
Dear Secretary Frank,
My wife and I reside within the boundaries of the currently proposed Ledge Wind Energy facility in southern Brown County.
You can imagine that we have a keen interest in the proceedings of the Public Service Commission Wind Siting Commission, which convened on Monday, March 29. We attended that first meeting and plan to be in attendance at the 9:00AM meeting on April 7, as well.
At the onset, I was taken aback by the lopsided fashion in which the commission is populated with wind energy developers and proponents.
As a retired high school social studies and environmental studies teacher, I find it distressing to find no Department of Natural Resources representation on this commission. The Department`s absence raises the following questions in my mind.
Ms. Marilyn Weiss, the Public Service Commission case manager for the Ledge Wind Energy Project, in communication with people in the Ledge Wind Project area has mentioned Shari Koslowsky as the DNR Energy Division contact person for wildlife issues related to wind energy projects.
Why is she not in attendance at Siting Commission meetings?
A recent DNR reviewed bird and bat study conducted at the Blue Skies Green Fields wind farm yielded higher than average mortality rates.
With that wind farm`s location on the Niagara Cuesta, a known bird and bat migration route, should this not be a significant factor of consideration in the development of standards by the Siting Commission? If wildlife species are observed to avoid areas of wind turbine concentration, should habitat loss by abandonment not be a Department concern in a continued focus of wind energy development along the Niagara Escarpment?
The proposed Ledge Wind Energy Project is extensively underlain by karst feature, and significant groundwater contamination has occurred within the project area in the past. The construction of a wind farm involves miles of buried collection cables in addition to excavation of tower foundations. Should Department staff oversee excavation and site restoration procedures?
Considering the elevation of the Niagara Cuesta makes it particularly attractive to wind energy development, should the Department not be heavily involved in the siting standards developmental process to protect ground water resources in such sensitive areas?
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I look forward to your reply.
I affirm that these comments are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Greenleaf, WI 54126
Tomas Hauge, Director, Wildlife Management, DNR
David Siebert, Director, Office of Energy, DNR
Shari Koslowsky, Conservation Biologist, DNR
NOTE FROM THE BPWI Research Nerd:
If you are a member of any organization that might be as concerned as we are about the Wisconsin bat kill numbers, please make sure they are aware of the recent findings. | <urn:uuid:b5e57745-3e1a-47df-b921-9e78bf85bcb0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://betterplan.squarespace.com/todays-special/tag/wind-siting-council-psc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931455 | 1,901 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Weiland Health Initiative, an interdisciplinary program chartered to promote health and wellness across the spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientations, began its second official year with plans for new programming.
Over the past week, The Daily has examined how the University responds to and works to prevent mental health crises, the campus resources that exist to help students who are struggling and how students themselves experience those services.
The difficulty in calling out an eating disorder is that it is defined by a way of thinking, and the actions that follow are only potential indicators.
The Bridge Center for Peer Counseling has experienced a spike in calls this quarter, possibly in relation to two recent student deaths, according to Bridge counselor Akshay Gopalan ‘12 who spoke to The Daily in advance of a discussion about dealing with grief and suicide on campus.
Luskin and Pertofsky originally taught a course titled “The Pursuit of Happiness and Health” in the School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, which in 2007 evolved into the happiness class offered now, taught twice a year through the athletics department. The happiness class covers topics such as gratitude, mindfulness, human connections, forgiveness and meditation, and reaches a wider student audience.
Stanford University and 13 other institutions of higher education announced their partnership in the Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking, a national effort to tackle binge drinking on American campuses. This development comes at a time in which nearly 2,000 American college students die annually from alcohol-related injuries. | <urn:uuid:c494ee33-2377-4ed9-b69e-c994c2021d79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stanforddaily.com/tag/vaden/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951813 | 311 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Cite as "AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 06091169 (posted Sep. 11, 2006)"
The Senate, on 9/7/06, passed by a 98-0 vote the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for 2007 (H.R. 5631)--a $469.7 billion defense spending measure that includes nearly $2 billion in emergency funding for border security measures. The border security funding was added to the bill on 8/2/06, by an amendment offered by Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). Their amendment adds $1.829 billion for the construction of 370 miles of triple-layered fencing, and 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the southwest border.
The Senate adopted a similar Sessions amendment during floor debate on the comprehensive immigration reform bill (S. 2611). That amendment, which passed 83-16, would provide for the construction of at least 370 miles of triple-layered fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers in areas along the southwest border that the Secretary of Homeland Security determines are areas that are most often used by smugglers and aliens attempting to gain entry into the U.S. In addition, the amendment would require the DHS to repair and extend existing fencing, and construct vehicle barriers, in the Tucson and Yuma sectors. All construction would be required to be completed within two years of the bill’s enactment. The Senate immigration reform bill, however, remains in limbo, as House Republican leaders have chosen to spend the summer attacking the bill’s merits during a series nationwide “faux” hearings, rather than conferencing the bill with the House’s flawed, enforcement-only vehicle (H.R. 4437).
Senator Sessions apparently argued that the funding for the fence should be made part of the defense spending bill given that National Guardsmen would be assisting with its construction.
The House, which passed its version of the bill on 6/20/06, but did not include border-related funding, is expected to support the Senate’s addition of same during conference negotiations on the bill. | <urn:uuid:aa6b3ed3-572d-439c-ae1a-879567d7924b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?textsize=small&bc=6755%7C37844%7C11537%7C24763%7C20504 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957326 | 433 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Memory is getting increasingly cheaper and faster as manufacturing processes become more refined, to the extent that even lowly office PCs are being shipped with 4GB of memory. The voltage required to drive memory is also decreasing, which has positive ramifications on heat output. With this in mind, we wonder why the market is still saturated by sticks of memory with large physical footprints constricting the use of extravagant CPU air coolers, which provide better returns on performance.
This Kingston kit prefers not to leave the heating issue to chance, allowing itself to measure in at double the height of a standard generic module. Fortunately we still had the Antec Kuhler 920 installed, because there was no way we were getting the NH-D14 on! Naturally, having aggressive heat dissipating fins requires a matching set of mounted fans – you know, just in case. The fan attachment mechanism is made of solid lightning blue aluminium, which matches the DIMMs precisely.
There's four sticks for use in dual-channel configuration, so those using the Sandy Bridge line of processing gear are the target market here. Make no mistake, 2133MHz is pushing some serious clockage, but we decided to take it a little further. With a memory multiplier limit of 21.33x on our trusty Z68X-UD3H-B3, we were forced to push the delicate BCLK up to 103MHz to overclock this memory. That got us to about 2.2GHz, which was the stable limit according to an hour of Prime95, powered by a generous 1.75v. This didn't really do much to improve performance, in fact, it made it slightly worse. Our next option was to tighten the latencies, which faired significantly better. From the default 9-11-9-27-T2, we managed a stable 9-10-9-27-T1, giving a clear gain in wPrime. While we didn't achieve much in the way of overclocking, the stock performance is already quite substantial.
To credit Kingston, the memory did remain cool before and after overclocking, so the fins were doing their job superbly, if not superfluously. For an asking price of $260, the fan bundle definitely sweetens the deal. Regardless, the performance of the memory itself is mighty impressive, so you get what you pay for. On the other hand, 16GB would be a lot tastier... | <urn:uuid:b3a2cf3f-54f0-4b98-980d-a4008ba6884d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Review/272571,kingstons-hyperx-khx2133c9ad3t1fk48gx-ram-a-powerful-mouthful.aspx | 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 | 0.963719 | 492 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The Reviewed: Even Tough Girls Wear Tutus by Deborah Jiang Stein
The Reviewer: Judy Clement Wall
A little over halfway through her memoir, EVEN TOUGH GIRLS WEAR TUTUS, Deborah Jiang Stein writes, “How is it really possible anyone is born in prison? I have never met anyone with a story like mine…” In the pages leading up to this, a family breaks apart, a life unravels, an identity is forged through sheer determination, out of nothing, out of ashes. By the time I read her observation, I ache with the loneliness of it.
The book starts when Jiang Stein is twelve years old and finds a letter hidden under the lining of her mother’s dresser drawer. That she’s adopted doesn’t come as a surprise; she knows that. That she was born to an incarcerated, heroin-addicted mother, spent her first year living in a women’s prison and then entered foster care for over a year before being adopted… that’s news. It’s news that simultaneously undoes and explains her, a brutal confirmation of the unspoken truth she’s carried inside her all her life: she is flawed (ugly, different than everyone else), and her badness is fundamental. It lies in her very DNA.
The truth, stated clearly in the letter from her adoptive mother to the family lawyer, crashes over her, too much to absorb all at once. It comes in waves, painful and disorienting, over years, over decades, underlying and undermining everything that comes after. When the twelve-year-old Jiang Stein, who finds peace and solace and order in dance, thinks to herself that “a girl born in prison doesn’t twirl around in a tutu and pink tights and ballet shoes,” it is heartbreaking, and it’s the beginning of a lifetime spent battling her own impulses – the good and the bad – consumed by anger, frustration, confusion, and a spirit that simply will not let her surrender to either realty, accept either identity.
I was mesmerized by this book. It’s beautiful and harrowing and brave. Born addicted to drugs herself, Jiang Stein’s life is a struggle from the beginning. The affects of fetal drug addiction are well known now, but in the 1960s there was no support, no information. Her white, Jewish, adoptive mother was ill-equipped to handle the anger, withdrawals, and increasingly risky behavior of her multi-racial child. Time and time again she answers Jiang Stein’s questions of identity with, “You are one of us, and we love you,” never realizing the extent of her daughter’s pain and alienation.
In a scene that is difficult to read because of its unflinching honesty, Jiang Stein is 17 years old, standing forehead to forehead with her mother. “An electric thread ignites right behind my eyes with a rage that rearranges my cells inside,” she writes. “I power up to strike and aim my right fist for my mother’s face. At the last minute, just as my knuckles almost grace her cheekbone, I divert my punch.” The bones in her hand shatter as her fist breaks through the sheetrock wall.
The strength of Jiang Stein’s writing is her ability to put me right there in her scenes. I held my breath through that scene with her mother and many others, as Jiang Stein’s life spins further and further out of control. Her phrasing is at once graceful and arresting, powerfully emotional and disarmingly matter-of-fact. She describes the day she visits the prison where she was born, the way her mind processes the enormity of her emotions. “Like a dandelion puff in a flutter from a breeze, I fly off above the prison in a distortion of time and space, my cells in a dance. Did my mom feel mind flips like this, too?”
EVEN TOUGH GIRLS WEAR TUTUS is about hope and transformation, the agility and strength of the human spirit, but not in a precious way. It’s evocative, fierce and tender. It reminds us that the most important thing may not be the lessons we learn, and then relearn, and then learn all over again, but rather the thing inside us that is willing to learn them in the first place. | <urn:uuid:bfe3e5be-90e7-446f-be37-b7b9e28e755d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usedfurniturereview.com/2012/01/19/review-even-tough-girls-wear-tutus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957419 | 927 | 1.625 | 2 |
Via the Morning News comes this n+1 essay by Ian MacDougall about Swedish crime fiction, primarily Stieg Larsson, the author of the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and two other similarly named books. I grabbed Dragon Tattoo out of the free pile at my old job after I was in Madrid and saw dozens of different people on the subway reading it. I started in on it after I abandoned Infinite Jest in frustration. It was the perfect antidote for me; a coherent, plot-driven novel written in sturdy, easy-to-parse sentences with not a whiff of wordplay or irony. MacDougall suggests that Larsson’s books are an elaborate critique of the welfare state, and that interpretation is certainly there, though arguably Larsson’s condemnations are too heavy handed to be taken all that seriously as a critique. (But then again, some people actually regard The DaVinci Code as though it was the return of Feuerbach.) It is refreshing to see Larsson deploy misogyny to increase reader outrage rather than titillation—or is he doing both? My recollection is that there was something ultimately ghastly and Patrick Bateman-like about the novel. I wanted the female hacker character to be the sole protagonist; the heroic journalist character read at times like mawkish wish fulfillment on Larsson’s part.
I subsequently began reading the police-procedural novels of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, which are much more nuanced and subtle in their critiques and bizarrely prurient about misogyny in a slightly different way. (The Wikipedia page on the authors offers this: “Wahlöö described their goals for the series as to ‘use the crime novel as a scalpel cutting open the belly of the ideologically pauperized and morally debatable so-called welfare state of the bourgeois type.’ “) Several of the early books in the series hinge on female nymphomaniacs and the social trouble they cause. The authors are somewhat ambiguous with regard to whether they see nymphomania as a legitimate condition or a misogynistic pathologization of women with the temerity to express sexual desire. These novels were written in the 1960s, and ideological fallout of various liberation movements were clearly on the authors’ minds. Readers are not left with a ringing, overemphatic indictment of any particular institution or attitude. But, as MacDougall claims for Larsson’s books, there’s a comparison to be made with the best seasons of The Wire—you get a sense of the complexity of social conflict and sympathetic rehearsals of various rationalizations.
MacDougall thinks Larsson’s books offer a fantasy solution to the social problems the Wire depicts as endemic and cyclical, and he seems to suggest this makes them superior.
Although there is an obvious analogy to recent American forays into the crime genre, like the HBO series The Wire, this only points to what sets Larsson apart—a particularly Scandinavian optimism that insists it’s never too late to effect real change. Larsson, unlike David Simon, doesn’t see institutional dysfunction as a tragic wheel driven around by some essential human flaw. Larsson the idealist believes that an opposing force, if applied strongly enough, can slow that wheel, if not bring it to a grinding halt.
I haven’t read them all, but Dragon Tattoo made me think that such optimism is precisely why they are inferior, escapist. Perhaps I have been working in publishing too long to believe that a crusading journalist can ever be plausibly taken as a idealistic force for change. | <urn:uuid:e877b65a-81c0-4dc9-8b20-8de3ecbf793b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/121706-swedish-crime-fiction/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954631 | 753 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Walking the Path of the Professional
by Doug McQuiston
We lose sight of this in the smoke of the "fires" we have to put out every day. I fail at least as often as I succeed in measuring up to the high expectations I have of myself, and that others have of me. But striving to measure up is essential to our success, even our happiness, in the profession. It is a path, not a destination, and it lasts our whole lives.
One of the best books I have read about this subject is actually not a "professionalism" book at all. A while back, I read an excellent novel by Steven Pressfield. That book prompted me to learn more about him. I discovered he had a pretty impressive list of books and screenplays to his name, including "The Legend of Bagger Vance."
He also had quite a backstory. Pressfield faced decades of failure before he finally got any of his works published. He had countless opportunities to give up and even did a time or two along the way. But he somehow managed, after years of wandering in the wilderness, to get up, struggle to his feet, and stagger back to the path. Only after all those failures did he find success as a professional writer. His failures, it turns out, showed him how to succeed.
He tackled the subject in a short nonfiction book, "The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle" (2002, Rugged Land). The book describes his discovery of what it took to be a professional writer. While his views on how to approach the author’s life are a little extreme, his thoughts on the process of being a professional, of just getting up every day and "putting in the work," as he puts it, are thought-provoking.
The path is not easy. If it was, "anyone could do it," Pressfield observes, (rolling out the old cliché). He talks about how "resistance," (the sum of all those forces trying to pull us off the path) attacks us daily. The days we can look back and say we fought it to a draw are good days. Those rare days when we can look back and see a little victory are great days.
But walking the path can be its own reward. Setbacks or failures along the way can’t defeat us, and the crosswinds of resistance cannot push us off the path, unless we let them. Resistance has no power but what we give it, whether in our work or our lives.
The path has a start, but no finish. It is a journey that is entirely within our power to undertake. No one can stop us anymore than anyone can make us walk it. Nothing can force us onto the path, nor pull us from it, unless we let it.
Every day will bring new crises, detours, or challenges. It is up to us to get up every day, lace up our boots, and start walking, right through them all. If we do that because we value the journey, not because someone or some governing body tells us to, we will be professionals.
It isn’t just about how we go about our business when people are watching, though. In fact, how we conduct ourselves when no one can see is what truly distinguishes us as professionals. True professionals hold themselves to high standards, not because our ethics rules require it or because others might judge them. Rules and professional standards are important, but true professionals hold themselves accountable because they wouldn’t judge themselves as worthy of self-respect if they didn’t.
Here are Pressfield’s observations about the professional’s path—they have clear parallels to our profession, too:
• A professional is patient
Every day blesses us with a chance to get it right. True happiness can come to us by making the choice to try. The alternative is not worth contemplating. If you want to dedicate (or rededicate) yourself to walking the Path, Pressfield cites excellent advice, from Scottish explorer W.H. Murray , to get you started:
"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would not otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man would have dreamed would come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: ‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it. Begin it now.’" D
Doug McQuiston has been a lawyer in Colorado for more than 30 years. He is a member, contributing writer, and past chair of the Denver Bar Association Docket Committee. He has been a contributing editor of the CBA Litigation Section News and is a member of the DBA-CBA Professionalism Coordinating Council. This article represents his views only, and not those of the council. | <urn:uuid:63a6a897-b78a-429e-88df-9978ece63ef4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://denbar.org/docket/doc_articles.cfm?ArticleID=7670 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972351 | 1,074 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Get Active & Loose The Belly Fat
Have you ever thought of the many different methods proposed today of losing or burning the belly fat? Because losing the belly fat has become a top priority and a health concern today, so many theories have been suggested, some of which if you shared with your doctor, the doctor might just faint or get a heart attack. Ask yourself an honest question — is the method suggested Ok with your doctor? If it is not, you would be better off dropping it and taking on a healthy approach to losing the belly fat.
Keep in mind that expending the belly fat is not about starvation or vigorous intensive workouts. It is about improving the efficiency and speed of your metabolism, and reducing the blood pressure to be able to enhance an overall healthy body. With an optimal metabolism, you will be sure that there will be no fats deposited as solids before they are broken down. You will also be guaranteed that the fats that have already settled in your body will be exposed to intense and optimal lypolysis.
Change Your Diet and Get Healthy
Of equal importance to understand about burning belly fat the healthy way is that there is no instant cure or miracle pill that will fix you overnight. You have to be prepared to go through a long process of self improvement. First and foremost, begin by reducing the amount of food you consume in a single sitting by half. Secondly, you should draw a meal timetable whereby if you normally take 3 major meals a day, log that in a 24 hour timetable and note the times or hour that you eat frequently. Between the meals, you should slot in 3 or four meals at the same intervals of 3 or so hours.
Eat Regular Well Balanced Meals
It is very crucial to ensure that in the 6 meals that you have slotted in, you eat a well balanced and healthy diet. You should always eat at the exact scheduled time to ensure consistency. Your meals should be rich in proteins but low in saturated fats, and should not have artificial sweeteners, simple sugars, concentrated fats, and oils. In place, make a habit of eating wholemeal foods, vegetables and fruits to provide your body with sufficient fiber nutrients and contents.
It’s Simple and Fun – Swim, Jog, Cycle or Run
The other critical thing to losing the belly fat the healthy way is to indulge in physical activity. Generally, this helps you expend more calories than you consume in a given single day to ensure that none of the calories get stored as fat in your belly region. The most effective calorie burner, and the only proven one at the moment, is physical activity which can include some things as simple as jogging, swimming, cycling, running, and walking. You should also take on a regular exercise program in a cardio program whereby your main aim should be to achieve a lower blood pressure.
With as little as 30 minutes of exercise every day for three days a week, you will be guaranteed of positive results after a given period of time. | <urn:uuid:b46cf669-f257-4f03-ab1e-61bf1f7d9a47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thedietsolutionprogramscam.com/losing-the-belly-fat-the-healthy-way/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956218 | 608 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Proposition 33, a ballot measure designed to allow consumers who have been with a car insurance company for five years to switch insurance companies while keeping their “loyalty discounts,” is the subject of much debate leading up to election day.
Supporters are adamant about the measure being beneficial to all Californians drivers. Opponents are not convinced and say the proposition is heavily funded by insurance company interests.
Proponents contend consumers will benefit
“We believe it will save consumers money every month on car insurance,” said Rachel Hooper, spokeswoman for the Yes On Prop 33 campaign.
Hooper said Prop 33 would allow consumers more freedom than they currently have.
“Now they can shop around but not as competitively as we believe they should be allowed,” Hooper said. “It is drafted to have consumer protections that go above and beyond consumer law.”
If passed, those who are unemployed or have been furloughed and young, teenage drivers stand to benefit, according to Hooper. Military families would as well since they are prone to cancel their current coverage when they are deployed.
“They’re in and out of coverage,” Hooper said. “Under Prop 33, they would keep the loyalty discount.”
She points out that organizations statewide have endorsed the proposition, including Veterans of Foreign Wars of California, the American Legion, the American GI Forum and the Peace Officers Research Association of California or PORAC, a law enforcement organization with more than 64,000 members, according to Hooper.
“It’s all about trying to get people under the umbrella of insurance,” Hooper said. “It goes back to competition and lowering prices.”
Opponents point to proposition funding
Carmen Balber, spokesperson for “No on Prop 33,” said it all boils down to benefiting Mercury Insurance since its chairman, George Joseph, has personally invested more than $16 million in an effort to pass Proposition 33.
“This is about one insurance industry billionaire trying to boost his company’s bottom line at the expense of good drivers,” Balber said.
She contended that Joseph has run “deceptive TV advertising” and also emphasized the measure would have a “disproportionate impact on lower-income and minority communities” by reversing consumer and civil rights protections put in place 24 years ago that have protected them.
Her argument is that before 1988, insurance companies would “cherry pick” the drivers they wanted to cover, often raising rates, making them too high for many people to afford or refusing to sell to those who had no prior insurance.
“What we saw was a lack of insurance in low-income and minority communities especially because the rate of the uninsured was higher in those communities,” Balber said.
She said a similar measure, Proposition 17, was already defeated two years ago.
“It is a replay of the same measure voters have already said no to, to raise rates on good drivers,” Balber said.
Civil rights organizations, among them Public Advocates, Incorporated, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and the Black Economic Council, have also spoken out against Prop 33, including in a letter to the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance.
While the opposing sides of the issue may never meet, one thing they can agree on is that when election day comes, it is California voters who will be in the driver’s seat.
Need help sorting out California's propositions? Here are some resources that provide explanations of the ballot measures, pro and con arguments, endorsements by newspapers, groups that support and oppose, and campaign funding sources:
• California Choices - nonpartisan collaboration by Next 10, Institute of Governmental Studies at University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at San Diego Political Science Department, the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford, and the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State.
• MapLight - a nonpartisan organization that researches the influence of money on politics.
• KPCC - Southern California Public Radio's Voter Guide based on voter's address. | <urn:uuid:db52bcc7-7cec-4e5d-9b3b-9592fac3d68d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://southpasadena.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/insurance-industry-backed-proposition-on-california-ba9f373c4c7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964795 | 866 | 1.546875 | 2 |
QUESTION: I hunt in east Texas on a 100-acre family farm with mostly open pasture land. This is my first of many years hunting to utilize a game camera. Over the past several years I have consistently harvested deer, 18 since 2000, yet have never seen or harvested anything bigger than a 6-pointer.
I've always attributed this to the openness of our hunting habitat. Now that I've had a chance to utilize a new trail cam, however, I'm finding there are several mature trophy bucks, but they are only caught on my cam at night. Would there be any strategy to change their pattern? - Ronny S.
ANSWER: There might be ways to change their patterns, but it will be far easier and more effective to change yours.
The first, and perhaps most obvious thing you can do is to stop shooting 6-pointers. These are likely young deer, and if given another year or two, will sport larger racks. You might have to live off of does for a couple years, but ultimately you'll have more older, larger bucks to choose from.
Next, consider changing your hunting tactics. Another reason you might only see smaller, younger bucks is if you're hunting feeders. Deer, especially older ones, are much more wary around these artificial concentrations of deer, food and human scent. They tend to avoid them more than younger deer.
Mature bucks will, however, approach downwind to scent-check for other deer, particularly during the rut. Look for major approach trails, and even set your cameras back 100 yards or so on the downwind side. You might also consider rattling, particularly during the rut.
Study the terrain and habitat as well. If, as you say, it's mostly open ground, hunt the thick cover where older bucks feel more comfortable moving around in daylight. Even better, look for that type of thick cover downwind of your feeders and you might find it twice as productive. | <urn:uuid:fd26bf69-08eb-4baf-bcb3-f1b02b34de0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buckmasters.com/where-are-my-big-bucks.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974736 | 402 | 1.601563 | 2 |
School Break Creative Writing Workshops
Pairing seasoned writers with students, ages 13-18.
Student writers will develop and hone their fiction, poetry and personal essay skills, discovering the most powerful ways to express their ideas and to have them heard. By week's end, each student will have several pieces of completed work to submit or publish.
All student work is eligible for publication in the YAWP Ezine (www.yawpezine.com) and for presentation in the "Sounding Our YAWP" event in late April.
Winter Break Creative Writing Workshops
February 18-22, 2013
Spring Break Creative Writing Workshop
March 25-29, 2013
Course Fee: $525. Partial scholarships available.
The Young American Writers Project (YAWP), created by Stony Brook Southampton's MFA in Writing and Literature program, is dedicated to mentoring young people in the development of creative expression and critical thinking through writing. | <urn:uuid:a18087e0-ddbe-4304-a134-936c570afcb0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stonybrook.edu/southampton/mfa/yawp/schoolbreak.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933637 | 196 | 1.5 | 2 |
Moore -- whose Metasploit Framework is used for penetration testing, IDS signature development and exploit research -- has declared July the "Month of Browser Bugs." In a message posted to the official Metasploit blog, he promised new browser-flaw details each day this month.
"The vendors have been notified and the time has come to start publishing the results," Moore said. "This information is being published to create awareness about the types of bugs that plague modern browsers and to demonstrate the techniques I used to discover them."
In the Browser Fun blog, Moore is quick to point out that the details will be displayed with care. "The hacks we publish are carefully chosen to demonstrate a concept without disclosing a direct path to remote code execution," he said.
Reaction so far seems to be that of detached amusement, sprinkled with some hope that vendors will put the intelligence to good use.
"It is interesting to see how horribly buggy browsers can be," computer security specialist Dominic White wrote in his blog. "I am most interested in seeing which browser gets broken the most and if we can take any defense-in-depth lessons from this."
Hopefully, he said, vendors will take all the details and release one patch for all of the bugs affecting their browser, "because nobody has the resources to run about patching user's browsers several times a month."
Taking a swipe at Microsoft, one respondent to Moore's posting on the Metasploit blog wrote, "Why not release one bug on the second Tuesday of each month? Then the bugs would last at least two and a half years."
To that Moore responded, "We could probably release one a day for the next two and a half years without running out of bugs."
McAfee laments a malware milestone
Santa Clara, Calif.-based antivirus vendor McAfee Inc. used its Avert Labs blog this week to mark a grim milestone: the 200,000th entry into its VirusScan malware detection database.
Since it took 18 years to log the first 100,000 pieces of malware in the database, McAfee said it's alarming that it took barely two years to double the number.
"Looking ahead, our researchers expect yet another doubling in a similar timeframe," McAfee's Jimmy Kuo wrote. "So, 100,000 new threats in the past two years, 200,000 new threats to come in the next two years!"
Kuo noted that the last two years marked a significant spike in downloaders and bots: malware designed to sit silently on machines and extract information that could be used for financial gain.
"In early 2004, a number of viruses like Netsky, Bagle, and Mydoom would infect multiple millions of machines with each release of a new variant," he said.
But over time, malware distribution has changed dramatically. "In the first half of 2004, 31 virus outbreaks were rated medium and above. The second half of 2004 saw 17 more. That number fell to 12 for the whole of 2005. And in 2006, there have been no outbreaks of similar severity!"
Instead of huge virus events, he said, "the preferred method of malware distribution now involves the creation of many minor variants sent through controlled spam efforts. Good family detection becomes crucial for a less worrisome experience on the Internet." | <urn:uuid:9d6606e8-2228-4ae7-aa35-df53d4645ee2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/1197531/Metasploit-creator-promises-browser-flaws-galore | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951438 | 674 | 1.757813 | 2 |
"I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen," HAL 9000, the fictional mission computer, said in "2001: A Space Odyssey." Stanley Kubrick's film may date back more than 40 years, to 1968, but the monolithic intelligent mainframes that IBM first produced in the 1950s are still a mainstay for financial firms -- and fear of disconnecting them may be one of the primary reasons, according to Aite Group senior analyst David O'Connell.
"Mainframes are integrated with so many business processes that no one really wants to touch them," O'Connell explains. There are a lot of devices these days that can do what mainframes do, he acknowledges. But there are very few reasons to migrate off of the mainframe and many reasons not to, he adds.
While mainframes' functions are fairly well documented, like HAL, there is still an air of mystery about them, at least for non-engineers, who are typically reticent to simply switch them to the "off" position. "You never know if it might switch off a trading desk --no one knows exactly how integrated they are," O'Connell relates. "No CIO wants to say, 'Gosh, the reason we have an outage at an entire retail network is because we shut down the mainframe to save $30,000.'"
Fear of Failure
Of course, fear of the consequences of turning off these machines is not the only reason behind their continued popularity. They actually still offer value. Mainframes support huge portions of the data environment at most large enterprises. And as firms search for new ways to sift through and analyze mountains of structured and unstructured data, mainframes still offer one of the best ways of doing this, suggests Ken Muckenhaupt, CTO for the financial services sector, IBM Systems & Technology Group (hardware division). "For all intents and purposes, the financial world runs on this class of computing," Muckenhaupt says, noting that mainframes are used today for traditional and online transaction processing, including generation of reports, account management and core banking operations.
"Firms say, 'I need to have more capacity. We're being swamped,'" Muckenhaupt continues. "Nothing beats the mainframe if the client needs extreme reliability, availability and serviceability. It's second to none. You'd need to go through many more hoops or configurations to come close to what a mainframe would do. It has unlimited scalability in virtual environments, which puts it far above distributed environments."
One area in which mainframes play a critical role is analytics, where mainframes serve as a primary data source for big data capabilities and solutions such as Hadoop, according to Aite's O'Connell. Since these behemoths can easily crunch data in real time relating to the history of account holders and their behavior, mainframes are used to analyze opportunities to create competitive products as well as for fraud mitigation, he adds. Meanwhile, new regulatory reporting requirements generated by Basel III and Dodd-Frank are dialing up the pressure on firms to mine data in near real time, increasing the reliance on mainframes further.
Ameriprise Financial CIO Randy Kupper says his organization, which just signed a multiyear partnership agreement with IBM to incorporate the vendor's technology in its data centers, uses the mainframe for interactions with outside wholesalers and other manufacturers of products that its advisers sell. The mainframe's analytics capabilities are a huge draw. "There's a lot of batch processing and data crunching," he indicates, noting that Ameriprise works with research firm and investment manager Morningstar, a provider of data on more than 385,000 investment offerings, along with real-time global market data on more than 8 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities and precious metals. | <urn:uuid:0be47c67-c570-40b0-8d55-7aee1e149b77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/it-infrastructure/the-mainframe-continues-to-lure-wall-str/240008798?cid=SBX_wallstreetandtech_related_mostpopular_default_data_security&itc=SBX_wallstreetandtech_related_mostpopular_default_data_security | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957309 | 802 | 1.625 | 2 |
Will Differences in Parent Assets Due to the Omission Sibling-Owned Custodial 529 Plan Accounts Cause Problems on the FAFSA?
December 19, 2011
Since siblings’ UTMA 529s don’t get reported on the FAFSA, but the student’s UTMA 529 is counted as a parent asset, each of my kids would have a different amount listed on the FAFSA as parent assets. The amounts would be vastly different because most of my son’s money will have been used by the time my youngest starts college. We’ll have three children in college at the same time, and two of them are going to the same school. I’m concerned, even though I think having different amounts is correct, that this might make the financial aid officers suspicious. — Donna R.
The statutory language in the Higher Education Act of 1965 is somewhat ambiguous concerning the treatment of custodial 529 plan accounts owned by a sibling of a dependent student.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-84) changed the treatment of qualified education benefits effective July 1, 2009. This legislation amended section 480(f)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to treat qualified education benefits that are owned by a dependent student as though they are assets of the parent, not the student. The statutory language now reads: “A qualified education benefit shall be considered an asset of (A) the student if the student is an independent student; or (B) the parent if the student is a dependent student, regardless of whether the owner of the account is the student or the parent.” Qualified education benefits include 529 college savings plans, prepaid tuition plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.
Clearly, if the applicant is a dependent student, any custodial 529 plan accounts owned by the applicant are reported as parent assets, as are any regular 529 plan accounts owned by the parents. In particular, the parent assets include not just the parent-owned 529 plan accounts that name the applicant as a beneficiary, but also parent-owned 529 plan accounts that name anybody else as a beneficiary, such as the applicant’s siblings.
This interpretation is reflected in the printed FAFSA instructions, which state “For a student who must report parental information, the accounts are reported as parental investments in question 89, including all accounts owned by the student and all accounts owned by the parents for any member of the household.” The online FAFSA instructions provide similar advice: “Note: Students who must report parental information on this form should report all qualified educational benefits or education savings accounts owned by the parents and/or the dependent student as part of the parental assets.”
The 2011-12 Application and Verification Guide provides a similar interpretation: “Qualified tuition programs (QTPs, also known as section 529 plans because they are covered in section 529 of the IRS tax code) and Coverdell education savings accounts are grouped together in the law as qualified education benefits and have the same treatment: they are an asset of the owner (not the beneficiary because the owner can change the beneficiary at any time), except when the owner is a dependent student, in which case they are an asset of the parent. When the owner is some other person (including a non-custodial parent), distributions from these plans to the student count as untaxed income, as money received.” | <urn:uuid:af571bbd-6742-434a-9396-b102eab706a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/3405-ask-kantro-will-differences-in-parent-assets-due-to-the-omission-sibling-owned-custodial-529-plan-accounts-cause-problems-on-the-fafsa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962083 | 709 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The ups and downs of a recovering recession have meant uncertainty at times during the first half of 2012, but the freight transportation industry nevertheless is moving along, helped in no small measure by shipments from the metals sector.
And in a symbiosis of sorts, the metals sector gets a boost when freight transportation thrivesthe materials to build new containers, truck cabs, rail cars and other modes of transportation come from steel, aluminum and other metal producers, who benefit when orders stream in for large, durable equipment.
Primary metals, ores, finished products and ferrous and nonferrous scrap all saw relatively healthy tonnages moving within the United States in the first two quarters of 2012, the bulk of them carried by truck and rail. And exports saw a number of shipments leave the United States from ports on the East, West and Gulf coasts. By June, those industries were still making headway from capacity losses they suffered during the Great Recession, although their numbers were still well below pre-recession levels.
Year to date, tonnage moved by truck was up 3.8 percent compared with the same period last year, according to American Trucking Associations (ATA) statistics. However, the ATAs advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.1 percent in
Aprilthe most recent month for which figures were availableafter increasing 0.6 percent in March. While Aprils decrease was a little disappointing, the March gain turned out to be stronger than originally thought, ATA chief economist Bob Costello said. The ups and downs so far this year are similar to other economic indicators.
The Association of American Railroads also reported mixed figures, with U.S. railroads originating 291,381 carloads in the week ended May 26, up 1.3 percent from 287,693 in the same period last year, but the year-to-date total of nearly 5.92 million carloads was 3.1 percent below more than 6.11 million a year earlier, although the shipment of 4.84 million trailers and containers was up 2.9 percent from 4.7 million last year. But year-to-date shipments of metals and metal products were up 9.1 percent to 232,169 carloads from 212,789 a year earlier; metallic ores rose 10.1 percent to 141,369 carloads from 128,440; and iron and steel scrap inched up 1.4 percent to 103,095 carloads from 101,685.
Including Canada and Mexico, North American railroads originated 373,165 carloads in the week ended May 26, down 1 percent from 377,059 in the same period last year, and the year-to-date total of 7.82 million carloads was 1.8 percent below 7.96 million a year earlier, although shipments of metals and metal products were up 6.1 percent to 315,340 carloads from 297,175 a year earlier; metallic ores rose 4.6 percent to 438,402 carloads from 419,212; and iron and steel scrap was up 2.8 percent to 131,251 carloads from 127,655.
After several lean years, North American demand for rail freight cars is expected to boom in 2012 and continue on that course for the next few years, according to rail car manufacturers, railroads and major shippers. At the same time, design advances will increase the amount of steel used in each rail car, especially in new high-pressure tank cars.
The industry expects to deliver around 50,000 new rail cars this year and about 60,000 in 2013, according to an industry source who is a member of the North American Freight Car Association, noting that the projected new builds could remain above the 60,000 level through 2015. The industry averaged 53,000 new cars annually from 1995 through 2009.
A new freight car contains 18 to 20 tons of steelstructural, sheet, plate and barso the steel requirements in an average year would be around 1 million tons. Annual aluminum tonnage consumption would total about 180,000 tons, with the only major demand for aluminum being for coal cars.
The projected breakout of car types each year for the post-2013 period is about 20,000 covered hoppers (for grain, sand and plastic pellets), 13,000 tank cars, 12,000 doublestack container cars, 8,000 gondolas (primarily for coal and a smaller number for scrap and steel), 7,000 open-top hoppers (coal and aggregates), 3,000 conventional flat cars (steel, automotive and lumber) and 2,500 box cars.
On the water, concerns about the eurozone crisis and a slowing of Chinas economy dont seem to be hampering the maritime flow of North American bulk cargoes, such as iron ore and coal, as the first half of 2012 came to a close. Ports across North America were reporting strong shipments of bulk cargoes, and they anticipate a continuation in the second half of the year, according to the Cleveland-based Lake Carriers Association, which represents 17 American companies that operate 55 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes.
Iron ore is the backbone of the Great Lakes trade, but U.S. and Canadian vessels also haul millions of tons of bulk coal and limestone on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system each year. About 80 percent of the iron ore in global maritime commerce originates in Brazil, Australia or Africa and is delivered to steel mills in China, Japan and Europe. The United States and Canada are self-sufficient in iron ore and move the commodity on a vast inland waterway system. | <urn:uuid:b3347990-a453-4640-ac0d-0c90639e7833> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amm.com/Magazine/3046016/Article/3130713/Article/3136851/Quote.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957721 | 1,161 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Muslims are supposed to know how and when terror is required. Hopefully we will be aware of these issues because today there is a group of people who pity the Jews killed in Palestine, saying they are just innocent civilians.Some Muslim thinkers express weird views in the media and on the internet saying the Israelis are innocent civilians. What civilians are they talking about? Muslim jurists reached a conclusion about that, and this is what we care about, regardless of the Western views. Muslim jurists have agreed that if an enemy attacked a Muslim land, Muslims there should fight it by every possible means.The Jews are our enemies, their men and women occupied our lands.
So the Israelis are not civilians, sorry, I mean the Jewish society, for it does not deserve to be named after the pure prophet Israel, who is Jacob, God’s servant and messenger. Anyway, the Jews in Palestine are not civilian, thus, the great self-sacrifice Palestinian operations against the Jews are by no means terrorist acts.
We must be well aware of such issues so we may acquaint the Muslim generations to come with them, hoping they, God willing, will pray in Jerusalem. They should know when terrorism is required and when it is not.
One of the worst pieces of news I have ever heard is about 4,000 Muslim men and women, who are supposed to be thinkers, intellectuals and academics. They gathered and came up with a document and sent it to Kofi Annan desiring to put some of the Muslim scholars on trial, claiming that they were terrorists who encouraged martyr operations targeting poor unarmed civilians in Palestine.What can we say about those people? How can we describe them? Have they been brainwashed, or are they biased, or ignorant, or hirelings? How can we describe these people? What a disgrace!So we are obliged to present the true concept of terrorism and show when it is required and when it is not. We and our children must be aware of such concepts.
For example, the issue of apostasy in Islam. One who apostatizes from Islam is to be killed.Some say Abu Hanifah said an apostate should be imprisoned but the majority of scholars are of the view that an apostate must be killed. So we should not be ashamed of this Islamic ruling.
Man is free to adopt the religion he wants. But a Muslim is not free to be a disbeliever. Simply, this is a divine ruling that we should apply proudly. There are some Muslims who adopt the view of imam Abu Hanifah but the majority of earlier and current scholars are of the view that an apostate must be killed.If the West blames us for that, I say to them “you should blame yourselves”. For their beliefs and concepts have no relation to the divine revelation. Such concepts are of no value in the scale of thought or when they are applied in reality. We rely on divine texts and we will never leave then for the sake of the West or their views about us. This is a very important point.
An American expert in violent self-defence has been excluded from entering the UK by the Home Office.Tim Larkin tried to board a plane from his home in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but was given a UK Border Agency letter saying “his presence here was not conducive to the public good”.Mr Larkin, who was due to host seminars, told the BBC the move was a “gross over-reaction”.The Home Office said he was subject to an exclusion order.A spokeswoman said: “The home secretary will seek to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good.” | <urn:uuid:96efe91f-478e-4b12-b9b8-5c4ba10eebff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scotfella-directimpact.blogspot.com/2012/06/politicsartscomments-policydonate-to.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967955 | 760 | 1.773438 | 2 |
CLC's Ken Georgetti on Bill C-377 a.k.a. The Expensive, Unfair to Unions Bill
Bill C-377 a.k.a. The Expensive, Unfair to Unions Bill
The Conservative government has a disturbing habit of introducing significant changes to Canadian public policy by sleight of hand. One way is by using 400-page omnibus budget bills to make legislative changes that usually have nothing to do with the budget. The recent massive alterations to Canada's Navigable Waters Act is one example. Another shady way of dealing is for the Prime Minister's Office to have Conservative MPs introduce private members' bills that are really government bills in disguise. | <urn:uuid:b9edf6c6-d822-4fc7-86f2-e0bfe1ae9bce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nursesunions.ca/news/clcs-ken-georgetti-bill-c-377-aka-the-expensive-unfair-unions-bill | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940289 | 142 | 1.820313 | 2 |
What is it that you are really afraid of? Is it that you won’t be good enough or fast enough? Is it that you are limited in what you know or what you can do? Is it that your ideas are mediocre or even ludicrous? Is it that you believe it’s not in your blood because mama didn’t do it; daddy didn’t do it, not your uncles or aunts, not your grandma or grandpa and not even your ancestors? Is that it?
Is it that you have a complexion that is a rainbow of the races-not light enough? Or, one that is as dark as the minds that discriminate against you-too dark? Is it that you are Susan and share your life with Karen or Mike and share your life with Stephen? Is it that you won’t be considered because you have children or taken seriously because you are a woman? Is it that you are too young or too old?
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
These words authored by Marianne Williamson help illustrate my point that what holds us back is not those things that seemingly create parameters for us, but it is that we would have the audacity to transcend them.
Many times we end our path to accomplishing our goals before we really ever start to get on it. Have you ever talked yourself right out of something you wanted to do before you even started doing it? We become overwhelmed by the possibility of our failure. What we believe we are, what we look like, or what we know or don’t know cripples us. Who has already done it and who is thinking of doing it now besides us, blurs our own vision. The color of our skin, the way we love, and our ages quiets our voices.
Ironically, these are also reasons we are mobilized, inspired, and vocal. And, so, the possibility of our success, too, overwhelms us.
We have to make a conscious decision to move toward our goals in the face of fear period. Fear can stunt our growth because it prevents us from experimenting. Experimenting involves trial and error from which we learn and learning cultivates growth.
What is it that you are really afraid of? Explore your truth.
Later, down the road, it might be a tough thought to have when you ask yourself how is it that you didn’t become what you had the potential to become.
You need not to employ efforts to rid yourself of fear, instead, utilize it. Making use of what appears to be a limitation moves you toward your goals by creating steps that allow you to rise to the next level and then the next. Otherwise, you might keep tripping over limitations and allow them to become stumbling blocks.
Keep moving. Be encouraged.
Contact columnist LaTonya Dunn at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:c50d2cf3-cf6a-48b1-bdde-b91c90c7b32d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2012/jul/02/explore-your-truth-reaching-full-potential/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966464 | 609 | 1.765625 | 2 |
EU withdraws from Northern Kosovo
"Hopes for a peaceful conclusion to the declaration of Kosovo's independence were fading as the European Union announced it had withdrawn its staff from the north of the fledgling country in the face of increasingly angry Serb protests."
So begins the utterly predictable reaction of the EU to Serb anger as their "army in suits" pre-emptively withdraws.
At the same time, KFOR, the Nato-led peacekeeping force, sealed the border to Serbia, after angry mobs torched border crossings. ...
Yesterday Peter Feith, the EU's Kosovo envoy, said security concerns were behind the withdrawal of his staff from northern Kosovo. They had been preparing the ground for a 2,000-strong EU rule of law mission. "I would like to appeal to the Serb community to be generous and to turn the page and look forward to working together with us," he said. "We hope that conditions will soon allow us to resume our activities."
Translation. We'll return when NATO makes it safe enough for us to return.
The wider impact of the Kosovo crisis is the precedent that it sets for many of the "frozen conflicts" of the world, ranging from Azerbaijan to the Basque region. Remarkably, many Muslim countries have refused to recognize Kosovo. And their reluctance is fueled in part by the desire to avoid stirring up separatism. Therefore Kosovo has been sold by the EU and the US as an "exception" to the general rule.
The problem is that the Serbs are taking the cue from the Kosovars. If Kosovo can split from Serbia why can't Serbian regions split from Kosovo? The EU believed that by throwing a protective blanket of "suits" around the Serbs in the north that Kosovo might be held together. But as the experience of Iraq shows, stabilization can only occur where security is guaranteed. The crisis that will face Western policy in Kosovo is whether they are up to providing "security" which is another word for military force, to back up their "army of suits". The suits can't deploy without the uniforms. | <urn:uuid:850257c7-57ec-4368-974a-2ec7e7fe473b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2008/02/eu-withdraws-from-northern-kosovo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976781 | 429 | 1.703125 | 2 |
- Harrar Brewery
Harrar Brewery is located in the outskirts of the historic town of Harrar in eastern Ethiopia, the fourth holiest islamic city. The brewery is well known for the popular taste of its beer and the diversity of its products. Harrar Brewery is the only Ethiopian brewery that sales abroad.
The Harar brewery markets a Pilsner to compete with Bedele, St. George, and Meta, but also produces an increasingly-popular dark beer, " Hakim Stout " and a non-alcoholic beverage, " Harar Sofi ," that appeals to the large Muslim population in the region and throughout Ethiopia.
Most of the machinery and equipment in the brewery are from the Czech Republic. It occupies a total area of 103,407 m 2 . Land is available for future expansion. Genela spring, from which Harrar beer is brewed, is within the factory's compound and supplementary water supply has been made available from the Finkile deep-well and Alemaya Pump Station. The installed capacity of the brewery is 200,000 hl per annum. Under normal conditions, the daily capacity is four brewing cycles, each consisting of 200 hl. With slight changes in the brewing-house, the daily capacity could be raised to five cycles.
In the bottling section, the general production rate reaches 20,000 bottles per hour. Recently, the factory replaced its old labeling machines with a new machinery suitable for front and back labeling, neck labeling, foiling and date printing. There is also a new keg filling plant for draught beer, with washing and filling stations.
Harrar Beer is sold almost everywhere in the country. In the early years of its operation, the brewery exported large quantities of beer to the USA, Canada and Djibouti. This was interrupted in early 1990s, but has now been revived adding the Netherlands to the list of export markets. The sales activity is carried out partly by the brewery itself and partly by sales agents. The direct sales by the brewery covers some 46% of the total volume. Branch offices in Dire Dawa, Shashemene and Addis Ababa promote the sales activity.
Before the establishment of Assela Maltery, the brewery used to import malt from abroad. Nowadays malt is imported in small quantities for blending purposes only. In general, the brewery imports all chemicals for treatment and sanitation purposes. Hop is imported mostly from Germany.
The repair and maintenance of all machinery and vehicles are carried out by the brewery's maintenance division. All machinery are in good condition. Downtime is minimal. Electricity is supplied from the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation. Two transformers with a capacity of 1,250 KVA each are installed in the Brewery's premises. Supplementary water is pumped from a place called Finkile, 33 km from the premises, which is jointly used with Hamaressa Edible Oil Factory.
- source: Ethiopian Privatization Agency | <urn:uuid:f242fd49-7eb9-436f-81c5-5028ff63e07e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/harrar_brewery.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946789 | 602 | 1.632813 | 2 |
PARIS (Reuters) - France, which is studying ways of curbing legal tax avoidance by big Internet firms, has decided to go after all of them to seek payment of back taxes, Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said on Thursday.
The government had decided, Montebourg said on France 2 television, "to launch tax retrieval procedures covering all of the Internet giants".
He did not elaborate and it was not clear whether the comment, made in a wide-ranging interview about French industry, referred specifically to existing tax investigations of the Internet search engine and retail giants Google
President Francois Hollande's government is considering how it could change the way it taxes global Internet groups, including a new levy on the personal data of web surfers that the likes of Google and Facebook
French politicians, like peers elsewhere in Europe, are raising pressure on web companies who, they say, collectively avoid paying millions in value-added and corporate taxes by exploiting loopholes in European Union laws and different tax regimes across the region.
Google has been under investigation by the French tax authorities since June 30, 2011, when its Paris offices were searched and computers and documents were seized.
Tax authorities are examining whether its practice of charging French advertisers via its European headquarters in Ireland led it to underpay taxes in France.
Google has said its practices in France conform with local law and that it is co-operating with the authorities.
Amazon said in November it had received a $252 million demand from the French tax authorities for back taxes, interest and penalties in relation to "the allocation of income between foreign jurisdictions".
(Reporting By Brian Love; Editing by Kevin Liffey) | <urn:uuid:fb8dd5ea-e699-4413-870d-2e1510332df0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wixx.com/news/articles/2013/jan/24/france-seeking-back-tax-from-big-web-firms-minister/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971462 | 334 | 1.5 | 2 |
Employee absences can be both costly and disruptive.
It is advisable to have systems in place to measure and analyse these costs so that you can identify problem areas. Are there patterns of absence? Does a particular department have a below average record?
Unhappy, demoralised employees are more likely to take time off work. Workplace stress is still the most common cause of long-term sickness among non-manual workers. Creating a friendly working environment, where staff feel valued as part of a team and where flexible, ‘family friendly’ policies are in force is likely to pay dividends, keeping absenteeism to a minimum.
To manage absence effectively, make sure staff are well informed as to your sickness policy and procedures. Make sure these are seen to be followed and keep accurate records. These must be kept for at least three years after the appropriate financial year-end.
When hiring new staff, make sure you check their attendance record with the previous employer. If new staff are absent it is good practice to make sure you know if there are problems preventing them from settling in. How staff are treated in the first weeks of a new job is vital. Inadequate training can leave them feeling disillusioned.
It is sensible for employers to ensure that contracts of employment allow them the right to get an independent medical assessment in the event of an employee taking more than a few days off work. You may consider requiring all potential employees to undergo a medical examination with an occupational health adviser.
As a matter of company policy always carry out a ‘return to work’ interview. This may range from ‘hope you’re better, we missed your contribution’ to an identification of underlying problems that will affect your management strategy. It may also deter malingerers.
Long-term sickness must be handled sensitively. You must have an employee’s permission to apply for a medical report. It is vital to keep in touch so that the employee doesn’t feel isolated. Consider referring them to an occupational health specialist. This can identify ways of helping them return to work and give you information as to how long the absence is likely to last.
Disciplinary action for unacceptable absence must be distinguished from dismissal on health grounds. Employers need to be aware of the full range of conditions that count as a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. Where an employee is suffering from a condition covered by the Act, reasonable adjustments must be made to help them return to work.
As regards the accrual of holiday pay when a worker is on long-term sick leave, the Government is in the process of amending the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) to enable workers to carry forward four weeks of their statutory holiday entitlement to the next leave year if they are unable to take it in the current year owing to long-term illness. This is necessary in order to ensure that the WTR comply with recent European judgments on the correct interpretation of the EC Working Time Directive, which the WTR implement into national law.
In KHS AG v Winfried Schulte, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the precise terms of the provisions regarding the carry-over of untaken holiday leave for workers who are on long-term sickness leave are a matter for individual Member States. However, the carry-over period for taking any entitlement to holiday accumulated during the sickness absence must be more than any leave reference period, but national law which limits the period to, say, 15 months may be lawful under EU law. The ECJ stressed that the entitlement of every worker to paid annual leave must be regarded as a particularly important principle of EU social law from which there can be no derogations and whose implementation by member states must be confined within the limits expressly laid down by the Working Time Directive.
In Neidel v Stadt Frankfurt am Main, a firefighter in Germany retired after a long period of sickness absence. His request for payment in lieu of leave not taken was rejected on the Ground that German civil and public law makes no provision for financial compensation for leave not taken. The matter was referred to the ECJ, which confirmed that workers in Herr Neidel’s position do have a right to payment in lieu of any untaken holiday they have accrued, but this only relates to the statutory minimum four-week period of paid leave specified in the Directive, even if the member state’s national law entitles workers to a more generous annual leave entitlement. It is up to individual member states whether or not they extend the entitlement over and above the minimum allowed.
Dealing with long-term absences, in particular, is a difficult area of the law. Each case must be decided on its own merits and proper procedures must be followed. Employers who have not done so for a while are advised to review stress management and long-term absence policies and procedures so that potential problems are identified early on and remedial action is taken as soon as possible. | <urn:uuid:0d0f7a7b-3148-40c3-b1dc-1ffc36b0747a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.capitallaw.co.uk/site/publicationsandnews/employmentlib/dealing_with_employee_absence_el.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95653 | 1,017 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Why Pundits So Often Get the Future of Book Wrong
Yesterday, I heard the YA novelist Sara Ryan sararyan.com/ in her librarian mode give a presentation about teenagers to fellow librarians. As she spoke about teenagers, brain development, behavior, the use of libraries, she made two really important points: libraries serve a crucial need for teenagers — a "third space" that is not school or home, a social space, a place where they can be with friends, be accepted, be respected; and, libraries are eager to provide for and work with teenagers’ digital interests — gaming, creating videos, podcasting. The library is both a welcoming physical space, and an environment receptive to teenagers’ digital knowledge, curiosity, and interests. Of course, libraries also have a lot of books.
The prophets of the death of print simply do not know that libraries both allow for teenagers and evolve their services in response to teenagers’ interests. They see "digital native" teens as the harbingers of the future, in which books will be gone. But those very teenagers are finding one of the only places that really suits them is one filled with books, devoted to books, staffed by people eager to show them books that they may enjoy, or learn from, or find useful. Sure you could argue that teenagers just go to the libraries to do digital stuff and socialize, and ignore the books. But that does not seem to be the case. And that is because the libraries are not binary — books or sites, past or future. Rather they offer teenagers many different forms of entertainment and connection, which is exactly what teenagers want.
There is something really interesting and important about the teenager-library fit. Too often teenagers are seen as troublesome. Too often libraries are viewed as marginal. Somehow — as in a novel — the outsiders find each other and build something strong and useful together. I think that the next person to write an article, or do an NPR report, on the digital future, must spend some time with teenagers in libraries, and use that mixed environment as a predictor of our mixed future. | <urn:uuid:9494f5f7-b0d3-4173-a615-172c4ed27f93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.slj.com/nonfictionmatters/2009/04/02/teenagers-libraries-the-digital-age/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961822 | 433 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The controversy over the HHS mandate is one that is bringing a number of festering issues to a head. Some have been orchestrated by an administration hostile to the Catholic Church in America. Some issues are a result of the Obama administration’s blind pursuit of their agenda – despite the cost. In a large part, it is due to contrary visions. The Catholic Church sees the First Amendment guarantees as the founders wrote it – a proviso that promised the ability to pursue our religious beliefs without untoward entanglements from the State. Mr. Obama sees the First Amendment based on the more modern – and flawed - Black interpretation of the ‘wall of separation’. So, is the prize merely bragging rights? The moral high ground? Who gets the Catholic vote in November? Sure – but it is much, much more.
The Citizen will be exploring this issue in greater detail over the next few weeks, but one important consideration must be explored now. And it must be acted on without delay. Mr. Obama’s compromise is an orchestrated tactic to give the Executive branch the power to determine who the First Amendment will shield – regardless of your particular interpretation. Catholic universities and colleges, Catholic social service agencies, Catholic hospitals and clinics – even Catholic Charities - will all come under the scrutiny of the Department of Health and Human Services. This gives the president the power to determine who will be exempt and who will not – a power that would be granted by acquiescence to this ‘compromise’.
We cannot allow this to happen. Hugo Black’s interpretation is not the Constitution – it is an opinion. The Amendment is clearly written not to protect the State from people of Faith, but to protect people of Faith from the State. The ‘compromise’ will gut this clause, rendering it meaningless. It is time – past time, actually – for our Bishops to take a stand. It is time – and past time – for the laity to rally behind the Church. Birth control is a Trojan horse; the administration knows that the Catholic Church would dig our heels in on this and abortion and now offer a ‘deal’. This kind of one-handed deal is typical of this administration’s idea of compromise. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed with ‘compromises’ – compromises that have largely been ignored or never honored to begin with.
We must not let it happen. It’s time to flood the White House with letters – emails mean nothing to them; letters and phone calls set the White House staff scurrying for cover. It’s time to call your Congressional delegation and demand that they stand for religious liberty.
Time to stand, brothers and sisters. | <urn:uuid:f3ad365b-0491-4c39-a715-2bf4b03c8eba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://catholic-citizen.com/secularfront/why-this-battle-must-be-fought/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944526 | 560 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Kentucky Division of Water has extended its comment period until Oct. 15, on its draft 2012 list of impaired waters, as required by the federal Clean Water Act.
Section 305(b) of the Act requires each state to monitor, assess and report on the quality of its water relative to designated uses established in accordance with Kentucky╒s water quality standards. This biennial report is known as the Integrated Report to Congress on the Condition of Water Resources in Kentucky, Volume 1.
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If you are new to the award winning LaRue County Herald and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account. | <urn:uuid:13a54a92-d5a9-41ee-8c0d-6bda08042328> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laruecountyherald.com/content/division-water-extends-deadline-comments-water-sources?mini=calendar-date%2F2012-10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943565 | 191 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Headlines (News Releases)
Communications, Public Affairs & Marketing
Laurier institute releases datasets through online portal
Dec 3/12| For Immediate Release
Andrea Perrella, Director
Kevin Crowley, Director
WATERLOO – The Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP) has launched a new data portal that makes the university’s data collection publicly available. The public opinion data, donated by research firm Ipsos Reid, was previously restricted to people from Ontario’s post-secondary institutions.
"Ipsos Reid is thrilled that this important archive of public opinion data is being made available to as wide an audience as possible,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs and a Laurier alumnus. “The LISPOP portal is an ideal way to do this.”
The datasets represent a variety of topics, including surveys from federal elections, Ontario elections, housing and Canada’s youth, as well as a series of "Canada Day" studies commissioned by the Dominion Institute that measure various levels of knowledge Canadians have about their country. The polling data is also significant because it is among the most detailed research available representing the social and political opinions of specific groups, such as gays and lesbians and supporters of the green movement.
Bricker first donated the opinion-poll data to Laurier in 2007. Ipsos Reid has been providing regular donations since then.
“Once the data has outlived its commercial purpose, it’s still very useful for academics,” said Andrea Perrella, director of LISPOP. “And this is a growing data collection – we’re looking forward to holding an increasingly diverse collection, including datasets from other countries. What started as opinion-poll data has grown to appeal to a much broader audience.”
The data collection, which includes more than 100 datasets, can now be accessed for free at www.lispop.ca/data.
Users of the Laurier Library can also access the data through ODESI (http://odesi2.scholarsportal.info/webview), from which the datasets can be downloaded in a variety of formats or viewed right on the web page.
“New and novice users appreciate this feature because it helps them use survey data without requiring expert statistical knowledge,” said Michael Steeleworthy, government information librarian at Laurier. “We can help make the data available in a variety of formats to the Laurier community and to users at other Ontario university libraries. We are also in the process of making the LISPOP data on ODESI available to the public.”
LISPOP is a research centre at Wilfrid Laurier University that studies issues pertaining to the creation, use and representation of public opinion in the policy process. The institute serves as a catalyst to promote individual and collaborative research on these issues. In addition, the institute monitors the practices and claims of the public opinion and interest group industries, and serves as an educational resource to the university and the larger community on questions and issues pertaining to those claims and practices. | <urn:uuid:ad45ea7d-453d-491e-b97e-986556246aea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wlu.ca/news_detail.php?grp_id=28&nws_id=10443&filter_type=release | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934879 | 654 | 1.703125 | 2 |
- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Posted October 30, 2001
Award-winning author! Great book! Delightful and easy to read. The author has a humorous, realistic and self-deprecating way of looking at her experiences as the American wife of a Mexican man. She shares insights into the differences between Mexican and American people, traditions and culture, insights which come from a full and interesting life in Monterrey spanning a number of years in the 1900's. The author was born in 1904 and was still living in her nineties! Anyone who has contact with and an interest in Mexicans in the U.S. would find the book culturally enlightening. A must read -- like 'Having Our Say' -- if you like true stories, well-told, that refresh and renew your memories of the recent and distant past.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged. | <urn:uuid:e9c70aef-071b-4ffc-9170-015758ac4708> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-heart-lies-south-elizabeth-borton-de-trevino/1112494397?ean=9781883937515&isbn=9781883937515 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967173 | 196 | 1.726563 | 2 |
I recently wrote about Katherine B. Forrest, the celebrated litigatrix nominated to a federal judgeship on the breathtakingly prestigious Southern District of New York. Forrest currently serves as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, but before joining the DOJ she was a longtime partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore — a premier, if not the premier, American law firm. Forrest was one of CSM’s most popular (and most powerful) young partners.
Katherine Forrest has a reputation as an incredible attorney, and she has the awards to prove it (see question 8). Not surprisingly, the ABA deemed her “unanimously well-qualified” as an S.D.N.Y. nominee.
So here’s what I wondered: Why did the amazingly accomplished Forrest, a partner at super-lucrative Cravath for over a dozen years, declare a mere $4.3 million on her net worth statement? Granted, $4.3 million is nothing to scoff at; KBF is rich (even by Elie’s standards). But it seemed to me that a lawyer of her distinction, who was a partner at a top firm for such a long time, should be even richer.
Way richer, in fact. Let’s find out…. | <urn:uuid:1d370581-bc67-4e27-86c7-e012ddac055a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abovethelaw.com/tag/sean-baldwin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963246 | 278 | 1.523438 | 2 |
After weeks of searching for their first home, the young couple found themselves overwhelmed. Each home they looked at had potential but all had quirks. They were either too small, too large, too expensive or too far from the local school.
The couple gave it one more try, this time with a Georgian on a shady lot. The home not only had a lot of the amenities they had hoped for but also just felt right. They bid on the home that very afternoon.
What the couple had developed in their quest for a new home was "vision" -- the ability to use their senses and imagination to determine which house was best for them.
Such vision not only helps with the selection process but later combats "buyer's remorse" -- that uneasy feeling homeowners get about how much they paid for their house, and if the house is truly right for them.
How do you develop vision? Part of it comes with the experience gained during the house hunting process. But there are other ways to hone your skill, including the active consideration of your current and future needs. See "Take It And Run," below, for some tips.
Copyright (c) 2008 Studio One Networks. All rights reserved.
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in or provided through this site section is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be and is not a substitute for professional advice. Use of this site section and any information contained on or provided through this site section is at your own risk and any information contained on or provided through this site section is provided on an "as is" basis without any representations or warranties. | <urn:uuid:2dec2db1-0762-4bdd-82c6-7e57556b6987> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cwrichmond.tv/story/8991537/developing-vision | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977912 | 331 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Enjoy a great family day out at one of the top tourist attractions in East Sussex. Drusillas is widely regarded as the best small zoo in the country and we’ve created an animal and child friendly, family environment where the focus is always on involvement. It is the perfect getaway for families with children, whether you are looking for things to do in Sussex on your holidays, enjoying a weekend break or simply having a fun day out with the kids. So, get nose to nose with nature and experience the most memorable fun finding out day out you can possibly imagine.
Animals are only half the fun at Drusillas! Our brilliant play areas including Go Wild! and Go Bananas! have masses of climbing, sliding, jumping and swinging fun, thoughtfully separated for different age groups. The interactive maze, Eden’s Eye, takes visitors on an adventure style quest through a host of different worlds and indoors there is Amazon Adventure, a state-of-the-art soft play complex. There are masses of things to do for kids of all ages.
Every day is a Thomas day at Drusillas with Thomas the Tank Engine, Annie and Clarabel offering a train service 362 days a year! Don’t miss Diesel around the track, James in the loco shed, Cranky at Sodor Docks and Bulgy the Bus. The Fat Controller also causes a locomotion when he alights at the Park to take control of the efficient running of the railway, see our event days for more details.
Have you ever wanted to be a Zoo Keeper for the Day at the best zoo in Sussex? Here is your chance! Take a fascinating look behind the scenes, get nose to nose with nature by cleaning, feeding and learning about a variety of exciting and interesting animals including penguins, meerkats and lemurs. Our Zoo Keeper for the Day scheme is a unique and unforgettable treat for anyone who loves animals.
First and foremost Drusillas is a zoo with a great range of exotic animals and an emphasis on education. There are so many things to do and learn and our interactive displays are all designed to bring learning to life. Don't miss the Zoolympics Challenge and remember to pick up your free Animal Spotter Book when you arrive. All in all Drusillas is one of the best family days out in Sussex with plenty of children's activities to keep kids happy and entertained. | <urn:uuid:fd25d9d3-97f2-4ad7-89ee-dc4167dbc2d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drusillas.co.uk/?pressreleaseid=127 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934975 | 493 | 1.5625 | 2 |
For many DREAMers who find themselves cautiously jubilant about the president’s new deferred action immigration policy, one sticking point has continually been mentioned as an obstacle.
The $465 fee.
In an effort to remove this impediment, organizations across the country continue to spring up with the mission of raising money for the fees or giving loans to the undocumented youth.
Author and liberal activist Tony Diaz partnered with Jacob Monty, a Mexican-American lawyer who has bundled and raised money for George W. Bush and John McCain, to co-found Protectors of the Dream, a Houston-based non-profit which has raised $80,000 in two weeks for eligible youth.
“This has been a student movement for over a decade,” Diaz says in energized tones. “But now they get to see that the business community is behind them as well.”
The $80,000 is an astronomical amount in such a short period of time and will help 160 eligible students. The youth should apply by August 31 – the process includes an essay — and the first round of grants will be released to them by September 17
Monty says that in this battered, fractured and polarized political environment, there aren’t many times where people come together in a bipartisan manner to address an issue they feel rises above petty partisan squabbles.
“I’m a Republican activist, so Tony and I don’t agree on a whole lot,” Monty says. “This is something that is not a party issue. Regrettably, Republicans are on the wrong side of this thing. The business community is embracing it.”
In North Carolina, The Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) has taken it upon themselves to help deferred action eligible-youth as well. They’ve created a “Dreamer Loan” to keep students who qualify from being left out because they don’t have the money to pay the fee.
Luis Pastor, CEO of LCCU, has been a staple in the Latino community in North Carolina with a credit union that counts more than 54,000 members. He and his business see the “Dreamer Loan” as a way to continue this relationship with the community.
“Talking to families on Friday, they said they wouldn’t have been able to access deferred action without this type of support,” says Erika Bell, vice president of strategies and services for LCCU. “They don’t have $500 in savings so it would have been a hardship for many people.”
So far the credit union has given 60 loans. To qualify, a young person only needs to be a member of the credit union and if they’re under 18 they can go with their parents. No credit history is necessary.
Public Interest Projects, Inc. (PIP) is a public charity that created The Fund for Dreamers. The organization is collecting funds from across the country and will distribute them to local immigrant organizations, which will then dole them out.
What we heard from advocates and donors was that a lot of Americans wanted to donate,” says PIP communications director Robert Bray. “They did not know undocumented immigrants themselves, but this was a story reaching them and touching them.”
Bray says people are inspired by the stories of dreamers. “Suddenly there is a new narrative on immigration that is not about Arizona and Sheriff Joe Arpaio and illegals invading the border.”
Monty, the conservative lawyer from Texas says he doesn’t even consider people like Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and controversial congressman Lamar Smith to be Republicans. He calls them nativists.
“This sends a strong message to nativists like Brewer that the business community is behind this,” Monty says.
“The business community is clamoring for this. Hooking up with Tony is a way to get the left and right together on this to send a message to Arizona that Texas and most of the country is much different.” | <urn:uuid:8c68512e-77ea-4b5e-8b29-f525ba6db777> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nbclatino.com/2012/08/20/funding-the-dream-organizations-around-the-country-help-dreamers-with-deferred-action-fees/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=5092e672ce | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968695 | 848 | 1.765625 | 2 |
It’s a varied selection for this week’s Five for Friday. We’re covering stuff like a convenient and quick-to-respond note-taking app, a fun music-making app for kids, and a Hidden Object game based on a classic piece of literature. Without further ado, let’s take a look at what’s on offer and get on with enjoying the weekend!
At first glance, Inkflow looks to be a pretty run-of-the-mill note-taking app. It very nearly is but its great benefit comes from its speed and precision. Writing or sketching with a finger is frequently a little sluggish, but with Inkflow, there’s hardly any lag at all. Extra functionality comes from the ability to create numerous pages of notes for later reference.
Released: 2012-05-14 :: Category: Productivity
Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Anthologies
A Hidden Object game based on Pride and Prejudice? Yup, that’s exactly what we have here. Keeping closely to the plotline of the book, the game offers a great new take on the classic novel. It’s quite delightful to look at and offers some fun, casual gaming.
Released: 2012-05-13 :: Category: Games
Morton Subotnick’s Pitch Painter
Finger painting has provided hours of fun for kids over the years. Morton Subotnick’s Pitch Painter brings that idea to the iPad along with the ability to play musical notes, all at the touch of the screen. It’s aimed at the younger end of the market and should provide a great introduction to the iPad.
Released: 2012-05-15 :: Category: Education
Hiragana Pixel Party
Learning the many characters of Japanese Hiragana and Katakana is tough for those more used to English. Hiragana Pixel Party is a fun way of making a game out of it all with players progressing through numerous different worlds and tapping in time to the entertaining soundtrack. After all, the best form of education is the kind that doesn’t feel like work.
Released: 2012-05-14 :: Category: Education
Kids love to read books but they also love to use their imagination to create their own story. Storypanda offers the best of both worlds with the ability to read new stories through the service and create their own along with fun animations and pictures. It should be an ideal tool for families to use together.
Released: 2012-05-09 :: Category: Books | <urn:uuid:403c634a-a02b-4932-9495-0679e46159e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.148apps.com/tag/hiragana-pixel-party/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935764 | 531 | 1.828125 | 2 |
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Construction on Kanawha County's "school of the future" could start any day now.
Groundbreaking on the new Edgewood-area elementary school building will depend on the weather, Chuck Wilson, facilities director for Kanawha County Schools, said Wednesday in a phone interview.
The ground surrounding the building pad - the actual place where the school will sit - and the road leading to the site need to be dry or frozen, Wilson said. Contractors could face problems if the ground is wet.
"What they don't want to do is to come into the site with heavy equipment and create damage to the road base or ruts, things they have to pay to repair," Wilson said. "They're going to be looking for ideal conditions to get onto the building pad."
The building is scheduled for completion by February 2014. Wilson said the contract was bid with a 12-month construction calendar in mind, so the project is a little ahead of schedule.
The school will be located a little less than a mile off Wood Road near Edgewood Country Club and will be reached by a nearly mile-long access road.
Adam Krason is an architect with ZMM Architects and Engineers, a private firm also working on the school. On Monday, Krason said the access road should be passable by the end of the week, and he expected construction to start soon.
The building is designed for curriculum based on group learning and technology. Classrooms for older students can hold 40 to 50 and are designed for project-based learning. Smaller rooms off the main rooms provide space for presentations.
The entire project is expected to cost roughly $22 million. Kanawha County selected bids for the construction in September. Scott Depot-based G&G Builders will do the bulk of the general trades work - involving masonry, steel and concrete - at a cost of a little more than $6.8 million.
The project was awarded to multiple prime bidders, Wilson said: more than one company is responsible for the work. Although G&G needs to get on site first, contractors conducting the electrical and plumbing work also want to be there as soon as possible. Those companies want to install infrastructure in the ground before work starts on the building's foundation.
Awarding bids to several different companies can reduce the price of a project, but it can also lead to issues. Any building contractor needs to bring equipment across the site to get to the building pad, Wilson said. Because another company did the site preparation, problems could occur if any trailers or trucks damage the site itself. | <urn:uuid:65520595-eac3-4685-b5d2-d0e326f90adf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailymail.com/News/201301020252 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970161 | 540 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Fire Service scoops another national award for NLPG
18 April 2011
CAMBRIDGESHIRE Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has scooped another award for its innovative use of a system which tells firefighters where they are going and what dangers to look out for at particular addresses.
The system keeps track of new build homes, bits of land, canal moorings and units on large industrial estates, which are all notoriously difficult to find. By giving each a unique reference number, it enables firefighters to pinpoint their location precisely should an emergency strike. Firefighters are also able to add interesting information to each number - such as the fact that a building contains a petrol tanker. This is then shared throughout the fire service.
This system - called the National Land and Property Gazetteer - has been integrated so effectively that Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has won the Fire Service Technology Award at the first ever Emergency Service Awards, held at Arsenal's Emirate's Stadium on April 7.
The awards evening was hosted by BBC News presenter Nicholas Owen, and included 19 awards for individual and team achievements in all three emergency services.
Where CFRS has been leading the way is the use of NLPG data throughout the organisation to provide a more linked up approach among departments in the fire service, meaning they all have access to the same up to date information.
The Service has already won an award for its work in this field at the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and National Street Gazetteer (NSG) Exemplar Awards in Sheffield last year.
Nicola Smith, Business Intelligence and Performance Manager for CFRS collected the award. She said: "Before this integration existed, that frontline knowledge may not have been available to people in every department. This will save us money and time in the future, while providing a better service for the community in every area.
"What is really exciting is that, as this award demonstrates, CFRS is leading the way in data management, and is now pioneering this integrated system among other emergency services. The most recent example of this is the assistance CFRS has offered to Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service in implementing the NLPG in their organisation."
Matthew Warren, Director of Resources at CFRS said: "It's fantastic to receive yet more recognition for the hard work that has gone into this project.
"More important than the awards however is that we are using NLPG data to provide a better level of service for a smaller cost, which is particularly important in the current financial climate." | <urn:uuid:afc0c336-b189-4874-b68d-9218d4f59a2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cambsfire.gov.uk/news/Archive/7037.php?fontSize=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959095 | 521 | 1.507813 | 2 |
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A 10-minute drive away from the Alamo, small teams on the factory floor of Texas Armoring Corporation work deliberately, turning everyday civilian vehicles into armored workhorses for the world's governments and business executives. The company is growing rapidly, and one reason is Mexico's drug war.
An adjacent building under construction will double available manufacturing space. TAC's workforce grew 30 percent last year to about 40 employees. That's enough to produce around 80 cars per year. Reality television networks have been calling, attracted to the company's tattooed workers, youngish executives and at-risk clientele.
Displayed inside the building's lobby are spiked road tacks that can be dropped out of rear compartments, armor components dented by rounds fired from AK-47 assault rifles, and a black SUV driver's side door with 2-inch thick bulletproof glass chewed up by ballistic impacts. Next, is a tire with a section cut out of it, showing hardened run-flat inserts underneath the rubber.
The armoring process is fairly straight-forward. A vehicle is sawed down to its frame with cutting torches. The frame is then wrapped in a combination of Kevlar, steel and polyethylene composite plates (industry term: "Spectra Shield") before the original fabrics and interior panels are restored. Eventually, at a price of around $80,000 or more — not including cost of the vehicle, and without options like smoke shields and digital video recorder systems — a client should be protected from rounds sized up to 7.62 millimeters.
Company president Trent Kimball boasts about his clients — heads of state, governments, multinational corporations and business executives — in a general way. But he won't name any; these guys like their privacy. International sales must clear U.S. Department of Commerce export controls, which are supposed to keep known drug traffickers and terrorist organizations from buying the armored rides.
Kimball says he's confident the company has never inadvertently sold to a drug lord. Traffickers avoid companies based in the United States, he said, opting instead for in-house armorers. In fact, Mexico's own armored-car industry is now worth $80 million a year and is growing at a brisk 10 percent. Mexican cartels have even begun building their own tanks.
Armoring is happening across the board, and Kimball says his clients — 20 percent either live or work in Mexico — are reacting to a sharp increase in crime and the threat of kidnapping.
An alarming surge in the practice over the past decade has surfaced in Latin America, the long-running leader in kidnapping. In Mexico, a record number of kidnappings happened last year. The country is now the riskiest country in Latin America for kidnapping and world leader in "express kidnapping" – quick, violent attacks that can last just a few hours and involve victims selected seemingly at random.
Kimball admits some of his clients may be a bit too paranoid. But others have to be, he says. Recently, a client in the Mexican city of Monterrey was nearly killed in an attack. The car saved his life. "Monterrey is a hotbed. There are very wealthy people who live in Monterrey," Kimball says. "It's an industrial city, so one of our clients …" he pauses. "We don’t know what the intentions of the people who attacked his vehicle were, but they did."
The spread of crime has spurred a partial restructuring away from high-end luxury vehicles to more compact and mid-sized, low-profile models. In Mexico's northern badlands and border cities, violence is now so widespread residents have depopulated city districts and abandoned entire towns to drug gangs. SUVs and trucks, particularly luxurious and heavy-duty versions, are favored by gangsters and have become frequent targets for carjackings.
An inspection of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security last year raised concerns about attacks in Colombia on conspicuous "embassy-owned, white Chevrolet Suburban armored vehicles." Clearly American, the vehicles made tempting prey.
In February, Zetas gunmen ambushed an SUV containing two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on a highway between San Luis Potosí and Matamoros. One agent was killed and the other wounded. The Zetas cell leader was later arrested and claimed the agents were mistaken for rival gang members.
In Juárez two weeks ago, three people traveling in a Hummer H3 with New Mexico plates were killed.
"We are definitely seeing a shift," Kimball said. "Not necessarily by politicians or State Department employees, but our clients — which are usually normal businessmen — understand if you drive a long Mercedes-Benz, you make yourself a target."
Let there be no mistake: most of TAC's business is in SUVs and luxury cars. On the floor of the company's factory, however, at least one small sedan could be seen nearly finished with Mexican license plates attached. Other low-profile models could be seen lined up elsewhere. The company has also recently armored relatively low-cost Nissan Maximas, Toyota Camrys and Chevrolet TrailBlazers. Kimball said he recently shipped three unassuming Mitsubishi Monteros.
"2008 models, not new ones," he said. "That's a smart guy."
The Bulletproofing Factory
Vehicles are armored at Texas Armoring Corporation in San Antonio, Texas. The company now bulletproofs about 80 vehicles a year and is doubling its manufacturing space.
Image: Texas Armoring Corporation | <urn:uuid:c89c4f33-49c4-4ce9-b1c5-36c65b70e0b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/06/drug-war-armored-cars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961055 | 1,146 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The waterfalls in the south Lake Quinault area are not known for their loft or grandeur, but there is a definite allure to the cascades of the area. Cascade Falls in particular is a nice waterfall to visit. The small creek steps down a narrow gorge then veils about 20 feet before it flows into Falls Creek just downstream. The network of nature trails in the area crosses the creek right above the falls, providing several vantages. During the summer, the flow of Cascade Creek is greatly reduced, but I haven't know it to dry out.
- Cascade Falls is the Official name of this waterfall.
From the Lake Quinault Lodge, drive east along the South Shore Road for just a couple hundred yards to the Falls Creek Bridge (above Falls Creek Falls) and park on the left-hand, downstream side. Take the marked trail across the street for .4 miles to a junction just beyond a bridge crossing Falls Creek. Go right for another .1 mile to an overlook of the falls. In February of 2000, the main trail was closed due to storm damage, but it's now open. You can clearly see where the trail suffered in a large clearing where possibly hundreds of trees were blown down like toothpicks. As of February 2002, there were a pair of trees lying awkwardly across the trail, just past the first views of Cascade Falls, which damaged the fencing paralleling the trail. They can be ducked under, but if you have conditions with your back or legs (or are just really tall), it's best to avoid going further until the trees can be cleared. | <urn:uuid:051c54be-4c5c-4c53-930d-27c07dea4e4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/falls.php?num=3282 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964739 | 326 | 1.546875 | 2 |
SHE had a tall man's height or more;
Her face from summer's noontide heat
No bonnet shaded, but she wore
A mantle, to her very feet
Descending with a graceful flow,
And on her head a cap as white as new-fallen snow.
Her skin was of Egyptian brown:
Haughty, as if her eye had seen
Its own light to a distance thrown,
She towered, fit person for a Queen 10
To lead those ancient Amazonian files;
Or ruling Bandit's wife among the Grecian isles.
Advancing, forth she stretched her hand
And begged an alms with doleful plea
That ceased not; on our English land
Such woes, I knew, could never be;
And yet a boon I gave her, for the creature
Was beautiful to see--a weed of glorious feature.
I left her, and pursued my way;
And soon before me did espy 20
A pair of little Boys at play,
Chasing a crimson butterfly;
The taller followed with his hat in hand,
Wreathed round with yellow flowers the gayest of the land.
The other wore a rimless crown
With leaves of laurel stuck about;
And, while both followed up and down,
Each whooping with a merry shout,
In their fraternal features I could trace
Unquestionable lines of that wild Suppliant's face. 30
Yet 'they', so blithe of heart, seemed fit
For finest tasks of earth or air:
Wings let them have, and they might flit
Precursors to Aurora's car,
Scattering fresh flowers; though happier far, I ween,
To hunt their fluttering game o'er rock and level green.
They dart across my path--but lo,
Each ready with a plaintive whine!
Said I, "not half an hour ago
Your Mother has had alms of mine." 40
"That cannot be," one answered--"she is dead:"--
I looked reproof--they saw--but neither hung his head.
"She has been dead, Sir, many a day."--
"Hush, boys! you're telling me a lie;
It was your Mother, as I say!"
And, in the twinkling of an eye,
"Come! Come!" cried one, and without more ado,
Off to some other play the joyous Vagrants flew! | <urn:uuid:b20d0bc6-5bfd-4294-b333-2cc631c700a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bartleby.com/145/ww191.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960349 | 529 | 1.820313 | 2 |
When things get rough and disorienting, the predictability of the past starts looking pretty good.
"It's days like today, God, where I really question your goodness — when I really wonder if You truly know what You're doing," I said out loud.
I had recently quit my job because of chronic illness, and within a week, my husband found out his company was closing down. For months, I'd been struggling to get reimbursed for a bill that I had been overcharged on by a significant sum of money. Obviously, that money would have been really helpful with us both out of work. My health issues were escalating, and it seemed as if, at every turn, I encountered obstacle after obstacle, trial after trial, pain upon pain.
I found myself beginning to question whether God really is who He says He is, wondering whether He was really going to provide and come through, as He had for so many others as written in the pages of the Bible. Maybe I was allowing sin in my life and therefore He couldn't hear my prayers. Maybe He had already sent the answer and I just hadn't recognized it. Maybe my small (in comparison) problems were too petty for Him to waste His time on.
Or maybe, like Moses and the Israelites, I had lessons to learn that I couldn't possibly see while still in the midst of my questions and confusion.
Moses had grown up, watching the Israelites and seeing their hard labor in slavery to Egypt. He felt their pain and had compassion for them. So did God:
The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
And so God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and out of slavery:
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.... So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
Quite a calling! But Moses was obedient. It took a long time (possibly 20 years), but the Pharaoh of Egypt finally let the Israelites, who had been enslaved by the Egyptians for over 400 years, go. They set out with Moses, trudging across the desert, dreaming of the freedom that was finally theirs. The freedom they were searching for was not only freedom from slavery, but also freedom to truly worship their God, the God of the Israelites.
Their positive thoughts didn't last long, though. After only a month and a half of traveling, the Israelites started to complain:
If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.
After only a month and a half in the desert, they were already complaining to the point of wishing they were dead! And as the Israelites continued to move toward the Promised Land, they kept looking back to Egypt with longing, wishing they had never left. The Israelites knew what Egypt had to offer them. They knew that if they went back to Egypt, they would once again be enslaved, but at least that was familiar, predictable, and even strangely comfortable in comparison to the unknown they were facing in the desert. Was God really carrying them to the Promised Land?
One day, as I was listening to some music by CCM artist Sara Groves, the lyrics of this song really struck me.
I've been painting pictures of Egypt,
leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
and I want to go back
How often I have found myself in this position, looking back longingly at things I've left behind. How quick I am at times to forget all God has done for me, and how He delivered me from slavery — slavery to sin.
How had I so quickly descended from celebration for all God had done and for where He has promised to lead me into moaning and groaning about what it was taking to get there? God had heard my cry and delivered me from slavery — not just to my sinful nature, but also to various addictions and behaviors to which I had once been enslaved. But then gradually, as things didn't seem to go my way and God wasn't working according to my plan and my timing, I started looking back to my old ways, my old idols and ways of thinking.
Thankfully, I'd come too far to go back to most of those things, but it didn't stop me from meditating on and even romanticizing them.
Just as God had to continually remind the Israelites of what He'd done for them and what He was going to do for them, I need to continually remind myself of the truth of who He is. I need to remind myself that my circumstances, or at least how I see things with my limited perspective, don't define God's character; His Word does.
Author David Kyle Foster implores us, "Make a conscious effort, that when things go wrong, to assume the best about God rather than the worst." When I was struggling with so many questions about God, I remember saying, "God, You could fix this if You really wanted to — so why aren't You?" God wasn't coming through for me as quickly as I wanted Him to.
The truth of the matter is that God is not a vending machine. Often we view God this way, as if we should be able to put in our token prayer or request, and in a timely manner an answer should show up on our doorstep. Sometimes it does happen that quickly and to our satisfaction. And some of the time, the answer we get from God is silence. Instead of riding in like a knight in shining armor, He tells us to keep on asking, and asks us to wait in expectation for His answer. Other times, we're so focused on receiving a specific answer that when the answer comes in a different manner than what we're expecting we miss God's response completely.
The Israelites had God with them day and night, yet they didn't see Him for the Rescuer that He is. And so they looked back to Egypt, showing that their hearts were really still there.
The past is so tangible; I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom but now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise and the things I know
The past is so predictable, the patterns so easy to fall back into. I was recently talking with a friend who was sharing how she's so used to walking through one pain and trial after another that she's afraid to be happy. Often when we grow up in the midst of chaos, the feelings that chaos brings are so much more comfortable than the feelings that accompany security, peace and joy. As I've looked back over my past, I've realized that at times I was actually causing chaos in my life through the choices I made because the pain that came with chaos was familiar; with chaos, I knew what to expect. Peace and joy were uncharted and frightening territory.
So as I began to really want something different for my life, as I started to truly desire to leave the chaos behind, I had to become comfortable with happiness and be careful not to purposely cause any more chaos in my life.
It's not about losing faith
It's not about trust
It's all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn't perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn't milk or honey
But then neither is this
Maybe that's what was happening with the Israelites. It's easy for us to look at them and judge them: "If I had God showing up in a cloud and a pillar of fire to guide me, I sure wouldn't doubt Him like they did." But can you really say that? All they had known was slavery, and over 400 years of it. Maybe in the beginning, the Israelites passed down stories of a heroic God who would soon come and save the day, but I imagine as the decades, even centuries, went by — if those stories were even being passed to the new generations at all — they probably seemed more like mythical legends than solid truth. Maybe in the desert, the Israelites were hesitantly waiting for God to prove to them that He really was going to come through.
During this trying time in my life — my job gone, health issues escalating, and so on — I had fallen into the very trap that the Israelites fell into. I was looking back longingly at my old life. I even found myself questioning whether my life was really any better since I had come to know God.
In that moment, I had lost sight of all the miracles He had done in my life — how He had delivered me from same-sex attraction and an eating disorder, how He had helped me overcome a struggle with self-injury, how, most of the time, I had a peace and a joy like I had never known before. I couldn't see any of those things. All I could see, in that moment, were my current circumstances. All I knew was that it felt like God was not coming through.
Thankfully, I didn't stay in that moment. As I began to come to the other side of my pain, confusion and frustration, I was able to put aside how I felt and see the reality of my situation and how God really was at work; how He was continuing to rescue me from the trials I was going through.
I now have things in place in my life — journals, e-mails, letters, etc. — things that when I encounter a new trial and question God's character, I can look back at these things and easily see God's provision.
We need that. We need to continually remind ourselves of how God has come through for us in the past — that He has always been faithful, and He will continue to be faithful. Like Joshua and the Israelites, having crossed the Jordan River, set up 12 stones as a reminder of God's faithfulness to them, we too need our own "memorial stones": reminders of who God is and how He always comes through — in His timing and His way, but always.
Copyright 2008 Brenna Kate Simonds. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:58401bde-1cdc-40de-9130-cd29e72170ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.boundless.org/faith/2008/craving-egypt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990127 | 2,225 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Six out of 10 Millennials say they would prefer to buy a hybrid or electric car over any of kind of car or truck. That finding in a new study from consultants Deloitte bodes well for automakers who are trying to get the public to consider electric cars.
Hybrids hold an overwhelming edge over pure electrics in the survey. More than half say they would favor gas-electric hybrids, but only 2% would consider a pure electric, found the survey of 1,500 Gen Y, X and Baby Boomer buyers. The survey also included 250 Millennials in China and 300 in Western Europe. Millennials, or Gen Y or the "baby on board" generation for you minivan drivers, were generally born starting in 1982 or so.
Gen Y's strong affinity for hybrid vehicles could make it the "generation that leads us away from traditional gasoline-powered vehicles," reports Craig Giffi, vice chairman and automotive practice leader at Deloitte, after seeing the results of Deloitte's annual survey of Gen Y consumers and what they want in an automobile.
Deloitte auto practice chief Craig Giffi says Gen Y consumers are a huge force, almost 80 million strong, who will buy one out of four cars this year. Millennials are attracted to hybrids because of fuel efficiency
"Gen Y consumers also view hybrid technology as proven and reliable," says Giffi. "Gen Y is familiar and comfortable with hybrid technology, but not so much with battery-only technology."
Chris Woodyard is an auto writer for USA TODAY who covers all aspects of motoring. He revels in the exhaust note of a Maserati and the sharp creases of a Cadillac CTS. Chris strives to live a Porsche life on a Scion budget. More about Chris
Detroit Free Press auto news | <urn:uuid:8d656ed7-60e8-40e6-9a3c-5266affbd129> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2012/01/Gen-Y-milennials-hybrids-electric-cars-survey-deloitte-607091/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949779 | 363 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The controversial diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) can remain on the market but new patients can receive it only if their blood sugar can't be controlled with pioglitazone (Actos) or other medications, the FDA announced today.
Patients already taking rosiglitazone who are doing well may stay on the drug, the agency said, but they should discuss alternatives with their physicians.
FDA officials also promised that the drug's label warnings on cardiovascular risk would be revised, although the specific language has not been worked out yet.
The new restrictions also apply to products that combine rosiglitazone with other diabetes medications (Avandamet, Avandaryl).
"The FDA is taking this action today to protect patients, after a careful effort to weigh benefits and risks," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, in a statement. "We are seeking to strike the right balance to support clinical care."
However, in a nearly simultaneous announcement, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) took the opposite tack, suspending the drug's marketing authorization in Europe.
The EMA said that the currently available forms of rosiglitazone would cease to be available in Europe "within the next few months."
Several studies have indicated that cardiovascular events and deaths have been more common with rosiglitazone than other diabetes medications, including pioglitazone, the only other approved thiazolidinedione drug. But others, notably the manufacturer-sponsored RECORD trial, appeared to exonerate the drug.
In a conference call with reporters, Janet Woodcock, MD, head of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said the FDA believes that the adverse-event data now in hand did not justify yanking the drug entirely.
"We feel there is considerable uncertainty about the existence and magnitude of the cardiovascular risk," she said.
An FDA advisory committee meeting in July reached essentially the same conclusion, with 20 of 33 panelists voting to keep the drug on the market but with more restrictions.
In the U.S., the FDA is demanding a restricted access program under which doctors must document that patients have not responded adequately to other medications and cannot take pioglitazone before they can receive a new prescription for rosiglitazone. Patients will have to sign a statement indicating that they have reviewed the cardiovascular safety concerns about the drug.
FDA Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein, MD, said physicians should consult with patients now taking rosiglitazone about whether to stay on the drug. "They may want to consider switching patients to another medication," he said during the conference call.
Woodcock said the agency has also ordered a halt to the ongoing safety study called TIDE that sought to compare adverse event rates for rosiglitazone versus pioglitazone.
In addition, the FDA is seeking "independent readjudication" of findings from the controversial RECORD study, which the agency's staff attacked at the July advisory committee meeting, she said.
Hamburg said during the call that the FDA had coordinated with EMA and each knew what the other's final decision would be.
She said the two agencies largely agreed on the risk data, but differed in how the risks should be managed. She noted that both the FDA and EMA would continue to monitor new data (including the reinterpreted RECORD findings) and could revisit their decisions.
The three FDA officials also elaborated on their rationale for keeping rosiglitazone on the market in a Perspective published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Woodcock, Hamburg, and Sharfstein noted that rosiglitazone is clearly effective. "Against these benefits, we must assess the evidence of rosiglitazone's cardiovascular risks," they wrote.
"This evidence is concerning, but it is not definitive. There are patients with severe type 2 diabetes whose disease may not be controlled on other medications and either may not tolerate pioglitazone or, in consultation with their healthcare professional, decide not to take pioglitazone for other medical reasons."
They noted that the FDA had just recently started a safety review of pioglitazone for potential bladder cancer risk.
"When there are just two drugs in a class, and many outstanding uncertainties, maintaining some flexibility may have value for patient care," the officials argued.
A statement from rosiglitazone's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, reiterated the company's position that rosiglitazone "is an important treatment for type 2 diabetes."
It said the company would nevertheless comply with regulators' decisions. The company also promised to stop promoting the drug in all markets, including the U.S.
The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, which had previously called for rosiglitazone's removal from the market, slammed the FDA decision.
"Although the FDA has made progress highlighting the risks of using Avandia by severely restricting the drug, it did not go far enough," said the group's medical director, Sidney Wolfe, MD, in a statement.
"Too many people could still be exposed to this dangerous product. Rather, the FDA should have acted with its European counterpart and outright banned Avandia from the market," he said.
But in a joint statement, the American Diabetes Association, the Endocrine Society, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists declined to second-guess the agency's decision, although they also stopped short of endorsing it.
The groups "continue to support the FDA in its role as the regulatory agency that makes decisions regarding drug safety and efficacy," the statement said.
They urged patients currently taking rosiglitazone not to stop the drug without first talking to their doctors, and pointed out that several alternatives are available.
However, an ADA official gave a bit more backing to the FDA's decision in remarks at a press conference, held by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm shortly after the decisions were announced.
"Despite what appear to be discrepant decisions, we believe both the EMA and the FDA have used the available evidence to provide clinical counsel to clinicians and patients in the best fashion possible," said David Kendall, MD, the ADA's chief scientific and medical officer. | <urn:uuid:9cfa0dc7-1e57-40ee-bd49-2cba215a431a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/22366?impressionId=1285311592419&userid=211461 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965444 | 1,303 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Background: Emergency rapid sequence intubation (RSI) performed outside the operating room on emergency patients is the cornerstone of emergency airway management. Complication rates are unknown for this procedure in the United Kingdom and the factors contributing to immediate complications have not been identified.
Aims: To quantify the immediate complications of RSI and to assess the contribution made by environmental, patient, and physician factors to overall complication rates.
Methods: Prospective observational study of 208 consecutive adult and paediatric patients undergoing RSI over a six month period.
Results: Patients were successfully intubated by RSI in all cases. There were no deaths during the procedure and no patient required a surgical airway. Patient diagnostic groups requiring RSI are described. Immediate complications were hypoxaemia 19.2%, hypotension 17.8%, and arrhythmia 3.4%. Hypoxaemia was more common in patients with pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular conditions than in patients with other diagnoses (p<0.01). Emergency department intubations were associated with a significantly lower complication rate than other locations (16.9%; p = 0.004). This can be explained by the difference in diagnostic case mix. Intubating teams comprised anaesthetists, non-anaesthetists, or both. There were no significant differences in complication rates between these groups.
Conclusions: RSI has a significant immediate complication rate, although the clinical significance of transient events is unknown. The likelihood of immediate complications depends on the patient's underlying condition, and relevant diagnoses should be emphasised in airway management training. Complication rates are comparable between anaesthetists and non-anaesthetists. The significantly lower complication rates in emergency department RSI can be explained by a larger proportion of patients with comparatively stable cardiorespiratory function. | <urn:uuid:e4c433ec-fbdd-4806-af7c-f30a66e8f30e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC1726320/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95148 | 373 | 1.789063 | 2 |
By Carolyn Bigda
August 25, 2012
The online job search can be daunting in even the best of times. But today, with the unemployment rate hovering above 8 percent and employers receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of applications for positions, it might feel as though you have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting called for an interview.
Many employers won't even glance at a resume if it omits a few key words.
"With thousands of applicants, human resources departments need some way to screen," said Hannah Morgan, owner of CareerSherpa.net, an online job search guide.
To ensure your resume makes the first cut, follow these tips.
Use key words: While it has always been important to use industry terms in a job application, today it's critical to have one or two key words in your resume or professional profile. That's because many employers are doing so-called keyword searches to sift through resumes.
So, for example, recruiters looking to hire a project manager might type the phrase "project manager" or "project management" into a database of job candidates. If those words are missing from your profile, you'll probably get passed over, even if you're well-qualified for the position.
"Too often I see people put 'president' or 'consultant' in their job title on LinkedIn. You might be a consultant who specializes in project management, but if you don't have that key phrase in your title, you're not going to show up," said Jason Alba, author of "I'm on LinkedIn, Now What???" ($19.95, Happy About), and CEO of JibberJobber, an online job-search tool.
Generally, the more often you can use key terms, when appropriate, the better. Also, be strategic about where you place the terms, as well as relevant skills and experience. On LinkedIn, Alba says job titles are critical (they help you come up in searches).
In your resume, "put your very best stuff in the top one-third of the first page," said Susan Ireland, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Resume," ($16.95, Alpha Books), and creator of Ready-Made Resumes, an online resume builder. "Most recruiters move from top to bottom, especially when they're scrolling through a resume online."
Not sure which words or experience to highlight? Look for clues in the job descriptions posted by employers, Ireland says.
Be proactive: Building a smart online presence is only one part of a job search, career experts say.
Even online, it's important to connect with people working in the industry, company or position relevant to your search.
"You need to be promoting yourself and be in those places online where people are connecting and hiring," said Charles Purdy, senior editor of Monster.com, the large Web-based jobs board.
Those places might include Twitter, Facebook or industry-specific jobs sites (for example, tech and engineering pros might want to check out Dice.com, a career site dedicated to those industries).
Keep your messages conversational.
"If you use social media and professional platforms to talk only about yourself, it's not really social," Purdy said. "You also have to think about how to help the people in your network."
On Twitter, for example, Purdy suggests a third of your tweets should be about your career, a third about personal interests and a third about helping other people.
"I manage Monster's Twitter account," he said, "and people who re-tweet my tweets and are actively involved in Twitter — well, that gets you noticed."
Many employers now check social media profiles while screening job candidates.
In a survey this spring from CareerBuilder, 37 percent of companies said they use social networking sites to research potential hires.
It's another reason why you always want to be even-keeled in any online profile an employer might see.
"I often get requests for a job or complaints from people who can't find a job," Purdy said.
"You're just shooting yourself in the foot when you do that," he said.
Email Carolyn Bigda at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:b6391710-9e6d-4601-bfc1-46fc7105f484> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kwch.com/business/sc-cons-0823-started-20120825,0,1416541,print.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955746 | 876 | 1.570313 | 2 |
It's About Time
Pare down possessions and gain peace
HOW MUCH do we really need to live? Too much stuff, too much stuff, more than enough, more than enough; it's out of the closets and filling our space, it's growing and spilling all over the place, we're tripping all over a terrible case of too much stuff."
That's the first verse of a song by Janet Janzen of Kansas.
Most of us have too much; "many households have enough for two families" is something I proclaim at my talks on simplifying, and heads nod in agreement. I then ask, "How much do we really need to live?"
For years I've been in the process of right-sizing my possessions to relieve my stuffed closets, cabinets and drawers and to restore a sense of peace and order. Having less will also free up time for things of real value.
I'M MAKING progress in purging but it's been tedious. Now I have a new goal and inspiration thanks to the book "Driven by Eternity," by John Bevere. It's about making life count today and forever. The author states that "many of us will be shocked to learn that the majority of our time was spent on things that don't count toward eternal rewards."
The book tells of a man who was active in church and set a goal to live off of 10 percent of his income and give 90 percent away. The book adds that living on that 10 percent, he drove a nice car and lived in a beautiful home, and that God caused his business to bloom!
What a radical concept, I thought. Being an organizer, I transferred that idea to my "stuff." Is it possible to live on 10 percent of what I own and give away 90 percent? Yes, I decided, but I'd need to start smaller.
According to the 80/20 Rule, we use just 20 percent of what we have 80 percent of the time, so I decided that it was realistic for me to live on 50 percent of what I have.
I imagined what my home and life would be like with only 50 percent, and I liked that picture!
I BEGAN to purge. First, I attacked my overstuffed closet, which had become cluttered and crowded. It's as if the clothes multiply by themselves when I'm not looking!
It was hard to let go, and nearly impossible to pare my possessions down to half, but I managed to purge one large shopping bag of clothes. That was a start!
If you, like me, are frustrated by too much stuff, I invite you to join me in right-sizing your possessions. If it's not your stuff that's excessive, how about right-sizing your activities and commitments?
The end result will be getting rid of the extraneous and having more time for what's really important. It will be time well spent.
See you in two weeks!
Ruth Wong owns Organization Plus. Contact her care of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813, call 488-0288 or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:8fa3df3d-727e-4523-84c6-dd1fb345862b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/05/11/features/abouttime.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976308 | 666 | 1.625 | 2 |
Although it's short, Judge Joel Pearce appreciates this look at one of South Africa's most successful musical groups.
"…I love to communicate with them, but the sound—the accent—is mine. It's not only for the Zulu people, it's not only for Ladysmith Black Mambazo, it's for everyone, because it's just uplifting." -Joseph Shabalala
The director's cut of this Academy Award-nominated documentary is an entertaining and interesting look at this famous South African singing group. Although they have now become famous worldwide because of their connection to Paul Simon, they were around long before that, blending African and Western styles in order to create something completely unique.
There's no question that fame seems to have a serious (and often negative) impact on people. Lead singer/songwriter Joseph Shabalala and the other members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo seem to be completely unaffected by their growing fame. They began performing at weekly singing competitions, which have been running in their hometown in South Africa for about a century. Eventually, they were no longer able to compete at these competitions, since they were winning every single week. They kept singing there, but not as part of the competition. They became exposed to a wider audience when Paul Simon heard them and asked them to join in on his famous Graceland album, which was released during a boycott dealing with the Apartheid. Suddenly, they found themselves with a large international white audience, which gave them the opportunity to spread their message to the rest of the world. When you hear them talk, though, they seem completely unaffected by this sudden rise to international stardom. They still return and sing in their hometown, shrugging off statements about their obvious and incredible talent.
That incredible creativity and talent is definitely showcased here as well. Joseph Shabalala's composing process seems to involve dreaming up several songs during the night, bringing them to the band in the morning and teaching it to them without ever writing anything down. The music itself is an interesting blend of traditional African singing (rooted in traditional Zulu vocal music) with rock and roll, American hymns, and smattering of a number of other musical styles. Since the film runs a very lean 56 minutes, even with the additional footage in this cut, I would have liked to see some more of the music inserted. The interviews are remarkable, though, letting us see into the lives of the members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo: On Tiptoe manages to be political without being abrasive, just like the music of the band. One of the band members was shot and killed in a racially motivated attack during the 1990s, the band was threatened when they agreed to tour with Paul Simon (a white American), and there have been several attempts on their lives during concerts throughout their career. Despite this, they sing songs of hope, which have probably had more positive impact than many of the activists against Apartheid and racial hatred in South Africa. With this background, it would be impossible for their music to avoid being political, but I love the statements they have chosen to give the world. They continue to sing, realizing that it could put them in danger, but caring more about the music and the preservation of the African culture than they do about their own lives.
The video transfer is a bit disappointing, as it is not anamorphically enhanced. The footage varies quite a bit in quality. Some moments are detailed and accurate, and others have clearly been caught by a camcorder in bad filming conditions. As this is a documentary, some variety in quality is to be expected, and the quality of the cinematography makes up for any visual weakness. The sound is more impressive, with a beefy original stereo track as well as a new and somewhat richer 5.1 track. This surround track feels too active during interview footage, but it makes the music sections sound great. Unfortunately, as with so many of its DVDs, Docurama hasn't included any subtitle tracks on the disc.
The disc is reasonably well stocked with extras as well. The original cut of the film is included, which runs about 40 minutes and still has the option of a stereo or surround track. It's nice to see this cut of the film included. There is also an interview with director Eric Simonson. It details his own relationship with the band, and the process of creating the film and discovering the singing competitions which he was fortunate enough to film. There is also some raw footage of these groups singing, which is a really interesting opportunity in itself.
Even though it's quite short and doesn't have nearly enough uninterrupted concert footage of Ladysmith Black Mambazo in action, this is one of the most interesting music documentaries that I have ever seen. It's a beautiful, whirlwind snapshot of a truly unique and wonderful music group, and is sure to appeal to fans of the group as well as anyone interested in African music.
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Scales of Justice
• Interview with Director
Review content copyright © 2005 Joel Pearce; Site design and review layout copyright © 2013 Verdict Partners LLC. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:5c012781-e80d-42d7-bce8-efc1d425b057> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/ontiptoe.php | 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 | 0.982019 | 1,091 | 1.710938 | 2 |
It’s at this time of year, whenever I have a spare moment that my instinct for photography leads me to go and check out how mother swan’s getting on with her nesting. If I’m lucky I might just get to see her new brood over a couple of days. If that’s the case and her eggs have already hatched I can marvel at the new arrivals already capable of walking, swimming and getting about with a certain independence. I never fail to be moved by the spectacle. We’re talking about the nature reserve Pian di Spagna at the entrance to Valchiavenna
and bordering the provinces of Lecco and Como.
The name derives from the Spanish dominance up until 1726. The ruins of the fort at Fuentes bears due witness. To the north the reserve covers the whole of Lake Novate Mezzola and stretches across to the point
newnew arrrrivalswhere the River Mera meets Lake Como. The shores of the lake are occupied by reeds and marshlands, the favoured habitat of water birds and waders, and my brief in springtime is to try to capture some of the young of the most common species – with my camera. The swans are undoubtedly the most choreographed and popular. No ugly ducklings these – elegant, proud and regal under all circumstances. The eggs are laid around April and 35 days later the newborns arrive.
And the adults themselves are a sight to behold, a supreme combination of majesty and power when seen taking off or landing on the water.
I’m a great admirer too of the young of the mallard, a common enough duck throughout Italy, splendid creatures with their soft feathered down which is a sure protection from both cold and water, and also serves as a useful camouflage.
Another species I’m devoted to in my spring photographic ‘shoots’ is the coot. We’ve all seen them on the surfaces of lakes up and down the valley but few actually see them when they’re particularly young. I must confess they’re not that pretty a sight! Clearly Mother Nature had to work hard to create such a dreadful creature at birth – quite shocking really: judge for yourself in the accompanying photographs.
Should you wish to photograph or simply observe nature at its most exotic do please remember that these are creatures at a particularly sensitive period: don’t go too close or you’ll disturb them, be patient and you’ll probably find they’ll approach you. | <urn:uuid:08f69908-b1a3-44a6-8325-de38b37fdfd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.valchiavenna.com/en/curiosity/New-arrivals.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942395 | 531 | 1.710938 | 2 |
OK, picture this: President George W. Bush, he of the cast-iron Texas tongue, at a news conference concluding an international summit.
He's asked about a dispute involving Argentina and Great Britain, our closest overseas ally, the one that's lost 408 soldiers by our side in Afghanistan, where we've fought a decade together to prevent a second 9/11.
In his answer, Bush refers to the disputed territory by the wrong name, misplacing the islands by some 8,000 miles. Worse than his geographic ignorance, instead of backing Britain, whose prime minister he just buddy-buddied at an NCAA game and White House state dinner, Bush says, Well, that's not really something he thinks the United States would take sides on.
Do you think there might be some prolonged outraged news coverage back home about the latest Bush blunder, this time a two-fer?
Well, Bush never did that. But Barack Obama did last weekend.
We've seen ample coverage of the Colombian prostitute situation since. But have you been impressed by the media mockings of this latest international stupidity by the 44th United States president, who's previously talked about such things as the Austrian language, the president of Canada, E Pluribus Unum the national motto and traveling all 57 states?
Neither have we.
“We’re going to remain neutral,” Obama said at a news conference with President Juan Manuel Santos at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia. “This is not something that we typically intervene in.”
Oh really? Except the United States did intervene in the very same dispute back in 1982, when Obama was almost 21, long after his Indonesian childhood. Back then, Argentina invaded the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
Britain under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher mustered the fleet, which sailed down there and ousted the invaders at the cost of more than 200 troops' lives. The United States under President Ronald Reagan, Obama's oft-cited role model, provided some missiles and, shall we say, useful intelligence to the Brits, who sank Argentina's battleship. Such encouragement via torpedo prompted that nation to keep its navy in port for the duration.
The territorial issue remains settled. But President Cristina Kirchner has revived it and sought a mention in the summit communique. A dispute over also including Cuba caused there not to be one at all.
But what gives with the one-time Real Good Talker? Obama's been talking through his hat about legislation to make tax rates "fair" by socking the rich some more, which regular taxpayers rightly read as his foot in the door to sock them later. | <urn:uuid:dcce6a29-2d97-44e9-a060-84a5196a2937> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/041812-608167-obama-falklands-malvinas-gaffe.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956194 | 556 | 1.59375 | 2 |
GrainCorp upbeat on forecasts
Grains handler and marketer GrainCorp yesterday forecast an above-average harvest of winter crops for 2004-05 of 13 million tonnes, following useful rain in dry parts of NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
The forecast is based on average rainfall for the rest of the year.
GrainCorp received 10.8 million tonnes of winter crops from the 2003-04 harvest. The long-term average winter crop receival is 12 million tonnes.
The company has revised upwards its 2004 summer crop receival, to 1 million tonnes from 800,000 tonnes, and said it would provide an estimate of the summer crop receivals in January.
The company said that in its northern division, the crop forecast was small. Further south, recent rainfall had improved crop potential.
In the central division, planting was completed, but regular rainfall was needed in coming months to ensure full potential.
The southern division - covering the southern part of the Riverina, Victoria and the south-eastern corner of South Australia - was also 100 per cent planted and the area was "looking excellent".
GrainCorp shares closed 29¢ higher at $12.99 yesterday. | <urn:uuid:3bfcd006-0f6a-42c2-b7f8-812e0a41b6f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/28/1090694026794.html?from=storyrhs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96611 | 241 | 1.773438 | 2 |
To most of us, money is a part of every-day life used for goods and services we need, want or enjoy — but dollars and cents are hardly meant to be enjoyed in themselves.
London-based paper artist Justine Smith begs to differ. Through her sculptures, Ms. Smith says she examines our relationship with money in a political, moral and social sense, all the while exploiting the physical beauty of the notes. What might seem an ordinary item to most people, she sees as an opportunity to create something unique. Here, we give you 12 of Ms. Smith’s works of art (all images are republished with her permission). You can find photos of more sculptures, collages and prints on Ms. Smith’s website. Enjoy. | <urn:uuid:5ccad8d8-5e1a-4bed-b00d-3ead2949b4ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-slideshow-money-sculptures-03012011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953202 | 155 | 1.84375 | 2 |
NASO: Non-Traditional Adult Student Organization
"The Pursuit of Lifelong Learning"
NASO believes in the empowerment of adult students in the pursuit of lifelong learning. No matter what racial/ethnic background, it is the mission of the organization to encourage all adult students to achieve their full intellectual potential. The charge of the Order is to combine high standards, discipline, and commitment to academics in an effort to promote continuous learning, individualism and creativity. NASO members also stand committed to be responsible to the communities in which we live and work.
Advisor: Cynthia Grant
Phone: (336) 750-2267
Fax: (336) 750-2636
President: Rahim Skinner - firstname.lastname@example.org
Vice President: Harvey Manley- email@example.com
Secretary: Carolyn Rogers- firstname.lastname@example.org
Treasurer: Theresa White- email@example.com
Parliamentarian: Rodney Emmanuel- firstname.lastname@example.org
Membership Fees: $12.00 per year
Meeting: 1st Saturday of every month*
"Celebrating Non-Traditional Students"
We DO get a second chance. The wide range of ages in most evening and weekend classes constantly reminds us that it's never too late to go to school. And even students who did poorly the first time around are likely to succeed as adult students. We truly appreciate our education. Our goals are more defined and practical, so it's easier to see the value of our classes. We have the satisfaction of doing something important for ourselves. At the same time, it will have benefits far beyond us – to our families and communities. We get to experiment. One of the advantages of going to school while holding a job is that we can test the new concepts we're learning in the real world. We can then fine-tune them in a non-threatening classroom environment. We have the opportunity to share the knowledge and experience we've gained in the world with an attentive and appreciative audience. Just think – we may even be in a position to teach the teacher! Education multiplies our career options. It opens doors – some that we hadn't even seen before. It also better prepares us to cope with change.* | <urn:uuid:3eeb2342-b79f-41ba-953d-c6273901f544> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wssu.edu/academics/ucall/support-engagement/student-experience/naso.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930969 | 490 | 1.75 | 2 |
1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Repair Question
1981 Volkswagen Rabbit Fuel Pump
1981 Volkswagen Rabbit 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Manual
I have a diesel & everything I look up tells me the fuel pump is in the fuel tank. I pulled the access hatch under the rear seat & did not find it with the sending unit. I have not pulled the tank yet but would like to know if it could still be in the tank as i see no other wires either before i pull the tank. Also it is no where else that i can find, i have followed all the lines to the motor & didn't see it. Also where is the relay located?
All Type 3 and Type 4 models, as well as 1975 and later Type 1 and Type 2 models have an electric pump. The fuel pump is located near the front axle on Types 1, 3, and 4, and near the fuel tank on Type 2.
REMOVAL & INSTALLATION
1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Disconnect the fuel pump wiring. Pull the plug from the pump but do not pull on the wiring.
3. Disconnect the fuel hoses and plug them to prevent any leakage.
4. Remove the two nuts which secure the pump and then remove the pump.
5. Reconnect the fuel pump hoses and wiring and install the pump on the vehicle.
6. Connect the battery cable.
Electric fuel pump pressure is 28 psi. Fuel pump pressure is determined by a pressure regulator which diverts part of the fuel pump output to the gas tank when 28 psi is reached. The regulator, located on the engine firewall, has a screw and locknut on its end. Loosen the locknut and turn the screw to adjust the pressure. Do not force the screw in or out if it does not turn.
(The diagram below contain information about all types and there fuses included fuses for fuel pump.
(check your email for this diagram)
5 questions asked
The 1981 Volkswagen diesel only has one pump, it's called the injection pump, located right on the front of the engine, I have been working on these vehicles since 1978 and I have never found an injection pump to fail, only to leak fuel, you must have other issues respond and be more specific, with your problem.
2,178 answers provided | <urn:uuid:74cdbc89-7bc2-4c08-8175-e875be300b50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.2carpros.com/questions/volkswagen-rabbit-1981-volkswagen-rabbit-fuel-pump | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953862 | 474 | 1.570313 | 2 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top Democratic lawmaker tried on Thursday to revive a U.S. assault-weapons ban, riding a wave of support for gun control after the killing of 20 children and six adults at a school in Connecticut last month.
Senator Dianne Feinstein and several other Democrats said they were introducing a bill to ban semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips. It faces stiff opposition in Congress as well as from the National Rifle Association, the main U.S. lobby for gun manufacturers, and from many Americans.
“Getting this bill signed into law will be an uphill battle, and I recognize that – but it is a battle worth having,” Feinstein said at a news conference to announce the bill.
The legislation mirrors some of the proposals that President Barack Obama offered last week as he vowed to make gun control a top priority in his second term.
Banning assault weapons is seen as the most unlikely part of Obama’s gun control package to pass Congress. A previous ban expired in 2004 after 10 years.
With 310 million guns in civilian hands and 11,000 homicides with firearms last year, the United States is one of the world’s most heavily armed and violent countries.
Feinstein’s bill would ban the purchase of semiautomatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine clip and prohibit high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. | <urn:uuid:3f0fb330-3850-47a0-86ff-6a843c90a567> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.denverpost.com/politics-national/?third_party=assault-weapons-ban-introduced-but-faces-uphill-battle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959938 | 287 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The first quarter was a stellar one for Washington, D.C.-based FederalMortgage Association (Fannie Mae). The company’s profit rose more than 60% during that time period as low interest rates and a thriving mortgage market bolstered its business. The company is the largest buyer of residential mortgages from lenders.
Fannie Mae earned $1.94 billion ($1.93 per share) in the first quarter of this year, up from $1.21 billion ($1.17) during the same period a year prior. But its numbers may have been influenced by an accounting quirk. Accounting principles dictate that Fannie Mae adjust its bottom line to reflect the market value of derivatives it uses to hedge interest rate risk, despite the fact that those losses have not occurred. During the first quarter, the company posted over $160 million less in derivative-relatedlosses, which raised the new income in the first quarter of 2003 significantly over the first quarter of 2002.
When these gains and losses aren’t realized, the firm tracks so-called "core business earnings" that take the hedges into account. According to Fannie Mae officials, this offers a better picture of the company’sperformance. So, by the core business approach, Fannie Mae’s net income rose more than 20% as profit reached $1.85 billion ($1.84 per share) for the first quarter, up from $1.52 billion ($1.48) one year earlier. | <urn:uuid:808b8d77-20a9-428e-b9ed-b22b56127b2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nreionline.com/property/multifamily/real_estate_fannie_mae_posts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954277 | 306 | 1.570313 | 2 |
This week’s Newsweek features a piece by David McCullough Jr, a teacher who gave a speech to the 2012 graduating class of Wellesley High School. Visit Wellesley’s website. The school sounds more like a university than a high school. The gist of McCullough’s speech was “You are not special. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless…We Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement.”
Incendiary words, spoken to children who epitomize the best and the brightest of what this country has to offer. The problem is that the “best” and the “brightest” have ceased to have any real meaning.
We are the educated middle class, the loving parents of these kids. And we have created a protective aura around our children. Just as we remove all manner of objects and food groups that might harm them physically, we remove any sort of failure that might harm their little psyches. Because we believe them to be so special and so perfect, we make sure the world sees them in the same way.
We email or fax reports to school and make no pretense that they are coming from Johnny. We expect A’s, with no concern that A’s have thus become meaningless. We graduate children who can barely read and who cannot think for themselves.
We fight to have Johnny admitted to special ed classes, believing it is better to have the label of special ed than to be “regular.” Regular, average, and normal are no longer acceptable terms for our children.
If Johnny is above average, we demand the designation “gifted.” And we are willing to pay handsomely for it, to bypass the system and get the results we want from those who provide independent educational assessments.
We demand that Johnny makes the most competitive sports team. We don’t care that his making the team might mean that the team will lose or that a worthy child won’t then get a slot that he deserves to get because our child took his place.
We are incensed if a teacher tells us that Johnny isn’t special, or worse, that he is falling behind. We storm into the school and berate the principal for the stupidity of the teacher.
We treat our children’s teachers and coaches like we treat other drivers on the road. They are mere impediments to our getting where we want to be in the most efficient way possible. When we cause an accident, we blame the other driver. When our child fails, we blame the system. We are thus shocked that Perfect Little Johnny turns out to be someone who doesn’t quite come up to the expectations we had for him.
As Newsweek says in a piece titled “Generation ‘Special,’’ “…it seems that affluent parents now have a major beef with how their offspring…correction, the offspring of others…are turning out. Just a bit entitled perhaps? A little unrealistic in expectations? A little complacent?”
There are many caring (and realistic) parents out there, who don’t steamroll over the system. There are many students graduating from high schools who are hardworking and who have never expected anything they didn’t deserve. But there are also many of the others.
These other kids will graduate, some with honors, and go on to colleges they never should have gotten into. They will sit in classes they don’t deserve to be in, and they will struggle to get by or they will simply drop out. But few of them will understand why this has happened to them, and fewer, still, will place any responsibility on themselves.
From Newsweek: “…we’ve given our children everything except for the thing they need most and the thing no one can provide, the ability to find their own core passion without artificial support. And the understanding of how much work, how much sheer effort, it takes to succeed.” | <urn:uuid:0f89c73b-90bd-467f-badd-4243a0dca1d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lifeintheboomerlane.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/generation-special/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964479 | 848 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Again, using these 7 dimensions as a guideline: Fear, thought, imagination, backchat, reactions, physical and consequence
I commit myself to, whenever I become aware that I am lost in my mind with thoughts of fear of death, stop, breathe, bring myself back to the physical, here, and remind myself when I am busy thinking about death, I am not focused on living/life, which is a total waste of time, and in this awareness ensure that I do not accept and allow fear of death to influence/control my opportunity that is here in every moment of breath to live/learn how to live.
I commit myself to, when/as a thought manifest in my mind of/as fear of death – as a word: hospital, cancer, process, replacement, bird, grandfather, casket, end, horrible, awful, stiff, dirty, squashed, fake, unnatural OR a single picture/pixel of me in a hospital bed, a dead bird, a car accident, a coffin- to stop and breathe, realising I am Here in this breath in this body that is expressing/moving/functioning, and with me accepting and allowing myself to follow a mere thought, I am missing another breath/moments in which I can practice applying me in stopping participation in the mind and directing myself in the physical, and so apply myself to stop participation in thought, take that breath and remind me that I am already here and utilize that time/breaths effectively for me to stand/learn how to in fact live.
I commit myself to assist and support me, to when/as I find that I am creating a relationship in my mind to imagination-of telling my children I am going to die, being at my own funeral and seeing who is there, going for cancer treatment, ‘failing’ at process (not birthing myself as life in the physcial) , being replaced, a car crashing and me lying dead in the car, being shot, drowning, burning in a fire- instead of being here with and as the physical, to stop and breathe & to realise that, in and during that process of imagining, all that’s benefitting is the mind/energy, charging up the fear of death character and in that moment direct myself to move into reality, from imagination and continue applying/practicing this as I continue walking my process from the mind to the physical.
I commit myself to, when I find that I’m backchatting about fear of death within my Mind, to see, realise and understand that at this stage/phase of my participation in the Mind I am in the process of validating/defending/justifying a character/personality within me, and so I immediately stop, breathe and have a look at what activated the fear of death, what fear I am in fact facing in that moment, cause what it ‘s showing me is that I immediately went into a ‘fear of death’ reaction, when behind it/within it lies a point that I actually fear losing/giving up cause it will mean change and I don’t want to change, and so I hide behind fear of death instead of being/becoming change and taking responsibility for me. In this I commit myself to face my fear of not seeing/being with my children: to hold them/assist them/enjoy their company, miss seeing the earth in all her beauty of nature, miss the opportunity to support others in process of birthing themselves as life in the physical, give up being noticed ‘liked’ accepted by other destonians and learn to become humble, give up rushing so as to ‘beat’ death, the fear my funeral would not be well attended and that I have not been a ‘good’ person so regret of the past, and to face my feelings of powerlessness/helplessness.
I commit myself to assist and support me to, when/as I go into reactions of emotions and feelings within and as the fear of death character/personality, specifically: panic, sadness, depression, helplessness, hopelessness, disappointment-as in ‘my death is inevitable’ so powerlessness and then ANGER, rushing to ‘beat’ death and so to take a breath and stop as I see realise and understand that I am in that moment in the movement of the mind as energy MOVING ME instead of me directing myself/my living with and as BREATH, here in and as the reality that is real; and so in this process walk from energy to physicality, walking/practicing this process of being/becoming physical and no more participate in the consequential relationship between the mind of energy to the physical.
I commit myself to assist and support me, when/as I find I’m completely in possession within and as this character, to breathe and to stop, establish/identify the initial starting point of the reaction and walk this character through in finding why/how it is that it took over to such an extent without me being self aware here with the physical, and so in this process practice the walking of me no more accepting/allowing possession to go so far, but become disciplined/directive to stop participation in the mind before the mind takes over to such an extent of taking over the body and so walk my process of as the walking of self forgiveness with the physical, to no more accept/allow the mind to have control, but that I live here and stand here with the physical in walking the process of what it means to in fact live.
I commit myself to assist and support me to stop my fear of death, establish self awareness of me living as I participate in reality, stop the excuse of it being easier to fear death than to learn how to live and face myself, knowing there is no way to hide behind fear of death in my mind to not change/stand up and take responsibility for me, there is no place to hide from myself, not even in death, and so I will not wait for myself in death to face me or to realise I cannot hide from myself, but commit myself to make the decision to face me here and actually do it. | <urn:uuid:f0aa5df8-ef60-4e9d-a9db-79bfae22fef9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sandysjourneytolife.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/day-40-can-you-overcome-your-fear-of-death-commitment-statements/ | 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 | 0.957831 | 1,276 | 1.601563 | 2 |
When planning for your golden years, it's important to educate yourself on the best ways to achieve financial freedom. Sometimes it can be tough to know where to begin. We've asked Lee Baker, a Certified Financial Planner, Board of Standards Inc.® planner in Atlanta, to answer five of the questions about investing he gets most often from the African American community.
See also: 10 Steps to Get You Ready for Retirement
Q: My friends tell me to invest in real estate instead of the stock market. Are they right?
A: Studies have shown a high tendency for African Americans to invest in real estate more than other asset classes. Never forget what Momma said about putting all of your eggs in one basket. Don't do it!
It's really not a question of real estate or stocks but how much of each. When you hear people talk about asset allocation this question gets to the heart of it. For most of us, we should have a little bit of a lot of different things. Stocks of companies based in the U.S. and around the globe have a place in our investment baskets. In addition, we need to look at bonds as well from the same perspective. Your friend is right to tell you to look at real estate. One thing to keep in mind is that all of the asset classes you would want to have in your portfolio can be accessed using mutual funds. For most individuals this is the best option to get you the diversification that you need.
Q: I'm participating in my company 401(k) plan but I started late. How should I invest my assets?
A: The important thing is that you started, so give yourself a pat on the back. A recent study by the Vanguard Group showed that participation in 401(k) plans increased significantly for African Americans who were in plans with auto enrollment. Participation in plans with voluntary enrollment stood at 59 percent but increased to 90 percent with auto enrollment. If you started contributing late and are fairly close to retirement, you don't have the luxury of time in the market to help build up your nest egg. You want to focus most of your attention on the amount that you can put away for retirement. The more you can put in, the more you can make up for the loss of time in the plan. With that being said, you want to lighten up on the amount of equities in your 401(k) plan. This does not mean don't have any stocks or real estate funds but not nearly as much as you would if you had many years until retirement. I don't like rules of thumb, but I will say that very few of my clients nearing retirement have more than 65 percent of their portfolio in equities. | <urn:uuid:b7ffaceb-193d-425a-be0c-2dac33c44150> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aarp.org/work/retirement-planning/info-12-2011/5-tips-to-find-financial-freedom-in-retirement.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975429 | 555 | 1.632813 | 2 |
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I have just returned from a whirlwind travel of some of the key 'indabas' on the African calendar, namely World Economic Forum Africa (WEFA) in Cape Town and Indaba Travel Show in Durban. What came out clearly from both events is that Africa's time has truly come! This was the proclamation ringing at this year's World Economic Forum Africa. In that light, it is now up to Africa to showcase its abilities, take advantage of the opportunities available and engage the world on its own terms. To quote Muhta Kent, CEO, Coca Cola, "Africa is the untold story of the next decade, like India and China were in this past decade... The presence and the significance of our business in Africa is far greater than that of India and China even today. The relevance is much bigger". The World Bank supports this by stating that "Africa could be on the brink of an economic takeoff, much like China was 30 years ago and India 20 years ago". It is therefore evident that Africa is the frontier that the world is looking at for future economic growth, and in that regard, the continent has to put its house in order politically. Political discourse has to be more and more predictable with consistent framework such that when investors come knocking, politics should not be the headline on the agenda as it hinders advancement. Failure to resolve this means that Africa will always be dogged by its political environment and will remain lagging behind in its own economic aspirations. Globally, there is now a convergence of ideology and shift of focus with African economies now taking centre stage and the potential for economic progress is more realizable now than ever than before. Key findings according to Ernst & Young's 2011 Africa attractiveness survey show that "new FDI projects into Africa are forecast to reach US$150b by 2015, creating 350 000 jobs per annum. Growth is expected to average 5% through 2015 based on a return to growth in its main investors". From an African perspective, the entrepreneurial spirit of Africa has to emerge and the rise of social entrepreneurs is critical given the opportunities that are abound. The participation of Africans in their own space has become critical for sustainable economic growth. Having said all these wonderful testimonies about the potential in our continent, the antidote to events such as WEFA is that they represent your typical 'talk shop' as it is not an implementation forum, but one which allows key players from the world stage to engage. . However, I hasten to add that this is by no means bad as it gauges the global temperature and provides the basis for those in business to formulate the 'next steps'! After such a charged atmosphere abuzz with positive energy, my next stop was Africa's premier travel show, Indaba, in Durban. To my delight, the good vibe continued to prevail. Interest in Africa as a tourist destination remains high and Zimbabwe exceeded expectations with the overwhelming interest from many quarters. The resurgence of our traditional markets of Europe, Americas and Asia & Pacific regions was evident with a significant amount of series business signed on for the remainder of the year as well as for next year. Pleasing to note was the concrete interest from emerging markets – a critical factor in continued and sustainable tourism growth for Zimbabwe with the addition of new players. So, while I returned home, exhausted, after a packed two weeks, I did so on a good note. I conclude by answering my title question, 'Is it time for Africa?' I would definitely say yes indeed! | <urn:uuid:45a4a8af-3f9d-4969-b6e9-7262c5e17fac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.africansunhotels.com/blog/index.cfm/2011/5/27/Is-it-time-for-Africa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962283 | 753 | 1.796875 | 2 |
In short, U.S. doctors have injected at least a thousand pregnant women with hazardous, non-FDA-approved synthetic steroids (without warning them of the risks) in a bizarre experimental effort to reduce future “tomboyism, lesbianism and bisexuality” in fetuses that may be genetically prone to those traits. The Northwestern University News Center unravels the disturbing medical news:
A new paper just published in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry uses extensive Freedom of Information Act findings to detail an extremely troubling off-label medical intervention employed in the U.S. on pregnant women to intentionally engineer the development of their fetuses for sex normalization purposes.
The pregnant women targeted are at risk for having a child born with the condition congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), an endocrinological condition that can result in female fetuses being born with intersex or more male-typical genitals and brains. Women genetically identified as being at risk are given dexamethasone, a synthetic steroid, off-label starting as early as week five of the first trimester to try to “normalize” the development of those fetuses, which are female and CAH-affected. | <urn:uuid:ca5e3e99-00b8-42c4-a6f3-7787e7c0d849> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://disinfo.com/tag/lesbian/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9417 | 248 | 1.578125 | 2 |
"We're going to see some re-freezing. News forecasters have been talking about an arctic cold front coming at us from the west side; it's supposed to arrive late [Tuesday] afternoon put the temperature down in the teens. If that occurs, you're going to see some black ice in areas," said Randy Gray, Bartow County Road Department director.
He added that primary roads, however, were in good condition as favorable results have been seen from the compounds used in spreading material. City of Cartersville Public Works Director Bobby Elliott was hopeful for clear roads throughout the city limits.
"We tried our best to get as much off the roads as we possibly could so we wouldn't have the re-freeze and it paid off," Elliott said. "If we can get three or four hours above freezing this afternoon, I think we're going to be in really good shape."
Both road departments have worked around the clock since the snowfall began. Elliott said that plows and spreaders went strategically through the city beginning with major roads and emergency assist agencies. Crews then are dispatched to known problem spots, including hills and bridges, before tackling the residential streets.
"We end up waiting until the end on what we call local streets, subdivision streets because we don't have enough people and equipment to attack everything at once. We're working on a bunch of local streets today that still have some problem areas," Elliott said Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has included Bartow County in a Special Weather Statement issued Tuesday afternoon. Icy conditions were forewarned, emphasizing the risks involved with bridges and overpasses as they will ice before roads.
"Driving conditions will remain treacherous across north and much of central Georgia through Wednesday. North Georgia still has snow, sleet and ice on the ground, with temperatures remaining below freezing across the area. This will allow for any moisture on the sidewalks and roadways to freeze and remain frozen. Temperatures across north Georgia will struggle to reach above freezing through Thursday and this will provide little chance for the ice to melt and conditions to improve," stated the NWS Tuesday.
Although major thoroughfares and roadways were passable Tuesday afternoon, Gray encouraged motorists to again refrain from driving when at all possible.
"It makes our job a lot easier if we can keep the sightseers and people that don't need to be out traveling on the roadways off the roadways because we don't have those interruptions when we're plowing the roads," he said.
With nearly 1,000 miles of roadway to manage, the Bartow County Road Department has been working to clear streets as has the city of Cartersville and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
"We've been working around the clock since 10 p.m. Sunday night and so far we've cleared about 600 miles. We've still got a couple hundred miles we haven't touched yet," Gray said.
Elliott noted that as of noon Tuesday, overtime for the city has amounted to $3,500 and about $3,000 worth of rock salt, calcium chloride and pea-gravel as they cleared the 257 lane miles within their territory.
"Of course on the sidewalks and in folks' yards and things like that, snow is going to be here -- it's going to be here for several days -- but we're hoping that our roadways are going to be in good shape," Elliott said.
Although power outages were a major concern leading up to this week's winter weather, the city of Cartersville reported no power outages and Georgia Power reported only seven customers in Bartow County affected during the 24 hours before 11 a.m. Tuesday. Georgia Power representative Lynn Wallace said that the hardest hit areas were in south and coastal Georgia. | <urn:uuid:ad054a4f-34ec-48b5-8951-03929e7e2684> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.daily-tribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Roads+may+continue+to+pose+icy+threat%20&id=10968956&instance=main_article | 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 | 0.979729 | 775 | 1.515625 | 2 |
As another school year winds down, many young drivers want a car so they can get to and from a summer job and drive around their friends; others might want a car when they head off to college. To ensure your teenager’s safety and your peace of mind, be sure you choose the right vehicle.
Put your inexperienced driver behind the wheel of the safest, most reliable car you can afford. Consumer Reports urges you to choose a vehicle equipped with ABS, electronic stability control (ESC), and curtain air bags. The car should perform well in government and insurance-industry crash tests, as well as in our dynamic tests, which include accident avoidance, braking, and handling. Plus, it shouldn’t be overly powerful.
The models listed below are readily available with the recommended safety equipment and have performed well in safety-related tests. All are Consumer Reports recommended vehicles, meaning that they scored well in our testing and have had average or better reliability. They also have sufficient acceleration to merge onto busy highways, good brakes, and scored well in emergency handling.
Chevrolet Malibu (4-cyl., 2008 or later)
Ford Focus sedan (2009-2011)
Honda Accord (4-cyl., 2008 or later)
Hyundai Sonata (4-cyl., 2006 or later)
Kia Optima (non-turbo, 2010 or later)
Mazda3 i Touring (2009 or later)
Nissan Altima (4-cyl., 2010 or later)
Subaru Impreza (non-turbo, 2009 or later)
Toyota Corolla (2010 or later)
Volkswagen Jetta (2007-2010) | <urn:uuid:afcfb762-6e37-40dc-8490-169d2bc3271c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://charlestonusedcars.mamasusedcars.com/184/consumer-reports-list-10-best-cars-for-teens/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941807 | 347 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The report found that, "the unaffiliated say they are not looking for a religion that would be right for them. Overwhelmingly, they think that religious organizations are too concerned with money and power, too focused on rules and too involved in politics."
Thank you Lillie for posting this.
Yes, this is very hopeful news. Maybe we are seeing a backlash from religion's involvement in politics.
Well it just follows logic, of course US citizens might gain in knowledge and thus religion will lose.
Neurology is already discovering where god lives (In the Temporal Lobes of Believers) and soon it may be removed from there.
Some of the reasons for a reduction in the religious is a rise in information, as well as religion painting itself to be more sinister and ridiculous with every turn.
Turn on religious radio, television and the mind of new viewers/listeners is bombarded with irrational dialog that to any rational listener comes across as garbage.
It happened in Australia many years ago and now the religious are somewhat of a minority and have no political muscle. Yet we still get the occasional spokesperson stating they want Australia to return to being a Christian nation, they usually just get laughed at and forgotten about.
Yes, religions, especially Christianity are turning people away with stupidity.
Their web presence can be seen as a disaster for them.
Especially their Creationist sites. Creationism, though not truly Christian is bad for Christianity but superb for us and great for humanity,
At least we have something to thank Creationists for.
Forgive them Christians, for they know not what they do! ROFL!
Aye M8z! :-D~
The internet opens up a very broad range of information and people who support non-belief in religion. With books, videos, interviews easily available, people can see there are other people and ways to experience their moral and ethical core. "Good without god!" opens up a new way of being. | <urn:uuid:5d1dabaf-249a-4364-9bfc-5e6b06057eea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/ffrf/forum/topics/new-report-indicates-steady-increase-in-those-with-no-religious?commentId=2182797%3AComment%3A2192787&xg_source=activity&groupId=2182797%3AGroup%3A1219422 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961496 | 407 | 1.601563 | 2 |
It sounds like you just started. at the beginning on the moon. You have green fruits by the shell and a yellow close to the edge of the mountain.
More yellow fruits are at the center of the crater at the lower level. There you also find soil and lunar raffia.
When you jump off the crater to go to the cave by the cliff - you can catch blue fruits opr pick them up if on a higher level at side of cliff. These are enough fruits to work with to make seedlings and graft them to scare the trees.
Once you scare some plants - you can get more fruits and go from there.
Now to scare the plants - the clue here is seen on the walls of the cliff. You will see which plants scare what other plant. You can then go from there. | <urn:uuid:6831856e-3870-4aee-a4c0-791a36f2c1aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gameboomers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/108990/Re_Voyage_Question.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948829 | 167 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Because of partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C., the magnitude of important economic issues that will have to be dealt with in a lame duck session of Congress could be staggering. Lame duck sessions are convened after a general election so the outgoing—or “lame duck”—Congress can wrap up must-pass legislation in December before the new Congress takes office in January of the next year.
This year the White House, U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the U.S. Senate are up for election Nov. 6. Regardless of what happens, the current set of incumbents will have to tackle a “to-do” list in December that will include:
- whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts for marginal rates, capital gains and dividend rates, the marriage penalty and child tax credit
- whether to extend the 2 percent Social Security payroll tax cut for employees
- renewal of a one-year “patch” on the Alternative Minimum Tax, so millions of middle-class taxpayers don’t get swept in
- renewal of the current estate-tax formula with a $5 million exemption and maximum 35 percent tax rate, so it doesn’t revert back to a $1 million exemption with a top rate of 55 percent
- whether to extend IRC Sec. 179, expensing provisions for small businesses that include a 50 percent bonus depreciation for assets placed in service in 2012
- whether to extend 60 tax credits covering a variety of activities that expired at the end of 2011.
Two of the expired credits involve residential construction: the homeowner energy-efficiency tax credit (IRC Sec. 25C) and the energy-efficient new home tax credit (IRC Sec. 45L). It is not unusual for Congress to renew these credits as part of a tax-extenders package retroactively, but it would obviously be better for the remodeling industry if they were renewed as soon as possible, particularly 25C.
The “stimulus bill” had boosted the 25C credit to 30 percent of the cost of a qualified item not to exceed $1,500 for 2009-10, but the December 2010 “tax deal” agreed to by the White House and Republicans only extended it through 2011 at pre-stimulus levels (10 percent not to exceed $500). IRS data indicates the $1,500 level for 25C was a market mover, generating a total of $25.1 billion of qualified expenditures in 2009. According to the Residential Energy Efficient Tax Credit Industry Coalition, in 2009 taxpayers claimed nearly $5.9 billion in 25C and 25D (for qualified solar, small wind, geothermal and fuel cell property) tax credits and, because of the $1,500 limit, 25D usage and other tax rules, $5.172 billion was allowed as realized 25C tax credits.
The positive impact of 25C is further illustrated by IRS data showing 93 percent of 25C (and 25D) tax credit claims for 2009 were made by taxpayers who have an adjusted gross income of no more than $200,000, which is the essence of a middle class tax program. In addition, data from the National Association of Home Builders show remodeling expenditures performed much better than new home sales from 2008 through 2011. It is fair to conclude from a chart of such activity that the 25C tax credit program provided a floor for remodeling activity, which declined only 32 percent since its peak during that period compared to a 76 percent decline for new home sales.
Although new home sales continue to struggle, the down market did not hinder use of the energy-efficient new home tax credit (45L). This tax credit program provided a $2,000 credit per home for builders of new energy-efficient homes that use 50 percent less energy per the International Energy Conservation Code’s 2004 supplement. It went into effect in 2006 and, according to the Residential Energy Services Network, last year 32,000 (or 11 percent) of new homes sold were verified for the credit. | <urn:uuid:4d7ace53-6fc3-4aed-8600-83c24efb16a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forresidentialpros.com/article/10713713/lame-duck-scenario-in-nations-capital | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948844 | 826 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Challenges in the garden: How to go "water smart" before the next drought appears
Posted Oct 01 2008 9:26pm
Its not of matter of "if" but "when" in California. That the big "D." Drought. Not a doomsayer, unfortunately the reality of living in the West.
To me, its a fact that I fear. Growing bamboo requires water, like most plants. Unlike most misperceptions of bamboo, a moderate amount of water will do. In fact, there are some bamboos from South America that are drought tolerant, but, that is a subject for another time.
Rather than sitting on my hands or burying my head in the sand, I have really started thinking about how I can prepare for the inevitable and keep my garden green and beautiful.
First, I cut down the turf I have in the front and back yard. OK, I admit, I am lazy and got tired of mowing the lawn, especially in the summer. Yes, a lawn that was installed in a tract home. Yes, cookie cutter and very inefficient in terms of water use. In fact nearly 50% of water use comes from irrigating landscape. For most of us that is using potable drinking water (the stuff we drink and bathe with) to water. Considering that the potable water supply in the world is only 1% of the water supply in the world (97% is ocean and the rest is ice) its pretty bizarre to think we an a culture waste water for turf (grass) when the water supply we can access for human use is really so limited. But after cutting down on lawn size, I began to realize the potential water savings and saving on my water bill.
The other thing I am considering is a water barrel. Vendors have a wider variety of water barrels, from plastic versions of wood grain barrels to very utilitarian varieties that are essentially industrial plastic barrels. http://www.rainbarrelguide.com/ gives you an idea of the possibilities. With 50 to 80 gallon storage capacity, these are looking pretty good as a back-up supply of irrigation water if our water utility is forced into drought measures like limiting watering days, water patrol, etc. Also, in California, the State Department of Water Resources is talking about the snow line getting higher and higher over the next 20 years, due to climate change/global warming, however you want to call it. Check out http://watersupplyconditions.water.ca.gov/ to start, yikes! Less snowpack means less water storage over the summer, making it critical to gather water while it rains (you'll start seeing water infrastructure projects by national and state governments, make changes to accommodate for this reality in the future).
The other thing I discovered is conversion of my spray sprinkler heads to (picture can be found at http://www.homeandbeyond.com/prod-0119373.html ) a hyroport that can carry 8 drip lines at one spot. Those new found areas of my front and back lawn that no longer have turf are now being coverted to water efficient drip lines. Makes sense, its efficient and my plants don't know any better. The product even claims that it keeps weeds down, which makes sense since its only watering the plants you want, not weeds.
Small changes, but hopefully, I'm doing my part to save water and my water bill will hopefully reflect it. | <urn:uuid:f356809d-fd8d-4649-90f4-fa15c0d50dc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wellsphere.com/green-living-article/challenges-in-the-garden-how-to-go-quot-water-smart-quot-before-the-next-drought-appears/401623 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955119 | 707 | 1.828125 | 2 |
It looks like the rumors of her being sold to a park in Moscow instead of going to Primorsky are true.
Via Russian Orcas -
“Possible news about Russian orca Narnia captured by “Sochi Dolphinarium” in August 2012. Russian billionaire God Nisanov said in his interview to Forbes that he is going to build Europe’s largest aquarium and dolphinarium in the All-Russia Exhibition Centre in Moscow, and a killer whale had been already captured for this dolphinarium. Most likely it is Narnia as she is the only captive orca in Russia. Also, the dolphinarium has signed an agreement to buy 17 dolphins from Japan and some beluga whales captured in the Russian Far East”. | <urn:uuid:3083aace-695f-4cb3-8fc5-133a573ba35a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://endkillerwhalecaptivity.tumblr.com/post/44497696227/narnia-update | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968165 | 154 | 1.5 | 2 |
Rest your hands over the lower curve of your tummy, in late pregnancy you will prob feel like you are holding onto a large melon! Breath in as slowlt and as comfortably as you can. As the breath enters your nostrils allow them to dilate, then breath out through a relaxed mouth (think ‘ive just tried on an expensive lipstick’) notice a slight pause between the breath in and the breath out. notice whats happening to your tummy, feel it rising up under your hands as you breathe in a gentle swelling like a wave building up, and then as you relax your tummy sinks down again as if the ‘wave’ is receding. Feel the pressure in your hands as you breathe in and swell up, and then the pressure withdrawing as you breath out and the tummy goes back to its original position.
these next ones are great for getting though contractions i used all of these when i was in labour and managed to stay drug free :-)
The greeting breath
When you are in labour, meet each contraction with your breathing, giving at first all of your complete breath. This is a deliberate slow breath OUT. imagine an early first stage contaction lasting around 45 seconds. Breath slowly though the contraction feeling the pressure being lifted as your breathe out.
The resting breath
As the contraction fades away, you give a slow complete breath through you mouth –a resting breath- this is important partly because it gives you relaxations at the end of the contraction and you are able to rest before the next one, and partly because it signals to everyone in the room that the contraction is over. Almost waving the green flag to anyone who wants to talk to you.
Full chest breathing
You will need a partner to practice this with. Lie on your side with your back rounded- head and shoulders rounded , legs well apart and the upper leg drawn up and bent at the knee. Now lift you head as If stretching your spine all the way up the back so that you feel taller. Stretch your neck at the back, and all the was down your spine then simply drop back into the first position- let your head rest comfortably between your legs and close your eyes if they feel heavy. This helps relax you into the breathing exercise
Think of your back, your spine isn’t stiff its made up of tiny vertebre in a curving shape –like a string of sausages. Get your partner to rest his hands on each sholder and massage with the flats of his/her hands. Get them to carry on this massage all the way down to the bottom of your back. Then ask your partner to rest their hands on either side of your rib cage they should be in a position that’s comfortable for you. Notice their warmth and strength. Breathe in through the nose and out through your mouth so that the main level of breathing awareness is where you feel the pressure of your partners hands. Listen to your breathing. Breath down to where you feel their hands expanding your ribcage so that its swelling under their hands as your breath. This is useful for when you are in first stage labour.
i have since learned the 7-11 breathing tech my shrink who used to be a midwife told me about it,
breath in though your nose for a count of 7 then out through your nose for the count of 11!
proven to relax and the counting will help you concentrate on something
it dont haveto be the counts of 7-11 it could be 4-9 as long as the out breath is longer than the in breath!
Any opinions, advice, statements or other information expressed or made available on BabyandBump.Momtastic.com by users or third parties, including but not limited to bloggers, are solely those of the respective user or other third party. They do not reflect the opinions of BabyandBump.Momtastic.com and they have not been reviewed by a physician, psychologist or parenting expert or any member of the BabyandBump.Momtastic.com staff for accuracy, balance or objectivity. Content and other information presented on BabyandBump.Momtastic.com are not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, counseling, diagnosis, or treatment. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical or mental health advice from your physician or other qualified health provider because of something you have read on BabyandBump.Momtastic.com. BabyandBump.Momtastic.com does not endorse any opinion, advice, statement, product, service or treatment made available on the website. If you think you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately. | <urn:uuid:52e14236-55e7-47b5-ba1f-850430e03146> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://babyandbump.momtastic.com/pregnancy-third-trimester/52702-breathing-techs-labour-new-one-added.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957806 | 955 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Freco is a celebration of the short but very productive life of Dutch designer and illustrator Fré Cohen (1903-1943). This font is mostly an assembled compilation of letters Fré created for a variety of print designs over the years, showcasing her consistent talent for the architectural moderne, art deco, and Wendingen styles of her era.
Freco is a prime example of how seemingly minute details can visually be most relevant and consequential in typography. Fré Cohen’s subtle variations on the familiar art deco forms and contrast have made her typographical work so stunning it continues to be taught and celebrated as some of the finest 20th century Dutch design.
Freco comes in an expanded character set that includes support for Central and Eastern European languages, as well as Turkish, Baltic, Celtic, Maltese and Esperanto. It also includes complementary alternate forms and letter combinations for added flexibility in usage. | <urn:uuid:ce6ccdd0-0f58-4a5c-8d3a-bd5d507f6ff0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fontbros.com/families/freco/styles/regular?order_by=recent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942233 | 188 | 1.515625 | 2 |
NetBeans 6.9 Release Supports JavaFX, Java EE6 and OSGi
Oracle has released version 6.9 of its popular open-source Neteans IDE. This is also the first release of the IDE to be released under Oracle's stewardship. The new release has a couple guiding themes providing an umbrella for a raft of new features, as well as many improvements.
First among the additions, and most visible to a user, is the new support for building JavaFX applications using the IDE, called JavaFX Composer. Many have waited for this support for JavaFX to round out the toolkit and the platform. The JavaFX support features a visual designer tool, as well as a code editor. Coders can write code, build them and run them with ease, as well as reformat code files. The visual tools will be the most compelling to users looking to alternatives to Adobe Flash's visual tooling options. The JavaFX composer lets people visually manipulate an application, dragging and dropping components on the screen and arranging them. The tool lets you use - and visually change properties on – all the standard JavaFX components provided with the SDK. JavaFX Composer also provides support for binding web services and databases to components using a generic, abstract idea of data sources and record sets. Accordingly, it's very easy to create these data sources in the IDE.
The tool integrates nicely with JavaFX production suite. The suite is a packaging of plug-ins that enable a better designer/developer workflow between JavaFX application developers – who provide the application logic - and more visually inclined artists and designers - who provide an applications finesse and UI - using standard design tools like Adobe's Illustrator and Photoshop products. With the plugins, an illustrator might render a vector drawing, put elements in the illustration on different “layers,” assign them names, and then export the illustration into a format JavaFX can read. This file can be placed in the JavaFX application and visually previewed in the JavaFX Composer. Additionally, the individual named layers can be referenced and manipulated visually (and, of course, programatically) in JavaFX Composer. JavaFX Composer supports the notion of JavaFX states, which describe the configuration of an object at a given time. States are often used in the same way that you might use key-frames in a video editing tool. You can, for example, animate an object between two states.
The new release also sports upgrades to the underlying NetBeans RCP platform. While “NetBeans” describes an IDE, NetBeans RCP is the framework that sits beneath the IDE. The framework facilitates building modular, consistent Swing applications. This platform, and the IDE with it, is over 13 years old. Many entities – industry and academia alike - have built tools on top of the NetBeans RCP platform. This new release provides greater ease for those looking to use the platform, and its consistant, standard Swing toolkit, with OSGi. OSGi – a specification that describes the lifecycle of Java components in a given classloader – is the modularity framework used under the Eclipse IDE. The OSGi functionality enables bridging OSGi components with the NetBeans Module system: developers may use NetBeans modules from OSGi, they may use OSGi services from within the NetBeans RCP, and they may run the entire NetBeans RCP as OSGi.
NetBeans 6.9 also offers many refinements. The generic web developers toolkit has been updated with new support for – among other things – refactoring HTML and CSS elements. The release also sees updates to the PHP and Ruby editors in the IDE. NetBeans 6.9 supports the newer Spring 3.0 platform which was released November 2009. The Java EE6 support that was released in NetBeans 6.8 coincide with the finalization of the JEE 6 platform specification late last year, as well. However, some part of the specification were finalized late in the process and so support in NetBeans lacked a little in the 6.8 release. This release introduces enhanced support for CDI (the Java EE6 dependency injection API), JSF 2.0 (including Facelets), and the Web Beans APIs. | <urn:uuid:f3ae31ab-346a-4bb5-87b4-0441a5d71bcd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoq.com/news/2010/07/netbeans_69_released | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930038 | 877 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The Wayne County Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program gave county residents facing foreclosure counseling, help with emergency budgeting and, according to the website, when appropriate, it contacted the lender and negotiated a settlement.
It served 5,500 county residents. Current clients and those seeking help in the future are being directed to contact the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
A letter from Wayne County Executive Robert Ficanco on the program's website says "this measure was taken in response to the loss of funding by Wayne County effective September 30, 2012."
Raymond Byers, the county's economic development director, cited a $100-million decline in property tax revenues in the last five years as the reason the county was forced to discontinue the program, and he noted that his entire department had to shoulder a 40% decrease in personnel.
Byers praised the program, but said his department found a good option for helping people confronting foreclosure by directing them to the state housing development authority. He said the alternative was to offer nothing. The Wayne County program cost between $500,000 and $750,000 per year, Byers said.
"It was a good program while I had it," Byers said. "It was defunded in the budget cut, but I had to work around it, and MSHDA was my way around it."
Wayne County and especially Detroit were hit hard by foreclosures. According to information posted on the city's website, there are more than 67,000 foreclosed properties in Detroit, and 65% of those remain vacant. Byers said that half of the county program's clients were from Detroit.
Byers, however, said he believes the foreclosure crisis hit bottom and is beginning to abate.
Mary Townley, director of homeownership for the authority, said that although her office does not operate in the same fashion as the Wayne County program em dash = it does not have homeownership counselors on staff for instance em dash = it does help connect homeowners in trouble with about 70 nonprofits.
The housing development authority helps fund such agencies, too.
Although it's not directly involved in negotiating loan modifications, the authority has client agencies that "do handhold that homeowner through the process," Townley said.
Residents who are dealing with foreclosure can contact the housing development authority and get certified counselor contact lists by calling 866-946-7432 or by going to the authority's website, www.michigan.gov/mshda .
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:ed618435-4d38-4dd0-b7cc-f1ce8e3c0b9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freep.com/article/20121105/NEWS02/311050016/Wayne-County-ends-foreclosure-prevention-aid-but-refers-those-in-need | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982391 | 522 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The Jewish Week looked into the news that Shirley Maclaine would be joining the cast of 'Downton Abbey' in Season 3 as Lady Cora's mother, Martha Levinson:
A period drama set in the years before and after World War I, “Downton Abbey” follows the doings of the noble family and their servants on an impossibly gorgeous estate.... [T]he show’s press packet describes Cora’s father as “Isidore Levinson, a Cincinnati dry goods millionaire.” Sounds promising!
Sadly though for the social climbers, all historical evidence indicates it’s highly unlikely that anyone like the U.S.-born Lady Grantham would also have been Jewish. Baron Julian Fellowes, the show’s creator, has evaded repeated requests to comment, but a number of scholars feel duty-bound to let Jewish Downton fans down gently.
“I cannot offhand think of any Cincinnati Jew who actually married into European royalty,” said Brandeis professor Jonathan Sarna, who would probably be in the best position to know as he wrote a book called “Cincinnati Jews.”
What people always seem to forget is that 'Downton Abbey' exists in Earth Prime-Time, not Earth Prime. We don't have extraterrestrial aliens living among us (although I'm not too sure about this couple at the far end of my floor), nor humanoid robots and talking horses. And yet they exist in Toobworld.
I'm the one writing about the fantasy world of the TV Universe, and yet I'm not the one who has problems distinguishing between reality and fiction.....
(Thanks to my fellow "Iddiot" from the IDD, Sharon Goldberg, for pointing this out.....)
BTW - the pictures are of Shirley MacLaine as Coco Chanel....... | <urn:uuid:f30df085-7cd3-4fa8-a1c9-dba9cd9d43e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2012/02/downton-abbeys-not-so-irish-rose.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949619 | 389 | 1.53125 | 2 |
How many times have you have heard a knock at your front door, and when you opened it you were greeted by two neatly dressed young men who ease their way into your house? They explain that they are from the Church of Jesus Christ, and they wish to "share their testimony" with you. In a short time you will learn how the ancient inhabitants got to America, and how Christ appeared to them after His resurrection. They will tell you that this world is suffering from denominationalism, and ask if you think there needs to be unity in Christianity. They will then tell you how God selected a pure young man by the name of Joseph Smith to be His spokesman, or Prophet, for our age. They will tell you how God told Smith to "restore" the church that had fallen into apostasy -- including the restoration of the offices of apostles and prophets -- and this restoration was to be aided by the Book of Mormon.
These men are from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with imposing headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Most people refer to this group as "the Mormon church," but this is not how they prefer to be recognized.
They do accept the term "Mormonism" to describe the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle that is unique to their group.
The largest of American-born cults, Mormonism has grown with exceeding speed to a worldwide membership of over 11 million people -- yet it began in America in 1830 with just six members. This series of articles is not intended to be an "attack" upon Mormons, but rather an attempt to obey the command of 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
In order to understand Mormon doctrines, and how they affect the lives of their adherents, we must first give some thought to the men who started their church and how they "revealed" their "special revelations" from God. I will not be quoting from the enemies of the LDS church, for I realize they would not accurately represent them. However, I will be quoting from official Mormon books, tracts, and their Web site as well as from several historical documents that can be seen in libraries and courthouses today. I claim no originality for any of the material in this series. I have kept notes on the Mormon cult for over 30 years, and after all of this time it is sometimes hard to distinguish my notes from some of the sources I have used over the years.
The Truth About Mormonism, the largest of all American cults, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) has grown to a worldwide membership of over 11 million people -- yet it began in 1830 with just six members. This sixteen page booklet contains two sermon outlines on this cult (PDF file size: 264k).
Also, you can listen to David Padfield and Mormon elder Paul Meade debate the "Inspiration of the Book of Mormon." This debate on Mormonism is available as an MP3 file from this Web site. | <urn:uuid:eac36c60-1af8-425f-92b2-7500ad1ef671> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.padfield.com/2005/mormonism.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978211 | 636 | 1.648438 | 2 |
I went to last night’s opening of Cymbeline at the Timms Centre, and I am happy to say that I was actually enjoying the play! I found it to be a little too long—it began at 7.30 and ended around 10.15pm. But other than that this production was as worthy as any.
The stage decorations seemed well crafted—I believe the Arts and Design department, and specifically Des 594 class, are the ones responsible for such an elaborate stage. And it was well used too—the actors constantly moved around the stage, through the curtains, up and down the stairs in graceful ways, and had elaborated choreographies in-between scenes, giving the play an interesting artistic vibe.
I was most impressed with Perry Gratton as Guiderius (Polidore) and his acrobatic maneuvers on stage, and I believe Julia Guy (Arviragen, Fight Capitan) did an excellent job in the fight choreographies. Usually, and I have seen this in many plays, it is quite obvious the actors are following a “movement script” and you can usually anticipate their movements. I didn’t find this to be the case in Cymbeline.
What I liked the most about this play was the fact that I could actually understand what they were saying! I had seen Shakespeare’s plays before—ok, only one, but it was enough to discourage me from seeing any others. It wasn’t because it was a bad play, but because I found the dialogues to be so complex that I could not understand a word they were saying. I attributed this fact to my unfamiliarity with reading Shakespeare in English, and thus with the words he uses and the style that accompanies them.
Cymbeline was not hard to follow—sure, the first 10 minutes were mostly a blur; I was trying to understand what was happening just by looking at the body language and the tone of their voices. But after I got used to the style they were using, I could understand most of what they were saying. I find this to be extremely important, since it may escape some people’s mind that Shakespeare’s unique writing style could discourage anyone from enjoying a play like this—I can honestly say even my Canadian friend had some difficulties understanding every line (please take note Shakespeare in the park!)
If you decide to go see Cymbeline, you will not be disappointed. It is a love story with a bit of drama, war, and comedy–and who doesn’t love that!
Cymbeline will be playing February 9th to 18th at the Timms Centre. Ticket range from $5-$20. | <urn:uuid:2847b71f-7534-4822-bdc9-6a4b5b10eb7e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thesoundandnoise.com/2012/02/11/cymbeline-shakespeare-i-get-you/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987937 | 554 | 1.507813 | 2 |
I congratulate Iraq’s political leaders on forming a new, inclusive government that respects the will of the Iraqi people, reflects the nation’s diversity, and demonstrates a commitment to democratic ideals. This government is a testament to the desire of Iraqis to settle their differences through free debate and an open exchange of ideas. Iraq’s leaders must now take the next steps to tackle the many important challenges still facing their nation and realize a brighter future for all Iraqis.
The United States will continue working with our Iraqi partners at each stage to build a strong, long-lasting relationship between our countries that promotes security and prosperity in Iraq, and stability throughout the region. Our partnership is founded on mutual respect and mutual interest as we work to achieve shared goals. With the new government in place, we look forward to expanding our economic and security relationship, promoting cooperation on science, education, and health, strengthening the rule of law and transparent governance, deepening our cultural exchanges, and improving our partnership in all the areas laid out in our Strategic Framework Agreement. We will also continue helping Iraq take up its increasing role as a constructive member of the international community.
The formation of this government is a milestone in the emergence of the new Iraq. It constitutes a resounding rejection of the extremists who sought to derail the democratic process and sow discord among Iraqis. Iraq is a great nation with a promising future, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with the new government to help our Iraqi friends build on what they have already achieved. | <urn:uuid:41021de5-b81d-4bfb-b99e-3c7d4955c9b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.humanrights.gov/2010/12/22/announcement-of-new-iraqi-government/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951526 | 303 | 1.71875 | 2 |
By Stacy Whitman
If your baby cries and cries and cries—sometimes for hours, despite attempts to soothe him—then he may be among the 20 percent of infants with colic. Pamela High, MD, medical director for the Colic Clinic at Women and Infants Hospital and Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I., has these survival tips:
Call in the troops Caring for a colicky baby can be exhausting—and it definitely isn’t a one-person job. So get help! Ask family and friends who feel comfortable with babies (particularly unhappy ones!) to come and give you a break.
Help him sleep Babies with colic usually aren’t great sleepers, and not getting enough zzz’s only makes them crankier. Having a regular bedtime and a soothing bedtime routine can help. Nighttime feedings should be “all business,” High adds—keep the lights dim, don’t talk or play, and get her back to sleep as quickly as possible.
Rule out reflux If your tyke is spitting up a ton and seems uncomfortable when eating, ask her doctor if reflux could be part of the problem. It’s possible she can be soothed with simple fixes, such as smaller feedings and frequent burping. Infants with severe reflux (who consistently refuse food or aren’t gaining weight) may require medication.
Consider ditching dairy About 10 percent of breastfed babies become less fussy when all dairy (including milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream) is eliminated from their mom’s diet, High says. You’ll need a two-week trial to know if it works. | <urn:uuid:e6065b8b-c731-4cde-b5ee-952cc5f2f822> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newparent.com/baby/calm-colic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948617 | 354 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Since WWII, virtually every military action carried out by the US has been an action of choice. None have involved the threat of invasion or even attack. Think Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, the Balkans, and all of what has happened in the Middle East. Add to this our military "advisors" in Central America and elsewhere, who have been busy training the military in these areas in the arts of intimidation, torture, and disappearance. We are a nation addicted to War. We use the manufactured separations and homecomings to promote a false sense of solidarity and to give ourselves feel-good moments, especially around major holidays (think Thanksgiving, Christmas). In our highly independence-trained, individualistic culture, War becomes the drug that feeds our buried need for sociality. | <urn:uuid:a8a59351-d097-44f6-8e6f-867532550158> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://crankylinguist.blogspot.com/2012/05/memorial-day.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957261 | 157 | 1.734375 | 2 |
UAF is home to the only Army Reserve Officers Training Corps in Alaska. The military science program is staffed with regular Army and Alaska National Guard officers and non-commissioned officers. The curriculum challenges students to develop interpersonal, mental and physical skills, cultivating leaders of character, capable of bearing the responsibilities of tomorrow's civil and military leadership positions.
The focus of ROTC is academic excellence and preparing leaders. All students enrolled in at least one course are assigned a faculty member to provide leadership and academic counseling.
ROTC offers a variety of resources including scholarships, athletic teams and academic assistance. Neighboring Fort Wainwright offers students numerous opportunities to participate in military activities such as the arctic biathlon competition, mentorships and recreational activities in an arctic environment.
Army ROTC provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships and stipends. The current stipend ranges between $300 and $500 monthly depending on military science class level, and is tax-free for all committed cadets. ROTC scholarships also pay 100 percent of tuition and mandatory fees and provide $900 annually for books and supplies. In accordance with NCAA regulations for this university, Army ROTC scholarships may be awarded in conjunction with athletic scholarships. Scholarships are available for two to four years and may be used for graduate studies.
Army ROTC also offers partnership, or simultaneous membership programs, with the Reserves and National Guard. These partnerships provide a suite of financial assistance programs for ROTC cadets, including tuition assistance, GI Bill benefits and bonuses, stipends and pay. In addition, Army ROTC at UAF is granted a limited number of room waivers and chancellor's tuition waivers for qualified students. For more information call 907-474-7501 or visit www.uaf.edu/rotc/.
The military science curriculum is an approved minor which includes credit for one written and one oral intensive course towards a B.S. or B.A. Military science courses satisfy electives to a maximum of 23 credits toward degree requirements. Classes, including outdoor skills labs, are offered every semester. Labs are designed to give students hands-on instruction in areas such as rappelling, skiing and survival.
Army ROTC comprises two levels: the basic course followed by the advanced course. Credit for the basic course can be earned in three ways: by completing freshman and sophomore military science classes, by completing a four-week summer camp or by having prior military basic training. Students incur no obligation to Army ROTC or the Armed Forces during the basic course.
Students who complete the basic course may enter the advanced course, which is normally reserved for juniors and seniors pursuing a commission in the regular Army, Army Reserves or Army National Guard. For more information contact the Department of Military Science at 907-474-6852/7501, email@example.com or visit www.uaf.edu/rotc/. | <urn:uuid:a1e90be9-016d-42b2-b2a1-71b8b32470e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uaf.edu/catalog/catalog_12-13/services/serv05.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949314 | 600 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Join Advancing Compassion Project and its Volunteers Changing Lives℠ program as we help ensure that kids of the ‘Food 4 Kids’ Backpack Program have enough to eat during the holidays.
The ‘Food 4 Kids’ Backpack Program provides weekend food packages to chronically hungry elementary school students from low-income households who are at risk of hunger over the weekend when free school meals are unavailable.
Every Friday afternoon, at-risk students identified by nurses or teachers are discreetly provided with a nutritional food pack that can be tucked into their backpacks. Each pack contains enough food to see the students through the weekend, and the discreet distributions remove the stigma that might be attached to the program.
Besides your time, we’re also asking volunteers to make a small donation ($10 per youth/student and $15 per adult) to the ‘Food 4 Kids’ backpack program. Each dollar raised helps grow the program and ensures that chronically hungry children have access to food when it is needed…particularly with the coming holidays. And if you cannot afford a donation at this time or if you live out of the area but would like to donate there are options for you, too.
Give a child the opportunity to be extra thankful this month. Reserve your opportunity to help support elementary school kids and the Food Bank by making your donation via our online store. Space is limited.
*For your comfort, please bring a light jacket or sweater; for your safety, sandals, flip-flops or open-toed shoes are not permitted.
**Volunteers must be six years or older, and all minors age 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult. For groups of children there must be 1 adult present for every 10 children between the ages of 10 and 15, and there must be 1 adult present for every 3 children under the age of 10.
***Both Advancing Compassion Project and the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank are registered 501(c)(3) organizations. | <urn:uuid:b53da8c9-ae77-4133-9226-1fb87779e344> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.advancingcompassion.org/event/food4kidsbackpackprogram-dec132012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935823 | 412 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The previous two weeks of Olympic competition held the world’s attention like never before. We were able to stream events from our phones, get info in real time, and follow our favorite athletes on Twitter.
And isn’t nice to know that our partners share something in common with the Olympic champions. Like the athletes, our partners dream big, give it their all, and work hard to hone their skills—both as technology providers and trusted business advisers. The Cisco network also holds it own—and I’m guessing it may hold some sort of Olympic world record, too. At the games, it comprised of 1,800 wireless access points, 65,000 active connects, and 80,000 data ports. And, for the first time in Olympic history, the network included integrated voice, video, data, and cloud services. And none of it would have been possible without our incredible partners.
The result? The Olympics’ first anytime, anywhere viewer experience. NBC Olympics’ Craig Lau, VP of IT, put it best.
“The ability to watch NBC’s Olympic coverage however, wherever, and whenever you choose is no longer just a neat new experience for our viewers. It’s an absolute expectation, and we rely on Cisco to help us meet that expectation. Our users in London are going to be amazed at the Cisco Videoscape experience. It will give them a glimpse of how people may watch sports coverage in the future.”
At Cisco House, our connected business showcase overlooking Olympic Park, our “house” partners Citrix, EMC, Intel, SAP, and Schneider Electric, along with a few Cisco executives, shared their vision of how we’ll continue to work together to deliver some amazing breakthroughs.
In a special video, they talked about how the Internet of “things” is taking us to places we never thought possible. And they weren’t just talking about how technology will transform our work lives. Our personal lives will also be changed for the better.
Couldn’t make it to Cisco House? We scored access to portions of the video just for you!
In addition to hosting Cisco House, Cisco also supported the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in a number of other ways. This has been a huge responsibility and an incredible honor as we watched history unfold—both on and off the field.
But it wasn’t just about the games for Cisco. On behalf of the region’s Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math (STEM) program, Cisco created math and science curriculum for UK students. The company is also investing in local business growth over several years, and has made a commitment to open 30 new Cisco Network Academies in the east London area around the Olympic Park.
John Chambers, Cisco’s chairman and CEO, closed out the video with a quote I love. He said that Cisco and our partners stand ready to help as the network transforms lives, and then added, “We are old fashioned,” he said. “We believe in partnering for life.”
What’s my takeaway from the summer games? Cisco is leading the way in technology, in user experience, and in social responsibility. And we couldn’t do it without our fantastic partners standing by our side. You’re our Gold-medal winners!
What’s was your favorite Olympic event? Favorite athlete? Let’s get the conversation going—add your comment below. | <urn:uuid:03a6c1c3-7347-4410-bb01-a305eedf745b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.cisco.com/channels/cisco-at-the-2012-olympic-games-partnering-to-build-a-better-tomorrow/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949373 | 725 | 1.664063 | 2 |
We tell ourselves stories in order to live. The princess is caged in the consulate. The man with the candy will lead the children into the sea. The naked woman on the ledge outside the window on the sixteenth floor is a victim of accidie, or the naked woman is an exhibitionist, and it would be “interesting” to know which.
Joan Didion – The White Album
I used to write persona poems fairly frequently, back when I was in my late teens and early twenties and everyone’s life seemed interesting but mine. Now that I am in my forties, I don’t really have the desire to write poems in character. There are too many things that have happened to me. Nothing imaginary that I come up with rings as true as my own. It is easier in fiction than in poetry In fiction the length of the form allows me to develop a whole world for my character’s to reside in. Fiction is meant to be a beautiful lie. For me poetry is more personal than that. I want my poetry to reflect my life and my thoughts, so I no longer feel the urge to write the persona poems that I once wrote.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t tell stories. It also doesn’t mean that every word I write is true. I have tremendous sympathy for James Frey and his somewhat fictional autobiography. I don’t think that anyone can write a completely true autobiography. The mind doesn’t work like that. It fills in the blanks. It remembers things the way it wants to. I am absolutely positive that some of the key events in my life seem completely different to the other people involved. Everyone has a perspective and no one has all the information.
As a storyteller, I am perfectly happy to combine two different events in my life into one. If they live together in my mind, they should be allowed to live together on the page. The truth of the story is not necessarily the facts of the event, especially in the world of poetry. We are given poetic license for a reason. To me, poetry is about interpretation and distillation. In poetry, you strip away the things that don’t matter and you say what has the most importance, especially if you choose to write about yourself. That means that, sometimes, you don’t explain that there were four good reasons why you showed up late to the party, you just stick to the one that matters in the poem — unless your poem is about the four reasons.
I don’t encourage people to tell outright lies about themselves, even in poetry. If you are going to do it, though, be upfront about it. Tell the most apparent and glorious lie you can tell. Commit to the lie. Otherwise, make do with the truth.
Today’s Poetry Prompt
Write about the first time you did something. | <urn:uuid:5f189ea4-bfd2-465c-b86c-95150f6696f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://poewar.com/pd30-day-25-poets-are-liars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964547 | 604 | 1.5625 | 2 |
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Originally open sourced in October 2008, Google's Android OS has since become a permanent news fixture, with controversial debates on fragmentation, a headline-grabbing lawsuit filed by Oracle, and a constant stream of reports from research firms such as comScore and ChangeWave, recording every twist and turn in the hotly-contested race for smartphone market share. Currently, an all-new debate is sweeping through the Android community, as developers argue whether the forthcoming Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' is a fork, after it was revealed that this update is targeted squarely at tablet devices. There's no doubt that the fast-paced world of smartphones has captured the developer community's imagination, and with the Android OS increasingly cropping up in innovative and unusual new places, from ski goggles, to headphones and televisions, it's easy to understand why Android is such a popular platform to code for. In this issue of JAXmag, we take a closer look at the smartphone OS with the second (or third, depending on which industry report you're reading!) largest market share, with articles ranging from a technical deep dive into Android's RESTful ContentProviders, and DownloadManager, to a discussion on the VM at the centre of the Google/Oracle lawsuit, Dalvik. For the more hand's-on developer, we have a tutorial on developing Android apps with the Ansca Corona development tool, from co-author of the upcoming 'Pro Android Flash' book. With Android 3.0 slated for a release within the next few months, and rumours already circulating about the 2.4 release, 2011 seems set to be another exciting year for Google's OS. We hope this issue gives you a deeper insight into some of the key technologies at work in Android, as well as some practical tips for branching out into the world of Android app development. | <urn:uuid:aec380a9-2d84-43c5-9990-02aa55545439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jaxenter.com/jax-magazine/JAXmag-2011-01/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952256 | 386 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Editor's Note: Frs. Vitale and Kelly appeared in court Oct. 17, changed their plea to no contest and were immediately taken into custoy. For details see: Priests imprisoned for five months in torture protest .
This week in Tucson, Ariz., Franciscan Fr. Louis Vitale, along with my Jesuit brother Fr. Steve Kelly, will stand trial. They're being tried on thin and haughty charges -- trespass and failure to obey an officer's orders.
November 2006, the two approached Fort Huachuca, the notorious base where instruction goes on in the practice of torture. In their hands was a letter addressed to Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, base commander. She was the top U.S. intelligence officer in Iraq as torture went on at Abu Ghraib. In the letter they wrote: "We condemn torture as a dehumanization of both prisoners and interrogators…. We are here today…to say that the training of torturers must immediately stop. Nothing justifies the inhumane treatment of our fellow brothers and sisters."
Guards at the gate forbade their entry, and the two took to their knees and prayed. Now they face a caricature of court, having lost the means to mount a proper defense. The judge has ruled as inadmissible subjects such as torture, Abu Ghraib, international law and the Military Commissions Act. Likely he'll show himself more lavish come sentencing time. Louis and Steve are looking at the prospects of many months in jail. It comes with the territory when one is incorrigible and notorious. Louis, 75, has been at the task of peacemaking a good long time -- this despite his early years following a conventional path and doing the expected things.
He grew up in California and attended L.A.'s Jesuit Loyola University. There he studied and drilled with the ROTC and then entered the Air Force as a navigator and intercept officer. In 1959, he entered the Franciscans, received ordination in 1963, and then taught in a small Franciscan college while pursuing his doctorate.
Then began the social revolution of the 1960's -- everything under question, the old edifices under scrutiny, and injustices thrown off like an old garment. Most priests were of the old guard and few jumped in. Louis by contrast took the leap and landed on his feet. He joined every social movement around and took on the big issues -- civil rights, draft resistance, the rights of farm workers. Cesar Chavez was his mentor, with whom he fasted and studied nonviolence. And he moved in circles where he met Dorothy Day, Philip Berrigan, Mother Theresa, Dr. King, Thomas Merton, and later Archbishop Romero.
In the early 1970s, he moved to Las Vegas and there started the Franciscan Center for Social Justice. And with the war in Vietnam ending, he turned his gaze toward the growing anti-nuclear movement. His first order of business was to learn of the dark purposes of the infamous Nevada Test Site, a vast desolate stretch, the most bombed place on the planet.
He became a provincial in 1979, and one of his earliest official acts was civil disobedience with Fr. Daniel Berrigan against nuclear weapons development at U.C- Berkeley. (Few male provincials, before or since, have dared such an act. I think it should be a requirement of all church leadership in today's times.) And while most equate the will of God with institutional prosperity, Louis took a refreshing, one would say scriptural stand. He famously renounced development funds and endowments. Surpluses he disdained. He earmarked them for the needs of the poor -- a policy that grew with his many solidarity delegations to Central America. That's where I met him some 20 years ago.
For the 800th birthday of St. Francis of Assisi in 1982, Louis and friends launched in Francis's name the Nevada Desert Experience. Here was a Lenten campaign of civil disobedience to demand an end to nuclear weapons tests. The thing was conceived as a one-time occasion. But it goes on to this day -- probably winning the honor of being the longest sustained nonviolent civil disobedience campaign in U.S. history. (See: www.nevadadesertexperience.org ). Tens of thousands since have come and crossed over the line, and the steady pressure has had an enormous impact. The government has halted over-ground testing. And thousands of Christians have learned a thing or two about civil disobedience and the diabolical nature of the bomb.
Then from 1992 until 2003, a long stint as pastor of San Francisco's St. Boniface church, in the Tenderloin district, the city's poorest neighborhood. There Louis hung out his pastoral shingle, priest to the homeless. He opened shelters and drop-in centers and served those in need. But to the surprise of the media, and the discomfiture of Christendom, he welcomed vagabonds and the rootless to sleep in the church. News outlets across the country converged on the scene to see. The pews teemed every day with the exhausted and the ill, dry and warm at last. And parishioners rose to the occasion and helped with job training and recovery programs. To this day the homeless look to St. Boniface as a welcoming place.
Meanwhile, Louis helped get Pace e Bene off the ground -- a program to teach the techniques of active nonviolence (See Paceebene.org ), a topic for which Louis is eminently qualified. He's been arrested for peace and justice countless times. One Nevada police officer told the local paper with obvious pride that he has personally arrested Fr. Vitale a hundred times. At Fort Benning, Ga., home of the School of Americas, soldiers have arrested him twice. The first time earned him three months in jail. The second time, a harsher six months in jail.
He came to Albuquerque, N.M., last month as my friends and I were tried for our attempt to gain the attention of our senator's Santa Fe office. My friends and I will be sentenced Nov. 5. Louis came to support us, and he and I got to talking.
"There was nothing in my background that taught me about peace," he said. "I was in the military. I was told we needed nuclear weapons. But during the Vietnam War, the movement began to teach nonviolence. Hearing Dr. King, watching the Berrigans, and being around Cesar Chavez changed my life. I became convinced that nonviolence was the way of God, not killing people. Besides, I've never met anyone I've wanted to see dead.
Of his action at Fort Huachuca, he said, "Our message is that torture has come home to us. We learned from Fort Benning that the U.S. manuals on torture come from Fort Huachuca. The Nazis tortured, Latin American death squads tortured, now we know that we torture people, too. But where does it come from? It comes from Fort Huachuca. That's the headquarters. It's one of the most sinister places on the planet.
"We can make a difference. It can be done. We awakened people to the Nevada Test site. We helped stop nuclear testing. If we all realize [that] we have only this one world created by God, we can work together and help create a new world where we all live as one.
"St. Francis got caught up in a bloody war, and realized that war is not what God created us for. So he came out of it committed to a new world without war. We have to learn from him. We need to address the world's needs with love and compassion, not with war and destruction.
"And we need to have hope. Hope is justified. Half of the human race has been involved in nonviolent movements during the last few decades. These are the hopeful signs. I've seen people come together, and work together for the betterment of others. I've witnessed many nonviolent movements, the miracles of political transformation. I've seen the Berlin Wall fall. I've seen wars end. In nonviolent movements I see unmistakable signs of God.
"My conviction is that we can work together. We can transform our world, culture by culture, drawing on the way of the Gospel, drawing on the example of Francis, Clare and other witnesses to nonviolence. All human beings have the heartbeat of compassion and love. But we have to help them," Louis said. "We have to help them locate the desire for peace that beats already in their hearts."
John Dear's new book, Transfiguration (Doubleday) is available from www.amazon.com and the new DVD about him (with music by Joan Baez and Jackson Browne) is available from www.sandamianofoundation.org . For information on Fr. Louis' trial, see:
tortureontrial.org . Pax Christi has just published an Advent booklet by John, "The Advent of the God of Peace," (from www.paxchristiusa.org ). Next week, John will attend the beatification of Franz Jagerstatter in Linz, Austria. For his speaking schedule, see: | <urn:uuid:06c71eaf-7179-45a6-bd06-77b42d52d952> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ncronline.org/print/blogs/road-peace/franciscan-louis-vitale-facing-prison-peace-again | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973737 | 1,913 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Green Tory & LibDem MPs May Rebell Over UK Energy Bill
Pro-green Tory and Liberal Democrat MPs are considering a plan to defy the Government and rebel over the Coalition’s compromise Energy Bill.
The Bill, which is published tomorrow, is expected to fall short of demands by environmentalists that it should commit the UK to cut carbon emissions produced by generating electricity to a specified level by 2030.
But in a move which will dismay Conservative ministers a cross party group of MPs led by the members of the Energy and Climate Change Committee are considering tabling an amendment to the Bill to re-introduce the commitment.
With Labour and back-bench Liberal Democrat support the move could potentially have enough backing to defeat the Government in the Commons. Even if it failed there it could be reinstated in the House of Lords where campaigners believe they have a majority in favour of the move.
Speaking to The Independent Tim Yeo, the Conservative chairman of the Energy Committee said such an amendment was a “real possibility”.
“I think it would most likely be done at report stage in the New Year but I think there could be a worthwhile debate about amending the Bill to introduce a target range for emissions from the energy sector by 2030,” he said.
Liberal Democrat sources said Government ministers would almost certainly be whipped to vote against any amendment. However they added that the 2030 target had been agreed as policy by the party’s conference in October and backbenchers might be free to support it. | <urn:uuid:5165d5bc-be34-492e-b545-a898c44be4ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thegwpf.org/green-tory-libdem-mps-kill-uk-energy-bill/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972506 | 306 | 1.53125 | 2 |
US 5970095 A
A secure method for transmitting data on an isochronous network in which data is spread in successive frames in a manner known to the sender and receiver but unknown to other nodes on the network. In one embodiment, some or all bits which comprise a byte are transmitted in different channels (i.e. time slots) so that the bits which comprise a byte are spread over several channels in a pattern known to the sender and receiver but not to unauthorized parties on the network. This bit spreading can be performed in real time and without latency or performance problems. In another embodiment, the channel or channels assigned for communication between two nodes on the network change in a sequence known to the sending and receiving nodes but not known to unauthorized parties.
1. A method for secure communication between a sender and a receiver on a network using a time division multiplex isochronous protocol in which the network allocates individual channels on a time slot basis within each isochronous frame of data transmitted on said network including the steps of:
assigning a plurality of said channels in each said isochronous frame for communication between said sender and said receiver;
transmitting some but not all bits of a first data byte in one of said plurality of channels in each said isochronous frame assigned in said assigning step, and some but not all bits of a second data byte in another of said plurality channels in each said frame assigned in said assigning step in a pattern of channel allocation known to the sender and receiver.
2. A method for secure communication between a sender and a receiver on a network using a time division multiplex isochronous protocol in which the network allocates individual channels on a time slot basis within each isochronous frame of data transmitted on said network including the steps of:
assigning one or more channels in a first isochronous frame for communication of a continuous stream of data between said sender and said receiver;
transmitting a first plurality of bits of said continuous data stream in said one or more channels assigned in the just previous assigning step;
assigning one or more channels in a second isochronous frame that are different than the channels assigned in the previous assigning step for communication of said continuous stream of data;
transmitting a second plurality of bits of said continuous data stream in said one or more channels assigned in the just previous assigning step so that the channel assignment periodically jumps in a pattern known to said sender and said receiver.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a secure method for transmitting data over an isochronous network, and more particularly to a secure method which is compatible with existing network protocols, hardware and software.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in any time division multiplexed (TDM) isochronous network, synchronous data is arranged and grouped into repeating units. These units are referred to as a cycle or frame. Each frame is divided into a fixed number of individual time slots. For example, FDDI-II has 1536 time slots per frame; a frame is generated every 125 used by a master station. Each frame has a header, and up to 96 bytes of circuit-switched data. One isochronous frame every 125 used consumes 6.144 Mbps of bandwidth for the 96 circuit switched channels with a maximum of 16 isochronous frames every 125 used allows up to the 1536 channels and uses 98.3 Mbps of band width.
FDDI-II is a high-performance, fiber optic, token ring LAN running at 100 MBS. FDDI-II is a successor to FDDI with a modification to handle synchronous circuit-switched pulse code modulated (PCM) data for voice or ISDN traffic, in addition to ordinary data. In addition to regular (asynchronous) frames for ordinary data, special frames are permitted for isochronous circuit switched data. These frames are generated every 125 microseconds by a master station. The FDDI-II cycle structure is defined in Section 5 of the ANSI FDDI Hybrid Ring Control standard (X3T9/89-43 Rev 6.3) and incorporated herein by reference. Each new cycle or frame consists of control and data bytes or octets. The master station adjusts the latency of the FDDI-II ring so that there are always an integral number of these frames or cycles on the ring. Each frame is partitioned into four parts: a preamble, a cycle header, a dedicated packet group, and sixteen, wideband channels (WBCs). Each wideband channel can be dynamically allocated to either isochronous or packet data use. For isochronous use, each wideband channel provides 6.144 Mbps of bandwidth, and consists of 96 octets interleaved across the cycle. Once a station has acquired one or more time slots in a frame, those slots are reserved for it until they are explicitly released. The allocation of bandwidth to isochronous users is defined in Section 9.3 of the ANSI FDDI Station Management-2 Isochronous Services (SMT-2-IS) standard (X3T9/93-122 Rev 3.0).
The FDDI-II ring is a collection of ring interfaces connected by point-to-point lines. Each bit arriving at an interface is copied into a buffer and then copied out onto the ring again. Isochronous WBCs can be subdivided into individual transmission channels. A transmission channel consists of a contiguous sequence of octets within a WBC. Each data octet of a transmission channel provides 64 kbps of isochronous bandwidth. A logical channel is a unit of allocation that may consist of one or more transmission channels. WBCs are subdivided into separate logical channels to permit simultaneous, independent isochronous dialogues.
An FDDI-II management agent, such as a call controller, receives an allocation of isochronous bandwidth before completing a connection between two or more isochronous users. It is the responsibility of a Channel Allocator (CA) to create logical channels and assign isochronous bandwidth to those channels for use by call control.
The TDM isochronous network allocates individual channels within the master cycle/frame, on a time slot basis. That is, channel i is assigned time slot(s) x, channel j is assigned time slot(s) y, etc. Usually the time slots hold the equivalent of a single byte. This is not always the case and is not material to the invention. However, a one byte wide time slot will be discussed as an exemplar and because it is the most common allocation.
Thus, the transmitter and receiver are told that they are to communicate by using a particular constant channel. For example, say that they were assigned channel 16, and that channel 16 corresponds to time slot 16. This is the same as byte number 16 in the master cycle. This means that the transmitter and receiver would start counting time slots (or bytes) at the start of each master cycle, and when they counted to time slot 16, the transmitter would put his data into that time slot/byte and that the receiver would pull the data out of that time slot. This would repeat every 125 microseconds and the communication channel would be established.
The problem is that someone on the network who wants to eaves drop or clandestinely listen to, or input false data, could easily lock onto this channel. That is, the channel is not secure.
An object of this invention is to provide a secure method of data transmission on an isochronous network; a method that is compatible with existing network protocols, network hardware, and network software.
Briefly, this invention contemplates the provision of a secure method for transmitting data on an isochronous network in which data is spread in successive frames in a manner known to the sender and receiver but unknown to other nodes on the network. In one embodiment, some or all bits which comprise a byte are transmitted in different channels (i.e. time slots) so that the bits which comprise a byte are spread over several channels in a pattern known to the sender and receiver but not to unauthorized parties on the network. This bit spreading can be performed in real time and without latency or performance problems. In another embodiment, the channel or channels assigned for communication between two nodes on the network change in a sequence known to the sending and receiving nodes but not known to unauthorized parties.
The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are graphic representations for comparing channel assignment in a conventional isochronous network and in an isochronous network in accordance with the teachings of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of nodes on an isochronous network interfaced to the network for secure transmission in accordance with the teachings of this invention.
FIG. 3 is a graphic representation of a channel jumping embodiment of the invention.
Referring now to FIG. 1A, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, an isochronous frame, indicated by the general reference number 10, is divided into a number time slots of equal duration called channels. One or more of these channels in an isochronous frame is assigned for communication between two stations on the network in accordance with standard network protocols. Once a station has acquired one or more time slots those time slots are reserved until explicitly released. FIG. 1B illustrates a typical, prior art, non-secure ordering of data transmitted in three channels (channel 1, channel x and channel y) assigned for communication between stations One and Two of FIG. 2. Here, data is transmitted in accordance with a protocol used by all the stations on the network. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1B, successive eight bit data bytes are transmitted in succession in the three assigned channels. That is, byte one is transmitted in bit positions 0-7 of channel 1, byte two in bit positions 0-7 of channel x, byte three in channel y, byte four in channel 1 of the next frame, and so on. In accordance with the teachings of this invention, the bits which comprise each byte are transmitted in a pattern known only to the sending and receiving stations. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1C, in transmitting the bytes as shown in FIG. 1B, the first bit of bytes one, two, and three are transmitted in channel one in bit positions 1, 2, and 3; the second bit of these three bytes are transmitted in bit positions 1, 2, and 3 of channel x; the third bit of each byte in bit positions 1, 2, and 3 in channel y; the fourth bit of each byte in bit positions 4, 5, and 6 of channel one; the fifth bits in bit positions 4, 5, and 6 of channel x; the sixth bits in 4, 5, and 6 of channel y; two of seventh bits in bit positions 7 and 8 of channel 1 and the remaining seventh bit in bit position 7 of channel x; one of the eighth bits is transmitted in bit position 8 of channel x, the remaining two bits are transmitted in positions 7 and 8 of channel y. The pattern could be repeated for successive frames, or a different pattern could be used so long as the sender and receiver know what the pattern is for each frame or set of frames. The sender and receiver agree in advance on a pattern by means of a secure communication between sender and receiver, such as an encrypted message sent over the network, or a secure off network channel such as a telephone connection.
FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the invention where the channel assignment for communication between two nodes is altered in successive frames. The assigned communications channel jumps from one channel to another channel to yet another channel for sequential frames with the transmitter and receiver jumping in unison to the newly assigned channel. A single channel can consist of multiple time slots, with the time slots contiguous or non-contiguous. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, node One as transmitter and node Two as receiver have been assigned initially channel A. After communicating on channel A for a predetermined number of cycles or frames (e.g. x frames) these two nodes switch to a different preassigned channel, here channel B. These two nodes then communicate on channel B for a preassigned number of cycles or frames (e.g. y frames). After y frames, the two nodes then jump to another preassigned channel, in this example channel X, although the nodes could jump back to previously assigned channel A and would typically jump back at some point in time to previously assigned channels. This would continue for the duration of the transmission in a real time mode with the assignment of new channels and the duration of time spent in an assigned channel being in accordance with a preassigned pattern, known to the sending and receiving nodes but unknown to other nodes on the network. Alternatively, the assignment of new channels and duration of time in an assigned channel can made in real time.
While the invention has been described in terms of a single preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. | <urn:uuid:341d090c-5e02-4161-b606-003d35505d78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.google.de/patents/US5970095 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938871 | 2,765 | 1.773438 | 2 |
SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated)
May 17, 2013
Your search for ALABAMA in Immigration and Emigration returned 389 articles
The pendulum on the immigration debate has begun to swing away from hardliners like Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., as more and more states allow their undocumented workers to obtain driver’s licenses.May 15, 2013, Wednesday
Senators’ bipartisanship and problem-solving hold firm against borderline insanity.May 12, 2013, Sunday
The measure passed in a Legislature controlled by Democrats and buoyed by an influx of young Latino lawmakers.May 9, 2013, Thursday
No previous Congressional effort to change immigration law has offered such a broad, swift reprieve to people expelled from the United States.May 9, 2013, Thursday
A day before a Senate committee was to take up a bill, a 2009 dissertation by a Heritage Foundation analyst added fuel to the debate.May 9, 2013, Thursday
No previous Congressional effort to change immigration law has offered such a broad, swift reprieve to people expelled from the United States.May 09, 2013, Thursday
Republican critics of a bill to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws could offer hundreds of amendments to try to weaken, if not kill, the measure.May 7, 2013, Tuesday
Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama and a determined opponent of immigration overhaul, said on Friday that the legislation is “dangerous” for American workers, and he vowed to work to slow the bill’s progress.May 03, 2013, Friday
We’ve designed an interactive graphic that allows you to make different sets of assumptions about immigration reform, population growth and racial voting patterns to see how the electoral math might change in the future.April 30, 2013, Tuesday
The Supreme Court ruled that states were free to let only their own citizens make requests under their freedom of information laws.April 30, 2013, Tuesday
SEARCH 389 ARTICLES ABOUT IMMIGRATION:
Leaders of several religious denominations have filed a suit opposing Alabama’s immigration law.
Subscribe to an RSS feed on this topic. What is RSS? | <urn:uuid:8f45ab84-344a-4714-aba3-362ac4ae05ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration-and-emigration/index.html?query=ALABAMA&field=geo&match=exact | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946084 | 449 | 1.78125 | 2 |
One local doctor has thought of a solution for that.
"He was born at 29 weeks," said Rikki Sholtt.
Little Oliver was born prematurely and as the first child for his mother, it was hard for her to let him leave her sight.
"I'd call every three hours," she said.
When she had to go back home to Conway to recover from a cold, away from Oliver, 'Angel Eye', a video system designed by a doctor at UAMS, let her watch her son while she was away.
"The nurses tell us what's going on but it's a lot easier when you can see it," she said.
"Mothers could maintain interaction with children even if they have to go back home," said Dr. Curtis Lowery the director of the 'Angel Eye' program.
He saw the need for the system after watching mothers spend grueling months away from their newborns.
"Women have to go home tend to other families and they feel isolated from their newborns," he said.
But the interaction from the system isn't limited to simply being able to watch the babies.
"There's a speaker built into the system so the mothers voice goes into bassinet so baby can hear mom's voice," Dr. Lowery said.
"It's really nice to be able to talk to him too," Sholtt said. "A lot of times I was afraid he'd forget me being gone so long."
She said she could tell little Oliver liked it too.
"He'll respond," she said. "He'll look around try and figure out where it's coming from."
Ensuring the bonding that's so important between a mother and her infant.
This equipment is also being used to let grandparents across the country see grand kids and even moms and dads who are deployed. | <urn:uuid:1006b36b-941b-46a1-a114-f99277d343a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arkansasmatters.com/sportsfulltext?nxd_id=636482 | 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 | 0.993946 | 380 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The product of a research and writing project that Helena Pastor says has had “a major, positive impact” on her life is set to have a positive impact on the lives of many others.
After the publication last year in Griffith REVIEW of the first chapter of her manuscript Iron Men: Alchemy at Work, she and the youth worker who leads the project she is documenting were interviewed on Radio National’s Bush Telegraph program, and the essay was re-published in ON LINE Opinion, Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate.
“Through my work in writing creative nonfiction, always with a close personal perspective, I want to prompt people to examine the way they think and feel about contemporary social and moral issues,” Helena said. “Iron Men: Alchemy at Work explores the challenge of disaffected youth from a mother’s perspective, and reveals that all is not as hopeless as many people imagine.”
The manuscript, written as part of a “creative research practice” doctoral thesis at the University of New England, concerns a community-based program - Iron Man Welders - that is successfully redirecting the lives of teenage boys in Armidale who, for a variety of reasons, have difficulty staying at school. This project, led by the inspirational community worker Bernie Shakeshaft, provides the boys with an environment (”the Shed”) in which they can develop both technical and entrepreneurial skills - and self esteem - in making and marketing metalwork products.
Earlier this year Helena was named as one of five winners of the 2010/11 Varuna HarperCollins Awards. The award has taken her to the Varuna Writers’ House in the Blue Mountains to work for 10 days (from the 27th of April) with a HarperCollins editor on the entire Iron Men manuscript - an opportunity that she hopes could lead to its publication by this leading publisher. It will be the fourth period of residence at Varuna that she has been awarded for the development of the manuscript.
As the winner of an Australian Society of Authors (ASA) Mentorship for 2010-11 she is also working with the well-known editor Judith Lukin-Amundsen on preparing the Iron Men manuscript for publication. This is the second year in a row that she has worked on one of her manuscripts with Ms Lukin-Amundsen under an ASA Mentorship.
Every Sunday for a year and a half Helena went to the Shed in Armidale and quietly observed the activities and social dynamics of the group of boys, and - over time - the development of skills and responsibilities. “We’d never had a woman in the Shed before,” Bernie said. “I think she did it well - sitting in a corner at first and, after that, just being there. We didn’t do anything differently - even down to our language.”
Helena’s writing, which began in the early days of the Shed, even played a part in keeping the boys engaged in the Iron Man project. “I think it was partly the book that kept them there,” Bernie said. “I don’t think they grasped the concept until the first chapter was read to them - and then you could have heard a pin drop. They liked the fact that it’s told ‘just how it is’ - language and all. And they liked the humour in it.
“It’s another way of telling the boys’ stories. Often with young fellas it’s the bad stuff that’s focused on. This book shows the bad, the good, and the ugly; it’s not putting them down.”
“Helena’s book is a good idea,” said Stephanous Olsen, who has been going to the Shed for almost two years and is thinking of taking up welding as a career. “It lets people know what’s going on.”
The progress of the Iron Man project has, in a way, paralleled Helena’s progress with her manuscript - going from strength to strength. Two of the boys who appear in the story (under false names) are now trainee youth workers within Bernie’s BackTrack organisation, and another is a fully qualified metalwork tradesman.
“People are looking for answers, and in writing Iron Men: Alchemy at Work, I’ve tried to bring light and a human perspective to the question ‘What can we do to help our marginalised youth?’” Helena said.
Helena Pastor and Bernie Shakeshaft are pictured here in the Shed.
Source: The University Of New England http://blog.une.edu.au/news/2011/04/27/helena-on-course-to-inspire-readers-with-her-iron-men-story/ | <urn:uuid:8d85505a-9c2a-46fc-9b1d-e2741cf966b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.campusdaily.com.au/read_university_news.php?title=helena_on_course_to_inspire_readers_with_her_iron_men_story_25775 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968544 | 1,023 | 1.578125 | 2 |
How Americans Became Delirious And Made Politics All About Sex
In her new book Delirium: The Politics of Sex in America, historian Nancy Cohen explores how politics changed after the birth control pill was released in 1960. She argues that the sexual revolution threatened contemporary politicians, who accused the women of ruining the American family.
Thus, the American fixation with sex in politics was born.
Cohen describes how this attitude has pervaded the 2012 election:
'"In late January, the Obama administration announced that employers would have to include contraception in their healthcare plans under the new healthcare reform law. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, who had changed his wife and his religion three times, accused Barack Obama of waging a "war" on the Catholic Church. Mitt Romney, the soon-to-be GOP nominee, charged the president with trying "to impose a secular vision on Americans."'
The Republican presidential candidates and Fox News became so agitated about the "war on religion" you would hardly have known that 99 percent of Americans who had ever had sex used birth control."
But both parties are guilty of letting sex run an election, Cohen says, mentioning the Democratic Party's past refusal to take a stand on reproductive or social issues.
By focusing less on sex, we can restore "common sense and sanity" in American politics.
Get Politics Emails & Alerts | <urn:uuid:f92ad3bf-a5fa-471b-9049-3af39658f8e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/birth-control-abortion-and-gay-marriage-in-presidential-elections-2012-8?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider%2Fpolitics+%28Business+Insider+-+Politix%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950661 | 275 | 1.523438 | 2 |
ATLANTA—Groups hoping to open charter schools across the country could soon have millions more dollars available.
The Charter School Growth Fund is announcing a $160 million fundraising campaign Wednesday -- the largest-ever aimed at helping start more of the nontraditional public schools nationwide. The goal is to establish 335,000 more spots for children at charter schools in the next decade.
"There was a belief that there were lots of great schools out there, many of whom wanted to be able to grow and serve more students," said Kevin Hall, CEO of the Charter School Growth Fund. "We will help fulfill their mission of dramatically changing education in their community."
The Denver, Colo.-based fund has already raised half its goal from organizations like the Walton Family Foundation and Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of
The campaign comes at a time when the Obama administration is calling for more charter schools to open across the country as one of the ways to help improve education in the United States. States that applied for $4.35 billion in federal "Race to the Top" grants were told they had to have welcoming policies on charter schools to be a contender for the money.
Charter schools typically operate with a combination of public and private dollars once they are running, but the startup money is usually almost entirely private, which makes it difficult for parents, teachers or business leaders hoping to start a school. The schools get taxpayers dollars but are given flexibility to choose how they will meet federal No Child Left Behind standards.
Peter Groff, president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, called charter school funding the "triple whammy": dealing with scarce startup funds, having to pay rent for facilities, and getting on average $2,200 less per student than traditional public schools.
"Even with all that triple defense, these funds will be going to those organizations that have been able to overcome those odds and really show a great deal of performance in the kids they're teaching," Groff said.
The Charter School Growth Fund started in 2005 and raised $85 million in its first fundraising campaign, money that has gone to 20 organizations and helped create 100,000 charter school seats, Hall said.
With money from that effort, the fund also announced Wednesday that it is giving $20 million to six charter school groups in four states. The recipients are: Rocketship Education in San Jose, Calif.; Success Charter Network in New York; Knowledge is Power Program schools in Los Angeles; KIPP schools in Atlanta; and West Denver Prep and Denver School of Science and Technology in Colorado.
For the Atlanta group, the money means tripling the number of students it can serve to 3,300 and opening twice as many schools by 2015, said David Jernigan, executive director of KIPP Metro Atlanta. That means the several hundred students on a waiting list for one of the KIPP schools in the city will have a place to go, he said.
"We hope people see what we're doing as what's possible in education," said Jernigan, whose four Atlanta middle schools serve 70 percent poor students who frequently outperform many of their peers in other schools on standardized tests.
Charter School Growth Fund: http://www.chartergrowthfund.org/
KIPP Metro Atlanta: http://www.kippmetroatlanta.org/
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools: http://www.publiccharters.org/ | <urn:uuid:612faedc-f916-462f-ab45-88a89feb602e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2010/09/29/apnewsbreak_charter_school_group_to_raise_160m/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968687 | 697 | 1.625 | 2 |
The decline of the tie among well-dressed businessmen may not register with much strength in a city like Vancouver, where casual Fridays can run all week long (particularly during hockey season).
But across England a creeping trend away from the conservative was enough to prompt a story in The Telegraph lamenting “Collar and tie expected to die out in British workplace within 50 years”.
The story cites a poll by DealJungle.com that found 51 per cent of those interviewed thought the tie would become a thing within the next 20 years.
Nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of those polled believed the fashion choice would last less than a decade.
Its demise is being blamed on the boom in creative businesses, such as Facebook and Google, and online trading companies “where formal dress codes tend to be shunned in favour of a more casual approach,” the article states.
An increasing number of workers are also now working from home “so they feel no need to dress up to go to work.”
Even in situations where a business suit is warranted, a tie is no longer a must-wear accessory.
“The tie-less suit creates an impression of a more approachable deal maker, someone who is still business-minded, yet creative and technology-savvy, too,” a spokesman for the site is quoted as saying. | <urn:uuid:d38c2639-b842-4bf9-bb4d-684be7c89719> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/03/13/say-goodbye-to-the-suit-and-tie/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964958 | 282 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Wed December 14, 2011
And You Thought The Tiger Mother Was Tough
Tiger Mother Amy Chua, the super-strict Chinese-American disciplinarian, became an overnight sensation in the U.S. this year when she wrote about her tough parenting style. But she looks like a pussy cat next to her mainland Chinese equivalent, "Wolf Dad" Xiao Baiyou.
Xiao is the latest media sensation in China — a father who not just beat his son and three daughters, but boasts about how he did it.
He's become part of a wider debate in China about the politics of family life, which has also been fueled by a homemade pamplet produced by two Tiger Cubs that turned.
Wolf Dad, as he's been nicknamed, wrote a book that was originally titled Beat Them Into Peking University. It was later changed to the not-quite-as-catchy So, Brothers and Sisters of Peking University.
He's been doing the chat shows lately, laying out his system for getting three of his four kids into China's top school, Peking University.
Xiao, 47, describes himself as the emperor of his family. As such, he's laid down an extraordinary system of rules for his children.
"I have more than a thousand rules: specific detailed rules about how to hold your chopsticks and your bowl, how to pick up food, how to hold a cup, how to sleep, how to cover yourself with a quilt," Xiao says. "If you don't follow the rules, then I must beat you."
For each violation of the rules, such as sleeping in the wrong position, the penalty is to be hit with a feather duster on the legs or the palm of the hand. If it doesn't leave a mark, then it won't make an impact, Xiao says.
Never mind sleepovers, his kids weren't even allowed friends. He started beating them when they were three years old, and stopped at age 12.
"From three to twelve, kids are mainly animals," he says. "Their humanity and social nature still aren't complete. So you have to use Pavlovian methods to educate them."
Xiao's method involved all of the children watching each punishment. Any transgression of the rules by a younger sibling would also earn a beating for her older siblings, for failing to be a good model. Despite the sometimes daily beatings, Xiao sees himself as the best dad in the world and repeatedly claims his unorthodox methods "have no shortcomings."
Xiao's oldest child, his 22-year-old son, Xiao Yao, has his doubts about his father's methods. He told a TV programme, "Though Dad likes using traditional educational methods, he may not fully understand the exact forms and he chose his own way. There may be some distance from the best results."
He's quoted as saying that he doubts he even had a childhood, and that he loves and hates his father at the same time.
"I thought that maybe he was a bit too strict, that sometimes it could have been more relaxed," Xiao's wife, Huang Tianshu told NPR. "Maybe they didn't need to be beaten quite so often."
But she denies her kids have any psychological scars from their childhood beatings.
"I thought we were quite happy, but maybe after the kids grow up, they only remember the unhappy things," she says. "I think the education they received was right."
In many countries, Wolf Dad's behavior would be seen as child abuse, but Xiao denies that.
"In China, beating kids is part of their upbringing. It's not violence. It's not against the law," he says. "If this kind of beating is legal, scientific and in the interests of the kids, then fine. I'm all for beating, since it's effective."
Wolf Dad has his share of critics, but his book has been flying off the shelves – so far 120,000 thousand have been printed and he says most have been sold.
The Cubs Can Fight Back
A contrasting book has sharpened the debate in China. It's a small, scrappy exercise book filled with primitive line drawings. The Complete Book of Combat With Mum contains twenty strategies to deflect a scolding from your mother – and was written by two Beijing ten-year olds.
"Move number four is useful. You run to mum and throw yourself on her," says Chen Leshui, who wrote the book. "Lots of kids say they use this because it makes mums' hearts go soft, and it makes her cry."
Leshui says she wrote the book with her friend Deng Xinyi after a particularly humiliating incident.
"Once, when I didn't do so well in an exam, a friend came over to play, and my mom picked up my exam paper and said, 'Your friends will all laugh at you,'" Leshui says. "My friend and I went to hide in my room and drew these pictures on pieces of paper."
The moves are divided into hard and soft tactics, though Leshui warns that hard tactics should be used sparingly, or you might get a beating. Her mother, who gives her name as Mrs. Li, says Leshui has tried literally every trick in the book.
"There was one move she used to make when she was young, she'd pull down her pants, then present me with her naked butt and say, 'Spank me, mum!'" Li says. "Later, if I scolded her, she'd hug my legs and not let go. And when she got even older, she'd lock herself into her room, and write notes to me on slips of paper."
Xiao, the Wolf Dad, praises Leshui's talent, but says her parents are leading her astray. Online, there are those who call her "a bad influence," and say that posting the book online was "a sin". But the book went viral after her dad — who gives his name as Mr. Chen — posted it on the Chinese version of Twitter. He admits he's not a traditional Chinese dad.
"Mostly we respect her decisions and treat her as an equal. Chinese parents like one adjective: 'good' or 'obedient,'" Chen says. "I don't want her to be an obedient child. It just means you're in the system, you can only follow orders. It's only when you think outside the box that you can become creative."
As for the stories of Tiger Mother forcing her kids to practice piano without bathroom breaks or dinner until they get it right, well that doesn't happen in Leshui's house. She plays the guzheng – a kind of Chinese harp – and practices about 40 minutes a night by herself.
As for her mum's input, Leshui says dismissively: "She couldn't tell anyway, she's totally tone deaf."
It's pretty clear Leshui is a good kid. Despite her guide to getting around mum, neither she nor her mother can even remember the last time she was scolded, let alone beaten. | <urn:uuid:99505624-0d01-4cb3-94c7-129cc58010e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wncw.org/post/and-you-thought-tiger-mother-was-tough | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988616 | 1,468 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The American Film Institute lists Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien as the seventh greatest science-fiction film of all time. Few who have seen the masterpiece of mood and massacre would argue with the praise. Except, maybe, Ridley Scott.
"There are certain things that bug him from the old film," reveals Steven Messing, the concept artist and visual effects art director for Scott's latest film Prometheus. The director's misgivings surprised Messing, a fan of Alien who has worked with Scott on several of the director's films, including design-heavy epics like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and the upcoming OZ: The Great and Powerful. "It was wild to be in these conversations with him. Thirty years ago, because of budgetary constraints, he had to go with what they built on set for a lot of things. He never really got a chance to polish those designs."
Scott, who started as a production designer in the UK before he began a directing career, was drawn back into the Alien universe, in part, thanks to the design-friendly world of sci-fi. Messing was brought on early in the process, before the movie had funding, before the film had a name ("they called it different things at different times…. Paradise, Tomb of the Gods….") and even before there was a finished script. Messing papered Scott's office with art, catching him up on the last thirty years of cinematic science fiction and exploring the alien environments touched upon in Alien. Once ideas started flowing, Scott even joined in on the action. "Ridley would come and draw with us, which was unique. I had never had a director sit down, literally next to me, and draw ideas at the same time. He has very good drafting skills. He storyboards all his own films."
The stunning creature and architecture designs of the original '70s Alien were born from the imagination of H.R. Giger, and while the surrealist artist's work was an inspiration to Messing, Scott was apparently "was very adamant about not doing the same thing." "There is a lot of very organic design work that Giger did," Messing explains. "If you look, there are similar sets, like the pilot chamber set in our film. It's from the same world, but it's not the same exact set. It's a little more mechanical. The filigree on it is a bit cleaner and less organic. A lot of those changes in aesthetic…Ridley would call the old Giger stuff porkchops."
According to Messing, even the original film's iconic imagery could be improved through Prometheus' modern technology and afforded design time. "He was never that much in love with the facehugger. He thought it was goofy and never really liked it." A set in Prometheus, the epically scaled "pilot chamber" seen in the trailers, takes its cues from a location in Alien where a mysterious creature (dubbed the Space Jockey) was found sitting in a humongous chair. "There's the flooring… I spent a lot of time redesigning that whole set. He hated it because they basically took a bunch of plumbing and pipes that they found and laid it out on the ground. He walked in there and that's what he saw and he couldn't change it."
Scott's emphasis on redesign didn't wipe the existing aesthetic completely clean. In some instances, Messing and his team went back to Giger's original sketches to realize ideas that never made it into the original. "There's lots of little detailing on the pilot's chair that was lost in that original sculpt in that original chair. We had Academy references that we pulled form the archives of set photos of that construction, and we compared them to Giger's original layout for that design." Prometheus also features a construction originally intended for Alien (which Giger's attempted to utilize in later projects, like the ill-fated Alejandro Jodorowsky adaptation of Dune). "The big pyramid mound that you've seen in the trailer. It's almost like a sphinx head, an eroded face. He called it the Pyramid. The compound mound. Some of that is from old Giger drawings from different books. There was development work early on in Alien where they're talking about these pyramid structures, and aliens had engineered man and kind of did it in these big compound pyramids. He toyed with it a long time ago, but he wanted to reintroduce it here."
A fully realized set rarely captures the beauty of concept art created for a major blockbuster, but Messing promises the beauty of a lush drawing remains intact in Prometheus large-scale locations. "The pilot chamber room, I did most of the design work on it. You'll see this desk console that David the Android sits down at an activate, it brings up these holograms — you see it in the trailer — all those sleeping pods, I sculpted all of that in 3D and then gave them sectional layouts and the construction crew literally traced over them. Blew them up and built off of them. When I walked on the set, I had been spinning my model in 3D software for months, and then I was walking on it. I'd say 95% of that set was accurate."
Messing describes Scott as a meticulous director read to make changes at the drop of a hat. "If he feels like a design is hindering his storytelling, he will throw it out." Whereas some directors shoot tons of green screen and give themselves the option to tinker after a shoot, Scott is about reality — and that means building sets, and occasionally, rebuilding them. "We'd be laying out working drawings and it would literally be weeks away from being built, and he would change the entire set. I've never had that experience where they'll combine two sets to save money, which happens all the time, but they'll do it two weeks before." Scott's insistence on tangibility in his alien worlds extended to the exteriors too. Prometheus shot on location in Iceland to mimic the surface of a distant planet, a vista Messing drew beforehand just to Scott's liking. "If you look at the first Alien, or even James Cameron's second one, you'll see there's a lot of pinnacle rock formations in the distance. Ridley had said, 'these are too whimsical.' He doesn't want big fantasy structures in this film. You'll see mini versions of those, but they're scaled back. I was so excited to get in the art department, my first week I was doing some big dramatic landscapes, and he said, 'these are great Steve, but…' They were too sci-fi. He wanted something that looked like he went and shot. It has to be more real than some of the stuff in the original Alien."
With Scott's attention to detail and demand for balance between fantasy and reality, Prometheus may sound stripped of its awe-inspiring otherworldliness. Not so. After seeing the film, the same word floated around my mind as I soaked in the visuals on display in the modern sci-fi epic as it did when Messing saw his drawings turned into life-size sets at England's famous Pinewood Studios. "Amazing." Whether Scott thinks he fixed Alien or not, he's certainly created something we really haven't seen since…well, Alien!
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox, H.R. Giger] | <urn:uuid:f85b53ea-6543-4345-a4a3-bb54c82f7924> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hollywood.com/news/movies/29948825/prometheus-concept-artist-explains-how-the-movie-fixes-alien | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980571 | 1,540 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Domaine Houchart is located at the foot of Mount St. Victoire
near Aix en Provence. Today, the domaine is owned by
Genevieve Quiot, who inherited it her great-grandfather,
By the 1850's, Aurelien had become an influential figure in wine
and society. Having created one of the largest domaines in
Provence, he also counted significant individuals of his day,
including the famous post-impressionist painter Paul Cezanne
who frequently came to visit. This beautifully appointed 200 acre
estate is planted with 10 traditional grape varieties to a wide
range of soils that include red clay, sandstone, gravel and chalk.
Today, the estate is managed by Florence and Jean-Baptiste
Quiot, who represent the fifth consecutive generation of the
family to work on the estate. | <urn:uuid:da5fbbd0-8f33-44b0-a5c2-c289ef497a6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.67wine.com/vsku1766560_DOMAINE-HOUCHART-COTES-DE-PROVENCE-BLANC-750ML-2011 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96652 | 181 | 1.523438 | 2 |
heise Security - 3 Jan 2013
Over the Christmas period, German coffee roaster turned retailer Tchibo has been selling a virus-laden 35mm negative scannerGerman language link in its stores and online shop. The device, which is produced by electronics accessory manufacturer Hama, was sold for €60 (approximately £48). In an email to customers who purchased the scanner on their online store and an announcement on their web site, the company confirmed the problem.
Talking to The H's associates at heise Security, Hama corroborated Tchibo's report of the incident. The affected device was exclusively sold through Tchibo and was infected with the Win32/Conficker.B virus which rose to notoriety four years ago when it caused infections around the globe. Nowadays, any current anti-virus scanner should be able to detect this strain of malware with ease.
On the affected devices, Conficker is apparently present in the DCIM.exe and autorun.inf files
. The autorun file itself cannot cause much trouble these days, as Microsoft modified the behaviour of Windows in this regard as a reaction to the original Conficker outbreak. However, if the .exe file is executed, the malware can still be spread on unprotected systems. Tchibo is offering affected customers refunds for the devices but also says that they can be safely used after the virus has been removed with a modern anti-virus application.http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Tchibo-sells-negative-scanner-with-a-virus-surprise-1776642.html | <urn:uuid:fd74696b-8c62-453f-b3d6-1258dafb76ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php?topic=112092.0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952609 | 335 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The Connected World of Charitable Fundraising
See Related Diagram
in the April/May 2012 issue of the Charity Rating Guide &
You open your mailbox one morning and
there inside is a letter from a charity asking for your support.
You read it and are inspired to donate, writing out a modest check
and popping it in the mail. You feel good knowing that you sacrificed
something to support a cause you think is important. But then, within
a couple months' time, you notice that your mailbox is no longer
large enough for the shocking uptick in letters you are receiving.
It was slow at first; a few charity appeals trickled in each week.
But now you are getting upwards of five letters a day from charities
you have never donated to, and many more you have never even heard
of. You wonder, "How did these people get my name and address?"
More than likely you donated to the charity
through a for-profit, professional fundraising company it hired
to conduct its solicitation campaigns via direct mail. When you
respond to such a letter with a donation, your contact information
suddenly becomes a hot commodity for fundraising companies and all
their other charity clients. You are now on their lists as a prime
target for more charity solicitations. Donating in response to charity
telemarketing calls often produces the same result. Some charities
hire multiple companies to solicit donations, creating the potential
for an exponential increase in the number of organizations with
which your information may be sold, rented, or exchanged.
What's worse, most of your donation is
often used to pay the fundraiser's fees, leaving little to fund
the charitable programs you are intending to support. CharityWatch
has reviewed many contracts between charities and their fundraisers
that guarantee the charity only 10% to 15% of the donations raised
on the charity's behalf, and sometimes less. If you receive several
appeals each month from the same charities, chances are that most
of your donations are being used to do little more than fund more
Diagram provides just a small example of professional fundraising
companies and some of their recent charity clients. The charities
on this diagram currently receive D or F ratings from CharityWatch
for high fundraising costs and for spending too little on the programs
donors are intending to support.
Some charities, including some on this
diagram, may have privacy policies that prohibit the companies they
hire from sharing some or all of your information. If you are concerned
about your contact information and donation history being sold,
rented, or exchanged, ask the charity you are considering donating
from being shared. Simply asking whether or not the charity has
it reserves the right to share all of your information.
Some charities use professional fundraisers
responsibly by targeting solicitations to a limited number of donors
who are more likely to give to their cause, and spending a small
amount of money on fundraising relative to the contributions they
bring in as a result. You might consider allowing such groups to
rent, sell, or exchange your contact information as a means of generating
revenue to help fund the programs you care about. But be sure to
ask the charity how, if at all, it screens organizations prior to
sharing donors' information with them. The charity you donated to
may be a highly efficient and responsible fundraiser, but if it
shares your information with charities that are neither of these
things you may end up receiving lots of unwelcome donation requests.
Also make sure the charities with which your information is shared
are prevented from re-sharing it without your permission. Finally,
tell the charity to share your information only with nonprofits
that have causes of interest to you so that you will not end up
on the donor lists of organizations you would never consider supporting.
Following a few other basic rules can
help prevent you from receiving a flurry of charity solicitations.
It helps to make a few, larger donations to a smaller number of
charities, rather than making $10 donations to ten or fifteen groups
that might each share your information with several other charities
or fundraisers. Also, do not make a donation to a charity you know
nothing about simply because it happened to solicit you. Instead,
be proactive in your giving by thinking about what causes are important
to you and seeking out efficient charities working within those
causes. When making your charitable donations, communicate that
your gifts are contingent on your information not being shared.
If a charity or its fundraiser refuses to honor your request, direct
your donation elsewhere. | <urn:uuid:dbbf85d4-8449-4135-aaca-c4e56c168a50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.charitywatch.org/articles/ConnectedCharitableFundraising.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938769 | 951 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Birthplace: Packard, Ky.
Died: 8/8/2010 (Edgartown, Mass.)
Born Patsy Louise Neal, the actress made her stage debut at age 15, won a Tony for her performance in the Broadway production of Another Part of the Forest (1946), made her film debut in John Loves Mary (1949), and won a Best Actress Academy Award for Hud (1963). The buzz of Broadway and the glamour of Hollywood were tempered by a large measure of personal tragedy. In 1960, Neal's infant son suffered brain damage when his stroller was crushed between a bus and a taxi in New York City. Two years later, her oldest child, Olivia, died at age 7 of measles encephalitis. And one year after receiving her Oscar, Patricia Neal suffered a series of strokes that left her in a coma. When she emerged, she couldn't read, walk, or speak. She made a miraculous recovery, giving birth to a daughter six months after brain surgery. Neal returned to the screen in 1968 in The Subject Was Roses, a performance for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. Neal had been suffering from lung cancer and was 84 at the time of her death in Edgartown, Mass.
Neal was married to the former Royal Air Force fighter pilot turned children's book author Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach) for 30 years before their divorce in 1983. They had five children.
More on Patricia Neal from Infoplease:
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:975c70a2-d58f-4435-9504-222d4c6a6fce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoplease.com/biography/patricia-neal.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976693 | 328 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Crimes that Occur off Campus
Victim Services 561-297-0500
Because becoming a crime victim can affect a student’s ability to learn and an employee’s ability to work, victim services are provided for students, faculty and staff who become victims of crime regardless of where the crime occurred. If you are in danger, call 911. However, if you become a victim and are unsure whether to report, what happens when you report or even to whom to report, victim services can assist you with these issues by explaining what happens when a crime is reported, determining agency jurisdiction and accompanying you when you do report.
Victim services are for available for all campuses. YOU DO NOT NEED TO MAKE A POLICE REPORT TO TALK WITH AN ADVOCATE. While making an official report is encouraged, it is not required. Victim Services are available even if the crime is not reported. | <urn:uuid:f01e0b3f-50c7-48ba-8a3f-6d0578c0bd0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mailto:mqlunny@fau.edu/police/victimservices/off_campus.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934634 | 185 | 1.820313 | 2 |
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